Thursday, June 23, 2005
Bright lights, big city
It was just as I expected. Along Las Vegas Boulevard, swanky hotels and casinos vied for attention, each attempting to outdo the other in grandeur. Some others reveled in the other end of the spectrum, blatantly tawdry and proud of it, but all had a common mission to lure the would-be thrill-seekers to their tables. Most of them combined the whole package, being a hotel / casino / shopping mall under one roof. Some even had roller coasters coursing in and out of their premises, bringing periodic bursts of screaming to the already noisy street.
It was a hot day in a desert city, but still the streets were packed. Along the pedestrian sidewalks, newspaper dispensers were used to sell porn magazines while touts (interestingly, both male and female) wearing T-shirts proclaiming “Strippers To You”, “Girls Direct” or “2-for-1 Girls” handed out cards with suggestive pictures and attention grabbing headlines like “Farmer’s Daughters”, “Asian Princess” or “Fantasies Fulfilled”. Did I just lament the lack of room for imagination these days earlier on?
Amidst the sea of smut, a well-groomed elderly gentleman dressed in a preacher’s collar stood defiantly in the sweltering desert heat, holding a basket and laminated poster in an effort to raise funds for a homeless shelter. Oblivious to the din of touts and traffic, his eyes scanned every face crossing the intersection, searching for compassion in the most unlikely location. The touts around him ignored his presence (they are, afterall, focusing on a different market altogether), thrusting their wares into the paths of oncoming pedestrians while he maintained a stoic silence. His choice of location could have been ironic or entirely appropriate, depending on how you choose to look at it.
Ah well, they don't call it Sin City for nothing.
***
For the benefit of international readers, the Singapore government recently decided to allow the building of an integrated resort with a casino, and attracted bids from many of the big names in the gaming industry. The pros-vs-cons debate has been beaten to death in our newspapers, schools, kopitiams and Parliament, so I will not elaborate on it here. For the record, my stand is more on the utilitarian side. Further discussions will be entertained in private.
My companions and I had one weekend, so we only managed a cursory tour of some casinos. Here are some notes about those where we ventured:
Caesar’s Palace:
If Opulence were a person, this would have been his home. Carved marble statues, elaborately gilded columns, imposing fountains and everything associated with ancient Roman cliché all conspired to project a pseudo-mythical aura. If they were to go a step further they’d require a mandatory togas-only dress code.
The Venetian:
This is for those too lazy to go all the way to Europe. Interior and exterior décor went all out of the way to squeeze the whole European continent into one building. Simulated shopping sidewalk with al-fresco (sort of) dining, internal canal complete with gondola rides ala Venice, ceiling paintings ripping off Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and even security guards dressed up as Italian policemen. And which Euro-wannabe mall/hotel/casino in the world would be complete without a wax figure of Pavarotti?
On second thought, don’t bother answering that.
MGM Grand:
No cheesy themes here, just modern chic. In line with the MGM concept though, they had an indoor lion habitat, where 2 lionesses spent the whole day sleeping on top of a thick plastic passageway. People squeezed in to take pictures of their underside, for reasons I can only speculate about (how often do you get to see a lions anus up close?), while queuing up to have their picture taken with an irritated lion cub for an exorbitant fee.
In all the casinos, row after row of gaudily-coloured slot machines created a racket of electronic noise. In front of them sat mostly retirees, clutching a bucket of coins and a holding a bottle of beer or cigarette, glued to the screen. Other sections had tables offering blackjack, roulette or craps, from which occasional whoops of joy and applause emanated. Gamblers of all ages and nationalities thronged the tables, demonstrating the universal, timeless human desire to make a quick buck.
The atmosphere was generally one of colourful merriment, and it didn’t help that all the casinos seem to be in conspiracy to cover their floors with carpets that would have constituted an aesthetic disaster if they were anywhere at eye level. Scantily dressed women sauntered around the tables taking orders for drinks and cigarettes. The more upmarket ones had plenty of eye-candy for those not fixated on their cards or screens, while the less flashy ones went for a decidedly more….maternal….feel. Suited casino employees flaunting huge walkie-talkies made their rounds to make their presence felt, reinforcing the air of silent intimidation that came from the array of cameras mounted on the ceiling.
I tried my hand at a slot machine, and it took me a grand total of US$ 1.50 to realize that gambling isn’t for me. The thought of putting money down and leaving it to a game of chance just didn’t work out for the miser in me. Needless to say, I didn’t even bother with the blackjack tables, where the minimum bet ranged from US$5 to US$100. Anyone with a basic grounding in statistics would understand what kind of odds you have at the casino. I have no problems with wagers on the merit of skill, but putting money on a random possibility is beyond me. Your mileage may vary.
