Well, on Christmas Eve, the all girl group - "BAND SHE" - really rocked Paris (not the socialite celeb, guys) - at the Hotel of the same name in Las Vegas. The pretty, talented ladies were all gussied up in black and pink - and made quite an impression on the holiday revelers who were out in good cheer!
Meanwhile, down the road at "Planet Hollywood", the management was featuring Karaoke on Tuesday night...gee, was this how Elvis got discovered? Judging by the enthusiastic crowds who jumped up and belted out songs non-stop with gusto - the weekly event should be a mainstay for awhile.
There was a lot of excitement elsewhere on the strip, too.
At midnight, the "Mirage" featured a spectacular light and water show outside the Hotel which peaked with a stunning display of fireworks - flames that roared about 500 feet in the air - which wowed the thronging masses snapping away with their digital cams on Las Vegas Boulevard beyond the guard rail.
When I stopped in to the MGM Grand, a large capacity crowd was also marveling at the "Lion Habitat"; gee, brave tourists can actually walk under a glass walkway as a pride of Lions stride above in all their spectacular, powerful beauty.
Down on the old strip, I stumbled across a great little restaurant in the Four Queens (!) Hotel, which offers up an incredible breakfast special for $4.95. If you've got a big appetite, then the large platter with eggs, ham (replete with bone in the middle, which you can pack away and take home for the dog), hash browns (with a crusty, tasty skin toasted to perfection) toast, and piping hot coffee will start the day off right.
Around the cocktail hour, tourists in the "know", were slipping into the "Golden Gate" down the street for scrumptious shrimp cocktail - at 99 cents a crack. Ah, just like the old days in Vegas...a deal can be had!
At the Casinos I scored quite well with my gambling...granted, it struck me a little odd that folks actually bet on one-arm bandits with names like - "Cops & Doughnuts", "Tabasco, "Wild Pepper", and the like...but, whatever gets you off, eh?
Believe it or not, on a "Wild Wolf " slot machine, I hit a jackpot which paid all my expenses for the day. To date, I'm ahead of the game; but, I don't go hog wild, if you know what I mean.
A handful of Asian tourists asked for my assistance in figuring out the wagering scheme on the betting line; frankly, I was staggered by the sums the joyful lot wanted to gamble each pull of the arm.
Not like some, my strategy is to move on when I win - play a new round with my winnings (for good luck) at another machine - and try for the big pay-outs just waiting to strike. Oftentimes, they do, and have.
I laughed when I noticed a number of hard-core gamblers stroking the front panels of the slot machine - as if with a magic wand - to beckon a stroke of luck. Well, whatever works for ya!
Some old-timers are so stubborn, though! In spite of rising losses, many are inclined to hang on to one lone game - plugging in coins of the realm hourly - waiting for the pay-off, which - sadly - often never does.
The town was purring with quite a few sleek limos last night with brides and grooms in tow; yup, the chapel doors are wide open 'til the wee hours of dawn, in the event some hopeless romantics are hankering for a quickie wedding in Nevada.
What really surprised me was the smoking everywhere! We're so spoiled in California, with our restrictions, and all.
In the Casinos, there are nasty butts in ashtrays everywhere, and folks just smokin' up a storm. Fortunately, the habit - which many deem nasty - doesn't bother me in the least. However, I noticed a handful of visitors - who have smoke regulations in the city's they journeyed from - were obviously taken aback by the puffers in prominence everywhere!
In the next week, there's plenty of entertainment to take in, if you're pining for a quick get-a-way.
Right now, there is an excellent exhibition of photographs from the "Titanic", for instance. In this well-archived show, there are over 300 authentic artifacts on display, which were rescued from the Titantic's final resting place 2 1/2 miles beneath the North Atlantic.
And, there's another more intriguing display which is aptly entitled, "Bodies...The Exhibition". The show - housed at the "Tropicana" - features about twenty-one whole-body specimens, in addition to more than 260 organs and partial body specimens, for your inspection up-close and personal. Critics are calling the unique experience, "...both transfixing and educational".
I'm been informed that the insightful foray explores a handful of realistic problems which occur due to over-eating and smoking; so, definitely - Bodies - is not for the squeamish! If you are fascinated by the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, and circulatory systems - this one's for you.
The truly macabre-minded will undoubtedly take it in on a double-bill with a screening of "Sweeney Todd".
Then, there's the big "Fight" on December 29th...with the two top contenders - St. Pierre vs. Hughes - at "Mandalay Bay". Heavyweights in both show business and the sports arena will be in attendance, with a lot of lookie-loos on the sidelines, catching the blow by blow action.
"Earth Wind & Fire" will be in concert at the "Venetian" on December 31st.
And, Pam Anderson will be at "Pure" (the Baywatch beauty, tool-time girl I worked with on "Home Improvement") at Caesar's Palace.
The Beatles show - "LOVE" - is a big draw right now (Cirque Du Soleil) at the "Mirage", which was directed by Dominic Champagne, with musical bravado by Sir George Martin & Giles Martin respectively.
For die-hard "Back Street Boys" fans, the night will be edgy and wild at the "Hard Rock", when the guys get dirty for a countdown at midnight on December 31st.
For those with off-beat tastes: "Carrot Top" - remember him? - is at the "Atrium Showroom", while the "Chippendales" dancers are still going strong at the Rio.
Well, something to appeal to every taste.
Although I spent the holiday in "sin" city, I managed to get back to my Hotel before the witching hour and caught the Pope's midnight mass on NBC...ah, managed to save my soul by the stroke of twelve.
Happy Holidays!
Backstreet Boys
