The Madness Continues

Scott scored a bunch of tickets to the the SLC NCAA basketball games. Great seats too, lower bowl on the half court line. I went up with a large group on Thursday to see that evenings two games. Thanks Scott!

Cort & Kyle to my right.

Orangemen Vs. Bulldogs

That's got to be one of the lamest mascots of all time.

The score that took Joey out of first in our bracket pool.

Wildcats Vs. Musketeers

I don't think putting on a foam head should automatically make you a mascot.

The score before heading into double overtime. This was an awesome game to see live.

Madness 2010 - Thursday

Thursday in Vegas was pretty good. My bracket suffered some serious damage, but at least BYU made it out of the first round. We are set up at the Wynn this year. Life is good.

The BYU game went into double overtime.

Everyone was on edge until the win was official.

Victory!

Snacks

Heading to the food court for lunch

***Funny picture removed per spousal request***

Vegas Wrap-up

I'm constantly playing catch-up with my blog. These are the rest of my photos from our March Madness Vegas trip. This pretty sums up what it's all about: Friends, Basketball, Meat, and Potatoes.

Meat & potatoes at the Terrace Cafe

Laptop Station in the suite: Darren & Cort

Basketball down in the party room

Dinner at the Country Club Steakhouse (considered by many to be the best at the Encore)

Waiting for our table: Joey & Dave

Glorious fries

And a magnificent rib eye chop

March Madness 2009: Encore

I'm down in Las Vegas for our annual March Madness trip. We came a couple days earlier than usual, which has been nice, as I've had extra time to enjoy the amenities prior to the aforementioned madness.

We are staying at the newly constructed Encore resort, part of the Wynn property. As nice as the Wynn is, the Encore is even fancier. We have a larger, nicer suite where the game watching will take place, plus a couple extra rooms on other floors just for sleeping.

Suite

The Terrace Pointe Cafe is our regular food joint. Joey is officially off his Adkins Diet, judging by that skillet of Bleu cheese truffle chips.

My favorite breakfast meal, perhaps the best breakfast dish on Earth, is the Maine Lobster Benedict. It's a piece of Heaven in your mouth.

Daytime shot of the suite's main room

After a visit to Trader Joes and Walmart, we stocked our kitchen with a plethora of party snacks and drinks.

Room service isn't too bad either. Perfectly cooked salmon

A very good house salad

Deconstructed lettuce wraps and a side of massive chicken fingers. Note the sweet remote for the TV, lights, and curtains.

The Rest Of Vegas

It's about time I finished up our Vegas trip, especially because it's looking like it may be the last one.

From the Wynn we moved to the new section of the Venetian called The Palazzo, which just opened at the end of January. They are hoping to get a jump on the Wynn, which has their new addition, Encore, set to open in 2009.


The suites are very nice. In fact, I almost prefer them to the ones at the Wynn.

Entry way:
Main room. It was great having a pool table. We brought in a large screen for the games too.

Welcome snacks:

Room off to the right:

Larger room to the left:

which held a baby grand piano, just in case.

Gorgeous bathrooms

So if it is our last year in Vegas, it was a nice one to go out on. Thanks for the memories!

Welcome Back To The Wynn

March Madness is in the air, which means my favorite annual trip has finally arrived. We left early this year, since the wives required their spouses to be home for Easter Sunday. We left shortly after lunch on Tuesday and checked into the Wynn that evening. We are here for just one night, then it's off to the Venetian. This is a smaller version of the suite we normally get here.

View from the bed:



We had a quiet dinner for 3 at Wing Lei inside the Wynn. It's a mix of Cantonese, Shanghai, and Szechwan cooking styles with a French influence.

Gorgeous place setting:



Our waiter asked Executive Chef Richard Chen if he would allow me to order his signature meal by myself, since he normally only does it for two. He agreed.



Chilled lobster somen salad with a soy garlic reduction - phenomenal



Shrimp mousee dumpling with Chinese pea leaves



Pan-seared diver scallop wrapped in seaweed



Wok-fried X.O. beef tenderloin with mixed vegetables - the beef was perfect.



Vegetable chow mein



The chef's dessert ended up being a hazelnut mousse cake with a scoop of hazelnut ice cream. Those are candied hazelnuts resting on top. This was incredible.



I sampled Joey's dessert: a chocolate covered pastry and scoop of vanilla. Very good. Scott had some to die for ginger ice cream. (not shown)


The trip's off to a good start. Stay tuned for more photos... likely of food.