Las Vegas Review

The flight and stuff from Denver was uneventful. Early sure, but uneventful. A kid in the row ahead of me utilized the spew collection device as we pull up to the gate in Las Vegas.

I step off the plane and my investigation begins:

These first four pictures are the room on the D concourse of the Las Vegas airport -

Nice entry. Very clean, well-marked, and clear where you are. I did not get a shot of the entrance to the women's restroom so I don't know how the figure looks there. Next time I must get that. Maybe I can find it.



Here you walk in. To the left are the sinks in their own side. There is a separate middle room of urinals and a third room of urinals and toilets.





Overall the facilities are clean and the water pressure of the toilets is good. Everything here operates via the infrared senor so you would not have to touch a thing. Nice.

After making my way out of the airport, I hop on the bus. I planned on going to Tropicana Avenue and then west to the Strip, but I decide going to Flamingo and then west will provide better opportunities by going south to Tropicana.

First stop, Bellagio. I think it may be Italian.

The entrance to the restroom area is quite lavish.




Notice the fine craftsmanship of the stall doors. This element would be repeated again and again in the newer places.



Clean. Infrared.

Next up - Paris.



The first thing you notice is the sinks. Free-standing. The fine detail is not captured in this photo, but it is a nice touch.



From Paris, to the Aladdin.



It's very dark. Both in lighting and in finish - black tile, dark woods. But the shape of the mirrors give it a distinctive middle-eastern feel.





The Harley-Davidson cafe was not yet open, so I could not go in. Also I could not confirm or deny their claim to having the best bbq in the country.



But a McDonald's was open. Pretty stark in comparison to the luxury I'd seen so far.



Notice the bare spot on the wall where a urinal once was.

On to the Monte Carlo.



Not as dark as the Aladdin, but close. The wallpaper is too busy - distracting - made me ask 'why'd I come in here?'. Oh...yeah.



NYNY.




Light and airy. Nice wood stall doors. Clean. Good place.

Then the MGM. Not too shabby.



Went to the Tropicana. Of note, the Tropicana actually has faucets that are fully-controlled by the user. Not the sensor type or the timed-on variety. You could turn on or off, control the flow volume, and control the temperature. They're old school, but hopefully they will stay with a good thing. At least until they are imploded.





Excalibur.




They are hard to find off the casino. That could be a problem. But they're OK once you go in.

On to the Luxor.






I like how they have the urinals separated from the stalls. Do you duty here. Or do your duty there.

Last stop, Mandalay Bay. Saved the best for last! Spotless, plumeria scented. Fresh flowers. Wow. On my mental list of bathrooms, Cherry Creek Mall in Denver has always been #1. Mandalay Bay is now my #1. The only negative against them is their faucets, the timed variety, but other factors mitigate their overall score. I do not know if Mandalay Bay is the newest Strip property, but they are NICE!




Fresh flowers!

The newer properties are all about cleanliness, looking nice, smelling nice, and attention to detail detail detail. I think the infrared sensors are fine on the toilets and urinals, but I do not like the sensors or the timed-on faucets. I know why they do that, of course, but I like to be able to decide if I want the water hotter, or the flow stronger, or if I want a thorough rinse.

After the Mandalay experience, I head over to the competition venue.



Outside of the Thomas & Mach Center, on the UNLV campus, the Arena Football League is hosting a Fan Fest as part of the Arenabowl XX weekend. George Shea astutely pointed out that XX is Latin for 20.



On this shot from the side of the stage, notice the guys holding up the Goldenpalace banner behind the table. It was gusty that day so they held the banner for over an hour.

There was a $100,000 amateur contest before the main event. The winner of that contest consumed 9 sandwiches. At least I beat that!

George Shea, doing what few can.





Carlene in the red. She supported Rich very well! Joey's world record was a thing of beauty. Stratospheric! Sonya & Pat ended tied with what would have been record numbers. Rich was 2 behind them, and Chip ended up 2 behind Rich. Amazing.

The schedule had been running late. So I said a few goodbyes, and got to the airport just before boarding began.

One last restroom. Or lavatory.