Wow, it’s been a while hasn’t it? Well some of the recent things to happen in my hum-drum life are a trip to Vegas and Jury Duty! I’ll talk about the trip in this entry and save my exciting jury duty day for another post.
On the last weekend of July, my company took us all to Vegas for a “team” vacation. Well, everything you’ve heard about it are true. One of the most striking things is the heat. I’m from central TX and we get some heat here, but in Vegas….damn! was it hot, and the sun was pretty brutal on the eyes also. I guess that’s what it’s like in a desert.
We got to stay in the Mirage–a very nice hotel. One of the things I found was that you must pay for everything, and I mean everything. It seemed like we were tipping left and right, and the hotel pretty much came with the bed, tv, bath and not much else in the way of amenities. Internet was extra, sodas were $3. The tipping was something to get used to. I understand, that the hotel/casino owners don’t pay these guys much and most of their living is made through tips. Coming from a tourism town I know that the only people who make anything off this “million dollar industry” are the ones on top, the ones who do the real work are pretty much screwed–and must rely on the tourists to get decent money. Rich people suck.
On another note, don’t let those tourist maps fool you. Things may look close together on them, but in reality you should figure about 1/4 to 1/2 mile per major casino/hotel. Damn, we walked our feet off. There is a monorail, but from where we were, it was still quite a walk to it.
I didn’t get to do all of what I wanted to, but a good portion got done. I wanted to go to a Star Trek convention I saw was scheduled and made it out there. Even though it was $30 and pretty lame, I think it was worth if only for the “going to a Star Trek convention before I die” thing. I didn’t get to see any of the major players, but Wil Wheaton was there and “Jaws” of James Bond Fame, and Boomer from Battlestar Galactica (the original seires). there weren’t too many people dressed up, just a few. It was held at the Vegas Hilton. the hotel had a Star Trek Museum and a space-themed casino, which was pretty cool.
Another thing I wanted to do was check out Old Vegas, we got to, but it was already after midnight, and a lot of the stuff there had closed. We waned to have a great debauch night, but I guess we started a little late.
As far as gambling, I didn’t do too much. The only thing I did was the slots. I did win some money, on a $5 run on a quarter “Wheel of Fortune” I manages to cash-out $105 on the first night there. And then on Saturday, We were heading back to the hotel, and stopped in at the Flamingo to use the bathroom. I sat at a $1 slot machine–now all day I was saying how I might try the dollar slots just to see if I could win more that with the quarter machines. Well, I sat down, and over the speakers they were playing the Cure, so I took that as a sign: I should play! so I put in $2 and pulled…nothing, then I put in 2 more and pulled….$85! I went back to the hotel happy that night =-).
Some of the things we did do that were on my list were: Ride the New York, NY roller-coaster, Eat at a buffet (the story of free food in Vegas is a myth, this buffet was $16), some gambling and not leaving with empty pockets. One thing we discovered was a Sushi-Japanese buffet. It was kinda pricey, but the sushi was excellent and worth every penny. I don’t think I’ve ever–or ever will–eat that much sushi again. Not that I got sick or anything, but I wanted my $25 worth, and I think I got way more than that If I compare it to a regular sushi bar. If I ever go back, that’s one place I’m sure to return to.
well, that’s all for now, I’ll be posting a gallery of the pics I took soon, so keep an eye out.
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