Wow, I’m running behind on this blogging thing. It’s really tough to get this done with such short amounts of time in each city. This blog is recounting what I did a few days back in Las Vegas. Everyone always has that same look when you mention Vegas … like ‘yeaaa… Veeegggassss’, but I used to live there so it’s not quite the same mental forbidden playground as it is for most.

For me, it’s a place to see old friends, coworkers and the most number of Cirque shows on one street in the world. I’ve seen quite a few of them and have not yet seen LOVE (which is the Cirque show based around the music of the Beatles). There was plenty to look forward to when landing – including the huge hook up that I got from The Palms Hotel and Casino. I remember when I lived in Vegas they were building the Palms and it opened shortly before I left.

We all knew it would be a cool spot but I don’t think anyone thought it would become what it did!! That place is amazing with so much to do! I was trying to be good in Vegas on this short trip so sadly I didn’t get a chance to visit Rain Ultra Lounge. The sad thing that I will now always remember if my friend hoping to see my friend DJ AM spin the night I was in town at Rain, but painful  to say he’s now occupying a DJ booth in Heaven keeping the angels grooving and wouldn’t be at the club (in person) the night I was in town.

So, I tried to plan the day and started out by sitting at the sports book and grabbing a drink, tossing $20 into a video poker machine and expecting to get a few free cocktails and loose the $20 bucks. It was then I found out I Tia must be a lucky charm as the first spin I did was right as she texted me … 4 of a kind. $200!! Good start! Then, literally 4 other times she texted me, I got 4 of a kind! I’m not one for superstition …. But I was going to ask her to continuously text me the whole day. I could have paid for a new house at that rate!!

Though I didn’t get to catch up with as many old co workers as I had hoped, I did get to catch up with one of my really good friends Troy. Troy was at Hard Rock Live in Orlando for a while, and then moved up to Boston to run the brand new House of Blues across from Fenway. While peeking on Facebook I found out he was actually in Vegas at HOB running that venue for a little while soooo I got to hang out with him!

We hit a few spots in the Mandalay Bay before he brought me up to the Members Only “Foundation Room” at the top of Mandalay (it’s literally at eye level with the Mandalay sign … UNREAL views). He gave me a tour of the venue I’ve been to a few times, but this time it was much cooler being that I was there with a great friend who knew the ins and outs of the whole spot.

After FR I went LOVE at Mirage and the Revolution Lounge – that place was amazing, as you can see from the pictures. That’s the first place in my life I didn’t mind paying $11 for a cocktail … the view of this place plus watching LOVE was WELL worth the price.

I’m pleased to say I didn’t get a lot accomplished in Vegas. It’s my old home so I wasn’t there as a tourist … I was there to relax and remember. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Vegas and I was pleased just to walk around and recall some amazing moments in my life in a city like that. While I lived there I attended dozens of restaurant openings, a few casino grand openings, countless concerts and vip events and many other parts of my life that I’ll never forget. I can remember being 18 years old and getting off the plane in Vegas as production director of CBS Radio thinking ‘what the hell am I doing here??’. After my limo picked me up at the airport and brought me to the hotel on the strip I was staying at for a few weeks (on CBS) I ran into one of the funniest moments of my life to that point. They wouldn’t let me, a “VIP Guest” check into the hotel because I wasn’t 21 years old.

I’m 18 in this city and literally … can’t do a damn thing. It was such an odd call to have to call my boss to come down from the radio station to check in for me. It was like asking your parents to get you a hotel room on prom night. Slightly embarrassing but well worth it.

So, there you have it … my quick Vegas trip – and What Happens In Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas … for me, it’s just a fun place to escape for a little while from reality but it will always hold a really special place in my heart as the first place I moved for work (outside Mass) and can’t help but say thank you to that city for shaping a part of me.

Well, I type this from a Starbucks in Downtown San Fran … I’m going to pack up and hit a few more spots before pulling somewhere by the ocean to type about LA. Then my Napa trip. Then my San Fran trip!

At the airport at 11pm – flying to Boston for a 1 hour layover before heading to Orlando!! YAY!!!

Peace-  Carter

Numbers!! Casinos I hit: 14, Shows: 1, Bars: 7, Most up: $500ish, Most down: $100, Left: up $159,