Hey TwoPlusTwo,

So it’s that time of the year again, the annual visit to Sin City! I was debating whether to do a TR or not this trip but as I enjoy doing them I decided to document my 7th visit to the city of broken dreams.

I’ll be going to Vegas with one of best mates, Martin who has featured in most of my previous TRs. A little has changed in my personal life since my last TR. Around 10 months ago I made the move from Malta to Georgia (the country not the state).







My arriving in Georgia vlog post if you're interested: link

Main reason for the move to Tbilisi was I was getting a little bored of the small island life and fancied a bit of an adventure, and that’s definitely what I’ve been having. Back when I was living in Malta I would be playing poker almost every weekend but since moving to Georgia I’ve pretty much given the tables a miss and apart from the monthly staff poker tourney have gone the longest period in the last 12 years without playing poker. Games in Georgia are generally good as well but people smoke at the tables, don’t speak any English and there is quite a lot of cheating. You have to go through airport metal scanners to get into the Casino and just the environment isn’t great at all. I still think I’m a winner even against the cheaters but I just decided it wasn’t how I wanted to spend my free time.

Apart from a short work trip to Armenia I’ve not left Georgia since I moved there in early Feb so I’m really looking forward to experiencing some home comforts you can only really find in first world countries! As well as a very busy work life so a trip to Vegas had to be on the cards and now it’s my last day of work today the excitement is really start to build.

One of my friends, Dan (also featured in a previous trip report) is running the Amsterdam marathon and as I needed to have a stop over from Georgia to Europe I decided to spend a few days in Amsterdam before flying onto Dublin. I had actually signed up for the half marathon back in January with the full intention of doing it but tbh the training just never happened and I went the total reversal and put on weight haha So I’ll be there to see what else Amsterdam has to offer So after three days in Amsterdam I’ll be using the cheap Dublin trick which then takes me to London for one hour before flying directly to Vegas!

Rough plans while in Vegas:

• Elton John (Saw last year and he was amazing)
• Day trip to San Fran
• Try and crush some 1/2 and 1/3 after 10 months of no real poker
• Play some 2/5
• Room Escape
• Earl Of Sandwich
• Wynn Jazz Buffet
• Generally try and have a good time and forget about the office

Ok, I better be logging off or I’ll be in the office till midnight. All being well next post should be from Amsterdam!

Hey TwoPlusTwo,

So I arrived in Amsterdam this morning, after months of waiting the journey has finally begun!

I wish I could say it has been a painless trip so far but unfortunately I can’t. As part of my Georgian relocation package with work I’m allowed one return flight to Europe per year. So in August I asked the lady at work to book my flights from Tbilisi to Amsterdam and my return flights from Dublin to Tbilisi. She sent me the flight details, I confirmed and a bit later she sent me the flight details again so I thought everything had been sorted and booked. Luckily on Friday I asked her if I needed to check in for my flights or if I can just turn up at the airport “what flights?” she responds with a puzzled look on her face. Gulp…. Turns out she had forgotten and had never booked my flights. I was meant to be flying the next day and at this point only had the Vegas section booked… Luckily the direct flight from Tbilisi to Amsterdam still had seats available so after an hour of panic I actually got booked onto my flights. I ended up leaving the office on Friday at 10pm and in my standard unorganised fashion had not even washed my clothes let alone started packing. I got home around 22:30, put my clothes in the wash but it wasn’t until past 1am before the wash cycle was done and I was able to put them on the radiator. My flight was at 6am so I set my alarm for 4am and went to sleep.

After a few hours sleep my alarm went off and I set off to the airport for the flight. I got on the flight only to find out that someone was sat in my seat, I don’t about you but this seems to happen to me at least 30% of flights. The person sat in my seat was a kid sat next to his mum and his mum asked if I could take the kids seat so she could sit next to him, which obviously I couldn’t say no too. The kids seat was a middle seat which I hate, squashed in the middle of two big Georgian guys. Not really how I wanted to spend the next 5 hours so after the plane took off I asked the stewardess if I could move to the back row of the plane which was totally free. She said yes and I was moving my things a large old Georgian lady moved from her seat and took the back row window seat. I took the aisle seat and tried to get some sleep. Next thing I know I’m being woken by the ladies husband who asked me if I could take the ladies original seat so this Georgian lady can lay out across the three back row seats. I’ve been watching a bunch of Curb Your Enthusiasm and I was thinking what would Larry do but as I didn’t really want to make a fuss made a seat change for the third time within the first 30 mins of the flight haha.

Land in Amsterdam with no further issues and get to the hotel pretty quickly. I booked fairly late and didn’t have many options. I wanted somewhere central and near where Dan was staying so I booked the Old Quarter Hotel. Probably one the strangest hotels I have ever been too. For a start the hotel lobby is a pub and after getting my hotel room key from the receptionist and I make my way to the room.

