I’ve seen three shows in Vegas in close to 20 trips:
- One was the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur because my wife wanted to do something besides gamble, eat, and drink. I thought it was pretty good, and food was included. It was either free for me or very cheap.
- Another was O by Cirque du Soleil at Bellagio because a friend I went with was into that sort of thing. I thought it was TERRIBLE! I walked out about a third of the way through. Take that with a grain of salt, though, as it has great reviews. That wasn’t cheap, and I paid for his ticket too because I kind of ruined the whole experience.
- I also saw a show at the Sphere with another friend soon after it opened. It was called “Postcard from Earth,” and I didn’t love it. It felt preachy, and I got bored pretty quickly. I am sure some shows at the Sphere are great, but this one didn’t do it for me.
Food:
- Red Dwarf has excellent Detroit-style pizza. I live 20 minutes from New Haven, Connecticut, which some people call the “pizza capital of the world,” and I thought this pizza was right up there with some of the best I’ve ever had.
- Nacho Daddy: I was a fan of this place and have gone many times. It’s next to Buffalo Wild Wings and near Planet Hollywood. It’s right on the Strip, and the food is solid, if unspectacular, and the prices are quite reasonable considering the location. It’s like burritos and nachos type of stuff.
- Otherwise, I am mostly just getting comped food from MGM or wherever I’m staying. I am always a fan of the food court at Resorts World, particularly the BBQ place.
Hotels (here are all the hotels I’ve stayed at, ranked from best to worst):
- Aria: Love the location for gambling. For me, it’s every bit as nice as Bellagio without the chaotic feel. Food court is good enough (not amazing). There’s a VIP section that is painfully easy to sneak into even if you don’t qualify. Nice poker room, which is a plus for me. I’ve stayed here probably eight times or so, the most by far.
- Fontainebleau: Rooms are fantastic. Location isn’t the best, as it’s getting pretty far North to nowheresville. It’s not hard to qualify for comped rooms.
- Resorts World: Similar to Fontainebleau on all fronts. Rooms were a little worse (but still nice). I like the food court. Need to be careful while checking machines, as they are onto APs.
- Wynn: Not as far North as Fontainebleau or Resorts World, but still far from the South end of the Strip. Upscale feel and rooms. Harder to get comped. Lots of competition. Wynn and Encore have a sort of mazy feel for me, which I don’t like.
- Bellagio: Iconic, but the place is a zoo. Way too busy. Of course, the rooms are still great. It’s wild that Bellagio is all the way down here, but hey, Vegas has a lot of awesome places.
- Luxor and Horseshoe (tied): Lower-level hotels. Still fine…not like I was sleeping with roaches or anything. Just on the lower scale compared to the others.
Gambling-wise, I had my best week ever in Vegas. I’ve also had a lot of “was it really worth it?” trips. There’s tons of competition and tons of opportunity. Not to brag, but I’ve never had a losing week in Vegas, but I’ve also had plenty of “good, not great” weeks over tons of hours per day. Bring comfortable walking shoes. Drink plenty of water. Make sure you have enough cash on hand or available if you plan on slotting, as there are some huge bets out there.
Ben Rosenthal
