Las Vegas has added yet another unique attraction to its list of must-sees: North America’s first ice lounge!

The 2,000 square foot Minus 5 Ice Lounge at the Mandalay Bay opened this week as the first permanent lounge made completely of ice in North America. Minus 5 has five other locations around the world in Sydney and Gold Coast, Australia; Auckland and Queensland, New Zealand; and Viseu, Portugal.

All the ice is carved and crafted by hand and machine, from the bar to the chandeliers to the drinking glasses. Minus 5 serves vodka-based cocktails or just vodka straight up.

This isn’t just any bar that you can walk into and kill a few hours, though: $30 will buy you 30 minutes and one drink and be forewarned – you have to wear a coat and gloves before you can enter (gear will be provided for you if you don’t usually carry it around in the 95 degree heat). The temps stay at a frigid 27 degrees Fahrenheit (which is approximately minus 5 degrees Celsius – get it?).

Minus 5 Ice Lounge
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
3950 Las Vegas Blvd
1-877-632-7800

[image: sxc]

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Arguably the biggest and best dive bar in Vegas is also known as the “Happiest Place on Earth,” though the kind of entertainment it offers is vastly different than the ol’ mouse ears!

From the minute you enter the Double Down Saloon you know you’re not going to be getting anything froofy. But then what else would you expect from a bar that created the bacon martini and “Ass Juice?” You only live once, right?

They serve everyone: “bums, punks, hipsters, bohemians, rockabilly greasers and regular joes.” The atmosphere is, well, don’t step foot in the door if you’re OCD about cleanliness. The grime and filth are probably authentic but that’s okay, it’s one of the very few spots on the Strip that just doesn’t take itself that seriously!

The walls are covered with psychedelic paintings, posters, old and new fliers, stickers, and who knows what else, and the TV screens on the walls show a constant stream of the truly bizarre – from wrestling to old music videos to stuff you don’t talk about in polite company.

The music is constant, whether it’s coming from a live band or the thumping jukebox. Need to use the restroom? You’ll do well to remember that patience is a virtue. The bartenders, however, are attentive and fast with the drinks.

The Double Down is open 24 hours a day and has no cover charge. Drink prices are reasonable – $2 for cheap beer, $5 for a bacon martini shot. Go with a designated driver or expect a wait for a cab willing to venture over to pick you up!

Double Down Saloon
4640 Paradise Rd
(across from UNLV)
702-791-5775

[images: flickr]

Post from: The Las Vegas Adventurer

Mother’s Day is only five days away and while family and mom may not be the first things you think of when Vegas crosses your mind, those of us who live here have an opportunity to experience it in a uniquely Vegas way!

Now, it’s well-known that Liberace loved his own mom, and as he would have been 89 years old just a few days after Mother’s Day on the 16th, the Liberace Museum is hosting the 2nd Sunday Mother’s Day and Birthday Event by offering free admission starting from noon until 4pm for residents and their guests. Birthday cake will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis!

The Liberace Scholars Quartet will perform Mozart’s String Quartet in D Major, K. 575, for The 2008 Music In The Museum Series at 1:30 and 3pm. Though the performances are free donations are always appreciated and benefit the Liberace Scholarship Fund to “help talented students pursue careers in the performing and creative arts.”

The Liberace Museum
Liberace Plaza
1775 E. Tropicana Avenue
798-5595, ext. 16.

Post from: The Las Vegas Adventurer

I wrote about the fountains at the Bellagio several weeks ago, and today came across a video of them synced to Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas.” The fountain show takes place every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and every 15 minutes from 8 PM to midnight, every day.

Have you seen the fountains? What’s your favorite performance?

Post from: The Las Vegas Adventurer

Though the face of Las Vegas is constantly changing and updating itself, the sign just south of the Strip that welcomes visitors to Las Vegas looks the same today as it did when it was first created nearly half a century ago.

The landmark was created in 1959 by Betty Willis for Clark County, Nevada. Willis and her family were one of the first in the Las Vegas valley, arriving by horse-drawn wagon in 1905. Willis’ father, Stephen Whitehead, was employed as Clark County’s first assessor. Willis studied at an art school in LA before returning to Las Vegas where she began work as a commercial artist, drawing showgirls in advertisements for various Las Vegas businesses in the 40’s. She was approached in 1952 by a local salesman who suggested she design a sign to welcome visitors to the city. She spent seven years on the design (which includes a nod to Nevada’s nickname as “the Silver State” with seven silver dollars to back the seven letters of the word “Welcome”). Willis received $4,000 for her work.

The sign hasn’t always been in the same spot – as the Strip has grown the sign has been moved further and further south. Drive by it any time of day and chances are good you’ll spot a group of people – from teenagers to wedding parties – loitering in front of it, waiting for their picture to be taken. There is no parking provided at the sign so visitors usually stop at a nearby parking lot and dodge traffic to make it to the median that the sign sits on.

The sign is currently owned by Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) which leases it to Clark County, but the design was never copyrighted as per Willis’s wishes and is in the public domain (which is why you see it on every knick knack and souvenir on the Strip!). The lights from the sign are now removed occasionally and offered as commemorative souvenirs by OfficialLasVegasLight.com, who donate a portion of the proceeds to benefit local charities.

[images: stock.xchng, stock.xchng]

Post from: The Las Vegas Adventurer