Las Vegas for hipsters

But really: The spectacle of the strip is fascinating and overwhelming, even if you're not into the gambling thing. It's not enough for three days, but it's wild.

Also, the showgirl extravaganzas are -- well, the one I saw (Splash 2, where we got front row seats and were given Gallagher-style tarps to protect us from the cascading water at the front of the stage) was spectacular and cheezy and brilliant and everything you could want out of Vegas.

I know nothing about Vegas beyonf the fact that the old people there are younger than the old people in Reno.

if you know how to game it can be fun to drink guinness "for free".

art bell lives just outside of clark county limits, i stalked him one afternoon wearing an alien mask.

it's not like you're going to florence ("but, yes you are!" says the vega$ PR schleck standing on my right shoulder).

i'll ask my vega$ raised hipster galpal... just cuz you're one of the coolest ILXorz.

It seems like you get the most bang for your buck in that area. lots of stuff is really close by to ogle if you like the cheese factor - like the ridiculousness of Caesars and the Paris, and the opulence of the Bellagio. Flamingo pretty historical significant but sadly kind of lame these days. But basically you have to take a cab or rent a car to go anywhere in that city.

Dunno about hipster enclaves 'cause I'm usually, well, gambling and getting drunk :-) (face it, you can't help it there). "young people" hang out at the Hard Rock, but it's totally a beautiful people type scene.

the neon museum part of the fremont experience
Liberace museum
The "Sunspots" at the Four Queens
Double down saloon - dive bar off the strip
hiking at red rock canyon
Tiki bar at the venetian

oh and always spell it "vega$"

i love that pool.

x-post: EDR - yeah, that's one thing that turns me off too.

She's gambled in other ways...

It's mentioned on one of the other Vegas threads. JBR and I took the test site tour a couple years back.

Please tell me this is a typo.

yeah, it was crazy... when i was flying home a few days later, security stopped me because (i think) the detector picked up trace radiation on my shoes.

Pawn shops being full of amazing shit makes sense, but I wouldn't have thought the thrift shopping would be so great. I'd like to do an eating tour of Vegas someday.

oh man i wish i'd taken the test site tour! i had fun futzing around with the geiger counter inside the museum.

and saw she wants revenge, which i had never heard before. not sure how i feel about them yet.

Get the hell off of The Strip and go downtown or to some casino that caters to locals. Strip gambling is le suck for everyone

downtown sucks so bad since they made is The Main Street Experience though, if you never saw it before they put a roof over it it's hard to imagine how fucking fly it used to be

made it

, if you never saw it before they put a roof over it it's hard to imagine how fucking fly it used to be

Well familiar with pre-Experience downtown. Still prefer it to the Strip. (and I still consistently make a small profit at the Golden Nugget)

Nah it's ok...the llws bet wldve only been cuz it was a ct team...my buddy rt now is looking promising 4 a parlay that pays $1400

man I'm glad somebody can enjoy downtown post-experience more than the strip. to me much of what was charming about downtown was "this isn't about families, this is for people who want to gamble & we even have hotels that are exactly that: hotels" e.g. the Gold Spike. shooting craps downtown is still the best action imo but it's not the magic it was and I don't guess they'll ever take that miserable light show out now.

if las vegas were to have a hipster scene - and it doesn't - the huntridge district (near downtown, lots of cool historic buildings/houses) would be its williamsburg/mission/etc.

not sure it'll ever actually turn into that, but the area definitely has the raw material. it's an interesting place to wander around on foot, and literally the only (non-strip/downtown) area in the las vegas region that you could say that about.

I think I've narrowed my hotel choices down to the Golden Nugget and the Imperial Palace. Any opinions on these two?

Hipster is such an annoying fucking word when people are DEAD serious using it.

we're at the monte carlo this time and i would not recommend it

man you guys know what is a boss thing to do is stay at some nothing little motel a mile off the strip and cab it down the street when it's time to go out

then the hotel's actually restful instead of overwhelming

if las vegas were to have a hipster scene - and it doesn't - the huntridge district (near downtown, lots of cool historic buildings/houses) would be its williamsburg/mission/etc.

not sure it'll ever actually turn into that, but the area definitely has the raw material. it's an interesting place to wander around on foot, and literally the only (non-strip/downtown) area in the las vegas region that you could say that about.

Funny you should mention that area as in the 90s it definitely felt that way. There were several grass-roots coffee bars/art galleries there that flourished for a bit.

I think I've narrowed my hotel choices down to the Golden Nugget and the Imperial Palace. Any opinions on these two?

Golden Nugget by far. It's my favorite place to stay in Vegas and there's a very good likelihood that the $20 trick will get you an upgraded room: http://www.frontdesktip.com

Is the Carson Tower as smoky-smelling as the reviews say? I guess I could stay at the Rush Tower, but I'm trying to cut costs where I can.

what is beer pong

― .. help? (admrl), Wednesday, August 18, 2010 12:25 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark

lolwut?

rare book stora @ pala=zo shops is a++

also ate at mario batalis steak house there and its possibly the best steak ive ever eaten

Is the Carson Tower as smoky-smelling as the reviews say? I guess I could stay at the Rush Tower, but I'm trying to cut costs where I can.

