It was brought to my attention in the Santa threads that yet another member of our boards is headed to Las Vegas.
And I was just wondering how many of us here have been to, or are going to Las Vegas this year or any other year??
Have you ever been there Period?
If you have, where did you stay?
Did you have good luck? or Bad Luck? Or did you break even?
LOL
At the end of Jan will be our 3rd trip to L.V
The first time in 2005 we stayed at The Golden Nugget Downtown
The second time in 2006 we stayed at The Imperial Palace on the strip
The 3rd time at the end of Jan we will be staying at a place which is known by the name of Barbary Coast. But they changed & Remodeled
and now it is called Bill's lol
Same place different name, lol
The two previous trips we had to L.V were wonderful for us.
We wish we could live there, lol
We enjoy it so much neither of us think about vacationing anyplace else other then there.
And yes I know L.V has been loaded with FAMILY & ugh Kids.
But there are still places to go to escape the rugrat factor.
I.E. Like The Olympic Garden
You can't do that here in Ohio, lol
As For Our Luck.
The first time,I had bad luck & was down a lot & Bob won some. The 2nd time I was so damn lucky we won enough money to pay for the trip.
& Bob broke even, lol
I can only hope our 3rd time there , we BOTH will be even luckier still
This time we will be going better prepared too.
Thanks to a show on the travel channel we learned a lot about sucker bets in Las Vegas. So, I am hoping to put that knowledge to good use
And this year I am hoping to learn something about the game of
Craps.... LOL Hey I like to gamble, nothing wrong with it. And as long as you know when to quit, its a blast imho.
Anyway.. I was just wondering who else here has ever been to L.V
and if so tell us about the fun or disaster, if any, you had?
I have never been to Vegas. I have gambled in Gulfport/Boloxi, MS before the last big hurricane hit.
I have been there 5 times. First time was 1998 and last time was 2002. I have had fun each time, although it really depends where you are staying and who you are with.
Twice I stayed at the Tropicana (not very nice), once at the Flamingo Hilton (OK), once at the MGM Grand (OK, but too big), and once at the Rio (my favorite hotel by far: beautiful rooms for the price).
I'm not a big gambler but I will gamble a little when I go, because it's the thing to do. I like craps and the poker machines. Played roulette once and won, but only because someone gave me money and told me to play a particular number: I did, and won $70!
My favorite thing is the people-watching.
I also enjoy the buffets. The best buffets I have been to are the seafood buffet at Mandelay Bay, and the buffet in Summerlin (?) at a casino hotel there (starts with the letter R: I can't remember the name. A Las Vegas resident took me there and said it's where the locals go.)
I've also been for dim sum in Chinatown (which is a strip mall, LOL).
The Liberace Museum is a must-see, even if you don't like Liberace.
The tour of Hoover Dam is also a must-see.
Here's my near-disaster story:
Back when National Airlines was still in operation, you could get a great package on a flight and hotel room, etc. I got a deal for around $500 that included airfare, hotel for 3 nights (the Rio), 1 free breakfast, and 2 show tickets for De La Guarda.
So I booked this trip as a 4-day weekend because I had vacation time I had to use up before the end of the yaer (it was December). Then I found out that a male friend "G" was going to be there at the same time, because his company's holiday party was there. Cool!
Then I made the mistake of mentioning this to another male friend, "P". Well, P went ahead and booked the exact same package! I was kind of annoyed, but hey, at least I would have 2 friends to hang out with.
Well, come that weekend, and the 3 of us got together. P was acting kind of weird to G. This should have been my first clue that there was going to be a problem.
Turns out "P" had a college friend in LA who was going to be celebrating her birthday in Vegas that weekend. He invited me to go to her birthday dinner at Paris Hotel and Casino. Sure; why not? G had to go to his holiday party that night, so I figured I might as well hang with P.
So we go to this restaurant that is all pretentious and fake French gourmet. (I am French and I know French food, but this was not it.) The entrees were around $30-$35 each and only came with meat; no sides. The sides had to be ordered separately and were $6 a pop! There were 8 people total. They ordered a $500 bottle of wine, which I didn't indulge in: I'm not much of a drinker.
Then the bill came. It was over $1000! They were all like: "Let's split it 8 ways. No; 7 ways: we have to treat the birthday girl to dinner!" I was like: WHAAAT???? No way! I got pissed. I had exactly $40 cash on me, and no credit card. I hadn't touched the wine and didn't know the birthday girl from Adam, and I sure as hell did not want to pay for her! Nevertheless, I threw in my $40 and my friend said he'd cover the rest of it. Whatever. I was pissed!
Then we went back to the hotel. About an hour later, he comes up to my room and starts with this big confession of love. I was totally taken aback! I liked this guy as a friend, but he was a total nerd and not the least bit attractive. It was a very awkward evening. It really put a damper on the whole weekend.
LV is not my kind of place, I will probably never go. But even if I did end up going someday by some twist of fate, like to see some attraction or show, I'll never gamble, I might as well drive down the street throwing twenties out the window. When I lived in New Orleans I put a few coins in a slot machine at Harrah's and I felt like a retard. Why did I do that, I wondered, and why do people get some kind of entertainment from it? No, I'm not a gambler in any sense. A friend of mine went to Vegas with her in-laws who are really into it and always stay at nice places, but she said even with the nice hotel and nice food just being in Vegas was a very depressing and tacky experience for her, and she and I are similar.
anastasia, it really depends which part of Vegas you visit. The strip is very fake glitzy and is not as cool as back in the Rat Pack days. But Downtown has a different atmosphere. And then there's the old west theme of Henderson.
I'm going to Vegas this Saturday! I have "an appointment" on Sunday (I'll share when I get back what this is for - if I go through with it), then meeting up with ilovefootball's husband on Monday to go to Phantom of the Opera then eat and gamble (ilovefootball is unavailable so a date with her husband it is!)
This is my fourth time to Vegas and certainly not my last, though I will gamble, likely not as much 'cause rumour has it with the economic downturn, the casino's are pretty tight these days.
CF Scorpio Wrote:anastasia, it really depends which part of Vegas you visit. The strip is very fake glitzy and is not as cool as back in the Rat Pack days. But Downtown has a different atmosphere. And then there's the old west theme of Henderson.
ITA with CFS regarding Downtown. IMHO anybody going to L.V Must see the "Freemont Experiance" It is AWESOME!
BTW CFS where is Henderson???
I never heard of that.
Also,
I will be taking another horse adventure
This time I will be on the
Eldorado Canyon Horseback Morning Ride NOT night time ride, lol
1. Have you ever been there Period?
I've been to Vegas about 6 times. Spaced out, anywhere from 2-5 years.
2. If you have, where did you stay?
The most recent stays were at NYNY and Treasure Island. I've also stayed at the Flamingo and Excalibur. When I was little kid, my parents always stayed at The Flamingo or Circus Circus.
3. Did you have good luck? or Bad Luck? Or did you break even?
I am not much of a gambler. I finally learned how to play poker, but I stick with the slot machines. I really, really miss the old slot machines though. I love the sound of the coins spilling out when you hit a jackpot...even a small one. That being said, having a basically coin-less system is a lot easier to jump from machine to machine and your hands don't get FILTHY dirty like they did w/ the coins. I broke even at the most recent vaca., but I really didn't gamble much.
I have to say, Vegas has REALLY changed. It use to be a dirt-cheap vacation. Cheap rooms, practically free food and free drinks.
Now it can be pretty darn pricey.
Like CFS mentioned, the Freemont District is a bit more reasonable and the light show is really fun to watch.
I voted pie because while I technically did gamble, I probably spent less than $2.00 on nickel slots as we walked by. We were too busy getting married to do much else.
I've been there once and it's not my thing. Overrated shows that can be seen elsewhere for less, lots of lights and drunk people are not my thing. We stayed at the Paris hotel right after it opened and it was beautiful. We told them it was our honeymoon (they do not verify that, so mention that when you guy as many places give you free stuff) and upgraded us to a beautiful suite on one of the top floors even though it was a jam-packed labor day weekend.
How many of us here have been to, or are going to Las Vegas this year or any other year??
I went in the fall of 2007. I might be going again this coming fall, but that's not known for certain. I have asked to go, but likely won't find out until March, and even then it isn't very likely as I'm pretty busy.
If you have, where did you stay?
At some hotel that was a couple blocks away and was probably one of the only places that didn't have any gambling. It was closest to the Flamingo and the Bellagio water fountains. How I loved those fountains! I also stayed in the NE corner, as I was working close to there. It was a work trip.
Did you have good luck? or Bad Luck? Or did you break even?
I put a $1 in a slot machine just so that I could say I gambled in Vegas. I was asked a lot when I got back, so it was just as well.
In some ways I had great luck... we had such a fun time and we found the $1 tequila slushy bar in record time.
For many reasons it was an experience that I will never forget but most of them have nothing to do with the gambling section of Vegas. Most memorable was that I got to sit in a fighter jet cockpit for my birthday!
I also went to the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam, and found both of them to be very impressive.
The gambling part of Vegas was a bit hard for me to take and I don't think that I would willingly go there again, other than for a show or two. Freemont street freaked me out because it was one huge TV that blasted out a bunch of Americana and I couldn't figure out why they would spend so much money on a rather lame show. Plus they were selling oxygen for $40 which is when I decided to walk away...
I'm probably the only person who goes there for work (not a work conference, but three weeks of long days and hard work).
Never been.
I have a buddy who knows several chefs in the area and he goes about once a year. Though he sticks with the less glizty places.
I have been in two gambling places here. One was an Indian reservation place and I took 2 rolls of nickles and 2 rolls of dimes and a roll of quarters. Walked out with half my quarters. Yeah, big spender. Never even won one game.
The other place is local and has horses. I have been in the building 4 times and 3 of the times was to eat, and the other time was just to drink with some friends and watched a couple races.
I've never been. If I do go, I'd gamble a 20 or something. I rarely gamble so when I do sometimes I'll just grab a 20 and play slots for fun. The most I've played is 40, and twice I've won over $100. I'd never do it but once a year, maybe twice. Course I moved to SC in 2002 and they don't have gambling, and here in the UK I can't either. Last time I gambled was on our cruise in late 2002. I always love buffets. I have gambled in Tunica, Mississippi, and KC and StL Missouri. I did once in Cali that sucked.
I'd like to go to Vegas, just once, to see what it's all about, you hear so much and see so much about it. I would love to just check it out and do some of the touristy things. Otherwise there is about 10,000 places I'd rather see ahead of Vegas - give or take.
Yes, during a convention. I loved it when I asked the clerk at the Bellagio where the penny slots were. She answered with a straight face.
I live here...of course I've gambled here.
I've been a couple times. Once for one of my uncles weddings, we stayed at the Luxor. The other time i went with my now ex wife and her company for a convention and we stayed at circus circus. Luxor was really nice, circus circus SUCKED!!! the water stank, the rooms felt dirty, was just terrible. Luxor though was super nice, really nice rooms, what you would expect at a mega resort.
Luck wise, the first time i broke even pretty much. was up and down up and down, had a blast playing. the second time didnt fair as well, but only took like 400 to play with and was there for almost a week. the first couple of days wasnt too bad, broke even but the last 2 days lady luck was not with me.
-Joe
I adore Vegas. I've been four times, twice at the Luxor (strip) and twice on Fremont St. (Las Vegas Club Hotel and the Plaza) and Fremont is MUCH more my speed and price range. I gamble -- a lot -- and I usually either break even or lose. I go there to gamble, and I work it into the budget, so it's not like "I lose" -- I just spend as much as I budgeted to spend while I'm there.
Love love love it and will likely go back many times before I die.