Report From Las Vegas

View from the room at Encore.

I didn’t have anything going on Thursday in Las Vegas so after walking my wife to her seminar I decided to hike down the strip at 8:30 AM to the Stratosphere. It’s a few miles down the way, and if it weren’t for the seminar at Wynn’s Encore, we would have stayed there. They had a deal on their Romance Suite with huge room and Jacuzzi. The Encore is a beautiful place without the cigarette smoke permeated into every square inch. They opened in December last year. The room is gorgeous and the view breathtaking. It is not a blue collar hotel though. Us rubes don’t like room service or in room wet bars with prices on every item so expensive we could purchase stock in the liquor company for the same amount. The room goodies, as the woman at registration warned me, rest on state of the art sensors. If you pick one up for more than sixty seconds, it’s yours. Also in the extravagantly designed room – no coffee and coffee pot –no microwave – no refrigerator other than the one stocked to bursting with the aforementioned astronomically priced items – no free WiFi. The actual living accouterments surpass most places I’ve ever stayed at – huge tub and separate shower – dual sinks – the most comfortable bed ever – Hi Def TV in the bathroom wall – big screen Hi Def TV in the bedroom which swivels to be viewed from the sitting room – state of the art business desk with fax and printing capabilities at a price. Culinary good news is they have a huge number of fabulous restaurants. Bad news is if we ate in all of them during our four day stay we’d have to mortgage the house. Enter Rescue Rube – a mini-market, liquor store, and Dennie’s next door. :)

I should have timed the hike down the Strip toward the Stratosphere. It took me nearly half an hour I believe. The sky and air were desert clear with cold springtime temperatures so it was a very enjoyable walk. I passed landmark gamblers’ spots I’ve been in before - The Riviera and Sahara. They herald low price buffets and single deck blackjack. The Stratosphere casino is huge and provides a very comfortable atmosphere. Their up escalator takes you to the mall area which was a rube paradise, featuring a McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, and many shops from which blue collar hicks like me could purchase stuff without calling the bank for a loan. I surveyed their fitness room, which unlike the spa/fitness palace at the Encore, was free to guests and adequate. Best of all, during my visit, I won enough money in a few minutes gambling to pay for an extravagant meal at the Encore. I will have to trek down there again today and donate this time. :)