We're Baaaccckkk!!!

Well, Cindy and I are back from Vegas, and what a great time we had. While I go to Vegas a couple of times a year with some buddies, It's probably been at least four years since Cindy and I have gone together, maybe longer.

We decided to make the trip to celebrate out 22nd Anniversary, and also because I had a few days off before I start my new job on Monday. One of the reasons that the two of us rarely go together is because I really enjoy gambling, and Cindy doesn't, so even when we do go together, we rarely spend time together. One of the other things that we rarely do is see a show, despite the fact that there is always world class entertainment in Vegas.

Well this time we decided that we would see a show, and after researching our options we narrowed it down to three shows: The Producers, Mamma Mia, and Spamalot. We decided to see The Producers, the musical by Mel Brooks, at The Paris. What a great show, we really, really enjoyed it. And we were lucky to get to see it, as it's year long run comes to an end next week. I loved the original movie starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, and have yet to see the Nathan Lane/Matthew Broderick movie, but the play, starring Tony Danza, was great.

So great in fact that we decided to catch another show the following night, and this time we decided to see Mamma Mia, the broadway musical that's been playing for years at The Mandelay Bay. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mamma Mia, it's a musical based on the music of Abba. Okay, that probably doesn't sound like a selling point, but it really was an amazing show. It's hard to believe that you can take a group of songs and plug them into a story and actually make sense of it. Now I'm a big fan of Hollywood musicals, and both of these shows were as good as anything coming out of Hollywood.

Then there was the gambling. Ah, the gambling. Well, I'd love to tell you that I was so lucky at the tables that I don't even need to start that new job on Monday, and that is exactly what happened..... Nah, just kidding. I didn't do so hot at the tables, but fortunately I had a nice winning streak towards the end that helped me leave town just a little shorter than when I came in.

I did learn something important though. If you've ever been to Vegas you've seen signs in front of the Casino's saying "Liberal Slots". I always thought that that meant that they were liberal in their payoffs. No. Liberal in Las Vegas means the same thing that Liberal means in Washington: They take ALL of your money.

But all in all we had a great time. Now, when can we go back?