Five Hundy by Midnight 126: Heartland Casino Tour

/ Tim

Las Vegas podcast #126 includes:

  • Take 5 opening clip
  • Exploring America’s casinos
  • Harrah’s North Kansas City
  • Harrah’s Council Bluffs
  • Horseshoe Council Bluffs
  • A few trip photos
  • Tangents about the Omaha Beef, Sonic, guys wearing overalls and more
  • Listener calls about Bouchon at Venetian, Love at Mirage, Red Rock Resort and Casino, deals at Travelzoo, Iron Man filming at Caesars, another free drink offer, Signature at MGM, Olives at Bellagio and more


Five Hundy By Midnight 7/8/07 (53:02 min, 48.7 MB)

47 thoughts on “Five Hundy by Midnight 126: Heartland Casino Tour”

  1. Speaking of Price ( or not )knowing you are big fans there, apparently his newest album is being given away in one of our Sunday papers – all new tracks ( a few disgruntled record retailers over here at this trend ). Anyway if you want a copy flown out to you give us a shout – likely to be collecting a few anyways.

    http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/prince/prince1.html

  4. Sparky,
    Thanks for the Fat Tire tip. At the time it occured to me, (during my drunk dial), I don’t think I was capable of doing any Google search, simple or otherwise.

    Tim & Michele,
    I guess after this past week with the Twins beating the White Sox in both games of a double header for a combined score of 32-14, I’m going to have to take back my “Twins suck” comment.

  5. Re Grand Canyon – I’m there at the moment. 276 mile drive from Vegas; main issue was getting over the Hoover Dam which took almost an hour because of roadworks and security checks. I overnighted in Tusayan which is about 1 mile south of the entrance to the national park (south rim). The entry fee for car + as many passengers is $25. The skywalk Michele mentioned is a lot further west (and hence closer to Vegas) but you don’t get the south rim views/visitor center.

  6. Note from personal experience:

    Fat Tire Ale was on tap at the bar next to the “Crazy Horse” show at the MGM Grand in LV. My last trip there was in April of 2007. It’s my favorite place to play bartop VP at the MGM Grand.

    Hope this helps; LOVE the drunk dials!

    Pete
    Indy

  7. sox came back to hammer the twins saturday and sunday, we will be passing them shortly! as a sox season ticket holder i am looking forward to passing the twins by august 2 when im in las vegas! great show as always , keep it up!

  8. Looks like I’ll have more Fat Tire than I know what to do with out there. I love playing bartop VP also. I assume if you buy in for $20 to play VP they keep the Fat Tire’s coming for “free”.
    Thanks Pete!

  9. I just booked my trip to vegas for Oct 16-20. Boog – I’m looking forward to my free drink…

  11. Great podcast, here is a great deal that showed up on the ALT.LASVEGASVACATION, this web site is offering 50 tickets to Various Cirque De Solei shows, I booked mine for Ka in July and got 2nd row tickets for 50. Most of the Love shows are sold out, but great deal, go to the bottom of the web site and click on the 50 dollar special.

    http://lasventions.com/

  13. Chuck: I don’t think you can really call a 3-1 loss and a 6-3 loss getting hammered compared to the 20-14 and 12-0 ass pounding the White Sox received, but whatever. And with the Sox likely to unload any remaining bits of talent on the team before the trade deadline, I’ll put my money on the Twins in the mighty battle for 3rd place.

    Ja: Comic Sans is the font commonly used by uncreative people trying to show that they’re creative. It’s a dead giveaway that something was designed by an amateur. Visit http://www.bancomicsans.com.

  14. Fat Tire: In bottles at the Double Down. Goes great with ass juice

    Grand Canyon: The wife and I stayed in Laughlin for 2 nights, and the day in-between did a day trip to the canyon, which is fine if you’re not doing any hiking. It’s a long boring drive though.

  15. As the guy who initiated the question about the Grand Canyon side trip with my call, I just wanted to say thanks to David, Godard and the others for the input.

    I just found someone here at work who also did a similar trip awhile back and we’re getting some good ideas. Looks like a trip to the S. Rim visitors center and a drive along the road that takes you to the west rim, then back.

    Thanks for the warning about the Hoobver Dam. I drove over it last Sept on a trip from LV to southern AZ and had no issues, but we’ll be ready for it.

    I’ll leave a trip report when we get back.

    And thanks Tim and Michelle!

  16. I have also observed comic sans is the default email font of choice for people who have mundane jobs but try to keep a fun attitude. (think: ‘somebody has a case of the Mondays’ Sadface).

