Who the heck is Special K? He is a new contributor to LasVegasVegas.com.

I imagine that my nickname will get me in trouble with the Kellogg's folks, but that is just how I roll, brave until confronted and then I run like crazy. One lawyer letter and I'll be Oatmeal McGrits.

Hi, I'm Special K. I'm an amateur poker player. I'm an amateur photographer. I shoot a pretty mean game of pool sometimes. Other times it looks like I rode a short bus to the pool hall (thus the nickname). Mostly, I'm a friend to Flipchip and the Poker Prof and they have been good friends to me.

The Prof's Poker Blog welcome's Gene "Mean Gene" Bromberg to the LasVegasVegas.com family. Gene discusses current issues facing the millions of players pursuing poker's many rewards. Gene is one of the defining class of Internet journalist. He produces well researched, well written, source linked, in-depth analysis of what's affecting the poker industry and why. Today's inaugural post from Mean Gene--Prof

More Damned Lies

It was Mark Twain who said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Well, no--actually it was the British author and politician Benjamin Disraeli who came up with the line, which Twain quoted in his autobiography. Still, most people attribute it to Twain, because they can't be bothered to check the facts.

No matter who was first with the quip, it's still certainly relevant today. Every day we're bombarded with statistics that are carefully constructed to obscure the truth and confuse those who try to parse them. Not that many folks do much parsing--they blindly accept whatever numbers are splashed before them without considering the fact that those numbers might be misleading or even bogus.

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

photos by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

I made a fast trip to Los Angeles yesterday to take care of some Poker Prof business in the Southland. The trip was done with no regard to allowing enough time to rest before heading back Las Vegas (someone should report the Prof to the slave labor police). Traffic was relatively light outbound but crowded for the return trip. I guess more people were leaving Los Angeles than leaving Las Vegas. Other than the usual gridlock of LA it was uneventful.

I'm sitting here in DFW waiting for an evening flight to Las Vegas. Grandmother continues her journey on the other side after having spent more than a century spreading her warmth and faith to anyone that got near. I'm one of those people who approaches the "after life ideas" with a degree of skepticism probably as a result of my science/technical background.

At least that was my thinking until a few years ago when I had some minor surgery and the young inexperienced anesthesiologist decided at the last minute a general instead of a local slug of drugs would be better while they probed around in my hand for a glass shard. Of course, I also got some of the muscle relaxant, succinylcholine, and after they located the small glass splinter and put in a single stitch to close the tiny incision I was wheeled into recovery where I suffered respiratory failure. Unfortunately the guy didn't have a clue what was going on (I know, my ears were working) and damn nearly let me suffocate (It seems I have a very rare condition known as Pseudocholinerase defficiency that prevent me from metabilizing the drug). After a few minutes the incredible pain caused me to blank out. I then went through a near death experience that was similar to the accounts of others, except I didn't really float around the room or flying out a window, instead I found myself in a dark, peaceful place with a beckoning light at the end.

I was stopped at the border of what was apparently life and death where I spent what seemed to be days (actual unaccountable time was only a few hours) talking to various people from my past. Finally, I was told to go back; but, I was so comfortable there that I refused and insisted on staying. I was totally pain free for the first time in my existence, surrounded by a peacefulness and security I'd never known before or since. I protested going anywhere and insisted on staying, but then I began to hear my family calling me back to reality. What I was hearing turned out to be a group of very real doctors and nurses all telling me to breathe. The journey back was pain of the extreme kind. Incidentally, everyone tells me the same person didn't return and they like this one much better. Personally, I can't tell any difference.

I've never shared this experience with many people and am doing so now to help me with my grandmother's death. I'm convinced that she got to the place where pain goes away, replaced by a comforting peace. It a feeling so special that a page full of superlatives can't do it justice. I'm sure my grandmother is continuing on spreading her sunshine and catching up on the news with some old friends and family she hasn't seen in many years.

Back to Las Vegas this evening and back to poker as a way of life. This is my closing post for this celebration of the end of a life that lasted a century and I wish to thank everyone for their kind words and consideration. It is much appreciated and brought me much comfort. I will be thanking many of you personally when we gather at the Rio for the 2006 WSOP bash next month.

My grandmother passed away on Monday. I'm suffering from a profound sadness that is only relieved by going over her life and my special relationship with this wonderful lady, the mother that raised me. My grandmother was 101 years old.

