Road tripping, Las Vegas

So we got up at 7:00am and said goodbye to Boeing and hit the road again. Vegas baby, Vegas. We got out of the LA basin and hit the desert. After a good few hours we hit the Nevada stateline, and what was there? You guessed it, a bunch of casinos right on the border to get people as soon as they crossed into Nevada. We didn't bother with them and kept cruising to see the real deal. We hit Vegas around noon on Thursday and went straight to the MGM sports book. Arthur had some ponies to bet on and it was only a few minutes before the races started up. I chilled it in the sports book for a bit and watched some of the races but also cruised around the casino and checked out the poker tables and the lion enclosure they had. There were a couple of lion cubs and they also had some males and females they brought out separately. Arthur had done quite well with his ponies, which was quite good. He had a daily withdrawal limit on his ATM card and as a result he was a bit worried that he wouldn't have enough money to properly enjoy his time in Vegas. But he was saved, a few of his ponies came in and gave him a nice bank roll to see him through our time in Vegas. After playing the ponies for a few hours all his friends arrived in town. A couple of Arthurs friends were getting married in Vegas, which was pretty much the whole reason for the road trip. We met up with Steven and his mother and got some dinner at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant at the Venetian before the rest of the group went to see the Blue Man Group show. While they were watching the show Arthur and I indilgedin some poker at the Mirage. I didn't do as well as I wanted but thats life. By the time we got through our fun money the show had ended and we met up with everyone else. the wedding was on Saturday but it was time for the Bachelor party. We rounded up everyone and headed for a bar, the first we came across that fit the bill was Shadow in Ceasers. It was quite fitting since they have silloutted dancers behind the bar which fit the evening. After a few shockingly expensive drinks there we headed for the Pussy Cat Dolls Club just round the corner and caught another drink and a bit of the show they put on. At this point we were doing quite well and we hit up Spearmint Rhinos. Some drinks and dances later and with quite a few less dollars in our pockets from the night we ended up leaving. There might have been some gambling in there before and/or after but we ended up calling it a night around 6:30 in the morning. Arthur and I didn't ahve a place to stay yet so Steven was nice enough to offer some floor space in his room.

We woke up nice and late. Arthur had to go and tend to some ponies a bit earlier so we met him downstairs in the sports book. We hung out there for a bit and then made one of the better decisions of the trip. We headed over to the Imperial Palace and got ourselves a room. Arthur got cleaned up and headed out to a dinner for the wedding. I decided to stay in a take a nap so that I didn't die. We met up after the dinner and found a spot with some cheap drinks, $2 High Lifes at O'Sheas and stuck around there with everyone for a while. Arthur was providing plenty of entertainment playing roulette but I think his bank could have done with out it. We had been there for a good few hours and people had been drifting off so Arthur and I decided to change it up a bit and head back to the Mirage for some more late night poker. Once again I didn't do so well which was pretty frustrating since I imagined I would have done better after being somewhat successful playing back in LA. At least I had managed to build up some money for a while where as in Vegas it just seemed like I was constantly just slowly hemorrhaging money. I could probably have played better (you always can) but talking to Ali and other people afterwards they were sayign that the 3-6 limit I was playing is pretty hard. The pots never get that big and the house takes its percentage out. Anyway, we hit the sack again in the early hours.

Saturday was a big day in Vegas. It was Cinco de Mayo, the de la Hoya vs. Mayweather fight, the Kentucky Derby, Arthurs friends Tony and Christina were getting married and Ali was playing in a $20,000 buy in, winner take all tournament. We started the day like all the other days in Vegas, at the sports book. Arthur played a few ponies and before long it was time to get ready for the wedding. We stopped by the Wynn so Arthur could play the Kentucky Derby, which was pretty good with the whole sports book packed out watching the race. The favorite won and we set off on our mission. Arthur wanted to rent the Dumb and Dumber tuxedos for the wedding so we jumped in a cab and headed for the costume shop. A few minutes later, mission successful, he had the baby blue tux and we got back to the Imperial Palace to change. Time was running short and we legged it down the strip to get to the wedding which was at the Wynn. We got there just in time. It was the first actual wedding I have been to. The only other time I've been to a wedding it was just the reception afterwards for Will and Dani. A few of my friends from university and Detroit have got married but I've been a poor student in England so I've never made it back to the US for them and as far as high school friends, Adam is the only one and he got married in Japan which is even further away. After the ceremony and plenty of pictures with Arthur in his rental tux (which they forgot to give him the pants for) we jumped in a monster limo and headed over to the Ruth Chris Steak House for dinner. It was excellent food and the drinks kept coming, which was a bonus. After the dinner people were going back to their rooms to get changed and ready for a night out. I took this opportunity to grab a cab with Arthur, Steven and Brian down to the South Point Casino to see Ali play in the poker tournament. We got there later than I thought we should be they had only just started palying. We got to be on the set and watch them film. Unfortunately, after 20 something hands another player went all in on Ali, who had pocket 4's with a 4 on the flop. Ali had to go for it with the set of 4's, but it turns out the other guy had a set of 10's so Ali made an early exit. It sucked but he was going over it outside with his friend Devon (another pro poker player) and they figured that it was the only thing he could have done. With that done and getting the news that Mayweather took the fight by decision, we headed back to the strip to meet up with everyone else. They were partying in Tangerine, but Arthur and I didn't have dress shoes so we had to take off. It really pissed me off because I really wanted to get just one night in at a club in Vegas but being a ski bum and raft guide doesn't require dress shoes so I didn't bring any. We took off and were debating what to do when Arthur got a call from Steven saying he had a spare pare of shoes. Good news. We headed back to the Imperial Palace and got Arthurs dress shoes then jammed back to Treasure Island to get the shoes from Steven. Mission accomplished and we just had to get in the club. We talked to the bouncer and he let us passed the line since we had talked to him before about the shoes. We were in, although a little late. I procceded to get quite hammered and since we were standing near the VIP area I was bullshitting with the bouncer on the entrance about working in Vegas and all that. The night wore on, my wallet wore down and before long it was time to call it a night. It urns out Arthur had found the roulette tables again and gone up a pile of money before losing it again. Oh well, it seemed to be the way it went for us in Vegas.

Road tripping