viva las vegas!

matti and i had an absolutely amazing time in las vegas!

upon arrival, there was a bit of a mix-up with the luggage. it was about 1:30am our time so we were tired and testy. it took about an hour and half to get our goods. preliminary observations: 1. the second you get off the airplane, there are slot machines. 2. people smoke and drink everywhere. 3. armed national guards patrol the airport in camoflauged outfits with automatic machine guns. i mean really. i think the police and airport security is enough. i realize that safety is important but does your finger really need to be on the trigger? this actually made me angry. it was intimidating and unnecessary. regardless, we got our rental car and off we went!

we arrived at the luxor and were upgraded to a huge suite! not a junior suite, but an all out executive suite! we had a living room with tv and stereo, a dining room with wetbar, a bedroom with a king size bed and a tv that rose out of a table at the push of a button, and a bathroom with jacuzzi tub, glass shower, and marble everywhere! the windows were wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, and our 10th floor view was of the strip! completely luxurious!

the view from our room was gorgeous at night but too difficult to photograph through the glass. you can see tropicana, the tram to excalibur, MGM grand, and a bit of the mountains:

the luxor is an egyptian themed resort based inside a huge pyramid with a light beam from the peak which is said to be seen from space. the grounds, restaurants, casinos, relics, and detailed design were just amazing!

as for the gambling (which is everywhere, even in gas stations), matti won $150 in a single pull of a slot machine, i won $26.50 in a single pull on a slot, and matti won another $40 on video blackjack. he did good. as for me - not so good. but it was tons of fun and as long as you are sitting at a slot machine or card table, the drinks are free.

everything in las vegas is massive. you just stand and stare in awe at the sheer size of everything. we walked the strip and visited most of the resorts. each of them are known for something but our favourites had to be the fountains at bellagio, caesar's palace, new york new york, and mandalay bay.

the fountains at bellagio:

new york, new york is actually designed from the new york city skyline. the hotel and casino has a roller coaster, brooklyn bridge, statue of liberty, and everything inside the place is new york including the manhole covers! this picture isn't even all of it:

new york, new york during the day (another view, still not all of it):

we only went for 3 days and wished we had stayed longer. we had planned on visiting the grand canyon but due to the fact that it is a 5 hour drive one-way and that 20 inches of snow was expected, we decided to try that next time.

we did however get to go to the hoover dam. like everything in vegas, it was just HUGE. the security check consisted of a state trooper looking at the passengers in your vehicle, if you are white, you get waved through. if you are muslim, prepare for the body cavity search. i kid you not, we encountered racist comments more than once - including t-shirts being hawked that said, "welcome to america, NOW SPEAK ENGLISH." i'm surprised that the armed national guards from the airport weren't wearing them.

the hoover dam took from 1931-1935 to build and is 600 feet thick at the bottom (45 feet thick at the top). MASSIVE:

we shopped at the outlet malls, went for a couple of drives, had donuts at ronald's, and ate thai at the lotus of siam. we also saw master magician lance burton at the monte carlo. an outstanding show!

we also visited fremont street to see the golden nugget, binions, and the light show. this is where you get a 9lb burger, deep-fried oreos, and 99 cent daiquiris. just for all of you dieters out there.

matti and i loved the mountains that surround the city. we had read somewhere that the population of nevada is around 2 million and about 1.8 million live in las vegas alone. their "winter" is from november to february and the average temperature is about 16 degrees. the rest of the year is about 40 degrees hence the fact that daquiris, slushies, and ice cream are sold EVERYWHERE which of course, made matti very happy (not like i object either).

we absolutely loved it there and hope to make vegas an annual or bi-annual trip!