Postcard US-2520811 to Germany shows the Riviera Las Vegas, which is scheduled to close permanently tomorrow at noon on May 4, 2015. It just celebrated its 60th anniversary in operation on April 20, 2015. The 2,000-room hotel opened on April 20, 1955 as the first high-rise on the Las Vegas Strip. It was home to many legendary singers and performers such as Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Elvis, Wayne Newton and Dolly Parton.
The landmark casino and hotel was purchased by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for about $190 million. The hotel will be imploded to make room for convention center expansion.
The countdown to 2015 is on, and LasVegas is expecting a record of 340,000 visitors in this New Year's Eve, despite of a forecast of freezing temperature and snow.
More than 80,000 fireworks will light up the night sky, shooting from the rooftops of MGM Grand,
Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, The Venetian, Treasure Island and Stratosphere, in a 7 minute and 11 second synchronized show.
Postcard US-3087107 to China shows a collage photo that includes many major landmark hotels and casinos in Las Vegas under the fireworks.
Update: The anticipated snow did not materialized. Only bursts of spectacular fireworks filled the sky, ushering in a brand new year.
Fireworks from Planet Hollywood and Aria after countdown to 2015.
Postcard FR-420722 from France shows Moulin Rouge, meaning Red Mill in French, a cabaret co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller in Paris, France in 1889.
Marked by the red windmill on its roof, Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. According to Wikepedia, "originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France."
It inspired Moulin Rouge!, a 2001 musical film, that was nominated for eight and eventually won two Oscars at the 74th Academy Awards on March 24, 2002. A music video featuring 1974 "Lady Marmalade" that was used as part of a medley in the movie, was produced in March 2001 with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink performing. The video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for "Best Video of the Year" and "Best Video from a Film" and a 2002 Grammy Award in the category of "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The video reached 100,977,923 views on Vevo/Youtube by the end of today.
In Las Vegas, there was the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino located in the West Las Vegas neighborhood where the African Americans were forced to live. It first opened on May 24, 1955, with multiple references to Paris: Eiffel Tower appeared on the sign at the entrance, and on the casino chips; a French Chef was the head of the largest restaurant in the casino; security guards were dressed in the uniform of the French Foreign Legion.
The hotel and casino was the first integrated hotel casino in the United States while other casinos on the Las Vegas Strip were still segregated and off ff limits to blacks unless they were the entertainers or labors. The Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino closed in November, 1955. Its short but vibrant life fueled the civil-rights movement in Las Vegas. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The shuttered hotel suffered a series of fires between May 29, 2003 and May 6, 2009. The Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission approved demolition of the remains of the buildings in June, 2010,
Postcard US-1940143 to Taiwan has expired for 365 days and is about to fall off the face of the PostCrossing Universe. The recipient sent five postcards and failed to register any. So there are at least four other cards got lost alongside of mine.
The postcard shows the Forum Shops at Caesars, a 636,000-square-foot or 59,100 square-meter luxury mall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connected to Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino and built as an extension wing of the hotel, the mall now fronts on The Las Vegas Strip as shown on the postcard. The mall has more than 160 stores that line up simulated ancient Roman streets dotted with replicas of the Trevi and Triton fountains, statues and facades. It is also noted for its majestic spiral escalators by the massive reflecting pool at its entrance.
The photo on the card was taken on September 30, 2012.
Postcard US-2032250 to Thailand shows the Brahma Shrine at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It is a replica of one of the most famous Buddhist shrines, the Erawan Shrine at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.
At the first glance, it may feel strange to see the shimmering blue-and-gold motif among the surrounding white pillars of Roman Square. Nonetheless, since donated to Caesars in 1984 from Thai newspaper tycoons Mr. and Mrs. Kamphol Vacharaphol and Mr. Yip Hon, a prominent figure of Hong Kong, the Shrine has become a symbol of prosperity and good luck. It features a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of the Hindu god Brahma. The four faces of the Brahma statue represent the Four Divine States of Mind: Loving Kindness or Benevolence (慈), Compassion (悲), Sympathy or Empathetic Joy (喜), and Equanimity (捨).
The Shrine was cast in bronze and plated in gold, weighted more than 360 kilograms or 8,000 pounds and measured 4.3 meters or 14 feet tall. It was dedicated twenty nine years ago today on February 5, 1984 under the supervision of Buddhist monks. It is open to people of all faiths as explained by the full inscription of the shrine's plaque.
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.
