As we usually rarely visit the Strip, we figured it was about time we did.
We stayed at the Monte Carlo, and spent an enormous amount of time (and fortunately significantly less money) gambling at the Strip casinos—notorious for very low winning prospects. Oh, I also emptied out the MAC store at Caesar’s Palace. A slight exaggeration, but I swear I heard the Amex let out a cry when the cashier swiped it.
Another first was taking public transportation, something you should otherwise avoid at all costs: we took the Monorail from one end of the Strip to the other. Fine, the Monorail isn’t really proper public transportation (as the staggering ticket prices keep locals off), but close enough. I have to say it wasn’t the most comfortable ride as the cars would sway slightly and I kept thinking it was going to keel over, and the infomercials were so excruciatingly bad I doubt I could’ve handled any more without actually screaming (I’ll spare you the examples I’m trying to erase from my memory as we speak), but it did indeed get us from point A to B (and eventually C) very efficiently.
On the way back to our hotel after three hours of gambling (and we came out $4 ahead, quite the hourly wage I say!) we walked through the MGM Grand (to get off the Monorail), and spotted high-roller slots & video poker. The slots ranged from $500 to, yes, $10,000. And “two coins”. So $1,000 to $20,000 per draw. Oddly enough, we didn’t see anybody playing. But I’m sure people do, why else would they be there.
It was a lot of fun staying on the Strip, and sipping a strawberry daiquiri by the pool taking in the sun was definitely nothing to complain about.
We had a good trip, actually ended up ahead gambling-wise (nice change from last year)--I definitely had better luck than probably ever before--and we did indeed fly direct on the way home, despite visions of spending 30+ hrs on the road. We decided to rent a car for the drive home from Gatwick, as that turned out to cost £0.50 more than taking the bus, and it was well worth it.
