Althouse: At the Las Vegas Café...

August 12, 2015

At the Las Vegas Café...

... you must think I'm crazy!

74 comments:

SteveR said...: Blue water, how old fashioned.; 8/12/15, 1:32 PM
Quaestor said...: Fan palms on the right, date palms on the left.

Not crazy, just on the rag! with blood in the eye!

(DUCKS); 8/12/15, 1:48 PM
Noton Yalife said...: I *must*?!

Don't tell me what to do.; 8/12/15, 1:50 PM
The Bergall said...: Best part of Las Vegas is the airport - upon leaving.; 8/12/15, 1:52 PM
traditionalguy said...: Is must be Lake Mendota in Cambrian Explosion that predates the Madison gentrification era.; 8/12/15, 1:59 PM
Nate Hagerty said...: "If you gotta be in Vegas, make it Lake Las Vegas." Wisdom. And it's actually beautiful.

I stayed there when President Obama was debate prepping for Mitt Romney with John Kerry at that very hotel, and it was a surreal experience going through all the secret service security checkpoints and watching white house underlings hang around the hotel bar. Pretty sure he was supposed to have lost that particular debate, though.; 8/12/15, 2:07 PM
Deb said...: This does not seem Althousian at all.; 8/12/15, 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Replace that stream of water with a stream of blood and it would be yugely classy.; 8/12/15, 2:33 PM
Titus said...: Vegas would be one of the last cities I would go to.; 8/12/15, 2:33 PM
Known Unknown said...: I hate Vegas. Don't gamble. Don't like being practically accosted by card-slapping men trying to entice me to strip clubs.

Your methods may vary.; 8/12/15, 2:36 PM
Hagar said...: The conspiracy theory aside, this article seems to explain the sequence of events for the Colorado mine spill pretty well - and it was published one week before the spill occurred!

But who reads newspapers today anyway, and Letters to the Editor at that!; 8/12/15, 2:36 PM
Jaq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/12/15, 2:51 PM
Sydney said...: Is it as ugly up close as it seems from far away?; 8/12/15, 2:54 PM
Wilbur said...: "For the love of God why get on an airplane to do that?"

We can rule out for the love of God.; 8/12/15, 2:58 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Hagar said...

The conspiracy theory aside, this article seems to explain the sequence of events for the Colorado mine spill pretty well - and it was published one week before the spill occurred!

No, it does not. If you read the letter to the editor, in does not address a spill at all. The letter says that the EPA was attempting to stop the existing seepage, but that their efforts would not work, the seepage would simple shift to happening somewhere else, at the same rate, within a week or so. He is saying that the EPA knows this, so the whole attempt at a fix is dishonest. But he never predicts that they would dump all the water into the river at once.; 8/12/15, 3:08 PM
madAsHell said...: There might be a couple of good shows. The last time we were there, we saw Jay Leno, and the Blue Man Group. We really liked Leno's show.

The Blue Man show.....not so much.; 8/12/15, 3:13 PM
richardsson said...: Well, if you are figuring on going to Hell, going to Las Vegas this time of year is a good way to prepare for it.; 8/12/15, 3:23 PM
steve uhr said...: PGA tournament in Kohler, Wisconsin this week. One of the most beautiful courses anywhere. Great bathrooms too.; 8/12/15, 3:25 PM
Jim Gust said...: I hope you are staying at the Venetian.; 8/12/15, 3:26 PM
Jaq said...: There were signs around Boston a while ago that said something to the effect that "you haven't seen Boston until you've seen Blue Man Group." I never understood, having lived in Boston and visited there many many times, what Blue Man Group had to do with any of it. Old North Church? Sure, Quincy Market? Yep? The Swan Boats at Boston Commons? Why not? Walden Pond, Harvard Yard, Fenway Park, Top of the Pru? Absolutely. Blue Man Group? Not so much...; 8/12/15, 3:26 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: If you see Sapphire say hello to her from me.

I am Laslo.; 8/12/15, 3:36 PM
Michael K said...: I saw Tony Bennett there about three years ago. He is a big Obama fan. Other than that, the show was good.; 8/12/15, 3:37 PM
Christy said...: Haven't been to Vegas for 25 years, but I was surprised at how much I liked it. My elitist disdain bit the dust. Went out to the nuclear test site and stayed at the old Desert Inn. Magic shows, I love magic shows. One year I drove Vegas to Tucson with the Arizona guide to Roadside Geology and fell in love with the area. Hope you find something to tickle your fancy.; 8/12/15, 3:38 PM
paminwi said...: Las Vegas show to see:Cirque du Soleil "O". Beautiful show!

