The Golden Nugget
In August of 2021, the O Bros, David and John, went to Las Vegas. The occasion was a “boys trip” – the brothers without our wives. Of course, the first step was to get permission from said wives. My wife hates Vegas so she didn’t want to go but thought it might do me good to get away. David got permission, too, so off we go. This is a shot of the marquee of the the Golden Nugget casino in downtown Las Vegas. My brother and I have spent most of our Vegas time in downtown. It’s cheaper then the strip, the casinos are close together so we can easily walk between them, the odds in general are better, and the minimums are lower than on the strip. So it’s always been downtown for us. Our base of operations was, as you might have guessed, the Golden Nugget.
Vegas Vic
This is Vegas Vic, a 40-foot high neon sign that was erected outside the Pioneer Club in 1951, which makes old Vic the same age as me. There are three more neon cowboys: Wendover Will at the Stateline Casino in Wendover on the Nevada/Utah border, River Rick at the Pioneer Hotel and Gambling Hall in Laughlin, and…
Vegas Vicky
This is Vegas Vicky (sometimes erroneously called “Sassy Sally). She was installed across from Vegas Vick above the Girls of Glitter Gulch strip club in 1980. Vegas Vicky was removed from her perch in 2017 before the demolition of the Girls of Glitter Gulch, Mermaids Casino, La Bayou, and the Las Vegas Club. She was restored and now resides in the Circa Resort and Casino, which opened in 2020 on the site of the demolished clubs and casinos. In 1994, Vegas Vick and Vicky were married in a ceremony during construction of the Fremont Street Experience, which is a pedestrian mall with canopy in downtown Las Vegas.
Backhoe and Fremont Street Experience
Here is a wonderful backhoe, a couple of casinos, and a view of the canopy over the Fremont Street Experience. This photo was taken standing across Casino Center Blvd. and looking down Fremont Street toward the Golden Nugget and Binions casinos. You can see a light show going on on the canopy, which houses 12 million LED lights. If you look above the crook in the backhoe arm, you can see the elbow of Vegas Vick.
Whatever It Is, It’s Coming to Get You
Here is what I’m supposing is a planet looming toward me on the Fremont Street Experience. It’s pretty cool. (So sue me, I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff.) Besides, if I’m gawking up at the Experience, I’m not in the Casinos risking my retirement.
New Camera in Town
It’s official – I own too many cameras. Before our trip to Las Vegas, I bought a Canon EOS R with the 24-105mm kit lens and a RF 50mm STM lens. My motivation was to procure a smaller, lighter camera I could use for snapshots when I was vacationing. I have walked the length of Boston with a Canon 6D II (27 oz) and Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lens (31.7 oz), which I’m happy to do if I’m hunting art. But if I’m vacationing first and doing photography as a secondary pursuit, I want something smaller and lighter. Enter the EOS R (23 oz) and the RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM (13.9) for a weight savings of approximately 1 lb 6 oz. I wanted to try a mirrorless camera and the EOS R can use my existing EF lenses with a relatively cheap adapter, so that’s a win.
The camera worked well in Vegas. It was easy to carry and did a good job with the pictures. All the photos in this post were taken with the EOS R wearing the RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM. I’ll give a fuller accounting of my experience with the camera and lens in a later post. I want to take it out around home and use it with some of my EF lenses. I can say that it is a little weird looking through the viewfinder at a display rather than through the lens, but the upside is that you see what the picture will look like in real time. More camera time is required.