If Carlsberg did weddings... (yet another blog) **TRIP REPORT FINALLY COMPLETE**

[KarmaDope]

PH buffet definitely beats Harrah's. I might excuse Julie's dad as PH used to Alladin he might not have known it had changed? and PH cafe in Caesar's been there a long time

He'd been there before after Aladdin became PH.

[redsimon]

Doh! then

Great reports. Trop card room is no more, shows how quick things change.

[KarmaDope]

Day 7 - Tuesday 22nd November 2011 aka Welcome to my new life Day

It's nice to wake up in the morning, turn to your left and say “Good morning, wife!”

Well, the day after you get married it is. It gets old soon after that!!

We'd decided beforehand that our first full day as a married couple was going to be just us. No friends, no family, nobody. Just us, chilling, wandering around Vegas and generally spending time together. Then, as mentioned above, we'd not got to see Julie's dad beforehand due to his late arrival and my poker time on the Sunday. So we had to arrange to see him for lunch as he was leaving for Canada today.

Also, I'd noticed just before we left that the Tropicana had something I HAD to play. Live cash Razz. $2-$8 spread limit. Ran on a Tuesday night only. Needless to say, Joobs and I love our Stud Poker variations so that went on the list. And as we had Jon MW with us on the trip...he was invited. So, our plans for the day kinda went out of the window.

We started off the day with breakfast in bed – which meant more SLIDERS. Breakfast SLIDERS obviously, but still SLIDERS. Can I just point out that there is no better food? Well apart from the cheesecakes we had brought back from the Cheesecake Factory; Double Choc & White Choc, and Macadamia Caramel... perfect start to married life. Eventually dragged ourselves out of bed and went for a wander through the Bellagio as we hadn't really seen it, just passed through it. Played a few slots and won sweet FA, before it got to lunch and we headed over to Harley Davidson for lunch with my new father-in-law. It was nice to just sit and chill, and get to know Julie's dad, and we stayed there until about 2pm when he had to leave to make his flight.

Literally, all we did that day was wander around casinos, taking it all in. We hadn't really had the chance to do this because of the manic-ness that was our first few days, and we were glad of the respite before the real fun started! We finally got hold of MW and walked down from the Flamingo to Tropicana, and I distinctly remember walking into a very drunk Matthew Ward and James Barber at some point outside the massive M&M store, but nearly a year later I can't be sure what day it was!

Arrive at Tropicana for 6pm and the game starts about 45 minutes later. It ended up being one table all night and I was plodding along for a couple of hours before I kicked it into gear and won a few small hands. Then the biggest hand of the night occurs.

I have [32]A and raise over a completion. A local makes it 3! showing a 2 and Andy (one of the dealers who was off that night) caps showing another A.  One fold, then we both call (pot=$100). I draw a 6 for [32]A6 and both of them draw well. It gets capped and I draw a 4 for [32]A64. I know the action slightly slows here but Andy's board shows a potential 64 and the local shows a draw to the wheel. It then gets capped again on 6th and 7th and the pot is over $400, in a $2-$8 spread limit game!

And my 6432A is good.

Ship it!

I eventually walk out around $500 to the good at 2am when the game breaks. Jon and Joobs also won although Joobs donated a good percentage of her profit in the last hand of the night when she asked for a Stud hand (she prefers Stud, I'm a Razz man) and got sucked out on by the same local in my hand. Oops!

We decide to walk back to Vdara via NYNY and Monte Carlo's trams, where we pass the rollercoaster and Joobs ominously decides “I want to go on that!!” Oh, ffs...

[KarmaDope]

Doh! then

Great reports. Trop card room is no more, shows how quick things change.

I know. Was a lovely little room but just didnt get any traffic at all.

[KarmaDope]

Day 8 - Wednesday 23rd November 2011 – aka I can't remember final moving day!

The title is pretty apt for this day, as I can't remember half of it! Sadly, it's not because of...oh, hold on, I can now. We woke up halfway through our trip, which meant one thing: Time to check out.

