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

Good, drama free trip. Lot of drinking, lot of steak. Got to town on time Wed, jumped over to the Cosmo, asked at checkin if there were any upgrades available. Was told a $45 upgrade to a Fountains-facing 1 bedroom terrace suite was available. Sold! Holy shit, easily the nicest hotel room I've ever been in, hands down. The above photo was my exact view. I took about 50 pictures. Big, roomy, lots of living space. Huge tub/shower area with a Strip view. Room amenities were awesome. Easy in/out on the elevators. I always say it doesn't matter what kind of room I have in Vegas because I'm hardly in them, but my opinion on that has changed. It is SO worth getting a nice room. For a first Cosmopolitan stay experience it was mind-blowing. So, anyway, the trip. Honestly most of it went as planned. I hung at Vesper for an hour or so before heading off that first night to Mirage to do the Tom Colicchio Steak thing. Steak was OK, little undercooked. Chef's can...

Last check in before the trip. Expected work bonus came through, so money more than good for the 4 days. Will have a full 1K per day as hoped, and a little "walking around" money for the airport before the flight and the taxi ride to the Cosmo when on the ground. This along with the $1400 I have on my CC to cover hotel fees and incidental holds means it'll be a no-stress trip money wise. Also got the Boombotix speaker I was expecting, fucking thing is LOUD. Good addition for the trip to rock out in the room while getting ready. Can leave the iPad at home as a result. No need to bring iPhone, iPad and speaker. Vegas playlist is done and it's a masterpiece, best one I've put together thus far. All done but the shouting now. The money is pulled out of the bank, the clothes are clean, all I need to do is get on the plane and get this party started. 1 more day. See ya after, assuming I survive.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is my Vegas spirit animal. The "Cosmo" opened on 15 December 2010 (happy Bday yesterday!). My first Vegas trip was less than 2 months later, in February of 2011. When I arrived in town, I cabbed over to my resort off-Strip, freshened up a bit, and headed out into the night to take in my first Vegas Strip experience. I'll always remember that mile-long walk from Rumor on Harmon east to the Strip. My excitement level was high, but I also didn't know what to expect. I had done a little research and had been to Reno casinos like the Silver Legacy before, but this was capital V Vegas, the big Kahuna, what would the Strip be like? Harmon spilled me out onto LVB right in front of the Shiny, new Cosmopolitan. It somehow just looked "right", so across LVB I went and into the Strip-facing front door. It blew me away. It was simultaneously modern and classic, with the programmed LED curtains of Bond leading to the endless cha...

T-minus two weeks until the final Vegas invasion of the year. So ready to get it on. I love Vegas during Xmas time and this trip is set up to be a good one. 3 1/2 days of good food, good drinks and hopefully good times. Can't see much going wrong with this one, If I just stick to the plan I'm pretty much guaranteed a good time. And if something even better comes along and screws up the plan in a good way, all to the good. Looks like $3700 is going to be the final number for savings. About right, that's 3 full $1K days as per usual and $700 for the short day on Wednesday. Shouldn't have to pull back the reigns at all as it is, and if I get an added bonus from work then so much the better, maybe that'll mean a last night splurge meal on top of the other 3 nights of splurge-mealing. Being the defacto shipping/receiving manager at my job has its perks, as I was privy to what I believe to be part of the Holiday bonus package, think we're all getting Boombo...