Vegas

I've been putting off blogging about my trip to Vegas. I wanted to make sure I had soaked it all in, and let it digest, and then shit it all out.

I went to Las Vegas with 11 other people. If you are scoring at home it was 3 couples, and 4 single or claiming to be single guys, and 1 single girl. It was a surprise birthday party for 1 of our friends. We surprised him at the airport by just being there. He knew him and his girlfriend were going, but not the other 9.

This was my first trip to Vegas, so I wasn't fully sure what to expect. I've heard stories, and stories, and stories. Each person you mention to, that you're going to Vegas, you'll get advice, on this and that. But I am a person who lives life in excess. I always want more. When I have a party I don't invite some of my friends I invite all of them. I always like things bigger and better. So I figured Vegas would be a place to find excess, and I was right.

Growing up in Minnesota has its limits. We know what to expect. But when you're in Las Vegas the sky's the limit. Like I mentioned I went with 10 other people. I think we all went home with a slightly different experience too. I don't think this is possible anywhere else I've been. I was there with my pregnant wife. Together we spent $700 over the course of 3 days. I was expecting to spend $1000, so I was pleased to come home with money. I had a friend there that met a guy from his college there. And they together spent over $10,000 in 3 days. And that might be low. The friend is worth 20 million dollars I guess. But what they experienced was a lot different than what I experienced. So that was amazing to me.

The fact is that there is no end to the party. At home here you could not spend that kind of money. I spent $250 in downtown Anoka once before Thanksgiving. I thought that was excessive. But that barely gets you in the door at some places in Vegas. There was the night club that some of the guys went to that had the $60 cover charge. On the flip side of it, you can go the opposite way too. Some people chose not to drink as much, and play poker all night. I'm not sure if they had as much fun as the other guys, but who am I to decide? I don't know, and that's what's great is you can do as much or as little as you'd like to enjoy yourself.

What I noticed was how well Vegas operates. Obviously they've been doing this everyday for the last 50 years. So they've had some practice. But they operate so efficiently with so much thought into everything. Everyone tells you that you get free drinks in the casino. No one mentions that you sit there for 5-10 minutes gambling while they're grabbing your "free" drink. The word strip actually means something. Everything, and I mean everything happens on the strip. It's on the outside that you see the garbage men, the vendors, the taxi's. These places do such a great job of making sure you only see what you need to see. I'm sure all of that came with time, but it was cool to see how everything operates so efficiently.

Thinking back on Vegas, I think of a few of things. Yes I want to go back. Preferably when my wife is not pregnant. Secondly how easy it would be to lose control there if you're not careful. I also think about how lame things will seem for a while at home compared to Vegas. At the same time I think about how you could not do that every weekend and stay sane. I think about how surreal everything is walking down the street. You're walking, drinking a beer and soaking it all up. You're in Las Vegas. The city of sin, the entertainment capital of the world. I can't imagine many places being more fun.

Las Vegas is a city that lends you a hand in having fun. Most places you go you have to find the fun. Las Vegas surrounds you in fun.

Hopefully we'll go back again next year!