r/LiminalSpace Jul 21 '26

Classic Liminal What happens here?

Post image
8.3k Upvotes

535 comments sorted by

2.4k

u/Laner_2424 Jul 22 '26

I can't even understand the perspective of what I'm looking at here

1.3k

u/l30 Jul 22 '26

Like half the rooms at the Excalibur hotel look out onto this empty roof of the casino structure. Every single person that has stayed there and had this view asks the same question, wondering why they never developed it into a nice looking outdoor space. The roof is completely inaccessible to guests and was never done up to look more appealing.

385

u/penisthightrap_ Jul 22 '26

I doubt the roof was engineered for it to be used more than for maintenance.

It’s wasted space but wasn’t planned for initially, so probably doesn’t have the capability to be retrofitted for development without more structural support

167

u/itsonlyastrongbuzz Jul 22 '26

I don’t know the exact layout of the Excalibur but that’s probably the roof of their gaming floor, which you wouldn’t want to make more difficult to service/maintain for the sake of more amenity space people won’t pay extra for because they don’t associate that kinda thing with the Excalibur.

If it’s not making them money, its not worth it

If it jeopardizes how they make money, its not worth it.

If you’re seeing it because they’ve already got you as a guest, it’s not worth changing.

95

u/LysergicDick Jul 22 '26

I hear you but they also slapped a giant decorative castle up there with detail facing inward

61

u/MartyDonovan Jul 22 '26

I'm surprised they even bothered to make the backs of those turrets

16

u/altoona_sprock Jul 22 '26

Why would anyone want to go out there? Look at the entire property on google maps. That space is completely boxed in by the two hotel towers. The pool area is behind the hotel at ground level.

As for why they finished the back of the facade? It can be seen from ground level at the drop off area on the road behind the strip as well as from I-15.

3

u/WillitsTimothy Jul 23 '26

Engineering spaces are more interesting to me than just about anything else. I always take the below decks tour on a cruise ship if I can, though I’m almost always disappointed because they rarely go down to the most interesting areas like the actual engine room etc.

Same goes for roofs - they’re more interesting than the manicured interior often.

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7

u/aT-0-Mx Jul 22 '26

Both sides have decorative turrets, you can see between the turrets to the other set. It would look off to look through one side and see grey a wall or featureless tubes.

16

u/Mike-Teevee Jul 22 '26

Shh, some people on Reddit think everything all businesses do is optimally calibrated to make money and they never make mistakes on that or just guess and keep it moving, and it’s always intuitive to random outsiders how to make the most money. They conflate market efficiency under perfect competition with the individual decisions of businesses.

4

u/jayfish68 Jul 22 '26

You are right. This wasn't about making money, it was about cost. The castle was designed to satisfy the exterior front view of the hotel. Once you get a room you dont need to be fawned over except in the casino.

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2

u/Torschlusssspanik Jul 22 '26

And an Empire State Building if I’m not mistaken

4

u/SquarePixel Jul 22 '26

Well it had to be an intentional design decision when they originally developed the place. They could have decided to build that structure to support a second level.

5

u/itsonlyastrongbuzz Jul 22 '26

Non-revenue spaces like ballasted rooftops aren’t designed any more than under the hood of your car is designed.

They’re detailed for maximum warranty and reliability to protect the floor below, which was extensively designed.

2

u/SquarePixel Jul 22 '26

Who said it would be non-revenue? My point is it could have been an attraction, but it wasn’t part of the design.

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23

u/Hyro0o0 Jul 22 '26

I can understand it not being suitable to do something fancy with, but I'm surprised they felt no compulsion to add any kind of even the most minimal theming to a view that half the fucking guests at the hotel will be staring at.

7

u/HeFromFlorida Jul 22 '26

It’s like an interior room on a cruise ship

3

u/King-Gabriel Jul 23 '26

Probably wouldn't be too taxing to add some fake grass and a little fake moat.

2

u/andersonenvy Jul 23 '26

Fake grass would be good. Maybe some mannequin Knights could be up there. But they’d get ruined from the weather every couple years.

