Tor Paul
Tourist
Saturday June 26th
Woke up around 10, everybody else was still asleep. I had booked a car at Dollar for 11, but I didn't want to wake anybody up. I walked down to the casino, and threw $5 in a video poker machine. Half an hour later, I was up to $40 and cashed out!! Now I'm even for the trip. Went back to the room, and the guys were just starting to rouse. We were all finally ready to go around 12, and walked over to Bally's to get the minivan. Arrived at the desk at 12:15, and I notice a sign saying closed for lunch, come back at 1:00. I could not believe it...what kind of system is that! Oh well, we walk back to the Flamingo and kill some time. Just after 1, we walk back to the rental desk and they've got my reservation waiting. He took 5 minutes trying to upsell insurance, which I decline. I'm not even sure if my Canadian insurance covers me there, but oh well, I was carefull. We go to Paris to pick up the car, and we're off to Hoover Dam. We figured we needed to do something scenic like this, so we would have at least one non-drinking, non-gambling, non-stripper story to tell. Before heading to the dam we tried to find a White Castle to eat at (don't have that in Canada). We searched a while, but couldn't find one so we ate at Jack-In-The-Box. We don't have those in Canada either, and I know why...it sucked. One of my buddies ended up sick later, and blamed the burger. The drive to the dam was uneventful, there was a detour sign for large trucks, but not for us. The police had a checkpoint set up, but they didn't really look at anything, just waved us through. We drove over the dam, so we can now say we've seen Arizona. Drove back over, and parked. Walked across the dam. It was impressive, but I've always pictured it to be bigger. We were melting in the heat, so we declined the tour. We were drying of thirst on the way back (we had a case of beer, but didn't want to drink too much in the van...and I couldn't drink at all). We stopped at a 7-11 in Henderson (lovely town) and each got a giant Slurpee, and we got another 6 pack of Red Bull. When we finally arrived back in Vegas, we decided to take a drive up the strip. That was the longest 3 miles I've ever driven. We started at Tropicana Ave and drove north to the Stratospere. It probably took over an hour...but at this point I switched driving with somebody else, so I had a few beers in the back of the van. The tinted windows of minivans are great for that.
We headed back to Paris and returned the van, then went for dinner.
The bachelor was anxious to have the $7 Steak and Lobster at Bourbon Street. We all walked there, and were seated right away. We got a bucket of beer (5 beer), and we each ordered our steaks. I don't like lobster, so I only got a steak for $6. In retrospect, I should have got the lobster, it was only a buck more. Each steak came with 2 lobster tails. I would say the quality of the steak was in direct relation to its price. For $6 or $7, we were more than happy. Had I payed $20 like most places charge, I would have sent it back, or walked out, but for $7, it was what I expected.
We left the restaurant, and headed back to the Flamingo to drink. More Red Bull's and vodka for me...they definitely woke me up. With much thanks to vegashost, we had a table set up at Curve in the Alladin. We were asked to arrive before 11:30, but I was barely able to get the guys out the door before then. We had all dressed up a bit over our previous nights. Arrived at the Alladin about 11:45, but we had no problems getting our table. We were seated in huge leather couches in the Hip-Hop room, and had a $300 bar tab. We all ordered CC's and coke, so the waitress suggested we just get a bottle on our next round. We got a bottle of Crown Royal, which accounted for $195 of the bar tab. We also got all the coke and ice we wanted. Curve was pretty good, but I'm not sure I'd go back. There were way too many guys on the dance floor, and any girls that were there were immediately surrounded by guys. We didn't really feel like pushing our way in on the ladies, especially since we're all either married or in commited relationships. The balcony is really cool...it overlooks the strip. We ended up leaving the bar around 3 or 4, and went back to Barbary coast for some cheap food and drink. Had a quick breakfast, and more $1 drinks. At about 6, the bachelor, S.D. and I ditched the other guys (they all went to bed) and went back to the Spearmint Rhino. It was a bit more crowded than Thursday night, but it was still great. I was hoping to run into the stripper I had talked to the other night, but she was nowhere to be found. The other 2 guys had a great time as well. Went back to our rooms around 10 or so.
Sunday June 27th
We called down, and got a late check-in for 1 o'clock (instead of 12). I got up around 12, and showered, packed. The bachelor just kept on sleeping though, and slept till about 2. Eventually the maid came to our room, and kicked us out. Sunday was a real rough day for me...i was extremely hung. We went to Lindy's for lunch, and I couldn't eat a thing. After lunch, we wondered down the strip...the bachelor was excited to buy souvenirs, and bought 4 t-shirts for $10. I'm sure they're going to last more than 1 wash. We went to NYNY, and my tall buddy and me did the roller coaster. It was great. On the way back to the hotel, 2 of the guys went to see a movie, but I went back to the barbary coast for cheap gambling. I played blackjack, and put down $40. I got a bad run of cards, and was down to my final $5. Then I turned it around, and ended up cashing out $5 ahead. Therefore, I was up for the whole trip. I'm sure I'm on the blacklist now for all the casino's...they don't want big winners like me.
It was finally time to leave...so we collected our bags around 9, and headed to the airport for an 11:30 pm flight. Slept the whole flight, and arrived in Toronto at 6:30 am Monday morning. Slept all day Monday.
