Note: What follows is Day 2 of my account of EVE Vegas. Much has been forgotten because of too much alcohol and too little sleep. And much will be omitted due to the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” Rule.
I woke up at the crack of noon, in truth I had been just tossing and turning for hours but hadn't felt motivated enough to get out of bed.
It had been 24 hours since my last shower so I figured I must be stinking a little at this point. So I headed for the shower. Once in the shower, standing there naked, I looked to my right only to notice a very creepy window into the hotel room.
From this I could clearly see Astro watching TV and broke out in laughter at how creepy it was. On the other side of the wall the Window is Camouflaged by a big mirror, only adding to the creepiness.
Moments later we were off to find some food, I suggested the Sports Deli because the day before I had gotten a Half Pound Cheese Burger that was reasonably good and only $13 bucks with a drink.
I order just Fries and a Fountain Drink while Astro gets a large $12 dollar Turkey Sub.
After repeated attempts to contact Shaz and Chubs (the former Usurper now Gents guys), Astro and I decide we should walk the Strip and go do the Roller Coaster at NYNY.
This was complicated by my inability to tell Google Maps I was walking not driving. But, with persistence Google pointed us in the right direction and we were off on what would be a long walk with A LOT of stairs.
It was about 3 miles to get to the NYNY and 2 of those miles were on the strip which rather than using cross walks prefers to make you walk up stairs (escalators if you're lucky) to get to a bridge over the street.
Toward the beginning of our walk we came across a very large crowd and tons of police in front of the Bellagio. As we squeezed through the crowd to get by we realized it was a press conference about the movie "Last Vegas" where apparently some of the Stars in the movie would make an appearance.
It was a warm day with temps somewhere around 80 degrees and humidity at a laughable 15% or so. Compared to Florida this is much more bearable because your sweat actually evaporates, unlike in Florida where at 90% or higher humidity your clothes just get progressively wetter.
Still we had walked about 2 Miles and wanted some water. The Casinos and their shops sold 20 oz bottles for about $3 bucks and that just seemed a little too much so we searched for better alternatives. To our surprise there was a Walgreens only a block away. Inside we found big bottles for only $1.50.
Water in hand we continued our trek toward the NYNY, stopping and checking out a few Mall like places, a Casino called the Cosmopolitan, and various other sites.
Before long we arrived at the NYNY and searched for the Roller Coaster which was found just past the Arcade.
We then purchased our tickets and stored our water in some lockers before getting into a 10 minute or so long line.
We wanted to get the Front of the Roller Coaster but ended up 1 row behind the front. Strangely this was the first time I had ever ridden a roller coaster that wasn't slow and lame. I was excited but didn't expect what was coming.
Astro politely asked me not to vomit on him and I told him that I couldn't promise him that.
After the initial climb, the drop was fun but not all that intense. It was the later rapid jerks where we would rapidly duck or spiral that made wonder just how well this thing was attached to the track.
I think I cursed throughout the ride (sorry kids around me) but rather than finding it scary, I thought it was really awesome and decided I must seek out more of them (Busch Gardens in Tampa?).
Roller Coaster out of the way we set off back to the Rio.
On our way we passed the Last Vegas thing again, and it was about the same except this time the Las Vegas mayor was begging Californians and the Stars of the Movie to come live in Las Vegas. Her motivations for this being unclear, but my guess is she wants the real estate bubble to re-inflate in Las Vegas.
While crossing over the Highway we got a text from the fifth of our group (Amorir) who said he had arrived and checked in. We instructed him to meet us at the big rotating doors and that we would be there in 5-10 minutes.
I clearly misjudged how long it takes to cross that highway walking, and instead we took 15-20 minutes.
No matter, he was there waiting on us and we all introduced ourselves and chatted for a while.
With nothing better to do, I suggested they get their Rewards Cards now because those cards get you a 10% discount at all of the in hotel shops and restaurants.
So we waited in line awhile and then after getting our cards were allowed to play a little scratch off game where you can win between 1 million dollars and a $5 dollar slot ticket. I won a Rapid Rewards Shirt and they both won the $5 dollar ticket.
After getting our free stuff I asked if there was a shuttle to the strip and found out that in fact there was a free shuttle and that much of our 6 mile hike could have been avoided.
Next we decided to see if the last of our group had arrived. So Amorir texted him while Astro texted Chubs and Shaz to come down after finally waking up.
Minutes later we all met up and introduced our selves to Khaemweze, whose name got shortened to Weze over the course of the weekend.
