New Vegas TV shows on Travel Channel

Caught me by surprise about an hour before the shows started, there were two new shows about Vegas on the Travel Channel last night.

Both seemed to focus on Vegas the party spot (I have no interest). One was called "Vegas After Hours" and the other "15 Sin City Secrets". The secrets didn't seem all that secretive, and the description of the show was "the most unique and wild ways to party in Vegas". Things like there's a VIP bowling place in Red Rock. The After Hours was good because it talked to locals and went to many off-strip locations, like Capo's Italian food or POSH.

Both shows seem to be outside the Anthony Curtis (who did not make an appearance) and LVA formula: no how to gamble, no bargain foods. Instead, the shows seemed to focus on the party scene and what celebrities are doing. Almost every place they went someone would mention what celebrities go there. I have no interest in where celebrities go.

Shows were fine, but for someone who doesn't party in Vegas, they were barely worth watching. The one thing I did get out of them was a bar that has a miniature golf course and cheap draft beer called "Swingers".

Saw the titles and read the teasers, Pablo, and switched off. Two-dollar buffet savings don't fire my rocket, but like you this whole scene does nada for me, as well. These shows do seem to match with what pop culture assumes is the current way to vegas.

Sadly the country is obsessed with no-talent celebrities. Whether it is Vegas, LA or NY night clubs have kardashian parties where they show up for a large fee strut their stuff; wave their hands and leave; all in attempt to get the public to show up and pay a huge door fee.

Thus a Travel channel show on it. On a separate note the TC used to have some decent travel shows on actual locations; now they seem to only feature ghost stories, one guy trying to make a pig out of himself and another showing what disgusting food people eat around the world

The lowest common denominator in American mass culture is below dullard. My favorite TV channel rapidly is becoming "Power Off."

My 2 favorite Vegas shows were "Top 10 Las Vegas Pools," and "Top 10 Vegas Casinos," and each went through why each one was rated the way they were.

Definitely enough time has passed for them to update those shows...but as you said, Ken, if it doesn't involve celebs, apparently there is nothing in Vegas worth covering anymore.

Still love the place but have noticed more and more the Strip is becoming a haven for Jersey Shore wannabees...

Bushman

I agree Ken. The current theory is people come to Vegas to party. Expectations are you you'll spend a lot of money to do it. $2,000 for a bottle of booze delivered by a drink angel.

"a bar that has a miniature golf course and cheap draft beer called "Swingers"."

TB, that's in the Plaza downtown, I believe. Just FYI ... lol.

Sue, yes, at the Plaza.

I appreciated the humor because I had recently read a book about "swingers clubs" in Vegas that also front as bordellos (see my book report posting). This looked like a decent bar that had some entertainment and was affordable. If they have good garlic fries, I'm so there.

One other thing. On the plus side (at least for Ken), "After Hours" did cover Asian-town (along Spring Mountain) as a good place to go to eat. They also talked food trucks, though that pretty standard these days for any city.

That's one of the inherent problems with scripted TV, it's not remotely timely. By the time a lot of this "lifestyle" stuff is subjected to overexposure on the idiot box, it's almost old news. Food trucks? Portland's food scene? Good barbecue in Austin? Please. And remember all the how-to gambling crap that flooded the Travel Network in the '00s? Barney Vinson getting up there shilling for the house, fer crissake?! Slot strategies!?

Pablo, I'm glad they circled back around to catch Spring Mountain.

Oh, and another thing. A savvy network touting stuff like HHAGG? How about Mary's Hash House, instead, as an example? (And, yes, I was glad to see Jeffrey Saad get around there for "United Tastes of America" ... but for the pancakes???) Now a good TV show would be Westie showing off the locals eats, since Westie both has good taste and an adventurous eye. But the lemms would still flock to Cheesecake, I fear.