My First Time in Las Vegas: VegasRy

The first time I was in Las Vegas was March of 1999. Bellagio had just opened, Venetian was undergoing its finishing touches, and the Wynn was a distant memory. This was also waaaay before Las Vegas was as big as it is today, with little to no exposure in the media, being before The Real World, Ocean’s 11, and Las Vegas the TV show. The spring break destination came down to between Disneyland and Las Vegas, and I distinctly remember being asked: ‘So we are going to go and look at a bunch of hotels?’ Thankfully, (or not, depending on your viewpoint) I won that argument.

We stayed at Treasure Island and were upgraded to a corner room (This was long before the 20$ trick entered our universe) and were blown away by the sheer size of everything, and how over-the-top everything was. We ended up walking the entire strip, from Treasure Island all the way to Mandalay Bay and back.

We ate at Spago (Because it was in Showgirls) and The Buccaneer Bay Club (Long gone, Social House now), and saw O, as it was the best show on the strip at the time (Some would say it still is). Even before the days of ultra-lounges and 150$ show tickets, and it was all pretty over-whelming and pretty exciting as we were in the middle of the biggest building boom of the last 40 years. The next few times in Las Vegas there was always something new to see, which kept us coming back…many, many times.

Gambling-wise, I remember playing at Bellagio way back when 5$ tables were still plentiful, and after a session, I had a few silver, one dollar coins, and threw them into at nearby slot machine to get rid of them. Turns out I won 160$ on the 2^nd spin, a lot of money for a college student back them. (Side Note: I have since put well over 200$ into that same machine and have yet to win a dime…I swear they did it on purpose)

My favorite memory of this trip was when we saw the Bellagio for the first time. Naturally, we were blown away, and I wanted to bring back a souvenir for all of my buddies back in Iowa. So I went to the Bellagio gift shop and bought maybe 8 shot glasses, a decanter, mug, etc. Being the first night we were there, with the energy still running through my body, we ended up walking the entire strip, all the way to Mandalay Bay, all the time carrying my heavy as hell glassware.

The best part of this story though, was the next day when I realized that Bellagio, Mirage, and Treasure Island (TI was years away) were owned by the same company, and the very same items I purchased and dragged all the way up and down the strip…were available downstairs in the very hotel that we were staying at.

We’ve come a long way…the Excalibur hasn’t.

Booked...

Whew! That was a close one, we could have actually gone 4 entire months before heading back to Vegas, but thanks to an offer from Wynn Las Vegas, we have booked our next trip.

Life is always better with a booked trip to Las Vegas to look forward to, so we'll be in Las Vegas July 1st - 4th. Summertime is usually a dead time of the year, and that coupled with it being a Sunday-Thursday makes it a pretty cheap trip.

I've stayed at the Wynn once, just a couple months after it's opening. Despite all that we have read about the glitches in service and other problems, we had a great time, and can't wait to go back. And given our sub-par experience at Bellagio in March, it will be interesting to compare the 2 nicest joints on the Strip.

We're looking forward to trying a few new things, a few old things, and updating you with all the goings-on in our favorite city.

P.S. I just added up all my previous trips, and this will be my 20th(!) time in Vegas.

VegasRy Book Review: Bust

Bust
By Adam Resnick

What happens when you give a degenerate gambler a blank check to bet, and lose, millions? Essentially, that’s what happened to Adam Resnick, who is now serving time in prison for wire fraud. A cautionary tale if there ever was one, it doesn’t delve too deeply into why the author gambled so much, it’s more a memoir than a character study.

Resnick was a gambler basically as long as he can remember, from poker games with his grandfather, to gambling in college; whether is was trips to Vegas from the University of Arizona, or local Indian casinos while at the University of Wisconsin. He was gambling every cent he could, and then some, but it was only a precursor to what was in store.

After college, Resnick became a successful businessman, making millions selling medical equipment. But the access to greater amounts of money only fed his addiction, and he began lying and pleading to anyone and everyone to keep gambling. From a Dateline NBC segment on Resnick:

In 1998, when they got married, Meredith didn’t catch on that Adam was still gambling all the time. Only now, he lied all the time, too.

Resnick: I would actually buy tickets to California and leave them on the counter in the kitchen so—saying, “Look, I’m going to California.” And take it a step further, I’d actually pay for a room at a hotel in California.

