Sunday, February 01, 2004

INVITATION



My 60th is a Moveable Feast

Here is how I’m planning to celebrate turning 60 this year.

Vegas ********* Vegas ******* Vegas****
*** Vegas****** Vegas*****
***
Vegas********
***** Vegas*****
**********



No surprise there I suppose.

Only not in my birthday month, when Vegas is expensive and my kids can’t all arrange to come anyway.

I’m going to do it in December, when Vegas is dirt cheap and we can go and stay through Christmas.

Want to come?

Here is the way my MOVEABLE FEAST BIRTHDAY PARTY works.

I have not booked my rooms yet, but I plan to be in Vegas from approximately December 6th until a day or two after Christmas. I will probably stay in the less pricy downtown area for Dec 6-12 when Vegas fills up with cowboys and cowgirls for the National Rodeo Finals. Then I will try to book at the Orleans for most of the rest of the time, unless something unpredicted drives up their prices also. Most years they have very cheap rooms in December.

I’m inviting everyone I know to come and meet me for a meal, an hour of gambling, a show, a beer, some dancing in a lounge, a game at the same poker table, a walk down the strip, or whatever you might like to do.

No set time for a party; the party is for most of the month, everyday, 24/7.

No presents; Just your presence.

No particular time obligation; just a little fun time together at your convenience.

But if it works right I’ll be able to have a number of nice, small, intimate gatherings and celebrate all through December. And after sharing an event with me and wishing me a Happy 60th, you can take the rest of your trip to do those things in Vegas or California, in Utah, Arizona or the Grand Canyon that you always wanted to do.


And here is my present to you:

I can help you preplan those trips a little, I will have experienced all of them and talked and planned with others who also have done them, so I will have some ideas, or at least some internet resources, that will help you find what you want.


I won’t offer to personally guide you around the city. I’ve done that so many times that I just don’t want to go up in the Stratosphere tower again for a while. 15 times was enough for me. Besides on the 14th I finally got Elizabeth up there at romantic sunset time and got kissed. So anything after that would just be anticlimatic (so to speak)

But between now and December I will establish an email list of anyone even mildly interested in a trip West in December. To the people who ask to be on that list, I’ll send all the specials and deals and resources for planning that I discover in my daily surfing of Vegas boards and I’ll answer questions and be a resource to help plan your trip for you.

I’ll also keep you aware of how the details of my own plans modify as the planning continues and of the dates other people are considering traveling in case you want to hook up with them also. Right now, for example, all my kids (except Cory who will most likely be in Africa) are hoping to manage to be in Vegas together with me, probably sometime between December 19th and Christmas Day. I’ve stressed to all of them too that there is no obligation to attend. This is a no obligation invitation. If no one attends, I’ll be stuck by myself playing poker. Not bad for Plan B.

And I don’t mean to suggest I know everything about Vegas. I don’t know as much about renting fancy strip hotels like Bellagio or rooms in the most luxurious of places; I always go on the cheap. Besides I really don’t think there are too many deals at the high end. But I do know some very nice places, like the Orleans, which sometimes rent at dirt cheap prices. I got kid Peter four nights there this January at $18 a night because I caught an internet sale and he acted in time. And I know how to organize the huge space of Vegas, for gamblers and nongamblers alike, so they can easily get around to see what they want to see and so they know what is available in each area enabling them to use their short time their efficiently. I have done that now for many people.

I also subscribe to a large number of regular Vegas newsletters and talk to a national network of Vegas travelers and locals on bulletin boards, so I hear the ins and outs of car rentals, shopping, music, shows, good food, promotional deals, coupons etc and I can find out almost anything by posting questions on these boards and getting answers from others like me who make Vegas travel a hobby.


Think about it and let me know.
For my last trip reports:
Poker Bluegill: Vegas Busts my Bankroll (1 of 3)
Poker Bluegill: Vegas Trip Report in Miniscule condensed gambling detail
Poker Bluegill: LAST VEGAS TRIP - ENCOUNTERING STRANGERS

1 comment:

Dewey said...

This is great info. I got one of those cards last year for an October birthday and did not need it in December, but I might this year. And I am hoping for something from MSS. I played there one day, lost $200 and ran $1600 thru. Not one scratch off. I hope they remember me with something I can use in May.

Thanks Catherine. See you in December.