Vegas, baby... Vegas!!!

Yes, my loyal readers, I know it's been like 3 months since my last post, but things have been just a little hectic here in sunny Rochester, NY. Just to re-cap... old friend turned girlfriend, and now since my last post... just friend again; long story, and I'll get into that later. Richmond trip, Chicago trip, Vegas trip; still more to write about. Old boss, new boss; everything's cool. Best friend has a new girlfriend... actually, not sure if I'm supposed to refer to her as such, but for all practical purposes, let's just leave it as that. Sister finally got a real job; congrats. Bought some really cool shirts, and actually bought a 3-pack of "wife beaters..." something I normally wouldn't even consider... but it was appropriate for the Vegas trip.

So that's the update... now to the juice that is... my blog. So there.

Off we go.

Last night, I got back to Rochester from Vegas somewhere around 2:30AM... rude awakening. When I got on the plane, 95* and sunny. Off the plane, dark, overcast, and 50*. Not that I expected anything different, but it just bums me out. To top it off, I jump on the NYS Thruway because we flew into Buffalo, and good old Uncle Pataki decided to raise all the tolls. I heart New York.

Regardless, back to the Vegas trip. I love that f'ing town. In case that's not clear enough... I f'ing love that f'ing town. It is the be-all end-all of everything I love. I won't get into all the things that I love about it... there's too much. Suffice it to say that I just love it. The awesome thing about this particular trip was that one of the guys that I go with organized a package where we had limo service every night, VIP entrance and seating to all the clubs every night, and bottle service every night. Outstanding. While 2,000 idiots are standing in line with one hand on their wallet and the other on their crank, just hoping that the line moves a quarter of an inch so that they can breathe a little fresh air and overcome the sleazeball in the silk shirt in front of him, we were getting walked into the VIP entrance with absolutely no line and no wait. Thanks, Doc. Well done.

We hit a total of 5 clubs in 4 nights... pretty impressive. Tangerine at Treasure Island was the first club we hit... that was Wednesday... very cool. It's at Treasure Island, and the outside part of the bar was right on the little lake on which TI does their big f'ing pirate show with ships and pirates and girls in bikinis and all that good stuff. Pretty cool. So we're there until like 2AM, and who walks in? Guess. No, seriously, stop reading and guess. Done guessing? OK, I'll tell you. Just kidding, guess one more time. OK, fine... Britney Spears and Mr. Britney Spears... Kevin Something or other. Unfortunately I couldn't get close enough for Britney to get a good look at me, which is probably for the best... the phone calls have just stopped since the last time when I saw her at Ghost Bar. Man, can that girl dial a phone. I'm still pissed at my friend that gave her my number in the first place. Overall rating for Tangerine: 7.2 out of a possible 10. The inside part of the bar was a little lacking in size, and it is a HUGE pain in the ass to get a drink... otherwise, good crowd and great view.

Thursday night; Vivid in The Venetian. Vivid, as in Vivid Entertainment. Yes, as in Vivid Adult Entertainment. That's the company that owns the club. A disappointment. Pretty cool layout on the inside, considering there is no outside, but that's not a big deal. The disappointing thing about Vivid is that it was pretty much dead. I would guess maybe 50 people there. I didn't really care because I was with some of my best friends... just about some of my favorite people in the world and I thoroughly enjoy hanging out with them, but 50 people in a club in Las Vegas on a Thursday night is pretty lame. Nevertheless, VIP entrance and bottle service, and that's always a plus, and we had a bunch of people back to the suite that night for a little get together, and that was pretty cool. Oh, did I mention that we had a few rooms and a couple of suites comped at the Flamingo? Yeah, we did. Rock star treatment.

Friday night; this was THE night. Friday was the night by which I will remember this trip. We started out at The Foundation Room in Mandalay Bay, or should I say, on TOP of Mandalay Bay. You have to take an elevator to get up there, and it's invite-only. We were invited. So now, 65 floors later, I'm in the Foundation Room. Great music, amazing view... there's an outside patio that you can go out on, and it's right next to the big lighted Mandalay Bay sign at the very top of the hotel. I was watching planes and helicopters come into the airport below us. Now, those of you that know me, know that I am terrified of heights. Going out on to that patio was a bit of a challenge for me. Yes, it is an unbelievable view, but I got that feeling in my gut that's yelling at me to go inside. While we were out there, my friends are all standing at the railing looking out over the amazing Las Vegas skyline, and I was cowering over by the wall of the building, digging my fingernails into the concrete. Needless to say, I spent the majority of our tenure at the Foundation Room at our VIP table. Still had a blast.

From the Foundation Room, we made our way to Ra in the Luxor. Ra, in this writer's opinion, is the best club in Vegas. The place is absolutely huge, the VIP tables are right in the middle of the action, and the music is great. The place was just slamming from the time we walked in to the time we left. Bottle service pricing was not outrageous, comparatively speaking, and there's enough room where you're not constantly bumping into people. 9.5 out of 10.

Saturday night, the last night in Sin City; Body English at the Hard Rock. This was a close second to Ra, even though the VIP room at Body English was fantastic. If you do hit Body English on your next Vegas outing, I strongly suggest going with a VIP package. The dance floor is constantly packed, as is the outside bar. The VIP package gives you a private room, private bar, and a bouncer that remembers your name and won't let anyone else in unless you bring them in with you... which is nice. The club is actually below the Hard Rock... I would guess a couple hundred feet below. The only drawback here is that there's no cellular reception, so I guess it's nice if you don't want the wife or psycho ex calling or being able to find you in any way, shape or form. I would have to throw this place a 9.3 out of a possible 10. Outstanding, and the staff is great.

I know this is not my typical post... usually I'll wax intellectual or philosophical, but to be honest, 4 nights of drinking until about 5AM has really drained my literary capabilities... for that I apologize. I also apologize for not posting in 3 months, and I promise to try not to let that happen again.

Until next time...

R

P.S. Britney, give me a call... let's try to work it out.