Linq NAB TR

I made a somewhat last minute decision to go to the NAB ( National Association of Broadcasters ) Convention, April 18th through the 21st. There are pre-events, so my plan was to arrive late on Saturday night and fly back on Thursday morning. The NAB convention is a big one and the hotel prices go up, as does airfare. So my desire to stay at Wynncore was overruled by frugality. I narrowed it down to a few places based on price and location. I thought of staying at Bally's, I stayed there about 5 years ago. But I was worried that the rooms were a bit dated. I thought of Flamingo but was not getting positive reviews about it. I wanted to stay center strip so MC and NYNY were out. I wanted to try Linq because it was recently renovated and has a great location. I'm a fan of the Linq promenade for easy food and drink. I did a package deal through JetBlue for 5 nights for $1315, before I did a seating upgrade. Bally's would have been cheaper but I wanted to stay at a more modern place. My flight to Vegas, from NYC, was at 7:30 PM. I chose a late flight because I've been in a cycling training program and wanted to get a group ride in before I went, they talk all day. On the way back I did a connection through Long Beach because it saved me $400. It was a little bit of a pain but worth saving $400. As it turned out, on Friday night before the flight I was not ready, laundry needed to be done and I needed to do some last minute things. Also, I was stressing about getting up at 5 AM to ride 70 miles and making the flight. Next year, if I go to NAB and I'm in a training program then I'll just plan on not riding that day! Lesson learned. Two things I want to say about the price. As many of you know, it's amazing how much the price varies depending on conventions and seasons. I could stay at Wynncore from July 2nd to the 7th, so includes a Saturday night, for $150 more than the price I paid at Linq during NAB. And that would be without doing a connecting flight through Long Beach. The other thing is how misguided people can be trying to save money. A coworker who went to NAB stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations to save money. If he wants to meet a friend for a drink or just see the Bellagio fountains, it's a cab or bus. He did this to save money. His stay costs more than mine. I'm not the smartest person financially but sometimes people miss the point.

Anyway here are some reviews.

The Linq. I checked in late Saturday, arriving at check in at 11:00 PM. Check in went smooth. I did ask about a king rather than a double queen. He offered me a king suite for $30 a night more. I declined, I was hoping for just a deluxe room with a king. I should've done the $20 trick but didn't have it set up. The room is small, as expected. But not too small for a single guy. Also, the bathroom was not too small at all. One thing is the room is tight on drawer space, just 2 small ones and not much hanger space. I was okay on the hanger space but it was tight, and the drawers were pretty full. I still prefer a more luxurious room, such as Wynn, but I was fine since I needed to watch the cash. I asked for a quiet room so he gave me a room facing the garage and High Roller. I have 3 things to say about the Linq. The hallways are a little dark, no big deal but just a little dark. As others have pointed out, take the extra elevators. Do not wait for the regular elevators. Lastly, I have one complaint about the room, the air conditioning. Since it's an older building the AC units go through the wall rather than a system. It's loud! It kept going on and off and I was having problems sleeping. After the 2nd day I just raised the thermostat to 77' to make it not turn on at night. This worked but would not work in the summer. If I didn't have to get up early then I could use ear plugs, but that was not an option. All in all, if rates in Vegas were too high for me to stay at a preferred property, or if I needed to watch money and needed a cheaper trip, then I would stay at The Linq. If I was staying with someone then I stay somewhere else. I like the location itself and Tag bar. I ended up having a beer at the Tag bar pretty much every night. The bartenders are friendly and they comp good beer. I liked having a Starbucks for morning coffee right by the promenade. This was especially important since I needed to get going early. I also like the general vibe in the casino. It's not Wynncore, but I liked it in a different way. Also, I used the monorail to get to the convention center, so that helped. A lot of my dinners were at Venetian/Palazzo and the location of Linq made it easy to walk there.

Some random TR notes:

The first night I went to Yard House, which I like for a quick bite. The "Korean Street Tacos" were okay but not great. I appreciate that Yard House had some local beers and they were good, but I forgot what I had, I was jet lagged and getting drunk! We then went to Tag for a couple more. I knew I was at my limit when I knocked a pint of beer on my lap. He bought that round so my free beer cost me $30 in laundry fees! Anyway, it was a fun night and good to see a friend I haven't seen in 2 years.

Food: I had 4 proper dinners. 3 of them were at places that I have been to before. Delmonico's, Mon Ami Gabi and Carnevino. All three did not disappoint and both Delminoco's and Carnevino were excellent steaks! Delmonico's deserves more love in my opinion. I've had mixed results with Carnevino being a little over cooked but that was not the case on this trip. I also went to Yardbird House for the first time. A friend and I split an appetizer and salad and got an entree each. The appetizer was fried green tomatoes BLT, it was good, not amazing. The salad was their Caesars which was nothing like a caesar salad but I liked it a lot. I had the fried chicken, which was very tasty and filling. In fact I couldn't finish it. The food is Southern comfort food and was tasty and filling, very filling. I think a couple of people could do 2 appetizers, 1 entree and a side and be full. I do appreciate that they have only local beers on draught.

Gambling: Not enough! I was so busy with the convention that I didn't play enough. I played a little VP, broke even. I played 2 short poker sessions and was down $25, meaningless. I will say that the action was very soft, I played at Harrah's.

Transportation: I only took 2 cabs and there were no attempts at long hauling! Otherwise I walked or took the monorail. The monorail worked well for me because I was going to the convention center. I did take the shuttle back twice but sometimes it was worth the $5 for the monorail. My regret is that I did not buy a 4 day pass, but no big deal.

I'm glad I went to the convention but it's a lot of work. Part of my justification for spending the money was that I have not had a vacation since I went to Wynn in June. I did not do a vacation because I wanted to pay off credit card debt, which I did and had enough for this trip. Like I said, I'm glad I went. But I really need to have a proper Vegas trip! It's as if this trip got my mouth salivating for a good meal. I kept things simple in terms of food by going to places I knew I liked but I would like to expand my horizons next time. One thing I did, that is a tradition of sorts, is a drink by the Lake of Dreams. I really like having a drink there and am glad I did!

 

Good stuff! I miss TAG already.

 

Glad to read your review of Linq room. Did you use the District 2 or District 3 elevator, while your room faced the garage and high roller?

I took up Linq's casino marketing offer and recently stayed 2 nights for free (April 27-28) in a high-floor strip-view double-bed room. I used District 1 elevator. The room is pretty nice and I didn't have A/C noise problem. However, the Carnaval Court noise became a big pain. It started from mid afternoon and kept on till 2:00 am.

I will post my trip report soon along with photos. Glad the room was free (just paid resort fees).

 

I used the elevators back where you walk towards the monorail. But I pretty much would always go to the extra elevators and they were great.

 

what's your favorite spot with a view to get a drink at the Wynn? would like to soak up the atmosphere with a nice beverage while I'm there next week...

 

Parasol Down, outside, by the Lake of Dreams. Definitely get a table outside.