Tag: Excalibur

Las Vegas 2

by Leela Gopinath, posted in United States of America

ABBA was on top of my mind…Money money money..the famous song kept reverberating in my mind…..after all we were hitting the casino….what if we hit a jackpot???

So we walked into the casino full of hope…took some time to understand how to play at the slot machines. After the initial learning process we actually started gambling…and soon realised sadly that it was definitely not our cup of tea!!Were pretty unsuccessful and decided that it’s wiser to hold on to our hard earned money rather than lose it to the prospect of a windfall. So we retreated quietly…much of the excitement lost…!!! and sure enough the song disappeared from my mind!!!!

Non the less…let me walk you through a casino….have a look at the video and imagine yourself walking around……

A short video clip depicting the interior of a casino

Trying his luck!!

Next we decided to explore the adjacent resorts of Mandalay Bay and Excalibur. All these are connected by a tram system and we took the tram to Mandalay Bay….the hotel adjacent to Luxor.

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is  a 42 storeyed resort spread over 120 acres  and is famous for its golden beach, alluring wave pool, great entertainment and night life options. It also houses the Shark reef Aquarium. Named after the poem Mandalay by Rudyard Kipling, its theme is Tropical….

The Tram connecting the three resorts

Mandalay Bay with the sphynx of Luxor next to it

The pool at Mandalay Bay

From Mandalay Bay we took the tram to Excalibur Hotel and Casino.

This hotel is  built with a castle theme and its exterior reminds you of the castles in fairy tales. Like its sister resorts, this too has plush interiors with brightly lit casinos, a variety of dine in options and innumerable entertainment shows.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino resembling a castle.

After spending some time there,we took the monorail to Stratosphere which is located on Las Vegas Boulevard …..away from the las vegas strip

Stratosphere

This hotel and casino has an observation tower which is 1149 ft tall, tallest in the US. The tower is topped by a Pod with a revolving restaurant, lounges and observation decks.

Stratosphere hotel and casino and Las Vegas Boulevard

On Top Of The World!!!( on the observation deck at Stratosphere)

View of Las Vegas from the stratosphere….the glittering lights exemplify the spirit

The beauty of the lit up Vegas brought my thoughts back home where it was Diwali.. the festival of lights which I had missed !!!

Returning back we walked up Las Vegas Boulevard for some time and took the monorail to our hotel.

So friends….let me meet you next week again at Vegas..at yet another marvelous resort

Bye for now…..

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Las VEGAS 1

by Leela Gopinath, posted in United States of America

Hello friends…welcome to Las Vegas…the Sin city …….known for its gambling, night life, dance bars, casinos,fun and frolic. For the next few weeks we are going to be at this fun place…seeing things which are quite unfamiliar to us….so come along with me…

We flew in to Las Vegas from San Francisco….as usual on Southwest airlines . Las Vegas is located in a desert in Nevada in USA. As one approaches Vegas by flight, the landscape changes to sand dunes and dry desert areas.

The desert like Nevada landscape

The Las Vegas Strip….as we landed at the airport...

The Las Vegas airport is itself a mini casino with slot machines and bright flashing lights and gizmos. As one enters the terminal , one gets a feel of what lies on the other side of the terminal. I noticed a general difference in behaviour of the people from here itself. Everyone seemed to be on a HIGH… literally!!!

Slot machines at Las Vegas airport

Taking an airport shuttle, we reached Luxor Hotel and Casino where we had our room bookings.

The Hotel is built in Egyptian theme ; the main building is in the shape of a pyramid and the entire decor inside including the wardrobes have an Egyptian feel . Luxor is actually a city in Egypt on the banks of the river Nile and is famous for the Karnak temple…the second largest temple complex in Egypt.

The Luxor Hotel Pyramid Building with Sphinx                   

Main Entrance

The Hotel Lobby…everything Egyptian!!!                                                   

The Hotel lobby and interior as seen from our room

The pyramid has a sky beam touted to be the strongest beam of light in the world. We had a room somewhere in the middle of the pyramid and we had a view of Las Vegas airport from our room. The adjacent resorts are Mandalay Bay and Excalibur and all three are connected by a tram system.

After some rest, we freshened up and explored the hotel and casino. Amazing to see the sheer volumes of people at the machines and the number of restaurants and shops at different levels of the hotel.  It is a world of its own. There are various shows and exhibitions at the hotel for which you need to reserve tickets.

Later in the evening we stepped out and had our first experience of walking along the Strip. The Strip is basically a road with hotels and casinos on either side with pedestrian bridges across the roads with escalators .There are various restaurants and shops…all lit up with neon lights. Las Vegas strip by night is really very colourful.

Another unique thing was the various Cannabis shops and cabs displaying neon lights with phone numbers for cannabis supply.

There were people dressed up like for a fancy dress and one could take pictures with them for a price. Semi clad girls with various colourful gear was also something unique.

The Las Vegas Strip by day

A typical pedestrian bridge across the Strip

The Vegas Strip at night

The bright neon lights and the crowds on the Strip

As we walked along the strip, the mood was very festive….lots of loud music from the various bars and restaurants, the flashing lights, people walking around with diaquiris in their hands….all laughing away and generally having a great time…

We enjoyed the festive spirit of the strip and returned to our hotel looking forward to trying our hands at the slot machines the next day…

See you next week at the slot machines…

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