Did you know that Hawaiians are huge fans of Las Vegas? At Main Street Station in downtown Vegas they estimate that about 80% of the people on the gambling floor are from Hawaii. I suppose that when you are surrounded by water, the desert looks attractive.

This being so, you can understand my experience being married to a Hawaiian. Las Vegas is a very familiar place to her, and now to me. We both really enjoy gambling, though we are decidedly low stakes sort of players. We play blackjack, 3 card poker, pai gow poker and roulette. I think we both just love to take risks and gambling is a fun way for us to feel the excitement of leaving a few dollars to chance and lady luck. For us, gambling is a fun and engaging experience.

We Americans should be so lucky. After this year, I will never take for granted the presence of a disposable income. In places like Macau, off the coast of China, gambling takes on a completely different meaning. The casino experience is exactly the same, the drinks are still free and games have the same rules. However, the gamblers are very different. They don't drink, they don't party. They don't hoot and hollar. In Macau, gambling is about one thing: making money. As serious as a business transaction, the folks I saw had no time for smiles or fun. Of course, this was in stark contrast to me, who morphed, quite regrettably, into a loud American as the night went on. Sachi described me as a "spectacle" to the business like people around me. But it was OK, I had a great time and no one got hurt. What the experience did help me appreciate was that I can gamble a few dollars and still be able to feed myself and have a place to live. It's fun to me because it can be and for that I am very lucky, no matter what cards the dealer holds.

Vegas. It had to be said.

I’m always struck by a few things about Vegas that seem to be a part of the very fiber of the place.  The biggest thing for me is it’s un-reality. Nothing is real in Vegas. Some of the things that make the world run do not apply in Vegas.  For example:

 

Time.  Time does not apply.  The place runs 24 hours a day, you can get a beer at 6am and a pancake a 7pm.  There are no clocks and no bed times. Maybe it’s in the air they pump into the casinos, but time seems to not apply in any real sense.  The sun does see to come up on time though.

Money.  The value of money is simply not the same in Vegas.  It’s built around the suspension of values.  When you go to Vegas, you build your finances around what you can plan to give away.  Then, they convert dollars into chips, so it doesn’t seem like it’s actually money that’s being spent.

Art.  There is certainly art in Vegas in places like the Bellagio.  However, like everything else unreal, a majority of the “artifacts” are cheaply made models. When I see people have their picture made in front of “The David”, I want to remind them that it is not art, but a piece of cement pulled from a mold down the street.

Natural Beauty.  I think it’s funny how many waterfalls and trees there are in Vegas. It’s in the middle of a desert without a natural water supply, except Lake Mead. Yet, every casino has at least 2 waterfalls, or so it seems. Unreal.

I won’t even mention all the unreal breasts, but I image you know where I’m headed with that.

Thankfully Vegas has been kind in the form of not taking our money. I realize that is likely to change. We learned to play craps last night and played for hours. I have found a new game, and one that intimidated me previously. Great game, that craps. So far the Treo is rockin. I'm getting hooked. Sachi will have a post coming soon. :)