Viva Las Vegas!

I’m off to Las Vegas on Sunday for five days. My wife’s going there on business and I’m tagging along. It’s the second time there for both of us.

Granted, there are many parts of the world I’ve never been to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Vegas was somewhere near the top of the list of Most Artificial Cities in the World. Large cities in deserts are just wrong on so many levels. If the Hoover Dam wasn’t there, Vegas would still be the small settlement it was before Lake Mead came into existence. And if the water levels in Mead keep falling the way they have been for a long time now, at some point they’ll drop below the intake pipes that feed water to the city. Touristy fountains on the Strip notwithstanding, good luck finding a drinking fountain.

My wife will be in business meeting during the days; I’ll be playing poker. Mostly holdem of course, that’s what the poker world mostly evolves around. But I might play in a Pineapple (similar to holdem with but with three hole cards before the flop, one of which gets discarded if you don’t fold) tournament which runs at a dive casino at the far south end of the Strip a couple of the days I’m there. And I plan to play at least one session of Pot Limit Omaha at the Aria while there. Probably won’t go downtown this trip like we did two years ago. Maybe next time.

After her business day, my wife will be free most evenings. We’ve already got tickets to see one of the Cirque du Soleil shows as well as Penn & Teller. Saw Blue Man Group the last time we were there. On our last full day in Las Vegas, we’ll probably go to the National Atomic Testing Museum. Okay, we’re both nerds.

I’m going to restrain myself and not put it all on black.

Pixabay images