Ginger Pixie Jams: Cards, Cocktails & Croupiers: My Busman’s Holiday ...

Ginger Pixie Jams: Cards, Cocktails & Croupiers: My Busman’s Holiday ...: Nearly a year ago I set off an 8-day adventure across the pond to support my boyfriend in the WSOP 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada or what I like...

Cards, Cocktails & Croupiers: My Busman’s Holiday in Vegas, The Flamingo Hotel & WSOP Experience one year on!

Nearly a year ago I set off an 8-day adventure across the pond to support my boyfriend in the WSOP 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada or what I like to call: The Second City That Never Sleeps! Though we have both spent many years working in the casino industry and seen a lot in the UK, nothing could ever prepare me for the grandeur of what I experienced as I journeyed to rail my other half in the poker tournament of a lifetime...So that being said I wanted to share my first time opinion of Vegas, my review of the Flamingo Hotel and of course, some holiday snaps from along the way.

After finishing a night shift from my waitressing job in my casino, a long, sleepless flight from Gatwick to Las Vegas and a taxi journey from the airport to the strip I was more than delighted when we finally arrived at the Flamingo Hotel: a towering pink palace that stretched out before us and our home for the next 8 days. We were recommended before we went to stay in the Flamingo due to the fact it’s location is situated perfectly in the middle of the strip, making it very easy to get to everywhere you need to go and I can honestly say that if we went there again I would definitely stay there again for that very reason. Unfortunately my withering eyes and eagerness to check in to our room was met with an enormous queue that snaked it’s way around Reception, having unbeknownst to us arriving in Vegas on what we later discovered was actually Memorial Day, meaning that everybody had just arrived to celebrate their holiday in Vegas. After a little squabbling and some stern words as we dragged our luggage from Reception and through the casino, we made the decision
to rest in a bar for an hour or two whilst we waited for the ever-growing queue to die down. We finally chose to settle in one of the Flamingo’s garden bars, by which time we were more than happy to oblige in some American hot wings and some super-strong, super-long, pint-sized glasses of frozen Strawberry Margaritas!

It finally began to feel real that we were really on holiday as we sat in the warm, misty garden, surrounded by tall trees, slowly allowing the quadruple-strength tequila in our margaritas do the job. Now in a much better mood than before, we dragged our bags back through the casino to the Reception area where we were finally able to cheque in. The hotel staff were more than accommodating, after showing us pictures and explaining our options as we enquired about possible chances of upgrading they agreed to upgrade our room to one of the Flamingo’s Go Go rooms for an extra $20 a night which turned out to be more than worth it for an extra few dollars and I would highly recommend doing to anyone who stays there. The lift took us up to the 17th floor and we opened the door up to our Go Go room which did not disappoint. We were met with a huge spacious room with a big queen-sized bed in the middle and a big TV on the wall and three large ceiling-height windows that looked out onto a stunning view of the strip from that side and the beautiful Belagio Hotel with it’s fountains in front. The room was clean and tidy and even the glowing pink bathroom was a good size with a spacious bath and shower, large sink area and mirror complete with built-in TV so that you could watch whilst in the shower. If you read until the end I will insert a very poorly-filmed room tour but needless to say we were pleased with ourselves.

Aware that we needed to keep ourselves awake to tackle the jet lag, we got dressed and headed down for our first night in the Flamingo’s casino. We began to enjoy taking advantage of the casino’s free drink system (which coming from the UK is a strange alien concept) whilst wandering round the casino’s many slot machines and watching the cash games in the Flamingo’s card room but by about 2am we couldn’t fight the jet lag anymore and went back to the room for some much needed sleep. The grounds of the Flamingo were also stunning with tall palm trees, pools of koi and of course, the Flamingos. I also spent a couple of our days at the 21+ pool which also adds to the party vibe if you’re out there looking for some sun and fun to get away from the casinos. My only criticism is that the drinks at the pool bar were very expensive at around $17 dollars for one single spirit and mixer so my advice would be to do your drinking in the casinos. We also paid to watch the Flaming’s show ‘Lengends Never Die’ one night, a tribute to Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Preseley which we enjoyed. The theatre seats were set out so that we were sat with some lovely American people to watch the show with who we chatted to for most of the night which made a change to the constant gambling in the casino. The show was put together beautifully with a very talented cast and strong vocal and dancing performances. It was one of my favourite night’s of the holiday and I would strongly recommend to see a show if you stay there.

                                                                                                

                                                                                            

 
Other days also included exploring some of Vegas’s more famous casinos such as the Venetian, the Belagio, Caesar’s Palace and the Wynn which I found interesting to see all the different themes from an aesthetic point of view and it’s wandering round all these prestigious casinos that Vegas is on a different level from other casinos all around the world. We also enjoyed lots of good food from burgers to breakfasts, to Chinese and Italian and had by far the best but one of the most expensive 5* waggu steaks that i’ve ever eaten and of course a visit to the Cheesecake Factory which I had pestered about since the minute we got off the plane. You couldn’t fault the choice of food out there as there really is something for everyone. The scale and money involved into making the casinos and the city as a whole thrive is very hard to comprehend even if you’ve worked in casinos elsewhere but nevertheless it’s easy to see why its the ultimate adult playground.

                                                                

                                                                                            

 

                                                                 

But the holiday didn’t stop there, of course, there was the poker! on 31st May 2017 I watched my other half as he paid the $565 buy-in to play in the World Series of Poker Event 01 for casino staff with over 500 players in the Rio Hotel & Casino. With a WSOP bracelet and $78,000.00 as the prizes the stakes were high. Little did I know, on Day 1 as I waved him off and stood at the rail to watch  that he would play the best 2 days of poker he’s ever played and then Find himself on a WSOP final table as the only British player in the tournament which was not only incredible as it was exciting and emotional to watch. What I did note was how well executed not only that tournament but all of the events that were held at the Rio during the WSOP as to fit that many people into a casino that runs so many events close to each other for that amount of time, that goes on for as many months as the World Series does is quite something and to watch the tournaments that went on for the time we were there was an experience i’ll treasure even from a spectators eyes.

                                                                                                           

To sum up, we had an incredible holiday and now have memories that will last forever but 8 days was enough. The Flamingo was a great place to stay at and there is still more I would like to see in Vegas on another trip in the future!

Catch you later! 

xx

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VNrAU97UV7k