In between writing these novelettes, I keep remembering things I should include, and also questions that some of you have, so I%26#39;ll cram a few in here. :) Yes, we did eat a LOT of food in Vegas. Let me explain. The town that we (me, my hub, and other couple) all live in, and all grew up in/around has a total of 800 people in it. There are a total of 2 cafes and 2 bar/grill type places. All places specialize in hamburgers, chicken strips, and side salads if you%26#39;re real adventurous. So when we budget for these trips, part of the allure, at least for me, is the food. Plus I%26#39;d dieted my a$$ off, (well, I wish I had) for the past month for the sole purpose of going nuts. :) Now I%26#39;m going through this horrible Vegas hangover of losing all my money, gaining weight, no more good food, being back in 40-50 deg. weather....but anyway. We had fun.
Yeah, they did have my luggage at the bell desk the first night we got there, so that was good. I wasn%26#39;t real worried, because, I kept thinking, well, where could it have gone?? And if someone had accidentally grabbed it, I%26#39;m sure they gave it right back. Just some boring clothes.
Ok, on to day 3. We had breakfast at the Sherwood Forest Cafe in Excal this morning. Much improvement over the buffet. We go back to casino in Excal, decide to play some ';Spanish 21'; which was kind of fun. A lot like BJ, but minus 10s and more ways to win. Or maybe because the 10s were missing, it had more of a house edge to it. Who knows? If anyone is curious, ask and I%26#39;ll try to remember! :) I was sitting at this table with a German guy, an English guy, a GRUMPY chick about my age, and a very old, very wise but never speaking, Asian man. It was fun! Once again, I did pretty well. I decided to start this system, let me know if you think it%26#39;s stupid. I would have my pile of chips, my original amount that I started with. Then every time I%26#39;d win, anything over my orig. amount I would throw into my pocket. Then, once I ran out of $$ or ran out of time, I was done. Then whatever I%26#39;d put away, that was untouchable for the rest of the trip. At least I brought back like $500 or something. (Out of $2500) Ouch. But it%26#39;s nice when reality kicks in and the Vegas haze lifts and you%26#39;re like, ';OH DEAR GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?'; at least you can say, ';Look, everyone, I brought back some cash';. I don%26#39;t know, probably lame and childish of me, but I think next time I go I%26#39;ll stick by that even more strictly than I did this trip.
My friend Jackie and my husband decide to get tattoos at Hart %26amp; Huntington over at the Palms, where the tv show ';Inked'; is shot. Jackie has one from there already and has already had this planned for awhile. Kind of spur of the moment for Rich. So we take a cab there, get signed up, wait a couple of hours, they can get her in, I watch, it%26#39;s cool. We wait several MORE hours there until they can get Rich in. Meanwhile, I am not winning a thing here.Rich gets his tattoo, I watch again. I think I can start up my own tattoo shop by this time. :) But it was a neat experience. Oh, in between tats we walked over to the Rio, lost some more money, but saw a couple of Chippendales taking pics w/ some happy lady!! YIKES! Also a neat experience!
We head back to Bally%26#39;s b/c I%26#39;d forgotten to cash in all those chips I%26#39;d won the night before. We walk over to Harrah%26#39;s, one of my favorite casinos. Watch the bartenders at the outdoor bar there, listen to the amazing band, lose more money. (In all actuality, there were a few wins here and there, but nothing really to mention...$40 here, $50 there. I did put some of it away in my ';Winnings pocket';.) We ate a good dinner at the Cafe at Harrah%26#39;s. After Harrah%26#39;s and the Flamingo we decide to head back to the Ex. My husband%26#39;s mood was a little improved w/ the tattoo, but still pretty down from all the losing and tomorrow we had to leave. So he puts in one more $20 into a Megabucks machine, on the 2nd spin he hits $200! So that was pretty cool. He went to bed a little happier. So I head over to Spanish 21 table and who%26#39;s there, but the old, wise, unspeaking man. I%26#39;m not sure if he ever left! We start playing and it was hilarious, he%26#39;d never speak unless one of us would get an ace, then he%26#39;d yell out, ';MONKEY!!'; I also told a young, Leann Rimes lookalike to freakin tip the dealer. I think she was foreign, didn%26#39;t know English very well, and was just learning the game, but he helped her win a lot of money. So at one point I kind of mouthed to her ';TIP HIM!'; After she figured out what I was saying, she did start tipping better. I was a little ashamed of myself, but figured I%26#39;d never see her again and he deserved it! Plus I wasn%26#39;t mean, I don%26#39;t think.
So, at around 3 or 4 in the morning I finally go to bed. Next morning I%26#39;d actually set my alarm for 8. We decide to leave at 11, since it%26#39;s check out time and our flight leaves @ 1:25 anyway. I ran to the Vegas Express store in NYNY (one of my other fave casinos), get a few souvenirs for my kids, my mom, my friend who helped watch my kids. I lost another $100 in a WOF dollar machine, thinking I had to hit something big w/ $100 in. Wrong. So I ended the trip on that sorry note. We used the express checkout instead of me going to the front desk and asking about comps. By this time my hubby was so grouchy that I figured, whatever. But I%26#39;m thinking a girls%26#39; trip next time. I was either worried about him getting out of control and gambling while drunk, or he was making me feel guilty about gambling. Anyone else have this dilemma when they go w/ a spouse?
Well, the flight home was extremely turbulent, but on time. It%26#39;s such a downer coming home from Vegas, in some ways. But then again, I was missing my kids (3 and 2) really bad and it was kind of good to get home. Thanks for the replies and all the great suggestions...I%26#39;ll keep learning every time I make it down there!
TR--Excalibur--3/18-3/21--Days 3/4 and side notes
Great trip report. Was great to read. Definetly try a solo trip or try playing more at night by yourself if your traveling partner is being a downer about losing.
TR--Excalibur--3/18-3/21--Days 3/4 and side notes
thanx for tr. glad you got some good food.
Great report!!! Do that girls trip I have for the last 2 trips and will again in May and its so much fun.
Really enjoyed reading! Boy can I relate to the ';OH DEAR GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!'; Dont like that feeling at all, but we%26#39;ve probably all had it! Its always good to have things at home to look forward to seeing (kids) it makes the pain of leaving a little bit easier.
I hope you do take your girl%26#39;s trip!
Great report! Just wanted to tell you that you did nothing wrong telling that young girl to tip. Sometimes ppl assume it%26#39;s common knowledge... but I am embarrassed to say I had no clue the first time I went. I did not tip at all, and wish someone had told me to. It%26#39;s worse to find out when there%26#39;s nothing you can do about it.
Also, just out of curiosity, could you tell how close the pool at excalibur was to being ready? I leave in a week for there :D
Thanks :)
Cubfan,
I%26#39;m pretty sure it won%26#39;t done in time for your trip, but they were letting guests use the Luxor pool. Have fun! Hope you win more than we did!
Little grasshopper, if he never spoke how did you know he was wise?
great trip report, thanks for sharing. I never leave Vegas without leaving my money behind. It%26#39;s become a ritual now.
Thanks for the great TR,i have 4 months to go before my trip.
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