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Published: August 5th 2007
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If I had known that we could have seen the entire world whilst visiting only one city then we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and money by simply coming to Vegas. In the last few days we have been to Paris, New York, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Venice, been on safari, etc, etc.
Yes, Vegas is tacky to the extreme but it's quite nice.
We've only had the three nights in Vegas but it's served as an excellent recovery place as we now feel fit and raring to go again. We've managed to cover pretty much all the main things to do in Vegas.
First up, where to stay? The Bellagio? Mirage? Well, if you've been to Vegas then you'll know the busiest intersection is where the Tropicana, MGM Grand, New York New York and Excaliber meet. We didn't stay in them. Next door to the Trop is Hooters. Didn't stay there either. Next door to that is Motel 6. And just next to that is the cheaper American Best Value Inn that did us for under $40 a night. Very nice too.
We've had a few flutters. We've had a few goes on
the slots and the tables. The normal slots are juat daft. Normal Americans seem to be glued to these machines morning, noon and night. Eyes transfixed staring at the spinning reels, slowly gambling away their kids college tuition. We tended to stick to the 5 cent poker and blackjack ones that require a little skill in them rather than pure luck.
I turned $40 into $90 on a little Blackjack switch table. All the old skills from my mis-spent youth coming flooding back. I must be a little wiser now as once I got to $50 up I realised that that was our buffet dinner so called it quits.
Now, buffet dinners. They are something else out here. Picture the biggest and best buffet you've ever had (I know you're thinking of the evening spread at the Deane wedding extravaganza of 2005 by the way). Then think of the 2nd best and the 3rd and the 4th. Throw them all together and you can't even come close to the buffets that they put on over here in Vegas. We went to the buffet in Paris and it was incredible. A whole lot of food and all of it
good.
Showtime. In Vegas you've got to take in a show. We went for magic with Steve Wyrick. He was brilliant. Unbelievably good. He made planes and helicopters appear, motorbikes disappear and sawed women in half, etc but his best work was up close. His best trick was picking three random women in the audience (obviously plants) taking their rings and joining them all together like a linked chain. However, the second ring belonged to Mrs Deane. Her rock. And we got to see close up (as in, in our hands) that her ring was linked in with the others. No idea how it worked. We also got involved in a couple of his card tricks too. Great magician and we can thoroughly recommend his show if you're in town.
We've strolled the strip. It's so much bigger than you think. Longer than you think. And in this heat it is very tough. Very tough indeed. But it's impressive. All the casinos (enormous and vulgar and grand) lined up one after the other. Especially good at night with all the neon.
We've been up the Eiffell Tower. Mrs Deane has always bugged me about taking her for
a romantic trip to Paris. I can tick that one off now. I even took her for a free trip up the half size replica tower.
We've shopped for tacky souvenirs too. Picked up lots of little bits of rubbish to cram into our bags and take home. In many ways Vegas really is a bit like Blackpool.
To sum it all up, Vegas is something to everyone. Mainly tack and overdone grandeur. But it does exactly what it says on the tin. We're now good to get back out on the road again. Off to the Canyon this morning and then somewhere after that.
Not sure when the next blog will be due to internet access but I'm sure it'll turn up some time.
Bob Bob Billy Bob & Sue Ellen
P.S. The id front is getting better. Mrs Deane got id'd last night. Almost there.
P.P.S. We saw no ballers, players, pimps or ho's and only one Elvis. Not even a celeb. Missed LiLo by only a couple days as well.
COMPETITION TIME
Ladies and Gentlemen. I have a prize that neither money nor taste can buy and I'm giving it
away. The kind of prize that you could only get by travelling around the world and picking up bits along the way. This is the final blog competition so I want more than entries than previous efforts.
It's a quiz. You may have noticed (unless you're a little slow) that all the blog titles are song titles. I want all the artists up to and including this blog. There are a couple that aren't actual song titles. One very early on before I fully started the theme and one mistake from us (Mrs Deane should have known better considering she is the fan).
Just think, if you enter then you'll probably be the only one and therefore win. Good luck.
The deadline is our home date - 10/08/07.
Beer 169: Miller Draft, USA, Draught, 4.66%!,(MISSING) 4.0, really bad watery beer - that's why it was a dollar
Beer 170: Michelob Ultra, USA, Bottle, 4.2%!,(MISSING) 7.0, a decent effort for a big american lager
Beer 171: Sin City Stout, USA, Draught, 6.0%!,(MISSING) 5.0, I was expecting more from the Gordon Biersch boys.
Beer 172: Coors Light, USA, Bottle, 5.0%!,(MISSING) 5.0, Another poor big
american beer
Beer 173: Sin City Octoberfest Amber Ale, USA, Draught, 5.35%, 8.0, The Gordon Biersch boys back on track with this one.
Casino 1: Planet Hollywood, Royal Flush, our casino of choice. Friendly, nicely laid out and where we took in our show.
Casino 2: Paris, Two Pair, a little snooty in here and the casino floor wasn't the best. Did get free trip up the tower and buffet was great
Casino 3: Flamingo, King high, fairly shoddy casino showing it's age
Casino 4: O'Sheas, Three of a kind, More of a bar than a casino but nicely down to earth. Bonus points for the dwarf dressed as a leprachaun who walked the bar and poured shots into my mouth. Bodders would love it here.
Casino 5: Harrah's, Two pair, fairly poor place but allowed us shelter from a quick downpour
Casino 6: Casino Royale, Full House, nice and friendly staff with an excellent Blackjack switch game that allowed me to win $50
Casino 7: The Venetian, Three of a kind, didn't get too much of a look inside but top marks for decor outside
Casino 8: Bellagio, Flush, nice
gaff for Mr Bellagio. Looks cool and very nicely done but a little pricey and pretentious for our liking
Casino 9: Monte Carlo, Straight, Not a bad place and they even had a brew pub inside
Casino 10: Tropicana, Jack High, tries to be classy and misses by a long way. Only redeeming feature is the free playing cards we got.
Casino 11: Hooters, Two Pair, Very downmarket as you can imagine from a place run by Hooters. And not even cheap either
Casino 12: MGM Grand, Three of a kind, didn't gamble here but a very convenient air conditioned walkway that we use quite often to get to the strip
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Sara
non-member comment
Thicko alert
oh my god, i am an idiot, i didnt even realise all your titles were song titles!! i therefore count myself out of the comp already for being so slow! cant believe you are coming back in a couple of days - gutting i bet! catch up soon, safe trip back xx