Royally Flushed

Morels French Steakhouse at The Palazzo made our list of favorites.

Doing a “Best Restaurants in Las Vegas” list is sort of like doing the “Sexiest Man Alive” issue of People magazine.  We’ve probably missed a couple of hotties; you might think a few are past their prime; and we may even have you shaking your head in a “What-the-hell-were-they-thinking-picking-Zac-Efron?” kind of way but, hey, it’s our list and we’re sticking to it.  (At least until our next trip to Vegas later this month….)

And while you can go to innumerable websites and find scrolls and scrolls of Las Vegas restaurant listings, we’re going to give you a workable, two-page printable list of our favorite Las Vegas restaurants — mostly on the Strip — conveniently arranged into different categories.  We’ve even included the 36 links you need to check them out for hours, phone numbers and all the info you may need.

Steakhouses:  SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas     BOA Steakhouse at the Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     CUT at The Shops at the Palazzo     Morels French Steakhouse at The Palazzo     Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian     Craftsteak at MGM Grand     Strip House at Planet Hollywood     N9NE at The Palms     Prime at The Bellagio     Charlie Palmer Steak at The Four Seasons Las Vegas

Seafood:  RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay (either upstairs or the more casual downstairs)     AquaKnox at the Venetian     Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas     Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand     Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at The Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     Michael Mina at The Bellagio     SeaBlue at the MGM Grand

Sushi:  Koi at Planet Hollywood     Social House at Treasure Island     Nobu at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino     Sushi Roku at The Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace     Yellowtail Sushi Restaurant & Bar at The Bellagio     Shibuya at MGM Grand

Chef-Driven, Food-as-High-Art, Titanium Card Preferred Fine Dining: Alex at Wynn Las Vegas     Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace     Bouchon Bistro (Thomas Keller) at The Venetian      L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand     Picasso (Julian Serrano) at The Bellagio

Staff Favorites:  Olives at The Bellagio     Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay     Mon Ami Gabi at Paris     David Burke at The Venetian    Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace     Rosemary’s Restaurant (Off-Strip and completely worth the cab ride!)     The Grill at Valentino at The Venetian     Mix at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay

Wynn Dining

A gorgeous view of the mountains and a moonlit Colorado River as seen from Harrah's in Laughlin.

I think one of the best ways to recall a year is to sort through the photos I’ve taken over the past twelve months.  They bring back lots of great memories either through the specific image or by tweaking my brain into remembering what all happened on that occasion.  To break down a whole year into a few paragraphs isn’t easy, especially when I’m fortunate enough to say lots of great stuff happened in the past twelve months.  So rather than doing a monthly blow-by-blow, I chose to pick out some highlights from our year in gaming.

Best Casino “Hits”:  P.B. - Dealt four 4’s then hit for two out of three kickers on the draw playing Triple Double Bonus Spin Poker Deluxe™ with a payout of $1190.  C.C. - Dealt four 3’s and a kicker playing TDB Spin Poker Deluxe™ with a $1600 payout.

Best Discovery:  The Diamond Lounge patio over-looking the Colorado River at Harrah’s Laughlin, Nevada casino.  A great spot for relaxing with a drink, especially on a warm full-moon night. Read the rest of this entry »

Say good-bye to one of the worst years for the casino industry.

Onward with more resolutions we think casinos should make for 2009.  Getting butts into the chairs - gambling, restaurants, and show seats — is the Number One priority for stayin’ alive in ‘09 so here are some ideas to help you do just that.

– Stop screwing around with your Player’s Club rules and regs - particularly as they affect your faithful players.  I have heard more complaints from players about this one issue than any other this year.  You have less money but so do we.  Read the rest of this entry »

Gifts are great...just not mittens and backpacks.

Lists, lists and more lists!  Best of, worst of, most notable, most notorious.  So as not to be left off the year-end bandwagon, this week we are going to list some New Year’s resolutions we’d like to see the casinos make for 2009.   (Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.)

To all casinos both large and small; please resolve to stop giving away dumb stuff.  I love “gifts” - quote marks used because we both know I have more than paid for them with my play — but puh-leeze make it something I would even remotely consider using.

For instance, I am the proud owner of Casino Arizona’s latest marketing giveaway — mittens and a scarf.  Uh, did someone miss the Arizona in that name?  If you’re trying to make an impact, wouldn’t you want to give a gift that has some sort of relationship to your business?  Yeah, black mittens and a fuzzy scarf immediately say “Let’s go to the casino…in sunny Arizona” to me.  The month before, a thin “stadium blanket” was the featured free gift.  (This fascination with cold weather is really starting to make me wonder if they know something we don’t and the newest Ice Age is upon us starting in the Arizona desert.) Read the rest of this entry »

Fireworks will light up the sky on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas.

There’s still plenty of time to pack a suitcase and head to Las Vegas for a memorable New Year’s Eve celebration.  Las Vegas hotels – both on and off The Strip – are more affordable than ever this year with many offering dining and show ticket discounts as well as last-minute hotel deals.  (Really, if I hadn’t offered to host this year’s party for friends, I would so be loading up the car RIGHT NOW.) Read the rest of this entry »

Among all the visitors coming into Phoenix for the upcoming Insight and Fiesta bowls happening here in Arizona next week, there are bound to be a lot of casino gaming fans.  For those who like to play, here is a list of our Phoenix and Scottsdale area casinos along with casino-related info on dining, lounges, shows, golf opportunities and more.

Harrah's Ak-Chin is one of several Phoenix area casinos visitors can choose from to play slots, poker and more.