So united at last Team Usurper headed back to the Golden Nugget because someone remembered seeing a subway there. After a short walk we arrived, ate foot long subs, and returned to the Rio.
At the Rio we realized our best next move would be to start drinking before our Pub Crawl which promised almost unlimited free drinks all night long. So we all headed to Chubs and Shaz's room to watch ESPN and drink Coors Light (which kept making an appearance for some strange reason).
Hours later it was 6pm and time for me to go get dressed for the pub crawl since I was still in a tshirt and shorts.
Less than an hour later showered, changed, and ready to party, we headed down to the I Bar where we were supposed to check in for the Pub Crawl.
Upon arrival Weze was holding a $12 dollar Screwdriver and there was a large crowd waiting to get their Pub Crawl badges. I squeezed through the crowd of alcohol thirsty EVE Players and got my Badge.
With Badge in hand my priority was to escape this Mosh Pit of EVE Players and retreat to the other side of the bar there was enough room to breath.
Safe now, I bought my self a $7.50 Coors Light and we all waited for the buses to leave.
While waiting we met several people, including Andrew Nox of Blink who was so nice as to give us all Free PLEX cards that could be redeemed at Blinks site. (very cool)
Once loaded on to our Fire Red uncomfortable bus we found out the guy outside counting how many people could fit, missed his count by about 6 people because people were just about on each others laps.
Team Usurper was divided and all that remained on that bus was Weze and Me with a group of about 8 Pandemic Legion. The ride was a little uncomfortable due to there being too many people on the bus, but the conversation with PL and everyone else was cool.
Our first bar was called Blue Martini which consisted of a front desk, Bar surrounded by tables, and a second room with a stage where some middle aged dudes enthusiastically played rock songs.
I was eager to get my first drink and the tour lady on our bus gave me 2 coupons for free drinks, so I made my way to a opening in the bar and flagged down an attractive bartender with a pushup bra and asked for a drink called a Highball which is a very simple well known drink consisting of Whiskey and Ginger ale. This irritated her and she said "I don't know what that is? How do you make it?" Not wanting to yell instructions over the load music, I opted to instead ask for another drink called a Dark and Stormy which is Dark Rum and Ginger ale.
I guess at this point she got really mad with me and just walked away. I had hoped she was off to make my drink but instead she just ignored me and avoided my area of the bar like the plague.
Desperate to get more alcohol into my system I walked to another area of the bar where she was and asked for 2 Coronas since it's pretty much guaranteed she would know what those were.
The Coronas had Limes in them because the Lime makes the watery beer taste better. Beers from hot climates are often watery to help people stay hydrated.
The problem with Lime however was that the Humidity in Vegas is so low that my body was unable to adapt.
I'm from Florida where humidity is high almost all year round, so this low humidity had dried my lips out so much they were not just peeling, but starting to crack as well. The Lime got into the cracks and gave me a nice stinging burn as I drank my two free Coronas.
While drinking I met several people, most of which I never got their name. One person I did meet and enjoy talking to was Muk Barovian who is an FC for Pandemic Legion. We talked at length about Fleet Commanding, the new changes coming to EVE, and the possibility of him writing some articles for the website.
As I left the Bar the lady at the front desk told me I could not carry my Corona out of the bar, so naturally I did what had to be done and chugged the almost full beer and handed it to her.
On the bus to the second bar we were all together and seated toward the back. One of our members, (who will remain nameless) started asking for Peanuts because he wasn't used to drinking heavily and needed something to soak up the Alcohol. Mr. Peanuts did not eat with us at Subway and had a pretty much empty stomach at this time.
The funny thing though was that his accent made it sound like he was saying something similar and less polite than Peanuts. Saying things like "I need peanuts!" to which we would all burst into uncontrolled laughter.
The ride to the second bar took what seemed to be a very long time. This bar was located downtown on Fremont Street.
Upon arrival we had to cross the street which basically consisted of a horde of EVE players blocking traffic.
When we entered the bar we were ID'd and stamped. Then the moment we stepped foot in the door, a large 6.5 foot black man yelled "NO! You go upstairs, not down here!"
Evidently we were being segregated and forced upstairs so we wouldn't scare off all the customers down stairs.
Confined to the roof I left my group behind and ninja'd my way through the line to get to the bar and order a Blue Moon (no lime) before retreating back to the edge of the roof and taking some pics.
A few minutes later I searched and found the other guys in my group and we spent the rest of our time laughing, talking, having a good time. I don't remember exactly who we met there except for a few of the Gents we saw on the previous night. But I do remember that I got a Sierra Nevada for my second drink.
