Gold and Silver Pawn Shop - Originally Published 2010

Based on the fact that it’s the most popular show on cable television, chances at this point in time you have seen Pawn Stars on the History Channel.  Not only does that place actually exist, but it currently one of the hottest attractions in Vegas.

Here is what I’ve learned about the art of the deal by watching the show: 

1.  Rick will always call one of his friends before buying something.

2. The friend will give the price of the item at auction.

3.  Rick will always ask you what you want for the item in question.   He will never make an offer first.

4.   Rick’s in business to make money.  When you set your price, it’s a safe bet that you will get about half of what the appraiser said it would go for.

5.  Don’t haggle with the old man.  Once he sets his price, he will only come down.

Yes, it is a pawnshop.  But they have a lot more to look at than your standard imitation Stratocasters and circular saws that you may find at the neighborhood store.

City Center - Originally Published 2010

The City Center can be accused of showing up a little late to the party.  By the time the last bolt is turned, it’s supposed to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 billion to construct.  Yes.  That’s billion.  With a ‘b’.

Whoever lined up the dollars for it was not a populist.  This is a facility that’s built for two kinds of folks.  Those that are rich, and those that want folks to think they’re rich.  Crystals, the retail heart of the city center is filled with couture stores.  What does that mean?  It means they have a restaurant shaped like a phallus, but don’t look for an Orange Julius. 

While it is off to a somewhat shaky start with the state of the economy, if it can hang in there it should be primed to be the place to be once everything stabilizes and folks start spending money again.

Pinball Hall of Fame - Originally Published 2010

Tim Arnold is a man who loves pinball.  So much so that he opened the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.

The Pinball Hall of Fame is housed in a nondescript warehouse just off the Strip.  Don’t look for flash.  The flash is all back on the Strip.  This place is about pinball and that’s it.

The facility is lined with hundreds of machines from the early days of gaming until the present.  All of them are in wonderful working order.

I even managed to find my old nemesis, Black Knight.  This was the first fifty-cent pinball machine I ever played.  Even though we haven’t encountered one another since an afternoon at PJ Pizzazz in 1983, he still proved to be a worthy adversary.  Bring plenty of quarters and keep an eye out for some of your favorites.

Fremont Street Experience - Originally Published 2010

Being a preservationist in Las Vegas must be maddening.  This city prides itself on the fact that it continues to reinvent itself.  As a result, anytime something starts showing its age, it gets blown up and rebuild.

However, if you are looking for a little bit of Vegas’ past, the place to head is downtown to a street known as Fremont.  Fremont boasts some firsts in Vegas.  This is where the first hotels and gambling licenses were.  The action on the strip came later. 

In the interest of steering some of the foot traffic back downtown; a few years back one section of Fremont Street became the Fremont Street Experience.  The street is closed to motor vehicles allowing folks to wander from casino to casino.  Also installed is a jumbotrom that plays themed shows throughout the night.

Fremont is a good place to wander if you’re a little more budget conscious.  The night we were there, we found plenty to check out without spending a dime including a Boston cover band.  From what I understand, the casinos pay off more frequently and you can actually five five-dollar tables.  Why should be gambling be a rich man’s pursuit?

Another thing that may entice you to take a trip downtown are all of the classic signs on display.  The good folks over at the Las Vegas Neon Museum have rescued some great old neon works of art and have put them out for public view in downtown. 

We’ve encountered the Red Goose logo before.

Madame Tussaud's Las Vegas - Originally Published 2010

Once again, Animated Meat ventures into the underbelly of the city and pulls back the curtain on places you’ve wondered about but never bothered with.  In this installment, Madame Tussaud’s Las Vegas.

Madame Tussaud’s bills itself as an interactive wax museum.  What does that mean?  It means that they have dropped the velvet rope and allow visitors to stand right next to the sculptures and take pictures.  That’s pretty much it to the interactivity of the museum.

The quality of the sculptures is remarkable.  Wax museums in my past have left me jaded.  To Madame Tussaud’s credit, I never once wondered to myself, “Who is that supposed to be?”

Bring your camera, because this is a museum that you need to check all your coolness at the door in order to really enjoy.  The museum is populated with celebrities both current and former and from all professions, just waiting for you to make a fool of yourself in front of. 

I’ll give them a whole lot of credit for making a statue of Chuck Liddell.