24 thoughts on “Five Hundy by Midnight 259: Do-Over”

1. Random thoughts on this podcast:

   Yay, finally. Although listening sober the next morning lacks something.

   Summer of the 70’s? Does that mean they’re bringing the mob back so the casino’s don’t treat their customers like shit anymore? Or at least drop the rate on rooms, shows, and food to get money at the tables?

   Douchewear also inlcudes the black wifebeater.

2. We’re more than ready for our trip in 2 months and it’ll be our first with Vegas Mate. We will be staying at THE Paris and have Vegas Matr on our iPod Touch, so we have to rely on WiFi. My question to the Las Vegas Internet mafia is: do any strip hotels have a location where we can access inexpensive/free WiFi to be able to fully utilize Vegas Mate? Even a location nearby Paris would be helpful. Thanks!

3. A few free WiFi spots I’m aware of:

   Pizza Place at Wynn
   ESPN Zone at New York New York
   Coffee Bean at Planet Hollywood (Miracle Mile)
   Apple Store at Fashion Show Mall

4. I’m about to fire up the show now! Oh, I already can’t wait to hear your grumblings on EBC (Encore Beach Club)… Even though I really want to try it out soon. I know this is hard to believe, but I can’t be a “queer hippie mama in training” all the time. I need to get my freak on every once in a while, and that’s why I’m so excited about EBC & Surrender… It’s like Steve Wynn & Roger Thomas redid Encore just for moi!

   Next time you’re in Vegas, I need to get a cabana at EBC for all of us. 😉

5. I’ve always felt that free WiFi ought to be a player’s club perk. You know, you sign up for a players club card or you check into a hotel room and you get free WiFi throughout the casino.

   It’s not like it’s not a fixed cost that the casino could factor in to their fees.

   Worst case scenario, they change the password once a week and everyone has to “check in” to get the new one.

   What would it realistically cost a casino? $2,000 to install, $500 a month for a T-1 line that doesn’t go directly to their servers. I would be willing to bet that I personally have had to leave casino’s because I couldn’t get access to the interweb on my mobile device, and I know I’m not the only one. In the end, I’m sure that the $500 would pay for itself in under a day, let alone a week, and the rest of the time it was up would be pure profit for the casino’s for having customers remain there a little while longer.

   I know, the argument is made that if someone is on their mobile device, they’re not gambling, but that’s a bullshit argument. People are on their mobile devices anyway right now, and it takes a hell of a lot longer to load up something through 3G than it would to load it up over WiFi. Less time on the mobile, more time pulling the handle.

6. Wasted Space still has the $40 wristband as far as I know…

   http://jackcolton.com/las_vegas_nightclub_specials.htm

7. Lady Luck has been closed for 4 years as per QOD on LVA.

   I paid for and used the internet for 3 days of 8 on our last trip. However, it is a pain to pay for the full day at $12.95 for the Palazzo and $13.95 for Wynn. Why not an hourly rate in the rooms, say in the morning when you want to post a trip report or read the forums, or, unfortunaltely, access your office e-mail.

   BTW thanks for hooking me up to the Gaga, Springsteen version of Can’t Stop Believing on DH7 It is awesome, but her shoes are ridculous.

   I know, you listened to DH7? But I was desparate.

   The encore looks cool but who can afford it. And maybe some of the music might spread to the casino where it is boring. The Palazzo has way better sounds.

   Dan

8. I mean the rach club at $40 entrry fee. Plus $750 per day for a cabana?

9. Beach Club.

10. FWIW this weekend downtown “The 70’s Show” spotlighted the doors. That should really please Tim, but the rest of us were really disapointed. It was PACKED this weekend– ARIA was elbow to elbow even…which I’ve never seen happen at City Center

11. Off subject question:

    I am going to Vegas in two weeks and need to make a decision… I booked two rooms with deals that I got, but am not sure which one to stay in. I am staying Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night..

    1. 3 nights at The Encore for $299. Resort Suite and two tickets to Le Reve.

    OR

    2. 3 nights at New York New York for free. Deluxe Room. $25 in slot play.

    We are people that believe the room is there for you to sleep and that’s it. We don’t have out in the room… but this is the first time in a while that my wife and I are getting a weekend away from the kid.

    Thoughts??

12. is that $299 per night or for the weekend? If it is for the three days take it. If it per night pass. You don’t have to spend weekend money, but if you play there for a while a better offer will come along.

