Random Las Vegas Night Shots

The Bellagio Fountains

Home for seven nights

Bally's and Paris

The Palace of Caesar

Random Las Vegas Interiors

A partial shot of the Sports Book board in The Mirage

Caesar's main lobby decorated for Chinese New Year

Caesar's Pussycat Dolls table games

Just outside famous Pure nightclub and the PCD Lounge

Random Las Vegas Celebs

From L to R: Jennifer Tilly, Phil (the Unabomber) Laak, Don Cheadle, Gus Hansen, Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu

Shana Hiatt

Shannon Elizabeth and Shana Hiatt

Random Las Vegas Casinos

The Bellagio

Paris

New York, New York

The Mirage

Random Las Vegas Food

Carnegie Deli's BLT & Chicken Salad Gargantuan Sandwich

Carnegie Deli's Gargantuan Pile o' Pastrami

One of Max's Cafe's cheap $8.99 pasta dinners

Bellagio's Patisserie for crepes

Cesar's Place, Los Vegas!

I recently got back from a week-long vacation in Las Vegas. Sheeeeyit. This city is all about EXCESS. Excessive "architecture." Excessive food. Excessive drinking. Excessive people. Excessive smoking. Excessive casinos. Excessive gambling. Excessive shops. Excessive prices. Excessive for the sake of excessive. You don't need more than three days to take in Vegas, but me and my poker buddies stayed a week in Caesar's Palace to gamble, eat, drink, and party. I gambled the second-most and found $2-$5 NL hold'em to be my preferred poker game. $3-$6 limit hold'em was a frustrating time for me as it required even more patience than the NL cash game. In either case, drinks were free (albeit a $1 tip for the cocktail waitress) and smoking was prohibited in all the real poker rooms.

Here's a quick review of the poker rooms I played at:
Bally's - ** - Not even a room at all; smoking isn't allowed within the roped off area, but smokers can stand outside of it and easily blow smoke into your table area; quite small with less than 20 tables but offers $1-$2 NL
Bellagio - *** - A large private area between the sports book and slots; 20+ tables but space is tight if the room is busy; no drink holders in the tables either! offers $2-$5 NL and $3-$6 Limit
Venetian - ***1/2 - A very large private area near the slots; 20++ tables with comfortable chairs and room to easily move around; the newest poker room with a decent waiting lounge area
Caesar's - **** - An actual great room with a separate tournament room as needed; 20+ tables with maximum seating for 9 vs. 10 seats everwhere else provides the best comfort; smokers will definitely not bother players here and the only poker room that offers chocolate milkshakes as a drink option! offers $1-$3 NL and $3-$6 Limit
MGM Grand - ***1/2 - A very large area near the slots and curves around a bar; tables have a granite surface for chips; appears to be the only one with sit-n-go tournaments; offers $1-$2 NL and $2-$4 Limit

I guess this was officially my first poker vacation. And it certainly won't be the last. I was very close to winning back enough cash to pay for the cost of the trip and expenses therein. Viva Las Vegas!

Happy Holidays

I have not abandoned this blog! I'll only have the statutory holidays off this Christmas season, but I'll try to recap what's happened in the past couple of months soon...

Runnin' and Boardin'

I hate running. But I ran the Toronto Marathon's 5K back in October and I improved on my sub-30 minute goal - over a minute faster than my very first 5K race in August! I'm nowhere close to sub-25 minutes, but perseverance will be key. Sadly, I have not run at all for over three weeks as I've been skipping any form of cardio exercise. Why would anyone have to run for 5km or even 10km? Good For You Lance Armstrong for finishing your first (and last?) marathon the other day. Then again, if someone could win seven consecutive races of cycling over 3500km, why not run a mere 42km. I plan on never running a marathon - the Mississauga Marathon's 10K will be my next big race in 2007. Then the odd 5K race now and then after that.
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In December, I'll be going to Mt. Tremblant with friends for a long weekend of boarding! After spending the last two weeks searching and shopping for my own snowboard gear, I now have my own board, bindings, and boots. I was about to keep a pair of Salomon boots that were over $300, but there's no way I can justify spending that much, even though you get what you pay for. I ended up under budget thanks to a ski/snowboard swap show this past weekend. Looks like real snowpants are now a possibility! (NB: 5000/5000 minimum breatheability/waterproofing) I won't be going every weekend, but I plan on enjoying this winter with the occasional day of boarding!
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P.S. I'm jumping on the bandwagon - Snow Patrol's Eyes Open album is fantastic. I'm also hooked on their previous Final Straw album too. High five!

California 2006 - Hills and Curves Next 63 Miles

From one of many amazing 'visitor area' stops along California's famous Route 1 (aka PCH) highway.

I drove my rented car from the San Francisco Bay Area down to the surrounding Los Angeles area. I had left Sunnyvale on Tuesday, September 20 at about 08:00 and reached Malibu just before 19:00 the same day. The last time I was in Cali, I went from Gilroy to Thousand Oaks in about 4.5 hours via I-5... So this is definitely THE "scenic route" to get to your destination!

I followed #1 all the way and at times I thought I had lost it while driving through small towns but I was on track the whole day. In total, I put on just over 1000 miles in 4 days as I returned the car on the 23rd. 

Along Route 1, mist and fog clearing away for another sunny day in Cali.  

California 2006 - Endless Beaches

Intense beige and blue colours from vast Pismo Beach, CA. 

Less than 30 minutes away from Malibu, some kitesurfers along the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Concluding a long day of driving with a sunset in Malibu, CA. 

Taken from Laguna Beach, CA just off the PCH. 

California 2006 - Mountain View and the Googleplex!

I met up with TT at Google who graciously gave me a tour of his workplace and its awesome perks (i.e.: free food, drink, and snacks everywhere!). The Google cafeterias are stacked and I can see why TT has never had to buy groceries since moving here! Sadly, there is NO Google Store or Shop for souvenirs at the Googleplex, so I couldn't get any goodies to bring back.  

California 2006 - San Francisco in the evening

Some random shots of this great city... 

City skyline and the Bay Bridge at night 

Golden Gate Bridge at night 

Golf and Dine

This is one way I spent my TGIF afternoon - playing a round of golf at the Maples of Ballantrae Golf Club with colleagues!  


I have no idea what my score was after 9 holes but my "best" hole was a double bogey on a par 3. I suck. Thus, a new fall/winter goal is to hit the driving range and putting green. That also means I'll have to buy a putter and a driver (eventually). But it was definitely fun playing on the course and driving a golf cart was a blast!

Real Wild Aminals

So imagine you're at the Cheetah Exhibit and there are two cheetahs just lounging around looking bored. Then you realize an out-of-place seagull lands and stops within 50 metres of one of the felines. The lying cat picks its head up and before you know it, it gets up and runs to the bird. You watch in disbelief as the seagull gets a running start for liftoff but suddenly the cheetah is RIGHT there and brings the bird down with its paw and open mouth.

I do not have any photos or videos of the above carnal action taking place, but here's a crappy shot of the white-feathered snack instead.