The Swamp

brian wrote:Sorry that your show is sold out though. Hope you don't have to pay through the nose for tickets. I don't predict much luck, but I know a guy who knows a guy. I'll see if they're holding anything back for face. If it were a less popular show, I can usually get comps for The Cosmo.

You know william shatner?!?!?!

Also, re: your concert -- if you feel like gambling (and you're in Vegas, so why not), casinos will typically hold blocks of seats for comps -- for this show, I'm betting they held a lot more than usual. If they don't give out as many as they thought, they'll release them back on the market at face through TicketBastard. They don't announce when they're doing it usually, so if you keep checking TM on Monday and Tuesday (the most likely days for a Thursday concert) you might get lucky.

Thanks man.

My office mate really likes Aria, too. Need to look into that a little more.

The resort fees seem to be everywhere and about the same, no? I found rooms at the Venetian for $195/night (avg) through some entertainment/travel service we're enrolled in via work. $219 (avg) is what is coming up just about everywhere else.

I found plenty of tickets in a quick search on stubhub, in a range that I wouldn't gag on paying for them. Though I didn't look into what the premium was versus face value, (might be better off not knowing). I don't want to gamble(!) on those, so I should probably just get a pair soon.

Note -- I should have included Wynn/Encore on my list as well, but their rooms are so stupid ridiculous I never even consider it. And my wife works there!

(Steve Wynn is such a fucking cheapskate that employees can only get 20 percent off the rack rate or else I'd offer to try and help you out there -- that would bring the mid-week price down to probably about $300 a night. It's a gorgeous place though.)

Found Caesars at $130/nt through this link - http://deals.lasvegasadvisor.com/offer.cfm?pid=1037" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for those dates. Their pool is pretty awesome and the location can't be beat -- right in the middle of the Strip. Something to keep in mind as you're searching.

Final thing for now -- if you're going to be spending any serious time at the pool and want to avoid eminently punchable California brotastic douchebags, do NOT stay at the Cosmo. Trust me on this. Staying in Vegas the days leading up to Coachella isn't going to help with regards to that demographic either.

brian wrote:Found Caesars at $130/nt through this link - http://deals.lasvegasadvisor.com/offer.cfm?pid=1037" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for those dates. Their pool is pretty awesome and the location can't be beat -- right in the middle of the Strip. Something to keep in mind as you're searching.

Pool does look nice. And the pool bar....

This is going to be difficult.

brian wrote:Final thing for now -- if you're going to be spending any serious time at the pool and want to avoid eminently punchable California brotastic douchebags, do NOT stay at the Cosmo. Trust me on this. Staying in Vegas the days leading up to Coachella isn't going to help with regards to that demographic either.

Shit. Didn't even realize that.

rass wrote:

brian wrote:Found Caesars at $130/nt through this link - http://deals.lasvegasadvisor.com/offer.cfm?pid=1037" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for those dates. Their pool is pretty awesome and the location can't be beat -- right in the middle of the Strip. Something to keep in mind as you're searching.

Pool does look nice. And the pool bar....

This is going to be difficult.

brian wrote:Final thing for now -- if you're going to be spending any serious time at the pool and want to avoid eminently punchable California brotastic douchebags, do NOT stay at the Cosmo. Trust me on this. Staying in Vegas the days leading up to Coachella isn't going to help with regards to that demographic either.

Shit. Didn't even realize that.

Shouldn't be too bad at most places -- The Cosmo is just ground zero for that demo.

Is that where Rehab is?

P.D.X. wrote:Is that where Rehab is?

No, that's the Hard Rock, but that's not on the Strip. The Cosmo is essentially the new Hard Rock as far as 20somethings with disposable income and no shame. Which itself is a shame since it's an awesome hotel and the restaurants are incredible.

brian wrote:

P.D.X. wrote:Is that where Rehab is?

No, that's the Hard Rock, but that's not on the Strip. The Cosmo is essentially the new Hard Rock as far as 20somethings with disposable income and no shame. Which itself is a shame since it's an awesome hotel and the restaurants are incredible.

So the people watching is great? Lots of Bobby Bottleservices?

BSF21 wrote:

brian wrote:

P.D.X. wrote:Is that where Rehab is?

No, that's the Hard Rock, but that's not on the Strip. The Cosmo is essentially the new Hard Rock as far as 20somethings with disposable income and no shame. Which itself is a shame since it's an awesome hotel and the restaurants are incredible.

So the people watching is great? Lots of Bobby Bottleservices?

People watching is why we go to Vegas.

BSF21 wrote:

brian wrote:

P.D.X. wrote:Is that where Rehab is?

No, that's the Hard Rock, but that's not on the Strip. The Cosmo is essentially the new Hard Rock as far as 20somethings with disposable income and no shame. Which itself is a shame since it's an awesome hotel and the restaurants are incredible.

