Rachel Schneider
ENG 477
Date 1/11/2021
Marsha Blackburn
A Writing Portfolio
I want to write my own fiction stories one day; I have had a book or two swimming around in my head so I will put the computer to good use and get that typed out one of these days. In this instance I chose my 5 stories and even though one is a marketing inquiry I had fun writing it, so here are my things and some background some of them.
Resume: It is a basic one because my photo ones were not particularly good, and this is an honest resume besides the ones I made for class and I did fudge on those.
Cover letter: I made up the cover letter though there is a penguin Books but it is always fun to use your imagination!
Hike with Drew: I got the concept from a Writer’s Digest and entered it into a contes I never got a response but good practice.
Short Story Vegas: Was one I did for another class but in here I changed it and the story was much better the second time.
Marketing Flyer: This was fun to do those are stock photos of the dogs and squeaky toys, but I like Pit Bulls and dog toys are fun as well.
Scott part 1-This is a story I am working on with another writer, warning its very sexy and some naughty words are in there as well.
Writing Samples: I made these three samples up one day because as I have looked for writing work, I have seen people want a sample of your work, so I came up with these.
Rachel
Schneider
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3867 Houghton Ave Riverside CA 92501 📷
951-743-8911 📷
[email protected] 📷
Rachel Schneider 📷
Rachel7Tori-Twitter 📷
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Objective
To get a career going in the fiction/short story writing industry my imagination can run with any scenario and to write is to live.
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Education
Bachelor of Arts in English | Grand Canyon University
2017 – 2021
Took 15 different writing courses, creative writing and even two fun marketing classes all to polish up my craft. Carried a 3.0 GPA and did the courses all online as well.
No Degree Obtained | Riverside Community College
June 1994 – December 1996
Took these college courses but did not finish got 32 Units of Child Development Courses though which is what I was going for
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Experience
Cafeteria Worker 1
2008 Currently Employed.
Cook, Prep, serve food in a middle school setting, also clean, count inventory and do next day prep, cash handling and POS register experience.
Bell Ringer | Salvation Army
November 2007 – December 2007
Rang bell and collected donations for the salvation Army in front of various stores during the holiday season.
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Skills
Food handlers Card
CPR First Aid certified
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Grammar Proficiency
Spelling Proficiency
Can work from home
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Activities
Have good use of social media and can help update or bring in new followers with my creative writing side. Have a Reddit account as well with 30 stories up on that site. Can speak a little Spanish and Hebrew as well.
951-743-8911
[email protected]
3867 Houghton Ave Riverside CA 92501
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Rachel Schneider

Writer

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Penguin Books

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Dear JENNIFER MCGREGOR,

1/21/2021
Jennifer McGregor
Fiction Publisher
4587 Tropicana Rd.
Las Vegas NV 89102
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I have included my resume for the short story writer for young adult novels. It has been a few years, but I currently work in a middle school, so I do see all the angst and sass that goes with being a young teen. I do hope my writing samples can help me move to the top of the list. I look forward to working with Penguin Books and letting kids know being a teen is hard at first, but it does not last forever.
Sincerely,
Rachel Schneider
Rachel Schneider
3867 Houghton Ave
Riverside CA 92501
It had been a long cold winter Drew and I could not get out for a morning hike till today. Being 75 degrees, we did not have to wear many layers. He is an extremely sweet inquisitive boy who always asks a lot of questions. Why does moss grow on the north side of trees” he asks? Its times like this when it would be nice to have my husband here, but he is overseas where the work is. “well, it’s not just the north side it’s on the shadier side because that is where the moisture is.”
On we went looking at snails on the ground watching the deer pass by along a ridge. Being quiet as to not startle them. “Mom he whispered it’s a bunny den they are coming out for food, he leaves a few carrot and lettuce scraps from last night’s dinner. I walked down the path and spotted some glorious Blue Jays and a Downey Woodpecker. “Listen Drew the woodpecker is getting the bugs out of the trees.” My sweet Drew was staring at the Bunnies, they are cute and fluffy after all. We followed our path down further after the bunnies went back to the den.
The skies were getting cloudy, so I hoped the rain was not going to come back. Though the weather report said there was a chance. My little explorer with his school uniform on was undeterred, I wish I could wear shorts on a 75 day and not be cold, it is always nice to be young. Walking along our path we spot some squirrels running in circles around the tree. “Why do the chase each other like that” Drew asks. “Maybe it’s a game for them like ring around the Rosie.”
On we trek to our favorite stream where the deer family are taking their drinks. I tell Drew we cannot skip stones right now we do not want to scare them. We look through the grass for more of his favorite bugs, saw some worms just below the dirt by a tree. Looking up we see a big spider web being made between two branches. The crows were making their calls in the distance. We are finally able to skip our stones in the stream. He gets some great skips going, and we collect some new rocks for our little garden back home.
Walking past the stream we climb up the embankment and up along the ridge where we see a Fox off in the distance. He or she walks the opposite direction we are going so it is a relief we can continue to the clearing. Where there are more bugs, rocks, and Bunnies. We pass the Deer family as they run up the hill to were, they mostly frolic or maybe they live up there. We stop for a snack of Apples, Almonds, and some cheese sticks. When we were finished Drew put a couple of slices in his pocket to feed the Bunnies, I am sure.
“Mommy we’re getting to the clearing now we can see the Bunnies and the last time Daddy, and I were here I got some neat rocks too.” Drew told ne enthusiastically, I did love his passion for nature, though again my husband is much better at the nature stuff. I am a pastry Chef ask me about desserts and I am your woman, about why moss grows on trees and hello Google. Since Dad is unavailable, I step in and let him explore and see the world outside of the house and off the screen.
It is just another half mile and it is on to the clearing. He starts to pull me hand a little harder I know he is excited. We pass under the tree I glance up and see the Fox again. Then we stop and see “Daddy home……
Name: Rachel Schneider
Course: ENG 361
Date: 4/14/2020
Instructor: Debbie Graves
One Week In Las Vegas
The countdown started Friday at 2pm I got the week off from this thing I call a job (just over broke). The car was packed, it was time to hit the road. The traffic was average and climbing the Cajon Pass was not that bad. I stopped in Baker to have my favorite meal at Bob’s Big Boy, the chili spaghetti, no onions. After making my way back on the highway the traffic picked up going out of Baker, through to Primm and Stateline. I had to stop for gas at Whiskey Pete’s, so I also went in and got some snack goodies. My favorite trail mix and some cheese potato chips because vending machines are too expensive. The road was beckoning so off I went, traveling through Jean is always nice, not much to see. A prison, a few remaining casinos, some outbuildings, and a truck stop. There slogan was always fun 40 smiles closer than Vegas. You can get bored so be sure to pack some music you can have your own car concert. “I’ll face it with a grin I’m never giving in, on with the show” (Show Must Go on by Queen)
Finally, the Vegas skyline is in sight, the lights are not on yet, but they will be needing to navigate around the strip. I do say a few words the terrible drivers. This vacation was so needed my job is crazy, my kids are older now and do not need mom around anymore. Off they went to grandma’s house and I booked the week at the Delano, it is attached to the Mandalay bay so perfect access to all the fun of the strip, and just enough luxury to not look cheap. Getting the valet to take the car I check into my genuinely nice room I have a great view of the Luxor light (that comes off the top of the hotel) and the Excalibur. Now off to indulge in that genuinely nice bathtub and get some overdue reading done. My bathroom with a view has the Luxor light and that is the brightest light on the Vegas strip it comes right out of the top of the Pyramid shaped hotel. A brightness of 42.3 billion candela, you could read a paper from 10 miles straight up if you wanted to.
Once I was well soaked and finished with my chapters it was time to find something to eat besides my snack foods. After cruising the room service options, I settled on some Mexican food of chorizo and eggs with nice corn tortillas. That hit the spot so with the extra energy it was time to get out for a stroll of the property. The indoor pool is nice but small and I want to soak up the sunshine and get some exercise so I shall hit the outdoor pool tomorrow. Back in the lobby I grab those ads for things to do in the city so I can plan out the rest of my trip. There are thousands of things to do in Vegas. Do not be disappointed if you do not get everything done, that is what the next trip is for. I have a beautiful week and I want to have a good time and not have to wait for anybody, I can do what I want. I got those and cruised up through the lobby and toward the casino on my way there I saw a sign for a food and wine festival. With that guy Zac from the travel channel. Thinking hmm I did not know he was interested in food or wine. I went down and found my favorite penny slot game Lucky cat. After 15 minutes I came out putting 20 in and winning 500, so I called it a night and went to the bar to catch a hockey game and grab a fun fruity drink (I like tequila sunrise, (Tequila, grenadine, and cranberry juice). As I am rooting for the Golden Knights (local Vegas hockey team) I looked over to my left and there was Zac from the travel channel, and he likes hockey too this is awesome, and I am trying not to be a fan girl.
The game was in intermission and the Knights were winning so it was time for a new fruity drink so this time I turned around to get back to the bar and bumped right into Zac, boy was my face red. After some apologies and an offer to buy my next fruity drink (a Strawberry Daiquiri) it was a yes and I spilled that I was a fan. He told me he does have an interest in food and wine not just chasing ghosts with his crew. We had some great conversation and when the game came back on, we both sat in the booth cheering the golden knights to their victory. Now I am buzzed and standing up was going to be fun, but Zac was a true gentleman and helped me to my feet. He offered to buy me dinner. The Taco Hut was a good place the tortillas were fresh, and the company was so cool. The conversation turned to food, wine, travel, and some stuff about me. The midnight hour rolled around, and Zac had an early morning, so we said goodnight, but he was staying one floor above me, so we agreed to go to the diner in the lobby for breakfast or brunch. At 10am I was enjoying my company and this great stick to your ribs breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns and some great watermelon) The food offerings in Vegas are so varied you can get everything from a hot dog and beer for 1.99 at the Orleans, to a 5-star meal at Caesar’s Palace the buffets are great too. Although sometimes you want a nice sit-down dinner.
The conversation was effortless the attraction was deep. We made plans to see each other again after the food contest he was judging was over. Saying goodbye was a bit hard but the hand holding was sweet and made me feel like a schoolgirl again. After saying goodbye and I did watch him walk into the convention hall I went back to my room to plan out the rest of my day. I chose a tour of the Mob Museum, they say that Vegas was built with Mob money, but it was a Mormon founded town that later Hollywood discovered. Then many people in Hollywood who were well connected (such as East Coast mobsters) financed Bugsy Segal to build the Flamingo Hotel. As I was putting my shoes on, I got a knock on the room door and as I opened it, I got some flowers (pink roses) and an all-access pass to the food and wine festival courtesy of Zac. Let us just say the Mob Museum can wait for later I got to go to a food and wine festival and spend the rest of the week with Zac. “hi Zac thanks for the flowers it was sweet of you to remember.” He said, “It’s always right to remember a ladies flower preference because that’s the right thing to do.” Smiling the rest of the day I meet other travel channel celebrities and got to taste some great foods and many different wines. The food and wine offerings at the hotels and restaurants are varied, the Las Vegas area have become very international, so the varieties are endless.
The week went by in a blur of food, wine, conversation, and some sweet dates. I never thought I would get over the break-up that happened the week before. Getting a private Vegas tour was something completely special. I did get to see the Mob Museum, Mandalay Bay Fine Art Museum, seven magic mountains, Pinball Hall of fame and a private dinner at the food and wine festival. My days in Vegas were down to one. We had reservations at Rivera right here at the Delano the view is amazing, the food is impressive with Italian and French offers. “I have had a wonderful time this week Zac thank you for mending my broken heart.” He looked at me for a minute and said, “it’s been a pleasure to get to know you and I would not mind visiting your hometown, you always have a reason to come back to Las Vegas. The next food and wine festival is around Christmas, this one will include chocolate.” Hitting the 15 early the next morning I have visions of Christmas, a pass to the food and wine festival, also a brand-new relationship to take back home with me.
The End
When writing a short story, you want to keep it from rambling and have enough details to keep it fresh. When your reader gets into the story you want them to feel like they are there with you, going to the food and wine festival, on that hike through the seven-mountains or touring the mob museum. The details are the thing to see and make sure to watch out for punctuation and common language. An average short story is within 6,00 words or 24 pages. If you wanted too you could go short-short story and that is between 500 and 2,00 words. That comes out to be 6 pages (Minot, Steven Ch. 7 pg. 41), talk about short stories. The story is all your length and style matter as much as how you want it to come into focus.
Minot, Steven and Theil Daniel Three genres the writing of literary pose, poems and plays Ninth edition Pearson Publications 2012
Bouncing Dog Toy Emporium
August 18,2019📷📷
24755 Holly Grove Way
Brookings OR, 97415
Dear Dogs, Rule the World
I am Rachel Schneider from the Bouncing Dog Toy Emporium we make extra bouncy dog toys for our furry friends. We investigated different marketing companies and choose you to do our direct to customer marketing. The way the website is set up the customers can get the product’s directly from you is easier than a multi-level marketing plan. The distribution of Bouncy Dog Toy will be a one level channel, we will provide the toys you market, and we sell them. I would like to get some videos of our company dogs Mac and Stella playing with the toys so you can post on the website. A link for the company can also be included so the consumers know where the toys came from, what they are made of and any other facts about Bouncing Dog Toy Emporium.
Sincerely, Rachel V Schneider
Mac and Stella company dogs and testers 📷
📷 📷📷 📷A sample of our products, our bounciest toys.
Scott’s Story Part 1
I am Scott Thorn, and I am going back to WDU for the first time in 15 years, I went here for a year but after I came out as gay there really were no gay dudes. I am all men but yeah lesbians were all around some BI guys but no real gay dudes. I went back to the mainland and attended Preston University I majored in administration and minored in Literature. I did at one point in my life have a girlfriend and wanted to marry her, but I could not quash the gay lifestyle. That part of my life is over and now the old school offered me a counseling job, have not done this in a while. I get to help students toward there after college career.
I sit here on this boat and keeping an eye on my 75 Triumph I have some nerves, but it is mostly about seeing this place again, so as the boat pulls up, I get my bike going and make a stop at my new on campus apartment. Its west facing because I like sunsets more than sunrise, so I did not know it needed so much work. I have some handy skills but a little at a time. The kitchen is decent and so is the bathroom. The floors will need some polish and the deck needs to be stained, this is a duplex, so I hope the neighbors are quiet. It is furnished and done nicely so I cannot complain too much, but back on the bike to see the Dean.
I get my bike set with the kill switch and walk up the way to the Admin building, I am pretty much the only one dressed. I am wearing my good black jeans and my dress shirt, in my favorite color Maroon. I do remember this place was obsessed with sex so I will stick out wearing clothes, as I enter the building at least more admin people are dressed. Miss Grant the secretary shows me to my new office, its spacious much bigger that my last one at Preston where I shared a cubicle with another person. I have files from past students and current ones, so I started filing them when Dean Kane walks in, booty shorts and a tank top. “Welcome back to WDU Scott, we look forward to seeing you succeed you come very recommended.” I could hardly concentrate because this Dean was hung but I persevered and said, “Thank you sir I look forward to helping young students find there after WDU careers.”
After he left, I had to get my rise to settle then I continued filing and looking through some files. Clarissa Love that was a name that got around even all the way to Preston. I think she does the Jax in the bedroom or something like that. I started looking around and thought I need some life in this office so I asked Miss Grant about decorating and she said I could do what I wanted but no painting, so I went to town and checked out a flea market. I found some pictures of the beaches of Canada, some old homes in the area and a few movie posters from Rocky horror Picture Show (it is my favorite). The flea market said they will deliver to the school tomorrow so I told them I will be there at 9am.
Now with my day done I get to the store to buy some groceries and realize this place uses sextons and I was down to my last few, so now I will need to exchange but thankfully a bank is nearby so I can get some of my mainland money exchanged. I pull up to my new pad off load my few groceries and notice some other tenant left beer in the fridge, talk about luck. I got the beer went to the deck and watched the sunset over the sky. It was going to be new here, but I needed a fresh start after getting dumped and losing the job because my ex was in upper management, never will I do that again. I will find someone who does not work in the school system. After I ate a roast beef and cheddar sandwich for dinner, watched some cooking shows it was time for bed. As I was brushing my teeth, I heard the neighbors having sex. Oh, goody they are not quiet. hope they do not have super energy either. Tomorrow is my first full day and I have decorating to do, fantastic they stopped, that is the thing with us older people we do not fuck like bunnies anymore. As far as I know the neighbors are lesbians so who knows.
Sample 1- If I try my hardest, I could muster up enough courage to ask the prettiest girl in school to prom. I had a suit; bolo tie and I will shine my old boots up. The thing is my courage is not as strong as my best friend Nick, now there is one brave dude who just asked the girl I wanted to go to prom with and of course she said yes. I gather myself close my locker and put on my best smile for them both. Nick and I high five and I hug her, trying to be genuine but it is hard. I head to my Social studies class and sit down next to Megan she looks at me with some concern I tell her what happened, she then asks me to Prom…...
Sample 2-Wishing I did not have to be here I sit at the back of the funeral and think about my old high school principal. I grew up in a small town and everyone knew everyone, we only had one school and you went there for kindergarten through senior year. After my graduation I packed up my old car and headed out to what I thought was the real world. Living in a bigger city only helped spur my loneliness so who says you cannot come home again, well Mom for starters because I abandoned my family, I am not welcome at home ever again (so tired of her drama), so I am staying at Principal Mason’s house yes, the same principal that I am at a funeral for I held her hand as she lay there succumbing to cancer……
Sample 3-If you really want to get over a breakup getting back on the horse will help things along. I thought that too seven lousy dates ago so here I am on date number 8 and I am not seeing any birds singing or rainbows in the sky. He steps away to take a call he is a particularly important lawyer after all (I need to fix my picker) after he comes back, he says it go time the jury has come back so off he goes. I finish my drink and head back to my brownstone close by, I pass the new chocolate shop that just opened, and I get inside and see chocolate heaven. Looking around I do not see him at first but there he is my old college lab partner Sam I just saw a rainbow…….

