Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2010

TangoBunny

September

Wednesday October 6th

We have been here a week today....doesn't seem like it though. Been suffering on and off for about 6 weeks now with mouth ulcers that just won't heal and even when they do a few days later another one takes it's place..Bought several med cations before start of holiday but nothing seemed to work ..so invested in some Corlan pellets(hydro-cortisone tablets you let dissolve on site of ulcer )...anyway they are not cheap at £3.95 for 4 days supply but couldn't be arsed to see doc so just bought 2 pack to come away with....anyway they have now all run out and an new ulcer appeared last night right under my tongue and about the size of a 1p piece..I'm in agony so will have to pop to Wallgreens later. Brought some antibiotics with me so figured I'd better make a start on them as my glands have also come up on one side....my god I'm a mess..Didn't get up until 8.30 am today....neither of us can be bothered to walk far so we opt for the Emperors Buffet at the IP not bad actually I had pancakes and fruit...not fresh but tinned but at least I didn't have to go for the fried breakfast and it was soft enough for me to manage with my mouth as it is I also had yogurt and a waffle well..Al went for fried option...french toast bacon sausage and anything else he could fit on the plate....not bad for $28.08 for the 2 of us....back to the room to change into pool clothes and then down to the sun beds.stayed until 1pm then went online to talk to my daughter for a while....then went to Flamingo to post those postcards at the UPS....$11.76 for 6 cards....daylight robbery and we'll be home before them..last time I'm sending any. Then down to Wallgreens to have a look what they have for my ulcer..got some sort of Benzocaine liquid called KanKer that you have to paint on.....Called in Bills for a beer and margarita and bought some $2 buffet coupons for half price breakfast at Flamingo buffet....I know peeps say it's not good but for $7.49 you can't go wrong really and we didn't mind it when we went last year. Walked up to Casino Royal for margaritas and then back to IP for a nap. Tried to put some of that stuff on my tongue...got more on my chin than in my mouth as the applicator is really tricky but it does numb the pain..so was able to get about an hour or so nap time. Up and dressed to go out about 7pm so decided to go to Freemont Street as they have Oktober Frightfest on due to it being Halloween soon...Went to the Freemont Hotel Paradise buffet as it was steak night...$19,99 each...I had a shrimp and salad to start then steak veggies and garlic mash followed my key lime pie.. Lucky the steak was quite tender and didn't involve to much chewing .Al didn't have a starter...he's more of a stick it all on one plate person so he had the steak,Peking duck and southern fried chicken with mash and veg with a pecan pie for pud....bill with tax came to $32.41.Dinner over with we wandered round the various stages to see the shows,1st stage had Frank and the Steins singers and dancers.2nd stage had Freakin 7Magic....horror hospital magic tricks quite funny and entertaining.3rd stage had Alice &Ozzy's Frightmare..A tribute show..Saw the queen show on the freemont roof display then headed back to the strip. Watched the B jerk's at O'Sheas for a few hours then headed back to the IP not drinking much on account of me being on the antibiotics so found it quite hard to get off to sleep...got up an hour later took some pain killers as my glands are really swollen now on my right side plus my tongue is also sore and swollen..applied some more of that benzo goo and finally managed to drop off


Thursday October 7th

Awake around 7.15amDecided to use our Deuce tickets to go back to Circus Circus etc...never really looked round these hotels so walked round Rivera to start with....not impressed very dated casino,crossed road to CC they are doing some work to the right of the entrance as it's all boarded up walked round the shops for a while and then opted to try the buffet for breakfast....brave I know but it actually wasn't bad...more choice than the IP ...bill was $24.84....breakfast over we went to Ross dress for less....bought a pair of shoes a couple of tops and a t shirt... wandered round the rest of the tacky souvenir shops,got some supplies in the 7and 11 then got the deuce back to Mirage....popped into CR for the $1 usual and then back to IP to dump purchases and change for the pool.....spent a few hours sunbathing writing up my TR and reading by the pool then back to room to freshen up before heading down to Bills to meet Pebbles.......spent a few hours talking to Elaine and Tony....my god he and Alan are alike....they even share the same views so they seemed to get on really well....Passed the American Casino Guide onto Elaine that Lucy had passed onto me from Lesley....it's doing the rounds that's for sure 3 or 4 drinks later we decided it was time to make a move Alan hasn't had his siesta and I thought he should try and get a nap or he'd never last the night.....and I was right....he decided just to freshen up and change and go for something to eat....told him it was a mistake but no he knew better...Couldn't be arsed to go to Ellis Island as originally planned fancied Chinese as its nice and manageable for me with my poorly gob.....opted for panda express...cheap and cheerful....Ambled down to Bills around 8.30 ish nothing going on as we are a bit to early so walked round the Miracle mile shops for a bit.....it's quite chilly out tonight and neither of us has a cardigan or jumper with us....can't believe the weather for this time of year....anyhoo back to Bills and the group have started playing....they were called Stagefright and they were absolute pants and Bills air con must have been cranked up as we were both freezing so we just had one drink and moved onto O'Sheas where a trio called Royal Purple Rockers were on stage....they were actually not bad stayed for an hour or so and then back to IP for bed


