What Happens In Vegas, Gets Past Me

I’m out here in Sin City for the start of the BlogWorld Expo tomorrow, as a speaker on two panels tomorrow and an exhibitor for BlogTalkRadio Thursday and Friday. I had most of the day open after doing a slightly abbreviated 40-minute version of Heading Right Radio today, so I thought I’d get out of the hotel room and see a show.
Unfortunately, I’m not much of a gambler. I’m not opposed to it for any moral reasons; I just don’t get enthusiastic about playing games in which, even in the most favorable conditions, I’ll lose whatever I bring to the table eventually. In Las Vegas, this can reeeeaaalllly handicap the fun quotient. I went to Rio, an unusually festive casino with a free dance show at the bottom of each hour complete with ceiling-mounted floats and dancing girls — and that was fun the first time I saw it. Otherwise, I mostly ducked in and out of the shops, and played a few slots and rounds of Keno just to get a (hah!) free drink.
However, the best came last. Penn & Teller have a live show at Rio, which has become their permanent live-act home. The show mixed the eclectic and the well-known, always with some unexpected twist. This show differs greatly from their Showtime television series, Penn & Teller – Bullsh*t! in a couple of key ways. First, unlike the television series, their stage show has no foul language. Second and more important, they concentrate more on magic than debunking in their Rio stage show, although debunking still comes into play. Penn comes across less pushy and more thoughtful on stage, which makes him slightly less funny (his BS bombast is hilarious) but more credible.
It’s an expensive show, but certainly worth it — especially considering that my other option was Carrot Top here at the Luxor. Come to think of it, I wish I’d told Penn & Teller that when I had them sign my program after the show. Imagining their reaction actually brings a smile to my face.
With all of the events scheduled for the next two days, I’ll barely have time to catch my breath. That’ll keep me from wandering the casino looking like a lost wayfarer. Towards the end, I was certain someone from security would ask me why I was casing the joint. The excitement of Keno will be a distant memory.

22 thoughts on “What Happens In Vegas, Gets Past Me”

  1. Ever hear of Michael Moschen? He puts on a great show. He’s a dancer, a juggler, but instead of his juggling being spectacle or comedy, it’s more like dance.
    If you’ve ever seen the Henson film “Labyrinth”, then you must remember the hands that manipulated a pile of glass spheres. That was Michael Moschen.
    The reason I bring him up is that he and Penn Jillette grew up together in Springfield Mass, and they learned to juggle together. I don’t know if Penn has kept that up, but I doubt it. If he had, you’d think it would have shown up in their show once in a while.

  2. I very much understand your attitude toward gambling. Even when I win, somewhere deep in my soul, I’m just relieved that I didn’t lose. So it never counts for great fun.
    Sorry to hear about Penn & Teller- love their tv show.

  3. What’s so immoral about gambling? Either you are smart enough (or honest enough) to understand the gambler’s dilemma, or you or dumb (or lie to yourself) and don’t. So can we throw out religious morals when the detriments don’t apply to us? Or is it only a problem when we get excited about that 100 dollar pull tab win with 2000 dollars worth of losses proceding it?
    I live about 7 miles from an abomination on the water, an ugly “riverboat” casino. Illinois can’t seem to build these things fast enough. And a portion of the procedes skimmed off before the casino operators rake in mass cash goes to noble causes. Without sinking your money into the slots, you are hurting the children. And its your moral and civic duty to make sure those (illinois) schools are well-funded (even if the money gets diverted, and you end up on food stamps).
    But to the point, if you can think of it it has already happened in vegas. Possibly even that day. Carrot top jokes are probably as common as attempting to get robert jordan to sign your copy of the hobbit was. A new set of wisenheimers every week, which is what makes vegas a depressing place once you get past the lights and bustle and vegas baseball cards. But its a cheap place to fly in for a wedding, and you can rent time on real full auto machine guns just outside of town.

  4. When I was in Vegas last I saw Jay Leno perform at the Mirage. You are lucky Captain, he is playing this weekend as well!
    November:
    Fri, November 9, 2007, at 10:30 PM
    Sat, November 10, 2007, at 10:30 PM
    I went up to the VIP desk 30 minutes before the show and got 2 cancellation tickets at the general admission price. I ended up sitting 3rd row and absolutely LOVED the show. By far the best entertainment of my life. Leno is so much better live than on the Tonight Show.

  5. CE, I just sent you an “Iraq video” that you may enjoy. Hope it doesn’t snafu your inbox. Pls don’t put me on your junk email list :

  6. Try to get a ticket to any of the Cirque du Soleil shows. If you want to get some exercise take a walk around and through the Venetian and Caesars forum. If you have time for only one go to the Venetian. If you are lucky you will hear some live opera.

