Hello from the offseason! Juan Soto is a Yankee, Shohei Ohtani is a Dodger, and Japanese newcomer Yoshinobu Yamamoto is…also a Dodger. I have started to call Los Angeles the Billion Dollar Blue Men, not to be confused with the Blue Man Group from Las Vegas. Andrew Friedman is positioning his squad as a favorite to win the World Series, all while Ohtani has opted to defer most of his paychecks for years in order to ease the financial strain on Dodger ownership.
Speaking of Vegas, my girlfriend Dorina surprised me with hotel and airfare there as a Christmas present. When we visited the Neon Museum, I made sure to honor my Middle Eastern roots by posing next to the old Sahara sign. Afterward, we made our way to a show known as the Brilliant! Jackpot. Here, neon signs that no longer function are lit up externally while thematic music plays in the background. It created an especially dramatic atmosphere because we were surrounded by darkness.
While walking around the Strip, Dorina suggested that we attend a movie screening at the newly built Sphere. Aside from being awed by the massive dome screen, we got to interact with a robot using AI to communicate in surprisingly human ways.
I asked Aura the humanoid robot how many championships the Yankees had won and she wasn’t sure. I made a joke about how they captured 28 titles when the real figure is 27. Once I provided the correct answer, she responded: “So you expect to win next season?” I replied that the acquisition of Soto had me feeling optimistic about the team’s chances. Later, I removed my cap and she remarked that she could still recognize me. Future visitors will now be able to get the correct answer to this question because Aura learned from me!
I couldn’t stop at one sports experience, so Dorina and I enjoyed our first visit to T-Mobile Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights hockey franchise. I have seen the Knights play as visitors in Anaheim, but here we got the full home experience including a drumline and ersatz castle to go along with the action. The reigning Stanley Cup champions certainly have a devoted following.
Earlier, we partook in pregame drinks at Nusr-Et, a restaurant founded by the Turkish restauranteur nicknamed Salt Bae. The child within me delighted in catching a foam puck on the fly as we entered the building. The Knights took a 1-0 lead on a rebound put home by Pavel Dorofeyev. After that, penalties gave the Florida Panthers a lot of momentum. Power play goals by Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Reinhart helped the visitors to a 4-1 victory.
Celebrity chefs have flocked to open businesses in the desert oasis. Hell’s Kitchen is the brainchild of fiery television personality Gordon Ramsay and honors the winners of his reality cooking show by the same name. Dorina loved the Beef Wellington, while I tried a cocktail called Notes From Gordon that came with a miniature United Kingdom flag and off-color joke.
One of our rideshare drivers mentioned that the downtown Mob Museum located in an old courthouse was worth visiting, so we stopped in for an education on the Kefauver Committee hearings that helped stamp out corruption. Even more enjoyable was a moonshine tasting and visit to the Underground speakeasy. As we sipped a drink from a vessel shaped like a bathtub, a Roaring Twenties style band known as the Souvenairs provided the entertainment.
A bit like England’s London Eye, Vegas boasts a Ferris wheel known as the High Roller. In the course of a half hour, we rose 550 feet and were treated to some spectacular views. One of my favorite photos featured the exterior of the Sphere complete with enormous QR code.
Last but in no way least was a bus tour to the incomparable Grand Canyon, which also included a quick visit to a manmade wonder in the Hoover Dam. Our guide was a comedian who seemed very concerned about the water shortage caused by the expansion of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. After crossing into Arizona, we began at Eagle Point which featured the transparent Skywalk bridge and restaurant where we ate lunch. Even more incredible were the panoramas at Guano Point, where it began to rain as we took photos. In fact, we even saw a little snow on the ride back to Las Vegas.
This has felt like a long offseason from my perspective, especially because the Yanks missed out on the playoffs. Going on vacation added some spice to our New Year and even brought an unexpected baseball experience thanks to some amazing technology. What’s more, the Mob Museum displayed a mural of Babe Ruth, the greatest Yankee of them all. My television is currently playing a commercial for a Vegas casino, but I had a great time there without gambling at all.