Earlier this month, I made my eighth annual visit to Las Vegas. For the fifth year in a row, my trip to Sin City was in conjunction with the annual Trivia Championships of North America (TCONA). At TCONA, I had my usual awesome time convening with some of the smartest and most knowledgeable people in the United States (and even a few from other countries like Canada and Norway). It was enjoyable to reconnect with some really cool and interesting people who share my passion for learning as much as I can about every subject in the world, and whom I’m honoured to call my friends. Moreover, it was equally rewarding to make new friends who meet that description. As well, competing against a self-selected group of elite trivia players, in the diverse array of individual and team contests that TCONA offers, pushes me to improve myself and perform as well as I can.
As I do every year, I also managed to slip away from TCONA to experience an attraction in Las Vegas outside of the Tropicana Hotel where the event is traditionally held. Of course, it also goes without saying that my latest long weekend in Vegas included karaoke. 🙂 Finally, being that I was in a town where gambling has been known to take place, I also managed to squeeze in a little bit of that pastime — and came across a new twist on the blackjack tables that I tend to hit.
The view from Paris: très jolie
The Strip is renowned for its themed hotels, including several with sections that mimic world landmarks. For example, if you roam the grounds of the New York, New York hotel, you’ll find replicas of iconic Big Apple structures ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Brooklyn Bridge to the Chrysler Building. At the Venetian, you can take a gondola ride among doppelgängers of some of Venice’s most legendary sights, such as the campanile (bell tower), the Rialto Bridge, and Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). And then there’s the destination that was the subject of my August 2015 non-TCONA excursion in Las Vegas: the Paris Hotel, and one portion of it in particular.
While the Paris boasts reproductions of the venerable Arc de Triomphe and of several other Parisian edifices of note, the hotel’s centerpiece — and a key component of the skyline of the Las Vegas Strip — is a one-half scale duplicate of the most celebrated symbol of the City of Lights: the Eiffel Tower.
The view from the top: it’s not the Champs-Élysées, but it’s pretty darned nice
The replica of the Eiffel Tower looms over the Paris Hotel, as seen from behind the fountains of the Bellagio across the street. This photo was taken during my very first visit to Las Vegas, in November 2008.
Las Vegas’s version of la tour Eiffel features an observation deck 460 feet above ground level. (By way of comparison, the highest observation level in the actual Eiffel Tower in the city of Paris is 906 feet above the ground.) Due to the Paris Hotel’s central location on the Las Vegas Strip, that observatory affords ravishing aerial vistas — particularly at night, when the Strip becomes a glittering sea of neon. Here are a couple of photos I snapped from the top of the Paris Hotel’s Eiffel Tower:
Looking south along the Strip from the Eiffel Tower’s observation deck.
A view towards the northeast, featuring the giant observation wheel, the High Roller.
The enormous Ferris wheel (technically an “observation wheel”) that’s visible in the second image is the High Roller — at 550 feet, the tallest such wheel in the world, narrowly edging out the 541-foot Singapore Flyer. (Both Las Vegas’s High Roller and the Singapore Flyer are comfortably higher than the London Eye, whose capsules ascend to a maximum height of 443 feet.) I took a ride on the High Roller during a visit to Vegas in August 2014.
The Fountains of Bellagio, as seen from the sky
Due to its position across the street from the Bellagio Hotel, the Eiffel Tower’s observatory is an excellent vantage point from which to gaze down upon the famous “dancing fountains” in front of the Bellagio, and to behold the pirouetting jets of water from a unique overhead perspective. Here’s a video of the Bellagio’s dancing fountains that I filmed from the top of the Eiffel Tower:
Officially known simply as the “Fountains of Bellagio,” the fountain show occurs at intervals ranging from every 15 minutes to every half hour, depending on time of day; the complete schedule can be found here. (Each show only lasts for a few minutes.) The aquatic gyrations are always accompanied by a musical selection drawn from a roster of 29 musical pieces, and are specifically choreographed to complement the song. In the particular fountain show captured in the video above, the background tune was “Con te Partiro” (“Time to Say Goodbye”), the Italian-language duet recorded by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.
