Viva Las Vegas
Start | Tropics Bar | Celebration Lounge | Nine Fine Irishmen | ESPN Bar | MGM Grand | Roll of Honour
The
Australian Cultural Evening (ACE) tradition continues to grow, not only in
overall numbers, but in the proportion of native Australians to adopted
Australians. Our numbers for the Las Vegas evening this year were an amazing
sixty-one, and the size of this premier gala event at the WritersUA
Conference is becoming a problem in itself. This year we had trouble finding a
restaurant big enough for a table for fifty, even in Vegas!
The evening started at the Tropicana Hotel in depressingly inclement weather. And just to clarify, Las Vegas is in a desert, but rain it did! It bucketed down, which caused a change in the "plan" for the evening's tour de culture. The Tuesday evening finished up relatively early in Las Vegas terms, but still in the early hours of Wednesday 23rd May.
The choice of Las Vegas, Nevada, as an ACE venue made lots of sense. It is not well known, but Las Vegas was named after a former Australian Prime Minister called Les Tripton, who was very indecisive. He was also a recalcitrant gambler, and prone to wearing loud and colourful shirts of dubious taste. Les's nickname became "Les Vague-As", and due to a slight pronunciation error, the garish gambling city in Nevada was re-named in his honour in 1908. (The city was previously known as New Gomorrah.)
A loud group of Australians sporting Australian flag and ACE tattoos and an oversize flag worn as a cape didn't attract attention in Las Vegas, and we blended in with the vacationing crowds. There were no injuries this year, and Paul Neshamkin's wife ensured that Paul didn't ride any mechanical bulls this year. Notable absentees this year were the regular New Zealand contingent; rumour has it that they have tried to start their own event, called PUNK - Probably Uninteresting Night with Kiwis.
The evening started off in the Tropics Bar of the Tropicana. The Tropicana recently announced that it is to be completely demolished by implosion, but the ACE cannot claim full responsibility, despite our best efforts.
But back to the story... Our first drink was at the Tropics Bar.
The crowd of Australians started to accumulate at the Tropics Bar just as the thunderclouds gathered in the heavens outside. Some preparation for the evening ahead began; drinks were ordered and drunk, and reasonably-temporary tattoos were applied to appropriate areas of bare flesh.
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 The crowd gathers, and the drinks start flowing. Dana, Char, Don and Rob in the foreground. |
 Wall to wall Aussies. Penny, Scott and Debi in the foreground. |
With over 60 Aussies amassed, a decision had to be made as to our next stop. The rain was gushing down from the skies outside, and having another drink at the Tropics Bar seemed to be a good idea. The extra drink didn't bring an end to the downpour, but brought inspiration. There was another suitable bar in the Tropicana, and someone knew where it was!
The next stop within the Tropicana was probably called the Celebration Lounge, but wherever it was, there was just enough room for us. Scott D immediately took a liking to the waitress. Conversation around the tables started to flow as Aussies mingled, making new friends and discovering old ones. Rhonda, our lone Western Australian, came up with the inspired idea of teaching the new Aussies the words to "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi".
 Firmly ensconced in the Celebration Lounge, it's time to order some drinks.
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 Scott explains how he gave his girlfriend the Ebola virus. (True story, regrettably.)
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 Empty glasses are piling up on the table, and everyone looks too comfortable. |
 The natives are getting restless! Time to think about the next bar. |
 No Bill, don't take a photo of the photographer taking a photo of the photographer taking a photo of... my head hurts. |
 Jenn finds that clip-on koalas make very attractive and fashionable ear-rings |
News arrived that the weather had slightly improved, so the crowd upped stumps and headed off into the night, in the direction of New York, New York.
 On the overpass between the Tropicana and New York, New York, the Aussies pose in the cold and wet for a quick happy snap. |
Our next stop was an ill-fated one, as it was intended to be our feeding point. But with a three hour wait for a table, a quick decision was made to settle for drinks at the incredibly crowded bar. Meanwhile, an emergency search party, led by Sue, was despatched to find an alternative eatery. Sue came up with the goods by securing two huge tables in the ESPN bar in the New York, New York casino.
The ESPN Bar banished us to a room with two long tables, but they were quick with the drinks. Most of the Aussies were happier in themselves once food was ordered, and the room started to buzz with laughter, tears and pointless discussions about insignificant trivia.
As the evening progressed, a new tradition of singing that universal Australian anthem "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi" began. Whenever someone bid farewell, or arrived, or sometimes just on the spur of the moment, the room reverberated with very poorly executed, uncoordinated and discordant chants.
 Conversations abound on the long tables |
 Penny takes over as Wearer of the Flag |
 Notice the spare seats at the table? Their occupants are playing pool upstairs. |
 Wait till the boss sees this photo! |
 It's starting to become a long night! |
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After the food was consumed and the intricacies of the bill sorted out with the aid of an accountant, a super-computer and a broken abacus, we were on our way again. This time, our objective was the Coyote Ugly bar.
They wouldn't let us in, but who could blame them?
So we changed direction and navigated towards the bar that looks like a tent in the middle of the Casino. We think it might have been called Teatro, but the name's not important.
 Outside the ESPN Bar, ready to move on to the next watering hole. |
The trip to one of the lounge bars in the enormous MGM Grand proved to be quite a challenge. Particularly as the description was "it looks like a tent". A number of Aussies consequently got lost along the way, and stumbled off into the night. The main group, however, found themselves in the upmarket surrounds of the cocktail lounge. We managed to ingratiate ourselves with the waitstaff sufficiently to create a wedge of tables in the corner, and gradually grew the space until we had one entire end of the lounge to ourselves.
The libations of the evening were starting to take affect, and Rob showed us his singing and memory talents by reciting some genuinely Australian ditties, including the national anthem (sung to the tune from Gilligan's Island).
 Well, the roof does look a bit like a tent, doesn't it? |
 A diehard group of Aussies |
 Scott and Julie debate about where the other has hidden the coveted Australian flag towel. |
 Anne, George, Rob and Jason |
 Kimberley's tattoo suits her! |
 George describes how she came across all those beads |
 You couldn't be any more Australian if you tried! Kelly shows off her tatts. |
 And how manly is this tatt? I love Australia, it says, as well it should! (P.S. If you recognise your own neck or tattoo in this photo, please e-mail Tony because I can't recognise you fully!) |
 Flying the flag! |
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We knew it was getting late when Scott D and Julie started hiding their Australian Flag towels inside their clothing, and Sharon's shoes were temporarily stolen. There was a bit of panic when we thought we had lost Kimberley, but another search party, this time led by Jamie, managed to locate her before dawn.
So in the early hours of Wednesday, the leftover stalwarts headed back to the Tropicana. An evening well spent, and an evening of renewed cultural enlightenment.
Waving the flag till the end, the stalwarts in the
elevator are Rob, Penny, Jason, Scott and Anne.
Thanks to Rhonda for some of the photos.
If you find any errors in identification of revellers, or missing names, or any other thing that needs correcting, please e-mail Tony so that the problem can be fixed! Sorry for any inadvertent omissions or exceptions! I can't remember everything! (In fact, it's a miracle I can remember anything!)
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