VEGAS 2012! Day One

We spent five days in sunny Las Vegas last month. The hotel we chose was The Excalibur Hotel Casino. Mrs. Bax0jayz is a very clever girl, and booked us for Sunday - Thursday night. Why? Those nights were only $29! If you stay Friday or Saturday night it shoots up to over $200/night. Plus we were there on less busy days, so that meant more elbow room for fun!

First things first. The digs. When Stacey first told me she booked The Excalibur I was a little bit bummed. To me, the hotel looks cheesy, and maybe even a little dumpy. There are so many more shiny and glittery hotels on the strip, why this one?  I was quite WRONG about my assessment of the place. Check-in was fast and smooth, they had a room ready for us despite getting in at 11 AM as opposed to standard check-in time. The room was spacious, the bathroom was also large and very clean. The TV was a big flat screen LED type. The bed was king-sized and was very comfortable with piles of comfortable pillows for your individual taste. The room also had a a table, three chairs, and a view of The Luxor and to the left, the airport. We were pleased. Money well spent at this place. It was well worth it at $29 / night plus a $8 facility fee / day and you have access to the pools (several of them with a lot of seating but little to no shade.) and free WIRED internet. I brought my own WIFI hub and we used as many devices as we wanted that way, including my Kindle Fire.

That night we went to dinner with my charming friend Jessica who lives nearby. We wanted something classy so we chose FAT BURGER. When people hear the name FAT BURGER they usually envision a pile of fat and grizzle between two pieces of bread. It's off-putting. However, this place is nothing like that. It's a thick piece of meat, a large burger, it's a FAT burger, if you may. So, the name is fitting. They have burgers in all sizes. Mrs. Bax0jayz and I shared the XXL, a soda and some fries. Our friend had either the M or L burger and barely finished it. Everything tasted good, and the prices were very reasonable.

After that, Jessica suggested the bar at the Cosmopolitan Hotel called THE CHANDELIER. It's THREE FLOORS! We went to the second level and order drinks. Our friend chose a spicy drink that included freeze dried raspberries. When you eat the berries, smoke comes pouring out of your mouth and nose. It was VERY cool! My wife and i got something called the Verbena. It's something very much like a margarita on the rocks, but served with a little flower in it. You eat the flower which numbs your mouth then have drink. It's a WILD sensation. The drinks are expensive, about $14 a pop, but is worth it for the experience you won't have anyplace else. On a side note, the eastern European waitresses are stunningly gorgeous, and very friendly. Ours recognized my last name as fairly common from that part of the world. Delightful girl!

On another day we decided to have breakfast in our hotel. We decided to try a place called DICK'S LAST RESORT. If you're unfamiliar with the place, the concept is this: it's a restaurant with a rude-help theme. At a glance prices seem a little stiff, but the portions are pretty big. I got something called the "LOCO MOCO" which is a pile of rice, topped with a tender steak, eggs, brown gravy and hot sauce. It was delicious. The wife chose something like a Philly cheese steak. It, too, was excellent. Our waiter was sarcastic, rude, and funny. As a New Yorker, I didn't really see behaviour in the place that was too out of control. It's worth it for the giggles you get out of it unless you're too sensitive.