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New York, New York Hotel and Casino
Trying to be Good in Sin City
© 2002
By Darryl Musick
There's a curious migration that takes place on a weekly basis in Southern California. Every Friday afternoon, the eastbound San Bernardino and Pomona freeways get extra crowded. On Sunday afternoons, it reverses as the westbound directions resemble the worst rush hour has to offer.
What's happening is thousands of Southern Californians are heading out hoping to party, gamble, and other wise get lucky in that modern day Sodom...Las Vegas.
Normally, this would be about a four hour drive across vast, empty stretches of desert. Our schedule unfortunate matches this weekly marathon to get out of town. Being Good Friday, we have the extra fun of not only weekend Vegas traffic; not even holiday weekend Vegas traffic; it's the dreaded Holiday Weekend Spring Break Vegas Traffic!
Thankfully, my understanding boss let me out two hours early in a futile effort to beat the traffic. Unfortunately, the weekend getaway had already started with gusto. Basically, we were in jammed traffic the entire way except for a stretch out of Barstow to about twenty miles before the state line. Six and a half hours after starting, we arrived at Primm, which is what they call the smattering of buildings and casinos clustered at the border.
First of all, let me give you some full disclosure. I'm not a big Vegas fan. I don't have anything against gambling or Nevada. In fact, I love going to Laughlin, Reno, Carson City, and Lake Tahoe. It's just that Vegas has always seemed more than a bit sleazy to me and I've never gotten the allure.
As a result, I have avoided this city like the plague and haven't been here since before Luxor opened up (10 years or so?).
My son, on the other hand, has always wanted to go here. Of course, he's not old enough for the casinos yet but still would like to see this city of lights, shows, and action. Alright, we're going to Arizona anyway and this would give us a hopefully inexpensive stop over along the way.
Back to my Friday dilemma. I would really like to leave on Saturday...I'm in no hurry to get going because I have the whole week off to travel. Unfortunately, I cannot find any decent hotel in Las Vegas that will let me check in on Saturday.
So, we have a bit of a compromise here. Tonight we will drive as far as the border, spend a couple of nights there, and continue on to Vegas on Sunday after the LA weekenders have headed home.
After that long, weary drive across the desert, the Primadonna Resorts bloom from the sand like a neon-colored oasis. This will be home for the next two nights, specifically Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino.
After a fifteen minute wait to check in, we're given the key cards to our room on the 3rd floor. It's supposed to be handicapped accessible...as envisioned by Torquemada.
There was no roll-in shower, only a bathtub with a few grab bars and a shower on a hose. The bars on the toilet were positioned in a way to block your access to the toilet paper. The door was a pocket door (those sliding doors that come out of the wall) that took a herculean effort to move.
With a lot of effort, we got Tim bathed and situated for the night. I can't help thinking (and later would confirm) that it would have been easier in a non-handicapped room.
In the morning, I awoke before anyone else and took my shower. I made a mistake in closing that pocket door...it would no longer open up. As I stood there, naked...no phone...everyone else asleep, I pondered my options. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I struggled to get the door open. No dice. I found my wife's makeup mirror, and reflected some light into the wall notch for the door.
Finally, with one last huge push against the door, I popped it off of its rollers and it came off completely. Complaining to the management, after being trapped for over an hour in there, got us a new room but no other consideration. The new room was not a handicapped accessible one but confirmed my suspicions that it was easier to use than the so-called accessible room.
Other than the problems mentioned above, the room was clean, had two queen beds, cable TV, and a view of the roller coaster and pool. The staff was for the most part very friendly and helpful and the food at the Wagonmaster coffee shop was superb.
After breakfast on Saturday, a trip via monorail over to neighboring Primm Valley Resort is in order. After a LONG walk through the casino (we are to find out LONG walks through casinos will be a common occurrence), we come upon the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car...a bullet-riddled Ford sedan where the crime duo were sent to they're maker at the hands of Texas Rangers. Also on display is the shirt Clyde was wearing when he died.
