VEGAS BAYBEEE! Trip Report!!!

StudiodeKadent

Well-Known Member
#1
TRIP REPORT

The following is a report for gambling conditions at several MGM Resorts International casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

For context, I stayed at ARIA for 9 nights. This was my first trip to Vegas and to be honest I had a total ****ing blast.

ARIA REVIEW
I don't understand why everyone seems to loathe this place.

ARIA is a different flavor of high-end Vegas. The majority of high-end resorts seem to be fetishistically aping the Bellagio (with good reason). Even Steve Wynn hasn't moved beyond the Bellagio; the Wynn Macau's interiors basically just look like the Bellagio but redder.

ARIA is different. It goes for the cutting edge, high-tech, hyper-modern feel. And I happen to enjoy that aesthetic. Yes, some may think it is "cold" or "like an airport" or "harsh lines everywhere" (unlike El Stevo, who covers every harsh line in a drape to "soften" it), but I like it. Vegas currently lacks very much at all in the way of this aesthetic (except perhaps the M Resort).

Just because it looks different doesn't make it suck.

As a goth, I adored the place's cybernetic architecture (the entire CityCenter development is porn for architects), slick glass and steel, dark and broody color palate of black, silver, brown, gold, purple and blue, and the fact that the Steak House (also very dark and black marble) played "Bullet" by Covenant! In terms of goth cred, ARIA kills everything except perhaps the Mandarin Oriental (where every single surface is black marble).

The restaurants I ate at (Julian Serrano, Jean Georges Steakhouse, Sirio Ristorante, Sage and Union) were all very good with attentive service and their own unique atmospheres. Sage has an excellent "Signature Menu" and Julian Serrano does delicious paella.

The casino floor feels like an edgy nightclub. It is less crowded than, say, Bellagio, and feels more intimate (even if I think it is roughly the same size). However, the music is louder, which may annoy some. Drink service was roughly on par with the Bellagio although the cocktail waitresses wear sparkly black mesh over their cleavages (compared to how the Bellagio's have very high, well-presented cleavages).

Service was as good as I'd expect in a 4004 room hotel. My only complaints are 1) the beds are WAY too soft (I like firm beds and pillows; these were extremely soft and yielding), and 2) they need built-in optical media players in every room. If this place prides itself on tech porn, this should mean something more than "Ipod integration." Tech does not begin and end with Apple products. Get on the phone to Sony and get region-unlocked PS3's in every room so every guest from any part of the globe can play pretty much anything they might bring.

Overall, I think ARIA is still finding its own crowd. I'd say younger, yuppie-er than Bellagio; the upper-mid sector of the market should gravitate to ARIA over time. Leave Bellagio to the whales and old-rich-dumb sector (although I should clarify I do indeed like Bellagio and Bellagio, like ARIA, does not ignore the mid market). Over time, ARIA might indeed become the new Mirage (and many dealers are indeed suggesting the Mirage may get sold to Phil Ruffin); mid-high-end, quality without excessive pretention.

GAMBLING
During my trip I gambled at the ARIA, the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the Monte Carlo. Most of my gambling occurred at ARIA and I played 4 hours a day (approx) of blackjack, betting $30 to $50 (the former during the first half of my trip, the latter after a wonderful evening winning streak at the Bellagio).

At the ARIA and Bellagio, liberal rules blackjack (6 deck, S17, DA2, DAS, RSA, LS, house edge 0.28%) could pretty much always be found for $25 outside of peak times. Basically, if it isn't evening, you could get it there for $25. At one point they even allowed me to bet $30 at a $50 table at ARIA, and both Aria and the Bellagio grandfathered me in when limits were hiked. At both places I was the ranting drunken tourist (who flat bet and played basic strategy), often wearing goth gear and makeup, and still the staff were uniformly very welcoming and friendly (even the pit crew!).

ARIA also had 2 deck S17 blackjack (no surrender, but RSA/DA2/DAS all allowed) avaliable at roughly the same table limits as their 6 deck shoe games.

