The UCLA Bruins spent Weekend #2 of March Madness in Phoenix.  Since Phoenix is Las Vegas without the casinos, and since I like casinos, I followed the Bruins' games from a penthouse suite at the Venetian Hotel.  The suite belonged to Craig, an associate who made his accommodations a gathering place for hoops fans in general and Bruin faithful in particular. 

My lodging was in the adjacent Casino Royale Hotel and Casino.  We're not sure why this little motel keeps taking up valuable real estate, but here it sits like a dingleberry in a box of truffles:



Note that it has a Denny's and an Outback on-site.  I'm a big fan of both establishments, and at the CR you can wake up to a Grand Slam and nod into deep slumber as the scent of Bloomin' Onions wafts through the building. 

The rooms are cute.  Check out the plantation shutters:



Pretty sweet.  And the view is post-modern industrial chic - a little greenery, some pavement, a chain link fence and my fellow lodger's vehicles.  All very convenient.  Here's the view looking in:



I felt secure behind that big mound of sand.  It made me think I was in the Vegas equivalent of the Baghdad Green Zone, where the only thing that could ruin my weekend would be a well-placed mortar round. 

I had to wait until midday to get the above picture because the Casino Royale spends all morning in the shadows cast by the Venetian Industrial Complex:




Big, honking luxurious hotel.  So what?  Who needs fancy digs when you can save more than a few bucks at a respectable inn like the CR?  Besides, if you're doing Vegas the right way, you should be exhausted enough by the end of the night to sleep well in a dumpster.

The most important thing is that everybody had a good time and nobody got hurt.  The Bruins won two more games and continue on to San Antonio.  I've got half a mind (and a full wallet) to follow them.  Stay tuned.

Epiphany - Question: What's the first thing we ask somebody who's headed to Vegas? Answer: Where are you staying?  I realize now what a vacuous question that is.  We should really ask: Why?  Why are you going to Las Vegas?  To gamble?  To reconnect with friends?  Because your wife has been riding your ass and needs to be trotted out?  Are you going to see the Blue Man Group?   When somebody answers honestly to "Why" they are going to Vegas, they expose their very core to you and give you a glimpse of a void in their life.  Ask your people "why" they are going to Vegas and be a good enough friend to listen closely to their answers.