Well, I guess it's time I sat down and wrote about last week.  To pick it up from the beginning, I left for Vegas Monday morning.  The drive seemed more aggravating than usual, even though the traffic wasn't that terribly bad.  I think I was probably in a negative mindset, still shaking the last remnants of the flu.  And a few absolute morons on the road didn't help.  Listened to Randy Newman most of the way there (the boxed set), but also some Dusty Springfield.  Arrived at Bally's around 3:30, and the line for check-in was rather heinous.  Or maybe it just seemed bad to me.  Usually, there is an invited guest check-in line, so I don't have to wait in line.  But not that day.  Due to construction, they only had about half the check-in windows open (they did have every space available during the construction open).  So I had to wait in line for about 30 to 40 minutes to check-in.  No big deal, and I had fun watching other people freak out about the wait, as though it was the worst injustice in American history.  One Hank Hill-esque figure chose to get out of line to accost a manager about the matter.  But the line moved reasonably briskly.  The one thing I can never understand is, when I check in, it takes about three minutes at the counter.  What are the other people doing, that take 15 to 20 minutes to check in?  There is always someone checking in when I arrive who is still there when I leave for my room.  Occasionally the problem is obvious (credit card declined, lost reservation), but in general it seems that things are going okay, they just are never done with their transaction.  I don't get it.

But soon enough I was in my room.  This was my second time staying at Bally's,  and the second time I was impressed.  The room, 15th floor in the North Tower, was quite large.  King bed and a very nice sofa, glass coffee table and marble desk still left plenty of room.  A large, fake plant in the corner added a little color, and was a nice touch.  Color scheme was a little odd, but not as bad as the Flamingo.  Nice bathroom, lots of marble.  No separate tub and shower, but the toilet was sort of offset in a semi-WC, and was certainly adequate for my needs.  The view had a lot of potential.  I faced the strip, and looked out directly onto Bellagio.  The one problem was, the South Tower was between me and Bellagio.  (The South Tower has the nice views, but is a real pain to get in and out of, and the rooms are smaller, I hear).  I could still see the sides of the property, and when the Fountains of Bellagio went off, I could see a bit of the show.  The one thing that always aggravates me is the $3/day charge to use the in-room safe.  "For your convenience, you can make sure we don't steal from you, and it only costs $3!"  Considering the casino cage offers the same service for free, it's a real rip.  I was going to use my safe anyways (convenient, and I can always pay the fee with my comp dollars), but mine was out of order.  So I figured I'd save $6 rather than complain, and just did without this trip.  Of course, my room was free, but I see some good bargains for Bally's during slow times, and considering its location and quality, seems an excellent value for those who pay for their rooms in Las Vegas (I used to say the same about Treasure Island, before they ruined it). 

After resting, I took to the tables at Bally's, where I had a total of $200 in match play coupons (i.e., bet $25, if you win, you win $50).  The offer I was staying on offered $100 in match play, but if I went on particular days (i.e., last week), they would double the offer.  They gave me $25 coupons, which were doubled to be worth $50.  Lost the first two hands, but won the rest, including a blackjack on the last one (my bet was paid at 3:2, the coupon only pays even money, $50).  So I was immediately up.  And that never changed this trip.  I won't go into great detail about the gambling, becuase it wasn't particularly interesting.  I won, I won again, I lost occasionally, but mostly I won.  Bally's was good to me, Paris was (appropriately) indifferent , Stardust was berry berry good to me.  I entered the New Frontier for the first time in my life.  I'm not sure why I'd never been there before, but I was walking to the Stardust from Caesar's Palace, and the heat was finally getting to me, and I had to get into the New Frontier and the A/C.  It was nothing special, like a little bit of downtown on the strip.  Gotta wonder about any Strip casino where the entertainment is based around the mechanical bull in the bar.  I played a little bit, lost a fair amount, won it all back, and left up just a bit.  Not a bad place, but I don't see anything it has going over the Stardust (a very slightly better location, perhaps, but not by much).

One exciting development since my trip in June was the opening, at last, of the Las Vegas Monorail.  I bought a 24-hour pass, and ended up riding the thing only twice.  It runs smoothly and conveniently, with trains every five minutes in each direction.  Depending on where you are and your destination, it can be very convenient.  But it didn't really help me out.  I took it from Bally's to the Flamingo, and probably had to walk more getting to and from the monorail stations than I would have had I simply walked to the Flamingo.  But I knew that would be the case, I just wanted to check it out.  $3 one-way, $5.50 round trip, $10 for a one-day pass.  Not unreasonable.  Makes the Las Vegas Hilton much more accessible.  If it succeeds and is expanded to downtown, it will be a real boon.  I took it later in the day from Harrah's to the MGM Grand.  That was a time-saver.  Of course, I had no business at the MGM Grand, just wanted to see that end of the strip (I don't make it down that way often).  But I enjoyed the sights, and stopped off at the M&M Museum while heading back to Bally's (on foot).  I had to pay $2 (I think) for the 3-D movie last time; now it's free.  Unfortunately, they replaced one of the live actors with a video.  So the Al Roker-esque character who sang "The Candyman" last time I was there, was gone.  Last time I was there, an audience member asked me, "Is this in 3-D?  Because I paid for a 3-D movie."  I responded, "Really?  Becuase I paid to watch this jackass sing and dance."  I learned later in the show that the guy I was talking to was a plant, part of the show.  So I was a little embarassed.  It was still fun, though, in a really, really cheesy way.  For free, it's hard not to recommend, though now that it's free, it's a lot more crowded (five people last time I did it, close to 100 this time).  So that was my tourist moment this trip.  Though I also watched the Bellagio fountain a few times.  And though I didn't see it, I did here them using the soundtrack from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly again, so despite no mention on their website, that appears to be in the rotation, hopefully for good (it's awesome).

