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| - I loved the New York-New York Hotel & Casino.
I didn't stay here, didn't gamble here, didn't see a show here, and didn't ride the rollercoaster. I did eat here once, at Gallagher's Steakhouse. And I walked through it a bunch, as I stayed at The Excaliber, and NY-NY was kind of a gateway to the rest of the strip. But mostly, it was my second favorite casino - Paris was my favorite - and if I had to choose only one casino to remain in Vegas, it would have been NY-NY.
This is because Las Vegas is a strange, frightening place. I grew up in the suburbs of NYC and have lived in Philly and the suburbs of Philly. I'm an east coast lad.
And Vegas is NOT the east coast, in big and small ways. It's a different color! It's all pink and yellow and red... and there are no trees, except palm trees (which make no sense in 35deg Vegas February weather), and it's flat everywhere, but then there are these mountains rising in the distance... the buildings are low and the city just... stops. You can walk 10 minutes away from the strip and find motels and fast food and a whole lot of... nothing. No traffic, no apartments... open, undeveloped space. Where do the people that work in that city live? It baffles me. Try walking in any direction when you're in Center City, Philly or Times Square, NY... are you going to find undeveloped lots or lazy motels?
Vegas is truly the city that doesn't sleep, with old women sitting at slots at 4 in the morning. Smoking appears to be allowed everywhere, and Hispanics in hoodies line up in rows along the sidewalk trying to get you to take cards advertising prostitutes by snapping them back and forth, as if you'd say no to 10 in a row and then yes to the 11th. Everything is a mockup of somewhere else, a city that doesn't have its own soul so it borrows and exaggerates on everything else it sees. Then it bedazzles it, adds a light show, and charges twice as much.
Ok, getting off track. Basically... when I was outside, and I looked over at the NY-NY... it felt a little like home. and when I was overwhelmed by the smoke and the flashing lights and the hooker cards... it was a good feeling. And when I went inside the casino... that fake version of NYC felt more real than any other place I went in Vegas.
Less melodramatically... I liked the casinos who stayed true to their themes. Luxor is a giant pyramid with a sphinx outside, but inside, it's just a sleek black and gold colored casino. And it's the same with most of them. But the city themed ones, Paris and NY, they took it to heart. The stores and restaurants a mocked up to make you feel like you're on streets outside, the foods and gifts stay true to the theme as well. Outside and inside, they're dedicated to the conceit. And I liked that a lot.
So I can't tell you about the rooms or the tables or the rides, but I can tell you I was happy NY-NY was right in Sin City, and if you're an east coast adventurer looking for a feel of home, this caricature of it might be able to get you through.
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