Know Your Surroundings: Monte Carlo

The fourth installment of our "Know Your Surroundings" series is on Monte Carlo. The casino at Monte Carlo is by no means extravagant, but it has long been a favorite of ours because it plays its part. By that, I mean that it doesn't try and be something it is not. It is defined as a more casual casino and therefore typically attracts a less sophisticated crowd.


Monte Carlo's casino is unique in that it's one of the few of the larger casinos that it is nearly impossible to get lost in. (or at least confused as to where you are) It's one giant room centered with gaming tables which are surrounded by many slot machines. It has little to no sports book though, but they do make a mean bloody mary at the bar.

There is a centrally located restroom in the heart of the casino near the cafe. While we cruised back to the Bellagio in the wee hours of the night in March, twice we dined at the MC cafe. It is by no means special, but as a late night snack it's a nice pit stop. I enjoyed a burger one night and an omelet the next.

There are two other restaurants of note at MC. First, the Dragon Noodle, Co. is a pretty tasty Chinese restaurant. I highly recommend it for a lunch, but only if you plan to not wander the city much. The food is almost certain to please you, while at the same time slowing you down drastically. Don't expect to have room for copious amounts of tasty fluids in the hours following your dining experience. Secondly, the Monte Carlo Brew Pub & Brewery is a decent pub and by far MC's best establishment.

This map is a shade dated as the Hypermarket Convenience store is no longer there.
I'll always miss stopping there for a Labattes Blue when departing on the south side. Beers there weren't severely overpriced as is common at nearly all Las Vegas bars.

See the archives here:

Know Your Surroundings: Paris

Know Your Surroundings: Caesars

Know Your Surroundings: Bellagio

Attention AMEX Cardholders

Just ran across this tip on the web:

If you are booking a room via the website with an American Express Card, enter the promotional code AMEX on the reservations page.

This provides AMEX users with a 15% discount right off the top for all classes of rooms at the Wynn.

Wynn Las Vegas Home Page

Know Your Surroundings: Paris

The third installment of our "Know Your Surroundings" series is on Paris. From here on out I'm going to make comments about any other notables in addition to the ever-important restroom locations.



The casino at Paris is set up a little differently than the previous two I've documented so far. There's really only one central gambling zone. (excluding the poker room which was recently moved inside the already itty bitty sports book) As a result, less is needed to recall here. Just remember, a convenient restroom is located below Risque, which is a decent nightclub with balconies overlooking the strip.

Also, one of our favorite places to eat is at Paris. The French steakhouse Mon Ami Gabi is a great choice for a many reasons as was detailed in our review.

Lastly, if your inevitable Vegas thirst has you near Gustav's bar in the center of the Paris casino, make sure to "ok" your drink prior to wandering off. We had to make an embarrassing walk back to the bartender in March after my Rum & Diet was almost all rum. All in all, it's better than the alternative, but do be careful as we are always reminding ourselves that Las Vegas is not a race.

See the archives here:

Know Your Surroundings: Caesars

Know Your Surroundings: Bellagio

Southwest Airlines and McCarran

McCarran can sometimes be a nightmare. I think the traffic has outgrown the growth of the airport. We've never done the Friday Night-Sunday thing, but I'm sure that lines and waits can be awful on a Friday night, or the day of a special event. Security lines are always pretty long, and Southwest's check-in area is pretty much a free for all.

That said, I've never had a problem, until last trip that is. Nothing is worse than arriving home, tired, hungover, and dreading the thought of facing the real work on Monday. The only thing that makes that worse, is staring at the baggage carousel and realizing your bag isn't coming...ok, maybe the only thing worse was losing your bag on your way TO Las Vegas...

I was particularly worried, as I tend to take my best clothes to Vegas, and would probably be pretty pissed at losing them. Anyway, after cursing to no one in particular, I went to the SW desk, and was relieved to recognize a couple people from my flight in the same predicament, all the while my fiance did laps around the airport. To their credit, the SW people couldn't have been nicer, turns out this happens all the time coming from LAS. I also was lucky there are hourly flights to Phoenix from Las Vegas, so my bag wasn't too far behind.


