Vegas Baby!

Well my parent’s officially recognized their 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to Las Vegas. My sister’s and I were able to fly out and we had a very nice dinner at Koi, located inside Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin).

I had an 11:00 AM flight out of Denver which touched down at McCarren shortly after noon local time. From there it was a quick shuttle to the Mirage where I spotted my Dad at the $3-6 Holdem table and then my Mom roaming the hallways. We ended up eating at BLT inside the Mirage and were joined by my sisters who had been playing at Harrah’s. BLT was a burger joint and I am not sure why everybody was excited to check it out. I got a turkey burger, my Mom got a falafel burger and my Dad got the lamb burger. When my sisters arrived, they rounded out the orders with another lamb burger and a pork/shrimp burger which was actually better than I expected.

After lunch the girls were off shopping and I got my first session of poker in as the room was able to start the $4-8 Omaha game with a half kill. I managed to hold up pretty well and got on a hot run of cards until the game broke four hours later.

Then I went up to the room and hung out with my Mom while we got ready for dinner. It was nice to chat for an hour while she ironed clothes. We walked to the Flamingo and checked into the overflow room, which I ended up staying at. Not the nicest room, but the price was right for a room on the strip. From the Flamingo we took a cab to Planet Hollywood and met the girls for dinner who were already there for the “Miracle Mile” shopping.

They were even able to get there for happy hour and loaded up on 2 for 1 lychee martinis. Our server was attentive without being distracting and was very knowledgeable on the dishes as well as the kitchen’s capabilities. My sister gave a nice toast and I should probably keep a copy of it for the archives. We then took some pictures and headed back to the Mirage.

From there my parents stayed at the Mirage while the girls and I looked for some cheaper craps tables which were not to be found. They ended up playing Blackjack at O’Shea’s and I ventured further back to the Flamingo to play poker. I ended up sitting in a $1-2 No Limit Holdem game and was getting pushed around for a couple of hours before making some moves and finally hitting a couple of sets.

I awoke pretty early and left for the Mirage at 7:30 AM, knowing that I would have to catch a shuttle back to the airport at 10:00 AM. Everybody was still in the room and we headed downstairs for craps and a little breakfast.

Craps on my own was pretty brutal, but then when I joined my sisters at the table, I got a hot hand on my roll and we all made a little money. We then grabbed some bagels at Starbuck’s and headed back to the room to gather our stuff and say goodbye after a whirlwind trip.

Then it was the drudgery of waiting for the shuttle back and hanging out in the Airport for an hour before boarding the 12:20 flight back to Denver. It would have been nice to have an extra day to lounge poolside and take in a virgin Pina Colada since my folks had a nice room on the strip. Maybe I can talk my wife into a get-away weekend and we can enjoy the hotel, see a show and have a nice dinner. That will be an easier sell with me not being stuck on 8 hour poker binges.