Vegas Trip 2009
“Tangled Up In Neon”
Parental Advisory: Explicit Content
This trip report includes, but is not limited to the following – poop jokes, sexual innuendo, and naughty language.
ADD advisory: This report contains nearly 6,000 words. You have been warned.
I awoke after a mostly sleepless night at 5AM to get up and get ready to go to the greatest city on Earth: Las Vegas, NV. My girlfriend and I have been looking forward to this trip since June. I chose this particular week in October because the 22nd is my birthday, and I decided that there was no place I’d rather be in the world than Vegas.
On the one hand, this makes perfect sense: What better place to party it up? Except that I’m not much of a partier. My idea of a good time – and to a lesser extent my girlfriend’s – is not to run up and down the strip, hat backwards, Ed Hardy t-shirt proudly displayed screaming “VEGAS BABY!!! WOOOOO!!!!” at the top of my lungs. Sorry, even at 28 I guess I’m an old man. No clubs for us. (This is also referred to as being “no fun.” I accept this.)
But if there’s one thing Vegas is good for – and there are obviously plenty – is that you can be anybody you want to be. It doesn't matter, everyone's in Vegas: hipsters and squares, whores and high rollers. Even people like me, who choose to be no one at all. Now I know that is perhaps too low key for Sin City. The place is slightly less subtle than a Larry the Cable Guy comedy special. I get that. I’d rather blend into the scenery than be the focus of it.
My dad picked us up and took us to the airport around 6:30AM, made it there by 7, and finally boarded AirTran flight 601 to Las Vegas a little after 8. The flight was uneventful – as it should be – though it seemed like it took forever and we touched down on time.
We took a CLS shuttle to the Flamingo, not a bad deal for $14 per person round trip. Once there, I tried to check in only to find that a room wouldn’t be ready for another hour. At least it was confirmed that the room was indeed comped (only because business is terrible) and that we would be staying on the 25th floor. We checked our bags at the bell desk – the guy was totally hunting for a tip, which shouldn’t be surprising – and went to find something to eat.
The search for food began and ended with The Burger Joint in the Flamingo. It seems trendy gourmet burger places are springing up all over the place; we even have them here in “flyover country” (a.k.a. Milwaukee, WI). My girlfriend (Steph) had the turkey burger while I opted to try the slider trio – cheese & bacon, caramelized onions, and mushrooms. They were indeed quite tasty, but for the $32 it cost me I could’ve had at least 10 double cheeseburgers from George Webb’s (a Milwaukee institution) and been just as satisfied with my meal. Maybe it’s the 10 years of smoking, or perhaps I’m just not accustomed to fine dining… but it’s still just a f---ing hamburger when it comes down to it. I guess you can take the boy out of the white trash, but not the other way around.
We still had time to kill before the room was ready, so we decided to start gambling. I suppose it’s apropos to mention my budget for the trip: I brought along $650 for all my gambling and eating needs for 3 nights. Steph brought pretty much the same, though I couldn’t give you the exact amount. Yes, we are ultra-low rollers.
We settled on a bank of Black and White Sevens penny machines, I stuck in a $50 bill and got off to a great start. It seemed as if I couldn’t be stopped, even though I was only betting something like 30 cents each spin. Within minutes my total had ballooned to $60, which isn’t bad in a small bet/small win situation. I kept happily pressing the buttons, spending the winnings in my mind, when my stomach started sending out an S.O.S. I had to go, and I had to go now.
I hoofed it to the nearest bathroom and proceeded to take one of the worst craps I have ever taken. Not just in Vegas, in my entire life. It was horrible. I think I may have been temporarily blinded for a few seconds. After finishing up I walked out back to the machines to find that Steph had taken over mine to see if she could capture some of the magic I had on it previously. Unfortunately, the luck had run out and we moved on. I handed the $10 profit right back to the Flamingo on a 25-cent Top Dollar machine. Our room was more than likely ready at this point, so we called it quits and went to claim our keys.
Upon entering our room – which was nice for being free – we called down for our bags. They were brought up a short while after, and at that point we decided to take a strategic nap.
Now I know it sounds incredibly weak to be taking a nap at this point, but hear me out: We had been up since 5 (it’s 1:30-2 local time) – me on hardly any sleep – and we had tentative plans later in the night. I understand: there are jackpots to be won, drinks to be consumed, etc. etc. Every hour, hell, every second is precious in Las Vegas. It may be lame to be sleeping in the middle of the day in Vegas – but it would have been even lamer to crash somewhere around 10PM.
