Why bother visiting Paris, London or New York City when you can get the genuine imitation on the famous strip in Vegas? Since the late eighties when the grandest attraction was Caesar’s Hotel Forum Mall (more than 150 stores in an indoor Roman styled arcade), amusement park rides near MGM Grand and the Tropicana, competition amongst hoteliers has propelled them to build outrageous attractions.
You can see the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, Big Ben, canals of Venice and ride enormous roller coasters, play at the Warner Bros. Theater, see live lions and aquatic wonders. Vegas is also kiddy friendly for those losing gambler parents who are in a slump. European families walking the strip, camera and children in tow was not an uncommon site. If you start them at ten on beer and wine, what do you expect? By fifteen they ought to be expert high rollers.
Welcome to Egypt
Arriving in the evening is stupendous. Not that time matters in this city. There are no clocks anywhere and all windows in hotels are shut tight in case anyone thinks of suicide they haven’t got a chance. Driving up and down the renovated strip to find a hotel we chose the most eye boggling, gauche attraction, the Hotel Luxor, where we spent two luxurious evenings.
It’s an Egyptian replication including glass pyramid, Sphinx, tombs, mummies, sarcophagus and yes, sand. Celebrating my first anniversary at an extravagant casino felt like Alice in the looking glass because my nacient gambler of a husband cashed in quick! His method was order in chaos. Slotting his way through one machine and winning, he moved along to cash in on a round of slots where others had paid in full walking away in disgust as they lost their lives to the devil inside the machine.
There’s a lot to do besides gambling in Las Vegas despite what you may think. Shows, sports (boxing is big) events, concerts, theater, comedy and excellent dining options exist in this dessert city. We attended the world’s greatest live animal show presented by Ziegfried & Roy, lion tamers. White lions, tigers and elephants, all endangered species appeared onstage performing to the wave of full-scale magic pyrotechnique tricks. If you men like exotic shopping and long to be like Nicolas Cage then go to the outlandish Los Angeles outpost of Bernini’s and pick up an ostrich leather midi coat or a full-length sable. Contact them at: http://www.bernini.com or bernini@bernini.com. Located at the Caesar Palace Hotel in the Forum Mall.
The Hoover Dam
Driving out of Vegas the first big thing you see is the Hoover Dam. And damn it’s huge! This monstrosity was built by thousands of laborers in the 1930s that got paid a pretty penny for their efforts. The Dam was completed after the Great Depression of 1929 so those hardhats working on the Dam profited quite a bit. It was dedicated to President Roosevelt in 1935 upon completion. It permanently altered then rerouted the Colorado Rivers’ water flow providing more than 18 million people living in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tuscon, Arizona and Las Vegas with drinking water. Until that point in time, such a massive project had never been attempted. On a tour to the belly of the dam I almost fell asleep by the barrage of statistics rattled off by the guide. If you can ignore the Newtonian fascination with numbers it’s a worthwhile way to spend some three hours, if only to see the insides of the structure. Here’s what I remember: the height of the Dam is 221 meters, the crest length is 379 meters, the crest width is 13.7 meters, the base width is 201 meters and the volume of concrete is 2.6 million cubic meters. Now do I get a lollipop? Please?
Visit http://www.hooverdam.com for fascinating details about reclamation.
Boulder City, Nevada
Passing through this town on the way towards Arizona we stopped for lunch at Happy Days, an American 1950’s relic. It’s worth a detour if only to see the Elvis Presley memorabilia, original Coke machines and collectibles of a bygone era. The food was terrific as well.
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