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Posted
Just decided with the wife to go in early June. Booked flights and picked up a free room for the stay at Aria. 
Booked Le Cirque and Piero’s already. Need to book two more evening spots. One will be a steakhouse and one is an open wildcard. 
If anyone has any new recs, I’m all ears. 

We love wing lei at Wynn. Great American style old school Chinese food.
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Posted
10 hours ago, Lurch said:

I really like Bavettes for steak next door at Park MGM

Have a reservation there next month.  Loved the OG Bavette's experience in Chicago.  Haven't yet tried the Vegas location.

Posted
40 minutes ago, Native Horn said:

Have a reservation there next month.  Loved the OG Bavette's experience in Chicago.  Haven't yet tried the Vegas location.

If you’ve been to the one in Chicago, I would skip the Vegas location. I don’t think it’s as good and there’s so many other great places in Vegas to choose from.

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Posted
1 hour ago, royiv said:

If you’ve been to the one in Chicago, I would skip the Vegas location. I don’t think it’s as good and there’s so many other great places in Vegas to choose from.

Dammit!  OK, thanks for the heads-up Roy.

Posted
2 minutes ago, Native Horn said:

Dammit!  OK, thanks for the heads-up Roy.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but it feels like the Vegas version if that makes sense. Less authentic and more an imitation.

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Posted

Report back on my Vegas trip.  First off, I can’t think of a place less suited to my outdoor personality than Las Vegas.  I hate crowds, smoke, and don’t gamble, so you’d think I would hate it.  I didn’t, and thought Red Rocks Is one of the coolest places I’ve ever hiked.  Really spectacular spot.  The Hoover dam was fine.  I’ve been to Iguassu and plenty of other dams, so it was more exciting for the wife and kids.  
 

The strip was kind of interesting but after about ten minutes of walking around there I was done.  Of course my wife played some slots and won right away.  
 

Food:  we had a great time at Primal and although it was pricey I would say it was worth it.  
 

I won’t be back but can heartily recommend Red Rocks to anyone who likes to hike or run in an early morning wilderness setting.  It is magnificent.  And I live next to Big Sur.

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Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Report back on my Vegas trip.  First off, I can’t think of a place less suited to my outdoor personality than Las Vegas.  I hate crowds, smoke, and don’t gamble, so you’d think I would hate it.  I didn’t, and thought Red Rocks Is one of the coolest places I’ve ever hiked.  Really spectacular spot.  The Hoover dam was fine.  I’ve been to Iguassu and plenty of other dams, so it was more exciting for the wife and kids. 
 

I won’t be back but can heartily recommend Red Rocks to anyone who likes to hike or run in an early morning wilderness setting.  It is magnificent.  And I live next to Big Sur.

 

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Edited by Armybrat
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Posted

My last Vegas trip, my dad and I rented a bright green Lambo and drove it around the 13 mile stretch of Red Rocks and stopped and many of the hiking spots to switch drivers and take pics. Pretty damn fun and can’t beat the scenery.

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Posted
Thank y’all. Just a short guys trip no wives - show and a good steak so I’m gonna try it. I’m old and broken down so fine with it not being crowded. Will get plenty of that at the sphere.

Mother Wolf was excellent at FB.
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Posted
1 hour ago, Hefeweizen said:

Report back on my Vegas trip.  First off, I can’t think of a place less suited to my outdoor personality than Las Vegas.  I hate crowds, smoke, and don’t gamble, so you’d think I would hate it.  I didn’t, and thought Red Rocks Is one of the coolest places I’ve ever hiked.  Really spectacular spot.  The Hoover dam was fine.  I’ve been to Iguassu and plenty of other dams, so it was more exciting for the wife and kids.  
 

The strip was kind of interesting but after about ten minutes of walking around there I was done.  Of course my wife played some slots and won right away.  
 

Food:  we had a great time at Primal and although it was pricey I would say it was worth it.  
 

I won’t be back but can heartily recommend Red Rocks to anyone who likes to hike or run in an early morning wilderness setting.  It is magnificent.  And I live next to Big Sur.

