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Amy and Dan got into Vegas around 10:30 PM (Vegas time) after a nice plane trip on Song airlines where Dan was the grand-champion of the trivia game that puts all the travelers against each other with the highest score for the 4 1/2 hour trip. Too bad Dan didn't get any money or a trophy for that feat. But anyways, that is yesterday's news. After they grabbed a cab and checked in it was past midnight and time to visit an old favorite, the Barbary Coast to start the trip off. They gambled a little while and then had the midnight breakfast special for $3.45�gotta love Vegas! Later that day (or in this case, 24-hour period), we woke to the beaming, desert sun and headed for one of the most famous pools in Vegas at the Flamingo. I guess everyone is aware of the fame of this pool because there was not an empty seat for miles. We finally found a couple of lounge chairs and swiped them up before the next two new arrivals got them. After pizza for lunch and a couple hours of soaking in the sun, Dan took a quick break to spend some money in the casino (yeah, like you didn't see this one coming). It didn't take long for Dan to arrive back to order another mai tai poolside. Next, Amy took a break to use the facilities or that is what she told Dan. After she was missing for about 1/2 an hour, Dan called off the search party when she came walking back, grinning from ear to ear. Here she must have taken a wrong turn and ended up at the Wheel of Fortune slot machine and won an extra $450�woo hoo! Now we were both smiling and soaking in the sun. It was time to clean-up and go to the Stratosphere for our dinner reservations at the Top of the World restaurant. This is a rotating restaurant on the top of the tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi. It was a spectacular view, terrific meal, and a special evening for Dan and Amy to officially celebrate the arrival to Las Vegas for our 10th (11th) Anniversary Trip. Everything from the butter to the dessert had the Stratosphere theme written all over it and we had a great time. We also found out that our friends Deanna and Kenny would be arriving tonight and not Thursday night (as we previously thought). So after the meal, we went back to the Flamingo, changed into play clothes, and met up with the Halls. Amy, Deanna, and Kenny called it an early evening (around 1 AM) and Dan carried on the fun�
June 16th - We're Not in Chicago Anymore
To continue from yesterday's diary, Dan dropped off the others and went on to do some real gaming with the crazy "all night crowd". He didn't go too far to find action and the funds were mainly "up and down" until he landed in the casino at the Flamingo. Typically Dan tries to stay away from here because even though they give good rates at the Flamingo, the luck here is usually pretty bad. This all changed once he found a craps table that was on fire! There were a few good shooters (including Dan) until the man to Dan's left and his wife got the dice. They were both very inebriated and she was even luckier than she was smashed. She must have rolled for an hour and Dan had all numbers covered just like everyone else on the table. She cursed like a sailor and repeated EVERYTHING including the numbers, which is a good thing in craps. She constantly said with a slur, "In Chicago, boxcars pays 3-1" and "do I have every number covered?" and "press the hard-ways". We all knew she was obnoxious, but didn't care�she was winning us all a bunch of money. Once the 5 AM hour rolled around, so did Dan into the room with over 800 of his closest friends. A few hours later, Amy and Dan got out of bed in time to catch the lunch crowd at Caesar's Forum Shops and more specifically the Cheesecake Factory. After lunch, Dan went on a gambling trip in Bally's, Paris, and the Aladdin while Amy visited the pool once again for more sun. Later, Dan and Amy met Deanna and Kenny at Casino Royale for some cheap gaming. We then caught a show at the Improv. These comedy shows are always a blast and this was no different. The three guys killed and the last guys says that he was in "Goodfellas", so we will have to review the tape on this one�but he sure did sound like a goodfella. After the show, the foursome walked to the Venetian for some dinner for Dan and Amy (Deanna and Kenny were on a different eating schedule at this time) and some expensive gaming. Dan has never done good at playing the slots, but for some reason on this trip, it was a semi-consistent winner (we think that Dan had some help from above�Rich was a consistent winner at games like Wheel of Fortune). This theory was proven correct at this time better than no other time. All the bells and whistles on one of those progressive slot games with a wheel went off as Dan hit it for $310! It was such a big pay-off that an attendant had to come to pay it off. After that big hit, it was bedtime for Amy, Deanna, and Kenny and for Dan to try to double his winnings. By the time 5 AM struck, Dan gave back some of the winnings, but once again came home with more that he took.
June 17th - Amy's Day in the Sun
Today was Amy's day to choose what we did and she chose sit by the pool. So after Dan got some beauty sleep, he called down to Amy who had been saving our spots since 9 AM. When Dan finally spotted Amy at her prime spot right by the pool, she was surrounded by half-a-dozen men. It turned out that she was the center-piece to their first stop on the bachelor party in Vegas. Once Dan showed up, the attention of the guys turned to other "babes by the pool", but Amy was happy to help them pick out a few good candidates for their weekend. We also met a real-estate lady from NJ and her daughter and a couple getting married on the chairs next to us�it is hard not to meet the people sitting six inches from your half naked body at the Flamingo pool. Following our pizza and many mai tai, it was time to get ready for the big show. Once again, ours and our guest's dinner timing was off, so we joined the Halls for their dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen with just an appetizer and soap and salad. Then it was time for the show. We got tickets for the very controversial and provocative Zumanity at New York - New York. The show was filled with nudity, sex jokes, and burlesque, but it was great none the less. The couple sitting next to Dan and I'm sure many others couldn't wrap their Puritan minds around the humor and some over the top sex-capades, but if you could, it was a very entertaining show as most Cirque du Soliel shows can be with the acrobatics that only they can do and in the way that only they can pull it off. After the show, it was time to hit the south end of casinos. Starting with the Excalibur, the Luxor, and Mandalay Bay, they all took some money from us as we walked through the casinos and talked. Once it was late enough, Dan and Amy separated from their friends to take another shot at the Barbary Coast mid-night breakfast special and then to bed.
