E-284: The Password is...

Random Vegas

It's a popular myth that the scene in the movie Casino where Joe Pesci's character stabbed a guy in the neck after saying something smart ass to Robert De Niro's character was not only filmed at Atomic Liquors, that's where it actually happened.  Neither happened at Atomic Liquors (My eyes and the Atomic Liquor bartender) 

Twitpic of the week

It's a feeling of euphoria and concern.  A dreamlike state brought to you by @arivetinglifewhere one can't help but think, "Life doesn't get any better than moments like this."  Interrupted by a moment of realization that very soon you'll not recall what's happening around you so you should probably get back to your room. Just before it occurs to you that you're not exactly sure how you got here in the first place.  Polished off with acceptance that if this is the way you die, you'd be okay with that but this better not be a dream where you're living out scenes from the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  No one should be forced to endure the movie equivalent of waterboarding let alone a subconscious version you can't simply walk away from.

News

Wynn's Paradise Park Scraped

Palms Progress

Plans for Paris Revealed

Lyft's Art Park

E-249: Kevin Spacey's Fun Dungeon

Random Vegas

In 1971, due to the overflowing audience, people were being refused admittance to the Jimmy Dean, the Imperials & Dottie West shows at the Landmark.  One of those people, unknown to the staff, was Elvis Presley. Elvis was incognito, trying to not be recognized and it worked.  Once word got back to the production, he had no problem getting into the show the following night (Vintage Research) 

Twitpic of the week

There was no doubt in my mind, the second I saw it, that @JoeQ_sd's picture would be the Twitpic of the week.  An absolutely stunning picture of center strip with an angle normally reserved for Google earth or maybe a helicopter.  A view so tantalizing one can't help but reach out to try and touch it. The sight puts one in emotional juxtaposition depending on the situation.  Seen upon arrival to the city and endorphins are sure to be inadvertently released into the blood stream.  Seen while concluding ones latest adventures in paradise and its heartbreak, triggering a longing intensified as the distance from utopia widens while the view shrinks in the window. A feeling time only helps to dull while you wait to return to desert bliss in the key of C, all while painfully reminding you of the poor life decisions you've made that have led you to live any place but Las Vegas. 

News

Wynn Paradise Park Plans

Excalibur adds 4-D attraction

The Voice: Neon Dreams Show

E-231: The Fork of Doom

Random Vegas

In 1944, spurred on by the success of properties like the El Rancho and Last Frontier, the concept of making the western theme mandatory throughout Fremont Street was considered but never formally adopted. (After-Hours Architecture) 

Twitpic of the week

Evolution. Everything that wants to survive and thrive has to adapt to its environment and evolve to an ever-changing landscape.  That statement is not only metaphorically accurate for Las Vegas but is simultaneously literally accurate.  This week’s winner from @classiclasvegas gave me an experience I’m unable to recall ever having before in relation to photography of my favorite city, disorientation.  Never has something so familiar looked so foreign to me.  In 1990, when Excalibur opened, the largest hotel in the world at the time, it was basically on an island.  True Tropicana was next door to it and the Hacienda just south of it but next to the shear size and scope of the Excalibur project, those properties look out of place in comparison.  In 1990, there was no MGM Grand, just the Marina hotel that it would eventually become consumed and incorporated into the project.  There was no NYNY or Monte Carlo just the Dunes golf course.  No Paris, an unrecognizable version of the Aladdin and that was about it until you got to the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana.  In 1990, Excalibur looks as out of the way then as Stratosphere does now.  This was a time when the strip still looked like it was an oasis in the desert.  Once again, photography has given me the best of both worlds.  I’m able to enjoy watching the evolution of the strip while making me grateful I didn’t have to experience it.

NEWS

Still No Hockey Jerseys

More Weed News

Jackpot Tax Changes

Paradise Park Plans