Saturday January 11
The ear plugs did the trick, and Ken’s snoring didn’t wake me up. Unfortunately my internal clock woke me up at 6:00am after a refreshing 2&1/2 hours of sleep.
Ken has never been to Hoover Dam and wanted to go, so after a quick breakfast at the MGM Grand Buffet using a myVegas reward, we headed out.
Our Nissan Rogue. Where's Ken?
Everyone reading this has probably seen pictures of Hoover Dam more times than they care to admit, so I’ll just include a couple to bore you with.
We did drive across the Pat Tillman Bridge by accident, but you can’t stop on the bridge and really can’t see anything from the car.
After Hoover Dam, Ken challenged me to a couple of games of pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame.
Ken might be able to bench press more than me now and outrun me in a foot race... heck he’ll probably even out-live me, but I still was able to kick his ass at two pinball classics of his choosing! I win another $10 bet before we move on.
We decide to have a quickie lunch at this place I had heard about. KoMex.
KoMex at 4155 S Buffalo Dr
Bugogi Tacos?
Ken is Korean and enjoyed his food, but whoever thought a Mexican / Korean fusion restaurant could make it in Las Vegas? Apparently they have 2 locations.
After lunch we headed to the Orleans where we were going to be picked up from Las Vegas ATV Tours for a trip to the Nellis Sand Dunes.
I purchased this deal on Groupon for $189 for 2 people. It’s all really a scam though. They tell you that you need to upgrade to the 4 hour tour and then pay taxes which ended up costing us $135 each. I suppose that is cheaper than the $150 that everyone else in our group paid.
All in all it was pretty fun bombing around the desert on those ATVs. You could see some fighter jets flying overhead and even some debris from what I expect were form military exercises or U.F.O crashes.
Our tour guide was named Louie. He was a real character. He brought us out to a spot in the desert and showed us this old mine shaft. He claims that this was an abandoned mine shaft that the Mob used to transport people into the desert to kill or bury. Believe it not.
Louie also said that he has been in Las Vegas for 5 years, personally knew Victor Drai and Steve Wynn, was offered a management position with Hakkasan @ the MGM Grand, and was a world class flair bartender that used to work at Sapphire Men’s Club, the same club Ken and I would be going to tonight. Riiiiight....
We got back to the Orleans at around 6:30pm which was plenty of time to get cleaned up and to have dinner at the Prime Rib Loft.
The food here is amazing.
Happy Birthday Ken!
I just love this restaurant. The décor is certainly dated but their blackened prime rib Cajun style is just fantastic. The prices are very reasonable as well.
Back in December, when we were in the planning stages for this trip, Ken had mentioned that he wanted to check out a Strip Club while in Las Vegas on his birthday. After searching around online, I found this concierge service called Club Viva Las Vegas. They have many packages, but apparently Sapphire is the largest “gentleman’s club” in the world at over 70,000 square feet, and they offered a great deal. For just $19 per person, Sapphire would pick you up in a limousine, get you in no charge through VIP entry and serve 1 free round of drinks. I thought it sounded reasonable so I booked it.
Now my dear wife , who lets me go to Las Vegas is very understanding and a good sport. Nevertheless, she told me to remember which clothes I was wearing the night I went to Sapphire, because she would throw them out when I got home.
So, I called Sapphire dispatch on Friday to confirm pick-up today at 9:00pm. After dinner around 8:45pm, we stand outside the main valet waiting for the limo. No one came. We checked messages on Ken’s phone and no on called or texted us. I called Sapphire and asked if they were running behind or if someone was on their way. The operator's reply was,
"No. We weren't able to confirm with you the day of your pick-up because you gave us an incorrect cell number and we were unable to get a hold of you."
Well, I said that I called the day prior like I was told to by the Club Viva Las Vegas confirmation letter and was told I would be picked up. Her response was,
"Well THAT IS NOT OUR POLICY. We require 'day of' confirmation and since we were not able to get a hold of you we did not come. Club Viva Las Vegas may have their policies but we only follow ours. If you would still like to be picked up, I can have someone sent at 9:50pm. What are you wearing?"
I was upset that some miscommunication had occurred, but since it was already 9:20pm, I thought we would wait. So I gave her our description and told her we would be standing outside for the next 1/2 hour waiting for pick-up at the Orleans Valet.