She took me in as her own son when I was only days old and raised me in a God fearing household that placed truth and honesty above all things. Small of statue, a stretch to reach five foot four, she never hesitated to put herself in harm's way to ensure my welfare. She comforted me with unconditional love all my life and for this I am eternally grateful. Continue reading my farewell to a pioneering Texas centenarian by clicking below.

As I said I'm in a bit of a funk right now and in a few hours I will be in the air to Texas for the Friday funeral. The next couple of days I'm hoping the Prof will fill in for me, but just in case I will have a laptop. The post is a goodbye, maybe too personal for some, but it's something I needed to do. Sometimes there's more to life than than Vegas or poker.

I love playing poker in Vegas. And what's not to love? Card rooms are set up so that you can enjoy playing your game of choice at the stakes of your desire. But not all card rooms are created equal. I was in London a few weeks ago, and their card-room looked like the basement of a speakeasy. And not in a nostalgic cool way either. More like in a "are we playing in the garage so we can smoke?" sort of way.

Just what makes Las Vegas poker rooms so much better than in other cities? Well, let me count the ways in a list I like to call:

Why Vegas Card rooms are so good

1. They have clean, new chips. Have you ever gone to a card room in a smaller city, only to sit down to a stack of chips that stick together? Not only is it disgusting, but it makes it more difficult to play with the chips. It's hard to intimidate your opponent when you have to crack your chips apart like KGB opening an Oreo before you bet. New shiny chips make a wonderful sound almost as beautiful as the "ping" sound you get when you hit a perfect drive off the tee in golf. SHHHHH! Listen. Can you hear it? "Ping"

2. Sometimes a card room is just a card room. And then there is Vegas, baby. It's all about customer service and keeping up the pretense that there is no better place for you to be. Remember to take advantage of the fact that Vegas hates to lose a single gambler. Ask for things. Be off the wall. Order a drink but demand that it has a paper umbrella in it as you believe that brings you good luck.

3. All games are spread in Vegas. I have even seen MGM put up HORSE on request for a table last time I was there. Like Omaha? You can find it. Like Low-ball? Its there. Like Razz? Just kidding. No one likes Razz.

4. There are other types of gambling. I am not sure what they are, but I hear you bet on things and the house wins more than 50% of the time. I'm not sure I understand the attraction here, but it keeps a lot of money coming into the casino, which in turn allows them to build cooler card rooms, which in turn gets the casino on TV. Everybody wins. Well, except the people playing the table games. Serves them right for not playing poker.

5. Vegas has distractions. Many, many distractions. This allows poker players and gamblers to pretend that there are other things to do in Vegas. Best of all, when you return without a big winning streak and your friends ask you, "So how was Vegas?", you can reply "The Blue Man Group was awesome."

Like it or not, poker's boom has spawned a number of high and low water marks since Moneymaker won the World Series. With all the good poker's popularity has brought for the average player, there's plenty of reasons to rue the day the average Joe figured out Hold 'Em would be a great way to spend a Saturday night. After the jump, we'll give you the definitive Las Vegas Vegas take on the good and bad that's come out of the last three years of poker's incredible rise...

Should be smaller than the actual cards (so the dealer can tell you are in the hand). You would think this would go without saying. Please do not place a boom-box on your hole cards.

Small enough that chips cant hide behind them. This may end up causing a ruckus and casinos do not like anything with the word "ruckus" in it.

Personal enough that you are tagged with an image.

Should not be based on the occult. So, next time you are heading to Vegas, remember to take you new special friend, the card protector.

We'd like to introduce BG from Random Thoughts and Thoroughbred Selections to the Las Vegas Blog family. We'll give him a bit of room here to stretch out and let you know what to expect from him from here on out.

A long time ago on another gambling-related website, I wrote an article about pro poker player Tomer Benvenisti. In part, the article read:

Like beer-league softball and the great sport of bowling, America has found a pasttime for our morbidly obese. And we'd like to nominate Tomer Benvenisti as the Patron Saint of fat-ass poker players everywhere.

Why Tomer? Well, first off he's Italian. We fully support the complete range of cured meats that end in vowels, as well as the variety of dishes with awesomely fun names to pronounce like "braciole" and "gabbagool." Second, he's delightfully doughy. Look at him, there's no way he disarms two muggers like Greg Raymer. He's the perfect role model for today's sedentary man.