Whistling Straits Golf Course: pay the money to watch professionals play. Really fun and it's a great walk, too!; 8/12/15, 3:39 PM
Bruce said...: I'm also in Las Vegas right now! Hope you have a great time here!; 8/12/15, 3:42 PM
Known Unknown said...: "Las Vegas show to see:Cirque du Soleil "O". Beautiful show!"

We saw O as well but I didn't think the show (good) was worth the price.; 8/12/15, 3:55 PM
Utah Chris said...: This looks like Las Vegas Lake resort. Nice place, out of the way, small gaming rooms, good for kids programs during the day and early evening and even have sitters available.; 8/12/15, 4:00 PM
Laura said...: With state and federal agencies, no one would expect fertilizer explosions in Texas either.

Inconceivable.

Nice work if you can get it.; 8/12/15, 4:09 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: My personal opinion is that the movie Casino (1995) is grossly overrated.

Joe Pesci . . . yawn.

Robert De Niro . . . yawn.

Sharon Stone . . . holy fucking Moses with a squeegee . . . you suck!!!; 8/12/15, 4:09 PM
Hagar said...: @Ignorance,
I don't understand your comment.

Of course the writer did not predict they would be that ignorant and foolish.

What he did give us is a good explanation of how the water came to build up inside the mine in the first place, which is what I have been looking for.

And I think engineers from the Bureau of Mines, or whatever it is called in Colorado, would have suspected or known that something of the kind was going on, and would not have just carelessly gone to digging away at the plug without first taking precautions, such as building a catchment dam below first, or a diversion channel away from the stream.; 8/12/15, 4:14 PM
CWJ said...: Wow. Another cool photo!

In other news,

Politico is running a piece by Claire McCaskill actually crowing about conning Missouri Republican Primary voters into throwing her into the Briar patch Brer Rabbit style.

This must be for coastal state consumption, because nearly everyone* in Missouri has figured this one out. Kinda like if OJ stood up and said OK, you got me. I killed them both.

* - I only wish not so many of my fellow MO R voters had thought about this before, not after, going to the polls.; 8/12/15, 4:27 PM
CWJ said...: The biggest kick I got out of the Politico article was when Claire called it a $1.7MM gamble. LOL, It's only a gamble if you have other options. She was the single most vulnerable senate incumbent going into 2012. It was the only card she had to play, and she played it brilliantly.; 8/12/15, 4:35 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Love the Southwest but Vegas is a arid hellhole. They've managed to scour it of any residual retro charm and now it has about as much authenticity as Disneyland. With Indian casinos dotting the land, I don't understand why Vegas continues to exist.; 8/12/15, 4:35 PM
CWJ said...: I screwed up my footnote but I hope readers get the actual intent. Just mentally delete "not so many of."; 8/12/15, 4:42 PM
CWJ said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/12/15, 4:42 PM
jacksonjay said...: Falling for that sexy, swaggy, Obama smile is what convinced me, not a visit to Sin City. By the way, I thought President Obama suggested that Americans should avoid Vegas. Save your money, etc..; 8/12/15, 4:45 PM
donald said...: Penn and Teller.; 8/12/15, 4:51 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: I fly Free Flight model airplanes in the desert. In the summer. In the 100 plus degree heat--and have done so for 30 plus years now (including on El Dorado Dry Lake about 20 miles south of McCarran Field--the LV airport). Don't move any faster than you have to when you are out in the sun. Lots of sunscreen. Long sleeves. Big hat for shade on your head.

The key to survival is lots of water; rest in the shade after a spell of activity (which means you have to bring a tent shade and some chairs, and lots of water with you). Ms. Althouse is smarter than your average French tourist (those two unfortunate deaths in New Mexico are still on my mind0, so she'll stay close to water and shade.

As for Las Vegas; I don't gamble and while my wife likes the shows, for most of them my reaction is "meh".

But Las Vegas is really at least three different cities. There's the Strip with the big hotels, along with a lot of satellite fancier hotels, plus all the smaller hotels on the edges of town that cater to the "locals". You can get some pretty good to great meals in those places.

There's working class Las Vegas stretching from North Las Vegas to Henderson. The people who work in the hotels and casinos have to have some place to live, and then there are the people who provide services to others. Most of those people have no direct connection with the casinos. Add to that group all of the California retirees who've fled California's income taxes and bought relatively cheap (or at least cheaper than California) housing in the Las Vegas suburbs.

