This was my 5th trip over all to Vegas and the 3rd time I've gone with my wife. Before I get started on this current trip report I'll briefly go over the previous two. The first time we went was in December of 2012. I had always wanted to go and ended up finding a deal for round trip air and hotel at Luxor for $480 for two nights total Weds-Friday. I thought two nights would be enough. I didn't know about these forums then so I really wasn't sure what I was doing. We did the basic tourist stuff and checked out most of the hotels and went to freemont st Weds night. I had heard that Vegas clubs were unreal and that on Thursday Tao was a great spot to check out so I definitely wanted to go there. My wife isn't a big club person but she said she would be willing to go. We bought pre-sale tix online and got there before anyone else was even in line. I remember walking through the club thinking it was just so different than anything I had ever seen in Boston. We got a few drinks and walked around the club just to get a feel of it. I couldn't believe how packed it got in the short amount of time we were there. We tried to dance on the dance floor for a little while but it was just way to hard to move. We ended up leaving pretty early but I knew after that I needed to come back to Vegas to see what else the city had to offer.
The second time we came to Vegas was in May of 2014. For this trip I did a lot more planning as I had now discovered the JC forums and was reading everything I could in preparation. I booked us a room at TI for 4 nights Thurs-Sun. TI isn't the best hotel out there... but its definitely a lot better than Luxor and its in a good location. The first night we got there we went to Lavo for dinner. It was a warm night and we sat out on the patio overlooking the strip and it was a really great time. The plan was to take it easy that night because we would be jet lagged from the flight from Boston. We ended up going back to TI after dinner for a little bit of gambling and drinks and then called it an early night. Friday we went down to hit the pool. This was my first vegas pool experience. There was a good amount of people and a DJ playing but it wasn't really super loud or crazy down there. We went and saw Zumanity that night at NYNY. it was my first Cirque show and we thought it was okay but not great. That night I had set up a deal with Bobby at Tryst for the Goose/Moet deal. I really wanted to go to a Vegas club again but I knew from our previous Vegas club experience that real estate is a must. I asked for a table outside by the water fall and we ended up getting the first table when you walk outside which ended up being perfect for what we wanted. It was close enough to the action for when we wanted to hit the dance floor but then quiet enough for when we just wanted a break to chill and talk.
Saturday I really wanted to hit EBC, but we were both really hungover and tired from the night before that we just took it easy by the TI pool. That day we ended up doing some shopping and walking around and at night went to see O at the Bellagio which was fantastic. Definitely the best show I've ever seen. Didn't do any clubs that night which is kind of a waste of a saturday night in vegas. Im not sure what we did after the show but I think we just hit bars in the bellagio and walked around. Sunday we went back down to the TI pool and it was definitely a lot quieter than it had been on Friday and Saturday. We just relaxed there most of the day and didn't really do a lot of drinking because I wanted to be ready to go that night. I bought pre-sale tickets to night swim at XS with Avicii. I had read that this was an insane time and Levels was the first song that really got me into EDM so I was pumped. We got there early and waited in line about 10 minutes before we got inside. By the time we got in most of the spots around the pool were taken so we couldn't really set up a space to chill so we walked around. I couldn't believe how big the outside of XS was. We were able to check out the inside of XS too which was nice. My wife wasn't drinking that night so I grabbed a beer at the bar and we went back outside. Before long the place was absolutely SLAMMED. I think the mob at the bar was probably about 10 people deep trying to get drinks. It ended up being easier for me to fight my way through the crowed to get inside and go to a bar there than to wait in the line for the bar outside. Avicii came on pretty late, but once he did the place went absolutely nuts! We made our way up close to the DJ booth and stayed there for a while, but the crowed got pretty crazy and some girl pushed my wife and we ended up leaving shortly after that. But I still had a great time and couldn't wait to come back. The next day we hit the TI pool again and then hit the airport to head home.
So that was our Vegas experience together up to date. On my most recent vegas trip with the guys it was a lot crazier with more drinking and day clubs and I think when I planned this trip with my wife I wanted to almost recreate that experience lol, but I'm not sure it was the best idea.
