May 8-11. Lowroller's TR at Mirage, KA, O, CUT, Circo

This is my second time in Vegas since turning 21. I%26#39;ve been counting down the days even before our trip to Hawaii back in March. This trip was just all the more sweeter. My 25th Birthday was on the 7th and so was my last round of finals. I went with my gf and we tried to experience everything Vegas had to offer. We both aren%26#39;t big gamblers but we did grow to appreciate the penny slots (Denver Duck baby!!) and a little blackjack. And I was always on a quest in each hotel for the ever elusive $5 blackjack tables. We picked up a players card at each hotel property hoping to get comp offers in the future.

I%26#39;ll review restaurants and shows at the end of the TR.

May 8th.

Our flight left at 6am and my dad was nice enough to drive us to the airport that morning. We arrived in Vegas around 7:30am, got to our hotel around 8. They wouldn%26#39;t let us check in yet so we wondered around the hotel a bit, ate at the Carnegie Deli (thumbs down), lost a few bucks in blackjack, then took the tram to TI. Can%26#39;t believe how much TI has changed since I last remembered it. I have to say I like the old TI much much better, with the skull and crossbones. Now it looks like its just a bad attempt to look hip and appeal to the younger crowds. At around 11am we checked in, did the ';sandwich trick'; and got upgraded to a Tower Deluxe on the 25th floor with renovated rooms and a volcano view. Excellent! We went up and took a quick nap then headed over to the Bellagio. We spent some time playing at the $5 BJ table and was up by $60 before it was time for dinner. I had been craving their buffet for a long long time. I ate my share of crab legs and prime rib and got my buffet fix for the trip then we were on our way to MGM. I spent a good amount of time at the Sports book cheering on the Rockets. I seemed to be the only Rockets fan, however, I realized that people are cheering for the Lakers not because they%26#39;re fans but because they got money on them. I forgot this isn%26#39;t like my local bar and people have a lot of money on the line in that game (which is probably the only reason their cheering for the Lakers.) After the game, off to see KA. Then back to the Mirage. The ****face at the JET night club wouldn%26#39;t let us in for free even though we were staying at the hotel so we just hung out at the Revolution lounge for a bit then called it a night.

May 9th

Kicked off the morning at MESA grill then took the gf shopping at the forum shops. What happened to the two statue shows?? I remember them being pretty cool but now they%26#39;re just kinda lame. My gf spent a good 30 mins at Gucci trying to justify buying at $1500 purse, but there is no justification for it! I had to drag her out like a kid kicking and screaming at the candy store. Later we headed back to the Mirage and got changed to go out for the night. We first headed to Wynn/Encore and checked out the hotel for a couple of hours. That place just seems too snotty and stuck up for my taste. We didn%26#39;t even bother stepping foot at Encore. Although I%26#39;m surprised a cocktail waitress (oh man, guys you know) came by when we were at the penny slots and got us some drinks. I gave her a generous tip and got yelled at by my gf. Next, off to Venetian/Palazzo. One of my favorite properties. We spent a good amount of time at the canal shops just taking in the beautiful architecture. This is were I discovered my Denver Duck penny slot. I put in $5 and was up to $40. A big big win in my book, lol! Then we were off to eat at CUT. By 10:30pm we headed off to TAO night club, they were much nicer there than at JET and even let my gf in for free and me at half price. Probably cuz we were there so early. I guess you can say I spent more time taking in the ';views'; than I did dancing or anything else. Its a nice club but I remember PURE being a lot nicer.

May 10th

Our exploration day. We were going to hit up every hotel we missed. We started with Mandalay Bay and we had cravings for asian noodles, so we ate at the noodle place. Wtf were we thinking, coming from SF, our noodle houses are 3x cheaper and 10x better. $37 for fake pho noodles and Pad thai. This was our most regretful part of the trip. We checked out the property then headed off to Luxor, where we I spent some time watching the Lakers game. For some reason there were a lot more Rockets fan there. We did some exploring and it seemed like a pretty interesting place to stay at. I was hoping to ride on the boat but I found out that they got rid of it 10 years ago. Then off to Excalibur. Not much I can say about this place, my gf won a carebare at the arcades but the nose fell off. Next, off to NYNY. Have been craving Nathan%26#39;s hot dog and it was the first thing I saw when we walked in. Ordered a hot dog w/ fries and the guy didn%26#39;t even bother ringing it up. Told me not to worry about it, must be my dashingly good looks (probably not). NYNY seemed to be a very small property but it did have a lot of nice quick eats, which was nice. Again, played some penny slots, this time wheel of fortune, was up $15 and collected my winnings. Next stop is Paris, I really like the skys in the casino and layout of the property. Very nicely themed but not as nice as venetian. Some very nice cut little shops and restaurants too. Now back to Bellagio for dinner and O. After a long debate we decided to eat at Circo then off to see O at the 10:30 show. Then gambled at bit of BJ, and called it a night.

