BSR

I haven’t stayed in a Fontainebleau room but as a LV local, I have been hanging out at the ‘Bleau more than any other casino/hotel lately. Something about the vibe I just love. Since it opened just over a year ago, everything is still real spiffy. Hardly the only reason to go, but the red velvet cake at their 24hr café will make your eyes roll into the back of your head. They’re offering a 30% discount for rewards members, and you can sign up for their rewards club online.

If @totallybot wants to be able to walk to a number of shows, that knocks out the Strat, Circus Circus, and the Rio. The Rio looks close to the Strip, but it’s actually more than a mile to the intersection of Flamingo & Las Vegas Boulevard. Luxor’s location isn’t bad (free shuttle to Mandalay & Excalibur, which puts you at the intersection of Tropicana & LVB). The Linq has the best location of the ones mentioned.

My aunt stayed at The Linq recently, said the room was fine. It’s in a fairly central location. Lower rates can be found at the Flamingo and Horseshoe as well, but some of their rooms are seriously showing their age whereas I think all the rooms at the Linq are at least new-ish.

He’s packin’ 8.5 inches. He wrote it right there in his ad, so you know it’s gotta be true.

Even the diamond market is crashing: Diamonds lose their sparkle as prices come crashing down

I’m so happy for Madison! She was one of my favorite WTAers, but to be honest, I kinda gave up hope that she’d win a Slam. Big serve and lots of power from both sides, but it didn’t take much for her game to go off. Her longtime boyfriend, now husband, Bjorn Fratangelo retired as a player after an injury in Aug 2023 and became her full-time coach. Glad to see the arrangement paid off. Keys will turn 30 in a few weeks. Given that the sport’s superstars have won Slams in their mid-30s, Madison should have a good stretch left in her career. I’d love to see her win another one.

I will be in BA for 3 months, May 31 to Aug 29. Aside from doing tons of reading to improve my written Spanish and exploring the chapero (“escort” in Spain, no idea how porteños say it) scene, what do I do in Buenos Aires for 3 whole months? I can’t read and f*** every waking hour. Well, maybe some of you can, but not at my age. So how do I fill my days? I could join a local gym, even thought of bringing a couple of rackets to start up tennis again, but I feel like I need some structure. This 3-month stay is sandwiched between 2 stints in Madrid where I’ll be attending a language school, which gives me the structure I’m looking for. But as for BA, I’m very much open to suggestions. Thanks in advance!

menaughty, what did you end up deciding? I bought my ticket and picked out my language school in Madrid, where I’ll be for 90 days (March 1->May30). This is my first trip back to Spain in decades, last trip was for a friend’s wedding ~25 years ago. From Madrid, I’m going to Buenos Aires for 90 days, then back to Madrid for another 90 days to get my C2 DELE (just a personal goal, no professional motivation). I already know where I’ll live and a good idea of how I’ll fill my days in Madrid but haven’t a bleepin’ clue of what to do in Buenos Aires for 3 whole months. It’s just a place I’ve always wanted to visit, plus I’m looking forward to fall-like temperatures in BA after the last scorching Vegas summer (hottest in the 20 years I’ve been here). I do plan on doing lots and lots of reading (Spanish, obviously) to prep for my C2 course, but you can’t read every waking hour. I started a separate topic in The Travel Desk for suggestions on what to do in Burnos Aires. Please weigh in over there with whatever recommendations & advice. Thanks in advance.

After the horrible flooding in and around Valencia, I would avoid the area until they’re further along in their recovery.

Grass (as in lawns, not legal marijuana) is one of the biggest culprits in water consumption. Natural lawns are becoming rarer and rarer in Las Vegas because the SNWA restricts planting new grass and charges a steep price for watering whatever lawn you do have. That’s how you can tell most CSI scenes were shot in Los Angeles despite being set in Las Vegas, because the houses seen on the show have grass front yards.

A different take: "Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy sex ... wait, what idiot said money can't buy happiness??"

The term "millionaire" was coined in the 1920s, when a net worth of $1 million meant you were pretty damn rich. Today a net worth of $1 million means you're ... comfortably middle-class?

“Be a Luigi”?? If being a Luigi means unilaterally murdering anyone you think is evil, then I condemn that. But if being a Luigi means being gorgeous as f*** with a body even fitness models would envy, then yeah, absolutely, be a Luigi.

Most tragic of all are the deaths caused by the wildfires, at least 10 so far. This story was particularly heartbreaking ...

Google showed 2 cases of straight couples being arrested and jailed for PDA. In the spirit of equality, I have to think the same applies to gay couples. But good gawd, if you're LGBT and so foolish as to be ignorant of UAE laws, I dunno if I can summon much sympathy.

How many Sharia Muslims do you know?

Depends on who’s on your jury. To avoid politics, I’ll use a baseball analogy. Imagine a split-second call at 1st base, Red Sox vs. Yankees. I can say with 100% confidence that 12 Sox fans will say the Red Sox batter was safe at 1st and that 12 Yankee fans will say he’s out.

This guy was great. I loved the bit about sounding like a pulling straw, LOL. He reminds me of what Joan Rivers used to say: “I make a joke about everything because if you can laugh, you can cope. Done!”