Category Archives: Las Vegas Travel Blog

Las Vegas: My Longest Trip Ever Begins Today!

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Las Vegas YAY!  If you read my trip report from my most recent trip, you read about how I want to VACATION in Las Vegas, and not work.  Not even a work / vacation combo, I want to just vacation.  The novelty of entending trips by working days around them has died.  Being able to have comped dinner without cooking in exchange for waking up at 5:00 AM and getting annoyed that I have to forage for breakfast when nothing is open, no longer seems like a fair exchange.

While getting that last trip report up, I remembered that last year I worked a few days but then had 2 full weeks off after.  I went back to read that trip report because I can barely remember being FREEEEEEEEEEEEE and realized that while I typed up most of it, I never posted it.  Whoops?

Now that I am ready to post, I did consider waiting until December 2022 to post this and pretend it is being posted in real time in 2022.  You would not notice the difference of the years since most of my trips are the same.  But I just can’t make myself lie.  So here we go, 10 months late.

(Fun fact, while I do indeed check my horoscope daily while in Vegas, I post them here also so I can keep track of the dates of each post in my drafts folder, so I don’t fuck up and post them out of order.)

Ahhhhhhh it is that time of year again!  Las Vegas at Christmas!  This trip is a 25 night trip, making this I believe the longest trip I have ever taken to Las Vegas, by one day.

It is crazy that last year, I was all booked to spend Christmas in Taiwan and Palau.  But then Covid happened.  I looked into going this year, Americans still cannot enter.  I tried researching a few other places but just got frustrated so why not stick to what I know best?  But for real guys, I need to get out of America.

This trip, as with every trip, has morphed and grown over time.  So many bookings and rebookings.  And not just hotels.  Now that flights are pretty much changeable for free, those changed a lot too. I always attempt to make a post detailing all my changes so Vegas addicts who do the same, can watch me be a lunatic.  But it even makes my own head spin.

Hotels:

Harrahs
Fremont x 2 (I wish one of these stays was at California but by the time I realized it, California was sold out)
Linq
Wynn
Resorts World – checking in for freebies and not staying
Cosmopolitan
Luxor – checking in for freebies and not staying
Palace Station
Sahara
The D

My budget is a bit higher than normal due to a bonus from work.  But I suspect that just means I will lose more money and hate myself more.

This trip started on a Thursday.  I flew to Vegas after work, and I smartly took off tomorrow.   I arrived at whatever the hell fucking time.  My notes about the Uber to JFK airport say “Uber, Jacques Cousteau.”  Choose your own adventure on what that means.

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Las Vegas Flashback Trip Report: The Finale

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If you have landed on this post and would like to read this ancient Las Vegas trip report in its entirety, you can go HERE to find the beginning.

I am up at the crack of dawn. I go downstairs, lose money, and then eat at the Paris buffet. This is definitely the best breakfast buffet on the strip.

I take a peek at my Park Place coupons and discover I have one for 15% off merchandise at the store I bought my Paris themed pajamas at yesterday. Yay!  I go back and get my mother a pair.  It is 15% off with the coupon, and then an additional 10% off with my Park Place card. Excellent!!!

I go outside and take some photos.

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Las Vegas Flashback: Spot The Scam and Scented Slot Machines

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If you somehow landed on this post and would like to start at the beginning of this ancient Las Vegas trip report, you can go HERE.

Good morning from Palace Station! Despite crawling to bed at 6:30 AM, I am awake at 8:30 AM.  I head downstairs for breakfast at the buffet, and return for a long nap.  I am up at 4:00 PM.

I go down to the casino and play and Uncle Sam slot machine, cashing out with $50. I decide to go up to the room, shower and pick up where I left off on last night’s Strip casino crawl.

Well although last night went on forever, tonight only lasted an hour.

I started off at the Venetian, lost and lost. Casino Royale, lost and lost. Mirage!  Lost and lost and called it quits.

This simply isn’t fun when you are walking these long distances between casinos and not getting anything for your efforts so I decided to stay put.