So the people watching is great? Lots of Bobby Bottleservices?

Oh yeah. If I'm of the mood to deal with it, I could spend hours gawking at the stupidity and vapidity.

brian, thanks so much for the info dump.


Also, to the couple of Swampers who might interact with my wife between now and April, all she knows is that we're flying somewhere that week, not where or what we're doing, so shhhhhh.

Cosmo is very douchetastic.

rass wrote:brian, thanks so much for the info dump.


Also, to the couple of Swampers who might interact with my wife between now and April, all she knows is that we're flying somewhere that week, not where or what we're doing, so shhhhhh.

I owe you myself actually. When looking up rates I discovered I had some comp nights for Caesars in April, so I bought a couple of Elton John tix and booked a couple of nights and boom -- birthday gift for the missus is taken care of on the relative cheap.

You're welcome!

brian wrote:When looking up rates I discovered I had some comp nights for Caesars in April, so I bought a couple of Elton John tix and booked a couple of nights and boom -- birthday gift for the missus is taken care of on the relative cheap.

Based on this and the earlier comment I assume you like Caesar's? I guess I'm down to there or the Venetian. For about the same price (or less) of the base room at the Venetian (note: available promotion with in-room breakfast all three days), I can find a "luxury" room in what appear to be the two newer/nicer towers (Octavius and Augustus) at Caesar's that come loaded, with views, easy pool access, maybe even expedited check-in. I guess in my head I'm working under the assumption that if I said "We're staying at the Venetian" or "We're staying at Caesar's Palace", the former would have more of a wow factor. Should the in-person experience at Caesar's be enough to overcome that (imagined?) hump in my head?

govmentchedda wrote:Cosmo is very douchetastic.

Something about that woman dancing in their commercial is fucking hypnotic though.

rass wrote:

brian wrote:When looking up rates I discovered I had some comp nights for Caesars in April, so I bought a couple of Elton John tix and booked a couple of nights and boom -- birthday gift for the missus is taken care of on the relative cheap.

Based on this and the earlier comment I assume you like Caesar's? I guess I'm down to there or the Venetian. For about the same price (or less) of the base room at the Venetian (note: available promotion with in-room breakfast all three days), I can find a "luxury" room in what appear to be the two newer/nicer towers (Octavius and Augustus) at Caesar's that come loaded, with views, easy pool access, maybe even expedited check-in. I guess in my head I'm working under the assumption that if I said "We're staying at the Venetian" or "We're staying at Caesar's Palace", the former would have more of a wow factor. Should the in-person experience at Caesar's be enough to overcome that (imagined?) hump in my head?

Long story short, I don't think you can go wrong either way. Venetian rooms are nicer, but Caesars has that history to it (they've done a good job with renovations over the years though -- the rooms are not bad at all) and the pool at Caesars is better. Restaurants, the nod probably goes to Venetian. Location on the Strip is a wash (they're more or less across the street from each other).

You know your wife better -- is she more apt to be impressed by the classic elegance and history of Caesars or the (relative) shiny newness of the all-suite Venetian.

Like I said though, I doubt you can make a wrong decision.

One final factor -- and this is not inconsequential as it might seem -- is how much gambling you expect to do and if you ever gamble in other locations. Caesars is affiliated with Total Rewards, which has casinos all around the country (MS, LA, Detroit/Windsor, etc.) and they're less stingy with their comps than Las Vegas Sands (Venetian), who has no casinos in the US other than one in Bethlehem, PA.

I'm betting you're not going to be doing too much gambling in which case it doesn't really matter, but if you ARE, then Caesars would get the nod for that as well.

Yeah, just based on pictures, descriptions and reviews, I think I prefer Caesar's pool, too. Thanks again.

The Venetian is probably the safer choice here, though. If something shitty happens at CP, I'll just spend whole trip kicking myself.

rass wrote:The Venetian is probably the safer choice here, though. If something shitty happens at CP, I'll just spend whole trip kicking myself.

I think the odds of having a bad experience at either place are pretty slim. Caesars Las Vegas is the top resort Caesars Entertainment owns in the world. The kind of idiots that lead to bad customer service experiences don't work their way up to jobs there and if they somehow do, don't usually stick around long. The one good thing about Las Vegas' hospitality industry is that it's still more or less a true meritocracy. Like I said, the wife works at Wynn/Encore, so I've seen it in action. They don't fuck around when it comes to getting rid of dead weight.

(And for what's it's worth same thing applies to Venetian as well.) So it probably still comes down to which place has the features you're looking for.

Man, I miss that place.

It's been six long, Vegas-free years...

Pruitt wrote:Man, I miss that place.

It's been six long, Vegas-free years...

What better use for your recent gambling winnings?

Hey brian (maybe Giff, too, since he's been there recently), one more question (for now) that I forgot to throw in yesterday, and which probably just proves the extent to which I'm over thinking this entire endeavor.

