Zombies 2017 Las Vegas Ratings - Trip Report (1 Viewer)

Day 3. Sometimes, what happens in Vegas is just happening very near Vegas.

Wild West Horseback Adventures

From the Pinball HoF, we returned to our hotel and geared up for some daytime desert fun. Our ride picked us up right to the minute, and took us and a van-load of people out to a ranch on the edge of The Valley of Fire, which sounds more like the name of a soap opera, than a stretch of desert with unusually deep red sandstone formations.

We meet up with our guides, who give us a pretty quick lesson on how to ride. This is useful to me, because even though I live in rural Tennessee, and I can see two horse farms from my house, I'm a city Zombie. My idea of riding a horse involves a Mustang convertible. While I'm not the only one in our group of 10 riders with little to no riding experience, I seem to be the only one who really laughs when someone asks "What if the horse breaks into a run and I cant get it to stop", and the guide replies "fall off".

Must be Zombie humor. Unless he was serious. I've never fallen off a Mustang convertible.

The ride itself is fairly long, traveling down a section of the Old Spanish Trail. According to Wikipedia, "It is considered one of the most arduous of all trade routes ever established in the United States". I did not edit the Wiki article to say that either. We traveled over trails, rocks, grass, mud, sand, and if you were the last horse in the line, a lot of horse poop. I'm pretty certain that if I was settling the old west in 1804, the automobile would have been invented in 1805. I wouldn't call it an automobile either, because a car really isn't automatic yet, is it? I would have called it the "Zombie Vroom-Vroom Beep-Beep".

Then someone would have developed the autonomous car in 1805, just so they could call the Zombie Vroom-Vroom Beep-Beep an automobile.

Mrs Zombie gets saddled up...
2017-06-22 18.32.02.jpg


Authentic 1800's scenery. The phone lines were useful so Louis and Clark could call ahead and let the west coast know that they were going to take a long time getting there.
2017-06-22 18.51.08.jpg


If you're not leading this is your view...
2017-06-22 18.59.03.jpg


If you have a hard time handling a cell phone camera, while holding horse reins, this is your view...
2017-06-22 19.20.09.jpg


I took this picture, then realized I must be riding backwards...
2017-06-22 19.20.12.jpg


Riding the dusty trails into the sunset, 'cause that is what cowboys do.
2017-06-22 19.26.29.jpg


I suddenly have a great idea for a poker chip!
2017-06-22 19.41.55.jpg


After the long ride, it's time for a good ole cowboy rib-eye. They did not have a bottle of red-eye whisky. this didn't make any sence to me until I remembered the Old Spanish Trail ran to Utah. F'n teetotalers.
2017-06-22 20.15.24.jpg


After dinner we learned "ropin'" skills. Zombies are now available if you need a babysitter.
2017-06-22 20.49.50.jpg


Wild West Horseback Adventures: 2-5 Brains. It really depends on how much you want to ride a horse, but I cannot imagine even the most urban chippers not getting at least some fun out of this ride.
 
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The Pinball Museum is one of those little local gems that shouldn't be missed. I think they're trying to raise money for a better location/bldg. Fun fact - Liberace's house is west of there, about a mile away, in a rather unassuming neighborhood.

Another place that shouldn't be missed is the Neon Museum. Not far at all from downtown...
 
Day 4, an honest to goodness breakfast.

Mr Mamas

This is my first trip to Mr Mamas in their new location (still off-strip), and they did not disappoint. Breakfast is a tough meal to mess up. It's also a tough meal to really elevate to "wow" status. Eggs, Pancakes, French Toast, and breakfast meats. Sure, Mr mamas goes the extra step up with Eggs Benedict and Greek Yogurt parfait options, but this is not the wow factor.

It's service. The owner greets everybody in his establishment, usually when they walk in the door. This place has about 20-25 tables, and I counted 5 waitresses walking around, along with at least 2 busboys, and one person helping out wherever needed, as well as the owner himself rolling up the sleeves and working and interacting with the coustomer. You do not wait for anything, other than the time it takes for your breakfast to be cooked.

