First, a gratuitous shot of The Flamingo marquee. Second, Steve Wynn's so freaking clever. The creator of the free show on The Strip has figured out a few secrets as he's progressed. 1) If people have to come into your casino to partake of the free show, they're far more likely to leave their money. 2) Having live human performers involved means you have to cancel in bad weather (and pay them). 3) Loud, flashy and splashy is the secret triumverate. Not to mention the casino is voluptuous (see shot 3 overlooking the bar where I watched the show). Ate "dinner" at Vosges in The Forum Shops at Caesars (4 and 5), which I finally got to visit in person (albeit not the original store). The kalamata olive and white chocolate truffle gets two thumbs up. Can't recall if the Faberge store was in the Forum Shops or The Bellagio, but it was gorgeous from the window.

Found out the hard way that the tram from The Bellagio to the Monte Carlo is not there any more. Still made it to KA (front row seat - birthday gift to self) in time, though. The plot was complicated enough that they explained it at the beginning and also point-by-point in the program. I was pleasantly surprised to find a traditional wheel of death act, but, as always, the self-made group acts were the epitome of the show, particularly the arrow swinging (as "arrows were shot" into the set, they became balancing spots for acrobatics - the chick who "died" and then fell past all the arrows like a pachinko ball was amazing) and the end battle, which was very Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The thing that excited me the most was the safety rigging for the final battle -- it appeared to be mostly self-belaying and controlled by an apparatus each acrobat held in his or her own hand. Tres cool. And now I'm back in my room, watching the fountains at The Bellagio before I drift off.