THURSDAY:
We woke up at 3:00 am Boston time to catch our flight at 5. I ended up falling asleep at 12:30 because I was so excited to be coming back to the best city in the world. I really wanted more sleep but I figured I could sleep on the plane for a little bit. We got to the airport and went through security and then grabbed a bite to eat before getting on the flight. We had a connecting flight in Charlotte and then from there straight to Vegas. Nothing really of note to write about on the plane ride. I wasn't able to sleep at all and we didn't do any drinking. I did end up watching Interstellar though on my iPad and that is great way to kill 3 hours on an airplane lol. So we land in Vegas around 10:00 am and go to collect our bags. It takes us a while to finally find our baggage claim and even longer for them to finally load the luggage from our flight onto to it. Eventually we get our stuff and head to the cab line. Now on our previous trips to Vegas we had always wanted to hit up In-N-Out burger because they don't have any on the East Coast and a lot of people tell us that we NEED to try it because its so great. So after the long flight we're both really hungry and we ask the cab driver if he minds taking us through there first. He was a really nice guy and didn't mind and he didn't even run the meter while we were inside getting our food. I was told that I needed to order a double double animal style, so we both ordered that and took our food back to the cab. It was a quick ride from there to the MGM and I made sure to tip the driver pretty well for being a nice guy. When we walked inside the MGM the check in line wasn't very long so we decided to check in before eating hoping that our room was ready. I had booked an executive king suite and the room wasn't available yet but they said they would put a rush on it for us. At this point we're both starving so we just decide to sit on a bench in the lobby and eat our food. Honestly we were kind of disappointed lol. The food was ok but we weren't blown away like we wanted to be... oh well.
At this point its a little past 11:00 and we're not sure what to do. I thought about checking our bags but at the same time I was told a rush would be put on our room so I didn't know if I would be receiving a call in 10 minutes or in an hour. We decided to just sit at one of the slot machines for a little bit with our bags and see if we got a call. I put a $20 in and just played the minimum bet real slow just trying to kill some time. No luck on the slots, and no luck on the room after a while. Not wanting to carry around our bags much longer we went to the bell hop and checked them in with him. He said that once our room was ready to just call down and they would bring the bags right up to the room which I thought was pretty nice. Once the bags were checked we felt like a weight was lifted and we could finally walk around and try to enjoy ourselves. This was my wife's first time inside the MGM so we walked around so she could get a feel for the place. It's so much bigger than TI where we stayed previously and a lot nicer too. I played slots with her for a little bit but then decided to hit the craps table. It was a $10 table so I just played the minimum and put points on 6 and 8. Turns out this was the best luck I've ever had playing craps haha. I was there for a while and ended up leaving up almost $200. I also had 3 drinks in the process so I was starting to feel good. We hit the lobby bar after that for another drink and just to chill. At this point its almost 2:00 and we're both getting a little frustrated not having our room. We go back to the front desk and ask how much longer its going to be. Turns out the room was just finished right before he checked... of course it was. We get our keys, walk over to the elevator and go up to finally check out our room.
The second time we came to Vegas was in May of 2014. For this trip I did a lot more planning as I had now discovered the JC forums and was reading everything I could in preparation. I booked us a room at TI for 4 nights Thurs-Sun. TI isn't the best hotel out there... but its definitely a lot better than Luxor and its in a good location. The first night we got there we went to Lavo for dinner. It was a warm night and we sat out on the patio overlooking the strip and it was a really great time. The plan was to take it easy that night because we would be jet lagged from the flight from Boston. We ended up going back to TI after dinner for a little bit of gambling and drinks and then called it an early night. Friday we went down to hit the pool. This was my first vegas pool experience. There was a good amount of people and a DJ playing but it wasn't really super loud or crazy down there. We went and saw Zumanity that night at NYNY. it was my first Cirque show and we thought it was okay but not great. That night I had set up a deal with Bobby at Tryst for the Goose/Moet deal. I really wanted to go to a Vegas club again but I knew from our previous Vegas club experience that real estate is a must. I asked for a table outside by the water fall and we ended up getting the first table when you walk outside which ended up being perfect for what we wanted. It was close enough to the action for when we wanted to hit the dance floor but then quiet enough for when we just wanted a break to chill and talk.
