#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 2

My first full day in Las Vegas qualifies as atypical in several ways. 

Having a rental vehicle, I have easy access to places many tourists may never go. 

Having fallen asleep before midnight on Friday, I must have gotten a full eight hours of sleep. I set my alarm for sometime after 7 a.m., and didn't jump out of bed at the sound of the first, second or third alarm. Eventually I rolled out of bed and began getting ready for the day ahead. But my first destination of the day was sidetracked by breakfast. 

My life partner texted me. She and her sisters were coming to the Plaza for Breakfast at the celebrated Hash House A Go Go, which has more locations than I would have guessed in the Vegas area. Surprised by this, I invited myself to join the, especially given the fact I had a $25 meal voucher courtesy of the Plaza. 

After breakfast I placed a couple of wagers on the afternoon UFC main events. Yes, UFC had Saturday morning and afternoon fights, thanks to the card taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. My buddy is pretty good at handicapping the UFC, so I put a modest $30 down on two picks he gave me, which were the co-main events. I bet on one fight to go over 2.5 rounds, and the other to go under 4.5 rounds. 

Then it was off to the Broadacres Marketplace in North Las Vegas for flea market action. I had been there in June with my podcast producer, and I made my first visit on a Friday night in October 2020. I don't buy much at flea markets, garage sales or any other type of secondhand goods outlet, but I can spend long hours browsing at the right place. I spent more than two hours under the warm Nevada sun, and I will detail my experiences and observations about this giant flea market in a future post. And soon. I promise!

Who buys a mattress set at a flea market?
Somebody must, because there was more than one vendor selling them. 

I have no idea what a bunny sells for at the mall pet store, but $65 must be a bargain. 

Broadacres Marketplace has several food vendors, a stage with live music,
beer sales and a few carnival rides, as well as carnival games, for the kids. 

After my day at the flea market was complete, with one $10 purchase I won't discuss at this time, it was off to Jerry's Nugget. I wasn't hungry at this point, so I stopped at Jerry's Nugget on my way back to see what kind of low-roller action was available. Jerry's had $5 craps with 2X odds, some $5 blackjack, albeit with continuous shuffle machines and a $5 table game that was a lot like Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, but seemed to be a bit different. I didn't take the time to learn how it was different. 

Jerry was offering hand-shuffled blackjack, but even Jerry wants $10/hand for the privilege these days. 

I opted for my conservative craps play. I don't make many exotic bets, I pretty much bet the pass line with an equal odds bet behind it. I don't make big money on a hot roll, but I don't drop huge money in short order. If we make points, I make a little money. If we crap out, I don't. 

I had a couple of decent rolls, making a few points, but nothing spectacular. There was a woman who joined the table and talked quite a bit. She was making multiple side bets before many rolls, and was basically telling the dealers who was supposed to be getting paid. She was a handful, to say the least. 

Jerry's Nugget offers a couple of those prop bets where you have to roll all the numbers. If every combo of 2-12 is rolled before the 7, on any come out roll, anyone betting at the start of the come out roll wins 175-1. If you bet on 2-6 or 8-12, you get like 34-1, or something close to that. So in 10 rolls, a $1 bet could win $175, but it's likely one of the 10 numbers won't be repeated, assuming the shooter doesn't crap out. 

This woman was betting a couple bucks on all three props each turn. After me, the dude before her began shooting. He had no dice technique, he just picked them up and tossed them. And it took a while for him to do it, but he eventually hit all 10 combos without crapping out. When he hit his final number, a 3, she erupted. She had $4 on the 175-1 bet, paying her $700. She had three bucks on the lower range of numbers, so that paid her just over $100. And she collected previously on the 8-12 spread, too. So she won over $900 on this guy's turn. Amazing. 

She had several bets on the table when she won the big payout. She immediately gave the shooter about $50 in chips. As she waited to get paid, she told the dealers all her bets on the table were theirs. As soon as she got paid, she walked away, leaving money on the table for the dealers to reap the benefits of. And the shooter continued his turn several more rolls before finally hitting a 7. 

How high maintenance was this woman? She was so slow in tossing out her side bets each turn, and disputing what the dealers and stickman were doing, that it sometimes took more than two minutes for the next roll to occur. The boxman had seen enough, declaring no more string betting, or the action would be declined. He was not having any more of it. 

