It tells the story of Dennis Gomes, an accountant by trade, but whose goal was law enforcement. He was on the verge of joining the FBI when he got an offer to work on the Nevada Gaming Commission in Las Vegas. As the youngest head of the Audit Division ever (only 26 years old!), his job was to monitor the casinos and make sure that their counts were on the up-and-up. Since this was Las Vegas in the '70s, he obviously encountered plenty of illegal activities and Mob involvement.
His most consuming investigation was that of the Stardust, involving the Chicago Outfit guy, Frank Rosenthal, and Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, a psychopathic enforcer who loved to torture his victims. That situation and those characters were covered in the movie "Casino" (a movie I love).
Gomes had a deep-seated sense of justice, and it enraged him to see mobsters getting away with blatantly illegal activities, with many Nevada politicians turning a blind eye. My impression of Gomes was that of a kind and decent man who just wanted to see justice done and worked tirelessly to make that happen. The book was co-written by one of his daughters, and her love and respect for her late father shines through. Gomes is apparently a legend in the gaming industry and his memory is still well-respected.
I loved this for many reasons, but it was a lot of fun to see some of my favorite places mentioned. We've stayed at the Tropicana, the oldest casino still standing on the Strip, and one of the coolest places in Vegas is the Peppermill. Dennis and his wife visit the Peppermill for a bite to eat, then have a drink at the Fireside Lounge.
"As bright and festive as the dining room was, the Fireside Lounge was dark and mellow, but no less over the top. In the center of the room was a flaming pool, and there was always at least one couple brazenly kissing and fondling one another."
Vegas, baby! The flaming pool is still there!
If you are fascinated by the Mob, you'll enjoy this book. If you are fascinated by Vegas history, you'll enjoy this book. If you are fascinated by the history of the Mob in Vegas, you will love this book as much as I did! Highly recommended!
I have more to write about Las Vegas (as well as lots more pictures), but I wanted to write about my new favorite place in Vegas: the Peppermill.
Located on the Strip, just south of the Riviera casino, the Peppermill was built in 1974. If not for the flat screen TVs they’ve put up in the lounge, you might think you had actually traveled back to that year. This place is old school Vegas, something you don’t see much of on the Strip these days. (In Vegas years, something built in 1974 is practically a dinosaur.) The place is actually separated into different (but attached) areas, the restaurant and the Fireside Lounge.
I had read about this place when researching for our last trip, but we didn’t manage to make it there last time. This time it was a must-see for me, and we took the opportunity to arrange to meet some online friends, Bill and Libby. Due to some family arrangements, Bill couldn’t make it, so we met Libby there. It turned out to be a good choice, because despite having lived there for several years, she had never been to the Peppermill! We had a great time talking with her and picking her brain about Vegas (whether old school or the new style).
How to describe this place? I walked in there and felt like I was a guest on the Dean Martin Show. The lounge itself is small, but a combination of low lighting, purple and pink neon, and a mirrored wall provides the illusion of a larger place. We were there at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, so pretty much had the place to ourselves; it’s open all night, and when going by there later, the parking lot looked packed. I bet they do pretty good business later on. (Libby told us that some of the entertainers hang out there after their shows; she knows that Penn Gillette has been spotted there. Cool!)
The seating is arranged in circles or semicircles, low to the ground (this short person rejoiced), and covered in a plush pink fabric. In the circular seating area, there is a firepit with a flame erupting from a pool of water. As I mentioned, it’s quite dark, but the lighting is skillfully arranged so that you don’t feel blinded. Of course, there’s all that neon bouncing off the brass rails and the mirrors!
