Note: This post was delayed by a few days due to inadvertently setting off the banned words list.

First I want to say what a sad shock it was to read about Janice O'Neal. We never met, but we wrote to each other on several occasions, and she was so nice and helpful, I was truly impressed. I'm very sorry for Jerry's loss, and send my condolences to him and their family.

So, I just spent four great days in Las Vegas. Well, I went to the in-laws for a day, as well. I had a fantastic time in Las Vegas, as always. I went with family, so I was unable to meet anyone. Actually, I never even made it off the strip (actually only Planet Hollywood to Encore, nothing further North or South), so I couldn't finally meet Gene or any of the other casino employees on this board. Sorry. Ate a ton of great food. Played a lot of poker, came back with more than I went with. I would highly recommend the Caesars Palace tournaments for the serious but not wealthy poker players (long levels, lots of chips, blinds don't rise too fast). Still love the Wynn poker room. I liked the Venetian poker room, but that potpourri smell is slightly nauseating. The Mirage is still comfortable, but the play is looser than ever (4-6 maniacs per table at most lower limits). Amazingly, for the first time in many trips, I never set foot in the Bellagio. I guess that's good since my relatives all did very poorly there. Saw the Pala zzo (space inserted due to banned word list) and Planet Hollywood, neither of which was there when I last went to Las Vegas. I saw all of the inactive construction sites. Well, they looked inactive. I went into Encore on the day after it opened. I had to play some blackjack since they don't have a poker room. It's nice, but once you have seen a portion of the casino, you have seen it all. I didn't have time to get a players card (looks like the Wynn red cards, but says Encore). They didn't have playing cards or dice to give out yet (of course). And, I didn't take any chips since they looked exactly like new Wynn chips as far as I could see. In fact, I brought some over to the Wynn Poker room, and they blended in pretty perfectly. Although I didn't pick up too many new chips, I have a couple of Mirage room keys I am going to let go of eventually:

And the room key at the end of this post. If you really need one of them, send me an e-mail. Who knows?

I never saw a show. Not enough hours in a day to fit one into my schedule! Hey, I barely had time to sleep! I must say I still love that city!! And what a nice present from my wife to let me go!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and/or other celebrations!

Michael Siskin