Viva Las Vegas

Vegas is not at all what I expected it to be. It's like a Disneyland for adults plopped down in the middle of a desert. The chance of winning hundreds or even thousands of dollars await you in the vast number of slot machines that greet you at the airport. It's fascinating to watch people sit in front of a box with spinning wheels as they hit the buttons over and over again hoping to make it big. I'm more intrigued by the number of senior citizens that play these slot machines. Hopefully they are not spending their life savings away.

It's a strange place to have a conference with so many distractions. We stayed at the Palms which is a mile off the strip and supposedly a hangout for celebrities. I don't know why they would hang out there because it wasn't that impressive to me at all. My guess is less visibility due to its location and the rooftop club called the Ghostbar. Two of the nights that we were interested in checking out this club, it was closed to a private party. Quite frustrating to many, but it didn't stop people from having fun. I did hear of skinnydip Tuesdays at the pool, although I never decided to take a dip so I don't know if it was true. The house specials at the Little Buddha restaurant inside the hotel are quite strong and certainly loosened up some folks.

I have to say the service at the Palms was dismal. Rooms were pretty ordinary and service was slow. They tried to charge me for room service and a $4 bottle of water I did not order. And I wasn't the only one. Several people in our group had extraneous charges tacked onto their bill. The Bellagio and the Venetian are much more impressive.

The smoking in the casinos really bothered me. I hated that all my clothes and hair smelled like smoke. Everyday my eyes were bloodshot like I had been drinking heavily the night before, which I suspect the smoke was irritating my eyes.

What I did enjoy is the view of the mountains in the background and the lights on the strip. The water show at the Bellagio is also very impressive. Synched to music the water fountains display an entertaining show every 15 minutes. It has been featured in the movie Ocean's Eleven at the very end (for those who are movie buffs.) Unfortunately I did not have time to go see a show, but if I were ever to visit Vegas again that would be on my things-to-do list.