As every cloud has a silver lining, it turned out for the best, as Southwest dropped off my bag at my house, 2 hours after I got home, meaning I didn't have to lug it out of the airport and into the car.

The lesson here is to always allow enough time to get to the airport. Not just in fear of missing your flight, but to make sure your bag gets checked. Evidently Southwest requires 45 minutes, or your bag will be marked as a late check in. Also, claims must be made within 4 hours of arrival for missing or damaged items.

Southwest's baggage info is located here.

McCarran Home Page

VegasRy Restaurant Review: Social House

I am by no means a sushi expert. I grew up in Iowa, where the yuppie sushi craze hadn’t really penetrated. That said, I have come to gradually enjoy sushi lately, to the point where I would consider myself a novice when it comes to sushi. However, I have developed a full-blown love of wasabi.

Going beyond wasabi though, we have determined that sushi is the perfect Vegas food. When you simply must take a break from drinking or gambling or any of the other things one does in Las Vegas, sushi is great because it doesn’t slow you down like some other types of food. Plus, saki bombs are fun.

In my limited experience, I have come to regard Social House at Treasure Island as the best sushi I’ve ever had.

Located a floor up from the casino, I believe where the Buccaneer Bay Club used to be, and operated by the Pure group, Social House is a pretty hip place. The stairwell up to the 2^nd floor resembles a safe-deposit vault. The dining area is a series of smaller rooms and semi-private alcoves, which is cool in an aesthetic way, but once in these rooms you can seem a bit cramped, practically sharing the table with the party next to you. There is also a decent-sized patio, where you can watch the godawful Sirens of TI show if you so desire.

Everything we have ordered at Social House has been terrific. The Gyoza and Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura have been great, and last time we were there, was had some sort of Lobster Tempura special that was fantastic as well. A quick note on the drink selection, my fiancé had a blueberry mojito that she still craves to this day, highly recommended.

As far as sushi goes, (Here would be a good time to mention that I use the word sushi very liberally, as I always stick to the rolls, some of which I know are cooked and some contain zero raw fish…but hey, the heading on the menu says ‘Sushi’, so I’m going to go with it.) the old standbys California and Spicy Tuna rolls didn’t disappoint. But my favorites have been their signature Social House rolls, the Adobo Chicken and Kalbi beef in particular have been out of this world.

The service at Social House hasn’t always been the best. We have had to ask for dishes that we’ve ordered and not received multiple times. But due to the nature of sushi, we have always been in and out in record time. For example, last trip we went to Social House right after Love let out, which I believe is around 9 PM. The time on our receipt is 9:51. So we walked through Mirage, took the world’s slowest and most useless tram to TI, walked through that casino, and had dinner in 52 minutes. So whether you want to take your time and enjoy your meal, or get a quick bite and then get back to everything else Vegas has to offer, you’re in luck.

Another feature of Social House is that is affiliated with the nightclub Tangerine, which is located right below the restaurant, connected by stairway. After dinner last trip, we simply talked to the manager, and got stamped to enter Tangerine, no cover. This is nice if you plan on hitting up Tangerine as your club for the night. Social House is also open late, with a decent late-night menu. Social House is also one of the flavor of the month hotspots in Las Vegas, with many celebrity sightings…if you’re into that sort of thing.

One of these days we’ll write a negative restaurant review…until that time though, check out Social House.

Sushi, Sake, Socialize. The Social House Now Open at TI.

Score:
4 Cheques (Out of 5)

Not All Blackjack Games Are Created Equal...

Disclaimer: All statistics come from this great article in the Las Vegas Sun

The proliferation of 6:5 blackjack in Las Vegas is among the chief arguments that people turn to when pointing to the downfall of player’s rights in Las Vegas. More and more, gambling conditions are worsening, with methods such as lower pay tables in Video Poker machines and automatic shuffle machines…not that we should be the least bit surprised.

