I’m standing outside The Bellagio watching more than 1,000 fountains gracefully dance in choreographed unison, waving along with the sounds of classical music as they shoot up 460 feet against the Las Vegas skyline. Suddenly, I get it. Sure, Vegas has seen its fair share of criticisms – it’s crowded, it’s crass, it plays to our lowest common denominator. But even the most jaded of visitors to the tourist-packed Sin City street would find it hard to deny the presence of sheer magic in the air.

As the self-described “Entertainment Capital of the World,” one of Earth’s most-visited tourism destinations attracts crowds for an infinite number of reasons, from buttoned-up business conventions to booze-fueled bachelor parties. But no matter what brings you here or which Cirque du Soleil show you are waiting on to start, everyone at some point sits down to place a bet. When gambling is a top priority on your trip, here are eight of the best casino resorts to book in Las Vegas.

Join the Daily Poker Tournaments at The Mirage

One of the first mega hotels on the Vegas street isn’t here to blow you away with over-the-top gimmicks or superfluous glamour. The 3,044-room AAA Four Diamond resort has been one of the top hotels on Vegas since it was built by Steve Wynn in 1989, with a classy old-school Vegas vibe that remains lively without being overly annoying.

Famous for long hosting one of the top poker rooms in Vegas, The Mirage‘s 100,000 square feet of gaming space includes a massive sports book, equipped with 85-foot HD projection screens, and themed slots such as Iron Man and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. After wandering the casino floor to get a lay of the land, saddle up to the 25-table poker room and try your hand at seven-card stud or join in on the daily No Limit Texas Hold’Em tournaments.

Lodgings range from tastefully decorated standard rooms to absurd three-bedroom villas with 24-hour personal chefs and butler service. Check out the nightly volcano eruption shows outside the casino, before heading over to Tom Colicchio’s Heritage Steak for dinner and capping the night with a performance of The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. If you’re feeling adventurous, wander over to the adults-only Bare Pool Lounge for some “European-style sunbathing” and live DJs.

Highlights

Screen Time

The hotel’s sports book features 85-foot HD projection screens.

Find Love

The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil performs regularly.

The Mirage Hotel & Casino

Rated 4 stars out of 5

Top rated

Las Vegas

8.5 Excellent (54483 reviews)

Sip Scotch at the High Roller Table at The Bellagio

Inspired by the gorgeous Italian lakefront town of Bellagio and memorialized in the 2001 heist film Oceans Eleven, The Bellagio has long been synonymous with luxury in Las Vegas. However, it’s not just the world-famous fountains, the on-site art gallery or the hotel’s lush botanical gardens that make this hotel one of the top choices in Las Vegas.

The Bellagio’s sprawling 116,000 square feet of gaming space (roughly the size of two football fields) hosts one of the best gaming floors in Vegas, its sexy 40-table poker room a haven for pro players and World Poker Tour showdowns. You can also sip rare vintage Scotch while rolling the dice in the opulent Art Deco Club Prime high limit lounge, or pick out a winner amidst the hotel’s 2,300 slot machines.

Rooms are noted for their beauty and elegance, with accommodations ranging from simple yet luxurious hotel rooms to ultra-ritzy invite-only villas. When you’re done dominating the craps table like Danny Ocean, toast your winning with a fancy French feast at a table overlooking the fountains at the AAA Five Diamond Le Cirque. The next day, kick back at the Mediterranean-styled The Pool at the Bellagio Hotel for a more laid-back take on the typical Vegas pool party rager.

Highlights

Poker Face

The hotel’s opulent poker room is a haven for pro players.

Garden Party

In addition to the world-famous fountains, the hotel also boasts its own art gallery and botanical gardens.

Bellagio

Rated 5 stars out of 5

Top rated

Las Vegas

8.8 Excellent (44136 reviews)

Escape into Nature at Red Rock Casino Resort

Perched near the base of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 10 minutes west of the street, the 5-star Red Rock Casino Resort is the most criminally overlooked of all Las Vegas casino hotels. Take a break from the endless noise of the street and get back to nature, overlooking stunning sandstone canyons and picturesque red-hued mountains from the comfort of your room.

Gamblers will find a more intimate environment for planning a date with lady luck. Instead of getting lost in a maze of massive gaming floors, Red Rock offers a more manageable layout of 20 poker tables and 16 blackjack tables, along with baccarat, craps, roulette, bingo and a chic VIP high limit table games lounge. With 2,700 slot machines and a 200-TV-strong sports book, the resort is also known by locals as one of the best hotels for slots and video poker in Vegas.

