Despite the recession Las Vegas still lures them in

Author: Lito Cinco
Column: Life & Entertainment

This writer was in the United States recently for a three-week break from the daily humdrum of life in the Philippines, with trip tickets courtesy of Philippine Airlines where the missus worked for 18 years before she opted for retirement 10 years ago after earning lifetime passes for the entire family, now you know why we can afford to travel.

And among the places we visited were San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Grand canyon, and of course, one of Americas greatest attraction and the worlds gambling capital bar none, the desert city of Las Vegas, thankfully cold this time of the year.

From what we saw of the two nights spent in this never-sleeping city, one night at a suite room at the Imperial Palace and the following night at the Harrahs, one of the oldest but still very popular casinos in the Strip, it seems the effect of the American economic recession has yet to be felt in this city. But only if we will base it on the still big number of gamblers and visitors when we were there, considering further it was not even a weekend when we arrived in Las Vegas.

As far as real estate though is concerned, just like in California, prices have gone down and this is where Las Vegas residents are feeling the crunch as their equities in their homes have dissipated due to the decrease in the valuation of their homes.

But since we were there only as a tourist, we hardly felt that at all. What we felt for sure were the tremendous losses my wife and I suffered playing the one-cent slot machines, where you can pick from the old-fashioned up-down motion of the lever or the more modern touch-based machines. For sure, you will never run out of games to play as each area in the slot machines featured different games. What you will run out of for sure is money.

When in the Strip, however, there are other things that one can do once the pockets are light already. One is watching all those people seemingly mesmerized by the visuals and the sounds of the slot machines, mindless of anything else around them, or those playing the roulette, craps or cards, and doing all those little things that gamblers do for luck.

The Imperial Palace features celebrities-look alike impersonators doing both a full-length show and acting as celebrity dealers at the card tables. And if you cannot afford the show charge, then you can watch them do a song or two for free at the ground floor.

And since it was already evening and having done with dinner at the Imperial Palace then, we just decided to walk along the Strip and see this gambling capital at night. And a sight not to be missed would be the dancing fountains of Bellagio.

Shopping is also a very good but expensive alternative activity and you have a lot of places to choose from. And since last time we were here a few years ago and visited already Paris complete with the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, my wife and I decided to go this time to the The Forum Shops first, which is the shopping arcade of the massive Caesars Palace and the sights inside, huge statues of Roman gods and caesars staring down at mere mortals like us, as if ordering us to buy or else, did move us to buy a few things at the shops carrying different branded products, name it, they have it.

Second stop was The Venetian, which like Paris offers a no-night experience as the ceiling of the entire shopping area is covered with a backdrop of blue skies, giving one the impression that it is daytime any time of the day. Main attraction of the place aside from the glitzy shops is the indoor gondola ride in a man-made canal, complete with love-songs crooning boatmen. If only the boatmen can do Dahil sa Iyo, I would have taken my wife for a boat ride, good thing they could not.

Oh just before entering The Venetian, do not miss out the wax museum where outside stands guard the wax images of Whoopi Goldberg and Nicholas Cage. Just be prepared to part ways with a little money for the entrance, and I was in luck, we did not have any money to part with anymore so there was no problem at all.

Actually, money can really make you enjoy this place, like renting a full limousine for a ride around town for around P2,000 per passenger. I contented myself with having a photo taken with but not inside the limo of Imperial Palace. Or as mentioned earlier, watch the shows offered in the other big hotel-casinos like The Mirage, MGM Grand, and Mandalay. At the time we were there, Bette Midler was one of the big name attractions.

And if sated by casinos and yearning for the outdoor, you will be surprised by what you will see even within the city limits like a cactus garden that features all kinds of cacti. Or if you have a local host as we had the first time we were here, ask to be brought to Red Rock Canyon, a smaller version of the Grand Canyon, just around 20 to 30 minutes away from the Strip

For those with a sweet tooth, ask directions to the Jelly Belly plant here and do the plant tour, and see how millions of these Jelly Belly candies are made everyday, and at the end of the tour, stuff yourself with all kinds of these candies at the candy shop.

Why, you can even do a quick drive-in wedding but, I do not know about a drive-in divorce though, but for sure, Las Vegas will never run out of attractions to local and foreign tourists, just do not forget to bring money, okay?

Source: Manila Standard Today