* * * * *
About an hour and a half later I awoke and waited a little while longer for Steph to get up. Once that happened, we plotted what we would do in the meantime. I had an ACG coupon for $15 in freeplay at Venetian, so we would head in that direction.
We walked right on by Imperial Palace and Harrah’s and went into Casino Royale. The casino isn’t great by any stretch but they do have $1 Michelobs and margaritas. I ordered two beers for myself and a “red” margarita for Steph, which led to this exchange:
Her: Red? I’m sure it has a flavor like strawberry or something.
Me: Oh well, I guess I was thinking of NyQuil flavors; you know, red and green?
That was probably only funny to me, but whatever. I sat down by my crack vendor, I mean, 25-cent Wheel of Fortune machine, and played for a while but didn’t win a dime. I then moved to a VP machine, where I also won nothing. Still treading water on my $20, I went to a Star Wars penny machine where I blew my whole wad and walked away with a cashout ticket for 20 cents. Hey, at least I had the $1 Michelobs to fall back on.
(It should be noted at this point – and you’ve probably noticed already – that I’m taking it easier on the gambling this trip. Last time I went batsh—t insane on the dollar machines and quarter VP and was down $200 in a matter of hours. Chump change to some of you, I’m sure, but that’s generally a third of my bankroll.)
After Casino Royale, we headed to Venetian. It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten the coupon in the room, but instead of going back I said “screw it” and forged ahead. Steph signed up for a Club Grazie card – I thought there was a free play promo for new players, but I was wrong – and we sat down at some penny machines near the bar and sports book.
She played Jackpot Party while I stuck a 20 into something called “Milk Money.” I ordered a Jim Beam and Coke and proceeded to play the mostly lame penny machine. After finishing my drink I found myself only $5 down, Steph had enough of Jackpot Party (“Super Jackpot Party is way better!”) and we moved on to find something else.
I fought off the temptation to play dollar Wheel of Fortune, and settled on a bank of 2-cent Top Dollar Machines. We played at these for what seemed like a good while - I believed I had two more Beam and Cokes here – spending 20 cents a spin. We each got the bonus several times, but they obviously didn’t pay off very well. I was up over my initial twenty dollar investment for a stretch, but nothing cash-out worthy, and after playing it back down to even we moved on.
Last stop in Venetian was a Pegasus Reel ‘Em Machine. These sound like such fun when there’s a group of people playing them. Well, the only time you can get on these “community” machines is when they’re completely empty. We sat down and played for a bit. Steph got bored, and I was getting frustrated with the lack of bonuses so I started pounding the max bet (for the community – of only one – bonus). I got nothing and watched as the $20 I started the hotel with was pissed down the drain. What a waste of time.
The two of us walked back towards Flamingo. I grabbed two more Michelobs from Casino Royale and double-fisted them down the strip and into the room. From there we waited for a call back from Steph’s sister and brother-in-law. They were in town until Wednesday, so we were wondering if they were up for some karaoke. In the meantime, we decided to just chill out for a while in the room. Sure, we could’ve been chasing our dreams in the casino, but this would suffice.
After finishing the beer, I decided I wanted more… and there was no way in hell I was paying for room service, nor was I going to pay bar prices. So I took my leave to the tiny liquor store outside of Carnival Court. I hauled ass there and back, and arrived back in the room with a 200 mL bottle of Jim Beam which cost $8.59. I bought a Pepsi from the vending machine and booted up my laptop so we could listen to some good tunes. Some of the selections included Bob Dylan’s albums
Blood on the Tracks and
Blonde on Blonde. We talked. It wasn’t Vegas-style fun, but it felt right. It was just a different kind of good time in a city full of them.
Somewhere in this time her sister called after a show to say they were kind of tired and would not be able to partake in the karaoke.
Now it was 11 o’clock and I was out of whiskey, and we were hungry. We started a search for food again, though it wasn’t nearly as quick as the last time. I had a taste for some late night steak and eggs, so we tried the Victorian Room at Bill’s. No dice: they were closed for monthly maintenance. We tried Bally’s, but the only place open was some bar and grill, and I don’t know why but it didn’t appeal to me.
We tried going back the other way – passing Flamingo because Margaritaville was out of the question – and dropped into Imperial Palace. Again, nothing was open except for one place, that being Burger Palace. We went inside only to find it completely empty; there wasn’t even anyone at the counter. This was a bad omen, so we left. The only highlight of our foray here was that someone was busy warbling “Alive” by Pearl Jam at karaoke. It piqued my interest at doing some warbling of my own, but alas food ruled the night.
