Viva Las Vegas or Sin City?

Or City of Blinding Lights or City that Never Sleeps. Maybe City of 100,000 Japanese Tourist or Land of Mega hotels, but those are just my observations. Its actually Entertainment Capital of the World, but I guess that is a matter of what you consider entertainment.

I am plugged in at the Bellagio this moment, where I have been living for the past few days. I can't say that I had many expectations for Vegas, but I have been underwhelmed. The themed hotels take a few minutes to walk through and gaze upon the artificial, slightly cheesy reconstructions of things like the Eiffel tower, Colosseum, Venice canal. Gambling isn't my cup of tea at this moment and Gucci bags don't fit in my shopping budget for the year.

So what am I doing in Vegas? I have been living the life of a geek at a Tech Conference where the men's line is significantly longer than the women's (literally 50:1). If I was a single woman that would be great odds : ) The conference has definitely been worthwhile, drinking from the fire hose as my boss puts it. The freebies have been a nice perk too! I have to give a shout out thanks to my sweetie Wyatt who has been giving me all the little pushes I need to get out and do things like Vegas, Paris, and a new job this year.

Tonight I decided to be a true Las Vegas tourist and hit the buffet at the Bellagio. After waiting in line for 30 minutes, I got down to business. My refined buffet strategy for most bang for the buck has evolved over time and tonight I think I did pretty well. First course was raw fish...so anything sushi, sashimi. Second course I would title as MEAT, so prime rib, lamb, buffalo, sea bass, and swordfish. Next I did a pure Alaskan King Crab palette cleanser, which lead nicely into dessert. With much restrain I limited it to flan, minitart, and key lime mousse. The keys to a buffet are portion control (treat it as tasting menu) and eliminate inexpensive filler foods(like breads and potatoes). Definitely check out this buffet if you are in Vegas, excellent selection and quality!

More to come on Vegas; I need to pack for a hotel change tomorrow.

Thought for the day: You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.