Friday October 8th

Up at 7am.....walked down to Flamingo to use one of our Tix 4 tonight vouchers
Paradise buffet for 2 of us came to $16.19 so not a bad deal at all.
I don't know why people moan about the Flamingo Buffet....we both had a hot breakfast and there was loads of choice and all of it was really nice....I had fruit to follow again plenty of choice and Al had a couple of those fruit filled tart-lets wasn't keen on the coffee but they have cappuccino machines so we'll use them next time....stuffed coming from there
walked back up to the CR and bought ourselves a couple of jackets in that place they have offering 80% off...Al had a D&G one with a price tag of $59.99 for $10 and mine had a name I've never heard of with a $69.99 tag again for £10....don't know if these are seconds or what but you can't really go wrong for that sort of money.
Back to the IP pool for a dip and some sunbathing......had enough by 1pm and my mouth is really killing me again...Al says it looks swollen on one side and is quite hot to the touch as is my forehead so I've obviously got an infection.....antibiotics should kick in soon but I need stronger painkillers....up to Walgreen's to see what they have....shouldn't have bothered forgot you can't by codeine in the US as they think it's to addictive...you can however by NSAI's that you can't by at home because we consider them to dangerous to be sold OTC as they cause no end of problems.....makes me laugh anyway ended up buying their own make of Tylenol pm so that I could get a decent sleep at least...I'll have to stick to paracetamol in the day. Also bought another liquid to put on as the Benzo gooey stuff is coming to an end
Back to CR for a $1 drink then IP for a game of cards and a kip.
Up and dressed by 7.30pm so toddled down to Ellis Island...Typical now that we have bought new jackets it's to hot to wear them....wind has dropped considerably and it's much warmer in the nights now..wait for a table in restaurant was 1 hour so didn't think we'd have a hope of getting the barbi....but it was just 30 min wait for a table so we opted to wait for that....and it was well worth the wait... we got an outside table and it was a bit dingy out there but the food was .absolutely lush...both Alan and I had the combo platter bill came to $ 21.60 and we literally waddled out of there.....walked back to Bill's same group on as last night pant's pant's and double pant's so went to O'sheas for a Baileys slush...then onto Carnival Court to watch a band called Mr & Mrs Smith....they weren't bad at all so we stayed for a few hours then my mouth was hurting a bit so went back to bed around 12.30am.

Friday October 9th

Lie in this morn...got up at 8.20am...opted to go to Flavors buffet at Harrah's as i had an American casino guide voucher for $5 off each buffet courtesy of Lesley bill came to $23.76 after the $10 off... then went up to Palazzo to box office will call to exchange our online confirmation for Jersey Boys tickets that done popped over TI for a look around,got the tram back to Mirage and then back to the room to change for the pool.
Spent a few hours sunbathing then went back to the room to do a bit of packing and have a nap......time to get dressed for tonight's show....don't want to be walking about looking for somewhere to eat so we opt for the Emperors buffet ...use a $3 casino guide voucher and bill comes to $40.81......then we wander up to Palazzo stopping to watch the sirens and pirates at TI...then off to bar for a drink...we had free drink stubs attached to our tickets for Lavo but it was packed so I asked a cocktail waitress if she could get the drinks for us if we gave her a $5 tip she was happy to oblige and we drank them at Laguna Champagne bar...time to go into show.....started at 9.40 and had an 8 min break in the middle....show finished at 11.50 ish and it was absolutely brilliant the blokie that played Frankie Valli was excellent and so like him vocally....amazing show...wandered down to Bill's after and the crashers were on...had a few drinks there and the time just flew by...there was a wedding party in and they were from the uk so the crashers were playing mainly uk hits we realised it was a bit late...errrmmmm 3.20am so we made our way back to IP and to bed


