I wrote a previous article on comps. That article is more of a primer on comps and the benefits. This article will give you some more information and perspective on comps and how to start maximizing them. So once you have been to Las Vegas, and you are planning a return trip, this is when you should try a tactic to get more comps. The first thing you should do is to call Casino Marketing to book your room. You can find this phone number on the back of your Players card, which you should have signed up for on your last trip. This is usually an 800 number. When you call you can give them your players card number and the dates you hope to visit. They can then possibly give you a better rate based on your account activity. That means how much you gamble and spend when you visit one of their properties. This is why it is so important to get a players card and to use it. Using it means that you book your room through Casino Marketing or directly through the casino/hotel rather than a budget website.

I know I have backed budget websites such as www.kayak.com or www.lasvegas.com, but if you are looking for comps, you are better off booking through the hotel itself. If you are a one time or first time Vegas visitor, those budget sites are great.

You also need to make sure that when you eat at a restaurant you charge it to your room, which is linked to your account. Also, you can get show tickets right through the concierge or ticket office in the hotel. That also works if you are seeing a show at a sister property, you can charge that to your room as well. I know I have also backed discount, same-day, ticket brokers and I still do, especially if the show is not at one of hotels sister properties. Remember, this article is about how to maximize comps. If you would rather save the money because you are not spending much otherwise at your hotel, go ahead and use a discount ticket seller.

My husband and I go to Vegas frequently enough that we now try to patronize the hotel that we are staying at for all of our meals and entertainment. We also charge absolutely everything to the room, from shopping, to eating, to spas, to shows. We also have both of our players card linked to each other and always use our players cards at card tables and slot machines. Then the night before we check out, and when we’re pretty much done spending, we go to the players card desk and ask them to analyze our spending patterns. They in turn call the front desk so that when we check out the next morning, we will have some spending comped, usually in the form of food and beverage credit. That means they just deduct that amount off of our bill. We have to check out at the front desk, rather than using express checkout, but hey, it’s worth it.

If you like to drink, and you enjoy quirky British humor, then I have the perfect night out for you. 1 – consume ample amounts of Sake laced martinis at Okada at the Wynn. 2 – Hobble down to the Wynn Theater to enjoy Spamalot. This is what I did recently. I advise trying it.
Now, you might think that you could do without the alcohol, but let me assure you, being a little goofy beforehand will add to your enjoyment of this show.

If you know anything about Monty Python, then you already know that the humor is borderline idiotic. Skits are silly and leave you shaking your head. You should also know that most people either love this humor or hate it. I haven’t met many people who are in between. So, if you already know you like Monty Python, you should check out this show. If you know nothing about Monty Python, I can’t even presume to predict what you will think about the show. Be forewarned, there is not much original material in the show, at least, not as much as I expected. Of course, a few songs and skits are new and unique, but you will find plenty of material directly ripped off from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They even claim right on the website that it is “ripped off” from the movie. The most popular scenes from the movie are included, such as “the knights who say nee”, and “I will fart in your general direction” to the argument about African Swallows. They were still funny, even if you were familiar with them. The woman who played Guinevere pleasantly surprised me. Her voice was amazing and she was quite entertaining. She has this one scene, all to herself that was pretty funny, having to do with her being disgruntled with her role in the show. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that I did enjoy the show after a few drinks, and I suppose you may do the same.
One note, the seats are not extremely roomy. So if you are a normal sized person, you’ll be fine, but if larger people surround you, you may be snug. Also the theater is fairly small so there really wasn’t a bad seat. Though if I were you, I’d try to get seat D101.

Staying at the Wynn is definitely something that I would advise you to do. Often touted as the most luxurious hotel on the strip, staying there just might make you think that your normal life sucks. My husband and I stayed at the Wynn in August of 2007 because of a promotion that was mailed to us through the Red Card program, aka, casino marketing. The deal was a Resort Room (their basic room, hah! basic!) for $239 per night Friday and Saturday night. If you think that’s steep, you should know that the Resort Room we ended up with was going for $700 per night that weekend without the promotional price. While I ‘m not sure I could justify spending $1400 to stay there for two nights, I am delighted with what my $500 got me.

We began our experience by trying the “give the check-in person 20 bucks trick”. It worked. He glanced down at the $20 tucked between the credit card and the ID, and by the time we asked if any upgrades were available, he replied, “I’ve already taken care of it, you will have a great view of the fountain show.” Score. Our room was on the 29th floor (amazingly, they have 60 floors!) with a floor to ceiling plate glass window overlooking the Venetian and Treasure Island. The strip view is slightly blocked by the new Palazzo tower at the Venetian, but I am not complaining. We also looked down into the Water and Light show that the Wynn has. The funny thing about that show is that it is for guests only. You can’t enjoy it from the outside in general public areas. You actually have to be in the hotel or on their verandas to see it. I thought that was kind of nifty. Anyhow, the room was very spacious, with a very comfortable bed. There is a nice couch and footstool, a desk, a wet bar and mini-fridge, 3 phones, and even an electronic panel to open and close the curtains. It was, duh, very clean and nicely decorated. Bathrobes were provided as well as cute little complimentary slippers. The bathroom was great. There were dual sinks, a sit down vanity, deep single person jet tub, separate toilet room, and a large marble shower. The bathroom toiletries were awesome. My hair was like silk after using the shampoo. Another neat thing about the hotel is that when you get off the elevators and are walking to your room, you can sense the curvature of the hotel as you look down the hallway.