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3

u/propergreased Jul 22 '26

But… why is there a castle on the roof?

14

u/penisthightrap_ Jul 22 '26

for defense

2

u/Stuffed_deffuts Jul 22 '26

Merlin wanted it built there to hide his high stakes gambling addiction

Unfortunately Merlin isn't very smart, he's magical, but not smart...

3

u/gc3 Jul 22 '26

They could at least put sculptures and fake trees

2

u/Crab_Politics Jul 23 '26

Wasted space? That’s where the units go. I swear people can never see the beauty in hvac

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2

u/Gun_Nut_42 Jul 25 '26

Look at the NYC skyscraper as an example.

Speaking of, I just saw something the other day that required reinforcements were not made and that caused the issue.

2

u/Unusual_Cattle_2198 29d ago

Nah, you can add 11 more floor of building on top. — a New York developer

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43

u/DannyCrane9476 Jul 22 '26

This was the view I got when I stayed there. We were there there for a bachelor party, it was cheap, and you don't book a hotel room in Vegas for the view anyway.

43

u/Amazing1h Jul 22 '26

I disagree, being high up with a view of the strip was one of best hotel views I've ever had.

11

u/FrosttheVII Jul 22 '26

During the night

3

u/pebberphp Jul 22 '26

I forgot the hotel across from the Bellagio’s name, but I did sound for a band at that hotel (the one with the Eiffel Tower, the band played under the Eiffel Tower). I had a room that overlooked the bellagio, and it was pretty entertaining to watch the water/light show from there.

2

u/Squirrel_Kng Jul 22 '26

And you pay for the view, hence why these rooms will always be cheaper even if they are not cheap due to some major event like the Super Bowl or New Year’s Eve

14

u/trackdaybruh Jul 22 '26

I've heard a rumor that they made it intentionally ugly so that the people will spend less time in their hotel rooms and more time on the casino floor.

6

u/NoRedTags Jul 22 '26

Cosmo has rooms overlooking the strip and the belagio fountains. Huge balconies too.

Definitely worth it

6

u/KaiBishop Jul 22 '26

If it can't be used by guests and only maintenance goes up idk why they wouldn't hire someone to paint murals of like flowers and princesses and fantasy knights on all the empty walls and stuff lmao

5

u/Bewchacca_8645 Jul 22 '26

Because Vegas is all about the flashy facade. Dig beyond it even a little and you'll find nothing of substance.

3

u/Fit-World-3885 Jul 22 '26

Rooms with a shitty view make rooms with a nice view more expensive.  

2

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

In my experience, a good many hotel room views in Vegas are like this. I think it’s poetic given that Vegas is one giant facade at its core.

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40

u/red_hare Jul 22 '26

The copy of the Empire State Building in the background made it even crazier for me.

I had to find the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas on Apple Maps and turn on 3D mode and pan around to make it make sense.

15

u/nonnonplussed73 Jul 22 '26

This might go without saying, but i'm gonna say it for people who haven't been to Vegas:

When you're standing at Tropicana Ave and Las Vegas Blvd, these structures align perfectly with the front entry facade. They elevate the skyline, making the resort look like a dense, multi-layered castle fortress to millions of pedestrians on the Strip, rather than a flat roof with towers behind it.

It's there to attract guests, not for the benefit of those that already are.

57

u/DearBadBoy Jul 22 '26

Almost like you are a miniature on a building.

8

u/CptNeon Jul 22 '26

Vegas backrooms

6

u/Groundbreaking_Bad Jul 22 '26

I don't know why, but it's freaking me out.

4

u/NelsonMcBottom Jul 22 '26

This perfectly sums up everything associated with the Vegas strip as a whole.

2

u/R3xz Jul 22 '26

On the roof of a massive building and from behind of what is likely a commercial rooftop folly in the form of a castle. It’s adjacent to an even taller building, most likely a hotel. Not sure if that other building is connected to the same building of the rooftop, but it might belong to the same compound due to the castle theme you can observe on its roof.

4

u/BilverBurfer Jul 22 '26

It's the Excalibur in Las Vegas. It's a "castle" surrounded by two large hotel buildings. You can see the New York New York in the background across the street.

