I'm back! My bank account is much smaller which is no surprise for any vacation, especially one to Las Vegas. I'm not as tired as I have been after a vacation which is odd considering we trekked many miles up and down the Strip. I'll fill you in the trip as the week progresses.

While in Vegas, I quickly came to the conclusion that table games are just about as wasteful as slot machines. There is more skill involved than in slots, but the skill is minimal compared to the luck. From now on, it's only poker for me. At the very least it's cheaper as I can get out of bad hands without spending any money. Overall, Lady Luck was unkind to me. I dropped $80 very quickly one afternoon because I didn't know my minimums. $10 minimums at a table (blackjack and 3 card poker) disappears very quickly. Poker was a little kinder even though I never made anything from it. I won some small pots, but lost a large chunk on two hands that I had until the last card. And, because of some idiot players throwing cash around like confetti, I folded two other hands that would have won had I stayed in. Good lessons though. The more I play, the better I get. Maybe one day I can just play poker for a living since my dream of playing video games for money doesn't seem possible at this point in my life.

I know prostitution is legal in Nevada, but the amount of advertising that goes on for it is simply amazing. Instead of paper stands with real estate booklets or freebie newspapers, the sidewalk is littered with prostitute and stripper ads. There are sometimes a dozen paper racks on the sidewalk filled with newspapers promoting sex. As if that weren't enough, people are on the sidewalk handing out business cards with scantily clad women wanting your money. I don't know how many people offered me a newspaper or card while walking down the street with my wife. Apparently we look like swingers.

Speaking of scantily clad women, what are casinos thinking when dressing their cocktail waitresses? For most of the casinos, I give them an A on the costumes. I give the Hilton an F for their unflattering black shirt, black pants, gold vest outfits. However, the actual waitresses left a LOT to be desired. It doesn't do any good to have short skirts and plunging necklines if your waitresses are ugly and old. The most disappointing was Caesar's Palace. For such a classy place, their waitresses were the worst. I don't think I saw one waitress younger than 45. The Rio overall had the best looking waitresses. On my way out for the evening, I had an opportunity to see a "slot stripper" (for lack of a better term) dancing on top of a slot pool. However, the Rio also had cocktail "wieners" - male servers. Yuck!

This week is already threatening to be busy. I've come home to a mess. I've already had to deal with a company not shipping something I ordered because the item was suddenly sold out after two weeks, even though they said the item was in stock when I ordered. Tomorrow I need to take my car back to the shop to have them look at the a/c they supposedly fixed 2 weeks ago. Driving home yesterday was miserable because of the heat. We had to roll down all 4 windows to keep the cat from getting too hot. I also have to finish my lesson plans and start prepping for all my classes. Look for my Vegas trip reports all this week and a few movie reviews as well. Now, I'm off to start what everyone says will be my new addiction: World of Warcraft.