I'd been trying to keep the costs down as, well, 2 weeks in Vegas for a couple is pretty expensive, especially when you are degenerates like we are. We were originally going to stay off strip for some of the time, but (looking back, it was a good decision here) we changed our minds when we got a decent deal at the Flamingo for the week. So I booked us in there and cancelled the Gold Coast. Either way, it was our last time waking up to the view from the Vdara. At least I was now getting up at a decent time and it wasn't 5am.

So we get up, pack and head out of Vdara, no questions asked. Quick cab to the Flamingo and...we can't check in. Well, we can, but they want to charge us an “early check-in fee”. Not a chance, that's gambling money Dump the bags with the Bellman and head out.

For most of the gang, it was their last full day in Vegas and they were starting to show it. We met up with MW and all the crew, and for the life of me I can't bloody remember what exactly happened, so if anyone else can fill in the gaps (doubt it) then chime in! I think a few went to Aria for a tourney but some couldn't get in cos they didn’t have their passport (Michelle), or something like that. Either way, gambling and drinking was the order of the day! We had to leave them in the middle of the day to actually check in and then we had an appointment back at the wedding chapel to choose the photos that they would do for us there and then to take home, as well as pick up the CD with all the photos taken on. They're all on Facebook btw. And a massive thank you to everyone who contributed to those!

Joobs and I ended up meeting up with my Mum afterwards (as it was her last day and Julie's parents didn't leave until the Friday) and we headed Downtown as none of us had made it down there yet. It had gone dark by this point so the Fremont Street Experience was in full swing! I personally thought the Fremont Street Experience was awesome, but some people seems to slate it. Compared to the Strip then yeah, it's not going to look great, but you don't pay for it. Add into that all the live bands and exhibitionists that you get – well worth a visit IMO. We also saw the Zipwire...one day I will go on that, one day.

We looked round a few of the casinos, and at the Fitz my mother needed the loo so Joobs chucked a dollar in a ropey old slot machine while we waited, she won, but the fecker paid out in quarters! Great, we have a bucket of quarters to change up, the casino isn't that nice and we didn't really want to draw attention to ourselves, oh well! We then decided that we should introduce my mother to the delight that is Hash House A Go-Go, and I wanted to see if the branch in the Plaza was as good as the one in the IP and I was unsurprisingly correct. Massive portions of good food at a cheap price. Can't really ask for more. Needless to say we failed completely at eating a full portion and left absolutely stuffed. Wander around a few casinos but don't really play much as my Mum is over budget and I don't want to rub it in that I have cash. Buy the typical touristy things for her to take back to the UK and get the Deuce back. Drop her at Harrah's and head back to the Flamingo. 1 week down in what feels like an hour, 1 week left.

[KarmaDope]

Day 9 - Thursday 24th November 2011 – aka Thanksgiving! Day

Woke up at a decent time once again and we headed down to explore the Flamingo. Spotted the poker room but Julie had expressed an intention to learn Craps so we dug out the Vegas tourist book we had (and still have) and headed to Bills for their free lesson complete with $5 voucher. Julie learnt how to play and we won on the vouchers. Met up with MW and after grabbing some lunch I went to play cash back at Flamingo whilst they went slot hunting. I got bored after a couple of hours and found them on this:

(not an actual video of them, just the machine)

This is where I discover my wife gets quite bad slot machine envy, so everyone else getting the bonus apart from her didn't help!

As we're playing this, my phone rings and it's Julie's mum. We'd arranged to meet up with them and  Jon disappeared for a few hours so we headed out onto the Strip. A quick flick through the book and we decided to head to MGM for the CSI experience, so we walked down and met everyone at MGM. We were lucky enough to see the Lions (sadly no longer there) and spent half an hour just wandering around MGM, including playing the Sigma Derby and a slot machine that had a car for a special prize.

I'm a big fan of CSI so was looking forward to the Experience and it didn't disappoint for what it is. You basically get given a vest and a “crime scene”, and go through the exhibit looking for “clues” to solve the “crime”. There's videos by the stars to interact with you to add to the legitimacy. Solved it very easily and the only gripe I have with it is that it's probably a bit out of date now and kinda needs a revamp.

Click to see full-size image.