  7. I’ve seen Carrot Top’s live show twice, and it’s extremely funny. Like most people I thought of Carrot Top as an unfunny idiot based on his TV appearances. I kept reading about how funny his live show was and finally decided to take a chance.
    The guy is hilarious. I had tears streaming down my cheeks from laughing. Do not judge Carrot Top by what you see on TV, I’d go to his show over Penn and Teller any day.

  8. Live-blogging from Sheri’s Ranch or The Cottontail would be an historic first for the blogosphere. 🙂

  9. Coldwarrior,
    It would be a historic last for my marriage, however. 😉
    Steven,
    Actually, he does juggle in the act — in fact, he juggles broken liquor bottles. His souvenir book references his work with Moschen, too.
    By the way, I didn’t want to give the impression that I didn’t like the act. I thought it was great, just in a different way than their TV show. It was a lot of fun.

  10. Never been to those places myself, Ed. I only know from what the older boys have told me. 🙂

  11. There is a shooting range that is a popular destination for Japanese tourists. They rent sub-machine guns.

  12. Steven said:
    “The reason I bring him up is that he and Penn Jillette grew up together in Springfield Mass, and they learned to juggle together.”
    Perhaps this is how John Kerry learned how to juggle hand grenades in Nam? (“How many purple hearts do I need to get outta here?”)
    Live-blogging from Sheri’s Ranch or The Cottontail would be an historic first for the blogosphere. 🙂
    C’mon CW, You know Ed would never…..ahh…..maybe the Temptations are in town?

  13. My favorite part of Las Vegas consisted of touring the Hoover Dam. One of the most interesting civil engineering feats in all of history (and I’m not usually all that interested in civil engineering feats).
    Other than that, I found Vegas to be incredibly overrated, as gambling bores me and the whole city has a plasticity reminiscent of an airport bar.
    I’d rather spend a night in New Orleans than a week in Las Vegas.

  14. You could always wander over to the Las Vegas courthouse at noon. OJ is going to be there. That should be a pretty good show, maybe circus?

  15. Hey Good Captain,
    I was just out in Vegas the other week and had the same abysmal experience. BORING! I did find a little place between the Imperial Palace and I think Casino Royale (across from the Mirage, not Ceasars) where they have an outside bar where they bartenders juggle and pour as in the movie “Cocktail”. It also has a good live cover band. The bartenders are amazing.
    Check it! – AJStrata

  16. Saw Rebo & Zooty…errr I mean Penn & Teller when last I was out in Vegas, and they do put on quite a show.
    Twists and turns all the way through the show, even when they back up a trick and show you exactly how it was done. One of the best ways to blow a big chunk of cash in Vegas.
    Love their Showtime show too (mostly). I don’t know that they’ve ever topped the 50lb sledge to the head though, that the hammered home with their “bottled water” episode or they di-hydrogen monoxide ban. That was some classic TV.

  17. Whatever you do, don’t go to the Blue Man Group- they’re awful. The new Cirque du Soleil/Beatle show LOVE looks interesting. The Mrs. and I saw “O” a couple of years ago- it was the best.

  18. You have to go see Wayne Newton if he is in town.
    The man is not only hilerious but a HUGE Military supporter and the president of the USO.
    He will drop everything at a moments notice to go do a show for the military.
    At the show we were at he asked all military people to stand up and then told the waiters to give each one of them a free bottle of champagne, and the good stuff not the cheap stuff (his exact words).
    He had just come back from Iraq 1 week before Independance day and 2 days before Independance day they asked if he could do a show back in Iraq because the entertainment fell through and he dropped everything (cancelling shows) to go back to Iraq to do the show.

  19. easy way to get free drinks – find a race book and bet the odds on favorite to show (best if you pick a track with small fields – Golden Gate or Bay Meadows are perfect)- you’ll get your money back plus a tiny bit and you’ll get all the free drinks you can handle – it’s never failed our group when we go –

  20. You’re damned right Weenie. Wayne Newton is awesome. I didn’t want to go, my wife did. I did as I was told. He was nothing like I expected, and I felt I was at a pro America rally. He did “Suspicious Minds” (This was at the Stardust) and while it was playing, kissed every single woman on the first two or three rows. I got a piece of what Vegas was that night and it was cool. Two nights later I saw Penn and Teller, and though a completely different expreience it was great also. The boxes man, the boxes.

Comments are closed.