Our waitress was wonderfully friendly, and they wear long black dresses with a big slit up the leg...a little more glamorous than most places. Inspired by the glamour, I felt like having something a little more glamorous than a beer, so I had a grapefruit juice and vodka. I wish I could have remembered that it’s called a Greyhound, but I had to settle for ordering it by ingredient. We decided to have some appetizers, so we got a sampler platter (lots of fried food, pretty good except for the onion rings) and a fruit and cheese platter. We were able to lean back on that pink upholstery and completely relax, like we were at someone’s home...if their home happened to look like a swingin’ ‘70s pad, that is! Groovy.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved this place. It will be a stop during every single Vegas trip from now on. I hope it survives for many years, because they don’t make them like this in Vegas anymore. Peppermill Lounge, don’t go changin’. I love you just the way you are.
Okay, today is my birthday. I haven’t spent a lot of time online today, but I woke up this morning to message after message on Facebook wishing me a happy one. I can’t reply to all of them—I think I lost count at 50—but I appreciated each and every one of them.
There were people who sang to me (What song? “Beth,” of course!), people who posted videos for me, people who called me awesome, a birthday wish in German, people who provided great quotes, people who just generally wished me well and wished me a fantastic day. Some were from relatives, some were from friends, some were from people I’ve met or people I will meet one day, and some were from those who I’ll never get a chance to meet. I grinned as I read them all, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. I rant and rave there, I act like a brat at times, and more often than not, I’m a grade-A smartass...but you guys seem to kinda like me, anyway. Or at least you tolerate me. That makes me happy.
Those who say that online friends aren’t “real” friends obviously don’t have many online friends! If they did, they’d know better than to say such an idiotic thing.
Anyway, thank you all, very VERY much. I’m still smiling!
As for my day, it hasn’t been all that much different than the usual. Next week will be different (more on that in a moment). I made sure that I got some outside sun/reading time in. Yesterday, we went to see my Mom, and my cousins Denise and Jason stopped by. Mom mentioned that my birthday was the following day, and asked Denise and Jason to guess how old I was going to be. Denise said, “Let’s see...you’re younger than our parents, so I’m gonna guess 50!” I said she was close...I’d be turning 49. Mom said something like, “Well, enjoy it, because once you hit 50, things really start going fast.” The way she said it was so funny, and I said, “So I guess I’ve got one good year left in me!” So, one year...I’d better get busy living or get busy dying!
We don’t really do much on our birthdays or anniversaries anymore. I don’t need to go out to dinner on the very night, and I’m not into bling. However, we do kind of save it all up and treat our vacations as our presents. Next week, we’ll be heading to Vegas for several days (not quite a week), and we’ll do some fun stuff there. (First, though, is the Notre Dame season opener on Saturday. More about that this week!) I got us front row tickets to “Viva Elvis!” (the Cirque du Soleil Elvis show), we’re going to do a day trip to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, and of course there will be some Blackjack involved! We don’t spend as much time gambling as we first did. It’s still fun, but we can’t spend hours doing it. We’ll also be meeting up with a couple, Bill and Libby, who fall into the category mentioned earlier: “people I will meet.” They are long-time fellow bloggers, and we will be meeting them at the Peppermill Lounge (A fairly historic place in Vegas, and despite living there, it turns out they’ve never been there…perfect!) for some cocktails and deep discussion. I look forward to it!
It’s going to be some hot weather out there next week, but maybe it will burn all the summer out of me, and make me ready for fall. Nahh, I doubt it!
Thanks again, everyone. You’ve made my day a wonderful one. Mmmmmwah!
Last evening, Tom Tancredo got things going with his kickoff speech. He had some very interesting things to say, things like calling the tea party movement "the most important political movement in the United States since the Civil War." What does that even mean? Is he advocating secession? He called the "cult of multiculturalism" as big a threat as our fiscal problems. He called Sarah Palin a "really, really pretty Margaret Thatcher." He called for implementing a "literacy test" for voters, a tactic that was used in the segregationist South in order to keep blacks from voting, saying that President Obama was elected because "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country." He went on to say this:
People who could not spell the word vote or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House—his name is Barack Hussein Obama.
