September 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of Vegas4Visitors.com.
This website was launched shortly after I stumbled into writing about Las Vegas through a friend that asked me to help her write the Frommer’s Las Vegas guide book. Afterward I wrote the first edition of the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegas and I probably could’ve kept going on that track but it was the late nineties and the Internet was calling.
Since then I have written nearly 500 weekly columns; visited and reviewed every major hotel, show, restaurant, and attraction; and lost more money than I care to think about in the casinos.
Vegas4Visitors.com has been a labor of love more than a living. We don’t actually make a lot of money off the site simply because I wanted it to remain an independent source of Las Vegas travel planning information. Other Vegas websites that shall go unnamed are owned by corporations and have partnerships that make it difficult for them to be unbiased. Here at Vegas4Visitors.com you get unvarnished opinion – if I don’t like something, I’m going to tell you.
While we’re not the biggest Vegas website, we’re certainly one of the most respected and tens of thousands of readers just like you visit Vegas4Visitors.com every month.
As a part of our “celebration,” I’m going to be doing a series of items for the column that look back at the last ten years.
This week, I thought it would be interesting to do a quick Top 10 list of the things I miss most – my favorites from the last ten years that are no longer around.
1 - Cheap Rooms
I have a very specific memory of one of the first times I visited Las Vegas in the 1980s. I stayed at The Dunes and got a Strip facing room near the top of the tower for $19 per night. Of course it couldn’t compare to the luxurious accommodations of today’s Las Vegas hotels but I miss the days when things like rooms, restaurants, and shows were “loss leaders” designed to get people into the casino.
2 - The Pirate Battle
The old Pirate Battle at Treasure Island was a silly bit of inoffensive fun; a stunt battle between marauding pirates and the British navy with explosions, high dives, and general yo-ho-ho wackiness. The newer Sirens of TI show that replaced it is crass, tasteless, and silly but not in a good way.
3 - Caesars Magical Empire
This was one of the most entertaining experiences in Vegas – an interactive dinner and magic show patterned after the famed Magic Castle in Los Angeles. You could spend hours seeing a variety of different illusionists, eating, drinking, and generally having a good time all at a cost that was less than what you’ll spend to get in and drink at Pure nightclub, the thing that replaced it.
4 - Hannah’s Restaurant
I named this my favorite restaurant in Vegas a couple of years ago and of course it closed. Located on the far west side of the city, most of you probably never had a chance to visit so you’ll never know what you missed, which was, quite simply, some of the best Pan-Asian cuisine I’ve ever tasted.
5 - Casino Legends Hall of Fame
Las Vegas is a city that loves to blow up its past so this low-key attraction that used to be at The Tropicana was a delight, celebrating Sin City history with photos, memorabilia, exhibits, and a Hall of Fame for the people that made the city what it is.
6 - Clint Holmes
Don’t get me wrong – I love Rita Rudner who took over the showroom at Harrah’s where Clint Holmes used to play, but I really miss the old-school singing and dancing entertainment that Holmes brought to The Strip. Relying on his talent and charm instead of explosions, topless dancers, or French-Canadian stunt people, Holmes was a throwback to the Rat Pack era that we just don’t have in Vegas anymore.
7 - Chicken Challenge
If you don’t understand why I miss the chicken that played tic-tac-toe against humans at The Tropicana then you just don’t know me at all.
8 - Palms Fantasy Market Buffet
The old buffet was inexpensive and interesting, with a wide variety of food including unique Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes that you couldn’t find at any other buffet. It’s replacement at the Palms is more expensive, smaller, and boring.
9 – Spamalot
It just closed this past weekend, but I miss this wacky bit of Broadway silliness already. The Tony-Award Winning musical based on “Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail” was the type of entertainment that should’ve worked in Vegas.
10 – Avenue Q
This show never should’ve worked in Vegas – another Tony-Award winning musical that was sort of “Sesame Street” meets “Rent” complete with puppets that cussed, watched porn, and had sex. It was, simply, too brilliant for the short-attention spans of most people who come to this city.
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