Vegas Day #1 - The Bet & Ka

Even though the trip started on Thursday, I have to start with Wednesday.  At work, my coworker Ben gave me $100 to take to Vegas with some very specific instructions.  Upon ariving at Caesar's, I was to walk up to a blackjack dealer (and not just any blackjack dealer...but the meanest Asian blackjack dealer I could find) and lay the money on the table.  I was to say "money plays" and nothing else.  I accepted the challenge.

Special shout out to the Debster and Spamalot because we had a super fun time Wednesday night.  (Geeze, that was almost a week ago!)  Oh, and also, Debi is contemplating going to Chicago in October.  Head on over to her blog and give her some peer pressure!!  :)

We left Thursday morning and met 3 of the other girls at the airport.  The last girl is a flight attendent and since we were flying Spirit Airlines, she was going to meet us at the airport in Vegas.  Our flight to Vegas was uneventful except for the descent when I was convinced we were going to crash and die.  Did I mention my flying phobia?  Yeah.  Most of the time, my mind knows that everything is okay and I can overcome my body.  But we were shaking all over the place and while my demeanor was calm, BFF was worried that I was so red that I was going to pass out.  :)  Oh well, we landed and didn't die.

As per Ben's instructions, upon ariving at Caeser's, we walked (bags and all) into the casino in search of the meanest looking Asian blackjack dealer.  I found one and she snapped at me that she was closed.  I went to the second one (less mean, but still Asian) and she explained that she was closed as well.  So, feeling kind of dumb, I went to the only dealer left who was a happy, older Italian guy.  I put down my money and said, "money plays."  He laughed at me and said that I couldn't do that.  They don't allow it in the casino.  Thanks Ben!  Anyway, I just forged ahead with the $100 chip I was given.

I had 19 and the dealer had a face card up.  It happened so fast that I didn't have a chance to be nervous.  I stayed, of course, and the dealer turned over a 7.  He turned the next card and busted.  WOO HOO!  I just won a $100!!!  And since I'm a total girl, I took a picture with the huggy blackjack dealer.

What a GREAT WAY to start the weekend!!

After checking in and putting our stuff in the room, we went to lunch.  We went to Mesa Grill at Caesar's which is Bobby Flay's restaurant.  I do love me some Bobby Flay!  The food was good and the margaritas were outstanding!  We shared some queso with roasted pablno peppers which was excellent.  Then I had the grilled grouper which I thought was good.  Good job, Bobby!

After lunch, we set out to explore.  It was HOT...like 109 hot.  Dry heat, shrmy heat.  Hot is hot!  Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the show.  We went to see KA, the Cirque du Soleil show at MGM.  It was a great show.  It was about samurais and martial arts which was cool, but not my favorite story line.  The staging, however, was un-freaking-believable.  It was on hydrolics and moved all over the place.  Cirque always puts on a great show!

I don't have the pictures that we took after the show yet, but when I get them I will have to post.  In one of them, I look like an absolute Amazon and it is AWESOME.  All of the girls (except one who happened to be taking that picture) are around 5 foot or 5'3" at most and were in flat shoes.  I'm 5'5" and was wearing HUGE platforms.  I look like I'm with a bunch of little people. I can't wait to share that with you.  Also, it was the first time I had really gone out into public sleeveless.  I still don't love my arms by any means, but I'm trying to get past it.

After the show, we headed to the Forum Shops and ate at PJ Clarke's.  It wasn't an expensive meal, but it was delicious and the waiter was great.  I would definitely recommend it!  I had the scallops and they were so delicious.

After dinner, we gambled away about $40 in an hour and then went back to the hotel for some sleep. 

To be continued...