Mother-Daughter Aria/Cosmo Trip... food, debauchery, $20 gambling budget and fried iPads!

I debated writing a post-trip report, as I knew this would be a weird one. I have never been married, and I married my absolute darling this year, after 8 years, over Thanksgiving, and it was magical.

But, I went to Vegas with my Mom over Christmas? WTH?

Some background.

This year was a rough one, a really rough one, as it was for others on here. (Due to loss, not health on our end, knock on wood.) I had some major events that made me prioritize my "bucket list"...which boiled down to two things, marry the love of my life, and take my beloved mom to Vegas for her long-promised, belated retirement trip.

With this year being eventful enough, I decided early in the year not to let either event delay any further, in case something unexpected happened.

Ergo, the Thanksgiving 20* mountaintop Tahoe Wedding and the Debauchery Christmas Mom-Daughter trip, as we have a company shutdown that made the mom-daughter trip make sense, so we planned it very early in 2019.

So, drama/sad stuff aside, onto the fun stuff, the TR. (I just had to give a backdrop for those who might be scratching their heads at a Mom-Daughter Christmas right after the wedding.) My sweet better half was 180% onboard. He is very close to his parents too, and he knew this was one of those trips I'd never forgive myself if I missed, and we had planned it early in the year, before the wedding.

The trip: 4 nights at Cosmo, 3 nights at Aria.
My Mom hasn't been to Vegas in 8 years. She doesn't love the slots like I do, but she had a really, really rough year too, and I wanted her to see the two properties I loved most in Vegas....Cosmo and Aria. I was hoping 7 days wasn't too much for a non-gambling, non-shows, semi-recluse (we are two peas in a pod), but I had a feeling it wouldn't be, and it wasn't!)

Round One, Cosmo 12/22 - 12-26.
My mom and I are super close, but not snuggly close, so while I love the one bedroom terrace (king), I booked the queen studio. Our host is wonderful, and gave us a high floor (50ish) facing the fountains. My mom spent HOURS on the terrace or the bath. She loved both. (Though, she did learn that bringing an iPad around water while feeling sleepy is NOT a recipe for a happy iPad. Thank God iPads are designed to be "human-error" expectant. A slight "oops" on keeping it above water-level resulted in a fried iPad, but simply a safe but irritated mom at having a fried unit. Caveat addition, my very cool brother bought her a new one before we even got home, so don't worry about the iPad!)

So, the iPad fried the first night, but the magic of the terrace was all the entertainment my mom needed...it was like pulling teeth to drag her out of the Queen Studio terrace at Cosmo room!



Food at Cosmo:
Wicked Spoon twice, including Christmas day. Being Gold, we had BOGO Wicked Spoon daily. I love Mlife too, but Cosmo really does a knockout job on their identity points. No blackout dates on Identity's Bogo....we even had it on Christmas (Mlife/MyVegas DOES black out dates. And don't get me started on Identity's other perks for Gold! 2 extra nights for you, 2 companion nights for a friend, no resort fees, comp late check out. Its a STELLAR program.)

Back to Wicked Spoon. My plates are always a nightmare. I do one gastro-nightmare plate of rich, decadent dishes (yes, that's my beloved shrimp grits, cauliflower au gratin, mashed potatoes, prime rib and bone marrow_, and one semi-healthy with lots of greens. (My token attempt at civility.) My mom decided two (or three) of everything was a great idea. This pleased me immensely, as it meant she loved it just as much as I thought it would!

Gastro-Nightmare:



My Attempt at Civility at Wicked Spoon:




I also introduced my mom to my beloved Holsteins, as she is a burger fiend too. We had the Forager and my beloved Fun-Ghi...and we split them.

Holsteins Burgers... puts the OOOH in Moooh!


My mom, not a big drinker, realized she loved dark beer after visiting my (Air Force) Brother in Germany. She had the porter at Holsteins. Two. (I had to tell her I'd split the second. I didn't. Beer is not my thing.)

Beer.... apparently Germany-based children can turn even the most adamant beer hater, into a fan! I had the polite, "if you don't have one, I won't" glass. It wasn't bad. I still prefer old world reds or vodka sodas, but a gal has to do what she has to do...




She loved her burger so much, she had part of mine as well!


Secret Pizza. Anyone who reads my Cosmo reports knows I HAVE to hit Secret Pizza late at night for a whole pie, and keep the rest in the fridge, like an overgrown teenager. My mom, not the roaring night owl like I am, woke up the next morning, found Secret Pizza, and decided that, where she once didn't like Pizza, not only Pizza, but cold Pizza, might just be a magical thing. Lets just say, she mandated that Secret Pizza will be on EVERY Cosmo trip.

No pics. Late night, "get myself into the room before I look like an ass" shenanigans. I'm good 95% of the time in Vegas. The witching hour is not that 95%....

The Henry: A late night, take out cobb salad on two separate nights for me, mom was enjoying the blanket movies. Man, it is my "I've slotted and cocktailed too much" Cosmo Kombucha for cure-alls. Ok, I've never had Kombucha, but at least I sound cultured. Maybe not, when I make "cocktailed" into a verb, but a gal can try, right? (Just ask for the blue cheese dressing, not the vinaigrette...I'm a purist on a Cobb!)

Eggslut: I tried and tried getting my mom to "charge it to the room" as I sleep in a little later (not a ton) than she does. She just couldn't pull herself away from the fountains! Or the Bathtub. The iPad? That one fell out of favor once fried.

Gambling at Cosmo: So I went crazy my first night, like I always do, and went over budget. I also went crazy (but less so) the second night. On the second night I went crazy on the madonna slot, which is a BLAST, but it kept defaulting to $25 bucks a spin, which is 5+ times my budget! I never fuss when this happens because A) I know part is probably human error, I'm somehow triggering it, and B) I know if it ever worked in my favor, I would NOT fuss, and I always try to look at both sides of the coin. But, I'm Polish AND Scottish, which can be a bad combo on stubbornness. Between a stubborn streak and a little liquid courage, I was sure it (or I) kept glitching, and I was going to hit it big.

I didn't.

I did make the guy at the Henry grin when I picked up my Cobb Salad though. I had warned him I might be a little late, and they were making bets on if I would return. I did, but my tail was thoroughly tucked between my legs. I did finish the night with an amazing Cobb salad though, and wasn't hugely over budget. And I was having a blast.

A great trip so far.

From there, I was good on the 3rd and fourth night. So, over-budget for my cosmo trip, but it was so fun, it was ok.

Some of my Cosmo slot porn....









When Madonna was being nice....


Now my mom, she went absolutely CRAZY.
Gambling for my mom....oh my. I might have to keep a tether on her.

By the end of the 3rd night, she had gone thought a LOT of money between some Fairy Game and Kitty Glitter. She was working on going through half of an entire $20....over the entire 4 days. One time, she had an epic loss...almost $6 in one night, but as a trooper, she rebounded the next night and won it back.

Thank goodness, we left Cosmo with almost her entire original $20 intact. (Though the iPad, sadly was not.)

I did not include pics of my mom's slot porn. Posting that type of win? It might not be safe... so I am protecting her! (For all me being tongue in cheek, I LOVE that she can have so much fun with so little, THAT'S a win. But I'll still tease her!)

We had a blast playing together, eating together, taking naps, talking, and just relaxing!



And here is my introducing my mom to Cosmo's beloved raspberry lemon drop (RLD)! She thought she hated vodka after I made her a bad couple of martinis years ago. (Hey, cooking is my thing, cocktails, not so much. ) Cosmo's RLD? She LOVED it.



She also loved the Jockey Club convenience store and all of Cosmo's elegant yet quirky little "down the rabbit hole" touches. When we had to leave after the fourth night, she was genuinely depressed. It was an amazing trip, but I told her not to worry, round two, Aria Tower Suites, would be totally different, but would not disappoint.

