Five Hundy by Midnight 65: Listener Comment Bonanza

/ Tim

In this edition of the original Las Vegas podcast:

  • Peter Morton sells Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
  • The Boardwalk comes tumbling down but the clown head remains
  • Listener comments galore
  • Reports from the official machines at Flamingo
  • Calls from Barbary Coast, Four Queens and Stardust, questions about limos, fireworks, Aladdin/Planet Hollywood and more


Five Hundy By Midnight 5/14/06 (44:49 min, 41.2 MB)

49 thoughts on “Five Hundy by Midnight 65: Listener Comment Bonanza”

  1. I saw the ad for ‘Rock of Ages’ and I too thought it sounded rad… Actually, we have tickets for Def Leppard + Journey at Mandalay in August, which will be a rockin’ good time. Rock of Ages indeed.

  2. Re: Fireworks – Generally nothing on the Strip but they have been known to do fireworks over places like Cashman Field. More community area fireworks than tourist oriented.

  3. I really need to just learn to leave a single comment and not just comment as I listen to the show… Bad Hunter.

    Re: Limos – When the cab line is long as it often is, I get very impatient and often jump in one of the limos waiting around the corner. Never had any problems at all, always very professional. Sometimes I’ll call ahead and then I use Las Vegas Limo or I call the hotel and have them send a car… Even if they won’t comp it, they’ll rent you a car just like an independent company. Either way, sometimes it is much easier than waiting an hour and paying for a cab.

    And yes, I was having a good time. 🙂

    Keep up the good work, always look forward to the podcast.

  4. This past week, I about fell off my chair when I read that the Moron Hotel Group … er Morgan Group was going to raise hotel rates at the Hard Rock. These people are HIGH ON CRACK and will be one of many in a long line of outsiders who have bought or built hotels here and managed them into oblivion.

    Memo to the Moron Group about Las Vegas room rates: It is 100% supply and demand. If every hotel could simply jack their rates for the fun of it and bring in more cash, don’t you think they would? Higher rates at the Hard Rock is going to make more people say “hey … Mandalay Bay isn’t looking that expensive after all, it is just as hot and hip, and it is on The Strip.”

    Second memo to Moron Group: Las Vegas doesn’t give a rat’s ass about who the players are in Miami, New York, or Los Angeles. All you guys walk in here thinking this is still some second-class cow town and you are going to take it by storm. Good luck. P.S. You over-paid for the Hard Rock. Most local pundits pegged the value of the place at around $550 million. Big city suckers.

    Let’s learn from the past:

    First, Grand Casinos came into rescue the financially strapped Vegas World (builders of Stratosphere Tower … Vegas World used to be the name of the place) and were so sure that it would be the must-see draw that they did little promotion, little discounting, weren’t local media friendly at all. They were eventually bought out in bankruptcy.

    Next you have Hooters who is on the same track. Was in Hooters at 6 PM tonight (Sunday). Yes … Sunday is transition day (everyone is either arriving or leaving town) but virtually anytime of the day or week, you can shoot a cannon through that place. More people are in the restaurant or just having a drink somewhere than are gambling. Not good for a casino.

    Hooters continues to advertise for help like crazy, which is unheard of for a new property. (Usually new properties over-hire then let attrition get them down to the level they need, weeding out the bad). Looks like they can’t keep help, including the hooters girls. Now Hooters is spending piles of cash to advertise their “13” martini bar which I’ve never seen remotely full. They basically built a big black cave and no one ventures into it.

    Memo to Hooters Hotel: If you advertise something, it has to be worth seeing or people will walk out. Hooters is giving people lots of excercise, getting them to walk over to see the hotel … do a lap or two around it … and walk out again.

    I don’t see them going under anytime soon because the Hooters corporation is huge and will keep pouring cash into it until they try to find a way to make it work as well as they thought it would. But it is clear the don’t know what the hell they are doing. And Las Vegas is anything but “Build It And They Will Come.”

    Finally, the Boardwalk clown is very much there. I snapped a cell phone photo of it about an hour ago. Setting sun in the background wasn’t the best light, but I’m emailing Tim the pic right now.

  5. Saw Barry Williams in a touring company of the Broadway show City Of Angels about 15 years ago. He actually did a pretty good job, once you could put the fact that it was Greg Brady behind you.

    Don’t let Tim mock you, Michele. I always take photos of my view, too.

    Finding out that the Official Slot Machines of FHBM is gone before you had a chance to play it is kind of like going to a co-worker’s farewell party and finding out that the person who’s leaving, who you never really got to know, was a pretty cool guy.

  6. As I have tomorrow off, I plan on visiting the new Official Slot Machines. I do expect to keep my winning streak alive. Of course, I hope to record this as we all know here today gone tomorrow!
    Rock of Ages was a topic of dicussion this week and old timers agreed that with all the quality groups coming, why waste your money. Damn Yankees were great when you could only hear Shaw and Nugent.

  7. Hunter is right. The only real July 4th fireworks are locally oriented. However, if you’re up in the high end of the valley and can see most of the town you can see little celebrations going on all over the place. I wouldn’t work that hard for it, though. If you’re from out of town, go see the Bellagio fountains a few time and accept that as your fireworks instead.

