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You're reading an old entry from Michelle "Lexi Kahn" DiPoala's online diary, formerly called Jungle Sweet Jungle. Blog name changed to Low Budget Superhero in October 2005. Now I mostly go by SuperLowBudge. You can call me Lexi, Michelle or SuperLowBudge, or if you're my mom, then Shelly. Enjoy these old posts (except if you're my mom.) Please follow on Blogger at superlowbudge.blogspot.com. From there you can follow me on Twitter and some other platforms. Thanks!



Bye Sin City

(April 30, 2008)

Yes, I came back from Vegas. Part of me debated posting a joke entry about having loved Sin City so much that I've moved there and joined a show.

Nah, I wanted to get home to my baby. Bad enoughI was still there for his birthday on the 19th. I came home on the 20th.

So how was Vegas? The work portion of the trip was crazy, grueling, tedious and wildly rewarding. There were fourteen of us staffing the booth at the trade show, and it was great to get to know better the guys who work in the other offices in Brisbane, Paris and London.

But I did have some time to walk around the strip, have some nice dinners, shop and see a show.

You know what? I like it. I could see going back on purpose. Flights are cheap, you can find cheap rooms, and there's a lot to do and see without even spending any money.

I don't think I'd stay at the New York New York Hotel and Casino again though. So-so on service, and much too pricey. It's a mindfuck of a design though, as are a lot of things on the strip. This place was built to mimic elements of New York City. It's essentially a gargantuan skyline encircled by a loop-coaster and shanked by scaled-down tourist attractions such as Lady Liberty, featured prominently from this angle:


(photo courtesy of G.Bisone)

The lobby is a sprawling affair of I-don't-know-how-many acres, but its centerpiece ("Central Park") is where most of the casino lives. Full-grown trees interspersed with slot machines, roulette wheels and craps tables. Nearly-naked cocktail waitresses circulate with drink trays. Between the bantering crowds, the dinging slot machines and the roller coaster cruising through at regular intervals, the sound level is deafening, pretty much like New York City at any given rush hour. Shops, carts and eateries line the "streets" of the lobby, everything from hot pretzels to filet mignon, and people are just swarming around eating, talking, taking pictures and smoking.

Yeah, you can still smoke indoors in Vegas.

Excalibur and MGM Grand are right across the street, and you can go back and forth between NY NY and MGM on a bridge, pictured below from the MGM side:


(photo courtesy of Jybaxter)

On my last day there, I was all done with "work stuff" by about noon, so the day was mine.

The first thing I realized was that the pool at NY NY is about as peaceful as the rest of the place. I wanted quiet and a bit of a rest, but it's more of a party pool. And the roller coaster soars overhead of course. Nothing like intermittent screaming to relax a chick.

Mostly I lolled about, did some souvenir shopping. My boss called from the airport and recommended that I take advantage of the last night and go see either David Copperfield or Ka.

I called and got a ticket for Ka. It was okay. Not as life-changing as I heard it to be. Tell you what was more life-changing -- the $108 dollars I spent on pre-show dinner for ONE at Shibuya in the MGM Grand.

I'ma be talking about that sushi for awhile.

In fact I need to have some sushi right now...be back later.

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Jess - 2008-05-04 20:04:34
I always wanted to stay at NYNY. Always too expensive, though. If you go back, a great place to stay is the Westin Casuarina. It's a smaller non-smoking hotel about 1/2 block off the strip (near Bally's). It's much more laid back.
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