Trip Report 1/17-1/20

With the weather being so nice this past week I haven’t had the time to write a trip report. And after reading a couple of the reports posted in the last few days, I’ve decided they’re an amazingly tough act to follow and I’ll try to keep this one short.

Day 1

My brother, my friend and I left SoCal about 4pm hoping the traffic wouldn’t be too bad. It was pretty smooth except for some stop-and-go on the 15. We stopped at the world famous Mad Greek restaurant in Baker for a Gyro. Good gyros, but kinda pricey.

We checked in at the Flamingo about 8:30pm and had a room with a view of Bally’s and Bellagio. It was a remodeled room that was very similar to the room I had at Treasure Island a month earlier. I stayed at the Flamingo last summer, and the room was still decorated in 70’s décor. The only thing 70’s about this room was the bathroom – there was no hot water for the shower either.

We started to get drunk and walked over to Caesars to check out the lines on the football games. I didn’t have a good feeling about them so I made no bets, even though I would have broke even because I would’ve taken the Eagles, Titans, and the Over for both games. They made some bets on the games, and we figured we’d come back to the Caesars sportsbook on Sunday to watch some football. We wandered around the strip while pounding drinks for a few more hours and ended up in Boardwalk where we found an empty $5 Blackjack table. I lost $40 in about 30 minutes – not a good start.

Somehow we ended up on the other side of MGM, and I can only remember taking a leak in some alley back there. I scraped my elbow pretty bad on a wall too.

Once we finally made it back to the strip we went to Flamingo and played some $10 Pai Gow. We played for a few hours, got hammered, and didn’t really win or lose anything – that’s the beauty of Pai Gow. About 3:30 am we went to Lindy’s for the late-night Steak & Eggs. I ordered my steak well done and my eggs scrambled and well done because the steak was bloody and the eggs were runny the last time I ate there. The food ain’t that great but it’s amazing ‘drunk food.’

Day 2

The next morning I woke up around 8am with my shoes still on. I took a lukewarm shower and got everyone ready to go. We drove to downtown to find some food. We ended up eating at the Fremont brunch buffet. The buffet wasn’t that bad, it’s the first time I’ve had Portuguese sausage, and the freshly made pancakes were good too. It’s the same buffet that’s in the movie ‘Swingers.’

We played some blackjack at Fitzgerald’s and I won $60 after about 1 hour. We went to the upstairs part of the Fitz and they just opened a new lounge type area with 3 leather sofas and a cool touchscreen jukebox type thing that plays music videos on 4 plasma screen TVs. The jukebox is made by Barden Entertainment – which is the guy that owns Fitzgeralds. They also have a balcony you can go out on and look down on Fremont St. At the Fitz’s bars they have ceramic mugs of Mr. O’Lucky that you can get filled with any drink for 10 bucks, get one of these and all the girls will come up to you and ask where you got it, guaranteed. It’s just as effective as a baby or a puppy.

After that, we went to a couple of stores near the Orleans on Tropicana, and then to Tacos Mexico next to the Budget Suites for dinner. Tacos Mexico should be right up there on the Vegas Values list with their authentic style 60-cent tacos. I ate 6 tacos – 2 carne asada, 2 al pastor, and 2 carnitas.

After going back to the hotel and cleaning up, we cabbed it over to The Beach and used the VIP Pass ($10 cover + 2 free drinks). We had a bunch of drinks and I looked at the amazing scenery while they trolled for some hoes. I got bored after awhile and took a cab back to Flamingo to play some blackjack. I was up and down for about 45 minutes when I split 7’s, got another 7 and split again. I really don’t remember the sequence of cards, but I had a double down in there somewhere too – anyway the dealer busted, I won all hands and was up $80. My friend kept calling me on my cell and told me they were going to check out the World’s Largest Strip Club that just opened up on Industrial behind the Stardust. I told them to wait for me at the Beach so we could go over there together. After about 5 minutes of no cabs at the Flamingo taxi stand, I started walking north along the strip. I made it to Venetian and got a cab there – and probably saved a few dollars in cab fare in the process.

I meet up with them and the Beach and we made it over to the strip club, which is called Sapphire, and it is HUGE. They have a giant front room with a couple stages and a catwalk, and a side room to the right of the entrance with just one stage. I think they have more but it was really crowded and I didn’t get to see the other side. And I didn’t see a separate lap dance area; they just give them at the tables. My buddy bought me a lap dance from one of the only good looking girls in the place and she asked me if I had any ‘uppers.’ I told her I had no idea what that was so she left.

We get back to Flamingo and me and my bro eat steak and eggs, while my friend sleeps. The eggs were runny this time. There were some Yankees fans in Lindy’s so I started giving them a hard time; it was fun.

They went up to the room, and I found a blackjack table. I played until about 4:30 am and the pit boss came over and wanted to close the table. I still wanted to play, so he showed me a table with some empty seats. I walk over there, and of course it’s a 6 to 5 table. I told him I wasn’t playing 6 to 5 and I went to the room and crashed. Since I was the last person in the room this night, both beds were taken so I slept on the floor and woke up with some weird insect bites on my leg and arm.

Day 3

Football day. Our plan of going the Caesars sportsbook an hour or two before kickoff was quelled when everyone woke up about 15 minutes before gametime. We chose to watch the game in the room and luckily we packed plenty of snacks (trail mix, beef jerky, dried fruit, beer). My friend called room service to get a pitcher of boiling hot water for the Cup O’ Noodles – they took 45 minutes and charged us $4.50 for that damn thing. After watching the Eagles lose (good thing I didn’t make any bets), I ordered a pizza from room service – it was actually really good, way better than Dominoes or Pizza Hut and only $12 for a large.

I took a nap and woke up halfway through the Titans/Raiders game – I wish I‘d slept through the whole damn game.

We drove to downtown again for some dinner at the Golden Gate. I had a French dip, pea soup, 2 shrimp cocktails, and a diet coke. We played some blackjack at a table with the only non-Asian dealer in the place – it was some 90-year-old man who took about 15 seconds to deal 1 card. We played about 6 hands in 45 minutes and ended up at a Caribbean Stud table. I won about $80 with what seemed like a pair or a 3 of a kind on almost every hand the dealer qualified.

We walked around a nearly deserted downtown and talked some smack with all the Raiders fans for a while and then went back to the Flamingo.

I had the house salad for $3.95 instead of the steak this time. The salad was really big and I couldn’t finish it all.

Day 4

Not much going on during day 4. They went over to Caesars and collected the money the won on the football games. We ate at the Caesars buffet for breakfast and it was nothing special, except for the shrimp. And then we drove home.

My next trip is supposed to be the first week of March, but that's the same thing I said at the end of my last trip report, so we'll see.

 

Sounds like you had a good time.

See what happens when you pick on NY Yankee fans? Your Raiders lost!

I thought it would be a good football game but the TB Bucs were ready for anything.

 

Hey, I'm a Chargers fan -- I hate the Raiders almost as much as I hate the Yankees.

Yeah, it was a bad football game, but still a thing of beauty seeing another NoCal team run outta gas.

 

I still don't get why a guy would rather sleep on the floor with bugs than in the bed with another guy....it was your friend or your brother, not like anyone is gonna try rubbin up against ya... guys are weird.

 

Does anyone else know what an "upper" is? I was also asked and had no idea what she was talking about.

 

An upper is slang for speed. Drugs, man...

Mikey

 

Guess the girls need a little chemical help to keep bump & grinding all night?

 

Great post!!I've got to check out the
MR.O'Lucky mugs.

Booger

 

I would rather sleep naked in the hallway than share a bed with another guy.

Yeah, it's a guy thing. I'm sure part of it is that all guys know what, uh, "condition" we all wake up with....

If we're going three to a room, we just get a roll-a-way.

 

was saphires worth it? any cover? last time i was in vegas we went to crazy horse two... it was OK. we were thinking about checking saphires out when we go back later in the month...

thanks!