Finally there's Las Vegas the distribution, data processing and corporate training center. There are a lot of college or at least junior college educated people in Las Vegas and they represent a skilled labor pool. Numbers of banks have back office data processing/credit card processing centers in Las Vegas. Hotel rooms are cheap, and air travel to Las Vegas is also relatively cheap. So it's a good place for major corporations to have training centers for their national staff.

Well Laslo can come to Las Vegas for the hookers and booze--they still have lots of that.

But there's a lot of rather ordinary middle class life going on in Las Vegas at the same time. Hot this time of year though and the desert Southwest has a "monsoon season" which hits with torrential rains during August and early September. I hope Ms. Althouse can stay dry.; 8/12/15, 4:52 PM
Original Mike said...: "Ms. Althouse is smarter than your average French tourist..."

Hell, ARM is smarter than your average French tourist. Probably.; 8/12/15, 5:04 PM
Bob Ellison said...: The Cracker Emcee said, "With Indian casinos dotting the land, I don't understand why Vegas continues to exist."

Vegas is like McDonald's and Coke. It must always be the best and brightest of the pop culture. That's more difficult nowadays, with the casinos all over, but Vegas is still a spectacle.

I'd short Vegas. It will take a while, but it cannot sustain this paranormal altitude. The Internet might kill it.; 8/12/15, 5:16 PM
Michael K said...: "Add to that group all of the California retirees who've fled California's income taxes and bought relatively cheap (or at least cheaper than California) housing in the Las Vegas suburbs."

Some friends of mine did that about ten years ago. Bragged about the cheap house that cost a third of what they sold their Laguna Niguel house for. Guess what ? They can't sell it.

No wonder it was cheap.

I wouldn't mind living there but I like Tucson better. My kids are all in California, though, so I'm stuck.; 8/12/15, 5:48 PM
Sam L. said...: Yes, we do. but there's no better place for going crazy.

I liked Tucson better, too, Michael K.; 8/12/15, 6:13 PM
kcom said...: "PGA tournament in Kohler, Wisconsin this week. One of the most beautiful courses anywhere. Great bathrooms too."

And they don't mind if you put your two shot in the water. They encourage it, actually.; 8/12/15, 6:17 PM
Big Mike said...: There's a better turtle in front of the library on the U of Maryland campus; 8/12/15, 6:18 PM
kcom said...: That's a terrapin. Completely different. ;); 8/12/15, 6:23 PM
Big Mike said...: @kcom, no wonder it looks better. ;-); 8/12/15, 6:39 PM
george said...: Leow's Lake Las Vegas Resort. Well away from The Strip and only a few gambling halls. Nice.; 8/12/15, 6:48 PM
mezzrow said...: Like Thai? German wines?

Lotus of Siam, Professor. You'll think I've lost my mind when you get to the restaurant, but you'll thank me when you are leaving.; 8/12/15, 7:03 PM
chickelit said...: If you and Meade are driving to Lake Mead and to the Hoover Dam, there's a great burger/malt shop in Boulder City called "The Pit Stop." Highly recommend.; 8/12/15, 7:25 PM
William said...: They say that if you didn't know the underlying purpose of all those colored lights, you would think that the Las Vegas strip was the most beautiful and ethereal spot on earth. Oh well, the underlying purpose of the Chartres Cathedral was probably to sell papal indulgences.....I've read that the slots near the door of casino are rigged for a higher payout. There's something about hearing the music of a payout that gets the greed juices going. So play the slots nearest the door. You'll lose money slower.....The best bet is the roulette table. If the croupier has dark hear play black. If he has lighter hair, play red. Works every time. The mistake a lot of novice gamblers make is that they give up too soon. If you're patient enough, Dame Fortune is sure to start smiling your way. Quicken Loans offers second mortgages at attractive rates.; 8/12/15, 7:25 PM
chickelit said...: Also, Meadhouse can shoot real machines guns at several places in Vegas. It's pricey, but quite a thrill. I don't think they allow bacon wraps though.; 8/12/15, 7:26 PM
chickelit said...: The Hoover Dam is always worth a visit. It's an Art Deco masterpiece. There are several nice short hikes surrounding it. I remember best the one that goes through several abandoned train tunnels used to get men, equipment, and supplies to the dam site. Bring water.; 8/12/15, 7:29 PM
Bill said...: I'm glad you're there - for now, anyway. Vegas is badly in need of a civilizing influence!; 8/12/15, 7:42 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: I'm sure the grown men in shorts post will be up soon.; 8/12/15, 7:46 PM
madAsHell said...: Wow!!