Hotel receptionist:



I open my room door and I’m faced with what I first think is a cupboard rather than a room. The room was so small it reminded me of a cabin of a ship. You would have to go into the bathroom to turn around haha.



The funny part is the room was $160 a night which is more a night than using the poker room rate at the Venetian! Anyway, only here for two nights and not planning to spend much time in the room and the location was great. After checking in I meet up with Dan and his friend Beth, we get some lunch and decide to go on a boat tour around the city on the maze of canals. We got amazingly lucky with the weather, the sun was out with force and it felt almost like a summer’s day which always makes a city look more beautiful. I really like Amsterdam anyway, the city is very picturesque with the canals and just seems cleaner than most major cities. People are very chilled as well.



After a relaxing hour of chugging around the canals in the sun we decide to try a room escape. I did my first room escape maybe a year ago and since then have been addicted and have done 20+. Dan had never done one and I’d heard really good things about the ones in Amsterdam so we headed to the best reviewed one on Trip Advisor. Unfortunately it turns out that this one was so popular that all time slots for pretty much the next 72 hours had been booked So we gave up on that idea and after a little bit more walking I was crashing a little due to the 2 hours sleep so went back to the room for a nap.

After a much needed nap I meet up with Dan, Beth and two of Dan’s friends from Uni who were also running the marathon the next day. We had a walk around the Red Light District looking for somewhere to get a drink. The Red Light District is an odd place but definitely to be experienced but cliff notes are: Sex shops, waffles, hookers in windows and fast food. After a bit of walking we find a pub near a canal and sit down for a quick drink before our meal. We went to Anna for food and it was a good shout from Dan, food was great and I had my first real non-Georgian meal in 10 months. Followed by possibility the best waffle I’ve ever had, covered in Nutella, strawberries and cream. As Dan and the other guys we were with were doing the marathon the next day we decided to call it a fairly early night. Now back in the cabin room. Plans tomorrow are to visit the Van Gogh museum and then meet up with Dan after his marathon.

Speak soon!

I don't know why, but I like trip reports from people that go to to Vegas from far away.

Good luck!

Looking forward this. Good luck!

I have no problem trading seats unless its aisle/window for middle. Middle seats are the ****ing rake.

I like the start, but lol at agreeing to either of the two requests. I can't believe the woman's husband asked you to move from the aisle with a middle seat open (of a row she wasn't even a part of) and you said yes! Gl though

My kind of place, except for the waffles.

I should clarity that the woman's original seat was aisle seat as well so was swapping aisle for aisle so not that bad. Still pretty cheeky for them to ask me to move. I need to get better at saying no in these situations though. Being a Brit we politely say yes and on the inside are thinking "you ****ing wanker" haha

Hey TwoPlusTwo,

I woke up fairly early this morning, had breakfast in the ‘hotel’ and headed out to the Van Gogh museum. I had been recommended to get the audio tour and it was a good shout. I spent around 2 hours walking around the museum and really enjoyed it. The museum is set up in such a way that you follow Van Gogh’s life and his progression with art through the years and his paintings.





I even had my Van Gogh socks on for the event (Found at later that this painting is actually in New York)



I enjoyed the tour and the paintings were amazing but I still don’t really know what separates Van Gogh and makes his paintings so special and different?

Anyway, after the tour I headed back to my hotel. Dan had finished his first ever marathon in a super impressive 2 hours 58 minutes. If anyone would like to donate to Dan's marathon fund raising page then here is the link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund...e&stop_mobi=no Seems like a really good cause.I met up with him and we spent a few hours walking around the Amsterdam canals talking about life, poker and the old times back when we both lived in Spain. The sun was out again and it was just a really nice relaxing evening.



We grabbed some food with the other guys. Post marathon steak for those guys and the second steak in two days for me I was flying to Dublin at 17:00 the next day so had another full day in Amsterdam so we discussed what we’d be doing the next day. Turns out you have to book Anne Frank’s house about 3 weeks in advance so we decided to find a room escape and potentially Europe’s highest swing which is on top of one the skyscrapers.

I got back to the room in a great mood, full of steak and looking forward to finally seeing Martin and getting to Vegas. Was chilling in my room and then….



Fuuuuck!

