Vegas Vacation - day 2: big time
day 2 in vegas - otherwise known as 'thursday' - was a good one. the trip was only to be a 3 night stay and day 2 became the best one of the trip. after the events of the previous day - http://jaymcee15.blogspot.com/2007/01/vegas-vacation-day-1-arrival.html - not too much sleep was needed. up and at 'em by 9ish local time (which is 11ish in northland time). the five of us headed downstairs to the "emperor's buffet" for a little breakfast. as far as emperors go, this buffet was about the equivalent of lord farquard. plenty of bacon and eggs - but a little short on anything special. i guess for a $9.99 vegas center strip buffet, it was about what we really should have expected anyway.
next on the agenda was for casanova and i to show junior the north end of the strip (and to walk off some of the emperor's bacon strips). swinging through casino royale for a 10am $1 margarita on the way up got us moving towards the venetian. as far as the epitome of vegas construction spending, the venetian has to be it. landscaping, porticos, frescos - just ridiculous. not to mention the addition under construction that will be plenty big enough to house the refugees from the next katrina. for a construction guy - it's hard to walk around and be amazed by the sheer volume of massive stuff being built all the time.
we stroll through the venetian on the way to the wynn and junior notes at both places, 'now, this is a casino'. along with the bellagio, that trio of properties is top notch. they are vain to such a point that the wynn apparently would rather put down a field turf type product on their grounds and vacuum it rather than attempt to raise grass in the desert. (note that it took the three of us, who play a fair amount of golf, a couple minutes to decide if it was real grass or not)
crossing over lv blvd and heading back south we passed the mirage and ti on the way to the forum shops. junior was amazed by the sheer size of the indoor market. i was once again amazed that said shops make sales. it seems that each spot is a 10,000 sq.ft shop displaying about 12 to 15 items.....all apparently in either 'skinny' or 'anorexic' sizes. we did no actual shopping of course since i have no interest in the intricacies of a second mortgage at this point in my life.
finally our stroll brought us to the crown jewel of the strip which in my estimation is the bellagio. we headed towards the conservatory to see what type of flora display was up at this point of the year. in any other situation the next sentence might seem odd, but not so much here. the first thing i spotted was a set of flying reindeer constructed out of 600# of whole pecans in the shell. those along with the 50 ft christmas tree and thousands of poinsettias were quite the sight.
the walk combined with the bacon's intestinal progress pretty much made it nap-30 by the time we got back to the room. afterwords it was getting to be dinnerish time. big show suggested (at the advice of his parents) we eat at the stratosphere's top of the world restaurant. gambler called up (at 5:00) for an 8:00 reservation with casanova's phone under junior's name and with his own cc number as collateral that'd we'd show. apparently, house rule #1 is no cancellations within 4 hours of a reservation or $10/per person will be charged to the card. i decided to check out the review for the restaurant online and the first sentence found was, "this is one of the most expensive restaurants in las vegas...." and that's saying something.
so, instead of shelling out all our cash on a single meal, gambler dials them back up and attempts to cancel - but the alternative lifestyle employee reminds us of house rule #1. gambler plays by the rules and moves the reservation back to 9:00.....then asks if we may cancel - the clerk whiningly agrees we now meet rule #1 without the penalty....
with still no firm decision on dining location, we all get dressed up and partake in some high class pregame sipping and photo shots. finally - outback steakhouse is decided on. fun and exciting choice - not really. good beef and potatoes place - you betcha. plus, hard to beat $4 22ouncers on the strip (that's beer not beef at that price). casanova, big show and gambler stayed traditional with the steaks while junior and i went with a prime rib that still had a faint heartbeat. during beverage number 2, junior thought it good to shroud himself in napkins and ended up with a solid 90% coverage - and thus the ability to eat as if he were from alabama.
after dinner - we moved on to the casino where gambler and casanova tried their hands at some blackjack switch (playing two hands at once and being allowed to switch cards between them). the rules make it sound like an advantage is had - but the house busts on 23+ and pushes on 22 - so the advantage is reined right back in - surprise, surprise.
moving on to the bellagio for the initial installment of my vegas tradition. the self-imposed rules were simple: $100 in a $5 slot. 20 pulls. cash out whatever remained. simple enough - but i had to cheat. i broke rule #2 after going up $440 after my 13th pull. i cashed it all out right there and didn't gamble a nickel past that point. (final trip cost including all expenses - $75 - gotta love that)
after a few more drinks (well, for some of us, quite a few more drinks) in the room - we headed back to see the blonde piano twins. only half of the pair was working, but with the amount we'd had, that was ok with us. after a short while, we were all sitting front row and having a heck of a time as they played all the classics - piano man, bon jovi, journey, etc.
during the show - casanova was partaking moreso than the rest and accordingly had to visit the restroom a few times. first time back he had found some 'urinal chips' - about $25 worth (perfectly sanitary i'm sure) next trip he turned that into about $75 at the tables. third time back he was up to $375. after a $25 request for tiny dancer (NOT an appropriate theme song for the rest of the night) - "it's like free money" he said - he still had $350 in his pocket and a little blood left in the alcohol stream....and what happens in vegas stays in vegas.
after the pianos went silent for the night - casanova and i went to cash in his remaining chips. i jokingly suggest he put it all on red for a thrill. i wouldn't have let him do it, but he did drop $50 of it at the blackjack table on the way towards the cashier. down to $300. the lack of open cashier's windows and the line that resulted didn't sit well with the impatient casanova. he gave me 1 of his black chips to cash out - i talked him into giving me another - while he went back to the table and donated the 3rd back. down to $200 - finally in cash form. finally heading back to the room - a $5 slot machine was spotted. "just give me 5 pulls and i'll cash out" down to $175. (looking back at this - i feel somewhat responsible - well, not that much i guess)
all in all, a very good day. to sum it up....
