Showing posts with label Cosmopolitan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cosmopolitan. Show all posts

Saturday, June 22, 2019

E-303: Have You Seen Minority Report?



Random Vegas
The Hacienda Hotel & Casino was one of a chain of 4 properties each featuring a distinctive horse and rider sign.  The other 3 locations were in California. (Neon Museum) 

Twitpic of the week



It’s so Vegas it's kind of annoying while simultaneously being sexy as hell.  If LED signage is eye-catching, what does one 30 stories tall do.  @Palms hopes it draws people to the off-strip property that kicked off the nightclub revolution in the city only to eventually be outdone by their strip counterparts.  Returning to the well is a risky proposition but how else do you recommend they reclaim their place in the market?  But when renovation costs exceed that of some newer projects, is there any chance they can recoup their investment?  Time will tell. 

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Saturday, May 11, 2019

E-300: FSE Dimmer Switch



Random Vegas 
The NYNY skyline is a collage of 12 NY skyscrapers approximately one-third the size of the originals with a 150-foot-tall Statue of Liberty (super casino) 

Twitpic of the week 



It’s fascinating to me that @Cosmopolitan_LV does more with 4.4 acres of land than City Center is able to do with 19 time that real estate.  Don’t get me wrong, the City Center campus is attractive.  It’s just, who really wants to vacation in an office park on the strip.  I know that sounds like a knock but it isn’t intended to be in this case.  It’s more a testament to how special the minds who think up such concepts are.  As critical as I can be towards some of the decisions made by the people running the casinos I love, I always try to keep in mind before voicing that opinion, especially a negative opinion, is could I do any better.  And the answer is no.  Then again, that’s not my job.  I’ve never claimed to know how to build a better resort.  I make a point to stay in my lane and share insight I feel I can offer educated commentary on.  Speaking of, let me give a little insight into what’s going on today in Vegas.  Vegas has historically been recession proof, or at least virtually.  After feeling the impact of the Great Recession, everything, including long standing established protocol, is under scrutiny by industry leadership.  History shows us that Vegas may be the first company to follow the software development philosophy known as Agile.  A practice that gives businesses the ability to try out new concepts while still giving them the freedom to pivot from the original plan when market feedback does not respond favorably.  Today, we are at that juncture.  Just like the patience one needs to exhibit when telling a child not to do something for the millionth time, now is the time to stay resolute because the hardest thing for a company to explain to shareholders is eliminating a source of revenue for the betterment of the company.  Keep complaining about resort fees, paid parking and CNF charges.  Reward companies like Wynn and TI who are beginning to eliminating such fees with your patronage.  Support them for pioneering the change back to a Vegas that can be experienced by all income demographics.  

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Saturday, April 20, 2019

E-297: Does Mom Know?



Random Vegas
In 2007, the Brand Ranking survey saw Las Vegas rise to America’s number two brand, behind only google (The Strip – Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream) 

Twitpic of the week 



Glorious is one way to describe the Galaxy Bar at Vegas World.  Vegas as fuck is another.  Say what you will about Bob Stupak, he got it right with this amenity.  Potentially inspired by what I can only imagine every brothel in Pahrump looks like inside, the use a mirrored ceiling to capture the reflection of the light feature creates the illusion of infinity.  Trapped in tacky you say? We should all be so lucky. That being said, I can’t help but think everything you see in the picture shared by @summacorp is sticky.

News

Saturday, February 2, 2019

E-290: The Betty White Affair




Random Vegas

Like Cosmopolitan, due to Luxor’s unique design, it has been a popular place for people to commit suicide.  The most infamous of which was in 1996.  A 23 year old women climbed over the ledge of the 26th floor of the atrium and jumped, landing near the long line to the buffet at the property, causing her body to “burst”.  A hazmat team was bought in to clean up the mess as rumors that the jumper had AIDS spread and social ignorance at the time began to cause panic.  Luxor offered free counseling sessions with a therapist to guests who saw the incident.  The idea of installing Plexiglas on the corridors was entertained to prevent something like this from happening again.  However the fire department informed them it would violate fire code as it would trap smoke in the hallways outside guest rooms.  Another idea was adding wire screens to catch jumpers but that idea was eventually nixed as the nets were not only unattractive, they were distracting and gave a haunting reminder of why they were there. (Book - Super Casino) 

Twitpic of the week 


Come on man, seriously.  Seriously?  @Vegasphotograph just sees and thinks differently from the rest of us.  Rain in the desert is uncommon enough but mix that with Vegas signage and those that love the city can’t whip their phones out fast enough to catch the neon reflections everywhere.  But a picture of the Stratosphere reflected in drops of water is some next level shit.  Reflections in fucking drops of water.  As I reflect on this picture, I feel like it’s a great representation of how my love for this city has evolved since moving here.  Similar to how the love for a spouse evolves and grows deeper than one could imagine over time, living here has given me the opportunity to move beyond the feeling that I only have 5 days or however long I’m staying to enjoy the city as much as possible before I have to go home and transitioned to enjoying every single aspect of it I can possibly think of, further deepening my appreciation for it.  While I’ll never be half the photographer this guy is, I can only hope I write with the same askewed view. 

