Just spent 3 days in Las Vegas, at the Museum Computer network conference at the Riviera Hotel.

I have a really hard time understanding what people see in Vegas. This was my third visit, and although it certainly has a novelty value, I just don’t see the long-term appeal — it seems to be full of bland middle-aged white folks from the mid west, mechanically pumping quarters into chirping slot machines 24 hours a day, minus the odd trip to the “all you can eat” buffet… I find it really depressing for the most part, and the noise of the machines drives me crazy after about an hour.

I played the machines with some other conference folks, and managed to win about $40, some of which we put towards another round of drinks. I also had a quick go at the $5 blackjack table; put down a $40 stake, and walked away half an hour later with $40 worth of chips (having tipped the dealer $2.50 worth of chips) — probably my best performance in a casino ever.

Still, there were lots of fun folks at the conference to hang out with, and an amazing chocolate fondue/fountain at the reception at the Liberace Museum!

Getting home almost turned into an unwanted adventure — I was allowed to board the wrong plane at Charlotte, and almost ended up getting the last flight to Orlando, FL instead of LaGuardia! Luckily I twigged something wasn’t quite right, and checked the destination with the cabin attendant.