Tell me about the resort scent of choice at the Venetian, the one they pump through the lobby and casino. Travel site reviews are a fucking rabbit hole, but there are a lot of references to it being very perfume-y, and very strong relative to what the other resorts do. I'm pretty sensitive to that sort of thing (my wife has had to discontinue use of more than one perfume over the years). Thanks again.

rass wrote:Hey brian (maybe Giff, too, since he's been there recently), one more question (for now) that I forgot to throw in yesterday, and which probably just proves the extent to which I'm over thinking this entire endeavor.

Tell me about the resort scent of choice at the Venetian, the one they pump through the lobby and casino. Travel site reviews are a fucking rabbit hole, but there are a lot of references to it being very perfume-y, and very strong relative to what the other resorts do. I'm pretty sensitive to that sort of thing (my wife has had to discontinue use of more than one perfume over the years). Thanks again.

Regret

govmentchedda wrote:

rass wrote:Hey brian (maybe Giff, too, since he's been there recently), one more question (for now) that I forgot to throw in yesterday, and which probably just proves the extent to which I'm over thinking this entire endeavor.

Tell me about the resort scent of choice at the Venetian, the one they pump through the lobby and casino. Travel site reviews are a fucking rabbit hole, but there are a lot of references to it being very perfume-y, and very strong relative to what the other resorts do. I'm pretty sensitive to that sort of thing (my wife has had to discontinue use of more than one perfume over the years). Thanks again.

Regret

With a splash of shattered dreams and a hint of gonorrhea.

No, this is what they use to cover that stuff up.

I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at Venetian.

You'll be with your wife, so perhaps this isn't the best plan, but the Venetian (might be the Palazzo) casino is set up with two large walkways that cross in the center of the casino. Standing right in the middle of that intersection between the hours of 9 and midnight on a Saturday night is people watching heaven.

rass wrote: I'm pretty sensitive to that sort of thing (my wife has had to discontinue use of more than one perfume over the years). Thanks again.

Word? I get that with candles and plug-ins. Is it this weird, kinda metallic but kinda something else feeling in the back of your throat?

Giff wrote:I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at Venetian.

Yeah, I honestly don't notice it much any more. It's one of the cool things to check out on your first trip IMO (each casino has its own signature scent -- I personally like Mandalay Bay which is kind of a tropical coconut type thing.)

But honestly, I doubt even anyone affected by perfume or other scents would be affected at all. It's not overbearing at all. Sometimes (and again I admit it may be because I visit them so often) you don't even realize they're there.

(Maybe put another way, I've literally never heard a single person complain about the scents in the casinos. And I'm pretty sure I've heard someone at someplace complain about every other possible little thing. She's more apt to be annoyed by the smoking, which in the huge, nice casinos like we're talking about isn't really that bad either unless you're literally sitting next to a chimney smoker at a blackjack table or something, at which point I'd personally just move.)

brian wrote:(Maybe put another way, I've literally never heard a single person complain about the scents in the casinos. And I'm pretty sure I've heard someone at someplace complain about every other possible little thing. She's more apt to be annoyed by the smoking, which in the huge, nice casinos like we're talking about isn't really that bad either unless you're literally sitting next to a chimney smoker at a blackjack table or something, at which point I'd personally just move.)

Yeah, but you don't need to research the hotels on Trip Advisor.

mister d wrote:

rass wrote: I'm pretty sensitive to that sort of thing (my wife has had to discontinue use of more than one perfume over the years). Thanks again.

Word? I get that with candles and plug-ins. Is it this weird, kinda metallic but kinda something else feeling in the back of your throat?

headache, with the exact wrong type of scent, fast and hard

Fair enough. I don't know your wife or her sensitivity. I'd be surprised if it were an issue though. And fact is, if it is unfortunately it's probably going to be an issue at just about any place you guys were to stay since I think damn near every casino has something. To hopefully answer your question, I've never noticed one place having a stronger scent or more noticeable than another though.

Never forget that the people that respond on Tripadvisor and the like are the people who like to complain or rave about every detail of a trip with very little in between.

brian wrote:Fair enough. I don't know your wife or her sensitivity. I'd be surprised if it were an issue though. And fact is, if it is unfortunately it's probably going to be an issue at just about any place you guys were to stay since I think damn near every casino has something. To hopefully answer your question, I've never noticed one place having a stronger scent or more noticeable than another though.

To be clear, I'm the delicate flower here.


The casinos in AC do the same thing, and I've never had an issue. There really were a lot of people bitching about it in reviews I came across, more so than any place else (I even saw other people praising the coconut-y Mandalay Bay).

AB_skin_test wrote:Never forget that the people that respond on Tripadvisor and the like are the people who like to complain or rave about every detail of a trip with very little in between.

I know. Like I said, rabbit hole.