Over the weekend of June 13, 2015, I went to Las Vegas with my oldest son. We went there as a 16th birthday present to meet up with a group of his kids he met online 4 years ago and who have become some his best friends.
I shot about 1,000 pics and whittled them down to 360. Here’s the complete set and here’s a short photo essay, below.
I had never been there. Las Vegas is a singular place.
We stayed at The Bellagio. It’s water show is something to behold.
Each night his friends would park and come to the lobby of the hotel, and he’d go off with them. At 16, that was a pretty big deal to me, but that’s what we came for. They are great kids. I wrote this poem on the first night, crowded lobby, alone in Las Vegas. I wrote what I saw:
The next day, we lounged. I was surprised, for some reason, that we were at a resort. I thought it was a hotel. But it was a resort and casino, as advertised. I just didn’t know what that really meant.
Room service is a wonder of the world.
Same with turn-down service. Who invented that? 
The tram was fancy.
The ATM gave out Benjamins. 
I bought some nice 9/11 spray can art.
And I documented the work of a great street performer, Miss MichelleBell Hula Hoop Performance, Las Vegas Boulevard, June 2015: Buffets are well-liked in this locale. 
One night I went out to the lobbies of casino/ resorts and did some macro shots:
Bought a mix tape off this guy: 
As you can expect from people living in an actual desert, there is a goodly amount of artistic worship of water:
The jacuzzis were a joy— I did get actual R&R. Felt great. Dry heat. 
Good times.
