Vegas, Baby

[DC]

It's about that time again!

Booked a three night getaway to Las Vegas in September. Got rental car, great flight, and MGM for three nights for around $700. Need some time alone with the lady with no kids! Plan on sleeping late, playing poker, eating some fine food and drinking some fine wine, and hopefully getting a massage or two. A couple of questions:

1. Anyone ever stayed at MGM? Does it still have a good poker room? Action?

2. Any shows you'd recommend? I'm thinking about the MJ show, but tickets are expensive.

3. Any restaurants that specialize in seafood you've been to? Hands-on experience here would be great. I can google quite well.

VEGAS BABY!

 

[theOHIOSTATE!]

Yes, and yes it has a poker room.

The issue I have with the MGM these days is two-fold:

1) Depending on your room it can take forever to get to the strip or out of the place.

2) It's not really at the better end of the strip anymore.


I haven't played in that room for awhile, but they used to have a decent mix of regs and tourist, lots of tables and decent tournies, if that's your thing.

Personally, I prefer to play at the Wynn, Aria, V or Bellagio. Those are considered the 4 top rooms and have been for some time now...

The Wynn especially is really coming up in the world, with a recently redone room and excellent tournaments with VERY low vig taken out by the house.

Aria would be the busiest room usually or the Bellagio...and the Venetian is/was the most comfortable to play in for a long time, but I haven't been back in a bit as i've just been hitting Aria so much on trips.

Aria and Bellagio are must visits for poker fans IMHO.

I think O is still the best reviewed show at the high end.

Not a seafood guy, so i'll be passing on what i've heard on this one.....

STK is/was at the Cosmo and has great food; one of my friends did the raw bar and raved about it. They have a place in the city as well....

If you want crab, and like Vegas buffets, do the Bellagio buffet imho.

 

[Spunky Porkstacker]

Isn't 51 the guy to ask anything about Vegas?

 

[DC]

I'm hunting monster lobster.

 

[Adipost]

M A J O R...........L A Z E R

[video=youtube_share;Me8IXj4ac28]https://youtu.be/Me8IXj4ac28[/video]

 

[LordKOTL]

Depending on whether you and your wife has a healthy level of being sick and twisted, I'd highly recommend "Evil Dead: The Musical".

Saw it twice in Vegas: Once on our anniversary.

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Went to Vegas in June, usually stay on the strip but this time we rented out a house which was great and might be a good option for you depending on what you plan to do while in town.

Worked for us because there were 6 of us, so one large house was all we needed and was way cheaper once you consider all the hotel fees and crap you have to pay. And since we're old and shitty it was nice being able to take a few hours and have a couple of beers and shit at the house.

Only show we saw this time was Ka, it was neat but not worth the money imo. Blue Man Group was pretty over rated too; Penn and Teller was totally worth the price of admission.

I'm not a seafood guy, so I can't comment on that, but if you want a good steak Andiamo was great and not bad price wise. I'd also recommend Wicked Spoon for breakfast/brunch, never had their dinner buffet.

 

[number51]

Isn't 51 the guy to ask anything about Vegas?

Thanks man, it's been years since I've been (that sucks) things change so fast, I'm kinda out of touch. I do have friends out there so I still get info, but ohiostate has much more current poker room info, it kills me but apparently he's the man.

Back in the 2000's we stayed at MGM for a week every summer for I think 5 years. We loved the pools, got cabanas and spent all day out there. Everybody knows the place is huge, bring hiking gear. I'm a low roller and I usually had to leave MGM to play BJ or craps, these days I doubt you will ever find a $5 table in there, maybe 4AM on a Wednesday. It took me a 1/2 hour to get across the street to the low limit Trop.

At Mirage The Beatles Love, great show, I'm not a Micheal Jackson fan, those that are love that show. Both shows $$$$, all shows really.

Ohiostate touched on MGM location, I think it's still a good location. There used to be three strip locations North, center strip, and South. There is no more North, so it's center or South, center is the best LVB and Flamingo, Caesars, Bally's, Bellagio. But South is still good Mandalay Bay, Luxor, NYNY, MGM. Plus you have a car, so location not a huge deal.

