Scammers Everywhere
Surely you've seen these sort of things in your trade chat, right? 99.5% certain that these are people trying to scam you. And the spectral tiger is not the only scam method that is being used out there. If you've never run into one of these before, WoW.com has a pretty good story about how there are scammers out there trying to rip you off through these tricks.
Well....Las Vegas is much the same, only then on a much larger scale. There is not one person here who is not trying to rip you off. I told about one earlier in the week, and today we ran into another one even worse today.
We walked past this fake tattoo stand this afternoon. I have 3 small tattoos on my shoulder, and would really like a last one on my ankle. So I stop to check out the pictures, to see if there happens to be something to inspire me.
I sit down and leaf through their booklet with pics, and before I know it this guy is talking away. Since I was almost done with looking through the pictures I get ready to leave, and tell him that he didn't have anything that was attractive to me.
He asks where I would want the tattoo. So I point to my ankle and we talk a little. He says, one moment I'll check, I might have more elsewhere. He comes back with a picture with a dragon on it.
Not too bad I say, but too big for my taste, and not entirely the right picture anyway. But he ensures me that it's just to see how it looks and everything. I shrug and put my foot up so he can stick the picture on. He sticks the pic on, and mumbles something about how great it will look.
But before I know it he starts applying ink to the picture. He draws three lines and I stop him.
"What are you doing? And am I paying for this?" was my question. He starts to say that he will make a special deal and all that. I go like, ohnono, I don't even want this picture, please take it off. He keeps going and keeps saying he'll make a special deal. So I repeat more sternly that I would please like him to take it off, and that I'm not paying for anything.
The guy gets completely pissed. Starts telling me that I agreed and everything, and that I should pay for the ink. I mean seriously what the hell. I made it quite clear that I didn't like the picture, that I wouldn't want that tattoo anyway, and that I didn't want to pay for anything. He starts shouting, and tells me that I shouldn't be so fucking stupid.
This was seriously not fun. I didn't pay anything, walked off, and I was luckily fast enough so all that was left on my leg was a red spot because of the scrubbing to get the ink he smeared on it off again.
And wow, maybe I should not even have spoken with this guy, but seriously, how can you go through life like this? How can anybody look into the mirror after trying to do this day in day out to other people?
Circus Circus - Hotel Advice
If you ever do plan to go to Las Vegas and you start looking at accomodation think off the following:
- Online maps of The Strip are compeltely not proportionate. We stayed in the Circus Circus, which on the map is close to the mono rail, but when you get here it turns out it's a 20 minute walk, and mounts don't work here.
- If you don't bring your orphan along, don't stay in Circus Circus or Excalibur. These hotels are true family hotels, and going for a nice swim will most likely mean getting divebombed by young orcs (I swear this is what most of them look like nowadays).
- If you go with 3 or more the taxi is most always cheaper than the bus.
- Locationwise I would say take a hotel that is located (geographically) anywhere in between the Wynn and Planet Hollywood, there are hotels for different price ranges here, but this is the center part of the strip from where you can fairly easily reach the rest.
We went to see only 2 different shows while we were here, but seriously do NOT go to 'Chris Angel's Believe. No matter how much discount they give you on your tickets, it's not worth the money.
The guy himself, Chris Angel, is about as ignorant and self-absorbed as Variann Wrynn, and if the best act in your show are the clowns, than you don't deserve a show. I seriously do not understand how Cirque du Soleil lent their name to this.
(Thror's just saying that he now has an image in his head of Variann Wryn on stage...I think this would honestly have made for a better show!)
We also went to see 'O' from Cirque du Soleil, and this is definitely a show I can recommend. The acts were fabulous, but wow were we high up on the balcony. It made me slightly dizzy at the beginning, and I'm not scared of heights. Once the show got started we could follow everything pretty clearly though, and it was amazing.
(So as an in between, I just went outside for a smoke, and these security people came cycling up. They ask 'are you Joan?' I say no, their reply 'Are you sure?' what the hell sort of question is that? o_O People here are weird sometimes)
Random Thoughts to Finish.
- Casinos are not made to let you win. If you stick money in, expect to lose it.
- Las Vegas by night looks really, really cool from the Voodoo Lounge at the 51st floor in the Rio.
- Wear good shoes when you come here, you will do a lot of walking.
- Sunscreen and water are your friends.
- Trees made out of concrete are less charming than real ones.
- I wonder what it says about me that I managed to finish two books while only being here for one week.
- Corn dogs are a great idea, hot dogs on a stick.
- They have no idea how to make yoghurt here, the stuff I had tasted like some Chernobyl accident gone wrong (yeah, really, that bad).
- A ridiculous amount of clickety card people trying to sell you naked ladies and stick full trading card games with escorts in your hands.
Wait .. you've never had corndogs before? Wow, I wonder what else you're missing ..
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