We ended up staying at Circus Circus; which we thought was going to be kind of creepy with all the clowns and whatnot. But it turned out to be pretty cool. Obviously staying at a place like the Bellagio would put the Circus Circus to shame, but for the price we got it for it well exceeded our expectations.
After checking in we immediately went to the slot machines (of course). Just so you know, I have NEVER been to a casino. No reason why I haven't besides maybe me being cheap and unlucky when it comes to gambling... Here is me with my first dollar gambling. Yah-Ta!
But I didn't win... oh well. For the rest of the night we went to check out the Palazzo casino. Much of it was covered in gold and made you feel like a big spender. Feeling big time I put $2 into the slots and lost again. Then onto the Blue Man group. We had little expectations for this. Although the show was incredibly awesome! Very Very innovative and entertaining. With a combination of humor, music, art, lights and plenty of crown participation, this is a performance I would recommend for anyone going to Vegas. The night ended with checking out Treasure Island, seeing the "Sirens of T.I." Show and losing another $2. The next day we started on the southern end of the strip by the Mandalay Bay and Luxor and began making our way north. Since Chrissy has been to the Luxor before, we had to stop in and check it out.
After loosing $5 on that damn I Dream of Jeannie slot machine game (but getting two free drinks) we continued on past New York New York and the Tropicana. We stopped in the MGM grand to check out the indoor lion cage and M&M world. If you love M&M's then this is heaven. After that we HAD to go down to Gameworks arcade so Chrissy could get her video game fix in ;)
Afterward we made our way to Paris (pronounced Pear-ree) to check out the Eiffel Tower (half the actual size). We went up at Sunset and the sight was absolutely amazing! We overlooked the Bellagio just in time to see the fountain display. From atop of Vegas we could see the entire strip. It was very romantic!
Before leaving we had to gamble a little more. After loosing $5, I needed a new game plan. Then I found video Black Jack! At one point I was up $6 on a $1 machine, but ended up breaking even. Black Jack became my new friend. After Paris we took the bus to the original Vegas, also known as Fremont. This is home to the original casinos such as the Golden Nugget and the Cowboy. They have since covered the entire street with an LED display that showcased crazy colors and theatrics on the hour nightly.
There were some amazing street artists making crazy paintings out of solely spray paint. Within a matter of 8 minutes they has a complete painting that was so intricate and full of detail that you would have thought it was done with a paint brush.
We then made our way to grab some dinner at Triple 7 located in the Main Street Station. Upon entering I asked the security guard where the restaurant "Seven, Seven, Seven" is? He looked at me for a second, then said "You mean Triple 7? It's that way." Silly me. I had a great Teriyaki burger with pineapple and a Triple 7 home brew sample pack.
We then headed back home to Circus Circus, thus completing our 2nd day. The next day we continued our Vegas Strip tour at the Bellagio. We checked out the botanical garden and actually won $2 on video black jack! Yay!
Next up was the infamous Caesar's Palace. This was very over the top structurally and filled with crazy expensive stores. There was even a show that consisted of statues raising out of water and shouting at each other and shooting fire out of swords. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
We then headed back to our hotel to rest up for the big night ahead of us. We had stopped at a street vendor earlier to get admission into the Palms night club called Club Rain. It gave Chrissy free access and half off admission for me. He wanted $10 for it but we just gave him $5. After getting to the club we walked into the VIP line cause we figured we're VIP. The bouncer let a group of people go ahead of us and we said we were part of their group and he let us by. (That's how we roll). We then got to where we pay and they took the free admission card and let Chrissy in but said it doesn't work for us. Why? Because we got hustled. So we started to pout because we didn't want to pay the $30 to get in. After 5 minutes of complaining and acting sad, the bouncer finally stamped my hand and let me in for free! (That's also how we roll). The club was CRAZY! Pyrotechnics, dancers, people on stilts and hanging from the ceiling from sheets were just a small part of the shenanigans going on. Z-Trip (a famous DJ) was spinning the 1's & 2's (turntables) producing funky tracks to get down to. At around 1 am the famous Paul Oakenfold (techno DJ) came on stage to lay down some sweet body rocking beats. We continued to dance until 4am. Pure awesomeness! I had even ironed out my shirt and pants for the night ahead :)
We decided to leave at 4am, not because we were tired, not because the show was over but we were done dancing after 5 hours. We then waited for the bus to come for about 40 minutes. While waiting we met these 2 people from Long Beach, California. Since they were going close to where we were staying we decided to split a taxi ride. Half way back, we drove by a strip club and they suddenly wanted to go in. So they gave us $10 for more than their half and went in. The cabbie also parked and went in (saying he had to go to the bathroom). He said he would be right back and to just wait in the taxi. After 5-8 minutes of waiting we decided to just to get out and walk (taking the $10 with us). About 5 minutes later we hear honking and yelling. Yup, it's the cabbie. He had chased us down for his money. Looking around for a place to hide, the only thing we found was an adult sex store. So in we go just as he flies into the parking lot. We expect him to come in, but he didn't. We waited in there for 20 minutes to be sure he was gone then made our way home with half a taxi ride, $10 and a funny story. This is the us in the Cab.
Going to bed around 5:30 led to sleeping in till about noon. We kind of hung around and watched the Packers win. We caught up with Chrissy's cousin, who lives outside of Las Vegas, for some lunch at Emeril the chef's restaurant. It was nice to meet her and hear all about her family (and of the others in Chrissy's extended family). We then went gambling for a little bit before the Cirque du Soleil show "Mystere" at Treasure Island. This was my first Cirque show and it was beautiful, breathtaking and entertaining. The costumes and the music were straight from a fairy tale. The acrobatics were world class. There was a lot of skill involved! I definitely want to see the rest of them. No pictures were allowed during the show, but I snuck a few in before and after.
Our final day there we checked out the Riviera as well as the Stratosphere (which is a pathetic attempt at a Space Needle. A little more gambling and a little more losing. In the end I ended up losing $25.20 although this was more than made up for with the free drinks. So I'd say I ended up even. Even though the amount of people there gets really annoying, I would definitely go back to Vegas. It was a good time had by all! And thus concludes the longest blog entry yet. Whew! I'll leave you with some pictures from a circus circus performance as well as my dream (next) car.
