2+2 party & 4th of July in Las Vegas

This is a post that NEEDS photos to do it justice.
To start with, the 2+2 party at Aria. I missed the first day (it was a two-day event) because I was at UFC 116 & the party had transformed the tournament room at Aria from this:

to this:

The second day was a day of cash games, with a chip-stacking contest ongoing throughout the day. I played some $4/8 limit (which was one of the few tables that had seats when I arrived) for a few hours before the game broke, at which point I went to a $2/4 mixed game table, which broke as soon as I sat down, so I just talked to some people for a while before leaving shortly after the chip-stack winners were announced.
My effort (with limited chips I might add) was an attempt at the Sydney Opera House ...

Of course it was nothing compared to the efforts of other (who had more chips & time to create theirs). The first and second place getters are in the photo below:

A close-up of the winner:

The second day of the party was held on the 4th of July, which is Independence Day in the USA. It is in many ways similar to our own Australia Day, with the main difference being that it celebrates the leaving of the British, as opposed to their arrival. As far as the average person on the street is concerned, its a day off with lots of drinking & partying to be had. Of course this makes for an interesting night in Las Vegas (already known for its drinking & partying), with scenes such as the photo below being the result:

If you ever wondered what the Police do on nights like this ... they apparently stop people from trying to cross the road at a pedestrian bridge (because it was full of people - it took me at least 3 minutes to walk the 50 metres over the bridge I am getting off in the photo) and sending them to the crosswalk (ie: pedestrian crossing) down the street. It also means you have lots of people & cars everywhere, making it almost impossible to move ... oh and there's fireworks as well.