Live/LOTS of pics/Mostly solo. 23 Days. 9 Hotels. Vegas/Reno/Some very unusual sightseeing. Enjoy!

Heads up: I’ve put close to 100 hours of research, planning, and prep into this trip. If you want some whimsical “let’s just see what happens” trip report… look elsewhere The central theme here is meticulousness… with a little bit of ridiculousness

Okay guys… guess who’s back? If you remember my last two trip reports, you’ll know that I’m a hardcore planner for Vegas trips who likes to get a lot of stuff done… high-enjoying and low-rolling. This trip will be no different. Though instead of being the usual sub-100 hour jaunt, this trip is twenty three days long, or 539 hours and 57 minutes - so it couldn’t be contained on a whiteboard, and I had to do a spreadsheet. It’s detailed, it’s intense, and it’s going to be freaking amazing.

I’m going down with my childhood friend Eddie (we’ve known each other since September of 1999). He’ll be with me for five days, and I'm rolling solo the rest of the trip. We’re leaving at 10:15 am EST on Wednesday June 20th. Hopefully two days ahead isn’t too early for posting a trip report thread

Here’s a quick rundown of where/what for this trip…

Flamingo (Gameplan: corrupting Eddie… We’ll be renting a daybed at the Go Pool, playing in a beer pong tournament, hitting Hyde nightclub, as well as Drai’s nightclub... and on Thursday we’ll be having a tomahawk at Oscar’s and doing some gambling downtown. We’ll probably be staying up all night that night, to catch the 5:00 am Brazil/Costa Rica World Cup game at the Venetian sportsbook, then going to bed around 7:30 am or so)

Hooters (the corruption continues… hitting two strip clubs, having a cocktail at Mandarin Bar, and seeing LOVE at the Mirage, then Eddie goes home Sunday night)

Harrah’s Reno (doing a Lake Tahoe/Virginia City tour, playing BJ/poker tournaments at Grand Sierra, seeding some low-rolling action for the supposedly easy comps in Reno, checking out some breweries such as Under the Rose and The Depot, poking my head into the pawn shops across from the Silver Legacy/Eldorado/Circus Circus because I’m passively in the market for a new watch, having an Awful-Awful burger at the Little Nugget, and risking my life at the divey Diamond’s Casino to play their $2 single deck blackjack game)

Aria (living it up for three nights, two on a MyVegas comp… going to try a check-in bribe or some hard bargaining to get an upgrade to the corner suite… for sure I will be doing breakfast in bed to have those legendary red velvet pancakes… then a spa day, lounging by the pool, having dinner at Javier’s, trying the veal parm at Carbone, doing brunch at Bardot, and taking advantage of MyVegas comp entry to Jewel nightclub on Friday)

Westgate (shrimp cocktail and osso bucco for dinner at Piero’s, catching the 51s ballgame, up early the next morning to go to church*, have breakfast at Peppermill, and play some coin-dropper slots at Slots-a-Fun at Circus-Circus)

Caesars Palace (living it up even more… 1,040 square foot jacuzzi suite with Seven Stars check-in, reserved premium pool lounger at Neptune, caviar tasting menu at Guy Savoy, hitting Omnia nightclub, and a spa day at Qua to check out that indoor snow room and those Roman baths)

El Cortez (vintage king suite just for the novelty of it, free prime rib dinner, some roulette/video poker, and probably visiting Atomic Liquors)

Sam’s Town (primarily here to do laundry at KOA… secondarily to see the Henderson bird preserve, play $1 craps at Joker’s Wild, eat breakfast at the supposedly legendary Omelet House and try that banana bread, maybe catch a movie at Century, and have some more of those goat meat tacos at Pepe’s. During my stay here will also be Chuck’s high-limit slot pull at the Venetian… so I’ll finally get to meet some fellow VMB-ers! )

Plaza (six nights… mostly hanging out by the pool and playing in poker tourneys at Golden Nugget… also going to the “west” cluster of Gold Coast/Rio/Palms/Orleans for a day, and the “north” cluster of Poker Palace/Silver Nugget/Jerry’s Nugget to include Palomino and Chicas Bonitas... also going to the library**, doing a full-day Grand Canyon tour, and seeing the premiere of A Mob Story on July 11th)

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* Who the f*** goes to church in Vegas, right? Moreover, what atheist with a Jewish upbringing goes to church in Vegas?! The answer is me. Not just for the sheer irony of going to church in the city of sin, but also because an objective of this trip for me is to get better acquainted with living life in Vegas like a local. So basic, “normal”-ish stuff like going to church will be part of that for me.

** Okay now… who the F$%# goes to the LIBRARY in Vegas, right? That is also me. Not just for that “local” experience, but also because there’s an ongoing exhibit at the library of the city’s local history. As a passionate Las Vegas nerd, I am beyond thrilled to see this exhibit and would even go so far as to say that it’s what I’m looking forward to the most.

