Day 16: No Doubt About it, My Favorite Band Was Amazing, the Wizard of Oz was Awesome, and Leaving Las Vegas With a Lighter Wallet.

Today was all about sensory overload, in the best possible Vegas way.

We started the day at the Sphere to see The Wizard of Oz, and wow, pictures and videos do not do this place justice. At one point during the tornado scene, it honestly felt like we were inside Dorothy’s house getting launched into the middle of a tornado. The visuals, the sound, the moving seats, it was absolutely wild. 

After surviving the world’s fanciest tornado, we headed to The LINQ Hotel for what can only be described as a “brunch” that happened later in the day. The Hash House was excellent. 

Next stop was the Sahara. For a brief, shining moment, the cards were behaving, and I started on a winning streak. I spent about 3 hours or so and we had fun. There were numerous YouTubers at the table who made it fun. They even did an audio Livestream while we were at the table. I was showing their audience how to lose at Pai Gow in an ugly way.  

Then it was back to the Sphere for the No Doubt concert, and this place somehow became even more impressive at night. Seeing a concert there is less like attending a show and more like being trapped inside the world’s coolest science fiction movie. The special effects were insane, the sound was unbelievable, and the giant visuals made every other concert venue feel like a high school gymnasium. It was great seeing No Doubt again. The last tour was 2009. Definitely one of my favorite bands. I've seen them at least 12 times.

Of course, after 20,000 people all left at the exact same time, getting an Uber became an Olympic event. Absolute chaos. Thousands of people wandering around staring at their phones, every car looking like it might be your driver, and every driver somehow being “2 minutes away” for half an hour. At one point I considered just walking back to the hotel, even if it meant arriving sometime next Tuesday.

Tomorrow, the neon lights of Vegas get traded for the mountains and fresh air of Lake Tahoe. After days of casinos, crowds, concerts, and sensory overload, it will be nice to see actual trees again instead of slot machines pretending to be trees.