Las Vegas Memories: February 2000

Las Vegas Memories 

 (Update text later)

On my first-ever trip to Las Vegas, my friend Paul and I stayed two nights at the Tropicana (renovated, but still there). We stayed in a ground floor hotel room that opened to the pool area. I walked from the hotel room to the Venetian to see Tanya (2.1 miles).  I won 70 bucks in blackjack right off the bat. I had chicken Parmesan at a restaurant (no longer there) above Casino Royale to celebrate my good luck. Hours later, I lost everything I had won and another $150 to boot at the Barbary Coast (now the Cromwell by way of Bill's Gamblin' Hall). I have never made that $150 back. We visited the Boardwalk casino (gone), rode the roller coaster(gone) atop the Stratosphere, and then stayed downtown at Lady Luck (now, finally, the Downtown Grand). I fell in love with the Bellagio sports book, with their free drinks, big screen televisions, and oh, the leather chairs. Those were the days when Caesar's owned Caesar's, Harrah's owned Harrah's, MGM owned the MGM, and Luxor, Excalibur, and Mandalay Bay were owned by Circus Circus. There were such things as cheap buffets, dollar blackjack, and coin-operated slot machines. Of course, you had to walk uphill both ways in the desert to find them.

When: February 2000

Where: Tropicana, Lady Luck

Who: Neil, Paul