Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Fredbob]

Going to Vegas with the wife next month, 1st time for both of us, any suggestions? and yeah, we're doing the wedding thing (we're already married here, but, long story short, we're going to get married again while we're there).

[oregonjoy]

Lived and worked there.

Don't rent a car. Set aside $200 for taxis.

See a Legends Show at the Imperial Palace or Stratosphere.

TRY to get tickets to O at Bellagio. It is far and away the best production show in town w/Olympic divers. This is the most breathtaking thing in Vegas, in addition to the art galleries, but u may find those boring.

Your hotel will have a list of the Top restaurants, buffets, etc. etc. etc.

Depends what u are into. If u are in romance mode on honeymoon, Mandalay Bay has some lovely restaurants, as does Bellagio. Prepare to part ways with some serious coin, however.

The best black jack deals are in the dumps downtown -- single deck with low wagers.

I would stroll around the new Wynn hotel and of course check out the atrium in the Bellagio, which is gorgeous.

You can run up to Hoover Damn. I don't dig the Venetian but you and your love can do the fake gondola ride. The Hard Rock is a kick, esp. the pool. I like Mandalay Bay. Seen Cuba Gooding Jr. there in the lounges several times.

For dancing, I loved Latino Night on Thursdays at the Rio. Absolutely rocked.
Have fun!

[Fredbob]

thanks for the info, actually thinking of staying at the Hard Rock.

[normalcyispasse]

See a Cirque du Soleil show. 'O' is very expensive, but it's supposed to be the best. I've seen a couple of the others and would recommend Zumanity as well, especially for a couple.

Eat the buffet at the Bellagio.

Play cards at the Wynn, if that's your thing.

Bet on horses at the MGM. They have a neat area.

Watch the fountains at the Bellagio. They're way cool.

It's like an adult Disneyland; you'll not run out of things to do!

[crsandus]

Wear comfortable walking shoes if you plan on checking out the hotels. Walking on concrete all day does a number on your feet.

Might be a silly thing to say but if are the type to share food with the wife/gf/partner, or one of you is a light eater, try to ask what the portions of the meal you are ordering. A lot of places serve very large portions and maybe you'll be able to split a dish. eg. Went to Margaritaville to listen to a band and down a couple drinks with my Dad. We were both mildly hungry so he ordered some salad and I the nachos... The nachos were the largest plate of nachos I have ever seen. My Dad and I could have been starving and not finished that plate.

The free monorail on the west side of the strip only goes from the Excalibur to Mandalay Bay, not all the way to the Bellagio like some maps/books say (construction).

Stratosphere is nice to eat at, a bit pricy. The Christmas dinner (4 course meal) plus wine flight (different glass of wine with ever course) set me back $100+ before tax and tip. The view, however, was fantastic.

I agree on the car thing. It's really cheap to rent a car, but the traffic is terrible. Walk or take taxis.

I didn't see any shows so I can't comment on that. I'm not a show person but my Dad saw the Phantom and Blue Man Group and really liked both.

Congratulations on your wedding.

[Dazed and Confused]

O is worth the price and Blue Man Group is too if you like their music.
Hard Rock hotel is a singles scene and off the strip. The Luxor and New York New York both ahve nice deals and arent' bad hotels. Trekkies will love the Star Trek experience at the Hilton. Walk through the shopping areas of the hotels.There's usually free shows from time to time. Check out the tigers and the aquarium as well as 3D Imax shows.

[demaratus]

I saw "O" last year, it was awesome. You should see it. It was the best of the cirque shows for sure. I kinda liked freemont street but most people don't ever go there. For night time fun the 2 best places to party were the Palms and the hard rock. If you like to gamble, the MGM, The Rio and New York Casino's were my faves, the hard rock was cool but they didn't have a poker room when I was there. A Grand Canyon tour would be cool for someone who has never seen that kinda landscape before, I would imagine A Korean who may never have seen or heard of it may be impressed.

For places to stay I recommend the Signature at the MgM Grand, you get a suite, with amazing beds (egyptian cotton sheets) a hot tub, 40 " plasma hd tv's ect.. For pretty much the same cost as a regular room in the MGM Grand, its a 5 minute walk (max) to the strip from the signature on moving sidewalks. A great view and a lot of luxury for the money.

As for restuarants, Vegas has scores of great ones, My Favorites were: Diego (latin american in the Mgm grand, Casual-fine dining with Latin flair, simply great!), Joel Robuchon's L'autielier (sp?) sorta fancy-casual atmosphere and amazing food in te MgM Grand, The B&B Ristorante (a Mario Batali restaurant) was some of the best Italian I have had, a fancier type place in the Venetian, Craftsteak was quite nice in the MGM as well. The best buffet I had was at the Wynn.

[normalcyispasse]

Oh yeah -- if you play poker, I always find the tables at the Luxor to be the softest. MGM is a bit harder but not terrible. Wynn is pretty aggressive. Bizarrely, the Stratosphere hosts some hard games.

Rooms at the Strat, however, are pretty cheap. While it's technically ON the strip, you'd best get a bus pass or a good pair of shoes; it's a long walk from the STratosphere to, say, the Luxor.

[Tiger Beer]

[Fredbob]

Thanks for all the info guys, gonna digest what you've all been saying, probably book the trip tonight.
But I gotta get a car, long story short, coming in Wed afternoon, Thursday afternoon going to Albequrque (sp?) NM to a party/reception, Friday afternoon go back to Vegas and get married, then party and then Sat afternoon back to NYC for another party/reception. So I'm figuring on getting a convertible to enjoy the long 8?hour desert ride and blow her mind with her first big sky and try to hit some sites like the Hoover Dam along the way.


Oh, and thanks for the Congrats!

[Tiger Beer]

[Fredbob]

Actually, I was confused, I'm staying at the Planet Hollywood Casino, wanted to be on the strip and we prefer the raucous to the romantic, so it seemed like a good choice. Got hooked up with a convertible (unlimited miles, NIICE), didn't book any show tickets though, taking an adverturer's attitude about it.

Props to Travelocity, 2 round trip non stops, 3 night hotel stay and a convertible for less than $1300 including taxes and fees.

Hey, TB, I'll admit that I'm a geographically impaired New Yorker, is there anything in particular to see on the way to ABQ?

[Tiger Beer]

[Don Gately]

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail.FightCard&eid=1023

Your wife will love it.

[stvwrd]

I thought the best poker (or maybe just cheapest blinds) was at the Excalibur. They also have a free buffet in the poker room for you to munch on. I paid for both of my Vegas trips there.

I thought it was fun to splurge on one meal and go to one of the nicer places you can find. I thought rumjungle was fun.

Also, I've stayed at a place just a bit down the street from Hard Rock called Alexis Park, and ended up visiting the Hard Rock a few times.

It's much smaller than I expected. The pool area is definitely cool, but considering how far away it is from everything else I don't know that it's worth it.

For my money, I think it'd be worth it to spring for a more expensive hotel in the Bellagio/MGM Grand/Mandalay Bay area. You'll save in the long run on taxi fare. Excalibur supposedly has the cheapest rooms in the area, and you can easily get to the monorail, but it's older and the rooms supposedly not so nice.

That all being said, my friends and I pretty much lived in the poker rooms. We stayed in the area with the most action and the most stuff to do within walking distance between sessions. If you're interested in doing other stuff (Hoover Dam, driving around, shooting an AK-47 at the range, etc), that's probably less reason to focus all of your attention on that one little area of the town, and getting a cheaper hotel a little farther away and renting a car could be worth it.

It's been a couple years since I've done Vegas, so I'm sure things have changed.