Erin,

Might I suggest either a Taxi for your trips to the center, or look into riding on the bus system(specifically The Deuce). Would probably be much cheaper than spending on a car, unless you're looking to go outside of the city.

I had a car. From Friday at 7pm to Tuesday morning at 7am, it was $150 after taxes. It was a full size (Grand Prix). If we would have had to pay for parking at the hotel, it would have not been worth it. Being able to and from the bowl when we wanted to was a huge plus.

We'll be driving our own car/truck. Cheaper then flying, plus we dont' have to worry about shipping bowling balls.

Like GP, I finally have some time to talk about my first ever USBC Open and well as my first trip to Vegas.

Overall, IT WAS AWESOME.

Vegas was great, tons to do and in fact too much to do in 4 days. Definately, have to take week to explore more when I go back next time.

As for bowling, I can't be disappointed too much. I had fun and on the D/S day, one of the team members on our sister team from SD threw the 23rd 300 game of the Open. So that was pretty sweet.

As for my play I shot a 1473 or something for overall which came out to a 160 average even which I thought was pretty good for me. I think it could've been better...I kinda...sorta got a little starstruck and awed a bit the first day and threw a 407 series. Yeah so much for mastering my mental game. LOL.

Anywho, I refocused the next day and did what I had to do, i.e. thinking of each game as if it were a game of practice. I threw a 508 and 529 for doubles and singles. Significantly better in my opinion, and it was nice to find out, through my dad, that a couple of other, better bowlers said that I needed maybe a couple of more years to shred this pattern to bits. So that was a big confidence booster. Especially after a sort of rough outing. It wasn't as hard as I thought, especially considering I was throwing my Venus the whole time, but still tough. The thing that really was grinding my gears was that I was missing spares by literally a fraction of an inch. Some where bad shots, but most were right on my mark but just didn't cross over as much because of the oil. Oh well, live and learn. I guess all I can do is practice.

I really wish I had the money to get the equipment I wanted. I walked into the Storm booth and there was everything I could've wanted. The balls, shoes and bag, all there, just no money. Oh well. It's proabaly better that way anyways. More time to get used to each different piece of my arsenal instead of trying it out at Nationals.

Anyways, I had a blast and hope to be back next year.

http://www.bowl.com/articleView.aspx?i=15646&f=1

45 year old Rob Lucas of West Lafayette, IN contemplated quitting bowling after knee surgery (complicated by a staph infection), but his persistence paid off yesterday when he tossed the 24th 300 of the tournament in his second game of singles.

I'll be heading out to Vegas July 1-5, bowling on the 2nd and 3rd. We booked the Bellagio and got a good deal for the GF and I. I'm expecting a difficult shot but I'm also expecting to enjoy the experience and my first trip to Vegas. The whole trip was planned by the guy who runs my local lanes and he asked me to be a part of it. We have 2 teams of 5 going, I cant wait to see how we all do including myself.

How many bowling balls does the average person bring when flying? I'm thinking of taking (2) two ball totes (one as a carry on). I'd rather not ship the balls ahead of time if I can help it. Reading the stories has me psyched, I cant wait to be a part of it.

Mike:

I wouldn't carry on. TSA doesn't know what bowling ball cores are. 4 is a good amount to take. Have fun out there.

I didnt think about that GP, good point. I can fit my clothes in the carry on it's only a few days worth.

How many bags can you check without getting charged? If you can get away with 1, then you check a bowling bag and your gf check one. Then carry on all of your clothes.

Mike, I checked my 4-ball roller as 2 pieces, and had a carryon bag with clothes on the plane. Each bag booked was charged, $25 for the first and $15 for the second, each way. And, they have to be under 50# each or you are charged an over weight fee. If each person checked 1 bag, it would be $25 for each. $40 was better than $50. That's another bet at Blackjack.

Checkout the half price Show ticket booth at the Hotel. Jersey Boys was worth seeing. It's at the Hilton which is a pricey cab ride, $13 one way, plus tip. We took the bus and got the 24 hour bus pass for $7. Used it to and from the show the first night, and took a bus ride to the Cashman Center the next afternoon to watch an earlier squad bowl. Take the LV Blvd bus to the downtown terminal, and transfer to bus 113. Get off at Washington, 1 block from Cashman. Cab from Bellagio to the Bowling Center was $26 for 2, one way. Albuquerque had free shuttles from the Hotel, not Vegas. My transportation costs were $55 for cabs and $7 for buses for the weekend.

At each destination, Vegas and Milwaukee, I found that my ball bags were opened and inspected. They insert a piece of paper explaining that the bag had been opened and inspected for security reasons.

Guess the internal weight screws up their X-ray equip.

Oh, and make sure you bring a small size of toiletries, 3-4oz max. They confiscated a new full tube of toothpaste as being too large. But, they ignored the 8oz bottle of ball cleaner checked my bag pouch. So, put bigger sizes in your ball bag.