For those not in the know, at a traditional Blackjack table, when a player receives a blackjack (An Ace and a face card or ten) and the dealer has anything but 21 also, the player receives one and a half times his bet as payments. This is called 3:2 Blackjack, as the bet pays out at a ratio of 3:2. However, more and more in Las Vegas, especially at the Strip Casinos, this payout is lowered to 6:5.

The edge might not seem significant, but when you break down the math, it means that a basic strategy player will lose his money 5 times faster at a shoe-dealt game, and 8 times more quickly at a single-deck game.

So why are Casinos doing this? Simple, because people play it. More and more, the lower-limit games at casinos employ this bottom-line-friendly game, as the lower-level player probably wouldn’t notice anyway.

The lesson here is to carefully check out the rules on the table felt before sitting down to play. However it is becoming increasingly hard to find a game with decent rules, as seemingly all the full payout tables can only be found at Downtown Casinos, or Off-Strip, locals places.

Anthony Curtis of the Las Vegas Advisor, perhaps recognizable from those awful quasi-infomercials about Vegas on the Travel Channel, states in this article:

"Over time, bit by bit, person by person, the entire market is going to react as a single organism and people will move away from that game," Curtis said. "It will hurt the casinos in the long run."

I don’t buy this one bit; vacationers (like us) come to Las Vegas to have a good time, not to scour each table up and down the strip till you find what you are looking for. And by the look of the completely full tables on our last trip, 6:5 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I predict that soon, we will be looking around for a 6:5 table to play at, as all the casinos will offer is even-money.

Taking a hit: New blackjack odds further tilt advantage toward the house

6:5 Blackjack? Just say No!

Vegas Survival Tip #5: ChapStick

Now I am generally one to make fun of people who claim to need to apply ChapStick at all times. Seriously, is having greasy lips the key to good health? (Side note: Article on ChapStick addiction here) However, in Las Vegas, ChapStick is a must.

Take the dry climate, and couple that with the amount of alcohol that will inevitably be touching your upper lip, and your lips will become very dry and numb…a malady commonly referred to as ‘Bottle-Lip’. This is where ChapStick comes in, if you forget to pack some you always buy the 8 dollar tubes that they sell in hotel gift shops. Either way, having ChapStick on hand will help you avoid the horrors of Bottle Lip.

ChapStick Home Page

'Love' Attendance Requirement

In our first and second podcasts, my souveneir 'Love' cup was mentioned quite a few times. Ordering a Rum & Coke (or Diet in my case) is an absolute must. You get this pretty cup pictured below that you can lug around or hide in the Mirage plants while you are out and about. Do take note of where you hid it though because after drinking one of these it will surely be difficult to find.

Know Your Surroundings: Caesars Palace

If you recall, I recently posted about knowing where the ideal gambling stations are at the Bellagio in relation to nearby restrooms. Today, I'm presenting the second installment of this endless series on Caesars Palace. Caesars has long been a difficult place for me to gamble for 2 reasons: 1) I can't win there (so until I found this map, I had no clue where the cage was) and 2) The restrooms were so hidden or noneexistent. This isn't necessarily true any longer and as you'll see below, Caesars has made the restrooms much more accessible.



One other little tidbit is the top restroom on the map is very close to the casino entrance from the Forum shops. If you've made the long walk through the shopping area then you no doubt must visit this restroom. It's easily overlooked though because you have to take an escalator down to it. Enjoy.

Know Your Surroundings: Bellagio

VegasRy Tip: Use the Concierge

In Las Vegas, entry to the hottest nightclubs and restaurants is all about who you know. Since we don’t know anyone, we sometimes need to rely on someone that does.

That’s where the concierge comes in. For those who might not know, most (if not all) of the hotels have a concierge desk manned with people whose job it is to answer questions, arrange show tickets, tee times, etc. It’s their job to take care of any planning or problems, so you don’t have to. Some hotels even have concierge floors, dedicated to providing a higher level of service, albeit for a price. There are also 3rd party companies in town that provide the same services.

