Coherent Babble

Ok, I'm going to stop being lazy and finally write this trip report.  This one will detail the non-poker stuff.

Vegas was filled with activities this time.  My gf got to come so we planned some events as opposed to me just grinding poker or railing peeps as per my usual schedule in Vegas.  I found a great website that had sweet discounts on Cirque de Soleil shows so we booked tickets to Ka and Love (the Beatles one).

We went to Ka with two other couples and even though I didn't follow the story completely, it was still a fantastic show and I highly recommend it.  The presentation and special effects were phenomenal.  The seats we had were also great.  They were $150 seats that I managed to get for $62.50 and they were in the section right in front of the stage.  It was my first Cirque show so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but it was WELL worth $62.50.

 

 

The gf and I also attended Love with my friend's wife and PygmyHero.  Lysistrata (Pygmy's wife) was supposed to come too, but she didn't end up making it out to Vegas because she STILL hadn't finished her wedding scrapbook and I wouldn't let her come without finishing it.  Again, I struggled following the "story" of Love.  Unbeknownst to me, Love takes you on a chronological journey from something like the 1950s to 1970s, utilizing various Beatles songs to narrate the time period.  This show was decent, and everyone else seemed to really enjoy it.  My inability to follow the "story" made it less enjoyable for me.  Also, this show was more about dancing around rather than impressive feats or amazing effects.  It was also very weird at times (I'm guessing during the Beatles more 'experimental' phase.)  I'm sure most people would still enjoy it, but it paled in comparison to Ka for me.

 

 

Before hitting up Love, the gf, my friend's wife, and I all decided to check out Onda Ristorante, an italian restaurant in the Mirage.  The atmosphere was great and it felt quite fancy, but I felt the food was very underwhelming.

http://www.mirage.com/restaurants/onda-ristorante.aspx

We stayed at Bally's for the whole trip except the last night.  My friend was able to get us a free room at The Palazzo so we decided to try that out for our final night.  Because we had to pack up our stuff, check out of Bally's, and catch a taxi to The Palazzo, we almost didn't even worry about going, fearing it wasn't worth the hassle.  Boy were we glad we decided to go through with it!  The room, as you can see below, was AMAZING.  There was a sunken living room area, 3 flat TVs (1 in the bathroom), an incredible bathroom, and a sick view from the window overlooking the giant Palazzo pool and the strip.

During the final night, the gf and I met up with various DC peeps, including DeathDonkey, RiverBoatKing, DJ Sensei, Soepgroente(pronounced Vincent), FoxwoodsFiend, and WhiteLime, at the very fancy steakhouse named Cut at The Palazzo.  The steaks were around $80 at this place and I'm sure they were delicious, but ultimately, the gf and I decided to head over to the Grand Lux Cafe (also located in The Palazzo) to partake in a slightly more affordable meal.  RBK ended up losing credit card roulette that night and got stuck with a $1200 bill.  The Grand Lux turned out to be a fantastic restaurant.  The owners of the Cheesecake Factory also own this place and the food was very, very good.  We obviously got dessert and because we couldn't take anything with us, struggled to stuff down as much as possible.

A good review of the Grand Lux Cafe can be found here.

All in all, it was a lot of fun getting to experience the non-poker side of Vegas, especially with the gf.  The only downside is she now refuses to stay anywhere but The Palazzo if she ever comes back!

I'll detail the poker stuff in my next blog :)