And how did I do with my conservative, boring strategy? I finished the afternoon $15 ahead. The woman near me walked away with hundreds of dollars. I walked away with $15. But it was fun playing on a live table for low stakes. You don't find $5 tables anywhere tourists frequent. 

After Jerry's, I decided I had to see what the Silver Nugget was like. You pass it after Jerry's, on your way to the flea market. I decided Saturday was the day I'd see what it had to offer. 

There was a little kiddie fall festival/Halloween carnival in the parking lot next to Silver Nugget, or perhaps that was part of the Silver Nugget parking lot. It wasn't open, but people were getting ready for that evening. It looked cute, and lame for kids 10 and older. 

There were a few folks seemingly hanging out in the parking lot, which I found odd. I didn't park particularly close to the door, and that didn't matter, but it could have mattered. I noticed that the front parking area and entry to the casino looked rather messy, as if cleaning up the outside of the building wasn't a priority. The pile of Pringles on the ground near the front doors was a nice touch. 

I knew Silver Nugget was a mistake when I saw the signs taped up to the entrance doors: Masks available for $2. 

If this joint can't afford to give away masks to customers too lazy or careless to bring them, this place was not for me. 

Inside I found a casino with no table games, a weird layout of machines, as if they didn't have enough machines to fill the floor space, one bar with a few folks hanging around and yucking it up, a small sports book in the back corner and a side annex that had machines scattered in there, as well as an entrance to a restaurant that didn't appear to be open in the middle of the afternoon. I would later learn that there's a bowling alley and "event center" at Silver Nugget, but I didn't realize it at the time. It's in an enclosed area separate from the casino, allegedly.  

I tweeted about what a mistake it was to stop in after driving by the place a few times, and for some reason that tweet blew up, at least by my standards. It got a few retweets, and I think I know which retweet brought it to the masses, but I can't guarantee it. All I know is that I got a lot more action on that tweet than I do on anything else I tweet, and that lasted for more than 24 hours. Very unexpected. 

I had no idea this simple picture and a comment via Twitter would
garner more attention than anything else I shared during my weekend in Vegas. 

After wasting 15 minutes at Silver Nugget it was time to go back downtown, where I bopped around and won a few bucks at the Plaza, only to lose a few bucks low rolling at Circa. Those UFC bets I made? The fight I bet to go over 2.5 ended in less than 2.5, and the fight I bet to end in less than 4.5 went the full five rounds. So much for my expert. 

Oh yeah, I had a small ticket to redeem at Circa, and I took it to the cage. As I was waiting, some old dude was at the cage, off to the side, with two much younger women. I'm not sure exactly why, but the dude was rubbing one of the young women's butt quite vigorously for several seconds. He didn't care if anyone saw him, clearly. It wasn't the most bizarre thing you'll see in Vegas, not by a long shot, but that image is forever burned in my mind. 

I returned to the Plaza to clean up. Dinner was at 7 p.m., and we were going to Chicago Joe's. 

I know of it, and it was my suggestion we go. The bride-to-be wanted a group dinner on Saturday night, and we had 18 people there for the wedding. She decided a group dinner was a great idea about four days before Saturday night. And she really wanted Italian. A little online research reminded me that Chicago Joe's isn't miles away from Fremont Street, and I've read references to the quirky little building that looks like a house. People are mostly positive toward it, so I thought it was a reasonable option, assuming they could take a reservation for 18. Sucker bet!

And yet, against all odds, they said yes. We sat at five tables in the back of the building. It was a bit tight, but it worked. We couldn't move about easily, but it worked out well, and everyone seemed pleased with their meals. 

Our group waited outside the entrance to the quirky Italian restaurant known as Chicago Joe's prior to our dinner reservation. It's downtown, about a one-mile walk from Golden Nugget, so says Google.

Chicago Joe's is a modestly priced place that makes good Italian food. They serve beer and wine, but no alcohol, as best I could tell, and they've been in business since 1975. It's not a must-visit restaurant, but it's fun, delicious and a good value. I'd like to dine there again sometime. 

I will say this, I splurged on a shrimp and pasta meal, but didn't love the shrimp. It wasn't bad, but I think next time I'll skip spending extra on the shrimp and go with the big meatball or Italian sausage. 

