Trip Report 4/8-4/13 (1st Post)

Hello, this is my first post to this site, but I have been a long time reader, and enjoy the site a lot. I have been to Vegas roughly 10 times, and all of my trips were "guy trips" with either buddies from college or work. This was my first trip to Vegas with a girl, and it proved to be quite different. Firstly, let me preface this report by saying that she does not gamble, at all, and, along with drinking, that is all I ever do in Vegas.

Day 1: I flew in from Key West and she from KC. My flights were delayed due to bad weather, and I arrived in Vegas about 4 hours later than planned. We stayed at the Hard Rock, which I have always enjoyed in the past, despite frequent bad commentary regarding the attitude and off-strip location. Missed the check-in process as she arrived first. We shortly went to dinner at Pink Taco, and had a great meal with good drinks. Great selection of tequila, mexican food, and margaritas. $80 tab, including tip which was courtesy of the drunk guys who tipped me $120 at the bar on my last day of work before the trip. Hit the casino bars, and sat at the side bar to have a few drinks. Played a little VP, but without success. I got a hundred in $25 chips at the roulette table, and proceeded to place a few hit and run bets on black throughout the evening (and pretty much throughout the trip). The fact that I won nearly every bet that I made did nothing to quell my gambling desires. Continued at the bar until we were both pretty drunk, and called it a night. I have to say that the first night at the Hard Rock was a little dissapointing. I think there was a tech. convention at the hotel, and the place was wall-to-wall guys. I'd guess 40-50:1 M:F ratio. Made me happy that I had one with me.

Day 2: Got up at about 10. Planned to go to the pool. For anyone who had never been, the pool at the Hard Rock is incomparable, and that is mostly what she wanted to do. Since I knew that I was on a short gambling leash, I decided to get a 3-day pass at the Rock Spa. I spent some time a the gym in the spa, and really enjoyed the facilities. I was one of (at a max.) 3 or 4 people in the gym, at any time, so that was nice. I also made sure to take a few chips down with me for some walk-by betting. Hit the pool, had some drinks and lunch at the pool bar, and got lots of sun. Went out that night, and started at the forum shops at Caesar's to look for a place to eat. Ended up deciding that leaving room for coktails was more important than food, so we headed over to O'Shea's. I read about O'Shea's on this site, and thought we could get some cheap drinks. I couldn't believe how cheap the drinks were and the service was really friendly. I can see why O'Shea's is a popular spot for guys. From there, we just walked down the strip seeing the sites and stopping in various bars. Hit the 19th floor at the Polo Towers for a few. It was fairly low key, but looked like it might be better on weekends. Eventually we wound up at the piano bar at NYNY. We had a blast there and ended up staying until about 3 (I think we got there at about 10:30). "One more and we'll go" was our battle cry that night. Final bar tab at NYNY - $144. The only bad thing about the night agin was the presence of almost all guys, mostly from Australia. I felt like I was at a rugby party. Ended up heading back to the Hard Rock. Ended up hitting Mr. Lucky's 24/7 (at the Hard Rock) and had a great late night meal. They have late night specials, and I think we both ate for $11 (not incl. tip).

Day 3: Same routine: Spa, pool, nap, and out to dinner by about 9. Ate at P.F. Chang's at the Alladin, and had a great meal and time. After eating, we both felt a little full and unmotivated, so we headed down the strip again. Went to the Bellagio for a few drinks and to walk around. It is really beautiful, but we definitely found it to be a bit stuffy, and too ritzy. Ended up at NYNY again and hit the ESPN Zone for some huge beers and video games. Had a great time, but called it a night early at about 2. I don't know if anyone else experiences this during trips to Vegas, but I always seem to hit the proverbial wall at some point. It is when the travel, time change, drinking, and activity seem to catch up to me and hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the night.

Day 4: Spa and pool again, and hit a late lunch at Mr. Lucky's. Went to Luxor at about 6 to pick up tickets to Blue Man Group. We had a few drinks before the show, and I have to say that I did enjoy the show. It was not quite as great as a lot of people said, but it was OK. It was my first Vegas show, and to me, the ticket prices ($167-ish for 2) were high. That is based on what I wished I could be doing with that money-gambling. I really enjoyed watching the supporting bands during the show more than the main act. Since, we were close, we decided to hit Mandalay Bay. We went to Rumjungle, and had probably the best night of our trip. We both enjoyed this place a lot, and had the best service of the trip. The bartender was great, and that made the experience. Bar tab (drinks only) $117. Way too many tequilas. Went back to the Hard Rock because I had to gamble. My girl watched for a while, but soon called it a night. I played roullete for a while, and then moved on to let it ride (LIR). I usually have a pretty good run at LIR, and on my last trip had won about $1,800. Well, my good fortune did not extend to this trip. I dropped about $700 and ended up back at the room about 7 a.m. Still, had a great night because I got my gambling fix. A footnote on the night: Kid Rock played at the Hard Rock that night, and I did see him several times in the casino with Pamela Anderson.