Ohiostate mentioned Bellagio buffet, I'll add Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars, both have great crab legs and great everything else. Both pricey but cheaper than my next entry.

I really don't have advice on a Giant Lobster tail in Vegas, I'm sure they exist, so many great restaurants/chefs. If I'm there on a Sunday my favorite place to eat in Vegas is Sterling Brunch at Bally's they serve smallish lobster tails, but it's all you can eat, so just pretend those 20 tails you just ate were one giant one. Everything there is great, food, service, Champagne, they better nail it for $100. Of course you will pay more than $100 each at any nice restaurant for lobster, sides, and cocktails. The only down side is walking out at 2PM, drunk and stuffed, the rest of the day is shot.

[video=youtube;4xa4vYHwcwY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xa4vYHwcwY[/video]

Have a great time man.

 

[Ares]

Went to Vegas in June, usually stay on the strip but this time we rented out a house which was great and might be a good option for you depending on what you plan to do while in town.

Worked for us because there were 6 of us, so one large house was all we needed and was way cheaper once you consider all the hotel fees and crap you have to pay. And since we're old and shitty it was nice being able to take a few hours and have a couple of beers and shit at the house.

Only show we saw this time was Ka, it was neat but not worth the money imo. Blue Man Group was pretty over rated too; Penn and Teller was totally worth the price of admission.

I'm not a seafood guy, so I can't comment on that, but if you want a good steak Andiamo was great and not bad price wise. I'd also recommend Wicked Spoon for breakfast/brunch, never had their dinner buffet.

Did their dinner buffet for my sister's bday a few years back, it was excellent.

 

[DC]

I saw those videos on the ballys one. $90 before tax and marginal tip isn't bad considering what u get. Thinking about Wynn breakfast buffet one morning then their poker tourney at 1200.

 

[theOHIOSTATE!]

Wicked Spoon is the buffet that changed the buffet culture in Vegas, and overall a can't miss.

I was just going seafood (well, crab) from what i've seen.

Lots of good info in this thread; going to Expedia now to book something for September....

 

[LordKOTL]

Went to Vegas in June, usually stay on the strip but this time we rented out a house which was great and might be a good option for you depending on what you plan to do while in town.

Worked for us because there were 6 of us, so one large house was all we needed and was way cheaper once you consider all the hotel fees and crap you have to pay. And since we're old and shitty it was nice being able to take a few hours and have a couple of beers and shit at the house.

Only show we saw this time was Ka, it was neat but not worth the money imo. Blue Man Group was pretty over rated too; Penn and Teller was totally worth the price of admission.

I'm not a seafood guy, so I can't comment on that, but if you want a good steak Andiamo was great and not bad price wise. I'd also recommend Wicked Spoon for breakfast/brunch, never had their dinner buffet.

This I can agree with. Penn and Teller was great. Evil Dead: The Musical was awesome. My wife liked Zarkana; I was underwhelmed but tat kind of show is just not my bag.

 

[airtime143]

It's about that time again!

Booked a three night getaway to Las Vegas in September. Got rental car, great flight, and MGM for three nights for around $700. Need some time alone with the lady with no kids! Plan on sleeping late, playing poker, eating some fine food and drinking some fine wine, and hopefully getting a massage or two. A couple of questions:

1. Anyone ever stayed at MGM? Does it still have a good poker room? Action?

2. Any shows you'd recommend? I'm thinking about the MJ show, but tickets are expensive.

3. Any restaurants that specialize in seafood you've been to? Hands-on experience here would be great. I can google quite well.

VEGAS BABY!

The cosmopolitan has a Mediterranean seafood place that is outstanding if you are in to greek/spanish style seafood. They also have the standard salmon, crabcakes and tuna for the less exotic tastes.

It isnt seafood, but I got hooked on the Carnagie Deli at the mirage when I went in june- Their portion sizes are enough to feed 2 adults off of one sandwich, and the food is spectacular. Service is quick and prices relatively inexpensive.

