# Modern Family: Las Vegas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664 "2014-03-27T03:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/21 "2014-03-27T20:56:03Z")
I thought it started slowly, but when goofy-looking Stephen Merchant showed up I knew it was going to go somewhere. I bet this is his biggest exposure in the US, and I wonder what might come out of it. I laughed out loud several times in spite of myself. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/22 "2014-03-27T23:39:39Z")
Magic nerds: Is the trick Phil was demonstrating possible? Easy? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/23 "2014-03-28T16:56:27Z")
Overall we liked the episode. But our knowledge of Vegas ruined the tag. 1. Mandalay Bay is only 43 stories tall. 2. It, like most other resorts who cater to Chinese customers, omit any floor level with a “4” in it. There is no 4th floor, no 14th floor, and it goes straight from the 39th floor to the 50th floor in the elevators. This makes it next to impossible to count floors from the outside. 3. So there wouldn’t be a 64th floor under any circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/24 "2014-03-28T17:37:38Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Frazier could do these kinds of shows and have you rolling on the floor. > > Modern Family didn’t come close to getting it right on this episode. I’l disagree with you on half of this. Frasier was the best at pulling off these kind of jokes hands down, and I thought MF did a good job of it. > [@silenus](#): > > Overall we liked the episode. But our knowledge of Vegas ruined the tag. > > 1. Mandalay Bay is only 43 stories tall. 2. It, like most other resorts who cater to Chinese customers, omit any floor level with a “4” in it. There is no 4th floor, no 14th floor, and it goes straight from the 39th floor to the 50th floor in the elevators. This makes it next to impossible to count floors from the outside. 3. So there wouldn’t be a 64th floor under any circumstances. Holy crap I never knew that! ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/25 "2014-03-28T19:06:19Z")
The mandarin for 4 is a pseudo-homonym for death. Pseudo, because the tones are different. Like the difference between an affect in speech vs affecting change. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/26 "2014-03-28T19:33:26Z")
For some reason I predicted almost every punch line in this episode at the set up. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before with an episode. For how fast-paced it was, it seemed like their timing was off. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/27 "2014-03-28T21:43:23Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Frazier could do these kinds of shows and have you rolling on the floor. > > Modern Family didn’t come close to getting it right on this episode. Actually, many of these can be traced back to operettas and comic operas. Some of them just lifted the entire plot from French or Viennese operettas. The only thing missing is a gazebo, in which a couple secretly meet, unaware that the other person is actually their lover in disguise. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664/28 "2014-04-15T11:17:38Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Magic nerds: Is the trick Phil was demonstrating possible? Easy? Yes. He isn’t very good at magic, really. His demonstrated skill level is about that of an enthusiastic high schooler. And his patter sucks. Which is part of the runing joke. Fake hands out the top of the bag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-las-vegas/684664.md?page=1)