Although cheers erupted at this, apparently, the room wasn't filled; I guess that's a good thing, since as few people as possible should hear such bigotry, misogyny, and narrow-minded idiocy as fell from his lips.
Here we've got an older, white, conservative male talking about how he hates multiculturalism. How he wants to go back to segregationist tactics designed to keep uneducated people (i.e., blacks) from voting. How people who couldn't spell or speak English are the ones who voted Obama into the White House.
Have you looked at any of the demographics, Uncle Tom? You are factually inaccurate. College graduates constituted a huge portion of Obama supporters. For anyone who supports Tancredo and others of his ilk, you might want to think long and hard about why you are doing so; unless you are also a white, conservative male, or a MILF, they are not your friend and they are not your advocate. Let’s go over that again. He wants to put segregationist tactics into place. Yes, teabaggers…this is what you are following. This is what you—YOU—are advocating if you are supporting them.
By the way, if we focused more on education, they way our President is trying to do, perhaps the illiteracy rates in our country would drop. There are plenty of people who can't read because they don't have access to safe schools and a good education. That doesn't mean that they can't listen to the news and learn about things that way. His condescending, patronizing tone is an affront to all of us—or it should be.
One of the speakers today was Judge Roy Moore. This was the guy who was removed from his position as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court because he refused to remove the monument of the ten commandments he had erected at the state judicial building. Moore said the monument "reflects the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men" and "acknowledge[s] God’s overruling power over the affairs of men." He did not feel that this violated the separation of church and state, and when the deadline for removing the monument came and went, they yanked him from the Court.
So now in addition to needing to be a white, conservative male or a white, conservative MILF, you must also ignore the Constitution (despite your strident call to follow it in other matters) and acknowledge that God rules the affairs of men, although that Constitution for which you profess such undying love explicitly says that that is not the case.
We're not a theocracy, folks. You know that, right?
There were several breakout sessions today (believe me, if I were there, I think I would have been finding a way to break out), with topics that included:
"Why Christians must engage"
"How to do Voter Registration Drives and Where to Find Conservative Votes"
"Women in Politics" [They allow that? I thought we were supposed to keep our mouths shut and look pretty. Like a pretty version of Margaret Thatcher.]
"5 Easy Fixes to the High Cost of Mass Immigration" [Tancredo's solution is immediate deportation of all of them.]
"Defeating Liberalism via the Primary Process"
and oddly enough, "Emergency Preparedness" [What sort of emergency? Heart attack? Bioterrorist attack? Nuclear bomb? Black man in the White House?...D'OH!]
They'll wind up tonight's festivities with a "tea party discussion" and another movie: "Generation Zero: The Inconceivable Truth."
Did I mention that there was no booze at these events? Gahhhh! I was telling a friend today that I would have liked to have seen them have this convention in Las Vegas. Vegas corrupts everyone. I'm picturing these matronly Midwestern women shooting craps, jiggling those die like…um, never mind…yelling, "C'mon baby, Mama needs a seven!" and staid, repressed Texas milquetoasts stuffing dollar bills into the G-string of a past-her-prime downtown pole dancer.
That would have been fun. But we wouldn't want a hangover to lessen our enjoyment of the 9 am lecture, "Correlations between the current Administration and Marxist Dictators of Latin America." Subtle. After that, a panel discussion, "Where the Tea Party Movement Goes from Here."
I recommend Vegas. I think they all need to cut loose a little bit.
It was the TREASURY SECRETARY who set the terms for AIG. It was Obama who picked the Treasury Secretary and claimed he was "too big" to not overlook his tax cheating. It was the Congress that passed the bill WITHOUT READING IT and without putting any rules in it for companies accepting the money from bailouts.
It's the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, with heavy emphasis on CONGRESS, to blame for these bonuses being paid out.
PERIOD..
Obama's attempt to act "outraged" at the bonuses is completely phony. His administration had already said on Sunday that there was nothing they could do about the bonuses.
