Viva Las Vegas - A Vegas Mini-Trip Report - And Yet Another...

When I saw this pic:

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I was thinking she is looking very Suessish. Great minds think alike! :thumbsup2

Elton.

Elton.

Elton.

We want Elton.

We want Elton.

Ok, if no Elton pics, just tell us all about it.

Thanks for the update.

One more day til Viva Las Vegas!
 
Oh, I think we have Elton pics, just not THOSE pics!
 
Good Morning!

Just checking in!

Tomorrow we leave for Vegas! Today I am packing and catching up around the house.
 
Ok, Ok....

As susan said, we headed over to the Colosseum to stand in line before the show.
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Dad and Sierra had great floor booth tickets given to then from the Seven Star Secret Service providers....lol... So, they stood in a different line and were entered just a tad bit sooner than we were. Upon entering and after the quick search through our belongings, we were all given a red feather boa. Now, what in the world was this for? We knew something special was going on for the show tonight, but were still unsure what!
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We politely put our boas on and fluffed our way past everyone else wearing their boas. Attached to the Boas were little tags that said these were gifts for us to wear during Elton 200th show. This evening was a celebration of his 200th show here in Vegas and upon entering the arena we were agreeing to be photographed or filmed for any production covering this performance. Wow!!! Cool!! now we knew what all the hubub was about. That explains all the feathers and the cake. I am sure that cake would either make an appearance on stage or back in the green rooms.

Once we got past all the very enthusiastic ushers (all of whom seemed to be over 65 year old ladies, and really LOVED their jobs of telling people where to go) we all headed to the first bar. While standing in line at the bar we watched one usher directing people loudly for a bit. :banana: She was so dramatic, that soon everyone in the line started mocking and mimicking her. She took the teasing in stride and laughed with us. Then, with drinks in hand- Susan, Chris, Wes, and I could see Dad and Sierra in their sweet seats from our seats up high in the nose bleed section. Actually, even in the higher seats, they were great for the show. We didn't feel that we missed a thing.
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The lights dimmed and the music started and very soon we were to be entertained by the fabulous Elton. We shook our boas (spreading red feathers everywhere, including in our mouths--- bla, splaath, thaugh, paa... I hate feathers in my mouth...
There he was!!!! Elton in all his glory..... we could see him... well.....
he shuffled from the right side of the stage...... little baby steps... all the way to the middle of the stage... with his white patten shoes and his long elaborate jacket with tails .... bowed for a second in the middle of the stage... then shuffled to his piano.... sat down.... and started playing.

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He looked good, and sounded fine... except.... he did not even attempt to sing any of his falsetto notes. Those he left for the backup singers. His stage was full of color and there was a giant screen behind it to project pictures for the songs he played.
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My favorite of course was the song that he used the film footage from Justin Timberlake's video "This Train.." However, Elton used the graphics from the video, slowed it down, and played "Rocket Man". I figure this was Elton's way of saying that although he himself was the Rocketman back when that song was popular, Justin is this generation's Rocketman. I love JT and anything that has to do with him. So this was by far my very favorite part. Go JT!!!! Go JT!!!!

All of the music was very entertaining. There were giant letters for E L T O N that raised and lowered throughout the show. The videos were very retro and in the old MTV music video style. We were having a great time enjoying the show and music.
Then Elton got a little strange. He sang "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and the video that went with it was very over the top. You would have to see it to believe it. It was one of those moments when you just sit back and watch with your mouth wide open - not really knowing what to do with the information that is being received by your brain. I did this for about 4 minutes, then I decided .. ... it's vegas, and I just need to get another drink to deal with this.:upsidedow
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Elton then stood up.. shuffled to the middle of the stage.... made an announcement about how proud he was to be doing his 200th show, and how excited he was that his two bodyguards got married to each other last weekend. (gay pride... as a result of legalizing gay marriage) He returned to his seat and began a list of songs that were accompanied with very large blow up balloons with symbolism. You figure it out......
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I am not posting all the pics I have, as (like susan said) they are not dis friendly. I had to edit and take one of them off already because I could see a little nasty in the side of the pic and thought... oh, NO!!! can't have that!


The show was fabulous in every since of the word. I was not expecting it to be as graphic as it was, but .... ya know... I should have.... it is Elton and it is Vegas.

We left the arena with our boas in tow. Feathers drifted behind us as to leave a crumb trail for all to see. As we fluffed through the casino, people everywhere wanted to know were and why we had the boas. We would just smile and fluff on by. ;)

More on that later....
 

Love the post! Thanks! I doing my laundry because I hate to come home to laundry and housework.

OK - When you said you didn't think you could post the Elton pics. I thought it was because maybe no cameras were allowed in the Elton show or copyright infringement, yada yada. Elton might not like and would hunt you down. I had no idea it might be the content. :laughing: I am so naive sometimess. :flower3: Good grief.

Love the post. The show looks awesome. You guys really crammed some fun stuff in! :thumbsup2
 
Jo & Susan - Thanks for your help! :flower3: I've printed off the "tips" you gave us for my trip! I have to teach Sunday School this morning & then I'm off. I have packed way to many clothes! :sad2:

Thanks again for your report! It has made planning my trip so fun and has really given me something to look forward to and has built my excitement! :cool2:

I may pop in on you from my phone! ;) (The pictures are just so freakin' small on my phone I need a magnifying glass! ) :magnify: :laughing:

Have a great week!

Patricia
 
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Love the post! Thanks! I doing my laundry because I hate to come home to laundry and housework.