Accommodations include chic, modern hotel rooms and opulent Grand Villa Suites. Play some poolside blackjack at the Sandbar Pool, see some live music at the on-site Rocks Lounge, or carve into some USDA Prime steak at T-Bones Chophouse. There’s even a 72-lane bowling alley with “cosmic” bowling on weekends for those who want a little fun without having to suffer through another cookie-cutter, eardrum-bursting Vegas nightclub experience.

Highlights

Rock Out

Enjoy sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and canyons of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Get Bowled Over

The hotel includes its own 72-lane bowling alley with “cosmic” bowling on weekends.

Red Rock Casino Resort

Rated 5 stars out of 5

Top rated

Las Vegas

9.0 Excellent (4610 reviews)

Play Blackjack by The Pool at Encore at Wynn

Together with the adjacent Wynn Las Vegas, Encore at Wynn is one of the largest and most opulent hotels in Vegas. Located on a quieter stretch of the street(north of most Vegas mega resorts) with all guests at the newer 2,034-room Encore given access to the full suite of amenities at the main 2,716-room Wynn, the combined resort claims the most five-star awards of any independent hotel in the world.

With an almost incomprehensible 263,000 square feet of gaming space between the two hotels, Encore’s gaming floor is a bit more laid-back and is home to the Wynn’s legendarily posh 28-table poker room. The hotel also boasts one of the widest varieties of table games and slots, in addition to a high limit gaming pavilion at its always-happening Encore Beach Club pool.

Rooms and suites are among the biggest on the street, unfurling excellent views of the skyline and mountains from as high as 48 stories. While the resort also includes its own shopping complex and 18-hole championship golf course, Encore’s most well known attraction is its massive 40,000-square foot XS Nightclub. Regarded as one of the world’s top clubs, it features a 10-foot rotating chandelier amidst an otherworldly assemblage of 10,000 lights set to pounding EDM music.

Mystic Forge, a self-styled boutique publisher based in the Netherlands, has secured €2 million ($2.1 million) in funding.

The investment round was led by ForsVS and ROM Utrecht Region and will enable the publisher to expand its portfolio.

Mystic Forge was founded by Good Shepherd Entertainment vets Paul Hanraets, Randy Greenback, and Vernon Vrolijk, and wants to make and impact within the indie game market by deploying an “innovative collaboration model.”

“Specializing in strategy, simulation, and RPG games for PC, Mystic Forge adopts a proactive approach, selecting projects meticulously but also initiating collaborations by connecting developers within its extensive network,” reads a press release.

“This strategy allows the company to dedicate substantial resources and focused attention to each game, ensuring personalized support from the early stages of development and extending well beyond game launch.”

Mystic Forge co-founder Paul Hanraets said the company will use the money to sign new projects and intends to make some announcements later this year.

ForsVC venture partner Eric Diepeveen added the investment can help revitalise a publishing market calling out for change. “Mystic Forge’s unique approach positions them perfectly to seize this moment,” he continued. “We believe they will become a major player, delivering exceptional and engaging games.” 

Capcom spat a little squirt of news bile on us yesterday, like a hideous zombie vomiting up demos and release dates. One of the smaller chunks was a brief comment by Resident Evil 7 director Koshi Nakanishi, who confirmed that a new Resident Evil game is in the works. That’s not too much of a surprise – big franchise gonna franchise – but still, it’s nice to hear. “It was really difficult to figure out what to do after [Resident Evil] 7,” he said, “but I found it. And to be honest it feels substantial.”

We did not get more information than that, unfortunately. The quick and easy assumption to make is that this will be Resident Evil 9, or whatever the developers decide to call it. But Nakanishi stops short of saying this outright. Considering there are unconfirmed rumours that claim both Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil – Code: Veronica will be getting remakes, I feel iffy about jumping to conclusions about exactly which Resi this heavyweight director will be lending his overseership to. It probably is number 9, which has seen its own leaks and is reportedly called Resident Evil 9: Revenant Shadows. But still, no official confirmation of that.

Elsewhere in the Capcom Next broadcast, Nakanishi reminisced about Resident Evil 7’s shift away from action and back to horror.

“When we first started development [on Resi 7], Resident Evil was… well, if I’m being honest, as a brand we were off-track. The action element had been expanded and fans reacted much more negatively than expected. In the end an RE game has to be scary… the general consensus from fans of the series was that a Resident Evil game is one that should scare the hell out of you. That was the starting point for Resident Evil 7.”

