Las Vegas: 40th Birthday Fun!

In early 2013, Ben’s BFF’s brother (also named Ben) called and said let’s plan a surprise trip for Nick’s 40th birthday. Nick eventually found out what they were up to and said he’d like to go to Vegas. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Vegas with three boys but it didn’t take long to twist my arm. As Nick showed us a great time last year when we all went to San Francisco, I figured I could return the favor.

This would be the 4th trip for Ben and I and he also went with Nick and Ben in 2007. We kept most things a secret for Nick throughout the trip so that he would be surprised. We chose the hotel Aria as we thought it would be a good central location and the price was right.

Day 1 - Halloween

We had an uneventful flight from DFW and got to Vegas around 9:15 a.m. We had reserved a limo through Presidential using the web special and our driver James was waiting for us at baggage claim. We had Ben H. make the reservation so the birthday boy’s last name would be the one on the sign. He asked us if we’d like to stop anywhere first and I asked if we could go to the Vegas sign. James offered to pop the champagne for us even though it was early and while we declined at first, we finally said what the heck, it’s Vegas, where else can you drink champagne at 10am?

We enjoyed our champagne to the sign and there were only a few people there so James took some great pictures—probably one of my favorite pictures from all my trips.

I had read plenty of stories about long check-in lines but when we arrived no one was there and we walked right up to the desk. Our rooms were not ready so we were given our keys and told we would get a text when ready.

By now it’s only around 10:30 so we decide to explore Aria before lunch at Holstein’s. We find the pool, gym, etc. then make our way to Cosmo and show Ben H. and Nick around since City Center wasn’t yet finished the last time they were here.

We had been to Holstein’s last year and hubby couldn’t wait for his Drunken Monkey shake. We all got burgers except for Nick who got a chicken club and all the boys got shakes. Everything was good but my burger was covered in cheese and slightly over medium so I didn’t like it as much as the first time.

We went and signed up Ben for an Identity card at the Cosmopolitan so he could do the $100 promotion that I won $200 on last year. We signed up Ben H. too and he went to the high limit room and lost some of it (and I got a lemon drop martini, as delicious as I remembered) before finding a Michael Jackson machine. He ended up getting a bonus with free spins and won $80. This machine was a blast and we had so much fun watching Ben H. win! Ben decided to wait until later and as Ben H. and Nick’s room was ready, we decided to back to their room to rest before going downtown for Halloween night.

Our room was ready in about an hour and it was on the same floor (24th) on the other side of the elevator and had a view of the Aria pools with some mountains in the background. The view didn’t look like much then but it was really pretty at night. The elevators were always fast since the floors were broken up into 3 elevators which was nice—there was never a wait.

The day before Halloween, I went to Wal-Mart and got a $20 ladybug costume just so I’d be dressed up when we got downtown. I think the boys thought I was crazy when they saw me come downstairs, especially Nick who had no idea where we were going.

We went downstairs and played a few slots with no wins (or drinks). At 6:00 we got a cab downtown. My plan was for us to see the Halloween parade, and as I had never been downtown, I wanted to see all the usual sights, casinos, etc.

We had a great time downtown. Lots of people were dressed up and while it was crowded, you could certainly move around easily. We saw all the casinos, the shark tank and golden nugget at Golden Nugget, the million dollars at Binions, etc. We played a few slots there and I actually got carded when I ordered a drink!

When we got to Four Queens, we went to Hugo’s Cellar for a drink. I had another lemon drop and we sat and chatted for a few rounds of drinks.

We left in time to see the 8:00 light show on Fremont Street.

As we passed the D, I told the boys that I just HAD to go and play the old horse racing game Sigma Derby. We found it on the second level and there was one empty seat on the end that I slid into.

It was great fun and everyone was having a blast but finally the boys were ready to go and I said “just one more” so Ben H. handed me $.25 which we bet on a 200-1 odd pairing—the whole table bet it as well and what do you know, here come the horses and we are all out of our seats yelling and cheering and yippee it wins! We all go berserk and I look down and see all these quarters being dumped in my lap. It was so fun and we went off to collect our $50 which we split with Ben H. since he gave me the quarter to bet with.

We wander around Fremont a little more just seeing the sights until we’re ready to call it a night. 

We decide to go back to Aria where the boys wanted Thai food so Ben suggests Lemongrass against my better judgment. We ate here last year and it wasn’t very good at all. But this time was much better and the boys loved their dishes. I was happy that our first night in Vegas was such a success and our trip was off to a great start.

