360 Vegas

E-406: 360VV11 Trip Report

Random Vegas
Harry Reid International Airport has had the best capacity recovery of any airport in the world,  reporting a 7% increase from June 2019’s 2.6 million seats when THAT was the highest percentage of the worlds 20 busiest airports. (LVRJ)
Twitpic of the Trip
It’s a view I’m thrilled I was able to have @360Vegas Vacation 11 before we lose the iconic property that started the greatest revolution in Las Vegas gaming.  Virtually everything we have in Vegas today is thanks, in some part, to the Mirage.  I’m sure people who loved the Sands felt the way I feel about losing the Mirage, specifically that volcano.  While a guitar hotel does sound cool it doesn’t add an “only in Vegas” attraction.  The more market continues to gentrify itself the less special a place Las Vegas will become.  Despite still drawing crowds whenever it starts going off, some say this icons lifespan has come to an end.  Doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree with that, the fact of the matter is that we are going to lose her.  Sadly, even the Neon Museaum can’t save this icon.  So, much like a loved one with a terminal diagnosis, its time to enjoy the Mirage as much as you can before she erased from the famous Las Vegas strip.
#360VV11 

E-405: Persnickety

Random Vegas
The Neon Museum was founded in 1996 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preservice and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signage (Neon Museum)
Twitpic of the week
Was it the concept or the fact that it was run by a man who lived in the grey area between truth and misrepresentation? Bob Stupak would refer to it as technicalities.  Vegas World, shared in all her low rolling glory by @deadcolletti, showcases everything the Nevada gaming industry didn’t want associated with the city.  Try as the might, the only thing that would get Stupak out of the market was his own ambition to build Stratosphere, residing in the space were Vegas World used to exist.
News
Elvisless Weddings

E-404: Vital Verbology

Random Vegas
The Neon Museum campus includes two outdoor exhibition spaces known as the Neon Boneyard and the North Gallery, where the Brilliant! LED light attraction is housed, and a visitors’ center housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby (Neon Museum) 
 
Twitpic of the week 
How this view, shared by @maverickheli, doesn’t attract people to Vegas is another reason why I don’t get people.  What more could you want?  Almost any vice you can find legally is available at a person's disposal. Food, booze, gambling, smoking, girls to your room are just a few things that can be enjoyed by all if they are so inclined.  For me its simple, there is no better view of the strip than the one from a Cosmo balcony while having sex on it.  Undisputable.  
 
News
EDC 2023 
@Horseshoevegas

E-403: Return of the Mark

Random Vegas
Kind of Vegas related, it was reported that earlier this month, the Oakland A’s played a home game in front of 2,488 fans in a stadium that seats 56,782.  The Las Vegas Aviators minor league baseball team averages around 6,800 fans per game (LasVegasLocally)
Twitpic of the week
No matter what you think about Caesars Palace its undeniable that it’s a Vegas icon.  True it’s a discombobulated maze cobbled together over years of expansion and renovation, but from the beginning, it drew the masses eager to feel like a Caesar.  Sarno blocks evolved into more appropriately accurate roman architecture, enhancing the theme.  Today, Caesars is a behemoth in the market, attracting high and low rollers alike, lets never forget is origins, show cased here by @_GrandPaD of the property in 1981, visually stunning
News
Lovers and False Reports
Plant-based Cusine Menu 
 

E-402: Gambley

Random Vegas 
After the Cosmopolitan deal is complete, MGM Resorts will control 40% of all the hotel rooms on the Vegas strip (@LasVegasLocally) 
Twitpic of the week 
It’s a version of the Flamingo that virtually no one remembers or at least does not get talked about.  It’s the motel version of the property that existed just before Hilton started building the high rises we know the property to have to this day.  That evolution began with the erection of the famous plumb signage.  A sign that would be removed during the property's expansion of the casino to the sidewalk. The image, shared this week by @PixVegas777, isn’t the most visually appealing property on the strip during its time but its an important building block in the evolution that made the Flamingo Fabulous. 
News
5k for 5k+ 
wsbgvegas.com

E-401: Inferiation

Random Vegas
The first Vegas resort to have topless showgirls was The Dunes. (@  POVblog)
 
Twitpic of the week 
A single, solitary sultan, standing astride on top of a roof, hands on hips, somehow intimating that he has a large cock.  That last part may be my own inferiation but lets not open that can of worms or acknowledge the fact that I may have just made up a word.  Regardless, this marquee was a bad ass monument to a remarkable gambling den.  The Dunes would later replace said sultan with the iconic turret sign.  The sultan was then relocated to the golf course on property, near the freeway exit until it had an electrical fire destroy it beyond repair.  Which is a shame.  How cool would the sultan be at the Neon Museum.  We, we can only daydream about what could have been.  Thanks to @summacorp for sharing a picture that inspired a monologue.
News
MGM/Cosmopolitan Deal
Flamingo for Sale
Mirage News

E-400: Confusing Boner

Random Vegas
The iconic Barbary Coast signage designed by Buzz Leming featured Tiffany-style glass, a burgundy and gold color scheme and a 19th century-style lettering that is known as "Barbary Coast Block" (Neon Museum)
 
Twitpic of the week
The Mirage Volcano.  It’s time to enjoy it while we still have it.  As sad as it can be, change is the only constant in Las Vegas.  We’ve lost some legends along the way.  The Sands, the Stardust, the Dunes were all lost in favor of progress, some better than others.  The most concerning point is that those that were creative enough to evolve Vegas into the place we know it as don’t appear to be around anymore, except Derek Stevens.  That guy gets it.  But this monologue is not about that, its about the signature attraction that kicked off a revolution in Vegas, The Mirage Volcano.  She will forever have a special place in my heart.  Thank you @vegasjaydubs for an epic picture of a game changer in the Vegas market.  Cheers to you Mirage Volcano.  Thanks for the memories.  You will not be forgotten.
News
Palms Returns
Palms Players Club Card

E-399: T-Rex Arm

Random Vegas
In 1999, the Stardust signed a 10-year deal with Wayne Newton for a reported $25 m per year, the largest entertainment contract in Vegas history at the time.  But after 5 ½ years Newton ended his run and was replaced by George Carlin in April 2005
 
Twitpic of the week 
I’ll admit it, this is the first Twitpic of the week that I’m not 100% sure where this is located.  My educated guess is the Stardust but my experiences with her were so limited.  Still, she seems to have the same level of elegance and tackiness as the legend.  Thanks to @VitalVegas, we got to thoroughly reflect on the strips past and present.
 
News
Fremont Expansion
Diva-Adele
NFL Draft Transportation Options
Arts District Beer Crawl