What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Sunday

Our last full day in Las Vegas began around lunchtime. We decided to experience the other amenities Vegas had to offer by going shopping. Jeff and I went to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and Fashion Show Mall. I love the shopping in Vegas because there is every store you could ever possible imagine (the usual Gap, shoe stores, etc), as well as stores you would never think of going in unless you were in Vegas (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Juicy Couture). And all this shopping with NO KIDS to drag around!!

While we were at Fashion Show Mall, we noticed a kiosk selling half-price tickets to shows. One of the shows playing Sunday night was Spamalot, a musical parodying Monty Python movies. When Spamalot came to Houston a while back, we were unable to find a babysitter or tickets. So, we bought tickets and made plans to meet Keith and John at the Wynn. The show was hilarious and was the perfect ending to our weekend in Vegas.

What Happens in Vegas (WHIV): Saturday

Day #2 in Vegas started with Jeff hiking about 3 miles down the strip to a McDonalds to find some breakfast. Because of the time zone Vegas is in, we watched ESPN College GameDay at 7:30 am in bed with our hangover food.

After a shower and lunch at the Pool Café, we met Keith at the Bellagio Race & Sports Book to place our bets on college football games. We learned two very important lessons on Saturday: 1) A&M is a horrible football team right now and 2) Never bet on Texas to cover the spread. A bunch of our friends from the night before are Texas grads and warned us not to bet on Texas to cover. We didn’t believe them until we lost our money.

We spent most of the day Saturday at a sports bar called Blondie’s where the waitresses are dressed like cheerleaders. A bunch of us sat in a booth that had no fewer than 10 televisions of various sizes around it. We watched every game on TV simultaneously. I think Jeff was in Heaven. College football, beer, waitresses dressed like cheerleaders…what else could a man want? Oh, yes – to not lose all his bets.

Saturday evening we headed back to the Bellagio to change clothes and attend Keith’s actual birthday party in his suite. The party kicked off with a visit from the “Hairy Fairy” who appropriately embarrassed Keith.

As the night progressed and as tends to happen at parties, eventually tequila made an appearance.

Keith, Mark M. and Patron

After rounds of shots, we found Mark Mercer passed out in one of the bedrooms. And when you pass out at a party, you must have things placed on your face (let me note that Mark is lucky we couldn’t find any Sharpie markers). As I mentioned in the Friday installment of WHIV, Mark didn’t pace himself.

I need to note the attire that some people were wearing on Saturday night. Todd made quite an entrance when he showed up dressed exactly like J.R. Ewing.

John, Mark H., Will and Todd (aka J.R.)

Keith’s shirt lit up and flashed.
Around midnight we decided that it was time to hit the casinos. At some point we went to the Venetian where a Halloween party was going on in one of the clubs. I saw these guys dressed like the “**** in a Box” sketch from Saturday Night Live and HAD to take a picture of them. (If you click on the link to watch the sketch, please note it's R rated)

Jessica and one box guy

Here is a picture of Keith's cake after we had already dug into it.

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