Tuesday May 26th, 2009

Oh the day started off nice and early for Cory and I. My alarm went off at the scheduled 4:15 AM, but it didn't really matter. I couldn't sleep for much of the night, as I was restless. After a quick shower, and quietly wandering out of my room, I saw Cory's car head lights drifting into my driveway. Time to get moving.

We get to the airport quickly enough, and it was still dark outside. One somber shuttle ride to the terminal and our bags are checked. The security line upstairs was moving quickly enough. As my items are X-rayed, the technician looks at his monitor for a few moments and calls for additional eyes on the scene. I had neglected to take my 5 hour energy bottles out of their original packaging. I was given the option to walk back through security, place them in a plastic bag, and repeat the process. I guess somehow a plastic bag holding the small bottles as opposed to them simply being in my bag makes things easier to identify. Fine, whatever. Security was just too much fun at this hour, so I had to go through again.

The bar wasn't open, and it was probably a good thing since it's now about 6:00 AM. Instead we settle on some coffee / chai, and I inhale a doughnut for good measure. Within a few moments the plane is boarding, so we utilize our A grouping to cut past most others in line.

The flight was nearly at capacity, but we somehow managed to keep the seat between us vacant. Score.

The attendants were serving juice and coffee, but Cory managed to get us two bloody marys for our first binge drinking item of the day.

In rather short order the flight lands, and we impatiently wait our turn to get off the plane. We head down the escalator's to find our driver waiting with the requested sign reading "Kevin Bacon." The man is in everything these days, so we figure he'd probably be in Vegas as well. Our driver today was going to be Merril since Tyrone Sweet was "out of town." (I think that's just their nice way of saying unavailable).

We chattered a little bit about the President being in town, and the expected crowds, etc. Our second piece of checked luggage pops up, and Merril takes the lead and grabs them both as we head off outside the gates. This time around we had requested a Lincoln Navigator as our ride as opposed to our regular limo.

The car was nice and spacious but didn't come with any waters or champagne as their regular web promotion does. Merril asked if I had my credit card handy that I used to book the reservation. That surprised me as typically they don't need that information once it's booked ahead of time. The only difference this time around was I booked over the phone, so perhaps that came into play.

It was now about 7:30 AM local time and we asked Merril about allowing us to drop off our bags at the Golden Nugget, and then transport us back to Mandalay Bay. In a half sarcastic tone he said "Oh, there's no way that's going to work." I couldn't tell if he was serious or trying to be funny. I hesitantly asked "um, why?" He thought the window of time would be just too short.

We leave the airport, take the tunnel and before too long we're in grid lock traffic on the high way leading downtown. It appears we hit the morning commute perfectly. Before too long we were pulling into the valet station at the Nugget, and I had our bags checked. As I go back to tip our driver, he states he's going to try to get us there if possible. With glee, we jump back into the Navigator and buckle up.

The man drove like a maniac, swerving in and out of traffic, and onto some side streets I've never had the pleasure of seeing before. We did make it to Mandalay Bay and with a whopping five minutes to spare. Yeah, don't give us any crap about wanting to use our entire booked hour. A $40 tip, and we're inside.

Since it was still early there weren't too many people walking around, or gambling. I managed to find a $.19 and $.03 slot ticket sitting around, so I gladly fed those to the closest machine I could find, hoping that my huge $.20 bet would win me some sort of jackpot or bonus round. No such luck. It's okay, it's not my money.

We have an 8:45 AM reservation at Verandah at the Four Seasons, but wander that way to see if we can get in early. I asked the host about moving up our reservation and she said "Absolutely, no problem." The place appeared to be slow.

Cory and I settle in to relax and each order a juice of the day. The contents included peach puree and guarana. It reminded me of the welcome juice the MGM Skylofts offer.

For my breakfast I opted to try out the cinnamon raisin french toast with brandied bananas and pecans. Cory selected the cheese blintzes with wild cherry cinnamon compote and sour cream, and also added a side of the apple wood bacon. The orders came out within a reasonable amount of time, and were ready to dig in.

Cory at first thought his breakfast wasn't going to be filling enough, but after we started to get things underway he thought the portion size might be more in line with what would suffice. My french toast was pretty tame, and nothing mind blowing. The fruit was nice and fresh, and the syrup was a sugar high waiting to happen. Everything was good, including the service but in the end the food was just "okay." I felt I could make the same french toast at home, so I was a little disappointed in that regard. I wasn't expecting anything with exotic or strange plating designs or ingredients, but just something a little bit higher than par. The atmosphere was nice, the service was pretty good, but I don't see myself heading back. Glad I tried it, but I can mark it off my list.

