#9 Viva Las Vegas
I had the good fortune to accompany my husband to the American College of Gastroenterology Conference this week in Las Vegas. The Mandalay Bay Hotel the event. This is a sprawling facility with tremendous space for classes and an extra extra large exhibit hall. The Delano, just next door, offers spacious two room suites and excellent service. Everyone complied with the indoor masking rules.
Little did we know that the Electric Daisy Carnival, an extremely large and popular electronic music festival was also in town at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 300,000 guests. Also, the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium is located right next door and the hotel hosts both the home team and visiting fans. The Raiders fans get decked out with chains, hats, and the menacing silver and black logo garb. So, if you will, picture large bands of roving, inebriated Raiders and Eagles fans roaming through the casinos, bars and restaurants of the hotel. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, the gastroenterologists roamed the aisles of the massive exhibit space as they were plied with cappuccinos, cookies, pens, and freebies. The GI Pharma is alive and well and dropping millions to “educate” and sell to their potential customers. The contrast to the emergency meetings in terms of size and resources was stunning.
The shows are starting again and we took in a very enjoyable performance by Barry Manilow at the Westgate Hotel. At 78, Manilow is still getting it done with an excellent band and all the glitz of a Las Vegas show. In a clever way, they have him on stage doing a duet with his thirty-year-old self from a Midnight Special clip. For people of a certain age, the show will not disappoint.
Just down the road from the Westgate we had a nice brew and a burger at the Able Baker Brewing Company. It is well away from the strip so plan in your travel time.
Getting taxis and Ubers was costly and time-consuming with surge pricing and heavy traffic. If you can find restaurants and venues right at your hotel, that would be my best recommendation. After a long pandemic home-stay, it was fun to get out again and enjoy the Las Vegas experience.
