Money ,Money , Money

K &I have come a full circle of 1 year in our married lives, so we decided to live it up a little bit in Las Vegas. The trip started off a bit rocky with the trip to the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.The sights were breath taking, but what really stunned us was the fact the tour bus left us behind for being 2 minutes late (I am not kiddin!!!), and we couldn’t enjoy the scene at Mather point. Landing back in LV at 10 pm , after an 14hr journey , we ran to make it to the La Reve show.This show blends acrobatics, special effects and an humor to create a fabulous showcase, on what a person who is high on cocaine can produce. The concept which is supposed to be a young girl in dreamland, takes us through a journey which is eccentric but thoroughly enjoyable. If any one though has figured a theme in these sequences plzzz let me know.

We let ourselves sleep through the next day…only to wake up that evening to catch Mamma Mia, for all lovers of ABBA music ( I am a club member since birth) this is a must see show. Its definitely also a show where a group of ladies can go to spend a girls night out. Right from the colored Speedos, and 80s hairdo to the dance, the show made us smile, bounce and sigh in our seats. Walking through the strip after the show was a joy. The dancing fountains of Bellagio and the sparkling Eiffel tower of Paris Paris was fun took us into another realm. Looking at the strip from the observation deck at Paris was something that’s going to stick with me throughout.

Marveling King Tuts tomb at Luxor, we were suddenly bombarded with people asking us to join in on a time share presentation the next morning. They lured us with a promise of $75 in gambling chips and a promise it would be limited for 2 hrs. Considering it was during lunchtime, they also requested us to have it with the group. We were led at 1pm like lambs to a slaughter. After 3.5 hrs of grueling presentation and 3 layers of grilling by the salespersons, with the price coming down to one third its original offering we stuck to our guns and refused. Finally they stuck us in a room for another hour with a group of similar victims, waiting for the refund of our deposit and a ride back home. I learnt my lesson for my 27th year, GREED NEVER PAYS…. (unless of course your willing to suffer to death for it).Coming back with no lunch (as all they provided was meat sandwiches ), K n I nearly passed out with hunger. But a trip to Blue Men show perked our spirits. If you like loud music, foot tapping drum beats, interactive fun, science fiction and three blue guys this is your show. These guys are fun and they make the audience get involved in all their schemes.

The last day was spent idling away at the Venetian. It was beautiful to stand in the courtyard, just eating a cherry sorbet and listening to people dressed in European wear singing in Italian. Knowing the dollars struggle against the Euro, this would probably be the closest I would get to Vienna.

K & I didn’t gamble much. I really wanted to try poker , but the smoke and loud music of the casino’s put me off. And girls dressed in bare minimum didn’t help either. I tried to shop, but its then I realized, the great divide with people with money and people just don’t have enough J..The shops are for people who have a little extra to spend. I saw jewelry that will enable me to put down a 20% down payment for a house in California. I actually gazed at $750 Jimmy Choo sandals and kept thinking that was my salary back in India !! Looking at young kids dressed in their fashionable best and being driven around in Limo’s ,it made actually feel good about my teen years. The joy of earning your first buck and having the luxury to spend it on whatever little you could is probably lost on these kids who have reached adulthood too early.

Las Vegas is like a crazy dream, where every indulgence is catered to and where every person feels like they can be a winner. It transport’s you to the gorgeous locations , exotic shows , gives you the taste of luxury at every turn and tempts you with quick money. But the sad part is no one realizes that the money spent on getting to the quick cash has been created with hours of working. A fleeting chance of unearned wealth is enough for most people to spend hours in front of a slot machine, trying to win 5 bucks, when putting in 5 times that amount and the worse shopping with the gains at places, where merchandise is 10 times costlier than back home.

However in the back of my mind, a voice constantly reminds me that this world is unreal, and somehow even the people are who live there just put on their show faces for the tourists. In the end I was glad to get back to reality and home. Those lyrics from ABBA’s Money Money Money were always hazy to me till my trip to Las Vegas this weekend.

“Money, money, money ,Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money ,Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I could do,If I had a little money It's a rich man's world”


And now for some Vegas humor

1)Q: What is the only way to keep your money from the casinos in Vegas?
A: When you get off the plane walk into the propellers!

2)A man comes home to find his wife packing her bags. "Where are you going?" demands the surprised husband. "To Las Vegas! I found out that there are men that will pay me $500 cash to do what I do for you for free!"

The man pondered that thought for a moment, and then began packing HIS bags. "What do you think you are doing?" she screamed.

"I'm going to Las Vegas with you... I want to see how you're going to live on $1000 a year!"


3)A successful businessman flew to Vegas for the weekend to gamble. He lost the shirt off his back, and had nothing left but a quarter and the second half of his round-trip ticket.If he could just get to the airport he could get himself home. So he went out to the front of the casino where there was a cab waiting.He got in and explained his situation to the cabby. He promised to send the driver money from home, he offered him his credit card numbers, his driver's license number, his address, etc., but to no avail. The cabby said, "If you don't have fifteen dollars, get the hell out of my cab!"
So the businessman was forced to hitchhike to the airport and was barely in time to catch his flight.

One year later the businessman, having worked long and hard to regain his financial success, returned to Vegas, and this time he won big. Feeling pretty good about himself, he went out to the front of the casino to get a cab ride back to the airport.
Well, who should he see out there, at the very end of a long line of cabs, but his old buddy who had refused to give him a ride when he was down on his luck. The businessman thought for a moment about how he could make the guy pay for his lack of charity, and he hit on a plan.The businessman got in the first cab in the line, "How much for a ride to the airport," he asked? "Fifteen bucks," came the reply. "And how much for you to give me sexual favors on the way?" "What?! Get the hell out of my cab!"
The businessman got into the back of each cab in the long line and asked the same questions, with the same result. When he got to his old friend at the back of the long line, he got in and asked, "How much for a ride to the airport?" The cabby replied, "Fifteen bucks." The businessman said, "Okay" and off they went. As they slowly drove past the long line of cabs, the business man gave a big smile and thumbs up sign to each driver.


Keep smiling Ppl

Anu