Post #18562 by tikibars on Tue, Jan 7, 2003 2:16 PM

California Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Category IV - Other (Hotel)
TiPSY Factor: 1

The hotel of choice for Pacific Islanders in Las Vegas, the Cal is host to over 100,000 visiting islanders per year (the resident Pacific Islander population in Las Vegas is estimated at 80,000 - some Hawaiians refer to Las Vegas as "The Ninth Island"). Look for video poker machines with Hawaiian-themed names such as Shaka Five Way, Diamond Head, and No ka 'oi (The Very Best), dealers in Aloha shirts, a stand selling Lappert's Hawaiian ice cream, and a coffee shop serving traditional Hawaiian favorites like saimin noodles, oxtail soup and mahi-mahi sandwiches. Guests can buy Honolulu newspapers, dried mango and beef jerky, and T-shirts emblazoned with frogs (a symbol of good fortune in Hawaii). Asian Pacific alumni of high schools on Maui and the Big Island attend class reunions in the hotel's O'hana and Maile rooms. The hotel co-sponsors a two-day Lei Day festival adjacent to the hotel every May. The room and meals package for Pacific Islanders is $110.