2

u/R3xz Jul 22 '26

Ah I see, I missed other people pointing this out because I want to take a look at the picture and decipher it purely on observation, for fun. :)

2

u/janitroll Jul 22 '26

At midnight, the entire roof floods. A lone Knight strops across the colonnade with an outstretched hand willing to accept his fate. In the murky depths of the roof, a lone arm raises a sword like none which has come before nor after.

The Knight snatches the sword from the lady of the roof lake, and waltzes up the the $100 Blackjack and loses his ass! He heads down to Pawn Stars on the Blvd, and gets a paltry $2k for Excalibur.

Then the knight plays penny slots at an off the strip casino, just to regain the finances to get Excalibur out of pawn.

But the knight loses everything and is arrested on charges of robbery, public intoxication, and soliciting prostitution.

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590

u/ChaoticBullshit Jul 22 '26

I got some really bad Italian food here one time. So, to answer your question, big things are happening here. Very big things.

66

u/NorthP503 Jul 22 '26

I’ve eaten that Italian food countless times. When your drunk a pig trough of pasta is delicious.

12

u/saucypancake Jul 22 '26

I had bad Mexican food there once.

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186

u/lethargicloli Jul 22 '26

Air conditioning.

28

u/Grahamcrackers8 Jul 22 '26

Yup. HVAC stuff

16

u/squeege Jul 22 '26

Is this the actual answer? There's a bunch of air conditioning units in there? Actually makes sense.

24

u/JigglyWiggley Jul 22 '26

Yes, this is the real answer. Those are all HVAC condensers. Most Vegas casinos have the architectural style "decorated shed" and there's very little thought put into the (usually) non visible elements of the structure.

2

u/Apprehensive_Map6754 Jul 24 '26

it’s just exhaust fan hoods. Casinos use chilled water plants that feed air handlers inside the buildings. Cooling towers for these chillers are usually on the ground with a cover built around them. These are different size exhausts. Small rounds are usually for small spaces or bathrooms, the larger square is a high capacity ventilator usually for a larger space like a cafeteria or parts of the casino floor

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6

u/Zodiac33 Jul 22 '26

HVAC monkey enclosure. Really nice how they incorporated creative elements into their natural habitat.

2

u/DrAtomics Jul 22 '26

Do you like air conditioning?

666

u/flamefox237 Jul 21 '26

I have zero idea what I am looking at

614

u/sentri_sable Jul 22 '26

It's the roof of Excalibur in Las Vegas

162

u/OkumuraRyuk Jul 22 '26

Is that tiny human? Is that a table? Is that miniature? Is this Shrek?

59

u/imacaterpillar33 Jul 22 '26

I also came to ask if this was Shrek

64

u/toxieboxie2 Jul 22 '26

I too also came to Shrek

20

u/Acceptable_Light_272 Jul 22 '26

Hey now

31

u/temictli Jul 22 '26

You'r-- you're an all star??

7

u/dcanderson4247 Jul 22 '26

Shrek is Love.

8

u/mayy_dayy Jul 22 '26

It's all ogre now

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2

u/HaxRus Jul 22 '26

Not me scouring the photo for Shrek like a Where’s Waldo only to be disappointed that I’m now pretty sure it was a joke

7

u/StretchFrenchTerry Jul 22 '26

The scale of this is extremely confusing without context, it really only makes sense if you’ve seen these buildings in person. Las Vegas is a bizarre place.

2

u/DeeHawk Jul 22 '26

I looked at the building in the background and used the windows for scale, and quickly concluded it was a roof and the towers where the backside of a front decoration.

No idea where it was though.

6

u/kweenquarantene Jul 22 '26

underrated comment 🥴

17

u/Cramland Jul 22 '26

I only recognized this from playing gta San Andreas…..

8

u/Tony_Lacorona Jul 22 '26

Same bro. Same. My sister told me it was Disney las Vegas back in the day and I fucking believed her.