I decided to do an early morning walk around the Fruitvale X MacArthur area. Of course, a lot of stuff is closed for Easter. But anyway.
Masks: The One Hour Service tailor, dry cleaner shop has signs saying they can make a simple mask for you. This is the 3500 block of Fruitvale Avenue
T-Mobile: The shop next to One Hour has limited open hours.
Food: (Glorious Food)
Take Out: Little Caesar, Taco joint, Cafe Umami, Dimond Slice (YAY!!), Kaspers, Cybelle's, The Hive (Place to Bee), Peets (table blocking door), Veg Hub (closed Fri-Sun,as usual), Dimond Cafe, Nama.
The buffet (sensibly) is closed, as is Jade Palace (I don't get that, they have plexiglas).
All the hair and nail places are closed, so we will have to continue to look like unshorn sheep and Afghan hounds.
Oaklandish is closed.
For food, Farmer Joe's and Safeway are open. FJ is enforcing line protocols. Safeway does not appear to be doing so. The little butcher shop (Wayland's) has a sign limiting customers. The halal food shop (next to Wells Fargo on MacArthur) is open. La Farine (alas) is closed.
This was all based on looking at signage. I was unmasked and ungloved and it was quite early. I figured I'd share what I have seen.
BTW - lots of the take out places offer delivery, so if you are craving something do call.
(ETA - Thanks, kind stranger, for the gold)

TL/DR: Had a great run at the craps tables Super Bowl weekend. Arrived in Vegas Friday afternoon and departed Monday afternoon and stayed at Planet Hollywood. Got on a hot roll first session of the weekend and didn't look back - no losing days! I had some memorable rolls and hit the bonus bets.
SuperBowl trip:
My friends have been doing the SuperBowl weekend trip in Vegas for years - I joined them for the first time in 2018. This is my second trip with this crew.
My game:
I place the 6/8 for $30 each (or $60 on the other number if 6/8 is the point). Pass line & continuous come bets with odds (down with odds if the 6/8 hit).
For odds, at a $10 table I'll take full 3-4-5 X odds (or 5X odds if allowed) out of the gate. I didn't find much in the way of $10 tables in Vegas .... AT $15/$25 tables I start my odds $30 on 4/10, $40 on 5/9 and $50 on 6/8 - press my odds if the table heats up and then increase my come bet if the table stays hot.
I'll bet $15 on the hardway if the point can be rolled hard (i.e., 4/10 or 6/8) and I dabble in the bonus bets (repeaters and all-tall-small)
Friday afternoon
Check-in, hit the patio at Beer Park (Paris) for an adult beverage.
Back to Planet Hollywood for craps. Open $15 minimum table. The first 2 base dealers had my game figured out in seconds: "down with odds", they'd leave $15 change in the come for me (knowing I'd have another come bet) and on my "off and on" wins they'd pay me in all nickels or combination of $25/$5 chips or all $25 chips depending on how well supplied I was with $5 chips ("dealing to the rack" in the lingo).
First session I bet $5 each on the repeater 9 and repeater 10. Both came in this session and I was off to the races.
Changed for dinner, had another winning craps session at Planet Hollywood and then off to dinner
Friday dinner
Went to the off-strip Herbs & Rye steakhouse. My friends and I went there last year and enjoyed it. This year it was a bit of a miss (the steaks weren't cooked to order / got messed up). They do have a happy hour (1/2 price steaks 5-8). With my good run in the afternoon run I covered the bill for the 4 of us (with my friends covering the tip).
Friday night
First stop - The D downtown. It was loud, busy, smoky and full of characters. 10X odds with the table minimum bumped from $10 to $15 shortly after I arrived. I got stung here and gave back a chunk, but not all of my afternoon winnings.
Second stop - Binions. Played at the "Cowgirls" table near the doors (Cowgirls = scantily clad female dealers, like at Blackjack tables at the pleasure pits of other casinos). Dealers are inexperienced, but I did remember one dealer from last year who knew her stuff. $15, minimum and 5 X odds. Had a nice win here.
Third stop - Linq. Met up with friends who came in on a later flight. Found a $15 table. Bought in for $500 ... choppy table, got the dice ... down to the felt and found myself reaching into the wallet for another $100 so I could bet odds .... and then got on a great run (as the shooter)! Eventually got my odds to the maximum and then got $25 come bets out there with max odds too. I had $5 each on the All-Tall-Small and I had all the spots filled up except the 2-12 for what seemed like a dozen rolls. After the inevitable 7-out, I cashed out $1500 and called it a night.
For the $15 games Friday night at all casinos my advice is to pack your patience, enjoy the scenery (Linq and D have go-go dancers), kibbutz with your friends and drink your complimentary adult beverage. The tables are busy, some players are inexperienced, some dealers are on the new side too, it's hard to hear the dealers (and vice-versa) and there is lots of irregular action (small mid-roll buy-ins, hands in the table when the dice are out, etc.).
Saturday afternoon
Had lunch at YOLO's (Mexican restaurant at Planet Hollywood). Played at Planet Hollywood (lowest min was $25)
Used my $150 in free play at Blackjack and lost six consecutive hands. (Why I didn't use my free play at craps is a mystery, even to me).
Got my losing Super Bowl bets in.
Had a nice win before lunch at craps - gave much of that back after lunch.
After a break, Round 3 to me, though .... $25 table, got the dice and had a nice monster roll. Again I had $5 each on the 9-10 repeater bets and they came in 2-3 times. I got my pass line up to $75 with odds and made my point (collecting $525). My pass line bet progression is patient so I figure I may have made 5-6 points (1-2 points with $25 pass line, 1 point with $30 pass line, 1 point with $40 pass line, 1 point with $50 pass line and 1 point with $75 pass line). Once my pass line got to $30, I had $25 come bets going and once my pass line got to $75 I had $50 come bets going.
Two guys next to me bought in for $200 and coloured up $2000+ each. I also had a big win.
With no boxmen at the table there was a 5 minute delay as they had to wait for a supervisor to become available to approve the chips the players were colouring up.
Saturday evening / show / dinner / night
I had tickets to Absinthe at 8pm, so headed down to Caesars Palace for around 5 PM to pick up my tickets. Caesars Palace was, well, Caesars Palace. The $25 tables were jammed up like a $5 game downtown, the $50 tables were busy and they even had a $100 table open. It was a big win just to find an open spot at a $25 table.
The vibe at Caesars is money. Money. Money. Money. Lots of action and well-heeled gamblers. Even the dealers - one craps dealer at my table, with his slicked back mane of silver hair and gold necklace-pinky rings-gold watch looked like the Central Casting prototype for an old-school Vegas dealer.
Escaped with a small win. Then - in another big win - my friend and I were able to find a spot at a bar for a pre-show cocktail. Caesars was hopping.
Absinthe was great! Highly recommended. Amazing acrobats/performers in an intimate setting. Raunchy, offensive and hilarious comedy bits from the MC and his assistant. Plus the sexy Green Faerie.
Dinner was at Hell's Kitchen: Highly recommended. I had the lobster risotto and the crispy-skin salmon.
After dinner, found a $15 table at the Linq and had a decent win.
Super Bowl Sunday
Planet Hollywood minimums were $50 before breakfast. Went to Paris (Mon Ami Gabi) for breakfast and found $25 and $15 tables at the Flamingo.
The $15 table was jammed so we played at $25 .... and hit the All-Tall-Small with 5$ on each. Ka-Ching! Migrated to the $15 table when spots opened up. At the $15 table, things were up and down (mostly down) ... I had a nice roll that got me mostly back to where I was when I left the $25 table - I hit the small (with $5 on it), 2 hard sixes ($15 and after $10 pressure a $25) and multiple points (I had my line bet up to $30 and had it hit).
I had a nice win at the Flamingo for my 3 hours of play (10 AM-1 PM), but my total win was less than what the bonus bets paid out. The bonus bets saved my session!
Went to Blondies (in the Miracle Mile mall at Planet Hollywood) for the Super Bowl watch party. Blondies is a sports bar with a well-executed attractive women serving cold beer business model. This has been my friends go-to party for years ($200, open bar, buffet, etc.). I won the halftime squares (Pats 3, Rams 0) for $1000. Then, a guy I met at this party last year, said "tiskertasker89, you have the 3-0 square, i have the 3-3 square lets split our interests for the 3rd quarter and final". I agreed, and the 3-3 squares came in both times and I collected another ~$1000.
Flush with cash and booze I played the $50 tables at Planet Hollywood after the game. A new experience for me. It worked out. After some choppiness, I got on (reportedly - based on a dealers comment - a 40 minute run). (I was more focused on having to the bathroom than shooting). I almost doubled my buy-in, took a break (met up with my friends at the Planet Hollywood centre bar) ... took another shot at a $50 table and dropped 1/2 my winnings in ... seconds?? ... called it a night and ended with a respectable win for my first time playing $50 minimums.
Monday
Didn't play on Monday - didn't want to tempt fate. This trip, I only lost at one casino and barely had a losing session. Breakfast at the Cafe in Planet Hollywood, bought souvenirs, got a 20 minute massage at the mall kiosk. The equivalent of the football kneel-down to run out the clock.
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Other quick hits
At the $50 minimum table at Planet Hollywood they didn’t let me bet less than $50 odds …(I was planning on $30 on 4/10, $40 on 5/9 and $50 on 6/8) ... The base dealer – who had initially set up my bets before the stick said “Hey, it’s a $50 game” – gave me a knowing look and said “the Rio -which is owned by the same company – would let you do it”. After no odds for a few rolls, I eventually took single odds on all my pass line and come bets.
At the Linq after a point of 5 or 9 was made I said to the dealer “Oops – sorry - I’ve over-bet my odds”. I had a $15 line bet with $80 odds. I was expecting them to hand back my extra $20 – instead they set up the over-bet as a place bet and paid it. I thought this was generous of them (Although, I guess I’m assuming that on a losing wager in this situation they wouldn’t take the odds over-bet).
For the “you can trust the rating system” file, after my cashing in my chips following my Sunday session at the Flamingo I asked the supervisor what my average bet was and how long I played. She said – “I’ve already closed you out. Let me check. You’re Kenny, right?”. Ummm, no. I'm tiskertasker98 ... In fairness, there was a shift change during my play … but still
On Saturday, my friend – who is a Diamond player but somewhat new to craps - hit a repeater bet and didn’t realize it didn’t stay up. I was playing at a different table. The crew didn’t remind him that his repeater bet came down. Of course, the repeater hit again and he thought he was on it. For the “all well that end’s well file”, though, my friend did hit 2 repeater 8’s on his last craps session of the trip on Monday morning.
A few times, dealers were tripped up by $15 come bets with $30 odds on the 4/10, $40 odds on the 5/9 and $50 odds on 6/8…. To me this is bread and butter craps … full Double Odds and all bets pay $75 …Anyways, no big deal, the underpayments were easily corrected and the overpayments somehow got overlooked.
A nice zinger: Good-guy craps player at the Flamingo (he had an all-day $1 hard six for the crew) got thanked for his crew-wager and said "No THANK YOU. You dealers are the hardest working guys in Vegas. Although, if I'm with an all-female crew I have to say you dealers are the SECOND hardest working girls in Vegas".

Link https://tstoaddicts.com/2019/03/13/in-game-update-classless-reunion-mini-event-is-live/
Acid Pools Acorn Kirk Adil Hoxha African Tree Resort Air Fortress Ajax Steel Mill and Roscoe Akiro and The Happy Sumo Alcatraaaz and Mansion Alison Taylor and Taylor House All American Apu All Seeing Eye Alley McBalls Ambulance Ancient Burial Ground Ancient Ruins Animatronic Bears Annual Gift Man Apus Apocalypse Jeep Aqua World Arc De Triomphe Ark of the Stonecovenant Arnie Pye Asia DeCuba Atlantis Atombic Bomb Attack Helicopter Auxillary Agency HQ Aztec Theatre Baby Gerald Bad Dream House and the Raven Bagpipe Bus Balance Beam and Gymnastics Lisa Banana Dictatorship Bandit Fort Bare Chested Willie Barney and Bowlarama Barracks Bart Balloon Bartman Cave Bartman Cave Basketball Game Battle Dome Battling Seizure Robot BBQ Pig Beach Hideaway Beach House Bear Cave Beer N Brawl and Lurleen Beersein Wiggum Belle and Maison Derriere Best Snowman Ever BGM and the Jazz Hole Big Bug House Big Butt Skinner Balloon Big Claw Big Digi Ben Black Leather Plane Blackbeard Blackbeard and Ghost Pirate 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CONRAD Cool Brown House and Cool Homer Costingtons and Mr. Costington Cozy Hammock Crap Silo Crate of Fireworks Crazy Cat Lady and House Crazy Plane Cremo Bot Cristo of Springfield Crouching Panda Hidden Eggroll Curvaceous Cave and Cavewoman Booberella Cybord Snake Cypress Creek Elementary Cypress Creek Home Cypress Creek Sign Dancing Reindeer Dead Lobster Death Mountain and Dr Colossus Death to Homer Missile Department of Magical Vehicles Der Krazy Kraut and Becky Deuces Caboose Chili Dogs Devil Flanders Devil Float Dia-Betty and Motherloving Sugar Go Disco Stu and Disco DMV Limo Dodgeball Court Donut Boat Donut Store Donut Torture Device Donut Truck Doorbell Fiesta Van Dr Lenny’s Lab Dr. Nick Dragon Bundle Drive In Theater Drone Duff Barney Blimp Duff Beer Car Duff Blimp Duff Center Arena Duff Gardens Duff McShark Tank Duff Party Bus Duff Party Liner Duff Stadium Duff Statue of Liberty Duffman and Duff Brewery Dunking Device Easter Island God Ebenezer Burns Efcot Center Egg Nog Bar 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Frinkthetic Egg Generator MkII Frosty the Hitman Fruit Bat Man Funzo Bundle Future Monument Future Proofed Home Futuristic Jet Gabbo and Arthur Garbage Truck Ghost Zapper Giant Burning Goat Giant Ferris Wheel Giant Grasshopper Giant Lobster Scorpion Giant Outdoor Fireplace Giant Robot Giant Screamapillar Giant Snow Globe Gingerbread House Gingerbread Mansion Gino and It’s A Wonderful Knife Giuseppe and his Workshop Globex Compound Gold Records on Walls Studio Golden Calf Idol Golf Course Gone Fission Gorgeous Grampa Gorgeous Grampa Bundle Great Wall Tower Greta and Springfield Prep Grub Shack Guitar Central Gypsy Fortune Teller Shop and Maude Half Pipe Hammock District Handsome Pete Hanger 18 Hangman Cage Hank and Volcano Lair Hans Moleman Havana Private Home Health Spa Heimlich Machine Hellementary School Helter Shelter Herb Powell and Powell Motors Hi Glow Waste Barrels Himeji Castle Holiday Tree Holis and Springfield Historical Society Home of Tomorrow Homer Dog Homerclese Statue Homer’s Ballet Hooch City Hootenanny Barn Hot Air Balloon Hot Springs Hot Squishee Station Hot Tub House on Scary Hill Hover Copter Howards Flowers Hugs Bunny I Choo Choo Choose You Train Ice Cream Truck and Ice Cream Homer Ice Palace Ice Sculpture Couch Gag Scene Imaginary Bear Impossible Tower Improvised Snare Inanimate Carbon Rod Monument Incubator Think Tank Inflatable Gorilla and Baboons IRS Drone Itchy and Scratchy Billboard Itchy and Scratchy Bots Itchy Balloon Itchy Mascot Itchy’s 70s Disco Itchy’s Mine Field Jacques and Fiesta Terrace Jasper and Springfield Community Center Jay G Bundle Jazzy Goodtimes Jesse Grass Jessica and Lovejoy House Jesus and Heavenly Swingset Jet Engine Bike Jewish Heaven Jimbo Lucius Sweet Johnny Tightlips and Platos Casino Juggler Julio and Hairy Shearers Juvenile Correction Facililty K9 Officer Kamp Bart & Kamp Krusty Kane Manor Kearney Kearney’s Other Son King Homer’s Skyscraper King Snorky King Winter and his Cave Kingsize Homer Bundle Knifey Spoonet and Crocky Waters Knightboat Kodos Krusty Fountain Krusty Mansion Krusty Station Krustylu Studios Krustys Kristmas on Ice Krusty’s One Plate Maximum Buffet Kwik-E-Mart Central Office La Belle Frottage Land Octopus Pen Lard Lad Donuts Laura Powers and Powers House Le Krusty Burger Left Handed Roadster Life Sized Spruce Moose Limo Lincolns Cabin Ling Bouvier Lisa Lionheart Lisa Statue Little Helper Ralph Little Lady Justic Little Lisa’s Recycling Plant Lobster Island Lotto N Liquor and Mr. Largo Luann and Cracker Factory Luft Waffles Lugash and Gym Lumpy Bundle Macaronis Shed Madame Chaos and Mindy Magic Palace Manacek and Brick Townhomes Manger Manjula and Apu’s Apartment Mansion of Solid Gold Mapple Store Mars Colony Marvin Monroe Tombstone Mary and Springfield Opry House Maude Praiseland Statue Mausoleum and Zombie Mayan Bundle Mexican Duffman and Lady Duff Mexican Duffman Bundle Milhouse’s Trailer Milo and Coolsville Mime Mini Nuclear Warhead Miss Springfield and Sleep Eazy Motel Model Donut Moe’s House Mojo Helper Monkey Money Poll Monorail Café Montgomery Burns State Prison Moog Mount Carlmore Mozert and Concert Hall Mr. Plow Mr. Sparkle Billboard Mr. Sparkley Mt. Krustmore Murderhorn Murderpuss Muscle Marge and Shapes Gym Museum of Swordfish Mutant Peacock Mutant Rabbit Mystical Self Defence National Bank of Springfield Nativity Scene Natural Faberge Egg Nickel n Dime Animation Nighthawk Diner and Rex Nightmare Pile Ninja Homer Practice Snake Nixon and Scandelgate Hotel Norbert’s Plane North Pole Station Not a Laser Shark Pool Number 111 Number 12 Number 14 Number 2 Number 21 Number 22 Number 29 Number 314 Number 5 Number 50 Number 51 Number 59 Number 67 Number 79 Number 85 Oasis Oktoberfest Gate Old English Station Old Faithless Old Gray Mare Old Mine Old Simpson Farm Old Tree Spirit Old West Sign Open Air Stage Opera Krusty Oscars Obstacles Truck Outlands Factory Outlands Sign and Mountain Man Pagon Bonfire Park Engineer Patches and Poor Violet Peacock Lounge Peekimon Park Pet Cemetery Pet Mutant Plant Pet Mutant Seedling Pharaoh Skinner and Throne Phineas Q Butterfats Pie Man Epic Statue Pies and Explosives Pile Pies for Funs Booth Piggly’s Super Smorg Pigs of Paradise Pen Pin Pals Bundle Pinkbeardy Yogurt Pinwheel Firework Pirate Kang Pirate Prison Plane Bot Planet Htype Plastic Prison Plastic Surgery Center Plow King Pokey Police Car Police Tank Polo Field House Pompeii Ruins Pont Du Gard Pope and St. Pauls Basilica Poppa Wheelies Portal to Rigel 7 Powell Mansion Prairie Maggie Prehistoric Jungle Preppers Compound Presidential Estate P-Rex and Tar Pits Pride of Ulster Banner and Leprechaun Princess Princess K and Florence of Arabia Prospector Pumpkin House Puritan Flanders Queen H and The Castle of Equalia Quick and Fresh Quicksand Quimborghini Quitters Rabbi K and Temple Beth Springfield Radiant BS Station Radioactive Man Billboard Radioactive Man Bundle Radioactive Man Film Set Radioactive Man Milhouse Radish Station Rancho Relaxo Raouls Penthouse Raptor Ray Gun Ray Patterson Reagan and the Reeducation Center Recycle Fort Red Nerd Knight Red Nerd Rogue Red Nerd Warrior Refrigeratorium ReNeducation Center Republican Party HQ Retro Lard Lad Rich Texan Rigellian Queen Rio Days Inn Ero Robby the Automaton Robot Robot Ant Bundle Rocket Car and Chester Rocket to Your Doom Roger Meyers Story Rolling Rock Rommelwood Barracks Rose and Capital City Capitol Building Rotating Religious Holo Statue Royal Tokyo Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers and Babysitter Bandit Russ Cargill Sacagawea Santa Santa’s Anvil Santa’s Little Helper Santa’s Plane Sled Santa’s Village Santa’s Workshop Sarah Wiggum and Springfield Aquarium Satellite Station Saxophone Lisa Scary Dock School Bus and Otto Sconewall Smithers Scratchy Mascot Self Reliant House Senor Ding Dong’s Doorbell Fiesta and Senor Ding Dong Sepulchre of Evil Sequel Shop Serfsons House Shaboom Kaboom Café Shadow Knight and Throne Shary Bobbins Shauna She She Lounge Sherri and Terri Shinning Hotel and Maze Shiva Shiva Statue Shooting Car Shortys Sidekick Milhouse Simpson Houseboat Simpson Laser Tag Ski Chalet Skulls Island Slaghold SLH Topiary Slide Factory Smooches on the Beach Snake with Rudolph Sneeds Feed and Seed Snow Monster Snowman Bundle Snub Club Snugglers Cove Sophie Krustofski Soul Extraction Institute Southern Cracker Fountain Space Barney Space Coyate and Pro Shop Space Shuttle Spellementary Library Spellementary Mess Hall Spider Willie Sportacus Spotlight Dancing Bot Sprawl Mart Springfield Animal Shelter Springfield Aslyum Springfield Bowl Springfield Cemetery Springfield Clamphitheater Springfield Falls Springfield Famers Markey Springfield Glenne Condos Springfield Gorge Springfield Greenhouse Springfield Heighs Opera House Springfield Hunting Supplies and Connor Grant Springfield Hyperstadium Springfield Museum Springfield Museum of Natural History Springfield Observatory Springfield of Tomorrow Sign Springfield Pet Shop and Jub Jub Springfield Shopper Springfield Sign Springfield Skating Rink Springfield Welcomes Bob Sign Springfield YMCA and Coach K Springy Spruce Caboose Sqanky Fish Squawky Squeaky Voice Teen Squirrel Luann Stack of Beer Stacy and Malibu Stacy HQ Stacy’s Dream House Stampy Ballon Star Spawn Statue of Burns STEM Conference Hotel Stiletto Scuplture Stone of Triumph Stonecutter Lodge and Number 1 Stonecutter Table Stonecutter Tunnel Stoners Pot Palace Street Cleaner Strongman Homer Stunt Bike Sugarloaf Mountain Sumatran Century Flower Sungazer Tour Bus Super Collider Super Sexy Flanders and Ski Lift Swelldorado Tailgate Taste of Duff Truck Tatum and Springfield Coliseum T-Ball Stand Teddy and Springfield National Park Teleporters (4) Tennis Court Tennis Machine TGI McScratchys The Collider The Egg Council Guy The Fracker The Grand Pumpkin The Gridiron The Grumple The Homer The League of Extra Horny Gentleman The Mayflower The Nag and Weasel and Guy Incognito The Paralyzer The Peek Inn The Scout Master The Stable at the Inn The Wiccans The Yes Guy THOH 2018 Witch Three Eyed Whale Time Travel Toaster Tappables Tire Fire Tourist Bundle Tower of Babel Town Square Training Plane Treasure Chest 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I'm going in July and have done some research.
Plenty of this is from the sidebar, but other notes are from many of other sources.
The Vegas Degenerate Tour ( . ) ( . )
Things to do:

• Drugs
• Hookers
• Bellagio Fountains (free)
• Mirage Volcano Show (free)
• The lounge at the top of the Mandarin Oriental - Super Classy with amazing night time views, sexy patrons and great cocktails
• Wet Republic - Rent cabana 2 months in advance
• Las Vegas Helicopter Night Flight with VIP Transportation £65pp
• Grand Canyon Skywalk - Apparently Expensive and not that good - you have to take a bus to get there and it is $30 each. Go to Grand Canyon south instead.
• The Strip Gun Club Range
• Sapphires pool party - strippers pool party!!!
• Fremont Street Experience at night.
• Container Park, which is a few blocks east of the Freemont St. Experience, a 2 foot recycled steel praying mantis (acquired from Burning Man) spits giant fireballs to the beat of music A LOT. Lots of half naked men and women. LOTS (free)
• Ghost Bar at the Palms has amazing views. Check Groupon for deals. Happy hour 8-10pm
• Stratosphere rides
• Stratosphere bar at the top. Happy hour 2 hours after open
• High Roller observation wheel. Get a car with the open bar.
• Monte Carlo minus 5 Ice bar. Everything is made out of ice! Bar, glasses, seating - everything
• RiRa Irish bar with live music and good Guinness after 9pm
• The Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay, live music and amazing strip views
• Strip clubs: Spearmint Rhino, Hustler Club and Crazy Horse--those are our top 3 Rhino and Horse are high end and classy
• Top Golf location, just behind MGM. 5 levels of golf driving range, mixed with music, food and drinks. There are also 2 pools, free to use.#
• Dig This drive diggers and bulldozers.
• Spa in the ARIA is amazing with good treatments.
• Alibi show http://alibitheshow.com/ This experience throws the audience into an exciting adventure around the streets, restaurants, bars and other real-life locations on the Las Vegas Strip.
• BARE POOL AT MIRAGE: Go on Monday. At Bare, experience palm tree-enclosed seclusion as you relax and enjoy European-style sunbathing at Bare Pool at The Mirage. Read more https://jackcolton.com/las-vegas-dayclubs/bare-pool-mirage/
• Ride in a stuntplane! Actual vomiting everywhere http://www.skycombatace.com/
• Best price supercar rentals https://www.vegasluxuryrides.com
• Lake Mead boat rental boatbound.com
• Absinthe at Ceaser’s Palace amazing offensive comedy show http://www.ticketmaster.com/Absinthe-tickets/artist/802082
• There is so much free stuff going on up and down the strip though that you can just do all the free stuff and not spend a dime. From street dancers, people singing, or pictures with a grown dude wearing a diaper.
• Eclipse cinemas downtown for an over 21s only luxury cinema experience with cocktails and good food.
• The Linq promenade is a very nice area
• Treasures strip club: have a nice buffet and steak to go with your titty show http://www.treasureslasvegas.com/
• VooDoo Zipline at Rio Groupon $44 for two
• REAL BODIES at Ballys Groupon $35.50 for two

Tips:

• Hotel picker https://farm1.staticflickr.com/770/21800142824_6dddea1786_k.jpg
• $50 a night dining credit at ARIA somehow - research
• Do the $20 checking tip trick. Slip a $20 in between card and ID and ask to see if an upgrade is possible.
• Get player’s cards - sign up for the Player's Club (free) in each casino, they will usually give you some sort of incentive
• Buy water at a supermarket and keep at hotel
• Taxi from Airport request avoid the I-215 Airport Tunnel and go via Strip
• http://www.tix4tonight.com for tickets on the night
• Drinks are ALWAYS cheaper inside the casinos on Fremont than outside
• Harrah's has a "Million Dollar Pull" where you just go up and play a slot machine for free with the chance to win $1 million. Even if you don't win a million, you will always win something.
• If you want to go to top of the Stratosphere go to the desk to the right of the entrance and say you want to go to the bar. You won't have to pay the $15 to go to the top.
• Marketing manager for the Aria https://www.reddit.com/usetedistkrieg
• Have the clubs pick you up in their limos because all the cab/ubelyft/limo drivers get a kick back on anyone they drop off to the clubs and same with the VIP card guys! So if you don't use the free limo ... THE CLUB HAS TO CHARGE YOU A COVER!!! If you use the clubs FREE limo service they can sometimes wave that cover charge!! (that's like $20 a person!)
• Check for Groupon deals.
• Make sure you all download the Uber and Lyft app. Both offer new user signup credits. Free rides.
• A $400 Pre-Authorisation charge for resort fees and ‘amenities’ was taken as expected upon check in. I would recommend UK visitors to take a Cash Passport MasterCard (available in Thomas Cook and other travel agents)

