Jump to content

Las Vegas go hard or go home thread


bigup2dahorns

Recommended Posts

Ruffin would have been a logical buyer of Mirage for many reasons but he also wants the land and it’s not for sale (unless something really whacky happens). The REIT owns the land. Seminole tribe been looking for a Vegas spot for a Hard Rock re-launch, but not sure which one works best for them. There are other regional gaming powers who may take a stab at a one-off strip property to gain entry to the market. For the announcement to be made tonight publicly by the company, it indicates they are pretty far along in the sale process. We’re also at peak valuations here for Strip properties.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

@bigup2dahorns thanks for the rec on Aria. Booked it.

I’ve seen some steak comments on this thread before…looking for a couple good ideas on where to get the bone-in ribeyes. Don’t need to be fancy.

Thanks!
\m/

That steakhouse at the Aria (Jean George's joint...I think) was solid the one time I stayed there. No need to go off campus for what will pretty assuredly be a lateral move from that. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@bigup2dahorns thanks for the rec on Aria. Booked it.

I’ve seen some steak comments on this thread before…looking for a couple good ideas on where to get the bone-in ribeyes. Don’t need to be fancy.

Thanks!
\m/

As Lando said the steakhouse at Aria is solid. Many good reviews on here. Could also look at two next door, STK at Cosmo and Bavatte’s at Park MGM. STK is a party atmosphere with a DJ (food is just okay) and usually some hot girls and we’ve had some positive feedback here on Bavette’s also. All of them seem to have what you want on the menu.
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

May book Aria as well.  We had originally decided on The Mirage or Mandalay Bay for the pool situation; however, since our dates are set in stone (March 14-18) we're not even sure if they'll be open.  Even if they are, the "scene" might not be all that great.  Appears as if Aria has a nice setup outside if I'm wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to Vegas this weekend with @SydneyCarton and 6 other buddies. Went on Thursday, got back last night. Here are some thoughts:

-We stayed at Aria, as always, and it's back to normal besides the mask wearing. Everything there was top notch and the riff-raff are no longer loitering everywhere, trying to ruin everyone else's experience.

-Speaking of the riff-raff, looks like they've spent all of their stimulus money on Vegas this spring and summer, and neck and face tattoos, of course. They were all gone. Vegas looked normal.

-We spent Saturday watching and betting on CFB at Circa in a reserved table downtown. The sportsbook is first class, for sure. Here are some thoughts on this part of it:

   -It's not worth the fee for the reserved table. It wasn't worth the trip. We would have been fine doing what we normally do, which is watching games all day at Aria.

   -All of the wait staff are probably former/current strippers and that was just fine.

   -The trip downtown, on top of spending $3k to watch the games at the reserved table, sucked the life out of an otherwise decent experience.

   -That hotel ID scans everyone upon entry and I believe they're owned by a Chinese firm, so that's nice.

-We went to Piero's on Thursday night and had a blast. That place is absolutely worth the visit for Italian and an old school Vegas vibe. Their "garbage caesar" is as good as a salad can get.

-We went to Stripsteak on Friday night. The food was awesome, as you'd expect at a steakhouse. Reservations at steakhouses were hard to come by in September when we were making them, and this one had a reasonable opening. We'd been before, but it was a solid revisit. 

-There was a bachelor party group that showed up for steaks while we were seated. They'd clearly been drinking all day and could barely function. One guy got up at one point, walked all the way around the entire restaurant before finding the restroom, including confronting multiple tables in some form, and then he puked for 5 minutes standing in front of the restroom door. Turned around, walked back to the table, sat down, ordered another drink and went back to eating. His shirt was half-tucked the entire time and he couldn't keep one of his eyes open.

-I thought that would be the doozie for the evening, but little did I realize that SydneyCarton was in the process of dialing things up to 11. The video I have of him attempting to get out of his seat at the end of the evening is something I will treasure and cherish to the grave. Me and another guy had to carry the guy to the cab. Good lord.

-Brunch at Mon Ami Gabi on Friday morning was reliably excellent as always. 

-They reconfigured the Cromwell and it's not even worth the stop now as the gambling floor blows. 

-Fuck the mask-wearing at indoor places. I'm fucking vaxxed, boostered, got a flu shot, just fuck it all. That part sucked the entire time, especially when you had the random vigilante casino worker looming around the table like a gargoyle, just waiting for one of us to forget to mask up again after taking a fucking sip of a drink. It's all fucking theater at this point, same for plane rides. Rant over. 

All in all, we had a hell of a time and I look forward to taking my wife in the early spring to fuck around and enjoy normal.

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:

Best recommendation for watching a 9am college football game in Vegas? Don't care about betting on the games, though I obviously may wager. Bigger consideration is being able to actually sit and enjoy the game. 

Tap sports bar @ MGM is great, because they open early, have breakfast (or at least had a breakfast menu when we were there), and have booths. Plus, they will accomodate your seating so you can watch whatever game you choose to.  And, you can stay the entire game if you choose and they won't pressure you to leave.  You can book a booth in advance.