― My totem animal is a hamburger. (WmC), Saturday, August 21, 2010 10:10 PM (Yesterday)

Bump for in case Elvis T is ilxing this afternoon.

Decided on the Rush Tower -- it's been open less than a year, lower chance of bedbugs, right?

Still up in the air regarding renting a car vs. cabs/monorail/bus/walking combo.

I am going to be in the Las Vegas airport today.

we were talkin that next time we go we'd likely rent a car

the monorail wasnt bad but its stations seem buried in inconvenient places

I'm in town, no car, will be hungry shortly. I'm at the golden nugget...is there an In n Out Burger that's easy to get to by bus?

Also, Lotus of Siam's website is down and their phone has been busy for the last hour, WTF.

Go the restaurant JOEL ROBUCHON asap!

...is there an In n Out Burger that's easy to get to by bus?

Catch the Deuce/Strip southbound on Fremont street, transfer to the 204B Sahara westbound. In-n-Out at 2900 W Sahara.

U rock! And I have lotus res for tomorrow. Early enough that I might go to a show afterward.

Skeezy neighborhoods bu mission accomplished.

It was ok. I wouldn't make special travel plans for it. Five Guys fries are 1000x better, burgers are 2x better, and my burgers are better than either.

Ate at the Paris bfast buffet this morning...put away an awful lot of smoked salmon and smoked trout. The beef hash (not corned beef) was A++. Biscuits cold, gravy was ham not sausage (goddamn yankees), grapefruit juice from concentrate. Overall grade B-

oh man i couldn't stand queueing for the paris buffet the last time. how's the poker?

Oh well:

The Sahara hotel-casino, a Rat Pack-era jewel of the Las Vegas Strip that age and a prolonged recession had tarnished, will close in May, owner SBE Entertainment announced Friday morning.

Chief Executive Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles nightclub impresario who purchased the Moroccan-themed casino in 2007 and vowed to restore its hipness, said in a statement that running the property was "no longer economically viable."

...

The Sahara, a haunt of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, once paid bathing beauties to frolic in its Garden of Allah pool. It is now home to a roller coaster and a NASCAR Cafe known for its 6-pound burrito.

RIP

;_;

Their daily tournament was my first live poker experience; I cashed the first time out and was looking forward to a return visit. RIP

going back 2 lose more $, watch this space starting thurs *~*

also, rec's?

only thing i think we def have planned is to go gawk @ celebs @ mgm on sunday daytime going 2 the billboard awards

didnt know u were acting in the hangover 3

http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20130508-vegas-roman-holiday-las-vegas-trendiest-swimming-pool

is that daft punk playing that pool party

That's what I thought too

i am somehow @ clurb xs btw

Pinball Hall Of Fame!

wewent there earlier!

all up in the clurb

ive hears "get lucky" 3 times so far perfect casino song amirite

y are they still allowed 2 sell 12% 4lokos here

so i'm here. any recommendations of things to do?

I've got Al Alvarez's Biggest Game in Town on my kindle (remember reading this before and thinking it was good, tho it's v much bro-lit).

Also watched Detour on the flight over. Forgotten i'd seen it before. Here's my impression of Vegas so far:

https://31.media.tumblr.com/afcd706f9cbdf3fd570fbe35db97dfbb/tumblr_inline_n3l3dpx7E11rvzw3c.png

If you're mobile, get to the Pinball Hall of Fame! http://www.pinballmuseum.org

If you want to drink it up with aggressively friendly locals at a mostly genuine dive, go to Dino's Lounge http://dinoslv.com/

The neon sign boneyard is fun to check out also. If you don't want to pay for the tour, you could just drive to 810 N Las Vegas Blvd and peer through the fence.

Thanks Elvis! Going to the neon sign place today (had watched this documentary on the making of neon sign in China the other day, so felt like a good fit.

Pinball Museum sounds ace, and thanks for the Dino's Lounge recommendation.

Don't gamble at all apart from a little light sports betting, so experience so far is curiously lenten for all the surfeit. It's half six in the morning now, and I've just been casting about unsuccessfully on the hotel tv for the Everton/Arsenal match, so I might go out for a stroll down the early-morning strip.

is the thrifting/vintage shopping still good? I feel like I haven't had thrift store luck in years.

So far our only firm plans are:
Lotus of Siam
L'Atelier
Jaleo or Julian Serrano
one evening barhopping off strip/downtown
Encore or Rehab
Bacchanal/Bellagio/ or Wicked Spoon weekend brunch buffet

ayye i live there!!

hey ledos - so what's the native inhabitant's point of view of Vegas? I'm finding it a little destabilising but fun. Was going to go to Dino's today, but didn't make it. *Did* make it to the neon sign boneyard, which was great.

this is worth reading

http://www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9781861891761

brilliant, nakh, thank you.

Getting fairly strong mental sensations without being able to put them together in any meaningful structure at the moment. It feels heavily characterised by its origin as a post-Depression town, brought into material reality by the hydroelectric New Deal demiurge that is the Hoover Dam.