Returned a few days ago from our annual 14 night December trip to Vegas. I’ll post some short stories as time permits. I did add another 30+ hours of VP play without hitting a RF. Nearly 20 years since the last and only one.
In any case, my wife and I decided to head downtown for Christmas Eve to enjoy dinner, the light show and entertainment. We got there early (around 4:30) and wandered around. We were surprised how busy the place was. We walked down to the Neonopolis center and checked out the Heart Attack grill. They had an ambulance parked in front of the place with a large sign near the entrance that declared that “This place is not good for your health”. There was an additional sign stating “Cash only since you may have a heart attack and die before your check clears”. There were only a few people inside and all were wearing hospital gowns. We decided to eat elsewhere. We went into the Fitz, got a drink and sat out on the Vue bar watching the numerous zipliners fly by us. You don’t see that everywhere. As it got close to the first light show we headed downstairs and into the street. The lights dimmed and they announced the show was beginning. We had expected something Christmassy or at least wintery. Instead the light show featured a psychedelic show featuring flying cat heads and skulls to the music of the Zombies (Time of the Season and She’s Not There). We were very disappointed. I love the 60’s music (it’s what I grew up with) but I expected some type of seasonal performance. As the show concluded my wife suggested that maybe we should hang around until the next show, surely that would be the Christmas show. Almost as the words came out of her mouth, the announcement came out thanking everyone for attending the show and urging them to see the next show on the next hour. The theme would be “Area 51”. We both looked at each other and laughed. That sure didn’t sound like Christmas to us. We took off and returned to our hotel.
I got a better understanding of the hostility that many seem to hold for Harrah’s (CE now) on this board. I rarely stay on the strip and thus have little personal experience with their “predatory” policies. I got a taste on the Tuesday after Christmas. We headed down to Planet Hollywood to use the buffet coupon. We have never tried their buffet before and wanted to make use of the LVA coupon. We arrived at 10:45 for an early lunch. Much to our surprise we discovered a lengthy liner to get in. Since we didn’t have anything planned we figured we could wait an hour or so. I got in line and my wife went wandering. A few minutes later she came back and told me that the lunch buffet was $34. I did not believe her. No way could anyone charge $34 for a lunch buffet during a weekday. I had her take my place in line and went up to the front to view the prices. Sure enough. The sign indicated that they has started dinner at 11:00 AM and had tacked on a few extra dollars to the cost. I returned to my wife and apologized for doubting her. We quickly decided to go elsewhere for lunch. That type of gouging is a bit much and I can understand why people have such a problem with Harrah’s (CE).
More as and if time permits.
In any case, my wife and I decided to head downtown for Christmas Eve to enjoy dinner, the light show and entertainment. We got there early (around 4:30) and wandered around. We were surprised how busy the place was. We walked down to the Neonopolis center and checked out the Heart Attack grill. They had an ambulance parked in front of the place with a large sign near the entrance that declared that “This place is not good for your health”. There was an additional sign stating “Cash only since you may have a heart attack and die before your check clears”. There were only a few people inside and all were wearing hospital gowns. We decided to eat elsewhere. We went into the Fitz, got a drink and sat out on the Vue bar watching the numerous zipliners fly by us. You don’t see that everywhere. As it got close to the first light show we headed downstairs and into the street. The lights dimmed and they announced the show was beginning. We had expected something Christmassy or at least wintery. Instead the light show featured a psychedelic show featuring flying cat heads and skulls to the music of the Zombies (Time of the Season and She’s Not There). We were very disappointed. I love the 60’s music (it’s what I grew up with) but I expected some type of seasonal performance. As the show concluded my wife suggested that maybe we should hang around until the next show, surely that would be the Christmas show. Almost as the words came out of her mouth, the announcement came out thanking everyone for attending the show and urging them to see the next show on the next hour. The theme would be “Area 51”. We both looked at each other and laughed. That sure didn’t sound like Christmas to us. We took off and returned to our hotel.
I got a better understanding of the hostility that many seem to hold for Harrah’s (CE now) on this board. I rarely stay on the strip and thus have little personal experience with their “predatory” policies. I got a taste on the Tuesday after Christmas. We headed down to Planet Hollywood to use the buffet coupon. We have never tried their buffet before and wanted to make use of the LVA coupon. We arrived at 10:45 for an early lunch. Much to our surprise we discovered a lengthy liner to get in. Since we didn’t have anything planned we figured we could wait an hour or so. I got in line and my wife went wandering. A few minutes later she came back and told me that the lunch buffet was $34. I did not believe her. No way could anyone charge $34 for a lunch buffet during a weekday. I had her take my place in line and went up to the front to view the prices. Sure enough. The sign indicated that they has started dinner at 11:00 AM and had tacked on a few extra dollars to the cost. I returned to my wife and apologized for doubting her. We quickly decided to go elsewhere for lunch. That type of gouging is a bit much and I can understand why people have such a problem with Harrah’s (CE).
More as and if time permits.
