Neutered Vegas (day 4)

 I've been putting off writing this final chapter, perhaps because it lacks a spectacular final moment. 

Saturday, Oct. 10, followed a similar script. No breakfast, just a breakfast bar in the hotel room. But instead of heading out to lunch, we headed out to the Fashion Show Mall. I didn't stay at the mall, however, I was simply dropping off my life partner. For me, it was off to the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Every Vegas trip for at least a decade has included at least one visit to the Pinball Hall of Fame. Some trips include more than one visit. Some trips feature the HOF as a final stop before returning the rental car and going home. Our departure on Sunday morning was too early for a pre-flight visit, so Saturday's trek to the HOF was all I was going to get, and I promised to stay for one hour. 

I've written about the HOF before, and shared mediocre pictures of its games. I won't recount its history, or any more of my history with it. 

It's 2020, what better time to develop a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball machine. (It's not the first, there was a game produced in 1991.) I played it one time, and it seems like a lot of fun. I look forward to playing it again. 

The latest pinball machine to feature Elvira, the ageless mistress of the dark, was released in 2019.

The Pinball Hall of Fame has an assortment of video games and other coin-operated machines, including a pair of 1961 machines from Disneyland. These are not Mold-A-Rama machines, at least not in name. I assume it's the same technology at work. But Mold-A-Rama, the name brand associated with this type of machine, debuted in 1961. The Mold-A-Rama technology dates back to the 1950s, according to Wikipedia.

Fun fact: I own one pinball machine, the game seen on the left side of this picture.

Not to my surprise, just about every other machine was turned off to help provide social distancing. There are two front doors, and one is now designated the entrance, the other the exit. There was a turnstile to ensure one door was for exiting only, and there was a sign at the entrance regarding safety protocols and rules. 

I'm not paranoid about getting sick by playing pinball, so it didn't bother me that I didn't see any indication that the volunteer staff was wiping off machines after people finished playing them. I didn't see any hand sanitizer available, either. I'm not saying that there was no such protocol, I just didn't see it. Although I wasn't looking for it. 

I played a couple of new machines I had never tried before. There's a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game that is a lot of fun. Elvira, the mistress of the dark, has licensed her image to machines twice in the past. The HOF has all three machines, so I was compelled to play all of them. 

I'll spare you the pinball analysis and simply note that the machines were produced in 1989, 1996 and 2019. I had played the 1996 game, Scared Stiff, occasionally over the years, and enjoy it. I don't recall ever trying the 1989 game, but found it to be enjoyable, given its vintage. I played the 2019 game one time, and wasn't dazzled by it. Perhaps I'd enjoy it more after learning the rules better. It's got modern bells and whistles that weren't being used in pinball manufacturing 23 years earlier, but that didn't make it a better game overall, based upon my first play. 

An hour passes, I head back to the mall and we head back toward the Orleans. It's pool time. But first, we need to pick up lunch. We opt for Jack in the Box, a chain we don't get back here in Minnesota, and something different than the past two fast food lunches. There's one very close to the Orleans, and after picking up an order via the drive-thru, we parked in the nearby Home Depot lot and ate. Fancy! 

Time to head back to the hotel. I decided to take an access road near strip mall buildings across the street from the Orleans, sure enough, it's an easy shortcut between the Orleans parking and Jack in the Box, eliminating the need to pull onto Tropicana Avenue. I had just discovered an amazing Vegas hack! 

One final afternoon at the pool for this trip. Another Vegas afternoon in the 90s. Oh how I miss that. 

The pool staff wasn't obnoxious, but there were a few "wear your mask" touts directed at us loungers during the afternoon. It got to the point that whenever I noticed a staff person starting to walk around the pool, I slipped my mask on and/or grabbed my beer. 

We stayed out at the pool for a few hours before cleaning up and heading to Ellis Island for a cheap barbecue dinner. Two chicken and rib dinners and one coupon makes for an insanely cheap night out. We didn't have to wait long, either, much to my surprise on a Saturday night. 

Obligatory dinner photo

There wasn't much gambling on Saturday evening. I dropped a few bucks in a machine or two and we headed back to the Orleans. Final night in town means big gambling, right? Nope. I picked up cheap postcards at the souvenir store near Ellis Island and spent Saturday night scribbling short notes to eight people. I'm weird, I know. I just didn't have the gambling bug during this trip. 

We headed for the airport about 8 a.m. Sunday, as we were flying out about 10:30 a.m., and I'm old, I guess. Three hours sleep before heading to the airport is not my idea of a good time. 

I don't regret going to Vegas. I'm very appreciative of the fact I was able to spend a birthday in Sin City, even if the city is less vibrant and pandemic tinged. I didn't think I'd be going to Vegas at all this year, so the fact I did seems like a win. But I wouldn't have been bitter had I waited for the pandemic to end before returning, and now that I have, I'm more determined not to go back until it looks and feels like Vegas again.