Las Vegas Trip Report

Saturday April 25, 2009
Departed Toronto shortly after 8am, after picking up the rest of the group for this trip. An uneventful drive later, we arrived at Buffalo airport at about 1130am. Parked, checked-on, and a bit of lunch preceeded boarding of our flight to Las Vegas via Phoenix Arizona. This flight was just one of those flights where you wished something could’ve made time go by faster. Not exactly being able to toss and turn, but my inability to be able to fall asleep caused this cross continent flight feel more like a cross Pacific flight. Part of the reason I believe led to this occurance, was due to the lack of food I had from the morning departure from my house, to boarding of the plane in early afternoon. Fortunatedly, there were no particular incident of crying babies, or big smell human being on the plane, leading to the only annoyance for this 6 hour journey being a group of a group of young lads 2 rows ahead pre-drinking on the flight.
Upon touchdown in Las Vegas, our luggage made it to the carasoul in record time, and we were on our way to our hotels after spending merely minutes waiting for our luggage. The rest of the group were clearly excited with the prospect of exploring Las Vegas for the first time, while my excitement surrounds that of spending time in Vegas with 4 truly great people, and enjoying the tourist-side of Vegas for the first time myself.
Venetian is the site where we would rest our heads for the first evening, and for those whom enjoy eye-candy in the female variety, look no further as you will soon find yourself with a sore neck due to extreme left-to-right movement.
A $20 trick later, we find ourselves sharing a bella suite with a clear view of Palazzo, Tressures Island, as well as the Venetian pool. Due to being on the 18th floor, we were unable to get a clear view the patrons of the pool, but nonetheless, the $20 trick led to another successful upgrade.
A dinner at Grand Lux Cafe later, it was agreed upon that we would call it a night early. But of course, first night in Vegas, there is absolutely zero chance that I would allow the night to pass without having any form of gambling. Having a $50 slots credit as part of my package for staying at the Venetian, of course we share the credit and decide to hit up the slots. 15 minutes later, the $50 credit became $60 cash…we’re now 1-for-1 in slots. After a short walk around the Venetian Canal Shoppes, we call it a night by 11pm Vegas time – 2am Eastern time.

Sunday April 26, 2009
Second day began with more packing and unpacking, as a result of our impending move to MGM Grand for the next 3 nights. Any Vegas trip is incomplete without a visit to the Bellagio buffet, and it’s time to start off with a bang. Our first brunch was of course at the Bellagio champagne brunch. 3 to 4 glasses of champagne each between myself and Erica later, we feel highly satisfied, a stomach that feels similar in size to that of a pregnant woman. Following the brunch, visitations to various casinos and hotels begins.
The trip beings north bound from Bellgaio, hitting up Caesar’s Palace, Mirage, Tressures Island, across the street on to The Wynn and Encore, and finished up back at Palazzo and Venetian. Nothing like starting the trip with seeing one of the best of the best in what Las Vegas has to offer. A short downtime later after checking in to MGM Grand, we find ourselves at the “O” Theatre in Bellagio to watch the Cirque du Soleil show “O”.
The show itself was a spectacular production, and the theatre was a gorgeous sight on it’s own. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone and everyone who is planning a trip to Las Vegas. The ticket price is a tad expensive, but to me it was worth every penny.