Viva Las Vegas!!

I am a complete hypocrite I know, but..........I LOVE VEGAS! It is so utterly opposite to my views, ideals, conscience and yet I can’t help but marvel at the place. It’s like the materialist in me has suddenly been let loose on a wild awe binge and I don’t know how to control it! 

We arrived in the dark. From over ten miles away we could already see the billions of  lights creating a glow that hovered beneath the black sky. There was one giant beam that shone out and moved around; like an air raid search lamp. Getting closer, the excitement began to build. I couldn’t quite believe I was so close to Las Vegas. Off the bus we caught a taxi down to our hotel. As we sped past the hotels, casinos and shops my mouth stayed firmly open. Everything was SO big! Each hotel went on for blocks and had sprawling entrances which were attractions in themselves. Ollie had warned me how vast the strip was but until you see it with your own eyes you can only imagine. The lights aren’t invasive or annoying. Instead I felt like a moth unable to tear myself away from staring at them.

Ollie and I stayed at the Luxor hotel. It is a giant black pyramid decked out as if it’s in Egypt with many statues of the Sphinx, Kings and Hieroglyphics. As we pulled up I let out a little shriek. It was our hotel that was flashing out the huge beam in the sky! The top of the pyramid was lit up bright white and was shooting out the light. We had definitely chosen a pretty awesome hotel for our stay!

Even though we had arrived pretty late we decided to make the most of our time. We took a shower and then headed straight onto the strip. I literally could not believe the size of each hotel. They had casinos, shopping malls, theaters, attractions, crazy architecture and every one had a different theme. Everywhere I looked there was something that caught my eye. From the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower and Venetian river to huge pirate ships, fountains and even a Colosseum! Las Vegas is so ridiculous you can’t help but warm to it! The money these places must of cost to build, the time and attention to detail. The absurd at the absurdest end of the elephantine scale! 

Did we gamble? Yes. A little bit. But probably the least any couple has ever spent gambling in Vegas! At first I was excited to go on the slots and pulling the lever was a great novelty. But as I lost one dollar and then the next and then maybe two more I suddenly started to feel awkward. In the space of five minutes Ollie and I had put $10 into a machine and had nothing to show for it. Just like that the money had gone and to what purpose? We walked through lots of the casinos during our time there but nothing could get me to part with much money. Ollie was slightly more eager but even he couldn’t really see the point. We were both too scared to go and sit at a table because neither of us have ever really played in a Casino before. I was sure I would accidently touch something I wasn’t meant to or we’d annoy other players around by doing something wrong! As I heard the bills go into machines and the sounds of ‘Game Over’ I just wondered how much money people were losing at any moment. O.k. so there are some winners but there’s a reason the hotels are so amazing. Their casinos must be making billions. Eventually on our second night I admitted to Ollie that I just couldn’t gamble any more money. It depressed me too much. It seemed such a waste. When you’ve driven past miles of adverts for bankruptcy and loans to get to Vegas you kind of lose the ‘It could be me’ feeling. There are far better ways to use money I’m sure.

One annoying thing about the Casinos was that they weren’t non-smoking. Our eyes began to water each time we went into one and after about half an hour we were dying for some fresh air. I’m sure they would save a lot of money on refurbishment if they enforced a ban. However I wonder how much money they would lose out on if people had to leave their machine for a fag break.

I did love the amazing fronts to the hotels. We saw a great Volcano show outside the Mirage. Laver and fire flew everywhere! The fountains at the Bellagio are pretty spectacular too and we saw a super performance of them to the Pink Panther Theme. The power of the jets was incredible. Water shot so high and with a massive bang that sounded like fireworks. It was immense! The pirate show at Treasure Island was very odd, was very American. It was ‘Sirens vs Pirates’ and although the diving and ship sinking was cool, the acting and songs were terrible. I had to laugh. I think the girls were supposed to be provocative but they looked more like they had just raided some 90 year old French woman’s moth eaten dressing up box. Ollie said the show used to be better as far as he remembered!

One of my favourite moments in Vegas was seeing the Lion cubs at the MGM grand. After getting over the fact that they were in captivity in a blimin’ casino, I did manage to see a nicer side. The lions were so tame and the two handlers could play with them fearlessly. They stroked them, ruffled their fur and threw balls for the cubs to mess around with. One lion even wrapped his paws around a handlers arms like a hug. It was very sweet to see such trust. Like the two really were friends. I don’t agree at all with keeping cubs in a glass box surrounded by money slots but they looked happy...

The Fremont street experience was something we had heard about before we got to Las Vegas. Situated at the north end of the strip, quite far away from the main hotels, but near the Golden Nugget, is a street with a $70 million dollar light canopy above it. Every hour this canopy suddenly bursts to life in full colour and gives a ten minute incredible performance. We saw a Queen display which was fantastic. Lights, graphics and pictures exploded on the roof, all in time with the booming music. Total awesomeness!

After two days I am ready to live this city. Although I loved the crazy idea and nature of it, it definitely begins to strain after a couple of nights. There is no day or night here. Everything is 24hrs and the party literally never stops. It’s exhausting! I could get all moral and comment on what a money making scandal and over indulgent, greedy place Las Vegas is but there is another side to consider. Vegas gives employment to thousands of people. I couldn’t begin to guess how many staff worked at even just our hotel. There are so many jobs. And even though the sentiments the city is built on seem to me pretty bad, there’s no denying it keeps a roof over so many heads. Ollie and I did come up with a plan though of how Casinos could easily donate to charity (more than they may do already) without seeing a dent in their profits. We tried to add up how much a casino might make in a day but it proved impossible. Last year the Luxor paid out $750,000,000 in winnings. Perhaps that gives an indication of just how much it took itself!

Las Vegas is worth a visit for anyone. Even if you don’t agree with gambling, just the sight of that wonderful strip is enough to merit a look. Plus there’s so many other things to do...at a price of course! But I think the main thing that got me were the escalators in the street! It seemed so weird and yet after only an hour it became the most natural thing in the world. So if you don’t go for any other reason, go for the escalators!

9/11/11