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Whitefox's First TR (Semi-live) (11/19 - 11/26) (PHo, DTG, Cosmo)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by whitefox, Nov 19, 2019.

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  1. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2015
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Hawaii
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8

    My Trip Report

    It’s hard to put into words the excitement leading up to a Vegas vacation. Las Vegas has this way of morphing into whatever you want it to be. Want to party hard and relive last night through receipts and cryptic text messages? Perhaps a fancy steak in a dim setting and a show or two is more your style. Maybe your dream vacation involves 36oz slushy drinks, pool days, and Steve Aoki. Whether you have a lot or a little, there’s a game, a show, a joint for your budget. And it’s sure to be a memorable time.

    [​IMG]

    For us gamblers, Sin City has no equal. Our drug of choice? Aspiration. We bet the ponies, throw the bones, chase the bonuses. We’re always only one pull, one bet, one long-shot away from hitting it big.

    Whatever you want Vegas to be, Vegas becomes it. It’s familiar and new all at once. But for every last one of us, Las Vegas is an ever-welcome distraction, a timely dissociation from real life where family responsibilities and work commitments hold our attention. Where it’s impossible to fit everything into our days. Where our dreams always take a little bit longer to be fulfilled.

    But from the moment we see the bright city lights from road or air, real life and its deferred dreams vanish into the ether. It’s all good, man. It’s all good.

    The sign says “Welcome to Las Vegas” but we all know that doesn’t feel quite right.

    It should say “Welcome Home” for home we are.

    ———

    OK, now that we got that out of the way…

    VEGAS BABY!!!!

    [​IMG]

    My lovely wife (hereinafter referred to as Ladyfox) and I are leaving for Vegas right now and we’d be delighted if you come along for the ride.

    Las Vegas is something special to Ladyfox and I. We lived there for three years before selling our home and moving away this summer. But we shall return! My work has us in sunny Hawaii until the end of 2020, after which we’re planning on heading back to Clark (Griswold) County.

    We loved living in Vegas and having restaurants, shows, entertainment, and a great airport close by. We’ve seen almost all the shows and dined at many (but not even close to all) of the fine restaurants.

    But living in Vegas did change it, namely how little we gambled (probably for the best!) and how much we took everything for granted. It really is a city unlike any other. While there, we always looked forward to people coming to town to show them around and party with them. Vegas as a visitor is still the best Vegas.

    Having been in Hawaii for about six months, we’ve been getting a bit of island fever and missing lots of the creature comforts from home. In Vegas, Amazon Prime often meant ordering something this afternoon and receiving it tomorrow. Turnaround time on online orders here in Hawaii is well over a week, sometimes two. How did we survive in the old days???

    Well anyway, Ladyfox suggested we suspend island life for a week and relive the glory days of Vegas as tourists. Have I mentioned she’s the best?

    By way of introducing ourselves and the trip, I’ve put together a little frequently asked questions section, but in the spirit of transparency, no one actually asked me these questions, much less frequently.

    Who are you?
    In the words of someone the other day — "bad millennials". Because we don’t partake in this thing called social media.

    My reaction when I found out my 90 year old grandmother has more social media accounts than me:
    [​IMG]

    We are in our 30s, living the Hawaiian dream (temporarily) about 100 feet from the ocean. Oh, and Ladyfox is pregnant with our first child! I’ll be doing everything possible to make sure she has a good time since she won’t be drinking (our usual Vegas vacation activity).

    Where is home base for the trip?
    We are variety people in Vegas and life in general. We like changing locations and vibes throughout our trips. We’ll be starting the adventure with three nights at Planet Hollywood, before moving to Downtown Grand for the weekend. Then back to the Strip at the Cosmo for the last two nights. We’ll have a rental car so we can putter around when we want.

    How drunk will you be?
    Since Ladyfox is carrying our child in utero, I’ll be taking one for the team and drinking for the three of us. Mr. Liver is certainly not up to it, but we wouldn’t want any of those drink tickets to expire, would we?

    Number one goal is to not get sick, followed closely by being as un-annoying as possible to Ms. Ladyfox who will be playing the role of designated trip-reporter.

    For Ladyfox, does anyone have any recommendations for great non-alcoholic cocktails (so-called “mocktails") on the Strip or Downtown?

    A Small Collection of Drinks I Intend to Consume:
    • Moscow Mules (any recommendations where to get a good one?)
    • Greyhounds (when
    • Baileys Coffee, Mimosas, and Bloody Mary’s (hair of the dog in the AM)
    • Scotch sounds nice
    • Not Your Father's Root Beer with Vanilla Vodka (Haven’t had this combo but sounds awesome!)
    • Autumnal beers (any good ideas? Dark, spicy, and/or maple-y sounds nice)

    Are you guys going to gain lots of weight?
    Oh, yeah. Have you noticed how a woman often says “we’re pregnant” (referring to the couple) when she’s expecting? Well, this trip we’re pregnant, baby. Our child needs nourishment and I’m not about to shirk my paternal duties.

    Of everything on the trip, we are most looking forward to eating. Not to say we’re starving here in Hawaii, but a life without Chik-Fil-A and Chipotle is not a life I would want to live for long. We don’t have any of our usual favs in Hawaii, so this will be a unique mix of old and new. Fast food, junk food, good food. We’re shooting for variety.

