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| - Who would have thought, a serious world class museum in the lobby of a major Vegas casino? Admission steep (about $20) but it comes with a very good (well-written, thoughtful, and entertaining as long as you're sober) free audio tour. And they have docents! Docents in Vegas? Like all major travelling shows they typically have only several dozen items on display at a time, but that's better because each is striking or important in some way, well lit and presented, has a written description, and you have a chance to interact with each one. To fit the hotel theme, the exhibits tend to focus on national treasures from ancient and historical times (e.g. Egypt, Russia).
Why, I ask, do two of the world's great museums need an outpost in a gambling resort? Money and exposure, I suppose. This one is usually at capacity (which they control, so it is not too bad). There's a sweet Guggenheim museum tucked away in a mansion in a quiet neighborhood of the real Venice, so I wonder if that's how it got started.
The gift store is one of the few places in all of indoor Vegas Strip with a window to let in natural light. You don't need a ticket to get in, and it's quiet and meditative inside. So if you've been here so long your skin is turning doughey, you can stand in the window for a little Vitamin D stimulation.
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