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Anniversary Photo Report: Aria 8/10 - 8/14, gambling, drinking and family time

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Uncle Bourbon, Aug 9, 2019.

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  1. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    Location:
    Washington DC
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    My Trip Report

    Hello all, my name is Uncle Bourbon and I have been a long time Vegas lover! This will be my
    first trip report, which will hopefully feature a lot of pictures of gambling, food, and drink. I will be posting jointly with my wife, @Mrs Bourbon !

    Background


    For those who are curious about me, I am in my mid-twenties and have been a Vegas fan since
    my first family trip there when I was about 13. That trip got me interested in the statistics and
    mathematics of gambling, and eventually statistics in general (I certainly wasn’t the average
    teenager). Fast forward to my mid-twenties and I am now a full-time data analyst/statistician
    living with my wife in the DC area. I have convinced my mom and wife that Vegas is awesome, which is great because they don’t give me funny looks when I say that I want to go again! This trip will be my 8th trip to Vegas. A random fun fact, up until this trip I have stayed at a different
    hotel every time I visited.

    Plans

    This trip is going to be both our anniversary getaway, and a family vacation with my mom rolled into one! @Mrs Bourbon and I are going to be staying at the Aria, and my mom will be staying at
    the Linq. In terms of reservations and concrete plans, Mrs. Bourbon and I generally will make
    one or two reservations at a nice restaurant or experience, and go with the flow the rest of the
    time. We only have two concrete plans:
    • Family dinner at Carbone Saturday night
    • Anniversary dinner at Bardot Brasserie on Monday night
    Otherwise, we will just go with the flow! Just to get you acquainted with the characters in this
    trip, I did some brief interviews to come up with bios for everyone.

    Bios

    Me:

    Favorite Games: Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em, Pai Gow Tiles (although I’m certainly
    still a beginner). I will gamble on just about anything though, these are just my favorite games at
    the moment…
    Favorite Casinos: Golden Gate, El Cortez, Cosmopolitan, Paris
    Favorite Restaurants: Michael Mina, Kabuto Sushi, Pizza Rock
    Favorite “Vegas” drink(s): Rum and coke, Mai Tai, Zombie
    Favorite Thing About Vegas: Being able to walk around and have fun gambling, eating and
    drinking at a variety of places ranging from lavish to historical for fair prices (mostly..) while
    enjoying the atmosphere

    Mrs. Bourbon:
    Favorite Games: Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em, 3 Card Poker, 4 Card Poker, Video Poker
    Favorite Casinos: Golden Gate, Park MGM
    Favorite Restaurants: Kabuto, Mon Ami Gabi, Michael Mina, Istanbul Mediterranean (a kabob
    place in front of Bally’s, definitely worth a look!)
    Favorite “Vegas” drinks: Pineapple Vodka and the slushies from Fat Tuesdays
    Favorite thing about Vegas: Always something to do anytime of the day, gambling is cheap,
    food is good, drinks are plenty, and the people are nice. The air also helps with our allergies!

    Mom:
    Favorite Games: 3 Card Poker, video poker, occasionally blackjack and roulette
    Favorite Casino: Cromwell, or the casinos with the lowest minimums!
    Favorite Restaurant: Any good Italian Restaurant (excited to try Carbone!), Binion’s
    hamburger and fries
    Favorite “Vegas” drink: Any of the large sized cocktails/beer in downtown Vegas
    Favorite thing about Vegas: Loves the beautiful constant sunshine and palm trees, and the fact
    that there is always something to do, with great food and low minimums downtown. Also loves
    window shopping in expensive shops, walking through the beautiful hotels and displays and
    lights, and enjoying the quiet of the room at the end of the night

    I look forward to updating this report with the help of Mrs. Bourbon! Our flight is direct and
    arrives around 10:30 Vegas time. My mom lives in Pittsburgh, and her flight arrives at 2 pm
    Vegas time. Let’s make some great memories!
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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  2. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    Our dog, Laika has left for her vacation!

    ACD59A7B-565D-46C4-86CE-1DC47088B94A.jpeg 62F3A008-C3D3-4E6C-A961-BD2B08BE9177.jpeg A38ED86A-0FC5-4767-8FC1-3739567CDE80.jpeg
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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  3. fenway68

    fenway68 VIP Whale

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    looking forward to following along, enjoy! safe travels and good luck!
     
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  4. AyDee

    AyDee is getting too old for this

    Joined:
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    Welcome!
    Looks like you should fit right in, mandatory cat picture notwithstanding.
    (Dog pic is acceptable substitute)

    Try taking a look at house edge on VP (especially to sit right in with mom and Mrs., and for free playing vs purchased bar drinks) and Craps (Playing just passline with odds is not as complicated as trying to learn whole layout).

    of favororite casinos, I would recommend Golden Gate for VP, elCO recently screwed the paytable pooch IIRC, Cosmo was never great.

    (@tringlomane , which cosmo VP games did you recommend, I was mostly goofing around with 10 cent triple play superX or whatever)

    -A
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2019
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  5. luck.ofthe.draw

    luck.ofthe.draw VIP Whale

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    Welcome to the boards and your dog is sooo cute! We’re in the same age range! My boyfriend and I go to Vegas a few times a year (I love it!), we’ve got a trip coming up in September!

