NO ALARM CLOCK TODAY - which is both good and bad! Good, because after 6 hours driving, an American-football of beer, bed at silly-o'clock last night, and a busy week at work, I needed the sleep. Bad, because the hotel doesn't have internet access in the room, so no Gills World - boo! But Craig and Hugo have both text me to let me know that we've beaten West Ham 2-0 - bloody-hell - result!! Knowing that they'll both be in the pub celebrating, I go downstairs and phone them both, to have a celebratory cup of tea with them - it's too early to get on the beer here!!

[In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm back at the hotel after my first job (Tuesday morning) listening to the Stoke game - 1-0 Gills, Mark Saunders -YES!!]

We decide to head out for some food - so it's back over the road to the Golden Nugget for a buffet. This is soo wicked - $7.50 for an all-you-can-eat buffet, with drinks included - no wonder there's so many fatties over here! And the food is fantastic - so much to choose from. If we were here for any longer than just a weekend, we'd probably leave a few stone heavier! In fact, I've noticed that food and drink seem to be really cheap here in Vegas - probably to entice you to spend more in the Casinos I suppose.

We duly oblige - and fritter-away our small winnings from the previous night - the slots are not as loose today! It's fun though - however, there are people gambling everywhere - some winning, most losing - and it's only 4 in the afternoon!

The feast serves only to make us more tired, so we head back to the hotel for an afternoon nap - we've decided to have a late one on the strip tonight.

The cabbie drops us off at the first hotel on the strip at about 7.30 - there's lights and people everywhere. We spot the Venetian hotel in the distance, and head there - passing a couple of Chapels on the way. This is bizarre, as there are people getting married in a drive-thru-type building at the side of the road - some dressed in traditional clobber, and some in three-quarter lengths and t-shirts - cool! Think if I ever get married it'll be a more casual affair.

During the walk to the hotel, some random dude stops by and asks if we've got a spare 5 cents - his van has broken down, and he needs to get back home (in New York!!) - not too sure how far he expects to get on 5 cents, so I decline. He still wishes me a nice night - then proceeds to tell us his life story, and that of some of the people he's met since he's been here (3 days - apparently - it smells more like 3 months!!). It transpires that some people come here with their entire life savings, looking to make them bigger - fail, and spend the rest of their existence in Vegas, poor, homeless and begging. It's a sad story, but I can quite believe it - after all, this is supposed to be the place where everyone wins!

I hear a rumbling, and immediately look to the sky, expecting to see black clouds - but no, it's just the roar of a roller-coaster coming out of the Sahara hotel, looping as it shoots by the front, then disappear back inside - back the way it came!! No-way NEVER!

After walking for what seems like hours, we finally get there - and it's a pretty amazing sight - there's gondola's outside the hotel, taking people for a ride - how strange! The hotel is as huge as the mock St Mark's Square bell-tower that greets the guests - we wonder inside to have a look around. This is even more novel - the shopping level is on the second floor - it's about 8.30 at night - and there's daylight - somehow this doesn't seem quite right, but it's very clever! And there's more gondola's here - just how they managed to get from outside the hotel to the second floor inside is beyond me! I make a mental note - if I ever come back to Vegas, I'll be staying at this hotel - it's wicked!

This is pretty much how the rest of the evening goes - wondering down the road passing hotel after hotel, pausing every now and then for a quick drink and a dapple - the Mirage (where there's a white Tiger on show), Caesar's Palace, Paris, the Belaggio (where there's the most fantastic water fountain and light show every 15 minutes, outside the front of the hotel - a must see for anyone who comes here), New York New York, Excalibur, and finally the MGM Grand - the largest hotel in the world (I think!). It must be nearly midnight by now, so we head to Studio 54 - a nightclub inside the MGM Grand - for a few drinkies. There's some wicked acrobatics going on at intervals, which is different - I suppose it justifies the $20 entry fee for blokes (women don't pay, naturally - bloody sexists!).

[2-0, Marlon King - double-YES!!]

We decide to call it a night, and get a cab back to the hotel - we didn't win any money, but had an excellent night.

END OF DAY 22