When making our annual pilgrimage to Vegas, Ms. Lucky Duck and I always head downtown on Tuesday to hit the T-bone steak buffett ($12.50) at Main Street Station. If you are a steak lover, itis all you can eat and they serve a decent piece of bovine.

The Plaza is my favorite downtown casino, so we headed over for some poker fun, 2-4 limit for me and video for the wife. We walked in to find numerous TV cameras, lighting, bleachers, and an empty poker table. Since I am not yet a world- class, famous poker player, I figured the cameras were there for some other reason. The Ultimate Poker Challenge was filmimg final table action for a national broadcast. The only name player I recognized was Cloney Gowan (who finished sixth), but Andy Bloch, in his "Full Tilt" jersey was there playing a side game. I decided to sit and watch some of the tournament finalists and was surprised at how many hands were not contested, but folded early. It makes you wonder how many feet of film are left on the cutting room floor after editing out all the uneventful hands. The main problem the TV producers were having was keeping the stands full. Watching poker live, when you do not know the hole cards just does not have the same attraction as the TV show where you can really see the strategy involved.

Overall, the management and dealers were all friendly and ran the games well. They have progressive jackpots for big hands, which gives you an opportunity for a big payoff (the largest progressive was $786 when I was there) even at a $2-4 limit table. Howard Letterer, Phil Ivey, and Dan Harrington had been in to play earlier in the day, so you might even get to play a top pro while visiting the Plaza.

My stomach started grumbling so it was off to Main Street Station for some grub. Until next time... play them like you got them!