Vegas, baby

[Nick]

So, I'm thinking of doing a short 3-day vegas trip in December. I grabbed a Google Offers coupon yesterday for $300 (cost $30) off a Jetblue Getaways vacation but you need to use on travel by Dec 15th.

I can leave on a Friday night to Vegas, get all day Saturday, Sund, and Mon there and take the red-eye home Monday night to Tuesday morning. With the cost of the coupon, for my wife and I we can stay at the Luxor (3 nights) - $450, Mirage - $550 or the Venetian - $650.

I'm concerned about smokiness though. Wife and I are, uh, "working on" starting a family and are being very diligent about drinking / being around smoke / etc. If we get a non-smoking room, should we be OK?

Gonna be a lower-key Vegas trip. I've been once, this will be her first time. Plan on doing a show, maybe a grand canyon tour one day, and then just seeing the sites. Not a lot of imbibing or anything :lol:

I could have done Bermuda or something as well but that was like $1000 and the entire point of this spontenous trip was to keep it cheap (since we'll be spending $$ there and the whole winter on ski trips already!)

 

[drjeff]

From having been in Vegas a week ago and walking all up and down the strip, from a smokiness standpoint what I tended to notice was that the snazzier the hotel the less smoky it was. For instance walking through the Wynn, The Venetian, The Bellagio and Aria you hardly smelled any smoke. Walking through say The Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Paris, The MGM Grand (where I stayed) or The Luxor, you had some smokey areas and some areas that were fine. Places like Ballys, Harrahs and The Tropicana, well you might as well been at a Marlboro Convention! .

 

[Black Phantom]

Why not go skiing? :dunce::idea:

 

[deadheadskier]

stay at a Marriott or Westin property. Both chains have 100% smoke free policies at all of their North American properties.

 

[deadheadskier]

oops, didn't read fully that you had to stay at one of the 3 properties. :dunce:

 

[Black Phantom]

Pico is smoke free!

 

[Glenn]

My wife and I were out there the week before drjeff was. We thought about what a friggin party it would have been had we all been out there at the same time. My wife and I have been to Vegas 4 times.

I've never stayed at the Luxor; but from what we heard from a lady staying there who was at the conference I was at; it was kinda "meh". See what you can for a price at Caesar's. We stayed there and it was excellent. Jeff summed it up nicely; the better casino's don't get that smokey. You'll really only notice the smoke if you go out on the gambling floors later in the evening...say after 8/9PM. It's not all "that" bad. You'll smell it, but the casinos are big enough to displace things. If you get a non smoking hotel room, it won't smell. Vegas has actually gotten a little less smokey. You used to be able to smoke anywhere...litterally. But now they've made some of the more public areas; like the malls and whatnot non smoking.

You should be easily able to spend a day walking the strip and hitting all the casinos/shops. We did a tour of the Hoover Dam. My wife booked it when she booked our hotel a few trips ago. I think it was $30-$40 a person? That was about 4-5 years ago. They bused us over and then we saw the dam and the inner working. It was really nice to see.

I'm not sure how far the Canyon is, but I "think" it's a bit of drive. Make sure you check into that first.

If you guys like to eat out, there's so many damn choices. Love going to Vegas to eat. mmmmm!

 

[mattchuck2]

Haha, you're concerned that there might be second hand smoke when you're "working on" starting a family? And you think that's going to affect anything?

Unbelievable how far this has gone. Makes you wonder how anyone thinks babies were born in the beforetimes. Pretty sure everyone was smoking and drinking when I was conceived, and fine I out turned.

 

[Nick]

Haha, you're concerned that there might be second hand smoke when you're "working on" starting a family? And you think that's going to affect anything?

Unbelievable how far this has gone. Makes you wonder how anyone thinks babies were born in the beforetimes. Pretty sure everyone was smoking and drinking when I was conceived, and fine I out turned.

Whatever. Im less concerned about secondhand smoke occasionally than I am about spending an entire night in a rancid room.

 

[drjeff]

Nick, if you want a fun place to watch a game and have a beer (or 2 or maybe 100 ) check out The Pub in The Monte Carlo! I'm pretty sure that Glenn would agree when I say that's its an AMAZING place!!

 

[Nick]

Thanks for the tip!

I ended up shelling out the extra $180 and we are staying at the Venetian.

 

[Black Phantom]

 

[Black Phantom]

KILLINGTON, Vt. (November 22, 2010) – Pico Mountain has partnered with the American Cancer Society and will become Vermont’s first smoke free resort on January 1, 2011.

“Secondhand smoke causes close to 49,000 deaths annually from heart disease and cancer to otherwise healthy nonsmokers.” stated Kelly Stoddard, Vice President of Health & Advocacy Initiatives for the American Cancer Society. “Implementing this change for cleaner air will result in a reduced cancer risk for Pico employees, associates, and guests.”

In an effort to reward those who quit smoking, Pico Mountain will provide a complimentary one-day lift ticket or one-day Learn to Ski or Ride package to anyone who successfully completes a smoking cessation program offered at any of the 16 hospitals in the state of Vermont.

“Tobacco use remains the world’s most preventable causes of death, and we’re excited to remove it from the lungs of our guests and employees.” Commented Tracy Taylor, Pico Mountain’s Director of Operations.

To promote a smoke-free environment and raise awareness for the American Cancer Society, the Pico Race Arena will be open on January 1 and February 6, 2011 offering timed runs down a professional course for a $5 donation to the American Cancer Society. Money raised will go into an overall prize purse for the Hope on the Slopes, an event designed to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and heighten awareness of healthy activities and lifestyles, hosted at Pico Mountain on March 5, 2011.

 

[Black Phantom]

So, I'm thinking of doing a short 3-day vegas trip in December. I grabbed a Google Offers coupon yesterday for $300 (cost $30) off a Jetblue Getaways vacation but you need to use on travel by Dec 15th.