Simply approach any concierge desk and ask them to make dinner reservations or to be put on the list at a club. It doesn’t necessarily need to be at the hotel you are staying at, although obviously it helps. Also, be prepared to tip them, the size of the tip relative to the difficulty of the service. Most of the time we have reservations set up ahead of time, so there’s no need, but on certain occasions we have made use of the concierge, to mostly positive results.

For instance, one afternoon we decided that we wanted to eat at a restaurant on the strip and we didn’t have reservations. I asked the concierge at Paris (along with a $10 tip) to call and make them for me (we weren’t staying there). When we got to the restaurant we were led down a corridor to a semi-private room, very nice and there’s no way we would have been afforded that if we had simply called the reservation line ourselves, well worth the ten bucks.

However, during the last trip, the party we were with tipped the concierge very generously, and asked to be put on the list for Mix. When we got there, we weren’t on the list. Luckily the club was pretty dead, so entry was not a problem, still it was the principal. Turns out the associate was transferred to another position at Bellagio (see service review here), and had not alerted anyone prior to leaving. This is simply unacceptable.

Despite the odd bad experience, we would definitely recommend using the concierge in Las Vegas, especially if you are requesting reservations at the property you are staying at (such as Tryst, if you are staying at Wynn). Just be prepared to tip for the convenience.

VegasRy Link: VegasHotelSpecial.com

Anyone who's stayed at a hotel in las vegas, or signed up for a player's card, knows that you almost immediately begin receiving offers for discounted rooms and other deals. The problem is that these offers don't necessarily coincide when you are going, or where you want to stay.

Luckily there are a couple websites such as VegasHotelSpecial.com out there that compile these offers and codes, and let you pick and choose when and where you stay. These are great for finding deals and staying places that you otherwise not be able to afford.

For example, on our latest trip we used this site and an offer code for Bellagio when booking, and saved a lot of money...highly recommended.

Try

http://www.vegashotelspecial.com/

or this one:

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/63/704925/

VegasRy Gambling Tip: Don't bet on your Alma Mater

So Iowa was a 4 seed, playing a 5 seed. Friday morning at Bellagio, they are getting 2 points. So, being the Iowa Alums that we are here at VegasRy, we rushed to the counter to give them our money.

3 hours later...

Purdue dominates defending Big Ten champ Iowa

Iowa loses by 19 and never competes. I wonder if there will be a refund in my next alumni club newsletter?

Big Ten Tournament

Seriously, how hard is this concept?

We have been known to have a drink or two when we are in Las Vegas, and after that one or two sometimes you need to use the restroom. Now we don't mean to be crude here at VegasRy, but there are times you want to hold on to that 11 dollar Gin and Tonic, or that 'free' beer that you ordered while dropping $150 at the BlackJack table.

This presents an age-old problem...what to do with your drink? Because the last thing one needs at that point is a dexterity test.

1. Place it on the porcelain part of the urinal, where there is a decent chance (Even Money) that it will slide off.

2. Place it on that black sensor thing on top, where the odds increase to 10:1 that it's falling off.

3. That someone actually put an ounce of thought into it, and there is a shelf.

Here is a photo from the Mirage, demonstrating the three options. Unfortunately, the ratio of shelfs to balancing acts is about 50-50 from what we encountered on our last trip.

So, note to Casino restroom architects: For the love of god, please think of us males. The broken glass on the bathroom floor should be a sign.

The $20 trick at Bellagio

As we are always looking out for our readers at VegasRy, we decided to give the $20 trick a try while checking in during our latest trip. We are pleased to report that it was a success!

As posted here:

Had a reservation for 2 queen bed standard non-smoking room. Slipped the clerk a $20 between the Credit card and ID and asked if there were any complimentary upgrades available. Typed for a while, and gave me 3 options:

1. Jr. Suite with 75 square feet more room and a king and rollaway.

2. Lakeview smoking room with 2 queens.

3. Lakeview non-smoking with a king and rollaway.

Took option 2 as neither of us wanted to sleep in a rollaway, and not worried about smoke.

