Mandalay Bay Shark Reef

We were recently visited by friends from Chicago, Dave and Beth, who came down on a time share deal. Although normally frightened by the prospect of the cult-like sales approach of the time-share companies, I was impressed with the one Dave signed up with. They did not consume a bunch of his time, gave him his freebies with no problems, and the room/suite is actually pretty rock on.

As tour guides for the visitors, we also benefited from his freebies. These included free admission to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We were really amazed by the experience. The one drawback was the long walk from the tram station to the reef, which is located next to the south convention center. If we had taken the car, this would not have been a problem. The exhibit was well worth the walk though. I just like to complain about something or another...

I have always been a fan of aquariums, perhaps not as much as my brother, but still a fan. My personal favorite was the Seattle Aquarium and my brother is a Shedd Aquarium devotee. Perhaps we have our favorites picked for nostalgic reasons. I know my brother has been at the Shedd aquarium often enough for them to assume he is a staff member once or twice.

The first exhibit was the golden alligators – which were just amazing to see. If we did not know any better we would have assumed they were dead . They hold their breath for up to two hours at a time while waiting for prey. Beautiful skin on them, regardless of their sleepiness. Each exhibit after that was even more amazing – from giant Amazonian fish to moray eels in coral reefs.

Dave’s favorite exhibit was the sunken ship, which included 270 degree view all around – plus ceiling and floor glass. It made for an amazing view of the sawfish, sea turtles, and of course multiple species of shark. Amy’s favorite was the stingray tank. Inside the tank there were live stingrays that you could pet. The stingers had been dulled, and they were used to being touched. The guide at the stingray tank was very friendly and knowledgable. To answer the obvious question: soft and a little slimy.

The passport and earpiece prove to be wonderful supplements to the aquarium and are incredibly informative. It was nice to be able to identify each species of fish we were examining. The giant blue parrot fish had to by my favorite…

Great Website

For those of you wanting more information about Las Vegas casinos, don't forget to stop by Casino City. This website has regular news updates, and information concerning area casinos. One of my favorite features is on each casino's profile it shares information about ownership. This is always fun to know for various reasons - for instance my Total Rewards card allows me to get free rooms at the Harrah's in San Diego, or if The Orleans is engaging in a massive construction project the slots at the Gold Coast might get a little tighter. The news articles are informative as well, citing the July broke the previous record in May for profitabiltiy at the Vegas casinos. That's a nice reminder that they exist to make a profit, next time you just know that big win is coming in...

This isn't your Grandma's slot... not yet anyway

I want to tip my hat to the cleverness of WMS gaming. They have targeted their games toward an audience that was raised on video games. Check out their website and you'll see what I mean. You will also see how many amazing games are included in their repertoire. More cool than all that is you can also enter their sweepstakes as well:

The G+ series including Zeus, Brazilian Beauty, and Jungle Wild; The HotHot SuperJackpot games, and the Top Gun games are all targeted to a younger crowd that is use to playing video games. The Bose sound and graphics (excepting HotHot which is a reel game) are designed to fit a higher standard. Playing Top Gun feels more like an arcade game then a slot machine. The nice thing is that by targeting that audience they have actually grown their veteran player audience. The veteran players are drawn to the higher standards and hence, as mentioned previously, it's tough to get on a Monopoly game...

SunCoast

The Suncoast. Where do I begin? This is my better half's favorite place to be in all of Las Vegas. Technically in Summerlin, it is her local casino. The waitresses there know who you are by the time you come there a second time. My better half walks in, walks straight to her Indian Princess game, and before she knows it she has a drink order delivered. This is the Cheers of casinos.

Let's begin at the top and work our way down however. The hotel rooms at this casino are pretty incredible. They have decent views, flat screen televisions, and have been renovated within the past year or so. We would probably rank it as a four star hotel. The rates however, stay at a two star level. Only $40 a night got us a beautiful room when we stayed there last. The one draw back is their club card does not seem to get you a better deal on rooms or free rooms like one finds in other casinos. The charging for rooms, albeit modestly, does allow for one nice feature. The slot machines pay.

Wrestling the title from the Palms, the Suncoast is the title holder for best paying slots in Las Vegas. This is according to a reader poll, but I will tell you that it is true. My better half can enter the casino with $20, and leave with $20. Admittedly there are plenty of times where we lose our shirts, but it is a casino after all. 80,000 square feet of casino floor with over 1,600 games means that if you are not picky you will not have to fight to get on a machine. Unless you want to play Monopoly. That's common across the board however, and I'll talk about what WMS gaming is doing and why this is happening later. The games are updated frequently - they even have the brand new Atari game. They also have classics that never go out of style. I should confess to my bias however:

That's right, on a 25 cent bet, I won $2,529. It's not to say that the casino will not get that back from me over time, but it is possible to win jackpots at this casino. I am sure people have one larger jackpots, but for me - the guy with crap luck, to win this much on a quarter speaks highly for the Suncoast's slots.

This is not to say that the casino is not without flaws. Although my better half gets phenomenal service, I only get decent service in certain areas of the floor. One of our favorite servers is always in such a rush we refer to her as the marathon runner. She will spout like the old micro-machines spokesman, "cocktailsdrinkscocktails" with the ending trailing off as she has ran away. Part of my difficulty is that my favorite machine (I'm not telling you which one) is in a border between server territories and so technically I'm not in anyone's area. That does tell you something about the size of the casino.

The people are an interesting mix as well. From a drunk guy handing out fives because he feels like passing on the phenomenal luck he's had that night, to snuffy Summerlin soccer mom's who can't stand the smell of anything, the overall atmosphere is pretty friendly. You will actually find yourself talking to your neighbors here, which is rare to find in a casino environment.