 

Did a trail ride around red rocks. It was a blast. Steak dinner after, with s'mores around a campfire. Worth it, and will do again.

Also like to get baked and watch the fountains from a balcony at Cosmo. Simple, but damn those fountains are fascinating. The engineering behind it is stunning.

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Posted

Well wasn’t planning another trip this year but looks like a football watching weekend in Nov ending in MNF Cowboys @ Raiders is happening.

Posted
22 hours ago, hornbri said:

Well wasn’t planning another trip this year but looks like a football watching weekend in Nov ending in MNF Cowboys @ Raiders is happening.

Will be looking for your update to the NFL fans Going Goon thread in Nov.

 

the amount of obese, drunken assholes at that game will be astronomical.  no offense

Posted
7 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Will be looking for your update to the NFL fans Going Goon thread in Nov.

 

the amount of obese, drunken assholes at that game will be astronomical.  no offense

I feel like every NFL game is like that, yeah it will be a scene. I will be sure to take plenty of pictures. 

Posted
On 5/16/2025 at 11:30 AM, Incredulity said:

Will be looking for your update to the NFL fans Going Goon thread in Nov.

 

the amount of obese, drunken assholes at that game will be astronomical.  no offense

I think I am going as well 

Posted (edited)
On 5/17/2025 at 10:48 AM, Tailgate said:

Headed to the Raiders first home game in September.
 

For the Vegas regulars, is there a “sweet spot” for timing to book hotel?

I just book either Wynn/Encore and wait for lower offers.  I call in and they adjust accordingly.  Our upcoming trip; the rooms have gone down just over $200 a night from when I booked in the winter.

However, given that you are visiting on a Raiders weekend, there probably will not be much wiggle room no matter where you are wanting to stay.

 

 

Edited by Francisco 2.0
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Posted

FB was fine but doubt I’ll be back. Long uber ride to sphere. Was actually pretty crowded with kind of young crazy rich Asian contingent and (strangely) what I can best describe as yankee douche bag frat bros. Almost like a spring break vibe. It is a huge hotel and the service wasn’t bad but it definitely kind of like a cattle call. I left my fucking AirPods in the room and called from the airport and they said their process is if housekeeping finds what they find and they’ll contact me but nothing else they can do. I haven’t heard anything. Wynn is huge but for us service has always been great and I feel like if that happens there they’d find them and make it right. Hotel and rooms are beautiful but casino is open air with lots of natural light which isn’t what I think a casino should be. Had a late lunch at poolside Greek seafood spot and it was fine. Didn’t get to eat at any of the places that interested me as it was a one night deal and the leader of our group made reservations at Chica in Venetian as it was a pre show dinner that wasn’t focused on food. Going forward I’ll be back at the Wynn.

Posted
On 5/14/2025 at 7:47 PM, Hefeweizen said:

I won’t be back but can heartily recommend Red Rocks to anyone who likes to hike or run in an early morning wilderness setting.  It is magnificent.  And I live next to Big Sur.

Almost got carried off by some griffin at Red Rocks one time ...

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Posted
13 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Merv? 

Dude definitely had a wingspan in his day.

But don't involve ME in rumors about his personal life. That's a different matter. 😁

Posted (edited)

Good news, I finally lost enough money gambling to earn myself a host at MGM.  I'm really proud of my hard work.  I consider it a fair trade.  We get rooms and most of our food comped and I give them money gambling.

Edited by kevwun
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Posted

On a flight home from LAS at present (long delay, Austin weather).  Wife and I came to town to see Bruno Mars - not my favorite artist or anything, but dude puts on a helluva show.  And chicks dig him, so nice crowd.

Stayed at the Aria for the first time (we usually stay at the Palazzo, but wanted to stay next to the concert venue).  Liked it well enough.  Dinner at Din Tai Fung (one of our all-time favorite restaurants anywhere, was happy to snag a reservation for this location).  Brunch at Bardot's (second time to eat there -- everything there is really well done.  We had crepes and the almond french toast which was ridiculously good).  

