Hang Spots.

A few of the places I make a point of getting to pretty much every time I go to Vegas, and why.

-The Henry at Cosmopolitan. Will always get in here on every trip I take to Vegas. Why? Cosmopolitan was the first Strip resort I set foot in there, and The Henry was the first bar I sat butt in. Even before I gambled a penny there, I lubed up with a couple cocktails here and have always loved the classy yet laid-back vibe of the place. It's just to the right as you walk in the front  (Strip) door of Cosmo, there's always great people watching as the "main drag" of the resort is right behind you, and the service and appetizers traditionally have been amazing.

The first handful of times I returned after that first trip I was greeted by name or at least recognized and in a couple cases the tender remembered my drink. That's some next level shit in a place that has that many tourists come through. The formerly amazing app menu has changed for the worse and the staff has been a little more hit or miss the last couple times but even last time one of the CS managers came right over and picked up a conversation we were having 3 months earlier about the 49'ers like it was the next day. A must do every trip.

-Dick's Last Resort. This is a divey, fun joint in the divey, fun Excalibur. Nothing posh about this place, you get big, cheap beers served in plastic mugs by bartenders with shitty attitudes. It's all a tongue-in-cheek act (servers will literally scream insults at patrons), but the staff dishes out the abuse with a wink and it's always got a fun, loud energy about it. Decent comfort food too (think BBQ and mac & cheese, no gourmet shit here). Another place where the staff rarely turns over and they remember insulting you from the last time.

-The Sporting House at NYNY. This is another no-nonsense kind of place that is basically just a bar, some tables, a lot of draft beer and a shit ton of big flat screens set to all live sports that may happen to be on. If there's a game on that I want to see (Dubs, Sharks, Giants, etc.) I'll most of the time be able to find a bar stool here and get beer-ed up while getting something, anything on the menu that has their coleslaw. Their coleslaw is truly bad ass. Plus I got hit on by some random girl here one trip, so there's that. Hearing rumors that this place may be getting re-branded/remodeled later this year so the March trip may be the last time to partake in its current form. It will definitely happen.

-Nine Fine Irishmen at NYNY. This one has been more hit or miss over the various trips for me but after my last trip over Xmas it will be a solid every time "do". Of my in-bar drinking time on the Xmas trip (of which there was a lot b/c the slots raped me the entire time) I spent probably a solid 25% of it in NFI. I met an exceeding cool bartender named Dave who had some great Vegas stories to tell and I made a point of hanging out with him on pretty much all his shifts while I was there. Have yet to partake of the food here but surely will on the next trip, it's supposed to be pretty great for pub grub. Upstairs/downstairs bars and live music every night keeps the energy high. This was also the bar that I hooked up at on the last trip, so that alone with my guy logic (lightning striking twice?) will get me in here on all future trips.

-Flight Bar at Luxor. This bar is right outside LAX nightclub in Luxor, and really about the only reason I go here every time is plain flat because it's a high potential "right place, right time" bar for meeting ladies. Sorry, but I gotta be honest here. The drinks are overpriced, the place is usually pretty dead or is a couples paradise, but man, the sights outside a busy club right around the time the doors open are pretty amazing. This will be even more of a "do" when I get to Mlife Gold and have priority access to the club. I'm not a club guy, but if some young hottie in a tight black dress wants to go in...I'm not going to say no.

-The Pub at Monte Carlo. Love this place lately b/c I'm a bar guy, meaning I like to sit at the bar in a bar (not tables) and this place has an endlessly long bar, along with an almost endless selection of draft beer. As a plus the food is also good (Philly cheese steak is bomb) and it's not crazy expensive. It almost always runs Foursquare ads too. Now if it was only in a resort that didn't literally steal all my money on slots when I go in.

Will no doubt add a couple more spots (hopefully new) in a month when I have returned from trip one of 2014 and have cleared the cobwebs.