lovehate podcast 176: Storied Times

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Closing the book on my Summer 2010 Vegas escapades and recalling thoughts of old friends and the art of character building.

Filed under  //  school   stories   vegas  
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lovehate vegas podcast 10

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On my exploits from another day in Vegas, plus some observations on the people, places and things which found a way to irk me... yeah, I said "irk".

Filed under  //  Aria   harrahs   vegas  
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lovehate vegas podcast 9

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On my continuing explorations with gambling, brown liquor, and waking up without much sleep.

Filed under  //  jack daniels   vegas  
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lovehate: Las Vegas City Center Project - Point Counterpoint

Does it seem hypocritical to believe both sides?

love:

In an economy like this, how refreshing is it that, at least in certain places, persistence of vision and determination have started to indicate that all is not lost. Not allowing the word "quit" into their vocabulary the financial juggernaut behind the City Center project truly embodied the Ray Kinsella inspiration: "If you build it, they will come." With the gala grand opening of the masterful Aria a couple of weeks ago, anyone who had doubted, had those fears allayed.

Aria, and it's neighboring structures, are masterful in design and awe-inspiring to behold. This bold statement of 4,004 new hotel rooms in Sin City will make all of the other hotels claiming to be the "class of The Strip" stand up and take notice. At once modern, classic, and futuristic, Aria will draw in crowds of vacationers and keep them there.

The ambitious inspiration to almost create its own self-enclosed world right on the mid-Strip should have competitor's worrying. Once at the City Center, will gamblers want or need to leave for anything? If there is a project that will challenge the ongoing concern about losing people from your own hotel to other casinos, this is it.

A timeless wonder that will be a shining torch on Las Vegas Blvd. for a long time to come - I cannot wait to see the entire site upon completion.

hate:

Are you kidding?

The economy is in the tank, people are starving and being booted from their houses and a company swoops into Vegas to flaunt money in the faces of those who face desperate times. The concept is abhorrent. The notion is repugnant. Upon the opening of City Center's Aria hotel/casino a couple of weeks ago, Vegas truly gave a big middle finger to everyone suffering under this recession.

Sure, Aria is big, bold and beautiful, but with half the rooms on The Strip sitting empty, even on most weekends, the idea of adding 4000 more seems stupid if not suicidal. There are some tossing around the idea that Aria will have to make $11 million profit EVERY DAY just to stay ahead of growing debt. This from a hotel that has had to reduce early room rates to as low as $129/night. When was the last time a resort opened and within a month had to offer discount nights? Will City City Center become nothing more than fodder for grand merger and acquisition plans five or ten years down the road.

The Casino looks like a night club inside, the big production show is an Elvis Cirque show that had better be about Elvis Costello before I even think about going. You would think the writing should be on the wall in the fact that they had to rush the casino opening to finance the remainder of the project.

A shameless blunder that may be bold, but a scar on Las Vegas' reputation for a long time to come - I will not wait to register some spite and confusion.

P.S. Shit... does this place really look cool both inside and out. It is true that the casino's way too dark for the beauty that lies in the design of these structures. Maybe they aren't done yet and don't want you to look up.

P.P.S. You should all know better than to take anything above seriously. This is lovehatethings after all. 

Filed under  //  aria   city center   LAS   recession   vegas  
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lovehatevegas podcast 7

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On Aria, the day of loss and recovery, the arrival of the parents, and impending steak dinners.

Filed under  //  aria   gambling   Vegas  
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lovehatevegas podcast 6 - the morning after

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Concerning several topics including the impending arrival of the parents, sensory deprivation, perfumed air, a new aria, and the best laid plans.

Filed under  //  Aria   Vegas   Venetian  
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lovehatevegas podcast 5

In the tradition of this past August's podcasts while visiting Sin City, I offer up the first in a series of impromptu recordings documenting my holiday sojourn to Vegas.

It's 6am EST. I'm at YYZ. It's dark outside, and I don't care. I'm going to Vegas!

P.S. If you're downloading the podcast, the tags may be less than inventive as each "voice memo" recording file will simply show as "memo.m4a".

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Filed under  //  trip   Vegas   yyz  
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thinglets: THE Las Vegas Map

As I get set to kite off to Las Vegas, I encourage you to follow the lovehatevegas impromptu podcasts which may start from the airport later tonight.

However, I would also encourage you (if you are a Vegasphile like me) to check out vegastodayandtomorrow.com which produced THE map above. When going there, you can track the development going on all over the strip and on Fremont Street. I check it out once a week even when months away from a trip... it's that cool.

Trippy podcasts coming soon. Wish me luck!

Filed under  //  las vegas   map   podcast   vegas   website  
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Podcast 103 - The Breakvegas Club

Concerning some discourse on the upcoming run of lovehatevegas podcasts, how sci-fi infiltrated cereal boxes, 20 NASCAR race names you'll never hear, and paying my respects to John Hughes.

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Filed under  //  breakfast club   cereal box   john hughes   las vegas   memorial   nascar   nostalgia   retro   vegas  
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lovehate: The Vegas Experiment

Heading off on a semi-annual sojourn to Las Vegas at week's end, I'm excited at the prospect of two things:

  1. Staying at a far higher class of establishment than I normally frequent, thanks to the recession and four comped nights at The Palazzo.
  2. Trying to experiment in "trip report" podcasting during the days I'm there via my iPod Touch, the Voice Memo App, and any wi-fi connections I can find. LOVE that Posterous is going to make this process so simple!

In my 5th post to the lovehatethings blog over a year ago, I pondered the incredible waste that goes on in Las Vegas in an attempt to sound unsure about whether or not I could justify the gluttony... it was, mostly, tongue-in-cheek even though the over-the-top nature of the town is legendary.

In that post I opined:

They've got a lightbulb that planes can see from Los Angeles. They've killed thousands of trees a year to produce laminated cards that seedy characters whack on their leg, advertising silicon-laden escorts that'll do the macarena or the Dirty Sanchez. They've totally thrown scale to the wind by creating hotel/casinos that are measured in square miles and when the MGM Grand's 5000 rooms seemed insurmountable, the Venetian built a second tower (The Palazzo) to bring its total to a mere 7000!

You can lose your 20, 50, or 100 dollar bill in the time it takes to steal a glance at the scantilly-clad cocktail waitress that is bringing your free mojito as the blackjack dealer draws a 5 on her 16 after you've doubled down your 11 and pulled a 9.  You inhale the second hand smoke from an entire carton of Kools while walking 10 feet through the Gold Spike's penny slot aisles. You can play golf at an 18 hole course ON THE FREAKIN' STRIP while over the property wall homeless Las Vegans beg for change.


So as I prepare to return back to Vegas for another summer excursion, I thought I'd do something different. If everything goes as planned you'll be able to follow my special "lovehatevegas" podcasts on at least a daily basis. Hope you like them. I'm guessing there may some short blog posts as well, or at least as long as the mini Touch keyboard will allow.

If you love Vegas, like I do, hopefully you'll find something in the updates that resonates and allows you to have some good memories. If you've never been to Sin City, maybe you'll find something in the podcasts or blog entries that spurs a desire to go. I don't mind being considered a shill for Vegas. Even if you're not a gambler, You've got to go there at least once.

Thanks to everyone who follows lovehatethings. Keep your eyes and ears open starting Sunday!

Filed under  //  blog   comps   gambling   hotel   las vegas   palazzo   podcast   travel   trip   vacation   vegas  
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