08/09/2011 – 08/11/2011 Recap

On Tuesday I went on another trip with my family to Atlantic City, further indicating that compulsive gambling is genetically written into the DNA of Asian people.  We are loyal Borgata Customers, but on our last trip we were disappointed with the service, and the poor state of some of the suites.  As a result while staying at the Borgata on our last trip we went to check out Harrah’s which is right next door.

Our visit to Harrah’s on this previous trip was fun, and we had a good experience, which gave us a reason to try it out on this trip…it was like dating the same woman for years, and then a hot chick woos you away for a night of sin, then you get home and realize that this hot chick has halitosis, or a B.O. problem, you know what I mean.

Unfortunately for us in this particular case, it actually was a B.O. problem, when we visited the Casino on the previous trip we never went into the hotel, and didn’t notice the strong odor that permeates the both the hotels and the Casino floor.

After check-in I went up to my room, and as soon as I opened the door and entered the room it was like walking into a broken walk-in cooler, you could kind of feel a cool breeze but it smelled like funk.  I turned the thermostat down to try and cool the room.  When I couldn’t feel any cold air I called down to the front desk to tell them, and of course they said “we’ll send someone right up”.  90 minutes passed with no phone call or anyone coming up to my room.  During this 90 minutes I realized that the in room safe didn’t work, and our mini-fridge wasn’t much colder than the room.

I also found two cigarette burns on the duvet which was on my bed, and the bed skirt looked like a pee stained pair of tidy whiteys.  The room itself was nice, but just felt like a cheap attempt to appear high class.  It almost felt like we were driving a Yugo with a Porsche body kit. 

Once you are hit with the pungent smell of the room, it becomes pervasive wherever you are in the Casino.  It just smells old, and moldy, which is a shame because we stayed in the newer Harbor Tower.  Add to that the poor handling of no fucking A/C, no attempt to help fix a few other problems, and the dirty room, it became clear our need to go back to our steady girl.

What I found particularly disturbing was the fact that the Casino seem to be a casting call for the Jersey Shore.  I am by no means a snob…okay fuck it I’ve become a snob, as hard as we all work why expose yourself to an element of society that you don’t agree with, I’m not at any means a classist, but if you want motivation to go out and earn a better living go spend a day at Harrah’s with your family, and you will realize money does not buy happiness but it gives you access to better experiences. 

While at Harrah’s I did manage to get a workout in, don’t be fooled the gym that is in the tour on Harrah’s website is not the gym that is there now.  The photos on the website are from a time when the gym was next to the new pool in the Harbor Tower.

They converted the space for the old gym as a queue for the pool, because beginning Thursday night it turns into a drunken frat party, with Pauly D, no really the douche bag from Jersey shore gets paid to hang out there some nights.   

So in an effort to cater to the Pauly D’s of the world they moved the gym into an old conference room, which is about the size of my bathroom, smells like sweaty dirty feet, and has a room temperature of about 80 degrees, did I mention that the place also is caked in dust. 

I am by no means a germ phobe, but I actually used one of the yoga mats to stretch, that’s how dirty everything was, the gym is a symbol of the nastiness that is Harrah’s.  If you stay in the Harbor Tower, which is the newer of the two buildings you have to walk through the shopping atrium, through the casino, up three floors to the conference area.  It just sucks.

The second day was decidedly better, as we moved to the Borgata.  Just pulling up to the valet Wednesday afternoon I felt better about being in Atlantic City.  Like a man cheating on his wife it felt like the drive of shame pulling up to the driveway just after getting it on with the hot chick that smells like feet. 

Wednesday night we had dinner at Bobby Flays Steak House.  Just sitting at the table I felt like I was in a better emotional state, the families that sat near us were more of the type of people I would associate with, if anything some of the wealthier people would probably find me distasteful. 

In any case it was another moment which made me realize that again, financial security, or financial means don’t make a person happier, or nicer, but it sure does give you access to places and things that help facilitate better experiences.  Please no comments about classism, or money doesn’t buy happiness, I’m not fucking five years old, I do know if I am a miserable prick poor, I will be a miserable prick rich.  My comments are an observation, and opinion on why it is nice to have more money than the other guy.

All of the classist can’t tell me that it wouldn’t be awesome to have the money to say tomorrow, hey family I’m bored let’s get on our private plane fly to Key West, and stay in the best place watching the sunsets every night while we eat, stone crabs, lobster, expensive rum, and key lime pies, go snorkeling on the catamaran, that we own, and fish the reefs for dinner.  Oh did I mention we can just lounge on our private beach with just our family and friends. 

Yeah having money wouldn’t suck…

In any case dinner at Bobby Flay’s Steakhouse was good, the meats were cooked well and the cuts were nice, but we found a couple of the seasoned steaks a bit too seasoned, overall it was a nice experience which dwarfed our previous nights experience.

Thursday morning I didn’t work out, as I didn’t get much sleep.  In an attempt to auto-regulate I felt it would do more damage than good. 

My eating over the past three days was good, but not great.  Having access to food which I find editable is tough on the road without a kitchen.  If anything I’m sure I didn’t consume enough calories which means I’ll end up gaining another 8 lbs.

Looking forward to rest this weekend, and possibly another short trip next week…