There are lots of fat guys out there to choose from, but give us a guy whose pores reek like the trash can at an Italian deli. Give us a guy who licks his fingers clean, but only after his fifth cannoli has built up the appropriate amount of residue. You can have your Polish and your German tubby folk, give us Tomer Benvenisti and a pound of Prosciutto. He's the man.

HELLO [expletive deleted],

MEET ME AT THE MIRAGE, WHERE I PLAY 40-80 HOLDEM DAILY AND AND TELL ME TO MY FACE YOUR THOUGHTS ON FAT [expletive deleted] LIKE ME. I EAT MAGGOTS LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST. OH BY THE WAY, I AM ISRAELI AND WOULD LOVE TO STICK AN UZI UP YOUR [expletive deleted].

FAT [expletive deleted] DREAMS,

TOMER BENVENISTI.

· I shall henceforth fully understand the nationalistic pride inherent in the great people of Israel, and shall never assume a really fat guy with an Italian surname loves the cured meats of Parma again.

· I shall never again hold forth a player of immense talent and skill as a potential hero and/or Patron Saint based simply on girth.

· I shall, however, reserve the right to nominate another player as a role model to those with a similar aesthetic, such as declaring those who battle mental problems at the poker table may find a kindred spirit in Phil Hellmuth.

· I shall never bore you with the details of a hand in which I lost a great deal of money, unless the suckout was at least a rivered three-outer or a non-flush draw runner-runner.

· I shall never profess to tell you how to play Ace King under the gun, in middle position, opening a pot from the button, after a raise, or from the blinds. I shall reserve the right, however, give you 500 aimless words on how much I hate the nickname "Big Slick."

· I shall never rest until I have made fun of every home game douchebag wearing sunglasses whose picture I find on Flickr.

· I shall, in reviewing the mainstream media's articles on the "poker fad," retain the personal mantra that the only thing that has truly "jumped the shark" is the media's claim that poker has "jumped the shark."

· I shall strive to never take the easy joke where more complex nuance may be available as an alternate route. For instance, Kathy Liebert may not be an attractive woman, but that joke would be too easy. Instead, I shall find a quote of hers such as, "the top women players are among the top players period," and play that broadly on the obvious truth that women are too emotionally high-strung to be successful poker players. I shall remember that the truth is always funnier than opinion.

· I shall never let my personal biases against Canadians, pink chip games, Omaha Eight, Vince Van Patten, pocket Jacks, table captains, mule deer, mayonnaise, goths, Oprah Winfrey, MySpace, PartyPoker, and people who defend calling a raise with three-gap offsuited cards they should be doubling down on corrupt my ability to tell it to you straight. Unless, of course, they deserve it.

· And lastly, I shall produce posts in this space that you will rarely, if ever, be able to take seriously.

Poker is a lot of things, but at its core it's still a game. Suck it up, post your blinds, and let's deal 'em up kids.

On Tuesday the high temperature in Las Vegas set a record for the coolest day ever on this date, 51 degrees, but don't dig out the artic parkas because the high on Friday will be close to 80 degrees. I spent part of this record cold day catching up with stuff I pile in the corners of the computer. Going through some of the search requests I find questions that readers asked and thought it might be helpful for our people planning to visit the entertainment capitol of the universe, especially for the first time, to answer them in a public forum.

Q: What time does the sun set in Las Vegas?

A: The sun typically sets in Las Vegas at sundown every evening, but it can be very difficult to actually discern the time of the actual event since it's masked by the brilliance of the city's neon.

Q: How many poker chips do I need to win in Las Vegas?

A: All of them.

Q: How can I date a porn star in Las Vegas?

A: Not a clue, but I will do some research.

Q: How can I beat the slots in Las Vegas?

A: Don't play.

Q: What is the price of admissions to watch the WSOP?

A: See me for some half price tickets.

Q: How much money should I bring to Vegas?

A: Everything you have.

Q: When does Las Vegas close?

A: When everyone leaves.

Enough of the Q & A for now, time to catch up on the backlog of work with our exhaustingly extensive collection of poker photos. Also some time to reflect on where we have been and what lies ahead for poker and Las Vegas. The future of the city has never looked brighter with the strip set for a transformation that will see city sized resorts replace the now aging "themed" resorts designed to appeal to the average American family vacation budget. I like the way Vegas is headed, back to its roots of providing the very best to those lucky adults that can afford the best. And, what direction is poker headed?

