YoEleven: My First Vegas Trip
YoEleven shares his first Vegas trip.
My first trip to Las Vegas was in the summer of 2001. I was a year out of college and had a good job, made good money, so I felt I deserved a vacation. During college, a friend of mine and I had stumbled upon online casinos while getting frustrated working on computer programming projects, and we became enamored with the game of craps. There was enough information on the internet that I learned the game and was able to practice a pretty simple “system” that seemed to generate profits pretty regularly. I knew I didn’t have an “edge” or a way to beat the game, but seeing the excitement of the game in movies and TV shows, I wanted a piece of that!
Unfortunately, there are no craps games in Minnesota, but I came across a travel package from Quixtar (which was basically the online version of Amway) for three nights in Viva Las Vegas for just $200! So I called up my college friend and we agreed to split the cost and booked it.
So I met my friend at McCarran, and we set out for the Tropicana. “Hey, we’re in Vegas, might as well take a limo and arrive in style, right?”
We didn’t realize the Trop was the closest hotel to the airport. :-/ Oh well, lesson learned.
We got checked in and made sure to walk past the craps tables so I could watch a bit before I dove in and tried to beat the game, myself! It looked a lot more intimidating than I had thought it would be; I had done a little gambling in casinos before, blackjack and video poker, but nothing serious. I was in Vegas; this was the big time! I felt I needed to watch some more games before buying in so as not to embarrass myself.
We set out to hit the strip on foot and walked north from Tropicana, walked through the MGM Grand where they carded me just for WATCHING a game of craps. I was 22 years old but looked like a 14-year-old. Getting carded regularly would become quite frustrating as you’ll read later.
My first meal in Vegas was at the Harley Davidson Cafe, which is still there. We sat outside and had a bum come up to us asking if we had 50 cents so he could buy a beer at “Coast.” I think my friend gave him 15 cents and “Coast” became an inside joke to us and still is to this day. We kept going north, through the Aladdin, Paris (What? There was an Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas?!) and a couple of mins later my buddy says, “LOOK! It’s COAST!!” Barbary Coast, to be more specific. So we HAD to go inside to see about these 50 cent beers and instead found some $5 craps tables to watch. I felt like I was getting more comfortable with the live game, so we walked back to the Trop because for some reason, I guess I felt like I needed only to gamble where we were staying?
I stepped up to a $5 craps table, bought in for $60 and placed the 6 and 8 for $12 each. The first roll was a 6, and I was on my way! Probably 10-15 mins later, I cashed out for over $120. Cha-Ching!! This was my first gambling rush that I still chase to this day. Now with some extra cash in my pocket, we needed to see a show! We knew the Folies Bergere had topless girls but was sold out. :-( Hey, there’s a comedy show here, and it’s only $16! We bought tickets and headed up to the theater.
The place was pretty full, but we could see two seats right up front, next to the stage. Perfect! We headed down and sat down and ordered a drink. A minute later an usher came up to us and asked to see our tickets. No problem, we had legitimately bought tickets for this show. “Sir, these seats are for our invited guests only, I’m going to have to ask you to move.” Hey, I had just won $60 playing craps, I felt like a big shot! They didn’t seem to agree. No worries, seated at the VERY BACK of the theater won’t be too bad. All I remember about the comedy show is, every 4th word was an F-bomb, and the rest of the jokes were even too raunchy for a 22 yr old! I wasn’t impressed. But hey, with my craps winnings I was still up for the day!
The next morning I woke up well before 6:00 am because I was still on central time. I walked over to the window to admire the view. I noticed two people were down in the pool, being quite “friendly” in a corner of the pool mostly hidden by some foliage. That is unless you’re looking straight down from the 14th floor. Hey, it’s Vegas! I suggested we NOT go into the pool. My buddy agreed.
The rest of the trip was fabulous. I played craps twice more at the Tropicana, each winning “big” both times. We also went over to the Hard Rock and won at craps there, too! I got carded… CONSTANTLY. At Caesars Palace, I was just sitting at a machine, not even playing, when a custodian asked if I was 21. I said “No.” She looked shocked! I said, “I’m 22.” She came back with, “Oh… a wise guy, huh? You getting tired of being carded a lot this weekend?” “Yep, you got it.” She suggested I go to the security desk and get a bracelet saying I was 21 so I wouldn’t be bothered anymore. I told her I wasn’t going to wear a bracelet as I had just bought the “unlimited rides package” at the county fair. :-/
One takeaway from my first trip was the walking. All the walking! My legs were shot by the 3rd day. We walked everywhere! Each day we started north from the Trop to the Venetian, crossed over to Treasure Island, and back south until we got back to the Trop, walking through each of the major resorts. We didn’t even go out” the final night of that trip because we were so tired. I’m much better now at taking the free trams, or the Deuce, or nowadays, Uber.
Winning big my first trip to Vegas had me hooked, and I still am. Thankfully, many of my friends and my wife are also Vegasophiles, so the “next” trip is never that far off. Stay lucky, my friends!
[Images: Greg C, AircamWest01, MGM Resorts]
YoEleven answered our call to be an Author for a Day at Vegas Bright. We’d like you to be an author for a day as well, so drop us an email. The subject is your first Vegas trip. So write at least three paragraphs (or more) and include original pictures (if you have them).
3 thoughts on “YoEleven: My First Vegas Trip”
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Thanks for sharing your first Vegas trip with us!
I’m really enjoying these “my first trip” stories! Walking away a winner your first time always sets in a lifetime hook that keeps pulling you back.
great story. I stayed at the Trop one time, many years ago. I think it was the dirtiest hotel I have ever stayed at in Vegas. I recall my first time at a craps table, it was at the Stardust. talk about hooked!! I ended up standing there playing for nearly 8 hours! and the Barbary Coast, just the thought of it (being gone) makes me want to cry. it was my favorite spot to gamble for many years. it was small, easy to navigate, friendly staff, great late night breakfast, decent BJ. you could sit and play BJ while watching karaoke or Elvis. I miss the Stardust as much as everyone else does, but I miss the “Coast” just as much. I still play craps once in a while when I can find a $3 table.