DAY THREE - December 26, 2000
Reflections of Christmas Day at Rio
- There are no bagels in Mandalay Bay this morning. Go figure. There is some
sort of Christmas Bagel conspiracy in Las Vegas and we should really have John
Smith or someone at the LV Review Journal check into it!
For breakfast we had an apple danish, blueberry muffin, apple juice and a latte
from the Orchid Lounge. The late dinners and even later nights were starting
to catch up with us both. Dan wasn't as tired as I was, but he was tired. I
was dragging! I didn't want to do anything but stay in bed and sleep, but instead
I got up and got dressed and we were off to Aladdin taking Tropicana to Koval
to Harmon.
The valet was full so we looped around again and back to the self-park, which wasn't too far from the shopping center. The mall was really crowded. Who knew it would be on the day after Christmas. Ha ha!
This was Dan's first visit to Aladdin since the opening. I stayed there in September but he didn't join me on that trip. We walked around the mall and when we reached the Merchant Harbor I asked what time it was. Because it was 5 minutes before the hour I told Dan I was tired and wanted to rest by the water and look at the map and restaurant guide I picked up. It was all a ploy to surprise him with the thunderstorm that takes place there every hour. Like I said in my September report, it's not worth going out of your way to visit, but if you're there at the top of the hour, hang around and check it out.
[Dan Says]: I can imagine visitors from Seattle saying, "These people who live in the desert must find rain to be quite a novelty!"
We stopped at the Pearl Factory for a minute to look at their black pearls. I've recently become interested in black pearls and I wondered how their selection rated. The saleslady showed me two strands. One was 26" and small and the other was 28" and a larger pearl. The prices were $1475 and $99. I tried on the larger strand and thought they were beautiful, but certainly not the best I have seen for that price. That was when the saleslady started giving Dan the hard sell. She was offering to call her manager and offer huge discounts, etc. The strands were nice, but not super high quality and very overpriced. I thanked her for her time and rescued Dan and his wallet and we quickly scampered away.
We walked down and looked at Anasazi and Beluga Bar. Next time I'm at Aladdin, I'd like to stop at the Beluga bar and try one of their sampler plates. They had two different ones on the menu we looked at. One was infused caviar and the other was a Russian assortment or something similar. The prices weren't too bad for the small tasters (1/8 oz. The ¼ and ½ ounce were more, but still reasonable). I've had good caviar and enjoyed it and had bad caviar and wanted to spit it out. Dan's only had bad caviar and I think it would be fun to taste some really good stuff. More stuff for our "Next Time" list.
We walked around to the casino and I gave Dan a quick tour of the upstairs, London Club, downstairs hotel lobby and the restrooms. :) We headed back up to the casino and found a couple of Bonus Poker machines to play. We got comfortable and ordered some drinks and then some annoying guy started shouting over this microphone about some bellydancer something. Then there was more shouting about a slot tournament or something else. I don't know but it was the single most annoying moment I've had in a casino in awhile. I was looking around for a slot host to complain to, but nobody was around. I cashed out and so did Dan. Unfortunately he needed a hopper fill and by the time we were all cashed out, the shouting and loud drumming was over. We still put our money back into our pockets and headed out. We left with our drinks and I had a headache. How fun!
 Henna Tattoos at Aladdin |
We went back into the mall and headed off to find a store where I had bought a present for my sister. It's called Canyonland Kiosk and has some gorgeous stone vases and votive holders. I bought a lovely white vase for my sister for a reasonable sum (can't disclose it here.. she reads these too!) :) I had hoped to get another one for myself, but they didn't have anymore large ones in white. They had a beautiful one that was a very dark green, almost black, color. I bought that one and while I was waiting for the clerk to change the tape on the cash register, I found a lovely light green votive holder that I had to have too. Both cost about $30 with tax. I think that's a bargain. |
We stopped in at the Build a Bear store and saw a lot of kids having fun. If you're not familiar, the basic premise is that you (drumroll please) Build your own teddy Bear. You pick a body for anywhere from $10-$25. They have bears, bunnys, turtles, and lots more. Then you get it stuffed on a big machine and then you primp it and comb it and fluff it. Then you buy an outfit (average cost was about $10 for the outfits) and any accessories you want (shoes, eyeglasses, hats, etc.) and then you print out a birth certificate on the computers and it's all put into a cute box/cage and you're on your way. I saw a lot of girls about 6-8 years old having a GREAT time in the store. I was really wishing that my niece was with us to participate. If you're there with kids, you might try to stop by. It really looked like fun.
