I'm wearing an offensively soft egyptian terry cotton robe right now. I just got out of the solid marble steam room that's in my bathroom. Before that I was soaking with some lavender sea salts in the raised jacuzzi tub, also off my bedroom. Before that I was having my ass kissed by a variety of casino employees.

That's right, I'm in the penthouse suite of the Luxor hotel.

Yesterday a friend of mine called me to ask how to play Blackjack. He was at the luxor playing rather large hands of blackjack. So large, in fact, that they offered him the penthouse suite, which must be at least 4000 sq. ft. He offered to fly me up to occupy the second bedroom of the suite. At first I declined - I don't like to accept favors I can't repay.

After a while he convinced me, though. He argued that he would probably save much more than the airfare if I sat with him and showed him what to do. After a twice delayed flight (took my polynaps in the plane and presidents' club in the airport) I arrived at McCarran airport, greeted by a private limo sent courtesy of the Luxor.

I'd heard about casino hosts, so I did some research and got in touch with one of the top hosts in the world. Immediately he offered my friend a free trip to Vegas, highlighted by a trip via private jet to Houston to watch the Heat vs. the Rockets.

Not wanting to leave me out, my friend split his bankroll with me so that we could both play in the high limit blackjack area. Of course I return all winnings to him (although he has generously offered some of them to me), and wouldn't be liable for losses. But the real benefit is that now the casino sees ME as a high roller, so I can go on trips like the basketball one.

So, until Tuesday I will be living life like a high roller.

The point of this post is mostly to brag about how great my life is. I mean... the point of this post is that this experience so far has been incredibly motivating. THIS is how life should be lived. I love Vegas and have had some awesome trips here, but none quite like this.

Also, I'm going to post tons of pictures of the suite. I always wanted to see what they looked like on the inside, but could never find pictures.