Spent a laid-back day with Russ on Saturday, April 12, just hanging out, playing games and eating at The Rio before Penn & Teller’s show that night. Missed seeing Gene Simmons in the KISS store by about 5 minutes. He was in there while I was having my picture made with Zoltar Speaks. Go figure, lol! We had excellent seats for Penn & Teller, but no pics or recording was permitted. (I know — I didn’t let that stop me in the Sistine Chapel, but I turned it off in Vegas?!? I’ve become less rebellious as I’ve gotten older, I guess, lol!)
They had a great show, though. I don’t understand magic shows. Never have, never will. Don’t really want to. If it requires too much thought, I won’t sleep ever again. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to magic shows — at least, it is, for me. I just accept a trick as “wowie,” and go with it, amazed and in awe. I love Teller! I think he’s the cutest little man! His facial expressions absolutely crack me up. He’s so funny! And he throws confetti! He’s definitely a Chrissie kind of guy, lol! My favorite trick was the “water into coins into goldfish trick.” If you know how they did it — don’t tell me. Let me just be happy and awed for a while. I know the explanations for too many other things that bring me down when I think about them. Let “magic” be magic.
Thanks to Russ for a perfect evening. Another 10,000 steps today. Why haven’t my thighs converted totally to muscle already?!?
As for The Rio itself, it was a bit of a let-down, I think more so for Russ than for me. It’s not on The Strip, so I wasn’t expecting it to be a “big deal.” Russ had us leave hours early for the show, though, so we could play in the casino and look around the shops. The casino was smaller and way less impressive than the one at Treasure Island, where we stayed while we were in Vegas. And the shops were virtually nonexistent. It was sad to see what had become basically a ghost town of a formerly well-known casino. I don’t know that I could even call it a feeling of being haunted, though, because even the ghosts didn’t linger in the building, just the empty storefronts. I was really quite shocked that the KISS store is still in there and would be curious to find out the reason(s) why. Maybe because the rent is affordable? But Gene Simmons always seemed like a shrewd businessman to me and it would seem to me like having it somewhere on The Strip would being in more business, just by virtue of having more people going by it?
Speaking of The Strip, this is as good a place as any to talk about some of our other experiences there, I suppose, too. We didn’t do any “shows” besides The Eagles at The Sphere and Penn & Teller at The Rio – no Cirque de Soleil for us, or Barry Manilow, or Wayne Newton – but we did do a few touristy things. Because – it’s Vegas, and that’s what you do!
Our first afternoon there, we walked from Treasure Island down to The Bellagio and walked through the Conservatory (the Gardens), and checked out the Chihuly glass on the ceiling. We went across the street to eat Chicago deep dish style pizza for dinner, then went back across to The Bellagio to watch the Fountain Show closer to dark. That’s always impressive! (It was set to “Uptown Funk” that performance.) And, of course, we played in the casino at The Bellagio that afternoon, too. I discovered a new game there, an even bigger, better version of one of my favorite games at home – EXTREME Jackpot Carnival Buffalo! That casino was the only place I found that particular game, which was a real bummer! I could have spent money there all day, lol!
The next day, we went over to the Venetian to look around and discovered The Eagles’ Merch Store. And played in their casino for a while, where I hit okay on a Buffalo game we have at home — I have no idea what the name of it is, but it has BONUS at the top and you try to hit monetary amounts to light up those letters to play a hold and spin round. Meanwhile, you’re playing the regular “Buffalo” game. But beware – it gets to the last part of the “S” and will suck your money dry getting you to the end to strike that hold and spin round. It lures you in and plays you hard! I’ve played it a few times since I came home and have about had my fill of it! You almost never win as much off it as you feed into it, in my personal experience.
In addition to checking out the casino at The Venetian, though, we took in the amazing indoor “canals” and shopping. Extravagant on every level! The blue skies painted overhead made me feel like I was back in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It was such a surreal setting, full of charm and luxury. I could have stayed there all day watching the gondolas and the gondoliers. It was truly remarkable. So inviting and serene…
It was my favorite in terms of “backdrops.” The Bellagio was my favorite in terms of games. But Treasure Island was really a great place to stay, with lots of restaurants, a more than adequate casino to hold our interests, a pool (which I used to meet up with a friend who happened to be staying the first night we were there before she and her family checked out the next morning before they went home to Nebraska from their vacation), a souvenir shop, and even a CVS conveniently located near the Krispy Kreme Doughnut store. It wasn’t the latest-and-greatest, but it fitted our budget and offered clean rooms with lots to do within walking distance if we didn’t want to hang around the hotel.
Vegas isn’t somewhere I would visit frequently – unless there’s an Eagles concert at The Sphere involved. If that were the case, I’d be there! Because, that, my friends, is more than magical!
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