A last minute trip

 First up, it's been a lovely & very busy summer. I'm trying to take advantage of my very flexible schedule, and "say yes" to more things at the moment. Particularly things I can't do when I'm employed. 

My nephew & I were very intrigued by the Mirage closing (a Las Vegas casino) & their corresponding mandatory payout of all of their slot machines. We chatted about what a fun spectacle it would be to see on Friday, laughed about it on Saturday, & then booked flights that afternoon. I had two free room offers (paid $120 in resort fees for my nephew's room). My room was at the Encore, he was at the Cosmopolitan. He covered his flight, which I believe was just over $100 (he was coming from Phoenix). I used my never ending pile of United credits, and magically got upgraded to first class both ways - bonus!

We flew out on Monday & came back on Wednesday. We had an absolutely fabulous time. The execution at the Mirage of their slot payouts was...not what I would have done, had I been them. I've done plenty of slot tournaments, and typically you get entered after spending X, or playing for Y period of time. They had no requirements that you actually had to play at any point. Your players card just needed to be in the machine at the time of the drawings. As a result, their slot machines were all taken by early morning for a 3 pm drawing. Most of their machines were already offline, and the limited ones available were taken by people who were working on laptops, ordering DoorDash, and saving machines. I didn't see a single person playing slots at any time while we were there. It was madness. We got there hours early & decided we would watch some of the craziness, & then headed over to play a bit of blackjack & pick up some commemorative $1 chips. The Mirage was the first hotel I stayed at when I went to Las Vegas many, many years ago.

I suppose you can say that the Mirage truly was a spectacle, just not in the way we were expecting. We had the best time. Great meals, so much laughing, plenty of free champagne at the hotel I was staying at, and just all of that unexpected bonus time together. It's so fun to have an adult nephew who is up for last minute trips. 

The NBA was also hosting their summer league, so there was also some celebrity spotting available. In a truly, "I feel old" moment, I got into an elevator at the same time as another young man. When we got in, another guest in the elevator asked how tall my "son" was. My "son" snorted & explained that he was 7' tall. The guest asked if he played in the NBA (he does) & then we all chatted for a few moments. I looked up the NBA player, and he's 25, so I suppose it's totally possible he could be my child. I can't imagine having a son who is 7' tall! I've never seen so many incredibly tall people all at one time. They were pretty easy to spot, even discounting their team shirts. That height is hard to miss!

10/10, would definitely do it again! What was the last impromptu decision you made that led to something really fun?