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Latest Posts
The Pro Bono Bookmaker
February 7, 2010
Super Bowl Weekend is in full swing and we have a very respectable crowd in town. I'm not sure if it's "third busiest weekend in Las Vegas" busy, though, which it has purportedly been over the years. Traffic is certainly worse than usual, but only modestly so. Up to this point, I have been able to zip in and out of sports books to grab betting sheets with little to no delay, and book window lines have not been appreciably longer than they are during a random NFL Sunday. Casino floors have been widely variable from "normal" at Paris to "downright packed" at the adjacent Bally's. With overcast skies, drizzle, and temperatures hovering in the 50's, the weather this weekend could not be more perfect. I would go so far as to say that this is as good as it gets for Las Vegas. The weekend has also been somewhat mellow for yours truly. I scheduled ... Read the full blog post...
The Surly Mediterranean
February 5, 2010
Anyone who has made the drive from Southern California to Las Vegas is familiar with The Mad Greek. Since there are billboards for this restaurant every dozen miles or so, it would be hard not to at least be superficially aware of its existence. Located in Baker, California, The Mad Greek is arguably the most popular diner between Vegas and LA. Baker is also, inexplicably, home to the World's Largest Thermometer. I am not kidding and I have no idea why such an attraction exists. Anyway, since I'm fairly impatient and have no desire to hang out in the middle of Tweedledick, Nowhere ... I typically zoom by this small town at the appointed interstate speed limit, and not a single mile-per-hour faster. One day about 8 years ago, however, it appeared that I was overly-optimistic with regards to the fuel efficiency of my vehicle. I stopped in Baker to fill up my ... Read the full blog post...
No Publicity is Bad Publicity
February 4, 2010
Growing up in Washington, DC, I never thought much about Las Vegas. Then again, I don't suppose there was much to think about. It was a hole in the desert over 2,000 miles away where people gambled while listening to Elvis sing. I didn't have anything against the town, it just never crossed my mind. I probably said the word "Vegas" three times before I was 20 years old. These days, I get the impression that most locals would prefer this mentality from the folks back home. The only time someone in Washington mentions Las Vegas by name these days is to verbally kick the town squarely in the ass. Last year, President Barack O'Drama chastised corporations for using federal money to take trips to Las Vegas. I believe his exact words were "You can't go take that trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime". Frankly, I found ... Read the full blog post...
One Step Closer To Primm
February 18th, 2010. An otherwise un-notable date has taken on a whole new significance in Las Vegas. It officially represents the last day that Planet Hollywood will be an independent property in any way, shape, or form. On the 19th, it will officially be a Harrah's venture from top to bottom. The first order of business for Harrah's once they take over will be to, what else, lay people off ... albeit "only" about 100 people. The layoffs are supposed to strike primarily management positions. It's very sad to see anyone lose their job, but since the office folks probably have more marketable skill sets outside of the gaming industry than do dealers and cocktail waitresses, I suppose these are the least tragic positions to lose. Besides, I'm not sure how much current Planet Hollywood employees would get along with the rhesus monkeys that Harrah's currently employs in management. On the noted date, Planet Hollywood workers ... Read the full blog post...
You Can’t Fight City Hall
February 3, 2010
I have always found Las Vegas City Hall to be somewhat impressive. Built in 1973 and extended in 2003, it is large, modern, and more than suitable for a city of 600,000 people. Depending on the latest turn in our numbers, Las Vegas is now a city that is either losing population or is experiencing miniscule growth. This being the case, one might surmise that our existing municipal infrastructure is just right. At a time when the city is hemorrhaging tax revenue without an end in sight, even if our City Hall were not ideal, one might think that we could hold on and make it work until things got a bit better. Obviously, I'm missing something. Municipalities like to chronically decry the fact that they do not have enough money, and they are always on the lookout for ways to rip-off the citizenry, but I maintain that nearly all budget shortfalls are ... Read the full blog post...
Eating Out
February 2, 2010
If there is one universal culinary truth in Las Vegas, it is that our pizza sucks. It just flat out blows goats. As an East Coast transplant who used to enjoy good pizza on a very regular basis, this has always been hard to come to terms with. Along with blowing goats ... a hobby I have picked up since I moved here. When I lived on the far west side of Vegas, there was a joint called "Villa Pizza" at Durango and Desert Inn which was actually pretty good -- but not good enough to keep me in that hellacious neighborhood of bored lawn nazis with whom I was constantly at odds. I tried to organize a homeowner's uprising at one point, but all of my neighbors were so browbeaten into submission that they quivered and soiled their pants at the mere mention of the name of the HOA. It's been a very ... Read the full blog post...
Las Vegas Derailed
February 1, 2010
It's a bad time to be a fan of rail transit in Las Vegas. The application for our proposed high-speed Maglev train from Anaheim to Las Vegas has been denied. So much for that. Supposedly, not all is lost, however. Backers of the "DesertXpress" train from Victorville to Las Vegas see this as a positive development since their project is still in the works, and the ruling eliminates what would ostensibly be their primary competitor. In theory. Frankly, if anyone thinks Californians are going to all of a sudden discover rail travel and abandon their vehicles, they're higher than I have ever been in my life. I used to live directly on top of the Los Angeles Red Line subway, and I rode it almost daily, but the greatest thing about the train was the fact that I almost never had to compete for a seat. Keep in mind that this was a train that traversed ... Read the full blog post...
The Root of All Evil
January 31, 2010
It's been an intolerable poker week for yours truly. For some inexplicable reason, the ladies of the city have been making my life miserable. A couple of days ago, the bane of my existence was "boob girl", and today it was "spectator girl". Those of you who play poker in Vegas on a semi-regular basis have almost certainly encountered this creature. This is the woman who stands behind her boyfriend or husband, or pulls up a chair to sit and watch from behind. The spectating girlfriend takes on many forms. Sometimes she stands quietly behind her meal ticket and doesn't say a word. Sometimes she nags him that she's hungry. Sometimes she is friendly with the other players. Sometimes she's loud and obnoxious. When a guy's female companion walks up behind him and begins to camp out, you just never know what you are going to get. Frankly, I'm not always a huge fan of spectator ... Read the full blog post...
Hash House a No Go
January 30, 2010
The Hash House a Go Go is an off-strip joint that has had somewhat of a cult following for many years, and late last year they finally opened a restaurant inside of the Imperial Palace. The far-flung location of this eatery (Rainbow and Sahara) has always prevented me from becoming a routine patron of the establishment, but its new location mid-Strip allowed me to finally get around to giving it a fair shot. This morning, I happened to be out and about by myself when hunger struck, and I've always felt that eating solo was highly underrated. I never really caught on to the eating-as-a-social event thing. Why do people get together to talk at the precise moment they plan on having food in their mouths? It's kind of like going to the proctologist after downing a full bar of Ex-Lax. When I eat, I don't like to talk, I like to ... Read the full blog post...
Are We Ready For Some Football?
The only time I watch football on Television is when the Washington Foreskins are in the playoffs, and apparently, they just barely missed making it this year. Had they won a mere 7 more regular season games, they would have earned the ability to choke in the first round. They were this close. RFK stadium remains the only place on the planet at which I have seen a live NFL game, and now that I live in Las Vegas, it looks like this streak will stay intact. Forever. This is a shame. I kind of liked the game as a kid. I met Joe Theismann, John Riggins, Art Monk, Mark Moseley, and I even played football for a period of time. Unfortunately, I had a pathological inability to gain weight. Until age 25, I was 6'4 1/2" tall (I have shrunk about an inch since then), and I could not break 175lbs no matter ... Read the full blog post...