Perhaps most amazing: We had one waiter for the entire party, for the entire evening. Drink orders, food orders, food distribution, drink refills and multiple checks and credit card charges: Darrin did it all. He was on the move from start to finish. He would make loud announcements occasionally to the entire group, and you'd think he was from Boston, not Chicago, but he got the job done efficiently, and paid attention to detail when it was necessary. It was borderline amazing. 

Not the best photo, but the only one I have that shows the interior of quirky Chicago Joe's.

Dinner ends and we return downtown. I hung out for a bit with my life partner and her sisters. We had a drink at a Golden Nugget bar. The ladies, after a day at the pool and plenty of drinking, were ready to call it a night. These aren't late night people, for the most part. I departed and hit Fremont, soaking in the Halloween atmosphere provided by many people in costume. 

I also toured many of the casinos, as if I expected to find something new or unexpected. I walked down to El Cortez, then worked my way back through a heavy crowd in the Fremont East district. I popped into the Fremont, California and Main Street Station and gawked at the crowds. I didn't gamble a dime, and was most tempted to play a nickel video poker progressive game at Main Street Station that had a nice payoff working on the royal flush for a 50-cent max play. But I skipped it. 

I didn't take Halloween photos on Saturday night, but there was a Day of the Dead group
that gathered in front of a fire truck parked in the middle of Fremont Street near El Cortez. 

My night was almost over. I went back to the Plaza, intended to buy a $3 Bud Light and retire to my room. But then I decided to sit down at the bar, order a cocktail and play 25-cent keno. My goal was to hit 4-for-4 and win a whopping $25 for my 25-cent play. I did that within the first $5. Wow, big winner!

The bartenders were rather prompt with the drinks, so I had a few and decided to lower my keno wager to 10 cents, simply to avoid losing my tiny profit swiftly. And thanks to my continued play, I hit 4-for-4 twice more, which amused me greatly. Each subsequent win paid me all of $10. Of course I should have stayed at a quarter a game, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to win big money either way. I had about six cocktails and won $30 while doing so. I felt like a king at the end of the night. 

It's amazing how a modest win can make for such a pleasant final hour of your day.

The loss of Tuscany table games is a sign of the new normal

It has been a long, long time since I've taken the time to post an instant reaction to something happening in Las Vegas, but this one piggybacks on my observations and conclusions made during my trip last month. 

The fine folks at Vital Vegas, (it's one guy,) wrote about the loss of table games at another Sin City casino. In this case, the often forgotten Tuscany Casino dumped its modest collection of table games, I learned today. 

Shocked I am not. 

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, I could find $5 blackjack downtown and at plenty of off-strip casinos just a few years ago. Two decades earlier, $5 blackjack was the standard, with some  casinos offering $3 minimums or gimmicky $1 tables to attract low rollers. Times change, and $5 doesn't go as far as it use to, but two years ago it wasn't that hard to find $5 minimums on table games if you were willing to play off the strip. 

Given the fact we all presumably earn more per year, due to inflation if nothing else, than we did 20 years ago, and the fact that there are plenty of $10 or $15 players to be had at craps and blackjack tables up and down Fremont Street, what incentive does Main Street Station have to offer a $5 blackjack table when it reopens? In the summer of 2018 I ended up killing an hour on an August Friday night, and I most certainly played $5 blackjack. 

Table games are labor intensive. I don't have any inside knowledge about the economics of a blackjack pit, but it doesn't take a math major to know that the house will win more over time if the table minimums are $15 rather than $5. 

Casinos had higher minimums for their table games during the pandemic simply because they had fewer seats available at a blackjack table. If you're capped at three seats to a table due to social distancing requirements, you're going to want to increase the minimum for the seats you have, as long as  you can still put asses in those seats. 

Once the capacity restrictions were lifted, plenty of people made it a priority to return to Vegas. And it didn't take $5 tables to put asses in the seats. So we have a new normal.

Obviously smaller operators with less traffic don't have the luxury of simply raising the table minimums and expecting people to fill those seats. 

The Orleans wasn't offering $5 blackjack on a Thursday night last month. If you're a local or a low roller who doesn't want to play at the higher minimums, you go elsewhere. But elsewhere is quickly becoming extinct, it seems. 

