Vegas: Ellis Island adventure

This is in part a story about the Ellis Island casino, but also it's kind of not. It's a bit of a convoluted story, I suppose. You see, our good friend Epic Beard Louie recently did a show at the Huntridge Tavern where he and Antho got to hang out and reconnect a bit, and it was awesome! Good times. This, perhaps not surprisingly, lead to them wanting to hang out again in the near future as they were reminded of their friendship from yonder-year, back in a previous tense where they worked side by side (or at least in relatively close proximity) for hours and hours every week as colleagues in a call center. They've hit a couple of open mic nights and things over the years, but it's always nice to catch up with a friend you don't get to see too often, isn't it? So, they agreed to get together and meet for a meal and drinks at Ellis Island, a small local casino just off the strip. It may be attracting more of the tourist crowd these days, but for as long as I've known the place it was staunchly a local's haunt with it's cheap on-site brewed beer, old Vegas steak / rib / seafood dinner specials in their steakhouse, and karaoke I never went to (but Antho was a fan). 

I've always enjoyed their cheap beer specials, featuring the beers they brew on-site with their own small brewery. It used to be $2 or $3 for a pint, I believe, but maybe I'm getting senile in my old age (my birthday is coming up and it's making me acutely aware of my mortality, I'm afraid). And maybe in it's heyday, Ellis Island was the most popping place to be if you wanted to rub elbows with the elite...but these days it's a little more rough around the edges. Last time I, personally, set foot on the premises I found the parking lot nearly unnavigable (in my little Volvo box!) and the proximity to what seemed highly indicative of a hooker-motel to be quite a bit skeevy... but it's hard to resist cheap brews and chews, right? And it had been years! So, Antho happily agreed to pop over to Ellis Island with his good buddy. And he had fun. He got some great photographs. Had an overpriced White Russian.  But, after delivering my 50/50 burger (half bacon, half beef), he walked Louie back to his car and tried to re-enter the casino premises, he was barked at by a gruff security woman who told him in no uncertain terms he was no longer welcome on premises. 

To be clear, Antho is a charming and friendly young man. He tries very hard to be open and cheerful with most everyone he meets. While he does drink, these days, it's rarely more than a single drink or two and he never gets belligerent in public, so there's no reason to believe he acted poorly or out of line. During his time inside the casino, no one ever approached him to say he had done anything wrong either, and he had spent a fair bit of money on food and beverages during his time there over the course of the evening. The sudden turn around of this woman shouting at him to leave the premises after escorting his pal to his vehicle seemed unfounded, and quite frankly upset Antho a lot. He was perplexed, and we had discussed going to the place together to check it out for nostalgia's sake prior to the security woman telling him to vamoose. 

He reached out to Ellis Island via their Facebook page and they got back to him pretty quickly. From there he was able to get ahold of their head of security, who assured him that no papers had been processed that night evicting anyone from the premises permanently and the woman was tossing around her authority without merit. After a brief discussion with the guy, Antho was told he was absolutely welcome back on premises at any time and that if any issues arise to call the head of security directly on his personal cell-phone. So in roughly the course of an hour, hour and a half or so, Antho was unceremoniously told that he was unfairly and unjustly 86'd from the premises of a business he had just given lots of cash, then welcomed back with open arms by the head of security. What a wild ride! 

I'm a bit torn on whether we'll be stopping by now... Nostalgia is great and the 50/50 burger was pretty damn delicious, lukewarm, despite my neurotic preference for scalding hot foods or bust... Such blatant abuses of power are not a nice addition to an evening out, and while we were assured by the head of security that we had his backing should we ever want to give them our cash again, we can't feel confident that we won't run into the same woman and have a negative experience or anything. Bummer. 

At least Antho got some cool photos along the way!