That was about all the mall had to offer us so we headed back to the car and to Mandalay Bay for lunch. We had planned to try again to use the 2 for 1 taco coupon at the Border Grille taqueria, but the cantina was closed. Instead we went downstairs to the restaurant and placed and order to go. I was really tired and cranky and just wanted to get back up to the room.
We got a big bag with our food and were off. We got up to our room and unpacked an order of Eulalia's chips (a really great nacho appetizer), some tortilla chips with 3 kinds of salsas, and two taco platters (one roasted chicken, the other carne asada). We shared so that we had one taco of each. The taco platters came with black beans and two kinds of rice. All was very delicious and hit the spot.
I was really feeling tired so I got into the bed for a nap and some afternoon garbage television. Dan headed off to the Belz Outlet Mall to buy a swimsuit. On his return he headed for the spa.
[Dan Says]: Our package deal at Mandalay Bay included two one-person daily passes to the Mandalay Bay Spa, but neither us had thought to bring a swimsuit. I had peeked at the swimsuits available in shops at Mandalay Bay and Desert Passage, but they were all priced at about $38.50 - too much for a swimsuit in my book. I had seen a factory outlet mall south of the strip area on previous drives, so that seemed to be a good place to look for something reasonably priced. At about 3 p.m. I was off swimsuit shopping.
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The Belz Factory Outlet World is on Las Vegas Blvd. South of McCarren Airport, about a 10-minute drive from Mandalay Bay. Stores include Geoffrey Beene, Bugle Boy, Izod and Joe Boxer. And those are only the stores near where I looking before I found what I was looking for. I did find a swimsuit and the Big Dog store for $18. Then I went back to the hotel to change and enter exclusive world of the spa.
I must confess that I am not really a spa person. That has always been something someone else goes to, not me. Yes, I was a member of an exercise gym once, and the men's room did have a hot tub in it. But between the sight of a big naked guy climbing in and the constant smell of dirty socks I never went in. The minute I finished my workout, it was to the car and home.
So I went in not knowing exactly what to expect. At the big desk on the other side of the glass door to the Spa area, I gave the nice lady my pass and told her it was my first time. She rung up $25 on the cash register, scanned the coupon, handed me a pink receipt and directed me to the men's Spa, where someone would give me a tour of the facilities.
The nice man inside the men's spa took my receipt and asked my shoe size so he could give me a pair of plastic slippers. Handing me the slippers, he showed me the refrigerator that is kept stocked with complementary juices and Mandalay Bay's own brand of bottled water. Next, he presented a key to my locker and showed to my locker, pre-stocked with a clean towel and robe. The spa room itself has four pools, one maintained at 98°, one at 104°, one at 106°, and a cool down pool maintained at 80°. Nearby there was an area of private shower stalls, a sauna, an area with sinks, mirrors and blow dryers, and a door to the fitness room.
This first thing I did was put my plastic slippers in the locker and head to the co-ed fitness room, which is equipped with treadmills, lifecycles, stepping machines, various weight machines and free weights. As I mentioned earlier, I had been a member of a gym before, so all this was familiar to me, but thankfully lacking the familiar smell of dirty socks.
After a 10-minute ride on a lifecycle, I moved to the other machines. Next I tried using an electronic triceps builder. I may be smart enough to setup a Linux computer, and set up a home Ethernet network, but I couldn't figure out how to operate a triceps machine. So I moved to the more traditional machines and finished my workout on these.