The pools are very nice. My husband and I ate breakfast overlooking the Tower Suites VIP pool from Tableau, a great restaurant. Then later on Saturday, we swam and sipped expensive alcoholic concoctions at the main pool. If you look at a map of the property, you can see that this pool is shaped like a long dumbbell. There were a lot of people in it, It is August in Vegas after all, but we didn’t feel too crowded. We stayed at the shady end of the dumbbell. The sunnier end, near the poolside cabana bar was much busier with young people seeing and being seen. It was a little bit tricky finding a lounge chair, since people that have left will leave their towels on the chairs and make them appear occupied. In my opinion, they should have cleaned the chairs off quicker, but that’s a pretty small complaint overall. For the most part, the service at this hotel is amazing.
For example, we went to the Terrace Point Café late Friday night after we arrived. It was something like 10:00pm. We were really hungry for fresh berries with crème fraiche and a smoked salmon plate that we usually order off of the breakfast menu. Even though it was not on the evening menu, we asked. The waitress said she would check, and sure enough, satisfied our cravings. That is the kind of thing that at many other places, you would hear “we don’t have that at night” and if you have a polite server, ”sorry”.

My husband and I used the concierge, via the telephone in our room, to reserve dinner at Okada and tickets to Spamalot. They were very helpful, and allowed us to pick up the tickets at the concierge desk rather than waiting in the box office line, which in my experience, is usually long. Okada is the Wynn’s Japanese restaurant and it was very good. I’ll write more in a future article. But let me say, if you like sushi, this place carries OhToro and ChuToro. It’s fatty tuna for you non-sushi-lovers, and it’s awesome. Spamalot was also a good show if you are suitably inebriated and a Monthy Python disciple. I’ll also write more about that in a future article.
So, if you feel like living the high life for a few days, check out the Wynn. Try on some Manolo Blahniks at one of the only two north American stores, shop for a Rolex, buy a $300 La Perla Bra, sip expensive drinks while floating in paradise, laugh at ultra cheesy songs in Spamalot, lay around in a divine hotel room all day, or shop for a Maserati, no a Ferrari. Oh, decisions…. Whatever it is you choose to do at the Wynn, I’m guessing you will enjoy it.

The MGM Grand is a great hotel to stay at while in Vegas. It is located mid-strip, and is really close to New York New York, Hooters, and Excalibur. I have stayed there twice; once in the Deluxe Tower, and once in the smaller, but awesome West Wing. The Deluxe Tower room was nice enough, similar to many rooms in Vegas. It reminded me a lot of the Paris Hotel in the way the tower is laid out in reference to the elevators and halls. Several strip hotels have this ‘Plus’ or ‘X’ configuration. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. The beds were very soft, and in our room, which had two queen beds, we counted 8 pillows. It is a total art deco theme straight from the 20’s and the bathroom fixtures reflect the feel of new indoor plumbing with the elaborate silver styling. You can usually expect to pay anywhere from $200 - $350 per night on a Friday or a Saturday night.

The smaller and ultra modern West Wing is very near the West Wing Bar, sort of over by the Rainforest Café. There are only a few floors of rooms, and it is essentially one long hallway. When we first checked in to our room there, we got in sort of late on a Friday night, and were given room 2557 or 2559, I can’t remember… Anyhow, as soon as we walked in the room, there was an instant techno beat sound emanating from the walls, I called and had our room changed. Apparently, the rooms at the very end of the corridor butt up to the West Wing Bar. So, if you do stay in the West Wing, make sure your room number is not ending in _555, _557, and definitely not _559. The evens are on the other side of the hall, and I do not know if they have the same issue. Once we changed rooms, however, I could not have been more pleased. The room was small, but so modern. The headboard was a red vinyl, the lamps were tall tubular things, and even the wall art was a strange series of circles and polished wood. The bathroom was the best. There was a huge glass door and glass walls that surrounded and separated the toilet. It sort of looked like there were two showers, but one was the loo. The sink area was all glass and metal shelving. There was even a TV screen embedded behind the mirror. The one drawback was that there was really no view to speak of. Since the West Wing is not a tall part of the hotel, there are no views of the city nor the strip. If I had to go again, I would choose to stay in the West Wing, but the regular Tower rooms are nice as well.