Day 2 – Friday

Ugh, I wake up tired, stuffy and feeling hungover. I decided I needed breakfast ASAP. The boys weren’t quite ready so Ben and I went downstairs and found something called a “Hot Spin” game. We had great fun winning $8.50 while waiting for the boys to come down.

I chose The Henry at the Cosmo for breakfast. I got a classic 3-egg breakfast like I always do and the biggest glass of orange juice I had ever seen. It was yummy and the perfect hangover remedy.

So my big plan for us was to walk to the MGM which I had never seen on any of my trips, and for us all to do a pool-our-money slot pull on the Lionshare machine. At the time of our trip, this machine had a jackpot of over $2 million.  We all planned to put in $50 each for $200 total.

We made it from Cosmo to MGM in under 15 minutes. I stopped and took several pictures of the NYNY skyscrapers which turned out great as well as the lion in front of MGM.

Wow, that casino is huge but we found the Lionshare machine outside the High Limit room. But there was a guy sitting at the machine with $200 in tapping the button with one hand and texting on his phone with the other. He looked at his phone the whole time just tapping the machine, never once looking up. What fun is that? We decided to go to Aria and have pina coladas by the pool instead.

We sat out at the pool and enjoyed the sunshine. Ben and I got in the hot tub as well and I was happy we got to enjoy some pool time. Our phones said it was 73 but in the direct sun it felt much warmer than that.

Back up to shower and change for dinner. We met downstairs at 5:00 for happy hour at Level 107. This was something Ben and I did in April and we wanted the guys to see it. We got a cab over to Stratosphere and waited for about 10 minutes to take the elevator up. We got a table and stayed for 3 rounds of drinks and had an appetizer.

We then went out on the observation deck and asked a nice couple to take our picture and it came out great. When we were there in April, we went at sunset which is what I tried for this time. But we ran a little late so this time it was dark and I liked the view much better.

I planned our dinner at The Steakhouse in Circus Circus and took a lot of grief from the guys on this one. But I thought it would be kitschy, I had never seen this hotel before and besides that, the food is supposed to be good.

So, wow, yeah, it’s interesting. There were kids literally everywhere, running, jumping, in strollers, everywhere you looked. We made our way to the Steakhouse and got a nice table in the back—I noticed we got better tables as a 4-top than we do when it’s just me and Ben by ourselves.

Entrées come with a choice of potato and soup or salad. The steaks are big too—the “petite” filet was 8 oz. Ben, Ben H. and I got filets while Nick got the porterhouse and we all got baked potatoes except for Ben who got rice and we all got salads. There is also a big bread basket for the table. I felt like I ate and ate and still hardly made a dent. Everything was good—my steak seemed a little on the rare side but it was still very good.

I had planned for us to go to Gorden Ramsay and have the sticky toffee pudding for dessert and maybe go to the Eiffel Tower bar but we were totally stuffed and the guys were tired so we decided to call it a night.

We played some slots at Aria including pooling $20 each instead of $50 on a Megabucks machine. We won enough for us all to break even and got a round of free drinks. And with that Day 2 came to a close.

Day 3 – Nick’s 40th birthday

I had planned brunch for today but this was before I found out Nick and Ben H. aren’t big breakfast eaters so Ben and I just got breakfast croissants at Jean Philippe. 

I wanted to see the fall display at the Bellagio conservatory, and go to Mlife to redeem our MyVegas reward for that night. I also wanted to play my favorite slot machine, Kitty Glitter. So off to the Bellagio we went.

I see the conservatory and hastily take my pictures since the boys are bored.

Off to the MLife desk to redeem my MyVegas reward for two glasses of champagne at Michael Mina.  MyVegas is a Facebook game where you can earn virtual chips to cash in for real rewards in Las Vegas. I don’t play it much since I just can’t find much time to devote to it. But I did have enough for the champagne which was perfect since we were eating at Michael Mina for the big birthday dinner.

I then promptly lost $20 on Kitty Glitter but at least I got a mimosa out of it.

We went back over to Cosmopolitan so Ben could do the lose $100 promotion. We went back to the same Michael Jackson machine but it gave Ben very little love betting max bet and he lost his $100. We finally found some old school Triple 7 machine that he could use his free play on and he won back $74 so that was pretty good.

For lunch we went to the “secret” pizza place at the Cosmopolitan.  This place is tucked away on the third floor with no signage, but everyone knows about it.  We all got a slice and ate outside the restaurant on the couches and I thought the pizza was really good.