They knew these bonuses would need to be paid, (and will be paid next year too,) but must feign anger because they want more bailout money to pass out to their friends, and this debacle could cost them dearly.
I don't like incompetence being rewarded either, but it's not the workers at AIG, but the idiots in our government who are to blame for these being handed out.
Posted by Anonymous to Nutwood Junction at March 18, 2009 2:32 AM
What the hell? Did I miss something in my own entry? While I'm impressed by your strategic use of CAPITAL LETTERS, Anon, I have to say that you are pretty far off-topic. I'm not sure how my comments about Charlie Sheen's CBS sitcom and how Ken and I handle being ill made you think of the AIG thing, but maybe you need to chill just a bit. I do have to wonder at why you feel there is nothing wrong with hijacking my blog to express your own opinions. I suggest you start your own blog, where you can write whatever you want to write about. You may even eventually get your own "special" Anon, but it won't be me, because I won't bother you. Trust me on that one.
On to bigger and better things! I have some pictures for you.
Before I left on my errands yesterday, I saw a smallish band of turkeys in the back yard. (I just saw them again a few moments ago. In fact, I just looked, and they're still out there--walking down the driveway! Ha ha!) It's getting to be that time of year when a young tom's fancy turns to thoughts of love, and there were two toms in this band that were displaying. (Oh wow, now there are four toms displaying! Cool!) It never fails to amuse me to see the way they puff up and strut their stuff. It always makes me think of that old song: "Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather...shake it shake it shake it!" Ha! Neighbor Dave tells me that it's good to put out egg shells for them this time of year, or crushed oyster shells. They need the calcium for when it comes time to lay their eggs. Eggs were on sale this week, so I got three dozen more, and I'll be saving the shells (and asking Ken to save them from his hard boiled eggs at lunch) to put out for the turkeys. C'mon turkeys, I'll help you lay eggs of steeeeeel!
So I went shopping yesterday. I didn't start out looking for shoes, but while I was out, I decided to see what I could find. I've been on a quest lately for some wedge gladiator sandals. I have a pair of flat ones that I love and have had for at least ten years--I was gladiator sandal before gladiator sandal was cool--but I wanted to find some that would be comfy and cute, but even a little bit dressy depending upon the outfit. I went to several stores and even tried some on...came close to buying some in Kohl's, but I just wasn't quite happy with the style. Oh my God, there were such cool ones at DSW, with really high platform heels and leather bands going all the way up the ankle. I loved them, but I was out for comfy and cute, not excruciating but smokin' hot. I tried one pair on that was a pretty good combination of both, but the buckle on the ankle strap hit me right on the bone. I knew that it would irritate me to no end, so I put them back.
I finally found a pair at, of all places, Target. I rarely buy shoes at Target, because I don't think they hold up well, but I'm not going to be running a marathon in these babies, am I? I really like them, and they're really comfortable! They have the wide T-strap running up the middle, the smaller crosswise straps at the ball of the foot, and a couple around the ankle. A nice wedge heel that isn't too big and is fairly stable, and I can wear them with shorts, a miniskirt/skort, jeans, a casual sundress, or even a slightly dressy pants suit. Sweet!
I'm generally not a girly-girl, but man, I do loves me some shoes!
While I was at Target, I also found a picture that I just love. I had seen it before, and loved it then, but couldn't justify paying the price they were asking for a Target wall hanging, you know? It was on clearance for half price, and that I could justify. You all know how much I love Vegas, Baby. A few years ago, Ken got me a tabletop Las Vegas sign for Christmas that flashes and lights up, and it always makes me happy to turn it on and watch the star light up. [sigh] So how could I resist this take on the iconic Vegas sign? How, I ask you? I'm not sure where I'll put it--either in the basement or in the office--but I love it. Kitsch makes me a happy girl.
I hope everyone is safe and warm today! We've been getting snow most of the day, and tonight it's supposed to get bone-chillingly cold...so I suppose it's a good time to write about the Boneyard!
