03/05/10 and 04/05/10 - Las Vegas

Right, we have been in Vegas for a day and a half now and it is a very bizarre place.

When we first set out for the strip we got a little lost. We could see the casinos etc but could not get across a dual carriageway and actually get there. We found a bridge to get across the road, but that took us to the car entrance to a huge hotel. From there we took what looked like a set of service stairs down to the ground level and walked on road entrance to the hotel to get to some form of footpath.

When on the actual strip we were almost instantly confronted by people shouting “water, one dollar...” over and over, people handing out leaflets for shows and then the girlsgirlsgirls people. They are everywhere! All of them clicking their fingers, flipping these call girl cards around and trying to get you to take them. The first one or two you shake your head or say no, after that you just ignore the lot of them.

The first casino we went in was Planet Hollywood, a very flashy place with an open interior with geometric shapes lit in yellow or pink. I found the experience a bit of an assault on the senses. Lots of flashing lights, machine sounds, people everywhere, screens advertising some show or another, food, drink, shops, money.... We wandered around the strip checking out the different casinos, the architecture, the attractions and looking for somewhere that offered support for newbies like us.

Ignoring the slots the main games at most of the casinos are Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Poker. We found a casino that offered complementary lessons in Blackjack, Craps and Roulette and had a lesson in Craps. It is a fairly simple game in principle, but when you start talking odds and tactics things get pretty confusing. We didn’t actually play a game in the end as we were too confused to put our money down, but we did play some slots. We found a good way of getting drinks; if you are playing at a casino, even at the penny machines, you can get complementary drinks. So we played a dollars in the slots and had a few beers, or cokes in G0N’s case.

Once the sun sets, the lights of the strip really come into a world of their own. Every casino is trying to outdo the last, so it is spectacular. Of the lot, Paris and the ¾ size Eiffel Tower looks great... 

and the fountains of Bellagio are amazing. 

The fountains go off to a song and each jet is individually lit and moves independently. After the fountains we headed back to our hotel and got a bit lost once more. After walking on the lawn of New York New York and walking up the central reservation of a dual carriageway for a bit, we found our way back. We pretty much just went to bed after getting back as we had walked the best part of 10 miles around the town during the day. I ended up watching this really crappy film called “I love you man”. The only interesting point in this film is that it has Andy Samberg from Lonely Island in it. The plot was so predictable and it had the normal hollywood happy ending, which I really hate. The annoying thing is that I was just going to go to sleep to it, but ended up watching it all. In 1 word: predictable.

This morning we succeeded in getting onto the strip without issue and had lessons in Roulette, Blackjack and Craps (again) and stayed for a game of Craps. It was pretty good fun and we ended up actually making a few bucks. We quitted whilst ahead and went off down the strip, stopping off for a complementary drink at casinos along the way. We ended up at Venice, which has a shopping centre which has a venetian canal complete with gondolas. The funny thing is that this canal is on the second floor, inside the casino!

On our way back down the strip we stopped off for a game of blackjack. Good fun, fast and an easy way of losing money. I lost about $10 and G0N a little more, but it was fun. We made a little of it back on the slots in the next casino and after taking into consideration the fact that I have had about 5 complementary buds, we haven’t done badly at all. Currently we back to our hotel for a bit of a rest before heading back to take in some more of the night lights and attractions.

Cube out