Perhaps this month’s 2econd Friday was a slightly missed opportunity. Perhaps there was a similar opportunity, two months prior. 25 years ago, this month, MGM Grand opened. Wow, 784 of its original employees were still there, that month. Jeez, that’s about 10% of the staff, surely. We weren’t at MGM Grand, just in the same way as we weren’t at Luxor, or Treasure Island, two months prior, for when they were marking their 25th anniversary.
Wife Camper certainly didn’t miss her opportunity, though, to make this 2econd Friday a classic.
We think Paris, Las Vegas is fantastic. We think Paris, France is tres bien. We have a Paris-inspired lounge, at home, where we even have a sky for the ceiling, whoop.
Wife Camper and Husband Downie got checked in, then went to the bar on the casino floor (oops, I can’t remember what it’s called) for a sharpner. There was a gent playing an electric violin. I’m sure I recognized one of the songs he played, but I can’t remember what it was called, either. Well, this is going really great, isn’t it.
It was the final edition of 2econd Friday of 2018, and there were Special Guests for this festive edition. Ian and Wendy had won the prize of being Special Guests, having won the quiz at the Encore, back in August. Ian and Wendy joined us at the bar I can’t remember the name of, and Wife Camper revealed the exciting quiz she’d prepared.
A coupe of the questions involved some knowledge of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily, Wife Camper had organized for us to be going up said Eiffel Tower. What scale, you wonder. It’s half scale, as you would’ve had confirmed, on the quiz. The person from Paris, in the lift going up the Eiffel Tower, was most impressed with the quiz.
At the top of the Tower, we took some photos. Wife Camper secretly had one picked out to make a jigsaw from. Hmm, it wasn’t a great choice. Eh, there’s loads and loads of black.
Back down from the Tower, Wife Camper had yet another exciting activity organized. She’d had 2econd Friday-branded padlocks made up, so we could attach them to the bridge of locks. Wow, this really was a fantastic 2econd Friday; big thumbs up for Wife Camper.
The rules of 2econd Friday have some compulsory dining situations. At MGM Grand, Joel Robuchon had to be the dining situation. And at Paris, this evening, Gordon Ramsay’s Steak was in the rules. Is Joel Robuchon the swankiest dining situation you could have, in Las Vegas? We’ve been a couple of times, and will hopefully return. Hmm, the general consensus, that evening, was, we wouldn’t be returning to Steak. The food was certainly lovely, but the music was a bit over-bearing (especially for somewhere I thought was supposed to be pretty high-end), and it felt a bit like we were sat in a bus station. Or perhaps that should be train station, as the entrance is supposed to be a recreation of the Channel Tunnel. The person who walked us through explained this, but wrongly. Being the pedant that I am, I corrected them (drat, I can’t remember what fact they’d got wrong), but they just seemed to ignore me. Ha, maybe that’s why I won’t be returning to Steak.
Anyway, the quiz was great, the trip up the Eiffel Tower was great, the 2econd Friday padlocks were great. Thank-you, Wife Camper for organizing such a wonderful 2econd Friday. And in a festive month of December, thank-you for being such a wonderful person, all round. Whoop, whoop, Merry Christmas.
Hey, and since it’s the month of Christmas, let me include a couple of bonus tracks. Aha, I thought the first bonus one was from 1991, but no, “All Together Now”, by The Farm was 1990. “Stay Another Day” by East 17 wasn’t 1991, either (it was 1994) but jeez, it’s another December ripper, isn’t it. Let’s not talk about what should’ve been Christmas No. 1 in 1991.
The actual tune I've chosen from 1999 is one that was on the radio a lot, when I was starting out in the gaming industry. I'd started at Mazooma on the 4th of May, and this was no. 1 on the week of the 3rd of July. I wonder if Jim Morrison knew that (from beyond the grave).
Opening Date: 1st of September, 1999
Tune: “9pm (Till I Come)” by ATB
Dress Code: Business Casual