Poll : 20 May - 02 June 2009

Analysis

We're glad the majority of you have never had a bad time in Las Vegas and that not one of you was jilted at the altar (or at least, no one who'd 'fess up to it). On the other hand, our request for gory details yielded some true horror stories, some of which we'll now share with everyone else (and some of which were too lengthy to replicate here, but we feel for you!) Thanks everyone and hope none of this ever happens to any of you ever again -- at least time heals and sometimes there's eventually a funny side (although not always):

• "My spouse 'overheated' during an August trip to Vegas [Ed: ??!!?] Did not want to eat, drink, gamble -- she just stayed in the room to stay cool. Come to think of it, that allowed me to gamble, drink, smoke a cigar... was not so bad after all."
• "Wife's purse was stolen by a person known to the hotel as a thief. They refused to identify said person or a provide security video for the police report that had to be filed by us at Metro headquarters. Total value of loss: $10k"
• "My worst time was the result of traveling with too many people, primarily family. I spent way too much time trying to answer the question: 'What are we going to do now,' primarily from my wife and mother-in-law, who somehow determined I was 'cruise director' for the week and responsible for making sure everyone else had all the fun they could stand."
• "It wasn't the entire trip but I've never forgotten how miserable we were. We had tickets to see George Carlin at the MGM Grand. When we arrived we were not allowed to valet at the hotel. We were directed to go around to the back at the convention center. We had to walk through the entire convention center and through the entire hotel. There were other shows scheduled to start at the same time so there was no place to sit or stand either at a slot machine or to have a cocktail. After the show we started to leave and the cab line was at least 100 people deep and the valet line was as long or longer. We decided to walk back to the convention parking. When we arrived we had to wait one hour and forty-five minutes for our car. Because of this event I have never been back to the MGM Grand nor will I ever go there again. Worst time I ever had in Vegas."
• "My soon-to-be-ex and I came into town for a motorcycle rally. I had caught a cold and as the days wore on became worse and worse. I was miserable, unable to ride my motorcycle, drink, or gamble. I really was ready to leave town but the ex didn't wanna leave. So the RV park we were staying in got to hear all the gory details of our crappy marriage."
• "The worst time I ever had was at Caesars at the dollar slot area. I was playing the slots when a gentlemen walked up to the machine next to me and and put a twenty in. He then, on his first pull, hit for 6 million. I looked heavenward and and asked why couldn't it have been me. So close and yet so far. It ruined my trip."
• " This is one of those "best of times, worst of times" stories. We spent the entire day at the Paris pool one hot and sunny afternoon two summers ago, enjoying far too many cocktails in the hot Vegas sun! Around 4:30 we headed back to the room for a quick nap before heading over to see Elton John….a concert we had waited 2 years to see and that we had spent nearly $600 for tickets for. The well needed nap quickly became an extended sleep…with us waking up at 10pm only to discover we had missed the entire show. At least we enjoyed our day at the pool…..LOL."
• "On a weekend in August (that's stand-alone part one of 'worst!') we were so hot and uncomfortable that we accepted a time share tour offer, and spent more than FIVE hours trapped in a series of hardcore salespeople, with no way back to our hotel, only some cookies for food. On top of all that, the timeshare's offices LOST THEIR AIR CONDITIONING that day. Talk about miserable and rough... !"
• "A few years back, my husband and I were staying at the Golden Nugget when an armed man entered the sports book area. Everyone was evacuated in an orderly and safe manor. No one was harmed but it was a scary situation to be in at the time."
• "Last year while playing at Mermaids I dropped 2 quarters on the floor. I proceeded to put my right hand on the back of my chair to balance myself as I leaned over to retrieve the coins. My center of gravity shifted and I heard a loud pop and a crinkling noise in the direction of my arm. Well 10 minutes later when I could see through the pain I noticed a hollow space where my bicep should be. After a trip to the Desert Springs emergency room I discovered I had torn the bicep tendon from the bone. The fine doctors stabilized me enough so I was able to travel home and have surgery to reattach the tendon." [Ed: Yikes!]
• "A few years ago I drank too much on an empty stomach our first night there and got sick in the bathroom at a downtown casino (at least I made it to the toilet!). Couldn't pick myself up off the bathroom floor. I was dead weight. Paramedics were called. Put me in a wheelchair, took some vitals, determined I would live (barely), asked me if I wanted to be transported to the hospital. I weakly shook my head "no", signed a waiver, and they wheeled me out to a taxi, poured me into the back seat and my poor husband had to half drag, half carry me up to our room at Bally's. We were there for a convention and he was embarrassed to death that other conventioneers would recognize us throughout the convention. Surprisingly, no hangover the next morning. I felt fine, but didn't take another drink until (just one) on our last day there. It took my husband weeks to forgive me."
• "Definitely other. The mister and I were feeling adventurous and wanted to hit a strip club together. We figured the OG had been around awhile and would be a safe bet for a good time one afternoon. Three girls 'danced' in the 90 minutes we were there, one never took her top off. In the long wait (often 20-30 minutes) between dancers, one girl perched herself next to us and launched into a bizarre monologue about her botched abortion and miscarriages. We could not get rid of her. It was the most surreal experience ever, and the strangest yet in Las Vegas."
• "My husband and I have been to Vegas about 15 times since our first visit in 1989. We've been there with party poopers and inlaws. We have had all kinds of flight difficulties and car rental hassles. We've had luggage lost by the airline, and we've had hotel reservation headaches. We've lost a lot of money, and rarely won much of anything. We've seen corny shows and eaten at some awful buffets (remember the Hacienda?). We have fought traffic on the Strip, fought the desert heat, and fought the crowds. And sometimes, we've done all of this and more in a single trip!
  
  But in spite of all that, we have never had a bad time in Vegas! We have seen some unbelievable shows, danced, laughed, eaten and drunk ourselves silly, enjoyed the finest gourmet dining, been put up in some of the best hotel rooms we've ever seen, we have played, won a little, had a whole lot of fun, and seen a unique slice of the world that can only be found in Vegas. There is no such thing as a 'worst time in Vegas.' Anyone who says they had such a terrible time was just trying too hard. The trick is to just relax and let Vegas happen. It is a one-of-a-kind vacation that cannot be duplicated."