Vegas!

My third big trip was to Las Vegas in October of 2001. I had a freaking blast! There are many, many reasons this trip is super memorable.

People I went with: Polly Frostman, aka Polly Pissy Pants

We graduated college together in May 2001 and while talking on the phone one day, decided we wanted to meet up. So, we decided on meeting up in Las Vegas. Polly flew in from Rochester, New York and I was coming from St. Louis. I knew it was going to be an awesome trip when I got roundtrip airfare, 3 nights in the hotel, and free breakfast buffet and all-you-can-drink-drinks for less than $250!

This is the first time we’d seen each other since graduation earlier in the year. We were PSYCHED about our long weekend in Vegas. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and hit the strip.

We stayed at the Westward Ho (Motel) which is actually on the strip, but it’s at the far, older end down near Circus Circus. Although it’s a much older motel, it was clean and we got free food and drinks, so we didn’t mind. The funniest part of our hotel experience was when we got our email confirmation and it indicated we were staying in the Upper Rear of the Ho! Haha! Again, I just knew this was going to be a great trip!

I don’t remember the sequence of events too well (not really b/c of drinking too much, but because I have a terrible memory)- but the best night by far was October 16th (I only remember this b/c my mom called me the next morning from work and everyone sang happy birthday to me….more on that later).

Our routine was to stay out late, then hit the sack. Then sleep in the next morning, get up and walk around the trip in our t-shirts and sneakers, then we would head back to the motel and nap. Then, around 9:30pm or so, we’d awaken and get dolled up for the night. We eventually would make it out the doors sometime between 10:30 and 11:00pm. We’d pay the $2 and take the bus towards the newer part of the strip.

The night of the 16th- we headed out a little earlier b/c it was my birthday night (my birthday is the 17th, so we had to bring it in right!). We walked around as usual, seeing which casinos were deserving of our presence for the evening We started out at Treasure Island in a Mango bar which reminded me of Coyote Ugly. They sang and danced on the bar, poured liquor into my mouth straight from the bottle right at midnight, and I was called Tony the Tiger

Polly and I were sitting at the bar (unfortunately we had to purchase our first drink, but that was the one and only of the night we paid for) and a man walked up to me and said “my friend thinks you must be wild” as he pointed to a high-top table behind us. I just smiled, turned around, then looked at Polly and laughed. “Now, why would he think that?” “Well, your leopard print thong pretty much gave it away. Can he buy you a drink?”

Yikes! Oh yea, my friends, I was sporting the plumber look! Ooooops! Well, he didn’t mind buying me a drink, even after learning that I was taken. This definitely started the night off right. Twenty minutes out on the town and we already had our first free drink. This rocks!

Eventually, we ended up at the Paris Hotel and Casino. It’s absolutely beautiful inside. We sat down at the bar, was asked for ID when we attempted to buy a drink, and we were immediately pegged by an older, handsome gentlmen who inquired about my crown (Polly had bought me a crown to wear since it was my birthday…see pic below). Once he learned it was my birthday, he vowed to buy us drinks all night.

The dude didn’t lie. We spent several hours talking with him and a couple of his friends (male and female). Turns out Gordon was from Cincinatti and knew someone we went to college with- Polly made out with him and we continued to get free drinks all night. And, I’m not talking about the little 4 oz drinks you get for free when you’re being taken advantage of by the slot machines or trying to make a run at the roulette table. I’m talking about the nice, 20 oz pina coladas served in the souvinere Paris Hotel ceramic balloons.

We had it made. According to Gordon, he was the CEO of a paper company called XpedX (or something like that) and he said he was loaded. “Whatever, man! It’s cool if you want us to believe your story.” Then he wipped out about a $1,000 from his pocket.

We hung out with him until about 3:30am, then we hailed a cab and made our way to Treasure Island. We walked around, and I played Wheel of Fortune and won $110! The guy that came to cash us out TOTALLY had the hots for me, so he hung around (again, giving us hours of free beverages) and we had a good time. He kept asking Polly if she thought I would give him my number. Ummmm, No! He even knew I had a long time boyfriend. Once I knew that didn’t matter to him, we pretty much split. Oh yea, as it turned out, he had been in jail several times as a youth for a number of offenses. We basically appeased him for a bit longer, then split!

We walked outside and much to our surprise, it was light! We hadn’t worn watches out that night (they didn’t match our outfits) but by the time we WALKED back to our hotel, it was nearly 7:30am. We were totally exhausted, hungry and just wanted to sleep. We literally crawled into bed.

About 20 mins later, my cell phone rang and I got a beautiful rendition of “Happy Birthday” from the ladies in my office.

The whole trip was incredibly memorable. Polly won $250 playing “Little Dude” (which, of course, prompted the creation of the Little Dude dance) and I won money on the slots, too. We met a lot of really cool people (an Australian guy there for a wine tasting) and were regulars at the comedy club in our motel casino. We kept a list of everyone we met and have tons of great memories.

What a greaty way to celebrate a girls 22nd birthday. Thanks, Polly! Muuuahhh!!

January 29th, 2006 Posted by Jessica | Life, Oh the places I'll go | one comment