Poker's big move was onto the world's virtual Main Street, the World Wide Web. Internet Card rooms have literally sprang up on this futuristic boulevard of pixels. These virtual establishments routinely attract hundreds of thousands of players from around the world into the card rooms where they can play with very real money. And, how about brick and mortar live poker rooms? The land based casino card rooms have recently undergone a period of unprecedented growth with rooms opening all across the country and existing rooms in Nevada and California expanding. Do I think the live poker playing bubble will burst? No, many of those hundreds of thousands of Internet players will always have a need for live games. Do I think the popularity of TV poker will continue? Probably, at least to some degree, there will always be an audience for the sport with the proper marketing of the game and its stars.

I am currently reading about three articles a day detailing the anticipated decline in the popularity of poker. Many are from some of the most respected in the news business, "all the news that's fit..." people, talking up poker's eminent decline and its all based on some television stats. I don't think poker has ever been on the decline, recently it just decided to come out of the smoky closet and go legit. This year we will see the WSOP with a $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event and later this year a $100,000 buy-in Heavyweight Championship of Poker. Andy Beal was just in town trading millions across the felt of a poker table. Is poker on the decline? Check out the numbers and you decide. Can you imagine a day without poker? I can't.

I have a few days of leisure so am not spending much time with the computer or the cameras. I've been sleeping late, staying up till sunup, watching movies and playing poker, so the Friday post is more photos from the Jeff Gordon Foundation Poker Classic and the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. The two tournaments were held at the new Caesars Palace Poker Room. I'm impressed with Harrahs' commitment to the sport of poker and especially tournament poker. From the regularly scheduled daily and weekly tournaments at Harrah's properties in Las Vegas to the undisputed premier poker event, the annual World Series of Poker, Harrah's runs class poker events and Caesars is no exception. The next major poker tournament in Las Vegas is again at Caesars when the WSOP Circuit stops in April. The Five Star World Poker Classic plays for three weeks in April at the Bellagio, another class act poker event from master tournament director, Jack McClelland.

We've heard talk in the street that the Tilt Boys don't tip after cashing in major tournaments and after a little ear to the ground I've heard that this may be true, but only certain tournaments. Sources say that they do the math and when tournament management has taken what they consider to be an excessive amount from the player's prize pool they skip the tip which might be their way of saying, "I did the math and decided you can pay your dealers." Apparently the tip ban didn't apply to the Heads-Up event at Caesars. The dealers were apparently pleased with the drop. Professional poker players are usually playing for something less than 100% of their buy-in dollar which is the only money in most tournament prize pools. Doing the math for the NBC Heads-Up reveals a prize pool with some money added. 64 players and a $20,000 buy-in is $1.28 million but the prize pool is $1.5 million. NBC added $220,000. The players rarely receive even money back from the buy-ins, but having money added to the prize pool is almost unheard of in major tournament poker. Thanks to Harrah's and NBC Sports for giving some back to the stars of the show, the players.

Photos by Flipchip

The holidays are almost over and the world outside of Las Vegas has to go back to work Tuesday. I hope your holidays were most enjoyable. I don't consider the holidays to be at an end until the last bowl game has produced a usually disputed national college football champion. The parties are all over and nothing more than memories, for some of the people that had the best time they can't remember the memories. The Hilton sisters are gone. Paris Hilton was a no-show to her $100,000 gig at the Venetian's Tao Nightclub where she was scheduled to do the count-down. Paris skipped out after her latest beau was denied entrance to Tao since he is nineteen. The happy couple was seen at little sister Nicky Hilton's party at Caesars' Pure Nightclub across the street.

The trip from Vegas to LA on Monday night lasts closer to eight hours instead of the usual three and a half. The Las Vegas New Year's Party hosted more than 220,000 happy people without incident of any kind. Unlike New Year Eves of the past this one didn't produced any casualties, not even any serious injuries if you don't count terminal hangovers. Las Vegas metro police were out in force with more than 2,500 officers on the streets controlling and protecting the crowds. Only twenty-six arrests were reported, most for getting so drunk you go deaf then repeatedly doing something so utterly stupid you can' be ignored.

The fireworks show was long, loud, smoky, expensive and terrific. I have always liked pyrotechnics and this show was one of the greatest. For eight minutes it was rocket's red glare and bombards bursting in air from the rooftops of ten resorts along the Las Vegas Strip. The midnight weather had briefly calmed, the rain stopped so the show went off as scheduled; but then, the nasty weather came roaring back Monday morning with strong winds, rain, cold and no sunshine. Everything should now return to normal in a couple of days with easier traffic, shorter lines, even the weather is expected to be in the seventies with plenty of sunshine.