No one came. At 10:15pm I called up Sapphire again. This time the dispatch operator said,
"Our driver was there and saw no one matching your description. He waited 10 minutes and left. If you still want pick-up, I can send someone over at 10:50pm."
Needless to say, I was livid. After waiting almost 1&1/2 hours in the cold we were being told to wait another 1/2 hour. I got an acting manager on the phone that just repeated the same thing to me. I started getting angry and was almost yelling at the operator at Sapphire who began yelling at me!
Suddenly in a moment of clarity I caught myself. How utterly pathetic did I sound right now? “Take me to the strip club! You’re late! I want to go to the strip club!” How embarrassing.
In the end, we decided not to go since we were either scammed by Club Viva, or being outright lied to by Sapphire. I even tried calling Club Viva on Saturday night and only got an AT&T directory assistance prompt.
Ken wasn’t really that bummed. He wanted to check out Cosmopolitan and Aria anyways, so that’s where we headed.
Where's Ken?
Not that busy on the Strip for a Saturday night
We valet parked at Aria and walked around a bit. We stopped in at Cosmopolitan for a while where I lost $100 on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine, but won that back plus $175 more playing blackjack.
After the obligatory stop at the Bellagio Fountains, we headed back to the Aria to gamble for a bit.
The ubiquitous Bellagio Fountain shot.
Do anyone reading this ever feel like winning or losing in Las Vegas is somehow contingent on a “butterfly effect”? We wouldn’t even be at Aria right now if Sapphire had picked us up like they were supposed to. As it turns out missing the strip club was the best thing to happen to me this whole trip.
Whatever I played at Aria, I seemed to win on! Craps, slots, and even this no rake heads up hold ’em poker machine. I wasn’t winning MASSIVE amounts of money, but enough to hit the cash out button.
One of my hits.
I was up a pretty good sum ($1500?) but Ken wanted to stick around and play craps. I eventually did give some of it back, but by the time we left Aria and went to bed at around 3:30am, my bankroll was at $3650. I was happy with that. With just 1 day left to go, it looked like I would finally be ending my years long losing streak of Las Vegas trips.
The ear plugs did the trick, and Ken’s snoring didn’t wake me up. Unfortunately my internal clock woke me up at 6:00am after a refreshing 2&1/2 hours of sleep.
Ken has never been to Hoover Dam and wanted to go, so after a quick breakfast at the MGM Grand Buffet using a myVegas reward, we headed out.
Our Nissan Rogue. Where's Ken?
Everyone reading this has probably seen pictures of Hoover Dam more times than they care to admit, so I’ll just include a couple to bore you with.
We did drive across the Pat Tillman Bridge by accident, but you can’t stop on the bridge and really can’t see anything from the car.
After Hoover Dam, Ken challenged me to a couple of games of pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame.
Ken might be able to bench press more than me now and outrun me in a foot race... heck he’ll probably even out-live me, but I still was able to kick his ass at two pinball classics of his choosing! I win another $10 bet before we move on.
We decide to have a quickie lunch at this place I had heard about. KoMex.
KoMex at 4155 S Buffalo Dr
Bugogi Tacos?
Ken is Korean and enjoyed his food, but whoever thought a Mexican / Korean fusion restaurant could make it in Las Vegas? Apparently they have 2 locations.
After lunch we headed to the Orleans where we were going to be picked up from Las Vegas ATV Tours for a trip to the Nellis Sand Dunes.
I purchased this deal on Groupon for $189 for 2 people. It’s all really a scam though. They tell you that you need to upgrade to the 4 hour tour and then pay taxes which ended up costing us $135 each. I suppose that is cheaper than the $150 that everyone else in our group paid.
All in all it was pretty fun bombing around the desert on those ATVs. You could see some fighter jets flying overhead and even some debris from what I expect were form military exercises or U.F.O crashes.
Our tour guide was named Louie. He was a real character. He brought us out to a spot in the desert and showed us this old mine shaft. He claims that this was an abandoned mine shaft that the Mob used to transport people into the desert to kill or bury. Believe it not.
Louie also said that he has been in Las Vegas for 5 years, personally knew Victor Drai and Steve Wynn, was offered a management position with Hakkasan @ the MGM Grand, and was a world class flair bartender that used to work at Sapphire Men’s Club, the same club Ken and I would be going to tonight. Riiiiight....