    NYNY gives you nice proximity to Arya for a visit – even though I hated it.

    Dan

13. Tim, can you wrap up each show 60 minutes style ala Andy Rooney?

14. I could. But I won’t.

15. 1 1/2 months till VEGAS!!! Woo Hoo! 3 nights at Mirage, 3 nights at Encore. 🙂

    Oh…and anyone looking for TV shows with Vegas…new reality show alert. True Beauty takes place in Vegas as the contestants stay in a suite at P-Ho. It’s not only about ‘outer’ beauty…they are given tests to see if they have beauty on the ‘inside’. No…it’s not a porn. The contestants aren’t told they are ‘set up’ to see if they pass moral tests..and when they are kicked off…they are shown how bad of a person they really are.

    Shots of Downtown…the strip are all over. If anything..watch for the scenery.

    It’s on Monday’s – ABC.

16. “How’d You Get So Rich” on TV Land did a profile on Phil Ruffin. He mentioned that he is planning to buy another hotel “very soon.” I wonder if anyone knows anything about that, if it is a Vegas hotel?

17. Dan, the $299 is for all three nights.

    Do you know how nice are the rooms at NYNY? I just need it to sleep and fornicate.

18. Jim,

    The standard rooms at NYX2 are very very small. They’re also old, and show their age. The rooms at Encore are going to be about twice as big, and much nicer. While NY offers a 2 star hotel experience, the cattle call at check out, 60 minutes for room service, tiny bathrooms, basic amenities, they do have beds!

    Encore’s room will feel like a smart metropolitan luxury apartment. NY NY like a brooklyn loft with the furniture thrown in! Le Reve is boring, you can find 2:1 show tickets for something much better. Thus, I say NY if you’re serious about just needing a place to crash, and don’t mind a few lines, and below average hotel service……..One other major difference, food at Encore will be far more expensive than what you can find at NY, NY.

19. Meredith,

    I’ve been there– I too had just an IPOD touch. I bet you’re not like me though, I used to pretend to talk into it if anyone attractive walked past. Most people can’t tell the difference between a touch or phone! I traveled a lot, even in the ipod-touch days, so I share this:

    http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/wireless-internet.

    You might want to download the starbucks app and make a few mental notes about where sbux with wifi are. Believe it or not, there are a lot of starbucks out there! Buying a cheap gift card at starbucks, or digging out that one your sister-in-law gave you for Xmas can pay off.

    Skip the coffee, take the free wi-fi

20. One major advantage to NYNY is the acess to the strip. Encore is almost an oasis (unless you like the Riv). Haven’t stayed at NYNY so I defer to Al.

    $299 for the weekend is a very good price but if you really want to do some strip crawling go with NYNY.

    And yes the food at Encore is pricy but we had the most amazing cheese and egg croisant for $8.50 and a great meal at Sinatra.

    But Greenberg’s Deli $2. bagel with cheese is the deal of the strip.

    Dan

21. For $299 stay at Encore. It will be much nicer than NYNY and it just might be a nice little 2nd honeymoon. Take advantage of the luxury …

22. To be honest, we would have never stayed anywhere in the strip but the Palazzo or Wynncore, We have stayed at the Hilton which we quite enjoy and other than that mostly timeshare condo’s. So we are quite spoiled and would probably never stay at NYNY.

    I suspect that your wife will love the Encore so I agree with PB & J. You cannot go wrong.

    Dan

23. I’ll have to search out that Phil Ruffin profile. He made his initial money in Wichita, KS in convenience stores and real estate and I went to high school there with his sons. I have mixed feelings about him- on one hand, I admire what he’s accomplished and his savvy in buying low/selling high Vegas real estate when everyone else thought the boom would last forever, but at the same time, he hasn’t done much with TI since he’s had it.

24. Given Ruffin’s record with New Frontier… buy it, maintain it just enough so it doesn’t fall down and then sell it at a big profit, I don’t think many people have expected Phil to do much with TI. However, he has only had it for a little over a year. In that time, a bunch of restaurants have changed and they built Gilley’s. I believe the rooms were updated by MGM just a couple years ago, so there isn’t much to do there. He inherited a successful Cirque show, so nobody was expecting a major change in entertainment (although they have added a rotation of well-known stand-ups to their lineup). I’m not saying these changes are good, but there have been changes. As much as I’d love to see Sirens revert to the old pirate show, and more favorable gambling conditions on the casino floor, I don’t really expect either to happen.