OK - When you said you didn't think you could post the Elton pics. I thought it was because maybe no cameras were allowed in the Elton show or copyright infringement, yada yada. Elton might not like and would hunt you down. I had no idea it might be the content. :laughing: I am so naive sometimess. :flower3: Good grief.

Love the post. The show looks awesome. You guys really crammed some fun stuff in! :thumbsup2
Yeah, there were some borderline raunchy segments to the show. Well, it IS Vegas, isn't it? The show was very...Vegas.

We did cram in lots of fun. It was a great weekend. My last update coming soon.

Jo & Susan - Thanks for your help! :flower3: I've printed off the "tips" you gave us for my trip! I have to teach Sunday School this morning & then I'm off. I have packed way to many clothes! :sad2:

Thanks again for your report! It has made planning my trip so fun and has really given me something to look forward to and has built my excitement! :cool2:

I may pop in on you from my phone! ;) (The pictures are just so freakin' small on my phone I need a magnifying glass! ) :magnify: :laughing:

Have a great week!

Patricia
You're welcome. I really hope you're having a great trip. Are you going to do a trip report when you get back? I'd love to hear about it.

Lol - seems like Elton does a bit different show in Vegas than I saw!
I'm sure it was different. I would have loved to see him with Billy Joel though.
 
After Elton, we headed back to the blackjack tables for a bit, all dressed up in our boas. We had some fun there until close to midnight, then decided it was time to say all of our goodbyes. Chris and I wouldn't see Dad and Sierra again after this (until August 8th, her birthday, and right before our WDW trip).

I think Jo and Wes went to the Hilton to play a little. Limits are a little lower there.

Chris and I decided that we hadn't ever walked through the casinos on the East side of the strip. Chris wanted to go to the new indoor/outdoor Hawaiian Tropic Zone Lounge at Planet Hollywood. So we decided we'd take a little walk.

We crossed the street to Bally's. This was quite retro and in severe need of a makeover and update.
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The entrance was very retro-futuristic. I don't think the conveyors were working that night.
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The interior of the lobby and casino feels a little like Fremont Street's older casinos. We breezed through. I recall we heard one of the Maroon Five songs from our dance routine, which we had just done on the 8th of June. If we had been a little more "lit", we might have broken out some of our dance moves.

Bally's connects to Paris. We went through the Paris mall and out the front of the building, then continued down Las Vegas Blvd to Planet Hollywood. I think there are a few shops and shopping centers along the way there.

Went through the newly-refurbished PH casino. It's sparkly.
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They have a new club that just opened there, called Prive.
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We wandered up to the super secret back entrance and I stopped a girl who was coming out. I asked her how it was and if it was worth the cover. She said it is nice, but like everywhere else, and very crowded. We took a pass.

When we had gone in December, we had found a new ultralounge in the Miracle Mile shops. We felt sorry for the bartender because he looked bored. And we talked to him (back in Dec) and he poured us some nice stiff drinks for cheap. We thought we'd try it again.

Along the way, we veered a little to the right to check out our ultimate destination, Hawaiian Tropic Zone.
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There was not much of a line, and not much seemed to be going on. So we saved it for later, and wandered back into the PH casino. They had a sports bar/karaoke bar combination. We each got a beverage and watched that for awhile. Karaoke is a train wreck that never ceases to amaze me. :confused3

Next, we were off to try to find our little lounge/bar in the mall. Along the way, I smelled pizza and suddenly got hunger. We stopped to get me a slice of the most horrible pizza ever.

Then we found our bar. It's called Triq Bar and Ultra Lounge.
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We stopped in for a drink. The place was dead. They had a DJ booth but no DJ. They didn't have Makers Mark. Drinks were in plastic cups. There were only about 4 people there other than ourselves.

I just looked it up online and found out it is an "After Hours Lounge". I think that means things don't even heat up until after the other clubs close.
 
After Triq, we headed back to Hawaiian Tropic Zone. This place has three sections. There is a restaurant, which was closed at the time (late). Then the bar area, and finally, the outside bar area.

Here's a cool panorama of the inside bar:
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Here's the outside (daytime shot):
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You can't see it very well, but they also have a hot tub outside.

The music sounded decent, the people looked ok. So we decided to head inside.

The cover was only something like $5. Why bother? They had go go dancers inside. We spent some time inside, some outside.

Here's a link to the live webcams. (Be sure to click one of the four Las Vegas links below the picture.

It was decent fun.

We tired of that scene and caught a cab back to the Hilton. But we weren't ready for bed yet. We found a $5 blackjack table and played for probably an hour or so.

Then we headed to our room, which we conveniently had not bolt-locked and chained this night. Set the alarm, and crashed out.
 
I want the banana and cherries for my wedding decor.
What?! Hold the phone. Did you say "wedding"? We are moving a little quickly now, aren't we? He hasn't even eaten your cupcakes. You have to make it past canasta before you can walk down the aisle.
 
What?! Hold the phone. Did you say "wedding"? We are moving a little quickly now, aren't we? He hasn't even eaten your cupcakes. You have to make it past canasta before you can walk down the aisle.

He talks about marriage more than me. I NEVER bring it up. As long as he eats my cupcakes, I'm happy.

I guess I should talk about other things we do besides canasta :rotfl2: Uhmm what would that be???? :rotfl:

Exactly why we left. :rotfl2:

I don't even drink alcohol from plastic cups at home.
 
I have now gotten myself addicted to the Hawaiian Tropic Cam. I can't even tear myself away long enough to work on planning my Disney trip! :lmao:
 
I am back in Vegas this week/weekend! Should I do another TR? Hahaha
 


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