The bill came to about $49.50 before tax and tip. I laid out a $100 bill and our server left to make change. I'm not sure if it's uncommon for patrons to pay in cash, as she said it'd take them a few extra minutes to make change. Ugh.....how long does is it take to find a few twenties and a ten in a property connected to a casino? Approximately 11 minutes. That was a little annoying especially since my dining expectations were a little higher. In any case, we were now on our way.

We thought we'd take advantage of some of my MGM / Mirage rewards certificates, so we stopped by the bar area closest to Red Square. Just to make sure I asked the bartender, "Do you guys take these?" He had no inkling what they were. He had to make a call to his Manager who in turn had to call someone else. Sigh....... Five minutes later, they said they could honor them, but we'd have to utilize one $25 certificate at a time and couldn't receive change for them. So we start off with two amaretto sours. That took me up to $20 total, so I was able to get a $4 bottle of water added to it. Ugh, Mandalay Bay's drink prices always seem to rub me the wrong way. And a $4 bottle of water? I don't care what label reads....it's the most abundant resource on the planet, and I paid $4 for it. Awesome.

Afterwards we made our way to Luxor and had another seating at a bar, this time the one directly across from the check-in area. I ordered some Bacardi and cokes, and a few Kamikaze shots for good measure. I think the total that time was about $32. Again the bartender had to call her Manager to find out what these odd looking pieces of paper that read "MGM / Mirage Rewards Certificate - $25" on them were. In any case, we slammed our shots, scooped up the rums, and kept on walking. By now it was probably about 9:00 ish, and we're already working on a healthy buzz each.

Excalibur was the next visit on our list, and strangely enough, we couldn't come up with a decent reason to stick around this property for very long. I considered posing next to the Sponge Bob Square pants statue by the ticket booth towards the front, but couldn't do it unless I could adequately give Sponge Bob a blatant finger. And considering the number of little people around, I thought better about it.

New York New York was our next item of business. Just as we walk past Coyote Ugly Cory mentions to me "Hey, that's Alora who just walked past us." I reply with a "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Who the hell is 'Alora' that you know in Vegas at this moment?" In any case I blurt out "Alora!" and sure enough the two ladies Cory pointed to suddenly stop, turn around and look our way. We tried to wave, but it was that awkward "I think those ugly guys that just called my name want to steal my money, we better keep walking" type of moment. We snickered about it and continued on our way. It was deemed that now would be as good a time as any to make our way back downtown and see if we could check into the Golden Nugget.

This time around the room was booked by Cory, so I stood around for what seemed like forever. Cory seemed to be talking to the clerk for nearly 10 minutes, while I took the opportunity to call home for a quick update to the spouse. As I'm on my cell phone I noticed a clerk carrying a bucket of ice with two beers, and two tall glasses make his way past me towards the elevators. It reminded me of the time we walked into our room at Binions where I had some hops infused beverages waiting for us. Good times.

In short enough order Cory finishes up, and wanders my way. He confirms the $20 trick did work, and we were moved from the older South tower to the more renovated and "fresher" North tower. I also managed to receive my own extra Golden Nugget coupon book in addition to the one Cory received. More free drinks for us!

Room 809 would be our home for the duration of our trip. The digs were rather nice, spacious and clean. I wasn't disappointed with the room at all. Nicely done on Cory's part for the complimentary upgrade. The luggage soon arrives, and I also noted the chilling beers in the corner that I witnessed earlier. I figured that's where they were going. In any case, I snap a few pictures of the setup, and then do my best imitation of a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz. It's a gem of a picture.

From here, since it was still day light outside, we thought we could venture over to the never before seen (by us) Western casino. I thought it'd be cool to check it out if for nothing else, but the fact that they serve their beer in cans. How awesomely ghetto is that?

As the distance between us and the Western became smaller, I thought it might be a decent idea to take off my watch and hide it in my left front pocket. Cory followed suit, and I believe my rings came off as well. I've heard rumors about the place, and thought it'd be better to be safe than sorry. Once inside I felt my precautions were for not. The place was well lit, but not very crowded. Yes, it's a dive of a casino, but I found it charming in it's own unique way. The bingo parlor was the mostly populated area of the casino followed by the bar up front. I quickly noticed the advertisement for a free "double your paycheck" scratch ticket for every paycheck you cash at their fine establishment. Nice.

We settled in for a few hands of $3 blackjack towards the front entrance. We each had our spending limit (approximately $40 each) and told ourselves we wouldn't be reaching into our "regular money" pocket while in the general vicinity. I don't know why Cory decided to play since he reminded me every time he plays twenty-one he gets kicked in the head by the dealer in a metaphorical way. This time was no exception. After a few hands I was down a whopping $5, and Cory had all but lost his entire "roll" for this session. His last few chips went to the dealer as a tip while I collected my prestigious $25 chip and then some from the Western to be cashed in. We received our cans of beer from the cocktail waitress, so we were good to go.

