(ThatKidInTheCorner :: A Wildly Unpopular Moment In The Mirage Race and Sports Book)

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May 24, 2006

A Wildly Unpopular Moment In The Mirage Race and Sports Book

Snippets from a weekend in Vegas

So it's Wednesday now. Wednesday evening, to be specific. I think the Vegas is finally washed out of me. That is, the mere thought of Las Vegas no longer instantly renders me a cringing and frightened child. I wouldn't say that I can exactly imagine returning to Las Vegas -- that might be a little much -- but I can at least read and/ or listen to a discussion of the topic without a significant physical response.

Yeah, good times in Vegas.

In all honesty, I hadn't been there in a couple years. I wouldn't say a ton has changed in Las Vegas since the last time I visited; mostly, everything in Vegas just got about 22 percent more, errr, Vegas, if that makes any sense. It got more expensive, more luxury-brand-obsessed, more pornified, and more popular. Inflation, I guess; cost of living increases for all!

Anyhoo, my three (3) big takeaways (just a couple polite ones) from a weekend in Vegas:

My $23 Turkey Sandwich: you know you're making bad financial decisions when you don't even feel that badly about ordering a $23 turkey sandwich (at the Carnegie Deli, in the Mirage). Given all the other horrific financial decisions you're making (every minute of every day), paying a ton of money for a sandwich you know you'll struggle to finish (it was one of those gigantic/ doesn't-fit-in-your-mouth monstrosities) doesn't actually seem that bad. In fact, it seems (by comparison) to be pretty shrewd! At least you're getting something out of the transcation besides "the thrill of gambling" and a 10 oz. light beer.

Naming and branding consultants needed: so now instead of only 30 percent of the hotels having a "hot nightclub," pretty much all of them are now in the expensive/ trendy nightclub business. Yawn. It all just seems so phony and empty; sort of like being in some kind of generic beer commercial -- only a little more pornified. And the names for these places have already lurched into self-parody: Rain, Pure, Jet, Tryst. They should just hit the fast-forward button and skip to "Threesome at Paris" or "B***** at Harrah's."

SORRY! I Was Pretty Cheesed Off...: I think you would have struggled to find someone in the Mirage Sports Book that didn't have even a little bit of money riding on Barbaro. The horse was an overwhelming favorite in the race. Everyone was down with Barbaro. Our collective confidence was a little bit shaken when Barbaro busted through his gate early and had to be returned to the gate. Hmmm. That seems a little shaky. And then when a horse pulled up limp, there was this horrible moment of anticipation ("That isn't Barbaro, couldn't be") before we all realized what had happened: Barbaro was done. GROAN. This was a wildly unpopular outome; folks weren't even watching the rest of the race, so busy were they with their cursing and sulking. People just were not excited about this at all. The casino must have been thrilled though. Grrrr.