Ok...Since it was my first time in Vegas...

[Zannon]

Here's my Vegas review...

First off...it was warmer in Chicago than Vegas the whole time we were there....what a load of crap!!

Ok, we stayed at Paris and I have to say that I was really impressed with it. It was beautiful inside and out, the drinks were good, the dealers were EXTREMELY nice and helpful, and there were tons of little things that made it a great place to stay and hang out at. Their breakfast buffet was to die for.

On our first day there (after passing out when we finally got in on Thursday night) was Friday. We hung a left after leaving the hotel and just started walking. That first day we did a TON of crap and visited a TON of casinos. Here's the Zan-man's breakdown:

First stop, Alladdin. This place is right next door to Paris. The shopping area was nice, but that's all you can say about the place. It was clean. Other than that, I was was not impressed at all.

Next stop MGM Grand. I liked this place a lot (probably because it was the first big one we stopped at). We had an early lunch at their buffet and it was really good. I gambled a bit there, didn't win, but the palce was nice. I wouldn't stay there because the design was just average (compared to other places on the strip), but it was nice to visit and the buffet was very good. Bathrooms very gross...even at noon.

After MGM, it was a quick stop at the M&Ms store and the Coke store (No free coke anymore Dooo...I know you're gonna miss that). Both stores are neat to see.

Next was Luxor. This place was really neat. We went through the museum, went on a ride, and just hung out there and gambled a while. Very cool looking.

Next up was Mandalay Bay. This place rocked. I like the way it looked inside and how clean it was. Very nice staff and the Shark Reef was cool to go through. Funny thing was that there were 4 conventions going on there this weekend: 1) Antique Gun show 2) Some sort of rodeo convention 3) a body building convention and 4) a BBQ cook off. everyone you passed smelled of either gunpowder, sweat, or BBQ sauce. Very nice....and what a screwed up mix of people!!!

Excalibur was next...ICK!!! It smelled bad, had really icky bathrooms, the staff was rude as all hell, AND it was geared toward 6 year olds...even the casino. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, if you're taking your kid to Vegas, you need to have a visit from DCFS...Vegas is not for kids in any way shape or form. I kept looking at people with kids in strollers and thinking, yeah, when you're kid is out on the corner giveing hand jobs for crack at age 12, you're gonna be the person blaming video games for it instead of your bad parenting skills. I saw a guy so drunk he could hardly walk, puke into a garbage can at 3pm while pushing a stroller with two very cute kids in it!!!

/gets off soapbox

Next was back to our hotel to let the feet rest and drop off the 260 lbs of crap we bought for Connor (our son) on our walk up the strip.

That night, we went to Harrah's to check out their buffet and some gambling (sorry Seret, I thought their buffet sucked...maybe I was there on a bad night). Harrah's was kinda low brow and a lot of the people that were there were VERY scary. It was great to people watch there, but that was about it.

Next was the Venitian...or as I came to refer to it...Naboo. This place was beautiful, looked like Naboo...and was home to the best string of slot machine playing I had the whole trip...when I was done playing $1 slots there, I was over $260 up!! Next to Paris, this was my 2nd favorite casino/hotel I visited.

The last place we visited that night was Bally's...I didn't like it at all and I couldn't win at anythign I played there.

Saturday afternoon was the wedding we went out there for, so we started the day playing blackjack at Paris...not bad, between my wife and I were ended up about $160 up there.

The wedding was across the street at the Bellagio, which is extremely nice and, around the pools and wedding chappels, also looks a lot like Naboo. I liked Bellagio a lot, but I kept looking for Bernie Mac to come by and be my blackjack dealer. Our friends that got married there had a penthouse suite overlooking the water/light show in front and the view was AMAZING (so was the price of the room and they were staying there for a full week).

Overall, I had a great time there. It'd be neat to go with a ton of people (maybe we could get a SWGTales trip organized and stay at the Venitian with a group rate...since it looks like Naboo and all). Here are things I figured out while there.

1. Your wife can loose money way faster than you can win it. I would have been over $600 up total for the weekend if my wife handn't lost what equated to the amount I had alloted for the both of us to gamble COMBINED!! Oh well, at least we had a good time losing money.

2. Hookers in Vegas will approach you at any time of day, no matter if you are clearly with a woman or not.

3. Walking down the street drinking in public is kinda fun, since you can't be arrested for it there.

4. DO NOT TAKE THE SHUTTLE FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE CASINO!!!! I rather spend 4x as much and not have to drive around for an hour dropping off people at their hotels...cuz you can assume your's will be the last one you stop at.

5. Free drinks while gambling rock!! Especially at 9am...mmmmmm...bloody mary's for breakfast, long islands for lunch, and straight wisky from 7pm until you pass out at 3 am!! That's the life.

6. The later it is, the better chance that when you go into the casino bathroom to pee, there will be somone barfing up their weight in buffet food. The chances of seeing this appears to be particularly high if you're a woman at Bally's...my wife always seemed to find one when she went to the bathroom at Bally's.

Ok...if I think of more, I'll post later. If you haven't been to Vegas and are 21...I strongly suggest going there.

[Jabe Adaks]

No stops at the Hilton? No Borg 4D invasion??? Come on man.

Jabe

[Zannon]

I did want to go to it...especially since I loved DS9 and I wanted to go to Quark's, but we really only had one full day to do anything and never made it to that part of the strip.

I did enjoy the little "How to go through security" video at the airport that had the Klingon griping about having to put all his metal stuff into the bins while the starfleet guy kept turning around and glaring at him...that was pretty funny.

[Zannon]

I forgot this one:

7. Vegas give me gas. I can't explain it...it just did.

[Jabe Adaks]

I forgot this one:

7. Vegas give me gas. I can't explain it...it just did.

Thats better than Jamaica where if you drink the water you crap profusely for days.

Jabe

[Novall]

I forgot this one:

7. Vegas give me gas. I can't explain it...it just did.

Thats better than Jamaica where if you drink the water you crap profusely for days.

Jabe

Same with Tiajuana Mx. They used to warn us in the Navy to either take your own drinks or drink bottled/canned drinks-beer.

[E-bo Obi]

I did want to go to it...especially since I loved DS9 and I wanted to go to Quark's, but we really only had one full day to do anything and never made it to that part of the strip.

I did enjoy the little "How to go through security" video at the airport that had the Klingon griping about having to put all his metal stuff into the bins while the starfleet guy kept turning around and glaring at him...that was pretty funny.

Aw man, you missed a lot of fun there. The actors that are walking around in there are great. The Warp Core breaches(very very large drink) are killers. After three of them you become an expert on any subject.

And above all else how often do you get to debate tactics and warfare with a Klingon over a mug of blood wine?

[Ekade]

everyone you passed smelled of either gunpowder, sweat, or BBQ sauce. Very nice....and what a screwed up mix of people!!!

Reminds me of Casino Night.

[Jabe Adaks]

Same with Tiajuana Mx. They used to warn us in the Navy to either take your own drinks or drink bottled/canned drinks-beer.

I heeded said warnings, I even brushed my teeth with bottled water. But somehow I drank it (I think it was in a mixed drink or something). Besides that I otherwise enjoyed my honeymoon. LOL

Jabe