RonnieAdventures

Friday, January 17, 2025

RonnieAdventure #0654 - Aliante Casino & Hotel, North Las Vegas, NV

Picture by Kolohe

The Aliante Casino and Hotel located in North Las Vegas opened in 2008 as a joint project between Station Casinos and The Greenspun Corporation. However, market timing was bad and the project opened during the recession of 2007. The following year the property filed for bankruptcy. Ownership was transferred to a holding company until 2016, when the property was sold to Boyd Gaming.

Boyd Gaming currently operates 28 properties with a total of 10,751 hotel rooms and 1,694,482 square feet of casino space. Eleven of the properties are located in Nevada.

Picture by Kolohe

We entered the property through the casino side of the building and made a clockwise tour around the 80,000 square-foot casino area.

The sportsbook has a 170-seat area with large television monitors that span a total of 96 feet. Located in the same general area is an arcade for young people and an 81,000 square-foot family 16-screen all-digital movie theater that is operated by Regal Cinemas. Located adjacent to the movie theaters is a food court with a variety of restaurants. During COVID, the buffet was closed and has never reopened.

Picture by Kolohe

A short hall connects the casino to the hotel lobby. Various shops are located just off of the lobby and there is a wedding planning area in the retail space that provides full-service weddings.

This is not a large property (211 hotel rooms), but a fun place to visit.

Picture by Kolohe

Friday, January 10, 2025

RonnieAdventure #0653 - Container Park, Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas is known for unusual attractions and the Downtown Area Container Park is considered to be one of them. The outdoor retail and entertainment complex was conceived by Tony Hsieh as part of his plan to revitalize the downtown area.

The project was inspired by Boxpark in London and was built using 43 shipping containers and 41 mining cubes. A children's play area was added with an artificial tree and treehouse made from four shipping containers; however, children are not allowed in the park after 9:00 PM. Also added to the entertainment complex was a railroad caboose and covered stage area. The park opened November 25, 2013.

Picture by Kolohe

At the entrance to the Park is a large heart-shaped metal Love Locket where lovers can attach "love locks" that bind their relationship together with padlocks. The locks became so popular that additional hearts were added on the inside of the complex. ("DTLV" stands for "Downtown Las Vegas.")

Picture by Kolohe

Also located at the entrance gate is a large metal praying mantis that spews fire from its antennae and plays music through seven speakers. The praying mantis was originally built for one of the annual Burning Man Festivals. It is mounted on the back of a truck and can be driven around for special events. The fire spewing from the antennae is more spectacular at night.