Memorial Day Weekend, Part II

Tonight was one of those small-world nights where I ran into a friend from college on the Strip. We met up later at the Stratosphere.
The fancy-meeting-you-here scenario continued because one of the guys in the group was a guy that I spent summer of 2000 with studying abroad in Montpellier, France. We had the time of our lives that summer, so it was great catching up with him and reliving old memories.

The Stratosphere is a casino that has a 1149 ft high tower (to put it in perspective, the Seattle Space Needle is 605 ft high). It is on the most northern part of the Strip, and in fact, it is so far north that technically it isn't on the Strip. I have never been there, but I've always wanted to go up the tower to see the view. To get to the observation deck on the tower, you have to wait in a long line and pay $10. But, the guys we were with knew a better system - you can instead go to the Romance Lounge in the Top of the World revolving restaurant, which requires no wait in line and no entry fee. We went up and enjoyed a drink overlooking an unbelievable view of the city. It was breathtaking. Next time, I will go up to the observation deck to get better pictures, but this one gives the perspective of the view from the bar.

After drinks, we went to the Sahara for some blackjack and craps. This is an older casino, but that's no problem because it means you can find $5 tables on one of the busiest weekends of the year. I broke even playing blackjack, and of course had a great time socializing with the guys we were with. It made me miss college and all of the antics the guys could get away with when they were 21.