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The best part? What I’ve written above is only about 50% of everything I have on my list. There’s lots more to be done and seen, but I’ll have to keep you guessing because this wouldn’t be any fun otherwise. Hint: I’m going to be flying very high… not in an airplane, not in a helicopter, and not on marijuana. You’ll see.

So, sit back… relax… enjoy… I will read each and every reply, and I encourage commentary of all kinds, even if that’s just to tell me what a loser I am for going to the library in Vegas.

Also, Eddie is newly single - so I may or may not be taking bets for how long it takes him to take one or more girls back to our room thus leaving me downstairs waiting for the “all clear” text. Or on second thought, maybe I’ll win those bets so I can pay for a second room for myself with the money

Speaking of money… for those of you who are also numbers folks, you’re probably wondering what this trip is costing me. Here’s a quick breakdown of the fixed costs, all in US dollars…

Hotels: $1,830.22 exactly for 22 nights - inclusive of resort fees, and after Eddie paid his share for the nights he’s with me… this is also supplemented by a two-night MyVegas comp for Aria. Works out to $83.19 per day, or $2,495.75 per month, averaged out. Which is equivalent to renting a one-bedroom apartment in New York. Though the digs at Aria and Caesars Palace are a liiiiiittle fancier than what you might get for $2.5k per month somewhere in the Upper West Side. So I think I’m getting a pretty good deal.

Flights to/from Vegas: $258 round-trip. From Toronto, Canada. Seriously. $183 one-way going down… and no joke, on a WestJet member exclusives fare and a $50 off promo, I paid a total of just $75 coming back.

Flight to/from Reno: $140 (on Allegiant… *shudder*)

I also have a $75 food and beverage credit at Caesars Palace, $25 at Flamingo, and $25 per day for two days at Hooters.

Total fixed costs of flights and hotels… $2,228.22… divided by 539 hours and 57 minutes (round it up to 540 hours)... this trip is costing me US $4.13 per hour. Just add food, drinks, entertainment, tours, and gaming bankroll. Some of which is subsidized by comps/promos anyway.

Gaming budget is discretionary. I have budgeted exactly $800 for scheduled poker tournament buy-ins with wiggle room for re-buys as needed (and if my last trip was any indication, I’ll at least be bringing it all back home and possibly some winnings too), as well as two blackjack and some slot tournaments. I also have $300 set aside specifically for bartop video poker (I can get $300 worth of free alcohol slow-playing 96.15% JoB on the strip, right?), $200 set aside for the high-limit pull at Venetian, and some pocket money for whatever I need for my entertainment-only low-rolling. Horse races, coin-droppers, $1 roulette, $1 craps, $2 blackjack… we’ll see what happens.

If you’ve read everything up until now (this is word number 1,406), I would just like to say…

1. Thank you for your attention
   
   
2. Don’t worry, this is the most reading you’ll have to do in this whole TR, because it will be very picture-heavy
   
   
3. If you remember my ridiculous tropical outfit from my last TR, I've got something WAY worse that I'll be wearing to the pool on Thursday. I'll give you a hint, it involves flamingoes.
   
   
4. Get excited… because you are going to see one helluva TR!

 

Sounds like a great trip. We’ve got 17 nights in August with a car so always interested in going somewhere a little different. Good luck and enjoy your trip. Looking forward to following along.

 

Nice write up! Hope you have an incredible trip and I look forward to your updates! I'll also be at Chuck's HL slot pull so look forward to meeting you! I'm sure you'll have lots of stories to share by then!

 

I hope Eddie enjoys the owl exhibit!
Happy travels!

RICHARD

 

I'd call that a bargain.

The best he's ever had.

 

You mean at the Henderson bird preserve?

Oh... that owl exhibit... we heard it's a total bust. But we're still going anyway.

 

Please keep us abreast of how it goes!

RICHARD

 

Oh this should be epic. I'll be living vicariously through you.

 

Reno! Hope it’s as fun as the TV show....

 

A childhood friend from 1999.........suddenly, I feel old.



Well anyway, have a great trip!

 

Can you share some details about the library exhibit? I'm not sure what to search for online (although it was interesting to see that Adam London is performing at a library tomorrow).

 

Man I'm looking forward to this!

 

This is going to be great! Your 23 days will take me up to just a few days before my trip, so this is going to be an excellent way to stay psyched! Your planning skills are admirable.

Safe travels!

 

For sure... here you go!

http://www.lvccld.org/library/special/#gaming

 

I’m gonna channel Alpert here: hope you have a hoot!

 

Oh man, have a blast! I will be following along!

 

Check out revision brewing in sparks.

 

You and I must share a genetic trait for planning. Thanks for sharing your deets. If our paths cross, I’ll cover the first two drinks to ensure that you can re-buy once in a tourney if needed. (6/28-7/2)

 

I'll be there just after you. I'll be sure to ask the grumpy regulars at Jokers Wild if they remember playing craps with you.

 

I am also big on planning my Vegas trips - spreadsheets, budgets, and then half of it goes to hell the minute I get there.

Can't wait to see how this turns out!!