Skate America 2021 Returns to Las Vegas

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I didn't learn until after I stayed at the Orleans for the first SKAM at that location, that the Orleans is the same hotel where OJ Simpson committed the robbery which got him sent to prison.

I will agree with @TanithandBenFan that the rooms seemed clean. However I was not remotely impressed with anything else about the rooms. Reading on their website that the rooms had been recently renovated and looking around at the mid 70s decor I was sitting in didn't really compute to me.

Also, I was not impressed with the restaurants; the buffet was especially awful. (Thank goodness I went on a pilgrimage to Wicked Spoon with @jkl and @Sylvia for, IMO, the best moo-ffet on the Strip, where we spent 2.5 hours grazing. )

Oh Dear currently @SidelineSkater is trying to convince me to go this coming October but those are not my style of accommodations at all.

In no way can I see myself trying to seduce Ivan Bukin or Paul Poirier or Zachary Donahue in that style of a room

I will at least need a Waldorf Astoria. The veryyyy least!

 

[SidelineSkater]

Oh Dear currently @SidelineSkater is trying to convince me to go this coming October but those are not my style of accommodations at all.

In no way can I see myself trying to seduce Ivan Bukin or Paul Poirier or Zachary Donahue in that style of a room

I will at least need a Waldorf Astoria. The veryyyy least!

I think they’d overlook the room decor and be win over instead by your charm and wit.

Paul probably won’t be there with Skate Canada the following week. The other two were in attendance back in 2019.

Seriously, the advantage of skater sightings and convenience of being on site could outweigh a strip or luxury hotel.

I think many of us are starved for live skating again, so this is a great chance to attend a top tier international event. So yes ANL, come hear the music play!

 

[rfisher]

Oh Dear currently @SidelineSkater is trying to convince me to go this coming October but those are not my style of accommodations at all.

In no way can I see myself trying to seduce Ivan Bukin or Paul Poirier or Zachary Donahue in that style of a room

I will at least need a Waldorf Astoria. The veryyyy least!

If they are looking at the room, you need to do some work on those seductive skills.

 

[AnnM]

Also, I was not impressed with the restaurants; the buffet was especially awful. (Thank goodness I went on a pilgrimage to Wicked Spoon with @jkl and @Sylvia for, IMO, the best moo-ffet on the Strip, where we spent 2.5 hours grazing. )

Wicked Spoon is definitely on my agenda this year!

 

[PRlady]

Grumble. I hate Vegas with a passion and it’s too far for a weekend. Phooey.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

In no way can I see myself trying to seduce Ivan Bukin or Paul Poirier or Zachary Donahue in that style of a room

I will at least need a Waldorf Astoria. The veryyyy least!

Stay at the Palazzo,dear. If masculine bodies are your utmost priority,I have it on good authority Rusty will lodge there. Additionally,there is a significant possibility a few seasoned male skaters from past eras will bypass the The Orleans and stay at the Palazzo.

-BB

 

[Carolla5501]

Wicked Spoon is definitely on my agenda this year!

World has changed. Might rethink that

 

[AnnM]

World has changed. Might rethink that

Oh gee ... I didn't realize.

The world has also adapted, as have businesses. Wicked Spoon has already reopened with modifications regarding service.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

If they are looking at the room, you need to do some work on those seductive skills.

Bwahhhhhh

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Stay at the Palazzo,dear. If masculine bodies are your utmost priority,I have it on good authority Rusty will lodge there. Additionally,there is a significant possibility a few seasoned male skaters from past eras will bypass the The Orleans and stay at the Palazzo.

-BB

Noted!!

 

[Carolla5501]

My friends who live in Las Vegas say that now is not a good time to go to the buffets


According to them The modifications that have been made have resulted in less food and basically attempts to limit how much you eat. The resorts are very happy about this as they are still charging the same price as they did before but you might not get the same experience.

one of my friends said, Covid has been a great excuse to cut back on a lot of things that Las Vegas didn’t want to keep paying for it. The casino he works in for example cut back dramatically on what they’re offering at the Buffet, they basically eliminated cocktail waitresses outside high roller area and have dramatically cut back on what they offer in the member lounges, and he does not expect any of us to really come back. He indicated that management, and he’s a member of management, is very happy with the changes. They hope everybody feels the same way so this will be the new reality

 

[AnnM]

Well if they don't plan on ever completely returning to how things were before, then it just becomes an issue of going now or going never. I already missed prior opportunities, so lessons learned I'd prefer not to miss it this time.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Grumble. I hate Vegas with a passion and it’s too far for a weekend. Phooey.

