At Last: The WSOP Pad

Weeks ahead of time I arranged to rent a one-bedroom condo at the Meridian for the month of June. I looked at a site map, and I made clear to the agent with whom I spoke exactly what I was looking for. I had three specific criteria: a quiet, top floor unit; a pleasant view with some foliage; and a reliable internet connection.

She offered to email me photographs of the most promising of the available units. They never arrived. This was the first sign that all would not be going smoothly.

Nonetheless, I sent in an application and rental agreement.

When I arrived in Las Vegas, I went to the Meridian as scheduled, only to find that the agent was not there. She showed up 40 minutes later. This, too, became a theme. When she arrived, she told me there had been a "flooding" problem in the kitchen of the unit I had reserved, and she was going to have to provide me with a different unit. My poker-player's spidey-sense was tingling madly, but there seemed little I could do about it. She promised she would place me in an even nicer unit.

I will spare you all the details of the moving from one place to another that ensued. Suffice it to say that for a week I was in a unit that a) was on the ground floor right over the entrance to the parking garage (not quiet); b) had a view of the parking lot, and c) had no internet connection of its own (I was reduced to poaching an open wireless connection that dropped out after 4 minutes and was compeletely unavailable much of the time).

I was persistent and insistent, and eventually was able to move into the unit shown in this video. The unit I was originally supposed to occupy is across the way… and, I may add, I have observed that it is clearly occupied (I've seen lights on and off, and movement in the interior). I was given the runaround and bullshitted, which I do not appreciate at all.

I believe I'll be comfortable here for the remainder of my time in Vegas. I have been promised a free week's stay in the future for the inconvenience I experienced (second prize: TWO weeks stay!!). I assure you I will be looking to get that offer in writing.