Viva Las Vegas!

Downtown Las Vegas
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The second time I thought we would die during this trip was when Manoj persuaded me to go on the ‘rollercoaster’ at the top of the Stratosphere casino (the really tall tower one). My nerves had already been shaken up that day so I don’t know what I was doing agreeing. Anyway, it wasn’t a rollercoaster after all - it used to be but now it’s changed. Instead, it was a thing that shot you over the edge of the top of the tower and dangled you over the Strip for a few minutes. Not my idea of fun I can tell you! Good view though, had I had my eyes open!

Vanya with the winnings!!!
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Anyway, we had a great time in Vegas. We visited most casinos, gambled some dollars in a few, ended up in the red but that’s what we expected! One night we made a $55 profit though! It was great fun playing Blackjack and Craps, we had a hot table! One guy was betting over $100 at a time (on a $5 minimum table – why?!) and when he got lucky he tossed a $100 chip at the guy who’d been rolling the dice! He couldn’t believe his luck! Wish one of us had been rolling at that time but he left just before our go. Vanya played Craps for the first time and rolled a seven on her first go. She held her head in her hands thinking she’d lost everyone their money but all the Yanks around her were high fiving and celebrating their win! A seven is only good on the first roll. Vanya was in a rich vein of form so much so that some of the players were putting bets on for her, winning us some dollars! The next night we tried our luck again at Blackjack and Craps. This time lady luck wasn’t with us, we even had one American give us $20 on Blackjack to help us get some of our money back – to no avail. Cheers Matt, thanks for trying! The waitress outfits in the casinos were very interesting. In my opinion, the number one outfit was in the Bellagio...

I rolled a seven and thought it was all over...

Viva La France!! The Paris casino
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Yes, the outfits were very ‘interesting’! All of them involved skirts just covering the ladies’ bottoms and shiny tights legs and then a variety of tops from classy jackets to practically nothing! I have to say the Bellagio did have the most classy outfit – a black number with a smart top. You wouldn’t catch me wearing it though! Vanya, not Manoj, that is! We did get free drinks off them when we were gambling though so that was good! You have to tip everyone though, and then there’s tax on everything so the price you see is actually half of what you pay after state tax, resort tax, gratuity and any other tax they can think of!

In Venice!
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After having two death defying experiences (in her opinion), I thought I’d have trouble persuading Vanya to go on the New York-New York rollercoaster. However, she needed little persuasion (that’s cos I like rollercoasters, I just don’t like dangling off a tall building!). It had been a while since we’d been on a rollercoaster but we both enjoyed it. Another thing we both enjoyed very much was the gourmet all-you-can eat buffet at the Bellagio, a definite must if you go there!