We got up Sunday, checked out of the Sahara, and drove down to the Palazzo for some brunch and sports-betting. We stopped to talk to the lady with the in-game betting devices, but they didn’t have enough options yet to be that interesting. There were some basketball games we were interested in, but they weren’t til later that day.

The benefit to arriving at Lagasse’s Stadium early is that you get a great seat. They put us at a table in front of a giant bank of TVs, right next to the book. We collected odds sheets and instructions (because we can never remember how to place bets), and set to picking games. It was a little too early for them to be serving food, but it was definitely not too early for coffee and beer.

We placed bets, ordered food, and also got a pitcher of Long Islands. Happy morning in Vegas!

After brunch, we headed down the strip to do some gambling. I was in search of a friendly-looking craps table, because I was determined to finally try it. I’d even been practicing my betting on the simulator at home. We stopped into O’Shea’s, but the tables were all full. However, when we checked in on Foursquare, we got a message saying we could show the bartender the check-in and get 2-for-1 drinks. So we did.

We went into Imperial Palace and found an open Pai Gow table. After sitting there for a while, I was down about $60 out of my $100. That’s the first time I’d really lost anything at Pai Gow; it’s a break-even kind of game, if nothing else. Matt wanted to switch to blackjack, so I decided to go give craps a try. I put $10 on the pass line, then a $10 odds bet, and quickly ended up with $40. I did that again, and I had more than my original $100 back. Craps was instantly addicting, but I was too excited to keep playing. I took my chips and cashed out, and we went to get our wander on.

We crossed over to the Mirage, and found a comfortable-looking bar right outside the entryway. It was called Rhumbar, and they featured fancy rum cocktails and cigars. How could we go wrong, really?

It was then time to head over to Orleans Arena for the semifinal games in the WCC Tournament, which started at 4pm. We arrived a bit early, and they let us walk across the court to the far end, where our seats were in the bleachers behind the basket. Even getting to do that blew my mind a little, but that didn’t seem unusual to anyone else. The first game was St Mary’s vs Santa Clara; we were sure St Mary’s would win, but I was more concerned with how much they one by, since I had bet on the game.

St Mary’s covered by a point, so I was very excited. Gonzaga won the second game easily, of course.

After the games, we went over to the Palms to check in. It was one of the preferred hotels for the tournament, so Matt had gotten us a great rate on a room there. I found out much later that it was also the week they were filming MTV Spring Break there. All I can say is that whole thing was incredible: Jersey-Shore looking dudes everywhere, and ladies walking around in bikinis even though it was nowhere near warm enough to go near a pool.

For some reason, they upgraded our room. We ended up in a gigantic suite with 2 bathrooms and a jacuzzi, with a great view of the strip. Not to mention MTV Spring Break going on below us!

Around 10pm, we went over to the Bellagio to see if we could get into the Fontana Bar, which overlooks the fountains. It wasn’t crowded at all, and though it was too cold to sit outside, we still had a good view of the show outside. And the show inside, for that matter: a cover band was playing the greatest dance hits of the 70s through today, complete with several costume changes. They were really entertaining.

The show finished around midnight, so we headed off in search of food. Anyone who says you can get anything you want in Vegas 24 hours a day is full of shit; as we’ve learned over the years, most of it closes down starting around midnight. We covered several restaurants before finally finding one in Paris that was open, serving breakfast all night. It was by no means good (or cheap), but it was food. I had a croque monsier quesadilla without ham, and Matt had a breakfast involving pancakes. One of which he stole, because he wanted to throw it on Las Vegas as revenge for having the audacity to be partly closed. We needed to wrap it in something, so it ended up packed between some Keno sheets in my purse. And when you’ve reached that point in the evening, you know it’s time to go back to the hotel!