Just south of the Bally's/Paris complex is the Planet Hollywood Casino, formerly the Aladdin, and home of the Miracle Mile Shops. *begin rant* Okay, this place drives me crazy. I loved the Aladdin. Sure, the gambling wasn't great there, as I'm sure all your casino affectionados will say, but the place was just fun to visit. The free show was themed to the casino with acrobats and belly dancers. The Miracle Mile was once the perfectly themed Desert Passage. Even the waitresses wore harem-esque costumes. In other words, what you found on the inside evoked the name on the outside. Today? Well, what do you think of when you hear the name Planet Hollywood? The restaurant, for sure, not to mention all those movie props and costumes they line the walls with. Well, forget all about that here! There's already a Planet Hollywood restaurant franchise over at Ceaser's Palace, so I'm sure there's something contractual keeping them from putting one in the resort that bears the franchise's name. And movie related stuff? You won't even find the stub of a pencil used by a gaffer on a Z-Movie! So all you get is a generic casino that in no way evokes Hollywood, let alone the Planet Hollywood franchise. *end rant*

Chuck E. Cheese, that delightful rodent, is shown at one of his eponymous restaurants where I just happened to have brunch today. One disappointment on the afternoon: I had been led to believe that beer would be served on the premises, at least to those patrons who are older than the restaurant's typical "birthday party" demographic (i.e., to the parents). But I learned to my dismay that as of several months ago, all NYC area Chuck E. Cheese franchises have stopped offering beer or wine. (Those beverages are still listed on the menu board behind the counter, so the change is obviously quite recent). The reason for the change: It seems that the parents, in the word of one of the managers, "didn't know how to act," so they had to be cut off. The manager added that they never had any problems with the little kids getting out of hand; the only people causing problems were inebriated parents.