After this, Joobs & her mum wanted to go for Thanksgiving dinner but it was too early. The oldies decided to head back to the room so we called MW and he headed down to meet us at MGM. We managed to find this: and that kept us amused, with Joobs randomly shouting “AHOY, ME HEARTIES, YOU'VE BEEN F****D IN THE ****” in a weird, supposedly pirate, more like Irish accent at the American blokes playing the game!

I'd heard about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6oLgS70_Zg and decided I wanted to play. So we went to find it – and didn't win the $2.2m. It was fun though and Joobs got some decent MLIFE points from it. Joobs won around $100 before I made her cash out, she was convinced she was set to win the jackpot and still hasn't forgiven me!

By this time, we were getting hungry and had plans for the Flamingo buffet for their Thanksgiving special. Value for money, definitely, especially as Joobs decided she was having one of everything, including Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Fountain, Ice Cream and Cookies...you name it, she had it. As did the rest of us. Staff were very attentive and the customer service was second to none. The downside? I forgot the bloody camera again!!

After dinner we went for a wander around, and Joobs & her mum ended up buying a pearl which was shucked from the oyster in front of you after you chose your own oyster. Managed to avoid paying for the hellishly expensive charm/bracelet to put it in and walked away with 2 pearls. We then split up – Dawn & Greg went to Fremont Street for their last night and we just went slot machine hunting before heading to bed early...after all, it was Black Friday the next day!

[smashedagain]

Great read Ty.

[redsimon]

Enjoy TRs.

What was Vegas like on thanksgiving day, is it a lot quiter than normal?

[KarmaDope]

The same as every other day that week really. Restaurants were busier but apart from that, about the same.

[KarmaDope]

Day 10 – Friday 25th November 2011 aka Black Fri-day!

God forbid we go on holiday without doing some shopping, and we realised that America's equivalent of the Boxing Day sales was smack-bang in the middle of our trip, so we jumped on the SDX bus and went to the Outlet Center!

I had an idea of what I was looking for but was disappointed to find out that the only store that didn't seem to have any decent sales on was Diesel...and you can guess where I really wanted to go! Stopped off at the Ed Hardy store and bought a hoodie at 75% off whilst Joobs picked up a couple of nice Christian Audigier tops – total cost was less than $100 with tax. Joobs also found an awesome fudge shop so obviously we buy a kilo, and after a nice lunch we jumped back on the bus and headed back to the Strip.

Stopped off back in the room to drop the bags off and headed out for a wander. Today was a casino day but not really for playing. We had the odd craps/slot/VP session but there was no poker and lots of wandering around casinos. We spent a lot of time in the Bellagio at all the attractions and walking between Aria/Bellagio/Caesars, and just taking it all in, as it was the first day we were truly on our own. Parents had left, MW had left, friends had all left, Rich & Khadija had gone to NYC for Thanksgiving so we just chilled out. Had a quick look around the Planet Hollywood shops and stopped off at Earl of Sandwich for eats before strolling to Harrah's for their 8pm tournament.

The tourney was fun but no luck for either of us. I can't remember much of it so I'm guessing we didn't get anywhere! Left there and hit Casino Royale for cheap craps and fun before going to have a look at the beer pong tables in O'Shea's before heading back to Flamingo for late night slots and late night pizza before an early night as we had a big day planned for the Saturday.

It was about this far into the trip that I realised I could stay in Las Vegas for a lot longer than 2 weeks...

[KarmaDope]

Day 11 – Saturday 26th November 2011 aka Downtown day

Today was the only day during the whole holiday that we actually set the alarm.

Didn't bloody need it...

Woke up stupidly early again thankfully as we had an early start. Quick trip downstairs for breakfast and then back up to the room to prepare as we had booked a slot at the Boneyard! The Boneyard is the informal name for the Neon Museum – an exhibition of some of the old Vegas neon signs from history and hotels that have been blown up/rebranded. We had to be there for 1pm and it was 10am so we decided to do it the fun way. Took the Deuce from outside the Flamingo to downtown.

Now, I must interject here. Earlier on in the trip Dan Owston had one of those mobility scooters and FML, they were fun. Naturally, I decided I wanted one. Joobs jokingly said you can have one if it's cheap...and it was. $120 for 5 days! So I hired one (and Joobs will interject here to say NEVER AGAIN)and it came with me down to the Boneyard. This was a mistake...

Got downtown but we couldn't work out how to get to the Boneyard, so we went to the Golden Nugget for a look around before grabbing a cab outside to the Boneyard. It was bloody warm for the end of November! Alright for some who can hide in the shade when walking around, but for a numpty who is in a scooter he doesn't really need? I was boiling. This kinda ruined the visit here for me as I get really snappy and grouchy when I'm too hot, and poor Joobs was getting the brunt of it. Sorry dear...

Even in my bad mood, it was still fun to go round the old signs, taking lots of pictures and visualising the signs up on their old hotels back in the 60s/70s/80s. We took loads of pictures but out of respect (and the fact that everyone should visit this to get some culture in their trip, you bunch of degens) I'm only going to post 3-4 of my favourites.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

This tour took about 90 minutes and by the time we were done, it was 3pm. Joobs couldn't be bothered waiting for a bus so we decided to walk back, which was...interesting. I'd do the walk in the day but never in the night as it wasn't the best area to be in, let's be honest! Nothing happened and we made it back about 15 minutes later, where we decided to start off the Downtown tour by a trip to the El Cortez, which was dead. Quick game of VP in there before we headed back over to Fremont Street where we decided to have dinner.

Here:

Click to see full-size image.

After a fat-inducing dinner of a double bypass Burger & Fries and a buttermilk milkshake (just cream, butter and sugar) we headed out to Binions for cash. Whilst waiting for seats, we got a pic of the Champions wall:

Click to see full-size image.

We then sat down to what was the craziest game of cash I have ever played. There was only one table of cash and it was 2/4 Limit. Joobs got a seat and I was waiting 20 minutes before I got a seat – my button to her BB. On the 3rd hand, I get 87cc and raise. Joobs defends and we see a 10c flop. Joobs checks, I bet, she calls. Turn . Same again, check-bet-call. River's a blank and she checks. I have to bet my straight flush and she, thankfully, calls. I show my straight flush – ship the $100 high hand!!

The game was plodding along nicely until Elvis Presley took the 1 seat. From then on, it just degenerated into madness, of the good kind. Elvis was good for action and good for morale. He managed to get some of the old timers to crack a smile, whilst Joobs and I were just cracking up laughing. It then ended up being a pure WTF moment as Elvis was railed by some of his friends – or to be more precise Pee-Wee Herman and Sylvester Stallone.  At least I can say I played a hand with Elvis Presley whilst Rocky and Pee-Wee Herman railed him. Then to finish it off Jack Nicholson and Austin Powers put in an appearance!

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I found a pair of Queens in the hole. I raised and Elvis made it 3! I made it 4! and Elvis capped. Flop was Q-6-6. 5 bets went in and we saw an A turn. Again 5 bets went in...WTF? Binions have a rule that when HU in limit, there is no cap after the river. The river was a blank and we keep raising until Elvis says “wanna just go all -in?” Erm...yes please! I show my Queens full and he smiles, shows Ace high, shakes my hand and leaves with his crew.

I just stacked Elvis. *shakes head *

Joobs and I stay for another 45 minutes each until the guy in seat 5 started acting weird. He was drunk, but he kept asking the dealer if he could go to the bathroom! We just ignored it until one time where he didn't, he just folded out of turn and left. We carried on playing the hand...until I glanced backwards and saw him vomiting into a bin. Nice. That was enough for me and I cashed out, as the floor staff didn't want to remove him or cut him off.

We then decided to head out onto Fremont Street where Joobs got this awesome photo of a contortionist:

Click to see full-size image.

It was getting pretty late after this so we played a few slots before grabbing the Deuce back to the Strip and heading back to the Flamingo to play Joobs' favourite slots and get some sleep.

[KarmaDope]

Day 12 – Sunday 27th November 2011 aka Time to kill some Zombies day!