I can leave on a Friday night to Vegas, get all day Saturday, Sund, and Mon there and take the red-eye home Monday night to Tuesday morning. With the cost of the coupon, for my wife and I we can stay at the Luxor (3 nights) - $450, Mirage - $550 or the Venetian - $650.

I'm concerned about smokiness though. Wife and I are, uh, "working on" starting a family and are being very diligent about drinking / being around smoke / etc. If we get a non-smoking room, should we be OK?

Gonna be a lower-key Vegas trip. I've been once, this will be her first time. Plan on doing a show, maybe a grand canyon tour one day, and then just seeing the sites. Not a lot of imbibing or anything :lol:

I could have done Bermuda or something as well but that was like $1000 and the entire point of this spontenous trip was to keep it cheap (since we'll be spending $$ there and the whole winter on ski trips already!)

Why aren't you going skiing? Something's missing here.

 

[Nick]

I will be, dont you worry yourself.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Haha, you're concerned that there might be second hand smoke when you're "working on" starting a family? And you think that's going to affect anything?

Unbelievable how far this has gone. Makes you wonder how anyone thinks babies were born in the beforetimes. Pretty sure everyone was smoking and drinking when I was conceived, and fine I out turned.

So True MC2

We were 22 when our first was borne , we both smoked , drank and had no freaking "safety nazi "car seats or booster seats or child safety locks in our brand new '66 Mustang . The only thing we had was one of the toy kiddie seats where they could pretend to be steering .

Yep today BOTH our kids now roughly in their early 4th decade of life all grew up healthy , intelligent, in decent professions --- and with multiple children of their own .

So much for all the Safety Nazi falderol ! LMAO --


Damn near impossible to avoid life my friends , u can try but it'd damn difficult to live in a glass bubble . Kids BTW are pretty resilient in my experience .

Now all that said: We haven't smoked since 1975 but back in the day i smoked cigs, pipe , and cigars BIG fat ones when my hoops team won a game at the college i was working at the time

 

[Glenn]

Thanks for the tip!

I ended up shelling out the extra $180 and we are staying at the Venetian.

I haven't stayed there, but that's a nice hotel. If your wife loves shopping, that's really close to the Fashion Show mall. Just a little ways down, the Forum Shops at Caesars. If you're into cars, check out the car museum at the Iperial Place. For $8.95, it's a great way to spend an hour or two. I went there when my wife went to the spa. They have a TON of cars; a good mix. 80's muscle, muscle cars, old cars, Rolls', Euro's some concept, racecars and a few military vehicles.

And as Jeff mentioned, check out the Pub! It's a bit of a walk from where you are, but you can take the tram from the Belagio to the Monte. That place has a TON of beers on tap. I think the beer list was bigger than the menu. I like to keep it local when sample beers in a new place, so I went Sin City Amber.

 

[drjeff]

My wife and I were out there the week before drjeff was. We thought about what a friggin party it would have been had we all been out there at the same time. My wife and I have been to Vegas 4 times.

Oh boy! If we had been out there at the same time, given what tends to happen when we all get together in West Dover! :lol: I could have just seen that. You and I walking/trying to walk up and down the strip, you with a tallboy of PBR :beer: me with one of Bud Light Lime :beer: , following our wives from shopping excursion to shopping excursion Then every so often we'd either have to see if they made a talllboy Pinot Grigio for Mitz and stop in at say an ABC store or heck even a CVS or Rite Aid and pick Sue up a Stoli Vanilla and Diet Coke (I found it so funny that you HAD to walk through the LIQUOR SECTION as soon as you walked into the CVS between the Monte Carlo and Aria to get to the actual drug store section :lol: ) Sounds like a blast! Maybe we SHOULD plan this! Okay, if we did maybe we should also bring Officer Price along since we'd probably end up needing some reciprocal law enforcement privileges! :lol:

 

[Nick]

Damn near impossible to avoid life my friends , u can try but it'd damn difficult to live in a glass bubble . Kids BTW are pretty resilient in my experience .

Now all that said: We haven't smoked since 1975 but back in the day i smoked cigs, pipe , and cigars BIG fat ones when my hoops team won a game at the college i was working at the time

I just want to clarify this because I am typically the opposite of being overprotective and a safety nut. That actually drives me crazy.

Suffice it to say that we have our reasons for wanting to be a bit cautious right around now. Again, I'm not worried about walking by a smoker, I just don't want to spend the entire evening sleeping in a room that reeks.

Hell, I enjoy a cigar when golfing or during special events myself. :smash:

 

[Glenn]

Oh boy! If we had been out there at the same time, given what tends to happen when we all get together in West Dover! :lol: I could have just seen that. You and I walking/trying to walk up and down the strip, you with a tallboy of PBR :beer: me with one of Bud Light Lime :beer: , following our wives from shopping excursion to shopping excursion Then every so often we'd either have to see if they made a talllboy Pinot Grigio for Mitz and stop in at say an ABC store or heck even a CVS or Rite Aid and pick Sue up a Stoli Vanilla and Diet Coke (I found it so funny that you HAD to walk through the LIQUOR SECTION as soon as you walked into the CVS between the Monte Carlo and Aria to get to the actual drug store section :lol: ) Sounds like a blast! Maybe we SHOULD plan this! Okay, if we did maybe we should also bring Officer Price along since we'd probably end up needing some reciprocal law enforcement privileges! :lol:

That's about how I pictured it! I could imagine you and I just parking it at the closest bar while the Mrs's go off shopping. Figure with a bunch of beers in us, it'll numb the shopping damage. The good thing about Vegas shopping; Mitz is limited because of suitcase size and weight. :lol: