By the time I landed and rented the car, it was time to push the clocks forward. I arrived at the MGM Grand at 3 a.m. Even though they wouldn't let me check in until 9 a.m. (even that was a concession since, as the lady told me, they had to "rush" to clean the room) she was super nice about it. I wonder how many requests they get a day for early "courtesy" check-in? (They were very courteous, no argument from me.) Incidentally, I was back at 8am and they gave me the room key (they don't disclose the room until it's clean though; so you call this extension from the house phone and magically, they reveal your room number. I'm guessing a lot of people take advantage of this "courtesy.") The bell desk took my baggage, though when he told me to remember my claim ticket, I laughed courteously. Then he said, quite gravely that, "Luggage is no laughing matter. We have five thousand pieces of luggage on the other side of the front desk. You can pick up your luggage any time, if you want to gamble or something." He then plainly waited for a tip for, apparently, lecturing me on how tiresome his job was. Luggage is no laughing matter, indeed. Neither is abrasiveness. Apparently, the politeness shift went home for the day and rudeness took over the hotel.

Anyhow, I ended up leaving my bags there until late afternoon because the line to the bell desk was 60 people deep at 11 am and although I could have used a shower and change of clothes, it just wasn't worth the wait. I showered anyway and gamely climbed back into the same clothes. I feel no shame. You would do the same in those circumstances.

So between 4 am and 8am call for breakfast, I spent the time at the tables. I wasn't up by the end, but I did alright and played the entire time, which is pretty much my definition of success. The worst thing would to have lost my bank roll in the first hour and then spent 3 hours roaming the Strip for ways to occupy my time amongst the drunk, the rank and the whores. (There is no sight sadder than at 4am seeing the whores who are still looking for work that evening and saddling up any man who will make eye contact with them. Them girls gots to eats too!) So fortunately, such a crisis was avoided. I had the best time at a $15 blackjack table at the Excalibur. The men I was playing with were very drunk. I mean "started partying at 4pm and haven't left the table to pee" drunk. But all the same, they were happy drunks.

I earned enough $$ credits to take gal pal Phoebe to breakfast at the Excalibur. That was a surprise, but it might have something to do with fantacious flirting of the Excalibur employee Goran who wrote up my comp. Unclear whether he was flirting with Phoebe or me, but whatever, it got us a corner booth and a comped meal. He had a cute, totally innocent smile and seemed to take twice as long as if he never wanted us to leave his station. Maybe we should have stumped for free Excalibur tees.

Of the coffee shops on that corner of the Strip, the Excalibur has the best meal hands-down. The MGM food options at the low end are really low, and I can't figure out where one is supposed to eat at NYNY. After breakfast, we decided to stroll down the Strip on the west end (NYNY to Monte Carlo to Bellagio) and back (Paris to Planet Hollywood to MGM Grand.) The Strip is always evolving and the newest trend in construction are megaresorts and residential towers (timeshares and condos). On the Bellagio side where the Boardwalk used to be (and its $.99 buffet breakfast) the entire block is gutted and being rebuilt into a MGM Mirage mega complex. Residential, hotel, retail and restaurants (and gambling, what am I thinking) in a self-enclosed location. I don't personally see the appeal but that's the future of Vegas. Never leave your resort.

We did a loop through the Monte Carlo which I thought looked run down the week they opened. The interior is either to dark or legitimately dingy. It's hard to tell which. We parked in front of the Bellagio's fountains and then crossed through Paris and over to the new Planet Hollywood casino. The building hasn't changed all that much from its Aladdin days, though they worked up the exterior into a mishmash of modernist chic. We were assaulted by staffers selling timeshares. (They trade you two tickets to free Strip shows in exchange for sitting through a 4-hour timeshare salespitch. The sales staff targets couples.) The sheer number of solicitations for the two minutes we were on the property was overwhelming. Twelve different salesmen total before we walked back towards the MGM. That is too much. Those types of sales are on almost every property, usually posted at the main entrances. They use a number of tactics to get you to stop and talk to them. It doesn't make me want to go back there.