Because of an early meeting downtown, I decided to get a room in downtown LA so that I wouldn’t have to fight the traffic in the morning. In the past, I’ve stayed at the Bonaventure in downtown but since what originally used to be the New Otani is now Doubletree, I thought I’d try it out. If I remember correctly, I stayed at the New Otani about 10 years ago.

Using the Double Hilton website, I made my reservation for about $240 a night, which was the same price on the other hotel and travel sites I checked. Overnight self parking was $28, which sounds high but not unusual for downtown. The lobby area has a bar and not far away is a Internet and business center in case you didn’t bring your own laptop.

The room looks like it has been upgraded since my last stay 10 years ago. The bathroom is extremely small but there is a walk-in closet. Since I don’t have a lot of clothes with me, I’d rather if they had made the bathroom bigger and the closet smaller.

There was some tiles in the shower that needed fixing. As you can see from the picture above, it almost looks like there’s a secret compartment behind the tile but actually it’s just bad construction.

Being the gadget person that I am, I was very disappointed that the TV was the old CRT non-HDTV type that I thought would have been replaced by 2012. It’s not a big deal for me since I’ll just be pretty much sleeping in here.

Below the TV is where the safe and mini-frig are located. The safe is a nice touch because you just can’t trust anybody these days. When I’m at the Rio in Vegas, I always use my safe for everything.

Unfortunately, the mini-frig was not working and it was warn to the touch. But that was not the worst of it. As you can see in the picture below, there was mold on the top of the door on the inside. Ewwwww.

To make my stay less welcome, there was a paper left in the room that stated that because of renovation and construction, the water would be off from 10am to 4pm. Luckily, I will already have left by 10am so it won’t matter too much for me. At least that’s what I thought until the construction started very early in the morning and it sounded like they were cutting wood in my bathroom. In actuality, the construction was right above my room.

Not being able to sleep with all the noise, I went down to the front desk to change rooms. They upgraded my room (at the cost of $80) to a nicer room away from the construction. The bed in this room was much nicer and I recommend the upgrade to anybody staying here.

As you can see below, the upgraded room also had a HDTV. Unfortunately, it did not turn on. But being the tech geek that I am, I quickly figured out that the power cable had been unplugged from the back of the TV and simply plugging it in solved the problem. A good hotel would have somebody check these things before they let people check into the room. It’s simple but it’s the small details that makes a good or marginal hotel experience.

To top things off, the battery in the safe in my new room was dead so the safe was unusable. The last person that stayed in this room must have not used anything at all. So between my old room and my new room, just about everything wasn’t working.

One of the only bright spots in terms of gadgets was this iHome docking station shown above. I no longer have an iPhone but this is a nice touch if you happen to stay in the upgraded rooms. Since Apple has announced that the connector will be changing, I guess all these devices will become obsolete. Thanks Apple.

All in all, my experience at the now Doubletree in Little Tokyo was borderline unacceptable. Because of my background with hotels, I’m very picky but even if you’re not very picky, anybody would know that there should not be mold in the refrigerator. I realize the water being turned off and the construction noise is temporary but when you have a situation like this, the hotel should compensate the guest with a reduction in room rates. Only one front desk clerk gave me a half apology with a “sorry for the inconvenience.” The others acted like it was my fault that they were doing construction during my stay.

I think I’ll wait another 10 years to go back to this place.

Doubletree by Hilton
120 South Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, California, 90012
213-629-1200
Website

While in Las Vegas for the WSOP 2012, I decided to try out Koi inside Planet Hollywood. This place actually looks like a restaurant that belongs in Las Vegas, starting from the entrance. If you’re looking for a quaint little mom and pop place, this is not the place for you. Come here to feel like you’re in Vegas baby.

To start, I tried the sunomono which was good but not as vinegary as I like it. Next, came the Spicy Seared Albacore but the ponzu sauce was once again way too sweet for my taste. Now with 2 items in a row that was not exactly to my liking, this got me a little worried.

Next, I had to try some sushi so I ordered Torro nigiri and Crab roll and my friend had the Eel and Avocado roll. All the sushi was prepared properly, was fresh and tasty.

There were several things I wanted to try for desert but I decided to play safe and got the Molten chocolate cake. I guess it’s hard to screw this up but it was presented very well and was the perfect ending to my meal.

The service and food were both rated good here. I would come back and try some other items next time I’m there. However, don’t come here if you’re on a tight budget. It’s Vegas and it’s expensive.

Koi Las Vegas at The Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 454-4555
koirestaurant.com

While playing at the 2012 WSOP, I dropped by Social House which, as the name implies, is more of a drinking place than an eating place. But I was hungry so I was ready to do some eating. The Sunomono was acceptable and prepared properly. Personally, I like it a tiny bit more vinegary but most people probably would like it. Next was my Ramen Noodles as shown below.

The noodles were not anything like the ramen that I like and nothing about it was done properly. Even if you’re drunk and starving, I’d pass on this soup and pickup a Cup-A-Noodle at a 7-11 instead.

The vegetable roll was edible and compared to the Ramen, much better. It’s still not much better than what you might pickup at a Ralphs grocery store but at least it tasted like a sushi roll.

Actually, what was worse than the food was the service. I had to ask them to clean the table because there was soy sauce spilled on it. When I ordered hot green tea, it came in a pot. I like that. But when it was brought out to me, he did not pour it into my cup for me. Very strange. By the way, the hot tea was $7.

This type of neglect should never happen at any restaurant. Not even at Denny’s, let alone a place like this.

All in all, if you want to drink and do a little social eating, you might come here. If you’re looking for anything authentic or delicious, give this place a pass.

Social House at Crystals at CityCenter
3720 South Las Vegas Blvd, Ste 241
Las Vegas, NV 89158
angelmanagementgroup.com/venues/social-house/

Another World Series of Poker has come and gone at the Rio in Las Vegas. Now that the “October Nine” has been set, I decided to take a quick look back at this year’s series.

As the online poker ban in the U.S. has continues, the crazy increase in players at the WSOP is a distant memory. This year, the numbers looked flat and perhaps more Europeans are getting in on the action than before.

The new event this year that cause a lot of commotion was the “Big One for One Drop” which was a $1,000,000 buy-in tournament which was capped at only 48 players. Antonio Esfandiari won the record breaking $18,346,673 first place money. This event was definitely getting a lot of attention and televised live on ESPN.

As for me, I finally cashed in one event but like last year, was not able to satellite my way into the main event. Maybe next year.

Boeing 787

After years of delay, Boeing is set to deliver their newest long range, 2 engine jet-liner, called the “Dreamliner” to ANA in Japan on September 28, after leaving Everett, Washington the day before. Let’s hope there will be no more delays or this plane will be known as the “Vaporliner” instead.

Because the entire plane is made from composite material, it is lighter and uses less fuel, is quieter and has special automated controls for a smoother ride during turbulence.

787 Interior lighting

There are tons of cool gadgets on this plane including LED mood lighting to simulate natural lighting, and super large windows that can be tinted darker by the passenger. On top of that, they have new technology to keep the air cleaner than older planes.

Boeing is pretty much betting their future on this plane, at least for the next decade. If this doesn’t fly, they will be in serious trouble.

For a gadget freak like me, this plane has everything to entice me to fly. I may have to travel to Japan just for that reason.

While in Vegas for the WSOP, I had a little time to checkout a new Sushi place at the new Cosmopolitan. Actually, it took us a little while to find the place because it was not on the ground floor and you would not accidentally find this place.

We tried the Wagyu Tataki for an appetizer and although the sauce was a little heavy for my taste, the meat was fine. We also had the Edamame ($8.50) which was slightly over cooked. Normally, I wouldn’t think much of it, but at these prices, I expect better.

Wagyu Tataki - $28

My friend had the Sushi and Sashimi combo (shown below), which was average at best.

Sushi Sashimi Combo - $76

To be different, I had the Sushi Deluxe, which was also just average. Don’t get me wrong. There was nothing specifically wrong and the fish was acceptable, but again, at these prices, I wanted to be wowed. Instead, I was left feeling like we should have gone to a steak place instead.

Sushi Deluxe - $48

It’s surprising how hard it is to get really good sushi in Las Vegas. It’s a lot easier to find good sushi in Los Angeles. That’s for sure.

All in all, for the price, I’m not impressed.

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV
877-893-2003
cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

As usual, my predictions were completely wrong. The online armageddon did not cause the numbers to free fall. In fact, the numbers were slightly up, and as you can see from the picture below, registration lines showed it.

Long lines at registration

Even with the long lines, I have to say that the WSOP people keep tweaking the event each year for the better, and this year was again slightly better than last year, in my opinion. Considering how large this event is, it’s amazing how well it is organized.

Unlike previous years, I was not able to enter the main event, although I got to within 6 more knockouts to winning my way in via Mega satellite. For my last table, I sat to Mini Tran‘s right but I didn’t see her make any crazy moves. In my opinion, she is a fairly straight forward old school player, compared to many of these 20 something online players who like to 3 and 4 bet you with air.

One thing I noticed was the porters were giving out bottled water and Red Bull for just the cost of a tip. I’m not sure how they can afford to give out Red Bull for free, but I’m guessing they are a WSOP sponsor. While they’re at it, Jack Links should have given away their beef jerky to the players as well.

Poker Player's Championship

This year, I entered at least one tournament each day, and if I got knocked out early, entered a second one the same day. To change things up, I tried the Deep Stack tournament at the Venetian on one of the days. I’ve played cash games there before but this is the first time I played a tournament there. From what I could tell, the tournament was run smoothly. The only person I recognized in the field was Dennis Phillips from the 2008 November 9.

