A Vegas vibe
MGM Grand makes a dashing debut at Foxwoods, tempting New Englanders with a close (but not too close) fix of pleasure
Three years ago, I visited Las Vegas with friends for less than $500 a person. Airfare was cheap then. A shared room at New York New York split four ways was an insignificant expense. The deal left us with enough cash to eat like royalty at casino restaurants, take small chances at the slots, hit a hotel spa, and see a show (forgive us - it was "Thunder from Down Under").
Fast forward to 2008, the year of the $4 gallon of gas and through-the-roof fares, and a trip to Vegas on a tight budget seems too extravagant.
But as of last month, there is a Vegas replacement for travelers seeking a Sin City fix in a struggling economy. As you may have seen in its sultry commercials (one of which features a woman riding a swan), the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino aims to bring the Vegas experience to southeastern Connecticut.
On a recent weekend, a friend and I took a trip to see whether I could duplicate my Vegas vacation on the cheap closer to home.
The warm-up
We checked into our room, a sleek space with two queen-size beds, a flat-screen television, and a bird's-eye view of MGM's outdoor pool. The pool looked just like those in Vegas where my pals and I relaxed years ago, except that it's surrounded by acres of forest, which means no lights from other hotels in the distance. We traveled downstairs to the circular gaming floor and happened to see Kate Pierson of the B-52s on her way into the MGM Performance Theater for the band's show that night with Cyndi Lauper. There's no "Thunder from Down Under" or Cirque du Soleil "Zumanity"-style revue here, but MGM does have a solid music lineup and is expecting Vegas veteran Celine Dion in September. We passed the theater and found one of the complex's high-end restaurants, Alta Strada, run by Radius chef Michael Schlow. While we snacked on a warm eggplant appetizer, we took in the atmosphere, which was all Vegas (women in low-cut tops, men experimenting with hair gel). Only the Red Sox game on the bar television reminded us that we were close to home.
The dessert
By 9 p.m., we were ready for a change of scenery and moved on to Craftsteak, "Top Chef" judge Tom Colicchio's restaurant that features all things meat, from Kobe beef to veal. At the dark, modern bar, a well-dressed couple offered us a taste of their dessert, homemade donuts, but we opted to order our own: a sweet, soft monkey bread, which we washed down with glasses of Riesling. The restaurant's soft lighting and alt-rock mood music drew twosomes visiting MGM for romantic getaways.
The slots
More interested in food and dance, we spent only a few minutes in MGM's casino and blew about $15 on slots (those who gamble nonstop in Vegas will be happier at the main Foxwoods casino, which is connected to the MGM). We moved on to the small bar in the center of the gaming area, where we noticed that, as two women, we were outnumbered and had been all night. After 8 p.m., the majority of patrons at MGM were men ages 21 to 40, who traveled in packs and made no secret of their intentions (they literally looked us up and down making "I'm on vacation" faces). Regardless of what may have crossed our Riesling-fueled minds, the Red Sox hats and Boston accents reminded us that there would be nothing anonymous about a tryst at the MGM Grand. We'd probably run into these guys again at the South Bay Stop & Shop.
The club
In Vegas, I visited nightclubs frequented by socialites and celebrity DJs. At the new MGM, we visited Shrine, an Asian-themed lounge with an outdoor patio, dozens of VIP tables for high rollers paying for bottle service, and a menu that features trendy sushi plates and drinks with names like Kama Sutra. The "VIP" in the house that night was "America's Next Top Model" winner Jaslene Gonzalez, who sat in a first-floor booth where she could see and be seen. From 11 p.m. on, the floor was packed with young patrons dancing to Top 40 tunes. The wall-sized speakers pumped the bass so loud our stomachs turned (or was that because we followed our Craftsteak monkey bread with Shrine tuna rolls?). Go-go dancers in shimmering underwear and knee-high boots posed in front of the club's windows in an effort to lure gamblers from the casino floor. Raffie Bianco and his friend Jeremy Walter, twentysomethings from Connecticut, told us that Shrine has become one of their regular local night spots, even though the club is "oversaturated with Boston lunatics." His comment made us paranoid we might run into lunatics we know, so we declined more drinks.
The ill-advised fourth meal
Years ago in Vegas, after hours of dancing and discovering sambuca (it tastes just like licorice!), I made a classy 4 a.m. trip for spaghetti and meatballs to a hotel restaurant called America, which featured a 90-foot-long, three-dimensional map of the United States as its wall decor. At the MGM, the equivalent sobering dining option was Junior's, the first offshoot of the famous Brooklyn diner outside of New York. Owner Alan Rosen, whose brightly-lighted restaurant is open until 2 a.m., has a recommendation for clubbers who need a late meal to soak up cocktails: "A cheeseburger fits the bill for that kind of night." The two 26-year-olds dining behind us, who were in town from Utica, N.Y., to see Lauper, opted for post-show sandwiches. My companion and I went for a bagel and lox and a plate of buffalo wings, which, of course, we deeply regretted in the morning. With nothing open past 2 a.m. besides a few food counters and the gaming area, we returned to our room and fell asleep watching "Knocked Up" on HBO.
The morning detox
G Spa, run by Boston spa magnate Gretchen "Gretta" Monahan, has all the amenities of a Boston spa but moves at a slower pace. If hotel guests pass up facials and massages, they can pay $25 to spend from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. vegging out in the steam room, wading in the indoor pool, and undoing what they did the night before. "People are very groggy, and they come in to detox," Monahan said, adding that she has seen bachelor and bachelorette-party nightlifers regrouping the morning after.
After our long night, we began the 90-minute drive back to reality. The Connecticut excursion cost $600 for the two of us, significantly less than it would have cost to return to Vegas, and for the most part, we were able to duplicate my experience on the Strip. The only setbacks were the 2 a.m. curfew and the sinking suspicion that what happens in Ledyard doesn't stay there. We had a feeling that whatever we did at the MGM would probably follow us down the Mass. Pike, all the way home.
Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com. 