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 2005. Most of this information is now outdated and some places mentioned no longer exist.
Sunday, June 5, 2005 – Day One of Ten
I left New York City on Friday, June 3 and headed to Chicago/Indiana for a fest.
On Sunday, June 5 – I wake up in Chicago and head to the airport. I am leaving from O’Hare to Vegas; my friend is leaving from Midway to go back to New York City. We cab it to O’Hare, have lunch, and she takes off to Midway. I now have a bit over two hours before my flight.
I am hung over and very, very tired. Finally it’s time to smoke the last cigarette and head to the gate! Oh no, my flight is delayed 18 minutes. Uh oh, here comes the Slumlords curse! See, every time anyone flies to anything that has anything to do with the band Slumlords, they end up having a horrific flight. Guess who I saw play in Indiana? Slumlords. This curse was all started by my friend Carlos, who’s first flight to see Slumlords saw him delayed something like five hours when his plane was hit by lightning. It continued onto me when I flew to Montreal to see Slumlords. My friend, who lives in Montreal, called the airport to see if my flight was on time and they told her my flight was cancelled. So she doesn’t come to pick me up, because she thinks I am not there. But I am there. Waiting. And waiting. I sat at the airport for about an hour before I tracked her down, and boy was I surprised to learn my flight was cancelled, especially since hello – I took it and I’m now in Montreal! The curse grew stronger when Carlos flew to Baltimore to hang out with Slumlords and then continued onto Vegas. He hit major turbulence and had a flight with NO air conditioning. Serves him right since clearly this is all HIS fault for starting this stupid curse. And now it’s my turn again.
I call my friend, who is now at Midway, and start whining to her about how I wished Carlos dead and would make him this way the next time I saw him. Come on now, EIGHTEEN MINUTE DELAY? I am so tired and I just want to go to sleep. I’m so whiny. I’m calling to complain about an EIGHTEEN MINUTE DELAY. This would eventually come back to haunt me.
My flight went from 18 minutes delay to an hour. Then two hours Then a quick jump to five hours, followed by some more delays. Finally, after eleven hours of sitting at O’Hare, we get on a plane! The door shuts. We are taking off! Oh wait, no we aren’t. There is something wrong and they need to bring a mechanic on the plane. What?!? I sat there wanting to choke Carlos. I still want to choke him. I am going to choke him. Choke. Him. Dead.
Finally, after waiting twelve hours, we leave on a flight that is delayed over nine hours. I honestly don’t even remember the flight, so I’m guessing I slept through it. Not shocking since I spent 12 hours hung over, walking around in circles trying desperately to kill Carlos…er…I mean TIME. I was trying to kill TIME. Killing time.
I guess I should pause here to say I’m not really going to kill Carlos (yes I am.) It’s just shtick (not it’s not.) We are friends and I love him (I’d love him even more if he were dead.) Carlos, I can’t wait to see you again (so I can choke you.)
So anyway, we arrive at…who knows what time it was. I took a shuttle to the San Remo, where I am staying for my first night I was the last of four stops. San Remo. One of the closest hotels to the airport. Should always be the logical first stop. But not tonight. Last of four stops. Of course it is. I checked in by 2:00 am, for a flight that was supposed to land at 4:30 pm, and got room 1836 in the Silver tower. Basic room, nothing interesting.
San Remo was recently bought by Hooters and construction has begun on the changeover. It’s very loud in the casino in the day time.
Downstairs to gamble. Win a bit on Phone Tag and Uncle Sam slots. I’m falling asleep at the slot machines, but I just lost a full night of my vacation so I try to stay awake. Eventually I have to give up and just let it go.