Originally for this day we'd planned a trip up to Oakland to go to an NFL game (sad Raiders fan here). Sadly, the airfares were slightly ridiculous for a day trip so we gave up on that idea. Joobs had also expressed a serious desire to go shooting.

Which scared the crap out of me.

However, being the nice husband that I am, I agreed and after a light breakfast from the local shops, where Joobs discovered the one American food item she continually raves on about to this day – yes, Bran Muffins – we jumped in a cab and headed down to The Gun Store. $20 in a cab later and we pulled up at a surprisingly low key place from the outside.

Walked in and OMG. Guns. Everywhere. Handguns, Shotguns, Rifles, Sub-machine guns, AK-47s...you name it, they seemed to have it. It took my wife all of 3.5 seconds to decide what package she wanted...

http://www.store.thegunstorelasvegas.com/the-zombie-package

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

I must admit...Joobs is a better shot. By a mile. She seems to be a natural with a gun – so all of you need to be very, very scared. It was one of the highlights of the trip and they were kind enough to let us keep some of the shotgun shells and other bullet casings, which we did manage to get through Customs and are now with us at home. My favourite gun was the Shotgun where Joobs seemed to enjoy the automatic guns most.

When we return I want to shoot the wall...

After we finished we did the obligatory wander around the gift shop as our package meant we got a t-shirt free each. Picked up the t-shirts along with the targets we shot, and the bullets, and jumped in a cab. Next stop on this crazy day? New York, New York...for the ROLLERCOASTER!

Well, Joobs got on the rollercoaster. I'm a wuss and just stayed in the gift shop waiting for her.

After a slightly wobbly newlywed got off the rollercoaster, I had to stop her from getting straight back on the thing! Apparently it is awesome, proper old rickety rollercoaster, I'll take her word for it. we made our way out of NYNY via some slot machines (I'm sensing a slight leak here) and decided we wanted to play some cash. Monte Carlo was the nearest casino so we went to see what was on offer. All they had was $2-$6 spread limit but there was a couple of tables so we sat down. I might have precipitated this because my beloved Raiders were on the TV screens and the Monte Carlo had a promo on where the best high hand in each quarter won $100.

Naturally, my lucky wife managed to squeak a win in the 2nd quarter when she turned quad 2's and got her opponent to fold on a 2-2-5-2 board. She showed the quads but originally the ruling was that she wasn't eligible for the high hand as you had to use both your hole cards. She was holding 2-5.  I successfully argued that she could use both her hole cards – either way the winning 5-card hand was 2-2-2-2-5.

She got the monies

Most people racked up and left after the football games finished so we decided to join them and wandered back to the Flamingo for some food before heading to the IP for their much recommended $3/$6 mixed game. This game isn't one you play to win. If you get lucky then you win. Either way, win or lose, it's well worth a go on a Sunday night because it is ridiculously fun. As Joobs said “I just paid $150 for an awesome night”. To be fair I think she made most of her money back from the free cookies they supply to players.

Some of the games were known, eg Triple Draw, Badugi...all the mixed games you get on Stars. However, there were also some weird ones, for example Omaha 3-2-1 (3 flops, 2 turns, 1 river) or Crazy Pineapple Ocean (Crazy Pineapple with an extra community card). I somehow proceeded to have the nut flush on a non paired board in Omaha 3-2-1 and lost because someone else had a nut flush – his AQ943 beat my AQ942 (different suits). Needless to say, it was confusing at times, but an awesome night.

After racking up about $200 down between us when the game broke, we had a quick play around in O'Shea's and Margaritaville before heading back to the room happy, but in my mind I was realising that this was all due to come to an end very soon...

[KarmaDope]

Day 13 – Monday 28th November 2011 aka get your Penn and Teller fix day!

I'd promised Joobs that as I hadn't been up to the Stratosphere yet, and she hadn't been on any of the rides at the tower, we would head up there and I would go up for the very first time (I missed Joobs' previous visit due to illness). A small announcement: I HATE HEIGHTS.

And yet I loved the Stratosphere!

