Las Vegas

Love



Citycenter Complex


Just to rest from our strenuous trip to NYC with kids in tow, Hector and I drove over to Vegas on Sunday the 15th. We got a good rate at Bellagio ($149 a night with an extra $50 upgrade for a lake view) and Vegas was the quietest I have seen it in years. All the local workers said it's always pretty quiet this time of year, but that usually just means 95% capacity as opposed to 100%.

When we drove in it was 109 degrees but I love that baking desert heat. We had a low-key few days by the pool, in the spa, ate at Olives and Noodles, I got a professional shave at the salon, we saw LOVE at the Mirage. It was a very fun show, this is the 6th or 7th Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas now and we've seen them all. They're very entertaining but they all tend to have pretty much the same expensive look, the same acrobatics, the same exorbitant ticket prices. I have to say, though, that the sound system was absolutely superb and the very best part was hearing the Beatles so loud and clear.

I kept myself on a tight gambling budget so I didn't really lose much. I wandered around, looking at all the changes. Wynn is building a 2nd tower, The Venetian is doubling its size, The Aladdin is gone and is now the Planet Hollywood Hotel. Serious work has begun on the Citycenter complex, next door to Bellagio. So I guess Vegas is still booming. There were a lot more foreigners this time: the standard Japanese of course, English, German, Arab. I like that.