And what a breakfast! Pancakes the size of your head! You could put a stick in these and use it as a parasol against the hot desert sun, then eat it for a night-time snack. The parfait was high quality with fresh fruit. The orange juice, fresh, like you would expect from a Florida restaurant.
2017-06-23 10.15.03.jpg

If you look close, you can see how seriously this place takes cleanliness. The syrup dispenser is spotless.

4 Brains. I'd give it 5, but my pancakes were a little tough. Tough pancakes were a blessing in disguise though. If I ate the whole thing I'd be uncomfortably stuffed, and my day has just started. If you want to experience an American breakfast with 5-star service, you have to get of the strip. Mr Mama won't be opening up multiple locations unless he can figure out a was to greet everyone in both locations at the same time. It's kind of nice to think that there are still people that are more concerned with a great product instead of just selling their standards short for a big profit.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Day 4, an honest to goodness breakfast.

Mr Mamas

This is my first trip to Mr Mamas in their new location (still off-strip), and they did not disappoint. Breakfast is a tough meal to mess up. It's also a tough meal to really elevate to "wow" status. Eggs, Pancakes, French Toast, and breakfast meats. Sure, Mr mamas goes the extra step up with Eggs Benedict and Greek Yogurt parfait options, but this is not the wow factor.

It's service. The owner greets everybody in his establishment, usually when they walk in the door. This place has about 20-25 tables, and I counted 5 waitresses walking around, along with at least 2 busboys, and one person helping out wherever needed, as well as the owner himself rolling up the sleeves and working and interacting with the coustomer. You do not wait for anything, other than the time it takes for your breakfast to be cooked.

And what a breakfast! Pancakes the size of your head! You could put a stick in these and use it as a parasol against the hot desert sun, then eat it for a night-time snack. The parfait was high quality with fresh fruit. The orange juice, fresh, like you would expect from a Florida restaurant.
View attachment 105782
If you look close, you can see how seriously this place takes cleanliness. The syrup dispenser is spotless.

4 Brains. I'd give it 5, but my pancakes were a little tough. Tough pancakes were a blessing in disguise though. If I ate the whole thing I'd be uncomfortably stuffed, and my day has just started. If you want to experience an American breakfast with 5-star service, you have to get of the strip. Mr Mama won't be opening up multiple locations unless he can figure out a was to greet everyone in both locations at the same time. It's kind of nice to think that there are still people that are more concerned with a great product instead of just selling their standards short for a big profit.
Click to expand...

Is that Chipotle flavored Cholula in the rack? If so you should award another .5 brains.
 
Day 4. Mrs Zombie goes to Qua spa to relax. I go to a poker room. Guess who relaxes more...

Bally's Poker Room

I'm going to give Bally's some credit. They pulled out a bunch of folding poker tables because they knew the WSOP would attract more poker players than normal. Sadly, these tables were...
  1. In the casino, near the poker room. That puts you closer to the slot players smoking their cigarettes and pulling their oxygen tanks. These people are the pinnacle of thinking "I do everything right. I can't figure out why I'm down."
  2. They put the daily tournaments on these tables. I can read the pay table on the Video Poker machine from where I'm sitting, but the tournament timer timer is in the poker room. Why am I the only one that sees whats wrong with the picture?
  3. No cupholders in the temporary tables, and no drinks allowed on these tables either. You had to use a drink cart. That means a big twist to get at your drink.
  4. The tournament tables in use were full, and since the tables were just squeezed in, there was no way to walk between tables while players were sitting. If you were in the 4, 5, 6, or 7 seats, your drink was feet away or they would play bumper cars with players at your table, and the table next to you trying to get the drink cart to you. In a home game, I am accustomed to these tight confines. I'll play in a coat closet if the game is good. But in a 67,000 ft casino, they could find a little room so you can back your chair up.
  5. The chairs look like they were harvested from a dumpster. Many chairs had their own worn out seat cushion, and then a seat cushion from another worn-out chair on top of that. Even with 2 cushions, it was like sitting on a wooden box.
  6. The poker room, with it's tournament clocks, and drink holders, and room to move, and comfortable chairs was virtually empty.
  7. Mixed mold chips...
    2017-06-23 12.03.50.jpg
Bally's overflow Poker Room: 1 Brain. After the tournament, I was going to bug out of here and play cash someplace else. This was simply unacceptable. No rake for you, 2 years!
 
