Lucky you go Vegas: All kine stuffs go on
By Wade Shirkey
Advertiser Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS — Signs of home in Vegas, and other stream-of-consciousness observations:
Ai ka homesick!: The car in the California Hotel parking garage, with the Nevada license plates inside a Kamehameha Warriors license plate cover.
Street "seen": The Siegfried & Roy testimonial collection of notes, cards, teddy bears, flowers (the potted orchid from an Island fan?) and tributes streetside by their bronze statues at the Mirage. Lotsa stuffed toy tigers. Sad, yeah?! Pasted over Siegfried & Roy ads on cabs, competitive showrooms' billboards, even TV ads: "Roy: We're there for you!"
Equally eerie: The two tall palm trees, as you arrive by tram, perfectly framing only Roy's side of the welcome billboard at the Mirage. Chicken skin!
Just like Hawai'i: Venetian Resort's canal gondola drivers pull to the side and motion other drivers to pass. And did you notice the little floating foam "life-saver" keychains on the keys to the motor-driven little gondolas?
Just like Hawai'i 2: Vegas drivers, in a style not typical of the Mainland, waving thank-yous for letting them into traffic. And very few blaring horns. What's up with this? Kama'aina kars?
From Hawai'i: The Island family carrying their plastic foam food cooler with them through the casino. You can take the Islander out of the Islands ...
Long overdue: When, pray tell, will Honolulu get an Olive Garden restaurant? Their pasta fagioli bean soup is delizioso! And pulling Krispy Kreme doughnuts dripping, sugary, fresh right off the conveyor belts 24 hours a day at Excalibur! And Applebee's and an In-N-Out Burgers would be nice here, too. And throw in a Target store (pronounced by fans Tar-ge, a la Francaise).
A question: With the drop-dead gorgeous views, why aren't there more outside elevators on Vegas buildings?
A nice touch: Those large, lighted and legible street-name signs. Any town with a large tourist base might consider them. Jus' a hint, guys.
Toss-up for most distasteful: the sidewalk hawkers advertising "Strippers & Girls Direct To You" (in your hotel) or the pedicabs.
Only in Las Vegas: Honolula Surf Co. in one casino mega-mall. Spelled incorrectly on purpose.
Elvis still alive? Twice?: Saw two Elvis lookalikes sidewalk strutting on the Strip.
Old hat: When the Mirage's volcano fountain was new, bystanders lined up two and three deep on the sidewalk. Now the one-time pride of the Strip is small potatoes. It's the Bellagio water show everyone goes gaga over.
Inside secret: Unused meal coupons from tour operators can be turned in at the end of the trip for "free" omiyage to take back, such as caramel popcorn, candy, cookies. It's all about food.
Coming or going?: The round amber lights in the lower left-hand corner back window of Vegas cabs — like our roof-top taxi lights — indicate the cab is for hire when they're lit. But why in the back window? Ain't the thing driving away from you at that point?
Less is more?: The Risque Business slot machines in which a bonus round results in less and less clothing on the pictured models? Which was more interesting: the machine, or the older Hawai'i auntie jus' going to town on the machine, smiling all the time?
Never really left Hawai'i: ABC store on the Fremont Experience Mall. Al Phillips the Cleaners. Cheeseburger at Oasis, a Vegas version of Waikiki's Cheeseburger in Paradise.
'at's why hard: Most of the popular omiyage you'd once bring back from Vegas can now be found in Honolulu: Ethel M's, beef jerky, bagel chips.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Does one of the major tour companies realize that packing passengers in the tiny, nine-across seats for the long flight to Vegas is cruel and unusual punishment for anyone larger than a slip of a teenager?
All the news print to fit: How come you can get The Advertiser in Vegas every day but Tuesday and Saturday? Because the papers come the same way the tourists do, on Vacations Hawaii charter Omni flights, "Tuesday is the (charter airline's) 'down time,' " said Advertiser sales manager Bob Marciel. And the Saturday flight leaves Honolulu too late. Some 45 to 50 Honolulu Advertisers are scooped up daily in Sin City.