emperor's breakfast buffet...........$9.99
2 beers and steak at outback.......$35
5 beers + tip at the piano bar.......$35
a little drunk gambling..................$175
tap on shoulder and a dance......priceless
next on the agenda was for casanova and i to show junior the north end of the strip (and to walk off some of the emperor's bacon strips). swinging through casino royale for a 10am $1 margarita on the way up got us moving towards the venetian. as far as the epitome of vegas construction spending, the venetian has to be it. landscaping, porticos, frescos - just ridiculous. not to mention the addition under construction that will be plenty big enough to house the refugees from the next katrina. for a construction guy - it's hard to walk around and be amazed by the sheer volume of massive stuff being built all the time.
we stroll through the venetian on the way to the wynn and junior notes at both places, 'now, this is a casino'. along with the bellagio, that trio of properties is top notch. they are vain to such a point that the wynn apparently would rather put down a field turf type product on their grounds and vacuum it rather than attempt to raise grass in the desert. (note that it took the three of us, who play a fair amount of golf, a couple minutes to decide if it was real grass or not)
crossing over lv blvd and heading back south we passed the mirage and ti on the way to the forum shops. junior was amazed by the sheer size of the indoor market. i was once again amazed that said shops make sales. it seems that each spot is a 10,000 sq.ft shop displaying about 12 to 15 items.....all apparently in either 'skinny' or 'anorexic' sizes. we did no actual shopping of course since i have no interest in the intricacies of a second mortgage at this point in my life.
finally our stroll brought us to the crown jewel of the strip which in my estimation is the bellagio. we headed towards the conservatory to see what type of flora display was up at this point of the year. in any other situation the next sentence might seem odd, but not so much here. the first thing i spotted was a set of flying reindeer constructed out of 600# of whole pecans in the shell. those along with the 50 ft christmas tree and thousands of poinsettias were quite the sight.
the walk combined with the bacon's intestinal progress pretty much made it nap-30 by the time we got back to the room. afterwords it was getting to be dinnerish time. big show suggested (at the advice of his parents) we eat at the stratosphere's top of the world restaurant. gambler called up (at 5:00) for an 8:00 reservation with casanova's phone under junior's name and with his own cc number as collateral that'd we'd show. apparently, house rule #1 is no cancellations within 4 hours of a reservation or $10/per person will be charged to the card. i decided to check out the review for the restaurant online and the first sentence found was, "this is one of the most expensive restaurants in las vegas...." and that's saying something.
so, instead of shelling out all our cash on a single meal, gambler dials them back up and attempts to cancel - but the alternative lifestyle employee reminds us of house rule #1. gambler plays by the rules and moves the reservation back to 9:00.....then asks if we may cancel - the clerk whiningly agrees we now meet rule #1 without the penalty....
with still no firm decision on dining location, we all get dressed up and partake in some high class pregame sipping and photo shots. finally - outback steakhouse is decided on. fun and exciting choice - not really. good beef and potatoes place - you betcha. plus, hard to beat $4 22ouncers on the strip (that's beer not beef at that price). casanova, big show and gambler stayed traditional with the steaks while junior and i went with a prime rib that still had a faint heartbeat. during beverage number 2, junior thought it good to shroud himself in napkins and ended up with a solid 90% coverage - and thus the ability to eat as if he were from alabama.
after dinner - we moved on to the casino where gambler and casanova tried their hands at some blackjack switch (playing two hands at once and being allowed to switch cards between them). the rules make it sound like an advantage is had - but the house busts on 23+ and pushes on 22 - so the advantage is reined right back in - surprise, surprise.
moving on to the bellagio for the initial installment of my vegas tradition. the self-imposed rules were simple: $100 in a $5 slot. 20 pulls. cash out whatever remained. simple enough - but i had to cheat. i broke rule #2 after going up $440 after my 13th pull. i cashed it all out right there and didn't gamble a nickel past that point. (final trip cost including all expenses - $75 - gotta love that)
after a few more drinks (well, for some of us, quite a few more drinks) in the room - we headed back to see the blonde piano twins. only half of the pair was working, but with the amount we'd had, that was ok with us. after a short while, we were all sitting front row and having a heck of a time as they played all the classics - piano man, bon jovi, journey, etc.
during the show - casanova was partaking moreso than the rest and accordingly had to visit the restroom a few times. first time back he had found some 'urinal chips' - about $25 worth (perfectly sanitary i'm sure) next trip he turned that into about $75 at the tables. third time back he was up to $375. after a $25 request for tiny dancer (NOT an appropriate theme song for the rest of the night) - "it's like free money" he said - he still had $350 in his pocket and a little blood left in the alcohol stream....and what happens in vegas stays in vegas.
after the pianos went silent for the night - casanova and i went to cash in his remaining chips. i jokingly suggest he put it all on red for a thrill. i wouldn't have let him do it, but he did drop $50 of it at the blackjack table on the way towards the cashier. down to $300. the lack of open cashier's windows and the line that resulted didn't sit well with the impatient casanova. he gave me 1 of his black chips to cash out - i talked him into giving me another - while he went back to the table and donated the 3rd back. down to $200 - finally in cash form. finally heading back to the room - a $5 slot machine was spotted. "just give me 5 pulls and i'll cash out" down to $175. (looking back at this - i feel somewhat responsible - well, not that much i guess)
all in all, a very good day. to sum it up....
emperor's breakfast buffet...........$9.99
2 beers and steak at outback.......$35
5 beers + tip at the piano bar.......$35
a little drunk gambling..................$175
tap on shoulder and a dance......priceless
posted by sotaguy at
10:40 AM
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