Las Vegas, Nevada
"'The Entertainment Capital of the World', a city that never sleeps - one that is so bright at night, the street lamps seem reductant..."
Day 9 (9 August '07)
And so we arrived at Las Vegas at around 4pm after a 3-hour journey from Flagstaff....
Walking towards our hotel::Colourful decor
Dragging our luggage again, we walked for about 15 minutes before reaching the Fremont Street where our hotel is supposed to be.
Fremont Street was once featured in The Unbeatables 2 (双天至尊2) i always remembered. Check the video below (it is near the end)...
So it was rather exciting to be able to visit the same place. Ha.
Our room::Some skating performance
They called the enclosed street the 'Fremont Street Experience' which is a street that is unique itself and has its own way of glitz and entertainment.
After resting in the hotel for a while, we were out again hunting for a nice place for dinner first. We were looking for lobster buffet but ended up at one that was affordable and without lobster. Ha.
The classy interior::Us
After a very full dinner, the sky was dark and the lights were up. And we began our 'Fremont Street Experience'...
Some performance::The big LED screen canopy
Then we waited for the show which happens at every hour at 9pm...
A video of the show
Basically, we were only exploring the street and some adjacent areas and didnt venture far out since it was late already. But, the street alone was enough for us in terms of entertainment...
Some acrobats::Piano performance
The blue Binion Hotel::The empty street at 11pm
We headed back to the hotel's casino after that. But we mainly played the jackpots only as they only required a minimum US$0.01 to play and those table games seemed daunting. And one interesting observation is that there are many chinese croupiers at the casinos.
Playing jackpots is all about luck and one must have the capital to keep on playing. Else, it is easy to lose.
Winning 2 lines, totaling US$7.82 with US$0.18 bet::Big win of US$13.56 with just US$0.09 bet!
It was very addictive. Once you won, you would want to continue. But i still had to stop eventually. In the end, i had two big win (US$13.56 and US$13.62) which propelled me to a net US$20+ winnings. Ha.
Then we finally retreated back to rest at 2am+.
Day 10 (10 August '07)
After some planning on the day's itinerary, we went to a bus terminal to take their city bus that would bring us to Las Vegas's most famous street - The Strip...
On top of the double-decker bus::The street with the Stratosphere tower
With an unlimited ride ticket for the bus, it would be our main mode of transportation for the day. Our first stop was The Venetian...
The tower which Macau's Venetian also has
Our purpose to visit this place was also to get our tickets for the 'Phantom' as early as possible for good seats.
Anyway, The Venetian is a very luxury and posh hotel. The design is somewhat similar to the newly opened Macau's. But it is of course not as huge as Macau's.
Leaving The Venetian, we walked along the street, and marveled at the exquisite facade of every hotel. And had our lunch at McDonald's, one of our favourite fastfood in USA...
The giant golden arch::Caesars Palace
It was noon and the weather was very hot and dry and the wind that blew occasionally was hot too. And I wasn't sweating at all, despite the high temperature.
But we still had to continue and walked down the street...
The Paris hotel::Water fountain
The hotels at Las Vegas all have a theme and their building always exemplify their theme. Of course, they are very rich to be able to build at such large scale...
Monte Carlo hotel with Monaco's statues::MGM Grand
In fact, most or all hotels here have casinos in them which are their main source of revenues.
Statue of Liberty even::Their casino
New York New York has very unique buildings as it mimics the buildings in New York City. In fact, inside the facade of those buildings are real hotel rooms! Very unique, indeed.
The Great Sphinx and the Pyramid::Egyptian statues
Inside the pyramid of the Luxor Hotel holds thousands of rooms...
After walking for 2-3 hours under the hot sun, we were getting tired and thirsty. Hence, we entered an air-conditioned building next to the MGM Grand, and there was the M&M's World! There was 1 in New York also but the branch in Las Vegas is said to be the largest.
The clear, cloudless, blue sky
Indeed, the store has 4 storeys and even has a 3D movie theater showing a short film featuring M&Ms chocolates.
We had dinner at McDonald's again before rushing back to the Venetian for the 'Phantom'.
Our tickets::In the theater (a bit blur but use your imagination - there is a hanging chandelier in the center)
The Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular is different from the original Phantom of the Opera at New York's broadway. This one is a shorten version but uses much more effects. The entire interior design of the theater puts us in the setting of the Phantom and surprises are everywhere. Just like the hanging chandelier, it actually moves and rises up at the beginning of the show and later it drops suddenly, almost hitting the audience and at the same time, the lights are turned off. Definitely a shock for everyone.
Anyway, the props and the stage used are way too professional, high class and high tech. Very difficult to imagine how they change the props from time to time. But the story wise, since it is a shorten version, it didnt really has the flavour and essence of the original. Well, even though our tickets were discounted, the price was still very high. Ha.
After the show, we were out for more free shows on the streets...
Fashionshow Mall::All shops were closed
The free shows happen every night at fixed timing. Of particular mention is the show - Sirens of TI - at the Treasure Island hotel. It was about the all-men pirate ship fighting with the all-women pirate ship. The show was so intriguing and stunning that i didnt take any photos and videos. Haha.
And despite being a free show for the public, the scale looks big.
So we wandered around again and finally went back hotel at 11pm++. After some resting, it was time to hit the jackpots again.
It was 'play now or never'.
But this time, my luck was gone. I tried a very simple card game - Casino War - and lost US$20 in less than 3 minutes. Jackpots didnt give me big wins either.
In the end, i lost what i've won the previous day, but the 2-day casino trip made me lost a net of about US$5. So quite okay still.
But the biggest winner would be YL with a big win of....
US$25 one time. Win already like that. Beat my record of US$13.62 from one pull.
Back to hotel at about 1am, very tired.
Overall, Las Vegas is a very vibrant city, with lots of glitz, glamour and entertainment throughout the streets. Casinos filled the city and there are many shows available, be it musical, magic and even strip shows. Ha. It is definitely a city with lots of night life, especially with casinos operating 24 hours a day...
And the next day, we left the 'Sin City' and were on the road again.....
Previously:
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
In transition
Orlando, Florida
New York, New York
The Very Last Week
Reminiscing Cedar Point...
Niagara Falls Trip
Cincinnatti + shopping Trip
Trip to Aurora, Ohio
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