Of course he wasn’t really at that hotel, but at a casino in Vegas.

Resnick became a valued high roller at Las Vegas Casinos, being flown in on a private Gulfstream, and staying in his own private villa at the Bellagio. Only he didn’t seem to enjoy a second of any of it…gambling was his only concern. The comped shows, dinners, even women were only distractions, keeping him away from the tables.

Later in life, Adam became an insider at a bank in Chicago, which effectively gave him access to unlimited funds, which he predictably abused. The book opens with the Author driving to a Chicagoland Casino, needing to win 3 million dollars in order to save the bank, and himself. The collapse that follows is the exclamation point on an almost unbelievable tale of addiction.

The book is written in apologetic way, like the author knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway. Some of the numbers are mind-boggling, and we would have trouble believing the scale of his loss and deception, if it weren’t for the press coverage of his downfall. We recommend the book, not for the high-flying gambling tales (although there are quite a few), but for the look into a gamblers psyche. Bringing Down the House kicked off a series of gambling memoirs, and the sheer magnitude of Resnick’s story is what makes this better than most.


The Dateline segment is online here:

Buy Bust

VegasRy Podcast: Gin and Tonic Hour #6

Welcome Back Trishelle, We Missed You!

In Our First Non-Recap Podcast, We Discuss:
-The future of MGM-Mirage
-South Dakota is not Vegas
-The Real World Reunion is the best thing to ever happen to us
-Thoughts on Steve Wynn
-Book Review: 24/7


Download Here

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Internet Gambling Ban to be Lifted?

From MarketWatch:

Gaming Americans would be able to place bets over the Internet under a bill introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank on Thursday.

Frank's bill would roll back a ban on online gambling and enable companies to be licensed to accept bets and wagers online from individuals in the U.S.

The bill would exempt the operators from current restrictions on online gambling and would require licensed companies to have protections in place against underage and compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud.

Not sure that this bill has much of a chance of passing, but we are in favor of it, as we are in favor of anything that would lessen government regulation, (some would say censorship) especially when it comes to the Internet. In our opinion, Congress is woefully unprepared and unqualified to deal with progressive issues such as this.

The real issue isn't whether or not gambling is bad, it's that the government can't tax it and get it's cut. This bill would allow for increased regulation and, obviously, increased taxation. However, since the vast majority of these companies are offshore, not sure how domestic taxation will apply. Also, not sure how you can develop a foolproof way of verifying age, location, etc.

Internet gambling has always been technically illegal in the US, that's why the companies operated in other countries, mostly the Caribbean. The way companies and gamblers circumvented this was by moving money through a middleman, so credit card companies and banks weren't directly funding gambling. However, due to legislation passed in 2006, it made it illegal for banks to deal with this middlemen, effectively cutting off the flow of cash.

The SAFE Port Act, at least as far as it applies to Internet gambling, is an affront to personal freedoms, along with being hypocritical. Gambling is legal in some form in almost every state, with 2 Casinos within 10 minutes of where I now sit, and off-track betting at countless bars in between. While this wouldn't cause us to gamble online much, if at all, we should have the freedom to do so if we choose.

The House Committee is scheduled to discuss this in June.

Rep. Frank's bill would roll back Net-gambling ban

Maybe the Bartender Insulted Her Choice of Rum...

From the 'no one cares' department:

Carmen Electra has backed out of an engagement to be a special guest star in magician Hans Klok's new show, "The Beauty of Magic," at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.

The former Aladdin resort on the Las Vegas Strip set a press conference Thursday to announce the new guest star and explain Electra's sudden departure from the show, a spokeswoman said.

We haven't mentioned this new show because, well, we didn't care. For those Carmen fans out there, we are sorry, but this leaves her more time to have her picture taken bent over the hood of a car...or whatever it is she is famous for.

(UPDATE: Pamela Anderson is set to replace Electra in the show, and will be paid about $4 million for a 12-week engagement...the world isn't fair sometimes)


Electra backs out of magician Hans Klok show at Planet Hollywood

Open Letter to the Mustachioed Bartender at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood

Photo Quiz #4: Answer

The 4th quiz photo is actually located in two places:


This sweet banner may or may not still be there today but back in March it graced the two mall entrances to the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood. Hopefully now that the PH transition has completed, they are no longer there. I don't typically make too many assumptions when it comes to this place though, because it leads to much disappointment.

