I am sitting in the hotel lobby, waiting to head to the airport. I don’t have quite enough time to go on a new adventure but since I’m feeling a little reflective, I might as well pen a few things I’ve learned in Las Vegas. (You know me, always looking to learn something!)
1. Casinos make it as easy as possible to get inside, and really hard to get out. If you go to Vegas, you’ll notice moving walkways always work on the way in but not necessarily on the way out. Also the casino entrances are clearly marked (usually even with people to welcome you) but finding an exit can be a whole other story.
2. The constant advertising and pushing of agendas that seems annoy everyone must clearly be working. The guide books complain about the guys on the corners handing out cards for hookers but there is clearly some payoff to them standing there day in and day out or else they wouldn’t do it.
3. There’s no such thing as a free drink. The guide books talk about how you can get free drinks if you gamble but if you’ve ever sat at a slot machine or even played at a table you know that the $10 you would have spent on a drink is gone in about five minutes. (Unless you bring my horse expert friend Bailey to pick mules in mule racing but that’s a whole other story.) There is always a catch, and that’s ok as long as you know that up front.
4. If you’re going to do something, you might as well go all the way. I bought tickets to Cirque de Soleil’s O show at the Bellagio. At $173 for premium seats, it was a splurge but worth it to see the most amazing show of my life. (Yes even personal finance bloggers need to splurge on occasion).
5. Multiple sinks in a room of multiple women just make sense. A suite is such a comfortable way to go when you are staying somewhere. Last night, I cooked myself dinner and did a load of laundry. Hotel rooms are so variable here that it may be worth a little investigation into a suite if you are staying with a group. The money you save on the occasional meal and other conveniences may make it worth a slight cost increase.
6. It’s good to be a woman in Vegas. Girls seem to get better treatment around here. I went to some pretty swanky clubs never paying cover while other people I met had paid $30 to get in. There are also free drinks and in general a lot more attention then you’d get anywhere else (at least in my case). Oddly flattering but a little much at times.
7. People like coming here because they can be a high roller, if only for a few days. A limo is almost as cheap as a cab, everyone is really nice to you, and pretty much everything you’d want to do is within a 20 mile radius (I’m including scenic desert and hiking as well as dining and dancing). There seem to be a gazillion flights in and out of here judging from the amount of planes I saw from the top floor pool of my hotel in just a couple hours. Easy to get in and out and you can get access to luxurious things like fancy cars and crab legs relatively cheaply means people can come here and feel like one of the beautiful people without much extra effort or spending.
8. You can be whoever you want in Vegas. There are enough people to be anonymous but the downtown is small enough to be walkable. I may be a writer to a few people out there now and it was pretty fun to be Nicole the Writer I must say!
9. Good company makes all the difference. Coming to a place like this with good friends who are open to a good time made this probably the best vacation I’ve ever had.
10. I am a lucky person. I don’t have to let people use my body to make money. I have a roof over my head. I have enough self control to walk away from the table when I’m ahead. There are a lot of great things about a place like Vegas but such a cross section of life can also really put your non-Vegas life into perspective.
11. I’m missing absolutely nothing on cable. I’ve caught up on Kimora Lee Simmon’s reality show and watched some commercials for upcoming Lifetime television movies. I’m all set for awhile!
12. It is totally worth the prevacation hassle to take a vacation. Yes there is planning, packing, air travel, and setting work up so things can continue while you’re gone but all that is worth it the second you step in that hotel room.
14. Skipping the thirteenth floor doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The elevator went from 12 to 14 (and I was on the fourteenth floor) but I know darn well I was on floor thirteen. I guess people really are superstitious in the city of luck!
Goodbye Vegas. I'm sure I'll be back soon!