Another fab Vegas weekend is in the books, and this one, like all others prior, provided a much-needed time for fun and frolic away from the snow (for some) and stress (for others) of everyday life. Sure, the weather was a tad on the cool side, but the bar-hopping, golfing, clubbing, gambling and recreating couldn’t have been better. This year, unlike the past few, we decided that the deal at Wynn Las Vegas was too good to pass up – especially after the disappointing service and vibe we had experienced at Treasure Island. After all, if you’re gonna do it, do it right – in Vegas there are just too many restaurants, casinos, bars, shops, pretty girls, and golf courses more than happy to take your money and do it with flair and passion, and that’s what you get in spades at Wynn. You simply can’t be treated any better.

Hits: The usual Goodboys stops never failed to please and impress. The Parasol Up bar (our mustering place) and the B Bar (home of what we’ll always remember for “The Greatest Show On Earth” – a blood secret we’ll keep just between us!) at Wynn were great places to hang, enjoy a cocktail or two or three, watch all the pretty people, and just drink in the Vegas vibe. The Wynn Spa was a perfect place to warm up after a chilly day golfing. The Peppermill was as it always is: good food at a good price (the latter something you won’t see at Wynn). Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Las Vegas was a great place to hang, munch on some nachos and replenish my depleted collection of T-shirts. The Paiute Resort was a fantastic place to play golf – one of the most beautiful golf destinations we’ve ever seen. ‘Tis a shame the temperature hovered around 50 all day with 30-40 MPH sustained winds – we froze our asses off but had a great time doing so. I’ll have a golf report in the next post.

Misses: A stop at the Kahunaville bar at Treasure Island showcased the unique lack of service we’d come to know at TI the past few years – hard to believe that kind of thing even happens in Vegas. Sure, it was fun to watch a bunch of guys take in the “Kahunaville Special” – for $20 you get a free drink, get to breath in the flavored oxygen of your choice, and receive a back rub and head message via a device that looks something straight out of “The Jetsons”. But the whole place has a dark, tawdry kind of feel to it. While Saturday night dinner at Mr. Lucky’s at the Hard Rock was OK, there’s nothing about that place that makes it stand out from any of a hundred other potential Saturday night dinner destimations in the future.

All and all, it was another fun weekend, and there are places already checked off for a visit next year: La Cave at Wynn and the Seahorse Lounge at Caesar’s Palace look like very cool places to visit, and a return visit to Paiute Resort (hopefully under better weather conditions) is without question.

All in all, just your typical Goodboys Vegas weekend: you start looking forward to it as soon as the holidays arrive, by Monday of that week you can’t wait to get there, by the following Monday you’re ready to leave, then a few days later you’re already thinking about your next trip there (for me it could be when my wife and her twin sister turn 50 in May, we’ll see). Which is what makes a weekend in Las Vegas unlike any other.