There is an Asian restaurant called “Noodle Asia” right next to the poker area where they have very good Chinese food. If you’re there, try the Hong Kong style Won Ton noodles and the Lamp Chop if you’re hungry for some meat.

Seared Petit Lamb Chop at Noodle Asia - $8.95

If you need some other drinks or snacks, you can go out the door, go up the escalator, then down again to get to the Walgreens which I think is open 24 hours. This is very convenient for tournament players during their breaks.

As a sign of the times, take a look at the picture below.  Apparently everything in the casino is connected to some central server. You can’t get away from big brother in Vegas, that’s for sure.

Slot Machine at Venetian

Although I failed to cash this year, I felt at ease and never felt like I was out of place. I tried to have fun even when I was not doing well at the table. All in all, I had a good time and I will be back next year.

For the last 2 months, I’ve had to travel to Honolulu, Hawaii 4 times. 10 years ago, I stayed at the Ala Moana Hotel so I decided to stay there again. Unfortunately, the entire hotel has been changed to a condo based hotel, remodeled and completely different from 10 years ago.

This hotel is located within walking distance from the new convention center and the Ala Moana shopping center. So if those 2 things are of interest to you, and you are just going to sleep in the room while you do business in Honolulu, then the location is perfect.

The pricing can vary from $90 (special rates from Expedia) to $170 (regular rates) depending on the deal you can get. There are 2 towers (Waikiki and Kona) and the rooms are basically a very small room with a bed (except the 1 bedroom suites) and only vary according to your view out the window. The Waikiki tower has balconies, the elevators are closer to the lobby, and the elevator stops directly on the 2nd floor where you can walk to the mall without having to come down to the lobby. However, usually the Kona tower rooms are cheaper (but not always).

Notice the chair against the bed

A few (not all) of the regular rooms are smaller than normal, as you can see above. Out of the 4 times, I got one of these small rooms once. The width is so tight that the chair at the desk will not come out far enough for you to be able to sit down. The bed will get in the way of the chair and it’s hard to even walk past it. It looks like the width was somehow made too short (either by accident or design) and you can see below that the closet door (when closed) covers the light switch panel. It doesn’t block the actual switch but you can see the design is very strange.

The closet door covering part of the light switch

This room size reminds me of a hotel I stayed in many years ago in Billund Denmark where the closet sized room was so small, the bathroom door opened out into the room because there was no room inside the bathroom for the door to open into. The entire room was about the size of a large walk in closet.

But I digress.

There’s a Chinese restaurant on the 3rd floor and The Plantation Cafe on the ground floor, but is only open to 10am, so if you’re like me and get up late, forget about getting brunch there.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is, the service is acceptable and problems that I had in the rooms were quickly solved and the rooms are clean and relatively new looking.

You also get free Internet in the room (cabled so bring your own WiFi), and there is WiFi in the lobby but you have to pay.

There’s a business center with computers, swimming pool, fitness center, electronic safe, refrigerator, hair dryer,  microwave oven, coffee maker, and iron (and board).  If you’re into HDTV, you’re out of luck but they do have basic cable, as well as TV checkout (which seems to be down a lot).

So if you’re in Honolulu for business, and need to be near the convention center and/or Ala Moana shopping center, and don’t really care about the view or size of your room, this might be the place for you. If you want to be right next to the beach or you’re on your honeymoon, this is definitely not the right one for you.

Ala Moana Hotel
410 Atkinson Drive
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
808-955-4811
alamoanahotel.com

People are pretty used to a lot of vending machines, including the Redbox that rents out DVDs.  A new one I saw at the Las Vegas airport was a Best Buy vending machine chock full of nice gadgets, including iPhones, iTouch, digital cameras, chargers, headphones and other goodies. The day will come when the vending machine is all we’ll see and retail stores will no longer exist.

Best Buy Vending Machine

As you may have read, my sushi hunting in Vegas has been a complete fail for me so far. A little disillusioned, I asked my researcher friend to find me a decent sushi place.

She found Okada at the Wynn for me, and the although the look of the restaurant was semi-fusion, I liked the ambiance there. The first thing you see is the wonderful waterfall and koi pond, although I didn’t actually see any koi. Perhaps, they were being fed somewhere. The sound of the waterfall is very relaxing and would be perfect for meditation.

Waterfall

As per my usual test, I ordered the sushi combination dinner as shown below. Although the quantity was low, the quality was very high and the portions were generous, fresh and prepared correctly.

Sushi Dinner - $46

Although the miso soup was a wopping $6, the green tea was free. As readers of this blog knows, the free green tea is the indicator I use to see if a Japanese restaurant is authentic or not.

For desert, I tried the Creme Brulee shown below, which was well prepared and delicious.

Creme Brulee - $4.50

All in all, I can finally say that I found some good sushi in Las Vegas. Yes, it’s a little pricey but that’s expected and as long as you’re not looking for bargains, I recommend a trip here.

3131 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109-1967
(702) 770-3320‎