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

Can't call the haul "freebies" this time because, well, I've got zero comps on this trip but I did rack up some nice discounts this time worthy of mention. -One night at Tropicana, online as of today for $229, got it for $80, savings of $149. -Four nights at Cosmopolitan, online today for $1030, got them for $368, savings of $662. -myVegas reward for $50 off of $100 at Camelot Steakhouse at Excalibur, savings of $50. -myVegas reward for a $35 no-strings coupon at Nine Fine Irishmen, savings of $35. -Three Restaurant.com certificates worth $75 that I think I paid $8 for so savings of $67. So that's a potential discount from full rates/prices of $963. I may not end up using all the R.com certs but they're there if needed. Despite no actual "comps" this time (first time in a long time) it's still a solid decrease in overhead, and if nothing else it shows I've gotten pretty good at playing the discount game in Vegas even when the freeb...

I'm a fucking idiot. Yet again against best intentions I've added a Vegas trip to the hopper for this year off the cuff. I'll be going for two nights in mid-June to see NIN at the Hard Rock. It's the only North American shows they have planned so far this year. Easily one of my top 5 bands and the opportunity to see them in a pretty exclusive fashion and in Vegas was just too much to turn down. Haven't been to Hard Rock since my first trip, and have never seen a show at the Joint so this should be fun. It'll be a quickie, in early bird on the 12th and out in the afternoon of the 14th, so basically 2 full days/nights. Luckily the overhead will be pretty low. I got in on the pre-sale and got a balcony seat (too old for GA) for $95. Booked flights on Expedia, it'll be United on the way in Tuesday morning, basic economy so no full carry-on bag but that's fine, I'll only need a couple days summer clothes so it'll all fit in my small Timbuk 2 ba...

50 days from Vegas-y goodness for my birthday. Not going to do much planning on this one. It's a relatively short trip, just 4 full days and one half day, so I'm planning to KISS on this one. I had a lot going on on the Xmas trip as I was there for 7 nights and didn't want to just shuffle aimlessly from slot machine to bar for that whole time. All in all it worked out well, the only semi-dog of the trip was Mystere, everything else was worth the time/money. Since this is a shorter trip I'm going to leave the shows/activities alone I think. Mainly because I want to maximize my casino and bar time but also due to the fact that there isn't much else that I really want to see in Vegas. I want to see MJ One at Mandalay Bay but I'll probably save that for the Xmas trip as I'll be staying down on that end of the strip. Really the only other show I haven't seen that I'm interested in is Absinthe. It's pretty damn expensive though so unless I stumb...

Trip #2 of 2018 is booked. I had booked SLS previously on a really good deal, but bouncing around on Mlife I came across a 3-night comp to stay at MGM Grand in a Grand Tower King Strip View. Wut. BOOKED. I've spent a grand total of $200 in MGM resorts over the past year but for some reason I'm Comp Boy with them again. Shit I'll take it. So I cancelled SLS (too damn far north anyway) and will do the south strip thing in a resort I've never stayed in. I'm not a huge fan of the MGM but hey, comped is comped and the location is great for my roamings and interests. There are a lot of food/drink options there so if I'm feeling lazy I can just mostly hang around there if I want. Then I'm over to Palms Place into a Studio Suite for the last 2 nights. A good Express Deal on Priceline. Wasn't going to be able to do the myVegas comp thing as you can't book that back to back with an Mlife offer so had to plunk down real money but that PP room for $5...

Got the plan in place for the next Vegas-stravaganza. Flight on JetBlue probably for the last time, using up a travel credit. Crappy having to do the layover thing on a bloody 1 1/2 hour flight but the $75 flight credit makes it worth it. Bit terrified of having a tight connection on the flight in and missing the connector flight from Long Beach to Vegas so I plunked down another $60 for an earlier flight and a longer layover so less stress. If all goes according to plan I'll be in a little after 4p. My last experience with JB gives me little hope, but here's to luck. Tiny bit of hopping around resort-wise but eh. 1 night to kick things off on the Saturday at Tropicana. Will be there for the first time knocking another resort off my "never stayed" list. Will be getting in to room around 5p so probably won't see much of it, it'll be airport, cab to resort, check in then out to get falling down, then stumble back late no doubt. May see a bit of the room i...

Well Xmas trip is done and did. Came through more or less unscathed from the longest trip of my Vegas career. Flight in all fine, got in a little late but not badly. Had a long walk out from the gate but made it over to Mirage and out drinking by about 10:30. Mirage check in painless, room was fine, good sized and relatively modern aside from the very small and very 90's bathroom. Other than that though it was a fine place for a one-night stay. Unremarkable view. Made my way out and across the street to the Dorsey where shots and cocktails ensued, was fairly slow and the DJ was not my jam so I took off and over to the new Rosina at Palazzo. Very small place, small bar and maybe 4 tables. The same staff as the Dorsey crew so it was comfy and familiar. Was getting a bit tired and it was 1-ish so I jumped back over to Mirage and grabbed a not good eggs Benedict thing from the Pantry in there before heading up to the room and promptly left my jacket behind. Got a decent night...

In 24 hours I will be sitting in an airport bar waiting for my quick flight to LV. All set aside from some housekeeping tomorrow. Going in for a half day of work, out at about 1:30, hit the bank to pull out the Vegas funds and rent. Head home, quick shower, pack the rest of my shit then it's back in the car and over to the parking lot by the airport so the Audi can chill in safety for 7 days. Shuttle to the terminal, get through TSA a couple hours early then it's the waiting game for the (hopefully) on-time departing 7:55p flight. Always love the feeling of the hour or so in the airport before the flight takes off. Getting there plenty early takes the stress out of any possible security delays, and it's a great opportunity to relax, have a beer and get the head into a Vegas state; let all the day to day bullshit go and get amped for the upcoming fun. Then if all goes to plan it's on the ground around 9:30p, over to the Mirage in a cab by 10:00p, up to the room ...