Las Vegas Weekly

November 22, 2008 · 10:14 AM

Masters of domains unite: Seinfeld Bus ends tour at Caesars

By John Katsilometes

The bus, after it pulled in to Port Caesars on Friday.

Photo: Courtesy

There it is: The Puffy Shirt. Properly cased in glass, with a photo of Jerry Seinfeld wearing the pirate-like garment on the Today show. Nearby is the anguished, redheaded Estelle Costanza Doll and the miniature, pasta-crafted Fusilli Jerry statue. Dozens of boxes of Junior Mints are displayed below a New York license plate reading “Assman.” Outside, visitors can attempt a hole-in-one at a putt-putt display paying tribute to a famous episode about a would-be marine biologist.

All of it -- and more! -- is on exhibit at the Seinfeld Bus, which is parked in front of Caesars Palace, between the hotel marquee and the famous fountains, as part of The Comedy Festival. If you want to see the bus, ever, catch it today (between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.) because it will be retired after the Festival. The bus has traveled nearly 20,000 miles and visited 30 cities, winding up in Vegas.

Sony Pictures launched the bus this summer to promote the famous comedy series, which (remarkably) went latent 10 years ago. As spokeswoman Pamela Brown says, the idea is to reach a “new generation” of college-aged viewers who might know the series primarily from their parents.

OK, ouch. Feeling a little old here.

But the free bus tour is worth the trek, especially for avid fans of the show (which aired from 1989-1998 and, like The Brady Bunch and The Andy Griffith Show, should live forever in reruns): Artifacts on display (and excuse me if these references are too “inside” for tepid fans) include George’s “micro” cassette recorder used in “The Tape,” the laughable Tweety Bird Pez dispenser, the Covenant of Keys, a Manzier (or, if you will, “Bro”), Puddy’s New Jersey Devils Jersey (worn during the great “Face Paint” episode), George’s giant, furry Russian hat and oversized Gor-Tex coat, and laptops and TV screens displaying favorite episodes on command.

There is even a Seinfeld Lounge, where fans can mix and mingle. If the Sony folks aren’t careful, they might just create a Trekkian following with this show.

As it is, enjoy these photos and try to get to the bus. You know, yadda, yadda, yadda …

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