Finally, I get to do my final Vegas entry and get on to something else, blog-wise.

In past, infrequent excursions to casinos, primarily in the early 1990s (boy that seems like such an ancient year!) I tried my hand at a few card games, but the table limits have gone up, out of range since then. In my dreams I will someday have money to burn, but not yet.

Slots - In General

The slots are a different matter. Since the 90s they've added Penny Slots (yes, Penny!). They tend to have options to incrementally increase to higher amounts per spin, 1-cent, 2-cent...5-cent, 10-cent ... etc. Also, they have multiple play lines for added payoff possibilities. I always played the maximum number of pay lines (mostly 9) and varied the number of cents per line; when the going was good I played 5-cent lines, when things got slow I played 2-cent lines. Therefore, each 'spin' usually varied from 18 - 45 cents.

All the machines had bill slots and gave out tickets that could be played on other machines or cashed out at money change machines. At first I thought I'd miss the flood of coins and their sound, but the tickets are so much better. Not heavy and not dirty, and the slot machines give a coin-drop audio experience so they're not really needed anymore. I suppose the tickets have been around forever, but it was new to me.

Our Play

Servo, Stryker and I dabbled at slots throughout our travels, but except for the Rio, it was only token play. We played about an hour at the Rio while waiting for the Carnival Parade and the machine was good to me.

Mainly we played at the Palace Station in the evenings. Stryker had a terrible run, never really having good payouts. Both Servo and I had much better play with some excellent payouts in the $20 - $50 range on penny slots.

We had a favorite bank of slots which was in a walkway between the lobby and the main casino and they were always friendly to Servo and me while teasing Stryker out of her money. As I mentioned decades ago when I began this traveloge, it was VERY cold in Vegas during our stay. After one particularly bitter day we ended up at our favorite machines and the condition was absolutely Arctic! They must have had the A/C running for the regular casino. We teased the waitress that she must be on someone's bad list to get that assignment in her skimpy outfit. Despite the frigid conditions we stayed with our friendly machines and they did not disappoint.

On the last night before flying out I was mostly alone since Stryker and Servo both had colds and a middle-of-the-night trip to the airport. I ventured to the electronic and other slots in the main casino and played a straight 6 hours before heading to bed. It as an incredibly enjoyable slot play the whole time for me, but the last night I got in a real 'zone'.

Overall, including drink tips and a disasterous $10 loss at airport slots on the way out, I spent a total of $39 on slots and drink tips. Since I had plenty of drinks, I'd say I was probably a slot winner that trip.

Wrap-Up

I want to do it again.

Besides all the gawking at the luxury and architecture of Vegas, we actually did a few things while there.

The Gun Shop

None of us had ever fired a gun before, but all of us wanted to ... about a few billion times, at last count. Finally we got wild and went off-strip to add to our daydream database so that the next time we 'blow some jerk away' we'll have some physical memory to add to the mental imagery.

We chose weapons, mine was an uzi, Stryker and Servo chose handguns, and were guided through the process by a kinda hot guy that had a commanding, authoritative voice that was perfected in either the military or police service.

I didn't like the Uzi at all, it was over too fast and the weapon was hard to hold and aim. I think the real 'technique' is to just splay bullets everywhere in the direction of your target. That really isn't my style.

Me with the Uzi

Servo let me shoot some of her handgun rounds at her target, a terrorist on a plane holding a stewardess hostage. I was very good with the handgun, making the terrorist's head look like swiss cheese. Unfortunately, I also gave the hostage a fatal shot to the stomach.

It was a good experience and I hope that's the last I'll ever experience guns or (more importantly) bullets. Stryker told us not to wear those clothes when we travel home because there could be gun powder residue on them and we don't want to bring down the top-notch airport security on our asses.

Rio Casino and Carnival

The Rio has an hourly (?) Carnival of floats that travels overhead through the casino. I played some friendly slots there and thought the place had a good atmosphere for the tourist on the economy plan. I'd go back for slots or consider staying there in a future visit.

An overhead carnival float at the Rio

Bodies, The Exhibition

I had one day on my own in Vegas while my friends took a desert trip. I missed the morning schedule of hotel shuttles to the Strip and rather than wait for the afternoon schedule to begin I took my chance with public transportation. I am a real wuss about riding on buses. I just don't have a good feel for the rules and regulations, fares, and routes. I took a chance though, for the sake of Vegas, and after a while discovered that I was going in the wrong direction. Of course!

A series of kind locals helped me get to the right bus and then to the Monorail station. The delay due to my incompetence in all things buses turned out to be fortuitous. My first stop was Bodies, The Exhibition, and I managed to arrive at the same time as a group of doctors and EMT personnel were touring the exhibition too. I hovered around one doctor just outside his circle of EMTs and got the deluxe tour.

The Bodies exhibition is comprised of actually bodies that have been preserved by special techniques and prepared to highlight parts of the human anatomy. There were sections devoted to the Skeletal, Muscle, Nerve, Circulatory systems all with full bodies and other parts. It was all done with great taste and elegance and the whole thing was awesome.

