The city of broken dreams: Las Vegas, Nevada! We got into the city with perfect timing for the weekend. Cory’s sister provided an amazing weekend for us because she actually paid for a hotel room for the weekend at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino right in the middle of the strip! After getting to Las Vegas 4 hours ahead of check-in time, the boys were able to get some good ol’ gambling in. We hit the blackjack tables early at The Quad casino and after only an hour Sean went up almost $200. I ended up breaking even and unfortunately Cory lost what he put down.
Leaving on a bittersweet note, we walked the strip, but stopped in every place we could because the heat was unbearable during the day. Getting back to the Flamingo, we stopped by the pool there which held a weekend beach party for the time that we were there; super convenient for us! The place was absolutely packed with live DJ’s, a dance and limbo contest. It was unbelievably refreshing, but overwhelming at the same time with people bumping you left and right; a great environment overall, though. That night, we went to a super expensive all-you-can-eat buffet within the hotel that ran us $30 a piece roughly. The food was alright, but we were ready to make some serious cash on blackjack. Sean and I broke even while Cory just couldn’t catch a break and was losing all he put down at each table.
The following day, we had a similar routine of waking up, getting food and jumping on a blackjack table then finding the pool soon after. The pool was much more relaxed with less people, but still extremely busy regardless. For the most part we laid low and just gambled throughout the night at various casinos. Cory was sidelined later in the evening by a bad burger which also got the best of me the next morning. Never again will I get a BBQ bacon burger from Margaritaville. In the early hours of the morning while Cory was up in the room resting, Sean and I were still gallivanting around the Flamingo. It was about 3:30 a.m. when we saw one blackjack table open and decided to try our luck. As I was walking over to the table, I saw some bills under a man’s chair and I picked it up. $120 cash was sitting there and I was tempted to take it, but with my conscious calling and the eye in the sky watching ever so carefully, I asked the man if he had brought a lot of cash with him to the table. With a weird, shocked look he told me that he actually did. I handed him the money and received endless thanks from the man who was definitely a bit tipsy. Regardless, he threw down $15 in chips for me to play on a hand and I gladly accepted. After about 30 minutes, I turned that $15 hand into $175!! If that isn’t karma, then I have no idea what is!
Cory’s brother-in law has a best friend for years named Brad. We met up with Brad at the very beginning of the trip in Connecticut for dinner and he handed us $100 cash and told us to use it in Vegas, so that’s exactly what we did. Sean was having the hot hand at the time and he threw down the $100 on one hand. The adrenaline that I had was pumping at an insane rate and it wasn’t even my hand or my money! The dealer bust and we doubled the $100 that we put down. Going back to the table where I won big from the generous man who’s money I found: Sean threw down another $100 from the winnings off of Brad’s $100 that he gave us. The man who’s money I found was impressed, so he decided to join in and threw $100 down on his hand as well. Once again, the dealer bust and everyone won! So after 45 minutes between Sean and I at that table, we walked away with $675! A great end to a great weekend in Vegas. Not many people can say that they left with double their money, but Sean and I did. Cory on the other hand was not so lucky, losing quite a hefty amount. But, with a free room for the weekend and the time of his life, I don’t think he’ll beat himself up too bad for it. Check out the rest of the pictures from Vegas on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook Page!
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