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...

Arriving in town at around 2:15p on the 23rd, so it'll be straight to the Cosmo for check-in, bag drop. Check out the room, admire (hopefully) a view like the above, then it should be straight out as I'll be unlikely to need a shower or anything. Likely will hit Vesper or Bond inside Cosmo for a drink or seven, or maybe The Henry if I'm a little peckish, but won't need anything more than an app as I'll be steaking it up later. Maybe a little light gambling, a couple hundie at most, I usually take it easy on the first day/night as I don't want to dig too deeply into the bankroll on day 1. Probably roll out of The Cosmo at around 5p and start working my way down to Mirage for my 6:30p reservation at Tom Colicchio Steakhouse. Should be there a little early so I can hit the myVegas counter and get demoted a level (but I'm not bitter!) and pick up my voucher for the meal. Then should be time to check out the new Center and Parlor bars that have just ope...

Just bought a ticket to see The Force Awakens in Vegas on Xmas eve. Star Wars had a very formative effect on me as a kid. I saw the original movie in the theaters, and it blew me away. I got totally wrapped up in the movies, the toys, the bubble gum cards, anything and everything SW. It actually may have stunted my growth a bit. I didn't really want to hang out with other kids throughout primary school, I just wanted to get home and delve into my imaginary sci-fi world. I probably would be a little more "adjusted" now as an adult if I hadn't been so in my own head growing up. I know, woe is me. So, still being a fan (despite the mostly ghastly prequels), I bought a ticket to see the movie in Vegas. I normally wouldn't devote precious Vegas time to sit in a theater for 2+ hours, but Star Wars is special. It's an added experience on the trip that should add a level of coolness. It's at a theater on the Strip so I don't have to GO anywhere real...

The next, or maybe next after next, Vegas trip is already locked in. I managed to score a ticket to see The Cure at the Chelsea Theater in the Cosmopolitan in May. They're one of my all-timers and I've seen them 3 times previously over the years; this is going to be in an intimate venue at my favorite resort in my favorite place on earth. Feeling pretty lucky. I had no guarantee of getting a reasonably priced tick, I knew with a max capacity of the Chelsea being around 3000 it was going to be an unbelievably hot ticket. I logged on to TicketMaster at exactly 10a when the presale started...no tix available. I just kept mashing the "best available" tab for the next half hour and finally got an SRO ticket in the extreme back of the house, but IDGAF, I got a tick at face value for the motherfucking Cure at the motherfucking Cosmo. I figured I was going to have to Stub Hub it for 3-4 times face value (like my boss did). So then that night after getting the t...