The Coliseum

Leon Wheeler was one of the best poker dealers I ever met. And the fastest.

Wheeler was a young, sharp-talking dealer at The Orleans. One night he dealt me a hand that won me $11,000 in a bad beat poker game. I never forgot it and I think Leon still remembers it as well.

The poker room management at The Orleans had a high regard for Leon and the way he could machine gun the cards around the table. That is why it shocked them when he informed management he was moving to The Aria, a casino resort on the Strip.

Now I have been going to Las Vegas for many years and I can assure you of one thing: I have never been in all the casinos and poker rooms Las Vegas offers. I doubt if any single poker player has. The city is just too big and there are too many casinos to choose from.

Las Vegas reminds me of ancient Rome in many ways. In Las Vegas, almost everything goes, including nude dancers, legal (or quasi-legal) prostitution, and gambling in all its different forms.

The entertainment is the best the world offers. The legends play Las Vegas as well as the former legends, many who choose to live there.

Casinos are built to resemble the ancient pyramids of Egypt as well as pirate treasure ships attacking rival ships. There is a recreation of the New York skyline as well as a replica of the Yellow Brick Road featured in the epic film, The Wizard of Oz.

Want country western music?

Go to Sam's Town on the Boulder Highway or one of the other casinos. If it's hard rock music you desire, try the Hard Rock Cafe. And for those of you who like Hawaiian or Caribbean music, no problem. Just do a Google search. You'll find it in Las Vegas, also known as Glitter Gulch.

Multi-millionaires

The likes of Steve Wynn, Sam Boyd and Howard Hughes hired brilliant college graduates with PHds to come up with new casino concepts to attract the public. Each one tried to be bigger and better than his rivals. To them, money was no object. They wanted the honor and the fortune of owning the biggest coliseum in the city.

Do a careful tour of Las Vegas...

... and you can see the bleached bones of some casinos that failed to live up to their billings. They were replaced by other casino dreams that failed and others. Still, others are on the drawing boards waiting to be created when the financing and time come along.

I remember The Showboat, Stupak's World, the Flamingo, the Desert Inn and the Dunes. All fantastic dreams built by men whose egos were a mile wide and who would not bend to their rivals.

The Silverbird was a casino with a neon sign that seemed to be a mile long. It occupied a generous space along the Strip and had fabulous free lounge shows as well as single deck blackjack and a poker room. Today it doesn't exist. It moved aside for progress.

The men who made Las Vegas -- and most of the creators were men -- were one of a kind. They didn't always follow the law, but they knew what they wanted and how to achieve it.

Gamblers Owe Them a Tribute

Some of them were cheaters and robbers, but they all were gamblers. They shared their dreams with the general public in building the coliseums and that isn't entirely bad.

W.C. Fields was well known for the following quote: 'All poker tables are made up of thieves, liars, scoundrels and an occasional gentleman.' All of us will fall within that category at one time or another. Let the games begin.