Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World

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I can only speak for myself but, I think, Las Vegas is the most interestingly extravagant and fancy city I have ever been to in the US of A. It's true! Las Vegas is the disneyland for adults! It is the entertainment capital of the world, like they say. I truly enjoyed the sights; though, ofcourse, I am against prostitution and gambling. Walking the Las Vegas strip was a lot of fun. I like the colorful lights, the extravagant effects on outdoor shows at the hotels, and the varied themes in each and every hotel in the strip. I was lucky to enjoy Las Vegas twice! I have actually already stepped on Las Vegas soil just a few weeks ago. Long story, but the point is, I have already taken a flight from Las Vegas on my visit to my aunts in Dallas, Texas.

There's snow in the desert?!

One afternoon, we drove to Mt. Charleston. It was a treat for us people from Manila to see snow! I noticed an irony though, I have seen cactuses and very, very dry land but after that, next thing I know, I was walking on a snow-capped mountain! We kept on slipping because of the ice. We enjoying fooling around and throwing balls of snow at each other.

New Years Eve in Vegas

I spent New Years Eve with Dessa's family and my workmates. Glen, Jon and I were "adopted" by Dessa's family for the holidays. We all stayed at the Circus Circus Hotel. All the other hotels were fully booked. I never thought a lot of people would flock to Las Vegas that time of the year. Maybe I am just so used to the fact that in the Philippines, families stay at their homes for the New Year's Eve. Superstition says, where you spend your New Year's Eve is where you will be spending most of your time in the coming year. That's why families usually stay at their own homes.

Dessa and I wore fancy, glittery hair bands with the words "Happy New Year!". We all spent a lot of time at the nickel slot machines because that's all we could afford to gamble with! I am no gambling fan -- just doing this for the fun of it. It's not surprising that I lost around 5 bucks. I'd rather spend my money on the fabulous buffets in Vegas. The selection is almost infinite! Ahhh.... food.... love, love food! (I think it was here in Las Vegas where I first fell in love with the concept of buffet restaurants.)

The fireworks were fantastic -- I mean really fantastic, like nothing I have ever seen before! Every hotel/casino rendered their own fireworks display. It was said that Las Vegas spends half a million dollars annually for this.

Revisting Vegas - 2 months after

My boss, Sir Art and his wife, Tita Nora, took all of us to a day trip to Las Vegas. In his Ford Expedition, we took our seats excited as excited (heated) electrons. I was with my workmates Ochie, Lyn, Resty, and Rommel. They are first-timers so Las Vegas I deliberately assumed the job as their tour guide (albeit, amateur) for the whole day in Las Vegas.

Something funny happened to my coworker. While in the middle of our slot machine gambling, I noticed a cocktail woman approach Rommel and asked for his ID. He obliged, and a few moments after that, we saw him walking out with the cocktail woman. We freaked, we followed them, and then we asked Rommel what was going on. He said the cocktail woman escorted him out because he is under the age of 21, which is illegal to be in the casino's gambling premises. Actually, he is just one day behind his 21st birthday! He said he argued with the cocktail woman that he was born in the Philippines and that technically he has already turned 21 considering timezone differences. Nahh! Too bad his charm didn't work. Haha!

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Photos

Luxor Las Vegas Resort Hotel and Casino
We are not in Egypt, just in Las Vegas

Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino
One of my favorites. Also, one of the most famous hotels in the world. I took this picture in its underground mall with statues of Roman gods and goddesses.

Happy New Year!
Spent the night at Circus Circus, all the rest are fully booked. But the next day, we were able to stay at MGM. It is much bigger and better.