Somebody Cue Elvis

Viva Las Vegas. When we applied for the Race, we had already booked a vacation (long weekend) in Las Vegas. We paid for tickets and room well in advance, and I'm happy to say we are taking off on Friday. We discussed with our coaches the concept of vacation viewed through the frame of the Race, and we're agreed that vacationing is a real budget item. Perhaps more so than everyday spending, you have to stick to a budget, watch your spending, and keep discipline. Vegas? Perhaps the ultimate destination to test one's mettle. I've been to Vegas at least once a year for the past 7, for business. It'll be different to be there on vacation!

We're meeting up with friends that have since moved away, one in NY and one in San Fran, and spending the weekend there. Now, when one thinks of Vegas, often the first thought (right after Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and Elvis) is gambling. Spending money to win! Well, I'm a poker player, and I play poker for a reason. I don't like heavy risk. Most of the games you can play in a casino are designed for one thing: to make that casino money. Remember that, because I certainly will. You won't catch us this weekend at a slot machine, blackjack table, or roulette wheel, because I just don't want to throw my money away. You also won't catch us being silly with our money. We will not play games that are skewed toward the house...if I gamble, for instance, I'll play poker. And what's more, I'll do it with a set budget, and if I lose that money, I will be finished. This is something that far too many people don't do in Vegas, or any casino...stop. The "next big win" is not just around the corner.

Here's another trick I learned early. Let's say you show up with 20 dollars to spend at the casino, and you start off "up". You win something. Each win, whatever game you play, should go into your pocket until you've got that 20 dollars set aside. And then forget the 20 dollars. It doesn't exist, and never existed. That way, you're playing with Other People's Money. The flip side of the coin? If the 20 dollars is gone, so are you. Don't go for another 20...stick to the budget! Enough about gambling...Here's our game plan: sensible breakfast and lunch. Not eating the expensive buffet in the morning, no, no, no. We save that money, eat small and cheap, and then we utilize what we saved to allow ourselves a treat, and have a very nice dinner. We will see shows. (We have a 2-for-1 coupon for one of them!) We will see a lot of the FREE things in Vegas...the Bellagio fountain, the Pirates show, the Volcano, and wander around looking at the sights of the Strip architecture. We'll hike Red Rock Canyon. We won't buy pay-per-view movies in the hotel room.

It'll be a challenge this weekend to stick to the budget...but we have our game plan, and despite a whole city that wants us to spend our money, we're going to let that city show us a good time...but on our terms!

Dave