In both places, the good blackjack could be found only in one pit; near the guest elevators (in ARIA) and near the host offices (in Bellagio). Other blackjack pits were CSM/H17 (although to MGM's credit, they use basically a 1-deck discard tray and fill it before putting the cards back in the CSM). Basically, low-roller games at Bellagio and ARIA are CSM/H17 and I know that ARIA opens H17 shoes when things get busy.

The MGM Grand's good blackjack pit (Pit 17!) is a bitch to find (although its close to the main lobby) and I thank the staff at Craftsteak for making a few calls to help me find it. But in the evening they had $25 liberal rules BJ. The dealer was great and the cocktail waitress was fast, friendly and efficient. However, several MGM Grand tables have awful 6:5 Single Deck.

I played once at Monte Carlo. The dealer was a bit of a bitch and the best game they had ($25 but it was Friday evening) was 8d S17 liberal rules. But the cocktail waitress was nice. Monte Carlo also has (for those that think with their dick rather than brain) a Party Pit; games are H17 8 deck and pay 6:5. Yes, I know they have to pay the stripper, but why not encourage the guests to personally tip the stripper? Or impose a cover charge for use of the Party Pit? Or simply impose a doubling restriction? 6:5 is just plain excessive, people!

The other place I met a surly dealer was, unfortunately enough, Bellagio. But it only happened once and my best dealer was also at Bellagio.

I should add that yes, I am disappointed at the overuse of CSMs (which make no economic sense for the casino itself, when ASMs are indeed cheaper and just as fast and CSMs are only used on low-limit tables (the tables which APs can only take about 20 cents off, at best)) and the scarcity of good rules tables. But I think only a more informed customer base can truly help change this situation, and many customers are idiots.

BELLAGIO vs. ARIA: SHOWDOWN!
Really, the two places are different products and I think they target different markets. However, a good metaphor (for those familiar with Hong Kong) is that the Bellagio is The Peninsula and ARIA is the Intercontinental. Both are fantastic but in their own ways; the former embodies old-world elegance and the latter more modern and relaxed. The former is an institution with people constantly packing it day and night, the latter often more quiet.

Bellagio is for older guests, "old-money" rich people, fans of neo-Italian palatial opulence, and people that go to hotels depicted positively in movies. ARIA is for younger guests, fans of modernism, architects and interior decorators, and people that do not equate "classy" with "neo-rococo italiano" (the Bellagio does that style very, very well, but it isn't the ONLY way to feel upscale).

I feel that ARIA's casino was quieter but friendlier. In general I found it a little less cocky because it is still trying to find its own crowd. Bellagio is already world-famous; ARIA is still scrambling for its niche. Bellagio is always packed with gawking tourists (including a gaggle of stoners looking up at the flowers in the lobby and chuckling). ARIA feels less hurried.

I can't compare the rooms themselves as I have not stayed at Bellagio; so I can only comment on the public areas. That said, I did eat (Circo) and drink (Baccarat Bar) at Bellagio, and was very happy. I think the service at those two places was probably better than some of the service at some of the places at ARIA, but ARIA also had places with the same service at Bellagio.

I admit I have an aesthetic preference for ARIA's design so I'd probably prefer to hang out at the ARIA generally. That said, Bellagio is just a tram ride away and I fully intend to spend more time at Bellagio as well.
 
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flyingwind

Well-Known Member
#2
Did you play with a players card at any of these places? If so, did you get any good comps or mail offers from any of them? (Maybe it's too soon to ask about the mail/email offers since you just got back)
 

StudiodeKadent

Well-Known Member
#3
flyingwind said:
Did you play with a players card at any of these places? If so, did you get any good comps or mail offers from any of them? (Maybe it's too soon to ask about the mail/email offers since you just got back)
Yes. I had all my play rated on my MGM Players Club card and received $300 in comp F&B (I played about 4 hrs per day for 9 days, and MGM Mirage comp you about 40% of your theoretical (based on an assumed house edge) or actual loss).

Plus the hotel gave me a free coat hanger (I asked, they said I can have it free).

Plus, free cocktails at the tables. And the Bellagio makes their Long Island Iced Teas pretty strong too! (And their champagne cocktail is free for table game players too, even the red-chippers)
 
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