What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas

OK, so lots to update you on. First off, let me start by saying that my trip plans changed a bit. My grandmother passed away the weekend before I was suppose to leave, so I had to take an emergency trip to Gettysburg, PA for my grandmothers funeral on Monday 14th of July 2008.

As a result, I had to cancel the San Francisco portion on my trip. I was suppose to fly to San Francisco on Monday but I was in Gettysburg for the funeral. I did still take the second portion of my trip which was a trip to Las Vegas for a 3 bachelor party.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

I arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 20th, 2008. I was the first of the group to arrive so I had some time to myself. I took a cab to the MGM Grand which was where I was staying. From there I dropped my bags and headed downstairs to the casino to drop $1 in a slot machine. I won $5 so I knew it was going to be a good trip. After my one play, I headed outside to do some exploring. It was about 105 degree’s outside, but it was equal to about a 95 degree day in ATL with 100% humidity! I started walking down the strip past New York New York, Planet Hollywood, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace. This was about as far as I could go because the heat and the fact that I had walked about 10 miles when you factor in exploring the inside of each of the hotels.

Each of these hotels was pretty unique and amazing in its own. New York, New York was visually stunning from the outside. Planet Hollywood was very trendy on the inside with lots of shops and restaurants. The Bellagio was amazing with the pools and the fountains out front. Caesars was pretty awesome in and out, it was very visual with a lot of stunning replica style architecture from the Roman days.

Around 8pm the rest of my crew arrived. We spent the majority of this night in the Casino at the MGM Grand. I played a lot of Blackjack, some slots, and tried to play some of the other games but I was no good. After the first night, I was down about $300.00.

Day 2

My roommate Richard and I decided to go grab some lunch at the Hooters Hotel and Casino across the street. A couple of beers and some lunch later we decided to hit the pool at the MGM Grand and man did we hit it hard! We could not get a hold of the rest of the group, so we just chilled at the pool and drink very heavily! I bought a thing of SPF lotion for $17.00 at the hotel GRRR! After about 15 beers and 2 x $15.00 Margaritas, I decided it was time for a Nap! This was a big mistake. I should have stayed awake because I woke up feeling hung over as all hell at like 9pm. This pretty much ruined the rest of my evening. I went with the group to a club called TAO for a little while, but I decided to head back to the hotel about an hour after being there because I felt horrible.

I rested for a few hours then went back down to the Casino to do some gambling at around 3am. At about 5am I popped a quarter into a slot machine and hit a $400 jackpot! This was great because I was down by about $400 at the time so it was good to be back even! After that I called it a night at about 6am.

Day 3

I woke up about 10am the next day and decided to take the day and do some more exploring because the rest of the group was going back to the pool, but I had enough sun. I took the Monorail down past where I had already explored to save myself the walk.

This time around I checked out the Venetian, and the Mirage. The Venetian was by far the coolest of all the hotels. It looks like an Italian city on the inside and outside. They have rivers of crystal clear blue water inside and outside. You can also ride a gondola through the hotel. It was pretty neat. I took a ton of photos.

The Mirage was very cool too, it had some amazing gardens and waterfalls. The fish tank at the front desk was awesome. I explored around the lobby and the pools for a few hours and got in line to see the dolphin habitat but opted out of spending the $20.00 it cost to see them. I now wish I would have went in.

About 3pm I headed back to the MGM Grand where I took another nap. About 5pm Richard, Dave and myself decided to go check out the Stratosphere. Richard and Dave bought tickets to the ride on top, but I decided not to because I had already been drinking and didn’t want to get sick. The Stratosphere is pretty awesome, the view from up there is amazing. We were there during sunset so it was pretty amazing to see the strip during the day and at night. I didn’t have my camera, but I did bring my Flip camera so I have some video from up there.

Richard and Dave road one of the rides at the top then decided to not do the other 2. We offered our tickets to a newly wed couple that had just been married at the to of the Stratosphere. They were pretty excited that we gave them the tickets. I got a video of them that I wanted to post so they could save it. I didn’t get there names, so I am hoping they will leave me a comment and let me know who they were.

Newly Weds Video Coming Soon!

After the Stratosphere Dave and I went over to the Mirage for some dinner, and he wanted to do some gambling because he had gotten lucky on the slots there the night before. I decided to play just a little so I through $2 in to the penny slots to kill some time while he played. I turned my $2 into $22 at the penny slots so I decided to upgrade to the quarter slots and I hit a $200 jackpot! This was awesome. I had completely broke even for my gambling which is pretty good for Vegas. I decided this was it for the gambling. After that we went back to the hotel where Richard and I relaxed and watch Jerry McGuire. I called it a night about about 3am because I had to be at the airport by 9am the next morning to head back to Atlanta.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun. I did much more walking then expected, gambled for a few days and still broke even, saw some great sites, and ate some good food. But after 3 days in Vegas, you are ready to come home and get some sleep.

As for San Francisco, I still plan to make it out there, but I am am thinking Fall, because I hear it is beautiful out there in the Fall.