We are back from Vegas and poor. We didn’t gamble that much at all, it is just that everything is so expensive there. The pizza hut cheese pizza meal which costs between $4 and $5 normally was over $7 in Vegas. You can’t get a beer for under $5 on the strip, unless you are buying cases from the store. Even then it is expensive, probably 50% more than what it is here in KC. Most of our gambling was done at penny or nickel slot machines waiting for a waitress to come around so we can get free drinks. One time Kim did find about $14 in chips which we did gamble on the roulette table. We put $10 on black and it was black so all of the sudden we had $20. Pretty easy money huh? But that was about the only time we really gambled, and that was with money we found.

Recapping each of the nights:
Wednesday Phil and I got into Vegas about 7. We met up with the girls at our hotel, the Tropicana and soon headed out on the strip. We visited some of the nearby hotels and casinos. First stop was the MGM, and we immediately saw a feeding of their lions. We visited Paris, Ballys among a few others and called it a fairly early night.
Thursday we sat around the pool for the entire afternoon. I put sunscreen on everything but my legs apparently, and I got burnt on my shins pretty good. They are still fairly red today. In the evening we headed to downtown aka the old strip aka fremont street. Everything was much more economical in this area. We had 20+ ounce glasses of microbrew for cheaper than a bud light bottle on the strip. We visited a handful of the casinos here and stuck to the slot machines. We saw the disco version of the light show, which was pretty cool. I think that the next time I go to Vegas I will spend more time down here.
Friday we did more lounging around the pool. Then later in the evening we went to Luxor and then to Mandalay Bay. After some gambling at Mandalay Bay, we headed to the concert which was outside on the beach. Basically the beach is a large sandy area that connects to a fairly large wavepool and some very shallow standing areas in front of a highly elevated stage. The Gin Blossoms played first, and played about an hour long set. They started with a few of the radio songs to grab the crowds attention, followed that up with some new stuff, and then finished the set with 3 or 4 of their radio hits. Next up the Spin Doctors, who didn’t quite have as many radio hits. With this being said, I guess it is easy to understand why they only played for 45 minutes. They seriously must have played 6 songs total, but did so with tons of energy. They actually sounded really well. I guess I was just disappointed in the show based solely on the price of admission, but other than that it was a great show.
Saturday we took a tour of the Hoover Dam. That was quite a site to see, and I’m glad we did it. I’ll just have to get to the Grand Canyon next. After that Kim and I rushed all around town to see all of the free shows that we could. We had previously seen the volcano at the Mirage on Thursday. We walked all the way north to Treasure Island to see the pirate show. I was not very impressed with this show at all. There was way too much singing and dancing and not enough stunts. We then went and saw the Bellagio fountains which were set to Elton John’s “Your Song.” This was a pretty cool sight to see, as most people will probably tell you. After that we went back to Mandalay Bay to see PJ Loughran. This guy is good, that’s all there is to it really. We stayed until the end of his 3 sets, so Kim must have liked it too. Hopefully I can see him again sometime soon.
Sunday we went back to Mandalay Bay once again, this time to go to the aquarium there. They have the first and only hammerhead shark in captivity in the US. That was pretty cool to finally see (she hid from us for awhile). The aquarium itself was alright, but definitely not the best. For one the glass used is not seamless like others I have seen. I guess just like everything else in Vegas, I felt like it was overpriced. :)

Overall the trip was fun, just expensive but I knew it would be. I would like to go back again, and actually would want to stay longer. I felt rushed a bunch of the time, and there are still plenty of things I didn’t do. I really liked Mandalay Bay though, maybe I can stay there the next time I go. :)

Pictures will be coming soon, I know I have over 100 so be ready…