On to Las Vegas

This leg of our trip was not in any original plan. When we got to the Grand Canyon, David did some figuring and found that it was only about a hundred miles further to include Las Vegas and he had a strong desire to see Sin City and its excesses. Once we arrived he had set aside the hefty sum of eighteen dollars to wager on Black Jack and the slots. I didn't plan to touch anything as I once my lost my entire military pay check during basic training in a poker game. (I was determined to win back my losses, so I kept playing until there was nothing left to play with.) That experience early in life was a valuable lesson on my nature, and gambling in general. We had made plans to meet my cousin for lunch the next day, so when we arrived at the campground on Lake Mead in the evening, David and I decided to go check out the Strip. We arrived just after dark and found a parking spot on a side street in front of a row of small stores. Parking garages and all parking we saw was free. I was blown away at the size of the casinos. Yes they look big on TV, however I never realized that most take up a whole city block or more, with the bottom floor filled with every conceivable method one could imagine to get you to turn over your money to them and feel almost good about it. Most casinos had an area the size of a gym or larger just for sports betting. Every kind of game and race is on its individual jumbo tron type screen on the wall. There were row after row of computer workstations for the gamers to study stats. and place bets. They don't allow "open" photography in the casinos, but I got a waist shot of one of he rooms which did not come out very well. I know a lot of folks that have been to Vegas, but no one had prepared me for how big it all is. Floor after floor of hotel rooms over each game floor. The first one we went to after parking was Bellagio which we remembered from the Oceans Eleven movie. David was ready to get gamblin'. I showed him a quarter slot, and he looked for a place to put a quarter in. I can remember when they accepted coins, but now all want bills. He slid a dollar in and looked for a lever. There was one but on this machine, it did nothing, so he pushed the button. On his third quarter push, I heard something happening. He had won eighty dollars! That got my interest so I sat down beside him and put a dollar in and lost it. Then I put in a second one and won ten dollars, this is starting to be fun! Then we sat there for thirty more minutes and we finally got bored and I left with nine dollars and David had seventy five. This would be silliness to anyone with money or a gambler's mentality, but we were quite happy. The next day I won seventy five cents and was happy and quit before going into the losing column. David ended his gaming the next day too, and I left with 9.75 and he with 70.00. Probably my worst experience was when a waitress walked up and offered us a complimentary drink and before I could open my mouth David said no, we are fine as he sipped a beer that I had paid for! It's all the same to him as he is on my tab as a graduation present.

We met Jim, my cousin the next day and that is where I saw the part of Las Vegas that I liked. It was the old version of a Las Vegas strip and things were a more manageable size and price. We had a good lunch with Jim at Main Street Station Casino, Brewery, and Resort. Then he showed us the old town highlights and it was still really nice with a lot of folks there, possibly more local than tourists. We went into a place that had a large pool in the center court with more rows of recliners for tanning than I have ever seen, and almost every chair was taken. (See the photos) There was a water slide that went in a tube through an aquarium. There is a brief video in my photos of someone passing through the fish aquarium. There was even a section of street devoted to archived signs that may have appeared in movies of the past but are no longer being used on a business. That evening Jim and his wife Alice met us at Boulder Station which is a Casino nearer to where we were staying on Lake Meade. (Jim bought lunch and I bought dinner but it turned out that Alice had a comp coupon which covered for over half of dinner.) Regular casino goers have perks but David sent away the only perk we had a chance at!
I enjoyed the visit to Las Vegas, but one theme kept coming to mind. At the Grand Canyon, they stressed water conservation, and all bathroom devices used recycled water. At the Hoover Dam, they stressed water and power conservation. Yet Las Vegas has fountains everywhere evaporating water, and far bigger bright lit up signs than would be needed. Jim mentioned that new housing could not be sodded and watered, yet the businesses could be as extravagant as they chose to be, probably due to the cash flow generated for the city. I assume that if a business pays the electric and water bill, they can do as they please. Somehow this does not seem right to an old Midwest guy, but that is the way it is, so far...
Next stop, Salt Lake City area, Julie, Scott, and Shiloh.