The typical self-guided tour takes 1 or 1-1/2 hours but due to the doctors and EMTs I was there 2-1/2 hours, and loved it all. Sometimes it pays off to take the wrong bus.

I have to take a very quick time out from my ponderously slow Vegas entries to encourage my vast blog readership (yes, YOU), to check out the TV comedy 30Rock (Thursday nights on NBC).

I can't remember when a sitcom last put me in stitches of laughter, glee, and the soundless 'I-can't-breathe' laughter than only my cat can hear. 30Rock does that to me all the time. It's a fast-paced, witty, well-cast, and well-acted (Alec Baldwin is a comedy god!). The humor comes from witty dialogue, topical humor, classic characters, great timing, brilliant casting and acting, visual details, and even the show's background music.

If you tried out the show at the beginning, try it again, it took a few episodes to click on all cylinders. It's worth setting the VCR or TIVO. Really. You'll thank me.

Tonight's episode is at a special time, but it will regularly be broadcast at 9 PM, Eastern. The show has just been renewed for a second season.

The Venetian was one of my favorite stops on our whirlwind tour. The exterior is on a plaza complete with a canal, bridges and gondolas which then continue inside the building. The canal runs along a street of shops and ends in a large interior plaza fashioned on Venice's St. Mark's plaza. The 'sky' lighting changes as the day and evening progress. Since it was a Saturday, the place was a little conjested, but one could still get a sense of the ambiance and I think I'd love hanging out there during a quieter time.

The exterior canal with barberpole dock.

The interior canal along lit shops.

Yes, I'm still plodding through my Vegas entries which have been waylaid due to a month of ailments and other diversions. My taxes are still not done either. Bah!

Shopping on the Strip

Shopping at Ceasars, The Venetian, and probably any Strip Casino/Mall is not for the faint of wallet. I'll never muster the funds, but it's nice to look and dream of living a different life where these kinds of shops are the Wal*Mart of one's life. So, here are a few pictures instead:

Ceasar's Palace Mall	My fantasy bling store

Dining in Vegas

We didn't really 'dine'. The Palace Station restaurant was good, but their Buffet was very disappointing; they were undergoing renovations so it was in a temporary location. For a limited selection the food should have been better.

Both my friends developed colds so everything tasted like cardboard to them so there was no temptation to try anything fancy. We're not that kind of people anyways. In 'N Out was very good, and fast.

Out best meal was at the Vegas Hilton at the Star Trek Experience's Quark Bar. Ihe day was bitterly cold so the New England Clam Chowder was like the best meal we've had in our lives. The Onion Rings were also to die for. A 'surly' Klingon stopped by to scoff at our choice of beverages, "You're all drinking the Captain Kirk. You disgust me!" He moved along to a large table and entertained us with further 'insults' bantered with those guests. This was one of our best times on the trip.

We make a great couple	The Captain Kirk is a fine drink

It's been a while ... I've been distracted by Lenten and financial tasks and a re-addiction to the computer game, Zuma. I do plan to do a full-court press this week to finish up the Vegas entries.

To get back into it, I'll post some photos of casino interiors and gardens that have not made it into previous entries. It is a bit of a grab bag.

GARDENS

The Flamingo Garden	The Mirage Garden

The Flamingo had some flamingos and other wildlife and I enjoyed the setting. If I can ever take a 'step up' from The Palace Station, I might consider staying at The Flamingo. Although it is older, it seemed friendlier than the newer and more ritzy establishments where I would be really out of place.

OTHER INTERIORS

The Rio during a Parade	A Bellagio fountain

I think that fountain was in The Bellagio ... my best guess, anyway.

The Rio also seemed like a casual and fun spot. They do a float parade up overhead the casino. This picture is of a riverboat going by.

EXTERIOR

Finally, one exterior (except for The Venetian, which will be a separate entry).

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino; those small buildings in front are part of the decor to make the place look like its Italian counterpart. In front of this is a large lake equipped with water jets that are used to put on elaborate fountain shows to music. The walkway around the lake is equipped with the speakers.

We only saw one daylight show at the end of a very exhausting Saturday fighting the crowds, colds, the cold, and long hikes between casinos.

Here are some samples of Vegas interiors.

My favorite was the Bellagio Conservatory which was decked out in a Winter Theme:

center pond with ice star and cranberry bog	close-up of cranberry bog	one of the bears

reindeer made with pecans	close-up of pecans

Over at Caesar's Palace:

interior fountain and plaza	mezzanine ceiling

Both Caesar's Palace and The Venetian had incredibly impressive interior plazas with domed skys that changed lighting depending on the time of day. I preferred The Venetian overall, because the canal is really awesome. I'll do a separate entry on The Venetian.

I treked forever through Mandalay Bay (a really huge place) to get this photo of a headless Lenin outside of Red Square (an eatery). Because of the effort involved, this was my "coulda skipped" excursion.

Headless Lenin, complete with bird poop