Ah, Las Vegas. The entertainment capital of the world, if you believe the advertising. I don’t know if the people of LA, New York, London, Paris and many other places agree, but certainly entertainment there is aplenty!  All the main hotels, (and these there are aplenty too), have flashy, razzle dazzle shows running. The bars have live bands, djs or karaoke. The streets are filled with street performers. Even the architechture is entertaining. There are replicas of major structures from around the world, with coloured light shows that sweep across them, roller coasters that fly between them and even a dancing fountain that performs every half hour, to the oohs and aahs of the gathered masses, me included.

   
 Our hotel, we stayed at the Luxor, is the shape of a pyramid. I’m told that it has over 4,000 rooms, (or was that beds?), and rises, tapering, (as I suppose most pyramids do), from a base the size of Croke Park, to a point above the 26th floor, from which it sends up a beam of light into space to attract aliens. This explains many of the guests who wander among the gambling tables or food court, with distant, dreamy looks on their faces.

   
 The streets are packed with people, going and coming, selling and buying, performing and watching. At the north end of town, around Fremont street, there are three large stages with three free, outdoor concerts in progress. Each band has its own fans and over the heads of the masses, dozens of brave souls zip-line the full length of the street. If they scream for help, who’s going to hear them?  The music is pretty loud. 

   
 We toured the city. We visited Camelot and went to the Tournament of the Kings, an extravaganza (I’m never quite sure what that word means), of song, dance, brave knights and kings charging on horseback, jousting, fencing, dancing girls and jesters and wizards. Good guys and bad. The good guys won in the end. I think!  The theatre was in the Excalibur hotel and they threw in a good dinner and jugs of beer. Sure where would you get it? 

   
We walked through New York City and Ceaser’s palace and even Venice, where the canals flow for hundreds of yards and gonderlieri take star-crossed lovers for romantic trips and sing to them in italian. For a hefty fee, I’m sure. 

OK. So I was curious about Vegas. It’s done!  I think I’m up a couple of hundred dollars on the casinos – by not betting. The place was certainly worth seeing. Once. Time to move on.