Wynn Las Vegas - Discovery Tour - Part 3

This is the 3rd and last part of my report about my personal experiences at the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The main Show at Wynn, the Show "LE RÊVE, was covered by the previous part of this report. Part 1 described the Hotel Rooms and Dining Facilities and of course the most visible unique feature of the Wynn Resort, the 18 Holes Golf Course right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.

The Second night of my stay was reserved for the Award Winning Musical "Avenue Q" and to check out the trendy night club "Tryst". I talked about the Nightclub already in part two of this series, leaves only "Avenue Q" to talk about.

The Broadway production is about a poor college grad that tries to make his living in one of the not to good neighborhoods of New York City.

The story is "guided" by the real-life and not some "Hollywood Fantasy" which means that "sexual experiences" are part of it.

This is the reason because children under 12 not permitted. If they are 12 or older, it's up to the parents. I would bring them along, if they are ready for some real-life adult content (not over the top or unrealistic).

The Show was alright, but I am not able to ravage about it.

Not because I think it's a bad show, on the contrary, I just am not a Fan of musicals in general.

It had it's moments for me, when they made "fun" of the German language depicting the word "Schadenfreude" which is a word that does not exist in the English language and loosely translates to "enjoying or feeling good about the misfortune of somebody else".

This is a bad word, but also "all human", because it describes what you feel when you are down or have a problem and you see somebody else with even bigger problems than you. You tend to feel better about yourself and enjoy the fact, although you should be feeling sorry for that other person.

I am from Germany and grew up there and had a good laugh. Don't think you will be safe. They address not only a lot of stereo types and prejudices, but all too human flaws of all social, ethnic and religious types of people.

The Show is moving on to a new Location within the next weeks. So if you want to see it, you better get moving soon. The show following "Avenue Q" will be another Broadway show with the name "Spamalot". The name of the show surely sounds interesting, especially for folks like me that are working in the Internet Marketing Business.

There was no way that we would not check out the only Ferrari/Maserati Dealership in the whole state of Nevada which is located within the Wynn Resort Property. They had an actual "Enzo" Ferrari for display with an estimated value of $2.5 Million (USD), no touching allowed.

The Lower floor of the showroom shows "pre-owned" sports cars of different make and model. Pictures were not allowed, but I was able to "steal" a snap shot of a "used" Lamborghini with my camera phone. With a price tag of about $300K was it actually a bargain compared to the Enzo.



All in all was the trip a great success and I can only recommend to check out the Wynn Resort the next time you plan to spoil yourself or your better half. If you are in Vegas, you have to see LE RÊVE.

It took me a bit to figure out what was so different about the Wynn Resort. The Service was great, but I expected that from a Resort in their class. No, it was two things. The first is the short distances from any point A in the Resort to Point B. No Matter from where and to where you had to go, it could be done within 3-5 minutes walking.

You could also hardly get lost like in those other casino jungles, which is a good transition to the second thing I noticed.

They do not "hit you" with the casino "over the head" as pretty much all other casinos and resorts. The Layout of a property is usually designed that guests and visitors have to pass a lot of slot machines and are sometimes even deliberately guided into an artificial maze to get lost between the game tables and slots.

This is an annoyance for non gamblers like me. I gambled a bit, yes, I played black jack with a friend together. The money I put on the table was the same money I would have paid for a bar tab to have a good time with my friend anyway. He likes to play Black Jack so we played it together and had a good time without being to serious about the bets and money lost and won.

I was entering the casino when I choose to do so and was never all around me trying to "pressure" me to gamble. The people that are like me and not come to Vegas to gamble, but for the hundred of other reasons why Vegas is a great destination will appreciate this little detail.

The Wynn Resport in Las Vegas has a 24/7 online reservation system available that allows you to book a room or suite and/or purchase Show Tickets. Use the following link if you are interested in making a reservation or Ticket purchase now.

Wynn Online Reservation System



This was the last part of my report. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me finish it with another snap shot which I took within the LE RÊVE Theatre just before the show starts.

Cheers Carsten Cumbrowski

Wynn Las Vegas - Discovery Tour - Part 2

This is part two of my report about my personal experience at the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

I was talking about the Hotel Rooms and Dining abilities in Part 1 and also about the most visible unique feature, the 18 Holes Golf Course right at the Strip.

After the dinner on the first night was it time to watch the much acclaimed Show “LE RÊVE” (this is French and translates to “A Dream”) at the “LE RÊVE” Theatre which was specially build for this show.

