Thursday:
I didn’t feel particularly hungry this morning but I knew I wouldn’t make to lunch without some sustenance. So I went down to the gift shop and bought a cup of cereal, a pint of milk and a bottle of juice. For about $7, it was a true breakfast of champions. After enjoying my own self-catered room service, I caught another cab down to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for my last day of “conventioning”.
At the end of the day, I headed up to the Wynn hotel to meet up with a sales manager who was taking me on official tour of both the Wynn and its adjacent property, the Encore.These are truly magnificent properties although it may not be totally apparent to visitors passing through. They are subtly different with the Wynn emphasizing a floral theme while butterflies adorn the floors of the Encore. The flower garden that connected the hotels was truly a sight to behold. While the standard rooms are excellent in each property, I was really impressed by their Spa Suites which featured a dedicated room with a massage table where you could receive in-room treatments.
I caught a taxi back “home” to Bally’s and got to chatting with the driver who happened to have an iPod full of dance music tracks to keep himself entertained. It turns out that he was a DJ in a past life and, at a similar age to me *cough forties cough* was still very much in tune with what was going on. It was an enjoyable ride for me as it’s not often I meet too many kindred musical spirits. I took his card for future reference since the experience was as good as any “party bus” as far as I was concerned.
I had to change quickly as I was already a little behind in meeting some local friends for dinner. I headed over to the Tuscany casino, about a half-mile east on Flamingo Road just after Ellis Island. I’ve stayed here in the past for a size-friendly social convention and found it to be a laid-back place where you can get a quality meal for a good value. We went to their coffee shop where I ordered a NY Strip Steak with two sides for about the same (or less) that it would have cost for just the entrée at a coffee shop back on the Strip.
Another benefit that most off-Strip casinos offer is a smaller footprint to get around. If you've been to Vegas a few times or otherwise feel a shortened commute (and requisite car rental) would be worth it, then there are some quality properties for all budgets within a few minutes of the legendary Las Vegas Strip.
My local friends had a surprise for me after dinner They took me out to the suburb of Henderson to introduce me to Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. While I had heard of this place before, I didn’t realize until then that it was essentially the upscale version of Mars/M&M’s until I walked in the door and saw some of the same candy paraphernalia that was probably at M&M World back on the Strip. I did watch some of the process of the candy being made - including real live employees! - although apparently the audio narration was over for the day. An Ethel M’s store was conveniently placed at the end of the tour and I decided to bring back a holiday treat for my lady. Once outside again, I visited the cactus garden. If it were any other time of year, I probably would have walked on by. But since the cacti were decked out in holiday lights, it was actually a cool thing to check out.
The ladies dropped me off back at Bally’s where I “donated” a few more bucks to Super Jackpot Bonus Party before calling it a night.
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