Las Vegas Trip Report: NOT Going Degenerate?

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Good morning Las Vegas!  I woke up in the dark, and the sun must have risen at some point but I missed it because my back is towards the open window.  This reminds me of when my job put us in a temporary office that had a gorgeous view of NYC and amazing sunsets and we never saw them because we never had time to turn our heads to the right (or left, depending on where you sat.)

I went out to smoke and get coffee.  I was too late for Dunkin Donuts so I went to Lapperts.  They now have some actual food beyond donuts.  I didn’t get any because I didn’t have enough comps.  I am thinking of all the times I barely scratched the surface on my resort credit with offers.  Can I have all that credit back in one lump sum?  No?  FINE.

I got an early morning quad, which was nice.

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Las Vegas Trip Report: Time to Move Downtown!

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Good morning Las Vegas!

I have decided to not gamble today except for the $50 freeplay I have at Palms.  I am moving to California tonight.  I am getting texts and emails to do mobile check in but it never works so why bother even trying.

I am staying at California on a Lucky Duck promotion.  It is an event that takes place on Friday.  I guarantee you that when they hand me the paper showing me what time the event is, it will be during a work meeting I cannot miss.  I think I won $100 freeplay the last time I did the Lucky Duck promotion.  If I am remembering that trip correctly, it was also the day the fire alarm kept going off at Fremont hotel during work meetings so I just logged off and never came back.  Unfortunately, I cannot do that this time.

I logged onto my Boyd account to see the result of yesterday’s 10x points and found this surprise offer.  I had it last year too.  I wonder if I have had it many years and just never noticed it.
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Las Vegas Trip Report: Nickel Royal Flush!

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Good morning Las Vegas!  Oh god I hate working from Vegas.  Oh god you must all hate reading me whine about the same thing all the time.

There is a weird thing happening in my room here at Rio.  When I sleep, I am woken up by a smell of citrus scented cleaner.  It smells like the exact brand my landlord uses to wash the floor outside my front door.  It is STRONG and in the middle of the night.  I suspect someone next door is smoking weed in their room, because I can also smell that, and trying to cover it up with spray.  It wakes me up when the scent kicks in.  This is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this.

And speaking of smells in hotel rooms – my perfume opened in my bag and my room now smells AMAZING to me, but might not to the next guest if they do not the smell of my spilled perfume.  I hope they do!

I woke up this morning and went to get coffee.  I am checking out tomorrow and have to use up my resort credit so this meant waiting on the line to order face to face vs using the app.  Please hotels and casinos PLEASE find a way to charge mobile orders to the room.

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Why Yes, Rio is My New Favorite Casino in Las Vegas

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Good morning Las Vegas!

I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning, which makes sense since I fell asleep just after 7:00.  I used the Starbucks app for…..Starbucks.  I really wish there were an option to do room charge via the app since I have resort credit.

The elevators here at Rio are very quick but there were a TON of people checking out at this ungodly hour, with a shit ton of luggage and handcarts filled with what looked like shopping sprees from Costco with appliances and huge boxes of snacks.  I don’t know if this is a normal thing or if maybe there was something going over the weekend that attracted large groups with food and appliances?

I played Dancing Drums Prosperity and god this thing hated me.  It did give me this though, after I put in $200.

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Lazy Las Vegas Blogger Posts About Being Lazy in Vegas, Film at 11:00

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Although yesterday was my first full day of this Las Vegas trip, I am considering today the first full day.  Yesterday I woke up after not sleeping and worked.  Today, I am free.

I woke up at 6:30 AM and instead of “OMG GAMBLER YAY” I was “Ugh, need to run an errand boo.”

I needed to go to the Las Vegas Paiute Smoke Shop to get cheap cigarettes.   A round trip Uber was $45, lol no. I just sat on my balcony for a bit.  I’d still be sitting there Googling all the places in the world I wish to visit if not for the fucking sun blinding me on my balcony.

But that brings me to Dear Diary time.  I went to a fortune teller earlier this year who told me a few odd things that came true so far.  One was that my manager would be gone in 2 months.  She isn’t fully gone, but she isn’t MY manager anymore.  He said I would be undergoing a renovation that would cause a huge change in my life.  Well here I am in Vegas because my apartment is being renovated?  And honestly, I cannot stop binge searching for Manhattan apartments.  Because while mine will still be very much under market rate, that’s market rate for a 2 bedroom.  I don’t need a 2 bedroom.  So my new rent will bring me closer to the market rate for a studio in Manhattan.  Then I could not spend hours of my life on the fucking N train anymore.  No longer walk through my train station which is always coated in pigeon poop.  Ah this is the new dream.

