Firstly, I have to backtrack a little bit on Day Three since that day wasn’t entirely finished when I prepared my string of posts. The evening of Day Three was spent cleaning up and then having dinner at Luxor’s steak house. Phew! What a meal! Pretty close to being on par with the Range at Harrah’s but definitely a tie in the filling part. I had to cop out for the rest of the evening while Glenn and Jose hit the clubs. Before I headed back to my room, I ran into a diehard Flyers fan from Philly. So diehard his daughter works in the customer service department for the team. It was nice to hear the local’s opinion about the team and their chances for the Cup this year (despite the injuries piling up in pre-season).
So Day Three bled into Day Four for Jose and Glenn since the Hoser didn’t make it back until 5 am. I cannot burn the candle at six ends anymore, even if I were single I couldn’t. Ouch! I managed to head out on my own without waking him at 8 am, then again, he has the good fortune of being able to sleep through a stampede of elephants. I took my own time through Bally’s (lost Kate’s $5 on 13), Paris and Aladdin (lost both of Somara’s bets on 25). I hung out for an hour at the Starbuck’s in Aladdin since that was a frequent fueling point the wife and me last time. I was able to weasel an outlet there and a very nice woman (older than me) saved the seat for me. When I returned with my latte, she warned me that she had to tell someone else she was reserving the seat for her husband so I may have to play along! I replied that it worked for Rosemary Clooney and she threw in Demi Moore. Still not having any luck seeing what the Aladdin’s transformation into Planet Egowood will be like.
The other guys managed to catch up with me at the Fashion Mall for lunch at Maggiano’s. Coincidence that it was my choice? The minestrone was good, the rest was fair but after one has had il Sogno or Carmelo’s, everything is only slightly better than Macaroni Grill. We parted company after that so I could take advantage of the free wireless outside Apple’s store. I also got caught sitting next to the Dillard’s Friday afternoon fashion show. This mall is pretty impressive. The runway is a section of the mall’s floor that raises up a few feet and the backstage is like an underground elevator in the big cities. Fashion shows are somewhat funnier than on TV. The female models walk down the runway like they’re some kind of peacock, it’s comical.
While I was heading back, I got the call from Jose to see O at the last minute due to a cancellation on Herman’s part. Show starts at 730, doors at 7 and I’m heading up the monorail stairs at Imperial Palace-Harrah’s around 515. Synchronicity was on my side, I managed to haul ass from then on. Monorail at Harrah’s to MGM, walkways from MGM to Excalibur to Luxor and I hit the room door at 6! I didn’t need much time to get ready but we still made the cab queue around 640. Fortunately, we had another awesome cab driver. I want to post his name to let y’all know that I recommend this guy should you get a ride with him, Gabe Tampone. Born in the Bronx, raised in Scottsdale, AZ and a good cat. We told him that we were going to Bellagio for the 730 show, he said, I’ll get you there quick. He hauled from the Strip to Tropicana to I-15 back to Flamingo and dropped us off at the north entrance of the Bellagio where there’s no traffic. What a driver! He got us there by 655 and for $9.50. Needless to say, I gave him $20 because that was some incredible driving in Vegas on a Friday night. I know most cabbies would have taken us through the big fancy, crowded entrance which would’ve tacked on another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, O is definitely Cirque du Soleil’s best show of the three I’ve seen. Not only is it a technical wonder with the pool shifting its depth throughout the show, the story is definitely one of their most coherent. Glenn came through with great seats too. We weren’t in the splash zone though. You must go to Vegas to see this show, they can’t take this one on the road.
The evening wrapped up with dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen at New York, New York. There I stunned the hostess and the guys with knowing who two of them were when I asked her specifically. I mean, I asked who were they and when she said they were the men who pushed for independence in 1848, I replied with ‘okay, like John Mitchel and O’Connor’ (actually, it’s O’Connel). Her jaw dropped because the employees have to learn all about these guys, they don’t expect the customers to know (unless they’re Irish nationals). So that was the pointer I tried to give Jose on how to talk to women. Then again, I’m married, I have no interest thus nothing to lose.
I digress, for this is the last live entry until I get back to Austin on Sunday night and that’s a big maybe.