During last month's trip, I made it a point to visit a handful of odd joints I don't normally visit. My friend/podcast producer was with me, and he has never seen the locals casinos, so we made that part of our experience. 

I knew Joker's Wild had removed its table games. That made sense. They are a locals joint that doesn't attract big spenders, so the low roller blackjack tables and the famous $1 minimum craps game weren't going to make meaningful money. Instead of simply closing the tables during the pandemic, they were pulled. As of mid-June, they hadn't been restored. 

I wound up inside Casino Royale during my trip, a place I don't visit very often these days. I remember playing Spanish 21 there one night many years ago, when I was still staying and playing on the strip. I had a great time on a Sunday night, and the pit was busy. Not to my surprise, there are no tables at Casino Royale, at least not as of mid-June. Casino Royale is known as one of the last bastions of low rolling on the strip, so perhaps its days of live table games are over. 

I had never been inside the sketchy Wild Wild West, despite driving by it many times on my way to The Orleans. Having hyped its sketchiness to my friend, we were compelled to visit on a steamy Sunday afternoon. It was rather empty, not to my surprise, and there were no longer table games to be found. That wasn't a shock, either. 

There are still tables to be found at smaller casinos. On our Friday afternoon trek down the Boulder Highway we stopped at Skyline Casino. The tables were there, but they weren't open, not to my surprise. I suspect you can get $5 action there. And we went all the way down to Club Fortune Casino, which I had never been to. Again, they had tables, but they weren't open on a Friday afternoon. I'm guessing they still offer $5 action. But these aren't destinations typical tourists will ever see. 

And yes, you can still play $5 blackjack. We had lunch on Saturday at Jerry's Nugget. (More on that another day.) We stayed to play blackjack, as $5 tables were the norm. So was $5 craps. It's a Saturday in Vegas, at a very locals casino, and there were a bunch of people playing low minimum blackjack, roulette and craps. The craps table was pretty full, and offering a $5 minimum. Jerry's Nugget knows how to draw the locals, and was doing so. 

We also played a few hands of $3 blackjack prior to lunch at Jerry's Nugget. Real deal blackjack at none other than Poker Palace. This name may not ring a bell to tourists, but it's a small, no frills dump a few miles from downtown. We had been at the big flea market that morning, and after four hours of flea market scouring, we stopped at Poker Palace for a beverage. Turns out they were just getting ready to open their tables, so we sat down for 10 minutes on a Saturday, around the noon hour, to play at Poker Palace. The cards at the table looked like an old deck kept behind the bar at a small town Minnesota bar. And the joint had hardwood flooring. It was so, so weird, but dammit, we played $3 blackjack in Vegas, and somewhere I have one of the Poker Palace silver dollars from the table to prove it. 

I mistakenly thought we were at Bellagio.

I've always known that Tuscany has table games, but I've never been there to see it for myself. The casino is still there, but with no tables, I'm not likely to stop in any time soon. 

Tuscany isn't as convenient as Ellis Island when it comes to accessing the property from the strip, but it would seem that now, more than ever, the Tuscany tables should have been doing brisk business, offering $5 games not far from the strip. Perhaps it was just far enough that people wouldn't walk over to it, but it isn't that much further away than Ellis Island is, and Ellis Island is doing just fine offering lower minimum table action.

The loss of table games at low roller joints like Joker's Wild, Wild Wild West and Tuscany suggest to me that the days of $5 tables are mostly history. Sure, they could return, and sure, The Orleans could start offering them again after the pent-up demand for burning through cash in Vegas subsides. 

But I think the absence of tables at Tuscany is another sign that the days of the $5 tables are about over, even for the locals joints. Stadium gambling, bubble craps and other machines are the new normal for low rollers. On the heels of the pandemic, video gambling that requires less labor is helping usher out the $5 craps and blackjack era. Tuscany is another nail in that coffin. 

The night before Christmas

I'm sitting alone, 90 minutes before midnight on Christmas Eve, and I have no complaints. Without explanation: I'll be home soon and will spend Christmas with my girlfriend. We had dinner with her family earlier this evening. I'm sitting here alone out of necessity, and it allows me an opportunity to do something I enjoy, yet don't make enough time to do as often as I would like: Writing.

I have vague recollections of Christmas Eve from my youth. Vague, at best. From my earliest days in Indiana to my teenage years in Minnesota, with divorced parents living in two separate states. Like most people, my Christmas memories are faded and dust covered after more than four decades.