I had a lot of great experiences during our short trip to Vegas, but I think I was most thrilled to get to tour the Boneyard. As I've mentioned previously, it's part of the Neon Museum, and it's where old signs go to retire. Not die, because the hope is that they will eventually be restored, and a dozen or so have been and reside downtown at the Fremont Street Experience.
The Boneyard is a 3-acre expanse of neon tubing, rusting metal, broken glass, and old signs piled on top of old signs. And oh yeah...it's WONDERFUL! It is available by appointment only, and I started trying back in the summer to see if I could get a tour time for us. It was questionable if they were going to be offering tours right after the New Year, but not too long before I left, I heard back from Erin, and she said that they were going to have tours available. Yippee!
Check out the picture: Ee-yo eleven! (Another chance for a gold star: what movie is that from?)
We rode the Blue Deuce down to Fremont Street and hiked a few blocks to the Neon Museum offices. I could see some of the signs poking up over the top of the fence that surrounds the Boneyard, and I was so excited. Our tour guide, a very knowledgeable and funny young man named Justin, walked us over to the Boneyard and unlocked the gates, and in we walked. Feel free to insert angelic choirs singing here, because that's how I felt. I know I'm kind of weird about signs, but Ken has been a good sport and indulges me in my urge to take pictures--or go to museums--of old signage. I can't explain it...I just think they're fascinating. In the case of the Boneyard, it's not just that there are classic examples of Googie signage, but it's also a bit of Vegas history.
That's where Justin came in. I sort of thought it was going to be a self-guided tour, where we just walked around and looked at and took pictures of the signs. After the tour, I understand why they can't do that, because there really is a lot of broken glass and rusty metal, and if people won't protect themselves, the Museum has to! Justin told us about some guy a few weeks ago who backed into a piece of broken neon tubing and had to go to the ER. Considering my natural klutziness, I was very careful. Anyhoo, Justin told us about restoration of the signs (it averages about $40,000 per sign), materials used, anecdotes about the Boneyard itself (lots of photo shoots and music videos are shot there), and historical facts about the casinos and places where the signs originated.
Vegas has been notorious for just imploding casinos and tearing things down in order to build anew (I'm talkin' to YOU, Steve Wynn!), so it's great to see people getting involved in historic preservation there. This is as fascinating a part of history as anything else in our country, with plenty of interesting tidbits. It's a shame that so many things perished before preservation really took hold in Vegas...I wonder what happened to the Sultan that stood astride the Dunes entrance, for example?
A short slideshow will follow, but I wanted to include a couple of photos first, with some comments.
Here's a closeup of my favorite sign at the Boneyard, the silver slipper from the Silver Slipper Gambling Hall. It's just so kitschy and cool! You can see a few intact light bulbs here, and every dot on the shoe contained a light bulb. Imagine what this baby looked like when it was all lit up!
No need to imagine--below is an old photo of how it looked in place. It didn't just light up...it rotated! I've read that after Howard Hughes bought the Frontier, across the street from the Silver Slipper, he'd stay in his room at the Frontier and the glow from the slipper just drove him crazy (well...craziER) and he decided to buy it so he could tear it down. (Sounds like Steve Wynn is channeling Howard Hughes. Apparently Wynn found the sign for the Frontier offensive, even though he can't see it...he had the place demolished and made no efforts to preserve the sign. The folks taking down the casino are friends of the Museum and brought parts of the sign over.) The Silver Slipper survived until the late 80's and then was demolished. The slipper itself made its way to the Boneyard, and Justin told us that it's one of the next in line for restoration. I think he said that it weighs a couple of tons, and will cost about $100,000 to restore.
The Neon Museum is a nonprofit organization, so all of their funding comes from whatever they charge for photo shoots and from private donations. If I won the lottery, I'd be paying for a sign or two! (I think I'd choose the Sweetheart Motel sign.) These may look like junk to some, but to me they are bright and shiny pieces of history. Many of them were made by Young Electric Sign Company, or YESCO, and they still make signs for various places in Vegas. I don't think the modern signs have quite as much character as the old signs, though, do you?
