Change to Pay-for-Parking Underway

Visitors to Las Vegas have long been used to and expected free parking at casinos as one of the perks that casino operators offered to attract customers. However, the era of free parking is ending as MGM Resorts International’s properties start to charge for parking this week.

Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Bellagio, Aria and Vdara are the first ones to implement the controversial paid parking program on Monday June 6, 2016, charging customers up to $10 per day. Luxor, Excalibur, and Circus Circus followed on Tuesday June 7; MGM Grand and Mirage are joining in today. Visitors to Mandalay Bay and Delano customers will lose their free parking privileges on June 13, 2016.

Local residents can still park for free until the end of the year. Members of MGM's M Life loyalty program who earned the Gold, Pearl, Platinum and NOIR status will receive free self-parking. Short term parking up to one hour is also complimentary.

While customers can book other properties that do not charge parking for now, the worry is that all other resorts on the Las Vegas Strip may soon follow the trend.

Postcard US-2002271 to Australia shows many MGM properties on the Las Vegas Strip that are affected by the changes, with MGM Grand on the left, and Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, and Monte Carlo on the right.

Woman with a Yellow Necklace by Picasso

Outgoing postcard US-3620822 to Thailand shows Pablo Picasso's 1946 painting Woman with a Yellow Necklace. It was a portrait of Picasso’s partner Françoise Gilot with overlaid geometry. The portrait, along with 42 other original works by Picasso from 1938 to 1962, is on exhibit at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Opened on July 3, 2015, “Picasso: Creatures and Creativity” focuses on Picasso’s fascination with the human form.

Woman in a Fur Hat

Outgoing postcard US-3224039 to Belarus was sent on February 8,2015 and had expired since. The card shows an oil on canvas Woman in a Fur Hat, circa 1915, by Gretchen Woodman Rogers (1881 - 1967), an American painter associated with the Boston School.

The painting was said to be reminiscent of Girl with a Pearl Earring, circa 1665, by Johannes Vermeer. By referring to the Dutch artist’s most mesmerizing painting in her image of a contemporary woman, "Rogers links past and present, projecting an exquisite and timeless impression of strength and confidence."

The postcard was purchased at the gift shop of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art during the annual Bellagio Museum Day in 2014, when the exhibition “Painting Women: Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” was on display.

Spring Time at Bellagio

A departure from the Theme Dutch featuring a giant windmill and live butterflies in the past few years, Spring time at the Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in 2015 celebrates Japanese culture with more than 82,000 flowers including tulips, daffodils and snapdragons among bonsai trees. Modeled after the Golden Temple in Kyoto, a 26-foot or 8-meter tall Japanese temple in a gold veneer with rice paper Shoji screens is the center piece of the display. Shown on the outgoing postcard US-3373301 to Japan is an 18-foot or 5.5-meter tall cherry blossom tree featuring 300 acrylic leaves and blossoms, with many oil-paper umbrellas hanging from the sky. The Spring Celebration, a collaboration with master gardener Kanji Nomura from Nagoya, Japan, runs from March 20 to May 11, 2015.

Today in history: the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed instantly while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937; a jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries on May 6, 1981.

Year of the Goat Display at Bellagio

Postcard US-3202783 to USA features a traditional Chinese New Year of the Goat motif on the left panel and a photo of animated goats on a 14-foot or 4.3-meter tall grassy hilltop at Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens on the right panel.

From their vantage point, I-Ching coins are seen lining under the foot of the hill; live Koi swimming in a 21,000-gallon pond by the waterfall; children made of more than 1,000 fresh flowers each dancing amid bamboo trees and red lanterns.

The Year of the Goat (or the Year of the Ram, or the Year of the Sheep) decorations are on display at Bellagio from January 9 to March 14, 2015 with daily live music performances between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

#MakeSomeoneHappy

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is partnering with Coca-Cola on Toys for Tots holiday gift drive. For each photo shared on social media with the #BellagioHoliday and #MakeSomeoneHappy hashtags, Coca-cola will donate one dollar to the charity campaign until the total amount reaches $50,000.