Steph and I staggered our way – tiredness, not drunkenness at this point – towards Harrah’s, where we finally ended up at the creatively named “Café at Harrah’s.” It wasn’t too busy, and they had a $6.99 steak and eggs special, so it met my criteria. We ordered, and after a longish wait we dove into our steaks. For being $6.99, they were pretty good, if not quite a bit fatty. I don’t even like eggs that much (I just know that late night specials include them) so the fact that they didn’t taste like anything didn’t bother me. The total was something like $22 – they screwed us good on the soda – and we left, our bellies full.
Once we were back at the Flamingo, I stupidly decided that I wanted to gamble a little bit more. So I did, sticking $50 into random quarter machines and coming away with nothing. We got to bed sometime around 2:30AM. Steph and I were up for the better part of 24 hours. I fell asleep thinking about how I would attack the machines tomorrow.
* * * * *
We slept in until at least 9 o’clock, and we took our sweet time getting ready for the day. I started the morning off right with a free (ACG coupon) Screwdriver at Bill’s. I sat down at a nickel triple-play VP machine. I played for a while – enough to get another Screwdriver from the cocktail waitress – but eventually my $20 dwindled into nothingness. Steph didn’t have much luck here either. It’s unfortunate that it was a little early for a heavy-ish beer, because they had Newcastle tappers for 99 cents.
Around eleven, we figured it was a good time for some lunch, so we took the relatively short walk to Ellis Island.
It being daytime, it wasn’t too sketchy of a walk. Yeah, we saw a few gangster looking dudes hanging out in a gas station parking lot, but other than that it was no different than any other urban area in a big city.
The two of us made our way into the also creatively named “Restaurant” and were seated and waited upon quickly. The room is kind of retro looking, and that’s an authentic retro not a “because it’s hip and kitschy” kind of retro. Either way, I thought it was a pretty nice place to eat. Naturally, we both got the $6.99 steak special.
For those of you who have never had it: do it. It is highly recommended. The steak was cooked to perfection. It was thick and juicy and contained little to no fat. Also, it came with delicious home-brewed ale. We enjoyed the meal very much and decided that perhaps this would become a new Vegas tradition.
I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. Yes, the price plays a huge part in that statement. And yes, I’ve never eaten at Cut or Delmonico’s or Craftsteak. I’m sure the beef there is delectable; but if I’m going to spend most of my usual bankroll on a meal, there better be a happy ending. (And I don’t mean a cute little plate of dessert.)
During the meal, the Wheel of Fortune machine kept calling out to me, so of course I had to play. There was one guy there – a local, probably – who kept getting bonus spins but apparently wasn’t hitting much because he kept pushing the buttons. Kind of depressing, but then again slot machines can be that way. I hit a bonus spin once, for only 40, and ended up spending the whole $20. I moved to a VP machine, then finally some random penny machine while drinking a whiskey and Coke. I lost another $20, Steph lost all of her money, and we took our leave of Ellis Island.
One of Steph’s favorite places in all of Las Vegas is Coke World, so that was next on our itinerary. I think she loves soda only slightly less than she loves me. We worked our way southward on the Strip, weaving our way through the whorepushers (“porn slapper” is a misnomer – there is no porn on those cards!) near Planet Hollywood and eventually made our way to the store that celebrates consumerism more than it does soda.
We went upstairs for some sugar, I mean high-fructose corn syrup water. Steph got a Diet Coke with a shot of chocolate, and I got a Red Flash (cream). Man, I really with they sold that stuff in bottles around here, because it is delicious. We looked around a bit and decided to come back another day to buy some other goodies.
MGM Grand was the next stop, though we didn’t spend too much time there. I played some Monopoly Big Event thing – again, with hardly anyone playing – and hit nothing, even when playing the max bet. However, it did let me play for a little while, so there’s that. We decided to head back to the room at this point to rest and regroup for the night ahead.
* * * * *
Around 7 o'clock, we got something to eat at Burger King in O'Shea's. I had heard that Sahara had a “dollar days” area, so that's where we were headed next. Instead of taking a taxi or the deuce, we decided on the monorail. It may have been a bit of a rip-off at $5 a person for a one-way ride, but it got the job done. There weren't too many people on the thing, which made it way better than being squished on the deuce, not to mention that it didn't take god knows how long to get from Harrah's to Sahara.
