PTR: Hector went to Las Vegas AGAIN!

[RCFreak]

So I had the opportunity to head to Vegas yet again and rumors of the Palazzo being open made me say "YES!" As I'm completely in love with the whole place. I've been watching it's construction for a quite some time now and it indeed was open! Sadly I didn't have nearly as much time as I wanted to explore the place as we had other things we needed to do but here are a few pics I managed to snag as well as from some of the other hotels.

One last pic of the Riviera

Wynn's Waterfalls. I can't wait to se what Encore will have in store.

The Sierens of TI are back in action after being in Rehab the last time I was out there in the middle of December

I stayed at Treasure Island this time so this is what i saw heading back out from the Hotel at 2 AM

*insert the water cannon noises here*

*western music here*

The fountain show outside, this was the first time I've seen them use fog to cover the lagoon though. it was amazing as always.

Inside the Bellagio

The model of both the Venetian and The Palazzo when the project is complete

Looking back toward The Palazzo's casino. Everyone just seemed in awe of the place.

I love this place

More Water features around the Fall as well.

The Waterfall, fountains, and escaltors to the Canal shops at The Venetian

Another Skylight over the waterfall leading to the Venetian

SLightly different angle, much more artsy this way.

The fountian below

One of the many skylights in the place.

ATM/ Bill breaker/ and ticket redemption taken to a whole new level

Inside the casino of The Palazzo.

Much work was still going on upstairs

The extra plush Carpet greeting vistors coming from the escalators from the Wynn

There she is, The love of my life. The 1.8 Billion dollar The Palazzo.

[Sunfire]

I just went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago during the week of Christmas. I love going there but I hate the weather. It's freezing cold in the winter, and deathly hot in the summer. And the worst part is the dry air, which made my skin crack to the point that it bled. That was not fun.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vegas. I love to ride the roller coasters (except Manhattan Express of course), and see the beautiful hotels and flashing lights everywhere, but I don't like when the climate interferes with my good time. I don't know. Maybe it's just the fact that I live in the Bay Area where the air is nice and moist, I guess I'm spoiled. If the weather wasn't so unpredictable, I'd love to go back.

[ParkTrips]

wow, the "new Venetian" looks awesome. Must be nice to be within a short drive of Vegas! Great stuff Hector

[Meteornotes]

Cool pics. I stayed in the Venetian last year and loved it. One of the best hotels I've ever been in.

 

dt

[TheRapidsNerd]

Gorgeous hotel and fountains. Agreed. Great pics.

 

What a beautiful place!

[Jew]

I just went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago during the week of Christmas. I love going there but I hate the weather. It's freezing cold in the winter, and deathly hot in the summer. And the worst part is the dry air, which made my skin crack to the point that it bled. That was not fun.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vegas. I love to ride the roller coasters (except Manhattan Express of course), and see the beautiful hotels and flashing lights everywhere, but I don't like when the climate interferes with my good time. I don't know. Maybe it's just the fact that I live in the Bay Area where the air is nice and moist, I guess I'm spoiled. If the weather wasn't so unpredictable, I'd love to go back.

 

Alcohol cures all weather issues in Vegas.

 

I love a town where you can be one of only like 100 tourists walking around the strip at 3AM on a Wednesday morning with a bottle of beer when it's 25 degrees outside.

[RIP Psyclone]

Nice, Hector! The company I used to work for designed The Venetian along with The Palazzo, but Palazzo was not built right after and I guess they went with other architects. And LOL @ the Sirens being in "rehab"!

[ebl]

Time for another trip to Vegas. Every time I see a Las Vegas TR (and I seem to see a bunch lately), it always makes me want to go there.

 

Eric

[Sunfire]

I just went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago during the week of Christmas. I love going there but I hate the weather. It's freezing cold in the winter, and deathly hot in the summer. And the worst part is the dry air, which made my skin crack to the point that it bled. That was not fun.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vegas. I love to ride the roller coasters (except Manhattan Express of course), and see the beautiful hotels and flashing lights everywhere, but I don't like when the climate interferes with my good time. I don't know. Maybe it's just the fact that I live in the Bay Area where the air is nice and moist, I guess I'm spoiled. If the weather wasn't so unpredictable, I'd love to go back.

 

Alcohol cures all weather issues in Vegas.

 

I love a town where you can be one of only like 100 tourists walking around the strip at 3AM on a Wednesday morning with a bottle of beer when it's 25 degrees outside.

 

Did you just give me verbal permission to drink alcohol being a minor? Cool! Once I get buzzed I won't have to worry about my skin falling apart. Yay! By the way, Vegas isn't just 25 degrees. I've been there when it's 107 degrees, and I hear it gets hotter. I would die if I always lived in that climate. As you can see, I don't go to the desert very often. In the Bay Area, our average temperature lies from around 40 to 90 degrees throughout the year. Maybe one or two days a year we'll hit triple digits, but that would be considered an insane heat wave for us.