The bird’s-eye view of the Fountains of Bellagio is only one reason that I recommend an ascension to the Eiffel Tower’s observation deck. The panoramic view of the Strip, and of the surrounding area, from that elevated platform is truly breathtaking. Las Vegas looks stunning when seen from Paris.
In which I unsuccessfully try to win a motorcycle by playing blackjack
When I’m in Las Vegas — or any other city in which I find a casino — blackjack is my game of choice. At the Tropicana, I discovered that one of the blackjack tables in the in-house casino has recently added a new wrinkle: players can qualify for more than just the usual payouts for which the rules of blackjack provide.
Attached to this unique new table is a video monitor displaying an image of a wheel and bearing the words “Bonus Spin.” The circle of the animated wheel is divided into slots listing various prizes. Most of those prizes are cash payouts, in amounts ranging from $50 to $250. But that’s not all. Because one of the giveaways is even more impressive: you can win a motorcycle. According to the Tropicana’s website, the bike is custom-crafted by the Las Vegas body shop of Danny “the Count” Koker, who’s “known for his numerous appearances on ‘Pawn Stars’ as well as his own series on the History channel, ‘Counting Cars,’ where he and his team restore, customize and sell cars.” (The slot on the wheel that corresponds to an awarding of the motorcycle bears the Count’s Kustoms logo; and the table is branded as “Count’s Kustoms Blackjack.”) A representative of the Tropicana casino with whom I spoke estimated the value of the custom motorcycle at approximately $50,000.
So, you may be wondering: what’s this mysterious bonus wheel, and how does it relate to the card game that’s being played at the table? Well, here’s how it works: Before a hand is dealt, each player seated at the table has the option of making a $5 side bet. (The table itself has a minimum bet of $5 per hand.) If you choose to place the side bet and your hand results in blackjack, you not only win the usual blackjack payout; you also gain a chance to give the wheel a whirl. Unlike the Showcase Showdown wheel on The Price is Right, you don’t physically launch the wheel into its revolution; as mentioned, the wheel is virtual rather than physical. Instead, the dealer hands you a controller containing a green button. You press that button, which starts the image of the wheel spinning. Eventually the virtual wheel comes to rest, with an arrow above it pointing to one of the prizes.
Given that the lowest prize value on the bonus wheel is $50 in cash, if you earn a spin of the wheel you’re guaranteed to pick up at least that amount on top of the standard blackjack payout. If you make the side bet and one of the first two cards that’s dealt to you on the ensuing hand is an ace but the hand doesn’t result in a blackjack, you win $5 — in other words, the side bet pays even money in that situation. Of course, the vast majority of hands dealt to you will not result in your holding a blackjack, or even in one of your initial two cards being an ace; so if you make the side wager too often, you’ll incur frequent losses to the dealer in $5 increments, separate from how you’re faring in the game itself. On the other hand, you’ll kick yourself if you score a blackjack without having made the side wager beforehand — because you’ll have then foregone an opportunity to spin the bonus wheel.
Over the course of my long weekend at the Tropicana, I ultimately qualified for five shots at the “bonus spin” wheel. I wanted very badly to win the motorcycle, partly because my friend Drew had suggested that if I won it, we would call it a Harvey-Davidson. 🙂 Sadly, it wasn’t fated to be. None of my bonus spins ended with the arrow pointing to the slot that would have entitled me to the chopper.
Even if Lady Luck had smiled upon me, I wouldn’t have kept the motorcycle; when I asked one of the dealers how I would be able to transport such a large object back to my home city of New York, he told me that winners of the grand prize could alternatively opt to claim a cash payout. So that’s what I would have done. I really would have had little choice; I don’t have a motorcycle driver’s license. In fact, being a true New Yorker, I don’t have a valid driver’s license of any kind. 🙂 It still would have been cool to have been able to say that I won a motorcycle, even if I’d actually ended up returning to New York with a check for a large sum of funds. (In the course of my researching this blog post, I learned that the amount of the cash option hasn’t yet been determined, but that it would be substantially lower than the value of the motorcycle — perhaps in the neighbourhood of $15,000.)