I expected a lot, because no other than Franco Dragone created this show. Franco Dragone is also the creator of successful shows like Celine Dion “A New Day”, Cirque du Soleil’s “O” and Mystère.

LE RÊVE is not officially a Cirque du Soleil show, but you can tell that the creative force behind many of the Cirque du Soleil Productions was responsible for the creation of this one.

Expectations were high and I was not just satisfied with it, it blew me away. The music was fantastic and the acrobatic incredible if not to say mind boggling and breathe taking.

You will probably laugh if I tell you, that I had a hard time to get the thought out of my head that no disability insurance would cover any of those “poor” performers.

It is noteworthy to mention that the music is performed live although the performers are not visible to all visitors. I am also certain that this Show has a high "re-visit" appeal since you will experience it differently depending on where you are sitting. The experience in the "Splash Zone" must certainly be different than the one from the "middle" rows and also from the "top" rows.

Below is a short sample video including some of the original music. It is a 3.4 MB Video File in AVI Format, compressed with DivX6. The embedded MS Media Player will not work on none Windows machines.
If you can't see the video or can't get it to start, download the AVI File via this Link and launch it from your desktop via the player of your choice.
Press |> (Play) to start the Video (again) or if it does not start automatically.


Tickets Prices for the Show are fair and between $80-$100 + $20 ticket fee per ticket. There are no “bad” seats in the Theatre. The “cheap” seats are located in what they call the “Splash Zone” which means that you “will” or “might” get wet, depending on the actual row. Consider the price difference to be a down payment for the dry cleaner ;).

I haven’t seen a full and live Cirque du Soleil (like) show before, only the short ads and some documentaries on “E” on TV. Next time I go to Vegas I plan to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O” playing at the Bellagio and/or Cirque du Soleil’s “”KA” playing at the MGM Grand. Cirque du Soleil “Mystique” at Treasure Island looks also nice, but not as nice as “O” and “KA”. I might be wrong so I better check them all out eventually just to be safe.

Living only 6 hours with the car or about an hour with the plane away from Las Vegas has its benefits.

The Wynn Resport in Las Vegas has a 24/7 online reservation system available that allows you to book a room or suite and/or purchase Show Tickets. Use the following link if you are interested in making a reservation or Ticket purchase now.

Wynn Online Reservation System



The next and last part of my report will talk about the second major show currently running at the Wynn Resort and Casino and about a very special dealership of special interest for Guys and Boys.

Back to Part 1 or forward to Part 3.

Wynn Las Vegas - Discovery Tour - Part 1

Two Weeks ago did I go for a short 2 nights trip to Las Vegas. It was my birthday and it was the perfect birthday gift for me because I was in serious need for some Time out and relaxation.

I got to stay for the two nights at the new and luxurious Wynn Resort and Casino Las Vegas.

I also had Show tickets to the two main Shows at the Wynn, LE RÊVE and Avenue Q.

This is the first part of a three part report about my personal experiences at the Wynn Resort and Casino. Part 2 and 3 will follow later this week.

I am not much of a Gambler and also was very tired from work with the need for some rest. The Resort offered exactly that.

The “Resort Rooms” offered plenty of space; the bed was cozy and made me sleep like a baby.

The Room had a Flat Screen TV in the Main Room and another small one in the Bathroom.

Very nice, but I was not coming to Las Vegas to watch TV, but some people do or simply like to watch TV before they go to sleep. The build-in CD player of the Radio Alarm Clock came very handy to listen to the “LE RÊVE” CD which I bought after the show.

The Room rates are actually pretty fair, considering the size and features and not to forget the nice environment and great service provided by the staff, which did everything they could to make you feel welcome and taken care of.

The price for the Standard Resort Room range between $280 and $400, depending on the month of the year and if it is during the weekend or for a weekend. Suites are between $400 to $750, which also depends on the date and time and the type of suite you prefer. I got to see one and the feature that interested me the most was not the bathroom that was as big as my living room at home, but the separate massage room with massage service available 24/7 within minutes.

I got a little glimpse at the Wynn Golf Club which is exclusively for Hotel Guests and their visitors only. The fee for playing a round of Golf at the 18 Holes Golf Course in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip cost $500 per Person, but has all inclusive; equipment, caddy etc. No hidden fees, the “all inclusive” can be considered a promise.