    Simple Things We Miss From the Mainland:
    • Chik-Fil-A
    • Chipotle
    • Meatballs and pizza at Pizza Rock
    • Steak Tacos at Flaming Juan’s
    • Yardhouse
    • Buffalo Wild Wings

    New Things We Will Probably Try:
    • Andiamo’s at the D
    • Pork Buns at Momofuku
    • Beef Wellington and Sticky Toffee Pudding at Hell’s Kitchen
    • Butter Cake at Mastro’s Ocean Club
    • Cookie Dough at the Doughp Cookie Dough Bar
    • Donuts!! We love Dapper Donut at MGM and have had it dozens of times, usually after drunk pool days. But we plan on checking out District Donuts in Cosmo and the Donut Bar downtown to compare. Any other donut recommendations?

    Are you seeing any shows?
    Glad you asked. We have seen most Strip shows and are excited to knock two more off the list this time — Zumanity and Blue Man Group. We're looking forward to Zumanity as we like the Cirque shows (this is the only one we haven’t seen except for Michael Jackson). We've heard mixed things about Blue Man, but figured it’s time to get that one in the bag.

    Gamble?
    Finally asking the real questions. There’s going to be a lot of gambling throughout this trip, both on the Strip and downtown.

    LadyFox plays slots, video poker, bubble craps, digital blackjack, and Let It Ride. I, of course, join her for all of these games, in addition to playing craps, blackjack, poker, and whatever else catches my fancy.

    With slots we are hit-and-runners. If a killer bonus shows up (rare, of course), we tend to cash out immediately and move on to the next game. We also move on pretty quickly if we’re not hitting anything on a new game. All about the variety.

    As blood alcohol concentration rises, so does average bet size. Let’s see how high we can fly.

    Gambling highlights to include
    • Video blackjack at El Cortez
    • Bubble Craps somewhere
    • Lots of VP downtown
    • $5 craps tables with high odds
    • Degen-ing at Ellis Island and Casino Royale
    • Trying Baccarat for the first time (somewhere)
    • NFL bets on Sunday
    • Tons of slotting at Cosmo

    Anything else?
    We’ll be hitting up Trader Joe’s and Ulta at some point (more stuff we don’t have in Hawaii), visiting with family at some point, and Ladyfox has a spa treatment scheduled somewhere sometime.

    We’re also planning to do one of the virtual reality games at Level Up at MGM.

    When does the trip start?
    Now! We are checked in and heading for the airport soon. We have a short jaunt from Kona airport to Honolulu, before taking off for the promised land.

    Touching down at Home at 11:30pm local time.

    Let’s do this! This is our first trip report and I’m not quite sure what to expect. We’ll do our best to take lots of pictures and do write-ups. This will likely be semi-live with full write-ups to follow the trip.

    If you have any suggestions or recommendations, we’d love to hear them! Thanks for coming along with us.
     

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  2. RedChip

    RedChip VIP Guppy

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    Great intro. Great plans. Sounds like fun. Good luck! Following along.
     
    One night at the Gambling Hall...
    ...followed by two nights downtown
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  3. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    Ready to follow along....sounds like will be an interesting trip...… good luck!
     
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  4. 3OfDiamonds

    3OfDiamonds Waiting For “Very Good” Video Poker @ Rio…

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    Sounds like a good time - I get the “coming home” thing in a way, since I was born there and have always been drawn to it :jester: Wishing only the best of luck and tons of fun :thumbsup:
     
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  5. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    @RedChip @sybgal Thanks for the good luck!

    @3OfDiamonds It is fun to have special memories from Vegas, whether we were born there, lived there, or just partied a little too hard there and woke up with pockets of chips and cash. Thanks for the good luck!
     
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  6. emmas

    emmas VIP Whale

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    Sounds like you're and Ladyfox are ready for an awesome trip. Good luck to both of you.
     
    I need all the luck I can get!
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  7. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    Previous trips have involved profuse amounts of Pedialyte. This time, thanks to board member recommendations, we’re packing light.

    Box abuse courtesy of UPS

    [​IMG]
     
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  8. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Loving this report already; looking forward to following your Vegas adventures.
     
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  9. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    • Like Like x 1
  10. GabrielBFly

    GabrielBFly Vegas Aficionado

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    you're gonna love them!
     
    The Celebration of Mimi
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  11. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    Boarding the short flight from Kona to Honolulu. Pretty weird to board on the tarmac.

    Southwest Airlines just moved into Hawaii this year giving Hawaiian Airlines some competition. Inter-island flights have been very cheap (as low as $29 roundtrip).

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Astribling

    Astribling Alice In Casinoland

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    Sounds like an amazing trip coming up! My trip is soon, but I'm jealous of your trip, and jealous of living in Hawaii!! LOL

    Have a great time and much luck!
     
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  13. Skybird

    Skybird Low-Roller

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    Enjoyed reading your intro...following along. Good Luck!
     
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  14. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    Have never seen a boarding ramp like this....interesting...lol
     
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  15. h0und10

    h0und10 VIP Whale

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    If you need a house sitter while you gone let me know!! :headbang:
     
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  16. RedChip

    RedChip VIP Guppy

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    I love boarding on the tarmac. It most likely means I'm at a small town airport....on vacation :)
     
    One night at the Gambling Hall...
    ...followed by two nights downtown
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  17. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    @Astribling thanks! Hawaii is a whole other world. Have you ever been out to visit?

    @Skybird thanks for the follow and for the luck!

    @h0und10 the place is all yours! Haha
     
  18. whitefox

    whitefox Low-Roller

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    Me too! It’s quite fun. Besides little airports for vacation, the only time I’ve boarded on the tarmac was in Africa. There’s substantially less security there as you can imagine haha
     
  19. NCAAHoops

    NCAAHoops VIP Whale

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    Enjoyable intro. Very kind of you to take the drinks for your other half. Good luck and looking forward to your TR
     
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  20. Astribling

    Astribling Alice In Casinoland

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    I have not, sadly. But it is on my bucket list for sure!!
     
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