Hustle Town

JP hasn’t slept. He was locked out of Richard’s room last night so ended up wandering around until 6am, via McDonalds, an illegal swim in the pool, Subway, and about 10 cups of coffee. He’s pretty wired, and very pissed off. He spends most of the day staring into space on various sofas around the hotel.

In the evening Josh and I head out of the city to try and film the skyline at night. A few miles out we climb a hill on foot to get a view. The earth is dusty and dry - this really is a desert. It brings home just how artificial the whole city is, shimmering gracefully in the distance.

Later, an epic dinner in an Asian restaurant at which Richard insists he wants to eat “the whole fish - head and eyeballs and all” and then spends an eternity immersed in a series of convoluted transactions involving discount coupons, new friends, and ordering entrees only instead of mains. Meanwhile he is also trying to hustle up someone local to book tickets to tomorrow night’s show at the MGM Grand. Locals get big discounts apparently.

This is a hustler’s town, and Richard is loving the hustle.

Son Zac and his girlfriend arrive later in the evening and the family catch a comedy show while we recce other locations on the strip for the family dinner tomorrow. We settle on the Mad Greek Cafe.