New York New York, Las Vegas

Luxor, Las Vegas

Sunset Station, Las Vegas

One of my favourite locations in Las Vegas. I've been spurred on this morning to get more of my old Vegas Pics posted onto my blog. This one was shot on the old compact camera but still brings back some lovely memories. Talking of which, we made a point of visiting the Sahara during our last trip and I've just learnt today that it is set to close now this year, sad times - the recession still continues! Here's the full article - Sahara Closure.

Footwear

I must admit, over the last few years I've taken a bit of a fascination with buying really nice or different trainers or gutties as they called them about 15 years ago! When you visit Vegas you can be guaranteed that with a bit of shopping around you can come away with some great bargains....last trip I managed to get away with a few more than usual but I knew it would be another couple of years before I was back. This morning I decided to take a few snaps of the old faithful footwear.

In and Around Templepatrick

Took a quick drive out to the mecca that is Templepatrick this morning to capture a few pix. It's twinned with Las Vegas you know....if you don't believe me take a look!

More Gloom in Vegas

It's been a while since I've posted any Vegas related patter but I'm always keeping an eye on what is going on over there. A couple of recent updates from the big city in the Silver State include the sad news that the Liberace Museum closed it's doors with the inevitable loss of jobs. Following on from that The Plaza , right next to the world famous Fremont Street, has also decided to call last orders which is unfortunately another sorry tale for some 400 employees.The recession, it seems, is never-ending no matter how the politicians and financial analysts play it up but that's another saga in itself ; check this article out - Vegas Decline , it's definitely something to ponder. Anyway before I digress, for the Back to the Future aficionado's you'll maybe remember the Plaza from the cult movie as it was the hotel that was the model for Biff's Casino(Back to the Future II to be exact), the Back to the Future series was one of a kind and no matter how many times you watch them are still brilliant...the old DeLoreans from this neck of the woods have more of a cult status now in America than they ever did before John got in trouble with the law.

The Palazzo - Stunning Architecture

According to my daughter the spelling isn't correct as it should be spelt as you say it....Pa-la-zi-o! Like most of the hotels in Las Vegas when you see these structures you sometimes wonder how on earth people come up with these ideas never mind actually make the transition from paper to a plot of land but then again they don't do very much by halves in the State of Nevada; these days however it is in a State with the economic downturn wreaking havoc. Economics aside though, not only does it look splendid on the outside but the interior is equally as beautiful. As they say in Northern Ireland though, this place has big windies. In other words it ain't cheap, so expect not to get as much bang for you buck should you ever decide to eat or stay here unless of course your name is Duncan Bannatyne then it won't be a problem! You can see how my shot matches up with the hotel website exterior view by clicking here - Palazzo Exterior View

En Route to Red Rock Canyon

This turned out to be quite an eventful day because we also took a trip to the Red Rock Casino after we left a very hot canyon, 113 degrees to be precise even though it did rain at one stage - bemused looks accepted in advance. The In-Laws had an incident involving their video camera and once they had finished blaming each other for the apparent loss of said piece of kit they made their way back to the Red Rock for tour number two. Thankfully they didn't have to pay for another visit but it was rather amusing when they established that the camera had somehow made like a hedgehog going into hibernation and buried itself under the passenger seat - Sherlock Holmes is still trying to piece together who the cuplrit was. This one was shot directly out the windscreen on our way to the Red Rock and to be honest it was actually my wife Joanne who captured this image.

Sin City 2010

This was my 3rd trip to Vegas and hopefully the next time I'll be shooting with a DLSR instead of the Kodak V1253, whether or not it makes a difference remains to be seen as it'll be another couple of years to make the comparision so sit back and enjoy my other posts in the meantime. I've cropped this image and gone for the close up as the strip is still overwhelmed with visitors even during the current recession and they have now built a parking area so that more people can stop off and take their snaps right next to the world famous Vegas signage. If you're after a picture here nowadays make sure you're prepared to wait in line and have a bottle of water to hand as you'll need it.