We started of the stay at the Resort with a very nice and top notch Dinner at Daniel Boulud French Brasserie. Daniel Boulud, the award winning chef is actually working in the kitchen on the guest dishes which is not common for restaurants with a famous chef’s name. You will not find the actual chef in most of the restaurants, but students of the chef.

I completely forgot the other courses of the dinner, because of the main entrée. It was Angus beef filet and ribs. I would have never imagined that I would eat a great Angus beef filet after the "other" stuff on the plate, but the ribs were not from this world. They were cooked and the meat was so tender and juice that a knife was not needed at all, the meat was falling apart, all by itself.

The resort offers a variety of great dining experiences for different tastes. The “Insider Tip” is the Terrace Café which is open 24 hours and overlooking the Pool Area. You can get anything you want there at any time you feel like it. Breakfast at midnight is as well an option as Dinner at 8:00 am. The Menu is only for “guidance”. Special requests are no problem and nothing untypical for the restaurant.

If you like top notch shopping and designer clothes, then the Wynn Shopping Mall will seem like heaven to you. The Madison Avenue line-up of boutiques include Chanel, Dior, Gaultier, de la Renta, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Oscar De La Renta, Jo Malone, Graff, Manolo Blahnik, La Flirt, W.Ink, Briono, Judith Leiber and more.

On the second night did we check out the new and trendy Night Club with the name “Tryst”; which is always full, even during the week. It came in handy that we were Hotel Guests and did not have to wait in line as the rest of the crowd. The music styles changed frequently to have something for everybody.

The artificial Lake with Waterfalls and Patio improve the general atmosphere. We only stayed about 1-2 hours before we headed to our room to go to bed after a long and interesting day.

The Wynn Resport in Las Vegas has a 24/7 online reservation system available that allows you to book a room or suite and/or purchase Show Tickets. Use the following link if you are interested in making a reservation or Ticket purchase now.

Wynn Online Reservation System



I will continue the report about my experiences at the Wynn Resort in a few Days. I will talk about the fantastic Shows, other unique features and interesting details you should know about the Resort.

Links to Part 2 of the tour and to Part 3.

2006 NBA Playoffs - Are you ready?

The 2006 NBA Playoffs, starting April 22..
April 22nd? That's in less than two weeks so you better get ready.

If you are looking for current game tickets and tickets for the playoffs you probably got the response from the Box Office, that all Tickets are sold out.

Luckily, Stub Hub, the open marketplace for event tickets, offers a full range of NBA basketball tickets for every team in every arena. Also check the available inventory of first class ticket brokers like Razor Gator, Ticket Seller, BuySellTix. Net Tickets or Open Seats.

So if you're here looking for NBA tickets, chances are very good that you will be able to secure them at one of those sites.

For those of you that rather enjoy watching the games from the comfort of their own home together with friends and family or public places like the local sports bar, make sure, that you have all the required NBA 2006 gear to show everybody where your allegiance lies.

Here are some NBA Gear deals for all of you that did not get around it yet.

FinishLine.com - footwear, apparel and accessories
$10 off $60, use code 885421 or $15 off $90 with coupon code 455478

Lids.com - the all-in-one NBA source for the newest & hottest in NBA hats.
Free Ground Shipping on Orders $50 or more

FansEdge.com - a comprehensive sports fanStore with great prices and a wide selection.

This should cover most needs for NBA Tickets and NBA Gear. if you know about other great sources where you can get last minute tickets and great deals on NBA gear share them with us by simply adding a comment to this post.

I came across some interesting background facts about the 2006 Playoffs while I was doing some research for this post on the Net, which I would like to share with you.

The 2006 NBA Playoffs will be the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005-2006 season.

Consisting of 16 teams in 2 conferences, the playoffs will involve nearly two months of play, and anywhere between 60 and 105 games overall.

The playoffs will be conducted in four-rounds of best of seven series. In each series, the team with the better record (or which wins a tiebreaker, in the event that teams with identical records are matched) holds home court advantage, meaning that the 7th game, if played, is held in their home arena.

Beginning with the 2004-2005 season, with the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA realigned its divisions.

Each conference now has three divisions of five teams each, and the winner of each division is guaranteed a top-three playoff seed, regardless of whether the team had one of the top eight records in its conference.

However, the division champion is not guaranteed home-court advantage; a division-leading team with a poor record could be ranked number three but face a sixth seed with a better record, which would then have the home-court advantage

Source: Wikipedia

Cheers,
Carsten