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Guess who's back? Back again? Adam's back for another semi-live TR, tell nobody because nobody cares! Sep 17th - Oct 1st @ Horseshoe.


Adam

Adam

Creepy Vegas Friend
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
2,163
Location
Newry, Northern Ireland
Trips to Las Vegas
15
Good afternoon.

I am currently here.

1000028794.webp

Sat in Seat 10A. Yes, that's transatlantic business class. But getting here has been...interesting, to say the least. It's time for a story.
 
So this trip has been in the works for months. Even before my last trip started. For the last few years I have been coming out in or around the October/November time with a group of friends, and we affectionately call our WhatsApp group Pigfest. I've mentioned a few of them in past TRs. On this trip, wele have...

Me. Adam. Your titular hero.
J - the mad Welsh one. The one who hit a Royal at Pai Gow on a previous trip.
MHR - the high roller of the group, as he has an MGM host. Yeah, we dont gamble high at all! He is also the one who has the pigs from Rich Little Piggies tattooed on his leg, which is why we call the group Pigfest.
T - the Scottish one. Loves pool aka billiards and dancing when playing slot tournaments.
M - the girl who loves to drink, smoke and gamble. Occasionally eat. Thats about it.
B - the classy one. Plays poker and runs a charity in poker. She's J's better half. Will mostly be found at the pool, drink in hand.
R - the cockney. Loves cheap limit poker games that we can't get in the UK. Actually asked me about playing at the Skyline. I soon put him off that one!
D - the calm Welsh one. Always very chilled.
N - J's boss. And one of his best mates. Loves poker, loves gambling, loves Vegas.

And most importantly...E. My wife. She's joining me on this one which means minimal poker and probably more actual eating properly, shopping and touristy stuff.
 
Anyway, back to the story.

Plans have been changing on this one for weeks, as people changed dates because of work etc. The main premise of the trip is simple. It's J's birthday during the trip. His 40th, to be precise. So we had dates we had to be around for. Specifically the 27th, as B has again booked a Cabana at Stadium Swim for us all to celebrate.

I didnt actually book my flights until 3 weeks ago, because...

A) They were too expensive.
B) I couldn't settle on dates.
C) The connections were rubbish timings, especially coming back.

But eventually I found a flight. Dublin - Dallas - Vegas on the way out and Vegas - Dallas - Heathrow - Dublin on the way back. The issue we had was that all the flights from Vegas to Dublin either direct or one stop indirect were landing before 2pm Dublin time. This is a nightmare when trying to fix jetlag, so we normally go via London for the return and get in at 8pm to get home and go straight to bed at 11pm, but that was impossible this time as all of the London flights had sold out for the day we wanted to return.

However, that was just the start of the nightmare that is American Airlines. Problem is, we're stuck with them but thats another story for another day...
 
So I book my flights, and with E coming out and it being a 2 week trip, we didn't book basic economy for once. We booked Main. And as a treat, we paid for seats 26A and 26B specifically. Exit Row seats. For the outbound flight.

Booking went through okay at the time. I then logged onto the app on September 2nd to reserve a special meal because it was needed. And spotted something.

E was still in 26B.

I didn't have a seat assignment.
 
So I spent two full days, whilst sick, trying to find out what had happened. Why someone else was in my seat. No Bueno. Nobody could do anything, other than move me into another seat away from E. So I gave up and planned to raise merry hell at the airport, as i was told by AA Customer Services that they were the only ones who could, potentially, do anything.

Until a week later. When I logged on again to see that 26A was open. So I sat my ass in it and all was well again.

But, Adam, the OP says you're in Seat 10A.

Well, dear reader, the fun was just beginning...
 
Check in opened at 12.40pm yesterday. We still had our exit row seats, but for some reason we could not check in. So I went back to work and decided to try again later.

Finished work at 4pm and logged onto the app to check in. And our seats have changed AGAIN. This time we are in 33D and 33E. Huh?

Look at the map and realise something. There's been a plane change. Its now a 777-300, not a 777-200. More seats, bigger plane. And our exit row seats just became bulkhead Bassinet. Great. Then something else catches my eye.

"Premium Economy upgrade for $248pp". Have a look at the seat map and notice a row of 2, in the bulkhead, open. So go to buy it. Click on upgrade and something ELSE catches my eye.

