You came to Vegas when I wasn't in Vegas! You saw Strip Vegas. Strip Vegas is very different than regular Vegas. I do think that no one gives crap about "color" or that stuff except the radical fringe and politicians. I go to the grocery store and see everything there. In Chicago where I lived it was rare to see blacks or hispanics, or even Asians. Vegas is a funny town. It is a Commercial Real Estate town, not a risk taking gambling town. It's about entertainment. The Vegas locals don't have any problem tearing stuff down. It's political, but politics isn't the main thing. The Harry Reid Machine is strong, and it's gerrymandered to be Democratic. But, the new transplants are heavily Republican. Everyone no matter what party has a capitalistic undertone. When I was at the Bob Matheu/Joe Brown Lunch, which is always fascinating, I met the man who runs the Liberace Museum. He took it over and it was in the red. He had to figure out how to get it going again, and he said I did what any Las Vegas person would do, "Liberace had to earn, even in death." The museum is far into the black and Liberace is earning. That sums up Vegas.
Piero's is the first restaurant I ever went to there. I hang off the Strip and there are a lot of good places there-especially now that places like Summerlin are attracting higher income and higher wealth people fleeing California.
There’s a large Casino (the Winstar) just across the border in Oklahoma near me. I go there occasionally to see comedy or music acts (I don’t gamble). To enter the theater you have to walk through the casino. I’m always saddened by the clientele; they look old, poor, and joyless. And the cigarette smoke is a fog, a positive miasma. I think a lot of people just go because they can smoke in public in peace. But a casino is supposedly a place of “fun”. They never in fact seem to be fun. The atmosphere is sad, desperate, or resigned. Old ladies feeding the one armed bandits, thinking to themselves “Is this all there is? Is this my life?”
Nothing makes me happier than to see one of Glenn's posts in my inbox. Whether it's about the pertinent issues of the day or, well, nothing, it is always a joy to read. And isn't Vegas about escapism? What better escape could there be than to shelf politics for a few days. I don't gamble but a few days in Vegas with the shows and terrific food cures a lot of ills.
I heard about a report recently that showed the Sars-Cov-2 spike protein (whether naturally derived or induced by the mRNA jabs) cause the exhaustion of cellular mitochondria. These are the cell's energy factories. People are looking and feeling older. Could this be a factor?
I haven’t been to Vegas since 2019. I used to be in Vegas regularly for work and conferences and occasionally my wife and I would go for 3-4 days. The last time was New Year’s Eve of 2019. Of course, we all know how things went after that. Anyhow, I haven’t been in going on 5 years now, whether for work, a conference, or personal trip. And I can’t say I miss the place. As you say Glenn, it’s the sort of fun that puts age and weight on you but doesn’t necessarily create real enjoyment or relaxation. Although seeing Seinfeld would be enjoyable.
Well, this appears to be a comment about nothing as well, so I’ll stop rambling about not missing Vegas :-)
I saw Seinfeld at a comedy club in Long Island in 1988, before his show went on the air. At the time he was one of the best known and most excellent stand up comics in the country but his fame was a fraction what it is now and when you heard the name Seinfeld what you thought of was his appearances on Carson and Letterman. He was brilliant in a way he isn't anymore. He's like an aging pitcher who's lost a few mph off his fastball. Even back then he ended his set with a Q and A and I called out "What's Letterman like?" At the time David Letterman was MUCH more famous than Jerry Seinfeld and his NBC show was incredibly intriguing to recent college graduates like us. Jerry answered with a made up on the spot bit about how talk show hosts act like your best friend and ignore you as soon they cut to commercial.
The James Bond Casino's might still exist in Monte Carlo, but other than that? Vegas is smart.. When I was a lad people went to Chicago expecting to see Al Capone and gangsters riding around in 1930 automobiles with machine guns. Or they went to Wyoming and thought everyone would still be riding horses and wearing six shooters. Vegas kept The Strip, well The Strip. People go there expecting to see it. And they do! Give the public what it wants.
