All out in Vegas

Vegas so far has been filled with so much work, fun, and games there's been no time to catch up, until now. Since my last post, we went for our final team dinner at an extremely nice restaurant called Mesa Grill at Ceasar's Palace. It's a Bobby Flay restaurant, and we made the decision with Nate very much in mind since it was originally his idea way back when to go there. So Mike (Q employee who worked the golf tour and is helping us out this weekend) and his girlfriend and Molly and I had an amazing dinner. I shared a wild mushroom quesadilla and an Anaheim Chile Relleno with Molly, and for an entree I had Ancho Chile Rubbed Chicken. I'm not going to go into details about the flavors, partly because I don't really know where to start. Everything was a perfect blend of flavors that complemented each other to perfection. Simply an outstanding meal. I paired it with a Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale, which was one of the best beers I have ever had. A $60 meal, but worth every penny, especially since I didn't have to pay for most of it.



After that, Mike and I went to play some poker. This was the plan, but playing at Ceasar's Palace was not. The minimum buy-in was $100 with a maximum $500, so we bought in at $100 and found ourselves immediately being bullied by bigger stacks at the table held by some Vegas locals. I was all-in within the first 10 hands, and luckily won the hand, but the game started out extremely intense. I was really happy with how I played, and I was up $200 at one point after several good hands and several even better bluffs, but then I lost $80 on a hand after losing several smaller hands and decided to walk away up $100. Fun times. I had two different full houses and an Ace-10 stright after the flop. Plus I sucessfully bluffed a 10-2 with absolutely nothing to play off of on the table.

After the expo yesterday, we started off the evening with some rum and Coke at the hotel, and then we went out to explore and see what sorts of interesting gambling we could find. We played a wheel game (not sure of the name) that is a great game to play while drinking since it requires very little thought and even less skill. We played a few slots, and then went back to the wheel. I lost at every game, but somehow managed to only lose $15, which is mostly thanks to having won one bet of 40-1 on the wheel game.

Today's expo was my final day of expo work, and it was nice to have the forklifts load our booth straight out to the finish line area, which saved one full round of loading and unloading compared to many weekends. However, because it was union labor it still took several hours longer than it needed to. Tonight is very low-key since we have to leave the hotel at 4:30 tomorrow morning, but tomorrow night should be fun. Molly and I are going to the Circe Du Soleil show Mystere which I expect to be blown away by, and then after that Mike and I have talked about going to find another poker table where I'll play the rest of my winnings from the other night and either leave Vegas completely even or up even more.

Since I've been busy having fun, I haven't taken many pictures while we've been out. Here are a few random ones.


A fountain filled with cranberries


Stephen posing with a pair of Crocs at Mario Batali's restaurant (Batali has his own signature Crocs)


Standing under a lion at MGM Grand


A Volcano at Rainforest Cafe


Waiting around for our stuff to be moved into the expo hall... and waiting... and waiting...


A bunch of Elvises running around the expo. A bunch of them will be running in the morning as well

Tidal Wave

So I'm not sure exactly what I did, but I had 150 unique visitors to the blog yesterday. I usually get 15-20. And there was no particular rhyme or reason from looking at analytics - people viewed all sorts of different posts and came from all sorts of states and countries. Cool beans.

A Few Vegas Photos

Life, Luxury

So as I'm posting this, Molly has just posted her rendition of the same post. She'll tell you it was her idea, but it was most definitely my idea. I only get to steal one of her ideas a day, and I already used it up copying her on a burrito purchase at Taco Bell. Plus, I was the one who pushed for the 5 star hotel in the first place. So my post will be way better anyway. I went to the effort of pulling out the nice camera just to make sure of that.

I was starting to wonder if there was really much of a difference between 4 and 5 star. Yes, there definitely is. That was apparent about two seconds after walking into the room.

So, we're at the Trump Tower Vegas. They went as far as using real gold in the coating of the windows.



We arrived at our rooms on the 34th floor, only to find what looked like one room...



But no, it's just semi-connected rooms that are removed from the hallway, likely to reduce noise of passer-by.



When you walk into the room, it's a very pleasant sight and nice decor overall. It's when you start to look at the details, however, that you get excited.



In the bathroom, you have about 18 different mirrors, including one above the jacuzzi tub.



A glass "stall" of sorts for the toilet, plus look closely and you'll see the TV in the mirror!



A stone shower stall...



Nice cabinetry, a kitchen, LCD TV....



Tea kettle and blender. (margaritas anyone?)



Lit closets with plush bathrobes.



Small living area, where you can even pass the time by playing tic-tac-toe,



Standard abstract artwork to bolster the whole elitist feel...



And of course, the room's other perks would be pointless without a TV remote cover.



There's even a doorbell and electronic lights instead of door hangers for "Do Not Disturb"



With all this, it's tempting to just not leave the room...



But this is Vegas. There will be lots of getting out of the room.

That's it. The 1-5 star hotel ranking experience is now complete (at least until I make it to Dubai to try out the world's first six star hotel).

Transient

Starting off any day with an omelette is hard to beat. Especially when you're using leftover grilled veggies to make the omelettes.



Yesterday we had a relaxed day with some shopping in the afternoon. I picked up several more books for the road, and I finally got my hands on the complete Arrested Development DVD set. It's the best comedy I've ever seen, even when compared to The Office. That's saying something. Thanks Mom and Dad!



In the evening, we played a game of cribbage on the patio and finished off the evening with watching a few episodes of Arrested Development. Hopefully I got my parents hooked enough that they will have finished the series by the next time I'm through town.

On a side note, I also spent a fair amount of time outside just enjoying the backyard, which includes a very refreshing and calming fountain. One of my favorite features of the new house.



The other part of the house I really like is just how open and inviting it is with plenty of light.



Today I packed up and we headed to Vegas in the afternoon. We stopped at my parents' favorite Vegas destination first. That's right, cactus lover heaven. I had no idea what I was in for when we stepped around the back to see the rows and more rows of various desert plants.



The business is run by a couple out of their own (massive) backyard, and we got to eat some pistachios straight off the tree branches they were growing on. The Macaws protested heavily while watching us eat until they got some too.



Next we found a local sports bar and settled in to watch the season opener Packers game, which happened to be a Monday night game against the rival Minnesota Vikings. It was a big night for the Packers - their first without Favre in a long time. During the game, a rare Vegas downpour occurred outside.



The Packers won.



After the game we drove past the strip on our way to the airport. It's impressive by day, but much more so by night.



My parents dropped me off at the airport and headed back to St. George to get some sleep. I'm currently perched near a terminal window waiting for my red-eye flight. I think I set a new personal record, making it from check in through security to my gate in probably less than 10 minutes. Good thing I was 5 hours early.

I just watched Entourage from last night, and now plans include hitting "publish post", listening to some music, reading, net surfing, and if I'm feeling really daring I might even ride the airport tram between terminals a few times.