Didn't gamble at all, we're just not that into it, but we've come to like the rhythm of a trip to see a show, have a coupla good meals, sleep in, have some quality couple time in a nice hotel room.  We're coming back for the Eagles in October at the Sphere.  Will stay at Palazzo then.  Wife wants brunch at Bouchon that trip, which is a fave of hers.

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Posted

Din Tai Fung is awesome, if you are ever in Taiwan you have to go to check it out there. It is magical. 

When I go with my wife the trips sound exactly the same, maybe add in a day by the pool (just get the cabana it’s worth it). 

Posted

I think Din Tai Fung is the only place we go to on every single trip to Vegas.  It also always ends up being the cheapest group meal of the trip.

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Posted
On 5/17/2025 at 8:48 AM, Tailgate said:

Headed to the Raiders first home game in September.
 

For the Vegas regulars, is there a “sweet spot” for timing to book hotel?

Not sure about the timing aspect, but for Raiders' games I have opted for convenience by staying in either Mandalay Bay or Luxor (!), and then just walking over the 15 Freeway on Mandalay Bay Road on gameday.  It's so easy.  There's also a Four Seasons on the MB property for you high rollers who think MB or Luxor are beneath you.   

Posted
3 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

Not sure about the timing aspect, but for Raiders' games I have opted for convenience by staying in either Mandalay Bay or Luxor (!), and then just walking over the 15 Freeway on Mandalay Bay Road on gameday.  It's so easy.  There's also a Four Seasons on the MB property for you high rollers who think MB or Luxor are beneath you.   

To be fair, the Luxor is beneath damn near anyone, and at this point I'm including homeless people. 

The Mandalay Bay is still a luxury hotel. The Luxor is a filthy shitipile I wouldn't stay at for free. The fact that you're even attempting to equate them in your post defies rational explanation, it's like saying "For those of you who think you're too good to eat at Jean Georges Steakhouse or that half eaten burger sitting in a pool of vomit on the sidewalk, well, I guess there's a Shake Shack nearby."

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Posted
1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

To be fair, the Luxor is beneath damn near anyone, and at this point I'm including homeless people. 

The Mandalay Bay is still a luxury hotel. The Luxor is a filthy shitipile I wouldn't stay at for free. The fact that you're even attempting to equate them in your post defies rational explanation, it's like saying "For those of you who think you're too good to eat at Jean Georges Steakhouse or that half eaten burger sitting in a pool of vomit on the sidewalk, well, I guess there's a Shake Shack nearby."

Luxor is definitely worn out.  But you can also get a suite for cheap there, and it's ultra-convenient to just walk from there to Allegiant.  If you're not going to spending much time there anyway while you gamble, see the football game, eat meals, see shows, etc., it's bearable for a night or two.  At least it was for me the one time I stayed there for a Raiders game when MB was booked except for ridiculously-priced suites.  Mandalay Bay is certainly newer and nicer (and just as convenient), so I agree that I probably should have differentiated between the two in my prior post.  But you'll also pay more at MB.   

Posted
On 6/9/2025 at 3:15 PM, SydneyCarton said:

To be fair, the Luxor is beneath damn near anyone, and at this point I'm including homeless people. 

The Mandalay Bay is still a luxury hotel. The Luxor is a filthy shitipile I wouldn't stay at for free. The fact that you're even attempting to equate them in your post defies rational explanation, it's like saying "For those of you who think you're too good to eat at Jean Georges Steakhouse or that half eaten burger sitting in a pool of vomit on the sidewalk, well, I guess there's a Shake Shack nearby."

 

My wife and I honeymooned years ago in Vegas and stayed at Luxor.  We didn’t really know any better at the time.

Fast forward to last summer.  It was our anniversary; we are staying at Encore (we’ve upgraded resorts for our Vegas trips) and a few weeks prior to the trip, on a whim, I ask her if she wants to spend one night at Luxor on the actual anniversary.   She agrees, and I book the same type of room we had years earlier (corner king suite).   $93 or something like that (before resort fees) for a mid-week strip suite is cheap.  It had been years since we had even stepped foot in Luxor, so this was going to be a field trip of sorts.