My biggest surprise when I moved near Sturgis was how young and fit the motorcycle rally made me feel. I expected eye-candy while people watching. Not so much, although there are outliers.
"But hey, everything in moderation, including moderation."
Today
"APRIL 1, 2020
'MY ADVICE JUST NOW TO THE INSTADAUGHTER, WHO IS SHELTERING IN PLACE AT A SECURE, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION: “Stay safe. This will be over and life will go on, but what you do for the next few weeks is for all the marbles. Stay on it 100%.”
"It’s my advice for you, too."
(Moderately with all caps)
Coincidentally??, April Fools Day 2020 (A week after Eran Bendavid's and Jay Bhattacharya" piece in the WSJ
Alfonzo. Like Sam & Ralph, the clock punching Sheepdog & Coyote cartoon of long ago, Alfonzo and I would loudly argue politics back in the mid 1980s. Alfonzo was liberal, black and from the city. I was in truth a Reagan democrat but I played up being a conservative for our spirited discussions, white and from the suburbs. We were so animated in fact that anyone that didn't know us would worry that we would come to blows or worse. Fat chance. He was a great guy but he got out of the Navy well before I did. A couple of years later we briefly bumped into each other in Jacksonville Beach, FL. We compared notes for around half an hour and then bid each other farewell (I was just passing through). I wonder where he is today, his memory a symbol of a time when we could argue politics.
You came to Vegas when I wasn't in Vegas! You saw Strip Vegas. Strip Vegas is very different than regular Vegas. I do think that no one gives crap about "color" or that stuff except the radical fringe and politicians. I go to the grocery store and see everything there. In Chicago where I lived it was rare to see blacks or hispanics, or even Asians. Vegas is a funny town. It is a Commercial Real Estate town, not a risk taking gambling town. It's about entertainment. The Vegas locals don't have any problem tearing stuff down. It's political, but politics isn't the main thing. The Harry Reid Machine is strong, and it's gerrymandered to be Democratic. But, the new transplants are heavily Republican. Everyone no matter what party has a capitalistic undertone. When I was at the Bob Matheu/Joe Brown Lunch, which is always fascinating, I met the man who runs the Liberace Museum. He took it over and it was in the red. He had to figure out how to get it going again, and he said I did what any Las Vegas person would do, "Liberace had to earn, even in death." The museum is far into the black and Liberace is earning. That sums up Vegas.
Piero's is the first restaurant I ever went to there. I hang off the Strip and there are a lot of good places there-especially now that places like Summerlin are attracting higher income and higher wealth people fleeing California.
There’s a large Casino (the Winstar) just across the border in Oklahoma near me. I go there occasionally to see comedy or music acts (I don’t gamble). To enter the theater you have to walk through the casino. I’m always saddened by the clientele; they look old, poor, and joyless. And the cigarette smoke is a fog, a positive miasma. I think a lot of people just go because they can smoke in public in peace. But a casino is supposedly a place of “fun”. They never in fact seem to be fun. The atmosphere is sad, desperate, or resigned. Old ladies feeding the one armed bandits, thinking to themselves “Is this all there is? Is this my life?”
I walk fast going through.
The idea of going to Vegas or any casino is a lot more fun than actually being there
Nothing makes me happier than to see one of Glenn's posts in my inbox. Whether it's about the pertinent issues of the day or, well, nothing, it is always a joy to read. And isn't Vegas about escapism? What better escape could there be than to shelf politics for a few days. I don't gamble but a few days in Vegas with the shows and terrific food cures a lot of ills.
The Professor has become my favorite Pundit, slowly but surely, over the years. I anxiously anticipate his every word.
Thank you very much Instapundit!!
I'm glad 70 isn't that old anymore! (I sometimes can't help worrying about what seems to be an ever shortening future...)
