First Trip to Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas! I've wanted to go to Vegas for many years (I'm a semi-serious poker player) but hadn't gotten around to it. When my girlfriend's employer decided to send her to Vegas on a business trip, I tried stuffing myself into one of her checked bags. Didn't work as well as I hoped, so had to stuff myself into an economy seat on a United 737 instead.

On our landing approach Sunday morning, we passed over Lake Mead. The water level there has been steadily dropping for years due to a changing climate that's reduced snowfall and runoff in the Rockies. The lines on the rock formations look just like those in a drained tub. Unless the snows return, at some point the level will fall below that of the intake pipes that lead to Las Vegas. On that day, Vegas will become a ghost town.

We got in earlyish and since neither of us had ever been to Vegas, after checking in to the Cosmopolitan we decided to walk around and explore the Vegas Strip. What a strange place, a completely artificial burg that exists for only one reason, to suck money out of visitors. You can't take more than a few dozen steps without someone trying to hand you a coupon for some business or trying to engage you in conversation that will end in turning your money into their money.

But there's lots of style in the city. Neon and LED's go a long way. And where else on earth can you have a random encounter on the sidewalk with sunburned Elvis in a wheelchair drinking a beer?

Sunday night, we went to see Blue Man Group at the Luxor. They put on a great show mixing music, comedy, video, and deep thoughts. Do go see them, either in Vegas or when they tour.

My honey had three days of shmoozing with clients, vendors, Alec Baldwin, and coworkers. I had three evenings with her but my days were free and that meant only thing. Poker.

I'm not a gambler in the broader sense. You won't find me at a roulette table. Blackjack is beatable if you're a card counter (not as hard to learn as you might think) but it is boring. And I would rather go to the dentist than touch a slot machine. I love that poker has a subtle blend of luck and skill. Enough luck so that, in the short run, beginners can win against experienced players. Enough skill so that, in the long run, skilled players will win from lesser mortals. An ecosystem where the sharks eat most of the fish but in which some of the fish get to survive.

Over the last three days, I've played five Strip poker rooms and one off-Strip one. The wildest game I've played so far has been 1/2 Pot Limit Omaha at the Aria. There was a super-aggressive loose player who was an elderly Asian guy who seemed to know only one word of English, "Pot!" At the Bellagio, just the opposite. Super-nitty tight players. I went off-Strip for one session to play at Sam's Town where they have an odd little ($23) tournament that's Limit Holdem for the first three rounds of blinds and No-Limit Holdem from then on.

Saying goodbye to the Strip tomorrow. My honey's employer put us up in the Cosmopolitan for the length of her conference but we decided to extend the trip for a few days. Moving downtown to the Four Queens. Will check out the Mob Museum and play at some of the old poker rooms downtown with a pilgrimage to Binions. Friday will be a side trip to the Grand Canyon which neither of us has experienced, then the flight back to Minnesota.

Three things I've overheard in Vegas, the first two at a poker table, the third said by a panhandler to a prospective donor: