At the airport now and couldn't be happier to get back to normalcy - six nights on The Strip will do that! But overall a good time between partying at the Hard Rock, Roots concert via SpyOnVegas, UFC 100, meeting celebrities at the WSOP, partying with Thiago Alves on Sunday at Drais, and all the clubbing on the other days... I'm tired, though, and the thought of alcohol's making my stomach turn, so I'll fill this in later after I get back!

Awesome!!! Can't wait to hear the review!!!

lets do a yager bomb :D

Alaskan Trash Can's all around?

It's SHOT TIME!!:D

lets do a yager bomb :D

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2186_getting_ready_to_puke.gif

Alaskan Trash Can's all around?

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2192_queasy.gif

It's SHOT TIME!!

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2202_puking.gif

Day One

Flight at 11AM, so got up somewhat early to get any last minute stuff together. Didn't get much sleep the night before, though, so I was already rather exhausted by the time I got to the airport. Was going to sleep on the plane, but thanks to some rather talkative high-pitched voice kids behind me, that plan got nixed. Opted to watch The Pineapple Express on my Zune instead.

Got to the Mirage at 3PM and stalked around the front desk looking for an Asian twenty-something woman working there as the Front Desk tipping reports on fatwallet had her giving out many upgrades. Gave her the $20 sandwich and requested any Tower Deluxe rooms. She waited for a bit until the manager left and gave me the room - view of the pool & Bare as well as the southern Strip. Very nice room overall, though that orange rectangle pillow/furry block was a little weird. Well, I was really tired still, so I figured I would take a nap... Thought about going down to the pool, but feared conking out on the chairs and waking up all burnt, so just tested the bed instead. Woke back up at around 8PM, feeling a bit refreshed.

Went to Planet Hollywood for a quick sandwich at the Earl of Sandwich (Walked over to the Walgreens at the Venetian for a couple gallons of water, always a needed trip to make to save yourself from buying the overpriced water (or other items) in the casino. Then got ready to go to the Hard Rock for Body English. Killed some time over at the center bar area (but didn't order anything) before heading over to BE. Got in, no problem, and they had the open bar until Wednesday, so I loaded up. The DJ that night, though, was so-so or maybe I was still feeling jet lagged, so I left around 2 for an early night.

Day Two

Got up feeling much better, headed down to the pool for a little while before heading out to dinner with my friend who lives in Vegas and his buddy. After dinner, PM'ed Jack Colton to see if the tables were a go at Tao for the night. However, by the time I checked back for the reply, I was in Tao [got there around 10PM thinking that some of the UFC 100'ers would be in town and would make it a longer wait to get in]. Didn't figure that I'd fly through the line, either. So Jack and myself traded texts, but I couldn't find where the table was - next time out, I'll make sure to know that there's a meet-up beforehand. Regardless, had a good time at Tao - first time there and really liked the look and design of the club. Lots of room, plenty of bars so getting a drink is no problem at all. Dance floor's a little small, but really not that bad - about the same as Moon. Met some people in town for the fight on the balcony outside, grooved a bit - all in all a good time. Made a bit of a fashion faux-pas, though - wore black slacks, shirt, red tie & tie clasp... Got asked more than once where the bathroom was as people mistook me for working there. After about 3 or so, left the club and walked back over to the Mirage.

Day Three

Started out back at the pool. Thought about Bare, but really wasn't in the mood to party in the day. Plus I wanted to be alert for the concert at the Hard Rock later anyway. Had a turkey burger at BLT Burger at the Mirage - was very "eh", nothing special. My buddy drove over to the Mirage at around 6PM and we both headed to the Hard Rock. Construction is really bad right now in Vegas, so that - plus regular traffic - delayed us arriving until 6:45PM. When we got there, we saw that the line to get in to the pool area for the Friday Night Live concert was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. I'm talking all the way from the entrance of the pool area out back all the way wrapping around the inside of the casino. Saw lots of the SpyonVegas printouts as he winded our way towards the end of the line. We both thought that there was no way we were getting in because it was so long. But we figured we hadn't anything else planned, so we went to the end and waited...

Amazingly, we were in within 30 minutes. So if you all plan to do the Firday Night Live concert series, don't get intimidated by the line - it moves really quickly. First time at the Hard Rock pool and I really liked the design of it all - plenty of people already at the cabanas, people mingling and all. Lot of Philly gear, so that made me feel a little at home (the Roots are from Philly). We located the line for the open bar... and waited... and waited. Seriously, don't even bother with it if you get there as late as we did. Just get your drinks at the regular bar. I don't know even know if they had any beer or drinks left - by the time we got to the end of the line, it was 8:55PM with 5 minutes left for the open bar. We both said screw it and went over to get in a good position for the concert.

Also, definitely wear shorts or even your swimming gear - it was still upper 90's when we got there and I was in my jeans and button up. That pool really looked inviting by the time the concert started! Plus, if you've got your gear on, you can get a really nice sight from the center of the pool in front of the stage - all without getting knocked around by concert goers. I noticed that the cabanas were also a pretty good idea, at least the ones near the stage area, as they had the mist sprays to cool down and you had room.

The concert itself was great - the Roots sounded amazing, not only with their own stuff but also some of the rap & rock covers they did. Really hot crowd for the concert, too - lots of energy. Flavor Flav also made an appearance and did a set with the Roots, which was a surpsied [I didn't know he lived in LV]. The Roots seemed to go on for ever - I think they did two and a half hours. At the end, they signed and threw some things out to the crowd - hats, drum stricks, t-shirts. ?uestlove threw out a frisbee, but it went into the water as four or five guys all dress up jumped into the pool to try to get it back.

After the concert, we went to Mr. Lucky's 24/7 - my buddy hadn't had diner, so he wolfed down their $9.99 prime rib platter special they had with the SpyonVegas printout. I just had some water as I sweated big time during the concert and was feeling a little dehydrated. After my friend finished up, he went back as he had to work the next day. I went over to Wasted Space to check it out.

I had texted Chad Dallas earlier in the day and met him at the door - he'll definitely take care of things for you. He offered a good deal before for a table there, but since I didn't know whether or not my friend was going to stay out, I had to decline. If you do go to Wasted Space after the concert, a table isn't a bad idea as it gets a little packed in there and it's a little on the small side. Otherwise, I'd go for the $25 open bar deal all night you get with the SpyonVegas printout. The club was a nice change of pace from the "regular" hotspots - lower key, nice tempo. Chatted up a couple girls there and danced for a bit until about 2:30AM when we went to Drai's.

First time there and we got there early, but there were already some people going in to get the stamp. Two guys were walking out, looking a little pissed, complaining that no one was down there - I don't think they realized it was an AFTER-hours club. Anyway, the layout of the place is really nice downstairs - you really don't even think this place belongs in Bill's! The drinks can be a little pricey, but the liquor they use is top notch and they mix it all rather well. There's three rooms downstairs - the main room that plays house/techno with tables surrounding it, the side room with extra tables, and the hip-hip room which you need to reserve a table to get into [if you're a guy, that is]. We partied there until some time after 6AM - I had to call it quits cause I was feeling all sorts of dead. Exchanged numbers and then stumbled my way back to the Mirage...

I'll finish up tomorrow for the UFC100 report/Sat at the Palms, Sunday at the Bank/Drai's, and the rest!

Nice. cant wait to see the rest.

Damn I'm jealous you got the room upgrade. I tried the $20 sandwich at the Mirage on friday but it didn't work out due to the manager showing at that exact time, so the girl just gave me the $20 back. But she did give me a room with a pool and strip view.

And I know what you mean by the weird rectangular pillow...I was like :confused:

good job and good times looking forward to the rest

Sounds awesome so far man. But whats with the rectangle pillow? I need to see a picture of this thing. Ive never stayed in the Mirage.

Mirage: wow so the infamous 20 sandwich does work.. I keep hearing it working, but I gotta get the cojones to do it.

Tao: I would've just chilled there and collected those free tips just for telling them where the bathroom is.

