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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2004)
As a Vegas virgin, I knew only through stories what to expect of the great Sin City, but during spring break I found out where the best dubs are and a few of the secrets needed to get in. The drive was tire some and muggy, and we were happy when gas was $2.06 a gallon because you can't find it for much less right now in California. It was a long jour ney, but it was more than worth it. March 22 We arrived about 9 p.m. on Mon day, supposedly the least-active night on the Las Vegas strip, although the buzzing of cars and the sidewalks bustling with trinket-buying and beer guzzling tourists showed me other wise. We checked into the Circus Cir cus Hotel, Resort and Casino, which opened in 1968 at the end of the older side of the strip. The age of the hotel showed through its mismatched furnishings and cheesy circus-themed de cor. My friend and I were grate ful to have alternative lodging for the remainder of the week af ter finding that the television did n't work, the food service was terri ble, and one had to travel several floors to find a working ice ma chine. We cleaned up and headed to the Blue Iguana, a Mexican restaurant that serves margarita pitchers at half price — $9 — with free chips on the side. There we forgot all about our drive. We took a quick taxi down the strip to Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, where the blue margaritas are especially good at $7.50. We then headed to Caesars Palace, where $5 bought me M •: :lfr•• Ipnr f'itYdlkNeVs Voffr \ { rolNi f •Mstet vvc-i'cotw, $8 I .v. Vega'- -trip Mar. h FWMpiWIBrw.appWW, a bottle of domestic beer and the en tertainment of naked female silhou ettes dancing behind a blue screen. March 23 The next morning, we headed to the Imperial Palace Casino to have a $10 champagne brunch. After our share of the bubbly, we traveled to our new abode: a gorgeous cookie-cutter house complete with pool and jacuzzi, appropriately located on Wonderful Day Street, 20 minutes from the strip. Senior Allie O'Grady's parents have owned the vacation house for more than a year, and this is her sixth time staying in Las Vegas. I asked her for some Vegas clubbing advice, and she said club hours and dress code change by the season. "You should know that stuff before you get there," she said. "There's no tennis shoes, no holes in jeans." We followed her expertise when we went to Studio 54 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. My four girlfriends and I patiently waited more than an hour in a crowded lobby. Luckily, the casino slots and sports bar are a per fect distance from the entrance if you need a break from the endless stand ing. Women get in’ free, but men have to pay $20 a head, al though club regular Matt Lincoln told me if you slip the bouncer $40, he'll let F Emerald 7. 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We headed to New York-New York Hotel and Casino to eat at the popular ESPN Bar and Restaurant, but the 45-minute wait swayed our ravenous hunger next door to Gonzalez y Gonzalez, yet an other Mexican restaurant. The delicious and reasonably priced taco salads and empanadas were quickly followed by yards of margaritas. We each bought the $ 18 drinks in plastic containers that, con trary to their name, are about a foot and-a-half tall. Before exiting the building, we jumped into Coyote Ugly and danced onstage next to a bartender filling the open mouths of dancers with a bright red liquid. We brought our large beverages out to the strip — it is legal to have open bever age containers in the streets of Las Ve gas — and took a five-minute tram to the Luxor Resort Hotel and Casino. These free trams run between certain casinos throughout the day and night. Club Ra had a line similar to that of the night before because world renowned DJ Scribble was spinning. The incredible music provided a soundtrack to a Von Dutch fashion show, where models strutted down \ the makeshift runway that cut the \ dance floor in two. March 25 We all wanted something a little different. I mentioned the Zumanity show, whose bizarre ads plastering the strip portrayed two embraced I bodies in a rubber-like bag. "The Blue Man Group is amazing because the audience is interactive," O'Grady said. I remembered the group only from a telephone com mercial years ago. O'Grady said most shows are at least $60-$80, and we all reached in our pockets and shrugged our shoul ders. Instead, we opted for a less-ex- * pensive indulgence and splurged for the $ 100-per-hour Ford Excursion limo, with an inside cabin the size of a small studio. After taking full advan tage of our hour by riding up and down the busy Las Vegas Boulevard, we headed to an elegant dinner at the Little Buddha, an Asian restaurant with a low-lit and tranquil atmos phere in the Palms Resort Hotel and Casino. The cuisine at Little Buddha was a bit posh at about $20 a plate, but the food was delightfully delicate. I had a mixed sushi plate and apple tart for dessert, costing about $30. While the wine was terribly over priced, the unique cocktails were de licious at about $ 10-$20.. The club, as expected, was brimming with scanti lyclad women who sold their lap dances at $20 a pop, but the curiously strong drinks were enough to enter tain a patron. March 26 My final day brought me to the strip during daylight hours, and I de cided to see Las Vegas by scooter. I rode my $24 per hour Vespa through ^ perpetual strip traffic and saw the Stratosphere Tower, Bellagio water show, street-vending Elvis imperson ators and the shoddy center of the city, where the streets are dirty and Turn to VEGAS, page 8B 1 COLLEGE STUDENT SPECIAL oo Large Single Topping (gourmet toppings extra) no coupon required w/ student ID Small s8.00 Medium s10.00 Giant s14.00 Any Single Topping Pizza (gourmet toppings extra) FREE DELIVERY 1809 Franklin Blvd. 284-8484 Sun-Thu. 11 am-Midnight • Fri-Sat. 11 am-1 am