If the border opens, you could do Vegas for a couple of days and then fly to Vancouver for a few days of tourism and then Skate Canada.

 

[Carolla5501]

Well if they don't plan on ever completely returning to how things were before, then it just becomes an issue of going now or going never. I already missed prior opportunities, so lessons learned I'd prefer not to miss it this time.

Based on our discussions, I’m am Betting on the return of things that caused people to gamble. So cocktail waitresses are probably coming back. (Drunks gamble more. Even my friend admitted this is one they’ll be bringing back in the next few months). does the buffet they actually convince people to come in to the resort and drop money at slot machines. I don’t know. If it does then it could come back to the previous state, if it doesn’t it may never be quite what it was before.


Of course this was a discussion about the Wicked Spoon and I did that one right after it first opened years ago and it was outstanding, and then I did it about four years ago and was like this is not what it used to be.

 

[allezfred]

Grumble. I hate Vegas with a passion and it’s too far for a weekend. Phooey.

I went to GPF in Kitchener on a long weekend.

 

[skatingguy]

I went to GPF in Kitchener on a long weekend.

I used to live 20 minutes from Kitchener, and even I wouldn't want to spend a long weekend there.

 

[acraven]

A friend is planning to go to Skate America and likes the convenience of staying at the Orleans. @thvu, you mentioned that the hotel was smoky when you stayed there. Can you elaborate? Was it a problem in a specific part of the public areas, all of the public areas, or had smoke permeated the furnishings of your room? I remember being assaulted by a wall of smoke when I had to walk across the lobby of a hotel in Reno that was full of smokers playing slots, but that was a very long time ago.

Does anyone know what rows are in the top-price range for the all-event tickets?

Thanks.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

A friend is planning to go to Skate America and likes the convenience of staying at the Orleans. @thvu, you mentioned that the hotel was smoky when you stayed there. Can you elaborate? Was it a problem in a specific part of the public areas, all of the public areas, or had smoke permeated the furnishings of your room? I remember being assaulted by a wall of smoke when I had to walk across the lobby of a hotel in Reno that was full of smokers playing slots, but that was a very long time ago.

Does anyone know what rows are in the top-price range for the all-event tickets?

Thanks.

My room didn’t smell smoky at all. It was smoky walking through the casino (and the lobby was pretty much in the casino) but I got accustomed to it after a short while. And cigarette smoke usually bothers me A LOT.

 

[SkateSand]

You can also avoid most of the smoke if you go directly from your room to the entrance of the venue. My room was perfectly fine - spacious and very clean, no smoke.

 

[emilieh]

A friend is planning to go to Skate America and likes the convenience of staying at the Orleans. @thvu, you mentioned that the hotel was smoky when you stayed there. Can you elaborate? Was it a problem in a specific part of the public areas, all of the public areas, or had smoke permeated the furnishings of your room? I remember being assaulted by a wall of smoke when I had to walk across the lobby of a hotel in Reno that was full of smokers playing slots, but that was a very long time ago.

Does anyone know what rows are in the top-price range for the all-event tickets?

Thanks.

I would advise against arriving late if you're sensitive to smoke. I got to the Orleans around midnight for Skate America in 2019. They were out of non-smoking rooms then, so I had to stay the first night in a smoking room. I kept my suitcase closed as much as possible and moved to a non-smoking room in the morning, but everything I brought with me smelled of smoke until I got home and could wash my clothes. It's possible that this made me more sensitive to the smoke in the casino (you have to walk through a bit of maze through the main part of the casino to get from the hotel elevators to the arena entrance), but I thought the smell was pretty bad in all of the public areas, even compared to other casinos in Vegas.

 

[Prancer]

I didn't learn until after I stayed at the Orleans for the first SKAM at that location, that the Orleans is the same hotel where OJ Simpson committed the robbery which got him sent to prison.

I will agree with @TanithandBenFan that the rooms seemed clean. However I was not remotely impressed with anything else about the rooms. Reading on their website that the rooms had been recently renovated and looking around at the mid 70s decor I was sitting in didn't really compute to me.

I was pretty startled to learn that the place was built in the 90s. It really does feel much older than that.

