Post Mortem, 12/'18.
The last trip of the year and the last trip I have planned is done. May be the last trip for a while so might as well do a blow by blow. Long, boring post ahead.
Day one, had a flight cancellation literally 12 hours before the flight was supposed to depart (thanks Alaska) so didn't end up on the ground until 11a. Jumped in the limo and over to Vdara. Too early to check in so sat and had a few mimosas at the little bar there. Vdara kind of a nothing resort but I guess that's sorta the point. Got checked in after noon and up to the room. Calling this thing a suite is a stretch, even with the little kitchenette, but it was fine I guess. Sort of a vague Asian theme. Dark wood and frosted glass. Nice enough but showing its age. Still a very nice room for the price of free.
Got settled in then headed over to get some food at the Henry. Had their good eggs bene. Then hit Vesper for a couple, and decided to go back to the room to attempt a nap. I had been and still was fighting a cold so I bought a bottle of Robitussin which helped knock it down. Got maybe an hour of sleep then freshened up to head out for night one. Cabbed over to Palazzo and went in to the new Electra bar I had been wanting to try. It's...fine, has a sort of different vibe to the other two Sam Ross joints. Not quite as warm and welcoming. Stayed for a couple then lit out to Rosina which is always good then the Dorsey. Neither of them had much going on but saw a couple of the guys I've known for years so still a good time.
Hit Rock House, nothing going on, then started working down south, hit AmeriCan, Yard House for chick strips, Fuel, Vesper again and Rock n Reilly. Started to wear down after the long day so I made my way back north to the room to rack out. Probably wasn't much past midnight.
Day two, didn't get much sleep, possibly from the cold and/or the Robitussin. Got checked out of Vdara, played a little losing VP at Cosmo and then over to Caesars. There was a line around 10 deep to check in so I just bit the bullet and used a kiosk and paid the $30 early check in fee. Got up to the room, again as last year a very nicely appointed room with plenty of space and as a bonus the above view. Pretty great. Not my best view ever there but certainly top 5. Easy access to the tower from the strip, no issues with the elevators, really just top notch. I didn't end up spending much time in the resort but the room was a winner.
After check in I did some aimless wandering looking for lunch, finally settled on Tilted Kilt for a Monte Cristo that was horrid. Only ate half of it and it did no favors for my stomach. Played a little VP at the new (uninspired) Book at the Linq then packed it in to go try to get a nap. No luck, just rested for an hour or so and headed back out. Went into the Mesa Grill in CP to have the pork tenderloins, they were awesome and a highlight of the trip. Spicy but not overpowering and a great cut of pork. Threw a hundy in a VP machine and hit 4OAK, balancing out the gambling losses from the day. Went into the GR Pub in CP which I've liked before but this time had an awful Chad bartender with the personality of wet cardboard so just stayed for one.
Lit out to the strip to hit Bound bar for one, saw a bartender I've known for a couple years and shot the shit. Wanted to find some place to watch the Dubs game so went up to Beer Park at Paris. They had a private event in half the bar so it had a weird vibe. Made my way back south to go into Twin Peaks to see the butts. Then RnR again, got to know the late bartender and bar manager pretty well on this trip so that was fun. Walked over to Park MGM to see what's new and spent an hour losing a hundy on VP. Couple good drinks out of it anyway. Was tiring and hungry so hit Nacho Daddy for their excellent buffalo chicken nachos. Tasty but there would be consequences. Then just went back to the room and racked out, little after 1a.
Day three, finally got some good sleep and was generally feeling fine physically, despite the low-level sick. Robitussin was keeping it in check. Got a cab and decided to use my voucher at Nine Fine at NYNY. Had meh soup and salad. All during the day food was an issue as the spicy nachos from the night before were wreaking havoc on my stomach. Saw a lot of casino bathroom stalls that day. Took the bridge to MGM and hit another 4OAK on VP, doing well on video poker would be a theme of this trip. Lost it back on a machine at Whiskey Down though, then made my way over to RnR again.
Had some Pedialyte to try to kill the stomach issues and made my way back to CP pre-show. Got an ultra-short nap, maybe a half hour, then changed and showered and headed over to Mirage to be in position for LOVE. Had one at the center bar there then hit the show. Had seats literally next to the stage, like reach out and touch it kind of next to. It was amazing to the see the show up close for once and for the $35 cost it was so worth it, even having seen it in August. Lot of eye contact with performers and it gives you a better feel for how the sausage is made technically. Some segments still drag but in all it's the best show I've seen in town.
Out of the show and over to V/P for a steak at CUT. Stuck up servers and undercooked meat will make future visits a solid no. Not much going on at the cocktail venues in V/P so I got a cab all the way down to RnR again. This was my home base bar for the trip and while it was never busy I had fun with the staff at least. Made my way to Vesper again, had a couple then decided to cross over to PH for the hell of it and put one more hundy in a VP machine before bed. Best gambling moment of the trip ensued, as I hit 4 4's with a kicker to the tune of $455 on a $.50 machine. Nice. Basically evened out all losses from the trip gambling wise and put me in great shape for the trip in general. Cashed out my win, hit Cafe Americano at CP for a burger and headed up to bed fairly late.
