The time is near. Less than two weeks to go. Months of planning and preparing are finally coming to fruition, and my excitement is palpable. Today I put in my two-week notice at work, meaning that Friday, August 29 will be my last employed day. I don't have another job lined up yet, but I will begin training to become a poker dealer at a casino upon my return from the American Mecca of gambling.

The Players

Traveling with a lady friend who's only been to Vegas once, and only to the southern half of the strip (never north of Bellagio). I love being a tour guide and enjoying a first timer's Vegas experience vicariously through them, as I did with my three friends in a previous TR:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...-trip-1380752/
This being my 7th trip, my real joy will be achieved by showing her a good time. As a result, I'm going to focus less on poker/gambling and more on fun + good eats. Also, I've literally been working out, running hard and dieting for the last ~5 weeks in preparation (insert judgmental jokes below).


The itinerary

Tuesday:
Fly out of SFO on Tuesday, September 2 around two-ish, landing in LAS around 3:30. Catch a cab to Excalibur to pick up my hotel-stay vouchers (lame waste of time, I know) then head to the Venetian to check in. Hoping to be done checking in by around 6 PM. My plan for check-in is to sandwich a crisp $50 bill between my ID and credit card, asking to be upgraded to a room with a good view, a late check-out on Friday, and anything else they have to offer. That same evening at 9:30 we have tickets to see Le Reve over at Wynn. Hoping to check in, ooh-ah at the nice room, grab some food (maybe from Grand Luxe Cafe), head to the show, and do whatever sounds good after that.

Wednesday:
Attend the time-share meeting solo which, in and of itself, should last 3-4 hours, and probably an hour of transport to and an hour of transport from. In total I'm hoping the entire ordeal will be over within 6 hours. As much as that sucks, I have to look at the plus side: 3 nights free at the Venetian (at least a $300 value, realistically closer to $450 for the nights I booked), plus $249 in deposit money returned. The way I look at it, the $249 I deposited is money I have forgotten about, so this is like a $550-700 swing I'm getting. Even if it takes 7 hours, that's $100/hour, I'll suffer through it... After the meeting, no plans for that day, except the lady really wants to eat at Gordon Ramsay's Burgr, plus I'll be juiced from essentially receiving $249 in free money (well, credit back to my credit card account) for the trip.

Thursday:
No plans, going to play everything by ear. I do have some options in mind, though (see below).

Friday:
Fly out at 7 PM. Hopefully have a late checkout thanks to the check-in sandwich. Expecting to be up super late Thursday night as a last hurrah. No plans.

Options:
-Put $100 on one hand of blackjack in a high-limit room, have her cut the deck for good luck
-Neither of us have ever played craps, hoping she'll bring good luck there too
-Introduce her to casino war (can't go wrong...)
-Canyon Ranch Spa at the Venetian/Palazzo (perhaps good for recovery on Thursday during the day)
-Tao day-club (Thursday would be the only realistic day)
-^ if not, go to a pool (really want to go to at least one pool...)
-Encore beach club Thursday night (Lil Jon is performing. She likes clubbing, I'm indifferent. Whoopee..)
-Lotus of Siam (hoping to accomplish this one, but not going to jeopardize other plans for this)
-Burgr (per her request)
-Earl of Sandwich (it'd be rude not to)
-Musashi for happy hour at night
-See a comedy show, possibly at Riviera (their tickets are super cheap and they're close to Lotus of Siam, could be a good dinner + show evening) or Laugh Factory at Tropicana or Improv at Harrah's (this is because Defending the Caveman only performs on Sunday/Monday now... wtf?)
-Show her downtown (this really feels like a last resort though, I feel like there's enough to show her around the strip in our limited time there)


As a neurotic over-planner, I'm also bringing:
-band aids (for blisters)
-acetaminophen (for hangovers)
-emergen-C (in case anyone gets sick from drinking + lack of sleep)
-print-out of tickets for Le Reve
-ca$h money$

I'm totally open to recommendations from anyone, particularly since we're there Tuesday-Friday. As you can see there isn't much planned, we will likely see what comes our way and choose accordingly (i.e. discounted/free entry to venues from people on the street). I'll probably end up playing at least one session of 1/2 or 1/3 because, who are we kidding, poker is my favorite pastime.

Looking forward to updating you all with lots of pictures (because who cares about words, really)!

First off, Le Reve is amazing. Good choice.

Second, if a room upgrade is available, $20 should be more than enough to secure the upgrade. $50 won't get you anything better, it will just start to set expectations too high and over-inflate the "$20 trick" for everyone else over time.

Have a great time. Look forward to the TR.