Unable to finish my Sierra Nevada I decided use my Drink Cloak (holding it at my side) and sneak it past the angry black security guard who was telling everyone to leave their drinks. I was successful and was the only person on the next Bus to successfully get their drink out.
Our next and final stop would be the Stratosphere which is massive 108 story 900 something foot tall tower consisting of nothing but a couple bars, a gift shop, and 4 Rides. The rides were Bungee Jumping, the Space elevator which I did not ride, a roller coaster like thing, and a thing that held you out over the edge and spun your brains out.
We had to take an elevator to the top of the tower, which was surprisingly fast. At the top I decided it was time for some Vodka Redbull and when I went to pull my free drink tickets out, realized I had lost one somehow.
No problem, I just bought the second a little later.
With drinks in hand we found a small area with tables and had some laughs while talking to various players and Devs as they walked by us.
Then the Peanut situation got worse when Mr. Peanuts started asking for Peanuts by showing the size with his thumb and index finger showing about an inch. "No I want Peanuts!"
I realized a great way to exploit this situation and went into the gift shop and purchased some Peanuts.
I returned to him moments later and told him "I got you Peanuts" which was followed by all kinds of jokes which you can probably think of yourself.
Not long after we all enjoyed several handfuls of Peanuts we decided it was time to do some rides. Part of our ticket included unlimited rides except for the Bungee Jump which was $100 dollars.
The first ride we did was the Roller Coaster which is really just a roller coaster on about 15 feet of track that rolls off the side of the building then stops just before falling off and drops you about 5 feet quickly to scare you. It was fun, but not as good as NYNY's roller coaster.
The next ride was the big spinny thing that held you over the edge of the building and spun the crap out of you. As we approached four of us went through the door to the ride, but when me and Mr. Peanuts looked back 2 of our group had chickened out and abandoned us. Fearlessly, I pushed on and went to get in line.
It's important to note here that Mr. Peanuts was very drunk at this point and in retrospect spinning was a very very bad idea.
As we boarded the ride we saw the two deserters standing at the exit fence saying the bus was leaving. I yelled to them we would come when we were done, yet they deserted us again and disappeared into the building.
Considering we may have to get a Taxi back to the Rio we got on the ride and prepared for what would possibly be the worst possible ride for a bar to have.
First it dangled us over the edge and tilted our seats forward so we could see the Parking Lot almost 1,000 feet below us covered in tiny little cars. Then it started the spinning, and it spun, and spun, and just when you were sure you were about to tornado spew it slowed down and stopped.
At this Point Mr. Peanuts had his eyes locked shut and was saying he was about to vomit. To which I convinced him he would not and that it would go away soon. All the while I myself was feeling queasy as well.
After a quick trip the restroom we hustled down the tower to find that there were still tons of buses waiting to take people back. So we boarded a bus and waited patiently for it to fill.
On the ride back the people directly in front of Mr. Peanuts were very concerned to be sitting across from him, but in a show of Gastrointestinal Strength he held it down and was able to make it back safely to pass out moments after getting to his room.
I needed to use the bathroom and freshen up a bit so I headed back for my room. In a mystery yet to be solved, when I arrived in my room the radio was playing some kind of Mexican Music. I figured it was some sort of joke and ignored it while doing my business. Then I left, leaving the music on. Oddly when I returned later that night it was off...
After a few texts I find out that everyone else is up in some random girls room taking Fireball Shots and god knows what else.
I tell them I'm going to play some Black Jack and start my search for a $5 dollar table. To my irritation the Rio never has $5 dollar tables and on this Friday Night they didn't even have $10 dollar tables. No, just $15 which even with free drinks wasn't happening.
And at this point my memory goes dark. I think I met back up with the group and drank some more, or possibly went and ate at the Burger King inside the hotel, but I'm not positive.
I do remember thinking I needed to get some sleep because check in for EVE Vegas was at 9am and there were rumors that free Battleships were limited.
Determined to get me a Model Internet Spaceship I fell asleep at around 4am and set my phone to wake me at 9am.
Astro would not return until around 6am, having evidently being warned by security for some reason.
Great stuff! Keep it up (or down).
Glad you like it, I wasn’t sure if anyone was reading it.
Good story, especially the last night in vegas……..hope that was not similar with the movie (all that crazyness). About humidity, im not from Vegas, not from us but my place has similar humidities, desert like i mean, and i’m now in a very humid place, it’s a constant discomfort that i’m dripping water all over.
Anyhow good story, keep it up
Funny how you get used to things, I have grown to enjoy the humidity. Well, except when it’s really hot, then it’s just miserable. Glad you like this series of articles.