Back from Vegas

Hi Vegas Fans,

Well, I'm back. How was it? It was great! I managed to come out about even, ahead if you count the number of rum and cokes I drank.

A few observations:

• With the economy, it's certainly not as crowded as it usually is, but there are still plenty of people there to strike up conversations at the tables, etc.
• City Center is really coming along (check out my photos on Flickr or the progress at Las Vegas Today and Tomorrow).
• Blackjack: I found good $5 tables at the Stratosphere, Excalibur, and downtown. Harrah's has properties with some $10 3:2 blackjack dealt from the shoe, but you have to really look for it and be careful you are not sitting down at a 6:5 table. One of my wishes was granted this trip; the 6:5 tables are usually identified as such somewhere on the table. If there's no sign, then more than likely it's 3:2, but always ask the dealer just to be sure. The 6:5 tables are mostly single or double-deck, but there are still some dealt from the shoe with these lousy odds.
• One of the strangest things I've ever seen... I was at a blackjack table, and this guy decides to double down on (I'm not kidding) a hard 16. Vs. a dealer 10, no less. And, guess what he got for his card? Yup, a 5! It's always better to be lucky than good, I always say, and he sure proved it.
• Thumbs-up this trip: Flamingo pool and bird sanctuary. Also the Flamingo's new Burger Joint hit the spot for lunch, although the service was slow. I mean really, pretty much all they have are burgers. Do the cooks just wait back there until someone says, "one burger... make that two burgers... no, wait, three burgers!" The fries were really crispy and yummy, making it worth the wait.
• Bigger thumbs-up: Breaking even, eating at Battista's and Four Kegs, and Blue Man Group. Great show - my second favorite in Vegas thus far (only Love tops it in my book).
• Biggest thumbs-up: Hanging with my friends Steve, Merrie, and Cindy. Steve and I have been Vegas nuts for over 15 years and buddies for a quarter of a century. Doesn't get much better than that!
• Thumbs-down: Traffic on the Strip when they closed a lane one night, road construction on Flamingo, Steve having bad luck at blackjack and craps, Martha (my lovely wife) not being there. Next time - she'll be there in March.

More later.
Viva,
Mike