Day 28 – 31 – Las Vegas – Round 2

There really isn’t a lot to say about going back to Vegas a second time except that the Craps table doesn’t get more forgiving the longer you play. The lights are as bright as they normally are no matter when you go and the all you can eat T-Bone steaks don’t get any smaller.

I would say that we had a great time on Fremont St aka The Old Strip. Considering how cheap it is I’d say that for people around my age is definitely worth checking out if the Strip Casinos have taken a bit more of your budget than you bargained for the night before. 25 cent beer nights are always a laugh. There’s also a fabled 2 cent beer night but we couldn’t find it, not for lack of trying.

It turns out I would be leaving before Sams birthday but we still had a one last hurrah at his plush new pad, the Platinum.

This must have been one of the only hotels in LV that didn’t have a casino and as a result was considerably more expensive. Apparently there’s some connection between Rod Stewart and Sam’s 11th cousin or something but they managed to get a pretty good deal. The night ended much the same way most nights end in Vegas for me, an empty wallet and a happy drunken stumble back home. Things for Sam and his newly arrived English mate were a little more…let’s just say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Onto San Francisco!

Days 15-16 – Vegas Baby! – Hotel Edition

The drive from LA to Vegas takes you through some of the stereotypical US scenery. First you drive through the beautiful area between Mount San Antonio and the San Bernardino National Forest. Then you come to the Mohave Desert which is incredible to see for the first time but after a half hour or so, the endless road ahead becomes slightly tiresome.

We were both eager with anticipation to finally get to Vegas. I’ve always wanted to go and had plans to go for my Stag Do depending on funds when it comes to that time, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to head there earlier than expected. As a treat me and Sam agreed to spend our first night in relative luxury and booked a hotel room at the Excalibur, a castle themed hotel.

The view from the room was pretty stunning with New York, New York and the MGM Grand right on our doorstep. After realising very quickly that slot machines are not my forte, whilst Sam appeared to make as much as I’d lost at every machine he played, we decided to relax by the pool. We soon worked out that drinking is free in Vegas as long as you’re gambling. Everywhere else, alcohol is relatively expensive.

Five small beers poolside set us back about 30 bucks but it was worth it just to have some luxury and a quick timeout before we attempted to recreate “The Hangover.” We’d arrived just as the sun was going down so the heat was perfect. Beers finished, we headed up to the room and after the briefest of naps the drinking began.

At the bar downstairs in the casino a Vegas regular taught us that we could just sit with 20 dollars in the mini slot machines on the counter and order drinks all night, even if we didn’t play. Unfortunately that big green button is just to hard not to push and the twenty dollars was soon making its way into the giant casino vaults. We managed about four drinks each though so it works out roughly about what we would have paid elsewhere.

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur. I know that Sam wandered off at some point and we didn’t find each other till the morning where he discovered he’d lost a lot of money playing roulette. I’d stuck to my budget although somewhat begrudgingly.

We extended our stay in the hotel for another night, not quite ready to abandon luxury for hostel life again. The next night pretty much went the same way as the previous except Sam managed to win back all his money and then double it which he was pretty chuffed about. I wasn’t actually betting enough to win anything substantial but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. As long as you go out and play to have fun as opposed to winning then you can have a great time in Vegas. I think the only time I didn’t enjoy myself in those two nights was when some prick from Texas beat me at poker by drawing a full house on the flop (for the poker illiterate among you, that’s extremely unlikely).

We partied till sunrise and then returned to the room for some shuteye. The next day we moved onto Hostel Cat but not before a much needed hangover cure at Hooters Hotel. Thank god for Wingsday!