Peromyscus: Las Vegas Trip 1/4

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Las Vegas Trip 1/4

Boy, Las Vegas has changed.

Or I have.

Or both.

Another glimpse at the supports underlying
the machine

I first went to Las Vegas in the mid-nineties. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I like to see what goes into making a spectacle. What goes on underneath Disneyland or in a projection room or why a graphic artist chooses whatever style they use. Vegas, with its Big Top circus, Treasure Island galleon battles, dancing fountains and real centurions and Roman serving girls, was a must-see.

Treasure Island galleon, current trip

Treasure Island white galleon, current trip

Treasure Island has partially rebranded
itself as "ti".

This is the sort of thing I came to photograph -
These stairs lead underwater to the white galleon. Food
for fictional thought.

At that time, the nineties, Vegas was hurting. It was sleazy, it was cheap, and it was tawdry. This is a great combination for a tourist. For instance, you’d get those $10 all-you-can-eat brunches, which were laid on because the casino was terrified that, if you didn’t get breakfast, you’d get up, go outside, see the sun and then be overcome with a desire to rethink your life like Elan Sleazebaggano in Attack of the Clones and never go back to the casino floor.

Isn't this where Elan Sleazebaggano hung out? Something something pari-mutuel racing.

(Of course, being new to America then, all all-you-can-eat experiences were marvels to me. Back then, when I discovered Sizzler I thought it was the Best Thing Ever, and boy, when I first encountered a Dollar Store, I think I bought one of everything in it, because everything was so danged cheap. In England, we had been using Viz’s Salad Thief on our single trips to the salad bar.)

A salad thief

The last few times I’ve visited Vegas, it’s been rich and powerful and the gigantic buildings and inlaid marble floors are a testimony to how much money they can ease out of punters’ pockets. (Though for some reason half the escalators don’t work.) I remember around 2007 being regretfully(?) told that a restaurant was fully booked for the evening, which I suspect was because we were not wearing formal clothes rather than there’d been a sudden run on Prime Rib dinners. The sleazy dive had gone upscale. The last time I was here was 2010, when Hyundai Hyundai was a new car and we made the trip to see my favorite band, though at that time I only managed to take in the Dead Weather, Paris Hotel, Nobu and a finishing flourish of Them Crooked Vultures.

Cosmopolitan's a bit eerie in the rain

Since then Vegas hasn’t had another of its sudden dai kaiju-like growth spurts. One hotel, the Cosmopolitan, was new this trip and there were several deep pits that presumably will be buildings soon, and one almost built giant fortress but the growth tip of the Strip is still maxed out at Mandalay Bay, currently facing nothing much across the way. The previous high-water mark, the almost lunatic folly of the Luxor pyramid and hotel, is still there but looking a little dusty as the sand has blown across it (as it has the original pyramids and original Luxor in Egypt, over rather more years). The aging vertex of Vegas didn’t matter as this time we didn’t stay at the meristematic end of the Strip, but at Caesars Palace.

Caesar in his palace

The centurions and serving girls were not in evidence this time, alas, but there were a number of shops inside where one could buy a jacket or a watch for several thousand dollars. Caesars is also well-suited for trips outside, if you can find a way out, since it is in the middle of the Strip and close by the Flamingo, Cinq, Harrah’s and Bellagio. Being near these means you are also near the rather sad monorail that runs behind the strip, to and from the Convention Center.

Monorail terminus

Linq. The bright thing on the right is a display sign at Caesars.

Linq, with the right-hand display showing a Caesars' column.
It's quite mindbending as you walk past it.

Harrah's

Caesars statuary

There's something about classical statue women in showgirl outfits
that isn't right. Their bodies are a bit too athletic, I think. (Pictures in our hotel room.)