back...

poorer, but back. What stays in Las Vegas is your money. If you go there realizing that it's what happens, you'll have fun. and we did.

My friends and I finished off my month-long birthday/retirement festival with a little jaunt to Las Vegas and it was great. We all had a ball.

The start was a little auspicious for me: couldn't find the laptop power cord, found it but forgot the computer (hence, no posts for the entire week!); forgot about rush hour traffic; barely made the flight (5 minutes); the luggage didn't make the flight (it got there 2½ hours later); forgot the iPod's earbuds; forgot my book to read on the plane; sat between one guy who hacked and coughed all the way there and another one who spilled a full cup of coffee everywhere; and I had to take the most enormous dump of my life and couldn't do anything about it until we reached 36,000 feet. It was 78℉ when we left Chicago at 7:30 am. When we got to Las Vegas at 9:40 am, it was 43℉ and very windy! The descent was really rough because of the wind.

It was a real adventure.

We stayed at New York New York. It's a fun hotel/casino. The slot machines are a ripoff though. We didn't see anyone win any big jackpots the entire time.

They taught me a new compulsive game - three-card poker. It's more addictive than the roulette wheel.

The Wynn is an experience. It's beautiful and very welcoming. I noticed that the dealers and the pit-bosses aren't really like those at other casinos. They're actually friendly and helpful. When they were teaching me three-card even the pit-boss was helping. She looked at my second hand and said, "Ohhh. The curse of the queen-nine!" She then proceeded to explain the game in more detail and what things to look for while playing. The other places are poker-face [pun intended] and give no reaction. They'll even tell you that they'll get into trouble if they don't follow the rules exactly. The Wynn will be the next place we stay, I'm sure.

The best part of the trip was the new Cirque du Soleil's The Beatle's "LOVE". Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and the Octopus's Garden were my favorite parts. I forgot how great their druggie, druggie music really is.

I've seen a number of their productions, and though each one seems to outdo the previous, this one is by far the best one! Here's a little video I found on youtube.



If you're going to go to Las Vegas, I highly recommend LOVE.

Now, I have to decide what my life is going to be like from here on out. Well, at least for the immediate future. Time for me is #1 on the agenda for at least 6 months...

whattaya think...?