Our first Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! We had family visit from out of town and were able to comfortably host everyone in our new home (something we were never able to do while living in a cramped apartment in West Los Angeles). We had a traditional Thanksgiving celebration except for the fact that my slot-obsessed aunties kept running out to the casinos between meals. Three interesting observations:
- It was business as usual at local supermarkets on Thanksgiving Day. This is not unique to Las Vegas but reinforced the idea in my head that you can get what you need at all hours, day or night here.
- The casinos were completely dead during the day but got gradually more and more busy starting in the afternoon. My uncle’s theory is that everyone spends time with family and has turkey in the morning and then comes to Las Vegas to party at night. Makes senses (that’s what we did).
- The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the worst day to drive home and leaving right after lunch is foolish. The trip from Las Vegas to San Diego is normally 4.5 to 5 hours. It took my sisters 10 hours because of all the holiday traffic!
The new Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino officially opened its doors this weekend. Yes, Planet Hollywood now has it’s own hotel and casino. The same company whose restaurant chain went bankrupt last year. The “PH” replaces the defunct Aladdin resort which fell out of favor with travelers following 9/11. Several big improvements were made to the property:
- The inside of the hotel was completely redone with a modern design - think SF MOMA
- A giant shining “CASINO” sign- it was hard to find the casino entrance of the Aladdin (probably not good for business)
- The addition of The Miracle Mile Shops - yet another shopping mall located on the strip
Overall, I like the new design but think they went a little overboard with the modern design. It’s cool today but will look dated in a few years.
A new shopping and entertainment destination opened on the south-end of the Strip today - just don’t visit right away. The idea of an open-air mall with retail stores, dining, entertainment venues, residences and business offices is cool but it’s really windy and cold and only half the stores are open. I went opening weekend and had a miserable experience. No doubt the owners wanted to debut Town Square in time for holiday shopping season but many visitors (including me) were disappointed by the number of “coming soon” construction signs versus open storefronts.
I recommend visiting in the spring when it’s warmer. If you do go in the next few months be sure to drop by H&M. This was easily the second most popular destination next to the one set of public restrooms located in the children’s play area. And wear a warm jacket!
Las Vegas was recently named the “debauchery capital of the world” by Euromonitor, a market research firm. Duh! We were bestowed this honor because of the gambling, strip tours and raunchy parties that are popular here. Other debauched locations include The Caribbean, Cape Town, Dubai, Buenos Aires and Macau in China.
You want to buy real art (not posters) but are afraid to pay art gallery prices. Check out Painted with Oil a retail location that sells hand-painted art at affordable prices. Think of it as entry-level art for newbies.
We picked up a couple of contemporary/modern pieces by an artist named Xing Lin.
Painted with Oil is located in the Fashion Show Mall.
3200 Las Vegas Blvd., Suite #2680
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 734-0831
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that television shows are being tested on the Strip. Visitors to the Miracle Mile Shops in the New Planet Hollywood can view pilot programs for CBS and other cable networks. The market researchers typically perform this testing in New York City or Los Angeles but are increasingly testing in Las Vegas due to the large representation of visitors from across the country.
I’ve participated in this testing before and it’s lots of fun.
Having spent several years on the East Coast I was excited to hear about the Dunkin’ Donuts chain opening locations here in Las Vegas. Other Vegas residents were apparently excited too and one of the stores broke company records for first week sales. We ate 90,000 donuts and washed them down with 9,000 cups of coffee. Yum!
There are several valley locations but the one I visited is located at:
409 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd
Las Vegas , NV 89183
