Not Sure Where To Start

This was quite possibly the BEST Vegas trip MH and I have ever had. It wasn't because he won a butt-load of money either...I think he actually broke about even in the end. I came home with a little bit of cash. Mostly left-overs from what hubby handed me to keep me occupied while he did his thing at the roulette table. ;-)

My little fishy game was not kind to me AT ALL this trip...

I couldn't get it to do anything at the MGM Grand, but on the last night there, MH and I decided to take a stroll down the strip and I finally got a few hits...

Oh how I wished that was dollars. (sigh)...it's just pennies.

So if your not into long posts, just know that we ate some great food, watched a historic boxing match and had a great time.

If you are interested in the details...grab a cup of coffee and settle in...

Our usual Vegas haunt is the Monte Carlo, but this time a rather persistent MGM Grand host persuaded MH to give the MGM Grand a whirl. We were invited out for the Pacquaio vs. Bradley boxing match, with the usual amenities included. Now, neither of us are boxing fans...but the hubby had heard what an awesome boxer Paquiao was, so we decided 'What the heck!'

The vay-cay got off to a very rocky start when we arrived at the MGM Grand and found out that their computer systems were completely crashed and NO ONE could check in. The entire casino was filled with people wandering around with their luggage...most looking a little lost and confused...some looking more than a bit put-out. We heard that some people had been there for 6-8 hours already...waiting to get checked in. MH said, 'Awww, hell no.' and got on the bat phone with our usual Monte Carlo host to see if they could get us a room. Over 60% of the strip was affected by the computer crashes (ALL properties owned by the MGM Grand Corp, including the MC.), but she said, 'Sure, come on over if you need too. We'll work it out.'

Our MGM Grand host was so mortified by the situation that he comped the entire weekend...anything and everything we wanted. FREE! Obviously, we were not the only ones who got that privilege...so I can't even imagine how many millions it cost the casino over the weekend. :-O

Well, I'm not one to let a good thing slip away...I told MH we were going to give it a bit and sure enough we got the VIP treatment and within a couple of hours we were settled in our suite. I wasted no time booking into the Spa for some luxurious treatments and spent the next few days dragging MH to some of the finest restaurants in the casino. Usually we are pretty low-key VIP guests, but this time I took full advantage of what was offered.

One night we ate at Michael Mina's SeaBlue...

I cannot even begin to explain how utterly divine that meal was. The waiter was so helpful at guiding us into a 3-course meal that melded and melted seamlessly together, bite after bite. I didn't even think to take pictures of the food that night, but my entree was a sea bass paired with smoked asparagus and MH had Ahi Tuna paired with warm, marinated button mushrooms. Three days later, MH said he was still in awe of how amazing his Ahi Tuna was and his mouth watered just thinking about it.

The next night we ate at Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak. Just to try something a little different than the regular, supremely aged and perfectly cooked Black Angus steak...we decided to try the Domestic Wagyu...

Wagyu is the breed of Japanese cattle that produces Kobe beef. Domestic Wagyu is a Black Angus/Wagyu cross. One our neighbor's back in South Dakota has gotten into raising these cross-breeds because there is such a premium paid for them. After cutting into my filet mignon, I can see why. I have never seen such amazing marbling on a hunk of beef in my life. As you can see, we paired our beef with more mushrooms and the waitress suggested the corn. Fresh sweet corn, cut off the cob, flash saute'd with butter and brown sugar and then tossed with cilantro...Oohhhh.....I am so going to have to try to perfect that recipe at home. It was fantastic!!!

Our next fine dining experience was at Shibuya. We requested a seat at the bar so we could watch the masters build these beautiful dishes...

Now, you are either a sushi fan or you are not. I came into a taste for sushi late in life...like only the last couple of years. And it was only in this last year that I graduated to actual raw fish. I think it was once I started paying attention to the 'art' of it vs thinking about 'eewww...raw fish'. At one sushi place MH and have eaten at, we learned the sushi master spent 11 years in Japan learning the art of sushi. He spent 3 years of that learning how to wash rice. That story has always kind of resonated with MH and I...whenever something isn't going well...we often look at each other and comment, 'Well, it's not like we spent 3 years learning how to wash rice.' and somehow that always puts things into perspective.

I so wanted to dine a Joel Robuchan's...but just didn't get to it. Total bummer! I mean...he is the chef of the century and the thought of spending a couple hours eating my way through one of his 5-course meals was soooo tempting.

Soooo...the main reason for being in LV on this particular occasion was to attend this boxing match thing...