It didn't disappoint.... AT ALL.

Part Deux of our Trip, Aria, is coming, probably this weekend.

Maybe.

Now, if you know my TR's, you know I don't do squat.....slots, eat (frugal but excellent), sleep and just revel in relaxation. So if you're looking for shows, exciting shenanigans, exploring, or being exciting in any way, read no farther.

But if you're up for a mundane but amazing mother-daughter Aria report, with some quirks, and some epic twists, read on....

As Arnie said...."I'll be Baaaa-ck...."

 

Glad your mom really enjoyed herself so far! Bummer about the iPad though.

 

That’s so cool you got to spend Christmas with your Mom in Las Vegas!! Did Santa make room under the tree for a new iPad?

Looking forward to the Ari in part two.....

Thanks for the TR @Multifarious5!!!

 

Glad y’all had fun. She is spoiled now with Cosmo and won’t ever want to stay anywhere else.

I am looking forward to taking my parents back to Vegas this year. We typically go about 5-6 times a year but they haven’t been back to Vegas since we got married there about 7 years ago. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

Mike and Tring, not to worry about the iPad. The reason I was nonchalant is that my very cool brother bought her a new one the moment he heard----while we were still in Vegas! I was planning on it, but he was ON it. So, that's why I'm nonchalant, she has a brand new one, and knows to avoid water now!

So happy you're bringing your parents Lucky! It really DOES make for a magical trip, and can't wait to read your TR! (Ps mines a post TR, forgot to add that, but did now!)

 

This is what I like....family time in Vegas!!!

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful time that will be a milestone in your, and your mom's, memories. Just great!!

 

Anxiously awaiting the Aria part since you left the teaser about late checkout!

 

[QUOTE="Multifarious5, post: 1965990, member: 44526"

Ok, I've never had Kombucha,

."[/QUOTE]

So many things could be said here, but I'll just leave it at: You're lucky.

 

What a wonderful trip! I am absolutely bummed that we were staying in the same hotel (almost the same floor by the looks of it) at the same time and didn't know until too late. Would have love to meet you. Next time!

 

You had me at “Ergo”...

Great recap, can’t wait to hear more!

 

Not sure what it is about parents and gambling but my mom does the same thing in Vegas. She can get more out of $20 or $40 in a night than anyone I have ever seen. It really is kind of amazing.

 

Loved, loved, loved that! I very much enjoy reading mom/daughter reports, as my daughter and I have been doing a yearly Vegas trip together! And I hope this continues until I'm too old to want to go to Vegas (which I honestly can't see happening, ever!)

You definitely did spoil her with Cosmo and Aria! But heck, it's your mom!!
Looking forward to part 2!

 

Yay Multi, a mother daughter Vegas trip and her intro to the full Cosmo experience, I’m glad it was magical. Her enjoyment of the terrace, the tub, the slots,the burger at Holsteins sounds so familiar, hmmm, now who could that be. Love that your Mom can play endlessly on a twenty, that is so cool. (ps She’s a beauty just like you).

I can’t wait for the finish at Aria!

 

Such a great. Really made me smile today.

 

Looks like a great time! I admire your Mom's bankroll management skills! Looking forward to Part Deux

 

What a lovely trip report! Cosmo thoroughly enchanted your mom.

 

Awesome part one, @Multifarious5 ! Sounds like you and your mom had a great trip. I wish I’d have known you were in town, though. I was at Cosmo and my sis and BIL were at Aria from the 26th to the 30th. We probably crossed paths a half dozen times.

Looking forward to the next installment and I’m glad someone else has buffet pics that look as bad as mine!

 

Looks lovely so far. What great memories you have created.

 

Wow what a great tr! Makes me really want to go with my mom, and one day my daughter! Hopefully both all of us together lol!!