Not-So-Super Sunday Entry

Since I find myself in the best place in the world to watch the Super Bowl, this entry by all right should have been about where I decided to take in the game: Caesars? South Point? The free viewing parties at the Gold Coast or The Orleans? The Bronco Bar on Boulder Highway? Larry Flynt's Hustler Club's "Super Pole Day"? A friend's house like when we watched the Saints win here a couple of years back? Instead I came down with a cold and was confined to my bed, not that watching the Broncos go down in ignominy would have given this Colorado transplant reasons to celebrate.

Before that, though, we went about town collecting on various match plays and free play we wanted to use up before the end of this trip. Rather than shell out a buck at McDonald's, we decided to see how much comp we had at one of our favorite off-strip joints. It turned out we had enough between us to get one order of chicken fried steak and eggs and split it. Our waitress was so disheartened to see that we could only afford one meal between us that, obviously assuming the worst about our financial straits, she offered first to let us use whatever points she had on our card, and then to let us have the last three-dollar tip she had picked up. (Don't worry, she got a nice tip instead.)

This town is famous for separating visitors from their money, but you can also encounter remarkable acts of generosity, kindness and selflessness, not to mention the many people in the gaming and hospitality industries here that have gone out of their way to give us their absolute best.

Laugh if you will, but I would make a case that Las Vegas has become one of the great international cities. Visitors flock here from every corner of the globe; all the world-class chefs want to open restaurants here (although they all want to eat at a Thai restaurant in a little strip mall on Sahara); world-class entertainers all want to perform here. There are world-class museums here. Some of the facades may be fake reproductions of other cities, but there's nothing phony about this city's credentials.

All this may help explain why I've accepted a job offer in Las Vegas and plan to move here shortly, although I'm sure the real reason is so I can continue to gather material for my blog.