Clubs

• Hosts contacts list for all major clubs: https://jackcolton.com/
• You can view hotel discounts at up to 30% as well as VIP table service for nightclubs at: www.VegasJames.com for strip clubs at: www.StripperKing.com
• XS Encore
• Hakkasan MGM
• Light inside the Mandalay Bay
• Tryst Wynn
• Vegas local youtuber and bouncehost Jacob Orth to hook us up with limo service to the Hustler club
• Places we personally recommend from experience:
• Hakkasan
• Omnia
• The Light
• XS
• XS does a nightitme pool party
• Gold Spike nightclub / hotel in Downtown is a bit more ‘Hipster’
• This list offers plenty more clubs to check out (many of which don’t require a cover).
• http://www.vegasvip.com/nightclubs.html

Food

• Alizé Tasting Menu - get groupon for discount £350 > $200
• Sage in the Aria has a highly rated tasting menu
• Aria buffet one of the best
• Joël Robuchon in MGM is crazy silly expensive but amazing food 16 course taster $425 each without drinks https://www.mgmgrand.com/en/restaurants/joel-robuchon-french-restaurant.html
• Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace a little cheaper 9 course tasting for $260/person or a $350/person 14 course tasting https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/restaurants/guy-savoy#.WI8vkRuLTIU
• é by Jose Andres inside Jaleo inside Cosmo. Only 8 seats, reservations by email only ([email protected]) starting 3 months prior to the res date, 23 courses. $190/person(?) without alcohol pairing
• Raku in Chinatown does amazing 8/12 course tastings for $70/100 a person
• The tasting, or "seasonal discover menu" at L'Atelier is up to $165 per person
• Eiffel Tower restaurant is a Must for dinner!!!!!!!! Fantastic view of the strip
• Good steakhouses serve food at the restaurant bar and the bartender has seen some shit. So much more fun for a party up to three and the service is over the top.
• Delmonico's in Venetian at the bar. The cocktails and food were amazing.
• Mushashi's dirty show (Japanese steak with a naughty show for the girls.) Midnight to 4am happy hour.
• Secret Pizza. A secret pizza place. Needs research! Inside the Cosmopolitan
• Bachi Burger – also to reunite with a previous memory. I still think this is one of the top 3 burgers I’ve ever had. The oxtail chili cheese fries are recommended by others to be a “must”, but I personally prefer the truffle fries.
• Monta Ramen – I’m a huge ramen fan and I understood this was the –best- ramen place in Vegas.
• Sweets Raku – in the same complex as Monta Ramen. They have some neat desserts that they make right in front of you, lovely experience.
• Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmo. Everything was really good and the deserts were awesome.
• Brunch @ Bacchanal Buffet, Caesar’s Palace – This was awesome! We had the groupon deal and it was impressively cheap. Midway through our meal they switched to their lunch menu so we got the best of both worlds there.
• Gordon Ramsey’s Burgr – onion rings were incredible. The burger was pretty good as well.
• Earl of Sandwich - I could seriously eat these every day.
• Studio B Buffet @ M Resort
• The "Heart Attack Grill" lets you eat free if you weigh over 350 pounds.
• Marriage Can Be Murder - This is a dinner / theater / murder mystery / whodunit show at the D downtown. Includes tasty food, extreme audience participation and likely embarrassment. You may be called upon to dance, or play a character in the murder mystery. Comes with tasty food, cocktails available.
• For dinner, I highly recommend BLT Steak House in Ballys Hotel and Red8 in The Wynn - if you are a food lover, BLT’s is particularly worth the extra!

Sex/Swingers Clubs (Or; no, you filthy pervert - what's wrong with you?)

• The Red Rooster http://www.yelp.com/biz/las-vegas-red-rooster-las-vegas
• The Green Door http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-green-door-las-vegas
• Couple's Oasis http://www.couplesoasis.com/main/

Drive:
Drive along east CA down US-395 and crossing over to Nevada after Death Valley is one of the greatest drives I have ever done.
Guides:

• https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/welcome-to-las-vegas-travel-guide-cityguides
• https://www.vegas.com/traveltips/
• http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Free-Room-in-Las-Vegas
• http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/tipping.cfm

Edited to include corrections.

I am so thrilled with how our day (or rather weekend) went! I have loved the recap posts and budget breakdowns on this subreddit, (thanks to everyone for posting!) so here is ours for our 9-17-16 destination wedding in Vegas!
PICS!! http://imgur.com/a/wjuW6

• Decision to have our wedding in Vegas! – I am so happy we did this. In the final weeks of planning, both DH and I were having our doubts as to this decision simply because of planning travel as well, it’s planning a big group vacation! But I am so glad we did, from the guests that had never been to Vegas before, to the many that saw awesome shows and hit the town, to the others that took trips to the Grand Canyon, so many people really enjoyed it and made the most of it. Also a lot of our guests were very lucky gambling! Also working with all the vendors was a breeze, not a single issue with any one, all communications were on point and they were extremely accommodating.
• Guests breakdown – We invited a total of 84 people of which 5 were courtesy invites (too old to travel/bedridden) so that is really a total of 79. We had 47 attendees of the wedding, including 5 very last minute cancellations. The good thing about Vegas venues is they are so ON TOP OF WEDDINGS having last minute cancellations was not a big deal. We really got to hang out with each person and since it was more of a weekend than a day if we didn’t talk to them much at the reception we made time for them at brunch or the pool party the day after.
• Weekend itinerary – The Friday night before our wedding we had a “rehearsal” dinner with the immediate family. We didn’t need to actually rehearse, and since it was destination and everyone was traveling, we just limited it to our parents and siblings, it was perfect. Saturday we got ready starting at 11:30, first look was at 4:00, ceremony started at 5:30, the reception was from 6:30-10:30 with an after party at the Mirage casino that went late into the night. Everything went very smoothly, except from our ceremony to our reception, the limo got in a fender bender! They got us another limo very fast and we were only 15 minutes behind our scheduled arrival to the reception. Sunday we hosted a buffet brunch at Flamingo and then a pool party for the friends at the Flamingo pool, we had reserved a cabana and partied the day away. After that we said goodbye to our remaining guests to start our honeymoon which was just a bit more time in Vegas with some activities planned.
• Budget overall – total we spent a little over $16k on the wedding from everything to travel, ceremony, reception, rehearsal dinner, brunch, pool party, etc. My father generously gifted us about $10k. Other than that, we didn’t really have a budget, but we definitely spent a little more than I had thought we would. In the end, I think it was all worth it.
• Budget breakdown

1. $137 – Invitations – we didn’t do Save the Dates and just sent our invites very early, we used Zazzle and they turned out great.
   
2. $109 – Décor – Zazzle and Oriental Trading Company. We printed some table numbers, a sign for our seating chart, and our seating chart was decks of cards with guest’s names and table numbers on them. Other than the centerpieces, that was all we did!
   
3. $1040 – Bridal look – my dress was only $99 from David’s Bridal, but I spent $450 in alterations! My shoes ($129) hurt so bad I only wore them for 45 minutes. I forgot my veil ($55) in the room, oops! My hair and makeup was my favorite part, Amelia C & Co were simply amazing and did exactly what I wanted for hair and makeup.
   
4. $786 – Groom look – Hugo Boss suit ($438 outlet mall), alterations, tie, shoes, cuff links, tie clip (he will wear all this again, so excluded from wedding budget)
   
5. $1800 – Travel – dogs & cat boarding, flights, hotels, airport parking
   
6. $350 – Getting Ready Lunch – I ordered room service and mimosas and my mom gifted party platters from Firehouse Subs for the girls while we got ready.
   
7. $2750 – Ceremony – Caesar’s Palace, included outside photographer fee, video, bouquet, MOH bouquet, 2 boutonnieres, keyboardist, officiant, 1 nights stay in Palace Tower
   
8. $300 – Shuttle – Bell Transportation. From ceremony to reception we took 2 shuttles and a limo. The limo was just FH and I and perhaps one of my favorite parts, just having that 10 minutes to ourselves right after the ceremony to be like “OMG WOW WE ARE MARRIED!”
   
9. $800 – Photography – Todd Wilson, 6 hours. You can get pretty good deals in Vegas. This included touchups/editing and all digital copies. He was awesome.
   
10. $5875 – Reception – 49 people at Maggiano’s Little Italy. Included 3 appetizers, 4 main dishes and 1 side, 2 deserts, all served family style and full bar with beewine/mixed drinks for 4 hours. Also this includes our floral centerpieces for 6 tables and the projector for our slideshow. Everyone raved about the food, it was the best decision we made for sure!
    
11. $800 – Photobooth – Shutterbooth. Excellent decision, our guests loved it! We also made this our guestbook, part of the service was the guests put a copy of their photostrip in a book and signed next to it, directed by the attendant. It made a lovely keepsake for us.
    
12. $1089 – Rehearsal Dinner – 10 people at Julian Serrano in Aria. Excellent restaurant with top notch customer service. The tapas style was fun for a group.
    
13. $1493 – Brunch – 35 people at Flamingo Paradise Buffet. It was a good deal on brunch for the strip and included unlimited beer, mimosas, and bloody marys. DH and I had matching outfits that was super fun to put together and everyone loved it. It was great to spend more time mingling with our guests.
    
14. $632 – Pool Party – Cabana rental (included bottle of Vodka and mixers) and we bought some beer for the party. Other people bought their own drinks/beer buckets as well so we had plenty. The pool party was one of our favorite things for sure, we never splurge for things like bottle service/cabana and it felt so luxurious.
    

• What I was nervous about – The flow of our reception and using Spotify mostly. We were not doing many traditional elements and didn’t have a DJ. I had my maid of honor help us in the hallway bustling my skirt, and then she simply opened the doors and her husband announced us to walk in, no DJ needed! We started up a slideshow that DH and I made. Then we did end up having a toast. We originally said no toasts but my dad asked if he could, and since I trusted him to not be embarrassing we decided to say yes, boy was I glad we did! It was the most amazing, well thought out, and hilarious speech and I couldn’t stop smiling. Then we went straight into dinner. We didn’t do cake, just had our venue’s deserts (tiramisu and an apple crostata) and no bouquet toss. But we did have a “first dance” basically the playlist (which we made, since, no DJ) hit a certain song, we went to the dance floor and started dancing. We told our parents to come up during a certain spot and they did. Then during our second song, everyone joined in on the dance floor. I was so nervous that just simply starting dancing would be awkward with no DJ/announcer but it was FINE!! Then our dance music started and it was perfect.
• Playlist – We used Spotify and downloaded the playlist offline on our iPad and had a second tablet with it downloaded just in case. I had a spreadsheet of all the songs/times that I used to make everything timed perfectly so we could just hit play at the beginning. I can’t believe it worked as well as it did, I was definitely nervous about this part, but I spent many hours working on it, making sure each song flowed, and the timing was right so we would not have to worry about it. The about 4 hour playlist is here and it goes from dinner music to first dance (The Luckiest) to dance party. Here is a screenshot of my Spotify (didn’t post a link because didn’t want my account name on there and couldn’t figure out a better way!) http://imgur.com/a/NatFu

Sorry for the length of this post, I just was so excited to post my recap. I could talk for ages about it all! I have really loved weddit throughout the planning, yall are the most supportive group and it was great to see yall’s lovely weddings and hear your opinions! I was full of anxiety and reading everyone’s posts and comments really helped! Our wedding day was most importantly filled with love and joy and it was the best day of my life. Good luck and congrats to everyone!
edit: formatting and fixed a few details.