But back to the fortune teller.

And the final two things he told me were:

I will be retied in 2 years.  I do believe I may somehow be able to pull that one off.

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Las Vegas Trip Report: Eff You Cosmopolitan Maybe?

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Hello from Las Vegas!  If you missed the first part of this trip report, you can find it HERE.

I mentioned in it that I was going to attempt to not gamble on my first night.  Was I successful?

I flew out of JFK on JetBlue.  God damn I fucking love flying on Mint and laying down.  God damn I need to stop booking Mint flights and remain in economy where I belong.

In addition to no longer laying down on flights, I’ve also sworn off Ubering to the airport, so obviously I took an Uber to the airport.

I ran out of my apartment in a frenzy and didn’t really get to say goodbye to my kitchen or do a ceremonial last cigarette in my apartment.  I wont be smoking in the renovated apartment.  Yes I know smoking is gross.

The airport was in the Christmas spirit. There was also a DJ. Why.

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That Time I Went to Las Vegas to Get a New Kitchen

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GUYS.  I swear this Las Vegas trip is not my fault.  I swore I would never take a trip where I have to work from Vegas again because it just ruins the trip.  I also had zero plans to go to Las Vegas at all in 2024 (I swear!)  In 2023 I discovered the joys of cruising.  And since I have so many comped* cruises (*comped = kinda free, but you still pay port fees and taxes, so there’s still a cost, even if a minor one), I booked a million and used up all my 2024 vacation time before the calendar even turned to 2024.  And as I write this in December of 2024, I have booked all my vacation for 2025 and am currently making plans for 2026.

So one day, Jetblue Mint fares dropped to an insane price of $730 each way.  I haven’t seen prices that low in a long time.  I am not supposed to fly Mint, I am supposed to be returning to economy where I belong.  But I couldn’t NOT book it, even though I wasn’t really going to go.  Wanted to lock in the price, just in case.

The same day, new MLife offers came out and for some reason mine were higher than ever before, which makes ZERO sense.  They had gone down earlier in the year, which made sense since I burned them in December. It hurt my soul to see the crappy offers and resort fee since I am not longer gold.  But for the offers to go back UP?  Without any new play?  AND the resort fee is waived? And the room choices being fountain view Bellagio and tower suites at Luxor?  That’s absurd.

So I booked some rooms just in case.

And then insert my landlord.

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Immersive Experiences in New York City: Hero NYC and Astra Lumina

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Welcome to the New York City section of my blog, also known as my “Amateur Learns Aperture” series, where I go outside my apartment to find things to photograph in order to learn how to use my camera.

There are several different immersive light shows in New York City right now.  I am not sure if this was always a thing, since I did not leave my apartment in many years.  Or maybe these have existed this entire time.  I love all of it.

Hero was such a great time.  This one is located under Rockefeller Center, right at the ice skating rink.  I was fortunate to catch the Northern Lights show on its last weekend.  But per their website HERE, they have a new show coming soon.

You start out by watching an introduction video and then you enter the space.  My ticket was for 7:00 on a Friday and it was not at all packed.  I had some rooms to myself as I walked through them.

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New York City: Making Hot Chocolate in a Cauldron and Oscar Wilde Restaurant

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Welcome to the New York City section of my blog, also known as my “Amateur Learns Aperture” series, where I go outside my apartment to find things to photograph in order to learn how to use my camera.

When searching for things to do in NYC, I found THIS fun day hot chocolate experience.  You get to use a magic wand, you get to add all delicious things to your hot chocolate, and you get festive toppings from a locked treasure chest?  Say no more!

You cannot book for just one person so I booked for two.  This also means I paid for two.  I don’t know why, but when asked where my guest was, I lied and said she missed her flight.  No idea who “she” is or why I felt the need to lie, but such is the life of a solo traveler.

The venue is actually a bar in front and the magic happens in the back.  The bar looks like so much fun.

The bartenders were dressed like warlocks.

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