[haiderodes]

I just went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago during the week of Christmas. I love going there but I hate the weather. It's freezing cold in the winter, and deathly hot in the summer. And the worst part is the dry air, which made my skin crack to the point that it bled. That was not fun.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Vegas. I love to ride the roller coasters (except Manhattan Express of course), and see the beautiful hotels and flashing lights everywhere, but I don't like when the climate interferes with my good time. I don't know. Maybe it's just the fact that I live in the Bay Area where the air is nice and moist, I guess I'm spoiled. If the weather wasn't so unpredictable, I'd love to go back.

 

I've lived in this god-forsaken place my whole life and I wouldn't necessarily say our weather is unpredictable. People who visit just don't realize how cold it gets here in the winter. Its normal.

[haiderodes]

So I had the opportunity to head to Vegas yet again and rumors of the Palazzo being open made me say "YES!" As I'm completely in love with the whole place. I've been watching it's construction for a quite some time now and it indeed was open! Sadly I didn't have nearly as much time as I wanted to explore the place as we had other things we needed to do but here are a few pics I managed to snag as well as from some of the other hotels.

 

 

You should come back the end of this month...they are having a huge grand opening celebration. They've been advertising the ticket sales like crazy on the radio.

 

My friend and I went down to check it out last week and it was very unfinished which is unusual for a new strip resort. Granted there are always last minute things to be done, but huge portions of this property were missing. They didnt have door knobs on some of the doors! I'm thinking they rushed to get it open for NYE crowds just to have it open.

 

I was impressed by all the space on the casino floor. Not as crammed and congested as The Venetian. I loved the sky lights too!

 

And perhaps best of all, they picked a better, lighter scent for their smellitizers. "The Venetian Smell" can be so overpowering...makes the casino smell like a "urinal mint".

[RCFreak]

^That's actually this saturday, the 19. Posters for it were EVERYWHERE. Diana Ross is going to be there lol. I did notice the (lack of) smell in The palazzo compared to the Venetian too. It definitely felt like it was in a soft opening, they were still a lot of unfinished things and a lot of construction goin gon still. But hey, I got to see inside so I'm happy!

[Sunfire]

Does anyone else agree that all the hectic construction going on in Vegas ruins the effect? I think that when someone goest to the Strip, they should see it complete, as if it has been finished already, not as a "work in progress." Another thing, I hate the "Project City Center" that's being built. It's so huge, and it doesn't even look like a Strip hotel. That, and it highly obstructs the view. I stayed at the Monte Carlo, and we got a view of cranes doing all this construction. One last thing, it annoys me that they're trying to get the hotels taller and taller. I remember the first time I went to Las Vegas in 2004, the Treasure Island looked very big, I mean MASSIVE, to me at least. Now, places like the Trump tower and the Palazzo dwarf it and make it look very small. Sometimes, bigger isn't better. Manhattan Express proves that.

[Jew]

^You'll appreciate it more when you turn 21. I personally love having so many options for gambling, eating, and drinking. It makes things cheaper.

 

I hated Vegas before I was old enough to fully enjoy what it has to offer.

[CaseyFish]

Project City Center is huge, esspicially for us and the company I work for. I really can't go into to details, but the casino portion of this thing is going to be awesome.....let's just say it will be different everytime you visit.

[BeemerBoy]

Does anyone else agree that all the hectic construction going on in Vegas ruins the effect? I think that when someone goest to the Strip, they should see it complete, as if it has been finished already, not as a "work in progress."

Is any big city ever really "complete" though?

 

Awesome pics, Hector! The Venetian is in my top 3 faves, and this addition looks great.

 

 

Scott "I Vegas" B.

[AllenA07]

I was there over New Years, and got the chance to go into Palazzo roughly 3 hours after it opened. It is an amazing looking hotel on the inside, though due to the large amounts of working going on inside, one really got the feeling that the rushed the opening.

[Jojo19799]

Thanks for sharing Hector. The Palazzo looks amazing! I'm going at the end of March and I can't wait to see the beauty of it all in person. I think that will have to bee the first hotel I go to!!

[Sunfire]

^You'll appreciate it more when you turn 21. I personally love having so many options for gambling, eating, and drinking.

I hated Vegas before I was old enough to fully enjoy what it has to offer.

 

I don't really like the casinos. I like the other stuff Vegas has to offer, like magic shows and Cirque Du Soleil (which I'd love to watch if I had the $). I like the free shows a lot too, like the Bellagio Fountains, and the Mirage Volcano. Of course, I have to get my fill of coasters too, except for the Death Machine Express. Every time I saw them go up the lift, I would think, "those poor people don't know what they're in for." I don't know why, but the GP seem to really love Manhattan Express.

 

Back to the casinos, my dad put about 20 dollars in the slots, and got a nickel back. Besides, my eyes are really sensitive to the smoke in the casino.

 

Still, I'd love to go back. But not when it's too hot or cold. We went last year in Spring, and the weather was ideal, the only bad thing was the air...

