It's a Beautiful Day.

When people who live in Vegas say it's hot, it's hot.

The day we arrived it had hit 46c, and when I woke up at 6:30 yesterday morning it was already 27. I was still tired, but like a kid at Christmas I was not going back to sleep. I needed toothpaste, so I showered, dressed and walked out the door into the blast furnace looking for a coffee shop.

There always something kind of beautiful about a city in those quiet moments shortly after dawn. The light seems a little brighter and when you are in a strange city everything seems clear and crisp. Even at this early hour there is traffic on Tropicana Boulevard,  but it is light enough that I could hear strange bird calls and I spotted a little tan bird I'd never seen before. In the pale blue morning sky hung just a thin sliver of the moon like God's fingernail clipping. You know, I thought to myself, the world really is a beautiful place. As I crossed Tropicana heading towards the MGM Grand, my heart was filled with love for all of creation. I saw a man crossing the street headed the opposite way, and when he got near our eyes met and gave him a friendly nod. "You want some coke?" he asked. "Um, no." I replied, and we walked our separate ways. Ah, yes. What a wonderful world.

I entered through the massive lobby of the MGM Grand and went into the massive gift shop. In a move of merchandising genius that my retail background could appreciate, items such as toiletries were placed way at the far back corner of the shop, forcing the dazed tourist to walk through a maze of t-shirts, hoodies and ball caps to get to. But at $10.75 for a tube of toothpaste I balked and, somehow avoiding buying a Floyd Mayweather T-Shirt, got the hell out of there.

Telling myself that I was looking for a coffee shop, I wondered into the casino. Seeing a sign pointing towards the poker room, I thought that it was very likely the coffee shop was in that direction. Finding two tables in full swing, I suddenly realized that if I sat down to play poker, a waitress would just bring me a coffee. It's all about the coffee.

I got $200 in chips, sat down, and witnessed the end of a hand where a guy took down a $150 pot with a pair of nines. The thought crossed my mind that this might go well. And it did. About two hours later I cashed out up $320. This, added to my video poker win of the night before, put me up $518 for the trip so far. With this much cash in my pocket, I felt like doing something crazy. Something extravagant. So, I went back to the gift shop and bought the toothpaste.

Walking back to the fabulous Howard Johnson on Tropicana, I was once again filled with love for the universe and all the creatures in it.

It's a wonderful world.