Luckiest Vegas Trip

Chad Rodick: My Luckiest Vegas Trip


Former VegasChatter Chad Rodick joins our site and shares his Luckiest Vegas Trip from 2002…

My luckiest Vegas Trip was one of the first trips to Las Vegas. I was only 21 years old, and I didn’t know much about Vegas, so I booked the cheapest hotel on the strip which was Imperial Palace. I booked the cheapest room which was around $34/night for 7days. My flight from Cleveland to Las Vegas via Southwest was only $99 round trip. This trip to Vegas was during the summer months; it was pretty hot outside. One of my friends Cameron tagged along for this trip.

I remember stepping off the plane at the airport in Vegas and seeing all the gambling machines around.

Las Vegas Airport - Slots

I told my friend Cameron “We are in Vegas!” We picked up the rental car from Enterprise for $6/day which was pretty good as we’ve never been to Vegas and weren’t sure if anything was within walking distance. Once we got to the Imperial Palace, we parked valet and headed to check-in. During check-in, my friend Cameron tipped the front desk lady a $20 and she upgraded us to a Caesars Palace view. The room itself was nice but all we cared about was gambling and sightseeing. So, after putting our stuff in the room, we immediately went back to get our rental car to tour the strip. Once again we weren’t sure if anything was within walking distance.

We drove down to the Tropicana hotel to gamble for a bit. I remember putting in $20 in a $1 machine and after a minute a bell went off. A cashier came over to ask for my ID and to fill out paperwork. I wasn’t sure what was going on until I received $14,000! I had just won the jackpot! The lady took a photo of me and my friend holding the money. I don’t know how I won the jackpot, but I was happy I did. After winning the $14000, I told my friend we should go downtown and see what’s down there.

chadrodick_luckiestvegastrip_1_6292016

Once we got to downtown, I remember going to the valet at Golden Nugget. We walked down Fremont Street for a couple of hours then my friend Cameron said we should get some dinner as it was already 9 pm. We walked back into the Golden Nugget and had our first Buffet in Vegas (I don’t recall, but I think the buffet for dinner was $20 per person). The buffet was really good. I kept getting up for more food (like, ten times) and my friend Cameron got up 11 times. After dinner, we were already getting tired, so we picked up our car from the valet, handed a $20 tip, and headed back to our hotel. Throughout the entire trip, my only major winnings were that $14000. At every other place I went to, I only won $5-$200.

This was the best trip I went on, and I now continue going back each summer. This December I will be going for the first winter in Vegas.

[Images: Steven Damron, Michael Pead, Mark Hillary]

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