After arriving at Sahara, we signed up for player's club cards and a free spin on their special slot machine. I won nothing, but Steph got $5 in free play. We wound our way through the casino and eventually found the dollar pit. As expected, it was fairly busy, but after a lap around the pit we found a blackjack table with two spots open.
I bought in for $30, Steph for $20, and the game was on. Steph had never played before (at least not for real money) so I had to give her an on-the-fly crash course in basic strategy. This slowed the game down, but thankfully neither the dealer nor the other players minded.
I was thirsty, so I asked the dealer where the dollar beers were.
“Oh, no, you can just get drinks from the cocktail waitress.”
So I waited. And I waited. And then I waited some more, with no cocktail waitress in sight.
Finally I decided to go find it myself, and returned with a $1 bottle of Miller High Life.
Steph and I proceeded to play the game, treading water for most of the session. A waitress eventually did come around and I ordered a whiskey and coke. After maybe an hour, I had had enough blackjack. Betting only a dollar a hand is nice and all, but you're not winning (or losing) very much – hence me not minding the lame “natural blackjack only pays even money” rule. We took our leave – each tipping the dealer a buck – me up five dollars, Steph somewhere around even – and walked around the casino some more.
Steph played some penny Super Jackpot Party while I toiled away on quarter wheel of fortune. Both endeavors were unsuccessful, and to stick salt in my wounds the lady next to me kept hitting the bonus spin and got 200 credits on one of them. Gambling is getting a big thumbs down from me so far.
After exiting Sahara, we walked southward down the Strip in search of a bus ticket kiosk so we could head downtown. Eventually, we crossed the street and bought tickets in front of Slots-of-Fun, and waited for the next bus in front of Riviera
The bus wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be, so the ride downtown didn't take too long. We disembarked just as the light show was ending. All I can recall about that was that the band was Queen and the music was really, really loud.
I'm a lush, and I had some 2-for-1 coupons to use so we walked down to Vegas Club. I ordered a Bud and a Bud Light, and the guy comes with two bottles – except that the coupon said “draft only.” I felt like kind of a dumbass, so I just took the beer and left.
There wasn't much going on at VC, so we walked into the Plaza. People hate on this place – and probably rightfully so – but I like it. The casino is dark and mostly quiet, and the penny machines are right by the bar so a cocktail waitress is always nearby.
I found my favorite bank of Super Times Pay triple play nickel VP, so I sunk a $20 bill in and hunkered down. As has been the case thus far, nothing much happened. The best hand I hit was 3 Aces on a 10x super pay, so that was 150 nickels. Thanks a
lot.
I walked around a bit and found Steph also losing, so I suggested we sit at the bar a while and use my other coupon. I ordered two Buds, and got to drink both of them because Steph didn't want any. We were entertained by the karaoke going on elsewhere in the casino. It sounded like there were old people singing lounge standards, and it was kind of intimidating because they could, you know, actually sing. Some 20-something douche followed that up with some Backstreet Boys, which naturally caused me to want to rock those bitches with some Nirvana. Alas, it was not to be because I wanted to gamble some more.
I knew there was cheap gambling to be had at El Cortez, so we made the short walk down there. I didn't see any bums lying in the gutter this time around, so that was good. The BJ tables were full so we walked around the casino awhile before I decided to order another drink. What a mistake. I ordered just a standard whiskey and Coke, thinking they'd be two dollars and tasty like last time. Wrong. $3 this time, and the drink was mostly soda.
A few minutes later we found ourselves at a $1 roulette table with 25-cent chips. (I told you, we're ultra-low-rollers.) We bought in for $20 each, and I immediately headed to the bar to get a real drink. I came back with a Maker's Mark and Coke ($4.50, in a real glass, too!) and was ready for some roulette.
This one lady was betting like crazy; she hit something nearly every time, but when you're betting most of your stack each spin you're not going to win a damn thing. That strategy didn't work out for her, needless to say. Steph and I bet conservatively, only a dollar each spin. We didn't hit on much, though I hit get my first “number” bet ever, on 21. I played enough to have at least two more drinks, but soon our $20 stacks were gone. Oh well, better than spending it in seconds on a dollar machine.
We played some penny machines while I finished my whiskey and Coke – this time from a waitress – and left El Cortez. The bus back to Flamingo was just as uncrowded as it was going downtown, and we were back on Las Vegas Blvd in no time.
I really wanted to sing some karaoke, but once again we were just too damn tired. Steph normally works at either 4 or 5AM every day, so she has an excuse as to why she's not used to staying up late. Me? I just like to sleep. So, no karaoke this trip – tomorrow night is booked solid.
