DAY 7 Wednesday, December 21, 2011:
Vegas hotels keep the lights on day and night and there are no clocks anywhere... this is to brainwash people into staying awake and gambling through the night and day.
ARIA:
Aria
hotel here.
Aria express on the skybridge in the pic above.. Jaywalking is fined in vegas. Figuring out how to enter each hotel without walking a mile for the zebra crossing takes effort. There are skyways connecting a few hotels.
At Aria's porte-cochère, there is Lumia seen in pic above, this fountain featuring twisting ribbons and large arcs of streaming water. The splashes are in perfect sync, creating bold "water sparks" at their intersections. This is the first fountain ever to display bright neon colors in broad daylight.
With the resort's mission of being green, the water in Lumia is recycled and even has a computerized system that helps control splashing during windy days. ..
WATERWALL/WATERFALL
Along
the outer entrance circle of Aria is Focus, an expansive, curved
water wall made of highly textured stone. This water wall measures
250 feet long by 24 feet high, making it the largest water wall.The
fountain is programmable and the engineers can control the speed and
direction of the water.
Lovely
design for the chair--waterfall behind.
WYNN
Built
at a cost of US $2.7 billion, Wynn is the largest privately-funded
construction project in the nation.
The 614-foot (187 m) high hotel has 45 floors, with the 2,716 rooms range in size from 640 sq ft (59 sq m) to the villas at 7,000 sq ft (650 sq m). The complex also includes a 111,000 sq ft (10,300 sq m) casino, a convention center with 223,000 sq ft (20,700 sq m) of space, and 76,000 sq ft (7,100 sq m) of retail space. Together with the adjacent Encore, the entire Wynn resort complex has a total of 4,750 rooms.
The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, and Michelin five star ratings for hotel, as well as one Michelin star for restaurant Wing Lei.and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world
The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas are in the separated southernmost section of the main tower. These 296 suites have a private driveway with Rolls-Royce house cars and chauffeurs, as well as a private entrance with koi pond, a separate check-in area and elevators, and a private pool area.... very popular among celebrities and the very wealthy.
Wynn Las Vegas opened on April 28, 2005, Wynn's wife's birthday, the 55th Anniversary of the opening of the original Desert Inn where this is built, and five years from the day Steve Wynn purchased the site. On April 28, 2006, Wynn celebrated its one-year anniversary by beginning construction of a second hotel tower called Encore. The tower is a $2.3 billion, 2,034-room hotel project adjacent to the existing resort and on the remaining frontage of the Las Vegas Boulevard. Encore opened on December 22, 2008.
Inside Wynn... every element
speaks of class and elegance... and MONEY.
Wynn is one of the best and costliest hotels in the world. XS is one of the most extravagant clubs in the United States. Bottle service includes a $10,000 cocktail.
This is the first ever factory authorized Ferrari Store in North America and only the seventh in the world. The staff wear Ferrari pit crew outfits and a sound system blasts engine noises as would be heard on a race track.
Behind is a luxury car dealership. Brand new factory-authorized cars include the Ferrari and Maserati brands. ...cars on display cost up to $1.6 million.
Non-buying guests of the resort can go into the dealership to take a look around. When the resort opened, there was no fee to enter, but the dealership became so crowded that management began charging $10 for admission. It was free for us as it was the christmas season. They don't allow pics inside though.
MANDALAY BAY:
Mandalay
Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino
owned by MGM. One of the property's towers operates as
the Delano; the Four Seasons Hotel is independently
operated within the Mandalay Bay tower, occupying five floors
(35–39).
Mandalay
Bay has 3,209 hotel rooms,24 elevators and a casino of 135,000 square
feet. The Mandalay Bay Tram connects the resort to its sister
properties, Excalibur and Luxor, all three of which
were constructed by Circus Circus Enterprises before its
sale to MGM.
STRATOSPHERE/ THE STRAT:
This
is Stratosphere ..The
property's signature attraction is the 1,149 ft (350.2 m)
Stratosphere Tower, the tallest freestanding observation
tower in the United States, and the second-tallest in
the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the CN
Tower in Toronto, Ontario. The hotel is a
separate building with 24 stories, 2,427 rooms and an 80,000 sq ft
(7,400 m2) casino.
Construction
of the $70 million tower began in February 1992, in an area
known as Meadows Village, a crime-ridden neighborhood nicknamed Naked
City. Shortly before its opening, a Stratosphere spokesman
acknowledged, "We plunked down a half-billion-dollar project in
the middle of one of the worst neighborhoods.
Seemed all's well, girls were bungee jumping 1000 feet below from up there when we visited.
An indoor observation deck is located on the 108th floor, and includes food and beverage outlets, while stairs lead up to the outdoor deck on the 109th floor. Both decks provide wraparound views of the Las Vegas Valley. We bought the tickets to go to the top of the observation tower and enjoyed the views.
Rides
at the Stratosphere include:
- Big Shot at 1,081 ft (329 m) was the highest thrill ride in the world until the Sky Drop opened on the Canton Tower at 1,591 ft (485 m).
- Insanity at 900 ft (270 m) is the third highest thrill ride in the world; it dangles riders over the edge of the tower and then spins in a circular pattern at approximately forty miles per hour. In a 2005 incident, riders were left dangling several hundred feet above the Las Vegas Strip for nearly an hour and a half when Insanity shut down
- SkyJump Las Vegas, a controlled-descent, Bungee-jumping-like ride that allows riders to plummet 855 ft (261 m) attached to a high-speed descent wire.
