What Happened in Vegas
My next stop on the book tour was beautiful Las Vegas. And it was beautiful – mild January weather, crystal-clear air, the distant mountains in such sharp detailed relief if was like you could reach out and tap one.
The event was at the Clark County Public Library. Suzanne Scott at the library did a fantastic job getting out the word. There were notices and write-ups in the local papers (like this), plus I was interviewed on KNPR, the local NPR affiliate, by Ian Mylchreest (photo). I followed a segment on male prostitutes and won’t even bother to make a joke off that. The Clark County library uses a very nice theater space for writer visits, and the turnout was good. It was a diverse and interesting group, and probably the only place on the entire tour I won’t have to explain what “Gutshot Straight” means. I was particularly happy that my aunt, Janice Senseney, and cousin, Jack Senseney, were able to attend.
My friend Hank Stuever, author of the terrific book Tinsel, recently finished his own tour. Before I set out he advised me to “eat like crazy” while on the road. In Vegas, I tried to do that. I found a great deal on the Conde Nast Traveler deals site (truth.travel) – a three-course dinner at renowned Daniel Boulud at the Wynn for only, if I arrived before 7 p.m., $42. Now, no fooling, that’s more than I usually budget for an entire day of food, gas, and Sharpie signing pens, but I decided what the hell. The meal was surprisingly disappointing. It was, in the clipped, shrug-accompanied venacular of Hollywood, “Good not great.” It was only the third best meal I ate in Vegas, lagging behind the fish taco platter at Baja Fresh (tied with In & Out as my favorite fast-food place in the world) and the excellent salmon and spinach salad at Mon Ami Gabi, in the Paris Hotel and Casino, where I did my best to convince the delightfully smart-ass hostess, during the walk from door to table, to buy a copy of Gutshot Straight. I’m gonna win those steak knives if it kills me!
Next: Los Angeles.
My friend Hank Stuever, author of the terrific book Tinsel, recently finished his own tour. Before I set out he advised me to “eat like crazy” while on the road. In Vegas, I tried to do that. I found a great deal on the Conde Nast Traveler deals site (truth.travel) – a three-course dinner at renowned Daniel Boulud at the Wynn for only, if I arrived before 7 p.m., $42. Now, no fooling, that’s more than I usually budget for an entire day of food, gas, and Sharpie signing pens, but I decided what the hell. The meal was surprisingly disappointing. It was, in the clipped, shrug-accompanied venacular of Hollywood, “Good not great.” It was only the third best meal I ate in Vegas, lagging behind the fish taco platter at Baja Fresh (tied with In & Out as my favorite fast-food place in the world) and the excellent salmon and spinach salad at Mon Ami Gabi, in the Paris Hotel and Casino, where I did my best to convince the delightfully smart-ass hostess, during the walk from door to table, to buy a copy of Gutshot Straight. I’m gonna win those steak knives if it kills me!
Next: Los Angeles.
Comments