December Trip Report

Just returned from a six-day LV excursion with four nights at the Golden Nugget and two at the Tuscany. I escorted a young mob-expert filmmaker and screenwriter around the city for his first trip there.

Bill Adee of Circa was good enough to give us a tour of the property with an eye to the sports book and the rooftop pools. The rooftop knocked our socks off. We also had lunch with an AP luminary who shall go unnamed for the moment. Lots of Las Vegas and personal histories were discussed, and we had a great time.

Meals included a couple of steaks at Vic and Anthony's -- spectacular environment. Food was excellent. Lunch with the AP was at Esther's Kitchen, a place both the AP and multiple friends of mine recommended. We also ate at Claimjumpers, the Main Street buffet, and Magnolia's. From the Tuscany, we haunted the Tuscany coffee shop, the Tuscany pub, and, of course, Ellis Island's restaurant.

Very nice time. Learned much. 

Glad you had a good time. I have never been able to fathom the fascination with the Mob--to me, just a well-organized bunch of amoral thugs. Sort of like studying poisonous spiders. But maybe you can explain to us what's so interesting about them.

How did you wangle a tour of Circa?

It's hard to not have a great food experience in Vegas. Can you expound on Esther's? I've heard a LOT of good things about that place. Also, I've heard that the Main Street buffet is a shadow of its former self--do you have a comparison to make?

I think Main Street's buffet overall quality had diminished, but it seemed back to its old standards this trip. I wanted to show the guy the room because I often set up my days there. I like the room for its "get the day rolling" brightness and ambience more than the food. But the food was pretty good this time.

Esther's was jammed. It has a lot of Italian on the menu, which is diverse. I think the range of food appeals to many. I liked it. For an allegedly dead time of year, it was packed; we had a 30-minute wait, which we spent at the outside tables. Parking in the immediate vicinity is a challenge.

I think the "well organized bunch of amoral thugs" line could be applied to U.S. politicians as much as "the mob." Any subculture with its own rules and high public profile is going to be of interest to a fair chunk of people. Since "the mob" is responsible for Las Vegas, I think some respect for the history is merited.

Well, I don't think that comparison is apt--for one thing, all the thugs in the Mob are on the same side, which certainly isn't true of our politicians. Also, some of our politicians, at least, are trying to do good and improve the lives of their constituents (how many or few depends on your personal cynicism level), which you can't really say about mobsters.

The Mob didn't really build Las Vegas, though that's the myth. A lot of hardworking people who moved to an isolated desert shithole with basically nothing in it built it. For decades, Vegas didn't have parks, decent schools, sidewalks, more than one half-assed library, good grocery stores, etc. etc. etc. It was just a bunch of casinos surrounded by cheap, shoddy housing. The people who tolerated that and eventually turned Vegas into a semi-livable city built it. Not the murderous cigar-puffing fat cats.

I agree about the MSS buffet room's ambiance. It's just that the last time I was there, the price was higher than it had ever been, and the selection was lousy. Plus, the quality of the food was meh at best. It was at a time when, I think, we were all supposed to be just grateful there WAS a buffet, and quit your bitching about the quality.

Esther's looks interesting...lots of cool stuff on their menu. Definitely not cheap, though. They have a lot of competition in the local Italian restaurant market. A lack of parking probably does hurt them.

I can't think of a locals' Italian restaurant that really rings the bell. For some reason, Stations, Boyd, and the rest of the gang have never done much to offer a good Italian joint. The places in dodgy neigborhoods downtown that catered to the mobsters back in the day are probably the best (thus do we circle back to the beginning of this discussion).

We started going to the Suncoast because of a buy of get one free coupon at the since closed mexican resaurant many years ago.  Once that closed we fell in love with Salvatores Italian at the Suncoast, great food and atmosephere, with the 2 for 1 wine coupon and the old school singer wirth the piano .  That too has closed, so now we go to a small family Italian place by Sunset Station which we never would have sought if there were more dining options in the coupon book.  Anyway, there were more than one mob family, so I like the coparison of how corupt politics are today.  Very dirty,  don't look but someones making alot of money for public service.

Yeah, the idea that all of the mob folks were "on the same side" is way, way off. It's like when you read J. Gordon Melton's History of American Religions  and it finally dawns on you that the religions most similar are the least on the same side because they are competing for the same people with the same beliefs in the same public space. So that makes them dire competitors, even enemies.

I meant promarily obeying the law vs. breaking the law, ethics vs. lack thereof, and accomplishing goals via violence vs. some other way, So, for example, law enforcement is on the opposite side of ALL these various Mob incarnations; similarly, a small business owner being blackmailed wouldn't care if it was by the Cosa Nostra or the Fromaggio Grande or whatever. They're all violent criminals.

And actually, religions, historically, haven't competed all that much with one another (various wars notwithstanding) for the same people, because people have always associated themselves with one religion or another based on their culture, nation, or government. The difficulties and penalties (like death) incurred from switching religions have always been major deterrents.

It's true that all religions pitch the same shtick: life ain't fair, but we'll make up for it; you won't really die when you die; there is a benevolent creator who is watching over all of us. No religions lack those basic selling points--so switching isn't really worth the risk.