Took a quickie trip out west to watch some of the final table of the WSOP and do a little poker playing. Got a killer rate at the MGM ($59/night) and had a free flight on Southwest thanks to frequent flyer miles. So the trip was cheap to start off with. Flew out there on Sunday the 9th and back on Wed the 12th. Here’s a brief trip report after the jump:

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That cat is 71 and plays the guitar like a riot. I’d heard the name before, maybe heard a lick or two, but didn’t think much of it. Well. Seeing him play live was real treat. He is a true showman and a master of his instrument. You figure that’s he’s had to have lost a tidbit or two at his age, but I’m not so sure. I’m ready to go to the library and find some CDs to research this idea.

Dusty and I were able to sneak away Friday night and catch Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood fresh after the rain at a soggy Indy Jazz Fest in front of about 1500 fans. We stuck around for Buddy Guy. A nice little show up close and personal. I’d say we got our monies’ worth and then some.

Saturday, April 28

We flew out from DAL to LAS via Southwest Airlines on a 1-hopper through Amarillo late in the morning. Surprisingly, the up-and-down nature of the flight was more refreshing than the direct flight from DFW on American. I guess I like a 60-minute flight and a two-hour flight better than one continuous 3-hour flight. Only downside was that we forgot to bring enough cocktail tix. 7/10 for the flight even though it was fully-booked. At least I was the fattest one sitting in our row.

We arrived in Vegas slightly early and were met (after a phone call) by our driver. I’d ordered a sedan to cart us and our bags from the airport to Mandalay Bay; I hate standing in cab lines for any appreciable time. Instead of a Town Car, we got the stretch limo treatment, including fine champagne and a red long-stemmed rose “for the lady.” Very nice. Having to chase down the driver was a bad start, but the fact that mrs. cipher and I combined to down about 3/4 of a bottle of fine champagne on the 15-minute ride from airport to hotel turned it around. Calling the driver started this at 5/10 but with the champagne having the desired effect on mrs. cipher if you know what I mean, limo ended up at 9/10.

I’d heard competing opinions about the Mandalay Bay over the past couple years. Some people told me that they didn’t like it, others were merely okay with it. I can’t say that I understand why, as this hotel is fantastic. The hotel is in the process of rennovating all its rooms and we got a recently-remodeled room. It was easily as nice (if not nicer) than the suite we had at the Rio for the WSOP last summer. 46″ HD plasma screen, grossly-overpriced mini-bar, very comfy king-size bed, nice couch, chair, desk. And a really cool iHome iPod-based clock/radio.  Mrs. cipher particularly appreciates the full tub and separate shower. Room had a couple of quirks that we had to have hospitality/engineering fix (squeaky door, etc.) but overall a solid 8.5/10.

The biggest plus about Mandalay Bay is the pool complex. There are something like 6 pools, including a lazy river and a very large wave pool and beach. I spent an hour or two down there every day to get some sun and swim, and the pool is fantastic. 4-foot waves every 90 seconds or so. As with most places in Las Vegas, there are 10% of the women who could get away with showing even less skin and 90% that you wish that would put on some clothes. It’s notable how many people have tatoos these days. I guess I just don’t understand it — most especially the mid-40’s cute mom who had “faith-hope-love” as an ass-tat. It takes all kinds, I guess. Mandalay pool = 9/10.

The only real downside here is that this is the Mandalay Bay Resort and Hotel, and they have definitely taken “resort pricing” to heart. From an economy standpoint, I feel like I’m living inside an airport. Breakfast for just me on Sunday was $15 plus tip; 2 adult beverages, salsa, guacamole, and chips on Sunday afternoon for mrs. cipher and myself were like $33 with tip. Yow. Mandalay pricing = 3/10. Food quality = 8+/10 overall.

No poker action to report on Day 1 of the trip. Since mrs. cipher was to be in meetings all day on Sunday (Day 2) we made Saturday into our tourista day. After unpacking and getting settled in at the hotel (ahem) we made our way over to the Catholic church on the Strip for Vigil Mass since mrs. cipher wouldn’t be able to make a regular Mass on Sunday. It might surprise you to know that the Shrine of the Holy Redeemer is directly across the Strip from the Luxor hotel. It’s not actually on the Strip, the Luxor employee parking lot is in its way, but it’s just on the other side of the lot. And it is a HUGE church, I think it seats something like 1,800 when completely full. On top of which it does not have a regular parish population — the Las Vegas diocese opened it something like 10 years ago just to service pro-drinking pro-gambooling Catholics visiting Vegas. Who would imagine that those people even exist?

And the service was very full, especially for a Vigil Mass. Not just the usual crowd of cafeteria-bound seniors, but people of all ages (although we were certainly on the younger end of the demographic spectrum) and from all over. We had a couple from Denver on one side of us and from Seattle on the other. Nice service, 7/10. Eternal salvation = 11/10.

Following the cleansing of our souls, we hoofed it up to Bellagio. It was a sunny, hot day so we were quite warm once we were there, but it was nice to burn off some of the calories we were about to consume at the buffet. Which was fantastic as always, but it also confirmed my belief that the best time to consume there is the brunch buffet. Dinner is essentially the same menu as the brunch buffet (except for the morningtime specialties) but is like $20 more per person.  Buffet = 7/10.

After dinner we walked through the mall at Bellagio then went over through Caesar’s and the Forum Shops. mrs. cipher was wearing out at that point so we crossed the street to Harrah’s and trekked through there to the Monorail, took that to MGM, then crossed over to Excalibur and took the cablecar tram back to the Mandalay. We were both pretty worn out at that point so although it was kinda early Vegas time, she had a big day on Sunday, so we hit the sheets. Being tourists without the kids around = 8/10.

Day 2 will featuer first blood, poker style, with a bad beat like you have never, ever seen. Seriously.