Earlier this year, our good buddy Rod Giles (right) won our local 8-ball singles SL-5 division championship. The prize for this tournament was a travel subsidy to the APA World Championships at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. This annual event will see APA/CPA league champions from all over North America compete for championship titles in 8 & 9 ball singles; 8, 9 & Jack/Jill Doubles; Masters League Teams, Ladies Teams and Wheelchair competitors.

Rod is a great buddy and since Sandy and I haven't been to Vegas since 2019 we decided to join him on the trip and make a great vacation out of it. We were also joined this morning by pool league friends Chris and Jennifer, while more Newfoundland players and supporters will be arriving later in the week.

Our flight was scheduled to depart YYT at 5am Wednesday morning. However due to a mechanical issue we were over an hour late leaving which would make our connecting flight in Montreal very tight.

We initially thought we would have trouble leavening due to freezing rain, but de-icing took care of that issue without any further delays.

We touched down in Montreal just as our connecting flight to Vegas called boarding! We let the gate agent know we had a tight connection and she radioed ahead that we were on our way. It was a mad dash through YUL and we were incredibly lucky that there was absolutely no-one else at the security  checkpoint or at customs. An Air Canada rep met us at customs and we arrived to the departure gate just in the nick of time, a very welcome relief!

In no time we were settled away and on our way to Vegas!

Lake Mead, NV

Despite quite a long journey, due to the 4.5 hour time difference it was just 11am local time when we landed!

Although so much has changed since our last visit, the good ol' "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign always leaves you with those warm fuzzy feelings as you pass through the terminal.

Not surprisingly our checked baggage did not make the incredibly short connection caused by our delayed departure in St. John's. What is surprising was how helpful and organized the Air Canada baggage counter rep was in dealing with our delayed baggage. They were already aware of its location when we arrived at the counter and already had a file open. The clerk took our contact & hotel information then arranged to have it delivered later that night when it arrived.

Skipping the baggage carousal sped up our time inside the airport so we headed out to the taxi stand. In the past we normally use UBER to and from the airport, but now taxis offer a flat rate fare to various zones across Las Vegas which are quite economical.

For this adventure we booked into the Horseshoe Hotel & Casino which is located centre strip. This property was formerly Bally's and is where we stayed during our 2018 visit. From here we can easily access many restaurants within a short walk, avail of public transportation such as the DEUCE transit service, and take the Monorail to reach the Westgate.

Our room overlooked Las Vegas Boulevard and the Bellagio Fountains while Rod's room on the same floor overlooked the Linq and the Sphere.

After availing of an early check-in we headed out to Las Vegas Blvd taking a quick walk South to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood to grab lunch. We also wanted to locate some restaurants there that advertised some fantastic breakfast specials.

Vegas has always been bright and beautiful but these new High Definition signboards are now everywhere. They are just incredible, even more so at night!

Our first stop was the always incredible Earl of Sandwich which as usual did not disappoint.

After lunch we headed outside heading back towards the hotel with a planned stop to CVS Pharmacy for snacks, water and supplies for our week in town. These items are much cheaper off site than they are inside the hotels.

Some necessary supplies!

With our goods dropped back to the hotel room we picked up some three day transit passes from an automated kiosk outside Paris Paris. Three day passes are just $20 and are accepted on all transit lines on the system. You can also purchase passes within the Transit app on your Smartphone.

The most common line is the DEUCE which is a Double Decker bus that runs up and down the strip from the South Outlet Mall all the way up to Fremont Street. Along the way you can change over to a route 401 bus at the Bonneville Transfer Terminal in order to access the North Outlets. We also availed of the 217w route at the South Transfer Terminal to reach the Silverton Casino/Bass Pro Shops later in the week all with the same pass.

We hopped on the DEUCE Northbound, our destination today was Fremont Street. Here we would bead to the Bingo Room at the Plaza Hotel, one of Sandy's favourite venues.

The last time we were here in 2019 they were upgrading the overhead screen from the old system to new High Definition. The video quality today was absolutely outstanding!

Sandy played paper cards and the electronic machine while Rod and I availed only of the fully automatic electronic machines and enjoyed a few complimentary adult beverages!

I was the only winner today winning just over $30 which paid for my night!

Fremont Street after dark is just absolutely amazing, just pure sensory overload! The music is good and loud, lots of Bass, crazy lighting, great entertainers - it's just truly epic.

The last time we were here Circa was under construction. Now that it's finished we couldn't wait to check it out and we were not disappointed. The property is simply mind blowing, especially the sportsbook which features the most amazing screen in the city at 120' wide by 40' tall!

We were a little early for the stage shows this evening but we were getting tired after a long day of travel and would be calling it an early (by Vegas standards) night.

Of course we are never too tired to eat and decided to check out this fine Fremont Street establishment, Fat Sal's.

We each chose a different smash burger and none of them disappointed, they were absolutely delicious and not overly expensive.

Back on the DEUCE Southbound towards our hotel.

The southbound bus stop is located right in front of the Bellagio Fountains which were on Rod's bucket list of items to see.

As always they never disappoint and put on a terrific show.

After an early night and a great night's sleep we were on the go relatively early at 8:30am Thursday Morning mostly due to the time difference.

Exactly as promised our luggage had been delivered overnight and was ready and waiting at the porter counter at the hotel. Everything was in proper order which was a great relief.