Day 4. Walked from Ballys to the Flamingo. Stopped off at a Craps table on the way through and turned $20 into $85 before the hot roll came to an end. Then continued onto the...

Flamingo Poker Room

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to play. Players seem to be happier here. Maybe it's the pink tables, or the occasional spotted $1. Perhaps it's the proximity to Margaritaville, but everyone seems to laugh and have a good time here. Usually at the expense of a rich drunk guy that always seems to be here. Play at the tables was loose. @bergs would have looked like the nit in this 1/2 game.
2017-06-23 15.32.56.jpg

That was a ~$850 pot, pre-flop. #4 seat raised to $12. #5 seat upped it to $25. Folds around to drunk guy in seat #2 who has to defend his small blind. Lady in #4 pushes it to $150, as she had a really good read on the drunk guy's cards. Hard not to get a good read when he's holding them pretty much exposed. #5 seat jams and everyone snap calls. Apologies for the blur in the next shot, but everyone was laughing so hard it was tough to get the shot in.
2017-06-23 15.33.37.jpg

Drunk rich guy with a :7c::4c:. Seat #4 held :kc::qc:, and Seat #5 with Pocket Aces. Board ran out :6c::2c::ac: :5s: :th:.

It took me a while to isolate drunk guy myself, but when I finally did, I was able to run this...
2017-06-23 14.27.03.jpg


...into this:
2017-06-23 16.48.08.jpg


Hard not to have fun when you're in for $300, out for $651. Not bad for an hour of play.

Flamingo Poker Room: 4 Brains.
 
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Cool reports, but it's slightly disheartening to see casinos in Las Vegas of all places using shoddy/mismatched chips.

I always thought Vegas chips would be the best of the best. Clearly I'm just a romantic fool.
 
Wils said:
Cool reports, but it's slightly disheartening to see casinos in Las Vegas of all places using shoddy/mismatched chips.

I always thought Vegas chips would be the best of the best. Clearly I'm just a romantic fool.
Click to expand...

It's not just mismatched. Sometimes they're completely different manufacturers in play on the table...
2017-06-23 16.15.59.jpg
 
I've always enjoyed playing at the Flamingo. Usually I only play there when I'm staying at the hotel. Not sure why I never seem to make a special trip there because as you've found out, it's relatively easy to make money.
 
Day 4 continued... Mrs Zombie finished her spa day and picked me up from the poker tables at the Flamingo, and we headed out for a stroll in the Las Vegas record-breaking heat. We've been to Vegas many times, but we never stood front and center to watch one of the iconic landmarks of this town, the...

Bellagio Fountains

The heat kept most sane people indoors. Even most of the nuts on the street dressed like Transformers or Pokemon were taking the day off. I don't know if it was the heat or the relative solitude, but while watching the fountains I couldn't help but think...

Each spigot shoots a jet of water. One, by itself, would be unimpressive. But the guy that designed everything wanted a bunch of spigots, all working together to reach a common goal. Each stream of water slightly different from the next, sometimes crossing paths yet still working together to make something beautiful.

As I stood there and watched, I couldn't help but feel like I too have been a small part of something great.
2017-06-23 17.47.39.jpg


Bellagio Fountains: 5 Brains, but you have to really feel it. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of squirty water.
 
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Poker Zombie said:
....the guy that designed everything wanted a bunch of spigots, all working together to reach a common goal. Each stream of water slightly different from the next, sometimes crossing paths yet still working together to make something beautiful....
Click to expand...

There was a tv documentary about five years ago about the company that does all these computerized water displays for Bellagio, Cirque du Soleil, etc. Pretty interesting.

We like to sit in water mist-cooled comfort outside at Mon Ami Gabi, right across the street in Paris, and watch. It's our favorite eating place in Vegas.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Day 4 continued... Mrs Zombie finished her spa day and picked me up from the poker tables at the Flamingo, and we headed out for a stroll in the Las Vegas record-breaking heat. We've been to Vegas many times, but we never stood front and center to watch one of the iconic landmarks of this town, the...

Bellagio Fountains

The heat kept most sane people indoors. Even most of the nuts on the street dressed like Transformers or Pokemon were taking the day off. I don't know if it was the heat or the relative solitude, but while watching the fountains I couldn't help but think...