Turns out the first hurricane to hit the British Isles in about 50 years just so happened to be at its worst as I’d be landing in Dublin. British Airways, Ryanair and Aer Lingus all had cancelled flights. First bad beat of the trip for sure. I instantly called up Virgin Atlantic as we were flying to Vegas with them and I wanted to know if I could just skip the Dublin to London leg and get on the plane in London. The person said that it wouldn’t be possible as you have to complete all legs of the trip or you forfeit the whole trip but as we booked through Expedia we would have to triple check with Expedia. Have to say that Expedia customer service is the worst I’ve ever encountered, I was in the phone queue for over an hour before I gave up. While this was going I was looking for other ways to get to Dublin so I could make my flight. Aer Lingus still had two flights from Amsterdam to Dublin. One which was landing at 14:40 and one which was landing at around 22:00. The Hurricane was meant to be at its worst between 15:00 and 17:00 so the 14:00 flight was abit risky but I took the calculated risk that if I book this flight and the likely event it’s cancelled then I can always book into the later flight as a plan B and try and get over that way. I was also looking at how much Vegas flights would be extra if I couldn’t make it to Dublin today, let’s just say it would be a fairly big hit if I couldn’t make it to Dublin. It was about 3am after all the phone calls and the rebooking was done. I am meeting Martin in Dublin and his flight is meant to arrive around 17:00 but so far hasn’t been cancelled so hopefully my 14:00 flight and his flight run and we’re able to meet in Dublin as we had planned.

This might be the shortest TR ever...

Ugh that does not sound good. Not sure what is best, missing your flight or flying in during a hurricane. Either way, good luck! Great TR so far!

Its like the meta version of a room escape!!

Yeah, neither are great options!

Hahaha, very true. Getting locked in and having to stay in Amsterdam was really not what I wanted though. Must escape!

so your buddy dan averaged less than 7 minutes a mile for his first ever marathon? that is pretty sick! Has he always ran a lot, but just never done a marathon?

Sorry to hear about your flight issues; i can imagine how frustrating that is. hope you dont have to pay a lot more out of pocket in order to salvage enough time in Vegas. Remember to cancel/change your room in advance for Vegas if you are going to be delayed getting state-side. Good luck man!

Hi Hutch! Hope all the flight issues get worked out. I'm a vlog subscriber of yours and will eagerly follow your Vegas travel thread.

Yeah, Dan is a very good runner and has done races in the past. Just his first marathon. Still a pretty sick time though.

Thanks for the good wishes and thanks for following

Great to have you on board Nepeeme! Thanks for all the support

Hey TwoPlusTwo,

So I woke up this morning with a message from Martin saying that his 17:00 Leeds flight had also been cancelled and that the Hurricane Ophelia is getting worse than they predicted it would be and most flights into Dublin are being cancelled.



Martin decided to book a later flight from Manchester which he hoped would run as the storm should have mostly passed by then. And if this didn’t work as a Plan B there was an even later one from Manchester to Dublin. I checked my 14:00 flight and it hadn’t been cancelled yet so I met Dan and Beth for a quick breakfast, checked out of the cabin hotel and got the train from central Amsterdam to the Amsterdam airport. I had arrived at the airport pretty early because I wanted to be able to act fast if my 14:00 flight wasn’t running. From looking at the weather reports, checking the news and the Dublin airport arrivals I gave my flight a 30% chance of running. After a while the check in desk opened and I checked my bags in, the check in girl said “I’m not sure the flight will run but things are looking ok so far”. I went to the departure gate and looked at the board, first thing I saw was ‘Dublin – Cancelled’ and my heart sunk. It took me a few seconds to notice that this was the 14:20 flight to Dublin and my 14:00 flight was still running according to the board, phew! But if the flight taking off just 20 minutes after mine was cancelled I wasn’t super hopeful about my flight, however at this stage I increased my flight percentage to 50%. Win a coinflip please! The ticket said the gate closed at 13:30 so by 13:15 when no plane or staff had arrived it wasn’t looking great. I knew if the plane was delayed then the landing time would be even more into the worst of the hurricane and the flight had a higher chance of being cancelled. But soon after this thought the boarding crew arrived and so did the beautiful plane!! Holllld!



My flight percentage had increased to 70% but I still wasn’t sure I’d be actually arriving in Dublin. For this flight I didn’t care if they put me in the middle seat or in the bloody toilet for the whole thing, just get me to Dublin ASAP. They soon started boarding the plane and it was looking like I had held! We got on the plane and it was a big relief when it actually started taking off. Though I thought there was still a chance we could be diverted to Liverpool or Manchester midflight I was putting the landing in Dublin percentage at 95% now.