Well... I did it. I survived a trip to Las Vegas last weekend without touching a drop of alcohol. This is a huge accomplishment for me, given my past history with alcohol (and especially given the association my brain has with Las Vegas and drinking).
I realized that drinking alcohol was a problem for me after I was stopped on the freeway by a police officer for a DUI just several weeks ago. It was my first ever offense (I've never even received a speeding ticket in my life), but it was the wake up call I needed to quit for good. The alcohol blurred my judgment and caused me to get in my car that night. Thank God no one was injured or killed. Thank God. The lesson is clear: I was given a second chance by (insert higher power here) to change my life for the better.
I am certain I will elaborate more about my DUI in a different post on another day, but just know that at that moment, I realized that alcohol was a huge negative in my life and that I had to take action and eliminate it from my life, immediately and permanently. So I took my last drink that night. And I feel damn good about it. Part of my feeling good comes from me reading Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking." It changed my entire outlook and perspective on alcohol and actually made me thankful that I quit, rather than remorseful. Whereas I thought I didn't have a "problem," namely because I had never been in trouble due to my drinking, Allen Carr made it clear that we are all in the "pitcher plant" and that it is only a matter of time before alcohol severely impairs and hurts a drinker's life. The DUI was the "rock bottom" or "critical point" I needed to alter my perception of the drinking culture and my drinking habits.
But the real test came this past weekend. I had been sober for not even three weeks. My girlfriend invited me many months ago to be her date for a family member's wedding in Las Vegas. At the time of the invite, I was thinking, "Awesome. A wedding. With an open bar. In Las Vegas. This trip is going to be EPIC. (Think THE HANGOVER X1000)" But after my DUI, I was dreading the trip, because I knew that I shouldn't and couldn't drink anymore. I had made the conscious decision to live a sober lifestyle. So this trip scared the s--- out of me.
I'll be honest with you all. When we pulled into the MGM Grand parking lot on Friday afternoon, a voice inside my head said, "Dude. Screw it. Have a beer. You're in Las Vegas. You aren't driving. You don't have work until Monday. You have your girlfriend to watch over you and make sure you're okay. What harm will one drink do? Don't let a little DUI change who you are man. You're a drinker! Drink! Have FUN!"
That moment ate at me for about 15-20 minutes from the moment we parked until we got into the casino. But after seeing drunks stumbling around and realizing that if I have one, it'll turn into 15 (or 30), and that that stumbling drunk would be ME, the thought of how great drinking is turned into a thought of how great it is I'm not drinking. I don't know how I was able to shift my focus. But I was. And I did. I started to actually observe what was around me and focus on FUN instead of FALSE fun (drinking).
We went to New York New York and played the Clue slot machine (totally fun!). Then we went to the Coca Cola store and I got a Sprite Zero and walked around the strip with it. Then we watched the musical fountains at the Bellagio. We then walked in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and hit up a few other hotels/casinos. Then, we ate dinner at Yardhouse (met up with friends and my girlfriend's family), and I ordered water while everyone else ordered alcoholic drinks. No one cared. No one judged me. In fact, people respected me when I said I just don't drink anymore. I said it's not for me. And it isn't. Then we went to play some blackjack. I lost $5 in an hour of playing. My friends lost a lot more. It's easier to gamble when you aren't toasted. You think rationally and make better decisions with your finances. Then we went back to the hotel after walking a total of 15 miles on the strip (thanks Fitbit!)
It was nice to fall asleep at the hotel with a clear head, knowing that the next morning, I would feel great! In Vegas!
The next morning, I ate a huge breakfast at the hotel buffet, then worked out at the hotel gym. I did 2 hours of weights and running/cardio. Then I went to the pool and relaxed.
Finally, I got ready for the wedding.
At the wedding, just about everyone was consuming alcohol (even before the ceremony). I stuck to bottled water, then switched to 7-Up in a Red Solo cup. No one knew I wasn't drinking and no one cared. The fun part was being able to socialize with everyone and have confidence doing so, even without the fake confidence that alcohol seems to bring out. I watched people dance. I listened to drunk conversations. I observed drunk behavior. It was a fun wedding, I thought, and I didn't have a single drop of liquor at all during it.
Wow. The association of weddings and Las Vegas/gambling and alcohol was beginning to be stripped away. I left the wedding that night knowing I didn't embarrass myself, say anything stupid, throw up on anyone, or act like a genuine a-hole. I was sober, fun, happy, and positive. And everyone told my girlfriend that I was "so nice" and a "great guy." That impression is the one I want to leave on people. Not the impression of "Well, he got really trashed and did X,Y,Z" or "He's okay when he's not drinking" or "He said this and this to her and it was disrespectful." What a difference. Only three weeks in to my sobriety and I'm already realizing how experiencing life sober has so many rewarding benefits.
Anyway, after the wedding, I went back to the hotel, again knowing that I would wake up on Sunday morning feeling amazing. And that's exactly what happened. I was able to eat breakfast at Einstein's and not be hungover shoving a bagel sandwich down my throat with my hands shaking and my head foggy. I was able to enjoy the breakfast while looking out at the view of the Strip and just feeling thankful for a sober vacation. For a Vegas vacation where I remember every single detail.
Then, we did what my girlfriend wanted us to do (that in past Vegas trips I had been too drunk and too consumed with finding the next drink to ever do): We rode on the roller coaster at New York New York. WOW. How fun was that?!?! It was awesome!
What a way to end the trip. The drive back was awesome. No hangover. No regrets. No feeling sick. No DTs. No remorse.
Just discussions with my girlfriend about the amazing experience. My takeaway is this: If I survived Vegas and a wedding without alcohol, I can survive just about any situation without it.
I'm proud to share this with you all. I LOVE BEING SOBER and I am GLAD I am free from the grasp of alcohol. Thanks for taking the time to read this!!
Wow. I can't believe I remember a Vegas vacation enough to share it in this much detail!

My lovely girlfriend and I will be visiting May 28th through the 1st. Below are some ideas we got from this subreddit (THANK YOU!!) I think we got a lot covered but I'm sure there's even more. Any suggestions would be totally appreciated! But first.. a bit of info about us. Its going to be random.. Sorry.. But thanks all at the same time:
We are in our early 20s (old enough to drink). We like to drink. We are Ent friendly. We like to eat (DUH). Not really interested in going to 'clubs'. Free is always good. Cheap is nice too but that doesn't mean we wont indulge in some fine dining or a nice show (We already have tickets to BMG and Vegas The Show). Walking isn't a problem (We will get a bus/Monorailpass). The lady will probably wanna 'shop'. Not really my thing. That is all I can think of right now.
Ok so here's our list:
Free:

• Show @ The Mirage (An exploding volcano) 7,8:30,10,11:30
  
• Show @ Treasure Island (Sirens of TI) 8-12 every hour on the hour
  
• Bellagio Fountains. Every 30 min up till 8pm then every 15 after 8pm up till midnight
  
• Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (Find this amazing treat beyond the Bellagio lobby. A 13,573 sq. ft. indoor garden extravaganza. It's ever-changing natural display has five themes per year: Christmas, Chinese New Year, Spring, Summer and Fall. Open 24hrs. daily (702) - 693-7111)
  
• Guinness Record Chocolate Fountain @ Bellagio.
  
• Atrium @ Mirage
  
• Fall of Atlantis @ Caesars Palace (The gods unleash their wrath in this animatronic extravaganza of epic proportions. Fire, water,smoke and special effects tell the tale of Atlas, Gadrius and Alia, who struggle to rule the legendary undersea city. Surrounded by a 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, the mythical sunken continent rises and falls before your eyes. Shows are daily on the hour beginning at 10am till 11pm)
  
• Festival Fountain @ Caesars Palace (Experience the morning sun and evening stars in a sky that changes from day to night and back again. Then see Bacchus, Venus, Apollo, and Plutus regale visitors with a magnificent sound, light, and laser show daily. Shows are daily on the hour beginning at 10am till 11pm)
  
• The Aquarium @ Caesars Palace (The Atlantis Aquarium is a 50,000-gallon, saltwater tank shaped like a horseshoe located at the north end of Caesars Palace's Forum Shops. This thank houses more than 500 colorful tropical fish, including zebra sharks and cow nose rays. Visit at 1:15pm or 5:15pm to watch the aquarists feed the fish during dive. You may even want to take a below-the-scenes guided tour of the support facilities (Monday - Friday at 3:15pm))
  
• $1,000,000 pyramid @ Binions (If you ever wonder what One Million dollars looks like? Head over to Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel and find out!. Binion's has $1 million on display. Structured in a pyramid design of acrylic glass boxes filled with cash. The $1 million is displayed in the Binion's casino near the Club Binion's Booth)
  
• Fremont Street Experience Light Show
  
• 3D Movie at M&M's World
  
• Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino
  
• People watch
  
• Players Club Sign-Up Bonuses
  
• Find coupon books
  
• Free Hoover Dam tour and Buffet (Free sightseeing Day tour. You will experience/see Hoover Dam (includes a 20 min photo stop), a view of Lake Mead, Historic Boulder City, Ethel M Chocolate factory tour, Wayne Newton's Ranch and stop at Primm Valley Resort (for your free buffet and access to a large discount outlet shopping mall). The tour lasts 9-10 hours and operates Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Friday. Hotel pick up times start at 7AM. Call 702-384-7725 (24 hours daily) for reservations and pick up locations and times. Make your tour reservations at least 1 day in advance. This tour uses a fully air-conditioned 57 passenger bus with restrooms included.)
  

Not Free:

• Lee's Discount Liquor (I will be bringing two bottles on the plane as legally allowed but I figured it would be a good idea to locate a liquor store to save money if we run out. The hotels prices are toodamnhigh.jpg)
• Bus/Monorailpass
• Circus Circus Adventure Dome $30 all day pass. (Enjoy America's largest indoor theme park with 23 rides and attractions. Open daily 10am - midnight (702) - 794-3939)
• Eifel Tower (I wanna do this at night and catch a fountain show)
• The Venetian Gondola (She'll love it)
• Pai-Gow (Play it for a while and get as many free drinks as possible.. any other suggestions like this would be great!)

Food:

• The "Buffet of Buffets" from Harrah's casinos. All you can eat at as many buffets as you want within a 24 hour period (Rio, Planet Hollywood, Paris and more).
• The M. $15 lunch buffet, $23 dinners.
• Ellis Island Brewery has a steak dinner for like $8 bucks
• Dick's Last Resort, at the Excalibur (get treated like an ahole from your waitewaitress)
• Hard Rock 777 special (Gambler's special) $7.77 8 oz Steak, 3 grilled shrimp, smashed potatoes & salad.

