27Aug - 1Sep - the Aussies were here.... part 1

[boags]

So just got back into Oz this morning, after an amazing Vegas trip. I'd thought I'd done Vegas before...how wrong I was.

Day 1

All arrived into LAX Saturday morning, 15 in the group. Long flight, but all good. Our coach and luggage van were on time and waiting. Load the luggage into the van for the roadtrip to Vegas, get on the coach to a charter terminal for our connecting flight. Check in at the charter terminal, board our Gulfstream and off we go. As soon are we're airborne, the Stewardess cranks the tunes, starts the drinks flowing and the party has started. Not too often I think a flight is too short, but this was one of them.. before you know it, we touch down in Vegas, and in to our waiting stretch hummer.

Quick stop at a liquor store on the way, then off to Palazzo to check in. Do some shopping in the arvo. Get ready for the night.

Stretch hummer waiting for us out front at 6.30PM. Jump in, head down the strip to Mandalay and dinner at Stripsteak. Great food, great atmosphere. 9PM hits and we head up to Mix for a few quick drinks. Mix has sectioned off an area for us, we throw down a few drinks, hang a bit outside for the view (which is amazing) and then time to roll on...

Pile back into the stretch hummer, head over to Cosmo and Marquee for ATB. Arrive about 11PM, and its organised chaos outside. Ping Justen Crews, we're here buddy, make our way to the BS queue. Justen meets us, walks us right to front, and we're inside in 2 minutes. Marquee is already heaving inside, Justen takes us straight to tables 54 and 55 on the dance floor. Awesome club. Amazing time. We felt like Rockstars.

The night is a blur. ATB was awesome, the crowd electric. At one point, we must have had 15-20 ladies jammed into and on top of our tables. Justen Crews and Scott Reading drop by to join the party. Thanks again guys for a great night. Vague memory of seeing one our guys about to be thrown out for falling head first off the table, then our security, Marco, comes out of nowhere to save the day. Must have settled up about 5AM. Don't know how I got back to the room, but my eyes opened at 10.30AM, and I'm lying fully clothed on the bed.

Day 2

Slap myself awake and get ready to meet the team downstairs at 11AM. We're (mostly) all accounted for, text the others to meet us at Encore, where we are now headed. Stumble our way over to EBC. Jump in the BS line, texting Mikey T that we're here, but no answer. Never fear, Andrei Constantin appears, Mikey off today but still all good. Security won't let me take my Berocca in (Nooo - I need one baaad!!), but other than that all good. Andrei leads us up to Cabana's 111 + 112. Dana, our waitress appears and we order up a bunch of food and drinks and set up that we have food and a chill out cabana on on side, party drinks cabana on the other.

Suck down 3 bloody mary's, and starting to feel human again. Its about 110 outside, so need to keep the fluids up.. Doesn't take us long and the party is going again, and our cabanas are starting to fill with lots and lots of new friends. Memories of EBC start to get blurry also. Remember one of our crew falling asleep in our cabana...security comes in....buddy, you can't sleep in here....so security puts a remote in his hand and says 'now now you're not sleeping, you're watiching TV..' and walks out. Kind of great treatment we had all week that made the trip so awesome. George Acosta starts spinning around 3PM and the party goes up another notch. Vaguely remember starting Moet showers on the daybed outside the cabana, and pouring from two bottles into a bevy of open mouths. More hit than miss, but nobody seems to care.

I was done by about 5.30PM, so leave the rest of the team to kick on and head back to the room to catch a few Z's.

Alarm goes off at 10PM. Not feeling great, but need to get moving to get ready for Lavo....

[boags]

27Aug - 1Sep - the Aussies were here.... part 2

So we weren't planning a big night Sunday at Lavo, about 8 of the group meet in the lobby at 11PM, ping Robert Chiti that we're good to go. Robert meets us straight away and up we go. Get a great table(s?), think they were 20+21. Right on the dance floor, opposite the stage and in front of the bar. One of the boys is having a birthday that day, so what the hell, lets have some fun.

Blew our miniumum in about an hour and motored on from there. Marco, our security from Monday night drops in to have a few drinks with us. The wait staff at Lavo are awesome, they all drinking with us, along with the other ladies that are starting to pile into the table. Deja vu, things are starting to blur.

Someone snaps a photo of me at some point with a waitress on each knee, with them tipping a bottle of bubbly down my throat. Gotta love Vegas. Wrap up when the ugly lights come on, couple of us grab a limo to SR to kill a few hours, get back to the room about 9.30AM and call it a night.