    But really, if you put all the fireworks that go off on july 4th together, they’d probably be akin to one of those displays a new Coast or something does on opening night. Certainly nothing as insane as New Years.

  8. Rock of ages is at rockofagesmusical.com. Rockofages.com is a funeral service which from the looks of the musical site is where it belongs. The music of the mid-eighties was probably the worst era of music of all time and the concept of a musical based upon it blows my mind.

    Dan

  9. Thanks for the fireworks info. My wife will be disapionted but, we will drink through it.

    LIMOS- Thay are nice and cheaper if you have a large party that would need more than 1 or 2 cabs. You can rent them a the hotels by the half hour.

  10. The one limo I road in Vegas I had to crawl into like a kid. What is it with limos and seating? It was fun and they had a special level to exit at the airport so you did not have to leave with all the unwashed tourists. Still got the sign with our name on it somewhere. Three years ago it was $50 plus tip from the airport to LVHilton up the strip on a Friday night. Only bottle water, but it was cold.

  11. Yeah I’ve done the limo thing once. A group of us guys rode from the Luxor to downtown for something like $35. it was great for 4-5 people. Totally worth it. Plus showing up anywhere in a limo is way cool. If you’re winning at the casino, why not blow that cash on a limo ride?

  14. I don’t know if I ever have seen a post from Michele on here before. It seems like a nice idea, but from here it’s likely that the discussion will turn to more shoe-talk or there will be no more discussion at all. Although I’m sure there’s nothing craptacular about her vast collection of shoes, there’s really nothing left to say about them. So I am taking us back to the Barry Williams discussion, and now I begin:

    Hey, did anyone see Barry Williams on ‘That 70’s Show’ a couple weeks ago? He and Christopher Knight (he was another one of the Brady boys, I think his name was either Keith or Willis) were playing a gay couple that just moved in next door. Very convincing acting by both of them. It will be nice to see them on the stage at next years Peoples Choice Awards.

    It seems like the Brady’s are poised for another comeback. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a Brady Bunch penny slot machine. I’m not sure they could come up with any sort of appealing bonus rounds. No one wants to hear Jan whine that Marcia is more popular with the player because she provides a bigger bonus.

  15. Hey Tim, Michelle, loving your podcast, it ROCKZ!

    It’s actually the only podcast I listen to anymore. Just got back from Vegas a couple weeks ago, missing it heaps. Plenty of porn slappers around but I didn’t see any seedy characters outside Bally’s on my trip!

  16. Barry Williams? Mike are you the prez of the Barry Williams fan club? Shoes are more interesting.

    Seriously, I’ve got to know if/when anyone sees Rock of Ages. I don’t usually go to shows as they seem to cut into my gambling/drinking and eating time. But that one might be so bad its good. But come on guys, is “oh sherrie” really necessary? And where is the tribute to the greatest hair band of all….Poison?

  17. We were there from May 10th to the 15th (and just missed the implosion of the Boardwalk by a day). The clown head (and in fact the whole front facade of the hotel that faces the street including the sign and rollercoaster) is still up and scarier than ever…

    Just so you know- the six Bally/Paris/Rio etc hotels have a nifty little 3 Million Dollar promotion where if you scan your Slot Card at tree of the Hotels and get a card stamped you get a $10 food certificate; if you get 6 stamps you’ll get an additional $20 in food. Cool…

    Oh, and one last thing- Paris is closing out the “We Will Rock You” store and all that crap is now 70% off. I’m not sure if Michelle is the hot pants type, but if she would like a pink/black pair with the Queen logo on the butt she might want to grab ’em before they’re gone…

  19. Thanks for the tip on the hot pants, but I think I’ll pass. I don’t know what’s more disturbing: those pants, the ones from the Elton John store that say “Bitch,” or the ones that say “Juicy” across the butt. I’m going to cast my vote for the latter.

  20. All right, I guess there’s nothing I can do to avoid it…so here goes.

    Hey Michele! What shoes would you wear with your ‘juicy-ass’ hotpants?

  22. Gotta agree with you, Michele. Every once in a while, I’ll see some young woman wearing a t-shirt that advertises themselves as being a “Hottie” or “Bootylicious,” and I always want to ask them if they would like a second opinion on that.

  23. I have no idea. a couple pairs of tennis shoes, a couple pairs of dress shoes and a pair of Gortex hiking boots are what I have….and a pair of chest waders for trout fishing, but they’re really not shoes.

    I once saw a guy on Bourbon Street in New Orleans wearing nothing but a speedo and cowboy boots. what the hell was that about?

  26. he may have been drinking.

    it was every bit as disturbing…I kept my distance. I knew it was unusual, I had no idea it there was more than one.

    maybe it’s the same guy on vacation. that’s one thing I’ve never seen in vegas…hope I never do

  27. Wow… there’s a whole lot of Comic Sans on that Naked Cowboy page. Not the font I was expecting.

    If you click the “Model Photos of Naked Cowboy” link, you see some classic examples of “Blue Steel” in action. And a tiny bit of nakedness. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

  28. Then again, with a site called “Naked Cowboy” you have to expect a little of that.

  29. I’m so sorry, I never intended to take this down the road of ‘naked cowboy’.

    I wonder if there’s a naked cowgirl out there? NO NO NO!!!

