Took a drive put to the new 'M' resort, it's a bit strange because it has virtually no lights on externally except for an 'M', looks very unimpressive at night from the outside. It's easy to get to, either by going out of vegas on Las Vegas Boulevard or jumping up onto I15.
Inside, it's a different matter, very contempary, obviously very new, it's really very nice with some slot machines I'd never seen before. It was very very quiet in there, their comps look much better than anyone on the strip. Went back to the strip afterwards to try a hotdog from the new 'Pinks' that's just opened........ It was awful! I had a chilli cheese dog and the chilli was just a thick brown oily sludge with no flavour that stuck to your throat, horrible, won't be going back! Had a gamble in Ballys and Paris on slots and Let it Ride poker and lost pretty heavily on both so called it a night.
Didn't go jet-skiing as the wind was still strong. Had to return the car yesterday so we spent the day working on the tan. Last night we had a cocktail in 'Caramel' before we ate in 'Olives' in Bellagio, on an outside table with a view of the lake and fountains, great place to have a meal. Food was very nice, expensive as you'd expect being the Bellagio but worth it with the view! Had a gamble on slots in Bellagio and Caesers Palace and lost big time again, looks like my luck has deserted me now Not sure where we're going tonight yet.

Cheers

TC

We thought M resort was lovely. We liked the fact that you could serve your own soft drinks from the drink stations. You only needed a cocktail waitress for alcohol.

The pool area is beautiful too. Did you get to look around it?

Sorry about the bad luck.

Hi Pebbles,
No we didn't get to see the pool area. We liked the casino a lot, shame it's so far out of Vegas.
We've decided to go to Ellis Island tonight and then onto the Hard Rock, we've not been to either one before

Cheers

TC

Thanks for the heads up about Pink's. I'll be looking for a snack in about an hour as we have a show tonight and will be eating late. I had been intending trying Pink's, but after your experience I doubt I'll bother now. Might go back to Denny's or Earl of Sandwich.

luci

Ellis Island is awesome. If you get the BBQ, ask for an outside seat, you tend to get a better portion there. I'm not sure if that is every time, but the last few times we have opted for outside seating the ribs have been huge.

If you go to the Restaurant, say hello to the manager, his name is Larry Stratton. Tell him I sent you.

We tried Pinks before the coffee shop was Planet Dailies. Probably a couple of years ago. The crap that they served us was almost inedible. We berated the American palate and vowed never to go there again. We did think it may have been just us because everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meals. It's good to have someone justify our contempt for Pinks. The average American who likes Pink's must have very few tastebuds.

We thought M resort was lovely. We liked the fact that you could serve your own soft drinks from the drink stations.

That's a fantastic idea. As much as I like my beer I'm not a great daytime drinker so always ask for a Diet Coke or similar if I get offered a drink by a cocktail waitress whilst gambling, only to find the drink often comes in a thimble sized glass with more ice than what sunk the Titanic!!

I didn't realize that about the M resort, certainly a great idea.
Thought Ellis Island was a real 'locals' place. Was pretty busy, I liked it. There were big queues for the restaurant and also for the BBQ so we went for a pizza from metro's. Wow, probably the best pizza I've ever had and on Thursdays they do 2 for 1 so it cost us 11 bucks in all for two delicious and incredibly spicy pizzas with two bottles of Corona, bargain of the holiday! :). Lost 40 bucks on the slots but still enjoyed it.
Then we got a cab down to hard rock, it was very busy with a young crowd in there. Managed to win 70 dollars on the slots before we jumped in a cab back to MGM, which was the most bizarre cab trip ever. Our driver was middle eastern, we got in and said 'Signature please', he then launched immediately into a rant saying the signature was nearby, he had been waiting 30 mins in the queue and that he ?!@/ing hated Europeans, f@/?!ing hated the English! We were totally shocked, he drove on swearing at us under his breath. I always give a good tip but he was getting nothing! I told Linda to count out a dollars worth of change, when we arrived we put down the money and he shouted'no change, only notes'. Linda said 'it's all money' and got out, he shouted 'you f...ing english b itch after her. I jumped out and went to the open drivers window and pointed right in his face saying 'watch your mouth' cue more swearing and racial abuse from him. At this point I just laughed in his face for a good 10 seconds or so watching him get wound up more and wished him a pleasant evening, cue more abuse as he drove off. Unbelievable situation, if it wasn't America I may well have done something stupid but I was aware of the fact that cameras were probably on us.
Laughing, we went over to the Trop and gambled there for an hour and a half or so, ended up down quite a bit but it was an eventful evening!

Cheers

TC

I hate dealing with Vegas taxi drivers as most of them are really obnoxious. We had a similar experience going from the Bellagio to PH with luggage. The driver came after us as he wasn't happy with his tip even though it was 30%.

luci

TeeCee sounds like you're having a great time. Nice to see you're doing some of the cheaper places, I think from last year's report I thought you were a 'posh eater', but sounds like you're enjoying some value places too! I take it you're at Signature for the next few days before heading home?

Sounds like you've had a rather lucky time gambling too overall! Good for you!

You enjoy the rest of your trip. We're pretty certain we'll be back next year, I'm not sure if I want to wait till September though. I might be tempted to go twice, but I want to go back to Italy sometime too.