About 20 minutes later, I walked all sweaty back to the Men's spa and tried out their shower. If you've seen the Seinfeld episode where Kramer is knocked down by an Ultra showerhead that it illegal in most states, this was the showerhead! Next I took a dip in one of the spas, but as, I've said, I'm not really a spa guy. I trying laying down on one of those really comfy lounge chairs in my robe like the other men, and I quickly got bored.
It seemed like a good time to go upstairs and change for Lance Burton, so it was back to the locker, change, turn in the key and head upstairs.[end of Dan's comments]
After Dan got back from the spa, he headed off to see Lance Burton. Our plan was to contact each other after the show on our cell phones. We figured that it would be around 8:30pm.
[Dan
Says]: To get to Monte Carlo for the Lance Burton show, I thought I would see
more if I took the Mandalay Bay tram past Excalibur and walked the rest of the
way.
I found the tram a bit less crowded than I did the day before, but it was still standing room only, and not everyone who wanted to board at the Luxor stop was able to get on.
As I walked from the end of the tram to the Excalibur/New York New York bridge, I got a glimpse of the dragon battle, a free show that continues to elude Sonya and I each trip. The good vantage points were all taken, but I did get a brief look at a large robotic looking dragon.
Minutes later, as I emerged from the second floor of New York New York to descend the escalator to the sidewalk, I got a brief look at a holiday ice skating show next to the street near the corner.
I entered the Lance Burton Theater about 6:20 and went to the bar. I was pleasantly surprised to find the find brews of the Monte Carlo brewery on tap. My favorite Vegas beer, the High Roller Red, was not available, so I asked the bartender to pour me their wheat beer instead.
I guess I sat down too early. My seat was on the end of the fifth row. And for the next 30 minutes I wearily watched a series of slides of Lance giving T-shirts to children repeated endlessly on a screen hanging over center stage.
At 6:55 the slides were replaced by Lance's Desperado Escape. For those who did not see this when it was broadcast on a television special, Lance was chained to the tracks of Desperado, a high-speed steel roller coaster about 45 miles south of Las Vegas off of I-15. Lance supposedly performed this escape with a roller coaster car roaring down the track toward him. He is shown leaping from the track with the front of the car just nipping his heel. Is this what really happened? Well, Lance makes his living act doing things that are not what they appear to be, so I'm skeptical. But like the torn-up paper that turns into a dove in his hand, it does look real.
Lance always opens his show with the same routine. He peels off a pair of white gloves, which turn to doves, which turn to scarves, which turn to tall candles, which turn back into scarves. Worse, he does all this with his sleeves peeled back, making it difficult to imagine how he gets all this stuff in and out of his sleeves.
What I like about Lance is that he doesn't seem to have a big phony character on stage. He's himself, telling the audience between the acts how he loves to study the history of stage magic, and how at the age of 5 he first saw his future mentor, magician Harry Collins perform. With a 5-year old boy from the audience, Lance performed the same act Collins had performed with him 35 years ago, pulling silver dollars from the boys ears, hair and shirt sleeves. This is not cutting-edge magic, but its still fun to watch Lance amaze children with the exact tricks that amazed him at that age.
This is a children-friendly show, and being the day after Christmas, there were plenty in the audience. For one trick he asked for 5 or 6 five to eight-year-olds to come up on stage with him. He got about a dozen. One very cute 3 ½ year-old-girl announced with a soft voice into the microphone that her tooth fell out. He told her she had something on the back of her shirt and pulled a 20-foot ribbon from the back of her next. The look on her face was priceless. He tore of a piece of this ribbon and sent her back to her seat with it, telling her that if she put it under her pillow the next morning she would find a dollar. "Tell your parents the magician said so," he said.
I had heard that sitting so far to the side I would be able to see how some of the tricks are done, but this was not the case. When I watch magic I am obsessed with trying to figure out the illusions work. I was frustrated again and again, always keeping my eye on the wrong person or wrong hand, and failing to see how people leave the empty box they just stepped into, or how they get to where they shouldn't be.
Lance, confident and comfortable on stage repeatedly pulls off what appears to be impossible. The show's guest artist, is a juggler named Michael Goudeau, who juggles a flaming torch, bowling ball and running chainsaw. According the show program, Goudeau is a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown, and regularly conducts advanced clowning classes at "the renowned clown colleges in both Baraboo, Wisconsin and Sarasota, Florida." I was not previously aware of this branch of higher education.
If you go, don't forget to pick up your complimentary 48-page booklet "Lance Burton Master Magician" at the Lance Burton Magic Shop next to the theater. [end of Dan's comments]
I went down to the casino and played a little bit more video poker. I didn't really win or lose much. I pretty much hovered around the same level for about an hour. I went over to the slot club to ask if I could get a host to check out whether or not I could get anything taken off my bill. I wasn't expecting much as we hadn't done much gambling, but I thought they could knock off a couple of the $7-10 charges at the Orchid Lounge or that overpriced sandwich at the Kona Café. What I got instead was attitude from the slot club girl.
She said that there wasn't much she could do other than give me a voucher for $10 for my cashback credit. She reluctantly said that she could call a slot host who might be able to help me with my next visit and she got on the phone and proceeded to explain to "Mike" that I didn't have much play but wanted to talk to someone. I waited at the desk for about 5 minutes and got more and more angry at her as I thought about it. I didn't think I was going to get a RFB and didn't ask for one. I had explained to her that this was the first time I had played and stayed there and wanted to find out if I could get a coffee shop meal or something taken off my bill. The more I thought about it the more angry I got. Finally I told her that I couldn't wait anymore. I also told her that I had planned on spending the rest of the evening gaming at their casino, but instead I was going to go visit some of the other casinos where my gaming was more appreciated. I was ticked off and headed off to the room. I did pass a slot host about 15 yards from the slot club desk, but I was too angry to ask if he was Mike because I was likely to say a bad word about the girl at the desk. I'll write a letter later. :)
I got cleaned up in the room and waited for Dan's call. He called from Monte Carlo and I told him my plan for the evening. He agreed and told me where to find the rental car. I got to the 4th floor, went one row to the left and there, 2nd space in was a gray Mitsubishi Mirage right where Dan said it would be. I hadn't noticed the Oregon license plate before and why the heck wouldn't my key work in the driver's door. I looked at the car again.. yup.. new, Mitsubishi Mirage.. right color.. uh.. why wasn't Dan's fleece jacket in the back seat where we left it. Yup.. I had the wrong car. I turned around and the 2nd car in on the other side of the aisle was a gray Mirage… exactly the same as the one I was standing by, but this one had Nevada plates. How embarassing!
[Dan Says]: After leaving the show, I called Sonya and previously arraigned. She wanted to come meet me in the casino. From there we would explore some of the other mid-Strip resorts. I told her to find me among the blackjack tables near the parking garage. Unfortunately, there were only two $5 tables in the table gaming area closer to the parking. One had an open seat, but a woman playing two hands was using the spot on the table. The other table had an open spot, but no open chairs. I asked the players next to the open spot to open some space for me. I went to grab the empty chair from the other table, but the dealer looked over saying, "You can't do that!"
"You mean I can play but I can't sit down?" I asked. She said that they are only allowed 6 chairs per table. Being already annoyed that there were only two $5 tables in this part of the casino, the fact that a table can accommodate 7 players but only 6 could sit pissed me off. I was holding my coat and Lance Burton booklet and I didn't want to play standing up. "That blows!" I responded and walked off.
Past experience has taught me that it is not wise to play Blackjack in a ticked-off mood. Logically, it shouldn't make a difference as long as you don't make basic strategy errors, but a part of me still suspects that "psychic energy" can affect the cards you get.
I found an open $5 table in the area near the Strip entrance, sat down and bought $40 in chips. I was worried that Sonya would not find me since I was at the tables by the Strip entrance rather than the tables near the parking garage, but I didn't want to get up and leave since I was doing well.
As the dealer stopped to shuffle her six decks, I pulled out my mobile phone to call Sonya on her mobile phone. As I told her where I was, the dealer told me I could not use the phone. I abruptly ended the call, and apologized to the dealer, telling her that I though it would be OK to use the phone while she shuffled.
Moments later my phone rang. I stood and asked the dealer, who was still shuffling, if I could use the phone if I was standing rather than sitting at table. "As long as you're away from the table," she replied. I took one step back into the isle and took the call. When I finished the call I went back to my seat, but the dealer had already dealt the cards so I had to sit out the hand. A hand or two later my drink arrived (a bottle of Monte Carlo High Roller Red - folks, this is a great reason to play here!). I dug into my pocket to get a tip for the waitress. When I turn around, the next hand had been dealt, and I missed another hand. A couple of hands later, I was thinking about whether I should leave the table and look for Sonya, I spaced out and didn't put my chips down in time to be in the hand. "That's it!" I thought. I am very superstitious about playing blackjack when I am not focussed and centered, so I stuffed my chips in my pocket and headed for the cashier window, not even waiting to be "colored up."
As scatterbrained as I was, I somehow managed to win most of the hands I did get to play, cashing out for $72.50.
Later that evening, I got another surprise. Later, as we watched the Bellagio fountain show, I found two more red chips in my pocket, where they had gotten temporarily lost between a couple of slot club cards. I ended up bring them home with me. I decided it was a great time to start a chip collection.[end of Dan's comments]
I found Dan in the extremely crowded casino at Monte Carlo. I related my story of trying to get to the parking garage at Mandalay Bay and getting run over by little kids pulling their own little suitcases through the casino. This might be my last Christmas in Vegas.
We headed over to the Bellagio Tram and headed out to see the fountain show from the valet parking area. It was a classical piece, but the view of the fountains between Bellagio and Paris was lovely. After the show, we headed to the right from the revolving doors at Bellagio and down the moving walkway towards Aladdin. We got to the street in time to see the "Hey, Big Spender!" fountain show. It was great! Very fun. I took some photos and we were back up the moving sidewalk into Bellagio and onto the tram back to Monte Carlo.
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We got the car and headed down the Strip to valet park at Mirage. I wanted to take some photos from in front of Venetian to try a new software toy that Warren Distler was kind enough to share with me. We caught the volcano show and made our way through all the crowds (did I mention that it was really crowded everywhere we went?) over to Venetian where I took some more photos.
To see the 360-degree picture I made with the program Warren told me about, click here.
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We also got a chance to take a closer look at the new walkway that is going in beween Venetian and Mirage. It's actually located where the Sigfried and Roy statue is between Treasure Island and Mirage. It wasn't working yet, but appeared to be very close to being completed. (It has since opened and was operable over the New Years Eve weekend) |
By this time it was after 11pm and were were both hungry and cranky. The plan had been to stop at the Coral Reef Lounge at Mandalay Bay for some sushi and a drink before heading up to bed. Dan wanted a pizza at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant. Turned out that both were closed by the time we got back to Mandalay Bay so it was room service late at night again for us. Dan ordered a BLT and I ordered the chicken fingers appetizer. We were going to split the "Old Fashioned" chocolate cake dessert. What we got was a Club Sandwich instead of the BLT, but it was yummy and the chicken fingers were good too. The cake wasn't very old fashioned as it was a multi-layered fancy thing with mousse fillings, etc. I was expecting plain old cake. It was all good though and we were both too tired to care that it wasn't exactly what we had ordered. We fell asleep to the last night of that gorgeous view of the Strip out our window.