If Nakanishi is heading development of Resident Evil 9, my hope is that he continues to push the team back into the dark realm of horror. Resident Evil Village was interesting, but I found it much more shooty than expected, especially after the seventh game’s hobbled houseboundness. Then again, I like my horror slow and creepy. I’d be happy if a Resi game came out with, like, three monsters in it. So long as it was dark and tense.

PC-loyal Resi fans desirous of the classics have seen some good news recently, now that the original 1996 Resident Evil is available to download on PC for the first time. And ye olde Resi 2 and 3 are coming soon, according to placeholder pages at GOG. No word on Resident Evil – Code: Veronica though, which holds the distinguished honour of being the only Resident Evil game with my granny’s name in the title.

This is a short blog with a simple message: Opportunities are all around you, but you have to be looking for them in order to take advantage of them. Here is a 30-second video that illustrates this point.

Joe’s Perspective: I can’t state it any better than she did. “That’s how opportunities work. When you go through life and you are not looking and you are not aware, opportunities just pass you by and you don’t even notice. Anything can turn into an opportunity, but you have to be aware and you have to keep looking.” So, keep your eyes open and be open to new opportunities. This reminds me of a great quote, “Instead of waiting for your boat to come in, swim out to it.” No line is going to form in front of you that says, “Opportunities here, come and get it.” If you want to be successful, you have to be your own advocate. Be willing to take the bull by the horns. Seize the day. Take some risks.

Your Turn: What are your thoughts on today’s blog and how can it positively impact your life?

]]> https://spinleader.net/the-red-car-theory/feed/ 0 https://spinleader.net/7-way-to-build-confidence-and-cultivate-resilience/ https://spinleader.net/7-way-to-build-confidence-and-cultivate-resilience/#respond Tue, 02 Jul 2024 12:00:56 +0000 https://spinleader.net/?p=72366

I found myself needing to stop at a local mall. And I didn’t expect to hear someone shouting in such a hostile manner.

I heard the awful words and felt the sting in them before I even rounded the corner. When I turned to see what was happening, and saw her crying, I wasn’t sure what to do or say. Before I could react, she muttered to herself. Straining to hear, I picked up on the fact that she was repeating those awful words to herself.

I thought….“You are not those words. I don’t even know you, but I can see that it’s not true. Don’t give him your power.”

She somehow managed a smile before her friend showed up a moment later, and they embraced as she broke down again. Once I could tell she was in great hands, I was able to continue with my day.

One of Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quotes is “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Sounds easy, but…it isn’t, especially in the moment.

In these simple words, she conveyed a profound truth about personal power, resilience, and self-confidence.

This tells us that the power to influence our feelings and self-perception resides within us, not in the words of others. It means that we control the narrative about our worth, value, and abilities. When we give others the authority to make us feel less than, we surrender our personal power.

So, what should we do when someone tries to make us feel inferior? Here’s a roadmap to build confidence, cultivate resilience, and reclaim personal power:

Understand your triggers: Identify situations or comments that make you feel inferior. Understanding these triggers can help you better prepare and react to them.

Remember: Triggers are not a sign of weakness; they are a part of being human. Awareness of them is the first step towards control.

2. Foster a Positive Self-Image

Embrace your strengths: Recognize your unique abilities and the areas where you can improve. Having a balanced perspective on your abilities fosters self-esteem.

Remember: You are a work-in-progress, and it’s perfectly okay. Embracing your weaknesses as areas for growth will make you unstoppable.

3. Develop Emotional Intelligence

Control your reaction: When someone tries to belittle you, remember you have the power to control your emotional response.

Remember: Not every negative comment deserves your energy. Be selective with your emotional investments.

4. Set Personal Boundaries

Communicate your limits: It’s important to let people know what is and isn’t acceptable behavior towards you.

Remember: Setting boundaries is a sign of self-respect. You are teaching others how you want to be treated.

5. Practice Self-Affirmation

Boost your confidence with positive affirmations: Remind yourself daily of your worth, capabilities, and achievements.

Remember: Positive self-talk can change your outlook on life. Make it a daily ritual.

6. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Choose your company wisely: Surround yourself with people who inspire, encourage, and respect you.

Remember: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

7. Seek Professional Help When Necessary

Reach out to a professional if feelings of inferiority persist: There’s no shame in seeking help from psychologists or coaches to help you navigate your feelings and develop coping strategies.

Remember: Seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a testament to your strength and commitment to personal growth.