Anyways, good luck next week.

A Free Piece of Paper Does Not Make You a VIP

V, I and P are the most overused letters in Las Vegas, especially when used in conjunction with nightclubs. To quickly straighten this out:

-Tiger Woods is a VIP

-The dude that dropped 100 grand at baccarat is an IP

-Pretty girls are P’s

-As guys…we are lowercase p’s

That said, I’m sure you have all seen those supposed VIP to nightclub passes that are all over the place. They are usually obtained through cab drivers, guys on the street, online, or picked up at various stores or booths in town. But what do they really get you?

Well, we have limited experience with them, as they seem like a scam. (And usually they are) When there is a line a mile long at Pure on Saturday night, a pass you picked up from a guy on the street won’t get you a damn thing. It is still the bouncer’s discretion whether to let you in or not.

These passes can mean different things, some will:

-Waive your cover charge

-Waive your cover provided you are there by a certain time, like before 11 PM

-Allow you to skip the line

-Get you ‘Invited Guest’ status…which is a fancy way of saying you get to wait in a different, albeit shorter, line.

-Do nothing at all, especially on a busy night

From our experience, and what we’ve read, definitely don’t spend a dime on these. They are available free most places…hell, we got ours to Revolution from girls handing them out in front of the club. Most of the cab drivers and other low-lifes count on the fact that people buy them during the day, as it sounds like a good idea, then have no recourse when they end up not working later on.

Another thing we’ve seen is that hotel guests ‘usually’ get preference at a given club, although I’m sure this depends on time of night and how full the club is. For instance, we were staying at Mandalay Bay and were able to use the ‘Invited Guests’ line to rumjungle, and didn’t pay cover. In that case, all we needed was our room keycard.

The best advice given our experience is to do your research ahead of time and plan where you will be going for the night. Given the long lines to most popular clubs, club hopping is almost impossible, so pick one. Either plan to get their early to avoid the line, or arrange through the club’s host or hotel concierge for bottle service. This is a pretty pricey option, but will allow you to skip the line, not have to worry about a place to sit, and avoid the obscene price of drinks once inside.

If all else fails, grease some palms. Either that, or be a pretty girl…not an option for most of us.

Vegas Link: NormClarke.com

Norm Clarke’s daily column in the Las Vegas Review Journal is THE place to go for Las Vegas and celebrity news and rumors.

Clarke’s column deals with current gossip and goings-on. With unparalleled access and a large network of spies, Norm breaks more stories regarding upcoming shows, celebrity events, and anything having to do with Las Vegas. His ongoing feud with Pete Rose (the two have a history) is also entertaining unto itself.

Since Las Vegas is home to the most daily celebrity sightings in the world, the column also covers who was seen where the night before. For example, what club is Paris whoring herself around in last weekend? Check Norm’s latest write-up…

Norm’s column occasionally strays into US Weekly territory, but for the most part is pretty even-keeled, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Warning, it can be habit-forming.

Norm Clarke Home Page

Las Vegas Review Journal Home Page

Taking Out The Trash

The Las Vegas Metro alongside the FBI successfully executed 'Operation Dollhouse' over the weekend. In total, eight brothels were busted leaving six people in jail on prostitution charges. Authorities found 25 prostitutes, 3,500 tablets of ecstasy and $20,000 in cash. Neighbors complained of lots of people coming and going from the homes as well as an abnormal amount of trash.


It's good to see the neighborhoods are getting cleaned up in Las Vegas. Now, how about getting back to a little thing called Las Vegas Blvd? One of my biggest disturbances with the city is the ridiculous amount of 'porn slappers' that litter the area. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term 'porn slappers'; it refers to those individuals who hand out the stripper/prostitute cards on the sidewalks up and down LV Blvd. Being the seasoned pro that I am, I've learned to walk with my hands in my pockets in order to send the blatant message that I'm not interested, but this annoyance is simply unacceptable. As far as I'm concerned, this is advertising for prostitution under the guise of something more along the legal line so there must be some way to prosecute these individuals.

As a result, I'm campaigning for an 'Operation Garbage Disposal' to clean up the sidewalks in Las Vegas. Who is with me?

Read about the bust here.

And the plot thickens...
Apparently a San Mateo County Sheriff and his Undersheriff were detained at one of the brothels. Palo Alto Online has the story.