16 May, 2006 (Tuesday) Las Vegas, Nevada

'Self justification is the foundation of any good retrospective analysis.'

Goodbye AJ
We decided to extend our stay by a day. AJ left us late on Monday evening to catch a Greyhound through to San Francisco. I hope she has a safe trip and that her thesis goes well. I'm going to miss her frequent bathroom visits, her constant reflections on her boyfriend, her continuous need to relate things to surfing or Quiksilver and her price comparisons back to Euros which strangely render many things 'cheap'.


The Camera Incident - Aside:
I messed up on Monday morning. I admit it. AJ had asked if I could transfer her photos to CD, so I'd linked up the computer and gone to clean myself up. Her and Sean had been tinkering with it for a while, so I assumed that all the image files were copied over to my hard drive. When I returned she said something about running out of space on her camera, so I asked if she'd copied it over and if I could clear the camera card. I swear she said "Yes". I also ASSUMED that she'd been spending that time while I was gone transferring the images over. I was wrong. (Picture: Venetian corridors)

Being the efficiency freak I am I just deleted the files on the camera. When you do that on a detachable drive Windows doesn't like recovering them. AJ freaked. She started running around and screaming, ran into the bathroom sobbing and yelling "My research, oh I've lost all my research". I tried to shutter it out as I found a recovery program online and manually began recovering each of the files. It took about 10 minutes to fix it all up and burn the files to CD.

I guess sleep deprivation affects us in different ways. For me it just makes me go quiet and focus on things more intently. I guess some people get the impression that I'm in a funk, but it's just a more tightly held focus where I couldn't be bothered wasting energy dealing with other's foibles. I'm much better once I get some real sleep. (Picture: Caesar's pillar on moonlight)


Doing Vegas on a Budget
After a month on the road with no income you start to tighten up on spending. While we couldn't help but spend more being in Vegas - heck, everything on the strip is more expensive - we're now in the habit of cutting back. This means we keep an eye out for freebies, tend to favour exploring over paying for entertainment, and look for deals which will stretch your dollar that bit further. (Picture: Monte Carlo frontage)

Unfortunately this has meant that we haven't really been out to see all that much nightlife. Sean hasn't been that keen to see the bar scene - admittedly it is comparatively expensive, and it still feels a bit strange to just wander in on my lonesome... although I've done it a few times lately and it usually works out okay. While in Vegas we found it difficult to track down decent reasonably priced meals.

The first night I paid $US8 for a 6 inch subway sub. AJ seemed happy with the deal, but I was horrified. The two days following we went for a buffet-style brunch and then micro-snacked. For $8.46 (after discount) I think we all got our value out of the Sahara buffet. I managed three plates, plus desert. The next day we ended up at the Monte Carlo and paid $20 for a buffet which included roasted meats, seafood and beautifully detailed deserts. The food was superior, but the verdict is still out on value. (Picture: The strangely alluring rainbow of M&Ms)


Sleep is not so deep - Aside:
My hours were topsy-turvy while in Vegas. I was up consistently past 3am and only slept until 9am. I think I worked out that I was averaging 4 hours a night. For me that's pretty brutal. I like sleep. I need sleep. The lack of sleep and haphazard meals took their toll, although the desert temperatures probably reduced appetite. Next time I'm in Vegas I think I'd like to do it with a bit more pizzaz. Perhaps I should make more of an effort to win Lotto?


Sean Hits the Tables
Texas Holdem style Poker is pretty big in Vegas. It's a highly televised, highly tactical variant that gives players two cards against a flop of 5. Players play against each others rather than the house. Sean has been studying up on poker for a while now and was eager to try his stake in a tournament. After some discussion he settled on the Sahara. The place doesn't have a very big poker room, but the reviews online dubbed it as one for the tourists. (Picture (1): Mirage 7:56pm; (2) Mirage 8:01pm - Boom!)

I wasn't there for it, but apparently Sean lasted a few hours in an evening tournament. A tournament is where players buy into the game for a certain amount and are out when they run out of the purchased amount of chips. Theoretically it's a fairer way to play as everybody starts on the same level.

Sean played a tight safe game, but found out the hard-way that when people are able to enter the tournament at any time you can get bled dry. Players who have been there longer and played a bit more loosely can accumulate a lot more chips as people are eliminated, which means they can more easily buy out tighter/newer players.


Big White-ans sighted
While Sean was at the Sahara I went back to the Stratosphere and cleaned up. While circling the casino floor, seeing if any of the bars were busy, I thought I heard my name being called. Turning around I saw Foxy, from Big White. Bizarre. Seconds later he was joined by Greg and Bergie.

It seems the guys were down for 4 days and were just exploring their way around. They were staying at the Sahara, but had decided they wanted something more lively. We soon found ourselves wandering down the strip. We hit up Circus Circus, then Slots A Fun. Bergie put down $20 on blackjack, splitting a pair of aces and then scoring a pair of jacks on top of both. From there his luck went down, ending up $3 under. Foxy lost his $20 in four straight hands, where the dealer made 20 each time.

Outside we ran into a guy offering free nightclub entry. He persuaded us to take some - his tip: The Beach, (apparently) one of Vegas' hotspots. Pushing us for tips we came up with $2.50. He complained. We told him we were budget travelers. Heck, if we had money we'd be paying full price!

The Beach was three blocks away hidden in the back streets. We rolled in, avoiding cover charge with our freebie tickets. It was approaching one and insider there seemed to be more bouncers than patrons. A band was still thrashing out Green Day on stage and two girls in hot pants were dancing on the bar. Both had one dollar notes sticking out of their garters The place was badly lit and the other customers looked unattractive, even in the dim lighting. We sat down and ordered drinks. The place just got worse. The bartender, in his nasty goatee and cowboy hat, opened a bag of confetti and blew it all over the bar with an industrial blower. The band stopped playing. The other patrons just got uglier. We left.