Las Vegas

I saw Elvis today -almost immediately after I arrived in Las Vegas. I spent the afternoon exploring the strip and trying to get tickets for the Circus Du Soleil show at the MGM. After much negotiations, I did manage to get some decent seats for tomorrow night's show. The city is very international and it was nice seeing so many different types of people converging on this desert oasis. I even played a little blackjack at Excaliber this afternoon and it was fun talking to the other players, but the allure soon wore off.

Las Vegas is what I sort of imagined it to be. It is a cross between Disneyland for adults and some super resort with quite a few slot machines around. I knew I was in trouble when I saw slot machines in the airport terminal. I noticed that there are lots of newly weds walking around this place and god help you if you are mathematically challenged and try to take a stab at gambling. The neon and sodium lights are brighter than broadway and all the casinos are linked either by walkways or monorail. I walked around the MGM today and followed the paths defined by the casino designers --trying to understand what the designer was hoping to acomplish (besides gambling) .