I wonder how ours is going to turn out.
Current beer in fridge : Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse
It was a hot day in a desert city, but still the streets were packed. Along the pedestrian sidewalks, newspaper dispensers were used to sell porn magazines while touts (interestingly, both male and female) wearing T-shirts proclaiming “Strippers To You”, “Girls Direct” or “2-for-1 Girls” handed out cards with suggestive pictures and attention grabbing headlines like “Farmer’s Daughters”, “Asian Princess” or “Fantasies Fulfilled”. Did I just lament the lack of room for imagination these days earlier on?
Amidst the sea of smut, a well-groomed elderly gentleman dressed in a preacher’s collar stood defiantly in the sweltering desert heat, holding a basket and laminated poster in an effort to raise funds for a homeless shelter. Oblivious to the din of touts and traffic, his eyes scanned every face crossing the intersection, searching for compassion in the most unlikely location. The touts around him ignored his presence (they are, afterall, focusing on a different market altogether), thrusting their wares into the paths of oncoming pedestrians while he maintained a stoic silence. His choice of location could have been ironic or entirely appropriate, depending on how you choose to look at it.
Ah well, they don't call it Sin City for nothing.
***
For the benefit of international readers, the Singapore government recently decided to allow the building of an integrated resort with a casino, and attracted bids from many of the big names in the gaming industry. The pros-vs-cons debate has been beaten to death in our newspapers, schools, kopitiams and Parliament, so I will not elaborate on it here. For the record, my stand is more on the utilitarian side. Further discussions will be entertained in private.
My companions and I had one weekend, so we only managed a cursory tour of some casinos. Here are some notes about those where we ventured:
Caesar’s Palace:
If Opulence were a person, this would have been his home. Carved marble statues, elaborately gilded columns, imposing fountains and everything associated with ancient Roman cliché all conspired to project a pseudo-mythical aura. If they were to go a step further they’d require a mandatory togas-only dress code.
The Venetian:
This is for those too lazy to go all the way to Europe. Interior and exterior décor went all out of the way to squeeze the whole European continent into one building. Simulated shopping sidewalk with al-fresco (sort of) dining, internal canal complete with gondola rides ala Venice, ceiling paintings ripping off Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and even security guards dressed up as Italian policemen. And which Euro-wannabe mall/hotel/casino in the world would be complete without a wax figure of Pavarotti?
On second thought, don’t bother answering that.
MGM Grand:
No cheesy themes here, just modern chic. In line with the MGM concept though, they had an indoor lion habitat, where 2 lionesses spent the whole day sleeping on top of a thick plastic passageway. People squeezed in to take pictures of their underside, for reasons I can only speculate about (how often do you get to see a lions anus up close?), while queuing up to have their picture taken with an irritated lion cub for an exorbitant fee.
In all the casinos, row after row of gaudily-coloured slot machines created a racket of electronic noise. In front of them sat mostly retirees, clutching a bucket of coins and a holding a bottle of beer or cigarette, glued to the screen. Other sections had tables offering blackjack, roulette or craps, from which occasional whoops of joy and applause emanated. Gamblers of all ages and nationalities thronged the tables, demonstrating the universal, timeless human desire to make a quick buck.
The atmosphere was generally one of colourful merriment, and it didn’t help that all the casinos seem to be in conspiracy to cover their floors with carpets that would have constituted an aesthetic disaster if they were anywhere at eye level. Scantily dressed women sauntered around the tables taking orders for drinks and cigarettes. The more upmarket ones had plenty of eye-candy for those not fixated on their cards or screens, while the less flashy ones went for a decidedly more….maternal….feel. Suited casino employees flaunting huge walkie-talkies made their rounds to make their presence felt, reinforcing the air of silent intimidation that came from the array of cameras mounted on the ceiling.
I tried my hand at a slot machine, and it took me a grand total of US$ 1.50 to realize that gambling isn’t for me. The thought of putting money down and leaving it to a game of chance just didn’t work out for the miser in me. Needless to say, I didn’t even bother with the blackjack tables, where the minimum bet ranged from US$5 to US$100. Anyone with a basic grounding in statistics would understand what kind of odds you have at the casino. I have no problems with wagers on the merit of skill, but putting money on a random possibility is beyond me. Your mileage may vary.
I wonder how ours is going to turn out.
Current beer in fridge : Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse
# posted by BloozeGit @ 11:29 am 
