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The Surly Mediterranean
February 5, 2010
Anyone who has made the drive from Southern California to Las Vegas is familiar with The Mad Greek. Since there are billboards for this restaurant every dozen miles or so, it would be hard not to at least be superficially aware of its existence. Located in Baker, California, The Mad Greek is arguably the most popular diner between Vegas and LA. Baker is also, inexplicably, home to the World's Largest Thermometer. I am not kidding and I have no idea why such an attraction exists. Anyway, since I'm fairly impatient and have no desire to hang out in the middle of Tweedledick, Nowhere ... I typically zoom by this small town at the appointed interstate speed limit, and not a single mile-per-hour faster. One day about 8 years ago, however, it appeared that I was overly-optimistic with regards to the fuel efficiency of my vehicle. I stopped in Baker to fill up my ... Read the full blog post...
Eating Out
February 2, 2010
If there is one universal culinary truth in Las Vegas, it is that our pizza sucks. It just flat out blows goats. As an East Coast transplant who used to enjoy good pizza on a very regular basis, this has always been hard to come to terms with. Along with blowing goats ... a hobby I have picked up since I moved here. When I lived on the far west side of Vegas, there was a joint called "Villa Pizza" at Durango and Desert Inn which was actually pretty good -- but not good enough to keep me in that hellacious neighborhood of bored lawn nazis with whom I was constantly at odds. I tried to organize a homeowner's uprising at one point, but all of my neighbors were so browbeaten into submission that they quivered and soiled their pants at the mere mention of the name of the HOA. It's been a very ... Read the full blog post...
Hash House a No Go
January 30, 2010
The Hash House a Go Go is an off-strip joint that has had somewhat of a cult following for many years, and late last year they finally opened a restaurant inside of the Imperial Palace. The far-flung location of this eatery (Rainbow and Sahara) has always prevented me from becoming a routine patron of the establishment, but its new location mid-Strip allowed me to finally get around to giving it a fair shot. This morning, I happened to be out and about by myself when hunger struck, and I've always felt that eating solo was highly underrated. I never really caught on to the eating-as-a-social event thing. Why do people get together to talk at the precise moment they plan on having food in their mouths? It's kind of like going to the proctologist after downing a full bar of Ex-Lax. When I eat, I don't like to talk, I like to ... Read the full blog post...
The World’s Greatest Smartphone
January 16, 2010
Now that CES is officially in the books, it is time for a definite assessment of the state of technology, and who better to write such an article than yours truly. The New Year was rough from an electronic standpoint, and I rang in 2010 with a bit of technological discontent. My Blackberry has become too slow, the outages have been too numerous, and because of this I've spent a large part of the last week seeking its replacement. I swore up and down that I was not going to get another smartphone, but the temptation was too great. I bought the hype and I got caught up in the buzz. Droid! Nexus One! Samsung HD! iPhone GS! Here I was, the world's greatest blogger and smartest person in the solar system ... yet I had a laughable Blackberry Curve that I purchased in early 2008. The only thing ... Read the full blog post...
In Defense of the Tribute Band
January 15, 2010
Throughout 2009, I have really enjoyed a large number of the tribute and cover bands that have become a mainstay on Fremont Street. Last week, I finally got around to looking at my full footage from New Year's Eve, and I went over some of my TributePalooza videos. Now, I know some people who do not like tribute bands on principal. They believe that they are inauthentic, and generally look down their noses at these bands. Personally, I generally disagree with this position. If any group of musicians on the planet play solely "for the love of the music", it is the tribute/cover band. Think about it. When you are in a tribute band, you are acutely aware of a few things: First of all, the tribute artist knows that he or she will never get radio airplay, nor will they ever see their faces on MTV. Second, the artist knows that he/she will never get a recording ... Read the full blog post...
A Royale Facelift
January 12, 2010
While the tourism focus has been on City Center lately and Fremont Street and the Venetian have gotten their moments of seasonal love ... one small development on The Strip has flown almost completely under the radar. At the end of last year, Casino Royale remodeled many of their guest rooms, added a new neon sign to the exterior of the building, and a week ago they opened an improvement/extension to their casino floor. Even though this isn't exactly an earth-shattering development, I still think it's notable. While most older properties are scaling back and looking for ways to cut costs, Casino Royale is actively putting money into the casino in an attempt to spruce the place up a bit. This is even more impressive given its low-roller, redheaded stepchild reputation. Although I've always known the place as Casino Royale, the property used to be known as the Nob Hill Casino, and before that ... Read the full blog post...
The Naked Truth
January 11, 2010
Convention week is in the books, and it's all over now but the counting. The people will be counted, the money will be counted, and sometime next month numbers will be released indicating just how well the decade was started. It's also time for my own wrap-up and observations. From my own subjective point of view, the city crowds over the last several days have been decidedly thin. While there were certainly more people here than on an average weekend, the casinos and especially the streets didn't seem nearly as packed as usual for this time of year. It was actually possible to get a cab, and travel times even on Paradise was quite manageable. The AEE was jammed full of people, but the convention space itself was reduced, so a direct comparison to last year would be nearly impossible. It's like comparing eight people in a phone booth with fifteen people in a ... Read the full blog post...
Entertaining Adults
January 10, 2010
AEE 2010 is in full swing, and so far ... so great. I was a bit worried when I arrived at the Adult Entertainment Expo on Thursday and saw the sparseness of the crowd. Even though it was industry day, things seemed a bit light. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded as things quickly turned around when the masses arrived on Friday. While I have not been apprised of the official numbers, it feels more crowded this year than last. For some reason, traffic between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo Center has been much lighter than years past, but once inside the building, there is certainly no shortage of people. It almost seems as if conventioneers are skipping CES and spending most of their time at AEE. I can't say I blame them. While I'm not a huge convention buff, the AEE is a show that I look forward to ... Read the full blog post...
No Good Deed
December 29, 2009
About a year or so ago, I visited a property that shall remain nameless. As I walked through Nameless Hotel and Casino, I passed a security guard who nonchalantly said "Hi, Vegas Rex". I looked up, realized I had never seen the gentleman before, and said "Hi, do I know you?" "You don't know me, but we are notified as soon as you walk in", he said. "That doesn't sound good", I hesitantly responded. The guard went on to explain to me that they were instructed to leave me alone unless I was doing something disruptive. They knew that I was not a terrorist and the casino didn't mind being written about, as long as it wasn't in the context of "... where I was beaten by a security guard". Believe it or not, some places actually want the publicity of my being somewhere. Especially if I write about it. Of course, this was one ... Read the full blog post...
Tons of Silver
December 21, 2009
After two weeks of City Center/Bellagio/City Center/Sahara/City Center/Planet Hollywood/City Center (note the pattern), I decided to get out of town this weekend. Fortunately, when your sphere-of-being is the geographic area between Fremont Street and the Mandalay Bay, "getting out of town" requires little more than crossing the I-15. On Saturday morning, I gave serious consideration as to my casino choice of the day. I didn't just want to go someplace far. Red Rock Station is "far", but I've already been there a hundred times. I wanted to go someplace unfamiliar. A place with a different flavor. A place to lift the burnout of PR speak, over-saturation, and talking points. A place that didn't have a Twitter account. A place void of scenesters, trendsters, and those who are hipper-than-thou. Someplace that was not on the radar of a single talking head within a 100 mile radius. I double clicked the ever-present Las Vegas casino ... Read the full blog post...
