Vegas, Baby!

When I posted my first blog and used the tag line “Follow Us Around the World,” I was thinking we would generally be discussing travels to foreign countries.  So this blog will be a little different, since Las Vegas is a domestic destination, and Esther wasn’t invited.   My son Brett and I spent a long weekend in Vegas right after New Year’s, the fulfillment of a promise made to him several years ago that I would take him there when he turned 21.

I offered him the option of Las Vegas or New Orleans, my other favorite US city, and without hesitation he selected Sin City.  It was the right choice – we had a blast!

Las Vegas is not for everyone, but Esther and I have always loved it.  Over the years, we have been there more than a dozen times, sometimes for conferences or conventions, and sometimes just to have fun.  Esther and I like the gambling, the entertainment and the restaurants, all of which are world class.   My sources tell me that world-class gentlemen’s clubs can also can be found there, not to mention similar venues for the ladies.

New York New York Hotel and Casino

The hotel/casino resorts up and down the Las Vegas strip are magnificent - the canals with gondolas at the Venetian, the replica Eiffel Tower at Paris, the imitation New York City skyline at New York New York, the pyramid at Luxor, the castle at Excalibur, and the iconic fountains at Bellagio.  They are all filled with amazing architecture, lights, shopping arcades, food choices, theaters with limitless entertainment options, and extravagant displays of fountains and flowers.  And I challenge you to find a better place for people watching anywhere on earth!

Brett is the third from the front

Between a Friday night and a Monday afternoon, Brett and I managed to walk virtually the entire length of the Las Vegas strip – which is actually South Las Vegas Boulevard – from Mandalay Bay at the south end to the Stratosphere at the north end.  At the Stratosphere, we went to the top of the Tower, 1,149 feet in the air, and he rode the X-Scream. The X-Scream is an insane thrill ride on which crazy people sit in an open roller coaster car and are propelled 27 feet over the edge of the observation deck.  My crazy son admitted he was “a little tense.”  We had to celebrate with a couple of beers at the Air Bar, the highest bar in Las Vegas.  

Looking down! 

 
And, of course, no trip to Vegas is complete without gambling.   We confirmed that there is such a thing as beginner’s luck, when Brett won about 12 of his first 15 hands at the blackjack table.  But as the weekend wore on, he found out that his run of luck the first night was an exception and not the rule.  After watching me slip several $20 bills into slot machines with nothing to show for them, he quickly and astutely determined that slot machines are a huge waste of money.  

Taking my parental responsibility seriously, I felt it necessary to educate him thoroughly in multiple forms of gambling, so we also played $1-$3 No-Limit Hold-Em in the Bellagio poker room (we lost); played some Crazy 4-Card Poker (mostly we won, surprisingly); tried Mississippi Stud (worst game ever – don’t even try it!); and placed a 4-bet parlay on the weekend NFL playoff games (the Bengals pathetic performance prevented me from turning a $10 wager into $130).

We got “free” tickets to a comedy club, that cost us about $50 by the time we paid the drink minimum and upgraded to a VIP table, but the show was hilarious, and had a couple of scantily clad dancing girls thrown in for good measure.  We also signed up for a Total Rewards credit card in exchange for a 24-hour pass to the buffets at any of the Caesars properties, so we had our free dinner buffet at Planet Hollywood, and free brunch buffet the next day at the Tropicana.   And as we went through security at the airport for our flight home, Jon “Bones” Jones, who had beaten Daniel Cormier two nights earlier at the MGM Grand to retain his UFC title, walked right past us.  You gotta love Vegas!

Where else in the world can you book a bachelor party at an indoor shooting range which includes firing machine guns and pistols, followed by a trip to a gentlemen’s club in a limo (cover charge included and first drink free)?  Seriously, check it out - http://www.therange702.com

And every Wax Museum has a Bruce Willis

Brett learned some universal truths on this trip:
• Gambling is WAY more fun when you win than when you lose.
• In the long run, you WILL LOSE more often than you win.
• Stay away from the slot machines.
• Vegas is EXPENSIVE, but you can also find deals and free stuff.
• If you can’t find a way to have fun in Las Vegas, you’re not really trying.


I’d love to hear some stories about your experiences in Vegas, whether it’s about gambling wins or losses, favorite shows, restaurants, rides, or other entertainment.