Las Vegas the town of glitz and glamour. A "50" birthday celebration. Here is my encounter. I booked my trip through Expedia. Got a great deal on hotel and airfare from Florida to Las Vegas for $575 plus change. I even booked a roundtrip shuttle to my hotel for $18. The hotel I chose was the Luxor. It will be the closest I get to a pyramid for some time. It is on my bucket list. The hotel a great overall expierence. The room was nicely decorated, clean, and a pillowtop king size bed was comfy. The hotel has 13 plus restaurants, casino, starbucks, and theatre for shows. In addition it offered shuttle to its neighbor hotels The Mandalay Bay and The Excalibur or you could walk through interior walkways filled with shopping. Mandalay Bay is worth the walk and ride.
Hummm, what to do. I wanted to see shows every night. I purchased a ticket for Fantasy the first night from my hotel. A great show with 8 showgirls, a singer equivalent to Christina Aquillera named Lorena, and Sean Cooper a really funny guy. Theatre night 2 was Trent Carlini at Las Vegas Hilton. I purchased a 3 day tram ticket for $12. He looks and sounded very much like Elvis. It was a good show. The tram ticket allows you to travel the strip and get off and on as much as you like. If you do not want to hoof it this is the way to go. The strip is quite long. Theatre night 3 was Dancing Queen, a tribute to Abba. Who doesn't like Abba. Well, a disappointment in the dancing they were not all quite in step. It was like watching a b flick. Oh well ! Theatre night 4 Jersey Boys, the best show of all 4. I recommend this to everyone.
The dining adventures begin. The first night I ate at the Luxor a mexican place called Tequilla and Tacos. Food was good, but the tequilla was best. Day 2 I tried the buffet at The Excalibur. My advice is to skip it. It raved in brochure of 32' salad bar. Yes it was 32' of nothingness. Most of salad items looked like they had their better days. Maybe 6 items. The choice of steamed shrimp or crablegs. Shrimp were tiny and crablegs dried. The carved meat station well lets say the steak had more grissle than meat. I would not go again ever ! The best buffet I tried was at The Monte Carlo Hotel. The big belly buffet was great. Food was fresh and tasty. The tip for this is when you buy show tickets go to the half price booth and for $2 buy a buffet ticket. The Monte Carlo buffet for gourmet brunch is normally $22 but when you buy buffet ticket is only $8 plus the $2 is $10. Buffet is half price. I had smoked salmon, fresh made eggs to order, carved ham, and some great chinese food. The coffee was excellent ! Lunch at Olives is a must. Interesting menu and great food at a great price. A must is Jean Phillipe patissere in The Bellagio Hotel. It has the worlds largest chocolate fountain and the best pastries and cakes. Instead of breakfast in restaurants I opted for choclate filled croissants, lemon curd tarts, and palmiers. Sometimes you just have to indulge yourself. Dinner at Craft Steakhouse by Tom Collicho was the best meal I had in Vegas. Go there, it is worth the price.
The strip is worth the walk. I toured every hotel during my 5 day stay. Do a day and an evening walk. The strip is spectacular at night. My favorite hotel The Bellagio. They have a conservatory inside the hotel and the celebration of Chinese New Year was a feast for the eyes. I enjoyed all the hotels for each one is unigue to its theme. New York New York with its exterior of NYC and interior of city streets was amazing. Caesars palace with all its Roman statues and shops. The Venetian with the gondola rides. Paris with the Eiffel Tower. Circus Circu is great for kids. It has interior circus games and shows every half hour in mini circus arena. I saw a great silk performer. A must see the M&Ms store 4 levels of everything candy. Elvis is everywhere in Vegas. Fat Elvis, Latin Elvis, midgit Elvis. The King still lives. Viva Las Vegas !
I saved a lot for my next Vegas adventure, because I will go back. I am not a big gambler but won $85 plus change on an Elvis slot machine. Elvis is still paying. If gambling and night clubs are your thing. I suggest LAX in The Luxor a great club. I had to go just once. Whatever your vice is Las Vegas will have it.
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