The drive to Las Vegas from Velencia is basically the same as going from Murrieta. You just get on 15 and follow it for a few hours. Last year we did the drive in the afternoon and saw the sunset. This time we did the drive in the wee hours of night and saw the sunrise. There’s really nothing to look at except desert in either case. If I had to choose, last year’s trip was slightly cooler because you get to see the beam from the Luxor skylight as you approach the city. Most of the sunrise was obscured by the valley, so there wasn’t that effect of seeing the sun come up the horizon and everything getting lit. Plus last year we were looking forward to meeting up with Curt and Russ and being 21, this year we were looking forward to a bed. Which was a floor. But I don’t mind sleeping on floors at all.
We parked and walked into Excalibur. Which we found out last year is basically the old-people casino. But you don’t have to stay there. Unless you’re Van Wilder trying to pick up girls that care about where you’re staying. Location is more important, Mandalay Bay and Luxor are a free shuttle away, New York New York is across the street, and MGM is kitty-cornered. Security guards were posted at kiosks in front of the elevators. Last year this girl pretended to be a security guard and I gave her my license and room key and it took me a while to realize she was plastered. This time I was a little worried because I had no room key and we were going to be the 6th and 7th people in one room. Pigs in a blanket.
I called Dan and was going to say, “1, 2, 3 and to the 4. Your little brother C-E-S and J are at the door.” But it was 6am and Dan sounded like a guy that slept really late and got a call at 6am. Plus we weren’t at the door yet. We were still trying to get to the elevators. Dan said just walk by them they won’t care. And they didn’t care. And we were finally in the room, and we really needed to shower (sweating all day at Six Flags and four hours in a car, not cool), but everyone was sleeping so we just decided to wait. I dropped a pillow on the floor, closed my eyes, then I woke up a few hours later.
RJ, Dan, Me, Paul, Marvin, and Jason. Mike was downstairs I think. This was the picture I could find with the most people.
We woke up and said our hellos, then we all showered and powdered our noses. Then we went and picked Rex up. He lives there and we all haven’t seen him for probably a year if I’m guessing correctly. Dan asked him how it is living in Las Vegas, “Yo. It is fuckin’ hot.”
We all head to The Rio for the buffet. For some reason a lot of the girls are dressed up like they’re ready for a club experience. The gimmick here is that they have food from all cultures. I remember it being called the World Buffet when me and Dan came here last with our parents. And I remember describing it like a big mall food court except it’s an open buffet. This time around, I’d say it’s better than that. I’m with Marvin, who said it just gets scary because you just keep walking and walking and it’s different food the entire way.
At this point, we split up so Me, Dan, Jason, and Marvin made our way to Studio 21, a tattoo parlor somewhere off the strip. Or tried to make our way to it. No entries in the GPS. We decided to turn around and call someone to look up the address. We made a u-turn and parked at a strip mall. I think Dan called Chris and got the cross street. It turns out it was right on the corner where we made our u-turn. And it turns out that it was the 4th of July and it was closed. Dan wanted to go to Circus Circus to re-live our childhood. And I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to do that last year, so I was all for it this time. And we were on our way.
Circus Circus
Rex says it’s the ghetto side of the strip. We went to the Stratosphere last year and I sort of noticed, but not as much as when we parked and walked to Circus Circus. It had the opposite effect on me and Dan. We stayed at Circus Circus a number of times in a number of summers. And it was awesome. We finally got to see the adventure dome with the rides. And now I’m baffled as to why our parents never let us go, because it looks great for kids. Still, I was always more than happy to stay all day in the arcade and carnival game area. But we’ve grown older and that area hasn’t changed, except that it seems way too crowded.
The stairway up to the midway has the same area about halfway up where they used to have older arcade games like Altered Beast machine. The trapeze and the safety net is still there, but it feels like an abandoned circus where you might see Sweet Tooth performing. The midway has the same carnival games as it used to. Including those camel/horse races where you move your horse by rolling the ball and try making it land in holes set up in a triangle.
HORSE RACE
I won many garbage bags full of stuffed animals rolling these balls and racing these horses as a kid. And I added to the collection through glorious victory in one of the most memorable wooden-ball-horse-race competitions in Circus Circus history. The four of us were at the head of the group of eighteen, and all four of us hit the finish line. I don’t know, you sort of have to have played the game for that to make sense, but usually you have one guy that finishes and the machine stops and registers the last few ball drops and everyone else is 4 or 5 gallops back.
I’m going to be dramatic and say that I was the last of the four of us, but I knew it was close and I was determined. There are two red holes that you aim for every time because they move your horse three spots. I knew I had to get red twice and I’d be at the finish. I tossed once, RED, and I started tapping Marvin’s shoulder on my right, “I think I’m gonna win, hey man I think I’m gonna win.” Except he thought he was gonna win, so I don’t think he appreciated the shoulder tapping. Then I tossed mine again, RED, except it was circling the rim. I decided, hey, close enough and I stood up, fist pumped HARD, and screamed “yyyyyYYYYEAH!” as my horse did its mechanical gallop to the end. Then it was, “Wait.” but the buzzer came on and I saw my number 15 flashing underneath the ‘Winner!’ sign, and I was me back to “YEAH” and the other guys starting “NO!” And all the loser little kids and their parents staring at these guys in their mid-twenties high-fiving each other because they know how to play serious when it counts. One of my favorite moments from the trip.
Ka
We played some Pai Gow, met up with the rest of the group, then split up again. The rest of the guys went to a BBQ, and Me and Jason dropped Rex off before we went off on our own for a while, hopefully to check out the Wynn and some other casinos. But I checked the time and did the math and realized we could watch Ka. A show I heard about from my classmate three years ago and have wanted to see ever since. Last year it was sold out for the weekend. This time I called and tickets were available and 50% off (“Fifteen percent?”; “No, fifty percent”; “So fifteen off right?”; “No, half off.” That’s my conversation with the ticket agent) for the military discount. Very significant. I suffer from the problem where you decide to buy something, then find out there’s a sale, so instead of saving your money you upgrade in some manner to what it originally would have cost, and sometimes go more expensive since it’s such a great discount.
But this time it was worth it. I asked for what the best seats that were available. The next day I went to buy tickets with Dan since they wanted to see it, and if you go to the ticket office instead of calling, you actually get to look at a map and choose between different available seats. Me and Jason lucked out, because I looked at our seats on the map after the fact, and they were dead center from both sides. I think the only way to get better seats would have been to move closer, but that’s more to see expressions on the performers faces, because we had a great view of the entire stage. I’ll do a detailed post about Ka later (and usually when I say that I end up not doing a post at all, but this time I really, really want to), because I was basically smiling in awe for ninety minutes straight.
Hooters, Casino Royale, V Bar, Jet, Harrah’s
I remember Hooters and walking to Casino Royale. Then it gets very cloudy. I remember it being fun though. We had free passes to Jet, but they can’t be used past midnight. And the bouncer, aka Michael Clark Duncan, told me that. And I joked, “Hey can’t you help us out man!” But he hasn’t heard of a joke. “Wha would ah. Huh? Wha would ah? Yeah. But wha would ah?” Ok ok man why would you, goodbye $40.
One thing I remember is making my way through the crowd with Dan and RJ. I was in back, and I see these two girls dancing with each other again. I had seen them earlier, rejecting dudes left and right. And I’m guessing Dan and RJ didn’t see that or weren’t phased, because they were about to sandwich them. I’m thinking “Oh dear.” and I walk ahead of them so I don’t have to watch them get turned away with the quickness. I look over my shoulder expecting them to be a few steps behind me, but I look further back and I see Dan and RJ, breaking the girls off. Kind of remarkable.
We we’re all so used to things closing shop around two, so we were beat. We ate steak and steak omelettes at Harrah’s. I kept falling asleep in my chair and Dan kept telling me to stay awake and I kept swearing at him that I was awake before falling asleep in my chair. Walking back into our room, we all just swam out of our button-ups and slacks, dropped to our knees, and passed out without saying a word. Marvin was the first one in, he went to the bathroom quick and he told us he came out and it looked like we had been passed out for hours. I remember feeling like it was deja vu; I dropped my pillow, closed my eyes, and woke up a few hours later.