David Chiu

H and I were invited to the 2006 Wine Spectator Grand Tour event at the Venetian in Las Vegas this past weekend and we decided to use it as an excuse for a mini-vacation. This was actually my first trip to Vegas ever. I just never had all that much interest in the past and I didn’t realize how much fun Vegas could be!

H and I were lucky enough to spend two nights in a “Venetian Prima Suite“. This deluxe suite was bigger than the duplex two bedroom apartment we used to live in. You have to see the pictures. It’s ultra swank. The kinda suite that makes you feel like a Hollywood celebrity - and this isn’t even their biggest suite.

The first night we were there we attended the Wine Spectator wine dinner at Aquaknox. It was an incredible six-course gourmet seafood dinner accompanied by wines from Williams Selyem. The vintner from the winery would give a detailed explanation of each wine before each course and everyone would taste the wine before the food was served. Once the food arrived more wine would be served to match with the food. The food and the wine paired really well and by the 4th course everyone was feeling sufficiently buzzed. H and I actually made new friends with an older couple who were sitting at our table. It even turns out that they are related to a big time casting director in Hollywood. By the end of the dinner we had exchanged contact information and retired to the bar area where our new friends bought us a glass of fine cognac to enjoy - and to teach us the proper way of tasting cognac.

The next day H and I decided to walk down the strip towards the Stratosphere. Along the way we got hungry and decided to duck into the Frontier to take advantage of the $9.99 buffett and prime rib special. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves we headed further down the strip where we were harassed by several time-share salesmen. We actually decided to take one of them up on there offer and sit through a 60min presentation in return for free show tickets. After suffering through a hard sell presentation and re-iterating to several salespeople that we weren’t intersted, we finally were set free with tickets to the Follies Bergere at the Tropicana. We also received several VIP passes to clubs on the strip. Unfortunately we always ended up being too tired to check out any of the nightclubs.

Saturday evening we attended the actual wine tasting event. What we didn’t realize was how many people would be in attendence. The line to the entrance of the ballroom seemed to go on forever. There had to be a few hundred people in attendance. The ballroom was enormous. There were rows after rows of booths housing wineries from all over. H and I actually headed straight for the gigantic buffett table for a light dinner. The buffett itself was amazing. The highest quality buffett food I have ever tasted. As H grabbed us food I headed to the nearest booth to get some wine. Since there were know seats or tables we just sat against the wall in the back of the ballroom and enjoyed the food and wine. After an hour we were done and we left to go see the show at the Tropicana.

The show itself was amusing. Personally I couldn’t get past the really cheesy and sloppy choreography. I found myself wishing we were at one of the Cirque Du Soleil shows instead. But it was what you would expect for a typical Vegas show.

After the show we had to stand in line for almost an hour just waiting for a taxi. H later informed me there was a hooker negotiating services with a “client” right in front of us but I was too oblivious to notice. It also turns out the Oscar de la Hoya fight was that night as well.

The final day we were there we ended up just walking around the Venetian gambling at some of the slot machines and window shopping at the huge shopping complex in the hotel that makes you feel like you’re in Venice. Once again we were confronted by a time-share sales person, but this time for a Marriott resort on the Vegas strip. The deal was that we could purchase a 3-night stay at the brand new Marriott in Vegas for $99 - but that when we returned we would have to suffer through another time-share presentation for which we would be rewarded with show tickets and dinner. So we decided to do it. We enjoyed our trip so much we definitely wanted to come back soon. Next time though I’m sure we’ll be a little disappointed with our accomodations after being spoiled with VIP treatment at the Venetian.