I gambled at Mirage for quite some time, never hitting anything worth documenting.  Then over to Treasure Island where I played until I was broke.

I took a cab back to Palace Station and fell asleep watching some television show named “Vegas.”  2022 me wants to know what the fuck television show I was watching named “Vegas” in June of 2003, and even Google doesn’t know.

Since this day was incredibly short, I’ll just keep going into tomorrow.

I am up at 8:30 AM.  Today is supposed to be a sleep in day. Oh well, I will sleep when I am dead.

Breakfast is at the buffet again. After eating, I play and lose on slots. I go outside and take pictures of the hotel. Come back, shower and check out.

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Las Vegas: Strip Casino Crawl – Chap Stick and Water DAMMIT

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If you somehow landed here and would like to start at the beginning of this ancient Las Vegas trip report, you can go HERE.

I wake up at Treasure Island at 6:30 AM (one hour sleep ‑ YAY!) I shower and head to buffet. It is not as bad as I’ve heard it was.

After eating, I play a Munsters slot machine and get nothing. I play a Risqué Business slot machine, get nothing.  I play a Lobstermania slot machine. I am losing so I am only playing 5 lines 1 credit. I cash out $25. Next up, Catch a Wave slot machine. I lose $15 of my winnings. I try a Price is Right Punch a Bunch slot machine.  I put in my remaining $10 and get up to $50. YAY!

I get back to the room at 8:30 AM to nap. As I type this, I am amazed at how much I did before 8:30. I and even more amazed when realizing I did this on one hour’s sleep.

I nap for 2 hours, wake up, shower again. I pack for my next move and leave my bags with the Bell Desk. I next get a Frappuccino and I’m ready!

I go back to the Price is Right Punch a Bunch machine.  This time I lose. I went over to Mirage and I lose lose lose lose. I dare to try an Austin Powers Time Portal slot machine again. I hate this game it is a big fat money suck.  WhydoIkeepplayingit???

Some photos of Treasure Island.  I am absolutely mindblown with amount of photos I used to take.  Since this trip report was back from 2003 – my camera was so crappy.   Even after deleting about 70% of all the crappiest photos, I still have eleventy billion left.

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Las Vegas 2003: Look At All The Things I Miss!

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If you have stumbled onto this chapter of an ancientLas Vegas trip report from 2003 and want to start at the beginning, you can go HERE.

I am up early at the world famous Boardwalk Hotel.  I am showered and out of the room at 8:45. I’m going to really gamble and try the world famous Boardwalk Buffet. It relatively empty, but the short line is SO slow. I credit this more to the gaggle of women who all had travelers checks, who all had to be asked 983984798327489327483274329874328 times for ID, than I do to the cashier.

Well, all the stories you have heard about this buffet being terrible are true. Now I don’t think it is disgusting to the point I’ve read about. but it is just not good. I can’t think of one nice thing to say about it, other than “well, it is not as bad as the Frontier buffet.”

Off to gamble!

The casino had the air conditioning up so high i could barely handle it. it was FREEZING. I kept stepping outside to warm up.

Nap time before moving hotels! I set the alarm for 11:30. I sleep through the alarm and got woken up by “room checks” at about 12:10 ‑ ten minutes past check out time. Who knows how long i would have slept if I hadn’t been woken up?

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Las Vegas Flashback: Boardwalk Hotel Stay in 2003

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Hello Las Vegas Trip Report people!   Here is an older trip report that I hadn’t posted before.  It is from June of 2003.  I loved going through it and seeing all the things that no longer exist. The hotels.  The trams running 24 hours a day.  Starbucks being open 24 hours a day.  Player card booths being open until 2:00 AM. Basically back when any hour of the day was like any other hour of the day.   Nowadays, if I take a nap, I have to set an alarm to make sure I am awake on time to get my last iced coffee before Starbuck/Dunkin Donuts closes.  I could go get breakfast or dinner in any of the 24 hours in a day because everything was open 24 hours a day!

