They call Las Vegas Sin City. That was very true in the 60s, 70s, and through the 90’s. Today, it has become the Adult Magic Kingdom, with each hotel a theme park by itself.  The sins you see are of Greed, Gluttony,  Envy, Lust, Sloth, and Pride. The only one I leave out is Wrath, as no gunshots were heard.

Greed - The minute we stepped off the plane, I saw the slot machines in full-swing in the airport lobby! Part of me was amazed, but a feeling of disgust suddenly came over me as I saw people playing the slots as they waited for their flights. It seems that the lure of gambling never leaves your sight, wherever you go in Vegas.

Gluttony - We had dinner at one of those high-end restaurants at the Venetian, where we stayed. Aquaknox somehow had Beluga caviar, which has been banned from import into the United States since 2005 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But we still enjoyed the eggs of the 4th most endangered species in the world. Beluga caviar, and good caviar in general, needs no toast or embellishment, and we passed around the pearl spoon and enjoyed our caviar.

Envy - Seeing those people playing with stacks of $500 chips just gets you feeling envious of others, and after getting over the initial feeling of disgust at the gambling going on 24/7, I gave in and promptly lost 500 on the first day, took a break to enjoy the sights, and promptly lost another 500 before winning it back again after losing until my last 25 chip. It is easy to forget that you are playing with real money, after all.

Lust - All of the girls serving drinks at the tables (which were all free, by the way) wore these ridiculously showy outfits, making them look almost like Playboy bunnies without the ears. And the number of cute asian and white men were just mind-boggling, as breakfast always turned into a watching session of people walking around.

Sloth - Out of the three days we were in Las Vegas, I only left the hotel twice, once to visit the local counterpart of my workplace to check up on my work communications, and to take pictures along the Strip, and take in all of the shopping opportunities. The second time was to bring my roommate out to the Build-a-Bear Workshop to get his boyfriend a white tiger, which I also got for my sister. Most of the stay, we kept to the hotel, where we ate, shopped, and caught a production of Phantom of the Opera, for which I scored free tickets from a guy I met who also happened to manage the box-office. These hotels were clearly designed to keep you in, and our friend Mark only managed to step outside of the hotel when we had to leave for the airport. With people serving you drinks at the tables, restaurants around the corner, and your bed an elevator ride away, it was easy to play three hands before convening for breakfast.

Pride - Pride was when I played blackjack badly and did not stop when I was ahead in my profits. I believed I could win the money back.

In the end, thanks to our playing habits, everything got comped (room, board, 600 dollar restaurant bills), and I left Las vegas with as much money as though I had never left for it.

And Monday, back to work.