T.I. March 30-April 2

Here is my first trip report. It is long so I will be posting it in parts. Hopefully you don't find it boring.

Sunday March 29

Left home and drove to Calgary as our flight left at 8:30 am Monday as it is a 3 hour drive.

Monday March 30

Got up at 5:30 to get ready for our flight. Check in at the airport was fast, no problems. Flight was good. I didn't know that the airport was close to the strip, first sight of the strip was from our seats on the plane. We are in Vegas baby! Go get our luggage and grab a cab, I wasn't sure what would be the best way to get to our hotel, shuttle or cab, made the right choice with the cab as we were at T.I. 15 mins. later. Our cab driver was great, when we got in the cab I told him T.I. via Paradise he laughed and asked me if someone told me to say that. He then went on to tell me that if he took the long way the taxi authority would fine $200.00 plus if the fare is more than his tip would be smaller. I asked him about the slow down in Vegas and he said the cabs were experiencing a 40% drop, he started his shift at 5:30am and we were his third fare and it was 10:30am. Check in was fast, 10 – 15 min. Ask the front desk for a strip view and was told it would be an extra $30.00 a night but we could have view of the Sirens show but the room was not ready yet so we just took the standard deluxe room, I did not try the $20.00 trick. Our room was in the North tower on the 16th floor and it looked like it does on the T.I. website. Unpacked our bags and headed out to see the sites.

Walked next door to the Fashion Show Mall and had lunch at Johnny Rockets. I had a hamburger and lemon coke and the wife had a hamburger and cherry coke, was very good but there is a difference in the way hamburgers are cooked in the US. In Canada they only cook burgers well done, in the US you can have medium or well but you have to ask, so it was a surprise to bite into the hamburger and see some of it pink. After lunch we headed out to the strip.

Wynn – Nice place.

After Wynn headed to Encore.

Encore – All I can say is WOW!

Walked over to Slots-A-Fun.

Walked around and spent a few bucks playing slots, didn't win, craps table was full and people were having a good time. We didn't stay long maybe ten minutes, it is old looking but a fun place. Next trip would like to spend more time there. Went next door to Circus Circus.

Circus Circus – Wanted to see if it was as bad as people say. Well it was. Dark, dirty, dismal. Kids running around everywhere, tons of vendors selling junk and time share people! We were approached three times by them in the short time we were there.

Got the hell out of there and walked over to the Stratosphere .

Stratosphere – As we were walking to the Stratosphere I swear it was moving! It didn't seem that far from Circus Circus. Finally got there and headed into the casino and signed up for the players card and received a coupon book. Found a goldfish machine (some people on the board have posted that they have good luck on it), put a few bucks in to try it out. Didn't win but was a lot of fun to play! Had a few bonus games (didn't know it at the time, but goldfish would become a popular game with my wife and I). The casino itself was a bit dark, nothing exciting. We then headed on up to the tower(2 for 1). What a great view! The hills and desert were beautiful. While we were up there I went on Insanity, what a ride! I was nervous sitting there waiting for the ride to start but once we got going what a feeling, swinging 900 feet above Vegas. This ride is a must. Finished up at the Stratosphere then went to catch the deuce to Fremont Street.

Got to Fremont and walked around a bit, getting hungry so headed over to the Golden Nugget for the buffet (2 for 1). Buffet was ok, glad we had the coupon as I don't think it was worth full price. On the way to sign up for their card we came across a Happy Days slot, my wife put in $2.00 and a couple of minutes later she cashed out $18.00. Her first win first time playing! Signed up for players card and won $5.00 free slot play, won nothing on it. Checked out the shark tank with the water slide, it was pretty cool. The casino had a nice feel to it. Crossed over to Binion's and signed up for their players card then off to Mermaids.

Mermaids – I love this place! Stopped outside for some beads and a picture with the bead ladies. While I was getting my picture taken one of the ladies grabbed my ass and squeezed it! She had strong hands. (When we got back to our room I asked my wife to check for bruise marks). I was now ready for my first drink in Vegas ( it was now around 7:30, how sad is that?). We stepped two feet into Mermaids and a waitress asked us what we wanted. We were playing slots when our drink came (the coin slots were fun), mine was a Captain and coke and it was strong. After playing a few slots and not winning, it was time for a $12.00 Mermaid watermelon drink and a deep fried twinkie. The twinkie was awesome! I loved it and ate the whole thing.

Watched a few of the light shows, checked out Four Queens, Fitzgerald's Fremont and Golden Gate. It is nice having so many casinos close together. We were starting to run out of steam so took the deuce back to the strip. The trip didn't take long and we stopped back in Slots-A-Fun for a hot dog (coupon) . The picture says it all.

Now we are really done for the night. Walked back to T.I. and fell asleep in 10 minutes.

Day 2 coming soon.

 

Good start. Looking forward to the rest of the TR.

later, GVJ

 

love the trip report so far, now for the rest of the story, please.

 

Great so far..but

WTF is on that HOTDOG?? Please, dear God, tell me that is NOT from the cheese family.

 

Do tell...did you get a bruise from the Mermaids chick pinching your ass? *LOL*

Nice report so far. Looking forward to part 2.

 

Great report!

That hot dog looks like some sort of jello mold gone bad.

 

MMMM, the good 'ol Slots-o-Fun hot dog! We had one of those on our very first trip to Vegas when we stayed at the Stardust. All I can say is, ECK!!

 

Great trip report so far......looking forward to the rest! It's fun to hear about Vegas from a "first-timer's" perspective!