I am up at 8:30 at Flamingo on day 11. As I am typing this many months later, I am getting residually annoyed that I would prefer not being a daytime person, and being a night person. But I am a slave to the reduced iced coffee hours. I cannot go out at 3:00 AM when the drunks go to bed, and then go to bed myself when the vacations wake up. Because ICED COFFEE MOTHER FUCKER.
I am starving and we are still in the “mandatory reservations” portion of the pandemic. It is so difficult to find anywhere that has an opening. After trying way too many places, finally I am given an 11:45 reservation at The Pantry at Mirage.
Mirage is so pretty.
I play Buffalo on MY machine at Linq on the way. I lose $100 and then win $100. Fair enough.
At Mirage, I got a Buffalo up to $59 and decide to cash out for tip money. There is an entire family at the TITO machine, using it as an ATM. Except by “using it” I mean “staring at it, completely unable to figure it out.” This goes on for a while. Then the woman who is the leader of the pack has her card declined quite a few times. Her family slowly drifts away. Then finally on try number eleventy billion, she hits the jackpot and gets cash. And then puts in another card and tries to get cash. And fails. But keeps trying. Her family comes back and they try to get cash and this is just a very long and FUCK YOU clusterfuck of an entire family either incapable of using an ATM or a very long and FUCKING FUCK YOU clusterfuck of an entire family who have zero cash available on any of their 983247832743 cards.
I ended up blurting out some sort of insane rant with the word “fuck’ in it about 39873847327 times as I am walking away with my middle finger up in the air.
I am seated at The Pantry and ask for water. Spoiler alert, I never got it. I have always had bad service here. I keep coming back because the food is good + it is really difficult to use my MLife comps when most MLife casinos don’t have anything resembling a coffee shop. I hate that about modern day Las Vegas.
I won $60 on my way out on a Rakin’ Bacon slot machine. Walked over the Walgreens, which is currently no longer open 24 hours. It is crazy to see the changes for Covid.
I get back to my room, sweating from trying to cut past the groups of people walking people side by side, clogging the sidewalk.
I booked a foot treatment at Flamingo Spa. I have no idea where the spa is, despite the fact I have been there before. It takes me awhile but I finally find it. It was so good. The treatment was $125 and I tipped $75, it was THAT good.
A good thing about taking so damned long to finish my trip reports is that it was nice to be reminded of this so close to my next trip so I can book an appointment and go back.
I went to Starbucks after my treatment and the guy who has been making my coffee for the past 30-ish hours tells me “you drink a LOT of coffee.” Yes, yes I do.
I lost $200 on MY Buffalo at Linq and head to my room for a nap at 4:40.
I am back up at 6:30. I want to visit Rio. I made a reservation at the All American Bar and Grill. I attempt to take an Uber and the wait is 22 minutes. Wonderful.
I play for a bit before dinner. The rare time when a $20 bill lasts me forever on quarter Double Double Bonus video poker.
Dinner is a French dip and it is pretty good. I am offered an iced tea to go but I want Starbucks so I decline. My check comes with my original iced tea comped off because I had to wait so long for the check. Spoiler alert: I didn’t have to wait so long for the check, so this was a bit of a surprise.
STARBUCKS!
I play a Wonder 4 Buffalo and some cunt comes and stands next to me, screaming into her cell phone with her mask around her chin. WHY.
I move to a Dragon Link and someone pulls up a chair next to me. Ugh. I move again.
Now I am at Ultimate X video poker and an entire fucking family comes over. One sits next to me (GO AWAY) and the rest crowd around him. I hate this so much, always have, and now with a pandemic going on, I don’t want these eleventy billion people in my personal space so I say fuck it and leave.
I try to find the Uber pick up and get so long and end up walking around the Rio outside. Turns out the Uber pickup has moved and is on the complete opposite side of the property, in the parking garage, that requires me going up an escalator – like nowhere near where I am trying. FINALLY I find where I am supposed to be and I have to wait 20 minutes for a car.
Back in my room and in bed at 12:50.