We got back to the Orleans at around 6:30pm which was plenty of time to get cleaned up and to have dinner at the Prime Rib Loft.
The food here is amazing.
Happy Birthday Ken!
I just love this restaurant. The décor is certainly dated but their blackened prime rib Cajun style is just fantastic. The prices are very reasonable as well.
Back in December, when we were in the planning stages for this trip, Ken had mentioned that he wanted to check out a Strip Club while in Las Vegas on his birthday. After searching around online, I found this concierge service called Club Viva Las Vegas. They have many packages, but apparently Sapphire is the largest “gentleman’s club” in the world at over 70,000 square feet, and they offered a great deal. For just $19 per person, Sapphire would pick you up in a limousine, get you in no charge through VIP entry and serve 1 free round of drinks. I thought it sounded reasonable so I booked it.
Now my dear wife , who lets me go to Las Vegas is very understanding and a good sport. Nevertheless, she told me to remember which clothes I was wearing the night I went to Sapphire, because she would throw them out when I got home.
So, I called Sapphire dispatch on Friday to confirm pick-up today at 9:00pm. After dinner around 8:45pm, we stand outside the main valet waiting for the limo. No one came. We checked messages on Ken’s phone and no on called or texted us. I called Sapphire and asked if they were running behind or if someone was on their way. The operator's reply was,
"No. We weren't able to confirm with you the day of your pick-up because you gave us an incorrect cell number and we were unable to get a hold of you."
Well, I said that I called the day prior like I was told to by the Club Viva Las Vegas confirmation letter and was told I would be picked up. Her response was,
"Well THAT IS NOT OUR POLICY. We require 'day of' confirmation and since we were not able to get a hold of you we did not come. Club Viva Las Vegas may have their policies but we only follow ours. If you would still like to be picked up, I can have someone sent at 9:50pm. What are you wearing?"
I was upset that some miscommunication had occurred, but since it was already 9:20pm, I thought we would wait. So I gave her our description and told her we would be standing outside for the next 1/2 hour waiting for pick-up at the Orleans Valet.
No one came. At 10:15pm I called up Sapphire again. This time the dispatch operator said,
"Our driver was there and saw no one matching your description. He waited 10 minutes and left. If you still want pick-up, I can send someone over at 10:50pm."
Needless to say, I was livid. After waiting almost 1&1/2 hours in the cold we were being told to wait another 1/2 hour. I got an acting manager on the phone that just repeated the same thing to me. I started getting angry and was almost yelling at the operator at Sapphire who began yelling at me!
Suddenly in a moment of clarity I caught myself. How utterly pathetic did I sound right now? “Take me to the strip club! You’re late! I want to go to the strip club!” How embarrassing.
In the end, we decided not to go since we were either scammed by Club Viva, or being outright lied to by Sapphire. I even tried calling Club Viva on Saturday night and only got an AT&T directory assistance prompt.
Ken wasn’t really that bummed. He wanted to check out Cosmopolitan and Aria anyways, so that’s where we headed.
Where's Ken?
Not that busy on the Strip for a Saturday night
We valet parked at Aria and walked around a bit. We stopped in at Cosmopolitan for a while where I lost $100 on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine, but won that back plus $175 more playing blackjack.
After the obligatory stop at the Bellagio Fountains, we headed back to the Aria to gamble for a bit.
The ubiquitous Bellagio Fountain shot.
Do anyone reading this ever feel like winning or losing in Las Vegas is somehow contingent on a “butterfly effect”? We wouldn’t even be at Aria right now if Sapphire had picked us up like they were supposed to. As it turns out missing the strip club was the best thing to happen to me this whole trip.
Whatever I played at Aria, I seemed to win on! Craps, slots, and even this no rake heads up hold ’em poker machine. I wasn’t winning MASSIVE amounts of money, but enough to hit the cash out button.
One of my hits.
I was up a pretty good sum ($1500?) but Ken wanted to stick around and play craps. I eventually did give some of it back, but by the time we left Aria and went to bed at around 3:30am, my bankroll was at $3650. I was happy with that. With just 1 day left to go, it looked like I would finally be ending my years long losing streak of Las Vegas trips.