Final thoughts
I'd go back to Vegas in a second...next time my wife is coming
I'm surprised there are so many babies there...I'd think they'd just melt away
I thought I would gamble a lot more...I just didn't have the time with all the drinking
Girls are hot in Vegas
The Beach is a great bar...Curve is okay
$1 drinks are great
I couldn't imagine going withuot using the resources/advice found on this site. my buddies loved all the things I organized, and we still had tonnes of free time to do other things
Woke up around 10, everybody else was still asleep. I had booked a car at Dollar for 11, but I didn't want to wake anybody up. I walked down to the casino, and threw $5 in a video poker machine. Half an hour later, I was up to $40 and cashed out!! Now I'm even for the trip. Went back to the room, and the guys were just starting to rouse. We were all finally ready to go around 12, and walked over to Bally's to get the minivan. Arrived at the desk at 12:15, and I notice a sign saying closed for lunch, come back at 1:00. I could not believe it...what kind of system is that! Oh well, we walk back to the Flamingo and kill some time. Just after 1, we walk back to the rental desk and they've got my reservation waiting. He took 5 minutes trying to upsell insurance, which I decline. I'm not even sure if my Canadian insurance covers me there, but oh well, I was carefull. We go to Paris to pick up the car, and we're off to Hoover Dam. We figured we needed to do something scenic like this, so we would have at least one non-drinking, non-gambling, non-stripper story to tell. Before heading to the dam we tried to find a White Castle to eat at (don't have that in Canada). We searched a while, but couldn't find one so we ate at Jack-In-The-Box. We don't have those in Canada either, and I know why...it sucked. One of my buddies ended up sick later, and blamed the burger. The drive to the dam was uneventful, there was a detour sign for large trucks, but not for us. The police had a checkpoint set up, but they didn't really look at anything, just waved us through. We drove over the dam, so we can now say we've seen Arizona. Drove back over, and parked. Walked across the dam. It was impressive, but I've always pictured it to be bigger. We were melting in the heat, so we declined the tour. We were drying of thirst on the way back (we had a case of beer, but didn't want to drink too much in the van...and I couldn't drink at all). We stopped at a 7-11 in Henderson (lovely town) and each got a giant Slurpee, and we got another 6 pack of Red Bull. When we finally arrived back in Vegas, we decided to take a drive up the strip. That was the longest 3 miles I've ever driven. We started at Tropicana Ave and drove north to the Stratospere. It probably took over an hour...but at this point I switched driving with somebody else, so I had a few beers in the back of the van. The tinted windows of minivans are great for that.
We headed back to Paris and returned the van, then went for dinner.
The bachelor was anxious to have the $7 Steak and Lobster at Bourbon Street. We all walked there, and were seated right away. We got a bucket of beer (5 beer), and we each ordered our steaks. I don't like lobster, so I only got a steak for $6. In retrospect, I should have got the lobster, it was only a buck more. Each steak came with 2 lobster tails. I would say the quality of the steak was in direct relation to its price. For $6 or $7, we were more than happy. Had I payed $20 like most places charge, I would have sent it back, or walked out, but for $7, it was what I expected.
We left the restaurant, and headed back to the Flamingo to drink. More Red Bull's and vodka for me...they definitely woke me up. With much thanks to vegashost, we had a table set up at Curve in the Alladin. We were asked to arrive before 11:30, but I was barely able to get the guys out the door before then. We had all dressed up a bit over our previous nights. Arrived at the Alladin about 11:45, but we had no problems getting our table. We were seated in huge leather couches in the Hip-Hop room, and had a $300 bar tab. We all ordered CC's and coke, so the waitress suggested we just get a bottle on our next round. We got a bottle of Crown Royal, which accounted for $195 of the bar tab. We also got all the coke and ice we wanted. Curve was pretty good, but I'm not sure I'd go back. There were way too many guys on the dance floor, and any girls that were there were immediately surrounded by guys. We didn't really feel like pushing our way in on the ladies, especially since we're all either married or in commited relationships. The balcony is really cool...it overlooks the strip. We ended up leaving the bar around 3 or 4, and went back to Barbary coast for some cheap food and drink. Had a quick breakfast, and more $1 drinks. At about 6, the bachelor, S.D. and I ditched the other guys (they all went to bed) and went back to the Spearmint Rhino. It was a bit more crowded than Thursday night, but it was still great. I was hoping to run into the stripper I had talked to the other night, but she was nowhere to be found. The other 2 guys had a great time as well. Went back to our rooms around 10 or so.
Sunday June 27th
We called down, and got a late check-in for 1 o'clock (instead of 12). I got up around 12, and showered, packed. The bachelor just kept on sleeping though, and slept till about 2. Eventually the maid came to our room, and kicked us out. Sunday was a real rough day for me...i was extremely hung. We went to Lindy's for lunch, and I couldn't eat a thing. After lunch, we wondered down the strip...the bachelor was excited to buy souvenirs, and bought 4 t-shirts for $10. I'm sure they're going to last more than 1 wash. We went to NYNY, and my tall buddy and me did the roller coaster. It was great. On the way back to the hotel, 2 of the guys went to see a movie, but I went back to the barbary coast for cheap gambling. I played blackjack, and put down $40. I got a bad run of cards, and was down to my final $5. Then I turned it around, and ended up cashing out $5 ahead. Therefore, I was up for the whole trip. I'm sure I'm on the blacklist now for all the casino's...they don't want big winners like me.
It was finally time to leave...so we collected our bags around 9, and headed to the airport for an 11:30 pm flight. Slept the whole flight, and arrived in Toronto at 6:30 am Monday morning. Slept all day Monday.
Final thoughts
I'd go back to Vegas in a second...next time my wife is coming
I'm surprised there are so many babies there...I'd think they'd just melt away
I thought I would gamble a lot more...I just didn't have the time with all the drinking
Girls are hot in Vegas
The Beach is a great bar...Curve is okay
$1 drinks are great
I couldn't imagine going withuot using the resources/advice found on this site. my buddies loved all the things I organized, and we still had tonnes of free time to do other things