One nice thing about my hotel offer this trip was that, in addition to the free room and match play coupons, I received a $100 dining credit.  Being alone this trip, I thought that would be more than enough.  Bally's dining, however, is on the pricy side.  The credit was good at both Bally's and Paris, so I had the Paris buffet, my favorite in town, the first night.  It has its flaws, I must admit.  But what is good there is absolutely fantabulous.  For instance, desserts, in general, are a disappointment.  No real ice cream (only soft-serve), the bananas foster not made to order (and this at one of the more expensive buffets in town), and the pie and pastry selection paltry for a french-themed buffet.  But how can you dwell on that while eating a blueberry crepe with raspberry sauce from the crepe cooking station.  Lots of seafood.  People were lining up for the crab legs, cut vertically so you don't have to deal with the shells, but I passed them by to get the smoked salmon.  Some sort of cold scallops salad with cous-cous was really good, as was the hot cous-cous.  Too many good foods to mention.  The bouillabaisse was a bit disappointing, since its the most memorable part of the buffet from the first time I had it, with my dad, but it was still pretty good.  I highly recommend it, if you aren't too put off by the price (which it's worth).  I had breakfast at Bally's coffee shop twice (I intended to have their buffet my last morning there, but it was closed for maintenance).  Good, but way, way over-priced.  If I wasn't trying to use up the credit they gave me, I would not have eaten there.  But I have no complaints with the quality.  The scrambled eggs with smoked salmon was particularly good.  I did order what the menu described as "mixed seasonal berries," so I was surprised when there was nothing but strawberries.  But there were a lot of them, and they were of a high quality.  I hear the Paris cafe is much better, but the line was always long, and I never would remember to ask the pit boss for a line pass when I was playing (I did get to cut an absolutely heinous line at the Paris buffet, though).  So I didn't try it this trip.  I did have some pretty good sushi at Hyakumi at Caesar's Palace (are you picking up on my fondness for seafood?).  A good choice if you're already there, but I prefer Sushi + Sake (which, though no bargain itself, is cheaper) at Green Valley Ranch.  Managed to make a big dent in my food credit there, I thought, until I later learned, that while I had room charging privledges at all the Caesar's properties, the food credit was only good at Bally's and Paris.  So I had to use my remaining comp balance for the sushi.  But that left more money for my most expensive meal of the trip, at Al Dente at Bally's.  I'd hoped to eat at Chang's, but it was closed Tuesdays.  Al Dente was nice.  I dressed up for dinner, but found I forgot to pack shoes, so I was highly self-conscious in my sneakers.  Turns out everyone else was in jeans and T-shirts and the like, so I needn't have dressed up at all.  But it was a nice looking place, not as dark as it seemed from the bar.  The pasta disappointed, I must admit, but the appetizers (baked mussels, keeping to the trend) and dessert (tiramisu) were phenomenal.  And the pasta was reasonably priced.  I believe my meal was just under $40 (with water to drink).  Not a bargain, but if you're at Bally's and looking for a swank but reasonable dining experience, you could do worse. 

So I've probably gone on far too long about the boring details of the trip.  Thing is, looking back, I don't remember any great funny stories or anything to tell.  It was a boring trip, somewhat.  I had a good enough time, and I won more than I could spend at Comic-Con, so I'm glad I went, but it's the sort of trip you forget quickly enough.  One thing just came to me, though.  The awful woman at Legoland (that story later) made me forget this rude dealer.  As I mentioned, I had a coupon for $100 in match play, and they doubled it to $200.  I used mine at Bally's, but later in the trip, I was playing at Paris, and someone had the same coupon (only his was $50 doubled to $100).  He used the first coupon, lost, and the dealer took both the match play coupon and the doubling coupon, and tried to drop both.  Now I knew from my experience at Bally's that they were unfamiliar with the doubling coupon, so I corrected the dealer, who rudely informed me I was wrong, and before I or the other player could say anything, dropped the coupon down the slot into the Vegas box, effectively indicating debate was over.  I let the player know he was being ripped off, but I figured it was his fight, and he seemed to not want to fight it, so that's his problem.  But it always makes me mad to see someone getting ripped off in Vegas.  The casino's have a high enough edge with most players, why burn them even worse?  So that annoyed me.  Gave me something to grouse over on the drive home, stuck in traffic at least half-way.  Johnny Cash, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and Meat Loaf provided the soundtrack for that drive.

So was this the greatest trip to Vegas I ever had.  No.  Am I sorry I went?  Hell, no!  Even a mediocre trip to Vegas is pretty sweet!  And this trip funded my shopping frenzy at Comic-Con!  I'll post that story soon (probably tonight).