Steve was asking me how I found out about this. He said they were looking through a lot of information about Vegas and saw no mention of the Boneyard at all. I couldn't really remember, but I got several books about Vegas after our last trip, and I must have read about it there. I wasn't sure if anyone else in our group would enjoy this tour as much as I knew I would--have you noticed my obsession with signage? Ha! I think Ken has caught a little bit of my enthusiasm for this stuff over the years, so he enjoyed it, and I was so pleased when both Kim and Steve said that they really enjoyed it, and were happy that I was able to arrange a tour. I think that anyone interested in the history of a place like Vegas would enjoy this tour very much.
So the next time you're getting ready to go to Vegas, try to arrange a tour at the Boneyard. Tell 'em Beth sent you! I don't think you'll be disappointed. They are going to open a Visitors Center soon, and that's another cool thing--it's built with the facade of the salvaged lobby of the El Concha Motel. Justin said that it's one of the rare (did he maybe even say the only?) pieces of actual architecture that has been saved in Vegas. It's a gorgeous piece of Googie architecture, and it is in place at the Boneyard, although not yet open. I hope they can continue to grow their preservation efforts, and that people will pick up on the renewed interest in "old Vegas." (Justin told us that the Sahara is looking to get away at least a little bit from its NASCAR makeover, and go for more of a 60's style--SWEET!) I believe that most people are intrigued by old Vegas, and enjoy hearing about its history once someone takes the time to tell them about it. The Neon Museum can capitalize on that, and I hope the word gets out about them--I'll do my part! I'll look forward to our next visit so I can see the new Visitors Center, as well as that beautiful Silver Slipper, restored and dazzling!
Coming soon: downtown Vegas signage, and Fremont Street casinos...at night!
Here's the slideshow. Click on any picture to embigginate.
I don't know if it's all the vampire movies we've been watching, or just the anticipation of the late hours in Vegas, but we've been staying up till the wee hours and sleeping very late! It's cool, we know that we'll be staying up late in Vegas, so I'm kind of glad we're getting acclimated. Personally, I think Vegas is much more exciting at night (I love all the lights and neon!), so I'd much rather be wide awake at 2 AM than at 2 PM!
Speaking of 2 PM, we have a nice little visit planned for Wednesday with a fellow blogger! It turns out that Marty of Heard at Starbuck's is flying into town that day for a convention, and we arranged to meet at 2 PM! I hadn't said anything yet, because I wanted to make sure that it was going to work out for him (I told him that we're on vacation, so we're flexible!), and barring any unforeseen last minute glitches, we'll be meeting in one of the bars at the Bellagio. It worked out perfectly, because we're staying right across the Strip at Bally's! I'm looking forward to meeting him and chatting with him in person. I'm actually a little bit nervous, because this will be the first time we've met a blogger in person! Although we did meet our New York friend RaQuel a few years ago, after she and I had corresponded for a few years, and that went great, and we're still friends! Marty seems like such a cheery, interesting, and funny guy, and I have a feeling we'll all get along fine and dandy. I'm sure a Bloody Mary will help alleviate my nervousness! [wink]
But before our meeting, we've got plenty going on, including front row seats for "Love" (the Cirque du Soleil show with Beatles music), a tour of the Neon Museum's Boneyard (where aging signs go to retire), and a seafood buffet probably Tuesday night after the Boneyard. I suspect we'll be able to fit a little gambling in there, as well!We've been practicing Blackjack on Facebook, and it's good to hone our skills a bit before sitting down at an actual table. Except just like in real life, there is always a dumbass or two in the bunch...one guy last night hit on 19. I was thinking, "Dude, WTF? You had 19!" Kind of reminded me of Austin Powers. Didn't he hit on 20? Hahaha!
