Vegas

linkshero

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May 22, 2008
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Just go back from LV......no tigers, or babies in my room, or lost teeth, but still a good time. One thing I noticed this time is how much they are hurting out there. If you are going, be careful about a few things.

Almost every bar/ club tab that I had, I was overcharged for drinks. Server's putting drinks on our tab we didn't order. Also, for people drinking water in the bar/ club, we were charged every time. One time, water was billed as a $11 Rolling Rock, which I found kind of ironic. $7 for an actual water at Pure. They were at least cool about it, warning you, and laughing that they charged that much.

Cab drivers short changing, happened three times.

Stay away from the new City Center for now. Even though they are advertising it as open, there isn't really anything there yet, kind of a ghost town, within a town.

Lake Las Vegas is starting to look like something out of a sci fi film. Reflection Bay GC closed last year, the Loews closed this year, the Montelago is closing next week, and now the Ritz Carlton announced they are closing in May. :no:

There are great rooms out there right now. If you are used to staying at some of the not so nice places, check into some of the really nice ones, they are running specials. You night feel obligated to tip a little more, but you will get great rooms, and service for the same, or less $$.

Also on the good side, it appeared they are trying to get gamblers with better payouts on slots. I talked to a local who said they have had a lot of dealer turnover. I had better 'luck' at the Black Jack table then I have ever had. Normally my dealer never busts, and they were busting all over the place (the hand, not their chests, but there is still that as well). :cool:
 
Is the private course at Lake Las Vegas still open? Best course I have ever played...it would be a shame if it closed down.
 
Vegas was interesting when I was there. All of the fine establishments looked great, but anything in between them that was vacant was full of trash. For as much money that comes in and out of that place you'd think there would be more clean up.
 
I just got back from Vegas on Sunday and stayed in the city center.

We stayed at Vdara, which just opened a couple of months ago. I've stayed at about 6 different places on the strip and Vdara had the nicest rooms by far. Nice 40" screens, little kitchen area, ipod hook-ups, fast internet, etc. The only problem with it is that it doesn't have a casino in it which is weird in Vegas. This could either be good or bad depending on your preferences. It's less than a 5 minute walk through the skywalk to Belagio or Aria.

I found two places that I real liked that I hadn't discovered before

#1Hash House a Go Go is a great place for breakfast with HUGE plates. It's inside the craphole imperial palace. It was featured on one of the shows on the food channel.
Hash House a go go - Twisted Farm Food - Breakfast Lunch Dinner

#2 The Peppermill-Fun lounge
Peppermill Las Vegas

We made the mistake of just walking into some little lounge in the Beliagio and ended up spending $180 between 6 of us in about 20 minutes. We nearly fell over when we got the bill. Lesson learned.
 
So am I basically going to have to pay $7 plus for drinks when I go in a couple weeks. What's the secret to getting reasonable drink prices?
 
Just go back from LV......no tigers, or babies in my room, or lost teeth, but still a good time. One thing I noticed this time is how much they are hurting out there. If you are going, be careful about a few things.

Almost every bar/ club tab that I had, I was overcharged for drinks. Server's putting drinks on our tab we didn't order. Also, for people drinking water in the bar/ club, we were charged every time. One time, water was billed as a $11 Rolling Rock, which I found kind of ironic. $7 for an actual water at Pure. They were at least cool about it, warning you, and laughing that they charged that much.

Cab drivers short changing, happened three times.

Stay away from the new City Center for now. Even though they are advertising it as open, there isn't really anything there yet, kind of a ghost town, within a town.

Lake Las Vegas is starting to look like something out of a sci fi film. Reflection Bay GC closed last year, the Loews closed this year, the Montelago is closing next week, and now the Ritz Carlton announced they are closing in May. :no:

There are great rooms out there right now. If you are used to staying at some of the not so nice places, check into some of the really nice ones, they are running specials. You night feel obligated to tip a little more, but you will get great rooms, and service for the same, or less $$.

Also on the good side, it appeared they are trying to get gamblers with better payouts on slots. I talked to a local who said they have had a lot of dealer turnover. I had better 'luck' at the Black Jack table then I have ever had. Normally my dealer never busts, and they were busting all over the place (the hand, not their chests, but there is still that as well). :cool:

Since it looks like your a golfer, I hope you made the trip to Mesquite and played golf there. I played Wolf Creek about a year ago. It is the most impresive golf course I have ever played.
 
There is also a place in the Monte Carlo that has pretty good food(hamburgers, etc) and great drink prices during happy hour. Woman drink free and it's bogo beer. We also stopped in a limo at In-n-Out burger based on the recommendations of everyone here. It was pretty darn good for fast food.



Also, Lagasse's Stadium is a decent sportsbook if you just want to hang out.
 
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Also, Lagasse's Stadium is a decent sportsbook if you just want to hang out.
Food is good. Service is horrible. Really weird setup for a restaurant since it's really meant to be a club.
 
Food is good. Service is horrible. Really weird setup for a restaurant since it's really meant to be a club.

We just ordered buckets of beer and it was fine but it was slow and during the week. Didn't eat there.
 
Is the private course at Lake Las Vegas still open? Best course I have ever played...it would be a shame if it closed down.

You're probably referring to Reflection Bay, which the OP mentioned in the original post. If so, it is closed.

