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

Everything on hold, or in a state of "I dunno". Vegas situation is about the same. Pure speculation but May 1st is being bandied about on Vegas social media as a possible opening date. That would be roughly a month from away. Cheeto Man today says he's leaving national social distancing guidelines in place until the end of April anyway so it wouldn't surprise me to see some announcements from either Nevada or the resorts themselves along those lines. That means my April trip will be a no-go, obviously, and I cancelled the room, cancelled the flight and banked the flight credit to book when/if we get some certainty. I have a trip booked for the first week of May and have a backup trip date on the books resort-wise, for May 24th, and can use either the Alaska or Allegiant flight credit out of either SFO or OAK. Won't book air until it's a more or less slam dunk. Life? Well, life is up in the air too. I continue to work from home and will likely be abl...

Not going to post about it again, not going to dwell on it because it's too painful, but... If the world hadn't gone to shit in a shoe box, I would be in Vegas right now. That is all.

K, well, Vegas is closed for at least a month. Absolutely did the right thing cancelling the March trip as the entire town is in shelter in place, as it is here in the City. Couldn't stay there if I wanted to right now, and nothing would be open if I did. The order in Vegas is to stay closed up until May 1st. So, me being a fiend, I've scheduled air and resort for May 3rd. The rates are crazy, not surprisingly. Booked 5 nights, getting 3 comped nights at Delano, with $50 of resort credit for around $340 all in. No harm no foul on the reservation of course, if they extend the shelter in place order I can cancel with no financial hit. Not booking flight yet, have Alaska flight credit out of SFO if we get confirmation these dates will happen, and also have $80 flight credit on Allegiant right now from the aborted March trip so my air is pretty well set up for the rest of the Vegas year (if there is a rest of the Vegas year). Hedged my bets as well, booked another 5-da...

March Vegas trip is a goner. The situation both in the world (and in my world) and in Vegas is deteriorating rapidly. My research site has been shut down at least until the end of March, and who knows how long in reality. Luckily my company came through and I will be able to work from home and get full paychecks for those two weeks, but who knows what'll happen if it goes on longer, which seems likely at this point. The Vegas situation is also worsening rapidly. The excellent Vital Vegas Twitter account is posting sad news almost hourly about restaurant and bar closures, and even a lot of the housekeeping staffs are being laid off. The Mandalay Bay/Delano complex where I was going to be staying apparently is shutting down essentially all restaurants. The flight hasn't been cancelled yet but it seems also like just a matter of time, even if I did want to be on a flying germ tube. So, even if I did go in a week and a half (when things are likely to be worse, not better),...

It's 10 days out from a Vegas trip*. I should be in a fevered pitch of final prep, hype and readiness. Instead, I'm gripping because there's a better than strong chance that the town might be shut down when (if) I get there. Coronavirus. With a few exceptions I have tried to keep this blog free of politics and the "news of the world". There are plenty of other, far better qualified outlets on the webz for that stuff. This situation, however, is unavoidable. It's leaking and infiltrating into every aspect of life, globally. Yesterday and today, basically all sports have shut down for a minimum of 2 weeks, if not altogether. There will be no NCAA tourney (which was supposed to be going on while I was in town). There will be no hockey, baseball, NBA, and probably the Olympics. Businesses are shutting down. Disneyland is closed. Many companies that can have its employees work from home, are. My workplace (big 5 Pharma) is still open, but for how long I ...

This should be fun. After a favorable re-book from what I'm sure would have been a perfectly nice suite at Vdara, I am entering the motherfucking ELITE at Delano with the VIP package. Corona virus bullshit is depressing rates all over Vegas as people fear contact with people and things and other types of solid matter, so I was able to re-book and hook myself up with a crazy low rate at Delano. Not much of a step down on the suite, but a big rate cut of $60/night, so as a reward to myself I shelled out for the VIP package, which entails: -Chauffeured limo ride on the in and out of LAS to/from Delano. -Early check in. -Curb side check in (no waiting in line like the commoners). -VIP lounge access. -Comp entry to Foundation Room, should I choose to go. -Late check out (big, as my flight doesn't leave until 5p). Also by re-booking I picked up $50 in resort credit in the Mlife package, so a nice little bump on top of the $100 I'll have in Express Comps. Should ma...

Not much of a list. Not playing myVegas anymore makes these posts pretty minimal. But fuck myVegas. - 4 Nights in a Delano King Suite at Delano - $137, would be $634 if I was an MGM nobody, savings of $497. $150 VIP package cuts that a bit, but eh, VIP PACKAGE. - Mlife Express Comp value from Mlife CC- $100. -Mlife Resort Credit from booking package - $50. - Allegiant flight, would be $219 normally, booked early and used flight voucher so only paid $81, saved $138. $635 less than a Vegas newbie would pay. Maybe one of the smaller free/dis hauls ever but I'm really not about maximizing savings anymore. I could have been fully comped with RC and FP at several other, lesser MGM resorts in far lesser rooms. I could have flown dead basic with no carry-on or seat selection. But I'm willing now, unlike in earlier years, to drop some funds on the overhead and maximize comfort and style (within reason). Not saying I'll never stay in a basic room again, but my days of c...