The upcoming NFL playoffs and Super Bowl XL scheduled for February 5 in Detriot will keep the town busy and the sports books crowded. Super Bowl Sunday is a huge day in Las Vegas that easily equals the crowds and excitement of New Years. Sports bettors include a high percentage of poker players to fill the poker rooms with plenty of action and players for the many daily poker tournaments in Las Vegas. Big tournaments are coming to Las Vegas in the first months of 2006 including the NBC National Heads-up Championship and a World Series of Poker Circuit event with an ESPN filmed main event scheduled into Caesars Palace. The Heavyweight Championship of Poker (HPC), with the highest buy-in ever at $100,000, will be staged, played and filmed at Sam's Town. This is the kick-off of the HCP and involves much more than one tournament, full details coming soon.

Finally, for our first annual, Robbing the Rich to give to the Poor award, we unanimously agreed to bestow the honors on our very own Las Vegas Monorail. That's right, Monorail. In a stroke of desperation genius the people running the monorail company decided to change the fare structure. The old cost to ride one way had been pegged at $3 per one way trip; but now, Las Vegas locals with an ID can ride one way for a buck. Tourist on the other hand, will have to cough up a five spot for a one way ride. Those that missed our early rantings about this piece of mobile Vegas blue sky can find the Las Vegas Monorail Song here.

Time for my end of the year summations of the poker business, the players, the tournaments and the great moments, along with some personal milestones and waxing poetically. 2005 was a year of walking, waiting, watching, listening; but, mostly watching. Watching the thousands of poker players during the thousands of hours of play in poker tournaments offering the top finishers hundreds of millions of dollars in prize pools. I was there when poker created its latest millionaires and I was close, so close I could smell the cash piled on the table. Of course, I was seeing all of this through the viewfinder of the Nikon.

During the 45 days of the 2005 WSOP I pressed the shutter over twelve thousand times. I've taken photos of poker legends, poker chips, poker cards, poker fans, poker stars, stars playing poker and anything else remotely related to poker. many of the images are available in our Photo Gallery. 2005 was a good year for my photographs. I have done numerous cover shots for our print affiliate, Poker Player. I did the magazine cover shot of Cyndy Violette. More of my photos Woman Poker Playerwere used in Tricycle the Buddhist Review magazine. Others have been supplied to newspapers and organizations. Many are given to players and fans.

Needless to say, photographing people playing poker is my life. I'm very fortunate to do something I find so entertaining. What better life for a poker playing adrenalin junky?...but, it's a tough job requiring the stamina of a stone statue and the eye of an eagle. The photos I'm offering today are some of my '05 favorites of poker players and they are good examples of how tough the life of the poker photographer has become. Additional photos are in the continue reading section below.

I'm taking this week of in-between holidays as a time to catch up on reading, eating, sleeping and re-visiting Las Vegas. The city expands on a daily schedule so having time to leisurely cruise around town and see all the new stuff keeps the adrenalin rush going, the same high I've enjoyed since settling in Las Vegas way more than two decades ago. Driving about the city makes me feel like a tourist with a good sense of direction.

I read an article today that stated, Las Vegas is the number #1 New Year's Eve party destination. This really didn't come as much of a surprise. This city will let you walk down the boulevard sidewalk while carrying and consuming your drink of choice. Celebrate as loudly as you please with no fear here. Gamble non-stop at almost any game you can name. Play slots till you drop. Shop till you're broke. Just sit and watch the thousands of people crowding into Las Vegas this holiday week, all here to do the same crazy stuff that brought you to Vegas. Sleep all day, play all night or for the hard core Vegas visitor, don't sleep at all. Am I surprised that Las Vegas is the number one destination to welcome in the New Year? Absolutely not, only if it wasn't number one would it be a surprise. Where else do they give away the booze, the food and insist you have as good a time as is possible? The New Year celebration is a special time in Las Vegas, it's our biggest holiday. Las Vegas goes totally insane for a few days...and don't forget this year's special Las Vegas Centennial fireworks show coordinated from the rooftops of fourteen of the major hotels along the strip at midnight on New Year's Eve.

