Long Time No See! [Flamingo 5/3 to 5/6]

Well it’s been a while since I logged on here — last time was the summer of 2012.

Back then I was simply a tourist coming all the way from Australia for weeks at a time on vacation, but I’ve been a resident since 2013 and a naturalized citizen since 2019. I haven’t been to Vegas since a quick two-nighter in 2018 which was a blackout shitshow.

But much like everyone else, the past year has been a wild one. We had our first child in April 2020 so combining “learning to pandemic” with “learning to parent” has been quite the journey. Anyway the wife and I are now fully vaccinated (to CDC’s two-week standards) and we decided we’d do solo vacations this year to have a little escape from the rigors and responsibilities of parenting. That’s why I’m currently on the airport train to DIA for my flight to Vegas in a couple of hours!

ACCOMMODATION
I treated myself to a Neapolitan Suite at Flamingo and got a pretty decent rate. I know I don’t need the big room, but I WANT it.

PLANS
— airport transfers with Presidential Limo, might buy a bus pass to avoid the Uber/Lyft hassles
— dinner at Herbs & Rye
— dinner at NOBU
— some relatively cheap blackjack (I imagine $5 minimums are long gone since my last visit)
— Stage Door
— Double Down Saloon
— Ellis island
— Meow Wolf/Omega Mart
— Neon Museum (tentative)

This definitely won’t be a live report but I wanted to get into the spirit of things and get this baby underway early!

 

Sounds like a great trip! Enjoy your solo trip.

 

Congrats on becoming a new citizen! (Personally, I would have gone to Canada, New Zealand, or stayed put in Australia, maybe Netherlands, Denmark or somewhere else in Scandinavia, but your choice.)

Sounds like a great idea to give each other a break from the new rigors of having a baby. Well, at least you’re used to being awake at all hours of the night! Soak up the irresponsibility...reality is only a few days away.

 

Alright well depending on whose definition of “even” you use, I’m fairly “even” for the evening.

Flight landed early, which is a huge bonus, but I was stuck on the tarmac for 15 minutes while we waited for a gate to clear.

My guy Chris from Presidential Limo took me to the liquor store on the way to Flamingo for some beers, then I showered and hit the strip.

After some wandering north on the east side of the strip, I returned to Flamingo having not found any blackjack cheaper than $15 a hand, and played $10 cards for a while. Dumped $150 in exchange for a half dozen beers (idiot) then decided to move on.

made the rookie error of hitting a daiquiri bar for a beer ($too much) before going to Walgreens for the same thing for approximately 25% the cost. Walked through Trop before heading to OYO where I found a $5 blackjack table that robbed me of another $100, albeit the dealer made me feel like a handsome 25-year-old again so it was worth every penny.

Got some to-go Hooters wings (something I’ve never managed in four trips prior) and now headed back to the Bird via CVS for pedialyte and water.

 

I'm taking my own "let's get away from the kids for the first time in a year" solo trip next week so definitely following along.

 

Appreciate the update! I must say, I would be very happy being down $150 after half a dozen drinks, means you’re having fun and not getting robbed insofar as drink service which, at least from my perspective, is a good thing. Lot of folks here who’ve lost much more without any drink service lol.

Looking forward to more updates!

 

Yeah, I remember when Vegas was cheap too. That was about 23 years ago.

 

Enjoy your trip! I am looking forward to updates on what the Double Down is like nowadays.

 

Congrat's on your Citizenship....we are glad to have you! Oh, and the most important thing: congrat's on your child....they are the greatest gift in life !

Now, go kick some ass !!!

 

No wait until you have Grandchildren they are the greatest!

TomTWI

 

It uh appears I was overserved last night. I’m drafting a letter to management.

To shake it off, I walked from home base to the Las Vegas sign this morning and just got done having a breakfast sandwich at Citizens at MB. I have to wonder though — would hair of the dog that bit me help?

 

UPDATE: it did in fact help. What helped even more was turning $60 into $165 and four beers over the course of an hour at $5/hand at OYO. That pays for dinner tonight!

 

I hate when I get overserved!

 

Although I am not a medical doctor, it is my considered medical opinion that capillus de canis would help your condition immensely and immediately. To quote Otter (also not a medical doctor but studying pre med at the time) "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily"

 

3:2? and was it a straight $5 game or did they make you do any funky side bets or antes or other bullshit?

 

6:5 but I don’t really play to get rich. As long as I don’t have to break bills more than once, bullshit with fun dealers and I get a few beers I’m happy.

 

Great start to the report!

My wife and I do the same thing. We each do our own 4-5 day vacation during the year and then do a week long family vacation during the year. Our interests when it comes to vacations really don't overlap, so it definitely works in our favor doing it this way.

 

Walked from OYO to Ellis Island but all the $5 and $10 seats were taken, so I had two slices of pizza (real good!), played some bartop blackjack for long enough to get a beer, then headed over to Stage Door. This place might as well be heaven.

 

Stage Door is awesome! At the right time, of course.

 

Since we last spoke, today has been pretty good.

After hot dog number 2 and Bud bottle number 4, I wandered back to Flamingo knowing I had to get my shit together to FaceTime the family (accommodating for time differences) before heading to my 7:45 reservation at Herbs & Rye.

But the siren song of 21 called my name, and I bought in for “a quick” $40 at a $10 table at Flamingo’s pit by the corner. I only had one beer, but I walked away with $250 for my troubles.

I quit while I was very much ahead, retired to my room to rest my weary feet (22K steps by 2pm!), shower and see the family on my phone.

Everyone’s horror stories about Lyft and Uber prompted me to book one for 7pm, and after burning $50 at another Flamingo $10 table in record time while I waited, it showed up at 6:45 and got me to Herbs & Rye 40 minutes early.

Being unable to get my seat that far in advance, I headed next door to the GOAT sports bar, where I enjoyed a $3 High Life and bullshitted with the bartender. It’s honestly really great to hang out in a local spot in this absurdly tourist-centric town.

H&R buzzed me around 7:25 and got me seated, so I promptly ordered:
— a Blood & Sand
— beef carpaccio
— spicy mussels
— 14oz New York strip with blue cheese crust and chimichurri, and whiskey shallot potatoes as a side.

Everything from start to finish has been tremendous. If you haven’t eaten here, get your ass out to Sahara and...whatever the cross street is.