The Casino is large, and the choice in restaurants is varied. There are many great, and expensive, choices for dinner, but not as many options for a nice breakfast or lunch. There is a food court on the Studio Walk that includes a Starbucks, (one of three on the property) Mc Donald’s, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, a Chinese place and a pizza place for fast food. If you walk further down the Studio Walk, there is a great sandwich place called ‘wichcraft, and a Mexican cantina. There are also a couple of really nice places to eat, one is Italian, and one Japanese, but they are mostly open for dinner as far as I could tell.
I will write more about the Casino and food choices in another article, but suffice it to say that you could very ell spend your entire weekend just hanging out in the MGM Grand. I have done it, and would do it again.

I had never eaten Russian food before, so when I found the Red Square at the Mandalay Bay, I was all over it. My husband and I made reservations for a Saturday night in July 2007. You’ll know you found the right place when you see a giant headless statue of Lenin with makeshift bird poo all over it. This place has an amazing selection of Vodkas. You can actually pay like $200 to take a vodka tasting tour of their frozen cellar. You get to use Lenin’s head to set your drink on. I didn’t take the tour, but I did try one of the caviar appetizers. They offer an ounce of fine caviar with toasts, tiny Russian blinis (itty pancakes), egg yolk, egg white, chives, onion, and crème fraiche to accompany it. We ordered the Osetra at $200. You could get Beluga for $250. I thoroughly enjoyed the Osetra. It was fresh and delicious. We also enjoyed 6 different martinis, such as key lime pie (my favorite), espresso martini, a yummy banana martini with a chocolate covered plantain, a pomegranate martini, a blood orange martini ….and ……and another martini ….of which the name eludes me … go figure. These were all especially tasty. We also tried their monthly special grapefruit vodka. Now that’s strong stuff. But if you like flavored vodkas, it was good. For dinner, we shared a goat cheese salad, which was excellent. The cheese square was breaded and fried almost like a mozzarella cheese stick, but oh, so rich and creamy. I ordered a special, lobster tail and their famous Roquefort filet mignon. It came with a huge pile of mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. My husband ordered the stroganoff with chunks of filet mignon in it. Both meals were excellent. I really enjoyed the flavor of the stroganoff, and the taste of the Roquefort sauce on my steak, which was quite large for a filet. For dessert, which we didn’t need, we tried the Strawberries Romanoff. It comes in a large champagne glass and it has large fresh strawberries in a Grand Marnier cream sauce. If I wasn’t so full it would have tasted better, but it was still very good.

Don’t expect a completely authentic Russian menu however. Borscht is conspicuously missing. I understand that some folks do actually like beets. Rather, the restaurant seems to be centered aroud vodka and fine dining with a Russian influence. The bar is actually frozen so your vodka shot remains cold while it rests on the bar. That’s pretty nifty. The “red square” theme is quite conspicuous around with the bread plates being red squares to the floating square piece of red colored white chocolate in my espresso martini. It’s fun. This place is a nice change from the standard Italian, Mexican, French and Oriental fare from most restaurants.

I would definitely eat here again. And if you are a vodka fan, definitely check it out. It is relatively expensive. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 - $300 per person depending on if you drink much or want any caviar.

Ka is different from most Cirque du Soleil shows in that it follows a story line. Well, my husband didn’t think so (“it’s a bunch of people jumping and flying around”), but Cirque advertises it as such. We saw it in July of 2007 at the MGM Grand. Having seen Mystere, O, LOVE, and Zumanity, all Cirque shows, I felt that this one was ranked 3rd out of the 5.
I was amazed, as always, by the ability of the performers, especially the crazy, evil dudes on the big wheel. (You’ll see what I mean if you go.) There was even some comedy in this one. One of the scenes was with some really good shadow puppets, while another had a giant turtle, and sand crab.
The story is essentially two royal brats, I mean children, a brother and sister, who are celebrating their birthday and their kingdom gets attacked. They get separated. The rest of the show is about what they go through trying to fight off the attackers and getting back to each other. They each find love, though I much prefer the brother’s story. The sister falls for some tree-hugging hippie in a glittery body suit, in some weird industrial rain forest looking set. The brother’s girlfriend at least has some depth.
The sets are the best thing about this show. It is quite obvious that the theatres are now built for the shows, rather than the shows fitting into an old theatre. There were many different “props” that became really cool sets. The same huge platform is used in many scenes, but in completely different ways. It is very impressive. This show ranks first in set design out of the 5 shows.
Ticket prices for this show are quite expensive. And unfortunately, they are not available at the half price ticket vendor. We paid about $160 each for ours, which was in, I think, the 12th row, just off center. Once we arrived in the theatre, however, I determined that there really weren’t any bad seats. The theatre is small, yet very spacious, if that makes any sense.
To sort of understand Ka, you should know that it does try to represent the four natural elements; first water, then air, then earth, then fire, via scenes in the show. If you know what you are looking for, you will see it. If not, you will see “people jumping and flying through the air”. Also, you should know that Ka represents duality in life or the life force. The ancient Egyptians actually thought you died when your ka left you. The duality aspect is more represented in this show, with the twins, and the obvious battle between good and evil.
In a nutshell, yes, it is worth seeing. Yes, it is a good show. But O, and LOVE are a little bit better. This show would have been better, in my opinion if I had know the story or understand the elements before I saw it.