Earlier, I heard the local talking heads announce that Hillary! had top secret on her server.

I just heard Lester Holt announce the same thing on his NBC Nightly News show.

If only the snipers in Bosnia could control their breathing, then she wouldn't have these problems. She would be a memorial in Arlington.; 8/12/15, 8:06 PM
chickelit said...: I'm sure the grown men in shorts post will be up soon..

Hopefully with a photo of old men gambling in shorts!; 8/12/15, 8:08 PM
madAsHell said...: The Hoover Dam is always worth a visit.

Go up to Callville, rent a house boat. Find a hidden harbor, and get friendly. Clothing optional.

Of course, if you really want to have fun with your clothes on, then bring a shotgun, and clay pigeons.

Pull!!!

It doesn't get any better than that!!; 8/12/15, 8:13 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Spent some time in Vegas in the Sinatra/Dean Martin era in the early 60s. I GREATLY prefer it to todays Disneyfied "safe for children" bland atmosphere... the old Vegas was for true adults..; 8/12/15, 9:13 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Like Michael K I'm stuck in California. We have two daughters--one in Los Angeles, one in London. My wife's doctors are here so that's another anchor to LA.

That said the Las Vegas housing market has had its ups and downs. One real problem is in the high end "show" houses. 15 years go they were building 5,000 square foot houses with expensive interiors going for maybe a million. Time went along and the "show" houses got bigger--7,,500 square feet and maybe two million. Now "show" houses are 12,500 to 15,000 square feet and north of three million. There is no market for the 10 or 12 year old "show" house. Too expensive for the hoi poilio and not big enough or flashy enough for the new "show" buyer

That said there are a lot of modest little tract homes in Las Vegas and they periodically go under water on the mortgage as the real estate market goes up and down.; 8/12/15, 10:15 PM
Michael K said...: "the old Vegas was for true adults.."

I remember the old Flamingo, Bugsy Siegel's place.

Hank Henry and the Silver Slipper.

That was the 50s. I saw a guy make 22 passes on the craps table once. He held the dice all night. Millions changed hands. I don't think he made that much.; 8/12/15, 10:35 PM
Scott said...: I heard they redid the Flamingo again. I stayed there on my last visit years ago. They had a garden in the back on the way to the pool, and in the center was some kind of memorial (I think it was a plaque) honoring Bugsy Siegel.; 8/12/15, 10:48 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I'm here for family reasons. Meade isn't with me.; 8/12/15, 11:46 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Not gambing. The isn't even gambling at this hotel.; 8/12/15, 11:47 PM
Vet66 said...: That looks more like the Henderson area than downtown Las Vegas. We stay in Henderson on the lake Mead (MEAD) side of that area. Quiet glitz as opposed to the hurly burly of the well-named strip. Hope you had fun.; 8/13/15, 6:54 AM
Scott said...: Ann have fun. Talking about Freudian stuff, Las Vegas is the id of America. How can that not be fascinating.; 8/13/15, 7:12 AM
Rusty said...: ... you must think I'm crazy!

Yeah. For awhile now.; 8/13/15, 7:21 AM
Scott M said...: My wife has been in Vegas since Monday for a conference. She said they're not near the strip, but the resort hotel they're staying in has EVERYTHING.; 8/13/15, 7:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Statue of turtle and desert setting remind me of the Tortuga episode of Breaking Bad.; 8/13/15, 8:23 AM
Matt Sablan said...: When I went to Las Vegas, I played on a quarter and left with a print out saying I won 50 cents. It was the only gambling I did there.

Since I never redeemed that print out, I guess I really lost in the end.; 8/13/15, 8:34 AM
JZ said...: Such comments!I have to hand it to you, Althouse. You put up with a lot of crap on this blog.; 8/13/15, 8:54 AM
Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...: We've lived here in LV for 4-1/2 years now and love it. We're 8 miles from the bottom of the strip, nestled up against the mountains. Great situation for walking, hiking, biking, running.; 8/13/15, 10:12 AM
Unknown said...: is that turtle taunting?; 8/13/15, 12:01 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/13/15, 12:40 PM
Rusty said...: Just Mike said...
is that turtle taunting?

The turtle is expressing an opinion.; 8/13/15, 6:20 PM