It was late, but not too late to eat. I did, however, need some cash, and I had a $50 birthday check from mom that I had yet to spend. The cashier at Flamingo had me fill out a couple of forms, ran stuff through a machine, then informed me that I could have a $4,000 line of credit if I so desired.
Whoa.
“Uh,” I said, probably slurring, “I just want to 50 bucks on the check.”
“Oh, okay,” the cashier said, smiling, “I've already told you about the $4 fee, right?”
“No.”
“Well, there's a four dollar fee.”
“Okay. I'll still take it.”
She counted out fifty dollars and handed it to me.
“What about the fee?”
“Oh, that'll get charged to someone, some time. I don't really know, actually.”
Great. Well, I was hungry and wasn't in the mood for arguing, so we left. The Victorian Room at Bill's was open tonight, so that's where we had our late night meal. I had the $14.99 prime rib and Steph went with a Reuben sandwich, which was apparently very greasy. It was pretty good, but when you're liquored up and it's three in the morning just about anything tastes good. We paid the bill and left.
It bugged me throughout the meal that they offered me credit and had no clue about how a fee would be paid, so when we got back to the Flamingo, I walked up to the cashier cage and found the same lady who waited on me before. I confirmed that it was indeed just a check that I cashed and not some sort of casino marker, and was satisfied with the answer so we made our way to the elevators.
That meal must have filled me up good, because I had to fart really bad. Not caring at all, I let one rip just as I left the elevator.
“I left the next people to get on a gift,” I said, laughing.
“Oh yeah? I have a gift for you too!,” Steph said as she let a good one loose.
It was 3:30AM. We were farting at each other. It was definitely time for bed I thought, giggling the entire way to the room.
* * * * *
I woke up on my birthday slightly hungover, but more pressing was the way my stomach was telling me to go f--- myself. The amount of beef and whiskey I had consumed the past two days was staggering. No rest for the wicked, though, so I took a shower and got ready for my last full day in town.
I'm not one to believe in superstitions, but I have one that pertains to gambling. I have a lucky shirt (picture below). I had won precisely dick up to this point – though to be fair I was playing mostly pennies – and it was time to get real. The shirt went on, and I went down to the casino to get my money back.
A Super Jackpot Party sat empty across from Bugsy's Bar, so I claimed it. I ordered a Screwdriver from the waitress and put $20 in. It was going fairly well until Steph joined me. Then it went awesomely.
I was getting bonus parties left and right. I got the dance party and the multiplier. I was even rewarded with a “surprise” party. On one run, I picked the party pooper, then the party saver. This happened six times in a row. I could not be stopped. It was incredible and inexplicable. All told, I only won $12 (penny machines....) but, hey, baby steps, right?
It was approaching lunch time, so we decided to stop at the Tropical Breeze Cafe. I had a BBQ bacon burger and Steph went with a blackened chicken sandwich. The sandwiches were okay – the chicken was in dire need of some mayonnaise – and the service was fairly slow. All in all it wasn't bad nor a particularly good experience, but our hunger satiated so we left in search of riches.
We walked over to Bellagio and took some pictures in the Conservatory. It was pretty, but I'm a dude so it's not really a big deal. In the casino, we found a bank of penny machines (there they are again!). Steph went with Super Jackpot Party while I settled on 100-play VP. A waitress appeared and I went with Absolut and Sprite because my stomach was still yelling at me. The best part of Bellagio – for me, anyways – is that the drinks come in real drink glasses, not those stupid juice glasses that just about everywhere else has. The drink was delicious, and went well with the fancy-pants Dunhill cigarettes I had brought along for such an occasion.
It was a slow death on the video poker machine, but I played long enough for two drinks. Steph said she could've played all day on her machine, but neither of us actually won anything. I stopped five dollars down, and we left to make another stop at Coke World.
We ordered the same thing as last time, only smaller cups. Steph picked out some sweet Coke drinking glasses and I picked out a little knick-knack for my auntie who collects such things. Now it was time to go back to the Flamingo to get ready for tonight, when we would be seeing The Fab, a local Beatles cover band.
After getting ready, we took some pictures of the wildlife habitat. It was pretty nice with the flamingos and turtles and fish. There were also a few spots that were obviously for wedding photo ops.
