Vegas Still Loves the Cigar
Las Vegas might be one of the craziest places on the face of God’s green earth, and lucky for me, I’m here right now, typing this lil’ bloggy from the tenth floor of the Wynn Encore Hotel and Casino. I’m a guest for a few days, and I’m happy to say report to all my peeps that cigar smoking is still alive and well on the casino floor.
You really don’t realize how incredibly off the wall nuts this place is until you drive around and view the insane architecture that lines the streets. One monolithic structure after another makes you shake your head no matter how many times you’ve seen it. The money that circulates throughout this neon pleasure pit is so fantastic that I guarantee this city has a greater value than the gross national product of seventy-five percent of the world’s countries. Is there a more powerful term I can use than mind-boggling? I think not.
I’ve learned a crazy new game called Black Jack Switch where you are required to play two hands at once, but are allowed to switch the top two cards you’re dealt. I’ve done exceedingly well over the past two days and have enjoyed it a ton, but I’ve also enjoyed being able to torch up a big-ass premium happy stick at the table and not have a single person make a god damned negative comment. And if they did, I’d promptly tell them where to shove their grubby little stack of red clay chips. I hear there are those in this town that are pushing hard to ban smoking everywhere, but in a place filled with so much sin and vice, it is just brutally ludicrous to single out an activity that people come here for and expect to do.
I think one of the more fascinating things about this desert play land is the way the majority of the women dress. The lack of clothing is pretty damned noticeable to a knuckle dragging cromag like myself and it becomes quite apparent that these scantily clad dames in dis-dress are here to bag the big prize – no, not the big slot payoff on the gaming floor, but a jackpot of the manly persuasion. These gals want to hook up with a rich dude in the worst way, and trust me, wearing those spray painted on excuses for skirts sure does get a dude to ratchet his head ala Linda Blair.
The shows that each hotel features is endless as billboards grab you by the wallet, imploring you to see the likes of Cher, Blue Man Group, Cris Angel, Garth Brooks, and the red-headed human freakshow know as Carrot Top. But the show I went to was perhaps one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. It was the final night forever for the rock Group Cheap Trick, doing their Sgt. Pepper Show – a tribute to the Beatles. Accompanied by an orchestra, a choir, authentic Indian sitar playing musicians, and a blazing light show – I kid you not, it was edgy, roaring, and simply electrifying. The audience went crazy when they closed with several of their classics like I Want You to Want Me and Surrender, and I was just blown away how a live performance could sound so spectacular. Yeah, you could kind of say that I liked it.
I took a trip to downtown Vegas to the old part of town where the Golden Nugget has had a makeover, as well as the entire block – which is now enclosed like a self-contained mall. I found a great cigar bar called the Chicago Brewery inside the Four Queens Casino, where I watched ten different football games, including a dismal performance by the New York Football Giants. Bleh. But the highlight of the day was an elderly gent sitting behind me who tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Sir, I have a comment about that cigar you’re smoking.”
Expecting the typical nasty smoke-Nazi response, I slowly turned my head with one eyebrow raised and said, “Yeeees?”
The old dude decked out in blue, green, and silver Seattle Sea Hawk attire said with all sincerity, “That has got to be the most fragrant and delicious cigar I have ever smelled.”
Wow! There still is some class and civility left on this planet, and comments like that have certainly become far and few between in this world of politically correct horse-hockey.
Well, I’ve got a day left here – a few more hands of Black jack, a few more decadent dinners, a few more head turning gawks at the ladies, and most definitely a few more cigars to make my stay in the state of Nevada a most joyous one!
Til ‘Next Time,
Tommy Z.
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