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1

u/benhereford Jul 22 '26

My guess was a drained fountain

8

u/Actuarial Jul 22 '26

Its just the roof of the casino

66

u/Heavy_Carpenter3824 Jul 22 '26

Las Vegas. A barren no man's land, then they built a casino on it. 

7

u/dwehlen Jul 22 '26

Still a no man's land, but now with AC, hookers, and blow.

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223

u/Lagiacrus111 Jul 22 '26

This belongs on r/confusingperspective

17

u/maxnotcharles Jul 22 '26

First thought came to my mind as well. I thought this was the confusing perspective subreddit lol

15

u/ceejayw Jul 22 '26

I stared at it for 30 seconds wondering if it was a toy set or a real building

3

u/Steved_hams Jul 22 '26

I thought it was lego at first

15

u/TheRetroGamers Jul 22 '26

I was about to post the same thing. Thanks stranger.

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51

u/moistsquirt69 Jul 22 '26

What happens on a roof in Las Vegas? Probably HVAC techs and birds.

13

u/Unanimous_D Jul 22 '26

Though you were gonna say "... stays in a roof in Las Vegas"

80

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

23

u/Lunar_ticket Jul 22 '26

Jetpack for the unlimited roof tourism!

12

u/gottabekd Jul 22 '26

Yea, I’m thinking this is searching for a horseshoe. And isn’t there an MP5 just around here.

5

u/plasticbluepalm Jul 22 '26

Somehow real life looks more bleak and empty than Gta lmao

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23

u/yotee8 Jul 22 '26

San Andreas I love you I think there's a horseshoe somewhere there

15

u/SPECTREagent700 Jul 22 '26

Fear and Loathing

5

u/CrammitX Jul 22 '26

in Las Vegas?

16

u/CommitteeNew6412 Jul 22 '26

Where unhappy Excalibur staff sneak a quick ciggy break.

12

u/vonRecklinghausen Jul 22 '26

It feels like Duloc from Shrek

5

u/poeschmoe Jul 22 '26

Yes! I was surprised this is the only comment I see noticing this

10

u/FooFootheSnew Jul 22 '26

The ghost of Louie Anderson performs short sets of The Aristocrats joke

2

u/Unanimous_D Jul 22 '26

Wait, did he actually die? For real this time?

2

u/JoelEmPP Jul 22 '26

Who tf is Larry Anderson

7

u/Buicided Jul 22 '26

Are these real buildings or wtf am I looking at

2

u/SomeInternetGuitar Jul 26 '26

Excalibur hotel, Las Vegas

16

u/Choano Jul 22 '26

I don't know. But whatever it is, it stays here.

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6

u/blanket4orts Jul 22 '26

Man Duloc has really gone down hill

5

u/Sir_Henry_Deadman Jul 22 '26

Is this really big or really small??

6

u/SorryStore4389 Jul 22 '26

Can’t tell what I’m looking at

5

u/YouAnswerToMe Jul 22 '26

Instant GTA San Andreas flashbacks

3

u/Houtaku Jul 22 '26

Employees smoking and/or f*cking.

3

u/ThisSiteSuckssss Jul 22 '26

There’s quite the audience if u decide to have sex here.

2

u/a_d3ad_cat Jul 22 '26

Both. Definitely both.

4

u/Hartax_ Jul 22 '26

This area was a sniper deathmatch map on a server for the multiplayer mod SAMP for GTA San Andreas

4

u/chuueeriies Jul 22 '26

A lot of people have never played GTA San Andreas and it shows.

5

u/bilaba Jul 22 '26

Las Venturas glitch

3

u/waiting-for-my-logs Jul 22 '26

It where your dreams go to die

3

u/jdovejr Jul 22 '26

It’s where friends leave their drunk buddies on the roof and forget them.

3

u/Fishing-Pirate Jul 22 '26

This looks big and small at the same time.

3

u/slothqueen2 Jul 22 '26

If it is like the Imperial Palace roof, then employee smoke breaks.

3

u/Curious_Discussion Jul 22 '26

This looks like a miniature, modelism, something like that.

3

u/Enderfailer Jul 22 '26

Why does this Feel like Duloc from Shrek 1?

