I'm headed out to Vegas next week, and bowl May 13/14! For those that went, or heard anecdotes:
1. How's it been? I hear the lanes have some built-in hold this year.
2. How are the plaza's approaches?
3. And the most important question: best restaurant you ate at!
Thanks in advance, BR fam!
I was in Vegas 4/28-5/2. We bowled 4/30 and 5/1. Here are my answers to your questions:
1. Both patterns were VERY scorable. For team, playing fairly straight up around 5 worked great for most of our guys. Ball choices varied by bowler, but there was easy recovery from out there, and, yes, there seemed to be more hold than we were used to 3+ years ago. Start out playing pretty straight up the outside, and then either ball down or keep creeping inside.
For Minors, the gutter played for us from the word go. I used a UC3 for the first two games of doubles and had a very good look. From there, I just kept moving my feet and mark in 2-3 boards at a time the rest of the way, switching first to an IQ Tour Solid and then to a Phaze II. There was definitely some hang right as the day went on, but there was still plenty of room as long as you didn't tug the heck out of it or throw it out the window to the right.
2. I had zero issues with the approaches when we were there. 1-2 of our guys thought they were a little bit sticky, but that wasn't the case for me.
3. I guess I would say Stacked (inside the Mirage) was the best place I ate this time. It's a typical Vegas casino steakhouse, meaning pricey. Still, the food was solid. Also, I really liked the Mexican restaurant inside South Point. I don't recall the name, but you got a really nice-sized plate without spending a fortune.
Anyhow, good luck out there. Have fun, and hit 'em hard!