Today I had a very lazy day with me not getting up in time for the Aria breakfast buffet, so I went to the Aria lunchtime buffet instead. There's plenty of food to choose from and its all very good. The service was a bit lousy though, the woman behind the desk needed to write my name on a piece of paper but couldn't understand my accent. My single-syllable surname being too much for her I had to take the pen off her and write it myself.
Dessert selection was good :)
There's a CSI place in the MGM if you're interested in the show it's quite good fun. I'd already done the one on the Gold Coast so didn't bother with this one. I hear it's the same anyway.
If you want to sell guns, use hot women. Why am I out in the middle of nowhere? It wasn't to photograph this.
Stupid things to do in Vegas....
Now not far from the MGM is the Pinball Hall of Fame, which has an immense selection of pinball machines and a place I really wanted to visit. Now I could have caught a cab, or waited for a bus but I decided to walk it after all it looked do-able on the satellite imagery. The reason for doing this is that I tried a walk the last time I visited from a small off-strip rollercoaster to the Stratosphere that I had to abort because it was just too hot, and I vowed I'd not let Vegas beat me.
Vegas beat me again. I gave up the walk half way along the 3 mile walk to the venue and got fed up waiting for a bus. I guess they just don't run that often. I have no idea what this old woman also waiting for the bus would have thought of some dumb tourist walking miles only to turn and walk back.
I've added it to the list of reasons to come back.
I wonder why people would travel out to visit this? Can't be the poker, that's everywhere. Can't be the food as it lacks any Michelin starts. Can't be the spirits. Must be the BJs.
Back at the MGM. I've now seen both those shows! Yay! There was a third show that is now only found on the internet of a guy taking a dump of the MGM Grand letters up there. Search the net if you don't believe me. I'll stick to rollercoasters for my thrills I think :)
The MGM has TV studios for popular shows. You can get discount tickets as you enter the casino.
The creepiest of the dress up people was easily this Chucky who just stood still most of the time.
A rather poor photo of the Goreatorium, which is Eli Roth's haunted walkthrough attraction. I was thinking on going to this before heading out but when I got there I lost the will to do so. Perhaps better to do in a group than solo.
This is the ringmaster to the Absinthe show. I'd be seeing this in a couple of days.
Another themed slot game. I took this to remind me that the US version of the show doesn't have randoms holding the boxes.
Exactly. This'd easily get more viewers than Noel's chums.
Fat lazy people can still be found in Vegas. These are actually available to hire. Next time I'm doing that and riding to the Pinball Hall of Fame.
Chinese lanterns within Caesers.
This part of the casino floor was desolate, perhaps because the band of which its named are no more. I can't see Nicole Schwarzenegger, or whatever her name is, doing solo shows here now.
Stunning fountain hidden within the maze that is Caeser's Palace.
Not so stunning fountain, but this one is the animatronic one that comes to life if you wait around long enough...I didn't. I've seen it before.
Now that's a shop front.
More bad costumes. The reason for taking these from so far away is because it's impolite to take their photos and not tip. I wasn't going to give them a dime so I kept my distance. Get a proper job, don't just stand in a bad costume.
Spiral escalators! Every time I'm here I'm obliged to ride them.
This is Gilley's which looked like a nice steakhouse and was going to be my choice for pre-show dinner but when I went in and saw that most of the venue was an open line-dancing floor I decided that I wasn't the right clientele for that place.
I ended up having a nice chicken dinner at another restaurant in the place, called Stack. Great bar staff here who seemed to be working nonstop and who could do with a break.
This is the Beatles Cirque show. You can read about that on the next page.
The cirque themed Revolution bar is supposed to be linked to the Beatles show nearby but was playing hip hop. A little bit weird.
As an incentive to get people playing some of the casinos offer cars as prizes. The likelihood of it ever being won though has to be slim. They'd have to replace the car with a new one to keep people playing and I doubt they have a stocked garage anywhere.
The tram that takes you between Mirage and Treasure Island.
"Well I guess we never need visit Venice now..." (sigh)
Little tip when leaving the Cirque show. Expect crowds. Something to bear in mind if you're doing back-to-back shows.
The Wynn at night. Would be a great photo if it wasn't for the casino.
This is the ticket machine for the Deuce, which is a bus service that runs the full length of the strip and then heads up to Freemont St for the old original casino. For a few dollars you can buy a 24-hour pass. This is probably the best way to get around.
Now in all the times I've been to Vegas I'd never visited Fremont Street and decided that I would this time.
There are some of the casinos I recall from old films and Grand Theft Auto.
A few years ago they installed a video ceiling over some of the street. This was cool but I don't think the real show was running. I'd seen better clips on Youtube and on Con Air. New for this year was a series of ziplines running the length of the street. Whilst not fully built (rumour is that you leave from a giant slot machine that hasn't been built yet) the attraction was popular with people zipping down every few minutes.
Here's the ticket office located at the Eastern end of the light tunnel.
For nightime fun I decided to go to Insert Coins a great bar with video games galore to play. Around the exterior are a number of old vintage games (Shinobi anyone?) and above the bar, the latest PS3 and Xbox games. Just exchange your ID for a controller and you can play for as long as you're drinking. A DJ playing some great music provided aural accompaniment.
I drunk quite a bit and played quite a bit, but still got my butt kicked at Tekken. Yes, it's clearly the geekiest establishment in Vegas but its a great place and there were actually more women than men when I visited. Geekettes :D
Elsewhere in the area there were a couple of live events going on. The live band were pretty good, and up the other end a DJ had the crowd line-dancing. Sigh!
The 2 most famous bits of neon in the world.
I actually really enjoyed Fremont Street. It's not as clinical or opulent as the strip and has a charm that you'll never see down there. The entertainment was alright, and free, and that bar was great. I'll definitely go back.
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