What Prompted Your First Visit To LV?

I was always the type of person that never gambled. No lottery tickets, etc. I never could understand how anyone would want to go to Las Vegas. I had even been given money to gamble with on business trips (in Jamaica ) and kept it without gambling. One day my boss asked if I wanted to go to Las Vegas. I didn't really want to go but decided to tag along. He pretty much worked the whole trip so I went out and got into adventures. I met a really amazing girl the night before we were leaving that taught me how to play roulette and have been coming back off and with her and any chance I get. I am completely hooked now and go once a month or so while living on the East Coast. I LOVE Las Vegas.

 

Back in 2002 I built an online ordering system for restaurants.

My wife was a multi unit Subway manager and with her help, plus the owner of the restaurants and the local Subway development office I customized the system for the Subway menu.

Did some local testing for a year and then when it was time to try and reach out to other markets it just so happened there was a big (10-12K attendees?) Subway franchisees convention at The Venetian in Las Vegas.

So first trip to Las Vegas was as an exhibitor at a convention.

 

Hey Now!
Vegoose 2005.
Hadn't ever gamboled, came with Sweet Ti and a few friends from VA. Great show, it was at Sam Boyd Stadium. We stayed at Terrible's. Took the bus as far as it went, and caught a ride the rest of the way with a local who was shuttling people for $1 a head. Played bartop BJ at Terrible's. Kept doing the double of nothing and turned $20 into $400. Met Ziggy who was (and still is) bartending there. We were hooked! Still best friends with Ziggy and his lovely wife Bo. 11th trip coming up!!!

 

My first visit was when I was 59 years old. Our youngest daughter decided she wanted to get married in Vegas. I had no desire to go to Vegas because I don't enjoy gambling and I don't drink. I never thought there would be anything in Vegas for me. Well, I loved the trip and hubs and I returned 5 years later for 10 days. We are now going back at the end of the month for 10 more days. I love, love Vegas.

 

My first trip to Las Vegas was in 2009. I stayed at the Excalibur, due to a good offer on rooms. I'd started playing Texas Hold 'Em at my local casino in February 2009, and had heard stories of how good the games were in Vegas. I went for 4 days. The 3rd day I started suffering from pinkeye, making the casinos nearly unbearable. While I ended the trip down overall, I had tons of fun and have been back at least once per year since then, and am making my 15th trip this July. Ironically, while my first trip was spent at an MGM property, every trip since then has been at a Caesar's property, primarily Bally's, with a couple of stays at Harrah's and once at The Quad. I've made friends who live in Vegas through poker message boards and blogs, and another who lives approximately an hour and a half away, all due to poker! While I've traveled solo on many occasions, and with my wife on a few more, the best trip was when several poker buddies were in town at the same time. Lots of fun and hijinks!!

 

My first trip was in 2004 to see Star Trek:: The Experience. Gambling was limited to a couple of slot machines and very little money (that has changed considerably since then). Like several others on here, I was older, 48. That visit was part of a 2 week road trip out west from Ohio. I've been going back regularly since.

 

Twelve years ago this past January, I inherited a little money. Very little. My husband and I had been talking about Vegas, so I got us tickets and we split the rest. Stayed at Bally's..great location. Loved it then, love it more now. Mostly stay at CET properties, Paris for a few years, lately Planet Hollywood, due to Hunter's good graces. Can't wait to get back in June. We went four times that first year, and I wish we did now. Lately, it's twice a year, we will see how it goes, now that I am retired.

 

I read a fascinating article about the recently opened Luxor hotel, which also mentioned the other themed hotels on the Strip. We stayed at the Luxor on our first trip and really enjoyed it, but sadly the owners have sucked the life out of it and de- themed it as much as they could so we often don't even bother visiting it any more! The shows were the other huge incentive.

 

I believe it was in 1989 I got to attend an all expense paid conference in San Diego. I was into blackjack and thought "Hey, flight from San Diego to Las Vegas would be cheap". So when I booked my flight to the conference I also booked a round trip from San Diego to Las Vegas and then went to San Diego 3 days early. Arrived in San Diego, walked to another gate, got on another plane to Las Vegas, spent three days there losing money, flew back to San Diego, attended conference, flew home. Although I lost money, I still consider that one of my best Win-Wins in life. Man, has Vegas changed since 1989.

 

My wife won a $1500 credit at work for a travel agency, the agent screwed us, late flight in on a Friday night, three nights at Excalibur and a red eye home.
It wasn't the best first trip, but we learned a lot and still had fun.

