True story. But I'll get to that in just a bit. First, let me share with you a few things from my recent trip to the Palms in Vegas. For those of you who don't like reading, pics have been included for your scrolling pleasure.
The Palms
The Palms was, in brief, off the fucking hook. There was so much going on there over this past weekend that it seemed like a non-stop party. I've been to Vegas several times, but this was the first that I stayed at the Palms. Now, I won't go anywhere else. It's just really hip. It's filled only with 20- and 30-somethings; it was like old people were fucking banned. If you've been to Vegas, you know that most casinos have that one crowd of "I'm-a-106-years-old-and-play-the-nickle-slots-all-day-long." Well, not the Palms. Just one big fucking party/fashion shoot. Come 9pm, the entire casino was filled with people dressed in their best club attire jockying about trying to get in this club or that venue. If you're into that type of thing, then the Palms is right up your alley.
The Nightlife
The Palms has two premier clubs - the Ghost Bar and Rain. Both were featured prominently in MTV's the Real World - Vegas. The Ghost Bar is at the top of the Palms - 55 floors up. In a word, it's pimp. It's more of a lounge type atmosphere - think Spice here, only way higher in the air and with a much better view. This is the bar that has the plexiglass in one part of the floor that allows you to stand on it and look straight down to the ground - that is, 500+ feet below. Here's a shot I took from the outside lounge part of the Ghost Bar, showing the Strip:
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/3366/vegasjuly20060295xk.jpg
The Palms actually has two towers - the second is still not completely built from what I understand. The second tower comes equipped with these Playboy "fantasy suites" that feature jacuzzis that jut out from the tower itself and are essentially suspended out hundreds of feet in the air. (Think of a pool being in a balcony, and that's what it looks like.) Again, pimp. From the Ghost Bar, here's a shot of that second tower:
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/9212/vegasjuly20060308me.jpg
Rain, the other prominent club at the Palms, is more of "dance" club. In all honesty, I wasn't that impressed with it. You'd get essentially the same thing if you went to Long Street - it's big, spacious, and holds a lot of people. The lines to get into it were enormous - think waiting for a roller coaster at Kings Island long. How'd we get into all of these clubs then? Funny, but several of the security/doormen there actually thought they knew me. Here's how one conversation went:
Doorman: "Hey, man, what's up?"
Me: "Nothing, what's up with getting in tonight?"
Doorman: "You know it's not a problem - but you never come around any more. It's been a while since I seen you."
Me: "Uh, yup..." (Having no clue as to what he's talking about.)
Doorman: "Alright, just you two tonight?" (Referencing me and the girl I'm with.)
Me: "Yeah, just us tonight." (Now playing off the notion that he thinks I'm someone else.)
Doorman: "Come on in."
And then we proceed to bypass like 400 people waiting desperately at the ropes to get into the club, with many of them thinking, "Hey, is that the lead singer from Color Me Badd?" LOL.
There were a lot of photographers that frequented the clubs. They'd ask to take your picture for such-in-such magazine or website or whatever. One was clubplanet.com; here's a picture of us taken by them and hosted on their site:
http://photos.clubplanet.com/showphoto.php/photo/150958/cat/2784
The Pool
Okay, this may sound a little weird, but the coolest part of the Palms was the pool. It was the largest, hedonist spectacle I've ever been a part of, and I've been a part of a few spectacles. It was one huge fucking party. They had a DJ there for the weekend - they were throwing a party for 944 - The Magazine (944.com) - which was a big deal, apparently. The DJ was playing for like 84 hours straight or something like that. Anyway, everyone was drinking and dancing - just complete hedonism. Then, they had this runway fashion show there - complete with a bunch of models from Brazil - and then this impromptu breakdancing contest. I know, you're probably like, "What kind of clusterfuck was that?" Seriously, it wasn't - it was actually very cool, or at least it was being under the influence of like 10 Coronas. Seats were very hard to come by at the pool - we actually got lucky and got seated at this canopy bed-like thing. I took a few pics of it - with Jessica (the girl who went with me) around it. The whole bed-at-the-pool seems to typify the inherent hedonism of the place.
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/6186/vegasjuly20060186ow.jpg
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/8348/vegasjuly20060107qg.jpg
Hart and Harrington
This is the tattoo parlor where "Inked" is filmed - the show that is featured on A&E. It is located in the Palms. I don't have much to say about it other than there was always a line out the door and I could have got a tattoo there but didn't because the girls at the front would only let me get a tattoo and not the girl I was with as well. Not sure what fucking reasoning there were using, but it was lame, so no ink for Johnny Blaze.
Celebrities and Pseudo-Celebrities
We saw a share of them during the stay. One was Dave Navarro. He was there for the 944 party playing with his new band (whoever that is I don't remember). We saw him walking through the casino around 3am the night after his band played. He was walking through with an entourage and traveled right past us. As he passed, we asked if we could get a picture, but he apologetically declined and kept moving. Honestly, he seemed genuinely apologetic about it, for what that's worth. Carmen Elektra was not with him.
Warren Sapp was out at the pool on Saturday. He was just out walking around. Didn't get a chance to talk with him.
Good Charlotte - the entire band, seemingly - was in line behind us one night at Rain. (They came in right behind us after another doorman who thought he knew me let us in.) The lead singer is surprisingly short. They also seemed fairly rambunctious.
I talked with Scott Weiland - the lead singer of the now defunct Stone Temple Pilots - for a little bit. He was standing (by himself) at the elevator. We had just walked in from the pool - so, suffice to say, I was fucking rocked. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: "Hi, you're Scott Weiland.
Him: "Yes, I am."
Me: "Hey, I'm John. Nice to meet you." (I extend my hand.)
Him: "Hey, nice to meet you." (He shakes my hand.)
Me: "I'm a fan of your music - really like the stuff with STP."
Him: "Thanks, I appreciate it."
The elevator then opens. It's me, him, Jessica, and some other older guy. Scott Weiland proceeds to them hold the elevator doors so that they won't close and allows everyone in before him. It was like he was a rockstar-turned-bellhop. Very humble and, in my opinion, very down-to-earth of him. As we exit on our floor, he again does the same thing - holds the door open. He struck me as being a very cool guy, even though I only had a 30 second conversation with him and was probably right around 0.25 BAC at that time.
Johnny Bravo vs the Drift King
So, we're at the Ghost Bar, drinking, having a good time. In walks the Drift King - that is, the guy who plays him in the new Fast and the Furious movie. I'm like, "Oh, hells no, that's the Drift King." So, I walk up to him, and here's how that conversation went:
Me: "Hey, hello - I just saw your movie; you're the Drift King."
Him: "Yes, you're right - hello."
Me: "Awesome - great work in the movie."
Him: "Thanks. I'm Brian - what's your name?" (He extends his hand.)
Me: "I'm John - nice to meet you." (I shake his hand.)
We then have some small talk type stuff. You know, where you're from, etc. He strikes me as this very cool guy - extremely unassuming and very sociable. Anyway, then I'm like:
Me: "Listen, man, you know I'd walk your ass from a 40 roll."
Him: "What?"
Me: "You know it. Get your Z so I can drag it down the Strip."
Him: "Ha! You don't want none of this!"
Me: "Let's do this!"
He at that point could clearly tell that I was just fucking around with him. We part ways soon thereafter. All in all, that guy was by far the coolest of any of the other people that we met that were halfway famous. He had a great sense of humor and didn't take himself seriously at all. Here’s a pic that we got:
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/1855/vegasjuly20060204pb.jpg
And that's that, the chronicles of my trip to Vegas. I'll let all of you know how my race with the Drift King turns out.