As for massage- Harrahs has contracted massage therapists that will give you a neck, shoulder and back massage while playing. It is pretty damn awesome. I think the Rio has it as well, and I believe they run the gamut from slots to poker room. The cost is about a buck a minute.

I dont know if you paid for the room or not, But if you did- Get your M-life card and use it. They are extremely generous with their perks. I dont do m-life, because most if not all of their rooms are non-smoking, but I do exploit the freebies at The Venitian and treasure island. I have been to vegas 3 times in the past year and am headed back in early october, and I have not paid for a single night for a room- I get 3 free nights per month at the venitian and 2 at Treasure island.
My buddy says he gets the same general perks from M-life.

Definitely walk across to the Flamingo at one point or another- at night they have dancers on platforms in the pit at the table games. It is a neat distraction.


There is a tiny little casino called Casino royal next to Harrahs where I had a neat experience in june- They have a perk where if you lose your first 20, you get it back. (get a card, play 20, go to the players club and they activate a 20 dollar credit on it.)
I played my first 20, got my free 20, and sat down at a machine. An hour later I walked out up 750 bucks... a portion of that cash was spent at Harrahs getting the massage while I played.

 

[BearFanJohn]

Can't help you on the gaming front. Will add to the recs for Beatle's Love and Penn & Teller. The only strictly seafood place I've visited is RM Seafood which was excellent but it has been a long, long time. Emerill's was really good about 20 years ago but again, it has been a long time. There are a ton of good places in Vegas to eat that will have seafood on their menu.

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Wicked Spoon is the buffet that changed the buffet culture in Vegas, and overall a can't miss.

I was just going seafood (well, crab) from what i've seen.

Lots of good info in this thread; going to Expedia now to book something for September....

Wicked Spoon's breakfast buffet is hands down the best buffet I've ever gone to.

Did their dinner buffet for my sister's bday a few years back, it was excellent.

We tried to go there for dinner one of the nights we were there but there was a 2+ hour wait, so we bailed and went to Gordon Ramsey's burger place, which was actually killer. I honestly expected it to be kinda shit but we were all super happy and the price was actually completely reasonable.

 

[airtime143]

Wicked Spoon's breakfast buffet is hands down the best buffet I've ever gone to.



We tried to go there for dinner one of the nights we were there but there was a 2+ hour wait, so we bailed and went to Gordon Ramsey's burger place, which was actually killer. I honestly expected it to be kinda shit but we were all super happy and the price was actually completely reasonable.

on the burger front, Guy fieries place is pretty decent- The fries seal the deal. It is a mix of waffle fries, shoe sting, steak... basically every french fry style there is all mixed together. Thought that was pretty neat.

 

[Adipost]

Wicked Spoon's breakfast buffet is hands down the best buffet I've ever gone to.



We tried to go there for dinner one of the nights we were there but there was a 2+ hour wait, so we bailed and went to Gordon Ramsey's burger place, which was actually killer. I honestly expected it to be kinda shit but we were all super happy and the price was actually completely reasonable.

Why?

 

[DC]

Copy Wicked Spoon.

Got 2nd row tickets, center stage, to the MJ show at Mandalay Bay. One thing booked.

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Why?

I don't know, I guess the whole celebrity chef thing, and it's not like he's the one back there actually cooking things. I thought it was going to be over priced and a long the lines of a chain restaurant or something.

Had a pork based burger that was outstanding and the pot roast nacho things were great.

 

[BearFanJohn]

I don't know, I guess the whole celebrity chef thing, and it's not like he's the one back there actually cooking things. I thought it was going to be over priced and a long the lines of a chain restaurant or something.

Had a pork based burger that was outstanding and the pot roast nacho things were great.

Celebrity chef, this is true and I do see why one might think this way. But, additionally, he has a 3 srar Michelin restaurant in London that has held three stars since 2001. That's throwing some serious heat. I'm not sure his (American?) tv persona does him any favors. Unless you consider the free publicity and money.