Now, here is a gruesome and maybe morbid coincidence. As we sat watching a video on Bonnie and Clyde in the mini-museum of their death, I couldn't help notice a rather obese security guard wandering around the children's arcade just behind the display. To the right is a restroom where my wife disappeared for a few minutes. Yes, this is the restroom where little Sherice Iverson was murdered by Jeremy Strohmeyer while her father was off gambling in the casino. The Primm Valley Resort was called the Primadonna Resort at the time...the name being changed to disassociate itself from that horrible day. I find it a bit ironic that a display that memorializes a sensational death...complete with bullet holes and blood stains...sits directly in from of the site of one of the more gruesome murders in recent memory. And, yes, my wife said it was more than a little creepy being in that bathroom...
Just beyond that spot is a factory outlet mall where we spent the rest of the morning shopping. My wife, gotta love her, but whenever we go shopping, she takes hours and usually walks away empty handed. And, that is how it goes today although I end up with a new wallet and Tim picks up a pair of swim trunks (because we forgot to pack some for him). She does get an order of sushi to go so it's not a total loss for her.
Back over to Buffalo Bill's. Tim and I head over to Desparado, the big steel roller coaster that winds its way around the hotel. Of course, with our luck it is out of commission. The ticket seller has no ideal when it will reopen. There is also a log ride here, but the ticket seller doesn't want to sell us tickets right now because the line is over two hours long (kind of a silly reason but we don't want to wait two hours either).
We take a little nap in the room, have dinner at the Wagonmaster, and head up to Vegas...a half hour drive away.
Waiting for the Show to Begin on Fremont Street
Tonight, as a first little taste, we take in the Fremont Street Experience...a four-block long canopy of lights that displays shows over its entire length hourly. The show is quite spectacular, a lot of fun, and free. Unfortunately the "experience" includes the surrounding blocks that seem quite liberally populated by drug users, sellers, and street walkers. After the show, we headed back to the relatively quiet confines of Primm for one more night.
Arriving back at Buffalo Bill's, Tim and I head back over to the ride area and purchase some tickets for the log ride. They have a very nice area for handicapped loading here and the ride attendants even helped with the lifting to get Tim in (I don't know if they're supposed to do this or not...most amusement parks will not allow their employees to do this).
The ride is relatively tame for a log ride. Loading in the casino, the lift takes you outside around some faux desert rocks and over two small drops before winding back through a "canyon" built through the casino. The fun part is that they give you a laser gun and you shoot at targets along the way. Some targets shoot back if hit (with water guns).
Getting out at the end, I ask the attendant if he knew when Desparado would open up again. "About 2 to 4 weeks" was the reply. Oh well, save it for another trip.
Sunday dawned and after a delicious breakfast, we continued on to Vegas. Since we were a bit early, a drive down the strip to see the casinos and hotels was in order for Tim. Soon, the traffic proved to be unbearable so we headed over to the Tropicana, our home for the next couple of days. Still early for check-in, we parked the car and headed across the street to the New York, New York casino.
NYNY is elaborately themed. There is a 300 foot replica of the Brooklyn Bridge you can cross over to get to the entrance. The skyscrapers of New York...the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building among others...are reproduced in half scale as is the Statue of Liberty out from.
The casino is themed to Central Park and in the back is a very nice streets of New York section with many places to eat. A lot of attention to detail went in here down to the steam rising up through the manhole covers.
We ended up at the Mango Hut, which is an homage to those great juice and hot dog places in New York such as Gray's Papaya.
While one hot dog will set you back four times as much as it would at Gray's, it's still a big beefy sausage and it was delicious.
At 1:00pm, we headed back across the street to check in at the Tropicana. We had planned on seeing their Birdman show at 2:00 but an hour later I was just reaching the counter to check in. As we walked to our room in the rear tower, we passed the bird show. It looked interesting but the location of it...a lounge that was basically a wide spot in the hall...was not too conducive to a show.
Our room was pretty nice. A king size bed for my wife and I, and a full size sofa bed for Tim; lot's of room to maneuver; a great view of the pool area and the strip; and a large bathroom with a large bathtub. I asked about the accessible rooms and the only difference was grab bars on the toilet and tub so we stuck with the normal room. No roll-in showers here.
The Rick Thomas Magic show is also found at the Trop and we were looking forward to its family-friendly reasonably priced entertainment, but Mr. Thomas was on vacation for a few more days. Add this to the list for things to do next time.
With the afternoon magic showed cancelled, we put on our swimwear and headed down to the pool. The pool here at the Trop has got to be in the top three or four of all Vegas hotel pools. It's huge, has waterfalls, an island, a water volleyball court, an indoor section, and...in the summer...swim up blackjack!
