Keeping my hand in

As I have learned that there are certain people (who shall remain unnamed...for the time being) who do not come here unless some sort of service tells them that I have made a new post -- and who have, therefore, been missing all the neat pictures I've been putting up on days I haven't written anything -- I thought I'd better whip up a little something to say hi, I'm back again.

I survived Vegas, even though April tried to kill me by introducing me to the evil joys of poker -- and other poker bloggers...even if they do all speak some strange and exotic language all their own -- and by making me stay out on the town until all hours of the night. (Please note the post time. That's real.)

I now have a working knowledge of many poker rooms in Sin City and have lost my first $20 in a live game of Texas Hold'em. I can also tell you: exactly where my favorite slots machines are in the Excalibur, the MGM Grand, and the Tropicana; how nice it smells in the casino area of The Venetian; how many miles it is to walk from the parking lot of the Rio to their convention area where the World Series of Poker is being held; which casinos have the best women's rooms; which hotels not to stay at in the downtown area; that you should definitely rent a car if you're going to be there a few days so as not to spend an absolute fortune in cabs; that you should valet park said car at every casino possible so as to save some shoe leather for a couple bucks; that you should always tip your dealer when you win a pot; where to get the best steak and lobster when most people in the rest of the country are fast asleep in their beds; and where to get deep-fried Oreos at the Fremont Street Experience. (Yes, I tried them.) Oh, geez, almost forgot the most important one: in which casinos you can now get Krispy Kremes, whether or not they make them on-site.

So, that covers the high points for the most part. And no, I'm not going to repeat what has become (in my mind) the most hackneyed phrase in America regarding that particular city, but it's not like I'm going to spill all that many details. You kind of had to be there.