My $$$ Ran Away and Joined the Circus

As I mentioned in my last post, most everyone in my extended family had other plans on the actual Thanksgiving day. I took my family out to Las Vegas for a little trip. It was pretty fun, but not so much gambling. Last time we went to Vegas was 14 years ago. This first picture is of the world's largest thermometer in Baker.



On the way we stopped in Primm, the first area right across the border into Nevada. There are a few casinos there, but the main reason I stopped was that they have a huge roller coaster. I've never even stopped there, so I finally did and we rode what is billed as one of the tallest, steepest coasters in the world. Well worth the stop!!!


There's the boy jumping over the swimming pool in Primm. It's shaped like a buffalo, of all things. The hotel and casino used to be called Buffalo Bill's, but now it's called Terrible's. Why would anyone call someplace you want people to come to terrible??? Makes no sense to me.



Cruising up The Strip. Billboard with ass on it. This is what Vegas is about!!!



New York, New York hotel and casino. It looks pretty cool, but we never made a stop there. I would have liked to, but there's only so much time.



The first evening we were there we went to the Stratosphere, another one of those never-been-there-but-always-wanted-to stops. The tallest observation tower in the United States. There used to be a roller coaster that went around the outside of the top, but it has been since removed for a couple of other rides. Just as well, it didn't look like much of a coaster, but indeed there are constraints on what you could do there. It used to have two of the tallest thrill rides in the world, but now it has three. The tallest is the Big Shot, a vertical launch and free fall tower coming from the top. Also it has Insanity the ride, which dangles you over the edge and spins you out near flat. It was already cool and breezy up there, but when they spin you at 40 MPH, it really chills you!!! I had purchased tickets for myself and the oldest to ride one ride each, but his vertigo got the best of him and he ceded his ticket to me so I got to ride both of these.



I took several pictures from up there, with varied degrees of success. Afterwards we went to the buffet at Circus Circus for Thanksgiving dinner.



The next day we went back to Circus Circus. Went to the midway games and played, we all won something. Wifey won a stuffed spider, the younger won a stuffed sting ray (which he lost and was very upset about, but his hero older brother was able to find), the older won a stuffed hamburger (PERFECT for him, and rather amusing I thought. He named it Mac), and I won (for my woman) a stuffed bee that looks freakishly like Jerry Seinfeld (of course, named Jerry).



They have a rides area under the world's largest free standing glass dome. Wild place in there, and it has the world's largest indoor roller coaster. Bought unlimited passes for both the boys, and one ticket each for the coaster for the wife and I. Nice coaster, great inversions (double loops and double corkscrews) but lacking any great drops. After a while of accompanying the boys on separate rides with a parent each, we consolidated both kids with one parent and took turns hitting the casino. This was the first time we'd actually gotten to play anything!!! High roller me, I put $20 into the progressive nickel slot and played it until it was all gone. I was up to $24 or so for a bit, and got a couple of $6 wins, but that was about it. But hey, I was playing for a cool $730!!! Also got a chance to get a drink and say "Thanks, sweetheart" to the cute chunky cocktail waitress, and had the got to think to myself that drinking, gambling and that kind of thing were what Vegas is all about!!!


Since we were still at Circus Circus, we hit their buffet again for dinner. That place got the bulk of my money spent there this time!!! Fun, though!!!