Greetings from Las Vegas. This is Day 6 of our trip report, covering Sunday, October 16, 1999
Shouldn't take much to dispense with this day's report, as I don't have any long lists to give you (gg).
Speaking of lists, this is probably a good time to address some of the questions and comments I've received, mostly by e-mail, about my method of recording data. It seems I achieved some measure of unwanted notoriety -or infamy, as some would have it- over my recording of details large and small in the small spiral notebook Rosalyn is kind enough to carry around for me. It takes a long time to write a myriad of items in a notebook, especially when the items are every last item found at a buffet. So, for Rosalyn's sake and mine, I've graduated to a small microcassette recorder that is doing the job beautifully. The recorder I purchased is the Olympus Pearlcorder L250, which retails for about $160. It runs on two AAA batteries and measures just over four inches tall and two inches wide, fitting conveniently into my pocket. This allows me to move very quickly through attractions, buffets, etc., and has the added advantage of letting me record notes in the dark, behind the wheel, and other places where it would be difficult to write.
With that out of the way, on to Day 6.
With just one day left until we had to vacate our villa, Roz used the villa's washer and dryer to do a couple of loads of clothing, while I caught up on some newspapers and worked on the trip report.
Then we returned to The Resort at Summerlin for another crack at the Market Buffet we had visited only two evenings earlier. This time we shared the occasion with our aforementioned friends, Judy, Joe and Rita.
The Sunday brunch, which offers sangria instead of champagne, is served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or something along those lines. Like the Friday evening buffet we went to, it costs $25 per person, plus tax, the increase again attributable, I assume, to the availability of unlimited quantities of steamed and split Maine lobster.
Most of the Sunday buffet items were the same or similar to those we enjoyed on Friday, except for the following items that were not served on Friday: ginger pork chops; spring rolls; beef with broccoli; pot stickers; fish tacos; seafood ceviche, rotisserie chicken; and a variety of breakfast items including eggs benedict, pancakes, French toast, thick-cut bacon, and hash browns.
The buffet was as good as Friday's, maybe even better because the place was so uncrowded compared to two days earlier. We had no wait to get up the escalator and be seated, and it seems the Sunday brunch buffet has not caught on as thoroughly as the Friday mob scene. So Sunday would seem the better time to go if you are in town on that day.
The casino was nearly deserted, and I'm not exaggerating to say that there were about seven or eight employees on the floor for every customer. If you know the layout of the Hard Rock casino, then you'd be familiar with this casino's floor plan. The gaming pits are in the center of a round casino, with slots ringing the casino floor in several concentric circles. It is a relatively small casino, not easy to get lost in. The casino also has a fairly small sports and race book, but it is a very attractive room, with a bar at one end and the betting windows at the other, and with comfortable sofas in the middle. It looks like someone's oversized living room, or perhaps the common room of a frat house. Very, very nice, and with very friendly staffers who work to do all they can to take away any of the stuffiness that could prevail at an upscale resort such as this.
After our lovely brunch with such nice friends, we drove back to Henderson and I dropped Roz off for a workout at Gold's Gym. After watching most of another Red Sox self-destruction (with a little help from the umpires) back at the villa, I picked up Roz and we drove over to The Orleans for the evening's entertainment. I watched more of the baseball game and then we went into the showroom for a performance by Anne Murray.
We've seen several shows in this venue at The Orleans, and it is easily one of the best showrooms in town. When I ordered our tickets over the phone, I was told we would be sitting in the last row; but this is the one theater where "last row" should not be a depressing thought, because the last row at the Orleans theater is only 15 rows from the stage.
Anne Murray puts on a wonderful show. Her voice has so much warmth in it, and the only female singers I think have equal warmth are Crystal Gayle and the incredible Cleo Laine.
Murray looked splendid in a tailored, cream-colored pantsuit, and her seemingly spontaneous banter with the audience helped her come across as a sincere, warm-hearted person.
She had a great musical crew, with none of her six musicians and backup vocalist having been with her for less than 16 years. Murray has a number of top hits, of course, such as "Snowbird" and "May I Have This Dance," and she mixed them admirably with musical tributes to other vocalists. She opened with Terri Gibbs' "Somebody's Knockin'," and also featured the music of the Beatles, K.T. Oslin, and many others.
Murray's shows must all be a little different from each other, because she DOES take requests. A powerful rendition of "Amazing Grace" was just one the requests she sang. Another segment bringing strong audience response was her tribute to the crooners of the 50s and 60s. Gogi Grant never sang "The Wayward Wind" any better than Murray did, nor did Patti Page score any better on "Old Cape Cod."
Anne Murray is a wonderful talent, someone you may especially enjoy if you are in the over-40 crowd. The price to see her at The Orleans was a very reasonable $48 or so with tax.
Tickets to Orleans performances are good for a free drink at any of the casino bars after the show, so we did that and then had a quick supper at Terrible Mike's fast-food place in The Orleans. A 1/3-pound burger for me and a grilled chicken-breast sandwich did it for us, and that was the end of Day 6.
--Best wishes from David …in Las Vegas