Looking Across the Tropicana's Pool Toward NYNY and the MGM Grand
There are also a couple of smaller pools nearby in this heavily landscaped area. One for adults and one for kids. Not to mention, a few spas here and there.
Lifeguards are on duty during pool hours. You can rent a tube and just float around or get a lounge chair and soak up the rays. A pool side bar will take care of your thirst. If you have money to burn, three private pool cabanas are available.
Tim and I chose to float and swim around in our inner tubes while my wife spent most of her time working on the tan.
I had read on a Vegas web site that the San Remo had one of the best cheap prime rib specials in town. Being very close to our room, we walked over for dinner. I don't know if that web writer has been there lately, but it was really bad. Bad food, bad service...but cheap...and to top it off, the security guards started hassling Tim because he lingered a little too close to the slot machines while I paid the dinner bill. Not doing anything but waiting mind you, but given a hard time by an unnecessarily rude guard. When I complained, he said he was just doing his job but I think you could ask someone to move a little nicer.
Across the street from the San Remo was a monorail station at the MGM Grand. It's accessible but the elevators are not too easy to find but there are signs to mark the way. This monorail (an old Disney World train) takes you a few blocks north to the back of Bally's hotel and casino. From there it is a very long walk through the casino out to the Strip. Wheelchairs have the added bonus of taking several elevators to navigate up and down levels along the way.
Out on the Strip, we are deposited directly in front of the Bellagio hotel. Here, we are able to watch the huge fountain show on the lake in front of the building. It's really spectacular (someone said it's a quarter mile line of fountains) and best of all, free.
Our plans had included taking in the pirate battle at the Treasure Island and the Volcano at the Mirage, and seeing the shops at Paris and Caesar's Palace but my wife was worn out and had back pain from all the walking so we headed back to the monorail to return to the hotel.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Trop's coffee shop, Calypso's. It was very good but a bit on the expensive side ($8.50 for what was essentially a Grand Slam without the bacon). In comparison, back at Buffalo Bill's, a New York steak & eggs breakfast was only $2.95. Delicious too!
After breaking our fast, we headed over to the MGM where there is a Coca-Cola store and M&M World (basically anything and everything you'd want to buy - plus more - adorned with Coke & M&M logos). The 75 cent Cokes in the old-fashioned bottles hit the spot and my wife loaded up on some pretty cool Coke souvenirs. We didn't buy a thing at the M&M store.
In Front of the Luxor...Notice the Monorail Track
Catty corner to the Trop is Excalibur where another accessible monorail whisked us down the road to Mandalay Bay. My wife bought some shoes in the shop there and we then boarded another train to take us to the Luxor next door where we gaulked at the re-created Egyptian monuments. Be aware that the monorail back to Excalibur is designed with making you walk through another large casino before you exit.
Back at the Trop, we spent the rest of the afternoon in that really lovely pool. Ahhh, I get a warm feeling just thinking about it...and that's not just the 8-year old who just swam by!
Another View of the Great Pool at the Tropicana
Just before dinner, we head back to NYNY and buy tickets for the Manhattan Express roller coaster. This is a steel coaster themed to New York taxicabs that takes you on a three minute excursion around the Statue of Liberty and the buildings. There are two inversions...a tear-drop loop and a heart-line roll into a half-loop. It's fun, expensive ($10), and very, very bumpy. Be prepared to have a headache when it's over.
The large amusement area where the coaster station is located is themed to Coney Island and it even smells the same!
Dinner was at Il Fornaio inside NYNY. We got a great table next to a pond and bridge (supposedly Central Park). I guess this place is supposed to remind you of Tavern on the Green. Doesn't really, but it's still a very nice place with very good food. Not cheap though, but after the debacle of San Remo, a very nice sit down meal was just what the doctor ordered.
After the sun went down, we called on Maverick Helicopters to give us a lift. We headed down to their office on the outskirts of McCarran Airport. After plying us with a glass of champagne, we were ushered into one of their ASTAR helicopters. Since Tim couldn't get in on his own, the pilot shut down the engines before helping us get him in the craft making it safer, easier, and less noisy than with them on.