  18. Thomas….. thanks for the tip, but I refuse to go grocery shopping during my short time in Vegas.
    Thx!

  19. If you click on the Stripburger link from the last podcast and go to their menu, guess what kind of beer they have on tap???
    That’s right, Fat Tire.
    They even have bottles of whatever the seasonal New Belgium Brewery beer is.

  20. Audrey’s parents live in Council Bluffs, so we make regular trips from St. Paul to the greater Omaha area. We were at the Horseshoe in mid-June, and they actually do have a few Gems Wild Tiles there, right near the main cashier area! Too bad you missed it!

    We will also be heading to Vegas in mid-August to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and we will be sure to drunk dial you from our four-night-comped room at the Fitz!

    Finally, we agree with you about Sonic! We need one here in the Twin Cities! How about on University across from Porky’s, so the hot rodders will have someplace else to show off their cars?

    Keep up the great work! We love your show!

  21. This article in the LVRJ should come as no surprise:

    ‘Looming financial default now “appears probable” for the Las Vegas Monorail, according to the bleakest financial assessment to date of the struggling rapid transit line released Tuesday.’

    http://www.lvrj.com/news/8428067.html

  22. We did the grand canyon a couple of years ago. It is quite a long drive to the South rim and back but we did it in one day. Luckily we got upgraded from a mid-size to a luxury car that trip and it had XM so we had radio (especially the 80s and comedy channels!) the whole way there to kill the time.

    Michelle, we LOVE sonic too! There is an extreme lack of Sonics here in the great white north so we try to get our fill when we are in Vegas. We usually hit Sonic in the wee hours of the morning after gambling. More than once, hopped up on greasy food and Strawberry Lime-aids, one of our friends will suggest “Hey, let’s check out the Hoover Dam”. It always seems like a good idea at the time…until you get there and whoever suggested it will say “That’s it?!?!?”.

  23. Just returned from a weekend in Vegas and was a bit dismayed at the quality of gambling on the strip. My games are blackjack and video poker, usually Jacks or Better.

    Most of the JOB games I found on the strip were 8-5 and 7-5 with no progressives. A lot of 6-5 blackjack and 8 deck shoes.

    I was staying at the Gold Coast and they did have some very good games there, but it doesn’t exactly have the strip ambience. Has anybody had any better success finding a decent game on the strip? I know the high limit rooms are usually pretty good, but I am working with a bankroll of a couple thousand, good for about 10 minutes in the typical high limit room.

  24. I am the west coaster and like the Dodgers and In & Out.

    Well since it is the new trend… I will be in Las Vegas on August 17th & 18th at the P Ho. Find me with my Latina fiance and I will buy you a drink. It’s not hard to miss the big white dude with the spanish girl.

    Go P HO!

  25. Hey T&M,
    I’m gonna start calling you T&M. Tim & Michele is just too much to type and every time I go to type it I have to go looking around old posts to figure out if Michele has one ‘L’ or two because I can never remember. T&M, that’s like Time & Materials too. Ha! LOL! I’m cracking up right now, kinda like I do on the drunk dials, Ha. It’s just not the same though. You can call me B if you want.
    Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’m with you on the In & Out opinion. They didn’t do a whole lot for me either and I’m pretty much a food giant so I know my hamburgers. But, I gotta say I’m not that impressed with Sonic’s burgers either. In fact I would say both places are ok.
    I know what you’re thinkin……. “did he fire 6 shots or only 5?”…. just kiddin.
    I know what you’re thinkin though….. “Well B, if you’re such a burger connisouer (sp?), then who has great burgers?” I assume we are limiting this discussion to chains since it wouldn’t be fair to name some mom & pop restaurant in Rhode Island or something, so…………… I don’t know? Guess I would take a Wendy’s double with cheese over either In & Out or Sonic, not by a lot, but I think it’s a little better. I probably put Steak & Shake on that same level as Wendy’s. I can’t think of a reall awesome burger from a burger chain. Fatburgers are supposed to be good, but I’ve never had one. How ironic. I’m fat and I like burgers.
    I guess that’s enough rambling on for now.

  28. No need to rent a car to get to Sonic in LV!

    There is a Sonic right next door to the Gold Coast, just take the shuttle to the GC or the one to the Rio.

    Cheers

  30. T&M has a much better Las Vegas connection since it is the nickname for the UNLV Thomas & Mack Center arena.

    Now, about this Sonic vs. In&Out dispute, I just saw an ad for the new Wendy’s “Baconator” burger featuring 6 strips of bacon on a burger. Clearly that ought to be a Five Hundy fave.

  31. …”Hamburger”….”Hall & Oates”….we have a connection!!!

    According to liner notes on the Hall & Oates “Bigger Than Both of Us” – Import CD, the big hit, “Rich Girl,” is one of the pair’s best Motown pastiches; it was reputedly inspired by Errol Wetson, heir to the hamburger fortune.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetson's

  33. Add me to the “heresy” regarding Sonic and In/Out Burgers. In/Out is good at the basic burger they do. But they can’t touch Sonic. Fun to drive up and park old school, big tasty burgers, you can get tater tots instead of fries… I could go on.

    After 14 years of living in Las Vegas, I can count my In/Out visits on one hand. Lost count of Sonic visits long time ago.

    Don’t overlook Fatburger. Load up with their burger (cooked fresh to order) with egg and cheese, plus a shake. It isn’t health food, but it sure is good.

  35. Sorry Sparky….Scott and Melissa from Living in LV don’t hold a candle to T&M. The first episode I found their banter kind of annoying and vowed not to listen again. But because it’s about Vegas and I have that kind of listening time in my hands at work (science research is slow…any other podcast suggestions greatly accepted!), I’ve now listened to a handful of shows and they have only grown tolerable.
    T&M living in Vegas??…imagine all the great new vocabulary! My new word from our last trip in June is “ultra” after seeing a billboard for Little Macau – an “ultra tavern”. I am typing this while relaxing in my “ultra office”.

  38. No problem, Scott from LiLV. So, what does a LV resident think is the “best” hamburger chain (in LV). Huh?…huh?…come on….give it up!

  41. Another Fat Tire sighting – on tap at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay (or Mandalay Place, to be more specific.

    I usually like something with more hops to it, but I found this was a really good beverage to pair with a nice Angus burger with tapenade on it. yum!

  42. Oh – and while i’m at it (leaving a comment that is)

    Can I win the prize for listening to your podcast in the most unusual place?

    I took my iPod all loaded up with the Podcast number 126 with me last Monday night – to the sleep clinic.

    It was really interesting listening to you describe the rooms in the “Heartland” casinos, while I was staying in a windowless room, on a single hospital style bed, being watched by a video camera and listened to by 2 microphones.
    And, even though I had wires attached to my forehead, chin, corners of my eyes, chest and legs – I still stuck on two more wires, to put the iPod earbuds in and listen.

    The only problem? With the constant monitoring by microphone. i’m sure the tech wondered what the heck was so funny, that had me giggling worse than Boog.

    So do I win the prize?

  43. Re: unusual listening locations… a long time ago I listened to the Atlantic City episode while I was on the roof. I was cleaning gutters. I would much rather have been in Atlantic City.

    That must have been one of the first episodes where fonts were mentioned. Michele thought the font used for Trump’s sign was unimaginative.

  44. I was in a Health & Safety meeting yesterday and the agenda was in comic sans. I chuckled and sighed when I saw it -then was given a “this is a serious meeting” look by the committee head. How ironic…..

  45. Hey, since the Boardwalk is gone, where can somebody get a deelacious Burgerpipe in Vegas?

  46. I have a review of the skywalk at the Grand Canyon via a work friend. The bottom line … Not worth it. As Michelle mentioned, it is very expensive. The road to the actual walk is unpaved and my friend saw no less than 3 broken down cars on the side of the road from potholes, large rocks, etc. When you get to the skywalk, you are not allowed to take your camera out there. You are allotted 10 minutes for I believe 90 bucks. You are required to place cotton slippers over your shoes to walk out to avoid scratching the glass. Of course, they take a picture of you while you are out there but you are not allowed any cameras/cell phones out there.

    As far as the luxor rooms… i’ve stayed in the tower (in May) and the pyramid (In 2005). Tower rooms … excellent. Very nice, great views, very spacious for a mid-priced hotel. Pyramid rooms … decent, but not as nice as the tower and the slanted wall is rather troubling to those of us over 6 feet tall. I must have hit my head at least 3 times.

    Hope this helps!

    Mike in Toledo.

  47. I have to agree with Michele about the orange cream drink at Sonic…it is soooo good. The closest Sonic we to us is at least a 6 hour drive away. I always get so mad when I see commercials for it, but can’t go. But I think we might have to take a trip to Gold Coast just to go to the Sonic close by it. Yummmmmmmy!!!

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