Mannerisms

Caesar’s Palace really does capture something of Rome’s grandeur, the Venetian really does have something of the cluttered elegance of Venice, and the interior of New York New York has more than a passing resemblance to the walkable villageiness of New York.

It felt good to go up an escalator from the drearily uniform conference rooms of the Venetian’s ground floors on a grey January day, and emerge into the middle of St Mark’s Square under bright blue Italian skies with wisps of fleecy clouds.

Surreal maybe, but balm to the soul after a morning of CES meetings. Having a cappuccino (3x the size of an Italian one), in one of the square’s three cafes (one more than in Italy’s St. Mark’s Sq) and listening to a three piece band (one less than in Italy), rolled back the tension of the morning.

A couple of singers swung into Verdi. Under the high illuminated roof, painted like a summer sky, the acoustics are bad, but the singers are stalwart and the spirits are lifted.

You smile often here. At the fighting pirate ships of Treasure Island (although the Brits always lose), at the Mirage’s volcano which erupts every 15 minutes, and the Aladdin’s tropical rainstorm every half an hour Fri-Sun, hourly Mon-Thurs.

Then, of course, there’s the casinos. Sitting in the middle of a couple of acres of slot machines the noise is like an orchestra tuning up underwater. Blom, Blob, Blom, Blom, Blip, Blop, Blom. The song of futility. But something’s got to pay for all those feats of imagination.