Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)
I opened my eyes, and realized I was in a room at the Flamingo hotel, neck deep in liquid. The hairs on the back of my neck froze.
Then I relaxed - to say the least. I observed that I was not in fact lying in a pool of my own and others' bodily fluids and filth, knee-deep on the floor of a hotel room, thanks to my own failed hedonistic pursuits. Rather, I was luxuriating in the hot tub of the men's spa, sipping pineapple juice, following an extremely laid-back workout.
There are also steam and sauna rooms, and a lounge with TV and leather couches.
The gym is a bit crowded, in that there is a lot of equipment in a relatively small space, but it was not very busy when I was there even though there were hordes of people in the hotel, and the equipment seems to be in good shape.
One feature of the Flamingo spa that I have not seen in any other spa is this:
If you can't tell, this is a shower stall, with not one, not two, but four shower heads. It's almost as if the entire family can shower together in one stall, provided your family has no women or children, since they are not admitted in the men's spa. Anyway, that was a pretty nice shower.
I was also very impressed with the service. The attendants were very courteous and I took full advantage by ordering several complementary cups of juice. I tipped $5 between the two attendants.
And one other clear advantage is that there is a coupon for free admission in the American Casino Guide.
While it isn't so important when it isn't football season, I should add that the Flamingo spa is missing the holy grail of a TV in the jacuzzi.
The locker room is nothing special.
Anyway, after a shvitz, I always feel like $1,000,000.
Meanwhile
My daughter started synchronized swimming this year, and coincidentally the national synchro championships were going on in Henderson, so Nancy took the kids to watch that while I was in the spa. They seemed to enjoy it, and saw a few swimmers that would be in the olympics later this summer.
I walked to Harrah's and caught the free shuttle to Sam's Town. I was surprised to find that Sam's town no longer has a coffee shop (weak!) so I atoned for the previous day's sins with a light soup and salad lunch at the buffet. It was nothing special, but not bad. The albondigas (Mexican meatball) soup was very good.
We met up shortly thereafter at Sam's Town to see a lightly-advertised free show, Variety Toast of the Town, at 2pm on Thursdays in the Sam's Town showroom. I happened to stumble on this show while considering staying at Sam's Town. I couldn't find it advertised anywhere except the Sam's Town web site, and I couldn't find any reviews anywhere. Anyway, we were a bit late since Nancy needed to get a club card to get in, but we had no trouble finding seats. It is a variety show with live entertainment, more of a friends-and-family showcase featuring the hosts' friends and guests. Despite the friends-and-family casualness about it, the production value was pretty high. There were several singers and one comedy-magician, with a professional live band. The show is perfectly appropriate for kids. Our daughter said it was great; our son was getting a bit restless, although he probably needed a nap. We enjoyed the show. Pretty much everyone else in the audience appeared to be local retirees, but that would never stop us, and we would definitely go again, especially considering it was free.
Afterwards we watched the fountain show in the lobby, and then did a little shopping for snacks for the drive home at the Walmart nearby.
Silverton
That evening we went to the Silverton buffet, using the 2-for-1 in the ACG book. I should have lied about the kids' ages. Since I didn't, we had to pay full price for my daughter, age 7, so it was $40 for the family. It was the Polynesian buffet, which is pretty good, and somewhat overwhelming. There is a whole roast pig, and several interesting seafood items. Almost all of the other customers there were Filipino; I guess it is to them what matzo ball soup is to us.
For dessert, there were some delicious chocolate covered strawberries on the sugar-free dessert station. I asked the staff person there if they were really sugar free. She laughed and said, "No."
After dinner, we went over to look at the aquarium in the casino lobby. The kids were hoping to see the mermaids, but they weren't there that day. However, the fish were quite beautiful and we looked at them for a while.
Behind the aquarium is a collection of mermaid-themed art. Several of the pictures involve what appear to be mermaid children, albeit with prominent maturely-developed human components. Yikes.
Spent the last night of our trip in the hotel room.
Finagles
Flamingo Spa: coupon for free admission in American Casino Guide. I believe it is normally about $20, whether or not you are a hotel guest. Includes use of facilities, locker and sandals, and complementary refreshments, but does not include treatments.
Sam's Town Shuttle Bus from Harrah's: Free. Catch it in the back of Harrah's, behind valet, in the area with several shuttle buses.
Variety Toast of the Town: Free, but you need a B-Connected slot club card to get in (free membership). Sign up at the booth for the slot club, then get a ticket from the promotion kiosk terminal. The shows are Thursdays at 2pm in the Sam's Town Live showroom, and last about 2 hours. Kids welcome with an adult.
Silverton Buffet: 2-for-1 coupon in American Casino Guide.
I was luxuriating in the hot tub vegas of the men's spa, sipping pineapple juice, following an extremely laid-back workout.
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