We were around 20 minutes from our scheduled landing time when the captain announced “We’re going to try and land in Dublin but please expect it to be a dumpy landing” First time landing in a hurricane so my seatbelts were extra tightly fastened haha. The captain wasn’t wrong about the landing, the plane was jerking from left to right and the whole landing seemed to take a lot longer than normal. We finally touched down on solid Irish ground after a nervous 20 minutes and the whole plane broke out into applause and cheers. More importantly I’d made it to Dublin and it looked pretty certain I’d be getting to Vegas with Virgin Atlantic as I had planned (I didn’t use my vacation one time on this btw, but it was close). Tbh the weather when I walked out of the airport towards the hotel wasn’t that bad. There was no rain, sometimes some strong gusts of wind but I didn’t think it was anything major. At this point I was fairly certain Martin’s later flight would be fine as well. I checked into the hotel with no issues, I thought because it was under Martin’s name they would need him there but I got into the room with no questions asked. Put on a movie and had a little nap. Woke up to this…



I couldn’t believe they’d cancelled his flight, the weather outside seemed fine to me (but clearly not a weather expert). The later flight from Manchester was also cancelled. There was no way Martin was getting to Dublin tonight which would mean he misses the Dublin to London flight and means that he loses his London to Vegas flight (and the return flights). After looking how much new Vegas flights the next day would be he called me, I knew it was bad news when I saw that he was calling “Tom, would you be mad if I don’t come to Vegas? New return flights are £700 and I would need a hotel in Manchester so we’re talking an extra £850 on top of everything else. I will still come if it’ll make you mad or if you’ll have a crap time alone” Martin is currently saving for a house deposit and obviously I’m not going to make him pay an extra £850 and said it was totally up to him. After having a quick think he confirmed that he wouldn’t be coming and suddenly I’m a one man band and my trip to Sin City becomes a solo trip . Totally gutted for Martin as we’d both been looking forward to this for a long time. Also not really what I would have planned, I would have preferred to try somewhere new with my days off rather than a solo Vegas trip, some other friends are going to Vietnam in November which would have been class, but it is what it is and I’ve got to make the most of it. Luckily I think Vegas is somewhere you can go alone and still have a great time. I also checked the later flight from Amsterdam which I was debating to take as it seemed less risky and that flight had been cancelled as well. I think I got very lucky that my flight actually took off and landed or I would have been in the same position as Martin. I tried calling Expedia again for the one outer that Martin could just go straight to London but again after over an hour on hold gave up. I messaged a few poker mates to see if anyone wanted a free Vegas bed but understandably no one else could make it to Vegas during the week with such short notice.

As well as being gutted that Martin won’t be coming this has also caused some other issues:

Martin has all my $$$. I had left my dollars in my parents’ house in the UK after my last Vegas trip and my parents had dropped my dollars off with Martin a few weeks ago and I was meant to get them from him when I met him in Dublin. This means I’ll be arriving in Vegas with literally $0 in pocket… Martin was also going to give me TV shows to watch and now I have nothing for the flight (less of an issue). I’ll have to put in a ****load of poker now to get the poker room rate, won’t be easy with the day trip to San Fran as well. Just generally the whole cost of the trip has increased as don’t have someone to share taxis with etc… Not to mention I spend a fair amount of time in Georgia alone and I was just looking forward to chatting and going to restaurants with a familiar face. Also I think it’ll be pretty unlikely I’ll have another Vegas trip next year so this will most likely be the last one for a while.

During my first fish & chips in a year I tell myself that these are first world problems. I’m worrying about TV shows while Martin lost his Vegas flight and this hurricane caused a lot of damage and killed at least three people. My problems are small in comparison.



The storm outside sounds pretty crazy now but tomorrow if the storm blows over like it’s meant too and if everything goes to plan I’ll be going to one of my favorite cities on earth and experience Vegas as a solo traveler for the first time.

Good night x

It's crazy they won't allow him to fly from London. The airline cancelled the flight, they should cut him a break on missing a leg. Then he could catch a train or something to London. Doesn't europe and England have trains all over the place?

Yeah it did seem pretty crazy but technically his flight to Dublin wasn't connected to the Dublin to London and London to Vegas flights so from Expedia / Virgin's point of view... You didn't get onto the first flight for whatever reason, all of the rest of the journey is voided. If they would have allowed him to fly from London then getting a train down from Manchester or Leeds would have been no problem.

The cheap Dublin trick certainly backfired on us in this extremely unlucky situation...

Also finally managed to get hold of someone from Expedia via their Twitter page. I tried to explain the situation a few times but they just didn't seem to understand and were pretty unhelpful.



They're cheap but will think twice about using them to book things in the future.

"Martin has all my $$$"

No USD in your pocket upon arrival ?

Tell Martin to send you your money via WU. There are 100 places you can pick it up.

I only use Expedia, etc to shop for rates, then I go direct to the airline/hotel to see how close they get. They usually have the same price, sometimes better.

I agree; I have never received a better rate from any company compared to direct from the airline. I am not sure if that is the case internationally though.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck; if I lived in Vegas, I would definitely hang out and smash some food and some flops with you.

Wow. All this hastle, it's crazy! But hey, you'll have stories to tell your grandkids Hutch! I'm sure you'll have a good enough time in Vegas alone.
Good luck for rest of flight and I'm glad to hear you're gonna make it.