Monday, April 14, 2014

Saturday 4/12 - Vegas Trip Day 3 - Hoover Dam

On Saturday we woke up fairly late and spent a good amount of time trying to decide what to do.  We made a choice between one of the following:

1) Visit Primm, Nevada, which is on the border of California and Nevada.  We figured we'd have better luck and see something different.
2) Visit Red Rock Canyon -- a hiking area in the Summerlin Area.
3) Visit Hoover Dam
4) Visit Henderson and see if we could find a casino there.

We opted for #3.  However, before heading to Boulder City, we went to the M Resort.  I had heard nothing but good things about the buffet and figured we might do a little bit of gambling there on account it was off the strip.

The M Resort is about 15 minutes south of the strip and was easy to find.  Upon arriving Shari and I were blown away with its elegance.  I am not sure what I expected but it clearly wasn't what I expected.  Everything was slick marble, very modern and very clean.  It looked like a place you'd want to go to if you wanted a quiet / golfing vacation and really didn't mind the cost.

We stopped by the buffet and for Saturday morning it was $40 and featured seafood.  Too much and Shari isn't a seafood eater, so there is no way she'd be happy with it.  We both dropped $20 on a slot machine and got very little out of it.  So much for "off the strip" loose slots.

On the way there we had spotted the South Pointe Casino -- a mammoth casino off to the side of Highway 15.  We decided to stop in and see if we could find a buffet.

This place is absolutely HUGE.  It doesn't have much character, but it does have a huge variety of slot machines, a poker room and seems to have the busiest racing book (I've never seen more horse bettors in one place before).  We got player club cards and got in on the buffet.  The buffet was passable and it would've been a bargain but they nail you with the champagne brunch element of it.  Neither one of us drink champagne so that aspect was lost on us.

Shari gambled there and was actually picking up ground on her Dragon machine.  I put a few bucks in and wound up winning a buck or two.  I had taken such a beating in Summerlin the day before that I was a bit turned off on gambling.  Plus, I was saving my money for Sunday / Monday when we'd go back to Mesquite in order to place Leonidas some more.

Afterwards, we headed out to Hoover Dam and made the trip in about 40 minutes.  It was really a snap.  Shari wasn't happy with it because of the heights but I was fascinated.  This is a very easy excursion to take and the place definitely has a built in the 30's feel.  Best of all, it was free (you can pay for parking if you want -- $10).  Also there is a lot for walking the Pat Tillman Bridge, which was built between the Nevada / Arizona border.  Truly amazing experience.  I only had a limited time to explore the bridge, but I hustled up there (literally) and ran about a 1/3 of the way across the bridge, snapped some pictures and hustled back.

We stopped off at a small casino called the Hacienda on the way back and Shari gambled $20.  There was a triathlon wrapping up so there were a handful of cyclists in the lobby.  I was wearing my Las Vegas marathon shirt, so I made quick conversation with them.  I so badly wanted to compete.  We've thought about staying at the Hacienda as there is a half marathon in March (6 Tunnels Half Marathon) that I want to do and the Hacienda is the host hotel.  We saw nothing to discourage us from staying there, however, the casino was indeed tiny.

We took the long way home after I missed the exit back to the 15 and wound up taking Tropicana from the 515 to the strip.  This actually was a lot easier than I expected and we made good time.

For dinner, we bought some coupons from the Tix 4 Tonight place to save money on the buffet at Monte Carlo.  The MC buffet never has been popular and it was a ghost town.  It isn't the best buffet, but there's almost always no line and they had pre-cracked crab legs.  I made a meal out of them and inhaled three plates.  For about $30, I felt we got our money's worth.  Too bad the Monte Carlo Buffet is often overlooked.  If you are in a hurry it isn't a bad place to be.

We stopped by the MGM and found not 1 Leonidas machine, but 3 of them!  I wound up sinking $20 into each of them and only hit paydirt once.  I never have any luck at the MGM casinos and should just leave them alone.  Not sure what they do to their slots, but I rarely ever get any action.  I did watch a no-limit poker hand (from the viewing area) and saw a $1000 hand get played out.  Funny seeing guys pull out wads of $100 bills like they were nothing and stacks of chips the size of a bowling ball.  I like to play poker, but I have no stomach for that style of game.

We also visited the Bellagio and watched the fountains and checked out the spring gardens.

Overall a fantastic day.


South Pointe Casino

Plate #1

Plate #2

Dessert

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge


Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge




Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Hoover Dam / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Crab Legs at the Monte Carlo Buffet

Crab Legs at the Monte Carlo Buffet





No comments:

Post a Comment