Viva Las Vegas!!

Paul and I headed to Vegas on Thursday night! We both love going and we have not been since March so we decided to take a three day weekend to Vegas for a little fun and relaxation! Here’s a detailed diary of our trip:

Thursday night

One of the nice things about going to Vegas now is that we are not flying from Boston on a six-hour flight anymore; the flight is now only an hour from San Francisco. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not! So the flight was quick and we arrived in the city of sin late Thursday night. We rented this pimped out SUV, it was huge and had all sorts of gizmos and gadgets. We drove down the strip and we couldn’t believe all the changes! There was a brand new hotel called Planet Hollywood which looks amazing, it opens any day now and they torn down a few buildings as well and more are going up.

Above: The brand new Planet Hollywood hotel and casino!

We arrived at Caesars Palace, neither of us has stayed there but we both have been to this amazing looking casino. The casino is filled with statues, columns and other Roman themed decorations. It’s a pretty impressive hotel. When we arrived they did not have our reserved room ready so they put us in a fancy suite for the night. The first thing I noticed about this suite was the bathtub! Right when I saw it I was so excited to just jump in and take a nice hot bubble bath and that’s what I did! After a long workweek, I was in much need for a nice relaxing bath. Now, I was all rested for tomorrow and some fun at the casino but as Paul and I were flipping through the stations on the television we stopped at a station that had all the line bets for the football and baseball games and there was music being played while the betting lines were being shown… the songs were “Against All Odds,” “Everybody Hurts” and “Loser.” Seems like the casino wants people to jump from their hotel room windows after they lose a bet!

Above: Entrance to Caesars hotel and casino.

Above: Beautiful elevator lobby!

Above: Ahhhhhh me in a steaming hot bubble bath! Calgon take me away!!!

Friday

After a good night’s sleep we moved to a different room which was actually a lot nicer than the suite they put us in for the night! Go figure! I was ready to gamble a little but first Paul and I checked out the amazing pools at Caesars. The pools were absolutely amazing! We sunned by the pools for only a short time, it actually was not that hot in Vegas, it was pretty windy. So Paul and I headed to the casino at Caesars, I went to the craps table and Paul played blackjack. I found what appeared to be a decent table. I like finding tables with older, salty folks that look like they have been playing the game for years. I found a table that fit that description and was pretty excited to get to the game. I played for at least 2-3 hours next to an older woman from Dallas named Mary. She talked like she started smoking Pall Mall’s at the age of 5 but she was a hoot to play the game with. She left the table ahead of the game and I should have followed her lead, I stayed a bit too long and ended up losing $400.00. I was kind of pissy and headed back to the hotel mad at myself for blowing that money.

Above/Below: Pool area at Caesars.

Friday Night

Paul and I decided to go to a nice restaurant that night so we decided to check out this casino named Rio. We both have never been so we though we would check it out. Rio is the gayest casino I have ever been in, there were female and male dancers dancing all around the club and I couldn’t tell the difference between the male and the females that were dancing. It was quite odd, it was kind of like the Osmond’s they all look the same and androgynous.

I honestly cannot remember the name of the restaurant we went to but it was pretty cool, it was pretty quiet in the main lobby and we were told that we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated but there we about 10 tables empty. I hate how restaurants make you wait on purpose to make it appear they are booked up. It drives me nuts! So we finally were seated and once we entered the restaurant area the music was louder than any dance club I have ever been in. It was BOOMING and we were seated right underneath the speaker. So Paul and I just looked at each other like it was a joke but it wasn’t. So the waiter came over and said something to us and I smiled and nodded not being able to hear a damn word he was saying. The waiter comes over and proceeds to read the menu,...they don’t have paper menus!! So now Paul and I are looking at each other in shock, this guy is reading the menu from memory and we cannot hear a damn thing he is saying. So after he is done Paul is at his limit and says “Ok, now we barley heard the menu how do we find out the price of the food!?” So Paul is all set to go and I was a little embarrassed at first to just walk out of the place but after the music kept thumping in my ear and a group of women started dancing by our table with their asses hanging out, I jumped on the band wagon and wanted to get the hell out of this place.

Above: Outside and inside of the Rio.

So after we leave the dance club..I mean the restaurant; we find a nice quiet seafood place. So we are both pleased that it’s a quiet place and pretty dead as well. So we sit down and just as we start looking at the menu this women with a camera around her neck asks to take our picture. So, at first I was like, sure thinking it was for the restaurant but then I soon realized this woman was trying to make money by taking our picture. I looked at Paul and was like “oh shit!” So she took our pictures and said she would be back to show us the images. So right before our meal came this woman came back with a decent picture of the two of us in a frame and in a wallet etc..she was like a walking Kodak kiosk! So she was charging an arm and a leg for them so we passed, she didn’t look too happy. I felt bad at first but then realized that she was the annoying one disturbing people as they tried to eat.


Saturday

After a previous day of losing money and dealing with a frustrating night, I wanted to get Saturday off on the right foot and so did Paul. Paul went to go get a massage and work out at the gym and I decided to walk around on the Vegas strip and see if I could find something to do. So I walked around and saw this place called O’Sheas. It looked like a fun Irish casino it even had a dancing dwarf dancing outside the entrance. It was hilarious. So I decided to step inside and play craps. This table was a lot of fun, many of the people at the table were quiet young but there were some old timers there as well and they were great rollers. By the time it was all said and done I won $700.00!!! So I won my money back and then some! So now I was thrilled that I had actually won some cash.

Above: Dancing dwarf at O'Shea's.

Saturday Night

After Paul was through with his workout, we both headed to the Flamingo, one of the oldest casinos on the Vegas strip. It was filled with many characters but it looked like a fun place to gamble. After we both gambled for a while, I had lost a few hundred bucks so I decoded to go sit at the blackjack table with Paul and as I looked at the dealer I realized THIS was my lucky table! The dealer was an Asian woman but her name was “Rain!” Now for many who don’t know this, “Rain” is the name of one of my favorite Joan Crawford movies! So I took this as a sign to play some blackjack and it worked, I won back the money I had lost playing craps a few tables down. So now we decided to check out the few gay clubs in Vegas, last time we went out it was a blast this time it was terrible. The clubs were filled with smoke and obnoxious people and it was anything but fun, Paul and I had fun playing a slot machine in one of the bars called Butch. We were there for a short time and then headed to Caesars. As we arrived at Caesars we were waiting for the elevators when one opened and when I stepped inside I saw a ticket on the ground. It was a sports gambling ticket that someone had dropped for a football game on Sunday. It was a bet on Dallas to win by more than 13 points. Paul said there was slim chance that Dallas would pull it off but you never know.




Sunday

It was finally Sunday and I was ready to get back home but first I wanted to watch the Dallas game. It was a blast watching the game, the sports books in most every casino are packed with drunken men hooting and hollering. I was not drunk but I was hooting and hollering for Dallas to win …and they did. They one 35 -7 and I won off a ticket that someone had lost. I was looking around to see if I could see the poor sap that lost ticket, but there was no way to determine whose ticket it was with the hundreds and hundreds of people in and about the casino. I won a pretty penny off of that free ticket!

Above: What you DON'T want to roll in craps, a seven.

So all in all, it was a great time and I won money finally! This might be the first time I leave Vegas with more money than I came with!