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

2 months from Turkey Vegas. After not much hype for the last couple trips, for this one I am pining. Great resort, 6 nights, should have plenty of dosh and it'll be a solid 3 month gap between trips so I can properly hype up. I've settled into the job now and am no longer sort of engulfed by it, it's still hectic but I have carved out a niche and some boundaries which is good. My mind can wander to more important things now, like Vegas. I'll be a bit of a free agent on the trip too. I have Mlife Gold locked up for next year and have none chance to get to Platinum...ever, so I can play the field a bit more this trip. Being that I'm staying at MB I'll likely still do most coin-in there and at other MGM spots but I can try to lean into Grazie a bit and maybe see if I can snag some rooms for next year there. I've more or less given up on Cosmo, just too damn expensive for low roller like me. Wynncore also probably out of my league. No interest in CET, so that ju...

Back a week now from the Labor Day trip. Highlights (and lowlights) below. Flights: Frontier. In was great, got to airport in plenty of time, had a couple beers with a drinking buddy from R bar, then flight on time and no issues. Actually got in 20 mins early or so. Flight out was a bit of a shit show. Got loaded onto the plane on time fine, but then sat around on tarmac for an hour with various issues then had to de-plane and go to another gate to board a different plane. Altogether a couple hours late getting in, making it a really long and depressing fly out day. Had a weird pseudo-panic attack on the tarmac coming back too, for a few seconds felt claustrophobic and panicky. Was in the window seat on a full plane, dunno what it was about. It passed in about 15 seconds and I was OK the rest of the way but may need to not sit on the window anymore. Room: This was the true, real downer of the trip. The Mirage standard rooms are ghastly now. Completely run down, beat up, and awful. Was ...

Checked into room. Checked into flight. This is happening tomorrow. In 24 hours I'll be in the air to the Vegas town. Trip 4 of 2021 nearly underway, and I'm RTG. The money's out, the bag is 80% packed, just need to shave, sleep, get up, pack and half ass it through a day of work before Uber'ing to the airport. Should the flight be on time, I'll be on the ground a little after 10p and with any luck into my room and out to the strip by 11p. Ready to do this one. I'm done second guessing it, it's a more or less full trip and I'm going to maximize it. I can afford it and I'm still in my element in that town no matter the circumstances. I have enough local knowledge to make it work and it'll be fine. Plenty to do, plenty to see and I'm up for some Vegas. See ya in 4 days.

The Trip That Probably Shouldn't Have Been is days away. Going to stop nay-saying it. I booked it, it's happening, and most of what could go wrong is either nothing I can control, or ironically completely under my control. I can't control the flights and the airports. All I can do is get to the airports early and try to be patient with the inevitable holiday weekend crowds. Both SFO and McCarran seem to be pretty adept at pushing a huge mass of humanity through the gates, then it's just knock on wood that Frontier doesn't bungle the flights. I can't control the crowds on strip. They will be there en masse, they will be stupid, and they will be slow. I can't control the taxi lines or the full bars and restaurants. I can't control that it's going to be 100 degrees plus all three days I'm there. What I can control is my attitude and reaction to the above. I can be patient. I can be prepared. I can strategize the most painless path around roadblocks...

Off to the Vegasosity in a few days. Rounding up the discounts, as is my wont. -4 nights at Mirage: 3 nights comped, all-in cost with late check out $416. Would be $1023 if I was a horrid, unwashed compless nobody. Saving of $607. -$76 Express Comps, which will increase somewhat during trip with play, call it $85. $50 Freeplay and $50 Resort Credit from booking package, total resort credit $185. And that's all, folks. Total savings $792. Outside of the nice room rate, it'll work out to the free splurge meal at Costa Sunday and maybe a lunch somewhere at Mirage with the Ex Comps and resort credit, and a little bit of free VP during the stay. Not a record haul by any means but for a last minute, impromptu trip it doesn't suck. I have a couple of the $25 R.com certs for Mandalay but I doubt I'll even get down there this trip so not worth mentioning. So, once more unto the breach. I would call you dear friends but I don't know you and no one reads this anyway.

A quick little trip to The Vegas in a week. It may be ill-advised, but I'm going to be in Vegas as opposed to not, so it can't be all bad. Not doing a normal day by day run through this time, as it's a shorty and I have no real plan. Just some bullet points... Relax. Its going to be packed on strip. It's going to be weird to be back to masks. The airport is going to be a challenge, probably both ways. Take a breath and go with it. This is always my toughest advice to follow for myself because I have the patience of an incontinent gnat but it HAS to be the way I roll this trip, or I will have no fun at all. People will be fucktards. Just deal with it. Strip strategically. Avoid pinch points and lines and busy times. Taxi everywhere that you can, and if that fails stay local. There's plenty to do on the north strip if the taxi line is 20 people deep. Roll with the punches. Absolutely NO strip walking at peak times. Be planted somewhere by 9p every night, and stick ...

Literally what is wrong with me.  I booked a 4 night stay over LDW for next week. I kept telling myself since coming back from the July trip...NO, be responsible, save your money, it's too much for the flight, you don't like going over holiday weekends in the summer... Fuck. Booked the Mirage for 4 nights. 3 of them comped, all in with fees and late check out still just over $400. Really good rate for a holiday weekend and the only reason I'm going, really. Every other rooms outlet but Mlife is astronomical. Could have done NYNY, MGM or Luxor for about the same money, but of those the location up north of Mirage is the best bet for that weekend. Flights are not the best in terms of airline or times, but booking this late it was the best I could do. Frontier in and out, in late Thursday night and out at 4:45p on Monday, which is liable to be a circus at the airport on Labor Day, but I'll just get the airport super early and take my chances. At least it gives me 3 full da...