Thanks for coming back!

Monday

No photos for the Monday, as they're on a computer that's broken and I haven't got around to fixing yet (my life is currently full of things that I haven't got around to yet), but I wanted to get this finished and no longer weighing on my soul.

Woke up on Monday still annoyed about that last hand at the Aria, and figured I might as well go cash in the $20 or so of comps I'd have there, given they'll have long expired before I make it back to Vegas. I wandered back up to Aria, and while getting the floor to print off my comp slip, I noticed that the Asian guy who'd taken my money with his flush draw seven hours earlier was still at the table. And he'd given all my money back. Damn him.

Anyway, $20 of comps equals some pizza and diet coke in Five50, which helped my mood somewhat. Went back to Mandalay Bay to check out, and with a couple of hours before I needed to be at the airport, figured I might as well go throw another $10 at the Pinball Hall of Fame, which was just as great a decision as it always is. Definitely a good mood-lifter - after the poker tables, this is probably my favourite place in Vegas. Wait, after Kabuto, as well. And the Chadas. And Rhumbar at the Mirage. Definitely one of my favourite places though.

An hour or so of flashing lights and inept pinball playing later, I headed back to the airport, and after some confusion at the gas station (I have to tell you how much petrol I want before I can fill up the car? I have literally no idea how much petrol goes into an average car in litres, let alone whatever the hell gallons are), and some utter ineptitude from the car rental return people (A GODDAMN HOUR between me pulling up and them finally completing my paperwork to return the car, which led to me discovering several weeks later that I'd been charged a $8 one hour late fee, screw you Dollar), I eventually made it through to the lounge with half an hour to kill before my flight. McCarren lounge is pretty mediocre tbh, but there's free beer and a few snacks, so I'll take it.

This was my first time flying Virgin Upper Class back to the UK, and I was moderately excited to try something new. Ultimately though I'd say it was pretty comparable to BA Club World - food maybe slightly better, alcohol maybe slightly worse, entertainment choice a lot worse, seat a bit hard to get into bed mode but otherwise fine. Didn't see much I wanted to watch on the IFE, so just read for a bit and then eventually slept. The ability to sleep is really what you're paying all the premium for on these flights, and it's definitely worth it as far as I'm concerned. Think next time it'll be BA both ways for me, as it's a lot easier to earn the miles and the availability's far better.

Anyway, I got back to the UK and back into my regular less exciting non-Vegas life again without anything else interesting happening.

Final Thoughts (wall of text alert)

Since getting back home I've moved job, and we've finally sold our house and found somewhere to buy, and should be moving in the next couple of months. Baby Bloo #2 is also due in the next month, and #1 is now walking and talking and far more of a handful than he was back when he just lay wherever you left him and occasionally needed feeding or changing. He has preferences now. Not ones he can really articulate (barring yelling the word 'hungry' over and over again until we cave in), but still, that's weird. He's starting to be a proper little person.

All of this has meant that planning the next trip has taken a back seat for a bit, but I've got preliminary permission from the wife for another trip in, uh, the second half of 2018. Which is a long way off but, hey, it'll do. Considering inviting my dad along for that one, as he's never been to the USA, let alone Vegas, although I'm not certain. He's not a gambler (as far as I know), so abandoning him for hours to play poker seems a bit mean. And part of what I love about Vegas is that I don't have to worry about anyone else for a bit, whether they're bored or hungry or on a schedule or whatever, if I want to do a thing I can just go do it.

Overall this was a pretty successful trip, although I'd definitely do stuff a bit different next time I come to Vegas. And so help me god, there will be a next time. It took a month or so for the itch to come back, but I'm already back reading Vegas blogs, forums, keeping an eye on my airmiles and trying not to think about how far away 2018 is. But, hey, 2017 was always going to be a transitional year - new job, new house, new baby. Kick through it, and 2018 should be easy.

As always, poker tables at Vegas were significantly chattier and friendlier than anywhere else I've played. And the general atmosphere and energy of Vegas is just so good. Stay away from the slots and the hardcore gamblers, stay nearer the people who've come to look around and party and enjoy themselves, and there's just so much positive energy around. I'm not someone who normally draws off the vibes of others, so maybe that's why I love Vegas so much, having finally found somewhere that does energise me.

Would definitely stay at the Mirage again, location is reasonable (maybe being slightly further south would be good, but at the same time being so close to the Venetian and Wynn is also nice), rooms are fine and reasonably priced, and I like the general 'feel' of the place. It's hard to describe really, but it seems a bit more laid-back and chilled than some of the other casinos. I wouldn't stay at Mandalay Bay again purely due to location - the rooms are really nice, the casino as a whole is great, but by the second day staying there I was really sick of the time it took to walk from there to anywhere else worth being (even at my brisk London pace, it takes a good 20+minutes to reach MGM Grand or Monte Carlo).

Definitely wouldn't bother hiring a car again either, with the new car parking charges. Let's say the hire car runs me $20 a day all-in, plus $10/day parking charge, $30 a day buys me a decent number of Lyfts/Ubers, particularly given some days I don't leave the strip, and I like having the freedom to day drink and not worry about driving.

Next time I definitely think I'd do a full week in Vegas, maybe with one night at the Grand Canyon or Zion in the middle (I've seen both on day trips, but never had more than a few hours to explore either). In all honesty when I've added other cities to the trips I've generally just been either champing at the bit to get to Vegas or wishing I was back in Vegas, but I'd always been a bit hesitant about doing a full week in Vegas in case I either go busto or get bored by 4-5 days in. I think this is largely driven by a truly awful trip to Atlantic City five or so years ago where I ran like absolute turds at the poker tables, polished off my $1200 bankroll by midway through my second full day there, and then found out how awful a place it is to be when you have no money to gamble (my wife insists on a super strict division of my poker roll and my life roll, which I understand). But on both my last trips to Vegas I've kinda felt like there was a lot I could have done that I didn't get to. And hopefully by the time I get back I'll have a big enough bankroll to withstand the swings that the tables throw at me (my new house is two miles from one of the UK's new supercasinos that has a proper poker room, so going to see how I get on there).

also next time I might be able to avoid a full $250 stupidity tax

Anyway, thanks to all who've read and commented on what I'm aware has been a wall of text without enough photos at times. I mainly write these for myself really, so I can relive the fun I had on these trips while I'm over 5,000 miles away and it's probably raining. But hopefully someone else gets something out of them as well, and apologies that there's been quite such a delay in getting this finished. Next time I think I'll probably write the whole trip up as a post-hoc trip report rather than doing it semi-live, will probably result in things being slightly better written as well.

Thanks, Bloo! Nice TR. Congrats on the baby and looking forward to 2018.

I enjoy reading it. Unfortunately I already forgot a lot of the stuff I read earlier on since it was so long ago!

Great report, gl on your current trip!

Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk

Go Bloo!