It was surreal packing an overnight bag, leaving Encore in a taxi, and going to Luxor.    We didn’t have to check in; just used the app and our room was ready.  We didn’t interact with a single employee at Luxor aside from the people at a bar we posted up in for a few hours. 

We slept fine.  The room was…..ok, other than the smell of fried foods wafting up from the food court below (we were 8th floor, west facing side of the pyramid).  There was a splash of what appeared to be red fingernail polish all over the bathroom counter.   2 towels, but no wash clothes or hand towels in the room.  The carpet felt moist underfoot.   But seriously, the rest of the property was just so, so, so disappointing.     Deferred maintenance is one thing, but deferring it for a decade or two is something completely different.

We laughed upon arrival, we laughed in the room, and we laughed the next morning when we checked out (amazing to me how long the lines were on check in and check out, when you can use a damn app and just be on your way).    Oh, and as we were leaving, there was hundreds of people waiting by an exit, wearing trash bags.   We figured it was for some convention, but no.  It was for that damned Mr. Beast fiasco in Vegas last summer

 

And here’s a recent article on a stay at Luxor

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/luxor-vegas-strip-hotel-stay-20211924.php

 

 

 

 

 

Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

My wife and I honeymooned years ago in Vegas and stayed at Luxor.  We didn’t really know any better at the time.

Fast forward to last summer.  It was our anniversary; we are staying at Encore (we’ve upgraded resorts for our Vegas trips) and a few weeks prior to the trip, on a whim, I ask her if she wants to spend one night at Luxor on the actual anniversary.   She agrees, and I book the same type of room we had years earlier (corner king suite).   $93 or something like that (before resort fees) for a mid-week strip suite is cheap.  It had been years since we had even stepped foot in Luxor, so this was going to be a field trip of sorts.

It was surreal packing an overnight bag, leaving Encore in a taxi, and going to Luxor.    We didn’t have to check in; just used the app and our room was ready.  We didn’t interact with a single employee at Luxor aside from the people at a bar we posted up in for a few hours. 

We slept fine.  The room was…..ok, other than the smell of fried foods wafting up from the food court below (we were 8th floor, west facing side of the pyramid).  There was a splash of what appeared to be red fingernail polish all over the bathroom counter.   2 towels, but no wash clothes or hand towels in the room.  The carpet felt moist underfoot.   But seriously, the rest of the property was just so, so, so disappointing.     Deferred maintenance is one thing, but deferring it for a decade or two is something completely different.

We laughed upon arrival, we laughed in the room, and we laughed the next morning when we checked out (amazing to me how long the lines were on check in and check out, when you can use a damn app and just be on your way).    Oh, and as we were leaving, there was hundreds of people waiting by an exit, wearing trash bags.   We figured it was for some convention, but no.  It was for that damned Mr. Beast fiasco in Vegas last summer

 

And here’s a recent article on a stay at Luxor

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/luxor-vegas-strip-hotel-stay-20211924.php

 

 

 

 

 

My first trip to Vegas, we stayed at the Luxor. I grew up watching all of those cool commercials about it right when it first launched on the strip. For a first trip to Vegas, it was fine, although obviously not the highest end. But it was cool, never seen anything like it. Of course, this was 2003 or 2004. 

I also read that article in SF Gate several months back. It's a hell of a read for anyone who stayed has there. But I'll cite your post as illustrative; when the fact that your hotel room carpet being fucking MOIST when you checked in isn't the most disappointing part of your stay...whelp. 

Edited by SydneyCarton
Posted
7 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

My first trip to Vegas, we stayed at the Luxor. I grew up watching all of those cool commercials about it right when it first launched on the strip. For a first trip to Vegas, it was fine, although obviously not the highest end. But it was cool, never seen anything like it. Of course, this was 2003 or 2004. 

