How to do Vegas without a budget…

I went to Las Vegas on Thursday, May 8th, through the 10th. I left my psych final, on May 8th, and drove to my friend Kristin’s house (in order to save the $54.00 ($18.00 a day) parking fee). She then took me to the airport, where I boarded the Frontier flight to Las Vegas. I arrived in Vegas, met my friend Lara, her husband Josh, and their friend Dave, and was escorted to my hotel for check-in.

Now for a little back story. Lara had called me several months ago, and told me that she found a great rate on Frontier Airlines, to get me to and from Las Vegas, for around $120.00. She said that due to my financial impairment, being un-employed for roughly six months at the time, she would pay for the ticket, but I would have to cover everything else. At the time, I was sure I would either have a job and/or a healthy student loan that would cover the remaining costs. Sadly, neither of those financial windfalls came to pass. Three weeks before the ETA, I called Lara and told her that there was no way I could make the trip, as I wasn’t even sure how I was going to make rent that month. She and Josh, had already figured out that I was struggling with money. She then told me that they would cover my expenses for the sojourn, what with drinking for free while gambling, and food could be taken care of for little to no expense, to say nothing of the hotel.

As it turns out, via the kindness of others, I made enough money to cover my monthly expenses, and then some. I took some of the extra cash to Vegas, and was able to turn it into enough money to pay for my expenses for the duration of my trip (again, referring to my skills at roulette). Some would say that I should have banked that extra cash, but I secured enough monetary means to take care of myself for the next few months, although not enough to cover what my friends had put out to take care of my flight and hotel bill. Then there was “In and Out Burger”…

The last time I ate fast food was nearly eight years ago, and I had no intention to begin again. While Lara was busy with her work obligations, the rest of us went to an “In and Out Burger” (made famous on the west coast) (http://www.in-n-out.com/secretmenu.asp) franchise to get lunch. I had first heard about the well known “In and Out Burger” eatery back in high school, but never understood why people were so crazy about it. Lara requested her burger was made “animal” style, and I decided to do the same thing. I am thrilled that I did. For those of you that have heard of “In and Out Burger” and for those of you who have not, the next time any of you have the opportunity to sample the fare at “In and Out Burger”, order them “animal” style. They merge the meat and vegetables into a burger, and it tastes great, to say nothing of the fresh made fries. However, it was still fast food, and I still needed to use a bathroom in short order. Either way, it was worth it, as it tasted amazing.

Roulette: My policy is to only work the $1.00 tables. Whether it be a machine, or an actual player’s table, I always follow the same rules:
Place a $1.00 chip on the following:
One chip on RED
One chip on 1-18
One chip on 3rd /12 (= 25 through 36)
And finally, one chip on the space cornering 17, 18, 20, & 21

That will only leave 22 & 24 un-played. This will allow you to hear, “Winner” nearly every turn, while almost always gaining points. Yes, you will lose some along the way, but you must focus on the big picture. You must be ready to commit to the final goal. I have only been able to raise my $20.00 bet to $70.00. If I shoot for over $70.00, I eventually end up losing it all. If I stick to my $70.00 rule, I can reproduce the result, over and over, again. You must be willing to commit at least an hour or so to the endeavor, or you will lose everything. If this doesn’t work for you, than you must be harboring a lot of negative energy, and you probably deserve to lose!

Now back to the hotel check in. The lovely woman, behind the desk, asked me, “Are you here to party?” I of course answered, “Yes I am.” If only I had realized that meant I would have to hear the sounds of the strip and karaoke until 3:00 a.m. The first night, turning out how it did, I never would have noticed. That night, I went stumbling toward a security guard, with Josh, asking were we could find an all night restaurant. As it turns out, Josh and I were only a few steps away from a Denney’s. We were seated, and then we began to become aware of the Vegas night life at 5:00 a.m. Let me just sat that is was not a pretty sight.

On the second night, after a long evening of dining, casino hopping, and drinking, I went back to my hotel room at 1:30 a.m. and lulled myself to sleep to the sounds of the strip. I ordered a wake up call for 6:30 a.m. I had decided that would be enough to coax me out of unconsciousness, so that I could meet the rest of my group, in order to head toward the airport. Around 2:15 a.m. the building alarm sounded, and the recording said that I should wait until the issue had been investigated. Fortunately, the announcement soon said that everything had been resolved. I don’t know what caused the alarm, and I didn’t really care, so long as I could sleep.

Anyway, I had an absolute blast in Las Vegas! We went to several casinos, gambled, drank, ate, and had an over-all amazing time. Bellagio (http://www.bellagio.com/?CMP=KNC-Google-Bellagio_Corp) is the long standing favorite casino. One reason is that they have great air-handlers. The better hotel/casinos have superior air circulating systems, which means you can’t smell the cigarette smoke. Had it not been for Lara and Josh, I never would have been able to take such a journey.

In the end, there are a few things you need to know in order to have an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas:
One: Have a good understanding of roulette, so you can create spending cash.
Two: Have a Sugar-mama who is willing to take care of you, even when you are down and out (financially or otherwise).

From this day forward, Lara will be known as the sugar-mama who makes sure that I make it to Las Vegas (and Austin for parties). In fact, she and her husband are already planning a trip to Vegas this December. From what I understand, that is during my winter break from school. I guess I will have another kick-ass time! Hope you all have similar experiences, either now, or in the future.