Although the Trop was the particular casino where I engaged in my futile pursuit of a motorcycle at a blackjack table, it’s not the only gambling hall that features such a table. Similar tables have been installed in select additional casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the United States. For a full list of locations where you can find them, visit the Count’s Kustoms Blackjack page. You’ll notice that at some of those casinos, instead of a customized motorcycle, the grand prize at the Count’s Kustoms table is a customized car or truck — also furnished by the Count’s body shop.
The Count’s Kustoms blackjack table at Binion’s hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas. Photo by Scott Roeben of Fremont Street Experience, used here with permission. You can see the virtual “bonus spin” wheel jutting up from the left side of the table.
Karaoke: singing in a badass dive bar
The sad demise of Zinger’s: goodbye to my favourite karaoke venue
During each of my first seven visits to Las Vegas, I’d sung at an outdoor bar on the Strip called Zinger’s Rock ‘n Roll Cafe. To perform at an outdoor venue, where all the passersby who were walking up and down the Strip past the bar could watch me singing, was incredibly rewarding. It’s no exaggeration to say that Zinger’s was my absolute favourite spot in the world for karaoke. I’ve previously written about my affection for Zinger’s here and here. Moreover, during my more recent jaunts to Las Vegas, Zinger’s provided an additional benefit for me: it was conveniently located just a few blocks’ walk from the Tropicana Hotel (which, as mentioned, is where TCONA traditionally takes place).
But this year, upon walking to what used to be the site of Zinger’s, I discovered that Zinger’s is gone. Sometime between my most recent appearance there (in August 2014) and August 2015, it had closed, and the space that formerly housed my beloved karaoke bar was now occupied by a burger joint called “Fuku” (which sounds remarkably similar to what I would like to say to the people responsible for that state of affairs). 🙂 In a Facebook exchange with the management of the former Zinger’s, I was advised that the landlord had declined to renew their lease. Apparently, the property owner is seeking to gentrify the Hawaiian Marketplace, the shopping area in which Zinger’s had been situated. Indeed, already, a two-story Chili’s has opened in the Hawaiian Markeptlace. Because if there’s one thing the Las Vegas Strip needed, it was more chain restaurants.
Dino’s: a dive bar with a strict no-gun policy
With the disappearance of Zinger’s, there are now no remaining karaoke bars on the Las Vegas Strip. (Another venue where I used to enjoy singing in Vegas was inside a hotel on the Strip called Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon; but Bill’s closed in 2013, and the facility has since been renovated into a luxury boutique hotel called The Cromwell. The entertainment options in The Cromwell don’t include karaoke.) So this year, in order to get my singing in, I went off-Strip, to a bar called Dino’s Lounge. Located near the Stratosphere tower, Dino’s is on Las Vegas Boulevard, but north of the portion of that road that’s known as the Strip. I chose Dino’s due to the combination of its location (which offered a reasonable proximity to the Tropicana), and the fact that a list that I found online had rated its karaoke show the best in the city.
The exterior of Dino’s, the karaoke bar that I ended up at in Las Vegas. Not visible in this view are most of the many motorcycles that were in the parking lot.
Initially, I was put off when the bar staff wouldn’t allow me to bring in my backpack; they claimed that I could have been using it to smuggle in a gun or liquor. Of course, a simple inspection of my backpack would have revealed the absence of such contraband; but the staff inexplicably declined my invitation to open it up and search its contents. Among those contents on the evening in question were my passport, my phone charger, and a bag of Halls cough drops (which I sometimes suck on while waiting for my turn at the mic) — but, shockingly, no firearms or alcoholic beverages. Further highlighting the logic-challenged nature of the no-backpack policy: I noticed that female patrons of Dino’s were permitted to bring purses or handbags into the establishment. And guess what? Those women could have fit guns or alcohol into their bags. But yet management chose to look the other way. So the rule isn’t even enforced in an even-handed manner.
