"Call Me Mr. Hopadapolis" Our (Un?)Lucky 13th Trip

[FAA]

congrats on ending your royalless streak!-------------------------------------------------------We must amp up the payout side however!

[DaBurglar]

vman      thanks for the effort and time to put this type of a thread together,,,,,,these are hands down the best threads available on this particular forum/message board, and we all "OWE" you something for providing all of us a entertaining and vicarious "Vegas" experience, and I know it takes a lot of time and effort to do what you have done here.One thing I myself now feel about Vegas is that is is simply too overwhelming....there is just TOO many places to go and things to see and do, and as such, unless someone goes there with either an IRONCLAD pre-set agenda, or the polar opposite, NO AGENDA at all and simply goes with the wind, the place can be frustrating and result in a lot of time wasting due to being "LOST"  or unable to decide.    That is why I myself usually decide to stay in a limited locale, like Downtown, or limit myself to several adjoining properties and not leave them (like stay at the FLamingo and only venture to the adjacent casinos on and across from that same block.....you still have a LOT to choose from without losing a lot of time traveling and such.....I like how you stayed a week (7 days).....to me, at this point, people who only stay 2, 3 or 4 days (unless they go frequently and regularly) are setting themselves up for frustration......48 hours - 72 hours in modern vegas is the epitome of futile, unless you snort No-Doz and guzzle jolt cola, and even then you will be wasted when you leave.    The way you and your GF do it is sane and FUN.One thing I notice you seemed to do, that a lot of people do and that I myself absolutely cannot stand, is the need to NEVER EVER eat the same food, or at the same place twice (or more) in a row, unless it is "free"......This I find arbitrary and almost silly.   Many times, when I venture to a place like Vegas (or AC) I will often eat at my favorite places several times (or more) during the entire length of my trip/stay......I would rather eat at a place I KNOW I LOVE instead of a place I have never been to or rarely been to, simply because I HATE it when I waste time, money and gastro-intestinal real estate eating food that is sub par or unenjoyable.       When I saw the wide variety of menu selection your trip entailed this came to my mind. along with the floppy soggy pizza and the lousy "free" MGM Buffet.I was actually shocked to discover MGM's buffet sucks as bad as you report.....they better fix that pronto.Again, Awesome thread, report, everything!

[pokerpokerpoker]

Great TR Vman, as always. You are a real asset to this and the other boards.

I only ate at the MGM Buffet one time, and it was excellent. Sounds like the buffets and the gaming in Vegas just aren't what they used to be. Crummy overpriced food, poor paytables, 6/5 blackjack, ect. has taken a bit of the sparkle out of Vegas for me. But nonetheless, I can't wait to go back.

[Vman96]

BRAVO!!! How entertaining.....Ted, Al and Phil have pretty much summed up my reactions to your TR, too. Never a dull moment; and I get a "vegas buzz" every time I enjoy these detailed and picturesque daily stories. You truly have a knack for writing, Vman.....and, I would imagine if I drank beer; wise choices for brew consumption as well lol   

I've also noticed Vera Bradley bags in other TR's-love them myself

THANK YOU FOR AN ENJOYABLE TIME

Edited to add: Maybe Ted can send/meet you gaming somewhere and give you one of his lucky watches lol

Yeah M loves these bags. The ones we have are pretty good for travel too. She also has found some patterns at the South Outlet Mall in Vegas that she hasn't seen anywhere else. And yeah, I did sample quite a bit of beer that trip. I just wish it was comped in the Midwest!   



Unfortunately I have no team/school logo'd watches, otherwise I'd offer. The last time I saw so many different beers I was in liquor store buying for the then girlfriend...

I appreciate the thought Ted. We're looking into getting the watch fixed actually since the exterior of the watch survived the impact just fine. Waiting to hear on an estimate.

congrats on ending your royalless streak!-------------------------------------------------------We must amp up the payout side however!



I can only hope. Back in the Midwest I've already played back the $56 hit...D'Oh!

Great TR Vman, as always. You are a real asset to this and the other boards.

I only ate at the MGM Buffet one time, and it was excellent. Sounds like the buffets and the gaming in Vegas just aren't what they used to be. Crummy overpriced food, poor paytables, 6/5 blackjack, ect. has taken a bit of the sparkle out of Vegas for me. But nonetheless, I can't wait to go back.

Yeah, buffets have been slipping a bit overall since we have been visiting in 2011, imo. Prices haven't been though! The return visit could have been an off night possibly in terms of food I chose.

And as for eating the same place, DaBurglar, that generally doesn't bother me as much as it does M if I like the place. On our earlier trips, we often ate McDonald's or Chipotle multiple times for price/convenience (especially when we didn't have a rental car).

Thanks for reading everybody!

[Tedlark]

Vman props to you and M for eating at Smashburger. There's one in my town and I manage to have it about once a month. Not much as tasty as a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg, matched with the sweet potato smasfries...mucho yummy.

[Vman96]

   Vman props to you and M for eating at Smashburger. There's one in my town and I manage to have it about once a month. Not much as tasty as a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg, matched with the sweet potato smasfries...mucho yummy.

Smashburger is pretty good, crushes in-N-out by a mile imo, but this time I mainly wanted it for the beer because it's a Vegas brew that is difficult to find in the Midwest. I was able to find some of it in Champaign, IL of all places earlier this spring, but it was out of date. Yeah, the fresh beer tasted a lot better.    

[alpax]

It seems like the people that prepare the food really matters. I am not a picky eater, but people I know feel the In-N-Out in Vegas off the I-15 Dean Martin is not as good as the one in Barstow on the way to and from Vegas. The locals here praise In-N-Out so much to a point that they think it is blasphemy to say that there is a burger better than that. Smashburger that opened nearby a few months ago received terrible reviews on yelp, same with Five Guys and Fries. I suppose I have to try Smashburger in Las Vegas after seeing it on the trip report. I also wanted to try Steak and Shake too because the lines were 2 hours long at the time.

[Vman96]

It seems like the people that prepare the food really matters. I am not a picky eater, but people I know feel the In-N-Out in Vegas off the I-15 Dean Martin is not as good as the one in Barstow on the way to and from Vegas. The locals here praise In-N-Out so much to a point that they think it is blasphemy to say that there is a burger better than that. Smashburger that opened nearby a few months ago received terrible reviews on yelp, same with Five Guys and Fries. I suppose I have to try Smashburger in Las Vegas after seeing it on the trip report. I also wanted to try Steak and Shake too because the lines were 2 hours long at the time.

Five Guys isn't bad, but I like their Cajun fries more than their actual burger.

And I occasionally have got a bad Smashburger, the one pictured was near perfect. I assume the one time I ate In-n-Out on Dean Martin, it was a bad burger and I really should have sent it back.

And two hours long at Steak n Shake???

Where?

You're not confusing Steak and Shake with Shake Shack, are you?

Steak n Shake is nothing special, and service is notoriously slow. It amazes me the South Point location actually closes though. It's the only location I can think of that is not open 24 hours.

Update: Watch fixed...$20.

[alpax]

My bad, I meant to refer to Shake Shack. The line was very long and I heard it was like that everyday at the time, I do not think it has been open for a while. Hopefully the hype has gone down, I do not invest in the stock market but I hear about it as one of the hottest stock out there. Then again there is also White Castle (that opened this year on the earlier trip report) to try out as well, but sadly all of these can have mixed reviews. The Earl of Sandwiches is highly touted here, but in Vegas, the two locations at Planet Hollywood and The Palms are rated poorly.

[Galeygoo]

Update: Watch fixed...$20.

Best news I've heard today lol   Very happy for you