Will I Survive Las Vegas?

The Downtown Project is the topic of the Freakonomics podcast.

I went to my first UNLV basketball game at the Thomas and Mack Center against San Diego State. Even though UNLV had a very disappointed season, the crowd had pretty good energy. The arena is pretty dated but it feels intimate and gets pretty loud. UNLV lost a close game in the end.

I went to ESPN's Friday Night Fights last week at the MGM ballroom. Not many people in the crowd so we were able to get pretty close even though we paid for the cheapest seats ($25). Saw a few TKOs and drank some beers. Good fun.

I tried the new Shake Shack here at New York New York. It wasn't as good as I remember but the line only took a few minutes to get through on a Saturday afternoon. 

This is the most recent best summary of what's going on downtown.

I wonder how aggressive they would target tourists who expect comps for tickets because that would affect the energy of the crowd. One of the most appealing parts of live hockey is the energy in the arena. Will it be there? Can the team survive without it?

Matt and Kim at Life is Beautiful

St. Paul and the Broken Bones from Life Is Beautiful

This is my belated post from this year's Life is Beautiful festival. The best acts I saw were St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Jenny Lewis, and Matt and Kim. I didn't stay late for the major acts because I'm old and tired and don't like massive crowds.

Vegas driving illustrated

Uber is in Vegas! I hope it works.

The Peppermill Fireside Lounge (located on the strip) is an odd, strip club looking hangout place. I'm not sure what its intention is.

I saw this on my Facebook feed. Uber is coming to Las Vegas. It will be great for locals who want to have a few drinks without risking a DUI.

Michael Friberg John Kane was on a hell of a winning streak. On July 3, 2009, he walked alone into the high-limit room at the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas and sat down at a video poker machine called the Game King. Six minutes later the purple light on the top of the machine flashed,…

Sunset Station sportsbook posts it's lines old school.

The venue is pretty big but it was still easy to move around. This was probably the most excited crowd I've seen here for one act. Lorde has a lot more personality and stage presence than I expected. There was a lot more production than I expected as well. I wasn't expecting her to be so happy and outgoing. She really loves to whip her hair around. I also enjoyed the fact that she didn't go through the whole encore charade. This was a very professional performance.

This all makes sense. The media blew this out of proportion. Why is everyone so quick to tear down what they have done and are doing?