So I visited Las Vegas these past few days with Chuck, Teresa, and my bro 12/27-12/30. I’m waiting for the flight back to SFO right now at the Vegas airport. Overall, it was a pretty awesome trip. As expected (I guess…), I ended up down $$, but not too bad… so i feel neutral right now I think I spent a total of at least five to ten hours total at the tables haha

A list of the casinos we hit:

• MGM Grand
  - I stayed at MGM Grand the last time i came to vegas. it’s still pretty much the same inside. i like the layout of the building. there’s a central circular area where you play poker or bet on games. also there’s a big cage area where you can watch lions. and the cirque de soleil show, ka, is inside the building as well. one of my favorite casinos.
• Rio
  - Pretty nice environment, nothing special but nice.
• O’Sheas Casino
  - Really old, quality of players and dealers lower than those of the newer casinos (e.g. Wynn).
• Harrah’s
  - Old, vintage. needs renovation to match up the vibe of the newer casinos.
• Venetian
  - Really nice, i won the most money here so i’m biased.
• Palazzo
  - Average, pretty good. not bad.
• Wynn / Encore
  - Encore is pretty new, it’s like the sister casino of wynn, they are connected by a walkway area. the encore environment was pretty nice. good design and very new / modern.
• Planet Hollywood
  - This used to be Aladdin, the inside of the casino still feels and looks the same as Aladdin back in the day. whoever designed the casino was pretty clever by having only ONE cashier area way in the back of the casino. hot, scantily clad dancers on stages and also as dealers, really nice vibe.
• Palms
  - Kinda dead. although i didn’t really gamble there much, ate buffet there which was also kinda weak (see below).
• Bellagio
  - This is where the classic skyhigh water show that shows up at the end of ocean’s eleven takes place. very nice casino. great shopping mall to pass time in between gambling too. beautiful inside, especially during holiday season. must visit.
• The Orleans
  - Nice architecture, live band inside. mediocre.

Buffets we dined at:

• Bistro Buffet at Palms
  - Not recommended, cheap (less than $20) but food is mediocre. not a long waiting time though.
• The Buffet at Wynn
  - Good buffet, lots of variety and the vibe / setup is pretty inviting and warm. costs about $40-50, we waited in line for a little over an hour.

Show we watched:

• V – The Ultimate Variety Show
  - Some really awesome moments, but overall mehhh. not worth the price in my opinion, $45 at half price for the ticket (go to the half price ticket place on the strip near mgm grand / across from New York New York for cheap tickets).

Clubs we visited:

• Tryst at Wynn
  - Pretty awesome interior setup, lots of people and big dancing area. didn’t end up staying that long, but i’ve heard that this nightclub and Tao at The Ventian are the two must-visit clubs in vegas.

I guess it’s those special attractions in casinos that make you remember the name. After these few days of constant gambling at so many casinos, it’s hard for me to remember unique traits of specific casinos. But MGM’s lion cage for instance sticks out in my mind. Or the scantily clad women at Planet Hollywood. All the others are a blur. Good food for thought when creating a business… Overall it was a pretty fun-tastic trip. We stayed at a friend’s apartment, it was really nice and new. 29th floor view of Vegas = priceless, photos to come!