184:0.1 (1978.1) REPRESENTATIVES of Annas had secretly instructed the captain of the Roman soldiers to bring Jesus immediately to the palace of Annas after he had been arrested. The former high priest desired to maintain his prestige as the chief ecclesiastical authority of the Jews. He also had another purpose in detaining Jesus at his house for several hours, and that was to allow time for legally calling together the court of the Sanhedrin. It was not lawful to convene the Sanhedrin court before the time of the offering of the morning sacrifice in the temple, and this sacrifice was offered about three o’clock in the morning.
184:0.2 (1978.2) Annas knew that a court of Sanhedrists was in waiting at the palace of his son-in-law, Caiaphas. Some thirty members of the Sanhedrin had gathered at the home of the high priest by midnight so that they would be ready to sit in judgment on Jesus when he might be brought before them. Only those members were assembled who were strongly and openly opposed to Jesus and his teaching since it required only twenty-three to constitute a trial court.
184:0.3 (1978.3) Jesus spent about three hours at the palace of Annas on Mount Olivet, not far from the garden of Gethsemane, where they arrested him. John Zebedee was free and safe in the palace of Annas not only because of the word of the Roman captain, but also because he and his brother James were well known to the older servants, having many times been guests at the palace as the former high priest was a distant relative of their mother, Salome.

1. Examination by Annas

184:1.1 (1978.4) Annas, enriched by the temple revenues, his son-in-law the acting high priest, and with his relations to the Roman authorities, was indeed the most powerful single individual in all Jewry. He was a suave and politic planner and plotter. He desired to direct the matter of disposing of Jesus; he feared to trust such an important undertaking wholly to his brusque and aggressive son-in-law. Annas wanted to make sure that the Master’s trial was kept in the hands of the Sadducees; he feared the possible sympathy of some of the Pharisees, seeing that practically all of those members of the Sanhedrin who had espoused the cause of Jesus were Pharisees.
184:1.2 (1978.5) Annas had not seen Jesus for several years, not since the time when the Master called at his house and immediately left upon observing his coldness and reserve in receiving him. Annas had thought to presume on this early acquaintance and thereby attempt to persuade Jesus to abandon his claims and leave Palestine. He was reluctant to participate in the murder of a good man and had reasoned that Jesus might choose to leave the country rather than to suffer death. But when Annas stood before the stalwart and determined Galilean, he knew at once that it would be useless to make such proposals. Jesus was even more majestic and well poised than Annas remembered him.
184:1.3 (1979.1) When Jesus was young, Annas had taken a great interest in him, but now his revenues were threatened by what Jesus had so recently done in driving the money-changers and other commercial traders out of the temple. This act had aroused the enmity of the former high priest far more than had Jesus’ teachings.
184:1.4 (1979.2) Annas entered his spacious audience chamber, seated himself in a large chair, and commanded that Jesus be brought before him. After a few moments spent in silently surveying the Master, he said: “You realize that something must be done about your teaching since you are disturbing the peace and order of our country.” As Annas looked inquiringly at Jesus, the Master looked full into his eyes but made no reply. Again Annas spoke, “What are the names of your disciples, besides Simon Zelotes, the agitator?” Again Jesus looked down upon him, but he did not answer.
184:1.5 (1979.3) Annas was considerably disturbed by Jesus’ refusal to answer his questions, so much so that he said to him: “Do you have no care as to whether I am friendly to you or not? Do you have no regard for the power I have in determining the issues of your coming trial?” When Jesus heard this, he said: “Annas, you know that you could have no power over me unless it were permitted by my Father. Some would destroy the Son of Man because they are ignorant; they know no better, but you, friend, know what you are doing. How can you, therefore, reject the light of God?”
184:1.6 (1979.4) The kindly manner in which Jesus spoke to Annas almost bewildered him. But he had already determined in his mind that Jesus must either leave Palestine or die; so he summoned up his courage and asked: “Just what is it you are trying to teach the people? What do you claim to be?” Jesus answered: “You know full well that I have spoken openly to the world. I have taught in the synagogues and many times in the temple, where all the Jews and many of the gentiles have heard me. In secret I have spoken nothing; why, then, do you ask me about my teaching? Why do you not summon those who have heard me and inquire of them? Behold, all Jerusalem has heard that which I have spoken even if you have not yourself heard these teachings.” But before Annas could make reply, the chief steward of the palace, who was standing near, struck Jesus in the face with his hand, saying, “How dare you answer the high priest with such words?” Annas spoke no words of rebuke to his steward, but Jesus addressed him, saying, “My friend, if I have spoken evil, bear witness against the evil; but if I have spoken the truth, why, then, should you smite me?”
184:1.7 (1979.5) Although Annas regretted that his steward had struck Jesus, he was too proud to take notice of the matter. In his confusion he went into another room, leaving Jesus alone with the household attendants and the temple guards for almost an hour.
184:1.8 (1979.6) When he returned, going up to the Master’s side, he said, “Do you claim to be the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel?” Said Jesus: “Annas, you have known me from the times of my youth. You know that I claim to be nothing except that which my Father has appointed, and that I have been sent to all men, gentile as well as Jew.” Then said Annas: “I have been told that you have claimed to be the Messiah; is that true?” Jesus looked upon Annas but only replied, “So you have said.”
184:1.9 (1980.1) About this time messengers arrived from the palace of Caiaphas to inquire what time Jesus would be brought before the court of the Sanhedrin, and since it was nearing the break of day, Annas thought best to send Jesus bound and in the custody of the temple guards to Caiaphas. He himself followed after them shortly.

1. Peter in the Courtyard

184:2.1 (1980.2) As the band of guards and soldiers approached the entrance to the palace of Annas, John Zebedee was marching by the side of the captain of the Roman soldiers. Judas had dropped some distance behind, and Simon Peter followed afar off. After John had entered the palace courtyard with Jesus and the guards, Judas came up to the gate but, seeing Jesus and John, went on over to the home of Caiaphas, where he knew the real trial of the Master would later take place. Soon after Judas had left, Simon Peter arrived, and as he stood before the gate, John saw him just as they were about to take Jesus into the palace. The portress who kept the gate knew John, and when he spoke to her, requesting that she let Peter in, she gladly assented.
184:2.2 (1980.3) Peter, upon entering the courtyard, went over to the charcoal fire and sought to warm himself, for the night was chilly. He felt very much out of place here among the enemies of Jesus, and indeed he was out of place. The Master had not instructed him to keep near at hand as he had admonished John. Peter belonged with the other apostles, who had been specifically warned not to endanger their lives during these times of the trial and crucifixion of their Master.
184:2.3 (1980.4) Peter threw away his sword shortly before he came up to the palace gate so that he entered the courtyard of Annas unarmed. His mind was in a whirl of confusion; he could scarcely realize that Jesus had been arrested. He could not grasp the reality of the situation — that he was here in the courtyard of Annas, warming himself beside the servants of the high priest. He wondered what the other apostles were doing and, in turning over in his mind as to how John came to be admitted to the palace, concluded that it was because he was known to the servants, since he had bidden the gate-keeper admit him.
184:2.4 (1980.5) Shortly after the portress let Peter in, and while he was warming himself by the fire, she went over to him and mischievously said, “Are you not also one of this man’s disciples?” Now Peter should not have been surprised at this recognition, for it was John who had requested that the girl let him pass through the palace gates; but he was in such a tense nervous state that this identification as a disciple threw him off his balance, and with only one thought uppermost in his mind — the thought of escaping with his life — he promptly answered the maid’s question by saying, “I am not.”
184:2.5 (1980.6) Very soon another servant came up to Peter and asked: “Did I not see you in the garden when they arrested this fellow? Are you not also one of his followers?” Peter was now thoroughly alarmed; he saw no way of safely escaping from these accusers; so he vehemently denied all connection with Jesus, saying, “I know not this man, neither am I one of his followers.”
184:2.6 (1980.7) About this time the portress of the gate drew Peter to one side and said: “I am sure you are a disciple of this Jesus, not only because one of his followers bade me let you in the courtyard, but my sister here has seen you in the temple with this man. Why do you deny this?” When Peter heard the maid accuse him, he denied all knowledge of Jesus with much cursing and swearing, again saying, “I am not this man’s follower; I do not even know him; I never heard of him before.”
184:2.7 (1981.1) Peter left the fireside for a time while he walked about the courtyard. He would have liked to have escaped, but he feared to attract attention to himself. Getting cold, he returned to the fireside, and one of the men standing near him said: “Surely you are one of this man’s disciples. This Jesus is a Galilean, and your speech betrays you, for you also speak as a Galilean.” And again Peter denied all connection with his Master.
184:2.8 (1981.2) Peter was so perturbed that he sought to escape contact with his accusers by going away from the fire and remaining by himself on the porch. After more than an hour of this isolation, the gate-keeper and her sister chanced to meet him, and both of them again teasingly charged him with being a follower of Jesus. And again he denied the accusation. Just as he had once more denied all connection with Jesus, the cock crowed, and Peter remembered the words of warning spoken to him by his Master earlier that same night. As he stood there, heavy of heart and crushed with the sense of guilt, the palace doors opened, and the guards led Jesus past on the way to Caiaphas. As the Master passed Peter, he saw, by the light of the torches, the look of despair on the face of his former self-confident and superficially brave apostle, and he turned and looked upon Peter. Peter never forgot that look as long as he lived. It was such a glance of commingled pity and love as mortal man had never beheld in the face of the Master.
184:2.9 (1981.3) After Jesus and the guards passed out of the palace gates, Peter followed them, but only for a short distance. He could not go farther. He sat down by the side of the road and wept bitterly. And when he had shed these tears of agony, he turned his steps back toward the camp, hoping to find his brother, Andrew. On arriving at the camp, he found only David Zebedee, who sent a messenger to direct him to where his brother had gone to hide in Jerusalem.
184:2.10 (1981.4) Peter’s entire experience occurred in the courtyard of the palace of Annas on Mount Olivet. He did not follow Jesus to the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas. That Peter was brought to the realization that he had repeatedly denied his Master by the crowing of a cock indicates that this all occurred outside of Jerusalem since it was against the law to keep poultry within the city proper.
184:2.11 (1981.5) Until the crowing of the cock brought Peter to his better senses, he had only thought, as he walked up and down the porch to keep warm, how cleverly he had eluded the accusations of the servants, and how he had frustrated their purpose to identify him with Jesus. For the time being, he had only considered that these servants had no moral or legal right thus to question him, and he really congratulated himself over the manner in which he thought he had avoided being identified and possibly subjected to arrest and imprisonment. Not until the cock crowed did it occur to Peter that he had denied his Master. Not until Jesus looked upon him, did he realize that he had failed to live up to his privileges as an ambassador of the kingdom.
184:2.12 (1981.6) Having taken the first step along the path of compromise and least resistance, there was nothing apparent to Peter but to go on with the course of conduct decided upon. It requires a great and noble character, having started out wrong, to turn about and go right. All too often one’s own mind tends to justify continuance in the path of error when once it is entered upon.
184:2.13 (1982.1) Peter never fully believed that he could be forgiven until he met his Master after the resurrection and saw that he was received just as before the experiences of this tragic night of the denials.