Over the years, I’ve been to nearly one hundred different karaoke bars around the world, and Dino’s is the only one — indeed, the only bar or restaurant of any kind — that has ever refused entry to my backpack. Nevertheless, while the blanket ban on backpacks is a stupid rule, I complied with it so that I could sing. (In case you’re wondering what I did with my knapsack, I was fortunate in that I’d received a ride to Dino’s from my friend and fellow TCONA participant Sara, who had driven to Las Vegas from her home in New Mexico. We stashed my backpack in the trunk of her car. I don’t know what we would have done if we’d arrived at Dino’s by taxi.)
I would add that the stated concern of Dino’s that patrons will bring guns into the premises suggests that this scenario has actually happened there in the past. The potential for a recurrence adds an element of danger and excitement that enhances the pleasure of an evening at Dino’s — and provides Dino’s with street cred as an authentic dive bar. 🙂 (Another indication of the dive bar status of Dino’s: many of the vehicles in its parking lot were motorcycles, albeit not nearly as expensive as the one that I failed to win at the Tropicana’s blackjack table.)
My song selection, plus my friend sings in German
My opening number at Dino’s was “Viva Las Vegas,” originally performed by Elvis Presley in the 1964 motion picture of that name. I’d never previously done this song in Las Vegas; in fact, until the weekend prior to my trip when I practiced it in New York, I’d never performed it anywhere. You might find it surprising that it took until my eighth trip to Las Vegas for me to finally karaoke such a Vegas-centric song in that city. All I can say is that I don’t perform the King’s material very often. But once I actually took the time to listen to this particular Elvis standard, I realized that it wouldn’t be an especially complicated or challenging song to learn. Anyway, here you can watch my Las Vegas debut of “Viva Las Vegas”:
For an encore, I sang “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. You may recall that as the tune that I belted out in Kiev, Ukraine in 2013 when I tied the record for most countries on a world karaoke tour (a record that, of course, I went on to break; at last count, I’ve sung karaoke in 38 different countries). Here’s how it went down at Dino’s:
My friend Sara also did some singing. For me, the highlight of the evening was when she sang the great one-hit wonder from the 1980s, “99 Luftballons” — in the original German. Making Sara’s achievement even more impressive, Dino’s only had the English-language version of the song (“99 Red Balloons”), and thus the lyrics that were appearing on the monitor in front of Sara were in English. But still she sang the German lyrics! Below you can watch Sara’s rendition of “99 Luftballons”:
Sara is actually the second of my friends to have performed “99 Luftballoons” in the language of Deutsch; my pal Jerome (another regular at the annual TCONA gathering) accomplished that feat at a Los Angeles karaoke bar in 2013. Inspired by their examples, I’ve set for myself the goal of also singing “99 Luftballons” in German before the end of 2015!
As for my overall assessment of Dino’s: if I’m being honest, I have to admit that other than having to deal with the idiotic backpack ban, I had a pretty good time there. Ryan, the karaoke host (who was filling in for the regular host, Danny G., who reportedly was on vacation in China) was very nice to me and did a good job running the show. And the quality of singers was consistently high.
What’s next on my World Karaoke Tour
As my regular readers know, I’m scheduled to undergo heart surgery in a few weeks. Thus, my karaoke travels aren’t foremost in my mind right now. But I’m still actively planning post-surgery trips — partly to give myself things to look forward to, to help me get through the surgery and the associated pain and discomfort. Assuming that I recover as quickly as my doctors expect, my next karaoke performance outside of New York City will probably occur the weekend of October 15-16, when I’ll be in Washington, DC attending my law school reunion. My next international karaoke appearance is scheduled to happen in Rome, Italy in late November. That Roman holiday has already been postponed twice for medical reasons; and I’m eager to finally make it back to the Eternal City for the first time since 2004, and to make Italy the 39th country on my World Karaoke Tour!
People tend to either love or loathe Las Vegas. What are your thoughts on that city?
Click here to follow me on Twitter! And click here to follow me on instagram!
H-Bomb's Worldwide Karaoke 
First time commenter 🙂 Sounds like you have an awesome and fun hobby to counteract the seriousness of being an attorney! I’ve never been to Vegas, but it sure sounds like there’s plenty to do there for grown ups. The problem is, I’d have to figure out what to do with the kids. Thanks for sharing the videos and the great night time photos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Jolanta: Welcome, and I hope that sometime you’ll come back and become a second time commenter!
