VEGAS: 17th August (General) - Part 2

Day/Night 1: Wednesday 17th August (General - Part 2)

When you've just arrived in Vegas after a 15 hour door-to-door journey, including a 10-hour flight and lots and lots of WAITING, and you are recuperating in your hotel room - it's a bit like being a kid all over again on Christmas morning; except this time, you can get up and go downstairs to unwrap the presents whenever you want! The problem is, the sensible "parent" side of you feels you need to rest and wait just that little bit longer; while the kid in you is screaming to get out there to enjoy the delights!

Being the sensible, restrained type, I attempted the nap that I needed but, being completely unused to the hum of the air conditioning, didn't manage to get a great deal of rest and must have had forty-winks for just an hour or two after about 6:30PM. By this time though, I was ready to venture forth and to unwrap those presents! 

First on the agenda was just a quick once-over of my "home base"; that'll be a case of getting my bearings of the casino floor of Harrah's. Once I got the hang of this and worked out where everything was, including where the lifts were to my floor, it was time to hit the streets! Fortunately, the most relieving part of my first impression on walking out was that the heat outside was certainly bearable. Hot, for sure, but bearable. Also, far from being "dead" (which I heard, from some sources, was often the state of Vegas in August) this place was positively buzzing!

After getting used to so many members of the public drinking and smoking both inside and out, it quickly became clear to me that people are just here to have fun and that people are friendly and that the place is 99.99% safe. As an outsider coming to Vegas for the first time I was a little apprehensive but when it comes to safety it was like going back in a time-warp to the 1970s and to my seaside home-town of Bournemouth on a beautiful summer's evening where people are just strolling around and where a certain element of youth are just in high spirits and are happy to be there. The atmosphere was GREAT!!

Tonight was really about sticking to my itinerary and getting my bearings as to where things were on the strip. I also needed to get a sense of distances between the casinos and what was doable and what wasn't as far as covering those distances were concerned. My first "mission", therefore, was to visit all the casinos that were not equipped with a poker room and to pick up a $1 chip from each one. 

Casino Royale - This is the first casino you get to when heading north from Harrah's. It's a tight, compact, fairly dark and small casino. There is no pretentiousness about this place and you are right there on the casino floor as you step in straight off the street. Here I spotted the $1 margaritas and, after my visit to Palazzo, dropped in and joined the line. In fact, as I'd queued for such a while I ordered two! I guzzled down the lime one while sitting at one of the slots. (It's sweet flavoured slush basically but not a bad hit for a dollar.) Then I started on the strawberry one as I ventured back out onto the strip.

Palazzo - A walk north up past the Venetian and then up a long drive gets you to Palazzo which, in stark contrast to Casino Royale, oozes class and sophistication. As the sister casino to the Venetian all is opulence, golden and plush with a soft beige and golden decor to give it that added class. The Palazzo is spacious with plenty of room between table games to roam around in and this creates a more relaxed feel and is more conducive to taking your time. Many stylish and, no doubt, expensive restaurants circle the casino making it more a destination for the higher rollers.

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As I made my way back south down the strip, a rocky volcano type erection between Mirage and Treasure Island started rumbling and spewing forth lava (well, more like water with orange lights projected on it to make it look like lava) and this certainly livened up the walk and got the crowds buzzing. The east side of the street, dominated by the views of the huge Caesars Palace and Bellagio, are where the main concentration of crowds are. It's odd though, because you seem to walk for an age and yet still you have these magnificent buildings towering over you - testament, I guess, to their huge size and grandeur.

Paris - With the sky painted on the ceiling and subtle lighting effects streaming through to give it a surreal daytime glow, Paris certainly had a unique feel. (Later, I discovered this effect is used in many indoor places around Vegas.) With the legs of the Eiffel Tower breaking into the casino floor as well as a square with a fountain in the middle, fashionable cafes bustling for business and dark green roofs covering the table games, also gave Paris a bit of "war-time" character. The shiny cobble-stone floors as well as the dark green and gold pillars also gave the place a kind of classic 40s feel. 

 Cosmopolitan - This is the newest casino on the strip and unfortunately, due to its lack of character, was my least favourite of the five I saw today. Sure, it's sparkly and polished as you enter and the cascading crystals that drape downwards from the ceiling as you walk in is impressive. The shiny chrome screams affluence and expense, of course, but it just has the feel of yet another new night-club opening in town. Its long structure does make it easy to navigate, at least, but no amount of immaculately tended sparkle and polish will win me over. One for the chic, beautiful and very rich.


As I continued my exploration I noticed that Vegas certainly is very pedestrian friendly. Although it seems like you can wait an age for lights to change (and I was forever paranoid about getting nicked for jaywalking) they do make it very easy for you to get around. With its user-friendly walkways and beautifully maintained shiny sidewalks, the stretch from Cosmopolitan to New York/New York on the west side of the road is also probably the most uninteresting. The Aria, for sure, was impressive to look at from one of the walkways as it towered above but, unless you're into the architecture of skyscrapers or shopping malls, this stretch won't grab you by the balls.

New York/New York - This was the last of the non-poker room casinos and, like Paris, is a thematic casino based on a world-famous city. With its famous landmarks, its exterior is one of my favourites of the strip. As you would expect, its interior boasts many references and motifs of the Big Apple. It has many restaurants selling pizza, a few with the inevitable decor of the 50s diner and a few saloon bars. It has a few bars around the outside (including a few Irish pubs) and a large bar area in the centre. 

With the time at around 12:30AM, it was time to saunter back to Harrah's. I peaked into Bill's, O'Shea's and Flamingo on the way back but these were to be visited properly on another day. I finally arrived back at my hotel room at about 2:30AM and I realised I had only spent $9 since arriving ($5 for the chips, $2 tip for the Bell Trans driver and $2 for the margaritas). One last thing I liked about the whole exercise was that EVERY cashier made an effort to fish out the newest and nicest looking $1 chip. Yep, I think I'm gonna enjoy this place!