Casino ala Kubrick

This is the second year that the GTS (Gama Trade Show) was held at Ballys, which has the strangest entry portal of all casinos. Like something out of Kubrick's 2001, this neon swirled entrance tube sucks people up from the Strip and eventually deposits them inside the belly of the casino. The first leg of the journey is via conveyor belt that ends abruptly at an escalator up. The second leg is via said escalator, up and over the main hotel and casino entrance (driveway/valet) to a sales pitch arena where you are effronted with the oft said lure line "Are you folks in town tonight and looking to see a free show?". Navigating this trap, you find another escalator down and into the casino lobby. The three-part journey takes about five minutes as the conveyor moves just slow enough to make you wish you walked.

Most folks don't realize that there are gardens to the left and right of the entrance tube with a secret sidewalk that leads directly to the front of the casino itself. The catch is that you have to walk the entire way (gasp!) instead of being mechanically casino-herded. The walk through the Bally gardens passes like warp drive compared to the conveyor belt attraction. The gardens themselves are a bizzarre shamble of poorly manicured hedge animals (think Kubrick's The Shining gardens that have gone to pot). There's just enough left of the plant to discern that it is in an animal shape; the only reason you are drawn to this conclusion is that there has to be some purpose to the chicken wire wrapped around the plant itself. I think Ballys had much grander hopes for the gardens, but as almost everyone uses the futuristic (for the 1970s) tube, no one ever sees these little topiary beasts. I saw plenty of them each day as I bypassed the tube.