1. Before the Court of Sanhedrists

184:3.1 (1982.2) It was about half past three o’clock this Friday morning when the chief priest, Caiaphas, called the Sanhedrist court of inquiry to order and asked that Jesus be brought before them for his formal trial. On three previous occasions the Sanhedrin, by a large majority vote, had decreed the death of Jesus, had decided that he was worthy of death on informal charges of lawbreaking, blasphemy, and flouting the traditions of the fathers of Israel. *
184:3.2 (1982.3) This was not a regularly called meeting of the Sanhedrin and was not held in the usual place, the chamber of hewn stone in the temple. This was a special trial court of some thirty Sanhedrists and was convened in the palace of the high priest. John Zebedee was present with Jesus throughout this so-called trial.
184:3.3 (1982.4) How these chief priests, scribes, Sadducees, and some of the Pharisees flattered themselves that Jesus, the disturber of their position and the challenger of their authority, was now securely in their hands! And they were resolved that he should never live to escape their vengeful clutches.
184:3.4 (1982.5) Ordinarily, the Jews, when trying a man on a capital charge, proceeded with great caution and provided every safeguard of fairness in the selection of witnesses and the entire conduct of the trial. But on this occasion, Caiaphas was more of a prosecutor than an unbiased judge.
184:3.5 (1982.6) Jesus appeared before this court clothed in his usual garments and with his hands bound together behind his back. The entire court was startled and somewhat confused by his majestic appearance. Never had they gazed upon such a prisoner nor witnessed such composure in a man on trial for his life.
184:3.6 (1982.7) The Jewish law required that at least two witnesses must agree upon any point before a charge could be laid against the prisoner. Judas could not be used as a witness against Jesus because the Jewish law specifically forbade the testimony of a traitor. More than a score of false witnesses were on hand to testify against Jesus, but their testimony was so contradictory and so evidently trumped up that the Sanhedrists themselves were very much ashamed of the performance. Jesus stood there, looking down benignly upon these perjurers, and his very countenance disconcerted the lying witnesses. Throughout all this false testimony the Master never said a word; he made no reply to their many false accusations.
184:3.7 (1982.8) The first time any two of their witnesses approached even the semblance of an agreement was when two men testified that they had heard Jesus say in the course of one of his temple discourses that he would “destroy this temple made with hands and in three days make another temple without hands.” That was not exactly what Jesus said, regardless of the fact that he pointed to his own body when he made the remark referred to.
184:3.8 (1982.9) Although the high priest shouted at Jesus, “Do you not answer any of these charges?” Jesus opened not his mouth. He stood there in silence while all of these false witnesses gave their testimony. Hatred, fanaticism, and unscrupulous exaggeration so characterized the words of these perjurers that their testimony fell in its own entanglements. The very best refutation of their false accusations was the Master’s calm and majestic silence.
184:3.9 (1983.1) Shortly after the beginning of the testimony of the false witnesses, Annas arrived and took his seat beside Caiaphas. Annas now arose and argued that this threat of Jesus to destroy the temple was sufficient to warrant three charges against him:
184:3.10 (1983.2) 1. That he was a dangerous traducer of the people. That he taught them impossible things and otherwise deceived them.
184:3.11 (1983.3) 2. That he was a fanatical revolutionist in that he advocated laying violent hands on the sacred temple, else how could he destroy it?
184:3.12 (1983.4) 3. That he taught magic inasmuch as he promised to build a new temple, and that without hands.
184:3.13 (1983.5) Already had the full Sanhedrin agreed that Jesus was guilty of death-deserving transgressions of the Jewish laws, but they were now more concerned with developing charges regarding his conduct and teachings which would justify Pilate in pronouncing the death sentence upon their prisoner. They knew that they must secure the consent of the Roman governor before Jesus could legally be put to death. And Annas was minded to proceed along the line of making it appear that Jesus was a dangerous teacher to be abroad among the people.
184:3.14 (1983.6) But Caiaphas could not longer endure the sight of the Master standing there in perfect composure and unbroken silence. He thought he knew at least one way in which the prisoner might be induced to speak. Accordingly, he rushed over to the side of Jesus and, shaking his accusing finger in the Master’s face, said: “I adjure you, in the name of the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Deliverer, the Son of God.” Jesus answered Caiaphas: “I am. Soon I go to the Father, and presently shall the Son of Man be clothed with power and once more reign over the hosts of heaven.”
184:3.15 (1983.7) When the high priest heard Jesus utter these words, he was exceedingly angry, and rending his outer garments, he exclaimed: “What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now have you all heard this man’s blasphemy. What do you now think should be done with this lawbreaker and blasphemer?” And they all answered in unison, “He is worthy of death; let him be crucified.” *
184:3.16 (1983.8) Jesus manifested no interest in any question asked him when before Annas or the Sanhedrists except the one question relative to his bestowal mission. When asked if he were the Son of God, he instantly and unequivocally answered in the affirmative.
184:3.17 (1983.9) Annas desired that the trial proceed further, and that charges of a definite nature regarding Jesus’ relation to the Roman law and Roman institutions be formulated for subsequent presentation to Pilate. The councilors were anxious to carry these matters to a speedy termination, not only because it was the preparation day for the Passover and no secular work should be done after noon, but also because they feared Pilate might any time return to the Roman capital of Judea, Caesarea, since he was in Jerusalem only for the Passover celebration.
184:3.18 (1983.10) But Annas did not succeed in keeping control of the court. After Jesus had so unexpectedly answered Caiaphas, the high priest stepped forward and smote him in the face with his hand. Annas was truly shocked as the other members of the court, in passing out of the room, spit in Jesus’ face, and many of them mockingly slapped him with the palms of their hands. And thus in disorder and with such unheard-of confusion this first session of the Sanhedrist trial of Jesus ended at half past four o’clock.
184:3.19 (1984.1) Thirty prejudiced and tradition-blinded false judges, with their false witnesses, are presuming to sit in judgment on the righteous Creator of a universe. And these impassioned accusers are exasperated by the majestic silence and superb bearing of this God-man. His silence is terrible to endure; his speech is fearlessly defiant. He is unmoved by their threats and undaunted by their assaults. Man sits in judgment on God, but even then he loves them and would save them if he could.

1. The Hour of Humiliation

184:4.1 (1984.2) The Jewish law required that, in the matter of passing the death sentence, there should be two sessions of the court. This second session was to be held on the day following the first, and the intervening time was to be spent in fasting and mourning by the members of the court. But these men could not await the next day for the confirmation of their decision that Jesus must die. They waited only one hour. In the meantime Jesus was left in the audience chamber in the custody of the temple guards, who, with the servants of the high priest, amused themselves by heaping every sort of indignity upon the Son of Man. They mocked him, spit upon him, and cruelly buffeted him. They would strike him in the face with a rod and then say, “Prophesy to us, you the Deliverer, who it was that struck you.” And thus they went on for one full hour, reviling and mistreating this unresisting man of Galilee.
184:4.2 (1984.3) During this tragic hour of suffering and mock trials before the ignorant and unfeeling guards and servants, John Zebedee waited in lonely terror in an adjoining room. When these abuses first started, Jesus indicated to John, by a nod of his head, that he should retire. The Master well knew that, if he permitted his apostle to remain in the room to witness these indignities, John’s resentment would be so aroused as to produce such an outbreak of protesting indignation as would probably result in his death.
184:4.3 (1984.4) Throughout this awful hour Jesus uttered no word. To this gentle and sensitive soul of humankind, joined in personality relationship with the God of all this universe, there was no more bitter portion of his cup of humiliation than this terrible hour at the mercy of these ignorant and cruel guards and servants, who had been stimulated to abuse him by the example of the members of this so-called Sanhedrist court.
184:4.4 (1984.5) The human heart cannot possibly conceive of the shudder of indignation that swept out over a vast universe as the celestial intelligences witnessed this sight of their beloved Sovereign submitting himself to the will of his ignorant and misguided creatures on the sin-darkened sphere of unfortunate Urantia.
184:4.5 (1984.6) What is this trait of the animal in man which leads him to want to insult and physically assault that which he cannot spiritually attain or intellectually achieve? In the half-civilized man there still lurks an evil brutality which seeks to vent itself upon those who are superior in wisdom and spiritual attainment. Witness the evil coarseness and the brutal ferocity of these supposedly civilized men as they derived a certain form of animal pleasure from this physical attack upon the unresisting Son of Man. As these insults, taunts, and blows fell upon Jesus, he was undefending but not defenseless. Jesus was not vanquished, merely uncontending in the material sense.
184:4.6 (1985.1) These are the moments of the Master’s greatest victories in all his long and eventful career as maker, upholder, and savior of a vast and far-flung universe. Having lived to the full a life of revealing God to man, Jesus is now engaged in making a new and unprecedented revelation of man to God. Jesus is now revealing to the worlds the final triumph over all fears of creature personality isolation. The Son of Man has finally achieved the realization of identity as the Son of God. Jesus does not hesitate to assert that he and the Father are one; and on the basis of the fact and truth of that supreme and supernal experience, he admonishes every kingdom believer to become one with him even as he and his Father are one. The living experience in the religion of Jesus thus becomes the sure and certain technique whereby the spiritually isolated and cosmically lonely mortals of earth are enabled to escape personality isolation, with all its consequences of fear and associated feelings of helplessness. In the fraternal realities of the kingdom of heaven the faith sons of God find final deliverance from the isolation of the self, both personal and planetary. The God-knowing believer increasingly experiences the ecstasy and grandeur of spiritual socialization on a universe scale — citizenship on high in association with the eternal realization of the divine destiny of perfection attainment.

1. The Second Meeting of the Court

184:5.1 (1985.2) At five-thirty o’clock the court reassembled, and Jesus was led into the adjoining room, where John was waiting. Here the Roman soldier and the temple guards watched over Jesus while the court began the formulation of the charges which were to be presented to Pilate. Annas made it clear to his associates that the charge of blasphemy would carry no weight with Pilate. Judas was present during this second meeting of the court, but he gave no testimony.
184:5.2 (1985.3) This session of the court lasted only a half hour, and when they adjourned to go before Pilate, they had drawn up the indictment of Jesus, as being worthy of death, under three heads:
184:5.3 (1985.4) 1. That he was a perverter of the Jewish nation; he deceived the people and incited them to rebellion.
184:5.4 (1985.5) 2. That he taught the people to refuse to pay tribute to Caesar.
184:5.5 (1985.6) 3. That, by claiming to be a king and the founder of a new sort of kingdom, he incited treason against the emperor.
184:5.6 (1985.7) This entire procedure was irregular and wholly contrary to the Jewish laws. No two witnesses had agreed on any matter except those who testified regarding Jesus’ statement about destroying the temple and raising it again in three days. And even concerning that point, no witnesses spoke for the defense, and neither was Jesus asked to explain his intended meaning.
184:5.7 (1985.8) The only point the court could have consistently judged him on was that of blasphemy, and that would have rested entirely on his own testimony. Even concerning blasphemy, they failed to cast a formal ballot for the death sentence.
184:5.8 (1985.9) And now they presumed to formulate three charges, with which to go before Pilate, on which no witnesses had been heard, and which were agreed upon while the accused prisoner was absent. When this was done, three of the Pharisees took their leave; they wanted to see Jesus destroyed, but they would not formulate charges against him without witnesses and in his absence.
184:5.9 (1986.1) Jesus did not again appear before the Sanhedrist court. They did not want again to look upon his face as they sat in judgment upon his innocent life. Jesus did not know (as a man) of their formal charges until he heard them recited by Pilate.
184:5.10 (1986.2) While Jesus was in the room with John and the guards, and while the court was in its second session, some of the women about the high priest’s palace, together with their friends, came to look upon the strange prisoner, and one of them asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?” And Jesus answered: “If I tell you, you will not believe me; and if I ask you, you will not answer.”
184:5.11 (1986.3) At six o’clock that morning Jesus was led forth from the home of Caiaphas to appear before Pilate for confirmation of the sentence of death which this Sanhedrist court had so unjustly and irregularly decreed.