“Hey man. Can I ask you a question? Can I really buy a beer here and walk outside the casino and down the street with it?â€
I looked at the young guy from my bar stool in Bar Moderno at the Aria Casino and replied, “Sure. This is Vegas!â€
“Hey, I just wanted to check,†he exclaimed. “I don’t know these things. I’m from Nebraska and I just stepped off the plane two hours ago.â€
The bartender reaffirmed to the cornhusker just off the plane from Nebraska that he could indeed walk down the street with his beer in hand and not fear arrest for drinking in public.
“Welcome to Vegas,†I greeted him as I headed over to a table to listen to the piano man playing classical pieces on a grand piano in the bar lounge 20 feet away.
That was last Thursday on my second night at the Aria Resort. This Monday night when I was staying at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas I debated going to the Mandarin Bar on the 23rd floor of the hotel with great views of the Las Vegas Strip. The thought of paying another $12 for an 11.2 oz bottle of Stella Artois ($10 + tax + tip) didn’t really light my fire. Granted though, the view and bar snacks make the price of a drink a reasonable exchange for the ambience of the Mandarin Bar.
I thought of that guy from Nebraska. I actually could not recall ever having carried a drink outside while walking Las Vegas Boulevard.
A trip to CVS next door to the Mandarin Oriental detected a double size bottle of Stella Artois (22.4 oz) for $3.99 and I headed down the Strip to Planet Hollywood. I positioned myself against the wall outside near a line of people trying to win one million dollars from a slot machine and the music of the Who blaring from outdoor speakers.
Then I realized I was not carrying my car keys with my bottle opener. In fact, I was not carrying any kind of object to open my beer except for the coins in my pocket from the beer purchase change. Determination and the combined tools of a dime and quarter allowed me to successfully open my beer bottle after a couple of minutes.
I strolled by Paris and over to Bellagio for the fountain show, all while drinking a beer on the street on a cool Las Vegas evening in December.
Crossed off my list of life’s travel achievements:
Drink a bottle of beer while walking Las Vegas Boulevard.
Related Posts:
Betting on Expedia.ca for a Vegas Suite Deal (Nov 20, 2010) [This post tells how I bought my flight to Las Vegas and an upgraded room at the Mandarin Oriental for $12.]
CityCenter Las Vegas – Art, Architecture and Space (Dec 16, 2010)
Hotel Detail – Aria Resort and Casino Las Vegas in HD (Dec 11, 2010)
Aria Resort Las Vegas – Pools, Spa and Dining (Dec 12, 2010)
Aria Resort Corner Suite and SkySuites (Dec 18, 2010)Â
Aria Resort Las Vegas SkyVilla 19 (Dec 19, 2010)
Vdara Hotel, CityCenter Las Vegas (Dec 19, 2010)
Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas (Dec 23, 2010)
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (Dec 21, 2010) (The Cosmopolitan is next to Vdara Hotel, but not part of CityCenter complex. The Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel.)
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