TR- A whole week in Vegas

Now that I have caught up on my sleep, Isit down and write a trip report.

Arrived on a Friday night at McCarron. Don%26#39;t do that. Don%26#39;t arrive on a Friday or leave on a Sunday. So crowded I thought I%26#39;d lose my husband a couple of times. Waited about a half hour for luggage. Rented a car from Thrifty which was nice. Book a full size for $179 a week. Ended up with a nice big Chrysler Pacifica which was very comfortable.

Stayed at The Orleans. Very nice room for the price $49 during the week and $79 for the the weekends. Others in our party were staying there or else I think we would have stayed on strip. The room was very clean, bed was very comfortable and the sitting area and extra width made it very spacious. The bathroom was small but adequate. Dould have used more counter space considering how much space we ladies need. Lots of hot water and pressure for soaking after a long day on my feet. The coffee pot and supsequent charge of each cup of coffee I thought was tacky. I went to Walgreens and bought a four cup maker for $7 and made my own with Community Coffee I%26#39;d brought from home. I gave the maker to the bellman at check out. You would have thought I gave a him $100.

Used the spa for the Orleans Package. Had a scrub and wrap, a facial, and a massage for $240, each treatment was 50 minutes. Good value since alone they would have totaled $290. The steamroom and whirlpool were nice and hot. Shower facilities and dressing area were well attended and had all of the toilettries you could need. Had my hair styled at the salon by the hairdresser from hades. Only true negative of the place. She was brutal and pulled a lot of hair out. Used a half a can of spray and it was very expensive. $65 for a shampoo, blowdry and hot iron. If you use the salon, run if you get Becky. It was so bad, it was quite funny. Hard to explain.

Lots of food options at the Orleans. None were really bad or good but OK and reasonably priced. Took the shuttle once and it was nice, about 10 minutes to the strip. Negatives were no concierge or sundries shop in the hotel. Clientele is in the lower range of income, definitely not the Bellagio crowd.

Lots of low limit tables at the Orleans. The casino area was smokey on weekend nights but otherwise, not too bad. I asked for a non-smoking table when I couldn%26#39;t find an open seat at one and the pit bosses always accomodated my request. Seems there were a lot of non-smoking patrons that appreciated it. Whenever a non-smoking table was designated, it quickly filled up. I quess it just doesn%26#39;t occur to most people to ask. I came out about even playing two deck shoe blackjack and pai gow poker at $5 tables. The dealers were cordial and most were even friendly. Drink service was good and yes, the costumes are rather scimpy. Tips get you better service as it should. Tips to the dealers were always acknowledged and appreciated. Roulette tables were $1 minimum with $1 chips only, no quarters. I won about $100 and had fun.

Went to Red Rock Canyon Preservation Area on probably the worst day in LV this year. Cold, windy, and even drizzly but it was gorgeous anyway and a great outing away from all the glitz. Lots of brave souls out jogging, biking, hiking and even a few rock climbers. Thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it anyone that wants to see some beautiful geologic formations. Only bummer was the fire last year scorched a good deal of the desert and it looks like a moonscape. But even that was beautiful in a creepy sort of way. Hard to explain again.

Bellagio - Had reservations for ';O'; and dinner at Sensi. Sensi was magnificent. The food, the waiter and being able to see the food prep area was a treat. We had specialty cocktails instead of wine. Try the homemade ginger ale if you have indigestion problems. My husband had the ribeye which was cooked to perfection and I had an Indian medly dish with fish, shrimp, chicken, and steak medallions. I forget the name but it was a delight. Dinner was $200 with two cocktails each which I thought ws very good value. Seats at ';O'; were obstructed view which are normally not bad. These were bad, very bad. They were center stage on the first row of the second level. The railings from the steps were in the way and half of the stage area was blocked. But still, I wasn%26#39;t impressed with O. The divers were the best, the clowns the worst. First of all, the act was in poor taste. They float out on the roof of a flooded house and appear through a hatch in the roof. It seems the whole Katrina thing completely slipped thier attention. I was near tears and almost walked out. Even aside from that, I just didn%26#39;t think it was very good. So anyway, Bellagio was beautiful. The Conservatory was rather creepy in the fall decor. The table games were all high limit with a few $10 tables. It was very crowded too.

G2E - for those who don%26#39;t know is the Global Gaming Expo. Lots of fancy new slot machines but the biggest new things are all the wireless gaming and electronic table games. Seems they are trying to put dealers out of work. I found the Plasma screen dealers to be a bit creepy. And there were all manner of poker variation games. Most of them way too complicated for the average person to understand. Wireless gaming for your PDA was big as was chipless gaming. You buy a debit card with money on it and use it instead of chips. I don%26#39;t know, but part of the reason I like table games is for the social aspect and that includes the dealer. It fosters an us against them game. Everybody wants the next ';Wheel of Fortune';. BTW, thw WOF slots are a bad bet. The payout is on the low end of the legal limit. Best bet is DDB VP.

Didn%26#39;t get to do much else that we had planned. But we have to go back in May so I can see a few more shows hopefully. We are staying at Mandalay Bay in May.

TR- A whole week in Vegas

Thanks for the trip report, being from Louisiana, I can understand why you didn%26#39;t care for the Vegas weather. Thanks again!