Lucky # 7th Trip Report: BEST. TRIP. YET. Luxor 9/9 to 9/14

My first trip to Las Vegas, I was a month shy of my 20th birthday. We stayed in a Pyramid room at the Luxor and I thought the trip sucked. In fact, I didn't bother coming back to Las Vegas until my mid-30's.

That was 19 years ago. After six more trips to Las Vegas I stayed at the Luxor again and it was unquestionably the best time I have ever had in Las Vegas.


Sunday, September 9: California Knows How To Party.
The reason for my trip was a conference at the Sands Expo. This is my third trip to Las Vegas this year but I decided to do something different this time. Instead of flying in for the concert, which started on the 11th, I decided to fly into Southern California a day or two early and see my grandmother. I have not seen her since 2015, shortly before my grandfather passed, and she does not see her extended family much.

I flew in and met her at my aunt's house where we spent a couple hours catching up. She has never seen my 5 year old daughter so we FaceTimed home so she could talk to them and my wife.

We went to TAPS Fish House and Brewery in Corona, CA. The food was exceptional and I'd highly recommend it if you live in, or are passing through, the Riverside area. The early morning flight and jet lag were hurting me, though, so immediately after dinner my family went back home and I went to check in to a room at the Mission Inn.




Monday, September 10: Who needs airplanes?
The desert has always fascinated me. I've lived in the northeast my entire life and always within 50-60 miles of a major city. The fact that I can see the exact opposite without leaving the country intrigues me and it's one of Las Vegas' many alluring features. I did the math and realized that I can drive from Riverside to Las Vegas and, when you consider traffic and all the time waiting around the airport, it would take the same amount of time and money as flying. So I got in my rental Kia and hit the road.



I'm sure many of you have already made this trip many times and know how boring it is. And you're not wrong: it's a long ride with not a lot to see. But I stopped a few times in Barstow and Primm for gas and bottled water, to look for souvenirs for my kids, and just to stretch my legs. And I loved every minute of it.



Around 2:00 PM I came around the corner and saw a very familiar skyline. First stop: Hertz at McCarran Airport rental car center. It would have cost another $100+ to keep my one-way rental car so I returned it and walked right to the desk for another rental. I went to the Luxor and checked in (got a free upgrade to a Tower Room) and had a quick bite to eat.

I had to kill a bit of time before picking up my coworker from McCarran. I went to the Hard Rock to lose a few dollars in the slot machines and grabbed a quick panorama before leaving the parking garage.



The rest of the night was a typical night in Las Vegas: BLACKJACK! I bought in at $200, was down to $30 or $40, up to $400, and left the table with $170. Not too shabby for my first game and a very fun couple hours.

Part 2 coming up...........

 

Tuesday, September 11: The unexpected best time I've ever had in Las Vegas
At 6 AM, my phone started ringing. I'm still jet lagged so there was no chance I was falling back asleep anyway. It was the office and they needed me for a conference call. I spent the next 8 hours or so in my room, on conference calls and answering emails, with a couple quick trips downstairs for a bite to eat.

Also, my coworker got hopelessly lost. I was originally going to get several packages from the Business Center and then meet him out front; security wouldn't let me leave my car unattended for even 30 seconds (it was September 11) so I gave him terrible directions to find me. He got lost in Excalibur and eventually we made it to the Palazzo for our conference, but frazzled.

The next four hours were all business stuff. But you didn't come here to read that.

With the long day being stuck in the room, the mad scramble to get to the Palazzo after reuniting with my coworker, and several hours of business networking, we decided to hit mid-Strip to just unwind over some beers and blackjack. No expectations.

We ended up getting the attention of a couple young ladies at the bar who had just arrived in Las Vegas, also with no expectations. No, this is not going where you think it's going. My coworker and I are both married and responsible. But the next 5 hours were the highlight of all my Vegas experiences.

We started with a little Blackjack. These young ladies were low rollers and it was a $15 table so it didn't last too long. They asked what other casinos are good for hanging out and we suggested New York New York, in particular the Times Square Bar for dueling pianos. We spent hours drinking, dancing, and singing and really hit it off - not just with the girls we met at Cosmopolitan, but with everybody in the bar.


(I know it's blurry. By 2 AM, everything was blurry for me)

Our new friends were hungry so we first explored the property looking for hot dogs and then settled on pizza. 2 AM drunken pizza is my favorite food, probably ever.

We walked outside and even though Excalibur was right next door we decided to take the "long way" over the bridge to MGM, then Tropicana, and back over to Excalibur.

There were signals. Flirtation. Innocent touches, and being guided toward their room.

This night was already the best night in Vegas. I could possibly keep it going and ruin my family in the process, or I could end it right here. On this positive note: The best night I've ever had in Vegas.

We hugged them and turned our backs as they went into the elevators. I believe we made the right decision.



Coming later tonight: Part III.............

