Hairball Somehow Survived A Weekend of Las Vegas
This weekend, Hairball and his mommy took off to beautiful downtown Las Vegas, Nevada for a weekend of gambling, partying, and all-around hooliganism.
The Resort and Casino
We stayed at Circa Resort & Casino, just off the Freemont Street Experience, and when I say "Just off," I mean you walk out of the casino into the beginning of the experience.
Inside the resort is the World's Largest Sportsbook - a three-story screen that shows the most important games you're betting on, all the odds you'd ever need to know about, and drink service so you don't have to miss a single moment of the game.
Photos of the place don't do it any justice because of the magnitude of the screen's size. The smaller games you see are still taller than at least two of me stacked, and the bigger screens are individually the size of a cinema screen.
You can bet right at the bottom of the screen, with friendly service, and when you say "I've never done this before," they take the time to explain and answer any questions you might have.
I, of course, threw down a couple of bets - a three-game parlay on some of Saturday's NHL games and of course, for the Astros to win the world series.
Now, the stupid Capitols somehow lost to the stupid Coyotes, and the Bruins fell to the Maple Leafs 1-2, so I didn't see a payday there. BUT, you might as well start treating me like Mattress Mack, because I did win that $17 from the Astros taking the series.
Later in the day, I didn't know much about SEC football, but my friends were all raving about the Tennessee vs. Georgia game, so we went to Stadium Swim to catch that game and hung by the pool while we watched the game.
Seriously, check this place out. It's the biggest pool party in Vegas.
You have to see the view from our hotel room, which we had no idea until we pulled the curtain back and saw we could sit and watch the games right there in the hotel room.
The food at Circa was unbelievable. They have multiple restaurants, and I checked out Victory Burger, where I got their "Fondue Burger", covered in cheese, roasted tomatoes.
For a side, my mom and I split the Victory-Style fries - topped with carmelized onions, cheese sauce, bacon and their Victory Sauce.
If you're more of a deli sandwich kinda person, we also tried out Saginaw's Delicatessen, where my mom got their giant Royal Flush Reuben sandwich and I tried out "Derek's Favorite" - roast beef, salami, tomato, mayo, and mustard.
Fremont Street Experience
Just outside the doors of Circa Resort is the Fremont Street Experience, a mile of the covered walkway with street performers, bands, DJ's, shops, bars, dispensaries, and restaurants. It has something for everybody. Plus, the ceiling is one gigantic screen that flips through different scenes, like wooded areas, the ocean, space and more.
Throughout the walkway are performers and photo opportunities, like the Chippendales stand. Of course, after the infamous Halloween video of Megan and I dancing as Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley's Chippendales skit, had to get a photo with them.
If you're wondering what's up with the leg in the corner, one of the many bars along the way down Fremont was selling these slushie drinks in a fancy cup. One of the biggest things you can't hang on Fremont without trying at least once is the Slotzilla zipline, which runs you through the covered experience.
The ride starts out 7 stories high, and you soar above the people walking down below.
As we walked back toward our home base at Circa Resort, we were surprised when the lights suddenly dimmed and the ceiling began a synchronized show to some music from The Killers. Video doesn't do it justice, but just know, it's one of the coolest things you will ever see.