Vegas was a blast.

We stayed at The Venetian.  While the Venetian was oppulent, it was a bit ‘overdone’ for my taste.

Highlights of the trip include:

• Barry & I entered a No Limit Hole’dm Tournament.  Unfortunately, I busted out in the 5th round and Barry busted out on the next hand.
• The Bellagio Fountains were very cool… a must see.
• The Mirage Volcano.  We just happened to be walking past and caught most of this show.  Also pretty cool.
• The Venetian Grand Canal Shoppes where a canal, complete with Italian Gondolas divides the rows of shops complete with puffy clouds on the ceiling that appeared to be moving when you walked.
• Zumanity, a Cirque du Soleil show was very entertaining.
• … and, of course, the night tour of the strip in an EC130.  Our pilot was good guy and flying over the strip at night was an amazing view.

Pros and Cons:
Venetian:

Pros:

• Nice suites and quite reasonably priced (most likely due to the downturn in the economy).
• Huge bathroom with soaker tub and walk-in shower.
• Grand Lux Cafe was an awesome place to eat.  Good food and reasonably priced.
• They basically have everything.  You don’t have to go anywhere… although I’m sure many of the resort/casinos are set up this way.

Cons:

• The Venetian had this ‘flowery’ smell everywhere… both Tracey and I could have done without that.
• Extra $9.95 / day for internet access (that’s stupid).
• No fan in the bathroom.

Las Vegas:

Cons:

• Airport Shuttle: While cheap, if you value your time then you should just jump in a cab. Our driver was a million years old, it took forever to leave the airport and if you aren’t staying at the first couple of hotels on the route, then you’re in for a long ride.
• Recycling?  What recycling? :  There are absolutely NO provisions for recycling anywhere.  This amazed me.  All the waste there.  Everything goes in the garbage.  It’s time for Vegas to get with the program.
• Yes, it is a desert:  As soon as you get off the plane in Vegas, every drop of moisture in your eyes, mouth and skin is immediately sucked away from you.  My contacts were constantly dry and my mouth felt like I just sucked on a huge cotton ball.  Yes, I knew it was going to be dry going into it but it was uncomfortable all the same.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ll definitely be going back. We had a great time and I would suggest it to anyone else who hasn’t been there yet.