I stopped by Palace Station for the steamed clams and noticed the huge poker room bad beat jackpot. All Station Casino poker rooms share a single progressive bad beat jackpot which is now at an all-time record high of $418,000 and going up. Tuesday at Noon the qualifying 'beat hand' was lowered from four deuces to Aces full of Kings. The holder of the losing hand will receive $35,000 form the jackpot while the winning hand takes $20,000. The remainder of the jackpot is then distributed evenly among everyone playing hold'em in a Station property poker room. If the jackpot had hit on Tuesday that would be approximately $365,000 being divided up, making a player's share a nice chunk of cash. The poker room at Palace Station was filled to capacity with long waiting lists.

I read another article that investigates the decline in the popularity of poker or at least the decline in sales of poker chip sets at Walgreens. I'm not sure I believe the game is nothing more than flash in the pan and will retreat into obscurity in the near future. I don't believe poker will have another year of such spectacular overall growth, but it won't crash. I do believe the WSOP will set records in 2006 and I do believe poker is a fad and has been for more than a century.

Christmas Day in Las Vegas was an abbreviated affair for me after sleeping through most of the daylight hours. Having spent the last few days fighting with some derivate virus from parts unknown, today was the first time I've ventured out voluntarily. It was a typical Vegas holiday for us. Instead of being home cooking we prefer to let one of the hotel kitchens do the work. Dinner today included octogenarian FlipChip Sr., the elder family patriarch and full-time Vegas poker player. Typically, everyone orders different dishes which are normally shared, so, I've had King Crab, Steamed Clams, Shrimp Salad, Oysters Rockefeller, chilled asparagus, three kinds of soup and a terrific aged sirloin hamburger. I am quite stuffed and lazy so will share some of the Christmas Day in Vegas observations, conversations and views.

Driving across Las Vegas we noticed that one of the signs at the Stardust had lost part of the logo so the sign read 'dust." Is this a precursor to the future of the property? After all, the Stardust has become long-in-the-tooth and it really shows. Once the Stardust and its colorful sign was the favorite hangout for locals and tourist alike, and the poker room was the most popular place to play in all of the land. Back then the Stardust was located in the center of the Vegas Strip; but, today, the Stardust is too far north to be a part of the 'new' high end real estate. The recently opened Wynn property has certainly helped to upgrade the neighborhood so I expect we are seeing the last days of the 'dust. The center of the Vegas Strip has continued to march south and this past week it took another major lurch toward the California side when the same people that own the Stardust, the Boyd Group, opened the $600 million plus South Coast Resort. The new South Coast was our next Christmas Day stop.

Driving south on the Las Vegas Strip about two miles from the Las Vegas airport, I was amazed with the mass of buildings that have appeared in the last few months. The South Coast resort was busy with holiday and grand opening traffic. Lines everywhere waiting to get into the property, the parking garages, elevators to the casino, the food outlets, the gift shop, cage, movie theaters...everywhere. Flipchip Sr headed to the poker room and finally got a seat in a limit hold'em game. Lady Flip tried the flat panel video poker machines and decided the displays were two dim, being overwhelmed by the brightly lit graphics, she also pointed out the bah-humbug lack of any holiday decorations in the joint. I tried to find a day-old NY Times since I have a photo in the issue, but was unsuccessful. Flip Sr's first hand was big slick and his button raise was called by an Ace,Deuce off suit. Flop was an Ace, and another Ace completed the set on the turn. of course, the river was a deuce, just another bad beat story to go with the million or so he's already experienced.

Back into Vegas on the Strip and into some of the most jammed up traffic I've driven in all year. Guess everyone in LA came over right after the kids opened the Christmas stuff, we counted twenty-two CA plates out of a group of thirty cars. Some week this is going to be. Next stop the Rio. Flip jr. decided the only thing to have for the Christmas meal was eggs benedict on biscuits with sawmill gravy from the All American Bar & Grill at the Rio. As always, the place was operating in the 200 dB range so any conversation is a shouting fool's convention. The place was jammed with holiday revelers enjoying the original Vegas party place. I noticed the WSOP Store at the Rio is having a 70% off sale on 2005 WSOP merchandise including clothing.

Our trip home took us across town accompanied by one on the Metro Police ghetto birds overhead with its large spotlight. Guess the helicopter was tracking some alleged bad guys also driving across town with us. I'm happy to be home although I didn't get my NY Times, the second time this year I've had photos printed and didn't see them. Christmas day was another enjoyable Las Vegas experience, but now I look forward to my favorite day of the year, December 26th although considering the late hour I'll probably sleep through it.