The spring and fall weather in Las Vegas is hard to beat. I go swimming every day when I get up and because of my bad shoulder, I use a backstroke a lot. So when I look up in the sky there isn’t a single cloud in a blue sky. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I previously wrote a blog about my trips to Texas but having just got back from another visit I have to talk about it again. The Texas towns are thriving and show no sign of the bad economy. There seems to be no empty buildings and all the stores appear to be busy. Most of the farmers have more money than they have ever had because of the oil wells and wind farms. It only takes a six mile per hour wind to turn these big turbines that power the generator to create electricity. I don’t understand why they aren’t all across America reducing our dependency on foreign countries for oil.

Another thing I was unaware of is that all of America’s nuclear waste is being stored in Texas. It is only 30 miles from my family’s house to the storage dump. Imagine the millions of dollars being poured into the economy from that. I guess after Harry Reid stopped the nuclear waste from coming into Nevada they went to the wide open spaces of Texas.

That’s the good news from there but the economy here in Nevada looks pretty grim. The Brunson family had to walk away from a 16 million dollar investment in Las Vegas real estate. The price of land is about 30% of what it was when we bought it and local banks don’t even want to talk about making any new loans. Las Vegas is probably hit worse than any place in America and it will take years to recover, if it ever does.

Flying back from my trip, you come in over Lake Mead. That is one huge lake and holds a lot of water. It’s hard to believe we have a shortage but most of the water goes on into California. The lake is the lowest I can remember and you can see the old water line from the air. I wonder sometimes if everything is declining in America. Certainly a lot of our natural resources are, but there is plenty left. I hope we use them wisely because I remember an old saying spoofing Forrest Gump. It said, “Life isn’t like a box of chocolates, it’s like a jar of jalapenos. What we do today might burn our butt tomorrow.”

It looks like I have to pass on the Bellagio tournament because of a previous commitment. A year ago, one of my college basketball teammates asked me if I would speak at a convention for the athletic directors of California high schools. I said yes, unaware that the dates were conflicting with the tournament. It’s impossible for me not to go because they have put out literature and brochures talking about the convention.

Congrats to Vanessa Selbst for winning the Mohegan Sun tournament. Lots of folks seem to be down on her because of her sexual preference. But as far as her ability at a poker table, I can attest to the fact she is really good. She knocked me out of the heads up tournament at the WSOP and impressed me with her play.

-DB