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
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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
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March 24
We were seven energized girls
dressed to the nines, complete with a
rented black stretch limousine to taxi
us to the strip. At $50 an hour, the
limo is cheaper than any taxi service
(and more fun). 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
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