Saturday I really wanted to hit EBC, but we were both really hungover and tired from the night before that we just took it easy by the TI pool. That day we ended up doing some shopping and walking around and at night went to see O at the Bellagio which was fantastic. Definitely the best show I've ever seen. Didn't do any clubs that night which is kind of a waste of a saturday night in vegas. Im not sure what we did after the show but I think we just hit bars in the bellagio and walked around. Sunday we went back down to the TI pool and it was definitely a lot quieter than it had been on Friday and Saturday. We just relaxed there most of the day and didn't really do a lot of drinking because I wanted to be ready to go that night. I bought pre-sale tickets to night swim at XS with Avicii. I had read that this was an insane time and Levels was the first song that really got me into EDM so I was pumped. We got there early and waited in line about 10 minutes before we got inside. By the time we got in most of the spots around the pool were taken so we couldn't really set up a space to chill so we walked around. I couldn't believe how big the outside of XS was. We were able to check out the inside of XS too which was nice. My wife wasn't drinking that night so I grabbed a beer at the bar and we went back outside. Before long the place was absolutely SLAMMED. I think the mob at the bar was probably about 10 people deep trying to get drinks. It ended up being easier for me to fight my way through the crowed to get inside and go to a bar there than to wait in the line for the bar outside. Avicii came on pretty late, but once he did the place went absolutely nuts! We made our way up close to the DJ booth and stayed there for a while, but the crowed got pretty crazy and some girl pushed my wife and we ended up leaving shortly after that. But I still had a great time and couldn't wait to come back. The next day we hit the TI pool again and then hit the airport to head home.
So that was our Vegas experience together up to date. On my most recent vegas trip with the guys it was a lot crazier with more drinking and day clubs and I think when I planned this trip with my wife I wanted to almost recreate that experience lol, but I'm not sure it was the best idea.
THURSDAY:
We woke up at 3:00 am Boston time to catch our flight at 5. I ended up falling asleep at 12:30 because I was so excited to be coming back to the best city in the world. I really wanted more sleep but I figured I could sleep on the plane for a little bit. We got to the airport and went through security and then grabbed a bite to eat before getting on the flight. We had a connecting flight in Charlotte and then from there straight to Vegas. Nothing really of note to write about on the plane ride. I wasn't able to sleep at all and we didn't do any drinking. I did end up watching Interstellar though on my iPad and that is great way to kill 3 hours on an airplane lol. So we land in Vegas around 10:00 am and go to collect our bags. It takes us a while to finally find our baggage claim and even longer for them to finally load the luggage from our flight onto to it. Eventually we get our stuff and head to the cab line. Now on our previous trips to Vegas we had always wanted to hit up In-N-Out burger because they don't have any on the East Coast and a lot of people tell us that we NEED to try it because its so great. So after the long flight we're both really hungry and we ask the cab driver if he minds taking us through there first. He was a really nice guy and didn't mind and he didn't even run the meter while we were inside getting our food. I was told that I needed to order a double double animal style, so we both ordered that and took our food back to the cab. It was a quick ride from there to the MGM and I made sure to tip the driver pretty well for being a nice guy. When we walked inside the MGM the check in line wasn't very long so we decided to check in before eating hoping that our room was ready. I had booked an executive king suite and the room wasn't available yet but they said they would put a rush on it for us. At this point we're both starving so we just decide to sit on a bench in the lobby and eat our food. Honestly we were kind of disappointed lol. The food was ok but we weren't blown away like we wanted to be... oh well.
At this point its a little past 11:00 and we're not sure what to do. I thought about checking our bags but at the same time I was told a rush would be put on our room so I didn't know if I would be receiving a call in 10 minutes or in an hour. We decided to just sit at one of the slot machines for a little bit with our bags and see if we got a call. I put a $20 in and just played the minimum bet real slow just trying to kill some time. No luck on the slots, and no luck on the room after a while. Not wanting to carry around our bags much longer we went to the bell hop and checked them in with him. He said that once our room was ready to just call down and they would bring the bags right up to the room which I thought was pretty nice. Once the bags were checked we felt like a weight was lifted and we could finally walk around and try to enjoy ourselves. This was my wife's first time inside the MGM so we walked around so she could get a feel for the place. It's so much bigger than TI where we stayed previously and a lot nicer too. I played slots with her for a little bit but then decided to hit the craps table. It was a $10 table so I just played the minimum and put points on 6 and 8. Turns out this was the best luck I've ever had playing craps haha. I was there for a while and ended up leaving up almost $200. I also had 3 drinks in the process so I was starting to feel good. We hit the lobby bar after that for another drink and just to chill. At this point its almost 2:00 and we're both getting a little frustrated not having our room. We go back to the front desk and ask how much longer its going to be. Turns out the room was just finished right before he checked... of course it was. We get our keys, walk over to the elevator and go up to finally check out our room.
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