I wasn't particularly interested in it, outside of the fact it was a chance to get dolled up to the max, but a few days before leaving, I was talking with one of my neighbors and when I mentioned that we were going to watch that fight, she squealed with envy and started filling me in on what an amazing boxer this Manny Pacquaio was. Not just an amazing boxer, but quite a humanitarian in his own country (the Philippines) and a Congressman in his country as well. So, yea...I got a whole lot more interested. Someone having amazing talent is like, whatever...but someone who has amazing talent, is also intelligent and choses to improve the world around him? THAT is interesting. Soooo unlike the majority of the over-paid, self-indulgent pro athletes.

The trip was a bit extra special for MH...he just recently got in contact with a friend whom he had not seen in many years, who happens to live in Canada...around Calgary I think...and he asked him if he wanted to come down to watch the fight. So he did. Listening to those two reminisce was very entertaining, to say the least. Most of the stories can never be repeated because I'm not sure if the statute of limitations has run out on some of the stunts those two pulled. No wonder Canada won't let my hubby back in. LMAO!!!

Hubby and I got dressed up...

And we hit the event arena. We had been seeing 'famous' people all weekend, and my neighbor had told me that a lot of Hollywood stars and famous people followed boxing...but they were everywhere. There were movie stars, rap stars, musicians and athletes all over the place...half of whom I did not even recognize 'in person'. Luckily, there were these amazing ladies....

...that kept pointing out the 'famous' people to us. LOL...Shout out to the best aisle attendants EVER!!! You ladies made our night! I did recognize a few people..Evander Holyfield was there, Mike Tyson...

And Gordon Ramsey (the chef) sat right behind us. I so wanted to turn around and ask for a picture, but when I saw Mike Tyson retreat in disgust after trying to talk to someone and people kept running up and asking to have their picture taken with him...I decided I didn't want to be one of those people.

We watched a couple of matches before the big fight and then it was time!!!

Now...Like I said...I am not exactly a follower or a fan of boxing...but my step-dad was a HUGE fan, so as a kid, I did spend a fair amount of time watching it...you know...back in the day when everyone only had ONE t.v. and mom/dad got to watch what they wanted before you had a hope in hell of getting any t.v. time? LOL...But anyway...I do remember a lot of the things my step-dad talked about...what was good and not so good. So I did have an inkling of what I was watching. Somehow...I think after watching Manny Pacquaio in the first round...I would have figured out on my own...the man is absolutely AMAZING!!! to watch. It was like watching a mongoose play with a cobra. There is no doubt that Bradley is a good fighter. He was (and still is) undefeated. But compared to the light-footed and rattlesnake quick Pacquaio...he just looked cumbersome and slow.

The darned thing of it was...I kind of had to cheer for Bradley because MH had placed a hefty bet on him (Pac Man was the favorite, so if Bradley won...he was the better payout)...AND...I had dreamed that Bradley won. Watching the fight...I was certain Bradley was going to have to knock Pacquaio out if that was going to happen. Pacquaio out-fought Bradley in 11 out of 12 rounds. When the fight was over and Bradley had not knocked Pacquaio out...I thought my dream had failed me. A very, VERY rare occurrence. I thought Bradley winning the fight by split decision was as big a bunch of BS as everyone else there...but my dream did not lie, fair or foul. :-/

Things got ugly REALLY fast when that decision was announced and we got the heck out of dodge. No way were we going to end up in the middle of a riot and that is kind of what it felt like was going to happen. Of course, the entire rest of the night was nothing but talk about what a wretched and obviously WRONG decision the judges made. The general consensus was that the whole thing was rigged and giving Bradley the split decision was nothing more than a marketing ploy for a re-match.

I saw Pacquaio in the elevators later and I felt so sorry for him. His expression and demeanor said he was just devastated. You could tell when the last bell rang, he was completely confident he had dominated that fight and he was unable to hide the shock when the decision went to Bradley. It was also apparent that Bradley knew he had lost and even when he was hoisted up after his victory was announced...it looked like he was asking people, 'I won?'.

Well....It may be the only boxing match I ever go to...but I can say that I got to see one of the most historic BAD decisions ever made. I can't say it was a bad fight. It was actually a really good fight. Just a really lousy ending.

Yes, MH won a lot of money on his bet. He promptly gambled it all away. I don't think it made him feel very good to have won it that way.

That's about it...Only other odd twist to the weekend was the fact that I did NOT buy a single pair of shoes!

I know...What's up with that?? Vegas is my shoe-shopping heaven. Oh well...there's always next time. ;-) I seemed to have spent my extra time either at the Spa or hanging out at the pools...

There was several to chose from and it felt good to just bake in the sun and inhale some strawberry daiquiri's.  Now it's back to reality...but with a refreshed attitude and game plan.