I don't remember a lot from my college years earlier. I remember working early one Christmas morning at the local hospital when I was in college. I was paid double and was done working by 2 p.m., that seemed like a great deal.

During the past 20 years I've had memorable and not-so-memorable holiday celebrations. I'm always amazed how, at least here in the Minneapolis area, the world around us nearly grinds to a halt for 18-24 hours. Yes, thousands of people are working in a variety of capacities, both essential and non-essential. And yes, there are stores and restaurants that remain open for one reason or another, both late into the evening on Christmas Eve and during the day on Christmas. But so many things are closed, and for nearly 24 hours my day-to-day life changes, even if there's still Facebook posting happening and televised sports on TV.

I'm thankful I've never had to seek out that random bar that remains open late into the evening on Christmas Eve, and I'm grateful that I've always had family members to share Christmas with. Yet I'm fascinated by the contrast that Vegas provides, and a small part of me wants to experience it for myself. If I was a wealthy, self-employed blogger, vlogger, journalist or podcaster, perhaps I'd experience Christmas in Vegas firsthand. What exactly do I want to see? Allow me to explain.

For starters, I'd want to be able to spend a day or two scouting locations around Vegas, getting a sense of what is and isn't open on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Then I'd get plenty of sleep leading up to Christmas Eve, as I'd start at 5 p.m. and make a marathon session of seeing and exploring Vegas for as long as I could physically tolerate.

I'd love to see who is or isn't hanging around a lot of places. I think I'd start at the Tropicana. It's a sad, sterile casino these days, even with all those hotel rooms and, from what I can tell, decent occupancy. How depressing is it? I'd likely run over to Hooters, as well. Is Steak 'n Shake open? Who chooses an overpriced burger and fries for their Christmas Eve dinner, assuming it is open. Is it a festive environment throughout the casino, or a ghost town?

From there I'd head to Excalibur, New York New York and MGM. Would it be any different than any other night on the strip?

I'd have to check out the Miracle Mile Shops, as well. Are they all closed? How many are filled with last-minute Christmas shoppers and tourists who don't celebrate Christmas?

I suppose I'd have to head over to Bellagio, too. That place is always bustling. What is it like on Christmas Eve?

At some point I'd head down to the Pinball Hall of Fame, as it is open until 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve. They wouldn't be open if there weren't people coming every year on the night before Christmas. So who is there, families looking to go out and do something together, or lonesome singles trying to forget the world is celebrating the birth of Jesus.

After that I'd probably sit out in the parking lot of a 24-hour rub-and-tug massage joint. I've gotta believe those places aren't closing for the holiday, and I'd be curious to see how many people show up in a 30-minute span as midnight approaches.

I'd have to run downtown by midnight to see how sedate the crowd is. I have no doubt it's business as usual, but how does the vibe compare to a typical night downtown? I'd probably bop into a few casinos, as well, to survey the crowd. Would I be surprised by how many people are gambling in the early hours of Christmas? Would Santa hats be the only way I could tell it's the holiday season?

By 2 a.m. it'd be time to take off. I think I'd head north briefly to Jerry's Nugget. I finally had their prime rib dinner earlier this month, and spent an hour gambling there. I'd be curious to see how quiet a locals casino in the middle of the night. How depressing would the gambling masses be early on Christmas morning?

So by the middle of the night It'd be time to head to Frankie's Tiki Room. This might be the first time of the night I indulge in a cocktail. Who celebrates Christmas at 3:30 a.m. with a mixed drink at Frankie's?

I'd have to enjoy in moderation, but from Frankie's I'd stop off at The Mint and the Peppermill. The Mint is a cute, modest 24-hour bar, and I'd be curious to see what kind of crowd it would attract. I've never been to the Peppermill for cocktails after the sun has set, so I'd have no idea what to expect.

From there, assuming I'm safe to drive, I'd drive around and check out a variety of off-strip joints to see what's happening, places that are always open, such as the "Pawn Stars" pawnshop, smaller restaurant/video poker joints and anything else I could identify as a 24-hour business that's not simply a grocery store or gas station. I suppose I'd like to see what the Ellis Island crowd is like after 5 a.m. on Christmas Day.