Finally, the time had come to board the bus at Harrah's headed for Sam's Town. The band was playing at Eastside Cannery, but Sam's Town was the closest we'd get unless we sprung for a cab or limo, since it was my birthday and all. But it's cool – I ride the bus every day so it didn't bother me a bit.
We walked straight through Sam's Town and out the door. I slipped out and said I didn't really know where I was, which didn't do much to inspire confidence in Steph for the walk we were about to take.
It was kind of sketchy.
It was dark and desolate between the two casinos, and we had to cross the street... well, I'll let you see the picture for yourself.
Eastside Cannery was interesting in that the hotel itself was lit up with neon, and I don't mean just the sign. (Probably should have taken a picture here, but we wanted to get inside.) The casino itself is wide open and was obviously new. We had a half hour to kill before the show, so we played penny machines once again. Nothing was gained, little was lost, and we made our way to Marilyn's Lounge for The Fab.
I bought a Jim Beam and Coke at the bar, and it cost me $5.25. This normally wouldn't faze me, but it was served in the dreaded juice glass and had precisely one shot of booze in it. Terrible. This kind of put a damper on the early part of the show; I kind of wanted to leave once the first set was over. But being the kind of awesome girlfriend she is, Steph got up and got me not one but two beers. At $2 a pop I was more than willing to keep going back to the bar for more.
The Fab, as usual, were awesome. They played mostly early-era songs at first, but settled into a nice variety in the later set. They busted out “Old Brown Shoe,” a combination of the single cut of “Revolution” and the version found on the White Album, and played cuts from
Rubber Soul,
Revolver, and
Sgt. Pepper.
It was an awesome two sets that I caught. The locals were entertaining; one guy who had to be an off-duty Elvis impersonator was dancing with the ladies all night long, another guy in a ridiculous sweater had mimed his way through some of the songs. It was great. If you're a Beatles fan, you must see these guys rock out. They won't let you down.
We made the quick walk back to Sam's Town to catch the bus back to the Strip. It was pushing midnight, so it was time for another late night meal. I chose the Grand Lux Cafe at Venetian because I saw they had late night pasta.
The party people had arrived; I spotted a group of girls in dresses, one of them leopard print and another zebra. Pretty, but vacant, one must assume. The two of us navigated our way around the absolutely packed Venetian. We were seated quickly, oddly enough, and served by a friendly waiter.
He wasn't kidding about the big portions: I ate maybe a little over half of my “Sunday Night Pasta” (spaghetti with chunks of beef short ribs, steak, mushrooms, onions, garlic and parmesan cheese) and Steph couldn't quite finish off the BBQ pork sandwich she ordered. The bill was around $50 with tip – probably the most I'll ever spend in a coffee shop – but the service was excellent and the food was delicious.
It was time to get my gamble on once again, and I decided on Bill's. I had resisted the $1 Wheel of Fortune all trip, but I could resist no more. Steph and I sat down and started playing. Steph was relieved of her money first, and left to play something else. I was able to plug away for a good while, though sticking another $20 in is something I don't normally do. It finally paid off though as I hit the bonus spin for $100. Lucky shirt was getting heated up! I cashed out with a net win of $80 and was hungry for more.
We went back to Flamingo, Steph went of to bed (tired from the awesomeness, no doubt) and I stayed on the casino floor. First off was a quarter Top Dollar machine, where I smoked more Dunhills and had a whiskey and Coke, but ultimately won nothing. Then I sat at a penny Hot Shot Progressive where I tread water for a good long time, hitting a few bonuses along the way. I ended that session at even, and thought about going to bed.
I didn't.
I walked around near the sports book among a bunch of dollar machines, and figured “what the hell” and sat down at a Double Diamond Deluxe. It was going fairly well when I finally hit for something of substance: two diamond deluxe symbols and a bar, for a win of $225. Lucky shirt strikes again! The machine was multi-denominational, so being cocky at this point (and up over $200) I upped the bet to $5. Unfortunately, this did not work so well and I cashed out after 5 spins.
It was 2:30AM, I was up about $300... that would be enough. I went to bed after a great birthday.
* * * * *
Our flight left around noon, so we didn't do anything in the morning besides pack and wait for the shuttle. After checking out we waited for the shuttle, boarded and waited some more at the airport. We sat in the last row of the plane, so it was a little louder than usual but the trip was just fine.
Somewhere around 6:30PM we touched down and got our bags after a minimal wait. My parents picked us up from the airport, and we got home tired, but content. I'll be waiting impatiently to go back once again.
Tangled Up in Neon - 10/20-23 at the Flamingo (very long)
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