Mr Lucky: You gotta ask for the Gambler's special. I heard its a secret plate off the menu, but they seriously hook you up for a bunch of food costing $7.77.

Mr Lucky: You gotta ask for the Gambler's special. I heard its a secret plate off the menu, but they seriously hook you up for a bunch of food costing $7.77.

That i will try in September. Can anyone confirm this?

The Gambler's Special not only exists, it's actually pretty well known. Hell, they advertise it on the Hard Rock website.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/94828

That i will try in September. Can anyone confirm this?

absolutely AND tell the waiter that when your done you want the in and out limo special...theyll take care of you :D

absolutely AND tell the waiter that when your done you want the in and out limo special...theyll take care of you :D

nah he has to call NYC's personal host for that special! :D

absolutely AND tell the waiter that when your done you want the in and out limo special...theyll take care of you :D

The in-n-out limo i got all under control :D

Day Four

UFC 100 Fight Night! Before the fight, though, I was just trying to recover from the night before. Missed a good part of the early afternoon. Finally got going at around 2PM. Went over to the Casino Royale and gambled a bit at the craps table, picked up some change, but nothing big in terms of winning (I've found that, aside from sports betting, I'm an even-Steven sort of person - usually come out with what I came in with).

Got the call from my buddy that he'd swing by to the Mirage and then drive off at around 4:15PM - was more like a half hour later than that. Finally got around to the Mandalay Bay event center after traffic/parking/etc. We both thought we were getting there early, that the show started at 6PM... but turns out we missed a good bit of the undercard, unfortunately. We got in to see Jones submit O'Brien. Was a bit pissed at my friend since I really wanted to see the Dollaway/Lawlor fight - but I couldn't get too angery since he's the one who was able to get the tickets. The Miller/Danzig fight was a literal bloodbath - Miller wailed on Danzig to the delight of the people.

The card as a whole was pretty good - the atmosphere of the crowd was really high, totally unlike any boxing event I've ever attended. LOTS of Afflicition/TAPOUT/Ed Hardy shirts everywhere, though. Lots of people a little too amped (or drunk) too - one guy tried to "post-up" for some reason on me since I was rooting for Akiyama to beat Belcher. The guy was sloshed, but I guess it was some sort of nationalistic thing since he was chanting "USA, USA"... which was funny cause later he was really into rooting for the Canadian GSP.

Pretty much everyone really wanted to see Bisping eat it - and when Henderson KO'ed him, everyone around us (including me!) cheered like crazy. The Lesnar/Mir fight was more mixed, at least where I was in the cheaper seats. Was disappointed in the results, but pretty much figured that could happen - Mir was just overmatched the whole bout. People started filing out fast after the Lesnar/Mir fight. I wasn't really into the Fitch/Thiago fight either, but we stayed for the first round, but we had our fill at this point since a Fitch fight at this point wasn't something I wanted to sit through.

We got back to the car and drove over to the Mirage... which took almost forever. Between the UFC 100 traffic, the pedestrians all over, and the construction on Flamingo, it was nightmare-ish. Note that for anyone going to Vegas soon - ask your cabbie to see if he can avoid that intersection of the Strip/Flamingo. Anyway, changed and then got ready for the Palms clubs. Finally got at the Palms at around 10:40PM or so. Went to the Stuff store, got our wristbands and headed up to the Ghostbar to chill for a little bit.

Was thankful we were at the Palms tonight to avoid the crowds from the fight over on the Strip. However, it was a weird dichotomy between the fight fans and the people who had attended the New Kids on the Block concert at the Pearl that same night. But it worked! Went over to Moon about a half hour later and partied there for a while before going down to the Playboy Lounge. That was really packed as that's where the "New Kids" were spending the night. I don't recognize any of them, but they were wearing their sunglasses in the club, so... yeah. Anyway, checked over to Rain for a little bit - which is what I originally was looking forward to, however both of us were having too much of a good time at Moon, so we went back up there until the end of the night.

Day Five

A day of rest! Well, that was the plan, but it didn't turn out that way. Got up, went to the pool to relax for an hour, but I couldn't dawdle much since I wanted to head to the Rio to watch the Main Event at the WSOP. Got over there at around 2PM and spent pretty much the next six hours watching poker - yeah, I know, might not sound interesting, but it was fun! Got to see Ivey, Eastgate, Hachem. Talked to Esfandiari for a little bit and got to see Lou Diamond Phillips [I know, random, but he was still in the Main Event]. I may have gotten on TV cause at the break of the second feature table, a woman got on stage, pulled down her top just enough and asked Esfandiari to sign her breasts. Well, I was in the background behidn the rail in sight of the camera, so I may have gotten on there. It was funny that a guy with a big potbelly then lifted up his shirt to ask Esfandiari to sign that too - which he almost did with much hesitation!

I needed something to eat when they went for a break and made the mistake of getting a quick sandwich over at the Rio sports bar area. UGH! My stomach was ailing for the next couple hours as I watched some more poker. The event let out for the day at 8PM, so I headed back over to the Mirage and... well, emptied my stomach via the ol' finger down the throat. Didn't want to, but I had to cause that sandwich would've wrecked my night. After success, got prepared and headed over to the Bank.

Got there way too early, so I just sort of hanged out a bit at the Bellagio until about 10:40PM to head back over to the Bank. Crowd was already starting to form around the ropes. Got in right away, though not sure how since I wasn't on any guestlist, didn't grease the doorman, and was alone. Oh well, just a continuation of the good luck I was having on barely preparing for the nights! First time at the Bank and it was a pretty good night. The layout's not too bad, even when it's packed as I could move from one side of the club to the other with ease up top. Went down to the dance floor for a little bit, but that was really crazy - lots of bumping around, elbows, etc. My advise, if you go and aren't at a table, is get a spot along the railing opposite one of the bars - either the one near the entrance (which can get almost as packed as the dance floor) or the one near the bathroom side (which can be roomier, but also less trafficked). I noticed that the tables areas was also really packed, which kind of amazed me - didn't know if that's cause they were all there for the tables or if the tables were just overrun by the masses.

Drinks there can be a bit expensive, so I recommend doing your drinking before getting in and just maintaining with water at the Bank. Danced there for a good bit, chatted up some, had a good time overall. However, I really wanted to check out whatever was going on at Drai's, so I left the Bellagio at around 2:30 or so and got over to Bill's to get the hand stamp. Woofed down a bag of chips over at the concession stand area in Bill's just so I had some sort of food to soak up the alcohol I had drank in the Bank. Went back over to Drai's and talked over the hosts who told me that Thiago Alves (who lost to George St. Pierre the night before) would be there that night and that's why there's the whole Brazilian theme thing.

It was really good, but wow... did I drink way too much! Met some English people down there and we all switched off buying drinks - I really intended on just drinking water the rest of the way, but somehow I was gulping down Belvedere & sugar-free Red Bull. These Brits were there to party, that's for sure! Got down in the house floor for a while, was pretty good. But... Wow, did that extra round of drinking really wreck me!

Saw Alves in a roped off booth near the DJ - went over to shake his hand. Seemed like a good guy, told him I was rooting for him against GSP (which I was). Didn't look all that bad for just being in the Octagon for five rounds. Talked for a little bit - as well as I could. I mean, really, at this point I could've been talking to the wall and figuring it was Alves. The people there that night were really great - the women for the most part were amazing (though, Alves' table was getting lots of attention). There was a rumor that Chuck Liddell was going to be there too, but I after 6AM or so... I just couldn't take it anymore! Said my goodbyes to the Brits, somehow made it back to the Mirage and passed out for the night (err, day?)

Day Six

I had made a call to the operator the day before for a wake up call at around 9:00AM so I could get my boarding pass right as I could do the online check-in. Since I was flying Southwest, if I had waited, I would've had a B or C class ticket - i.e. sitting in the dreaded middle seat for four plus hours. So somehow I heard the phone and alarm go off, but I was really in a daze. Got my confirmation number, went down to the concierge, tried my best not to talk directly to her since I imagine my breath smelled like death at this point. Got my boarding pass and stumbled back up to my room to pass out again.

