Trip report 11/08 - 11/15 The it nearly didn't happen trip

Brief outline

2 guys mid 30’s on an annual trip to Vegas, this is our 4th trip and we go for both gambling and sightseeing.

The reason this trip nearly didn’t happen is that I had a kidney transplant earlier in the year and I’m not supposed to leave the country for 12 months but hey Vegas was calling so I talked the medics into letting me go. The previous year I had been on dialysis and had managed to do that OK in the hotel, this year we had a little more freedom so decided to do more off-strip/out of town things as I wasn’t tied to being in the hotel every 4 hours. We are definitely low rollers and just gamble for the fun of it.

I will post the trip report as reply

Trip report 11/08 - 11/15 The it nearly didn't happen trip

Booking

We booked this trip, as with all our US trips through NATS in Manchester, who always give good service, as a result I can’t comment on prices for hotel/flights etc

Flight

Flew BMI from Manchester, no problems, as always except the length of flight but that can’t be avoided.

Car Hire

Had booked a luxury car with Alamo, turned out we got a new Cadillac DTS. Would never consider Vegas without a car, and as car hire in the US is such good value compared with the UK we figured we may as well get a decent ride.

Hotel

Booked into TI, room was OK, we didn’t care about a strip view as only use the room for sleeping. As it turned out our room overlooked the ‘New Frontier’ which came in handy for the implosion

Food/Meals

We tend to eat a decent breakfast and then not much else till dinner time, and then just grab a cheap meal /fast food. Other than fast food joints we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in the Mirage which was good, The Burger Bar between the Luxor and MB, which again was excellent as always, a good beer selection too, and Yolies Brazilian Steakhouse which was the only more formal meal we had. This place was OK, the meat was well cooked and the service excellent, my only comment would be that we had eaten at Texas De Brazil in Dallas earlier in the year and thought that T-d-B was superior, I think they are due to open a restaurant in Vegas in the near future so if its Brazilian Steakhouse you are looking for this would be my recommendation.

Shows

Only 2 shows this year, the Producers, which we got tickets for at Tix-4-Tonight at $34.50 each. This has Tony Danza as the headline actor and was very funny, albeit a little cut down from the usual version. None of the signature sections were omitted so I would recommend this especially if you are a fan of the film and can get a reduced price ticket. We also saw ‘The Price is Right’ at Ballys which was only about 1/3 full. Rich got called up and totally failed to get anywhere near the price, still he got his free T-shirt which seemed to please him

Excursions

We took a trip around the Valley of Fire and down past lake Mead one day which was stunning.

The other trip we made was down to Phoenix on the Sunday to see the Cardinals play the Lions. As big UK NFL fans we usually combine our November Vegas trip with an NFL game, either the Chargers or the Cardinals, this year was the Cardinals, as the Chargers were playing the Colts, and tickets were hard to come by over in the UK. The trip down was nice and easy, and finding the stadium didn’t cause any problems, we even managed to blag a parking space in the car parks nearest the stadium (don’t ask how). The game was really good, contrary to expectations, and a home win always goes down well and improves the atmosphere. On the way back however things didn’t go so well as I got caught speeding by one of Arizona’s finest. He was polite about it and I was clearly in the wrong, these things happen.

Gambling

We decided this year to try a few off-strip casinos as we weren’t tied being near the hotel room this year. We play mainly 3 card poker with a little blackjack %26amp; roulette thrown in as the mood takes us, we are definitely low rollers though. We also like the odd hour or so on the slots, I’m a real sucker for the giant ‘Wheel of (mis)Fortune’, sucker being the word this year!

We tried the following off strip casinos. Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, South Point, Palace Station, Whiskey Pete’s in Primm, all of which were nice, though only Whiskey Pete’s were lucky this year. We also played in TI, Mirage, Bills, Excalibur %26amp; Sahara. Overall I took a bit of a kicking this year but hey that happens sometimes.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, any questions please ask

S

Trip report 11/08 - 11/15 The it nearly didn't happen trip

Nice TR----I love the casinos outside of Vegas too! Have to give you credit for going with the kidney transplant and all! You filled up the trip nicely!! Be well

Thanks for the report. I just PM%26#39;d you.

Great TR Simon, I know what you mean about the Wheel of (mis) Fortune, i don%26#39;t know why we feed it the green stuff!

Nice trip report! I%26#39;m glad that you were able to make your annual trip.

What does one say? congratulations? on your kidney transplant?

Of course I%26#39;m sorry that you needed one, but glad that you got one!

Glad you had a good time! Thanks for writing.

Good TR.

Hope the transplant is going OK, I know what the restrictions can be as my dad was on dyalysis until his transplant and the sense of freedom for him now is overwhelming.

Great Report!! I am glad they cleared you so you could come to Vegas, it sounds like you had a great time.

Great TR! My nephew had a kidney transplant last year, about 8 - 10 years after he had a heart transplant. He is doing fine. I%26#39;m sure you will, too. I%26#39;m happy for you that you were able to find a donor and that the surgery went well. Hope you continue to stay healthy.

It sounds like you had a very nice trip. We have yet to rent a car when we go. I would like to, but my husband is not keen on driving while we are on vacation, so I don%26#39;t push it.

Thaks for sharing with us.

Camille

Thanks for the report, I am glad that you were able to make the trip. Stay well.

Good report. I am so glad you were able to go. Wow...most of us do not appreciate the freedom that we have. Good health is so important! and a blessing..Slotto