Day 3

Its Monday, been in Vegas 2 days, but body and hazy memories make it feel more like 2 months. Punch out some email during the day. Get an invite from Justen Crews to join his table for 'most interesting person in Vegas' on Wednesday night, which would have been amazing, but sadly need to decline with much thanks, and we already have plans.

6.30PM rolls around and we pile back into the stretch hummer, for the very long trip (across the road...) to TI for the 7PM session of Mystere. Great show, 'traditional' kind of Cirque show and before you know, shows over and back into the hummer to Wynn and dinner at Okada.

Get shown into a private room at Okada. Food is excellent, though everyone is a little quiet based on the past 48 hours. Staff there know we're on a clock, and have us out the door at 10.45PM, for the walk through to Encore and reservations at XS.

Ping Kelly Yeager when we get there, takes a few minutes to find each other, then all good, into XS we go. We spread out across tables 620 and 630 and settle into another big night. Had a great time, but must say, Marquee on Saturday was in a different league. Guess I should reserve judgement until I do a Saturday at XS. Might have been the fact that VMWorld was on, but the crowd was definitely the oldest we saw the whole trip.

Still had a great time though. Group of six New York ladies we met at EBC joined our tables again, Mikey T dropped in, and before the night was out, that VRB haze was descending again. Woke up the next day and realised I had a pic of our table with two go-go dancers, our security guard (yes, our security guard), a few of our guys, a few ladies, Mikey T from Surrender, the new york girls, more of our guys, then a bunch of other random ladies, all dancing across the top of the 2 tables...so couldn't have been a bad night. Ugly lights came on at 4AM, and time to call it a night.

Day 4

So really not feeling so crash today, but need to get pumped, as we've got a coach ready at 2PM to take us out to the speedway and an afternoon at Exotics Racing. Must say, it was a great afternoon. The LV Speedway is huge, and the experience of driving in only added to the anticipation of being able to throw an exotics car around a race track. We walked into the garage, to a line up of Lambos, Ferraris, Astons, Porsches etc.. Had the driver briefing session, then rotated through some cars. Got into my first car, a Lambo Gallardo, and realised as I started pulling out that I was still half cut from the night before. Anyway, a great afternoon. Would recommend it to anyone, but strongly suggest you do it sober..

Got back to the hotel at 5.30PM, and start to get ready for the evening.

[boags]

27Aug - 1Sep - the Aussies were here.... part 3

Tuesday is supposed to be a black out night, given we have an intense day tomorrow. We meet 7PM in one of the suites for our briefing for the next day. The briefing is with the pilots from Air Combat USA, who take us throgh the basics of dogfighting, how to perform yo-yo's and other maneouvers, which are starting to make some (ok, all) of us feel a little green. Then they pull out a parachute from a bag and run us through how if we have to bail, how to eject the canopy, step on to the wing and make sure we jump between the wing and the tail. You could have heard a pin drop and we're starting to wonder if this has been a good move, but too late now.

Head over to B&B Ristorante for dinner. Again, great good and a good atmosphere inside. Planning on a maybe a drink at the terrace downstairs at Lavo, then bed. Then get a text from the New Yorkers, its their last night and what's up? Drop a note to Robert Chiti, is the no minimum dance floor table you offered still up? Good to go. Ladies, meet us at Lavo.

Head in about 11PM. Its pretty quiet inside, but an hour later, the crowd has filled in and is looking pretty good. Got a table squeezed next to a promoter table packed with ladies. No complaints. Things start getting large again. I'm dancing wearing a waitress uniform cap, and I look over to see my friend getting his white tee under his button shirt being ripped off by two ladies. I'm thinking this is going to cause a problem, then I realise the ladies are waitresses, so we're all good...

Head to Mandalay with the New Yorkers, get back to my room with just enough time for our 6.30AM coach to Air Combat.

Day 5

So really not feeling good today, and its the worst day possible. Get to the north LV airport and head to the airfield to check out our aircraft for the day. 2 seater Marchetti acrobatic planes, the kind used by the air force for combat pilot training.

First 2 in our group suit up and take off. I opt to go last, making the trade off between it getting hotter and more turbulent as the day goes on, with the need for me to sober up. I catch a few Z's and before you know it, I'm suited up in a jumpsuit, and heading across the airfield. Put the helmet and parachute on, squeeze in alongside 'Baron', an 18 year verteran in the german airforce, and next thing, we're rolling down the tarmac.