Speaking of Facebook, one of the reasons we've been staying up so late is because we've both become hooked on Mafia Wars. Milwaukee Dan #2 invited me, I invited Ken, and now we're both hooked. Dan is a Level 14 Mogul, Ken is a Level 12 Mogul, and I'm a Level 10 Maniac. Miss Ginger, Mort, and Barbara have also joined the Family, and they've all had my back several times! Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save me this afternoon when we were out running errands. Turns out a little weasel named Archie put out a hit on me, and someone whacked me. Jeez, just because I fought him until I took all his money? Well, as Mark Twain said, reports of my death are greatly exaggerated, and I'm back at full strength and ready to carry on with my duties. Watch your back, Archie, whoever you are. Extra Arm doesn't forget.
In the meantime, I've got pretty much everything out that I want to take to Vegas. It was kind of hard to pack for this trip, because we're leaving cold Indiana for Vegas, which will be in the 50's during the day, but get down into the 30's at night. I've got enough variety with jeans, slacks, sweaters, and even a Hawaiian shirt, that I should be okay. I wish I didn't have to take a winter coat, but I know how cold I get!
We got in a Vegas frame of mind last night by watching "Ocean's Thirteen." I know 12 and 13 weren't as good as "Ocean's Eleven" (and I love the original with the Rat Pack!) but I still think the movies are a blast. C'mon...Clooney, Brad Pitt, AND Matt Damon? I'm just sayin'. Anyhoo, it was fun to see the Strip and to start to get into the mood. After the movie, I found the trailer for "Viva Las Vegas," and it is a kicky blast! It shows a lot of downtown (which is our favorite part of Vegas), and it's sad to see how many legendary casinos are now gone. The Mint that was downtown was such a cool building! Quite a few of the downtown casinos have survived, including Binion's Horseshoe and the Golden Nugget (and my personal fave, the Golden Gate). So many on the Strip are gone, though--the Aladdin, the Stardust, the Desert Inn, the Sands, and the "champagne tower" at the Flamingo shown in the trailer are all history. The new casinos and hotels are beautiful, but I'm old school and love the allure of the old, glamorous Vegas. I'm sure that's why I love downtown so much--those casinos have been there for decades. And Vegas Vic abides!
We're taking the laptop, both of our cameras, and my little Flip video camera, so stay tuned for the sights and sounds of Vegas, Baby! In the meantime, sing along with Elvis!
Viva Las Vegas
Bright light city gonna set my soul Gonna set my soul on fire Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn So get those stakes up higher There's a thousand pretty women waitin' out there And they're all livin' devil may care And I'm just the devil with love to spare Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
How I wish that there were more Than the twenty-four hours in the day 'Cause even if there were forty more I wouldn't sleep a minute away Oh, there's blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel A fortune won and lost on every deal All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas with your neon flashin' And your one arm bandits crashin' All those hopes down the drain Viva Las Vegas turnin' day into nighttime Turnin' night into daytime If you see it once You'll never be the same again
I'm gonna keep on the run I'm gonna have me some fun If it costs me my very last dime If I wind up broke up well I'll always remember that I had a swingin' time I'm gonna give it everything I've got Lady luck please let the dice stay hot Let me shoot a seven with every shot Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas Viva, Viva Las Vegas!
Obviously, the dominant story at the moment is the corruption case against Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. (One thing I've learned from this story is both how to spell and pronounce Blagojevich.) I've been reading about how some people think that President-Elect Obama is lying about any contact with the governor; that Team Obama is dragging their feet after the P-E promised a thorough study of who talked to whom, and not releasing the report; and even a call for Rahm Emanuel's resignation as Chief of Staff...although he's not yet the official Chief of Staff, since Obama hasn't even been inaugurated.
Stop picking on Rahm, you big meanies!
In all seriousness, this is just getting stupid. This is a non-story. Let's review, shall we?
