Stranded in Vegas...not a bad problem to have

Definitely picked a good week to not be in Cleveland. The manic ice storm that shut down tons of flights started on Tuesday and we just squeaked by to make a flight out here. Then a major water main busted on Thursday in Public Square, right outside where I work, interrupting the water supply and adding to even more downtown construction. Today, another crazy storm hit, and our afternoon flight was canceled and rescheduled for the morning. Geez oh man.

After my conference ended, we checked out, and Phil realized before I did that our boarding passes the concierge printed for us were for a morning flight. I panicked for a second thinking that somehow I had confused our flight time to be later than it actually was. I tried calling the office and kept getting VM for everyone, so I checked my e-mail and saw that the firm closed down because of Mother Nature's rage. Then we realized that our flight was re-booked for tomorrow, and I called the travel agent for assistance with booking a room.

Every single hotel room in Vegas was booked, which I think excited Phil because his dream of gambling through the entire night could actually become a reality. I asked the agent to check and see if there was any way the Wynn would give us another night since we had been guests, and she was able to work it out for a rate slightly higher than the conference rate. Whew!

Then I noticed our seat assignments. Phil, who flies once every year or so, was listed as elite and seated in first class, and I, the almost monthly flier, was in 28D, the row before the shitter. WTF?! I was able to move up to an aisle seat in an exit row, which is fine, and Phil has his fingers crossed that we make it out of here on the morning flight so he can enjoy his first-class status.

We called the 'rents and Aunt Pat (our pet sitter) to give our travel update right after we "consoled" ourselves with the Wynn's delish lunch buffet. I enjoyed quite the diverse cuisine pairings, and as Phil teased me, I started making a list, mainly for the shock value (consult Phil or Chuck for other examples):

American: cup of chicken noodle soup, mini roast beef sandwich, soft pretzel, candy apple

Italian: white pizza, kobe meatball, coffee gelato

Japanese: California roll

Chinese: spring roll, orange chicken

Thai: stir fry udon noodles

Mexican: guacamole

P.S. Sorry Grams, but we absolved ourselves of observing Lent today since Vegas has its own rules. I only tasted a little of each item, but yes, my belly was full.

So, "forced" to enjoy another night in Vegas, we headed back to Treasure Island to meet up with Brent, who has turned into quite the Pai Gow addict. We found him at a table around 2:30 p.m. and he shared that he was obsessed and hadn't eaten yet or ventured anywhere outside of TI (where he stayed) or the Wynn, despite it being his first visit to Sin City. We played for a while and then parted ways after warning him about condo and nudie girl solicitors so he could see the sites before his flight (he was headed out West, so his flight wasn't affected). He texted to say that Vegas is like Disney World for adults and was so overstimulated, he wasn't sure what to do. Good times.

Phil and I didn't lose money after playing for a while, so we were happy. The Pai Gow gods smiled down on our table because the guy next to us hit two straight flushes with a $25 chip on the bonus slot, which earned him $1,250 each time. Holy moly. When we decided to head out, I went to the bathroom and returned to find Phil feeding money to a slot machine. He put in a $20, did three spins worth $2 each and then won $100! I made him cash out so we could leave on a high note, Costanza style. Woo hoo!

We stopped in the Venetian Grand Canal shops, and as Phil was watching the opera singers and gondoliers, I sneaked a shirt dress purchase from BCBG (yesssssss). Headed back to the Wynn to re-check in and then grabbed a sandwich from an ala cart shop and parted ways: Phil to unload the rest of the money burning a hole in his pocket and me to relax, blog and achieve an early bedtime (aka lame-o).

So here we are. I'm ready to go home and see my babies. I know Zippy is in good hands, but I've been worried about my kitty since this is the longest she's been home alone. I keep having dreams about her. We called Phil's friend who helped us with some carpentry during our kitchen renovation last year to see if he could check in on her since he still has our key, but turns out that he lost it. Phil assures me that Ava is fine, but I miss my baby kitty and hope she's OK.

Wish us luck getting out of here tomorrow a.m. so we're not stuck at the airport playing the crappy-odds slots.

Vegas may not sleep, but I need to

So, I'm learning that Vegas is not conducive to blogging, at least for me. By the time I get back to my hotel room at night, I pretty much ache for instant slumber and once my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light (doesn't mean though that I'm still not waking up wide awake at 4:30 a.m.). So, here's a quickie recap of the past two days:

1. Ideas for clients are swirling around in my brain from my conference sessions, and I feel very inspired.

2. I tried pole-aerobics and have a giant bruise on my leg. I think I'll take Zone's advice and try old lady Jazzercise because it won't physically harm me. :)

3. Made a man out of my new Swagelok friend Brent by forcing him to play Pai Gow with us (Brent's flight was delayed in Cleveland for several hours and then canceled. Because the Rapid was shut down from the ice storm, he had to take the bus home Tuesday night. The guy needed to cash in on some karma).

4.Tonight Phil and I enjoyed the most delectable (and expensive) dinner ever at Picasso in Bellagio.

You can check out the menu at Picasso via the link, but I must mention the ambiance was almost as great as the meal. We had amazing eye candy: authentic Picassos on the wall, front-row seats to the fountain show on the lake and gorgeous, fragrant flowers blooming throughout the restaurant. As for my meal, I tried two firsts -- caviar and a quail egg, sampled the best soup ever (Phil's succulent squash soup that was poured over homemade marshmallows) and savored what will go down as my most beloved dessert: warm chocolate fondant cake with espresso ice cream and toffee bits. Friends, this was even better than the Crying Chocolate dessert I fa wn over (and make co-workers sample) at Buddakhan in NYC.

This meal showed me why each ingredient in a dish has a purpose: bitter paired with sweet, rich with salty. I felt like I could taste each layer of flavoring. Magnificent.

Oh, and after three nights of gambling, I haven't lost my shirt yet. All is well.

Day 1 in Vegas: Wheel of Misfortune

So, a momentous day in current events, but an uneventful one for the most part for Philstina (yes, my husband and I have a celebrity moniker). Hillary won Ohio, Brett Favre retired and we returned to our hotel room tonight with lighter wallets. Ahh, the joys and seductions of Vegas!

I cast my absentee ballot last week, but Phil headed to our poll site this morning before our flight while I tackled some loose ends for work. We were worried we'd face a big flight delay with the wintry mix Mother Nature served up this morning, but we only suffered a minor setback. We weren't able to avoid the de-icer (never, ever a good sign...once on a biz trip with a friend/colleague, we waited in line for an hour for our plane to be de-iced only for the de-icer to run out of de-icing fluid...grrr), but ended up arriving less than 30 minutes later than our planned arrival. And, when you're greeted with 70-degree sunshine, how can one complain?

We had a friendly, informative cab driver who pointed out all of the new construction sites since our last visit to Sin City two years ago. Amy, you'll be pleased to know that he said the Stardust implosion was the best he'd ever seen (he's lived in Vegas since the 50's and has made a point of attending casino demolitions). There's a new hotel/casino in between the Venetian and the Wynn called Palazzo that looks amazing. Hopefully, we can check it out this week. Also, the City Center is a project slated for completion in 2010 that sports a price tag to the tune of $8.7 billion according to our cabbie.

We checked in at the Wynn, unpacked and then I wrapped up some work. Headed out around 5 p.m. to Bally's/Paris (two of our fav spots to play Pai Gow poker) and fooled ourselves with how long of a walk it would be. It's amazing how you can see a casino "right in front of you" and yet it takes 30 minutes to walk there since their size is ginormous and misleading. I lusted after a ridiculously tall drink in a hideous Eiffel Tower glass with a straw (oh, I will have one by week's end), a green BCBG dress and ruched cowboy boots, but Phil kept me on track and we found a Pai Gow table with a low minimum ($10) at Bally's and gambled away.

One of the reasons we love Pai Gow is because you have a good chance of at least pushing (or tying the dealer), so it feels like your money lasts longer. Didn't quite work out that way tonight. Phil started out strong while I kept getting bad hands (this is pretty typical. My favorite part of gambling with Phil is when I run out of chips and he lets me skim off his pile). Then I started getting a few pushes and wins and things looked up as Phil almost doubled his money. Long story short, we played until we were both famished (we hadn't eaten for about 8 hours at this point) and walked away with a combined total of $6.75. No, I didn't leave out any decimal points or digits. Ouch.

Phil and I had a love/hate relationship with our dealer, Lee, tonight and we still remember and reference our favorite (Dolly, Bally's) and detested (Jan, Treasure Island, and Mavin, Paris) dealers from previous visits. We also fondly remember folks we've met at tables (we once played with some guys who kept making $3K bets on my dealt hands, which freaked me out) and the weirdos that are commonplace at the casinos...tonight we met a little person leprechaun outside of O'Shea's.

After our pride-swallowing loss, we hungrily staggered over to Caesars Palace to try its buffet, Lago. Phil looooves buffets. This one was OK, but won't go down as one of our favorites. After we refueled, we convinced ourselves that our luck would change by gambling someone else's money (Kim's), and so we played the Wheel of Fortune slots at Harrah's with the lucky $20 bill she gave us to win her big money with hopes of repeating her $200 win from her last visit. Sorry, Kim, you're a loser, just like us. Hilariously, the only time we won credits was when we scored three lines straight across (basically nothing x 3). That about sums up our luck for the night.

My social media conference starts tomorrow, and I am psyched! I start off with a hands-on podcasting seminar first thing. Wish us better luck (and fortune) for tomorrow evening.