Each spigot shoots a jet of water. One, by itself, would be unimpressive. But the guy that designed everything wanted a bunch of spigots, all working together to reach a common goal. Each stream of water slightly different from the next, sometimes crossing paths yet still working together to make something beautiful.

As I stood there and watched, I couldn't help but feel like I too have been a small part of something great.
View attachment 106072

Bellagio Fountains: 5 Brains, but you have to really feel it. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of squirty water.
Click to expand...


About 4 years ago I I proposed to my wife while we were watching the fountain show. It was one of the first shows of the day and we were kind of all by ourselves (we thought) in one of those little alcove spots. I am a private person so proposing in front of everybody was not what I wanted, it worked out perfectly for me. We were meeting friends in Palm Springs later in the week and when we got there they introduced us to a couple they met at a restaurant who told them a story of being in Vegas a few days prior and seeing "a nice young couple" at the Bellagio fountains getting engaged, then we said hi and blew their mind. lol Small world, I thought it was pretty cool.


Anyway, sorry for my usual rambling threadjack, carry on!!
 
pltrgyst said:
We like to sit in water mist-cooled comfort outside at Mon Ami Gabi, right across the street in Paris, and watch. It's our favorite eating place in Vegas.
Click to expand...

Ooof. You might want to skip my next review - It'll be of Mon Ami Gabi, and it won't get 5 brains... (n) :thumbsdown:
 
Poker Zombie said:
Ooof. You might want to skip my next review - It'll be of Mon Ami Gabi, and it won't get 5 brains... (n) :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Mon Ami Gabi *is* a chain, remember. I didn't say best food, just favorite eating place. We love the fountains and people watching. And wine. And more wine.

Best food for us would be Picasso and a couple of places in Aria and (I think) MGM....
 
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Day 4... After the fountains, we met up with @Gear and @Psypher1000 , and headed into the Bellagio for a couple of drinks. Always good to get to talk to Chris, and Scott was also (not surprisingly) a great guy as well. This is Vegas though, and soon we were headed out in separate directions. Our direction took us to

Mon Ami Gabi

For those that don't speak the French language of love, Mon Ami Gabi roughly translates into "I got your wallet, my friend". Because it was still over 110 degrees outside, we opted to eat inside. This may have been our biggest mistake, because you are being charged for the view (the Bellagio fountains are right across the street), even if you sit in the dark, dank, windowless interior of the building.

Dinner started stellar here, with a baguette and a carrot spread. Yep, a carrot spread. Weird, but good.
2017-06-23 19.32.53.jpg


For an app, we went with the baked goat cheese. This was just a fancy, deconstructed grilled cheese sandwich. It was wonderfully tasty, and will be doing this myself this winter, but I will not charge myself $11 for a grilled cheese sandwich. Even at on-the-strip prices, this was a little excessive.
2017-06-23 19.54.13.jpg


Then came my Prime Steak Frites. A small skirt steak piled with thin french fries. Credit where credit is due, the steak was cooked perfectly, but the flavor was trashed by the mounds of salty, crispy fries. This would be good if it was $7, "Ok, this is Vegas" for $12, but for $25 it was straight-up disappointment.

Mon Ami Gabi: 2.5 Brains. If I were to give this place another shot, it would be in weather where you don't melt in the heat, can watch the fountains, and I would steer clear of the Fries.
 
After dinner, we decided to head over to....

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Sorry folks, but this old guy still knows how to live it up on a Friday night. I just hope that that's a spider bite on my ass, and not a tattoo.

Who am I kidding? Drunk me is hilarious, and if it is a tattoo, it will crack me up. Way to go drunk me!

Brains: Probably 3, but everything is better with alcohol. Who ever finished a bender saying "well, that was disappointing?"
 
Poker Zombie said:
Day 3. Sometimes, what happens in Vegas is just happening very near Vegas.

Wild West Horseback Adventures

From the Pinball HoF, we returned to our hotel and geared up for some daytime desert fun. Our ride picked us up right to the minute, and took us and a van-load of people out to a ranch on the edge of The Valley of Fire, which sounds more like the name of a soap opera, than a stretch of desert with unusually deep red sandstone formations.

