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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 6, 2010

Fun's over; time to shuttle on out


By Rodney Lee

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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Like a Vegas vacation, time flies so quickly when you're having fun. But now, we've come to the end of the Vegas, baby! column. Like meeting in the Ohana Room at the California Hotel & Casino in the wee hours of the morning, waiting to catch the shuttle bus back to the airport, I'm sad that it's over.

The bags are neatly packed, with the omiyage gently cushioned between the great deals we scored from the outlet malls.

As we sit in the boarding area at McCarran airport's Terminal 2, we look back at all the fun we had playing for hours on the Treasure Chest poker machine. How we built up the $20 investment to almost $100 — only to play it back down to zero. But that's OK. We had three hours of entertainment trying to hit that jackpot on just that one $20 bill.

We enjoyed our shopping spree at Primm and being that this must've been about the ninth time we drove out there — the drive still seems long, compared to the short distances we drive here on O'ahu.

There's just something about being at this outlet mall in the middle of the desert during the cold of winter. Maybe because there are fewer buildings and less concrete out there, the temperature always seems a bit colder at Primm.

And as always, our favorite slot hostess at The Cal, Carrie Ciudadano, made sure our stay downtown was pleasurable. It really pays to use Boyd Gaming's B-Connected card to score complimentary rooms and meals. And the omiyage gifts from Hawai'i for your favorite casino host/hostess are always appreciated.

As it gets closer to boarding time, I can see the Strip hotels off in the distance. The Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, the MGM, the Excalibur and New York New York. And I'm thinking — we were just visiting some of those hotels not 36 hours ago. Why does it seem like such a long time?

That's one of the perks I like about the Vegas hotel/ casinos on the strip. We can visit them and not have to worry about rushing around because we're being charged for parking.

But now they're calling our row and it's time to start boarding for the trip back home. As I lift my tired body out of the seat, I brush against the metal edge of the seat and just for good measure, receive one last static-electricity shock.

I hope you've enjoyed reading the short-lived Vegas, baby! column as much as I've had fun writing it. Thank you, and good luck!