Couple of weeks back, me and my husband went on a vacation to Vegas. We dropped in Phoenix first to spend time with my cousin and his new baby. We were in Vegas for two days and it was fun. Here's my report.We stayed at the MGM Grand. Nice hotel; lobby and casino were great. We stayed at their west wing tower and the rooms there were modern types with small TV in the wash basin mirror and frosted glass doors to the toilet and bathroom. It was kind of weird but I guess that is what they mean by modern.
The first day we went and got show tickets for Mystere at Treasure Island from the Tix 4 Tonight booth at a discount. They generally have same day show tickets for half price and some at 20% discount. We walked back on the strip and saw some of the hotels. We also traveled via the Monorail. It is good to get a one day pass so you don't have to walk around so much and its cheaper than individual rides. The monorail stations are at the back of the hotels and you still have to walk through the hotel casinos.
We had lunch at the Spice Market Buffet at Alladin which has now been bought by Planet Hollywood and will be remodeled.
The show was good. It is the original Cirque de Soleil show on the strip. In the night we again just walked around, saw the Mirage volcano show which was a little disappointing. We had dinner at a cafe inside Paris. We also went up the Eiffel tower replica and the view from top was great.
We then went to Studio 54 at the MGM. Huge dance club and lots of people. The line to get in was long but you can pass of an extra $20 to the bouncer and cut in.
Next day we spent exploring the MGM itself. We went to the CBS television studio where you can watch shows that the network is planning to broadcast and give your views and opinions. You get discount coupons and stuff if you sign up. We were asked to participate in a moderated focus group for more views on the show we watched. It wa about an hour and we got $50 each to do so. It is good pass-time if you are just not in the mood to walk on the strip. The money covered our gambling losses earlier in the day on the Roulette and Blackjack table. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It is a nice place and the food was good too. In the evening we ventured out to explore Luxor and Mandalay Bay. At Mandalay Bay,we just sat down on one of the slot machines and tried our luck. We sat at a 25c machine on which you can play 5 lines at a time. We made $25 and then switched slots. We then won about a $150 more. There were some double money thingies on the slots. It was great. So in the end of our gambling sessions, we were even.
When we came back out, we saw lots of people on the walkway between MGM and NY-NY. They were there to see the immigration rally which was going to end in front of the Liberty statue. There were thousands of Hispanics and Latinos and it was a scene to watch. It continued on for an hour. We saw the fountains at Bellagio and then had dinner at the Zanzibar cafe in Alladin. Again nice cafe, huge portions.
Next day, we flew back totally tired and exhausted. We again tried luck at the slots after checking out and made $20. I would advise that if you are not a high roller or don't have too much money to spare but want to gamble, you should try the slots. The 5 line ones are good and you should play all lines at a time. Go for the 5c or 25c ones. The ones that say wheel of fortune are good too.Good Luck!!