I’m not sure which of my hobbies you’re referring to; travel and karaoke (as well as blogging about those two things) are both hobbies that I consider fun and awesome! 🙂
In recent years, Las Vegas has tried to make itself more family-friendly. Here’s a site that discusses some attractions that would be appropriate for children: http://www.vegas.com/attractions/attractions-for-kids/
Kids might also enjoy a day-trip to the Hoover Dam, just 34 miles from Las Vegas, which is well worth visiting for anyone, really.
Or just go to Las Vegas when the kids are away at summer camp or something. 🙂
LikeLike
Ah, sorry about the Harley – maybe next time though!! Thanks for the tip on watching Bellagios fountains from the observatory – seriously wicked tip. We’ve been to Vegas once or twice now but can never get a good view of the fountains because there’s always such a huge crowd! Thinking birds eye may be the way to go!
Thanks for the awesome photos – love your night photography. Vegas is the best!
Will be keeping you in our prayer for your upcoming surgery. All the best XX
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Meg: I’m not sure if the motorcycle was actually a Harley, or whether it originated as some other brand before Count Koker’s shop customized it. 🙂
I’ve also watched the Fountains of Bellagio from street level several times, and it’s great to see them that way too; the key is to arrive early (like, right after the preceding show ends), and stake out a prime viewing spot. As far as aerial views, it’s also pretty cool to watch the fountains from the High Roller wheel that I mention in the article (although in that case, you have to time your ride on the wheel so that you’ll be at a high altitude while the fountain show is going on).
I’m glad you liked the photos; night photography in cities is my favourite kind of photography. 🙂
Thank you for your kind thoughts about the surgery.
LikeLike
I’ve actually never been to Vegas. I have to admit, I don’t really care for casinos so it’s never really appealed to me, but I feel like its one of those places you need to go to say you’ve been. Sorry you missed out on the motorcycle! Better luck next time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@mags: There’s much, much more to Vegas than casinos; for example, it’s fun checking out the lavish hotels (especially the ones that have copies of world landmarks), and there are great nighttime shows like Cirque du Soleil and adaptations of Broadway shows, plus some fantastic restaurants. Las Vegas also has some terrific museums, such as the Mob Museum and the Pinball Hall of Fame. And that’s without even getting into the day-trip opportunities like Hoover Dam. I promise you, even if you don’t spend a minute in one of the casinos, you would find plenty to enjoy in Vegas.
LikeLike
What a different world we live in! haha. I have only been to vegas with my son (who is now 5) so our version of vegas is so different
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oops hit return too soon! Anyway, I love the bellagio fountains. I think we will have to also try your tip for seeing it from above. That is one of our first stops when we visit. Thanks for the insight into how child free people get to enjoy vegas 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Karilyn: You didn’t need to read my blog to gain insight into how child-free people enjoy Vegas; all you needed to do was watch The Hangover. 😀
As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of the Bellagio Fountains too. And you may or may not have noticed that there are some other free shows in front of or inside hotels on the Strip: the nearby Mirage has fake volcanic eruptions, for example, and those are fun to watch.
(Those volcanic eruptions can also be witnessed from above if you’re at the top of the Eiffel Tower.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not a fan of big cities, but this looks like fun 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Nikoleta: Perhaps if you went to Las Vegas, you would become a fan of big cities — or at least one in particular. 🙂
LikeLike
Great trip. I wish I could’ve been there. With luck, Jen and I will have a chance to go in the near future.
Please keep us (or at least me) posted about your Washington DC trip. I’m no longer living as close to the District as I was the last time we met up, but I may be able to join you for an evening anyway.
LikeLike
@David C.: I’ll let you know about D.C.; that trip is contingent on my recovery from my surgery proceeding normally. It would also be a brief visit, as it’s for a reunion. I do hope to get to karaoke if I make it there, but I don’t know how late the class dinner will run. I’ll try to find out ahead of time.