- X-Scream at 866 ft (264 m) is the fourth highest thrill ride in the world. It consists of a single car that rolls back and forth on a straight piece of track that slightly overhangs the tower and pivots vertically in a see-saw motion
more awesome glass by Chihuly.
NEWYORK NEWYORK:
Its architecture is meant to evoke the New York City skyline of the 1940s era; the hotel includes several towers configured to resemble New York City buildings such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.
At
NewYork, NewYork.
The following 2 pictures are from the next day in day light...Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower in the same shot...
View of Eiffel tower from NewYork...
Completed at a cost of $460 million, New York-New York opened on January 3, 1997 At street level, pedestrians are blocked from crossing by concrete barriers. Instead, it is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos to the south (the Excalibur, across Tropicana Avenue) and to the east (the MGM Grand).
Excalibur with the colored turrets in the background in the pic above.
In front of the
property is a 150-foot tall replica of the Statue of Liberty,
and replicas of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Whitney
Museum of American Art, the Main Immigration Building on Ellis
Island, and Grand Central Terminal.
150-foot-tall (46 m) replica of the Statue of Liberty,...
The Big
Apple Coaster (formerly Manhattan Express) travels through
the property's interior and exterior. The coaster is 203 ft
(62 m) high, has a maximum drop of 144 ft (44 m), and
reaches speeds up to 67 mph (108 km/h). The ride has
undergone a variety of enhancements including the introduction of a
magnetic braking system and new trains. The roller coaster has trains
that resemble a traditional Checker Cab
NBA Basket
ball fans will go nuts at the sight of these replicas.
Newyork
apartment balconies--how horrible is this...??
MGM:
Originally, the main entrance on
the Strip to MGM was inside the mouth of a giant version of
MGM's mascot, Leo the Lion, but many Chinese gamblers avoided
the casino or entered through the back entrance, due to the feng shui
belief that entering the mouth of the lion was "bad luck."..
so the entrance was changed to a traditional one.
Here we are at MGM...
In 1998, a
large bronze statue of Leo was added above the entrance to keep with
the MGM Lion theme, while not scaring away their more superstitious
guests. The statue weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall, on a
25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S.
Owned
and operated by MGM Resorts International, the 30-floor main building
is 293 ft (89 m) high. The property includes five outdoor pools,
rivers, and waterfalls that cover 6.6 acres ... a 380,000 sq ft
convention center, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Grand Spa. It
also houses numerous shops and night clubs, 19 restaurants, and the
largest casino which occupies 171,500 sq ft
at the Rainforest Cafe restaurant has features of a
rainforest, including plants , mist, waterfalls, animatronic robots
of animals and insects.
We saw a rainforest cafe at Disney's Animal Kingdom at Orlando, Florida too.. it is a popular chain…
We had a good time watching the lions... probably a trainer gives instructions to the lions--it was a sound proof enclosure but we got to see quite nice tricks.
In
1993, MGM had an extensive Wizard of Oz theme, including the green
"Emerald City". It featured an elaborate yellow brick road
walk through. Complete with a cornfield, an apple orchard, the
haunted forest as well as audio-animatronic figures of the Scarecrow,
Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Tin Man and the Cowardly
Lion. It would end at the door of the city, leading inside for a
performance of "The Wizard's Secrets". When the MGM Grand
began its extensive refurbishment in 1996, the Oz Casino was the
first to go. The Emerald City was completely demolished... wish we
could have seen the wizard of oz theme as it's one of our favorite
movies…
Located
on the Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection, pedestrians are
not allowed to cross at street level. Instead, the MGM Grand is
linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos: to
the south across Tropicana Avenue, the Tropicana, and to the west
across the Strip, the New York-New York
FREEMONT EXPERIENCE
We
took the deuce in the evening and went to see the party scene, free
music shows and the canopy at the Freemont street experience.
We were
a little scared as the internet warned of drug addicts and seedy
characters here but it was a family scene in mid December…
The
most obvious and largest part of the Fremont Street Experience is the
Viva Vision canopy and light show. The canopy towers 90 feet above
the ground and spans the length of five football fields. Featuring
more than 12 million LED modules and 555,000-watt sound system,...
along with the show, ziplining is available here under the canopy…
Shops
on the Fremont Street Experience sell paintings as well as
souvenir items like engraved rice grain jewelry, unique T-shirts,
hats, Indian arts and crafts. The Heart Attack Grill offers humungous
burgers and fries served by waitresses dressed like nurses. The
restaurant takes the term "Eat your heart out" to a whole
other level: Customers weighing more than 350 pounds eat for free.
Looking
for something healthy instead? Located right next to Heart Attack
Grill, Fremont Mediterranean Cafe offers hummus, falafel pitas, as
well as meat or veggie skewers
Golden Nugget:
Here
we are at the Golden Nugget, the oldest casino in Vegas...
It is the largest casino in the downtown area, with a total of 2,345 deluxe guest rooms and suites. It has also maintained AAA's Four Diamond rating consecutively for 32 years from 1977 through 2009..
We
enjoyed the classy decor at this luxury resort, had a hot chocolate
and pastry at the restaurant and caught a deuce back to our hotel as
the night had become very cold…
Report of our last day at Vegas is here:
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