May 12th

Our last day, we requested a later check out so we could spend some time at the pool, we got up around 10 and spent a good 2 hours just lounging at the Mirage pool. For some reason they get really busy in the morning then at noon it empties out a bit. Our final meal would be at Margaritaville. I had heard about the famous volcano nachos and had to try them. Also their Margaritas were the best ever. Finally back to our hotel where our shuttle picked us up and dropped us back to the airport.

Overall, a very nice and relaxing trip. Did a lot of eating and sight seeing. However, we never got a chance to see the Mirage Volcano even though our room was overlooking it. Our nights were pretty much spent at shows/club. I%26#39;m already looking forward to going back in December. Hopefully some I%26#39;ll get some comp offers by then.

Reviews:

KA - This was my very first Cirque show and I really liked it. It took me a while to get over the silly clown acts but I realized they%26#39;re part of every Cirque show. The stage is AMAZING. Say what you want about KA but one thing you can%26#39;t deny is that the stage is an engineering masterpiece. I enjoyed the story and it also had alot of WOW moments. I was really engaged for most of the show. Lots of the stunts I%26#39;ve never seen before and the ';bad guy';%26#39;s costume was Awesome.

O - I had high expectations from this show since its almost universally acclaimed by most. I thought the show was good but it really didn%26#39;t blow me away. There seemed to be too much going on at once, I really didn%26#39;t know what to focus on. Some of the acrobats I%26#39;ve seen many times before (I%26#39;ve seen alot during my travels to Asia) and wasn%26#39;t really impressed. I guess I was never really WOWed like I was at KA. My gf actually dozed off for a good 10 mins. I guess I%26#39;m just not used to Cirque shows yet to really appreciate them. My overall favorite part is the one with the ';zebras';.

CUT - Yes, I had to eat at a fancy steak place in Vegas and was always a fan of Wolfgang so it only made sense to eat at CUT. The service was excellent and the steaks were great. Although I thought my bone in rib eye was a lil overcooked it was still very good. I had the 20oz bone in Rib eye and my gf got the 16oz Filet. I had to finish half of hers so I ate about 28oz of pure heaven. This is the first time I%26#39;ve ever really had a steak made in a broiler oven. The outside of the steak looked burnt but still tastes soo good.

Circo - We pretty much rolled a dice to decide on which restaurant to eat at. We had the show at 10:30 so we decided to eat at one of Bellagio%26#39;s restaurants. They had a nice pre fixe menu so we both got that. The first two dishes were ehh, ok. The last two were fantastic. The 3rd was a grilled bass, very tastey. The 4th was the lamb. WOW, thats some damn good lamb, I%26#39;d go back just to eat the lamb. It was crusted on the outside so it had some crunch to it, very unique to me, I%26#39;ve never had lamb like that before. Absolutely delicious. At $85pp, it might be a bit steep. I%26#39;d say just go there and eat the lamb, you won%26#39;t regret it.

Margaritaville - Why am I even reviewing this. Go try and Volcano Nachos with a group of friends. Its not the best nachos ever but its something you should try atleast once. BUT, they do have the best frozen Margaritas. I forgot how deceiving they were, they are soo good that you just keep on drinking and before you know it you%26#39;re drunk off your a**.

Bellagio Buffet - The Prime rib was the best prime rib I%26#39;ve ever had at any buffet. Very soft, tender, and cooked just right at medium rare. They also have King crab legs and Snow crab lets, both sliced in half for you so alot less work to get to the meat. And..thats pretty much all I ate, its all I ever eat at buffets.

May 8-11. Lowroller's TR at Mirage, KA, O, CUT, Circo

[quote]I gave her a generous tip and got yelled at by my gf.[/quote]

Too funny!

Good TR, ty for posting. I think we are gonna have to try those nachos.

May 8-11. Lowroller's TR at Mirage, KA, O, CUT, Circo

Great TR. :o)

If your Girlfreiend likes an expesive purse tell her to check out NM Last Call(Neiman Marcus clearance store), Off5th(Sak%26#39;s Fifth Ave. clearance store), Nordstrom Rack(Nordstrom clearance store) and Loehmanns as thay are all in the bay area and sometimes have $1000-$1500 purses at 50% off the regular prices. 50% off is usually about the best people can do for the expensive designer purses.

I really enjoyed your trip report. Thanks.

just wondering, (re: jet at mirage) who ever said you can get in free if you were a guest at that hotel?

Well, usually all the clubs lets you in for free if you%26#39;re a guest at the hotel, if not they will atleast put you on their guest list and put you to the front of the line. I got to the front of the line at PURE when I was a guest at CP.

Thanks for sharing. Great format for an enjoyable read.

Nicely written trip report. Glad you liked the Bellagio Buffet. We%26#39;ll be eating there in June and I really don%26#39;t like buffets, so hearing this one had good prime rib makes me look forward to it.