Once aboard and with the engines up, we donned our headsets while our pilot, Darren, whisked us up and away. We flew at a thousand feet and a hundred miles an hour up the strip, passing by the observation deck of the Stratosphere, over the Fremont Street Experience, and headed back to the south. Darren flew us threw the ultra-bright spotlight emanating from the top of Luxor's pyramid and we hovered over the endless expanse of the Mandalay Bay's pool area (the very best hotel pool in Vegas) before landing back at Maverick's offices.
It was over with all too quick, but was worth every penny and turned out to be the highlight of the trip.
The next morning, we packed up and got back on the road wishing we had
booked a couple of more days in Sin City. THE BUDGET 2 Adults and 1 Teenager
for four nights
Lodging - Buffalo Bill's two nights- $95
Lodging - Tropicana two nights - $100
Gas - 500 miles R/T - $33
Helicopter ride - $179
Manhattan Express Coaster - $20
Log Ride - $10
Food - $150
TOTAL - $577
USEFUL LINKS:
Tropicana Hotel - www.tropicanalv.com
Buffalo Bill's - www.primadonna.com
Mandalay Bay Hotel: www.mandalaybay.com
Maverick Helicopters - www.maverickhelicopter.com
| UPDATE: July 2002
LAS VEGAS UPDATE - Mandalay Bay Days © 2002
So we had a chance to stay at Mandalay Bay which has, by most accounts, Las Vegas' best pool. We arrived during the last week in July and were looking forward to staying at one of the city's premiere resorts... Around 1:00pm, we pull into the valet parking area at Mandalay Bay. That in itself is quite a feat for first timers because it is very hard to find. There is a line of about five cars and a sign saying "sorry, lot full". A parking attendant comes along and asks us to roll down our window. He says it will be about five minutes and we'll be able to pull in. True to his word, about five minutes later he's back, guiding us in. I tell him we have a ramp and to please put us somewhere I can deploy it. He says ok and proceeds to put us 2 feet from the car next to us with no room for the ramp. I then ignore him and pull forward to where I can open the ramp...I figure if he can ignore his request, I can ignore his. No one makes any kind of deal about this and we proceed to get out of the van. About ten minutes later, a bellman comes up and takes our luggage and we go to registration to check in. There is a HUGE crowd at the check in counters. Here is the first place I see where Mandalay Bay could improve itself. There are around fifty check-in counters open. Instead of having one line and whoever is next in line go to the next open window (like an airport or a bank), they insist that each counter have its own line. Too bad if your counter person is very slow and you didn't get in the line with the fast person. Check in goes very, very slow. An hour and fifteen minutes later we finally get up to the counter, get our keys, and go up to our room. Our roomy ninth floor room is very nice. Two queen size beds and floor to window ceilings. A 27" TV in a amoire, his and hers closets, and a big bathroom. The bathroom has a tub and a separate shower. There are two sinks, all the toiletries you could ever want (plus more), and the toilet is in its own separate little room with a phone. OK, so we call up the bell desk to get our luggage. Just a few minutes more and we'll be ready to hit the town.... Except that we have to wait another hour for our luggage! So, pulling into the valet, checking in, and getting our luggage....grand total, two and a half hours. Mind you, this is one of the more expensive hotels in Las Vegas. After getting our luggage, we hop on the monorail and head over to the Tropicana. We just have barely enough time to grab a very quick bite for lunch and then settle down to watch the Rick Thomas Magic Show. Tropicana Security escorts us around the backstage area where we can get to the accessible table seats in the Tiffany Theater. We get good seats at the middle aisle and it's a very good show. The illusions range all the way from simple card tricks to making white tigers appear out of thin air. Sigfreid and Roy are not the only white tiger handlers in Vegas. In fact, Thomas makes a point of this fact that the white tiger is rare with only about 100 left in the world. He has one...and Sigfried and Roy have the rest. There is no drink minimum at this show and regular price is $16.95. You can also win free or discounted tickets at the free pull slot machine in front of the casino. This fantastic show is really a bargain and one of the few shows in town you can be comfortable taking kids to. After the show, we head back to our room to rest and refresh before heading out to see the evening's sights. That evening, we drive up to the Flamingo where we park and head out to the strip. F First, we have a decent dinner at the Flamingo's coffee shop and then cross the street to the Mirage where we take in their famous volcano show. It's pretty spectacular but short. It's not quite up to the spectacle that the fountains in front of the Bellagio are. Next, we were going to head over to Treasure Island to see the pirate show. The crowds were just too thick and we couldn't get to within a