It's Not A Bender, It's A Lifestyle.

I am by no means a wealthy person. I work as a Inventory Manager for an entertainment company. I make somewhere in the neighborhood of double the San Francisco minimum wage, which I'll let you do the research on. While SF minimum is among the highest in the country, living costs in the City are also among the highest in the country, so it all pretty much washes out. My living situation is a compromise. My rent is low, but the price I pay for having low rent is having a tiny, tiny living space. Not including a separate bathroom, I live in roughly 150 square feet of space. To contrast, the average square footage of a hotel room in Vegas is probably in the 450-500 ft range. Yeah, I live in Celine Dion's closet. It's (barely) enough for a full bed, small desk, nightstand and a bookcase. Now, the good thing about this, is that a bed, nightstand, desk and bookcase are about all that I own. When I moved here from the South Bay everything fit in a 10-foot U-haul truck. One ...

I'm in the Mlife program for MGM resorts. So far it's gotten me 3 fully comped (aside from the resort fee) resort stays and varying amounts of additional swag. I've cashed in offers to stay at Excalibur, Mandalay Bay (THEhotel) and, next, NYNY. The best one thus far was the last one, the suite at THEhotel, $125 in "resort credit" which is basically a food credit, and a little Freeplay. I was also able on the last trip to build up enough Express Comps to pay for another meal while there, so with the around $50 in play I cashed in almost $200 in comps, plus the close to $500 that the room would have cost me. That's pretty damn good for a low roller like me, and I still have a little bit of Ex Comps and Freeplay for next trip built up. The NYNY trip I have coming up I'll only have an extra $25 of Resort Credit, so not even one meal but still, the room for 3 nights is free. The program has definitely served its purpose, I do feel like if I'm spendin...

Most of my life, I live in a rut. My life here in the City is so mundane...I'm surrounded by great things to do and see here but hardly ever take advantage of them. 5 days a week I go to work and come straight home, then on my 2 days off I go out and drink one day in the same neighborhood I always do and spend the other day at home, then it's back to work. Week in, week out, same thing. Vegas every 6 months or so (or less) gives me something to break out of that rut, something to look forward to. When it comes down to it I suppose I love Vegas b/c it makes me feel like such a facsimile of an adult. I've never really traveled anywhere in my life and by nature I'm not a very adventurous person. I tend to choose the safe, easy option in life. Vegas allows me to break out of that shell for a few days a couple times a year, to leave the job in the company that someone else owns and the room in the house that someone else owns. I can spend a month's salary in a f...

So next up it's Christmas in Las Vegas. Heading to town again, arriving on Xmas eve and will be there for Day and day after. Going to be staying at NYNY, first time there and continuing with my theme of staying at a different resort every time in Vegas. I've been gravitating toward NYNY the last couple times in town, it always seems to have a great atmosphere and I love the Sporting House bar on site. Mandalay was nice enough but the place is pretty bereft of excitement, the casino is kind of dead and boring. NYNY's always seems packed and full of people having a good time, though I've never won any money there. It also seems more aimed at singles for some reason, or maybe that's just a perception as it has a lot of bars I can hang out in. Not really sure what to expect of Xmas in Vegas...I've read that the place will be packed or that it will be empty. No conventions obviously, so maybe the people there on the Strip will mainly be locals. Have read a lo...