The bowling and movie theatre are pretty incredible there as well- we will talk about those in the future. The one thing I haven't been able to speak about yet is the food, and I will in more depth later. The one thing you should know is that the Bagel Cafe is incredible there. If you want a reuban at 10pm, or the best bagel in the world at 7am, do not overlook this cafe. A little expensive, it is well worth it for the phenomenal taste. Our only wish is that it was open later. Sometimes at 3am when you lost track of time, you will find yourself craving one of their great sandwiches and be disappointed to see them closed. Even if its only on the weekend - we think it would be worthwhile.

Rampart Casino and Hotel

My better half believes that the Rampart is trying to seduce her from her normal casino, the Sun Coast. They send her coupons and offers, and what's bad is that they work. We end up showing up there for a buffet we are never sure that we really want to eat. See the Rampart is kinda like a rich crazy aunt. Everything in her house is really clean, but its been around for a few years. There's that distinct smell of early on-set old person, too many cleaning products, and the low-cost air fresheners. You go there hoping you will win that inheritance, but she's not going to give it up anytime soon. You know she has money, it just reeks of money. As my own rich crazy aunt used to say however, "Rich people didn't get rich by spending money." This is very true here.
Although they do offer some great discounts and some normal great prices on the food, you get the distinct impression that it was bought through the same distribute that covers low-rent nursing homes. They work really hard at preparing it, and trying to come up with unique ways of presenting things, but it just doesn't feel right. This is not to say the buffet does not have a few winners - we had fried sushi there that was so incredible... but you can not make a meal out of fried sushi. I still don't get that though, is it still sushi if it's been cooked? On steak night they had flank stakes that were served in large trays marked Rare, Medium, and Well. This is not to say it was horrible its just degradation that I spoke of earlier. The steak was a poor cut, was pressed to cook, and had been kept mostly warm by lamp. This does not make it unpalatable, just defeats what most people refer to as steak. We said on our last outing that the buffet was worth the cost we paid for it. This was true, but how much of that is us becoming Vegas snobs?
The really nice thing about the restaurants in the Rampart is that they are located away from the floor. You can not hear the familiar ding and bells of the slot machines. Even on the floor they are at a quieter level than normal. This makes for a nice dining experience and removes you from the normal high level of noise in buffets (machines, people trying to talk over machines, people trying to talk over people talking over machines, etc.). They have been kind to us, and we are almost tempted to gamble there - but I think we will wait until one of our crazy old aunts are in town.

Events Listings

I have found a few great sites to find out what is happening in town. The first site is:

Sandra Off the Strip does a great job of listing and presenting unique events. The site is geared toward locals, although I am sure tourist would love it as well. I check the site regularly to find things to do other than feed the slot machines... not that there is anything not enjoyable about that.

The other site of course is the Las Vegas Weekly:

Just like any other major city, this is the weekly paper that lets you know what is going on, with the normal bent toward rock concerts and club. The blogs on this site are phenomenal and should not be missed.

Star Trek Experience - Las Vegas Hilton

The other week I dragged my Grandmother to see the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. The whole family was in town, but she was the only one brave enough to attempt the journey. She was secretly a fan of Star Trek and so actually was the only volunteer. Most everyone backed out at the ticket prices. When the SO and I went before we got the Latinum Package, or something like that, that included the back stage tour. It was definitely worthwhile.

To begin, the Hilton did a great job of highlighting the Experience. The casino entrance to the experience includes a mini-casino with science fiction inspired slot machines and decor. One can never get enough of the Twilight Zone and MIB video slot games. There are also actors in costumes that greet you and speak to you in the surrounding environment. You can have your picture taken with a Borg, or like myself discuss the joys of colder climates with an Andorian woman. There is also a restaurant designed to mimic Quark's from Deep Space Nine and the obligatory gift shop. There is also a worthwhile museum which extends into the lines for the rides. The museum has beautiful examples of the wool costumes worn by the cast. Wool was used because it doesn't wrinkle and so looks futuristic, although the set had to be heavily air conditioned. It is amazing to see how properties have changed over the years to improve the appearance of hand props.

The rides themselves are worth the price of admission. The two rides are the Borg Invasion 4D and the Klingon Encounter. If you need to choose only one, I would recommend the Klingon Encounter.

The Borg Invasion 4D is essentially an immersion movie experience. They can seat more so the line moves faster. The three dimensional movie is accompanied by things that trigger the other senses. It is not to say it is a bad experience, but it pales to the Klingon Encounter. I recommend therefore that you attempt this experience before the Klingon. This is coming from a huge fan of Captain Jane Way. The movie is well done, and the three dimensional graphics are nothing like you expect from the old fashion red and green glasses experiences from the seventies and eighties. The fourth dimension that they refer to is the movement of the seats. This is the movie that William Castle wish he had the technology to make. It will have you jumping out of your seat.

Unfortunately, I am sworn to secrecy concerning the Klingon Encounter. Needless to say, even my Grandmother jumped out of her skin on a few occasions. The effects are stunning, and it is fully immersive. The shuttle craft ride is amazing, and makes the Back to the Future Ride at Universal Studios look antiquated. The exhilarating and excitement is amazing.

The backstage tour is worth the extra expense. The tour guide we had, memorized every person on the tour's name before we even began. He had a great rapport, a great sense of humor, and knew everything that you could possible know about Star Trek. He was challenged on a few occasions by the tour group, and was able to answer any question about any version of the show. The Hilton has done its homework. Even the Klingon actors must be fluent in the Klingon language in order to join the cast. The knowledge and enthusiasm of our tour guide, and what we were able to see from a different perspective made it worthwhile. We are quiet fans, but have our badges from the backstage tour posted on the wall. This was truly a worthwhile experience.