I also read that article in SF Gate several months back. It's a hell of a read for anyone who stayed has there. But I'll cite your post as illustrative; when the fact that your hotel room carpet being fucking MOIST when you checked in isn't the most disappointing part of your stay...whelp. 

 

It really wasn’t…it was more of “did they clean the room because someone smoked in a non-smoking room”  moisture to the carpet, or maybe someone had thrown up the night before and the carpet needed cleaning.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t the entire room, maybe a third of  it.

Aside from that, however, the biggest disappointment to the room was the fried food smell permeating the room.   Out on the balcony-walkway, it smelled like an Allsup’s.   Higher up in the pyramid, it probably was not noticeable.   We took the wrong inclinator after dinner and was on the opposite side of the pyramid, and there was no smell.    One other thing on our walk around half of the pyramid on the walkway; there were a number of rooms with the door open and people loitering out around the rooms.  It felt more like an apartment complex than a strip resort. We didn’t feel threatened or uncomfortable, but it was just….odd…to have maybe half a dozen rooms with doors open and the inhabitants spilling out onto the walkway, drinking beer and shooting the shit.  

Oh, and my wife reminded me of the giant bag of trash outside our room on the walkway when we arrived (and still there the next morning when we checked out).

 

 

Posted
45 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

It really wasn’t…it was more of “did they clean the room because someone smoked in a non-smoking room”  moisture to the carpet, or maybe someone had thrown up the night before and the carpet needed cleaning.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t the entire room, maybe a third of  it.

Aside from that, however, the biggest disappointment to the room was the fried food smell permeating the room.   Out on the balcony-walkway, it smelled like an Allsup’s.   Higher up in the pyramid, it probably was not noticeable.   We took the wrong inclinator after dinner and was on the opposite side of the pyramid, and there was no smell.    One other thing on our walk around half of the pyramid on the walkway; there were a number of rooms with the door open and people loitering out around the rooms.  It felt more like an apartment complex than a strip resort. We didn’t feel threatened or uncomfortable, but it was just….odd…to have maybe half a dozen rooms with doors open and the inhabitants spilling out onto the walkway, drinking beer and shooting the shit.  

Oh, and my wife reminded me of the giant bag of trash outside our room on the walkway when we arrived (and still there the next morning when we checked out).

 

 

Oh, only 1/3 of the carpet. That’s a lot of vomit. Or a crime scene cleaner. Either or. 

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Posted
 
It really wasn’t…it was more of “did they clean the room because someone smoked in a non-smoking room”  moisture to the carpet, or maybe someone had thrown up the night before and the carpet needed cleaning.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t the entire room, maybe a third of  it.
Aside from that, however, the biggest disappointment to the room was the fried food smell permeating the room.   Out on the balcony-walkway, it smelled like an Allsup’s.   Higher up in the pyramid, it probably was not noticeable.   We took the wrong inclinator after dinner and was on the opposite side of the pyramid, and there was no smell.    One other thing on our walk around half of the pyramid on the walkway; there were a number of rooms with the door open and people loitering out around the rooms.  It felt more like an apartment complex than a strip resort. We didn’t feel threatened or uncomfortable, but it was just….odd…to have maybe half a dozen rooms with doors open and the inhabitants spilling out onto the walkway, drinking beer and shooting the shit.  
Oh, and my wife reminded me of the giant bag of trash outside our room on the walkway when we arrived (and still there the next morning when we checked out).
 
 

Smelled like an Allsup’s? SOLD!
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Posted
1 hour ago, tokamak said:

Is Excalibur just as bad? I’ve always wondered who stays at those two. 

Probably; I’ve never stayed there.

Places like Luxor, Circus Circus and Excalibur serve a purpose—-to allow the strip to be attainable to most anyone, regardless of economic class.  Vegas needs that—-just like any other touristy area in our country.  But, at the same time, to get to that status, places that I mentioned have forsaken maintenance and cleanliness in the name of lower prices.

I’m not class shaming here; just stating the obvious.   MGM could clean Luxor up, but the room rates would probably triple, and that would drive away a large segment of tourists.  

 

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