OTOH, i was happy with my room, as it was big and comfortable and had room for visitors to sit around whilst sipping beverages of different persuasions.

Also, I was not impressed with the restaurants; the buffet was especially awful. (Thank goodness I went on a pilgrimage to Wicked Spoon with @jkl and @Sylvia for, IMO, the best moo-ffet on the Strip, where we spent 2.5 hours grazing. )

The restaurants were bad. I ignored BYTCH's sage advice and went to the buffet one night. I wasn't expecting much and I was still appalled. It's hard to screw up breakfast, but The Copper Kettle succeeded every morning. The food court didn't have nearly enough seating for the crowds from the arena and it was a pretty terrible food court even by food court standards.

I liked The Bailiwick best of all the places we tried, but that might be because when the chef learned that I was on a low-carb diet, he made special things just for me every time I went there . Also, one night when we went, they had a really good band, far better than the five or six other people in the restaurant who ignored them entirely deserved. I think we ate either there or at TGIFriday's most of the time. BYTCH was fond of Friday's adult milkshakes.

Overall, I thought it was a good place for skating. If you want to see and experience Vegas, no. But if you just want to see skating, they have a great arena and you can't beat the convenience.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

(you have to walk through a bit of maze through the main part of the casino to get from the hotel elevators to the arena entrance)

There is a courtyard exit right next to the elevators that leads to an outdoor path to the arena - no need to go through the casino at all.

 

[avivadawn]

Yay! I live in Henderson and will be attending.

 

[sk8pics]

I also stayed at The Orleans and my room was fine, but I hated walking through the lobby. I was also generally unimpressed with all the buffets I ate at, but at least the one I ate at with FSUers was fun.

@Prancer Was The Copper Kettle the place with the glass wall? Two rooms? I actually liked the breakfasts I had there, but I was not on any special diet.

I realized on the trip that I don't really like Vegas. I'm glad I went, but I'm not going to go this time.

For that trip, I also discovered I could fly from Vegas to Albuquerque to BWI for the same price as Vegas to BWI, so I spent a few days in NM on the way home. That was fun.

 

[modern_muslimah]

I live in downtown Vegas and I’ll definitely be attending.

 

[MacMadame]

I realized on the trip that I don't really like Vegas.

Oh I know I hate Vegas. But my husband loves going so it's a fun vacation for us. I do the skating while he does boring Vegas stuff and then we eat a very expensive dinner at that fancy French restaurant at fake Paris.

 

[Vash01]

Yay! I will definitely be there. Nathan will be there, and probably Bradie and Alysa. Maybe Audrey Shin? Or Lindsay Thorngren. Plus whatever Russians, hopefully KAMILA (please please please!) or Anna, and probably one of Daria/Maiia/Alyona. Sounds like a better use of funds than Nationals. Plus it's Vegas and can find entertainment outside of skating.

How do you think the Russians will pair up for the GP? I would think Russia will pair Tukt/Valieva since Tukt is the weakest link of the seeded top3. Anna with Maiia? Trusova with Usacheva? But where will Alyona be placed? With Trusova/Usacheva?

World silver medalist is the weakest link. Just goes to show how strong Russia is in the ladies field.

 

[Vash01]

I missed last time. I may go this time.

 

[Prancer]

@Prancer Was The Copper Kettle the place with the glass wall? Two rooms? I actually liked the breakfasts I had there, but I was not on any special diet.

I don't remember a glass wall exactly, but there was a divider of some kind.

If you have to eat low carb food, breakfast menus full of egg and meat options are your good friends. But the eggs and meat were always really dry and never before have I seen a restaurant slap a slice of American cheese product on a pile of egg and call it a cheese omelet. Blech.

The one thing I really dislike about the Orleans is the surroundings. In most places in Vegas, if you don't like what the casino offers, you can just stroll somewhere else nearby. But there really is nothing around the Orleans unless you are looking for an adult bookstore. That they have. There's also some small chain restaurants in strip malls, a CVS, a CBD store, and a Starbucks in the general vicinity. That's about it.

I also hate Vegas, but the Orleans isn't Vegas-y. More Atlantic City .

ETA: Also, let us never forget that someone stole BYTCH's cane at this joint. I mean, what kind of hellhole are you in if someone steals your freaking CANE?

 

[thvu]

@acraven - I was mostly referring to the lobby/floor level. As others have mentioned, that’s where the casino is and to me it was a bit smokey.