While on our way back from Hoover Dam, Jay steered us toward what he called a "locals" casino, the Hacienda. The Hacienda is definitely off the beaten path if you are in Las Vegas, but it is about 10 minutes from Hoover Dam. If you like history, this is yet another place to visit, but only if you are into gambling. The Hacienda has the lowest limits I've ever seen in a casino, with $3 a hand Blackjack, and $1 craps. The video poker was all full pay, but the place was pretty deserted except for what were clearly the "old regulars". Wheelchairs, canes, and walkers abounded and we were clearly the youngest people in the place by a margin of 10 or more years (with James Geiger being the youngest person to walk through the door in an age I bet).
We sidled up to the craps table, where an aged yet clearly experienced dealer was solo manning the craps table...which was blocked off to half a table due to the complete absence of anyone else playing. He had that "seen it all before" thousand yard stare and eyed us like we were in there to pull some sort of scam. Still, he was personable enough and was happy to take our money. Another older gentleman joined us as we began our run of the dice. "Making a fortune at the Hacienda, eh?" He quipped. The game was small, but it was fun, and when you can lose $2 and play for an hour, it's kind of awesome.
Having our fill of craps, we dropped our asses at the nearest blackjack table, manned by a seasoned veteran dealer. She gave us a tired, but reasonably friendly smile and we sat down to bet. The play continued through the shoe, and while she was shuffling she clearly felt comfortable with us, as she told some incredibly off color jokes. I was flabbergasted and just laughed slightly uncomfortably, because the jokes were funny, but really played into not good stereotypes. Still, she could shuffle cards perfectly with one riffle, leaving them perfectly interleaved. It was hypnotic to watch and frankly, I want to be as good at shuffling cards someday. After I lost a little bit of money, I decided to look for some video poker. At first I thought it wasn't very good, so I ended up playing nickel slots for about 20 minutes, while James was off playing some slot machine and winning $5 or so. As we were leaving, Jay informed me of my error in reading the paytables, so I missed out on some fine video poker. I got to get my souvenier chip from there, and we headed back to the Strip. Overall, I give the place 1.5 smiley faces on a scale of 5 frowny faces to 5 smiley faces. I enjoyed the low limits and the skill of the dealers, but the atmosphere was worn and a little depressing, and it was way out of the way. I'd go back, but only if I were going somewhere else along the way.
Showing posts with label Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegas. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Kotas Reviews Cirque De Solei's "O"
I finally went to a show in Vegas. Dave's business partner got us a pretty damn good deal on tickets to see Cirque de Solei's "O" at the Bellagio. The discounted ticket was $100, which was not quite half off, but close to it. This should give you an idea as to how much the show cost (I was originally quoted $180).
The show was held at the Bellagio, so we got there early, hoping to grab some dinner before the show. We ended up in some food court area full of overly fancily named places that essentially translated to "adequate food at ridiculous prices!". It wasn't bad, but I don't think I got my money's worth. We eventually moved into the theater proper. Our seats were in an upper balcony along the long edge of the theater, meaning we had a good view of the lower theater seats a well as a high angled view of the stage. Dave, who had seen this show before, said that he liked these seats, because they do a lot of stuff in the theater seat area and he couldn't see any of it before. We were to have an excellent view of these shenanigans.
The show opens with a couple of clowns dressed as sailors (sort of) doing a routine where they push a giant life preserver around the audience. That's kind of fun. The show then starts to spin up as they send in some acrobats and performers to interact with the audience as a elaborate contraption is lowered from the ceiling into the middle of the arena, so a single acrobat can do a neat routine while suspended from it. Then they select a victim from the audience to pull up on stage to read the opening "turn of yo damn cell phone and no cameras" announcement. Then he gets yanked behind the curtain and the show begins!
I will not spoil the majority of the show, but it was absolutely fucking incredible. The acrobats were simply a joy to watch as they flipped, dove, and swung from various contraptions. The contortionists were mind boggling, and Todd commented that they were the best he's seen. The really awesome thing was the stage. For most of the show, it was UNDERWATER. That's right, the stage converted into a 10 ft. pool at times. From our vantage point we could see divers (in FULL DIVING GEAR) moving out of hidden tunnels to do various things and keep the performers safe and sound. They even showed up on stage at one point, for some reason. The story line of the show was...confusing to say the least. There were several "got ya" moments including some really long dives into the pool from somewhere above the stage, lots of flips and dives into the water...and then the stage would drain in a few minutes, leaving an almost entirely dry surface in about 20 seconds for the performers to skitter over...and then it would turn into the pool again!
I loved this show. It was probably the absolute peak of my vacation in Vegas. I give it a well deserved 5 smiley faces on a scale of 5 frowny faces to 5 smiley faces, and I recommend that anyone who travels to Vegas see that show, or one of the many other shows that they have running.
The show was held at the Bellagio, so we got there early, hoping to grab some dinner before the show. We ended up in some food court area full of overly fancily named places that essentially translated to "adequate food at ridiculous prices!". It wasn't bad, but I don't think I got my money's worth. We eventually moved into the theater proper. Our seats were in an upper balcony along the long edge of the theater, meaning we had a good view of the lower theater seats a well as a high angled view of the stage. Dave, who had seen this show before, said that he liked these seats, because they do a lot of stuff in the theater seat area and he couldn't see any of it before. We were to have an excellent view of these shenanigans.
The show opens with a couple of clowns dressed as sailors (sort of) doing a routine where they push a giant life preserver around the audience. That's kind of fun. The show then starts to spin up as they send in some acrobats and performers to interact with the audience as a elaborate contraption is lowered from the ceiling into the middle of the arena, so a single acrobat can do a neat routine while suspended from it. Then they select a victim from the audience to pull up on stage to read the opening "turn of yo damn cell phone and no cameras" announcement. Then he gets yanked behind the curtain and the show begins!
I will not spoil the majority of the show, but it was absolutely fucking incredible. The acrobats were simply a joy to watch as they flipped, dove, and swung from various contraptions. The contortionists were mind boggling, and Todd commented that they were the best he's seen. The really awesome thing was the stage. For most of the show, it was UNDERWATER. That's right, the stage converted into a 10 ft. pool at times. From our vantage point we could see divers (in FULL DIVING GEAR) moving out of hidden tunnels to do various things and keep the performers safe and sound. They even showed up on stage at one point, for some reason. The story line of the show was...confusing to say the least. There were several "got ya" moments including some really long dives into the pool from somewhere above the stage, lots of flips and dives into the water...and then the stage would drain in a few minutes, leaving an almost entirely dry surface in about 20 seconds for the performers to skitter over...and then it would turn into the pool again!
I loved this show. It was probably the absolute peak of my vacation in Vegas. I give it a well deserved 5 smiley faces on a scale of 5 frowny faces to 5 smiley faces, and I recommend that anyone who travels to Vegas see that show, or one of the many other shows that they have running.
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