Today the new McDonald's on the Strip officially opens. Earlier this week I went to the red carpet opening. It is next to the old McDonald's, which is next to Circus Circus. Not too exciting on the surface. But it turns out Buffet photographer Sarah Gerke is a huge fan of the fast food chain and was very excited to meet the Hamburglar.

First: Happy New Year from Las Vegas.

Las Vegas has a funny way of not working out according to plan.

Last night the careful New Year's Eve plan I made went another way.

For weeks I had been prepared to see the Goo Goo Dolls concert at the House of Blues. The band's New Year's Eve concerts have become a Vegas tradition. In fact, as the band's drummer, Mike Malinin, told me on Sunday night (as he walked the red carpet for 40/40):

"I think it is our fifth time for New Year's Eve in Vegas. It is always fun. I feel like the house band for New Year's, because we've done it so many times. But it is always the best place to do it. Every time we play somewhere else on New Year's I feel weird that I am supposed to be in Vegas."

And so I left my room at the Luxor to head across Mandalay Place, the shopping center that connects Luxor to Mandalay Bay where the House of Blues is located. But I ran into a mob scene of press, photographers and tourists, all surrounding a massive line of people stretching through the Luxor. Curiosity got the better of me. To quote the mighty philosopher Marvin Gaye, "What's going on?" I should have known the answer: Hilton sisters!

And if much of the country loves to hate and/or has an odd, inexplicable fascination with the Hilton sisters, in Vegas they have reached almost superhero status. This is a town that reveres privilege, wealth, power, excess and self-pampering. The Hilton sisters have become almost a shorthand to represent all of these things. "We love you Paris!" was being chanted, with others chiming in "Nicky." Of course, they did not arrive as quickly as anticipated. That is part of the whole privilege thing. But that was fine. I decided to roll with how the evening would unfold.

A red carpet is not a welcome mat for a celebrity, but a media occasion only. The Hilton sisters were appearing at LAX, but the actual red carpet for their hosting gig was on the side of the club, not at the entrance.  They did not walk the LAX red carpet to go to LAX but were on their way to dinner at Company, a restaurant in Luxor. However, media occasions are a crucial part of any hosting gig, and red carpets don't just attract a lot of media but also tourists also with cameras. Many visitors just enjoy the nutty Vegas theater of a red carpet.

So, on New Year's Eve with the Hilton sisters on the way, security was extraordinarily tight for this red carpet. There were literally hundreds of fans who wanted to simply lay eyes upon the Hilton sisters as part of their New Year's Eve Vegas experience. Some were willing to line up four deep in a tiny space. Others rode the same escalator up and down repeatedly just for a better view of the red carpet.

 

I was stopped by a series of well-suited giants while trying to get to the press section. Unlike every other red carpet I go to, there were a few people with less-than-professional cameras. I asked one couple in the press area what publication sent them to cover this red carpet. In fact, they were simply star-struck tourists who a bouncer slid into the area in order to help make New Year's Eve special for them. I asked them how much of a tip the security guard had required to create such a "special" moment for two people visiting from New Jersey. The answer was he did it for free. I am too cynical. But that sort of thing does not happen often here, but if it does, well, then New Year's Eve is the right night.

(Courtesy photo)