Mostly Off Strip TR

Well, I am not a master at the TR but feel that I owe the gang here something for all their time, input, and interest, it the Las Vegas. We have spent a good deal of time in LV and have just purchased our second home in the area. Our goal for this trip was to do the final walk through and close on the home. It is to be a second home for now and is in the Green Valley area which is really Henderson and not LV. My report might be boring for you thrill seekers but I hope someone may find something they can use for their next trip.

We flew out of Rochester MN on 2/23 and we were suppose to leave at 9pm but do to the need for a plane change due to mechanical issues we left at 10:30 pm. The flight was smooth and restful. We used Avis for our rental and received a Caddy for our “full size” car. We rented from 2/23-2/27 and the total was $123. That was a wonderful deal for the upgraded car.

We stayed at our timeshare HGVC near the Las Vegas Hilton so we stopped at Von’s for spring water, fresh fruit, juice, cream, and bagels for our mornings. I always pack our fav coffee. We brought only carry-on bags so we quickly unpacked and headed to Bootlegger’s Bistro for some appies and a glass of wine. We were tired so we headed back to the room for a good nights sleep. I had a cold and hoped to actually rest a little on this trip too!

2/24

We spent the next morning doing a walk through of the property with our realtor and the listing realtor. We took tons of pictures since we are going to rent it to someone for the time being. We explored the neighborhood and ended with lunch at Revere Country Club. I loved the view from the Country Club as it has a wonderful view of the strip with wall to wall glass windows. It’s part of our community at Sun City Anthem and I am sure we will dine there often. The food and wine was very good.

We left Sun City and headed over to South Point. We played BJ but the casino kicked our butts. We rested back in the room and took stock of the day and decided to have dinner at Carluccio’s near UNLV. We had a gift certificate for $50 so decided to use it. This is the restaurant designed by and formerly owned by Liberace. It is just behind his museum. You either love it or hate it I guess. I know some people dislike the red sauces but I love their chicken marsala. Husband had shrimp alfedo and I had my fav. We had the calamari appy and for desert he had lemon sorbet and I had the chocolate ice cream swirled with raspberry sobert and dipped in dark chocolate. With two ice teas the bill was $54 plus tip.

The place has a kitsch vibe with just plan gaudy décor but that is part of the charm for us. If you go, stick your head into the area beyond the bar, which is a second bar. That bar look like a piano and the keyboard is what you belly up to. Everything else is white accents including seventies style sleek white barstools. In the corner is a beautiful ornate piano that is used to entertain patrons on certain nights.

2/25

Signing paperwork and turning over our money today at 11 am. We go to EI for a proper breakfast at Husbands request. We were seated right away but we wait about 15 minutes for the waitress to take our order. It’s breakfast time but I get the steak special and husband gets country fried steak and eggs.

We waited for 50 minutes for our order. It was good but boy the service was super slow. When we got the check I noticed that I had been charged for my soft drink. In the past I would order a beer, root beer, or diet soda and any option was included. I brought it to the attention of the waitress and she said that it was no longer allowed. Beer or Root Beer only and she stated that some had been fired for substituting. I also asked the hostess and it is true that the policy of no substitutes is strictly enforced and she went on to say that also strictly enforced is that you can not use any two for one coupons on any specials on the daily board or the steak special.

We drove to Henderson and concluded our business and had lunch at China Spice at GVR. We played some BJ and ended up about $250 between the two of us.

More time to rest for puny little me. At about 10pm we went out to Terribles so husband could play video poker and I played some Zorro. We played until about 1 am and husband hit a couple of four of a kinds and I hit a minor jackpot. We decided on a late night snack and headed up to the café. Husband had a breakfast with toast, ham, eggs, and potatoes, for $3.99. I thought I would have something small and had the biscuit and gravy plate also $3.99. Holy Cow! My biscuit was the size of a dinner plate. It was weird, not bad just weird. The gravy was creamed chipped beef and I expected sausage gravy. It was fine, just different. I also noticed that the have a proper “English Breakfast” on their menu if anyone out there is looking for their morning fix of baked beans. They also have a decent looking Moco Loco that I will try next time.

End of the day sigh.

2/26

Sleeping in and feeling a little bit better so after coffee and fruit in the room we head out to look at the new M resort form the outside. Grand opening is Sunday and I really wish we could see inside but it not going to happen this trip. It looks like it is going to cater to locals with a focus on value. The place still will feature good restaurant choices but they say that there will be no $12 martinis. It looks like it will be very attractive and comfortable. It will feature an outdoor concert venue that promises to be very busy this summer.