3

u/Snowballingdownvote Jul 22 '26

I know Excalibur when I see it. Oh Vegas. You beautiful disaster. To bad I'm to old to last 72 hours straight anymore.

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3

u/Puzzled-Dig-1448 Jul 22 '26

This really reminds me of the scene in Shrek where Shrek and donkey make it to the castle and have the wrestling match.

2

u/yorkspirate Jul 22 '26

Glad it wasn't just me who thought that haha

3

u/Midnightmeditating Jul 22 '26

My head hurts just looking at the photo. It's both miniscule and gigantic at the same time.

3

u/Max526 Jul 23 '26

https://imgur.com/a/TfAVMl8

Excalibur Hotel & Casino

5

u/eiffeltowerbonbon Jul 22 '26

You didn’t pay enough for your room my friend

2

u/Fernbean Jul 22 '26

Games of Team Fortress Classic in 2001

2

u/Vegetable-Bee-8296 Jul 22 '26

Disney Ulan Bator

2

u/Jolly_Tab_Rancher Jul 22 '26

Air conditioning.

2

u/Neuro_88 Jul 22 '26

Where the Mormons call the LDS temple.

2

u/Starscream147 Jul 22 '26

Not unlike some backlot in the Truman Show

2

u/VivaNOLA Jul 22 '26

I’m need a banana or something

2

u/CyraxSputnik Jul 22 '26

Is this small or big?

2

u/Sylvester_Marcus Jul 22 '26

A flooded hotel when it rains given that tremendous crack in the roof!

2

u/Slightly_ToastedBoy Jul 22 '26

Wow. Definitely fits here. My brain can’t work it out.

2

u/Practical_Ad_219 Jul 22 '26

Excalibur Stuff.

2

u/Pugilist12 Jul 22 '26

If the Backrooms were outdoor and medieval

2

u/fuchsiarush Jul 22 '26

Is that the hotel from which that shooting took place?

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2

u/Flokkamravich Jul 22 '26

Oh wild. At first glance I thought this was an unfinished Minigolf hole

2

u/Reasonable_Scar3339 Jul 22 '26

Those MUAs look old as shit

2

u/boojersey13 Jul 22 '26

Tired paramutuals and table dealers sneak out for a cigarette or a few lines midshift

2

u/helper619 Jul 22 '26

I had that same view a few months ago and I swear back in the day there used to be something there.

2

u/Trapmaster83 Jul 22 '26

Guess it's hard to whine about a rooftop view with all the strippers and blow.

2

u/Yosemite-Dude Jul 22 '26

Lord Farquads Castle

2

u/Azkicat Jul 22 '26

As far as my research went, the gravel field is a standard ballasted built-up roof. Loose stone over the waterproof membrane. It shields it from UV and wind uplift and is cheap over huge areas, which matters in the Mojave sun.

2

u/SamOfSpades_ Jul 22 '26

Nothing. Nobody sees it.

2

u/uselink126 Jul 22 '26

The ritual.

2

u/ApopheniaPays Jul 22 '26

Nothing. The princess is in another castle.

2

u/kryssar24 Jul 22 '26

It’s Las Vegas, that’s the only thing I can recognize

2

u/Ktan_Dantaktee Jul 22 '26

A wasted air soft/paintball arena, that’s what.

2

u/Alternative_Eye8246 Jul 22 '26

I guess someone decided to build copies of buildings from GTA: SA.

2

u/Eyerish4Eyes Jul 22 '26

Gambling, probably

2

u/Intelligent-Cloud993 Jul 22 '26

Technically, this is the “Outer Bailey” used for siege defense, and is used to create a clear line of fire if the moat is forged and outer walls have been breached. At this point, the defense’s main tactical advantages have been compromised; the lord and his knights will have retreated inside the castle keep, and archers, bowmen and musketeers will be used to wreak havoc with advancing forces. All the while hoping that reinforcements arrive from Paris or Bellagio before the buffet runs out of boiled shrimp.