Vegas: People of the night

As the illumination of the sun wanes and fades away into the dimly lit blinking of neon tubes, the freaks, geeks, and weirdos come out to play, crowding the boulevard and streets in a staggering array of shapes, sizes, and styles in various stages of dress and inebriation. Well, to really be fair, night time is primetime when almost everyone in Vegas comes out to play, at least during the summer when the unrelenting sunshine is more of a curse than a blessing, baking all the pleasure out of the daylight hours. Like most things in life, though, the heat is only a transient discomfort, loosening it's grip and allowing a cooler, more reasonable temperature to settle into the shadows of the valley at night. Take advantage of the drop in temperature and hit the pavement, like all the rest of us strange people here, and enjoy the splashy display of humanity. 

After all, there are few places quite like Las Vegas in terms of the sheer diversity of human beings it brings together in the name of making poor decisions for fun. Practically any language spoken in the world could almost certainly be found being spoken by someone, somewhere, here in the valley. People are constantly coming and going, a near ceaseless flood of potential customers and friends, depending on your approach and goals. While there are invariably tourist-friendly locations to be found the whole world over, few revels in the sheer excess and hedonism that Vegas has to offer, with copious quantities of alcohol flowing through the veins of most visitors to liven up the proceedings. Naturally, there's plenty of drama unfolding at almost any given time, and ample cops profligating around the periphery to try to account for any issues that arise... Suffice to say, after what happened at Mandalay Bay last year the city is taking as many precautions as they realistically can. #VegasStrong and all that. And there's something unifying in weathering the storms, being among the few to remain steadfast and standing against torrents of short-term visitors, weekenders, transients. When you're wandering the street with the rest, it's hard to tell which is which, and in the end, does it matter? We're all just visitors to this planet for a short stint, anyway. 

So have fun! Enjoy it. Eat that pizza. Do that shot. This is Vegas, baby!

Photos in this post were provided by Antho Jay~

Until next time~

💖

XOXO,

NAU

Vegas: Lights and water at night

When the sun slips behind the oily veil of the Vegas valley horizon and ceases it's nearly relentless assault on the pavement and asphalt, cement and glass, that makeup all the city structures and public spaces of Las Vegas and the withered and dehydrated denizens begin to stir and scurry from their slumbers, life begins to trickle out from under the rocks it had sought shelter from to survive the onslaught of sizzling sunlight. As the shadows spread and darkness tries to overtake the alleys and streets, the neon signs flashback in the ever-lasting battle between light and dark. Life resumes and the palpable excitement mixes with inebriation and a safe distance from normal life to bring out the wildest of wild-sides. The streets fill to teeming, swarms of pedestrians flooding into any available spaces regardless of the crossing lights or traffic around them. Fights break out between sweaty, beer-fisted bros as testosterone rages through their thick, desert-adverse blood and the heat brings tempers to a head. 

Pulses patter out irregular tempos and swishy legs stumble as the night blusters onward, as unstoppable as time itself. 

As the bacchanal begins, fluids in a variety of forms, viscosities, and repulsiveness flow freely through the streets. Sometimes that gentle mist is from the Bellagio fountains blowing you a sweet kiss to the tune of Sinatra, sometimes it's the puddle of neon-tinged daiquiri vomit pooling next to a sobbing girl, her unintelligible monologue surely a tale of true human tragedy and sorrow if you could only understand her through the hiccups and wretches. There's no shortage of stories forming, trepidatious icebergs trying to crystallize out of the foggy mists of alcohol and drug-fueled chaos. A moment you'll never remember, and a night you'll never forget!

Every night in life is a choose your own adventure, but in the city of Las Vegas your options are certainly more varied. Whether you prefer to linger in crowded areas and people watch, or try to sneak off to a quiet area near the tinkling tones of a soothing fountain is up to you. Soar above the streets on a zip line or visit one of the many totally legal weed dispensaries and get legally lit- somewhere. Due to casinos being federally regulated by the gaming board, smoking that fresh new joint you picked up isn't actually allowed in your hotel room, though. The stink of the pungent weed is pretty readily found wandering the streets and alleys near the boulevard, unsurprisingly. Just relax, man, and sip your beer. Enjoy the view. 

Photos in this post were taken by Antho Jay!