Want to wish all you lovers out there an early Happy Valentine's Day!
DH and I will travel out to the desert this Valentine's Day weekend. It's not just any desert, it's LAS VEGAS. We wanted something special this year and not just the usual stay in town celebration. Because of the rare sunday/monday holiday combo, we saw it as an opportune time for a short getaway.
We made plans to book this back in January. The economy must still be in a doldrum because there were some amazing deals on flights & hotel. Our stay is at MGM's newest hotel and casino called ARIA. After doing an estimate on other costs for this trip, it turns out to be quite expensive. Close to $1,500!!! (That is if we really do lose all of the $500 allocated to gambling)
Fixed Expense
Flight & Hotel - $519.96 which includes a $75 casino credit for us to spend freely at the resort. We can redeem it at their restaurants, shopping, spas, shows, or in the form of money to gamble.
Variable Expenses
Shuttle/Taxi - Shuttle transportation is needed to and from the airport. Taxi cabs will be used to get to far away casinos and venues.
Dining - There will be 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners. This is a total of 7 meals. I would guess an average of $40 per meal is enough although breakfast tends to cost less so extras will be allocated toward dinner or other munchies.
Shopping - I probably won't be doing too much shopping. But if I was, it will go towards souvenirs and maybe clothing.
Gambling - Now this is the fun part. Who goes to Vegas without trying out their luck? Who knows, maybe I'll come back a lucky winner. But we plan to do some serious light gambling at the tables, slots, and poker room.
This pretty much covers everything. We don't have plans yet to watch any shows since we've seen a couple from trips before. No plans either to hit the clubs or bars.
Recently, President Barack Obama made a remark on people that takes vacation out to Las Vegas. He said “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.” I feel this comment was a bit harsh. At first I thought maybe I shouldn't go ahead with this trip since so many Americans are still struggling financially while I blow away money in Vegas. But then I realized that our jobs are pretty stable and we deserve to have a mini vacation from all the hard work. So I didn't feel as bad.
Do you agree with Obama's comment and what are your plans for these special days?
2 comments:
No I don't agree with President Obama's comment.
Kudo's to you for going to Vegas! I feel that Vegas has been hit rather had in this recession, so any help to their tourist economy will be appreciated by them and the state in general!
I have a buddy how going out there every year, he's always asking me to come out with his group. I haven't went in the past because I wanted to pay off my house first (yay). Maybe I'll go next year or the year after that (I'd have to budget for it)!!!
I do agree with Obama's comment (one of the few times we agree) and think those who came down on him should bite their tongues. How could anyone disagree with the completely honest and valid remark he made? Contrast that to Bush's statements after 9/11 - "go out and buy stuff" and later when they gave stimulus checks "go spend it".
Every city/state has been hit hard by the recession, Las Vegas isn't unique by any means...except they had more real estate speculation going on, and rightly, as a result they're paying for those bad decisions.
$1500 is a rather expensive trip for 3 days for 2 people. Just my opinion. Hope it was enjoyable though.
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