FrontDeskTip.com

Here we are!

Vegas Survival Tip #4: Cell Phone Charger

Remember, and we can't stress this enough here at VegasRy, to bring your cell phone charger with you when you visit Las Vegas. It's easy to get seperated, and you will inevitably spend a lot of time on the phone locating one another, so your cell phones juice will be drained quickly.

However, there is a lesser known aspect to cell phones in Vegas. While your battery might easily last 3 days back home, it won't in Las Vegas, and here's why. The reception in these huge casinos usually suck, and because of that, your phone spends a lot of time searching for the network. Searching for coverage eats your battery very quickly, especially in your room at night when you leave it on, and there is nothing more frustrating than having a dead cell phone.

Vegas Survival Tip #3: Know Your Surroundings

As everyone knows Vegas is very dry and usually extremely warm. As a result, dehydration is rampant. To combat this I have a drink with me at all times. It's usually a refreshing Ten & Tonic or one of the many other drinks we here at VegasRy love. These beverages have been documented in great detail in several past posts and in many yet to come. By combatting dehydration, you'll have little concern about bottle lip which is very common in Vegas. (Bottle lip can also be prevented by drinking only non-bottled drinks.) Anyways, back to the real reason for this post. A lot of good things come from staying hydrated. To name a few: you're healthier, less of the aforementioned bottle lip, clearer complexion, enhanced libido etc. One downside does exist though and that is you will inevitably need to dispose of all that liquid at some point. And once you do, you'll need to more and more frequently throughout the day. As a result, you must keep this in mind when choosing where to gamble. I make sure to only shoot craps at a table that is near a public restroom. In the rare event that this table is rediculously hot and I have an uncontrollable urge, I can make a swift run to relieve my humanly needs and return in as little time as possible. Time is precious because you never know when the tide will turn and house edge will kill the momentum. It's best to scope out the casino for the best-accessed restrooms from the floor and then choose a gaming table or machine of your fancy nearby. Cheers!

Here is a map of Bellagio's Casino floor with the optimal location for gaming in relation to the nearest restroom.

Pre-Trip: Supplies (continued...)

We're not as young as we used to be, and as important as it is to bring supplies that cause hangovers, it is almost as vital to be prepared to cure hangovers. This will be the second time we will try Chaser, and it worked pretty well the first time. Evidently it absorbs the toxins (and we have a lot of toxins) from the bad part of the alcohol, and prevent the hangover before it sets in.

Now I'm no doctor, but taking a little pill every few drinks being able to counteract the inevitable monster hangover, but damned if it doesn't work. One caveat though: Chaser prevents the headache portion of the hangover, any quesiness or other symptoms seem to remain.

Buy Chaser

Vegas Link: FrontDeskTip.com

Front Desk Tip is a great site that is dedicated to tracking the results of the "20 Dollar Trick" while checking into Las Vegas Hotels.

For the uninitiated, the $20 trick is slipping the clerk at the check-in desk a 20 dollar bill as a tip in hopes of obtaining a free upgrade to a better room, suite, etc. This site provides visitor's results and comments, as well as the success/fail percentage, by hotel.

For example, the Bellagio (Our home for our trip next week) has a perfect (11/11) success percentage. Hopefully it will be 12/12 after next weekend!

FrontDeskTip.com

Vegas Survival Tip #1: How to escape the 'Bur

This is the greatest advice that I can bestow upon you, and it's taken me countless trips to Las Vegas to master.

How to get the hell out of the Excalibur...

Many a time we have come from the Luxor via the walkway to the Excalibur, headed north, towards NY-NY. You enter the 'Bur on the second floor, and proceed down the escalator to the Casino level. Once on the Ground Floor, it's all but impossible to find your way to the Strip. Of course this is by design, but it's frustrating as all hell. So here's the secret:

As you get off the escalator, the front door (the one you want, that leads to the walkway to NY-NY) is directly BEHIND you.

Here is a map:
Good Luck!