Anthony travels to Las Vegas to check out the 5-star accommodations of Aria. It's one of the ten biggest hotels in the world, and cost $8.5 billion to build. The three-story lobby is naturally lit, and it has 150,000 square feet of gaming space, three pools, a spa, a 1800-seat theater, nineteen restaurants, and thirteen bars. Eight thousand people work at the hotel, and Anthony plans to give one of them a $5,000 super tip.
The hotelier enters the VIP section where guests can only stay by invitation only. He receives a personal butler, Salomon, to attend to his every need. Salomon shows Anthony a series of Warhol paintings hanging on the wall, part of the hotel's collection worth $40 million. He then takes Anthony to his 7,000 square foot two-story sky villa. There's a pool table and bar on the upper floor, and the bedroom has a view of the city.
The villa has two other bedrooms, a sauna, a massage room, and a personal gym. A guest can get practically anything that they want, and Salomon offers Anthony a single malt that the hotel produces. the butler explains that he grew up in Mexico City and came to America 17 years ago. He cooks steak and potatoes for Anthony at a tableside grill.
Later, Anthony checks the security room and discovers that every square inch of public space is covered by cameras. He challenges the head of security, Sean, and one of the technicians, Spence, to track him wherever he goes in Aria. They track him every step of the way and he hides behind a plant. Spence sends a security guard Ron to Anthony's location to bring him back to the security room.
Anthony then goes to the theater where Cirque Du Soleil performs an exclusive show, Zarkana, twice a night. He goes backstage and tries out one of the trapeze swings. He then checks out the back of the house and meets with the man who handles the shoe shines for the employees. The employee demonstrates his spit shine technique. Anthony then goes to Uniform Control which cleans and press the 8,l000 uniforms every day. The woman in charge, Michelle, confirms that they have 863 different types of uniforms, and they have a total of 123,000 different sets. The uniforms have microchips with the employee's name, number, and slot so that they can't get lost. Michelle demonstrates how an employee picks up a uniform.
Aria gives Anthony--and all of its guests--a personal limo and driver. His driver, Don, takes him for a tour of the city. He drives to the Las Vegas welcome sign and confirms that the entire limo fleet is green. Don has been driving a limo for 17 years and came to Vegas playing with a band. They arrive at the sign and Don tells Anthony that it was there since '67 when he came there. Anthony takes a selfie of the two of them in front of the sign.
Back at Aria, Anthony presents Don with his super tip. He admires Don't passion and says that he's an ambassador of Vegas. Don admits that it's the biggest tip that he's ever got and thanks Anthony for the gift, and they share a toast.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 29, 2016