360 Vegas

E-459: Like A Period

Random Vegas
Advertising at the Sphere costs approx. $450k for a one-day campaign, $650k for a week.  For comparison, traditional billboards cost $20k a month, Mekka Walgreen’s is $65k a month and a 30 second spot during the 2024 SuperBowl will run you $7.5 million. Pricing for the Sphere does include production development of the ad.  (VitalVegas & News3lv.com)
Twitpic of the week
Barbary Coast, in all her chasing lights glory, shown here by @las_when as she was originally introduced to the market, with a white exterior.  Even better, this picture was taken before the pedestrian walkway was installed.  This was Fremont quality exterior lighting, not found on the strip in too many places these days.  While we prefer the property it is today, Cromwell, we will always prefer this signage.
News
Tupac Arrest
Room Fraud
Rio Renovations 
Rio Players Club 
Rouge Roulette
Area15 Expansion
Sphere Parking
Westgate Halloween Suite 
Killer's "Your Side of Town" Music Video
 

E-458: Drunk Tony

Random Vegas
Because they used the shell of the Marina Hotel, the entire MGM Grand project was considered a remodel rather than new construction.  Therefore, property taxes were set at the value when the Marina was built. (@AStotland)
Twitpic of the week
While it may be hard to wrap your head around, motels used to dominate the Vegas strip and beyond.  They must have seen the writing on the wall when hotel towers became the future of hospitality but that didn’t stop properties like the La Concha from continuing to try and compete in the market. In 2001, the property was approved to build a 520 foot tall hotel tower, a 645 square foot condo tower and a shopping mall.  In 2004 the La Concha was closed and demolished to make room for the new project.  The iconic concrete shell lobby was carefully dismantled and donated to the Neon Museum who reassembled it and use it as the attractions lobby.  The signage, shown here by @Las_when, is on display in the neon boneyard to this day.  The project was ultimately canceled for reasons unknown and the property has been sold multiple times.  It is currently owned by the Siegel Group and trust me, you don’t want these people opening a hotel/casino.  Think Circus Circus, Imperial Palace and Excalibur at their worst but strip out the themes.
News
360VV14
More Vegas F1 Casualties
Venetian Loves Locals
Strike
Vegas WebCams
Casino Hopping
Palms Sign Restoration 
Westin Signage 
U2 Atomic City 
Netflix - Obliterated 

360 Vegas Reviews - Blue Man Group @Luxor

Who farted?
 Do you have that one piece of media that you would like to check out, but never seem to get around to it? Like, you’re scrolling through Netflix, and there’s that one movie that you’re interested in checking out, but not this time. Or the next time, or the time after that. It’s always there, and you’re interested, but not interested enough to dive in at the moment. That, my friends, is how Blue Man Group was for me until recently.I’ve known who the Blue Man Group was for over 20 years now. I remember there was an Intel Pentium TV commercial that they starred in, and a little Googling tells me that was in the year 2000.  Sometime after that, I borrowed their album - yes, they have albums - from a friend, because I really liked the unique sound they had. And when I took my very first grownup trip to Vegas in 2002, I stayed at the Luxor, where BMG has had their Las Vegas home off and on since the year 2000.
Men beat their 'bone, live on stage!
I’ve never been one to mince words in my reviews, so I’ll say up front that I liked Blue Man Group. But I’m having a hard time describing Blue Man Group.  I left the theater thinking, “I don’t know what the fuck I just saw, but I’m pretty sure I liked it.” Kind of like a donkey show in Tijuana, but a little more family friendly.So the Blue Man Group itself goes all the way back to 1987. Created as a sort of performance art by three friends in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the group started with street performances which gradually grew to full on stage productions.  People in New York like weird artsy shit.  Gradually it became a phenomenon, with worldwide tours, 3 albums, and more blue latex than any person should have access to. The Blue Man Group brand was sold to Cirque du Soliel in 2017, another Vegas mainstay.So what the hell is it? The show is kind of a techo-surreal experience.  Three Blue Men guide the audience through various experiences, like making music, art, and marshmallow tossing.  Without spoken words, the show manages to explore themes of science and technology, information overload, and cultural norms.  The characters have a sort of naive curiosity in their behavior. It can come across as mime-like in its execution, but there’s more to it than that. The characters seem like visitors from another world, and their experiments and explorations address our assumptions about the world around us.
 
Chest-hole.
 
Imagine colored paint leaking out of a member’s chest hole onto an under-lit drum that flashes brightly when struck, showing colored drops of paint splattering through the air. If you are thinking that this seems weird as fuck, you’re right, but there’s a sort of mystical coolness about this when BMG does it on stage.  Watch as they play wild instruments custom made from PVC pipe and create songs that are absolute bangers.They play songs that the group has created themselves, along with well-known classics like Beethoven’s Fur Elise, pop songs like Bad Romance, and even tease a little Freebird.Audience Fuckery Factor:Minimal, but they do go out in the audience looking for volunteers. They look for people raising hands, so don’t raise your hand if you don’t want to go onstage.And just like a trip to Sea World, avoid the first several rows if you don’t want to get splashed.  I think they hand out plastic rain ponchos, because I saw several people with them.The show plays with light (you may be blinded by the lights during the show) and sound (I highly recommend ear plugs).
This could be you!
The theater is nice. It has a capacity of 830 people. There is a low slope on the house floor, so you may have people blocking your view.  I recommend row AA if you don’t want anyone directly in front of you, but you also don’t want to be splashed or singled out.
Shows are 2 - 3 times /day everyday of the week.  Tickets start at $49.  This is a great value show.  I also think it works well as a family show, or show to take the in-laws to when they decide they want to join in Vegas because you’re always going there.
 

