Shortly before this madness started, I did an overnight in Las Vegas. I’d bought the ticket for a mere $58 roundtrip back in November or December, picking a random midweek day/date thinking that there would be less tourists.
I didn’t get around to looking at accommodations until late in January. It was then that I realized that the date I’d chosen was the first day of a huge conference there. As to be expected, all of the hotels/resorts/casinos had jacked all of their prices accordingly. AirBnB wasn’t much better. There was nothing affordable on The Strip. All of the affordable places were fairly far from The Strip; I didn’t want to stay at any of those, as it would only cost me lots of taxi/Uber/Lyft fares getting back and forth to anything. I finally found two condos in the Palms Place for the same price – double what they would normally charge had there not been a conference coming up. The deciding factors were that the one I decided on promised a stretch limo to pick me up & drop me off to/from the airport, as well as gratis snacks in the refrigerator of the condo. As that would save a TINY bit of money, I went with that one.
The day of the flight started out ok. I was at the airport early enough to relax, but my flight was delayed around half an hour. That half an hour then turned into an hour. Once we’d boarded, we sat there a few minutes, deplaned, then boarded again maybe half an hour later. Since my arrival had been pushed back a few times, there was no limo waiting for me at the Las Vegas airport. The AirBnB owner told me to hold tight, though, as it was on its way. I waited 30-40 minutes to be picked up, but enjoyed the ride. Check-in at Palms Place was easy and the condo was comfortable.
I started off with Happy Hour at Greene Street Kitchen. The interior is definitely artsy and the bartenders are behind bars, sort of like tellers in a bank. I had two decent cocktails and some Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls (don’t judge!). After eating the eggrolls, but still on my first cocktail, a sushi chef from another establishment sat down next to me and began a long conversation. He ordered THREE plates of chicken lettuce wraps and offered some to me, but I was already full. He’d never been in there before and was intrigued by the concept.
After napping briefly in my room and missing my dinner reservation at Mon Ami Gabi, I decided to search out a speakeasy in The Palms called Mr. Coco. I found it easily enough and was impressed. The hostess escorts you to an armoire of sorts, where you’re offered an “amuse bouche” drink. She explains the history/concept of Mr. Coco and puts you in the private elevator. Once you set foot into Mr. Coco, it’s very clubby and posh. There was a piano, too. I opted to sit at the bar, as usual, rather than at any of the tables. I had a lovely $30 drink with champagne and truffles – right up my alley! It would have been wonderful to linger for hours, but my credit card said “No!”
Missing dinner had made me a little peckish. I wanted an inexpensive burger, so went to The Venetian in search of Moon Palace. I found that it was closed. I considered heading into Grand Luxe Cafe for a burger, but got distracted by another little bar along the way. I ended up having a cocktail and a glass of champagne while chatting up the bartender before heading back to Palms Place.
I still wanted a burger. The 24-hour place in The Palms was CLOSED!!! There was actually a Sonic drive-in right across the street, but I was too tired to change out of my dress & heels, put on jeans & tennis shoes & run across the street in the rain. That’s when the free snacks in the fridge came in handy. I scarfed a few small bags of chips, drank a Coke and had some water.
After checking out & storing my bags with the valet the following morning, I wandered through Caesar’s Palace. Don’t think I’ve been in there since maybe 2010 or 2011. The places I was interested in eating at weren’t open until dinner, so I walked over to The Linq Promenade. There I finally got my affordable burger – at In N Out Burger. I ate it while sitting outside watching zip lining. It was actually a beautiful day.
I then went back to The Venetian. Lots of restaurants and bars in there have closed since the #metoo movement. My favorite place used to be Emeril’s Table 10, but it’s no more. Have no idea where my favorite bartender from there is working now. Since my budget wasn’t allowing for any real shopping, I felt like eating something light. I made the mistake of going to Black Tap, where I had a bad Caesar’s salad and an equally bad drink of some type. I didn’t finish either of those, so found my way to the gelato place in The Venetian. Their Violet Flower gelato was everything!
Back at The Palms I stopped in to Mabel’s BBQ for some cheddar bacon cornbread and a Corona, since I had time to kill. Didn’t finish, either; was still full from the gelato! Picked up my bags from Palms Place to discover that someone had rummaged through my things. My two cosmetics bags were unzipped. Luckily, when storing bags, I always take my jewelry, electronics and sunglasses with me when walking around. The limo dropped me off at the airport and I was soon on my way back to San Francisco.
It’s important to note that, the Coronavirus panic began right before I went to Las Vegas, so… most of the conferences scheduled ended up cancelling. Therefore, Las Vegas was rather quiet, but in a good way. It was easier to get around without long waits to get into bars or restaurants. That being said, once this is over, I’ll go back for another quickie when things are more normal.