 

I suppose I have to thank the TV series CSI for visiting. Both me and my wife used to watch the show and I enjoyed seeing the scenery when it used to pan around the Vegas skyline. We did some research and decided to go and see what it's al about and in 2008 we made the trip. We stayed at Desert Rose Resort as we were on a budget. We really enjoyed that week and went to see Penn & Teller, Elton John and Tom Jones. We returned in 2010 to do the Grand Canyon and also went to see David Copperfield. My wife is one of those who once she's been somewhere doesn't want to keep going back. I returned on a guys trip in 2012 and stayed Downtown which I hadn't been to in my first two visits. And since then I have visited a further 7 times and I'm back on Sunday.

 

We started with a "Buddy Golf Weekend" - 4 of us.
Did that in the mountains.....had a blast.
Then ----
The gambler of our group said, "Let's do Vegas ! This time !"
My reaction was "huh ?....I don't even gamble ?"
*
Greatest time !
Continued for 20+ years !

 

I thought it would be easy to get laid.

 

The first visit to Vegas, back in '81, was the Great Monterey to Las Vegas motorcycle ride with me and a couple of the guys. It was more about the haul than the destination,
we being fans of Hunter S. Thompson, and the epic line : “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”.

Then, back around '04, it just occurred to me that, as the wife was on Christmas break, we could buzz out to Vegas - she never having been. We stayed at NYNY, just happened to
win enough at MGM to pay for the trip, so she fell in love with it. It's become sort of the default short vacay destination. It's the one place where there is absolutely no schedule whatsoever at all and everything is within walking distance. Another big bonus...she being a teacher...not a lot of kids. Granted, she loves teaching (high school, mostly juniors) but sometimes, s o m e t i m es , it's good to be away from the drama and embrace cocktails and adult interaction.

 

I was an assistant baseball coach for a high school team from northwest Pennsylvania. We always had a "southern" trip in early April. We went to places like Charlotte, NC; Memphis, Tenn.; and Oklahoma City. We stayed for six days at the Maxim. The rooms were very cheap because the Maxim had lost its casino license. I was on a tight budget, but I had a great time! I enjoyed playing slots at the Boardwalk casino. My worst decision was eating at the buffet in the Boardwalk.

 

Well I was going with my dad between 12 and 16 years old so by 1974, well I was ready. Had a friend and we had Fri and Sat reserv. Worked and then drove and got in around midnight. We were broke by 6am and left with 15 silver dollars between us and just made it home on gas and no silver dollars left. That's when my dad told me to always fill your tank with gas before you check in and leave 20 bucks in your car. lol

 

Reluctantly 2005, to celebrate a relative's 50th Bday.
Stayed at Caesars.

We have been back every year since.. but never back to Caesars

 

Sales meeting in Scottsdale in 2007, my colleague suggested we fly to Vegas two days ahead, then pay out of pocket for a cheap flight to Phoenix plus two nights lodging. My buddy used points for room charges one night at the LV Hilton, plus he picked up the rental car: a PT Cruiser, what a dork-mobile. The second night we moved to the Monte Carlo.

My wife went out about a month later for a girls trip, so my running joke is "my wife and I went to Vegas for the first time.....me in February and her in March".......rim shot! You've been a great audience, don't forget to tip your server.

 

My local poker buddy had been out to Vegas for the first time with his girlfriend and when they came back he said that we need to take a buddies trip for degenerate gambling, heavy drinking, cigar smoking, strip clubs, etc. I was about a year out of college in June of 1996 and we turned it into a week long West Coast trip with bookend weekends in Vegas. Stayed at the brand new New York New York the first weekend then drove to San Francisco and down the coast to San Diego with various stops along the way and returned to Vegas for a weekend stay at a relatively new Treasure Island. I remember being awestruck the first time I drove down the strip. I also remember knowing nothing about BJ rules. I was splitting tens, hitting on 15s and 16s, and making other dumb moves, but I started to pick it up by the second weekend. I also remember being amazed that a couple of guys playing blackjack next to us were betting $25 per hand minimum at the $5 table, thinking man these guys are high rollers, little did I know that would be me in a few years.

I was hooked and have made at least one trip per year ever since, usually two or three trips per year.

 

1 month after the wife and I got engaged (Jan of 2013) we took "advantage" of a free hotel room at the Hilton at the very north end of the strip for hearing the sales pitch for time shares. Only plans were to see a Cirque and jump off the Stratosphere . Went with a gambling budget south of $100 for both of us. We ended up seeing Jersey Boys and La Rev, eating Sushi that blew our minds, jumped off The STRAT , and won $600 at roulette. With runners up of great people watching and great concierge coupons. Also lesson learned about drinking all day and taking a red eye home.

Decided to get married there and of course we needed a trip to check out chapels. So now we have plenty of wonderful Vegas memories.

I want to go back more then my wife so coming up is the second annual guys trip growing from 2 attendees last year to 3 this year.