My only experience there was November 2016 for a 9 am game, and maybe they've changed their procedures since.  But it was nice to just graze off the menu for an entire game, plus drink whatever and settle up at after the game was over.

https://mgmgrand.mgmresorts.com/en/restaurants/tap-sports-bar.html

Edited by Francisco 2.0
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

-Fuck the mask-wearing at indoor places. I'm fucking vaxxed, boostered, got a flu shot, just fuck it all. That part sucked the entire time, especially when you had the random vigilante casino worker looming around the table like a gargoyle, just waiting for one of us to forget to mask up again after taking a fucking sip of a drink. It's all fucking theater at this point, same for plane rides. Rant over. 

It really is ridiculous. I was at Aria for a conference early in the week before OU weekend.  All of those side bars surrounding casino were packed with people boozing/networking without a mask in site.  But then 3 of us spread out at a blackjack table at 2AM with beers and told multiple times to mask between sips.  Once table got remotely cold I took my profits and left.  I'm not anti-mask wearing in general (certainly not pre-vaccine, etc.) but but the hypocrisy and "enforcement" just left a bad vibe.  I'm honestly not a big fan of Aria generally although I can't really put my finger on why exactly.  Maybe because the mask nazi killing the vibe is probably the only time I've ever left the Aria casino floor profitable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/8/2021 at 1:02 PM, Francisco 2.0 said:

Tap sports bar @ MGM is great, because they open early, have breakfast (or at least had a breakfast menu when we were there), and have booths. Plus, they will accomodate your seating so you can watch whatever game you choose to.  And, you can stay the entire game if you choose and they won't pressure you to leave.  You can book a booth in advance.

My only experience there was November 2016 for a 9 am game, and maybe they've changed their procedures since.  But it was nice to just graze off the menu for an entire game, plus drink whatever and settle up at after the game was over.

https://mgmgrand.mgmresorts.com/en/restaurants/tap-sports-bar.html

The exact experience I had this weekend with some buddies. Stayed at Aria and just walked over to the Park sports bar/book. They also offer "free" drink tickets for every $100 you put into play vs. every $200 at Aria. Love that I can sit there and pound a session beer like Guinness all day Saturday and still be in good enough condition to come back on Sunday and do it all over again. That said historically I've been up a good bit as it pertains to sports betting in Vegas, but after this weekend, I'm overall flat at best. It was pretty brutal.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/8/2021 at 12:30 PM, TXSooner518 said:

Best recommendation for watching a 9am college football game in Vegas? Don't care about betting on the games, though I obviously may wager. Bigger consideration is being able to actually sit and enjoy the game. 

Blondie's is a good spot and has early game drink specials and pretty decent breakfast food. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, bigup2dahorns said:

TravelZork review with a lot of pics of the room refresh at Wynn and Encore coming early 2022

https://travelzork.com/new-wynn-las-vegas-rooms-suites/

Ugh, I hate almost everything about these. Maybe it's just bad pics, but that design is hideous. Horrible execution of eclectic (I guess that's what they were going for). Does not feel luxurious at all and just looks like they had no idea what they wanted it to be, trying to be a little bit of everything to everybody. Looks like they did it on a serious budget and tried to keep as many elements as they could, while adding a bunch of random cheap shit that doesn't work with the existing stuff they kept. Is it traditional, is it retro mid-century, is it boho? And what's up with the wood paneling inspired wall covering everywhere? They were badly in need of a remodel, but they missed to mark here big time. Damn that place has gone downhill since Steve got ousted. Or maybe I'm just getting old and resistant to change.

Edited by Landomatic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heading in on the 17th. Never been during winter.

Traditionally the quietist time of the year in Vegas is the week(s) right before Christmas. And the Raiders are out of town that weekend. If you’ve been when it’s absolutely jammed, it’s a nice contrast to get into restaurants easier and no lines.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Traditionally the quietist time of the year in Vegas is the week(s) right before Christmas. And the Raiders are out of town that weekend. If you’ve been when it’s absolutely jammed, it’s a nice contrast to get into restaurants easier and no lines.

Indeed. I took many solo poker trips the week before Christmas and it was always quiet, which I preferred. Short or no lines for breakfast and buffets. Easy to get cheaper BJ and craps tables, but still sufficient action in the poker rooms. Great season for golf, too.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Indeed. I took many solo poker trips the week before Christmas and it was always quiet, which I preferred. Short or no lines for breakfast and buffets. Easy to get cheaper BJ and craps tables, but still sufficient action in the poker rooms. Great season for golf, too.

Cheaper BJ you say… :)
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Heading in on the 17th. Never been during winter.

Went last week in January in 2015.  Super Bowl weekend.  Weather was great, crowds didn't  show up until Saturday afternoon, so the days leading up to that was pleasant. Watched the game from the Mirage sports book.  Super Bowl the Saturday night before (and day of the game) in Vegas was fascinating, from a people watching/energy perspective.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Francisco 2.0
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

Any shows I should check out? Headed out second weekend in January. 

Absinthe, if you aren't easily offended.  Had a front row seat the last time we went (summer 2019).  Was "picked on" by the Gazillionaire.

Beatles Love is great.

Edit.  Second weekend?  CES? You gonna have some crowds.  

 

Edited by Francisco 2.0
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Heading up in a few weeks. Have some wives wanting edibles. Are those available in stores?

 

Yeah, and our driver took us to one before we checked in back in July.  Also, if you know what you want ahead of time, you can order online and it will be ready at pickup.   Planet 13 is where we went.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...