We decide that we are going downtown for a while so we valet at Triple George Grill since we plan on ending up there for lunch. After parking we walk through the old neon and to the Fitz. I played some dollar slots and lost quickly so moved to the pennies. I lucked out and hit a small “mini” progressive and won back what I had lost. Husband wasn’t so lucky so he wanted to go to the Queen’s. He hit his luck there at BJ and walked away up a couple of hundred dollars.

We head to Triple George and Husband has the Caesar salad and salmon. I have the crab Louie and cup of clam chowder. With the warm basket of sourdough I hardly had room to share the chocolate peanut butter cheese cake I shared with DH. We had only iced tea to drink and the tab before tip was $52. You can really have a good lunch here for much less money if you stick to the $10 lunch menu. I really like it here but it’s more everyday LV than tourist LV since they do a great business from the nearby court house. We have even seen Oscar in there a couple of times.

We go back to the room so I can get my strength back.

Since it’s our last night we decide to see a show. Husband wanted to see Steve Wyrick since he saw him on David Letterman, so we head out for the 9pm show at PH. We have a big slushy at Fat Tuesday before the show and that was my first slushy in four days! I must be slipping!!

We enjoyed the show and now I would recommend this show for people looking for a kid friendly show. He uses a child for a portion of the show and he is pretty PG.

We played for a while at PH with no luck at BJ or slots. We head for Palms and I hit a small progressive on a super sevens machine and walk away with $400. Husband isn’t doing so well so he wants to go to Gold Coast. We separate and I play Money Train Monopoly and he plays Life of Luxury. I am up $90 and he calls my cell phone to say “let’s go I just hit a ruby for $478”. I cashed out, cash it in, and we leave.

We only won small amounts and lost almost as much as we won. We paid for everything with cash, and left LV with a $160 less than what we brought to town.

2/27

We slept in since our flight was not until 3pm. We lunched at our Casa Don Juan near downtown and headed for the airport.

The flight home was smooth and we took a nice nap on the way home. I came home feeling much better than I did when I left. This might have to become my new method of recovering from colds or flu!

No fancy gourmet meals, not much time on the strip, no big shows but still a very enjoyable time.

Now to start planning for a return trip in May!

Thanks to anyone who waded through the details.

:-%26gt;

Mostly Off Strip TR

welcome to henderson!! well sooner or later anyways and i am glad to have another egger around as well :)

Mostly Off Strip TR

Hey there vegastaco!! I really think we are going to like it there. The house has a BBQ grill stub for gas but we both know that it will NEVER be used!

Big Green Eggers unite!

I enjoyed your report very much. Maybe it is because my husband and I like to stay off strip. We love staying, playing and eating at GVR. I%26#39;ll be trying the M out for a night at the end of March, if I like it I think we%26#39;ll stay there when in town at the end of May.

Thank you for taking the time to do a TR!

Great TR 3.99 for a good breakfast that will get you going.

gabby,

You will get to visit M before our May trip. I will be watch the forum for your reviews!

It%26#39;s good to know that some people know about the off strip places to play. :-%26gt;

nice report ShrinkGirl, I will be spending a night at the M resort in early March.

Glad to hear you got your new house.

Regarding the M Resort:

I have looked at their menus and their drinks are around 8.50 each , now the meals are expensive, even to this So Cal native.

Looks like it will be either the 24 hr cafe or maybe I can bribe Dad to drive me down to South Point for Prime Rib.

I will also take a side trip to GVR and hopefully South Point.

Glad to see you returned healthier than when you left- and with a house no less! Sounds like a great trip to me-a confirmed off-strip gambler, eater and hotel stay-er! Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.

Looking forward to your May TR already- the one where you win all that money, right? ;-).

Hey Shrinky...glad to see you made it home safely, and thanks for the report :)

I am already visioning a trip where you and taco cohost a BBQ for us! Whoo Hoo!!!!

Thanks for the comments OldiesGuy, Tia, vp03, and Ducky!

Tia,

I read the comments the owner made about the dining at M and he was very focused on value. I then saw that prime rib was about $46 on the menu so I am thinking that it must be relative to the most upscale options on the strip.

I%26#39;m hoping we all know soon. :-%26gt;

Ducky,

We can do it!

vp03,

I like a more laid back off the strip trip these days. I can always find someting that makes me smile.

OldiesGuy,

If you try that biscuit thing at Terrible%26#39;s plan on staying awhile. LOL