Casino Arizona:  Two locations, both of which are just off the Loop 101 freeway making them very accessible to all the major hotels and resorts.  Free limo service available by calling 480-850-7790. Read the rest of this entry »

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season. We’re off for a few days to enjoy time with family and friends — and, no doubt, a little spiked eggnog — but we’ll be back this weekend.

"Harrk the Harrald Angels Sing"...(and play instruments, too!)

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" -- who looks an awful lot like the next-door neighbor.

Hanging stockings at Caesars Palace.

I think I see Santa! No, wait...it's just that big picture of Donny Osmond.

More photo fun all this week!

Steve Wynn at the entrance of the captivating atrium at Encore Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of Wynn Resorts.)

It seems completely appropriate that the signature restaurant of the just-opened Encore Resort at Wynn Las Vegas should be “Sinatra.”  Owner Steve Wynn and “Ol’ Blue Eyes” have at least two things in common:  they do things their way and they are very good at what they do.

In a city, in an industry and in an economy that are all seeing their biggest downturns in recent history, Steve Wynn opened this glamorous $2.3 billion property on Monday — yes, a Monday! — during what is traditionally the slowest week of the year in Vegas.  Pure genius.  The timing is perfect for working out any slight bugs — and with Wynn’s legendary attention to detail, the problems are apt to be small — prior to the big New Year’s Eve holiday and the major conventions coming in early-2009.  I also like his approach of simply opening the doors to the public.  No massive grand opening events, it’s just like he says in the commercial:  “THIS is Encore.”  Let the resort speak for itself.

Using a “back-to-basics” approach — when those basics include paying attention to what makes a resort a Five Diamond experience — owner Steve Wynn, told The Associated Press that guests at the new Encore resort should expect “better service, nicer rooms, better lighting.  Themes that are corny get old quickly, but real and wonderful environments with great service are timeless.”

In addition to Sinatra, the 2,034-room Encore will feature four additional chef-driven restaurants including “Switch” - a dining experience where walls, ceiling and even server uniforms change colors every 20 minutes.  The resort also boasts the highly-anticipated exclusive new nightclub, “XS,” which opens for the first time at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.  Also, long-time Strip entertainer Danny Gans will begin his run at Encore in February.

See photos of the resort on the Encore website here and video reports including interior shots are here at local Channel Eight’s Las Vegas Now.  (We’ll be making our maiden voyage to Encore in January so look for more coverage then.)

A lot of thought went into this intricate light fixture at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Things may not be looking up in Las Vegas — yet — but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.  Look up, I mean.  Here’s another entry in our “Las Vegas Look Up” series of posts and photos showing some of the striking design elements we’ve found in Las Vegas casinos.

Today’s entry comes from Caesars Palace — the registration lobby at Caesars to be exact.  For some reason, this light fixture really caught my eye.  From a distance, it reminded me of some sort of giant cell colony.  Don’t ask me why but when I looked up it instantly reminded me of something you’d see under a microscope.  Upon closer inspection — click on the photo to enlarge — those cells are actually etchings of classic Roman figures and symbols.

Check out, too, the intricate flourishes painted onto the ceiling surrounding the base of the fixture.   And, yes, that is accent lighting surrounding each of these accent lights!  I LOVE this lavish attention to detail that you always find in casinos throughout Las Vegas.

The spectacular new Wynn Las Vegas property Encore will be opening this coming Monday, December 22, with a sold out crowd for that specific night.  Rooms (including New Year’s Eve) are available beginning the 23rd.  Reservations at the original property, Wynn Las Vegas, can be had throughout the time period.

The new Encore website is up and running with lots of photos and information along with a video of the very cool Encore commercial showing owner Steve Wynn atop the stunning copper-colored tower.

For up-to-date information along with “live” reports from the opening celebrations, tune into a new website built specifically for this grand event.  This exciting new venture is helmed by the editors/bloggers of two popular Las Vegas websites, vegastripping and ratevegas.  Thanks to them, we can all ride along as they experience the exhilaration of opening night at the fabulous new Encore resort and casino.

Has your mailbox been as stuffed with casino offers as ours has lately?   Thanks to the downturn in the economy, P.B. and I are hearing from every casino we ever stepped foot into over the years.  Stacks of promotional flyers for free room stays - now for three or four or more nights at a time! - and invitations to tons of slot, video poker, live poker and black jack tourneys inundate us.  (My mail carrier, Veronica, must think Doyle Brunson’s living in my guest room!)

We’re also being showered with bigger and better coupons for “free slot play.”  Even our local Indian casinos here in Arizona are not only joining in the marketing fray but upping the ante with $100 for Diamond members at Harrah’s Ak-Chin in Maricopa and $25 from Fort McDowell in Fountain Hills, just to name a couple.  Those same offers usually come with food coupons as well.  Free buffets, free dinners, free food vouchers - if you’re hungry they’ve got you covered.

Email offers?  Check.  Offers by phone?  Check again.  Leather jackets, Dooney & Bourke handbags, gift cards?  Check, check, check.

So what really gets us into the casino and sitting at a machine or table?  Locally, coupons for free slot play or cash are number one for us with merchandise giveaways a close second.  But only if the item is something we want like the Sony PSP® we got last year at Harrah’s Ak-Chin.

When we travel several times each year to Las Vegas, we do look at the offers we’ve gotten when planning the actual dates.  We especially enjoy slot and video poker tournaments and try to play in a couple of those each year.  Oh, and cash and free slot play and gift cards are good, too.  Merchandise doesn’t really get us to go to Las Vegas - too far for a leather jacket with “Caesars Palace” emblazoned on the back.

We’re curious.  What are your favorite offers?  What gets you to make the date?