The casino floor was packed with stylish mid-twenty to thirty-something barflies, long queues (which snaked a couple of hundred feet along a Hotel corridor) kept excited par-tay revellers chomping at-the-bit outside the doors of the Tequila Festival lounge, and - amid all the Friday Night frenzy - strains of catchy pulsating music filtered down and sparked up a lot of sensual electricity.
The Tequila Fest at the Hard Rock (to carry over today) was a sensation!
Frankly, I have to admit, the Hard Rock phenomenon is new to moi.
Because the nostalgia-buffs' hang-out was erected off-the-beaten track in Vegas, I rarely ever trotted over to the Hotel/Casino during my frequent jaunts to Vegas over the years.
Boy, was I missing out!
As soon as I stepped into the trendy establishment last night, I was "home".
"It's not touristy," a salesman in the jewellery store was inclined to point out, after I noted the atmosphere was very appealing to the artistic (and social) sensibilities.
And, I was quite surprised to encounter a handful of beautifully-crafted "house" T-shirts - in eye-catching "trendy" designs - at reasonable cost, too. (20 bucks a pop).
Throughout the lower Casino floor, I was also delighted to stumble across a host of display cases, featuring memorabilia of the "greats" in show biz.
A Michael Jackson "leather" suit - understandably - was eliciting quite a few "oohs" and "aahs".
Personally, I was was drawn to Little Richard's infamous "cape" and "crown" just a short trek away.
A shirt & vest combo donned by Springstein for one concert was crisply displayed with a few scraps of historical documents sprinkled about the exhibition case.
At one point - when I was taking a whiz in the "John" - a popular Santana tune floated above my head.
OMG!
Was I somehow magically transported back to the sixties (Carlos was playing the "Joint' last night by the way) or was I just experiencing (as Jimi Hendrix would quip) an LSD flashback?
Unlike the other casinos, Hotel Management (and security) was pretty low key (invisibly present).
In addition to gambling, guests may nibble on a wide array of culinary delights offered up in handful of the elegantly-decorated restaurants on the premises.
At one, a notice on the door warns that "gentlemen" are required to wear long sleeved-shirts, though.
No open-toed shoes, please!
At Mr. Lucky's, I scarfed up an order of "Buddha's Delight", a delicious mound of mouth-watering veggies.
The mushrooms were seasoned to perfection and the water chestnuts were not only fresh, but mighty tasty!
Hard Rock Cafe, in a nutshell, is one big swirl of electic images, populated by a constant flow of fashion-savvy sophisticates.
See 'ya there!