I heard about a report recently that showed the Sars-Cov-2 spike protein (whether naturally derived or induced by the mRNA jabs) cause the exhaustion of cellular mitochondria. These are the cell's energy factories. People are looking and feeling older. Could this be a factor?
I dunno, I think the exhaustion in this crowd predates Covid.
I haven’t been to Vegas since 2019. I used to be in Vegas regularly for work and conferences and occasionally my wife and I would go for 3-4 days. The last time was New Year’s Eve of 2019. Of course, we all know how things went after that. Anyhow, I haven’t been in going on 5 years now, whether for work, a conference, or personal trip. And I can’t say I miss the place. As you say Glenn, it’s the sort of fun that puts age and weight on you but doesn’t necessarily create real enjoyment or relaxation. Although seeing Seinfeld would be enjoyable.
Well, this appears to be a comment about nothing as well, so I’ll stop rambling about not missing Vegas :-)
Our politics nowadays is like watching a bad mid-60s sitcom with the laugh track turned off.
Nice to hear about your fun getaway. Thanks for sharing, Glenn.
Your comments reaffirmed my thoughts that I’ll be glad when Thanksgiving comes, and the craziness of this year is behind us.
Haha, I thought that before the 2016 election.
I saw Seinfeld at a comedy club in Long Island in 1988, before his show went on the air. At the time he was one of the best known and most excellent stand up comics in the country but his fame was a fraction what it is now and when you heard the name Seinfeld what you thought of was his appearances on Carson and Letterman. He was brilliant in a way he isn't anymore. He's like an aging pitcher who's lost a few mph off his fastball. Even back then he ended his set with a Q and A and I called out "What's Letterman like?" At the time David Letterman was MUCH more famous than Jerry Seinfeld and his NBC show was incredibly intriguing to recent college graduates like us. Jerry answered with a made up on the spot bit about how talk show hosts act like your best friend and ignore you as soon they cut to commercial.
The James Bond Casino's might still exist in Monte Carlo, but other than that? Vegas is smart.. When I was a lad people went to Chicago expecting to see Al Capone and gangsters riding around in 1930 automobiles with machine guns. Or they went to Wyoming and thought everyone would still be riding horses and wearing six shooters. Vegas kept The Strip, well The Strip. People go there expecting to see it. And they do! Give the public what it wants.
My biggest surprise when I moved near Sturgis was how young and fit the motorcycle rally made me feel. I expected eye-candy while people watching. Not so much, although there are outliers.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
I haven't been back since Tailgate!
"But hey, everything in moderation, including moderation."
Today
"APRIL 1, 2020
'MY ADVICE JUST NOW TO THE INSTADAUGHTER, WHO IS SHELTERING IN PLACE AT A SECURE, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION: “Stay safe. This will be over and life will go on, but what you do for the next few weeks is for all the marbles. Stay on it 100%.”
"It’s my advice for you, too."
(Moderately with all caps)
Coincidentally??, April Fools Day 2020 (A week after Eran Bendavid's and Jay Bhattacharya" piece in the WSJ
Well, I was wrong about that. I wrote a substack on that quite some time ago, "Why I Was Wrong About Covid." I don't promise never to be wrong.
I have always (well, at least for over 23 years) appreciated your passion. Risk little, win little.
Alfonzo. Like Sam & Ralph, the clock punching Sheepdog & Coyote cartoon of long ago, Alfonzo and I would loudly argue politics back in the mid 1980s. Alfonzo was liberal, black and from the city. I was in truth a Reagan democrat but I played up being a conservative for our spirited discussions, white and from the suburbs. We were so animated in fact that anyone that didn't know us would worry that we would come to blows or worse. Fat chance. He was a great guy but he got out of the Navy well before I did. A couple of years later we briefly bumped into each other in Jacksonville Beach, FL. We compared notes for around half an hour and then bid each other farewell (I was just passing through). I wonder where he is today, his memory a symbol of a time when we could argue politics.