Vegas Trip!

I went to Vegas with one of my best girlfriends from December 31st-January 4th. We had an absolute BLAST and I cannot wait to go again sometime this year!

Her family is Filipino and a lot of her extended family lives in Vegas. Since her aunt gambles a lot (and gets her friends/family to gamble under her name as well), the aunt has VIP status and consistently gets rooms and buffets comped but never uses them. Therefore, our 4 nights in Vegas were completely free. Her uncle refuses to let us, two short/petite girls, take cabs on the Strip - so he drove us to/from the clubs all weekend, with no care in the world that we would leave stumble out at 3:30am or later! They were so accommodating and generous, making a few meals for us and having their neighbor (who works in the Rio, where we stayed in the suite room for 2 nights) bring us a full breakfast for 2 mornings. I also came away with a free Rio margarita glass. :)

We did Vegas how we liked it: partying/dancing until the early hours of the morning, sleeping for the majority of the day, walking around the Strip in search of food in the late afternoon/early evening, occasionally meeting up with friends who were also in Vegas for the weekend and meeting lots of guys at the bars/clubs. (Being 2 single young women instead of a larger group definitely helped there, too. That's how we got into Tao for free and avoided the $20 cover on Saturday night: 2 guys needed 2 girls to get in faster!)

How much did I gamble? A whopping $1 when we emerged from Rain at the Palms and were waiting for her uncle. All my money went towards some drinks (avg price of $14, including tip), some meals, our VIP status for the Palms where could walk straight into the clubs for 2 nights at only $16 each and the tips in the rooms plus the Carnival World Buffet dinner tip at the Rio that her aunt and uncle took us to one night. All in all, I spent $150 which left me over with $250, which is already back into my Travel Fund! Of course, I wrote her aunt/uncle a thank you card and left some chocolate with them. The best part? They wanted me to stay an EXTRA night (darn work!) and said I am welcome back whenever, with or without my girlfriend. It was a real vacation and I loved every second of it. Now it's back to reality!

Dear Vegas - What an adventure! Thanks for the memories. See you again soon. ;)