There's no need for me to pile on advice that was given already, but I immediately knew this would be frustrating when I read that your friend considers Ping Pang Pong to be out of his spending range. This is not a person I would be able to travel with the entirety of a trip.
Which is why we need to distance ourselves from the "inspirational / aspirational" poster hanging in the company breakroom that says "we treat you like family". Wanna treat me like family? I'll kick your ass, sport!
Friendship has not ended, just the traveling together part. We are going to the movies tomorrow together.
Good that you'll stay friends! When he started negotiating with you on the conditions governing whether he'd continue to grace you with his presence, that seemed to settle the Vegas part of it.
Reading this thread prompted me to go through your TRs. Is this the same friend who has thrown up in seven different Vegas hotels. Seems from reading your reports test you like to see reasonably priced shows, eat at modestly priced restaurants, and aside from a little blackjack, seem to be mainly a slot player. Doesn't seem like you go hog wild. It's tough to imagine why your friend even likes to go to Vegas.
Just discuss it in advance and it shouldn't be a problem, or go solo. If you just really want a Vegas friend who is into the things you want to do, well, you may have to find another one. But be forewarned. It's not impossible that you find a friend who only wants to stay and eat at the most expensive places in town and you end up like your friend.
Glad you’re still friends! we have travel friends who day to day we don’t jive! The world is an interesting place !
This whole situation reminds me of my family. We all went last December, my family of 5, 2 siblings, my mom, and my other sibling and her family of 4. We paid the bill, had the suite brought the food, brought the snacks, bought dinners and all we wanted was an hour to be out on our own. No one would watch our kids. They were all too busy and my mom was busy playing nanny to my nieces. I explained my frustration and all saw the issues but my mom and sister. But still no one else would watch my kids for an hour. Now we just went last week the 5 of us and had a blast . No schedule to be on, nowhere to be at a set time. Let the teen make some cash watching his siblings. Now my siblings are there all alone for a week because I couldn't be bothered to deal with their drama. They are both on the spectrum and God knows how they will handle eating target food all week, because that's their idea of a fun time in vegas. My mom is back to being a live in nanny to my nieces. All that to say, do your own thing..it'll make you happier in the long run.
This story rings so true with me. I have a friend who is ultra-frugal. However, he likes the idea of Vegas and gambling. He came with me to Las Vegas a few times and took advantage of sharing my free room and free meals. I don't mind sharing with someone who is fun and who contributes toward the trip. Yes, I get the rooms and food for free, but I had to spend my money to earn those comps. He considers it all free to him and since it costs nothing to me, he doesn't need to contribute anything (his math is half of $0 is $0). If he chooses where to eat, it's at Subway with a coupon for a $5 sub. If we are eating on my comps, he will order one of everything on the menu, take a bite, and throw the rest out, just because it's free. And then he won't leave the tip. We are talking a 4-day trip with the entire stay and food comped and he won't even contribute anything toward tips. So I stopped offering him anything of mine if we go at the same time. He can enjoy his Sun/Mon nights free at Excalibur (+ resort fee) while betting $0.25 per hand on video poker, and I will enjoy what I am offered.
This was both amusing and a little sad to read. I'm glad you're still friends. It's tough to change the status quo after thirty years. I was fortunate enough to be able to learn the most important rule for travelling with friends by observation as opposed to experience. Many years ago, 4 of us went to Vegas and one guy decided to invite a friend of his to tag along. Turns out he brought $100 total with him and just sort of followed us around asking my friend to pay for things for him. My buddy ended giving him $1000 and told him to meet us at the airport for the flight home. Ever since then, I've made it very clear that I'm going to do exactly what I want and if we all happen to meet up at the same time and place then fantastic. It's worked out great every time. We actually end up spending a ton of time together but there's no pressure either way.
I can somewhat understand your plight. I have a very good long-time friend that I have gone to Vegas with, but he doesn't gamble, and he is cheap, but in his case it's more because he can't afford it. I don't invite him on my Vegas trips anymore because I know he can't afford it and I even feel a little subconscious gambling in front of him because in the back of my mind I believe that he is thinking..."Why don't you give me some of that money you are just throwing away at the tables or slot machines"? I am still very good friends with him, and we will do different things locally together but nothing that is expensive.
