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Shooting Las Vegas
February 27, 2010
"Why do you take so many pictures of the Stratosphere?" "Why do you take so many unflattering pictures of Las Vegas?" In the last few months, I've been hit with variations of these two questions on a routine basis. For some reason, there has been a burgeoning interest in my photographic habits. Why? I do not know. I think some of the questions are rhetorical critiques, but perhaps there is a legitimate question or two buried within the hundred or so queries over the past few months. The reason I don't respond to individual emails is because I don't respond to anything unless I make an effort to put some thought into it. I've never sent an email that says "LOL. Thanks." This is why I'm a bad Twitterer. I'm not brief. I don't cut-and-paste responses either. If I don't have the time to formulate a thoughtful, complete response, I don't respond at all. It ... Read the full blog post...
Oops! They Did It Again
Either stupidity knows no bounds, or this thing is being intentionally run into the ground. According to the Las Vegas Advisor link: "Monorail Fares Up: The bankrupt Las Vegas Monorail has raised its fares once more, increasing the cost of the unlimited-ride one-day pass to $14 (from $13) and adding $2 to the cost of the three-day pass, which is now $30. The single-ride fare remains the same, at $5." Honestly, I no longer think this is simply incompetence. From inception to execution, they have done everything wrong. Terrible route, terrible station locations, abominal fares, the abolition of discounted rides, the closure of customer service booths -- I've never seen a single group of people put their dick in the light socket quite as many times as the executives at the Las Vegas Monorail Company. You can pick any one of the individual missteps above and point to them as simple "mistakes" on the part of ... Read the full blog post...
Beach Clubbing
The largest eyesore south of Echelon Place is finally getting ready to disappear. Well, not so much "disappear" exactly, but it is finally slated to become something other than an eyesore. For the last several months, the construction at the base of the Encore Hotel and Casino has made the vacant lot directly across the street look downright appealing. Every time I have driven by the construction site (including today, the photos on this page were taken hours ago), I always feel surprised that Steve Wynn would allow such a fugly scene to play out in front of one of his signature properties. It seems so ... heterosexual. If I were building an addition to my property, I would have no qualms with digging the place up and parking dump trucks on the lawn, but Steve "I Need More Teeth Whitener" Wynn? Perish the thought. Alas, Steve took it upon himself to crap where he ... Read the full blog post...
On Cloud 9
February 26, 2010
Cloud Nine and I got off to a rough start. As a matter of fact, we got off on such a bad start, that I intentionally steered clear of giving this new ride a try. I'm a pretty unforgiving human being. Lately, however, the balloon has been tempting me. I've been passing the launch zone on a frequent basis, and the fact that I had not seen the view from the top was gnawing at me. Today, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to go up. I caved. As someone who has intermittently flown airplanes for the last 25 or so years, I think it's safe to say that I am not afraid of heights. I think it's safe to say that I am not a fearful person in general. I was a bike messenger who was hospitalized three times after being hit by vehicles, I've owned and ridden motorcycles, I've ridden ... Read the full blog post...
The Green-Eyed Monster
February 25, 2010
There's no better way out of a depressive funk than winning money. The perfect surge of adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins that accompany a huge win creates a euphoric rush that validates all of the time and losses one has endured gambling. A jackpot is the climax, the pinnacle, the elusive orgasm that happens when one wins the largest prize possible. At least that's how I imagine it. One of these days, I'm going to experience it first hand. Last night, after playing about an hour of Hold'em and getting extremely lucky (I finally rivered some poor bastard in a hand that I had no business being in), I decided to test my good fortune by plugging a few bucks into a Video Poker machine. When it comes to the sodomy that is getting rivered, I am almost always the catcher in this scenario. The fact that I was actually the pitcher for once seemed ... Read the full blog post...
A Tale of Two Pizzas
I have a confession to make. I've been a lousy neighbor. At least I have been in some respects. In 2009, I ate at the Wynn Buffet upwards of a dozen times, Paris a dozen more, the Bellagio probably ten times, Aria 3 times (not bad for two weeks of existence), the Stratosphere a handful of times, and I won't even attempt to count the times I've dropped $7 in the Sahara Buffet after jumping off the Monorail and walking home. Although I have lived in slightly-off-strip neighborhoods for about five years, when I look back at my expenditures, over half of my disposable income was spent in a major Strip property or in the area surrounding Fremont Street. I've never bought into the "I avoid tourist areas" mentality that many locals have adopted. Instead, I have embraced said areas. Hell, that's one of the reasons I moved here ... to avail myself of ... Read the full blog post...
Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
February 24, 2010
"Hey man, can you spare a couple of bucks?", said a voice from out of nowhere. Without breaking stride, I continued my walk on the pedestrian bridge toward the MGM Grand, and I quickly became aware that someone was following closely behind me. "What, you can't hear me?", the voice said more loudly. I looked over my shoulder to see a tall black gentleman with headphones and a box of what appeared to be CD's trailing about 5 paces behind me. I kept walking. "I don't need to ask motherf*cker, if I want your money I'll just take it!" Of course, his logic was flawed. If he could have taken my money, the fact that he didn't take it was prima-facie evidence that he didn't truly want my money. One might wonder why he even bothered to ask. Yes, this thought actually did go through my mind at the time, and while I was tempted to engage ... Read the full blog post...
Powerless to the People
February 23, 2010
Just when you think you've seen every gambling scenario imaginable ... This morning, I had to drag myself out of the house and back to the grocery store because I had forgotten to pick up a few items yesterday. I jumped in my Porsche with a double-barreled carb and a 357 Hemi (ask me about it!), and headed west to the area near Commercial Center. Almost immediately after walking through the front doors of the grocery store, the overhead lights went out. I was momentarily confused and disoriented. I've been alive for a long time, but I can't remember ever being in a large supermarket when the power failed. This was a first for me. A few seconds later, emergency lights kicked in, and the whir of cash registers and other machines broke the silence. I was still standing near the entrance, just observing this scene, when directly to my right I heard ... Read the full blog post...
Age Against The Machine
February 22, 2010
It's been one of those weekends. One of those weekends where nothing has gone right and I am pissed off at the world and everyone in it. Fortunately, I'm only in this mood 52 weekends out of the year, so things should turn around shortly. For whatever reason, I have had one hell of a frustrating weekend with regards to transportation around Vegas. Due to my dedication to stemming the effects of global warming, and to express my unconditional love for mother earth, for the first time in many months ... I decided to avail myself of a city bus on Friday. When I say "city bus", I do not mean a semi-functional line such as the Deuce or the 108 ... I am talking about a bus that primarily winds through locals-only areas of the city. While embarking on this trip, it never took me so long to go so short a distance in ... Read the full blog post...
The Bitch is Back
February 20, 2010
Sometimes I try to ignore news and not comment on them, but I've received more emails about this topic than just about any other story in the past several weeks. Well, with the exception of the axe murderer. For those who are unaware, a man attacked a small child and a couple of other people with an axe last week, and while the crime happened near (not in) Rexville, I really don't know what to say about it. Crime happens here all the time. The story simply got national press because it was a freaking axe. Had it been a gun, a knife, or a baseball bat, you probably wouldn't have heard about it. There are roughly 20,000 murders annually in the USA. This was one of them. They are all a shame. What more can be said? The other big story here in town is that another kind of murder will be ... Read the full blog post...
