Although an eye infection limited my activities over the last two days, I still enjoyed a week of fun in Las Vegas. I even came home with about as much cash as when I arrived there.

We stayed at the Flamingo Las Vegas, but we visited most of the casinos on the strip and in the old downtown area, too. I did not have my usual success with Pai Gow poker, nor with three card poker, which I played for the first time. Oddly, I did well with slot machines.

I also did well with the Kentucky Derby. Often called the most exciting two minutes in sports, it was even more fun watching it with friends and hundreds of others at the casino. Betting on Orb made it four times as much fun!

We saw two great shows, including comedian Tim Allen and Sin City Kiss, a Kiss tribute band. Allen had us in fits of laughter, while Sin City Kiss brought me back to my early days of getting into rock music.

As much as I enjoy the gambling and fine food, I also enjoy walking the strip and meeting all of the characters. Of course, if you are going to dress in character, I expect them to put some effort into it. Good, new costumers I saw included Big Bird, a Transformer and Ironman (still never have seen an Aquaman).

I tried several types of jerky at the Beef Jerky Store, one of my favorite spots in Vegas. I don’t eat beef; but I tried alligator, clam and shrimp jerky but resisted trying the exotic ostrich jerky.

Over the course of the week, my sister and I had several different slices of pizza at Bonanno’s New York Pizzeria in the Flamingo. It was fresh and convenient, and the many varieties kept it from getting boring.

Of course, we also had several buffet meals. I enjoyed the 24-hour buffet pass at the Flamingo. The buffet pass covers six properties, costs about $50 and is well worth it for at least one day.

My eye infection may have cut the trip short, but I still had a lot of fun with my family and friends. Besides, now I have to go back again because I got cheated out of two days!

— John Wroblewski, online contributor