We discussed our next move—Nick still really wanted a pina colada and I said we were at the hotel with some of the best bars in Vegas so let’s go find one. Ben suggested Chandelier Bar—which I did not think was the best choice and sure enough they didn’t have a blender but the bartender said he’d make one on the rocks. So they got those and I got something called Lime in the Coconut and it was deeeeelicious. The boys liked their pina coladas too.

We could have sucked those down all day but it was getting late and we had an early dinner so back to Aria for a nap and a shower.

Dinner was at 6:30 and I had planned for us to go to Hyde for a pre-dinner cocktail. This was a big hit, everyone loved it, and the drinks were delicious. I got a passion fruit bellini, Nick got his favorite Manhattan which he pronounced superb and Ben H. got one of those drinks that they make with dry ice and you eat it with a spoon. He said it was delicious. We saw two fountain shows and the only disappointing thing was we were outside in the bar area and they had the windows closed so none of my pictures came out very good.

Nick’s favorite city is San Francisco and when we went there last year, we almost ate at Michael Mina’s restaurant, but instead chose Gary Danko. Knowing Nick was a fan, I chose Michael Mina at Bellagio for his 40th birthday dinner.

We are seated and our waitress immediately asks who the birthday boy is. She asks us for drink orders and I present my MyVegas voucher to which she says she will bring us two glasses of my favorite champagne Veuve Clicquot. She presents all the menus and explains them and we finally decide to do the Signature Tasting menu at $115 pp for six courses.

Everything, and I do mean everything, was delicious with the standouts being the sea bass and Wagyu steak.

Before dessert, they presented Nick with an extra dessert of panna cotta with happy birthday written in chocolate and a candle.

We can hardly touch dessert and are very full by this time but we are told to take our time and relax so we sit awhile and B has coffee. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday dinner for our friend!

We have tickets for the 9:30 showing of Mystere. We cab over to Treasure Island and I see the longest line I have ever seen for a show. It was truly crazy. But it moved fast and by some miracle we were in our seats by 9:15.

Nick wanted to see a traditional CDS show and this was it. I saw this show on my first trip to Vegas in 2006 and it was not as good as I remembered. I don’t know if it is because I have seen so many CDS shows since or what. But I wasn’t wowed like before. But Nick enjoyed it and we had great seats on the third row.

For after the show, I had plans for us to go to the lounge at Nobu for post-show cocktails and maybe some sushi. I thought it would be a nice quiet place to chat and talk about the show and the trip so far. But the drinks were awful and the lounge was dead. Oh well, can’t win them all I guess. Back to Aria, a few slots, then bed.

Day 4 - Sunday

I have learned in five trips now to plan next to nothing for the last day. All I had planned for today was drinks at the Mandarin Bar for Jazz Sunday.

Ben H. and Nick decided to watch some football as they had placed some bets the day before, then do some exploring on their own. I convinced Ben to have breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris saying we could eat inside and not wait for the patio.

Ben and I enjoyed the walk over and it was nice to be alone for a bit in Vegas. We waited about 10 minutes and we were seated right outside the entrance to the courtyard. I got my usual classic 3-egg breakfast and Ben got the blueberry French toast.

Our plans were to spend the day at the Aria spa so we walked back, changed into our suits and went down to the spa.  We had a nice day alternating between the infinity whirlpool together and the steam room and sauna in our separate areas.

Up in the room, we checked in with the boys and asked if they wanted to go to the Mandarin Bar so I snagged a table at 5:15 on Opentable. We met up for drinks in Nick and Ben’s room before heading over to Mandarin Oriental.

We got a nice table by the window and enjoyed drinks, small plates and jazz for a couple of hours. Everything was delicious. I got a champagne cocktail with blackberries to start and then their version of a lemondrop—both were out of this world.

We got sliders, tuna tataki and a charcuterie platter. All were yummy and it was a great place to be on our last night. The three of us had paid for everything for Nick the whole trip and he insisted on paying the bill at the Mandarin Bar as a thank you.

Back to Aria for some slots and video poker, and some pizza slices at Five50 before heading to bed.

We got up the next morning and checked out of Aria after another breakfast at Jean Philippe but we had time to kill before our pickup so we hung out in the casino for awhile. We all had pizza at Five50 for lunch and debated which was better—Five50 or Secret Pizza. I got some gelato at Jean Philippe and since Nick and Ben H. still had their room keys, we went back down to the pool to lounge until our 1:30 pickup by Presidential to the airport.  Nick had a great 40^th birthday and our first group Vegas trip with our friends was a great success!