I played it about two weeks before it closed during the summer with a buddy of mine who played golf at Nevada-Reno and now works at one of the few courses still doing well in the area (or so he tells me). It was a nice track, but I certainly wouldn't call is the "best course I have ever played." Typical resort / expensive Vegas course in most respects.

It is sad to see it's been closed, but I think the writing was on the wall for a little while. When we played (we were comp'd on by the Pro), we were one of only a couple groups all day. We didn't see a sole on the course. Although courses like this don't rely as much on gross numbers - their clientele is distinguishable because they're looking for 50 - 70 rounds, which will pay the bills when you're charging $200 plus a round - it was still odd to not see another golfer the entire day.

Overall, I'm not too displeased with the recent downturn in the golf market in Vegas, as there are too many courses hogging too much valuable water in a such a dry climate, but it does limit the options of golfers a little. Ultimately, water is available less and less, so it should be used for other purposes (people, agriculture, wildlife).
 
So am I basically going to have to pay $7 plus for drinks when I go in a couple weeks. What's the secret to getting reasonable drink prices?
Play video poker at a bar. Usually have a few non bud/miller lite choices while you are playing. I actually come out quite a bit ahead while getting free beer.
 
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You're probably referring to Reflection Bay, which the OP mentioned in the original post. If so, it is closed.

I played it about two weeks before it closed during the summer with a buddy of mine who played golf at Nevada-Reno and now works at one of the few courses still doing well in the area (or so he tells me). It was a nice track, but I certainly wouldn't call is the "best course I have ever played." Typical resort / expensive Vegas course in most respects.

It is sad to see it's been closed, but I think the writing was on the wall for a little while. When we played (we were comp'd on by the Pro), we were one of only a couple groups all day. We didn't see a sole on the course. Although courses like this don't rely as much on gross numbers - their clientele is distinguishable because they're looking for 50 - 70 rounds, which will pay the bills when you're charging $200 plus a round - it was still odd to not see another golfer the entire day.

Overall, I'm not too displeased with the recent downturn in the golf market in Vegas, as there are too many courses hogging too much valuable water in a such a dry climate, but it does limit the options of golfers a little. Ultimately, water is available less and less, so it should be used for other purposes (people, agriculture, wildlife).


Actually, I was referring to South Shore. Reflection Bay is on the strip side of the lake, South Shore is on the other side.

Lake Las Vegas
 
Play video poker at a bar. Usually have a few non bud/miller lite choices while you are playing. I actually come out quite a bit ahead while getting free beer.


I play video Black Jack at the bar at TI. If you put in a $20 and bet a buck a hand, they will give your free beer as long as you keep playing, that includes some imports like Guinness. If you play a conservative strategy, unless you hit a bad streak, you should be able to drink for free, and maybe even come out a head $20-40 dollars.

As far a drinks in the clubs/ bars, it was the water that was $7.00 Most beers, drinks, and shots will be in the $10.00-$12.00 range. I had girls with me, so I kind of had to go the expensive route. Another thing you can do is hit an ABC store (as in go to, not rob). It's like a nice Walgreens. You can get cold drinks and beer in there for $2.50 and pretty much walk around with them. I walked into Ceasars carrying a couple large cans from there and nobody said a word.

One other thing, if you are going to a club, look into table service, but do not do Goose, or Ciroc. It will sound expensive to even do some of the lesser vodka's ($100.00-$150.00 a bottle), but you will get mixers and come out ahead. Don't do premium vodka at a table service, Goose at Pure was $475.00 a bottle.......unless you like to impress people by throwing away your money.

I know a lot of people go there, and have there own 'thing' they do, just throwing in my cy fanatics worth....
 
If you love good hamburgers, then you HAVE to stop at Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay. It was the best restaurant burger I've ever had. 100% Kobe beef at a decent price. I've eaten there three times now and I crave it every time I want a burger.
 
You're probably referring to Reflection Bay, which the OP mentioned in the original post. If so, it is closed.

I played it about two weeks before it closed during the summer with a buddy of mine who played golf at Nevada-Reno and now works at one of the few courses still doing well in the area (or so he tells me). It was a nice track, but I certainly wouldn't call is the "best course I have ever played." Typical resort / expensive Vegas course in most respects.

It is sad to see it's been closed, but I think the writing was on the wall for a little while. When we played (we were comp'd on by the Pro), we were one of only a couple groups all day. We didn't see a sole on the course. Although courses like this don't rely as much on gross numbers - their clientele is distinguishable because they're looking for 50 - 70 rounds, which will pay the bills when you're charging $200 plus a round - it was still odd to not see another golfer the entire day.

Overall, I'm not too displeased with the recent downturn in the golf market in Vegas, as there are too many courses hogging too much valuable water in a such a dry climate, but it does limit the options of golfers a little. Ultimately, water is available less and less, so it should be used for other purposes (people, agriculture, wildlife).

The Wynn course is also closing down this summer. Supposedly they are going to build an arena on it.
 
Vegas is hurting like no other city in this country (except perhaps Detroit). The area had two things going for it before the recession, construction and gaming. Both have cratered; the strip casinos lost several billion $ last year.

As a side note, Las Vegas is the last place I would ever go for a vacation even though I visit the place at least monthly (I have close relatives living there and once lived there myself). For the life of me I have never figured out the attraction.
 
Lets see...free booze while gambling, gambling, stripper cards, booze, great golf, gambling, easy women, great time with friends, gambling, booze and once again golf.

Seems fairly obvious to me.
 

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