I hate this. The Mirage is special.

We've had a Hard Rock hotel in Las Vegas. It wasn't a big deal.

My most salient Mirage memory is from a few years ago. I hadn't spent much time in the property, so was just strolling around one afternoon, checking out the lay of the land. I wander into a little shopping area in the rear, where I discover a sports memorabilia store with a sandwich board sign out front: "Meet baseball star Pete Rose!" I glance inside. Sure enough, there's baseball's all-time hits leader. One of the most famous sportsmen of his era is just sitting right there on a little stool a few yards away from me, patiently waiting for fans to get their memorabilia signed.

Except there are no fans. There's no line at all. It's just Pete Rose sitting there all alone, waiting.

Big-time Ozymandias moment. Fame is fleeting. You can be the biggest thing in the world right now. In a few years, nobody will care.

Seems like a fitting tale for Vegas, a town that is always tearing itself down to build something newer and better in its place.

Pete Rose is still super famous especially in Vegas and Cincinnati..


I saw him a few times in March at Fountainbleu sportsbook and he always had people coming up to him for pics and autographs.

He was doing the same a few years ago in the Caesars Forum Shops.

I was eating at MGM one days and he was "signing" in the sports memorabilia shop across from the Mexican joint. Basically he was just sitting by himself and watching college football.

Speaking of college football and Pete Rose, I am friendly with a former relief pitcher. He got traded to the Reds one year when Pete was the manager. It was a Saturday in September and Rose had him go into the clubhouse and write all of the CFB scores down from the TV during a game.

He’s also signed more autographs than possibly anyone alive. Any cigar smokers have certainly seen him across the hall from casa fuente at the memorabilia store in the forum shops countless amounts.

What did he charge?

RIP Mirage. When I was in town a week ago I made a special note to walk through for the memories. Mirage was my mecca back when I first started poker in the late 90's. It saddened me when poker died there. I used to stay there all the time.

Here are 3 pictures from the same vantage point over 20 years. 2004. 2014, and last week.

2004


2014


2024

Do those trees stop growing upwards eventually? Or does the growth rate just slow way down when they reach a certain height? GL

Those palm trees? I had one in my yard, planted maybe 10 years before the Mirage opened. It was about 30 feet tall before I had it cut down. Cost me $1500. There are others in the neighborhood that must be a good 40 feet. The soil here is unbelievable though, so they might not grow as much elsewhere. For example, a seed must have fallen from my tree and fell on the edge of the neighbors yard. It grew to about 2 feet before they cut it down.

It fairness to Pete we didn't have smart phones yet!