So I'm sitting here writing this while I watch King of the Hill and finish up some laundry. Tomorrow, I depart for my first trip to Atlantic City. Yes, you're right, I didn't even wrap up my last adventure in Vegas. Well, better late than never, right? OK. Let's finish this up: (This is admittedly a half-assed post. I promise for better ones).
Daytime Shenanigans
For amazing burgers and adult shakes, go to Holsteins in the Cosmo.
For amazing steaks, go to the Ruths Chris Steakhouse. I know it's a chain. But the food is still amazing.
For a decent burger place in a nice part of the city to go walking, go to Strip Burger.
For an escape from the city for a day, rent quads and go out to the desert for a few hours.
For the tacky, expected Vegas experience, talk to all of the annoying salesman or promoters on the strip during the day.
For cheap gambling, go to Old Vegas. It's really cool to see what Vegas used to be like when the mob ran it. Go to the Golden Nugget. Also, there's nice restaurants here for much cheaper and more reasonable than the main strip.
For a fun themed casino with even a roller coaster, go to NY, NY.
Nightlife Reviews
Sunday night we attended Hakkasan. If you like stairs, this is the club for you. There's many floors- some dedicated to house/EDM music, some dedicated to hip hop. But MAN is there a ton of stairs. Only thing I wasn't a fan of. That, and perhaps the walkways should have been designed for the mass amounts of people. Other than that, imagine literally a forest with tons of trails- each curvy trail eventually leads to an opening: either a bar area, dance floor or lounge area. Exploring through that place was amazing. Your typical club is more square-like. So in my opinion, that is what truly separated Hakkasan from any other club I've ever been to. That, and the stairs. ... So go here if you want to get lost amongst a maze of house music dance floors.
Monday night, we attended the XS night club. This club, though not possessing the same unique flow design as Hakkasan, was absolutely my preference. Cedric Gerbais was playing. It was impossible NOT to have a good time; and you didn't feel like you were struggling for some space. The venue had one large dance floor in the middle with two bars off to either side of it- with bottle service areas near the front and far off to both sides, beyond the bars. It was Monday and the club was packed. We struck up a lot of conversations with Australians and Canadians- who would have thought. That being said, Australians are everywhere in Vegas... So go here if you want a traditional Vegas clubbing experience.
Tuesday night, we went to Pure. I can't say there was anything truly special about this club, other than the fact that it was in Las Vegas and drew a giant crowd. The music was solely hip hop, which was a nice change from the mostly house music we had seen so far. Once again, on a Tuesday, the place was mobbed. You know those night clubs you go to and they just aren't fun? Like, everyone just kind of stands around angrily staring at each other, or texting, or along those lines? Well, after our third night partying in Vegas, we had yet to see that. It was refreshing. I know, it's Vegas...but it was nice to actually go out and not regret it.... So go here if you want a break from the house and EDM.
Wednesday night, we got into a bit of a fight. Well, mostly caused by lack of sleep. We went to the Surrender night club. This club was small, and also across the hall from the XS night club in the Encore hotel. We showed up a bit too early this night, and the bouncer told us it was Locals night; we already felt like it might be our first bad clubbing experience in Vegas. However by 11:30pm the place was filled with the same usual International and LA crowd as all the other venues. This was probably not a club I'd go running back to; it's mostly outside with a large pool in the middle not made for swimming. To the side is a tiny, small packed dance floor that is not maneuverable. Pretty much nothing special about this club. The only positive was that it was the same fun atmosphere due to the people; you know, the mentality to have fun given any circumstance... So go here if you can't get in anywhere else.
Thursday night, we went to The Bank in the Bellagio. Basically, this is the club envisioned by every hater of club-going. Take the worst things about clubbing and combine them into one club- all the exaggerations. Sleezy, rude bouncers that won't let you in without a bribe, rude, angry club goers with shallow personalities, a crappy dance floor with awful sound system/ no DJ in a midst of a city that prides itself on all of it's world-renowned live-in DJ's. What happened? Did we leave Vegas and end up back in CT? Hell, I've even had more fun at bars in Hartford... So, go here if you want an awful clubbing experience.
Friday night: Well ladies and gentleman, we bit the bullet and pre-bought the expensive Avicii tickets to Jay Z's famous Marquee night club in the Cosmo. This was by all means the grand finale to an amazing week. This club, took the cake; take all of the good things from the XS (big open spaces, centralized dance floors), Hakkasan (multiple floors and big rooms depending on your taste), Pure ( Well, it's Jay Z's club; naturally great hip hop dance floors) and Surrender (Poolside drinking, but on the rooftop of a building) and put them together. You can't not have fun at this club. Also, it was Friday, and as ridiculous as the club crowds were during the weekdays, they were on a whole new level this Friday. We made the right move getting tickets early. We would have never gotten in other wise... So go here if you want the ultimate clubbing experience.