LikeLike
Great article! You’ve spend your time in Las Vegas good! The only thing I did was walk around actually;-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
@yvonnelaura: Thank you! Walking around the Strip, and into the different hotels, is actually great fun (provided of course that you do most of the walking in the evening when it’s not so damn hot). 🙂
LikeLike
I have never been to Vegas. I don’t think I am actually interested in going, except to use it as a base to explore the rest of Nevada 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Claudia: Now why wouldn’t you be interested in going to a fun city like Las Vegas? 🙂 You know, before my first visit, I didn’t understand what all the hoopla was about; but once I experienced L.V., I couldn’t get enough of it!
LikeLike
This post is so full of interesting tidbits! What cool information. I am seriously thinking of adding Kareoke to my list of things to do while traveling. Good luck with your surgery!
LikeLike
yeah Canada and Norway!! (I’m Canadian and best friends are Norwegian) I’m a bit jealous I’ve yet to even make it to las vegas for the first time and here you are on your 8th. I just might have to check out that karaoke place when I finally get my butt down there. Thanks for the suggestion
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Janna: I wasn’t really suggesting that people go to sing at Dino’s (the karaoke bar I ended up at). I didn’t appreciate that they wouldn’t let me bring my backpack in (and many travelers carry daypacks with them). And according to yelp reviews that I saw, some of the bartenders can be quite rude to the customers. Also, some of the yelp reviews reported that the regular karaoke host at Dino’s (the guy who was away in China when I went) plays favourites and makes visitors who aren’t regulars at the bar wait much longer to sing unless they give him a generous tip. The place that I actually liked singing at (Zinger’s) is, unfortunately, gone.
LikeLike
Wow, I’m so glad to have found this blog! I’m also a huge karaoke nut, and your blog is such a cool combination of two great things!
I’ve never been to Vegas myself, though I guess it’s somewhere middle-high on my list for the US — in any case it seems like a karaoke lover’s paradise. I’m really intrigued to hear how it goes for you learning 99 Luftballons (do you already speak some German?), and I hope you’ll do a write-up of it here on your blog. Good luck with the upcoming surgery, and rock on!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Jakob: I’m glad you like my blog! As for Vegas, I would say it used to be a karaoke-lover’s paradise, but with the demise of three great places that used to be on the Strip (Zinger’s, Bill’s, and a place in the old Imperial Palace hotel)), now it’s just a city that has a bunch of places to sing — no different than many other cities in that regard. If you find yourself there, I would recommend you go to Ellis Island (that’s the name of the establishment) rather than Dino’s for karaoke.
I don’t speak any German, but it’s not necessary to speak a language in order to sing in that language. During my travels, I’ve been to a number of karaoke bars in other countries where people who couldn’t speak a work of English sang English-language songs flawlessly.
LikeLike
Great post! I have never been to Las Vegas as the atmosphere has never really appealed to me but your trip sounded like a great time. Have you done karaoke in Korea? There are private rooms here called norebangs and they’re a ton of fun. I’ve only done karaoke once while traveling – in Japan and I had a blast. Thanks for your tips! Should I ever find myself in Las Vegas I will definitely refer to this post. All the best of luck on your upcoming surgery!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Laura: Yes, I’ve done karaoke in South Korea.
http://hbombkaraoke.com/2015/03/06/country-no-38-on-my-world-karaoke-tour-i-was-a-seoul-man-in-south-korea/
I had no interest in the noraebangs when I was there. Private rooms (also often called “karaoke box”) are common in many countries, especially in Asia, and even in my home city of New York. But I need an audience, and I need to perform and play to the crowd. Those things aren’t possible in the noraebangs
Thanks for your kind words about this post, and for your wishes about my surgery.
LikeLike
I’ve been to norebangs here in the Washington DC area. They can be fun if you want to sing with a few friends, but they can be pricey. If I want to sing with just my friends, I’d rather invite them to my home, where I’ve got a good quality karaoke machine, mics, amplifier, etc. And then I only have to pay for the food.
And, as Harvey wrote, most of the fun is getting to perform in public. One of the reasons I like to sing is because applause is addictive, even if it comes from a room full of drunk people. It’s not as much fun if it’s in a small room with only 3-4 other people.
LikeLike