The Top 10 Reason Vegas Rocks

(From left to right - Laura, Lisa and Stacey. Joni refused to pose in the picture!)

10. Joel McHale - We saw Joel live on Friday night, you know the guy from the Soup? From discussing real-life encounters with the Kardashian family to debating whether his 3-year-old son was an evil genius or dumb as a box of rocks, he was hilarious. If you ever have the chance to see him live, I highly recommend it. Good times.

9. Awesome lady from Boston who gave me $15 - This lady was fab for two reasons. First off she thought my mom was my sister. So really, this is fabulous for my mom, not so fabulous for me. But still my mom loved it and at least I have good aging genes. Right? Also when she heard it was my birthday, or in retrospect, maybe she just felt really bad for the whole sisters thing, she gave me $15 to play at the table! How nice is that? Of course, I lost the money instantly, but still. Super cute.

8. Random dudes from Texas who think the election is being funded by Dubai - Really, you can't make this stuff up. Two guys from Texas (one of whom was allegedly hitting on my mom according to the nice rich lady from Boston) started talking politics at the 3-card poker table and it got ugly. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but when people start spouting lies about Obama being Muslim and referencing that his campaign is being funded by Dubai, it pisses me off. Ignorant and ugly, but also sort of awesome because you meet all sorts of people in Vegas and they're NEVER shy.

7. The pool at the Mirage - From random dudes with mustaches hitting on bikini-wearing, daiquiri swilling, women who look 5-months pregnant to party promoters inviting us to nightclubs, it has got to be the best people watching in America. You just never know who is going to turn up at the pool in Vegas, but chances are good that they shouldn't be seen in public wearing a bathing suit.

6. Free dinner - So, normal people go to Vegas and get their dinners comped because they win so much money gambling, but not us. That's way too easy. Instead, Laura and I got food poisoning from one of the restaurants at Mandalay Bay. Yes, that's right, I spent 24 hours of my Vegas trip puking in our hotel room. Note to self, never a good idea to order a tuna melt with macaroni salad in Vegas. (What were we thinking, Laura?)

5. Drumline - Shockingly I've never seen this little gem before, but it was playing on MTV at the peak of my food poisoning. Two thumbs up. I mean, if you're going to be throwing up in Vegas due to food-borne illness as opposed to a crazy night of partying, this is definitely the movie to watch. Nick Cannon. Drums. Dancing. Inspiring moments. Good times.

4. Quick Hits Slot Machines - I've never really liked playing slot machines until my mom introduced me to this little gem. It's the gambling equivalent to crack. We were all so sure that this one machine in the Bellagio was going to hit that we ended up pouring close to $300 into the stupid machine. It was so dumb, yet so exhilarating. Even Laura who usually hates gambling was totally obsessed with these machines. It was a little scary.

3. Video Poker - So, you've lost most of your money at 3-card poker and the Quick Hits machines, now what? Video poker baby! It requires a small amount of strategic thinking, yet it's completely mind numbing. After you've played about 100 games your eyes start to blur and you totally forget that you're pissing away your money. It's fabulous.

2. Hotmail via Blackberry - Did you really think we'd not be checking our e-mail for 4 whole days? Puh-lease. By Friday morning I had figured out how to use my blackberry to check our e-mail and we checked obsessively throughout the weekend. We did have some good news come in, but still no offer of representation just yet, and so we wait...

1. My mom and sisters - We always have the most amazing time together whether we're in Vegas or sitting at my mom's kitchen table and this weekend was no exception. In spite of feeling like I was going puke for about 50% of the trip and losing every penny I brought with me, I still managed to laugh so hard that I cried and had the best birthday ever. Thank you so much for celebrating with me. I love you guys!