"Flagship Business - $550pp". This is £400. For transatlantic business class. Go and look at that seat map, and we can book two seats together in the middle. Perfect. Booked. And we have 12D and 12G. Start getting excited.

Until I click back on the map 3 hours later and I'm in 10A. On my own in a window seat. E is in 10D. I realise the plane's been swapped again, back to a 777-200. So we've gone from middle seats at the front of the plane to separate seats where we can barely see each other at the back of business class. Right next to the bassinet in Premium Economy. Great.

Oh, and not only that, but AA have some 777-200 seats that are facing backwards on half of their fleet. We both get travel sick if riding backwards on a train, never mind a plane. And 10D is a backwards seat if we get the older planes.
 
So we spend most of last night trying to confirm that we hadn't paid £400 each for a seat that would make us puke. Didn't get much sleep.

Got to the airport this morning and found out that apparently when we'd booked the upgrade, so had everybody else as the 777-300 has 57 business class seats compared to the 777-200's 37. So a lot of people had been downgraded. But business was full so we just had to go with the flow.

Spent some time in the lounge at DUB. Don't bother. The new refurbishment has made it worse. Food offerings reduced, seats more uncomfortable and everything bar booze is now self-service.

Got to the plane and thankfully it was the configuration that has 37 forward facing business seats so settled in. Boarding was complete for a 12.40pm departure.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited...
 
Apparently Dublin airport didnt bother to send the bags at a decent time. So we had to wait for them, and other cargo, to be loaded. Took off 65 minutes late.

Our connection at DFW was 77 minutes. Its in a different terminal. Needless to say we weren't making that.

So I've managed to rebook us from the 5.30pm to the 6.50pm. Hopefully thay doesnt get delayed and we get to Vegas tonight. Bloody American Airlines. I'll be complaining. As usual. Why cant anything go to plan these days?

Anyway, on to the fun stuff...
 
In a shocking development, we check in to the Horseshoe tonight.

And dont check out until we leave on October 1st.

Yep, for the first time ever in Vegas, I AM NOT SWITCHING HOTELS. 18 trips. Over 200 days in Paradise. And until now, I have never had a trip where I haven't changed hotels. Ever.

Why? Because E doesn't like changing hotels and with my Diamond status, even paying for weekends was cheap. The entire stay is costing $650. That includes taxes. And 2 weekends. And I only have 7 comp weeknights. Thats INSANE for Vegas.
 
So on the docket for this trip:

We get in today. Hopefully.
J, MHR and R get in Saturday evening.
B is next to arrive on Sunday.
M, T and D all arrive 25th October.
N gets in on the 26th.

We dont actually have much planned other than the cabana. Me, E, T and M are going to Foo Fighters at Allegiant on the 26th. J, MHR, and R have Bali Hai booked, I think, for the 22nd. Those of us who are out are also going for a steak dinner on the 23rd. Other than that...oh wait, forgot one.

J's sister and her partner are joining us for a couple of days whilst they do their own trip. We're all meeting at the Vinyl Room at Mandalay Bay on the 26th. They have something to do first which I cant actually say but you can all guess...then we celebrate with them. Answers on a postcard that I cant confirm until afterwards...
 
Don't expect lots of pictures. Most of the group are camera shy, or to be honest I just forget to get the camera out. I'll try and remember but I'm not as good as @Christina6001 at pics, sorry!

I'll try and do my best to make this enjoyable, but I'm definitely a supporter of the written word. This time, however, I'll try and space it out a bit better, rather than the massive walls of text I am a bit infamous for.

After all, why use one word when you can use 10?

Oh, they just turned the cabin lights back on. Must be time for food. Toodles!
 
No food for me. The options were Chicken Foccacia or a Mediterranean Butterbean and Sweet Potato salad. I have an intolerance to Butterbeans.

Guess what was left when they got right to the back.

Is it bad that I kinda just want to cry at how shit this has been?
 
Not sure how invested you are in AA, but personally, I would be gone. I gave United the boot some years ago for similar issues, and life has been waayy better!
 
Your flight issues … what a cluster! Please inform E that some of your loyal readers enjoy your poker posts. You know, guilt her into letting you and the group play lots of poker.

Have fun!
 
OM gee. What a cluster! Safe travels and I visited your country this summer and holy hell is your country not the best? Loved every minute and nook n cranny of it. Will bump into you in the strip this weekend…lol
 
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