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

  Redid the thing. I had 6 nights booked at MGM Grand in the new Exec King Suite for the Xmas trip. Nice, fine, but it was going to cost me $180. I don't like cost. So there I am, bullshitting my way through another hideous day at my hideous job, and what pops up in my email but an offer from the lovely Fontainebleau for 2 fully comped, no resort fee nights in an upgraded Bleau Mountain View King. Both nights f which worked on the days I was going to be in town. I LOVE the 'Bleau, and have wanted to stay there since they opened. So, bing boom bang, booked. The Saturday and Sunday nights too, which I would have thought would have costed me, but NO. Then I rebooked with MGM, and snagged 4 fully comped nights at the also lovely Mandalay Bay, in the really nice Elite King suite, which for my (limited) money is one of the best junior suites on the strip. So now I have 6 fully comped nights in two gorgeous resorts over the holiday. Normally I would look down on resort swapping during...

  Counting down, in the wasteland of trip tweener time. Cutting back to three trips a year really creates some Vegas time gaps. April to August, August to Xmas, Xmas to April, rinse, repeat. Honestly I could squeeze in another one every year if I didn't keep having wallet-busting trips. I haven't seen a hand pay since last Xmas. And now I'll be skrimping to get to the needed $5K save for this Xmas, after still having to dig out of the August trip. I'm not too worried, I'm more or less resigned to staying in this (shitty) job until the end of the year now, as if I leave it will be walking away from potentially $5K in bonuses, which I will need to finance the Xmas Vegas. As it is, I will probably only be able to squirrel away a couple grand in the November/December paychecks. Trip after trip, I always make it work somehow someway. The resort is locked at MGM Grand, as my Rewards offers have fallen off. Was 4/$50/$100 now 4/$30/$50. If I rebook I would lose $70 in pac...

The inevitable Xmas Vegas is set. Booked the flight and hotel tonight. Was waiting for a good flight deal and found one for a late flight in on Saturday night the 20th, will arrive at about 10:30p. Wasn't digging the early AF morning flights in, too much trouble waiting around to get into the room. This way I'll have the room ready at arrival, can just print a key and head up, and be settled in for a full 5 day trip. Then it's an out time on the fly out day of around 11a, home by a reasonable time and no waiting around in the room to head to the airport, which I hate. $154 all in for the flights, which is damn good for Xmas week. The room will be an Executive King Suite at the Grand. Newly remodeled, they look a lot brighter and airier that the rather dour old Exec suites. Comped for 4 of the 6 nights, all in after taxes and removed resort fees it's around $180. Adding the extra night means about $100 over the suite I had booked at MB, but it's still a hell of a dea...

Well then. That...could have been better. High and low lights: Flights: Fine. Got to SFO way too early for the in flight, had to wait an hour for TSA to even open, but both flights on time and no issues. Strip: After all the gloom and doom reports I expected to see myself, a couple locals, a busker and a ravenous coyote on the strip, in reality it was a normal, busy weekend. The Monday tailed off a bit on traffic but the media can basically go fuck itself. It's still Vegas. Room/Resort: Bellagio. Nuff said, really. Nice room, same as in April, a little lower floor but still had an oblique fountain view. Quiet, comfortable, well located. Resort boring and crowded as always. Gambling/Rewards: Ass. Lost $2400, all at MGM resorts. Out of a budget of $4K that's not horrible, I guess, but aside from a few 4OAKS I hit nothing all trip. Didn't gamble a penny outside of MGM, maybe I should have, but I stuck to the plan at least. Rewards went pretty well, racked up good bump from gam...

Bed in an hour, Vegas in the morning.  Just dropped a sleeping pill and going to try to get something like 7 hours, then up and out of here way the damn hell early. Boarding by 5a and in Vegas by 7:30a. All is ready. Good room, normal save, some snow, some shrooms, hopefully a little luck and maybe even a little grabass. But probably naw. Bellagio awaits and I'll see all 1.5 of you (per post!) when I get back, if I get back. Peace out bitches.

  I've squawked about it before, but this trip is...THE MGM TRIP. In past years, even when I've been able to scrape into MGM Gold during a year, I still spread a lot of other spend around the strip. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, the strip is a big, great place and I want to be able to enjoy as much of it as I can.  But with "spreading the love around", I also minimize the rewards earning potential. While on most trips the bulk of gambling spend is at MGM resorts (maybe 60 MGM, 40 elsewhere), I do and always have dabbled little bits here and there...a couple hundred at Caesars, a hundred at Venetian, $300 at Fontainebleau. That's getting me nowhere in their programs, and that's all spend that can get me even better rewards at MGM. With the new Iconic card being here, the reformed benefit package from Rewards itself, and just the landscape of Vegas I'm in now, it's time to really double down on the MGM ecosystem, once and for all. The benefits ...