June 18th - Payback Time
Since we did what Amy wanted to do on Friday, it was Dan's turn to pick the activities for the day and you guessed it�it was time to gamble! After sleeping in, Dan and Amy spent the entire day on the move. First it was Caesars where Amy fit in some shopping while Dan played video poker and placed some futures bets�the main on was a 10-1 shot for 50-bucks for the mighty Steelers to win it all next year. If they end up in the Superbowl, you know where you will find Dan! Next was the Bellagio�too rich for our blood, but it is always nice to visit the botanical garden. By this time, we were quite hungry so we stopped at the next casino at the Monte Carlo Brewery & Pub. Food and beer was rather good. Then it was splitsville�Dan to gamble and Amy to shop. This was the only casino on this trip where Dan had good luck. He won at craps (which for the first time in Vegas he consistently won at) and at roulette, but this is where he ended up making an ass of himself. Not sure if it was the excitement of his wins or the guy that walked up and doubled his $1000 bet in one spin, but when he reached to make a bet, Dan dumped his vodka-tonic all over the table. Luckily no chips were placed and the dealer assured him that it was quite common or Dan may have whimpered with embarrassment. It was time to cash-in the winnings and move on after that smooth move. We hit a few small shops to get some souvenirs and then got to the Aladdin so Amy could do some real shopping at the Desert Passage shops. Dan simply gambled some more. Now on to Paris and the story doesn't change from the Aladdin, just the pockets seem to be getting lighter. On to Bally's, where Dan played craps while Amy stood and watched and asked a few questions about the game�it was nice to see Amy take an interest in Dan's hobby. The best thing that could happen did. The guy to Dan's right had dinner reservations to get to, so you know what that means�he rolled for a good while and made some money for Dan and the others at the table. They cashed in those winnings and walked back to the room for a quick change and freshen-up. We then met up with the Halls and caught a cab to the Downtown area. I am not going to talk about this time much other than saying that the others enjoyed the canopy show, but those bastards in the casinos took some serious money from Dan. After a few hours downtown, we got back to the strip and got our first look at the newest hotel/casino, the Wynn. This is another upscale creation for Steve Wynn, which he will probably sell to some corporation in a few years for a mint. It was nice and had lots of floral arrangements everywhere. We spent more money here without any big wins and called it a night. We each headed to our respective hotels and added up the losses. For Dan, the losses were great and caused our heroes distress. Enough to force the twosome in for some 2 AM room service.
June 19th - Sunday Bloody Father's Day
Amy and Deanna went for a day of shopping while Dan and Kenny went to a daily poker tournament. I'm sure that the girls did better than the boys on this day when after about an hour Kenny was knocked out and then quick to follow Dan was out. Amy and Deanna went to Paris, the Aladdin, and then to MGM Grand. After lunch at Diego's, the girls met up with the boys at Casino Royale where Dan and Kenny spent the rest of the day to drown their sorrows of a bad poker showing. It was time to get cleaned up and start thinking about dinner. Dan and Amy went over to the Rio for the Carnival World Buffet. The wait was terrible and not worth it for the meal, but when you put an hour's time into a feast without eating a bite you have to follow through with it. I'm not sure if it was so long because this is where the World Series of Poker is being held this year or if it is always crowded like this, but if you ever go there and the line is out the door, run! The Halls decided to call it an early night before we could meet up with them again, so we didn't get the chance to say good-bye in person and thank them for coming with us to make this trip that much more enjoyable. They did say they had a great time and to let them know the next time we visit Vegas. We did very little gambling on the way back to the room, so you could tell that it was near the end of the trip, but we made it back and again with less money in our pockets.
June 20th - Making the Best of the Last Day
It was time to add up our losses, pack, and check-out of the hotel for the final day in paradise. With all the comps cashed in, it only cost us $236 for a week's stay at the Flamingo�awesome! Also because we won in the beginning, we used cash throughout the trip�yes! Based on those and the fact that we could have been much worse with the losses, it was a very fun and lucky trip. We didn't have to make one trip to the ATM and still had a pretty big bankroll for the last day, so we were happy! The last day of vacation started with lunch at the Rainforest Caf� in the MGM Grand. We won some money, which was just enough to pay for lunch, so that was a push. We then had to use up our 10-ride ticket for the monorail, so we went from MGM to the Las Vegas Hilton. Here we met up with some good luck by hitting a few winning pots. Then it was back to the strip at the Riviera. This spot was the highlight of the last day. First, Amy was playing another one of those progressive slots and hit a spin of the wheels. This one had 3 wheels that added up a score. Her first set was added up and then the machine said, "see if you can beat that score", then another, then another. On the last set of spins, she got a free spin. So it went through 9 more spins of this sort. We thought that the highest score of 143 points was the total, but we were very pleasantly surprised to find that the score was cumulative and she ended up with a final score of 963 points followed by shouts and screams from the two of us. We then went to get a free promotional mug. Here we bought a ticket to play another game and didn't win, but we did get two sweatshirts out of the deal. We thought that was enough fun and free stuff for one place so we went across the street to Circus-Circus. This place is filled with kids so we did not spend too much time here. We then walked up the strip towards our bags waiting for us at the Flamingo. After a quick stop at the Stardust, we made it back to just outside Caesar's for a relaxing drink at the bar filled with frozen-drinks. We then made a final tally and realized that we had a little more than we started the day off with, so that was way cool! Now it was time to do the inevitable�catch the cab to the airport. We had our final dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the airport and then the red-eye back to Florida. I feel sorry for those of you out there that for what ever reason decided to miss out on another great trip to Vegas, but as for Vegas, kudos for once again showing us a great time! Win or lose, it never fails to entertain.