Comps are most valuable when they pay for something that you already want. One of the things that I now get comped, but I used to spend money on anyhow is the breakfast buffet at the Wynn. You can visit my article on comps for information.
The first time I ever went to the breakfast buffet was by chance. My husband and I just decided to try it a couple of years ago. It was 10:45 am on a Saturday. We were amazed at the quality of the food. I have been to many buffets in Las Vegas, including the celebrated Spice Market buffet at the Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood). The Wynn’s breakfast buffet kicks it’s butt. The smoked salmon was very fresh, the fruit was excellent quality and delicious. I even love their prunes! And I am not a prune eater. I’m only 30! You can get fresh made-to-order omelets, various quiches, many varieties of Eggs Benedict, and even Asian and Mexican influenced dishes. There is fresh sushi, various great breads, and numerous fancy desserts. There are even a fair number of sugar free desserts. This is actually one buffet that I can eat at and not feel awful when I leave. You know what I mean, when you feel like you’ve eaten a deep fried tire. The coolest thing about that first visit, was that since we arrived at 10:45, we actually made an entire pass through the buffet as it was serving breakfast, yet at 11:00, lunch items began coming out. It essentially made our choices twice as big. Since that visit, we have been back numerous times.
Occasionally, the line is so long at the buffet, that we decide not to wait, and we walk across and down the hall to the Terrace Pointe Café. The food here is exquisite also, honestly I think everything at the Wynn is awesome. My husband likes to get the fresh squeezed carrot juice, which is a pleasant treat, even if you don’t like carrots, like me. We also really like the fresh fruit with Crème fraiche, which we usually split. The homemade corned beef hash is also very good, as is the smoked salmon plate complete with salmon roe and sliced giant capers. Even their coffee is great. It’s nice and strong with a good flavor. And believe me, I am hard to please when it comes to coffee. We often end up spending more money here, usually about $60, but we have never been disappointed.

If you want to have a dinner you’ll never forget, (and your wallet won’t either), take your date to the Picasso at Bellagio. This restaurant takes its name from the numerous original Picassos hanging on the wall. I have had the pleasure of dining here twice. The first time was about 4 years ago and at the time it was the most I had ever spent on dinner. It was $450 for the two of us. My husband and I chose the degustation menu, where the entrees are pre-selected and simply brought out in turn. This is listed as $115 per person on the website. We also chose the wine accompaniment, where a perfect glass of wine paired up with each course. I learned that a scallop can indeed taste like a filet mignon. That meal was superb. The service was exceptional and the environment made me feel like a celebrity. In fact, you can see Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Andy Garcia in a dinner scene from Ocean’s 11.

Again last Thanksgiving, in 2006, my husband and I decided to eat at Picasso again. This time we chose to sit outside on the patio, which has a fantastic view of the awesome Bellagio fountains. You actually sit “behind” the fountains, since you are in the building rather than on the strip looking at them. This makes for an almost private viewing feel. The restaurant also had some patio heaters set up outside to take the chill out of the air. Their Thanksgiving Day menu did not include the traditional turkey. I chose lobster, as a $40 upgrade, my husband chose the Kobe beef filet mignon for a $120 upgrade. (If you don’t know what Kobe beef is, it’s an excellent grade of beef imported from Japan. The cows are feed beer and given massages daily to keep the meat tender and delicious.) This was on top of the fixed price, which was something like $180 per person already. (hey, I said it wasn’t cheap). We also had wine accompaniments with this meal, which if you like wine, is definitely worth it. The sommelier (wine steward) and chef (Julian Serrano) really know how to enhance the meal with the perfect beverage. We actually came across a terrific 1961 Pedro Ximenez dessert wine that since then, my husband has been on a mission to get more of. The total bill for that meal, with tip, was approx $900. You wouldn’t have to spend that much to have a great meal, after all this was Thanksgiving, which was a special, more expensive menu.
I have eaten at many great restaurants in Las Vegas, and this is definitely at the top of my list. If you have something to celebrate, or you simply want to have a fantastic meal, check out the Picasso. For a perfect evening, go to “O” at the Bellagio afterwards. See my article on “O” (not Eau).
There is a dress code. Men should be in a blazer, women should be in skirts or very nice dress pants. Reservations are required.