[RCFreak]

Does anyone else agree that all the hectic construction going on in Vegas ruins the effect? I think that when someone goest to the Strip, they should see it complete, as if it has been finished already, not as a "work in progress." Another thing, I hate the "Project City Center" that's being built. It's so huge, and it doesn't even look like a Strip hotel. That, and it highly obstructs the view. I stayed at the Monte Carlo, and we got a view of cranes doing all this construction. One last thing, it annoys me that they're trying to get the hotels taller and taller. I remember the first time I went to Las Vegas in 2004, the Treasure Island looked very big, I mean MASSIVE, to me at least. Now, places like the Trump tower and the Palazzo dwarf it and make it look very small. Sometimes, bigger isn't better. Manhattan Express proves that.

 

I have to totally disagree, I think it's about time they finally started to get bigger and better! CityCenter when complete will cost over 7.8 BILLION dollars, making it the single largest private investment in the United States. The point is to not look like a strip hotel because it's so much more then that, with its own on-site Power plant to it's own fire station, it literally is its own city. The entire project is quite impressive if you look at it's overall effect on the Las Vegas strip. I will definitely agree with the Trump Towers though, personally I think they're ugly, but Encore and The Palazzo are definitely examples of bigger being better.

 

 

And you may not like Casino's now, but you're only 16 and a LOT can and will change about you before you hit 21. I'm a huge fan of the whole Vegas experience from the drinking to the amazing examples of architecture, to the gambling and just having fun with friends. Even before the drinking and gambling (AKA before turning 21), I was always a fan of the extravagance of some of the Hotels. And think of it this way, the more new bigger hotels going up, the more shows coming to Vegas. When CityCenter opens it'll open with a NEW Cirque du Soleil show (and trust me, I love me some Cirque too so I'm really excited) and the Palazzo is bringing "Jersey Boys" from Broadway to Vegas.

 

 

Casey, that is so freakin' awesome to hear, I'm glad new technology is being developed and actually used to better everyone's enjoyment.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

[Jew]

I find Vegas fascinating. The new construction just adds to the allure, since everyone is trying to 1-up each other. Which is totally awesome, because it means Circus Circus is near the end of its life now that the north end of the strip has become a hot spot.

 

btw, I recommend vegastodayandtomorrow.com for Vegas project info.

[Sunfire]

This is the reason I love TPR. We can have a debate where we can express our thoughts and not have to worry about flame wars erupting. Still, I haven't said that I hate Vegas. I still love it. It's just, there are some things I could do without, like alcohol. But I hear that's just an aquired taste. Whenever I think of Vegas, the first thing that comes to mind, is the dazzling lights. I agree with you, Hector, about the architecture. It's absolutely fascinating. Everything looks different. Also, I love how each hotel has a different theme, like Excalibur is Knights and Dragons and such, New York New York looks like the NY skyline, and so on. The hotel that still fascinates me the most is Bellagio. It has so much to offer. I've never stayed there, but I've visited just as a passerby. There's the fountains, which are a must see if you're in Vegas, the Atrium with the smaller jumping fountains and theming to the season, and much more. I'm probably just scratching the surface! If I had the money, I would stay at the Bellagio. But I still liked the Monte Carlo, where I stayed. It was fancy, but not snooty. It is elegant without trying to be, and it's Elissa friendly with a Mcdonalds in the food court! *insert golden arch smiley here*

 

Don't get me started about the roller coasters. Well, at least two of them are great: Speed was defenitely a rush, because it was my first LIM launched coaster. Canyon Blaster, although it is an Arrow, was surprisingly fun, and had ejector air after the second loop! So that's what ejector air feels like. I wasn't going to waste my money on the Togo machine of death. Stratosphere was great because of the height. Big Shot was defenitely a big adrenaline rush, and I've always been a fan of S&S towers. Insanity, which spins around over the edge of the tower, pretty much scared the crap out of me. But X Scream, the "teeter totter" ride was very underwhelming. When I first saw it, I was expecting it to be scary as heck, but it wasn't that frightening, maybe good for one or two rides. The other two thrill rides I could go on again and again.

 

Sorry for taking over your thread Hector. If I post again, I'll try to keep it under four sentences.

 

Excitement rant over.

[BeemerBoy]

I find Vegas fascinating. The new construction just adds to the allure, since everyone is trying to 1-up each other. Which is totally awesome, because it means Circus Circus is near the end of its life now that the north end of the strip has become a hot spot.

 

I'm with you. Las Vegas is like "America's mini Dubai," and that's okay by me.

[WFChris]

just, there are some things I could do without, like alcohol.

 

Ouch, Sunfire! Las Vegas wouldn't exist without alcohol. How else would they convince the masses to spend those masses of money?

 

Look back at this post in 5 years and laugh at yourself. Mwa ha ha ha!!

 

I definitely enjoyed Las Vegas before 21 (sober) and after 21 (not sober), and yes, for COMPLETELY different reasons. Its a city that will continue to draw you, probably for your whole life