Thinking of visiting Las Vegas?

Today is my last day here. I'll be hopping on the "red-eye" tonight and arriving back in Atlanta tomorrow morning. Look for my post tomorrow to be a little late...

So, what do I think of Vegas? Well, I've had a great time so far. It is a beautiful city, but not without its warts. Now, I can't talk about the areas away from the strip... because I have only been in the tourist zone, but the first thing that strikes me as a wart is the strip traffic. If hasn't affected me much, as I've walked almost everywhere. However, I've seen gridlock near the strip at all sorts of times.

The next thing I noticed is that the Blackjack rules in a few of the big casinos really suck. In stead of the 3 to 2 payout on Blackjack, I see a 1 to 1 payout. The balancing factor is that the dealer has to hit on a soft 17... so they should bust a little more. But, I haven't actually had a chance to sit down at a table... yet. I'm going to try to get in a few hands this afternoon.

Now for some good... I have met a lot of really nice people here locally. Some are in the real estate business (if you are moving here, I'd gladly give a referral). I also have felt much safer wandering around town (even off the strip) than I thought I would. Keep in mind, this is just an impression, and I just caught the end of a news report this morning and the chopper shot looked like it was on the corner near my hotel where the Police were apprehending some evil doer.

The very sight of the hotels/casinos on the strip is amazing. The lights, sounds and spectacle are impressive... and I haven't even seen the dancing water or sinking pirate ship yet. I don't even think I will have a chance to see a lot of it. The scale of Caesar's or the Venetian is also pretty daunting. I had someone tell me at one of the receptions last night that they were staying at Caesar's across the street from the Venetian (where the Convention is) and they think they might be walking farther than I am each day.

All in all, I definately plan on coming back, especially if I can do it without as many time constraints. It would be nice to meet back up with the new friends I've made here... Maybe I'll come back for the SEMA Show... ok, that won't be less time constraining, but you get the idea.