What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Friday

Last Friday morning Jeff and I flew to Las Vegas for our friend Keith’s 40th birthday weekend. We checked into the Bellagio and then Keith escorted us up to his penthouse suite. Yes, you have to be escorted up to his floor – you even need a key to work the elevators that go to his floor. His suite was beautiful! We watched the water show from his window:

When we got to his suite around 2pm, another old friend, Mark Mercer, was still asleep in one of the bedrooms. He was asleep in the same clothes he had worn the night before (actually the same clothes he flew from Atlanta in). And as Friday night progressed, we realized he would be wearing those clothes for another 24 hours. We told him that he needed to pace himself, but as you will find out in the Saturday installment of WHIV, he did not heed our advice.

Above pictures: Mark M. and Todd; Mark, Jessica and Keith

We had cocktails and talked as more people arrived. (Corrie in the below pictures didn't even make it to Hofbrauhaus. We also had another casualty early in the evening - another girl made it to the bar and then immediately hopped in another cab back to the hotel)

Above pictures: Corrie, Mark H., Jeff; Corrie, Jeff and Keith

At some point it turned into a pretty big crowd and it was time to head to Hofbrauhaus. One of the perks of staying in a suite at the Bellagio is the VIP service. When we needed a cab, we were escorted to the front of the taxi line and immediately placed in the next available car. That is important for two reasons: one, it’s nice to not have to stand in line for 30 minutes with hundreds of other people waiting for a cab and two, it is a good celebrity spotting situation (as you will find out in the Sunday installment of WHIV).

We arrived at Hofbrauhaus, got our table and encountered this girl dancing on the table next to us (she has on Keith's hat):

She was very entertaining. We all ate various German cuisine and drank beer and sang German drinking songs and had a great time. Jeff and I called it quits early (sticking to our decision to pace ourselves) and headed back to the hotel around midnight.

Mark M. and Jeff at Hoffbrauhaus