Sunday October 10th

bit of a lay in today....well got up at 8.45am.....went to the cafe @Harrah's for breakfast 2 egg breakfast for both of us bill was $28.06...I'm getting pretty sick of cooked breakfast now so I'm opting for fruit and cereal 2 morro....back up to room to do a bit more packing then down to pool to soak up some rays It's quite hot today and we only managed to stick it for 2 hours....went back up to room but maid hadn't been yet....changed out of wet bathers and went for a walk to CR....huge queue for $1 drinks so decided to go to O'Sheas instead....got my usual Baileys slushy and a beer for himself....then went for a walk around Bally's/Paris....back up 2 Bills for a couple of margaritas then back to IP for a nap....I could sleep as peeps moving in next door banging around...so wrote up my TR instead while Al napped away....can't decide where to go for food tonight Up at about 6.30pm...showered,changed and made our way to Bills Victorian cafe for evening meal...45 min wait so put our names down and wen to the bar for a drinky poo.....as you do....we both had the steak special with salad to start.....OMG the steak was the size of a small cow...how an earth am I supposed to eat all that I give it a good go though and we both leave absolutely stuffed.....decide to go for a look at Aria etc...I remember Luci saying it was a nightmare to get into from the road so we take the road bridge to Bellagio.. to check out the conservatory first....truly stunning as always,took loads of photos then looked for the shuttle to Aria...eventually found it and one was just getting in as we go to the platform....got off at City centre and had a look around...not impressed miles of open space and shops I could never afford to go in....moved onto Aria....lovely hotel....bit on the dark side and we got lost and couldn't find the way out eventually found some doors leading out onto a walkway opposite Harley Davidson....no escalators to the road bridge had to climb a million steps...not good when your feet and hands are already swollen anyway get off at other end and stop at the rock bar by Miracle mile....never remember what it's called......then on to Bills for the kareoke....had one ther and moved on to O'sheas....band there were rubbish so went up to Carnival Court....had a couple there then back to Bills until 1.30am went we decided it was time for bed

Monday October 11th

up at 7.45am....paid for internet so I could talk to daughter for a while... up to Kahunaville at TI for breakfast as I'd printed out some $7.99 breakfast vouchers....very ordinary nothing special....after wards we walked up to FSM for a wander round....spent about an hour there but didn't buy a thing....crossed to Palazzo side and picked up some supplies at Wallgreens....then back to IP stopping at CR on the way for the usual $1 drinks.....back to change into pool wear and then down to pool for the next few hours.....it's absolutely scorching today....weather guy said it was going to be 91 F but I'm sure it's more...we stick it about 2 hours and then we are pooped so back to the room for a game of cards and a drink....I'm on my last day of antibiotics so I've been mainly drinking $1 margaritas and Baileys smoothies as they don't have much alcohol in them....I have had the occasional beer or vodka but I usually turn the beer into a shandy and put loads of lemonade in my vodka......I haven't been tipsy once in the whole 2 weeks....I'm quite proud of myself...lol despite the abstinence from serious alcohol drinking I think I've wasted my time with the antibiotics...my gland in mt neck is still swollen and my mouth still really sore apart from the Ellis island and Bills steak I've mainly stuck to soft foods as it hurts so much to chew......the fact that the antibiotics didn't work tells me what I have is viral rather than bacterial so there is nothing I can do about it....left a message for daughter to make an appointment with DR for when I get back as I'm sick of this now....it's ruined my holiday....don't get me wrong I've thoroughly enjoyed it but I feel as if I could have enjoyed it more if you know what I mean........anyway enough !!!!!ing and moaning about how much like !!!!!! I feel......
Had our usual siesta until around 5.30pm then showered and changed before going for food.....got given $£ coupons for Emperors buffet so decided ton use them....it's not that bad really...OK it's not up to Spice Market standards but some of it is quite nice....I had prawns and crab to start then went for the Chinese for main and fruit and ice cream for desert...Al just did his usual pile everything in sight on one plate........Do you know we are both sick of food now and we only eat twice a day....I opt for fruit yoghourt and toast or pancakes for break fast...Al has the cooked option every day and he's getting really sick of it at lest you can vary it in the night ….be glad to get back to normal eating......anyway evening meal over we head up to TI for Mystere....stop at the breeze bar for 1 drink....daylight robbery in there over $14 for 2 bottles of Bud and it took ages for Al to get served......made our way to theater and there was a huge queue waiting to go in but didn't tale long to clear...got out seats in 202 row HH 21 and 22...pretty central to stage but over half way back....We enjoyed the show...the individual performers were brilliant but if I could pick one word to sum it all up I think I'd pick...”Weird” not quite sure what it was all about to be honest......I'm glad I've seen it but I wouldn't go again unlike Love and Ka which I would happily pay to see again.
Anyway show over we walked back to Carnival court to watch the Crashers for their last set of the night....they finished at midnight so we walked down to Bills to watch the karaoke again....(same crap band on in O'sheas as last night so we gave that a wide berth)...stayed until about 1.20am then home to kip


Tuesday October 12th

Up at 7.40am dressed and off to breakfast by 8.40am...got a voucher left for Flamingo Buffet so we head down there....fair line already and we waited about 15mins to pay and get seated....I went for the fruit toast yoghourt option while Al went for....yup ...you've guessed it....cooked breakfast....he's beginning to look like a bloody egg now he's had so many....we asked for hot tea but the tea is like dishwater here and I'd forgotten to bring my tea bags from the room so we opted to put 2 of theirs in one cup and managed to actually get a cup of tea with some colour to it....didn't taste anything like a proper cuppa but there you go.....walked round the gardens for a bit after breakfast then back to IP and to the pool for a while.....I've run out of books now...stupid me only brought 4 and should have brought at least one more....never mind chance to catch up on my TR...really hot by the pool today managed to stick it 2 hours then went back up to room to change out of wet things....ambled round the strip calling in our usual haunts for $1 drinks then back to the room around 2.30pm to play cards ...maid still hadn't been to make the room up....but she was doing the one opposite so I asked her if she could do us next......we got chatting to her(we seem to have a different one every day)....this one was lovely...her mum was from the Philippines and her dad from Hawaii. She was brought up in her dads home and was one of 13 children...she started out as a chamber made when she was 14 back in Hawaii and moved to Vegas 10 years ago when she got married....so far she has been doing the job 23 years.......she was lovely not like the surly one who left our room open that day....she was a right misery....we have decided to go in search of the girl we had today and put the tip in her hand rather than leave it in the room for the miserable one to have....anyway once Maria had left we had a little nap...up at 6pm checked in online and watched the Chilean mine rescue while getting ready to go out...decided to go to Harley Davidson and use my restaurant.com voucher...got the Deuce by Mirage and it took 35 mins just to get as far as Bellagio...traffic was manic so we got off and walked the rest of the way...we were seated at our table straight away and had ordered drinks by the time the Deuce made it to the Monte Carlo stop where we had originally planned to get off.....we were going to have the a Hog Barbeque plate each but our server said there is no way we would eat it all and suggested we get one to share...which we did along with a side of fries....OMG it was huge she was right Ribs,Chicken,Pulled pork,Brisket,coleslaw,corn on the cob and beans...we almost finished it but it was very filling and the chips were the nicest we've had in the whole trip....Bill came to $50.26 including 2 beers and a iced tea and decaff coffee...I couldn't use my voucher as it wasn't inclusive of drinks but we were happy to may as it was lush and we were both well stuffed....waddled down to Hawaiian Marketplace ...nothing on entertainment wise so we caught the deuce back up to O'sheas.... The Hipsters were playing so we listened to them for one set then moved on to Bills...Karaoke again some peeps were quite good had a vfew more drinks then back to the room by 1am


