Twilight Zone or Evil Disneyworld

I must admit, the glamour and sparkle of Las Vegas was hard to resist. The food buffets as far as the mouth could reach. The shows from white tigers to blue men put my artistic nature into overdrive.

I have never been in such a place before that had so much to offer. Did I like it? Sure. I loss my money in the slot machines, hoping to win a new car. I desperately wanted to get that loud siren to go off, or to hear the constant stream of quarters hitting the money catcher. I heard it in the distance as I went by. I only managed to win a few, lose a lot.

I must have entered 20 casinos in three days. My favorite was Paris. Ahhhhh Paris. The eiffel tower, the french bakeries, the streets to stroll on, even street painters, and the men in berets singing Italian on the waterway of Venice....

There was a constant stream of tourists to that fair city of Paris. It was only when I looked up, and saw the painted sky that I realized I was still in Las Vegas. Then I noticed there were no windows out to see the real world. I couldn't find a drinking fountain, and there was no clocks to be found. I was trapped in either a Twilight Zone episode, or an evil DisneyWorld.

It was time for a commercial break, so I went outside. The streets were so crowded. Old people, young people, small kids, lots of families, lots of hookers, lots of drunks. So many nationalities. I love to hear foreign languages spoken. It makes my world bigger to hear them. People seemed to be polite. And there were always people on the streets happily handing out free
business cards to their place of business.

Driving down the strip was fun. I learned to drive it really fast. I managed to "almost hit" a grandmother dragging her small grandson across the street. She had a determined look to get across the street, no matter what.

I didn't realize how many roller coasters they had in their fun city. They came out of buildings and went underground. The hotel I stayed at even had one at the top of the tower, 1200 feet up. I enjoyed racing thru parking garages, with a van load of people. There's nothing like going fast, up and down those lanes, with the concrete pillars looking like they'll take your head off any moment.

I understand the city never sleeps. Well, I did. I could have gone out drinking to all hours of the night, but I didn't want to ruin the next day of recovering from all the booze. There is a small line that drinking people cross over when they drink too much. If you aren't crossing with them, they look really stupid. If you are, then it doesn't matter. Anyway, I was saving my energy for getting womped in the women's hockey tournament. (that's another story)

Would I go back? Yep. I was just getting the hang of the roulette table. The day I checked out of the hotel, I took my free complimentary chips ($10) and headed for the first uncrowded, no players within 25 feet table. I admitted that I was a newbie, and placed my bet. One chip was for Jake, one was for Sammi. Whatever I won I would split between them. I won, then I lost, then I won, then I got brave, then I got stupid. When I reached $100, I dragged myself away from the table and cashed in. On the way out the thought cross my mind "I could give the kids each 10 dollars. They would never know" Then I realized that is bad gambling karma. I will need all the help I can get next time I visit Las Vegas.