T-minus 9 days to Vegas...plan post, IT'S THE LAW. Have some actual things to do on this trip, though it's mainly food-related. Which is a good thing, as food apparently soaks up alcohol. Or so I've been told. Friday: EARLY wake up call as I have a 5:45 in the motherfucking AM flight. The price I'm paying to have a $39 in flight. No Priority Pass lounges or terminal bars open that early, so I'll just drive in, park, get through security and hang out in the gate area I guess. Maybe get one of the myriad coffees I will need to get through the day. Then assuming all goes well with the flight, it's on the ground around 7:30a, to Bellagio by 8a, drop the bag and head off to find breakfast and a mimosa. Probably at an MGM spot to start the pointsmaxxing early. I will have checked in on the app, so hopefully can be in the room by around 10-11a, dump everything, freshen up, do a bump and head off to start drinking. I have the full first day's spend too so some MGM g...

Discounts and freebies pile for August Vegas thing in 16 days thing thing. -4 nights at Bellagio in a Resort Tower King: $74 all in booking through MGM Rewards with MGM Gold resort fee removal. The room is no longer available to book but last time I was able to see the room it was $1575 rack rate, so let's call it an even $1500 saved. -$259 in RC total from Iconic welcome reward and booking package: $209. -$181 in slot dollars + $50 from the booking package: $231 in Freeplay. Le Grand Total: $1940 less than a filthy, rancid no-MGM-status untermensch. Good! And with the pretty solid airline deals I got ($112 round trip), and not having to park the car this time, my overhead will also be crazy low. Even after long term parking at SFO it's only $200 total. So yeah. Not bad savings, again for a low roller.

  Upgrade. I'm getting the foo-foo new "Iconic" MGM Rewards card. Figured it only makes sense, the benefits far outweigh the $249 annual fee. Bennies below. -10,000 Tier Credits after spending $5,000 in the first 3 billing cycles of account opening. -6x points and tier credits per $1 spent at MGM Rewards Destinations; 2x points and tier credits per $1 spent at hotels, dining, gas stations, and grocery stores; and 1x points and tier credits on all other purchases. -$200 resort credit upon account opening and annually on card anniversary. -Annual award night of up to $250 in value when you spend $25,000 on the card in the previous year. -10,000 Tier Credit bonus annually at card anniversary with $25,000 in card spend during the previous year. -Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, available every 4 years. -Priority Pass lounge membership. -Trip delay insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more. Plus all the normal benefits that came with the standard card. Pretty solid ...

A countdown begins. A countdown to a VEGASM, ya bish! 30 days until I wake up at the ass crack of dawn to spend 4 days in the desert assaulting my liver and wallet. No change in the plan, it's still Bellagio and it will remain so. The deals I'm getting from MGM, especially since I don't pay resort fees this year, are just literally unbeatable. This being a weekend trip and paying less than $80 all in for an elevated room at Bellagio? No one else has a chance. I'm still getting very low nightly rates at Caesars group but when you add the resort fees on it's in the hundreds, and it sure as shit isn't at Bellagio-level resorts. This is what I worked hard for last year and I'm reaping. Hard. Money should be fine, I'm hovering around $2K saved now and still have 3 checks to finish off the save. $1K a day cash and the ability to put a couple grand on the CC, as usual. I do have to be more circumspect about where I gamble this time, I put too much in last time ...

Oh hi. Yeah, guess it's been a minute. The April trip happened, as I suppose you've figured out by now. I didn't die, as you may have suspected, but nearly every $100 bill I took with me did. It was bad. This trip itself was fine, nothing really out of the ordinary. But the gambling was an all-timer. Lost $5K+. Yep. But not going to dwell. I stayed within the gambling budget, I'm recovered from it, I'm over it. I'm getting good at getting over bad gambling trips. So, on to the next. Back to Vegas again in mid August. Just a 4-nighter, over a weekend. Friday-Monday out Tuesday. Got another great deal in the same room at Bellagio, the Resort Tower King, less than $75 all in. Would be $1575 with no MGM Rewards. Crazy. Flights locked, PTO approved, it's a done deal.  I'll fill in the deets as we get closer but I'm kinda Vegas-averse right now in terms of hype or interest, so look for more as we get into July.

In one week I will be tits deep in Vegas. Everything is in place. I'll hit my number for the save plus a little, probably about $5500. It will leave me skint until my next paycheck but at least I won't have to massacre the CC like on past trips. Hopefully I'll hit at least something in the first couple days to take the cash pressure off. Hitting at least one four aces and a handpay on the trip will be all I really need. That way I can come back with a couple grand and pay that forward to a summer trip. Fingers crossed. If not I'm going to try not to stress. It's a gambling budget for a reason. I scored some good devil's dandruff for the trip, and will have some shroom gummies too, so I'll be able to alter reality at will during the festivities. Always makes things more groovy. Sports will be in order to some extent over the week, there are SF Giants games every day, and Masters Sunday is the day I arrive. Something to watch while waiting to get into my room....

