Golf and Gambling

June 2011
Location: Las Vegas, NV

Courses:  TPC Vegas & Wolf Creek 

Golfers: Cody and I

Hotel: Bellagio 


Overview: 
4 days in Vegas with my best man a few months prior to getting married. 3 rounds of golf, a fair amount  of blackjack, roulette and a few other money wasters on the strip. Formal bachelor party was closer to the wedding, but Vegas was a kick start to say the least. We timed it during the US Open and picked ten golfers with decent odds to win the open. Rory Mcilroy ran away with it, but our $10 on 80:1 odds for Sergio looked great after his T7 finish. 

#1 Wolf Creek

Golf Details:
First round was at Wolf Creek, 2011 Golf Digest #1 Golfer's Choice Award, located in Mesquite, NV (about an hour north of Vegas). Great course to play with each hole having its own wow factor. It was gusting up to 40 mph when we teed off and stayed pretty windy throughout the round. Most of the drives are high above the green so coming from Houston it was awesome to rare back and let it rip off the box. The ball goes forever out there (unless it's into a wall of wind) which is an added bonus when you hit it right. 

View from #8 Tee

Enjoying the terrain

#8 is a long par three, about 215, into a postage stamp green with a small stream protecting 3/4 of the hole (if 215 on a windy day wasn't enough). As we're in Vegas, we put some money on who could hit the green(and keep it there) . I'm up first, sailed it left of the green, splash. Cody hit a near perfect cut shot into the hole, just to see it one hop off the back of the green into the stream. This hole would be a lot of fun from about 160, 215 just isn't fair. We made the turn, checked Rory's continued domination of the open in the pro shop and headed for the back 9. The back 9 was great, only a few trips into the desert for errant tee shots. On the 16th green (highest elevation of the back 9), it was blowing as hard as it had all day. Cody and I had about 6-8 foot putts on either side of the hole. After he missed his and cussed the wind, I thought eh- he just pushed it. As I'm standing over the putt, I'm getting hit with pea size rocks, miss as well, expletives flew. Anytime debris hits you in the face on the green, a few choice words are warranted. Great course, check the wind report before heading out. 

TPC Vegas

The next two days we played TPC Vegas, a lot of fun. Very good course and it was in great condition. A lot of scoring holes, greens were running firm but not lightning fast. This course is home for a few tour pros and I can see why, especially if they like the night life. The wind died down and we both played pretty good golf both days. #1 is a short par, easy par or birdie. #2 kicks you in the teeth, par 3 over a canyon, wasn't ready for that on day one. After a mixed emotion start, we were off and running to challenge the rest of the course. #15 is a 600 yard par five with a fairway that hugs a canyon the entire way. Day one I doubled, day two, birdie. Felt good to bounce back, helped to build momentum to finish the back off with a solid round. Errant tee shots will consistently find the desert, so hitting the fairways is a must. Would play again on next trip, staff was friendly and they have good specials if you book in advance. 

Food: 
Good food overall, meals were overpriced at Bellagio and on the strip in general. We had whole foods breakfast burritos a couple mornings and a steak dinner at Flemings off the strip that were the highlights. We didn't go for the food, but would make a reservation next time to try one of the famous restaurants. 




Gambling:
We spent most of our time at the $10 blackjack tables at Bellagio. Pretty good crowds, we're far from high rollers, tables were nice and the drinks were free. Played a couple hours each night, up a little, down a little, left overall even so that's always nice. We played at Mandalay one night, best success overall, but atmosphere wasn't as good as Bellagio. Cody tried Roulette, that was the quickest 100 Vegas has ever won, better luck next time. Gambling is always a lot of fun in theory and then it depends on how the cards fall. We had one good night where the dealer busted when they were supposed to and blackjacks were falling here and there which is a great adrenaline rush. 

Rampart Night Life

On a side note, we decided to try a casino off the strip in a retirement community close to the TPC Vegas called "Rampart." This was interesting to say the least. I sat next to a chain smoker who was giving me "tips" on some bootleg version of blackjack where both cards are down. 


Favorites:
Bellagio was great, very nice Vegas hotel. Low humidity let the ball fly forever in the desert. Art of Shaving close razor shave before going out one night, first time, I highly recommend. Vegas during a major sporting event, enjoyed checking the sports book in Bellagio as the odds updated after each round of the Open. 




Final Thoughts:
My first trip to Vegas was a success. Hard to beat golf, gambling and good times in the desert. It's true, 3-4 days is a good amount of time, just enough to enjoy, not enough to get burned out. Look forward to going back sometime.