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A Signature Tour
November 24, 2008
Il Fornaio at the New York New York
I had the pleasure of dining with friends Saturday night at the Il Fornaio inside the New York New York Casino restaurant area.
They have dining inside the restaurant, but we were seated in the 'outside' patio area which overlooks the gaming area and slots. It gives an outdoors feel but you are still in the middle of the action.
We were hungry but we didn't want to make the mistake of ordering a big meal and then wanting to cart around the left overs all night. We had plans to go and do things. Who wants to have to take the to go containers back to the room or carry them all night if your room does not have a refrigerator.
We settled on a great idea. We'd order two appetizers and one entre then we'd share everything. It worked out super. We all
... Read the full blog post...
Attell Sends Fan to Another Planet
Well, it was that time again, wasn't it? The Comedy Festival 2008! Wohooo! This year I thought I'd follow Clarissa, a Dave Attell fan, around at the Festival. She flew into town from up north just to see his show and meet with him afterward. Not that I"m not a Dave Attell fan, I am. I just love the guy. Somehow he can make total filth highly entertaining for all adult ages. I was looking forward to the show too! Dave's show was set to go off on time at 11:30pm. Yeah, you heard me, LATE. He was the last scheduled show of the Festival. I knew I was going to be up all night. I'm old, that is elderly abuse. Clarissa and I wandered around Caesar's Palace waiting for the show to begin. We'd go upstairs at the ballroom and eat a bunch of Twix candies they were handing out to everyone, ... Read the full blog post...
Saturday Night Fever
November 23, 2008
I had one. It was 102.1 degrees, but sometimes when I look out the window and see the casinos flickering in the near distance, I feel compelled to go over and just see what's happening. I had a car, but I didn't want to get on Las Vegas Boulevard, so I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino last night. I have some philosophical differences with the Hard Rock, and I am not what you would call a frequent patron, but the gaming is actually decent. The Hard Rock opened a poker room a few months ago, so that was my destination. If you haven't been to the Hard Rock poker room, you aren't missing anything in particular. The room is a few steps from the Pink Taco, and is otherwise fairly standard. Comfortable and nice, but standard. Actually, there is one unique and welcoming aspect of the room. The addition of a ... Read the full blog post...
So, Geraldo Rivera, Al Sharpton and Tommy Chong walk into a show
November 22, 2008
Ah, Cheech and Chong, icons of my generation. They were being roasted last night and I managed to finally get a ticket. I don't know what was up with those tickets. I tried to buy a week or so ago and they were not on sale. At least there was no link on Comedy Festival website. I tried a few days later and it said they were sold out. Tickets opened up yesterday afternoon and I paid the ticketmaster gouge price to get one. I had in my mind what a great show this would be and I wasn't going to miss it. Well, let's just say, it was no Friars Roast.
All in all it was more of cheap imitation of a Friar's Roast. Not that those shows are top quality entertainment or anything, but they are usually very funny and lots of great talent is involved
... Read the full blog post...
But there will be Leesssbians there
November 21, 2008
The Annual Comedy Festival is going on this weekend and I plan to make the very most of it this year! It started tonight. So I call up Pork Chop Boy and try to talk him in to going tonight.
"Oh, I dunno," he says. "But, but, tonight is Ellen Degeneres's show," he wasn't budging. "There will be leeesbiannns." HA! I had him. We grabbed a quick dinner and we hit Caesar's Palace early. Real early. I think we were there by 6pm. We had nothing planned. I just wanted to wander around and see who I could see. If we didn't find anything terribly interesting then the plan was we'd head out to the Silverton and review that. We hung around the Webcast area and took some photos and looked around. The Tonight Show was filming there. (No, ... Read the full blog post...
Rex: On Downtown Las Vegas
November 20, 2008
I have to make a confession. This is very difficult for me to admit, so bear with me. Okay, here goes … I don’t really hate Downtown Las Vegas that much. There, it felt good to get that off my chest. Lest you think I have totally lost it, I’m still not in love with the place, but I actually hate it less than I did as recently as a year ago. I used to go over there fairly infrequently, but lately I’m actually kind of digging it. And I think I know why. The Strip has lacked vibe lately. The tourists seem dead-eyed, the spark is gone, and it’s just not going off like it used to. Yes, yes, I know it is temporary, but that is just my observation of the here and now. At times, the difference between The Strip and Downtown can be like night and day. Downtown is usually crowded, but not in a hostile way. ... Read the full blog post...
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words
So here are a few thousand words. These photos were taken this morning. I thought the crane in the foreground was perfectly illustrative of the current state of Las Vegas. We are, indeed, “pumping concrete”. And dirt. And steel. And glass. In the foreground, they are building a fire station next to the new police station, which was just built directly adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center. They obliterated most of the Las Vegas Convention Center east side parking lot to make room for the fire station, but as you can see by the tourism numbers … fewer people were using the Convention Center … so they probably didn't need it. Also, the LVCC is on the fringe of a high-crime area, so I suppose it made sense to put some cops in the area to hand out jaywalking tickets. Coupled with the new fire station, it may very well become one of the overall safest areas in Vegas. Nonetheless, ... Read the full blog post...
Down and Out In Las Vegas
As most (if not all) of you have already heard, third quarter tourism numbers are out, and they are not great. Not cataclysmic, but still somewhat disappointing. These numbers more or less underscore the point of the Penthouse article in which I hypothesize that Las Vegas as a destination is becoming less relevant. Yes, the economy is bad everywhere, but Vegas was often thought to be “recession-proof”. Myself and my readers have often noted inconsistencies in the LVCVA's (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) numbers when they come out. It usually seems that, if anything, they are optimistic. Remember, the LVCVA promotes tourism. It's their job to polish the turd and put lipstick on the pig. They do their job well. Rest assured, however, that our local situation is almost certainly worse than the numbers let on. Our unemployment rate is over 7%, which is currently tied for the 5th worse in the nation … ... Read the full blog post...
My Name Is Rex, and I Am a Sigma Derby Addict
November 19, 2008
Admitting it is the first step ... After yesterday's stinging poker loss, I figured that today I would embark on a gambling endeavor with slightly less risk. Namely, the cult classic game known as “Sigma Derby”. Sigma Derby is a bit of a local's favorite, although tourists really like the thing too. I have a session at this game about once a week. There is just something relaxing, yet ridiculous about it. It's arguably the most stupid game ever to be invented, yet there is no doubt that it is also one of the most addicting gaming machines to have ever been invented. I used to divide my sessions between the MGM Machine, and the Derby machine at the New Frontier, but of course, both the New Frontier and their racing machine are long gone. In all likelihood, the MGM machine is on borrowed time as well. I don't know what I will do when they ... Read the full blog post...