Since we were heading back that way anyway, we thought we'd stop in at the El Cortez. We quickly found an open roulette table and settled in for a few spins. Throughout the day we were trying to imbibe in a beverage starting with each letter of the alphabet, and about this point is were we were looking for something that started with a D. With the cocktail waitresses help, Cory received a "Dreamcicle" and I had the "Dirty Mother." Both are apparently fruity tasting fru-fru drinks with whip cream on top. Blah....

Numbers weren't hitting for us which tends to be a reoccurring theme, so Cory moved over to the craps table. I mainly watched and took advantage of the still free (aside from a tip) cocktail service that was coming around. I recognized the fuzzy navel that was in my hand after Cory ordered "something that starts with the letter F." .....I hate peach schnapps. One other odd ball drink that I believe started with a G, and I soon found myself wandering upstairs of the El Cortez to check out the barber shop.

I found the small "old-school" shop easy enough, and meekly opened the door. The barber was sitting in the chair reading the news paper, and almost seemed startled that someone was walking inside. I inquired "how much are your shaves?" and he told me they were only $15. I contemplating sitting down, as walk-ins are welcome, but I figured I might end up looking like I lost a boxing match with Edward Scissor-Hands so I turned around and went back downstairs.

We head inside and found a newly renovated Benny's Bullpen towards the back wall. I'm surprised we didn't find this place a few years ago when we were staying at the property. It's their cigar bar / lounge and has a pool table and dart board off to one side. They also have a few interesting beer selections on tap if you're looking to try something new. Instead of sitting at a table or one of the couches along the back wall, we settle in at the bar. The bartender (Joe) comes over and we order a Heineken to start things off.

Our minds settle and we begin to collect our thoughts on how to proceed with the rest of the afternoon. The bar isn't very busy at this time, and we begin to strike up a friendly banter with Joe. He's a bartender who's been with Binions for about 27 years now (since he was 21), and due to our request he relayed some of the old school stories from back in the day when Vegas was a network of the good ol' boys... If you want to hear those stories, you'll need to visit and talk to Joe yourself. He was camera shy so we're going to respect his wishes to remain somewhat anonymous. Cory and I finish up the Jameson and coffee drink in front of us, followed up by another rum and coke for the way out. That coffee was a tough one to nurse down.

During this point in our evening we all pile into various vehicles and make our way over to Bill's gambling hall. The place was actually busier than I expected, and we were all in the mood for a table game. Nothing but a $25 minimum blackjack table was open. I asked the pit boss if he'd consider lowering the limit if I could fill the table with at least five people. He relayed that there's no way he can accommodate us. I suppose it's more profitable for them to leave it open with no one playing $25 a hand as opposed to five people betting $10 a hand. Must be some sort of new marketing theory I'm not familiar with.

I even scanned both sides of the casino and sure enough nearly every table was at full capacity ($25 minimum being the exception). Historian was cool enough to give Cory and I a free ride back downtown, saving us a decent cab fare. Thanks again, Histo!

The 1:00 am hour was rapidly approaching, so Cory and I decided what better way to further skew our sleep cycle than to play in the 1:00 AM tournament. Each of us buys in for $65 with about 10 minutes to spare. Tonight's event is going to be two tables, and I'm in the 8 seat while Cory is at the opposite table behind me.

It's a $65 buy in tournament with a $40 optional rebuy anytime before the first hour. Of course nearly everyone takes the rebuy at one point or another, so I just opted to take mine before the first hand. I get tired of people taking it just after they bust when the blinds have already moved up, they'd still be a short stack, and they tie up the dealer for a few precious extra seconds. In any case, the tournament started off with a bang for me. A few ace-kings I held found top pairs on the flop and they typically paid off rather well. The blinds were 20 minute levels, and after the first hour, I was the chip leader at my table, with only one person being busted. Of course after the break and as the cards are put back in the air, things spiral downward. I made a horrible call with medium pair against a kid from Portugal who held top pair. I failed to improve. The tables are condensed down and I make a move with my last $2,000 in chips with my King Queen. I of course failed to win the hand and was busted. Eh, at least I made it to the final table? (I don't care that there were only two to begin with)

I wasn't aching for my bed despite being dejected once again from a hot streak in a poker tournament. Instead I decided to walk around the Nugget and downtown for a little bit seeing what I could find. I was hoping to run into some sort of oddball characters, but now it was around 3:30 AM Vegas time. I went back and forth from the Nugget to Binions a few times, and made sure to check in on Cory after each lap. Nearly every time I came back, there were still 6 players left. After about another hour of walking around not finding anything except people asking me if I have anywhere from a spare quarter to eighty five cents, I head back to the room.

It's now about 5:30 Vegas time, and I've been up for about 26 hours straight. Time for some zzzzz's.

I vaguely recall Cory wandering into the room, tripping on my luggage, and then falling asleep.