Started the day with an upset stomach so basically slept in and skipped the brunch at Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan but walked over there to say hello to Dr. Kev from Tipping the Odds Las Vegas. Then went back to the room to relax and rest up for the night's activities - including a meet-up at the Mandarin Bar at the Mandarin Oriental.
Some pics from my walk to The Cosmopolitan-
A model in the Aria of the Seven Magic Mountains sculpture:
The Shops at Crystals - Aria:
A shoe sculpture at the Cosmo (not sure if the heel is a sewing machine mechanism or a tattoo machine):
More art at the Cosmo:
Even more art at the Cosmo:
Another shoe sculpture at the Cosmo:
My breakfast - I figured getting some fresh cold-pressed juice would be good for my body:
Chocolate Halloween art at Aria:
I ran into the inimitable Pat from Canada on my way to Aria to play some blackjack - he told me he won a bit at the craps tables and was heading to check out the renovations at Monte Carlo but would be in attendance at the Mandarin Oriental get-together later that afternoon.I sat down in the high limit room at Aria and set a goal of either playing for 30 minutes or winning 1k, whichever came first - here's how that went down: First hand dealt a 20, dealer bust +100; Second hand dealt a 20, dealer drew to 19 +200; Third hand dealt an 8,3, doubled for a 21 -- dealer drew to 17 +400; Fourth hand dealt a 20, dealer stood pat at Soft 17 +600; Fifth hand dealt 2, 2 versus dealer 7 - split and ended up with a 12 and 15 - dealer 17 +400; Sixth hand dealt a blackjack +700; Seventh hand dealt an 18, dealer had an 18 +700; Eighth hand dealt a 20, dealer turned over a 19 +1k - Goal achieved - yes, the shoe was running great but, in the world of blackjack (as we all know so well), things can turn on a dime and I wanted to get over to the Mandarin Oriental for the group meet up.
I then walked over to the Mandarin Oriental and it is truly a beautiful hotel -- as the elevator doors opened, Mitch and Dr. Kev from @tippingoddslv greeted me by the champagne vending machine #classy:
moments later, Saul from @LasVegasJunkie arrived. We then headed into the Mandarin Bar and were seated per our reservations made by Joe from @JoeQ_sdA few minutes later, the rest of the #Oeans14XL crew showed up (although Julian did get sidetracked wandering around the MGM Grand - classic Jules)
The view from the Mandarin Bar:
The crew:
We all eventually headed out to meet up for dinner at Off the Strip at the LinQ promenade (one of my favorite restaurants - just pure comfort food)Great food and service:
I had the Braised short rib ravioli with mashed potatoes and gravy (as did @erosenthal1029) We discussed the upcoming Zorkfest as well as @VitosCasino being the MC thereof. The two new faces in this photo are @Vegas_nerd and his buddy (who is not on Twitter):
Halloween photos from the LinQ Promenade:
After dinner - we headed over to @EllisCasinoLV to check it out as most of us had never been there but Chris from @FacesAndAcesLV and Julian from @VegasConfesspod had become friendly with some of the owner's family and they gave us a quick tour of the place (thank you to Christina Ellis and Ana Ellis) Another member of the #Oceans14XL family appeared, as if from the mist, in the form of @_Lucky45 who added to the evening with some excellent blackjack and casino stories - while some of the guys played craps, Mitch played video poker and Chris, Julian, Saul, Mike and I played some low-roller blackjack (I picked up a quick $50 at a $10 table).Julian's wife Kelly showed up as well and I am sure she won on the slots as it seems she always does - while Tom and Eric discussed Pai Gow Poker - We all ended the evening and headed our separate ways. On the Lyft ride back to the Monte Carlo, I received an email from the airline telling me it was time to check-in for my flight -- however, I am staying in Vegas until Monday
rather then ending my night with memories of all the fun, I began to stress out -- I called the airline and they stated the flight reservation was made for the 27th, not the 30th -- I calmly and respectfully explained to them that it made no sense because I was here with friends and my hotel was booked through the 30th, so I would not mistakenly make the wrong return date air reservation. The customer service representative stated that, as I purchased the ticket with airline frequent flyer miles, all she could do was cancel my flight and return my points. However, the cost of the flight had now increased 250% and my frequent flyer miles would no longer cover it and, since you could use miles to partially pay for a ticket, I would be on the hook for the entire cost. She apologized and told me that "guest relations" would be the only department that could possibly rearrange my travel without any additional cost (I assumde this is the equivalent of a host taking charges off your bill at check-out) - so, I had to call "guest relations" at 6am and plead my case -- the customer service representative did state that because I am a Silver Status member, guest relations just might be able to assist me -- I am not holding my breath but will set my alarm and call them at 6am. As such, as it now stands, the following are the possible scenarios :1-pay full price for a ticket on the 30th;2-"guest relations" changes everything without a problem; or3-I fly home the 27th and miss out on the rest of the weekend (this is not what I want to happen)
Stay tuned and we shall see what happens a few hours from now. And, oh yeah, the trip is +1050