Wednesday October 13th -Thursday Oct 14th

Home today boo hoo.... rang down for late check in 1 more hour free so we have the room till 12pm or pay $40 till 2pm.....sod that we opt for the 12pm check out up and dressed by 8am so down to Spice Market buffet for breakfast then back to the IP for one last hour by the pool...we are all packed so only have to shower and change it's 10am so we figure we'll get an hour and a half.....up to the room to shower and change by 11.30am and all checked out half an hour later......we are now officially homeless in Vegas...drop our bags at the bell desk and head to CR to say our goodbyes to Mark the barman....a really lovely guy who kept me in margaritas for the last 2 weeks.....had 2 drinks with Mark then ambled down to Bills for one last one there....strip is very quiet today ...not many peeps moving about ...mind you it's mega hot.....made our way back to IP and collected our bags.....got taxi to airport hardly anyone at bag drop so smooth check in....once through security we got ourselves a window seat and enjoyed benefits of free Wi Fi....our plane home is English Rose...so IFE isn't bad Super Nova....better than V port...10 mins late taking off...I changed our seats at check in for ones nearer to the front at the time of choice there was no-one behind us but on boarding 2 of the 3 seats were taken as was the case for the ones in front.... so we had space in between us to store all our crap.....Meal 1 hour into flight... some sort of Chinese salad to start....just lettuce as far as I could make out with a Chinese dressing resembling soy sauce....yeuch!!!! needless to say neither of us ate it. Choice of Beef stew and mash, Chicken Korma and rice or the non edible veggie option we got on the way out..... for main we both chose the curry ok a bit dry to much rice and not enough sauce...a non descript but edible banana custardy type pud...to follow washed down by the tiny cuppa you get with all airlines....why oh why can't they give you a mug...lol....meal over they turned the cabin lights down
Anyway watched Grown Ups,Cat and dogs the Revenge of Kitty Galore(yeah I know it's a kids film) and Robin Hood .at around 8.30 am 2 hours before landing breakfast was served....choice of Ham and cheese bagel or Egg and cheese croissant.....Al and I both opted for the bagel which we were given along with an orange and cranberry muffin....bagel was gross so I binned it...Al was starving so he ate his. Pilot announced there was some sort of dispute going on at immigration so there would be delays...We landed on time....Iris scanner wouldn't let either of us through but as there was this dispute going on at the airport I recon they wanted to cause delays so it had been tampered with....anyway finally got through in 30 mins....waited for luggage...got one bag staraight away the other took about another 10 mins.....rushed through airport to train station but we had missed the train by 4 mins....so had to wait an hour for next one....caught the 12.03 train to Reading,40 min wait for connection here to Swansea....got on that train expecting to be able to catch up on my sleep...Quiet carriage was full so had to plump for one next to it...had the worlds loudest bloke who talked constantly on his phone all the way to Cardiff...so I couldn't get any sleep...eventually got home at 5.30pm,absolutely shattered


Will we be going to Vegas again....yeah if I can persuade Al...he ain’t fussed at the moment
Will we stay at the IP again...probably not it's gone downhill since our last visit....looking very worn an dated now...will most likely go for Harrah's or Flamingo
Will I fly Virgin again....probably... our journey home took us 15+ hours this time...I can't see us doing it in under 20 hours if we do connecting flights.

luci

May

Thanks for the TR Lorraine.

I'm surprised that the Harley-Davidson wouldn't let you use your restaurant.com cert for the drinks. We had 2 steaks there and a bottle of wine and they took ours. I think the 2 steaks would have been just under the $50, but I can't remember.

gracie10

May

great travel report Lorraine really enjoyed reading it thanks

ratkarth

ncie trip report tangobunny

didnt realise u were from swansea too!!!

ratkarth

BaileyB wrote: »

I got a Mustang fron Dollar, took alot of work though. I ordered it from MGM and went there and told run out so can have a jeep instead told them not happy. After alot of going back and fore said i wanted to try the airport told me it would be a waste of your time. Went to airport and got one. So if anyone has a Mustang/convertable ordered with Dollar just go straight to the airport. They did arrange a pick up from the MGM to the airport for us too.

Currently in Hollywood (bit of a dump really lol) Back in Vegas on Monday staying at Cesars Palace.

while in hollywood make sure u try hollywood museum to go into hannibal lecters cell and also hunt down the scientology "psychiatry the industry of death museum". we liked them both...mainly as my OH is a psychiatrist....

jadamcp

March

http://www.americancasinoguide.com/2011-american-casino-guide-coupons.html

Some additions, some removals (Rio - 2 for 1 buffet):mad:

Still worth getting though........

jadamcp

March

TangoBunny - fantastic trip report - just read your first week so far.....

BaileyB

ratkarth wrote: »

ncie trip report tangobunny

didnt realise u were from swansea too!!!

Me too (small world) and you were in Vegas when i was!

Looking forward to Vegas tomorrow but had rain all day in Hollywood today.

TangoBunny

September

ratkarth wrote: »

ncie trip report tangobunny

didnt realise u were from swansea too!!!

Slightly further south west....the other side of Llanelli but not far from Swansea

TangoBunny

September

I have a large collection of coupons and vouchers for money off if anyone wants them pm me your address and I'll post them to you