After the obligatory get up/breakfast/slot fun etc we headed up towards the Strat for about 11am and were unsurprised to find out that it was practically deserted. Sadly the location of the casino really doesn't help bring the numbers in and if there was ever a casino that should only be open at certain times, this would be the one. After we'd paid the fee for going up to the top of the Tower, we went in a very fast, very ear-popping lift up 100 floors in about 30 seconds, and walked out to this view:

Click to see full-size image.

After watching a few helicopters get close enough for me to see the pilot's eyes, and a few planes come into land at McCarran over the mountains, Joobs then got on the Bigshot, which was something I was never doing.

Click to see full-size image.

Sadly, she didn't fall out, and after putting her stomach back into its rightful place, we headed back down after I promised Joobs that I would get close to the edge...



I was very scared here.

After we settled, we went back downstairs and hunted out the Stratosphere card room, but it was dark so we left and headed back towards the Flamingo after getting lunch at none other than Hash House A Go Go. Again. This time Joobs ordered a stuffed half pound  burger and when it arrived a fat American dude across the restaurant laughed at its size, but this didn't put Joobs off when she was determined to finish a meal here... and to be fair she came close, I finally called time when she had a small wedge of burger and a few fries festering on the plate, as she had a bad case of the meat sweats and refused to leave till it was gone ffs, so as a responsible husband I dragged her from the table and paid the bill. All I could hear as we left was “20 more minutes, I only need 20 more minutes..” again I doubt she will ever forgive me for that one.

Whilst having lunch, we decided that we had to head over to the Rio to pick up Penn & Teller tickets, so we went over to get them. We had a few hours to kill before the show and had eaten so we jumped on the shuttle buses back to the Flamingo, but then changed our minds and headed to another casino – think you can work out which from the clue below?

Click to see full-size image.

Yep, that's the Orleans.

We played enough slots over there to keep getting offered two free nights – and yet we only played for about 45 minutes on penny slots. After we left the Orleans we got the Station Casinos bus to the Gold Coast and played some more slots in there before heading back to the Rio for food.

As it was our 1 week anniversary (and the only anniversary we've celebrated so far), we decided to have dinner at Voodoo Lounge at the Rio. Joobs had a fillet steak medium-rare  whilst I had the chicken dish and OMG, it was heaven. The best dinner we'd eaten all holiday. The chicken just melted in my mouth and as for Joobs...I couldn't get a word out of her until her plate was empty.

Completely stuffed and struggling with a food coma, we took the long walk down to the Penn & Teller theater. We were one of the very few people to clock that Mr Jillette was on stage performing before the show, and we soon settled down in the second row from the front to watch the masters perform.

They were masterful. There were some tricks I’d seen before, but a lot of them I hadn't seen (Joobs being a huge fan knew them all - standard) and they were just perfect. It was the best show I'd been to at that time and I would highly recommend them to anybody. Just to finish it off, Penn & Teller ran a show in the UK where the winner was invited to Vegas to perform with them. We'd watched this every week and loved the duo that ended up winning...and they happened to be there that night!

Unfortunately, Penn was ill and was unable to make the afterwards meet and greet, but Joobs was able to meet Teller and get a picture with him.

Click to see full-size image.

After the end of the show, we stuck around playing some VP in the Rio for a bit after taking a picture of the best named restaurant in Vegas before heading back to the Flamingo for an early, relaxing night, knowing that sadly tomorrow was our last full day in Sin City...

Oh, that restaurant?

Click to see full-size image.

[KarmaDope]

Day 14 – Tuesday 29th November 2011 – aka the last full day

It was with a slightly heavy head that I woke up on the Tuesday, as there was so much I wanted to do and yet didn't have time to do so! I'd heard from RichEO as he was back in Vegas now so we arranged to meet up for dinner later, when he woke up! As we had time to spare, we checked how much cash we had left and decided to head out for some NLHE.

Joobs generally doesn't play NLHE cash so we decided to sit in the .5/1 game at Bills that morning after a quick game of Craps. Never again. This was quite possibly nittier than the LHE game in Monte Carlo, something I didn't think possible, and the patrons were annoying to say the least. We lasted an hour in that game before racking up $100 down and escaping.