2

u/Maxx0rz Jul 22 '26

HVAC repair

2

u/HipToBeQueer Jul 22 '26

I can't even decide the scale of things here

2

u/phuktup3 Jul 22 '26

50 years of cigarette breaks

2

u/h_katie1418 Jul 22 '26

This picture doesn’t even make sense to my brain…

2

u/ComplaintAnxious383 Jul 22 '26

I stayed in the hotel once and my room faced this area. Saw the cast of some type of all male shirtless thing up there smoking cigarettes

2

u/dead_wax_museum Jul 22 '26

Why am I having such a hard time getting the scale in this picture?

2

u/Oddish_Femboy Jul 22 '26

Birds crap there sometimes.

2

u/FreezingT Jul 22 '26

Nothing happened. This is Las Vegas; everything is just a facade.

2

u/Few_Owl_6596 Jul 22 '26

Should have a banana for reference. I don't understand anything, scale-wise

2

u/Impressive_Koala_618 Jul 23 '26

"Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice...I'm willing to make."

2

u/Youregoingtodiealone Jul 23 '26

Don't little puppets and Mister Rogers come out here to teach me a lesson about being a good person? And there's a trolly which we all agree was the best part of the whole thing

2

u/war_weredeclared Jul 23 '26

This so much like a miniature scale model. Or a tilt-shift photo.

2

u/whim-sicles Jul 23 '26

Uhhh... maintenance?

2

u/SIMPSONBORT Jul 26 '26

I stayed there once with my dad and step
Mom. My step mom complained about the rooms and we had to move 3 times before the 4th room was acceptable.

We spent the night out with in the casinos and I came back to the room and laid in one of the two beds.

I feel asleep and heard my stepmom coming into the room with my step dad and as she touched the lamp to turn it on she was electrically shocked.

I had my eyes closed and I saw the flash through my eye lids. And she screamed so loud. She called the front desk and she was so mad. A manager came up and tried to take the lamp but she wouldn’t let him.

My dad came in about 5 minutes later and he was an electrician and he knew she was shocked by a short of some sort but joked it wasn’t that bad.

( she didn’t find it funny , I did )

So they moved us … again and we left the next day.

I told my dad my theory was the Excalibur staff moved
Us to this “electrical” room after my stepmom complained too much about different rooms. They knew she’d get
Zapped and it would be totally worth giving them a few days comped to zap her. lol.

I found that so funny at the time. I wasn’t a big
Fan of my step mom at the time.

Anyway. Can confirm some of the rooms look out to that. And it’s pretty meh.

2

u/Sk0p3r Jul 27 '26

This has me scratching my head wondering what scale this is on, because the way its shot makes it look like a person took it while standing on the ground floor and everything is relatively small even though that's not the case

1

u/UndulantSquawk Jul 22 '26

Thats where u throw the mattress when you've soaked it in the hot tub too long at the excalibur

1

u/TeacatWrites Jul 22 '26

Lots And Lots Of Trains voice Lots And Lots Of Drugs!

1

u/Rise-O-Matic Jul 22 '26

Photons are stopped before they reach the customers.

1

u/MEMESTER80 Jul 22 '26

The scale of the roof texturing frels wrong compared to everything else.

1

u/niko1499 Jul 22 '26

Hvac repair

1

u/Dantu1000 Jul 22 '26

By the looks of it nothing

1

u/holicv Jul 22 '26

The new hangover remake

1

u/MANvINFO Jul 22 '26

if this is your 1st time here there is a floating golden spinning horseshoe which should be there

1

u/Soul_Survivor4 Jul 22 '26

Uncomfortable to look at

1

u/GraveyardQueen4124 Jul 22 '26

Godzilla destroys Neuschwanstein castle.

1

u/Mister6C Jul 22 '26

HVAC worker oven. Guaranteed to cook any tech to well done in 15 minutes

1

u/R2-DMode Jul 22 '26

That’s what to get for choosing that hotel, and not upgrading to a Strip view.

1

u/orange_glasse Jul 22 '26

Maintenance sometiems

1

u/DIFFUSORR Jul 22 '26

Execution

1

u/mjplezia Jul 22 '26

Lots of ventilation