    Looking forward to following along in your trip report - sounds so fun!
     
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  6. Mrs Bourbon

    Mrs Bourbon Tourist

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    Our cat was MIA during the picture taking but here he is. He’s quite upset about us leaving - look at those eyes :cry:
    422D3765-8A83-480D-8C7C-C04426C54874.jpeg
    Having trouble sleeping. The excitement is getting the best of us. Squeezed 4 hours in and don’t have to leave for the airport for another 4. Annoying. But maybe it’ll make me sleepy on the plane. Love sleeping 35,000 feet in the air lol
     
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  7. unomas

    unomas High-Roller

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    Have a great trip!

    Question "Favorite “Vegas” drink(s): Rum and coke, Mai Tai, Zombie" shouldn't your name be Uncle Rum verses Bourbon?
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2019
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  8. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    I love craps, but it’s hard to get @Mrs Bourbon or mom to play, so I often choose other games instead. Will definitely try video poker at the Golden Gate! Ive seen all the cool photos of the progressive BP game, maybe one of us can get lucky...

    You caught me! I do enjoy a good bourbon, but for whatever reason I haven’t been drinking them in Vegas too often, besides one particular drink I have had and loved at Michael Mina at the Bellagio:

    7A2330ED-DB07-4480-B978-7D231BB2ABA1.jpeg

    However, due to the price I’ve only had it once....
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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  9. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    8EF681AE-1F98-4C97-92F7-27DF53125495.jpeg

    Obligatory cat begging to come with us pic.
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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  10. Ezzy711

    Ezzy711 VIP Whale

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    Adorable pets. Happy Anniversary! It’s heartwarming that you would take Mom. My parents passed down the gambling bug to me but oddly enough we never gambled together. I guess because I moved away when I was of gambling age. Best wishes for great times and great wins!
     
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  11. Mrs Bourbon

    Mrs Bourbon Tourist

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    Thank you! We love going with Unc’s mom. She’s fun and loves Vegas just as much as us. Unfortunately my parents aren’t gamblers so it’s fun to gamble with her.

    As for an update: we are waiting for boarding at the airport now. Seems to be on time departure. A bit of a line at security which is rare for us flying out of DCA.

    Got a nice view of the sunrise driving down the George Washington parkway. For those unfamiliar with DC, you get a perfect unobstructed view of the Georgetown waterfront, the Washington monument and DC splendor on your left. If that wasn’t enough you also get a view of Rosslyn, Virginia with its many business offices on the right. Also a quick view of The Pentagon. Was going too fast to get any decent pics but we should be taking pics moving forward!

    Boy I love this city but super excited to leave it behind for a few days!
     
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  12. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    46F235AB-5E3B-49E2-A75A-0167C8465B12.jpeg BA8AA747-91E0-4AEE-9FD3-44E0C1D4A320.jpeg
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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  13. sura83

    sura83 Low-Roller

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    Safe travels and have a wonderful trip!
     
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  14. emmas

    emmas VIP Whale

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    Sounds like a great trip. Have fun and good luck.
     
    I need all the luck I can get!
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  15. Mrs Bourbon

    Mrs Bourbon Tourist

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    Ready to push back. See you in 5 hours Vegas! Here we go.
    My side of the window shade debate is always open unless the sun is blinding or you want a little shut eye. But I’m definitely not missing take off and landing views or the views of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.
    For my aviation buffs we will be doing the crazy maneuver needed to avoid DC air space when taking off/landing from DCA. It feels like crap for a minute but you get a nice view (I’ll try to take a picture if we are positioned right) and don’t break any laws I suppose.
    We booked the Main Cabin Extra on AA so we have quite a bit of leg room and luckily this plane is equipped with screens for movies and games.
    Also for luck - we are seated in seats 7A and 7B
    See you soon! 996000C1-2898-448F-ADFD-E2BB8DBAA63A.png C70D4011-6A59-47A7-9C0A-9CCD36EECF02.jpeg
     
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  16. Pbtrav

    Pbtrav Mid level gambler.....high level drinker!

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    Good luck
     
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  17. unomas

    unomas High-Roller

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    Safe travels!

    @Uncle Bourbon if you are downtown and feel like bourbon, while waiting for our table at Le Thai, we always stop in the Griffin as they serve a generous pour, I always get Basil Hayden, but of course they have others to pick from. Cheers!
     
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  18. Maxbet

    Maxbet JACKPOT!

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    Enjoy your trip. Just a couple of days behind you.
     
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  19. Mrs Bourbon

    Mrs Bourbon Tourist

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    Just landed at McCarran! Decent flight with little turbulence. The turbulence we did have hit us while I was using the toilet! Always seems to happen to me. I think it’s funny and don’t mind. Think we made it a bit early. Got to watch “Us” and fell asleep for a bit. No nightmares about tethereds.
    Got a cool shot of The Pentagon and some desert mountain topography closer to Vegas. No Hoover Dam this time. Heading to get our bags and off to the Aria!
    77CCE86B-B2F5-4AD1-9632-D0E7E8CBEACA.jpeg 91814E51-85A4-4852-BD18-8717E809213B.jpeg
     
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  20. Uncle Bourbon

    Uncle Bourbon Low-Roller

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    I will definitely have to check it out! Thanks for the tip.
     
    30th Birthday Trip
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