We both wanted to play a Venetian midday tournament on the trip but hadn't had the opportunity due to the Venetian DeepStacks running whilst we visited, and today was our only oppportunity to do so, so we jumped in at 12pm. I ran pretty deep but bust eventually losing a flip, and Joobs didn't fare much better. Can highly recommend the Venetian cardroom though. Very professional and they serve Fiji water complimentary – a massive thumbs up from me! As it was about 4.30pm by the time we'd busted, I ran off to check in on Southwest Airlines for our flight to LA the next day and managed to secure a decent position in the boarding line, then checked in for our BA flight back to England but sadly couldn't score 2 seats next to each other on the plane. Still got the private upper deck though.

We headed back to the Flamingo to dump some stuff and get ready for our night out, before we met Rich and Khadija at Bills before heading to Blue Martini at Town Square for dinner. Blue Martini was pretty busy but we managed to get a table and order some food and drinks before just having a lovely evening chilling.

Eventually we left Blue Martini and headed to Mirage for poker. Rich jumped in a NLHE game whilst I decided to play 3/6 LHE as I hadn't brought enough cash for the NLHE game. There were a few cowboys in early for the Rodeo that was beginning on the Friday and one of them jumped into our game, and he was a massive donator. A lot of fun was had and I left about $100 up. The girls went off to play dice and slots, and after about 2 hours, Joobs was getting tired and as we had to pack, we left and went our separate ways.

It was back to the hotel for us and a nice walk back in a balmy Las Vegas was had, taking it all in knowing that we were leaving the next morning.

[KarmaDope]

Day 15/16 – Wednesday 30th November 2011/Thursday 1st December 2011 – aka it's time to go back to England day!

Wake up to our alarm for the first time in days. It's time to go.

We had some time to kill so nipped out for a last blowout before Khadija picked us up. Lost a quick $100 at dice and slots before grabbing the bags and checking out of the Flamingo. Khadija met us at the valet entrance and kindly drove us over to McCarran, where we checked in and had a 90 minute wait, which we got through with some very last minute slot action.

After a couple of hours, we got on the 1.30pm flight to Los Angeles International Airport and despite being B-35/B-36 in the boarding queue, we managed to snag the last two front row seats. Extra leg room, wiiiiiiiiii! Last win of the trip.

The plane was late into LAX due to holding so we had to run with all the bags from our terminal to the international terminal to get the bags on the plane. Managed to do this and got a quick 45 minutes to chill out in the Business Lounge before being called for our flight back to the UK. Unfortunately, despite asking everyone, we were unable to get seats next to each other and so I let Joobs have 64J for the privacy, whilst I was stuck in 63B. I did end up getting the better deal though, as there was an extremely foul gentleman in 64K who did not stop farting! She didn't sleep and actually spent most the flight sat on the floor next to me... one of the benefits of being on the top deck I suppose?

I actually managed to get some sleep on this flight, but not much, and we landed on time at London Heathrow at 10am Thursday morning. After the queue to get back into the country (long, but not McCarran long!) we headed up to the Arrivals lounge for a shower, breakfast and a very nice complimentary spa treatment.

We'd got chatting to the girl that did our spa treatments before we left, and arranged to meet her in the Arrivals spa when we returned. She was there and we had our treatments – this time I might have just had a very, very relaxing massage. After a long chat we headed to the Heathrow Express and got the train into town, then a quick Tube journey to Euston Square where an extremely over tired Joobs saw her backside because she was struggling to wheel her case and her new more bulky with no handle wedding dress box (the old one got destroyed and left behind) over the uneven London pavements! Cue a quickly regretted sarcastic comment from a London commuter when her reply was like something  out of the exorcist!

Got on the train to Chester via Warrington and this time we couldn't get the whole table to ourselves as the train was jam-packed. Got a table though and I settled down with the lappy and internet catchup whilst Joobs tried to get some sleep and failed miserably, as every time the train tilted she awoke with a panic thinking she was still on the plane and there was turbulence!!

Eventually made it back home at about 5pm on the Thursday night and proceeded to try and stay up as late as possible to try and reset our body clocks, before finally passing out at 7pm. We were home. It was over. We were married.

We woke up at 2am on the Friday morning. Great.