Note:  This is an older Las Vegas trip report that I am posting for the entertainment of Las Vegas addicts and anyone else who loves fun.  It was written back in 2008.  Most of this information is now outdated and some places mentioned no longer exist.

Thursday, January 1, 2009 – Day Twenty One of Twenty One

I wake up at the Sahara and instantly start crying about my deleted pictures again. I am tryyyyyying to let it go but I am so upset. I mope around my room and decide my 2009 is off to a horrible start. Then I think back to last January 1 and remember that last year on this day, I flew to Las Vegas and checked into the Sahara. This year on New Year’s Day, I am checking out of the Sahara and flying home.

I checked out and did not leave housekeeping a tip. I did leave a note explaining why (in case you missed it, there was a ball gag left behind in my room from the previous guest) and that “if you aren’t the housekeeper who neglected to empty my trash, I apologize to you on behalf of your coworker. If you are the housekeeper who neglected to empty my trash, shame on you “

I check out and they don’t charge me that stupid electric fee that I got an EMAIL about a month after I booked. They didn’t tell me about it when I booked. They didn’t mention it when I checked in. They didn’t mention it when I checked out.

I play nickel Double Double Bonus video poker and get 2’s. I don’t take a picture because I lost all my pictures and I’m so upset. I will not stop crying about this. I go to the Caravan Cafe at the Sahara and get Eggs Benedict one last time. I get on the Deuce bus to downtown.  All Las Vegas buses are free today until 6:00 PM so every person in America is riding it. I have no clue why it’s free TODAY and not yesterday but whatever. It takes FOREVER to get downtown.

First stop – Dunkin Donuts. Second stop – Walgreens to see if they can help me retrieve my pictures. Nope. I stop at the Photo Magic kiosk on Fremont Street.  This gets me a dirty look and a “uh, no?” response when I ask. I play a bit but I’m not focusing on what I am doing and I can’t keep doing this.

I get back on the bus to the strip partially to see if there are any camera stores in the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood, partially because sitting on the bus is better than sitting on a slot machine I’m not paying any attention to. I am on this bus foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  It takes me an hour and 40 minutes to get from downtown to Caesars, where I quit and walk the rest of the way.

Planet Hollywood has a Photo Magic store. The person I talk to there can’t help me but suggests I can take a cab to Best Buy and she bets they sell software I can use to recover my pictures. So there is a ray of hope but I’m still SO DEPRESSED.

My sister is home Googling and finds me a program that can restore deleted pictures. The first rule is “DO NOT TAKE ANYMORE PICTURES WITH YOUR MEMORY CARD”. Okay. I’m too upset to want to take anymore pictures anyway! But I buy a new SD card just in case. My sister and I agree that instead of me being in Las Vegas for 21 days, getting back to JFK at 5:30 am, going home and crawling into bed, I will lug my suitcase to freaking Long Island from the airport.  Then I can use her computer to download this magical program and try and recover my pictures. Later in the day, I check the train schedules and see I’d have to wait over two hours for a train so I call her back to veto this idea.  But by then she has already gone shopping and bought me my favorite pizza to have in her apartment for me to cheer me up. Ah the problems one has when born and raised in a first world country.

The Las Vegas Strip is a mess, I am a mess. I’m not sure what I want to do. I just want to lay down. Going back downtown seems like HELL, stupid over packed bus. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I stand outside Planet Hollywood for about an hour just enjoying the weather.  Then I remember about the Las Vegas Club car drawing that I have many entries for.  This means I have to go back downtown.  If I leave NOW, I can barely make it.  I get on a Deuce bus. It is packed. At the Las Vegas Club. I play video poker with a WHEEL and I christen my new memory card with:

Then I hit queens and got 500 on the wheel:

I cashed out $180. I don’t win the car.

I go to Binions and get my first Binions burger of my trip (how did I last so long?) Back to the wheel for one last shot. I got to spin twice, still lost $10.

Onto the 108 bus back to to the Sahara. I lose a last $35. Time to get my bags and get back on the 108 to the airport. Waaaaahhhh. I don’t wanna go home. I check my bags, they didn’t mention the $15 checked bag fee.  I  go through security and right up to Mrs. Fields cookies to buy a Diet Pepsi.  The woman behid the counter puts up the “closed” sign before I reach it. Nooooooooooooo. I walk all over the airport searching for Diet Pepsi. Nothing. I walk between terminals, nothing. This airport is DEAD. I don’t know what terminal it was but there were ZERO people in it, all the gates were closed as was every store.

I go back to my gate very unhappy with my newly purchased Diet COKE (gross) and mope some more not only about my lost pictures, but now about the lack of Diet Pepsi AND the fact my trip is over. I get on the plane and there are two kids in my row. Perfect ending. We land early and there is no gate open so we sit for half an hour. Mine was one of the last suitcases out. I exit and spot a DIET PEPSI MACHINE.  It won’t take my dollars and I have no change.  Even more perfect ending.

In the very end, I was able to recover all my pictures except one.  Now that is truly the most perfect ending!