Vegas.....What a trip

After some horseracing tips I think I should return to things I do a little better........Traveling and having a blast!!!!

So it came about a while ago that a few of us good friends would be in the US at the same time and also at the same time as a noteable UK alternative rock band called....COLDPLAY! As good old fashioned supporters and die hard fans of all things Vegas we thought this a perfect oppertunity to reunite with old friends and make some new ones too.

We planned, pondered and purchased as time grew near for us to meet up in Las Vegas, Nevada. When the day finally came for us to meet up we were all ready and rearing to go. July 19th was the day of the concert and also the day I arrived to 45 degree celsius temperatures in the city that neve sleeps. I was last in Vegas some 16 years ago and boy has things changed. As my flight landed from Portland, Oregon I looked in awe as I saw row upon row upon row of glamorous new hotels and casinos. If you are in the casino business as I am it is like an Elvis fan coming home to Graceland!

Ok, so off to the hotel we were staying at, the Paris hotel right on the Vegas strip. Booking into our rooms was easy and then it was off to the casino floor to grab a drink and have a look around. The first day was a little rushed as our main aim for this trip was coming up that evening....Coldplay. After one or two cold beverages we got changed and headed over to the MGM Grand Arena where the concert was scheduled to take place. Getting through the maze of slot machines and table games on the huge MGM Grand floor was not an easy task and it almost required a GPS system to get us to the Grand Arena. All is well that end well when we managed to locate the arena and present our tickets to the gorilla at the entrance. He was surprisingly gentle as the pat down only lead to minor screams of delight from our intrepid 4-some.

Inside the arena the place was packed and this was quite a surprise to me as I did not think UK bands could make such a splash in the US. There have been a few entertainers from the motherland who have come here and failed, most notably Robbie Williams but this seemed to be a bird of a different feather. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin is married to a Yankee....Gwyneth Paltrow.

All things considered the show was really top notch. The set was well thought out and included enough old songs for the connoisseur as well as some new songs from their brand new album Viva La Vida (See picture taken at the concert). I loved the concert and the venue. It was nothing short of spectacular and with some good friends by my side we really started off our Vegas trip in the best way possble.

As the concert let out we strolled back to the hotel. AS we had all had excessively long days arriving in Vegas we decided to not take Vegas by storm on the first evening and retire early....like 2AM in the morning early......

Day two in Vegas and the fun really began. We moved from hotel to hotel, casino to casino. Drinking our way from one end to the other. We completed a tradition that Cranny, (aka. Mark Cranwell), had done late last year in Vegas. We bought "footballs" filled with a frozen drink from the New York, New York hotel. After finishing this drink we proceeded to the Mirage hotel. From there we moved to the front side of the hotel where we went to the front just before the strip. There is a statue of a little elephant in the gardens right next to the sidewalk. At this little elephant we all had to do an impression of an American Football players interpretation of an "Endzone Dance". In this dance you have to celebrate scoring a touchdown by doing a unique dance. (If you want to see mine you are able to view it on my facebook page). It was another huge success and some great fun for all of us.

The rest of the trip went as scheduled. Lots of drinking by some, lots of gambling by others. Cranny and I never slept for the rest of the trip which included some great gambling and a low end establishment further down on the strip. The dealers were old and near death but friendly and curteous that others in "bigger" casinos could easily learn from.

Come Moonday the 21st July, I was ready to head back to the loving arms of my Fiancee up in Portland, Oregon......What a concert, what a town, what a trip!!!!!