Day 4 (last full day): I skipped the pool for some daytime gambling and shopping. Played roulette at the Hard Rock for a while and really just stayed at about the same money level. Went to Caesar's and dropped $100. Did a little shopping trying to get some things that I can't get at home. Went back, hit Mr. Lucky's yet again. This was the only time that the service was terrible, and even that was no big deal. Tried to nap, but we were both to restless. Ended up going out to try to hit a few clubs that we had heard about. We started off at the Pink Taco at the bar and had some drinks and appetizers. Too many drinks maybe. From there, went to the Voodoo Lounge at Rio. It was nice, and the rooftop, outside bar was really nice. Great view of Vegas. From there we went to O'Shea's again. We stayed there for a while and headed down the strip. Stopped by the Barbary Coast to check out Drais. The line was too long, all guys, and $20 cover, so we went back to the Hard Rock. We ended up calling it a night since I had to catch a 6:55 a.m. flight. Fell into a drunken slumber and woke up at 6:00 a.m. The problem is that there was no wake up call, as requested. I frantically grabbed everything and made possibly the fastest trip from bed to airport in history. Somehow, I made the plane, although, they were not happy with me. Everything else went fine on the was home. But is was a rough start to a long travel day.

In summary: As usual, I had a great time in Vegas. I did not get my gambling fix, but did get to do a lot of things that I hadn't before. I know I spent more on drinking than on all of my prior trips combined, since I ususally drink free while gambling. The Hard Rock, with a few very minor exceptions, was great. The room was pretty high at $169/night average, but I love the pool, the bars, and the size. I have also always had a great time with the dealers, and that was my main dissapointment in not gambling. Anyway, I would still recommend the Hard Rock to anyone, but primarily young people with no kids (present at least), who don't mind low limit tables, a small casino, and a taxi ride to the strip.
The trip definitely expanded my knowledge of the night life scene.

I am going back June 14-18 with about 10 people. With such a big group, I am considering the NYNY or MGM, based on size, and location. I am already getting excited about that trip.

I am not typically much into searching for deals or cheap buffets, or even keeping track of costs, etc. But I hope my post has been informative or at least entertaining. Sorry, it is so long. I look forward to my next trip so that I can hopefully wow you all with my tales of gambling success.

 

Great first post....

I have had some great times at the 'Rock... A lot of people in here don't like the place... The coolest was when I was 5 minutes behind Rodman and his Harem a few years ago... lol

 

Great report. I know the feeling about not getting your fix. At least you're returning soon. So how did ol' Pamela look? Seen her a couple of years ago in Vancouver.Lots of makeup but really wasn't checking out her face anyway.
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Joe I am Canadian

 

Great report. Although, I can't imagine going to Vegas and not gamble!

 

Thanks for sharing your great report. Wow! Those are some bar tabs. I feel like we go all out when Dan and I get a $50 bottle of wine with dinner. Even then I'm always tempted to ask for a "doggie bottle" or equivalent. Do they have those? Thought once about bringing my own cork and sticking it in my purse.

re: Pamela Anderson. I have this great picture of her that I have to share here. I tell people that I could look as good as her if I had a staff of makeup artists, hair stylists, personal trainers and plastic surgeons following me around too. But the truth is that I'm busy and I'm always working at home in my dungeon office (it's on the ground floor, but the hillside comes halfway up the back wall so my window is at dirt level) so you're lucky if you get washed hair and clean sweats. Someone sent me this picture to help me prove my point:

 

I think she looks better WITHOUT all the makeup. (Of course, that's a woman's perspective...)

 

Sonya,

I love it!!! I have always said that about many stars and most men don't see my point!

There is natural beauty and there is fake beauty. You pass the natural beauty test when even without makeup you look nice/decent. Not many stars can pull that test off.

At least the male stars are more naturally beautiful than the women. How odd the way nature works, eh?