I L A C A S . c o m

So tonight a few of us were invited by a vendor (whom I hear we spend tons of dollars on) to a place called MIX at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. The food was great. The company was awesome. The view was spectacularly surreal! I ended up ordering food I couldn’t pronounce the names of. Although I hear the bison dish was great… We were then supposed to go to a party at Caesars Palace that Microsoft was sponsoring, but dinner ran overtime. No worries though, it was a relaxing evening… Oh, the “boys” bathroom is situated in a way where it looks like one could be peeing out into the Mandalay Bay pool… The urinals were attached to a glass wall. Kinda cool!

The view from MIX on the rooftop at Mandalay Bay.

What’s for dessert? It was a Baked Alaska with strawberry sorbet and a cold strawberry salad. Needless to say, it rocked!

Who are these people? Where are they going? Lemmings…

So last night we went to Quark’s Bar at the Las Vegas Hilton and although the food was just OK, the ambiance of the place is a Star Trek feast for the eyes — that is, if you’re a “trekkie” fan.

After dinner, a few of us went to The Flamingo to play Poker. I did well — considering it was my second time I’ve ever played poker in Vegas. We went to The Flamingo because a co-worker suggested we play at a place that had cash bonuses depending on what type of hand you had. Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up getting a Four of a Kind with Kings. Needless to say, I won a huge pot as well as a bonus of $60. I ended up leaving the table with $20 more than I had sitting down. I have finally realized that Poker is my top game when coming to Las Vegas. I end up “saving” my money or making the most of it for the time spent playing it. If I played any other table game, I would be loosing money left and right. Good thing I do well in Poker…

So last night we ended up at the Caesars Palace Forum Shops at Sushi Roku. Here is the view from our table…

After dinner, half of the group went to go see Prince at the Rio, while the rest of us went to Treasure Island to play at their Poker Room. I ended up walking out of Treasure Island around 5am and finally went to bed around 6am. Time flew. Woke up and had breakfast at the Santa Lucia Cafe here at the Venetian. Then went over to the Apple Special event at the Venetian Grand Ballroom. They happened to announce Final Cut Pro Studio 2, which by the way looks amazing and finally think that it’s ready to take on the big NLE pro systems. For lunch, we went to Taqueria Canonita, a Mexican restaurant at the Grand Canal Shoppes here at the hotel. Tonight we’re headed to the Hilton to Quark’s Bar. I guess it’s a popular dive for a few co-workers. Also, check out my room… Yes, it’s an all-suite hotel… Time for a nap…

So I’m in Las Vegas for a good part of the week and passed what was once known as the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. A friend had mentioned to me a few weeks ago why there were no letters on the Aladdin. I had no clue. I guess the folks at Planet Hollywood are taking over. And to think, that company was at the brink of bankruptcy a few years ago. Go figure. Anyway, it seems that everywhere I go for business I always seem to end up at really expensive and trendy places. This past Thursday night I was invited to have dinner at Buca De Bepo’s at Universal Citywalk with some co-workers. On Friday, we went to Morton’s for lunch. Well, so here I am in Vegas… I have invites to parties at the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and Mandalay Bay. I’ll do my best to take photos of the places I visit in this trip. I think we’re having sushi tonight somewhere… Anyway, the Venetian is home for me for the next couple of days. Not a bad place to take a nap… More to follow…

So it was windy earlier this week and snapped up this photo. Surreal.

It’s been over a week since the fire happened.  Below are photos of Mt. Lee and the results of the blaze.