TRIPPED

Since no one bothered to guess, I am tempted to not even tell you that I up and went to Las Vegas... again... to see Kanye and Jay-Z.... AGAIN!

I know. It's getting insane how much of a devotee I am to music's second-most polarizing figure (runner up to Gaga, I presume). But talent is talent, people, and Kanye HAS talent. Regardless of what he says or does, I will never deny that. Throw in Jay-Z, who also has immeasurable talent, and it's just almost too much for me to bear.

When I saw them last time, I immediately started telling everyone whom I thought would actually go see them, to absolutely, 100% do it. Find a way and get there. One of those people included my pal David:
who was ready to sign right up for Camp Watch the Throne almost immediately. Next thing I know, plans are made and we're going to Vegas to see the concert!

After I get my Home Alone tour guide business off the ground, I think I will get a Las Vegas First Timer's tour guide business up and running. I have so much fun filling people's heads with interesting knowledge about Sin City and showing them around for the first time. Did you know there is no apostrophe in Caesars Palace because they want each of their guests to feel like a Caesar, important and powerful?

We stayed at the Encore, which is a beautiful property. We got there Thursday and decided to kick around there for the night, just strolling between the Encore and Wynn (pictured above) and taking it all in. Good thing we didn't log too many miles, because after breakfast on Friday, we did so much walking up and down the strip that I put a hole in my brand new boot sock. Yikes. We stopped long enough for lunch at Olive's at the Bellagio, where I discovered that I like beets (albeit candied beets), and at the Cosmopolitan, where I discovered that I want to live in this giant chandelier:

The show was Friday night and my boys did not disappoint. They had made some minor changes since I saw it last month and I was just as enthralled with everything as I was the first go round. They did the most exciting song, "People" in Paris, let's call it, SIX times in a row for the encore. They would catch their breath and let us scream and then Jay would shout "AGAIN!" and the beat would drop (yes, I just said that). It was both hilarious and awesome.

Conversely, Saturday was a low-key day with some leisurely time in a few different Sports Books with some shopping sandwiched in between. We debated about going to see MJ Immortal, the new Cirque show at Mandalay Bay that's about to kick off a nationwide tour, but decided to spend the last night prowling around the Wynn/Encore properties... oh, with a little gambling thrown in:
Yes, mama won $220 on the $1 slots. Actually, mama won $265 but got greedy before she cashed out. Then, got greedy again and lost all but $100 of it. I know. You gotta know when to walk away, a lesson I learned the hard way. I wish I had a video of that machine going nuts when I spun the lucky sequence of numbers. It was truly something I'll never forget!

Of course, no amount of cash could top meeting Jay-Z and Beyonce, an opportunity that I learned I missed while sitting at the airport on Sunday. Robin Leach tweeted a picture of the lovely couple backstage at MJ Immortal, where they met the cast after taking in the show on Saturday night. CHEESE AND RICE. This happened LAST time I was in Vegas except it was Lisa Kudrow and the Elvis show. Moral of the story: whatever Cirque show I feel drawn to next time I am in Veags, I must go see it!

Speaking of my next trip to Las Vegas, while Vegas in December lacks the poolside entertainment that Vegas in the summertime brings, I do think that my next trip will be in December 2012. I have my eye on this guy: the Las Vegas Half Marathon. Start at Mandalay Bay, turn around at Fremont Street and run back. Flat course, cool weather. Have I talked about this before? I really mean it this time.

I can't close without saying many, many, many thanks to an incredibly generous friend for an incredibly amazing trip! I had a "shoe"-per time!