#BellagioHoliday, the mother polar bear and the three cubs are made of 37,000 carnations, #MakeSomeoneHappy

Postcard US-2615455 to Indiana was a polar bear shaped card bought at the Everything Coca-Cola Store on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Bellagio Museum Day

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (BGFA) hosted its annual Museum Day on Saturday October 4, 2014, in honor of Smithsonian magazine’s Annual Museum Day which offered complimentary admission to participating museums and cultural institutions in the U.S. on September 27, 2014.

“Painting Women: Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” is the current exhibition at BGFA, showcasing 34 paintings by women artists from 18th to 20th centuries. The show will run through October 17, 2014.

The featured postcard shows the Portrait of a Young Woman, circa 1797, by French artist Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (1755–1842), one of the paintings on display. The postcard was purchased at BGFA's gift shop.

All In or Nothing

Expired postcard US-2293198 to Ukraine, sent on June 28, 2013, was about to enter the postcard graveyard after 365 days. It features a fantastic sunset view of the famous music water fountain at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, with a column of gaming-chip styled tokens to spell out "Las Vegas."

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup yesterday, USA lost to Germany 0:1. However, helped by the result of the match between Portugal and Ghana, Team USA still advanced to the next round. It sounds like a typical Las Vegas story: you try hard, but may still lose; yet with a little luck, you may still come out ahead.

So, give your best shot, and leave the rest. #allinornothing

Windmill Shaped Card from Holland

Windmill shaped postcard NL-2427110 from the Netherlands is perfect for marking the end of April as the spring season is on its full swing.  Locally, flowers are in full bloom at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Las Vegas. You can find Mr. & Ms. Green Thumb there for gardening tips daily in the morning from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. The Spring Celebration will continue through May 11, 2014 with live musical performances from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Lake Como at Bellagio

Postcard IT-238410 came from Italy today. It shows Villa Melzi d'Eril by Lake Como at Bellagio in Italy. The villa features English style gardens built in harmony with the lake's banks, surrounded by high mountains. In Las Vegas, the design of Bellagio Hotel and Casino was infleunced by the Lake Como town of Bellagio in Italy, highlighted by the famous dancing water fountain synced with music on a man-made lake at its front gate.

Lighthouse in the Summer

Lighthouse in the Summer

The lighthouse shown on this postcard is currently on their summer 2013 display at the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Las Vegas. The 26-foot (8- meter) tall lighthouse with red-and-white stripes has a rotating light. It is surrounded by colorful dancing kites and thousands of fresh flowers.

New England Coastal Lighthouses Forever Stamps

Also today on July 13, 2013, the U.S. Postal Service has issued five new forever stamps celebrating New England Coastal Lighthouses. It features Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Maine; Portsmouth Harbor, New Castle, New Hampshire; Point Judith, Narragansett, Rhode Island; New London Harbor, New London, Connecticut; and Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts.

Electric Daisy Carnival

Summer Display at Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas 2013 starts a few hours ago in the evening on June 21, 2013 and will last for three days until June 23, 2013. It is an international annual electronic dance music festival that drew more than 300,000 people last year in 2012. It is held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the organizer Insomniac has transformed this 1,000-acre race field into six areas of music, carnival rides, vendor village, interactive art installations and other festival attractions. Sirius XM channel 52 has EDC radio throughout this weekend.

Happy Halloween

Postcard US-1925565 to Latvia shows a life-size chocolate skeleton at Jean Philippe Patisserie in Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas currently on display for the Halloween. The 1.65 m or 5'5" skeleton sits on a chocolate electric chair. It was made of 35 kg white chocolate, 30 kg dark chocolate and 1.5 kg rolling fondant by two talented pastry team members who spent more than 70 working hours. They also have miniature chocolates in the shapes of black cats, ghost, and witches. The photo was taken on October 12, 2012.

Sunset at Bellagio Hotel and Casino

Postcard US-1555333 reached Portugal in 12 days. It shows a beautiful sunset view at Bellagio, a luxury hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The design was inspired by the Lake Como town of Bellagio in Italy, It is famous for the large music water fountain on an 8-acre or 3.2 ha lake, as shown in front of the hotel on the card. I usually come here to watch New Year's fireworks.