Do not let anyone undermine your worth or potential. Instead, embrace the powerful words of Eleanor Roosevelt, and realize that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Image Credit: Alex Shute

]]> https://spinleader.net/7-way-to-build-confidence-and-cultivate-resilience/feed/ 0 https://spinleader.net/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/ https://spinleader.net/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/#respond Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:56:54 +0000 https://spinleader.net/?p=72363

I have to be honest.  I have no idea who this guy is. My guess is he is a special forces guy in the military. My guess is he is part of an elite fighting force. My guess is he has had more training and leadership development than any of us will ever receive.

Given all that, he says there are three things that he looks for in a teammate. 1) Dependability – be where you say you are going to be when you say you are going to be, 2) Skilled – that you are very good at completing the task that you are charged to do, & 3) Selflessness – making sure the needs of others are taken care of before you take care of your own.

And, the one he says is the hardest to do and the most important to do is selflessness. Putting the needs of others before yourself – not once in a while or when it is convenient, but when it matters.

Your Turn: On a scale of 1-10, how selfless are you? How well and how often do you put the needs of your teammates/classmates/friends/family ahead of your own?

]]> https://spinleader.net/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/feed/ 0 https://spinleader.net/add-psychometric-assessments-to-your-hiring-checklist-for-outstanding-results/ https://spinleader.net/add-psychometric-assessments-to-your-hiring-checklist-for-outstanding-results/#respond Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:52:25 +0000 https://spinleader.net/?p=72360

In leadership, the focus often gravitates towards grand visions and sweeping changes. The big stuff.

But my experience is that it’s usually the small, seemingly insignificant threats that can derail organizations.

We think that lions and sharks are scary, and we dismiss the tiny mosquito. But the mosquito is far riskier to humans.

Tiny challenges can accumulate and become critical if ignored. Understanding how successful leaders manage these small threats provides valuable insights for all of us.

Attention to Detail

Leaders who excel are often distinguished by their attention to detail. They recognize that in the minutiae lies potential danger. Consider a leader navigating a company through a period of rapid technological change. While major projects capture the spotlight, this leader knows that the outdated software in one department may seem minor today but could cause serious security risks if not dealt with quickly. A proactive approach in upgrading systems, even when they appear secondary, safeguards the company’s future.

Consistency in Small Practices

Athletic coaches provide a clear example of managing small threats through consistent practices. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden didn’t just focus on game-winning strategies. He began each season teaching players how to properly put on their socks and lace their shoes. How would you feel if you were on that team? But this small lesson was critical—preventing blisters and sprains that could sideline his players during crucial moments. And teaching players that the small things matter. Wooden’s meticulousness exemplifies how managing small details can contribute to big successes.

Perspectives on Vigilance

Historically, leaders who anticipated and mitigated minor threats often led their nations through tumultuous times successfully. Winston Churchill, during the early days of World War II, focused not only on massive military strategies but also on bolstering morale among British civilians, a smaller, softer aspect of the war effort. But this played a major role in sustaining the nation’s spirit.

Innovation from Small Beginnings

In the corporate world, leaders like Steve Jobs exemplified the importance of addressing small innovations that signal larger industry shifts. Jobs’ focus on the aesthetic details of Apple products, such as the tactile feel of the keyboard or the color of an iPhone, seemed minor. It seemed insignificant. But this often shaped market trends and increased customer loyalty. His ability to treat these small elements with importance paved the way for Apple’s dominance.

Leveraging Technology

Today’s leaders have at their disposal an array of technological tools to monitor and manage small threats. Data analytics, for example, can highlight slight shifts in customer behavior or minor increases in operational costs that might indicate larger issues. A leader’s ability to integrate this data into daily decision-making processes can prevent small threats from becoming larger crises.

Emotional Intelligence

Beyond technology and tactics, emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in identifying and addressing these threats. Leaders like Nelson Mandela utilized emotional intelligence to perceive undercurrents of dissent. That let him address a small issue before they escalated. His approach to engaging and making minor adjustments in policies helped maintain a delicate balance during South Africa’s transition period.

Strategic Rest

Sometimes, the small threat isn’t something that needs to be done, but something that needs to be avoided. Think burnout. Rest is important. Jeff Bezos is known to only make high-stakes decisions after sufficient sleep. Seems silly to some to delay a decision, but it works.

Through understanding how successful leaders handle the small threats—by being vigilant, detailed, consistent, and strategic—we can gather insights into the art and science of leadership. It’s a continuous balancing act, where the smallest details can have the most significant impacts.

So, whether you’re in the Boardroom or on a Safari, remember: it’s not just the big stuff. The small stuff is often more important than it appears.

Image Credit: erik karits

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