This little 6 night trip report has me staying at:

Boardwalk
Treasure Island (when it still had a pirate theme going on)
Palace Station
Paris

Part one, here we go:

Today I worked a full day, then took the train to Port Authority, and then a shuttle to JFK airport. The reason I took a shuttle, as opposed to a cab, was that I had plenty of hours to kill. I left work at 4:30 and my flight was at 9:30.

I get to the airport still with too much time to kill. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. It was pouring buckets outside and I thought “Soon I’ll be in the desert!”

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Las Vegas: Depressing Last Day of This Trip

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If you randomly stumbled on this post and would like to read this Las Vegas trip report from the beginning, go HERE.

Up at Fremont at 7:00 AM to begin my last day of this trip.  I am depressed not only because it is my last day, but also because last night was one of those nights I could not get ANYTHING going.  Will today be like that too?  God I hate.

I am starting my day at Binions.  Look at how lonely this ATM is.  I hope I don’t have to spend some time with her at any point today.

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Las Vegas: The One Where I Can’t Win ANYTHING

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If you somehow ended up here and would like to read this Las Vegas trip report from the beginning, go HERE.

I am up at 7:00 and out by 7:45.  Today I am going to revisit the Strip.  I am smart enough to have thought ahead to getting Dunkin Donuts last night to keep in my refrigerator so I could have a large iced coffee while playing at Bellagio this morning.

It is fucking HOT outside.  Like the hot where the sun burns your eyes and they really hurt.  I had to wait 17 minutes for my Uber.  This is abnormally long for this trip, albeit at this time last year, I would have been psyched just to be able to get one at all.

I watched as my driver passed by me on his way to drop off the person before me at Four Queens.  Please pick me up on the way, I need air conditioning?

My plans for Bellagio are to play the Dancing Drums machine I won on last trip, play some Cleopatra Keno and some Buffalo.  I have enough comps for the buffet.  Even though I am not a fan of it, I am less of a fan of leaving comps on the table.

I play Dancing Drums.  Woo hoo, this is going to plan!
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Las Vegas: The One Where I Gambled

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If you somehow ended up here and would like to read this Las Vegas trip report from the beginning, go HERE.

Oh wow what a morning here at Fremont.  I slept horribly.  I had so many dreams about work, oof.  The last dream was one of my former employees was trying to kill me.  As his knife is coming down towards my chest, I jump up awake, heart pounding.  Sweating.  Then I realized I was almost 2 hours late to work!  Holy shit, I slept in big time and simply missed an important meeting with my former manager, while dreaming about being stabbed by a former employee.   Way to be an adult.  I also missed 2 meetings with my employees.  Damn all of them for thinking something was wrong and I was in the hospital, rather than thinking I had won a million dollars and quit my job.

Ran down to get Dunkin Donuts.  God bless the mobile app.  Now I am going to be starving all day because I have back to back meetings. I still need to shower before going out after work.  At least it is my Friday?

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Las Vegas: A Boring Day Here is Better Than Any Day at Home

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If you somehow ended up here and would like to start reading this Las Vegas trip report from the beginning, you can go HERE.

I woke up at Four Queens at 4:30 AM.  Shower and out to Dunkin Donuts.  Lost some money around Fremont.  Would be losing money to earn my keep at Four Queens, but more than half the casino is still blocked off while they replace their carpeting.

Normally the incidental hold on comped rooms at Four Queens is $20.  They have a hold on my credit card for $201.70, which makes me think I am going to have issues at checkout because it looks like they are charging me for the room.

I went to get breakfast at McDonalds because it is the easiest thing to grab before work.  Well today is was the opposite.  All the credit card readers are down so you have to pay in cash.  But the cash part is down too.  The poor cashier has to add up totals manually and figure out change manually.  She has to keep going in the back to get change.  I don’t know why they didn’t pull the drink guy to help, he was just standing around as the orders were going through insanely slow due to the paying issue. But I don’t manage McDonalds so I am sure there are reasonings I am unaware of.

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