block of the place, so we cancelled that one. Instead, we head back across the street to the Venetian where gondolas ply the canals. Really, they just do circles around the pond out from and make laps of the one canal inside. At $15 per person, it just didn't look worth it to us (for a great gondola ride at a great price - free - see our Dining in Scottsdale report). Inside the Venetian, I have to give high marks to their shopping area. It's beautiful....and this is coming from a typical guy who hates to shop and will go to great lengths to avoid a mall. The ceiling looks exactly like a daytime sky. The grand canal with its many bridges puts a very serene backdrop to the area, and the grand plaza with its many performers is an entertaining place to sip a cool and refreshing drink. Back outside, there is a plaza between Bally's and the Imperial Palace with a Mardi Gras theme that offers free live entertainment in an outdoor theater. It's kinda cramped but it's still a fun place to waste some time. The crowds on the strip have done their job at wearing us down, so we head back to our hotel at the southern end of the strip. The next morning we order up some room service for breakfast and make a pleasant discovery. You see, last night we were walking by the coffee shop and notice a basic bacon & eggs breakfast was around dollars. We figured for that price, we might as well order room service. So we order just a side order of eggs, a side order of bacon, and coffee for breakfast and found out that with room service, they throw in all the other stuff like fruit, toast, and hash browns anyway. Although it turned out to still be expensive compare to many places, it was quite a bit less than the coffee shop downstairs and we had a spectacular view from our little table next to the big windows in our room. Today, our plan is to spend the entire day at Mandalay Bay's gigantic pool area. At eleven acres, it is quite a sight. Access is strictly controlled to allow only hotel guests in. Everyone, down to the littlest child, must posses a room key to get inside. All are checked. Inside, there is a huge sandy-beached wave pool with four foot waves suitable for body surfing. There are two smaller, traditional pools, a few hot tubs, and a lazy river. We find some lounge chairs adjacent to the lazy river. Tim has never been in a wave pool, so that's the first order of the day. We can get his wheelchair almost up to the edge, but from then on I have to carry him in. Since the pool is very shallow at the edge and very gradually deepens, it's quite a feat to get him to water deep enough to float in. After bounding around the waves for about an hour, I manage to get him out and we make our way over to the lazy river. A hut rents tubes for the river but at a cost...$20 per day. You can trade back and forth between the tube or a floating lounge during the day at no extra cost (Only tubes are allowed in the lazy river but you can take the floating lounge into the regular pools. Neither one is allowed in the wave pool). Life jackets are free. You can also buy a tube ahead of time at Walgreens or a sporting goods store so you avoid the rental fee. I help Tim into his tube, jump into mine and proceed to float around for the next few hours while my wife alternates with laying in the sun and occasional forays into the river. A cave with two waterfalls ensures that no part of you will stay dry in the lazy river. Servers sporadically bring drinks to our lounges...very sporadically. I also found out that giving them a big tip does nothing to speed up their rounds! There's a couple of good restaurants here and we have lunch at the nearest one with hot dogs, burgers and salads. The pool here is one of Vegas' great pools but I like the laid back party atmosphere of the Tropicana's pool better. I don't know if it's the correct term I'm looking for, but the crowd around the Mandalay Pool seems a little more uptight. After our day in the water and sun, we head downtown to what is supposed to be one of the city's finest steak houses, The Ranch at Binion's Horseshoe. On arrival, we make our way through the smoky casino to the restaurant elevator. Despite emphasizing we had a wheelchair upon making our reservation, no table is held for us. We end up being the only diners that do not have a table right up next to the top floor windows. We order and soup is brought. I have to admit, the soup was delicious. Next the steaks. Supposedly dry-aged, USDA prime steaks from their own ranch, they were not near as tender or tasty as they should have been. The Ranch, far from being the best, was a major disappointment for us. We go back to the hotel, pack up, and the next morning - after another round of room service - check out and go home. Lesson learned: More does not mean better. As you can see in the main story above, the Tropicana at one third the price delivered twice as much fun and bang for the buck as the supposedly luxurious Mandalay Bay down the street. As they say on Blind Date, I don't think I'll be asking for another date here. BUDGET: Two Nights, Three adults (kids are not free at Mandalay Bay)
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