Counting Down to 2011 by The Pool

I was so happy to arrive in Atlantic City for our New Years celebration!  I was giddy as we checked into Harrahs a little before 3pm and made our way to our room in Bayview Tower.  It was also great to see that the room was nice, highlighted by a huge bathroom.

Despite how genuinely nice the room was, it felt that much nicer knowing that we got the best deal in the city.  You see, rooms in Atlantic City at all the major Casinos (Harrahs, Borgata, Taj, Caesars, Tropicana, etc.) go for $699 per night on New Years Eve.  However, Curt happened to be on Harrahs website in November and noted rooms for $69.99.  Not stopping to even think about it, he booked a number of rooms and told all his close friends that they should go on and get a room themselves.  The very next day, Harrahs phoned Curt telling him there had been a pricing mistake on the website for a short period of time the day before and that they'd be willing to comp him 2 free rooms if he would just give up his room on NYE.  Clearly, they forgot to enter an extra "9"!  Curt decided to give up one of the rooms he reserved in exchange for a free night on New Years Day and another one at his leisure.  What this all means is that we shared a room with Curt/Diana for the full New Years weekend all for $40 per couple!  Insane right?!

That evening, our room served as the central point for pre-gaming.  Our table went from fairly well stocked....

 ....to a fully stocked bar.

Before we left for the night, I noticed the hotel's cute twist to the typical "Do Not Disturb" sign and wondered just how true it would be for us the next day....

Already feeling a little lit up after pregaming, the 10 of us headed down to The Pool Bar.  Due to the large dome overhead, The Pool is touted by Harrahs as an "indoor oasis".  By day, one can take a dip and grab lunch and a cocktail.  

By night, the pool turns into The Pool After Dark, where guests can reserve private cabanas and hot tubs.  We opted for a standard ticket, which included entry, free h'orderves from 7:30pm-9:00pm, open premium bar from 9:00pm - midnight and complimentary champagne at midnight.   

I was loving the atmosphere and snapped a bunch of pictures right away.  Good thing I documented early and often since things got sloppy fairly quickly.

The h'orderve menu included:

• Sushi (California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Philly Roll)
• Mediterranean Tapas
• Sliders (turkey w/ granny smith apple and onion compote on whole wheat rolls; crab cake sliders w/ red brick remoulade on sour dough rolls; angus sliders w/ cave aged cheddar on mini kaisers)
• Strozzapreti in Grey Goose vodka sauce w/ crispy pancetta
• Fusilli in black garlic and EVOO w/ micro chicken meatballs
• Orange and miso glazed crispy chicken w/ jasmine rice

Everything I tried was very yummy! I was glad we got there early enough to enjoy.

There is a balcony section to The Pool that we scoped out.  Unfortunately, everything seemed reserved so we decided to head back downstairs to stake out a spot close to one of the Grey Goose open bar stands.

We did successfully claim a spot by one of the stands, which is where we spent the majority of the night.  We had a great bartender that always seemed to have our choice drinks ready for us before we could even spout out the order.

Unfortunately for us, all of this meant that we went from sober-to-slightly buzzed people to out of their mind drunk people.

Me and Dave, BEFORE

Me and Dave, AFTER

The ladies, BEFORE

The ladies, AFTER

Curt and Diana, BEFORE

Curt and Diana, AFTER

The guys, BEFORE

Some of the guys, AFTER

Even though I was all a bit gray to me, I did manage to snap a picture of the countdown.  Seriously, what is it about open bar that just causes you to go nuts?!

I hope you all had a great time ringing in the new year!  Hopefully for you, it didn't result in the massive, next-day hangover like mine did!  Here's to a fabulous 2011!