I'd also want to see how few, or how many, people are gambling at the Orleans. How quiet is the poker room?

I think I'd spend the rest of my day, for as long as I have the energy to do so, checking out the Christmas morning atmosphere mid-strip. What restaurants are bustling on Christmas morning? Are tourists out and about, sightseeing, like any other day of the year? Are people hustling tours, time share presentations and rap music CDs? Are the small, strip mall businesses near the north end of the strip open for business as usual on Christmas morning? Is there a different sentiment among those walking up and down the strip because it is Christmas morning?

Vegas is a 24-hour city, but things get awfully quiet on the strip, and in casinos, after 4 a.m. on a nondescript weeknight. I suspect Christmas Eve/Christmas morning are a bit quiet by Vegas standards.

I'd love to see it for myself. Unlikely I ever will, but damn, I'm curious.

Book review: 14 things to do in Vegas before you die

Among the things given to us when we checked in at Tahiti Village last October was a sheet listing 100 things to do in Vegas.

I didn't inspect it closely, but I kept it, thinking I would critique it at some point via this blog. Instead I threw it away. 

Now I'm curious to know what that list contained, and if it was as bizarre as the 100 things listed in a 2016 book, "100 Things to do in Las Vegas Before You Die."

I was perusing my local library's Vegas book collection not so long ago and found the book. It is written by two former writers for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You'd expect it would have great details and great local perspective. Well, not so much. 

The book's preface notes that it lists "bucket list" items for both the tourist and the Vegas area resident. Many of the items aren't worthy of any such list, regardless of your residency status. There are some interesting, obvious and bizarre suggestions in the book, and here's a sampling of what you'll find in the book. I'll leave it to you to decide which entries are interesting, obvious or bizarre. 