    Let’s just stop before someone links to a picture of a cow.

    How about that Vegas? Can hardly wait to go back! I sure do like going to Vegas, it’s so cool.

    Hey Tim and Michele, great podcast! you midwesterners are so darn funny!

    I’m going to go watch the Boardwalk implosion again.

  31. In full disclosure, Michele, I didn’t actually look at the site. I was at work and didn’t want to set off any flags to our net administrators. Had I known there was a lot of Comic Sans, I would have warned you.

  32. Hey everyone I just booked our holiday. Is there anyone else on here who is mad enough to go to Vegas at the end of August? Any good tips on keeping cool (other than drinking lots of nice cold Strawberry Daquiris, Tim)?

  33. Whenever we go in the summer (and we’re going back in early July), we’ve found that spending the morning at the hotel pool cools us down for the rest of the day.

    We’ve also found these things called Neck Buddies. You can find them at your local outdoor store. They’re like neckerchiefs with crystals inside them that, when they’ve been soaked for about 30 minutes, turn into a gel similar to what you find in ice packs. Tie it around your neck and the gel stays on your carotid artery, keeping your body temperature cool. It looks dorky, but it’s very effective.

  34. Dave, those sound awesome from a cooling and a fashion perspective. But you don’t even want to know the scarf discussions that occur in our household. Let’s just say that one of us is for, and one of us is opposed.

    Honestly, I do think about more things than footwear and neckwear and shorts, I swear…. I just thought it would be a good way to post since I’m very familiar with the subject matter and all.

  35. Actually, they’re small enough to hide underneath a t-shirt, so the fact that it’s a fashion faux pas doesn’t matter. Or you can buy them in various colors to match your outfits. Besides, I’d rather look like a schmuck than have heatstroke any day. Keep in mind that I live in a place where we have a little thing called “summer.”

  38. Let’s see, it is 9:30PM and it is 95 deg.
    Don’t worry about summer, it is hot right now.

    When I started work here everyone warned me about how hot it got. Sure I visited in the summer before, but working here has been a different story.

    Big cool down this weekend, just high 80’s, may need my jacket.

  40. Vegas in August. Don’t touch the handrails outside the casino…too hot. It’s the middle of the freakin’ desert so there will be some heat. Fortunately, the casinos are air conditioned….it would be crazy not to go.

    Hall and Oates suck! It needed to be said, and now it’s been said.

    I don’t really know fashion. Right now I’m wearing a ‘Palms’ T-Shirt, denim shorts and white socks. I caught 4 rainbow trout tonight so I smell a bit fishy. Comfort is always more important than fashion. Fish is better than no fish. Vegas in August is better than no Vegas at all.

    Is my caritid artery in my neck? I had no idea….and they say you never learn any new reading these comments. I beg to differ.

    Even armed with this new medical knowledge, it does not change my belief that Hall and Oates music should be part of the world famous crapapalooza tour. Coming soon to a high school gym near you.

  41. Re: Fireworks – I was in Vegas last 4th the 100th anniversary, Was staying at the Tropicana, Though there would a special fireworks show but noooo. I stood there with about 1000 or so people, All 4 of the crossover walkways were full for over and hour.

    Come to find out that generally nothing on the Strip in the way of fireworks, there was supposedly a show at the hilton and some other community area fireworks shows.

    Keep up the great podcast’s
    Stephen

  43. Mike-

    How dare you say Hall and Oates suck!!! Hall might be a little lame, but Oates rules!

    You’d think a guy in Jean shorts would be a fan.

  44. I recall Daryll Hall as a single as the opening band for someone else at Kingswood at Canada’s Wonderland. He was pitiful.

    Then we saw H & O touring with Michael Mcdonald and the Average White Band as the closing act. They stunk and we walked out. We were only there to see MM anyway,

    Hall can sing a little and the music is O.K. but live they are less than adequate.

    Dan

  45. Vegas in August- Stay inside or in the pool. The pools where I have stayed are fantastic and the water is cool. Most pools close about 6:00pm but, a few hotels have pool parties at night. These are fun although the one person I saw swim at the Palms was a girl and, as soon as she hit the water about 10 frat guys quickly moved in.(real nice) The best part was how fast thay were out of the water when her boyfriend jumped in with her.

  46. Thanks for backing me up Dan! You have provided the defining review of Hall and Oates true talent.

    Jean shorts are comfortable!!! I was fishing, what am I supposed to wear? Comfort over fashion!!!!! (although I was the most fashionable guy at the boat launch)

    And because I know Michele will ask, on this outing I wore some old New Balance crosstrainers (the same ones I wear when I mow the lawn), if it’s raining I will go with the Cabela’s Gortex hiking boots.

  47. Yes Dan, Hall may be iffy, but Oates is a musical genius (not to mention he has a really cool mustache).

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