Thanks CvB! The reason I chose $50 over $20 is because by booking through time share, I'm sure they gave me one of their crappiest rooms, probably in the Venezia tower. I'm happy with a basic suite with a view, late check out, and any other perks like a free mini fridge or discounts or comped resort fees for the price of $50. It's like $17/night, not that bad really. I consider it a $30 insurance policy, $10/day. I hope... It's gonna be a Tuesday, they can't be that busy, right?? -__-

Getting late check out on Friday may be difficult as that is a popular check in day. But just check your bags and have fun.

Good point p566, hadn't really considered that... In that case, I'm wondering if I'm better off just tipping $20 and asking for a room with a view. I just really don't want to be stuck in the Venezia tower or have a view of the air conditioner/parking garage.

You are going to have to explain this whole need of band-aid's for blister's thing to me? Otherwise, have a blast!

obligatory request for pics of lady friend

Ergh, can anyone refer me to a good photo uploading service? I used to (and still use) imageshack but now they limit the size of your shared images unless you upgrade to premium which is BS...

Self-proclaimed neurotic over-planner. I doubt they'll come in handy, but with the miles of walking each day, who knows... Rather have it and not need it than the reverse.

People put bandaids over their heels or wherever they get blisters to protect it from further abrasion.

[ http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...orial-1441885/

Thanks, jes, both for answering element's and my question.

Here's an update, using imgur (way more convenient than imageshack was):

So, I decided to play some 1/2 to build my bankroll for this trip. Had two consecutive successful sessions, making $300 the first night and $150 the second. Overall, here is what I now have at my disposal for this trip:



I'm now in a precarious situation financially since I don't have a job lined up upon my return from the trip, but in the immediate future I have some money to blow. Curious to see how this influences the trip. Me being shrewd and frugal, I'll probably save 60% and spend 40%. Gonna give the lady ~$100 to play around with; casino war, slots, blackjack, maybe even hold em if she chooses. $100 is going towards my 1 high limit blackjack hand, which if I win will all go towards more debauchery. That leaves $200 in freeroll money for both food and spur-of-the-moment bets like craps, roulette, and blackjack hands. Either way, coming in +400 is already an awesome start.

Also, here are some more pics of the lady friend to keep you all entertained



Twin peaks SF



Makin breakfast in Tahoe post overnight snowstorm. Yisss



Up next is my final week of work (✌️) and then it's off to the place where dreams are made. Shoes and specifics to follow.

Good pics bro but your gonna need more moneyz'! Esp with a lady friend but either way, run good man.

Don't bring those $50's to Vegas....

Is there a superstition I should be worried about? I was thinking of using one of those $50's for tipping upon check-in, still haven't decided if I'm going with 20, 50, or a hundo.

What's the bad juju about 50's?

Yep. $50's are bad luck. NEVER buy in with 50's. Watch the people who do. They lose

Hundo is gonna get you same as 20, don't be driving up the prices for us man! Lol

I didnt know this, but my lone losing session this month i bought in with a leftover stack of 20's and 50's....... strange world we live in.

Confirmed.

Confirmed, there is a legit reason why it is called the "$20 trick" Please do not drive up the price for everyone else...

Some pre-trip run-good.

As I stated earlier I put in my two-week notice at work last week, primarily because the job didn't have a serious/challenging enough position for me. They were aware I was being underutilized, and on Monday at the end of the day pulled me in to let me know that they're letting me go 4 days early with full pay. Meaning I had Tuesday-Friday of this week, with pay, without going to work one time. ****in, awesome.

Then on Thursday I got a 60-minute massage, the first I've had in roughly 7 years. ****in, awesome.

Then on Friday I got confirmation that I reached my required spending to receive the $450 bonus rewards for Chase Sapphire Preferred (I recommend looking into it; you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months and receive $450). That, coupled with the $250 I'm supposed to get back for attending the timeshare meeting, makes $700 I can put towards this trip on credit cards before actually shelling out my first dime. ****in, awesome.

All that, compounded with the sway of 2+2 convincing me to keep to $20 for the check-in trick, and to not bring my $50's with me. Cheaper check-in and hopefully dodged some run-bad. ****in, awesome.

This weekend I'm gonna pack the clothes (already packed various goods) and get some shoe pics ready. Been waiting months for this trip and it's finally just a couple days away.

****in, awesome.

OP, from San Francisco?

Raised in Sunnyvale (San Jose-area for those who don't know where Sunnyvale is; used to play at Bay 101 and Garden City until it became M8trix), but now I live east of Sacramento pretty close to Folsom. Lucky Chances is my go-to in the SF area though.. Yourself?

I remember the old garden city, played tons of 6-12 limit there back in the day, that was an action game for sure, GL over in Vegas man.

My current shoes:



Current outfit:



My backup (main) shoes:



Sittin on Bart on the way to SFO. Arriving in Vegas 3:30 pm (102 degrees lol).



First stop Excalibur, then check in at the Venetian, then off to dinner and Le Reve. Game time.

Sweet vans bro, run good man