The Air Combat experience is hard to describe. We had an amazing week in Vegas, but most of the group says hands down this was the best thing we did (ok, EBC gets an honourable mention too). If you ever get the chance, do it. Its that simple.

The feeling of controlling the plane in a dogfight is amazing. The pilot handles the peddles and throttle and watches everything else, so all you need to do is move the stick and shoot. Watching your enemy plane over your left shoulder while you pull a loop at 4-5g's, then roll back over from upside down, line him up in the sights and 'fire'.. is an incredible experience. The feeling of stalling the plane, having the pilot leap into action, flicking switches, start the propeller again while you are spinning toward earth, is also an incredible experience...but more in a 'life flashing before your eyes' way.

I'll say it again though, if you ever get the chance, you simply have to do this...

So after what seems an eternity but was closer to an hour in the air, we land, I scrape the jump suit off me and we board the coach back to LV for our last night..

[boags]

27Aug - 1Sep - the Aussies were here.... part 4

its our last night in Vegas, so we're determined to go in style. Everyone is either pumped, queezy, exhausted, or a little of everything from the Air Combat day, but nonetheless we get dressed in our party finest and get ready to go.

Strech hummer is back for the last time, this time down to the Bellagio, and dinner at Le Cirque. Great restuarant, funky room, brilliant food and great staff. Highly recommended.

Finish dinner and walk the loop, through the shops, down to street level for the fountain show, then back to the main entrance where our hummer is waiting to take us to Encore.

Ping Mikey T when we get to Surrender, crowd outside is already starting to build. Mikey spots me, grabs the group and walks us right in. No hassle, no wait. Mikey, thanks again for making us feel like Kings, you are da man.

So head in, and pass Jared on the way, who'd looked after us at EBC Sunday and partied with us at XS on Monday. Hey buddy, we'll make sure you guys have a good one. Mikey walks us over to the 2 tables that are inside the club, but bang in front of where Sidney Samson will be spinning. Ie, the outdoor 'dancefloor' is bang in front of us. Think they're tables 24 and 25? Anwyay, couldn't have asked for better.

Andrei Constantin comes over to make sure we're ok. Hell yes, thank you. Do a wander around Surrender, its not very busy, but that changes over the next hour or so. Surrender slowly starts to fill, and in addition to a stream of ladies that Mikey, Andrei and Jared keep squeezing in, we've got security, runners and waitresses from previous nights dropping by our table to say g'day and have a drink. We're having a ball, yet again. Then Sidney Samson starts up and the party moves into high gear.

Another brilliant night, another blurry one. Remember at one point the guys started throwing ice at each other, and it started to get silly. Security noticing and starting to think we were going to have a problem. Then one of the guys ups the ante by dumping a whole bucket of ice over his mates head, and surely this is all over....but no, security just kicks the ice under the table and turns his back (and to our runner Jeff, sorry again about all that fucking ice everywhere). At another, we brought a young kid from Philly, who was at Surrender with her mom to celebrate her 21st, into our table so she could dance the stripper pole right behind us. She loved it, her mom loved it, and we didn't mind all that much either...

It was that kind of night, that kind of week. Only downer was our connecting flight home Thursday was delayed and even though AA could have got us on a later connection to Sydney, they couldn't be bothered with the hassle, and we had to stay a night and a day in LA. Managed to make the most of that too, but will save that story for another time....

THANK YOU LV, LOVE AND KISSES UNTIL NEXT TIME

[joachimorjoe]

Well played mate, that is how you do Vegas! Trip reports like this have me counting the days until I can get back.

Good looking out on the air combat day, that is on my list (along with more pool parties) for the next time I hit Vegas for sure.

[pantlessbellman]

Awesome! What's the estimate for a trip like that? $40-$50k?

[boags]

Good looking out on the air combat day, that is on my list (along with more pool parties) for the next time I hit Vegas for sure.

yeah, you gotta do it if you can. If you've got a group that's big enough, they will fly out especially for the day, otherwise check out their website, where they post a calendar of dates in Vegas.

Awesome! What's the estimate for a trip like that? $40-$50k?

Yeah, if we'd kept to our negotiated minimums, the 4 planned nights and EBC would have run to about $50K, inc of all the cash tips etc....sadly, we ran over budget a bit...worth it though

[dnix]

damn....nice TR