During our visit to New Orleans, Louisiana, we accidentally stumbled upon Caesars Casino and Hotel, which I hadn’t realized was even there. You don’t expect to see something like this anywhere. We’ve “rolled the dice” before at Harrah’s in Cherokee, North Carolina, and I liked that place better. My wife spent a few minutes playing the slot machines, but I was only there to finally play roulette once in my life. I hadn’t gotten the chance last time because older players monopolized the tables, but this time I found an electronic roulette setup where the wheel and ball were real while the rest was digital. That was fun, though I lost when I made a risky move that cost me the Ulysses S. Grant bill I had brought along.

I also ate at Pizza Cake, located in their food court. Buddy Valastro created the original in Las Vegas, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with this one. For starters, the workers there were astonishingly rude. Most people in New Orleans had the classic southern-charm friendliness, but these employees acted like I had ruined their day just by ordering food.

My wife ordered dessert while I had two slices of pizza, which reminded me of Sbarro… but not as good. I know Buddy Valastro can’t be there 24/7, or ever, really, but I was still surprised that a famous chef would create a chain that was just mediocre. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I definitely wasn’t craving another slice afterward.