Got up around 4PM and was feeling AWFUL! I was still drunk, so I put on the TV to watch the Home Run Derby and tried to sober up. Started packing up my things in case I were to go out tonight... but by about 7PM, I made the decision that I just couldn't fathom partying at JET tonight (which is what I was intending to go for that night). Finally decided my stomach needed some food, so went over to the BLT Burger and had a burger & fries - that really helped! Started feeling a bit more sobered up, but figured I wanted to gamble a bit, so went over to the Casino Royale. Did well on the roulette - was hitting my numbers well (bet eight inside and eight on red/black to give myself a bit of a hedge). Actually was up about $120 by the time I was called it quits. Thought about craps, but it was packed, even for a Monday - the Casino Royale is THE place for craps just cause it's low limits and high odds betting.

Went back to the Mirage, walked over to JET... mulled it over a little bit... a little bit more... but then decided against since I just wasn't up for it at all. Seemed like a hot crowd and I know from before that Mondays are always good there, but I made the right decision. Played some blackjack, lost a little bit, then put down some long-term sports bets. Went over to the front desk, checked out, then went to bed at around midnight.


Day Seven

Got up early, got ready, made sure all I had was with me. Headed over to the airport, got on my Southwest direct flight - second person on board! Unfortunately, this old drunk sat down in the middle seat next to me - the fumes emanating off of this skeezy guy was rather unbearable until I turned the air on to blast down between us. Tried to get some sleep, but only got a couple hours... So watched Dazed & Confused the rest of the way until the plane landed.

In Conclusion

Probably was there one day too much, but I'm pretty thankful I did have that extra day as it helped me sober up and not feel like crap traveling back. Also helped today, my first day back at work, as I didn't really have that much adjusting to do from the partying/staying up way late mode to normalcy. On Monday, I was thinking to myself it would be a long while before I made it back to Vegas again since I was feeling so horrible... but today, while at work, I was already thinking of my next trip! May book something for November/December? I'll have to see, but next time I'd like to hit the JC tables and maybe partake in a JC member meet-up.

Your trip sounds awesome! Though, I can't imagine doing Vegas alone with out a wingman/wingwoman. But well played sir, sounds like you had a great and well rounded trip!

Day Four

The Miller/Danzig fight was a literal bloodbath - Miller wailed on Danzig to the delight of the people.



I was wondering why the mat looked so bloody when watching it on Pay per view. I wish they would of shown the undercard on tv as well.

Thanks for the report, sounds like a great trip

great report blib.....dont know if I could handle 6 days

The wristbands they have in the Stuff store at the Palms, how much were they?

The wristbands they have in the Stuff store at the Palms, how much were they?

Their $60.00

Great review. About a day too many for me, but hey gotta love Vegas :)

Damn I'm jealous you got the room upgrade. I tried the $20 sandwich at the Mirage on friday but it didn't work out due to the manager showing at that exact time, so the girl just gave me the $20 back. But she did give me a room with a pool and strip view.

And I know what you mean by the weird rectangular pillow...I was like :confused:

Yeah, they had some managers training new employees when I was there. Checking in on a Wednesday, though, made it a little easier to pick who I wanted to check in with - once I spotted the cute mid-20's Asian alone, I made sure to get to her since other reports had her giving upgrades. That would be my advice for anyone checking in to the Mirage [or almost any desk person in their mid-20's].

As for the pillow, here's what it looked like [not my picture, got it from another website]:

http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp212/EatTravelEat-BSA126/DSC01160-1.jpg

The wristbands they have in the Stuff store at the Palms, how much were they?

Online, $68 after tax/charges. Worth it cause the price of admission to all the places we wanted to check out would've gone over that amount anyway and we would've had to wait in line.

Your trip sounds awesome! Though, I can't imagine doing Vegas alone with out a wingman/wingwoman. But well played sir, sounds like you had a great and well rounded trip!

Well, I did have my buddy who lives out in Henderson, but the problem with that is that he works, sometimes on the weekends too [damn having to make money!]. But it was alright - met some interesting people regardless.

blibblab, awesome report, man. Way to represent the week-long stay.