All the amazing April savings I will luxuriate in on my April trip, happening in April. -5 nights at Freddie's Bellagio in a Resort Tower King: All in price $253, would be...unknown! The Resort Tower King is no longer available to book as of 4/2. Closest is probably the Strip View Spa King at $2285 all in, though my room would probably be more, but we'll give the unwashed masses a break. Call it a $2000 even price break from rack rate. -$50/$50 FP/RC as part of the booking package, $100 value. -$100 RC for getting to Gold last year, plus $30 in standard accrued RC, $130 value. -$157 in Slot Dollars, $157 value. $2387 in savings from a non-MGM'er. I fought hard to get to Gold again for this year and it's for trips like this. Having literally a positive comp to cash outlay ratio for an elevated room in a 5-Star is insane for a low roller like me. My overhead is basically a one-way flight in. Is gud. 10 days.

I got a new car. And oh yeah, Vegas is close. Subaru kept bugging me about the lease equity in my Crosstrek. I only had about $6K left on my lease, and they knew they could sell it for literally MORE than the purchase price I agreed to lease it on. I resisted them for a while. I don't need a new car, I hardly drive as it is and the 'Trek was fine as a commuter. I had the upper hand in the negotiation, so I used it. I gave them a number, told them no down, no drive off for a new WRX. I thought it was a long shot... ...but they met it. And I drove off with 120+ more HP than I had driven in with. Model, year and color in the pic above. I'm proper happy with it, so much more fun to drive and it makes the commute far more bearable. I never looked forward to driving the 'Trek. This thing...oh yeah. AND I'm saving myself over $120/month on the lease payment. I robbed a Subaru dealership, and I'm not proud. $4 dollars more a month on insurance. Yes I take on more and ...

 ...new. Boring pre-game on this trip. Same room, same flights, same steak...same. Good same. I think I've more or less perfected the art of Vegas at this point. Do the room algorithm, book the flights, get a food or two set up then sit back and wait. This will be trip # 54 all time so I guess it's to be expected that I have this down by now. Still could get a Cosmo suite for $100 less than Bellagio but the fact that Cosmo doesn't do mobile check in and that their bell desk is hellish on a Sunday means - Bellagio. It's fine. The room is good and I won't spend much time in the resort anyway, aside from trying to escape. Life is same also. Still stuck in the shitty job, just trying to keep my head above water and looking for an out. Job market is tough , especially now that Cheeto Man is now fucking the whole country up. No one could have predicted that, though. The money is good and I'm essentially unfireable so I can afford to be picky (or to build up enough sav...

All set for pre-birthday Vegasness. Flights booked, room locked in, Gold MGM assured, even a food rezzy locked down. 2 1/2 months out and I have nothing to plan. I haz a sad, but a good sad. Bellagio will be the base of operations, a good one. This room was pretty bomb when I stayed in it a couple years ago and it's been remodeled since then so it should be posh. More than enough room for little big me. Across the street from most of the things I love in Vegas, so it's a great home base, no endless cabbing. Added a seat on Alaska for the in, so it should be no issues with getting on/off and stowing the bag. It's an early flight but that gets me there to maximize day one and hopefully I can check in soon after arrival. Out is unchanged and fine. Not too early and gets me home by around 2:30p if all goes well, so I can find parking here. I imagine I'll just drop coin on SFO onsite parking again like last time, it was expensive but convenient. I loved my filet so much last...

Well having not shit the financial bed (by the skin of my teeth) over Xmas, next Vegas can be confidently planned. The next will be a premature birthday trip. The week of my Bday is prohibitively expensive for some reason, probably some convention or other, so I am going the week before. Another 5-day journey. The PTO is already approved, so April 13-18th it is. Bellagio will be the muse. Now that I'm MGM Gold again I was able to lock in 5 nights there in a Resort Tower King (nice, big, non-standard room) for a tick over $250. Un. Beat. Able. Not even going to look at anything else. As chronicled here ad nauseum, I'm not a Bellagio "guy", but the price/nice/location ratio is not going to be beat anywhere. Flights are a mixed bag. In on Alaska arriving around 8:30a (hope that room's ready!), out on Frontier (ugh) leaving at about 11:30a. Got a bag and a seat on Frontier so it shouldn't be too awful. Total about $200 for both flights. Early in to maximize the 1...

Rode 2024 out on the wings of a Desert Eagle. Or something. Flights:  Both on time, no issues. TSA a POC on both days, despite Xmasness. Room: Aria Stay Well King, stayed well bored. Nothing whatsoever different from a normal room aside from a loud ass air filter that was a good white noise machine. Nothing bad happened, predictably fine. Drinking: Yes. Food: Not much of it, 3 "good" meals, one at Kyu at FB which sucked in food and service, one at Jean George which was a transcendent steak and one at Blue Ribbon which was great pork chop. Not much else eaten. Gambling: Absolute ass all trip until literally 12 hours before I had to be at the airport, hit $3K at Gem bar at Aria. Was down to about $500 of my budget. Could have come home busted, instead have a nest egg for April. Would like to have hit something earlier to enjoy it a bit more, but eh. Also made MGM Gold, which was the goal so all around pos. Body: Hung in OK, never felt destroyed or mentally beat. Slept OK. Over...