 

Sounds like an awesome time! And You absolutely, without a doubt, made the right decision! Good for you! I've been on the wrong end of that, the spouse at home, and someone did NOT make the right decision.

 

LOVE the photo of you and your Grandmother!

 

Part III

Wednesday, September 12: The Marathon
Like yesterday, I was awakened today with a phone call very early in the morning. Unlike yesterday, I have the worst fucking hangover I have had in years. I realized that that was also the drunkest I’ve been probably since my 20’s. I had slept for less than 3 hours and had to discuss strategy with my VP while pretending to be ready for this very full day of work.

I kicked it, though. In my 20s I discovered that I can kill a hangover in about 2 hours with a cocktail of sleep, vomiting, Excedrin and electrolytes. By 9 AM I appeared functional. One of the other smart decisions I made last night was to walk home which meant that this morning we needed to walk back from Luxor to NYNY to get my car.

The conference was just another technology conference, just a very long one. The conference went until 5:30 and there were a number of events afterward that we were invited to because our VP of partnerships is a rockstar. One major highlight though: Oracle was offering free rides in a Tesla Model X from the Venetian to the after parties. Sure beats the hell out of my rental Nissan Sentra.


I’ve always believed that the Strip is so much better when you’re riding in style. Unfortunately we took the back way to the High Roller.

One of the parties was at the Brooklyn Bowl. I’ve never been there before and the whole place had been rented by one of the vendors at the conference. We bowled a little, spent some time networking, and watched an awesome live band. Great hangout spot and I’ll definitely return!



There was also a very funny animated photobooth that took our photos but that was emailed to the rockstar VP. I’ll update this trip update in a day or two when she sends it to me.

Around 11:30 we left the Brooklyn Bowl and started to head back toward the strip. Rockstar VP just needed to stop for some flip flops before we got an Uber back to the Palazzo to get our cars and head back to Luxor. After this long day on very little sleep, we were drained and resisted the urge to try to win some money before bed.

Thursday, September 13: The Wrap Up
Guess what you guys: No early phone call today!

It was another typical conference day. Breakfast at Dunkin Donuts at the HRH and then the conference. Two kind of cool things happened though: a competitor I’ve known for years offered me a job. He even offered to help me to defend my non-compete. A short while later as I was considering his offer, I get a call from yet another VP at my company with another offer for a lateral move with a clear path to upper management.

“Sleep on it,” she said. I still am.

At 4PM the conference wrapped, we packed up our stuff and got it over to Fedex. We made a last minute decision to get dinner at the Foundation Room. We hit the blackjack tables again to kill time. My coworker got killed at the tables earlier in the trip and was convinced he could win it back. Famous last words? He starts winning as soon as he sits down and even gets three blackjacks in a row.

Funny side note: my coworker is colorblind and didn’t realize that he was betting $5 and $25 chips together. This little mistake actually worked to his benefit though. In about 10 minutes he was up $400.

Dinner was great. I had the NY strip and my coworker had the ribeye and it was perfectly tender and tasted amazing. Of course no trip to Foundatiom Room is complete without checking out the outdoor patio and taking some pictures.



While I originally planned to get to bed early (5:45 flight!) I tried to make one last big comeback at the tables. Didn’t work but I walked away when I got back to within $50 of my original buy-in.

Three more hours of sleep and I was back up, showered, dressed, and at the airport.

The rest of this trip is a flight home. Not very interesting. Random observations next.

 

Part IV: Random Observations

• The whores. Las Vegas is a completely different city when you’re not traveling as a couple. On a positive note, it was like I was invisible to the timeshare people. They were replaced by prostitutes. And they’re persistent too! One tried frantically waving me down when I was driving, and two others approached us late at night in Excalibur. They were completely willing to discuss their chosen profession - one of them even said she’s had three clients today (ew). Ironically my coworker is a retired police officer.
• Not my most lucrative trip but a success nonetheless. That dinner Thursday night earned me the last few tier credits I need to move up to Gold with Mlife.
• The ride home from the airport included one last touch of Las Vegas. Encore Boston Harbor is mostly finished on the outside and it is true to its LV counterpart. MGM Springfield is only two hours away but this one will be much closer when it opens next year!
• I thought I had Vegas burn-out my last trip. This trip completely turned me around. My wife and I are talking about another trip around October or November. See you there!

 

Thanks! She is a wonderful woman. We are trying to plan another trip out to California so she can meet her great granddaughter in person instead of on a FaceTime call.

 

Great report!

Wish I had a job that would send me to Vegas for a conference.

 

Great report. I’m also looking forward to Wynn Boston Harbor. I did a work trip to Vegas once for an awards ceremony. 29 hours on the ground and 10 occupied by work activities is not a trip I want to repeat. Not enough time to be a degen gambler.

 

Agreed — I was starting to see some nice offers come in and I’m hoping that this week, and my distinct lack of time and money in the casino, doesn’t slow down these offers.