My experience of Vegas taxi drivers has been somewhat different but there is no excuse for that behaviour...I mean it's an easy walk from the Hard Rock to the Signature Teecee!!!!!! I jest of course, clearly he was bang out of order and shouldn't be in the service industry with an attitude like that.
Last year we had a Chinese driver who couldn't speak a word of English but I was immensely grateful when he came after us at the MGM when he saw my wallet had fell out in the back seat of the cab. Vegas with no wallet = disaster. We also had a decent cab driver take us from the NYNY to the airport back in 04 who cut his hand quite badly on a broken handle on our suitcase. I felt so bad but he just took it in his stride and commented he has had worse happen on a daily basis. He was happy with the extra tip but I think a visit to A&E was in order, or maybe not in the USA!!! Finally, a guy who brought us back from the Fashion Show Mall to Luxor one time was extremely chatty, talking about Vegas and everyday life but I was slightly put off our next day trip to the Grand Canyon by helicopter when he told the story of a crash which wiped out a whole family apart from a little girl who had spent the last 8 months in a Vegas hospital!!!!
In fairness though, the airport cab drivers usually just grunt. As long as they have the stack of Vegas 24/7 magazines so I can be checking out the coupons that is all that matters to me......

Ellis Island sounds very good. I've never made it there yet but those pizzas sound to die for and so cheap, in fact I did look a menu once for Ellis Island and everything seemed good value (graveyard breakfast $3.99 for eggs, biscuits, bacon/sausage and gravy). Amazing value. If we go in November, I think we will take a detour that way and check it out.

As for the Hard Rock Hotel, I hated it. Young crowd very much up themselves and the Hard Rock Cafe there was a nightmare visit. The music was up full blast, the server couldn't understand us (even though he was American) and I ended up with onion rings instead of fries and various other problems. We got a cab out there intending on staying the night (there were 4 of us then) but after the meal we all agreed lets get away from here and just a cab back. It was a Saturday night admittedly but it was in your face to extreme. Never been back since.

It is great hearing all these Vegas stories as they happen, even if some of them are not the most pleasant. Cheers.

Lesley, yup we have two more nights at the Sig then it's back home on Monday I wouln't call us 'posh' eaters, we do like to have a few nice dinners out here as it's all part of the experience but at the same time we're happy to go to Dennys or have a pizza etc We ate in Gallaghers in NYNY last night, wow, the steaks were awesome! It's gone straight into my 'top 3' steaks I've ever had, really was excellent. The filet mignon I had was 37 dollars so not cheap but not as bad as places like Craftsteak or Delmonicos.
This has certainly been an eventful holiday, we gambled on the slots a while in nyny and I lost 70 dollars whilst Linda won 60. I wanted to play Let it Ride Bonus again so we headed across to the Trop again to get 5 dollar tables, I couldn't hit a hand for love or money so soon ended up 260 down for the night.......ouch! Linda was also broke by this stage so at 01:30 we headed back to MGM. My luck in this second week seems to have gone completely Aswe walked back through MGM I checked my wallet and had 90 bucks left in it so I said to Linda 'what the he'll, and stuck 40 in a 5 dollar slot machine, playing 2 credits a time. On my last spin it came in with two red sevens and a double pay.......1600 dollars!!!!! 10 years of coming to Vegas and no big wins and now two in two weeks. Had to apply for the tax exemption again as the Rio form I had didn't have a number on it. Took about 45mins to sort but it was worth it! Am now around 2000 in profit for the trip up to now...... Truly an amazing holiday, don't suppose I could be greedy and ask that these wins come in threes? ;
Britney Spears concert tonight so that will be interesting. MGM is very busy this weekend as the big yearly ice hockey game is on as well.

Cheers,

TC

Oh wow, that's great!! I thought it sounded a little like you're luck had gone and maybe you should give up the gambling for the holiday too! Well done!

So, can we ask - is it going to go towards another Vegas trip??? Would pay your flights at least! Brilliant - enjoy your next few days and safe travels home.

Congratulations on the second big win! That's some amazing luck. Wish I had the nerve and the budget to bet a bit bigger. I think I'm a higher roller if I bet 2 credits instead of 1!

luci

Well we're waiting at the airport now, ready to fly back to LA in the next 30 mind.
Britneys show was very good, lots of circus acts on stage, as expected she wasn't singing live but it was much more of a show rather than a concert. Afterwards we grabbed a maccy d's as a late snack and went straight back as we were tired.
On our last day it was red hot round the pool, temp was up to 103 degrees. Stayed till late afternoon then had a quick nap before our last night, which we decided to spend downtown. Got the monorail down to Sahara and had a gamble, managed to break even after an hour playing Pai Gow. Got a cab down to Freemont Street.
Went into Tony Romas for food, the ribs were very nice, almost as good as TGI's
Gambled until two thirty in the morning then got cab back to Sig. Got up late, the sig checked in our flights for us as we checked out! Got cab to airport - 15 bucks with tip. Played slots at gate and after putting 80 dollars in, hit it for 459 dollars, a great end to agreat holiday!

Cheers

TC

Woo for the winning finish.

I've always been pretty lucky with taxi drivers - but tend to shuttle to and from the airport - always seem to get the chatty semi retired ones who have relocated to vegas from nyc or chicago.

Hope I can have half your luck - though dont know if I'd brave $5 slots - I'd be thinking about how many more spins I'd get playing quarters