My first time in Las Vegas

After spending a day at the Grand Canyon, I was off to my next location; Las Vegas. Now this was a place I was honestly more nervous to visit than anywhere else on the trip. I don’t know why, it was just another place, right. Another city. But if I had to give a reason…I’d definitely say it was the introvert in me that was freaking the hell out! You see, I’m not a big fan of crowds or crowded areas and the only thing I knew of Las Vegas was that there were going to be crowds…everywhere! But I tried to remind myself that everything was going to be ok, that I wasn’t there for the people, the crowds, the shows. I was there to take pictures and experience the atmosphere (and maybe do a little gambling on the side. I mean, it’s Vegas after all). The drive there was amazing! I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of seeing those vast mountain ranges and realizing just how small we all really are in this world. Every time I see a mountain, it humbles me and I think about how long they’ve existed, stood the test of time and will still be standing long after we’re all gone someday. It caused me to slip into this state of tranquility that I’ve only ever felt while near the mountains. As I got closer to Las Vegas, I started to come out of that state and I could feel myself becoming overwhelmed with this sense of anxiety, excitement, nervousness, joy, and relief with just a dash of sadness for some reason. The route I took reminded me of how I came up across Albuquerque, NM; driving through a pass in the mountains, coming to a clearing and there it was…Las Vegas. Now if you haven’t been to Las Vegas before, don’t let the movies and TV shows fool you. There is waaaaaaayyyyyyy more to Las Vegas than just The Strip and I’d even argue that The Strip doesn’t even make up a majority of the city. 

I followed the route to my hotel, coming up on the backside. As I was getting off the exit from the highway I could see the signs of the Caesar Palace Hotel and my mind immediately thought of The Hangover (Immature? Yes. Was I going to ask them did Caesar really stayed there? Absolutely not. I don’t really like people that much) But that wasn’t my destination. No, I was staying next door; The Bellagio. Yep, if I was going to do Vegas I was going to do Vegas right! I found the parking garage, grabbed my bags and went to check in. To my surprise the area was relatively clear, there were people but I wasn’t as crowded as I imagined it would be. I got my room key, cut through the casino floor, taking in every sight, sound, and smell that I could. I remember walking past a roulette table, hearing the screams and cheers of the folks who had apparently just won an ass load of money. Either that or they were probably drunk, likely both. I made it to the elevator without having a panic attack, got to the 26th floor and began that inevitable lost, worried and slightly confused search for my room. End of the hall. All the way. At the very end. Like the second to last room. I was pissed. I knew at that moment I wasn’t going to make any trips to the car than I absolutely had to because I wasn’t carrying anymore gear down that long ass hallway. Once settled in, I took a few pics of the room for the Gram, posting a reel or two to my story, I grabbed my camera and was off.

As I stepped outside the front of the Bellagio, I saw the valet parking area. Cars I didn’t even know existed, people wearing brand names that you only hear about in songs, “business men” walking in with their rented Instagram Model girlfriends, because there’s no way they were with them for “love.” But hey, that’s none of my business. I took that left and followed the walkway around and was greeted by those famous Bellagio Fountains. My mind immediately jumped to another movie; Ocean’s Eleven. The final scene standing in front of the fountains at the end of a heist (a lot of movie references, I know). But it wasn’t time for that…yet. I got to the strip and realized this was the exact opposite of being at the Grand Canyon. Instead of looking out and down onto the canyon landscapes, the nice easy pace of taking in the views, the cool air, an occasional passerby, it was constantly looking up and around, hustle and bustle, people all around in every direction, constantly starring every time I brought my camera to face, surely wondering if I was taking a picture of them or not. It was at this moment that I realized how much of a challenge this would be. How do I get good shots with so much going on? On top of that, understanding that there were already MILLIONS of photos of Las Vegas, so how would I create original and unique pictures. I started off with the Paris Hotel right across from the Bellagio, then I went for a walk, attempting to capture the architectural essence and style of The Strip. Las Vegas is a mash-up of styles and design, but that in and of itself is what makes it unique and gives it the Vegas style. That’s what I wanted to capture…at first. I popped in my AirPod Pros, started my Frank Sinatra playlist (cuz Vegas), and set off down The Strip. Once I was done, I headed to grab some food, then back to the hotel to shower, take a quick nap, then hit the casino (cuz Vegas). This is where things got a little weird.