We meet up with our guides, who give us a pretty quick lesson on how to ride. This is useful to me, because even though I live in rural Tennessee, and I can see two horse farms from my house, I'm a city Zombie. My idea of riding a horse involves a Mustang convertible. While I'm not the only one in our group of 10 riders with little to no riding experience, I seem to be the only one who really laughs when someone asks "What if the horse breaks into a run and I cant get it to stop", and the guide replies "fall off".

Must be Zombie humor. Unless he was serious. I've never fallen off a Mustang convertible.

The ride itself is fairly long, traveling down a section of the Old Spanish Trail. According to Wikipedia, "It is considered one of the most arduous of all trade routes ever established in the United States". I did not edit the Wiki article to say that either. We traveled over trails, rocks, grass, mud, sand, and if you were the last horse in the line, a lot of horse poop. I'm pretty certain that if I was settling the old west in 1804, the automobile would have been invented in 1805. I wouldn't call it an automobile either, because a car really isn't automatic yet, is it? I would have called it the "Zombie Vroom-Vroom Beep-Beep".

Then someone would have developed the autonomous car in 1805, just so they could call the Zombie Vroom-Vroom Beep-Beep an automobile.

Mrs Zombie gets saddled up...
View attachment 105579

Authentic 1800's scenery. The phone lines were useful so Louis and Clark could call ahead and let the west coast know that they were going to take a long time getting there.
View attachment 105580

If you're not leading this is your view...
View attachment 105581

If you have a hard time handling a cell phone camera, while holding horse reins, this is your view...
View attachment 105583

I took this picture, then realized I must be riding backwards...
View attachment 105585

Riding the dusty trails into the sunset, 'cause that is what cowboys do.
View attachment 105586

I suddenly have a great idea for a poker chip!
View attachment 105587

After the long ride, it's time for a good ole cowboy rib-eye. They did not have a bottle of red-eye whisky. this didn't make any sence to me until I remembered the Old Spanish Trail ran to Utah. F'n teetotalers.
View attachment 105592

After dinner we learned "ropin'" skills. Zombies are now available if you need a babysitter.
View attachment 105593

Wild West Horseback Adventures: 2-5 Brains. It really depends on how much you want to ride a horse, but I cannot imagine even the most urban chippers not getting at least some fun out of this ride.
Click to expand...

I just wanted to note that I'm totally rocking it with my Hitching Post shirt. Just ignore the non-cowboy hat. ;)

HPShirt.jpg
 
Day 5 begins... Having survived the previous night, I get up after 4 hours of sleep and am ready to tear out into the world, thanks to Prefunc. A little bit of "free" gambol thanks to a coupon book from the Plaza and for getting a new player's card at Golden Nuggget, and we are $20 wealthier heading into the day. We pack up and hit the road, leaving downtown behind.

Unfortunately, 4 hours of sleep and a little gambol puts us at 11:30 as we head to the Peppermill. People are lined up outside in the 104 degrees (and climbing) heat. With my laptop and chips in the car, we determine that Peppermill will wait for another trip. We call an audible to Planet Hollywood and the

Earl of Sandwich

This place is no secret, especially to PH poker tournament players or visitors of the sportsbook, as it is the primary quick food location to these venues. Earl of Sandwich is just good, quick food. It is often hailed as cheap food, but I disagree. Two meals, with soda and chips set us back $22.10. Cheap if you consider it's on the strip. Not so cheap if you had to pay for parking.

We did not pay for parking.

Whaaaa...? As it turns out, we entered the parking garage through the Miracle Mile parking structure. As of this writing, it was FREE. Sure there's a little walk, but hell, it's Vegas. I'm clocking 10,000+ steps every day, and it's not just because I'm shitty at poker. Perhaps I'll describe Vegas as a Haiku...

Everything looks close
But it’s really far away
And now my feet hurt

2017-06-24 12.02.07.jpg


The sandwich looks small, but it is densely packed with meat. This isn't Subway, and they feed you like you want to be happy. I was pleasantly filled, but not stuffed, and my chips and laptop were safe from the Vegas sun.

Seriously. Free Parking. After dropping $18 yesterday I was all like...
free-parking.jpg


Earl of Sandwich: 4 Brains. It's roughly $10 a person, but it's good and very fast. I'd say I wouldn't go out of my way to get here, but on this particular day, I did.
 
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