let me say,
success. it was such a good trip. and needed to be longer. now all I can think about is going back and playing roulette. how this trip differs from the other trips? I didn't have a burger at every meal, and I came out a winner.
even though most of the people that read my blog were on the trip, I'll document as I remember anyway.
went on thursday morning with ferris and did lunch at grande luxe (a better cheesecake factory for those who don't know), followed by the first game of roulette.
I didn't play my number, 29 black, and sure enough it hit 29 black. ferris up 35, I was up 5 from playing the color. this was the
first regret. back to the room for a much needed afternoon nap before a little caesar's to get the party going. a little more gambling and then shopping at fcuk, the closest one on the west coast, now that the one in sf closed down. a little pricey but it was a really well-worth the impulsive splurge. kept thinking about how I couldn't return it, unless by mail, and that was a cause of short-lived concern.
kim and sid arrived, and we headed to the bank at bellagio with leftover free passes.
literally in there for only 45 minutes. good thing we didn't have to pay, especially with some drinks costing $17 -- ridiculous. I was not really feeling it and avoided this group of meek asian girls. could be those self confidence issues that I didn't anticipate. we all were showered with foam, then got out.
we were all hungry and ready to dive into those nachos at margaritaville from the first trip.
sat down at 1:05 but the kitchen closed at 1:00.
fail. went to burger king for a whopper, fries, and the new nuggets (plus 1 of each of their 7 sauces). had a gross feeling afterwards, but I actually enjoyed. some gambling at flamingo, and we were all "up". I spotted a $5 chip on the ground, and kim and I pulled a diversion to pick it up since it was near the blackjack table. she sat down to watch, while I picked up a napkin to blow my nose. Dropped the tissue, and picked it up with the chip in hand. Then got out of there. it was hard to split the $5, so we played it on red in a game of roulette and won! turned $5 into $10 -- $5 each. actually found a second chip, but this time it was directly under someone's chair. this made it harder to "snatch". so we waited around like vultures for a little bit, hoping he'd leave, while sid went to the virtual blackjack machine to gamble. sid lost and the guy at the table never got up. so we turned in for the night.
jocelyn and andy arrived and we all went to serendipity for lunch.
an hour wait, but worth it. treated a bit like second class citizens; a plate dropped by andy but no free meal for us. the other table next to us on the other hand was compensated. plus, free
frrrrozen hot chocolate with a coupon from the hotel.
there were two groups -- group salads and group non-salads. of course, naturally I was part of the non-salad group along with the kim and jocelyn.
then watched andy do some bold gambling before going to the hotel to move our stuff and lounge around for a second nap.
the salad group was hungry while the non-salad group, not so much. ended up at wolfgngpuck for pizzas. sooo good, especially the mushroom one with broccolini and leeks. (I want some now.) surprisingly, it was two members from the salad group that didn't finish their slices, while the rest of us did!
then we gambled before heading up to shower. played some games, and headed down. we were excited watch the lion's habitat (which was empty since the animals were asleep) before running into a group of investment bankers from the UK.
changing into comfortable shoes, mid-casino.
they were in vegas for 10 days, staying in the sky lofts. the ones with the butlers. all of them were pretty weird unfortunately. one of which was wearing a "belly shirt". but they got bottle service at studio 54 and let us in. on the way, we ran into a passed out dude, so we took some pics.
overall pretty good experience and the dj was better here than at the bank. one of the pasty UK dudes was really drunk and dancing awkwardly with our group. he gave andy awkward looks and random high fives. the crowd was hungry after so we went to macdonald's. I took a nap in the booth.
day 3: pool time for half the crew, while the rest of us just lounged poolside. it was pretty relaxing.
went to the bellagio for their awesome buffet before finding out how expensive it was due to easter. so we ended up at paris with an all access pass. pretty good, but man was I full -- bloated full. uncomfortably full to the point where it was hard to breathe. and then I was just tired. why did we do the picture after the buffet?
saw some white trash like this dude pictured below. walked through caesar's to shop. also discovered that some of the peter lik "prints" cost around 80 grand -- who would pay that?!
posed like an asian tourist.
followed again with some gambling at a ghetto casino of course. we ended up at bill's where we all lost to this dealer named chanly, playing blackjack. she got 21, probably nine times. it was ridiculous. I didn't want to play with scared money, so I decided to go all in with a $20 hand, and my second $20 bill. I didn't hit on 16 when she showed an 8. this is
regret number two. especially when seeing that the next card to be dealt was a four. which would have put me up to 20. I will always hit on 16 when the dealer shows that 17 or higher. better yet, I should memorize the "hit/stay" chart. then, we ate again before coming back to bill's to play. but quick pit stop at this "arcade" where we spotted an elephant that looks like kim's stuffed animal edward.
the original for those that don't know.
this time roulette. ferris and I were on a roll, riding that wave. I think we won something almost every time. we got the right number at least 4 times, and on the split between two numbers, almost every other time. and then the set (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) every time. I think were were at our highest with around $180 between the two of us. for perspective, we started with $10 each. not bad! I was really excited every time and jumped up and cheered at every win, even with only $4. I probably cause a buzz and looked like a loser. winning means knowing when to stop, so we headed back to the room to rest before playing again. according to andy, you're always winning when you aren't gambling. a few card games upstairs using teabags, sugar packets, and powdered creamer as "chips." the girls changed into outfits specifically for vegas, while the rest of us just dressed down. I was so cold I had to put on a fleece jacket. this is basically a photo dump of sisterly love. including a pose as snails. too bad ning wasn't there. next time -- when we do it big.
when we got down, sid was bold enough to play $15 blackjack, but unfortunately lost $140. ferris and andy played roulette and won a little bit. best part of the night? I actually
found a $100 chip on the floor and will never forget it. I picked it up, made sure it didn't belong to anyone immediately beside me, before power walking to the cashier to cash out. I felt like such a winner, even with team andy and jocelyn up almost $400.
sunday is the worst day to leave because the next day is monday. goodbyes are no fun either. off to the airport for overpriced food before jetting off home. burger king for all of us, save for ferris.
I can't wait to go back already. the feeling and sound of clay chips in ones hand. kim said it earlier:
#VegasWithdrawals
one of the best trips ever.