Day four, woke up after maybe 6 hours of solid sleep and up basically a full day's bonus save. Was doing really well on money after the various 4OAK bailouts. Got out of the room around noon, wandered aimlessly again looking for lunch in the Linq, unsuccessfully. Decided for the hell of it to grab a cab to Mandalay Bay, and went up to Ri Ra, ostensibly to eat but some intensely annoying bar patrons there wore me out so I got out and headed to the Franklin for one. Was losing money on slots in MB and most everything was closed or dead so I got the tram back to Ex and crossed over to MGM. Finally decided to eat at Emiril's Fish House in there and had a pretty good lobster roll.
Not much going on at MGM so decided to monorail it to Harrah's and head back to V/P. Went to Royal Britannia in the Canal Shops and then made the Sam Ross rounds again, plus Rock House. Met a pretty and sociable bartender in there so hung out for a while. Headed out and hit 2 levels of Cosmo Chandelier Bar and of course Vesper again, then Twin Peaks and RnR. I hit RnR almost every day of the trip. They owe me a t-shirt or something. Running down, decided to try my luck one more time on VP at PH and it hit again, this time for 4OAK and $265. Figured that was a good omen to end the day and I did so, getting in pretty late and drunk.
Day five. Good sleep again, still hanging in there physically and had stopped taking Robitussin. Still had a bit of a cough but nothing debilitating. Headed out of the room and wandered around the CP casino floor. Decided to play a 3 play VP machine and hit $280 on another 4OAK, good thing to start the day. I was ridiculously up on money for the trip at this point and starting to plan on taking some home. I never even opened my Friday envelope. Hit Yard House for chicken strips again, wandered through Paris playing a bit here and there and doing OK, sort of breaking even. Went to Vesper, had a couple, started getting a little bored actually so decided to just go back to the room and lounge around for a while. I had been in this world-class room for most of a week and hadn't really spent much time in it, so that was nice.
Shower, change, and out to the Forum Shops looking for food. Had a reservation at Joe's for steak but was feeling like pasta so stopped at Carmines in the Shops for Bolognese. Pretty good, and a huge portion. Couple glasses of wine. Then it was a cab at the Forum valet to V/P for the Sam Ross rounds yet again, good times all around with the various awesome bartenders in all 3. Went into Public House and Rock House, was getting pretty hammered at his point so I packed it in and hit the pillow early, was out by midnight.
Day six, the home stretch. I slept for literally 10+ hours and was in fine physical form going into the last day in town. Money was still ridiculously good, took plenty out with me for the day. At this point though the "rigors" of a 6-day Vegas trip started to get to me. And by rigors I mean people. I'm not a very tolerant person when it comes to other humans and that really started to hit this day. I had just gotten tired of the slow people and the hucksters on the strip and the FUCKING 8000 "showgirls" trying to take pictures for cash, none of whom would ever have been show girl material. Just walking the strip on a weekend day was wearing me out mentally. Won no money on slots or VP all day.
Walked around aimlessly for ever trying to find someplace to eat lunch. Tried the PUB at Aria but an annoying server forced me out. Would have done the Money Line in Park MGM but that was closed. Finally wandered all the way down to MGM and TAP sports bar for a meh cheesesteak. Hit RnR again for the last time, PBR Rock Bar for some reason then walked back to CP through annoying crowds to the room to refresh. Caught a cab back to V/P again, stopped into Morel's there and had their Bolognese, which was even better than Carmines. Then finished off the trip making drinking rounds at Electra, Rosina, Rock House, AmeriCan, Fuel, the center bar at Linq and the Book there and then I was spent. Hit bed late, probably around 3a and I was DONE.
Fly out day, not much sleep, pretty hung over but all went to plan. Limo, airport early, flight on time, cab to car, car to home and back in the hobbit hole by around 4p. Even found a parking spot in the complex. I'm writing this the day after, feeling OK with no major residual effects that I can tell. I slept well last night, none of the usual dead feel like I have been alcohol poisoned. Will probably sleep well again tonight and be back to more or less normal by tomorrow. Good.
So that's your trip then, Long one, good one. Nothing out of the ordinary really, pretty much a standard trip and definitely a good way to end out a strange year. Kind of a greatest hits trip in terms of spots and shows. I did great for money on the trip, of the $5300 I took for spending money $2200 will go back into the bank tomorrow. $3K for six days in Vegas is not bad at all. It all felt organic too, I wasn't depriving myself or "trying" to save based on my situation, it just sort of worked out that way. I never felt like I had to slow down spending wise at any point. Ending up even or slightly up on gambling certainly helped that.
One specific complaint - WTF is going on with the FUCKING SHOWGIRLS ON THE STRIP. Despite the cold-ish weather, you couldn't go 50 feet in any direction without having to navigate around 2 short, overweight young girls with feathers branching out to 10 feet (who could NEVER have been showgirls) going at no speed or stopped, begging for money to take photos with them. There have always been a few of these groups on the strip, but now it seems to be growing into an epidemic. It's ridiculous, and I can only imagine if this was the case in December it's only going to get worse in warmer months. But anyway.
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