[5.1] Vegas!

Dave & I went to Las Vegas for a few days on business (me) and pleasure (Dave). I've never been much of a gambler so Vegas has never been a "destination spot" for me. We landed around noon on Sunday and headed to the Bellagio hotel. We decided to walk down the Strip to see if there were any shows that still had seats left. "O" is playing at the Bellagio but was sold out. I told Dave we should see Celine Dion since she's ending her 5 year run soon but he wasn't interested. The Venetian had seats left for the Blue Man Group so we bought two. There was a brief discussion regarding which section we should sit in. Starting from front to back, there were seats available in poncho, none in front orchestra and then more in back orchestra. Dave picked two seats in poncho (more on this later). After securing our evening's entertainment, we went to the Stratosphere to ride the roller coaster. I wasn't sure what the ride was, but has heard it was fun. There are three rides at the top of the Stratosphere: Insanity, Big Shot, and Xscream. We bought tickets for Insanity and Xscream. The Insanity ride is nothing spectacular--it would probably be in the kiddie section of a typical amusement park. What makes Insanity so special is the fact that the entire ride takes place about 110 floors above the ground. The ride edges out over the top of the building so we can see all the cars that look like tiny dots below. I'm not sure we will do that one again. It was probably one of the scarier rides I've ever been on. The second ride was the Xscream. After Insanity, it was a piece of cake. We scoffed at Xscream and its pathetic attempt to scare us. All it did was zoom out over the edge a couple of times. Dave & I were in the front to get the best view.

Our next stop was the Blue Man Group. Turns out Dave had seen Blue Man Group more than once. I've only seen a few clips on television. The poncho section is the closest to the stage. I got a little nervous when I realized there were actual plastic ponchos on the back of every chair. I got even more nervous when I watched people put them on and completely cover themselves including wearing the hood. White crepe paper is passed out to the entire audience who come up with all kinds of clever ways to "TP" themselves. The act goes through A LOT of paper at the end. It was a great show. Next time we go to Vegas we'll have to book O ahead of time.

Monday night Dave wanted to gamble so we went to everyone's perennial favorite, Blackjack. Dave did well but I barely broke even. The gambling bug hadn't struck yet. I went to bed but Dave went to meet his good friend, Mike. I didn't see Dave again until the following morning--and he smelled like booze and cigarettes. Tuesday night we gambled some more. We played Blackjack, Caribbean Stud Poker and Let it Ride. I ended up Tuesday night about $275 ahead. The urge to gamble was getting stronger. Dave flew home Wednesday morning with a massive hole in his wallet. I played blackjack every chance I got on Wednesday. I wrote a little cheat sheet on what to do when I got an 11, A's and 8's, and when to hit a 12. I called my dad for more tips on doubling down and splitting. The morning seminar let out early -- I was up to $800 by lunch. When I started losing I forced myself to go peruse the shoe store. (Let me tell you, there were several pairs of $600-700 shoes that wouldn't look appropriate anywhere other than wrapped around a pole). The afternoon seminar was horrible and I was forced to leave after the first break -- up another hundred. My coworker met me for dinner at 7 pm -- I was up another two hundred. All in all I made about $1,100 in a little over 24 hours. When it was finally time to go I felt like Fred Flintstone--Bet! Bet! Bet! Bet! Bet!!!

Until next time.