It Stays in Vegas Because It Isn't Worth Packing Home

I intended to write all about Las Vegas as soon as I got home, but hah! Intentions. The high point of the trip was meeting up with a high school friend who I hadn't seen for forty years. Even though we've had a lifetime to change, we just picked up where we left off.
Attempts to talk about the past were fleeting. Life now is so much more interesting. That and I really don't remember much about what we did back then. Life as an adult is much more colorful. We had a great afternoon, and are both ready for the next time, which won't take forty years.
Meeting Patty was the main reason for going to Vegas since neither Jerry or I like to gamble. Or should I say, neither of us like to throw money away, which is what you do in casinos. It is at the point where the slots don't even pretend that you are going to win. I played a penny machine until I was down two dollars, then switched to really betting just a penny a spin. Turns out, most of the flashing, dinging noise you hear in casinos is about 'winning' free spins, not money. At a penny a spin, I had plenty of time to figure out that symbols almost never match in a winning combination.
Which is why I like Keno. At least there the casino can't tighten up the pay off. That, and I often win. The first day I was there, I bet a dollar and won thirty. That was the only time I won, but it was enough to play off until the day before we left. Like I said, I'm not much of a gambler.
What else is there to do in Vegas? Not much. Good thing that Jerry and I can make our own fun. We rode the monorail back and forth watching the sunset one night. We tried to shop, but let me tell you about what there was to choose from: cheap, small trinkets and large expensive trinkets. I guess if you are bored and rich enough you might buy a life size porcelain Dalmatian. Otherwise you are stuck with a glorious assortment of shot glasses, dice, ash trays, and key chains, all labeled with a pink “Vegas” logo so you won't forget where you got them.
Vegas has been losing money for a couple of years. Commonly held belief- people don't have money to gamble. But I disagree with that. The reason nobody goes to Vegas is because it isn't any fun. You would think that a place that has giant fiberglass replicas of wonders of the world would have a sense of whimsy. But no. From the small scale city of Venice to the gigantic plastic circus balloon- no humor slipped by.
So farewell city where nobody smiles unless they are drunk or meeting up with friends they haven't seen in forty years. Next stop, Los Angelos.
Nancy Sherer