coming back hard again.

I've been neglecting this blog for far too long now. It's time to come in from the cold...or wherever the hell I've been. There haven't been too many developments over the past few months, but I did make a return engagement to Las Vegas in early May. Most of my time was spent playing video poker at the various Strip casinos, but I did take an opportunity to visit the Fremont Street Experience with a friend and future colleague in the desert.

We ambled in and out of the various casinos, taking in the ambiance, the action at the tables and the overall experience of Fremont Street. Compared to the Strip, you couldn't get any further away. Where the Strip is run by monstrous, lavish hotel/casino/resorts, Fremont Street has a decidedly more intimate, more relaxed flavor.

The Golden Nugget was the best of Fremont Street. It was a well-appointed, top-notch casino. The dealers were smooth and professional and the place was clean (something you can never overlook).

I compare the Nugget's dice dealers to the lumps on a streetside table at O'Shea's on the Strip. Now I love O'Shea's...LOVE it! Among the monolithic resorts on the Strip is this rowdy little joint that feels like a college party every night. Nevertheless, the dice dealers I witnessed at O'Shea's were simply checked out.

The stickman's eyes were everywhere but on the dice. The base dealers were simply going through the motions. And the boxman was giving his mediocre best. The best example is when a player threw in a bet for the dealers. "Hardways for the crew," he said to the stickman, who promptly booked hardway bets for the player.

"No," the player said. "For the crew."

"Huh?" said the confused stickman.

Shaking his head and physically slapping himself, the player looked at me with exasperation.

As a former (and soon to be un-retired) dice dealer, I know what it's like working a game. I know there are days you are mentally checked out. But when a player is betting for you, you give that player your best service. A crew bet is ALWAYS a bet! And for the base dealer and stickman to not book it is positively weak.

I could've tapped in and shown them how it's done.

I'll be back in Vegas in August, when the average temperature should be somewhere around 105° F daily.

I can't wait.