Our first stop Thursday morning was back to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood to hit up the first of three restaurants offering breakfast specials.

Today we tried Blondies which offered a breakfast special for just $5.99 which included two eggs, two strips of bacon and hash browns.

The meal was decent but sides were expensive, to add toast was another $5 while a cup of coffee was $6 and wasn't that great. Sandra asked for milk for her tea (instead of creamer) which was another $2.

Back outside we contacted Chris and Jennifer who arrived late last night as we all planned to knock another bucket list item off Rod's list, visiting the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

The southbound bus stop was the same one we got off last night located in front of the Bellagio Fountains. While waiting for Chris and Jenn, Sandra, Rod and I checked out the Cosmopolitan Casino which was just spectacular.

A short DEUCE ride later we were at the sign and pleasantly surprised to find only a small group of people waiting in line for pictures.

Next we hopped back on board the Southbound DEUCE headed to the South Premium Outlet Mall.

We spent the afternoon taking advantage of just a few sales, nothing crazy also hitting up the food court for a light lunch. To get back to the Hotel we continued on the Southbound DEUCE riding to the South Transfer Terminal where we changed over to a Northbound DEUCE bus which took us back to the Strip.

This is the site of the former Tropicana Hotel which was demolished to make way for the new MLB Baseball arena and a new Balley's Resort.

We've been seeing these ZOOX Autonomous Taxi's all over town and finally captured a decent photo of one. We will be checking into this a little later in the trip.

Thursday night we hired an UBER and all headed over to Griff's Bar & Billiards for their weekly 9-ball singles chip tournament. The girls opted to sit back and cheer while Rod, Chris and I signed up for the event. The tournament was Fargo rated, I am currently a 346 and Rod a 428. The lowest category which received a full 8 chips was 460 and under so we knew competition would be fierce and fun.

The tournament was capped at 48 players and used just 12 tables which were all beautiful 7' Diamonds. It was very well run, the lady organizing it was on the ball calling out slow tables to speed up play and keeping all tables occupied at all times.

One of the best features of Griff's is their spectacular Chip Tournament software which not only ran trouble free all evening but could be viewed from your smart phone by scanning a QR code. This way you can see all the player standings and most importantly where you were on the waitlist to play.

Sandy was not in the building even 10 minutes before she found a friend of a friend. Scott is good buddies with our friend Ervin from West Side Charlie's. It was great to make a connection and get the inside scoop on the tournament and local player etiquette that we may not have been familiar with.

All in all we had a great night. I took quite a few chips away from much higher ranked players using the fullest of my still limited billiards knowledge which is always a ton of fun.

Surprising especially to me, I was the last man standing in our crew when I finally got eliminated right around midnight. That made me the Canadian Champion for the tournament, I'll take that!

Friday morning we slept in a little later getting on the go around 10am.

This morning Sandra, Rod and I made our way back to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood to grab some breakfast. Today we opted to give Rod a tour of Paris Paris along the way since it's connected to the Horseshoe rather than take the usual route outside.

After an OK breakfast yesterday at Blondies, this morning we opted to try our next breakfast spot, Flights. Their special was $7.99 and included two eggs, two strips of bacon, hash browns (with fried red onion & peppers) and an English muffin. To add coffee was $5.

Overall today's breakfast was much better than the previous and overall a better value.

While Chris and Jennifer opted to stay near the hotel, Sandra Rod and I headed out on a walking tour Southbound on the strip. Our destination was New York New York via the Cosmopolitan, Aria and Park MGM.

Destination in sight! Quick casino tour and Hershey Store visit up next!

New York New York is also one of the stops for the ZOOX. We learned that only US registered phones can download the app to use ZOOX which is at this time free. Apparently there is a staffed kiosk at Resorts World where we may be able to arrange a test ride, so stay tuned!

Leaving NY NY we headed across the street to the monstrous MGM Grand property.

After a quick tour and a delicious donut from Krispy Kreme at the MGM we continued our walk now headed Northbound towards the M&M Store.

As always this four story monster of a store is simply amazing!

Leaving the M&M store we hopped on a Northbound DEUCE bus and rode back to centre strip jumping off at the Linq so we could visit the Promenade.

Our destination today was the infamous Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips.

This meal was my first disappointment of the trip. It was not unexpected to be pricey, but it was absolutely expected to be great, and that's where it fell short for me. The fish was just OK, now we come from the land of Fish and Chips back at home so I guess my standards were quite high. The big disappointment were the french fries which were way overcooked and borderline burnt as they were hard as a rock. They were definitely fried and then re-fried which made them simply awful. The only highlight was the tarter sauce which was outstanding.

By now the boards were up on Compusport for Rod's match scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3pm.

Friday evening the girls stayed behind while Chris, Rod and I hopped into an UBER and headed back to Griff's for the weekly 9-ball doubles chip tournament.

We rode in style tonight in a beautiful Chevy Suburban, little Chris took shotgun just loving the extra lowered seating position!

While we were enjoying 30ºC temps in Vegas, back at home a late spring snowstorm arrived. It was forecast to dump up to 15cm of snow, we were sure glad to be far away from that nonsense!

The doubles tournament went very well, Rod and I managed to take quite a few chips away from some heavy competition. Meanwhile Chris and his partner were the last of our crew to be eliminated narrowly missing the top three payout slots.

Load Part 2

Touring Vegas, North Outlets and ZOOX Robot Taxi Ride!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith