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Published: September 4th 2008
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Famous Neon Cowboy
Vegas Vic still says, "welcome to Las Vegas" on Fremont Street. However, nowadays its The Strip that epitomizes Vegas. Viva Las Vegas
August 11, 2008:
I drove from Salt Lake City across the tip of Arizona into Nevada. In the border town of Mesquite I got a great room with some gambling money and that made me stay a few days. The towns near the state borders offer enticements to encourage participation in the legal gambling trade. But it's hard to get used to the heat and unlike Utah it doesn't cool down at night.
When you bring home a pizza, it's hotter than when it left the shop. Unlike Utah where the temperature cools down at night, it's still 90° F (33° C).
In Las Vegas itself, I spent the first week-end at the USAHostel but noticed after an internet search that I was paying more for a dorm bed with 7 other people than would cost me for a room at one of the casino-hotels. I got my own huge room at a Casino.
There are so many rooms in Las Vegas it would take 288 years for one person to spend one night in every one.
Even though the cheap $1.99 buffets have disappeared, there are still bargains around. For what you'd
pay for a Xtra lg Big Mac combo you can have an all-you-can-eat buffet in a large casino. And by registering for a casino card you get a small credit to gamble with for free (sometimes).
Fremont Street used to be the heart of Las Vegas. However now it is a popular pedestrian mall and offers "the world's largest television screen" overhead as the cover for the street. But only a block away is a low cost motel area, including USAHostel , and here you have to run the gauntlet of riff-raff, druggies and winos.
It's interesting that in the heat of the day (45°C, ie. 113°F, the other day) the druggies and winos still wait for the walk-light to change before crossing the road, even if no cars are in sight. The old joke about that you can identify a Canadian in New York city because he's the one standing at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change in the middle of a snowstorm can be modified for this area. I wasn't sure why.
I thought perhaps the derilects were obeying the traffic lights because it would give the poice an excuse to search them
Vegas Hostel
Same place, different angle. for drugs. But later, I found out the reason everyone obeys the traffic lights. There are lots of cameras on the streets just looking for an opportunity to dish out a $180 ticket for jaywalking via the police bicycle-patrol.
This last week of August features performers including rude and obnoxious Roseanne Barr, childish comic Carot Top and ho-hum Barry Manilow. To be fair there are lots of top acts as well, like Seinfeld, Cirque de Soleil, Bryan Adams and Chris Rock this long week-end.
The hotel-casinos on the strip are world attractions themselves.
The Wynn, Luxor, Circus-Circus, New York-New York are all among the most
thrilling eye events in the world.
As the week-end approached I moved to a different Hostel. Bargains aren't available on week-ends. This hostel was a converted 2 story motel with a small pool and was featured on a CSI episode a few years ago. The good thing about hostels is that unlike the Casino Hotels your get to meet a few people. There are some long term residents at the hostel either working or gambling.
Monday August 25, 2008:
Yesterday at noon, some fellow robbed Harrah's Casino. He gave
Same view Different scene
I moved from the hoStel to the hoTel.
Both have their plus factors. a note to the teller at the main cage and ran out into the crowd of tourists where he disappeared. They've got his photo but haven't caught him yet.
That night an old fellow flying an "experimental plane" crashed into a couples house and all where killed.
A week later another airplane crashed into a house. The local news showed meeting of the concerned residents.
Today as I'm writing in this blog, it started pouring
rain and hail in Las Vegas!. The temperature was 110 F just as the rain started and what is normally an ideal outdoor environment for homeless people became mass confusion. I never saw such a crowd of homeless people in the lobby with their meagre gatherings. A half inch of rain was the main feature on the TV news that evening.
I'm back at another hostel for the week-end. The extremes in accommodation is a transition I've gotten used to over the years. You do run into some interesting characters along with the backpackers. Some are working at the Casinos, ( there are no factories in Vegas) others are gambling.
One Swiss guy arrived on his motorcycle. He's been on the road
Plaza Hotel
I kept switching from hotel to hostel.
The comfort of the hotel versus the comradary of the hostel.
In 1971 this hotel opened with what was then the worlds largest casino. for two and a half years and was heading to Mexico then South America.
He has a website at:
www.travelpod.com/members/pajas
September 5, 2008
Las Vegas is an easy place to stay but it's time to move along.
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