I decided to go for a semi-simple look my first night in the casino. I wore a blue denim, button down shirt (white undershirt), some black distressed denim jeans, and tan suede Chelsea boots, which I now call my fancy boots. I checked out my outfit in the mirror. Not the best, but hey, you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig and I just wanted to find a poker table and try my hand in the world-famous Bellagio Casino. I headed downstairs, got to the casino floor and walked around for a minute. I was mildly overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. There was so much going on and I didn’t know where to start. I found a reasonably priced slot machine and played my first $20 and what do you know, I won $70! I was off to a great start!!! Then I found a Texas Hold ‘Em table. FINALLY!!! Poker! I had been practicing for 9 months on my deployment and I was ready to test my skills in the real world. As I sat down at the four-seat table, out the corner of my eye I could see these two women at a bar that were within spitting distance from the table I was sitting at. I could see that they both had drinks in their hand and were having a conversation. About what? No clue. I was focused on Poker. I sat down, handed the dealer my buy in; $140. I was ready. Three minutes later I walked away from the table with $25 in chips. What. The Hell. Happened??? Long story short, I thought I was playing “normal” Poker. I was not. In an attempt to save face and make it look like me losing $115 in 3 minutes was completely intentional, I tipped the dealer $5 and very slowly and leisurely walked away from the table (my facemask saved me from so much embarrassment). I ran upstairs to my room, jumped on my computer and did some research, figured out what I did wrong and went back down to get my damn money back. Now when I got back downstairs, I headed back to the same table I was at before, and those two young ladies were sitting there at that bar, sipping on those drinks. I got a better look at them this time. One was black, the other white. Both very…well endowed in all areas, wearing dresses that helped in revealing those areas of endowment. But as I got closer, the faces did not match the bodies. Fortunately enough for me, they had their masks down as they were drinking and in between checking my phone and watching were I was going, I looked over long enough to catch a glance. But I messed up……I made eye contact. Oh shit! They saw me, then giggled, and pointed. I looked back down at my phone and for half a second thought “Just turn around. Don’t even walk past them” but my stupid ass legs just kept walking forward. Then I heard it……..…“Aye Blue Shirt!”….I panicked and ran to a slot machine. TF just happened!?! Did I just get cat-called??? And then it hit me, those weren’t just two chicks sitting at a Vegas Casino bar. Those were chicks that knew people who would break my kneecaps if I didn’t pay them for their “services.” I sat down at the slot machine, looking over my shoulder constantly, horrified by the thought that maybe they were the persistent type and would follow me. I texted my best friend back home and immediately told her what happened. She laughed at me but at least she knew I was alive and that’s what I was most concerned about. Now to clarify, I wasn’t fearful for my safety, more so worried about the fact that I was in Las Vegas for the first time, by myself, with disposable income, intoxicated, with a King Suite room to myself, in which I had $12,000 worth of gear and equipment and I didn’t feel like getting robbed and/or taken advantage of. Did I want to get laid? Of course I did! Not like this though. Not by them. Not after seeing their teeth.

I finished out my evening in my room, ordering room service and sipping on some whiskey that I brought along with me for the trip. And I couldn’t help but thinking back….they really fucking cat called me!!! “Aye Blue Shirt! Aye! Aye Blue Shirt!” My first night in Las Vegas, full of excitement, prestige and ratchetness, all in one night! I can’t wait to go back!!!!

  

P.S. = I have never cat-called at a woman. I’m an introvert, I can’t even speak to women. It’s true, ask my friends. I’m not as bad as Rajesh Koothrappali from the Big Bang Theory, but yeah, I don’t just randomly go up to women and try to start conversations with them in public. That’s more uncomfortable for me than it would be for them. And being cat-called? Wow, that was mildly uncomfortable and I’m not even sure I reacted right. I do wonder what they did the rest of that night. I wonder if they’re up right now…..Hmmmmm???