Conrad Jupiters - Premier Hotel/Casino On The Gold Coast

Travelled from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast as Tuesday's sunset came. The main Pacific Highway was awkward: heavy traffic, but in places, the multi-lane coastal freeway was incomplete, forcing delays and detours. This prime conduit for Australia's N-S traffic reminded me of California freeways in the 1950's or 1960's - still incomplete, and subject to snarls.

Nevertheless, still managed to find Conrad Jupiters in the endless, high-rise commercial strip known as Surfer's Paradise. Arrived at 7:30 p.m. (saved because I was now back in Queensland, and standard time, so I had an extra hour to make the trip). Hurtled through check-in, a quick shower, and then down to the theater by 8 p.m. showtime, helped by pleasant, random strangers who pointed me in the right direction.

Came to see 'Tempo Rouge', the big stage spectacular here.

After the show, I wanted to gamble, but discovered I had little money to play with, either in my packet or in my checking account (I wrote out a bunch of checks before I left California, and surprise! surprise! they had already cleared the account).

No problem, I thought, I'll just put it all on a credit card. Well, I forgot my PIN, so I can't use an ATM machine for the credit card. So, I'll just use their credit-card-based cheque-cashing service, like I would do in the U.S. Turns out, that's illegal, according to prudent Queensland law designed in order to limit problem gambling. There was one last route I didn't try: using an internal paper credit card handed to me at check-in. I surrendered: I was out of luck (or, as some would have it, very much in luck). This problemo gambler was foiled by the authorities - the federal or the Queensland legislatures!

Often, Australia seems over-regulated: a nanny state run amok. For example, speed limits are enforced not so much by policemen, but by randomly-placed roadside cameras. You never, ever know if you've been spotted doing 110 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone. There are warning signs everywhere: watch your step, watch your head, don't step off the trail, no skateboarding, no cell phones while driving, no photos by strangers of underage children at schools, no support for terrorist organizations, etc., etc., etc. It's enough to make even milquetoasts rebel. But then, in the middle of it all, a really-sensible regulation is found, like a gem, like these credit limitations!

Thank you, Australia nanny state!

Of course, these restrictions mean this hotel/casino makes less money than similar-sized compatriots in Las Vegas, but c'est la vie. The Tuesday-night pace seemed slow - slower than Vegas on a Tuesday night. The slot machines looked different than up north - a sleek, sci-fi look that I envied. As I've noted before in another blog post, most slot machines these days are made in Australia, so hopefully they'll introduce this look up north sometime soon.

The women here dress well - many young women look great, but as in America, their boyfriends looked like slobs. There was no discotheque Tuesday night, just the noisy Prince Albert club, with a live band and big-screen cricket. Do young women here dress well because the standard of beauty is so high, fed as it is by sleek fashion magazines and music videos, or is it because young women have few opportunities, in general, in rough-and-ready Australia to do so? This place is a land of extremes, in some ways!

Nice place, this Conrad Jupiters!