Things I learned from my 1st Vegas bachelor party

I recently attended my first Vegas bachelor party (and actually my first bachelor party total). In the grand scheme of things it was tame compared to what I’ve seen in movies – no animal “shows” or sacrifices, no high speed chases or little Asian mafia men jumping from car trunks. Just a lot of drinking, gambling, and a few strippers sprinkled on top. Nothing really had to “stay in Vegas” that I couldn’t bring back to me in California though (which isn’t a such a bad thing). I think it was a more realistic version of what we see in movies or on TV. So I’ve come back with a six pack of tips for the newbies on the block who don’t really know what to expect.

1. Pay more to get your own bed. This was something I should have been more adamant about. Because most of my friends are on a TIGHT budgets, we opted for the “how many guys can we cram into this room” approach. Sure it was great that we only owed $40 for the room at the end of the weekend, but it really wasn’t worth sleeping with my ear infected buddy on top of me for a night. During the bachelor party planning stages, you need to do everything in your power to insure that you will get your own bed. Even if you only sleep for 45 minutes over 2 days like I did, it’s at least a COMFORTABLE 45 minutes. Additionally, it’s not enough that you simply suggest this to your buddies (this is my fatal error), you seriously need to make this your bitness. If that means you put a few extra dollars down, it’ll be money well spent. Find someone else that feels the same way and split a different 2 bed room with him. Additionally, and this may be tip 1a, when picking a bed at the end of the night if you’re sharing a room, don’t assume that the bed with the messier sheets was the one that got “slept in” – do a more thorough ocular investigation.

2. Get a key to your room. This was another fatal mistake I made. I thought when I was ready to go back to the room certainly one of the guys w/ a room key would be next to me. Looking back, I can’t believe how dumb I was for thinking I’d be able to track down 1 of 2 drunk friends in VEGAS while I was also extremely drunk. If you get your own bed, or your own room, you most likely don’t have to worry about this, but if you’re like me and pile into a room with guys, don’t be surprised if the lone key bearer is nowhere to be found at the end of the night. You could get screwed out of a bed all together if your name isn’t on the reservation and your buddy goes missing.

3. Bring your own soap. This one is kind of a no-brainer, but I promise you, when you’re stepping into the shower, you’ll quickly smack yourself that you didn’t think about this sooner. Also, it’s a good idea to go grab a towel either from the front desk or the pool. Sharing a bed with a couple of guys is bad enough, sharing their soap is inexcusable.

4. Bring more cash than you think you need, but not more than you can afford to lose. The only faster way to lose your money in Vegas rather than the slots is the casino/strip club ATM machines. At the strip club, there was a $12 fee to take money out of their ATM. That’s insane. More often you’ll find yourself digging into your pockets for CASH not your credit card, and when you’re out, the only option is the ATMs. It’s brutal. If you’re out of cash, take your smart friends that brought cash out to lunch and pick up the bill on your credit card. Your friends don’t charge the ATM fee.

5. Drink 5 Hour Energy. This product got me through the weekend. No harsh crash when it’s wearing off, and the taste wasn’t bad!

6. When you’re at the strip club, “the truth will set you free.” I found that there was no really nice extremely polite way to get the strippers I wasn’t interested in to leave me alone. If I told them I wasn’t ready for a dance, they’d say “well I’ll wait next to you till you are ready.” If you said that you just got there, they’d say “so what?” There is just nothing you can say or do to get a girl to quickly stop badgering you except “I’m sorry, you’re pretty, but you’re not my type.” Most of the time after saying this, she’d give me a nasty look, but the fact that she would leave me alone was a pretty fair trade.