LAS VEGASSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas
End of Blog entry
However I couldn't be that mean so I will give a bit of news.
I entered to see Nat Katz, a friend of mine from Melbourne, Australia, whom I had met in London. We had coordinated for a while to make this trip a reality and it was really exciting for the plan to come together. We sat overlooking the Vegas skyline enjoying a beer as the sun set.
View from the apartment overlooking the strip
This is where I stayed
Hailey introduced me to her housemate Kris and Lindsay. Kris was ex US army and had travelled a great deal. Lindsay worked in Vegas real estate. First order was for us to get ready for a few drinks at a locals place called Blue Martini which had ripping live music and a great atmosphere without the crazy drunkenness typical of Vegas tourists. We then popped downstairs to the Yardarm which serves something like over 160 different types of beers. Kris introduced me to Shiner Bock, a Texan beer that is brewed in the German style. Not too fizzy and quite tasty at the same time... I liked it!
3 Legends - starting off at Blue Martini bar
Next move was to the Luxor hotel (the famous pyramid shaped one) and into the LAX nightclub. Hailey used her connections to get us in for free ($30 cover) and free drinks in the VIP area. We then got invited to the table of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter. The reason he was around was because there was a huge round of fights setup for the coming weekend (UFC 100) and most of the big name fighters were in town. Despite me being slightly terrified by this large chap he was very welcoming and offered us to drink for free at his table. We met a Kiwi girl there called Joleen who was great to hang out with. We didn't stay too late as the club and music wasn't what we were looking for and we wanted to keep our energy for a big Thursday night.
And onto LAX nightclub
I got dared to go dance with the stage girls - I ended up getting kicked out of VIP
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - UFC fighter
Joleen (NZ) and Nat (Aus)
The late shift cleaners gave out free rides
Thursday started off slowly. In the morning, Nat and I went shopping at the Fashion Show Mall for party related gear (an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt for me and a bikini for Nat) before having lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen with Hailey who was on her lunch break. After lunch we taxied back and relaxed by the Panorama pool area for the afternoon hours before getting prepared for the night ahead
In the Wynn
We were scheduled to be out at Tryst nightclub in the Wynn hotel. Before that however we made a brief stopover at The Bank nightclub in the Bellagio. Inside Hailey made a beeline for the private tables and secured us a nice drinking spot (drinks all free of charge of course). The music there was mainly hip-hop with a few Michael Jackson tributes thrown in. Occasionally a foam gun would splash around making it look a bit like a snow storm inside. After an hour or so we were ready to move on.
Bellagio
Ladies table at The Bank
A quick trip down the strip and we were in the Wynn. Again Hailey bypasses the large queue and speaks to the doorman and bouncers. In next to no time we were being ushered past the long line of waiting people and straight into the club VIP section. We were joined by Joleen and very soon we were back at a UFC table, only this time it was a large bunch of them. Now I won't lie that, as a guy, I wasn't the most welcome person there but I did have 3 girls in tow which meant I held a bit of sway so I was allowed to chill. These guys were all pretty massive and pumped up. I met Chuck "Iceman" Liddell along with several other big name fighters. The club was stunning. The social area extended around a large blue-lit pool area with incredibly detailed decor. In addition they played house music which bumped up the whole experience another notch!
Chuck "Iceman" Liddell
News came to us that another exclusive after-hours club called Drai's would be open and we had a ticket in. We marched over to the club in Bill's Gambling Hall and again bypassed the queue and the $50 entrance fee. More partying commenced. When it got really really late we thought it wise to head home. En route we took a food break at Denny's where I had a Hooburrito which was pretty gross and messed my stomach up a bit. There was also a crazy guy talking gibberish next to our table who got kicked out after causing a massive scene for not getting chopsticks with his chicken burger.
Sleeping in nice and late we got ready for a heavy session of tanning and relaxing at the Wynn hotel pool area. Nat went in before me as I needed to get some stuff done so when I arrived I realised I had no guest identification to speak of. Luckily I was given a tip to sneak through one of the terrace restaurants where security was lax. After my covert operation I cruised to a nice spot where I could bask for the next couple of hours. The pool area was festive. Loud music blared and people with cocktails filled the pool.
Recovering at the Wynn pool
When we got back to the apartment I was intending to head out to a local electronics shop to buy myself a laptop. This trip was cut short by Kris' suggestion we head to the Hard Rock Hotel for some beers. Feeling that this was a much better idea, I accepted. We met Kris' friend Erin by the central bar in the hotel. Kris knew the bartender there so we were getting very very strong vodka red bulls at bargain prices.
Hooters nostalgia - I stayed there the last time I was in Vegas
Boys night out with Erin and Kris
Erin and his girlfriend were going for a dinner at Agu which we joined in on. I tucked into a tender ribeye steak. We finished off with a desert and port before moving to another of Kris' suggested spots... the Hofbrauhaus. This is a copy of the original in Bavaria. They clearly went to pains to make it authentic. Buxom wenches clad in traditional German attire slammed large litre jugs of beer on our tables. A German band played in the corner and a beer holding contest was held (you stick your arm out holding a full jug and hold it as long as you can).
Hofbrauhaus
Authentic German band
Authentic 1 litre Hofbrau beers
It was there we met another of Kris' friends, Jason. he hung out with us for a drink before we took a drive to another interesting place... Stoneys Nightclub. This was an all-American country western hangout. The large dancefloor was filled with people line dancing and a mechnical bull sat in the corner. I was tempted to give it a go but after a moment spent viewing guys getting launched off it, I realised that my bad shoulder would never take the strain.
This girl LOVED the bull. She had like 5 goes
Jason and Angelica
I gave line dancing a go and was pretty bad so I sat down again. After hanging out with Jason, Kris and Angelica it was again time to go home. Another great night!
By now all this partying was starting to take its toll. Waking up groggy-eyed I resolved to go get something constructive done. Kris and I drove to a shopping complex and had some cleansing sushi before I missioned off to Fry's Electronics, a megastore that contained just about anything that could be plugged into a wall socket. I stared at the shiny laptops a bit bug-eyed and picked out one that was to my liking. I spent a bit more than I had planned but quality doesn't come cheap.
Sushi - really good!
This place stocked just about anything that contains an electrical circuit
Once again there was another party that was going on. This was at Tao Beach in the Venetian hotel. After dropping my laptop off at the reception at Panorama, I cabbed to the hotel. Hailey had given me a hint that I should be on JT's list. Nobody had actually met JT but this is how Vegas works. I got up to the pool area and as I was going into the sectioned off Tao beach enclosure I dropped JT's name. The bouncer promptly turns to the guy to his immediate right and says: "JT, this guy says he is on your list". JT gives me a puzzled glance and asks if he knows me. I say no but my friends had told me I was on his list. Thankfully he let me in with no hassle (and no charge!). I entered the thumping pool area of Tao Beach and saw people throwing money into the air and partying to heavy basslines. I caught up with Nat, Hailey and Joleen who had been invited to some guys cabana (sort of like a beach tent with tons of free food and booze). It turned out they all worked in finance and specifically in equity derivatives! We got along well after finding out this common detail. The party roared on into the late afternoon. The pool was filled with people dancing and splashing water around. Everybody was in their swimming costume and sunglasses and pretty drunk! The music was fantastic and kept us all dancing until the close.
Here we go again! Tao Beach party
Getting frisky in the pool
Partying in the sun wa exhausting so we took a tactical 2 hour nap to better prepare for the party later that night. A bunch of Hailey's friends from Texas had just arrived in town and were looking to go out with us. We were invited to their private bungalow at the Palms hotel where we had some pre-match drinks and food. Now it was Adam with 10 hot girls. Picture evidence is provided below. With a harem like this I felt close to untouchable on the nightclub scene. This was later proved as we got to Tao nightclub in the Venetian hotel. We all got into a limo to get to the club. Standard operating procedure was followed - Hailey walks to front of massive line and drops a name (the club owner's in this case), we get led into club with no charge and VIP access. We partied at the owner's table facing in on the dancefloor. Now I met my match as it was just the club owner and me representing the guys with close to 20 girls partying around us. Music again was fantastic and we partied hard. When we left there was talk of going to the famous XS nightclub in the Encore hotel but I was pretty tired and opted out.
This is what I am talking about
My Vegas dream becoming reality
A spot of lifeguard duty by the Palms pool before heading out
The limo ride was fun too!
Partying at Tao Nightclub. We were at the owner's table, pictured here
That was Saturday night but we still had one large party to attend which is probably one of the most famous ones in Vegas... REHAB at the Hard Rock Hotel Pool. We had a very long lie-in. By 2pm we were ready. We called in the private car service at the apartments to take us there.
My Lamborghini... jokes, it was some other dude's who allowed us to sit in it!
Joleen had organised for us on the guestlist so once again I did not have to pay the $100 (ridiculous I know!) entrance fee. Once inside it felt a lot like Tao Beach... just souped up on hardcore steroids! A huge pool area opened up that was packed with people dancing to booming music. This was in intense 38 degree heat. It drew back memories of Space in Ibiza such was the scale. We got ushered up to the private cabana area and were introduced to some British guys who were entertaining. We got the VIP treatment again with some pretty cool guys. The music here must be the best I had heard so far. House music anthems kept us dancing the whole day even though I had largely taken a break from drinking. I had never seen such wild hedonism in my life. Money truly ruled everything here. Roided up muscle bound guys were everywhere as well as silicone enhanced women in the skimpiest bathing suits I have ever seen. We smashed it as if it was our last party and indeed it was.
Welcome to REHAB at the Hard Rock Hotel
Submerged blackjack
Even though there were intentions of going out later... I got back to the apartment and passed out. I woke to join Hailey and Nat in a dinner date at the Daniel Boulud restaurant in the Wynn hotel. Fighting back the urge to sleep I made it out and had a classy meal in front of one of the idyllic Wynn pools.
The next morning Nat was off to Jamaica and I was trying to get onto a Greyhound bus to LA. I could only get on for the next day so I hung around doing a ton of admin and sorting out my new laptop. We had In n Out Burger for dinner and an early night. On the day of my departure, Kris and I went into downtown Las Vegas for some brunch. Fish tacos and beer worked like a dream. We also met a washed-up old surfer who spoke to us of his time as a tunnel rat in Vietnam and his experiences surfing the world. Kris dropped me off at the greyhound bus station and I waved goodbye to Vegas.
Downtown Vegas
This had been a whirlwind stay. Crazy and unceasing in every way but totally amazing. I needed a break!
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