Blagojevich was taped by the Feds wanting money and/or lucrative jobs for both himself and his wife in return for the appointment to Obama's vacant Senate seat. No doubt about it, the guy is a slimeball and a crook.
In his press conference last week, P-E Obama stated that he had no direct contact with the governor concerning the Senate seat, and that his aides had "no inappropriate discussions" with the governor about it.
Emanuel spoke with the governor about a short list of people that Team Obama would like to see in the Senate seat. There is nothing untoward or inappropriate in such discussions, and it seems obvious to me that Obama--he's a Democrat, remember?--would want a Democrat in the seat, and preferably someone who he has worked with in the past and knows would be supportive of his policies. Illinois does not have a special election for vacant Senate seats: they are appointed by the governor.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has said that prosecutors are making no allegations that Obama was aware of any nefarious plots, and Emanuel has been told that he is not a target of the investigation.
The governor himself--on tape--said that Obama wouldn't help him and called him a vulgar term (I'll let you know if I find out what it is). The governor went on to say that even if he did appoint someone on Team Obama's list, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation." There is a vast difference between speaking about who you'd like to see in the Senate seat and providing funds or appointments in return.
The report issued by Obama's team was ready today, but federal prosecutors asked them not to release it until at least the week of December 22, due to the ongoing investigation, and possible further interviews that they need to conduct.
There is nothing here that smacks of any wrongdoing by P-E Obama, Rahm Emanuel, or Obama's transition team. The attempt of the media to make a mountain out of this particular molehill is perplexing at best, and inflammatory at worst. I remember getting so frustrated at work, because the focus often ended up on some trivial issue, like where to put a new centrifuge, and I wanted to say, "There are bigger issues here--like how we don't have enough people to do the work!" The same concept applies here, and I'd like to see everyone focus on the dire economic straits our world is in rather than trying to make some nonexistent and nebulous connection between Obama and a corrupt governor.
I don't generally read comments on political blogs (But I cherish each and every one of yours, never fear! Well, except maybe for the lovely and charming Anonymous Troll.), but in reading some lately, it seems that there are quite a few people that will never accept Obama as their President. Hey, time to face reality, folks. He IS your President-to-be, like it or not. When I talked to my Mom last week, she told me that even my Dad is coming around. He's not happy about it, and like I've said, we had a couple of heated discussions about it, but Mom said he told her that Obama is going to be his Commander-in-Chief, he knows that's the way it is, and he will support him. When it comes right down to where the rubber meets the road, don't we all want our country (and our world) to see better days? Why on earth would you want someone to fail if it also means the failure and collapse of your country? That's insanity.
Okay, on to other things, and unless there's something really juicy that pops up, I won't write much more about The Little Story That Wasn't.
I hope you're all staying warm. It is freakin' freezin' out there! The winds were really strong today, and I had to wear my parka out and about. It gets too hot in the store, but it works for me when walking from the store to my car! I think I have everything taken care of for Christmas, and finished up with Ken's stocking stuffers. I got myself a couple of 10-pound hand weights because I'm ready to move on up from my wimpy little 5-pounders. Woohoo!
I've also started looking into which buffet to go to when we're in Vegas. Hard to believe that's coming up in just about 3 weeks! I'm reading that pretty much the best buffet on the Strip is at the Mirage, which is where we'll be going for the Cirque du Soleil "Love" show. However, it would be great to find a buffet that offers plenty of seafood, because we loves us our oysters on the half shell! Any ideas from you all? Miss Ginger? Katie? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
When we were there last, we went to the Sunday Champagne brunch at the Golden Nugget. We won't be getting into Vegas until Sunday night, so we'll miss the champagne brunches. Drat! I'm sure we'll muddle through somehow, though. I'm not usually a buffet kind of gal, because I feel like I can't really eat enough to pay for it. But high-end stuff like oysters and crab legs and lobster? Just stand back and watch me work. I'll get my money's worth, believe me!
