Posted on 09/17/2015 10:15:38 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
Don't get me wrong, there is STILL a lot I like about Las Vegas: cheap flights, lot of choices, inexpensive rental cars and relative proximity (six hour drive) to three of the four most important people in our lives: our grandchildren.
But this time, we agreed to a three night stay at a brand name hotel along the strip in return for listening to a time share spiel, which we politely declined.
It is a LOT different from the Las Vegas I knew as a pup when I was single and working in the LA area and my kid brother was also single and a cook at the Lady Luck Casino on Fremont Street. In those days, I could take a morning bus from a shopping center and return 24 hours later for a nominal fee. My kid brother and I would hang out, gorge ourselves on reasonably priced food, play nickle poker and admire all the nearly nekkid females in the casinos, at swimming pools and walking down the streets. It was guy heaven and it didn't cost a lot as long as you just looked.
So, while I expected change, I was shocked at the magnitude of the change. Reasonably prices food is hard to find. If you go to a brand-name commoner chain like Denny's a little off the Strip, it is there but the places are packed be people looking for the same thing. Beyond that, knowing a local namely, my elderly Uncle who no longer drives, but we took to a place called Boulder Station which is FAR off the beaten track and caters to locals and an occasional bus tour, or take out such the "world famous" Port of Subs which is in a Shell gas station not far from our brand name hotel, food is priced almost as bad as New York without their hot dog and snack carts.
In fact, the source URL shows my credit card receipt from the Port of Subs, where we paid nearly $12 for two small bags of chips, a soda and subs which would cost us about $8 at a Sheetz or WaWa here in Pennsylvania for 2-3 times the selection of ingredients and breads.
Still, it was one of the best eating bargains in the area by far. But look at the slip . . . everywhere in Vegas has a space for tips-- even if you wait in line, take it out, eat at the counter and do everything but sit and be served as is a normal prerequisite to expect food on tips everywhere else in the country.
Lordy! They want you to tip on already overpriced food? Even the buffet at Boulder Station wanted tips where you got your food cafeteria style and wait staff did nothing more than bring your drinks. Hey, but at least the food here wasn't overpriced.
And don't get me started on the hotels. They are only lightly occupied these days (the reason we were getting three nights for the city occupancy tax of $9 per day), but they still have a lot of people standing around doing little, including jealously guarding a luggage cart, which would've been handy for check-in and check-out, but I didn't want to p*$$ anyone off by offering an insufficient tip, so we ponied our own damn luggage in and out.
And where did all the foxy nearly nekkid women go? You can see them on billboard and billboard sized bused driving around, but their numbers are scarce compared to when I was a pup. The cowboys and manly dudes you used to see have all been replaced by metrosexual men in tuxes and pony tails which, I suppose, is why there isn't much market for nearly nekkid women anymore.
Democrat/progressive / protectionist policies adopted by government at the request of the slimes running the casinos adn land developers.
The Bugs Bunny character was inspired by the Peter Warne character played by Clack Gable in It Happened One Night. There were many elements in the film which influenced the creation of the cwazy wabbit, including a reference to a fictional "Bugs Dooley", a name most likely referencing Siegel.
Back in the 50’ my parents and all there friends in LA area thought nothing of doing a Vegas run for a day at the drop of a hat
(help that the they had unposted speed limit on the highway at that time.. doing a 100+ was the norm...dad was a mechanic and always built his own car engine..big Olds or Buick family sedan that could blow any other car off the road...true sleepers.. he sold one of our old family cars to a guy that then use it as a drag racer)
It was actually a fairly interesting spiel. Plus we saved the cost of one meal. Time-shares are no longer the rip-offs they were a few years ago.
I only went for the $1 shrimp cocktails.
If one of those airlines doesn't serve your city, you are probably out of luck.
They tore down all of the legendary Rat Pack places and tried to turn the place into Disney World.
And they are charging Disney World prices.
After 9/11, Vegas decided L.A. Drug Money was a faster, easier, and more reliable customer base than Middle America. The Strip has changed dramatically to cater to the tastes of that group.
The bean counters took over and with their almighty charts and slide presentations showed how they could make more money by charging full cost for EVERYTHING.
If you are a regular, you can still get comped, but the average players are expected to pay for everything. It is another reason why attendance is down.
I’m sure the bean counters can still justify their existence and show profits on the incidentals that used to be free or low cost, but I know plenty of people who no longer go to Vegas regular because of all the nickel and diming.
I went to LV back when I was a pup in the 60,s, I didn’t like it. I have been there about 12 times in the last 15 years and I liked it even less!
I hope I never have to go again.
I remember very few people being there (maybe 10 or 11 AM .. again, I forget) ... and having a burger and coke, glanced around at the few characters in the place .... Indian/Cowboy types ... older (55+) and grizzled
I have no idea what it was called ... I was travelling and hungry .... ate and left
Nice memory
Thanks, I had always heard that those sales pitches were very hard sell with things like they parked your car and wouldn’t give you the keys back, etc. Obviously you had a much better experience. I’ll be staying on the Strip next month, but I won’t have the deal you got. I will have a kitchen and full sized frig, however, so that should help some.
Stayed at the Orleans in ‘97 when I was working at Yucca Mountain. It had just opened and was really trying to get business. $30 a night for the room, my tip for Breakfast was more than the breakfast itself (yeah, I was eating at 3:00 Am so I could be at the tunnel by 7:00). Actually made money on the per diem that time.
Even with the drive it beat staying in the housing at the Nevada Test Site.
Asians and Arabs came with lots of our money and spent it into higher prices.
You NEVER want to travel down the strip unless you have a couple of hours to go a mile. You have to use the highways above and below the strip to get around.
You need to avoid casino food and go to Whole Foods, Chipotle, McDonalds, Subway or In n out for food on a budget.
Hotel rooms are free if you sign on the internet for a club card.
We get offers all the time to stay 3-6 days in many hotels for free or near free.
The gas is a better price there.
You really don’t go there to shop unless you go the the thrift shops to find some different items there do to all the shows and people.
I haven’t been there in over a decade but my last recollections are of sidewalks strangled with a multitude of rude illegals trying to force ads for porn and prostitutes. That was the end of it for us, plus we just aren’t gamblers and the shows are just way too expensive.
If you sit long enough at a slot machine plugging at least 45 cents every 3 seconds you might get asked in a hour or two.
The way to enjoy Vegas is to live here. I’ve lived all over the world and I love it here for quality of life. However, I avoid The Strip like the plague and I don’t gamble. I consider it a very schizophrenic city, except that most people that come here aren’t actually visiting Las Vegas, but Paradise if staying on The Strip. It’s hard to believe it’s changed so much so quickly, but now it’s definitely like Disney with alcohol and gambling, invaded by The Food Network.
I don’t gamble either, but I do go ahead here in CA about $1500 every 6 weeks playing the machines.
If you know what you are doing you can greatly increase your odds of making money.
I won’t get into it here, because I don’t want to alert or help casinos but I do well in my very part time visits and it to me isn’t gambling.
Two weeks ago $2100 minus $500 thrown back always from their own money to educate myself on various new machines.
Last year I gave my sister a bad time because she was watching me win $700, $600, $700, $400, $600 all in one night. I can only say the last $600 was luck though.
The Flamingo is the only one left, and Donny and Marie headline the nightclub now.
-PJ
I was there in the early 80’s and his description fits pretty well with what I remember. Room prices were in the twenty dollar range and they often comped them for free. Food was cheap. And drinks were free if you were gambling.
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