E-457: Tree Hugging

Random Vegas
While already in use at multiple other businesses in the valley, the Las Vegas Club installed the 1st neon sign on a hotel gambling establishment in 1931 (Vintage Research)
Twitpic of the week
While there are many reasons to not like Caesars Palace, the architecture isn’t one of them.  The move from the Sarno block exterior to an aesthetic that more appropriately reflects the time and place its representing was masterfully applied.  Even though we know these are all recreations it still projects a sense of authentic grandeur.  I mean, whose eyes aren’t drawn to statues of topless females and concrete penises.  Thanks to @las_when for sharing a great representation of what we are talking about.
News
Happy Hour Deals
Kitchen Nightmares
Fontainebleau Details
MGM Cyber Attacks
Zero Bond
Red Rock Point Theft
Planet Hollywood Fire Alarms 
Rio Refurbishment 

PCP - 360 Vintage Vegas - Hacienda

Patreon.com/360Vegas
 
Something for everyone, that’s what Vegas has that makes it a magical destination.  It took decades for the market to get that way but it seems every time change is needed, the city finds a way to adapt and evolve.  At the end, the Hacienda looked miniature next to its new neighbors Luxor and Excalibur.  Like many properties before it and since, the Hacienda evolved as much as it could but ultimately had to be imploded to make room for the future of the strip.  Thankfully part of that evolution includes other properties adapting to cater to the audience that once frequented the Hacienda.
For more on Hacienda, check out the following resources
lvstriphistory.com 
Gambling on a Dream Volume 2 
The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream 
Pinterest 
Vintage Vegas Shirts 
Battle Born Pins 
 
 
 

E-456 Lake Taco

Random Vegas
By 1980, the states five dominate gaming entities were publicly traded companies.  They were Harrah’s, MGM, Del Webb, Caesars World and Hilton (Neon Metropolis)
Twitpic of the week
The concept was unique and interesting to begin with.  City Center, a city within a city.  So big it has its own fire department onsite.  Unfortunately, what we got was essentially a very expensive office park on the strip. While not pictured, Aria is a sexy bitch, but it was designed to usurp Bellagio as the premier property in the portfolio and to date, it has done no such thing.  While Veer towers have always captured our imagination the remaining resorts on property, include Vdara and Waldorf Astoria, don’t have casinos in them so there is no reason to even visit either of these properties, in our opinion.  It is amusing that the most popular resort in the City Center portfolio is arguably Cosmopolitan, a property they had to acquire and fold into the complex.  Thanks to @TheCrybabyvegas for sharing the view from his room during VV12.
News
Cyber Attacks
free credit monitor and identity theft protection services
Zorkfest 2023
Pawn Stars DUI
Big Rig Jig
Caesars fountains
Darren Aronofsky film

E-455: Big Mouth and a Mime

Random Vegas
There are over 130 unique employee uniform styles at the Aria.  Each uniform is equipped with a radio frequency ID chip (sincitytalk.com)
Twitpic of the week
Welcome to the new strip landscape, one populated by a mesmerizing giant cylindrical object proving that even LED can be done in an interesting way and not just as a giant rectangular TV.  It will come as no surprise that @maverickhelishared this new view.  Here we see the entire strip showcased with the Strat in the foreground all the way down to Mandalay Bay.  The Sphere, of course, stands out because of its uniqueness, not just to the market but in the world as the largest spherical object.  As with everything, someone will probably build one larger, probably in the middle east, unless it’s a huge flop but I don’t think Venetian owners will allow that to happen.  What the hell else are you gonna use that thing for if not its intended purpose.  Is the Sphere too big to fail or will it fail because its too big.  Time will tell.  We are hoping it doesn’t fail either way and instead became as iconic as the Fountians of Bellagio or the Mirage volcano.
News
Comps for Debts
Twitpic of the Week
The Paddock Building
Like An Onion: The Vegas Skim
Stray Pirate Tiki Bar
Video Poker Tournament
Money Laundering for Dummies
Severed Negotiations
Tesla’s Cybertruck

E-454: Social Contract

Random Vegas
The myth is that casino carpet is busy to keep guests looking at the slots.  The fact is its to conceal stains as well as wear. (@VitalVegas)
Twitpic of the week
A breathtaking photo of @Caesars Palace from @maverickHeli.  An arial view of the property showing just how diverse and sprawling the property is.  This photo has it all, well, almost all.  It has the 6 different hotel towers, the Roman, Centurion, Fantasy (known today as the Nobu tower), Palace, Augustus, and Octavius towers.  It has the porte cochere and the famous fountains capped off by the Absinthe circus tent.  While I’ve been assured this tent is a permanent structure, I can’t help but wonder why Caesars didn’t build them something more on brand.  Perhaps the juxtaposition better suits the show’s theme.  Whatever the reason it’s a marvelous photo and one I’m happy to add to the Twitpic of the week collection.
News
Adele Disruption
Fan Girl Opportunity
Ticket in-Bonus Out in Testing
360 Vegas Vacation Naming
SkyVue Removal
Zoo Station: A U2/UV Experience
Durango Wax Rabbit