First off, this was Matt's first trip to Vegas so my biggest goal was to get him hooked so we can start traveling there together more rather than me going without him. This kind of trickery requires a sound mind and sober body so I didn't get all crazy with my old friend, alcohol. But we did meet for lunch a few times and I can report back that not much has changed with fruity drinks in the 4 years that I have been away. Still yummy and still dangerous.
On our first night we watched the pirate show at the Treasure Island hotel from our room on the 31st floor. From up there it just seems awkward because you see the fighting/dancing and fire but you don't really understand what is going on. Why are all those half-naked people breaking out in dance while two guys try and kill each other with swords? You would think one of the dancers would, perhaps, turn to see the fighting and offer to get help. I guess you have to see the show from outside of the room (and at ground level) for it to make more sense. But the fireworks and fire coming from the ships were pretty neat...even from way up high.
Next we joined a poker tournament at 10pm. Which was 12am to my body and should have been a sign that I wasn't going to do well but I was drunk on freedom from putting babies to bed and threw caution to the wind. It was an interesting crowd at our table--a rude Frenchman, a man from somewhere in Latin America wearing a hat that looked like it belonged at the pool rather than the poker table, a guy from Vietnam and a girl who was so out of it that she missed the first 45 minutes of the tournament and lost 2 blinds in the process. Of course we also had Mr. Plays Poker Too Much (and his "friends" fail to tell him that he is a jerk) and the always popular, Mr. Wants To Give You Advice Guy because he thinks you don't know what you are doing (you know, because you have boobs so you must be dumb). Overall the game was a lot of fun and I eventually made it to the final table. Lost on a bad bet but had a good time in the process.
Larry and Tina (my brother and sister-in-law) arrived around 12:30 am and were ready to have a good time. At that point I was ready to have sweet dreams. They didn't make things easy, what with the mocking and the constant texting about what a loser I was, but I stayed strong and went to bed. I may have missed their longest night gambling (they were up until 6am) but I was really well rested, which is all that a person going to Vegas can ask for. humpf.
On Saturday we tried to will the sun to stay out long enough to give us just a little tan. Not a burn, but just enough that tells your co-workers that you relaxed at a pool in Vegas while they went to t-ball practice (suckers!). But the sun wasn't cooperating. Matt kept saying that you get a better tan without the sun but his (unusual) optimism wasn't spreading to the group. We ate our $70 poolside lunch--chicken sandwiches are apparently a delicacy in Las Vegas--and then went off on a tour of the strip. We went to a dumpy casino that was on Vegas Vacation and that is where the trip went downhill for me. I started to play Casino War (a game in which you bet that your card will be higher than the dealers card) and I was HOOKED. This will hurt me later but for the time being, I came out even. We continued our tour of the strip by heading to Caesar's to play the high stakes game of penny slots. I was living on the edge and it was worth it. I ended up winning $40 there.
After a brief shopping trip and a viewing of Pete Rose--who apparently has nothing better to do than hang out in a sports memorabilia shop at Caesar's on the weekends--we went back to the hotel to lose some more money. I pretty much didn't win anything in slots ever again. We saw Mystire on Saturday night, which was amazing, but the Casino War table kept calling my name and I couldn't wait to get out of the theater. I should have gone to bed at that point but instead decided to donate $100 to the casino and leave filled with regret and a healthy dose of self loathing for not leaving when I was up $50. I blame it on the sleepiness.
........will continue this thrilling recap (anyone still reading? didn't think so) tomorrow. For now, must go to bed since it is back to the grind tomorrow.
1 comment:
I'm reading! I wish we could have been there too, but maybe next time. Hopefully you got Matt hooked on Vegas. My mom gave me a Vegas calendar for Christmas, I'm looking at a picture of the Venitian canal and boats right now.
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