A quest nearly completed...

[KennyStak]

In 4 short days my wife and I will be landing in Vegas shortly before 11am on New Years day.  I am still a little curious what the aftermath is going to look like from NYE and trying to comprehend the quantification of living evidence of New Years Eve events gone horribly right and wrong.  This is the 3rd trip I've been on with my wife, back in 2011 shortly after we were married we made our first visit.  We started a growing goal during that trip by collecting $1 chips from each casino we visited.  After the first visit I think we had 10 or 11 chips, after our second we have 20.  We are only counting the Strip properties and  Freemont Properties.  With some luck I think we will be able to check off our list and expand to the other properties around the City of Sin.

We had our first experience with a closing casino, Bills.  And another that closed before we could visit, Imperial Palace.  I'm not sure what gratification I will get once I have all of the chips (other than knowing I have a wide open door anytime a new property opens to visit "just to keep the goal alive), but it's been a cool story to tell from time to time.  We try to take a picture outside each of the casinos we have chips from to keep it interesting, sometimes they are of us and sometimes they are of the "people of Vegas"…  Think "People of Walmart" only after 15-20 beers, a 60 hour craps binge and some really bad advice on how good those pants look.

Does anyone else have certain traditions they like to keep up with in Vegas?

Other Vegas quirks:

Any time I get cash from an ATM in Vegas I start cheering and telling everyone "This machine is REALLY paying off, been doing it all day/night".  It helps me cope…

My wife counts fake boobies at the pool, we try to keep up but at MGM it can be hard to keep an accurate count with all of the pool areas

[jenaphir]

  I am still a little curious what the aftermath is going to look like from NYE

my first new years eve in vegas, i was out on the strip.  it was chaos.  i was probably out until around 1:00 am and there was garbage and people everywhere.  sometimes they were interchangeable.

the next morning, i was out ridiculously early, as i was flying home that day so i had to be up the crack of dawn.  there was no evidence at all that anything had happened out there the night before.  it was so weird.

[KennyStak]

I always have the camera phone handy should there be evidence worth noting.  My guess is there will be a few people with 2014 glitter hats well into Wednesday afternoon, not to mention the folks that won't roll out of bed until the Rose Bowl game and down to the sports book in their pajamas.

Last year I got cut off within 45 minutes.  After 3 rounds of Patron and Corona, the bar waitress explained I had surpassed the drink limit (she says it is 3 per hour).  I wonder #1 will I beat that record and #2 is that even a real rule in a Vegas establishment (this was at MGM where I have never encountered so called you're-drinking-top-shelf-liquor-like-a-fish-rule…)

If there is no evidence of a NYE party, does that mean it never took place?

[knagl]

I like the $1 chip from every casino thing.  I have some, but I'm nowhere close to having a complete collection.  I do have some chips from closed or renamed casinos which make for neat souvenirs, plus some unique limited-edition chips (anniversaries, etc.).  I also have a small collection of Silver Strikes.  I'm nowhere near as obsessed about them as some of the Silver Strikers, but I do have a handful of them, many from casinos that no longer offer the machines.

[bardolator]

What a great excuse that could be! If my wife catches me staring at women I can always say it's purely academic. I'm counting fake boobies.

We used to eat the cheap steak at EI for our first meal, but we got too many tough ones. I used to like to cup the hanging boob in the Cleopatra Lounge, but then we stopped visiting Caesars. So nothing now.

[redietz]

Bard, good to know. I used to high five the nipples as I walked underneath. Kitsch rules!

[sorensonfan41]

Any time I get cash from an ATM in Vegas I start cheering and telling everyone "This machine is REALLY paying off, been doing it all day/night".  It helps me cope…

Loved that!  Gave me a good laugh.

I have a small collection of $1 chips (and I think a $5 chip or two as well) from various casinos during my trip back in 2011 (including the now-closed Sahara -- made sure to get at least one or two chips from there...although I do regret not getting a $2.50 chip from there.....I hear those are a bit more rare than the others).  I like the various designs and such of the chips.

[RecVPPlayer]

As for a tradition that I like to keep up with each time I'm in LV, that is to see at least one of the Viva Vision Shows at the Fremont Street Experience -- of the ones that I have seen so far my most favorite is "The Doors' Strange Days In Vegas."

RecVPPlayer

[BTHodgeman]

Most of my rituals/habits are before I go to Vegas, as I prepare for my trip.

I always do the following:
1.) Check my rental car price 357 times a day to see if it's dropped by even a cent. (For the record, I have never yet paid more than $100 for a one-week rental, including all taxes and fees.)
2.) Order either an LVA coupon book, an American Casino Guide book, or both.
3.) Review the coupon books and try to create a rough itinerary of what areas I'll be in on what days.
4.) Watch Vegas Vacation at home.
5.) Watch Vegas Vacation on the plane.

Once I'm in Vegas, I tend to be a bit less consistent. But, I do have some general things:
1.) I always spend $20 on a $1 machine by the baggage claim at the airport.
2.) Whether I stay on the strip or downtown, I *always* make a point to get off the strip and into the locals casinos, even if just for a break in the 'action' of Vegas.
3.) I always play bingo; I usually play at 3-4 different halls during a given trip.
4.) I also do non-Vegas things like visit the Pinball Hall of Fame, eat at local restaurants, etc.

My next trip (over the 4th of July), we'll likely be trekking into California for a few days. That will be a first for me.

Brent