• The book has a list of craft breweries and places to find craft beers, both in the touristy areas and in the suburbs. I'm not sure going to a craft brewery in Henderson really needs to be on a bucket list, but for the uninitiated, the book gives you a clue that you can sample local, small batch beer at a few casino properties.
• Enjoying a meal "al fresco" warrants an entry, and offers three suggestions of places to eat outdoors. You haven't lived until you've eaten an outdoor meal at Paris Las Vegas.
• If you want to drink or dine at a "Vegas dive," there are a few suggestions, although the book doesn't tell you why you should visit Frankie's Tiki Room. Hint: Don't go there for the veal.
• I had no idea there were wineries in Pahrump, but if I die tomorrow, I don't think not having visited one will be near the top of my regret list.
• I'm not sure why tasting boba tea in Vegas is critical for tourists or residents, but a place called Cafe Teaze has servers who wear lingerie. Suddenly I'm interested in trying boba tea, otherwise known as bubble tea, as best as I can tell. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of this before. I had to look up this place to learn more about it. Located in Chinatown, it changed its name to Milk Teaze at some point, evidently, and a Facebook page for the business notes that as of late January the location has closed due to a lease issue. But the owners promise to find a new location.
• An eclair at Jerry's Nugget gets an entry, although nowhere is it mentioned that this should be the last item you knock off your bucket list, for safety reasons.
• Three happy hours are worthy of mentioning on a page dedicated to the topic. Perhaps they should have limited the book to 99 things.
• Celebrating Oktoberfest in Vegas is a must-do, so they say. Yes, make sure to experience a knock off of the German celebration at Hofbrauhaus, by all means.
• White Castle at Casino Royale makes the list. Of all the chains that aren't called McDonald's, White Castle is the one to highlight? A "tip" at the bottom of the page, which is found on a bunch of the entries, mentions a few other chains you can find, including In-n-Out.
• Two entries are set aside for gambling and exploring the strip. Do we really need bucket list items for such general activities that are a lot of the reason people come to Vegas in the first place?
• Glorifying an EDM DJ at an expensive nightclub makes the book's list of things to do in Vegas. If I live another 50 years my life will be incomplete when I die.
• I haven't lived unless I've experienced the National Finals Rodeo, allegedly.
• Going to a concert, at places such as Bunkhouse Saloon, Brooklyn Bowl and The Pearl is unlike anything you'll ever experience in Milwaukee. The "go to a concert" page does note two festivals that take place annually, although it tells you nothing about why you should go to all the trouble to attend Life is Beautiful.
• I had no idea that I could discover a desert oasis at Wetlands Park. I can't recall seeing any chatter or discussion about this county park, where you can ride your bike, allegedly. I'm curious to learn more about this park, wherever it is.
• You can pick your own produce at Gilcrease Orchard in North Las Vegas. You haven't lived until you've picked apples from a spring-fed orchard in the desert.
• It turns out there are at least three parks in the area that have ponds stocked with fish. Catch a catfish from a stocked pond in Vegas before you die!
• For some reason geocaching in Vegas is worthy of your bucket list. If you don't know what this is, it's a high-tech game of hide-and-seek. It's a great hobby that can be fun for the family, and can be a great way to discover and explore parks and other public areas near and far. I use to spend time enjoying the activity, and have done it in Vegas during a few trips. Some people like to do a little geocaching everywhere they travel, and I've done my share of it in multiple states while on vacations in the past, but I'd say skip going to the trouble of doing it in Vegas unless you've tried it at home first, are hooked on it and can't take a vacation from it.
• There are three places to shoot a machine gun, or other firearms, the book reminds us, including AR-15s. I'm gonna guess a new printing of the book would include an edit of this page. 
• You haven't lived until you have signed up for slot clubs at Vegas casinos.
• Dancing in a casino lounge: Gotta do it!
• You must savor an artisan cocktail in Vegas. You must. While four places to do so are noted, including The Cosmopolitan, nowhere does it note one of the most unusual cocktails you'll ever discover, the Verbena at Cosmo's Chandelier bar.
• Witnessing a wedding, if not having your own, in Vegas is essential. I've never been to a Vegas wedding. What am I to do? According to the book, I can hang out at the wedding license bureau to see if there's a couple looking for a witness.
• There's a Martin Luther King Jr. statue in North Las Vegas. It's in a historically significant area, I'm told, but I'd argue that visiting Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where King once preached, and is now maintained as a national park, might be a better way to honor his memory.
• Almost every review I've read says that Gold & Silver Pawn, famous thanks to the "Pawn Stars" TV show, is not worth the effort to visit. The authors think you need to go there before you die.
• Somehow a nail spa that does fancy nail art makes the Vegas 100 bucket list. How much did Scratch Nail Spa in Henderson pay to be included in the book?
• You gotta "drop some cash at the finest stores around." Until you do, you haven't lived.
• For some reason you need to visit one of four record stores listed in the book, if record collecting is your thing. Why not list comic book and toy stores as two more items when you start running out of ideas?
• If I had to judge the quality of this book based upon one thing, I'd base it upon how well it touts the Pinball Hall of Fame. As a devout pinball enthusiast who knows a decent amount about the place, I could tell you more than you'd want to know, unless you're a pinhead like me. As for the book, its summation of the hall of fame is lackluster. It gives you a basic description of the place, noting that there are machines from the 1950s through the 1990s, and cites a few machine themes. I'm not sure where their info came from, but it's a rather sloppy entry that could have done a far better job of detailing what you'll find. But the tip at the bottom of the page notes you can peruse the interior of it via Google Maps. The images are outdated, as many machines have been moved around, but it gives you a good idea, and a great view of a bunch of the machines you can find in there today.

The book is a compilation of information, some of which is outdated, naturally, thanks to the nature of Vegas. It has some good information about things that would be of interest to Vegas rookies as well as transplants who haven't had a chance to explore the greater Vegas area, but not enough to make it worth the $16 cover price.

The book falls short in a several ways. It gives you addresses for many places, but doesn't tell you where they are in relation to anything else, with limited exceptions. Sometimes it's obvious a business is in a casino, sometimes it's obvious a location is outside of the tourist districts, but plenty of times it's not very clear.

There are driving directions, and time estimates, for a few of the destinations noted in the book, such as ghost towns, but nowhere does it suggest which items are best suited for locals or which places are reasonably accessible for tourists who don't have their own vehicle to get around.

While prices are subject to change, there's rarely a hint of what it might cost to see a museum or attend a festival. Yes, I can do my own research, and that's what this book seems to expect me to do. I get it, it's not a visitor's guide with excruciating detail, but it has so little information about anything it references that it serves as little more than a book of ideas, ideas you can find on websites galore.

The book's title leads you to believe that it's a great resource full of great ideas, but it falls short on both counts.