Las Vegas trip report- Sept. 02
 

Just back from Las Vegas where the weather was warm and sunny!<BR><BR>We flew on Sept. 11th for $1 on National from Seattle. I have to say that I was very impressed with this airline and will definately fly them again. They are a step up from Southwest. Customer service was great and the snack pack they give out is a welcome relief from pretzles!!<BR><BR>Stayed at Bally's for $51 a night (thanks to a poster here!) and really liked it. They upgraded us to a very large newly remodeled room in the North Tower. No view, but nice big space. I really think that the location of Bally's is just about perfect! The monorail down to the MGM stops there and it is connected to Paris which makes a very nice and convienent walkway. And the pool at Bally's is the best! It is huge, an olympic size pool; there were very few children (schools in and there is no theme to draw families) and there were more than enough lounge chairs for everyone!<BR><BR>We ate at Olives for dinner one night and loved it! Had a window seat with a view of the fountains. Fantastic wine list and the food was prepared and presented perfectly. If you have ever eaten at Todd English's other establishments you will recognize the way he matches ingrediants, it's great! We had very good service from everyone from the host to the waiter. I would definately recommend this place. We had a nice bottle of a better Oregon Pinot, shared a flatbread pizza, 2 entrees and espressos after- bill was about $170.00.<BR><BR>The next night we ate out at the Green Valley Ranch Resort which is more of a locals casino/complex. We had dinner at Bull Shrimp which is another restaurant owned by chef Gustav Mauler(he also owns Oxo and use to head up the Buccaneer Bay restaurant at the TI.) Our friends who live there know him and wanted to try it so they took us here. Dinner was good, steaks and seafood. Very pretty presentation but nothing was that great that I would return. Can't tell you about the bill as most of our stuff was comped and our friends picked up the remainder. I will say it had the most disappointing wine list!<BR><BR>Had lunch at Mon Ami Gabi and really enjoyed sitting out on the terrace watching the fountains at Bellagio. We shared the mussels,had a few glasses of wine and their quiche lorraine is better than the ones in Paris! The food is very inexpensive here but the wines are extremely overpriced! Our bill was $75.<BR><BR>Also checked out the bar at Red Square which was nice but maybe a bit overhyped (IMO). The martini's were very good and about $9 ea. (they are a little small to be getting that amount). Went to the VooDoo lounge also ($10 to get up/in; martini's $11 each here! ouch!), next time we will go check out the Ghost Bar at the Palms. <BR><BR>As always we had a great time! I go to Vegas 1 or 2 times a year and there is always something new and fun to try out!!

Wendy, I am glad that you too liked Olives. I never have a bad time there:)<BR> My favorite lunch at Mon Ami Gabi has been omelete and fries, as good as Paris.<BR> Did you really mean that your airfare was one dollar?

Yes Kate, it was $1 to fly on 9/11 and $89 to fly home on Sat. eve. Coupled with the great room rates it was quite a deal of a trip. And I found out about the $1 fare here on Fodor's.<BR><BR>Thanks again for everyone who made recommendations and gave info. It is always so much fun to plan trips with the help of the board!

How's the gambling at Ballys? I want to try a new game I heard about here on this board called "3 card poker". Apparently, it is a newer game and not all of the casinos have it. Do you recall seeing this game (probably near the blackjack tables)?? Dan

Dan, I don't recall seeing 3 card poker at any of the casinos we played at (Binions, Golden Nugget, Rio, Harrah's, IP, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Alladin, Paris, Ballys) but I wasn't looking so it's hard to say. Bally's was pretty good to us, more so in the afternoon and early evening vs. late.

Dan, <BR><BR>We just got back from Vegas and I do recall seeing "3 card poker" at Caesar's Forum casino.

I'll be in Vegas Nov. 6-10. Will I have to make reservations for outdoor seating at Mon Ami Gabi??? I've heard so much about it that I don't want to miss eating there. Will outdoor seating be comfortable in Nov. (I know not even meteorologists can answer that ?, but thought some of you seasoned Vegas people could give me an opinion). My schedule would probably allow a Thurs, Fri, Sat. dinner, or a Sat. lunch. Any suggestions on the best time, and how far in advance should I make reservations. Whew!! Lots of questions!!! Thanks

Kristin, When I made my reservations at Mon Ami Gabi they would not take the outside preference but said I would have to request that when I checked in. Which may be good in Nov. as you never know what the weather will be like. We showed up about 15 mins early and they had 2 tables available outside. But they also have an atrium like room which really gives you the feel of being outside and then the main dining room which is dark woods and brass.<BR><BR>I would call for your reservations a few weeks in advance to get the time you preferr.<BR><BR>Have fun!