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Saturday, May 19, 2018

E-268: Shots...In My Mouth



Random Vegas
Dunes jacket shop owner and property fanboy Jerry Pearman was given the honor of making the final throw of the dice before the property closed in 1993.  Betting $5 on the pass line, he rolled a 7 and won.

Twitpic of the week



The Silverbird signage alone may have secured the win for this week's "Twitpic of the week", once again brought to you by @TonyIlliawho has recently been dominating the designation.  I know it was a short lived incarnation for the property, originally known as the Thunderbird, but something about all the silver just captures my imagination.  I'm curious how hot that sign got with the desert sun shinning down on it, and what sort of crazy reflections that thing created, and was the real concept behind the signage an overly elaborate way to torture and kill James Bond.  The world may never know.  What we do know is that only two things in this picture still exist today on the Las Vegas strip, Caesars Palace and Circus Circus, interestingly enough, both themed resorts from the mind of Jay Sarno.  And only one of them still looks like it did in 1981, that's the Lucky the Clown marquee at Circus Circus. Caesars Palace is shown here in the dead center of the photo, still sporting the Sarno block exterior it would keep for almost another 20 year before being changed to what we know it as today.  Everything else, has literally been raised to ground and is currently undeveloped land.  But don't lament its passing too much because what the picture doesn't show you, is that in 1981, the strip located south of Caesars looked very similar to what this part of the strip looks like today. Paris, Planet Hollywood, Cosmopolitan, City Center, Monte Carlo, NYNY, MGM Grand and Luxor were little more than undeveloped land.  I'm sure there's a metaphor in their somewhere but I'm too busy enjoying the view to wax philosophical. 

News

360VV6 Housekeeping
Wynn Picasso Damaged
Cosmopolitan New Restaurants Announced
Sugarfina Opens
CNF Reminder

Saturday, May 5, 2018

E-266: Acceptable Cuntery

Random Vegas
Since peaking in 2006 at $1.2 billion, strip properties in Las Vegas have generated the majority of their revenue, as much as 65% in some cases, from non-gaming amenities likehotel rooms, shopping, entertainment and spas. Further explaining why gaming odds have declined for the player over the last decade.

Twitpic of the week

While I love the Fremont St Experience, I prefer the landscape without it.  There's something exceptional about all that signage, densely concentrated, set against a black night sky.  No single location or landmark says Vegas like the neon strip.  That being said, this week's winner, once again brought to you by @TonyIllia, says something else to me.  Something I've never noticed before.  It says in 1990, Fremont was tired.  I can't put my finger on exactly what it is, but it all looks like it was feeling every bit its age.  Maybe it was bad idea to let Binion's and the Golden Nugget absorb its neighbors so they could expand.  Maybe it's the excessive use of the orange hue lettering in the Golden Goose and Coin Castle signage.  Whatever it is, something was clearly off.  And now that I'm seeing it, it's hard to fault those that acknowledged Fremont St needed something to shock the area back to life.  Fast forward four years from this moment, and Fremont St, meet your defibrillator in the form of, what else, bright signage to recapture the imagination and patronage of the Las Vegas visitor.

News


Saturday, March 24, 2018

E-262: Because My Name is Keren



Random Vegas
The original Eiffel tower is made of wrought iron. The one at Paris hotel and casino is made from welded steel and is structurally stronger. (sincitytalk.com) 

Twitpic of the week



 It's truly remarkable what Fremont East has evolved itself into.  Especially when you consider there was a time when the Fremont East signage was best used as a warning to pedestrians who may have accidentally wandered too far from the beaten path and almost into a certain mugging.  Today, it's charming, densely populated with a variety of quality food options and bars.  El Cortez is no longer the finish line to safety but a classic Vegas experience.  The repurposed neon enhances the atmosphere now instead of just providing additional exterior lighting to help witnesses identify assailants for later line up recollection.  Say what you will about the cult like atmosphere at Zappos, they did what no one could before them; make Fremont East not only a safe place to visit but a place people want to visit.  Thank you @ElCortezLV for reminding us.

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