Guests

As Danish tourists Benjamin Jensen and Peter Andersen get a tutorial in blackjack, the pit boss at Caesars Palace isn't concerned that they're barefoot and wearing only swim trunks. The dealer is clad in a white sweatshirt and shorts. She places the cards — a promising ace and 7 for Jensen, a less desirable 9 and 6 for Andersen — on a blue vinyl table cover. The water cascading down the nearby waterfall and dripping off the men's tattooed arms would ruin the typical green felt table top. The men are sitting at a swim-up blackjack table in the middle of Fortuna, one of five new swimming pools dotting Caesars' Garden of the Gods.

I never cease to be amazed at the thinking of the liberal left as expressed in the news section of your paper regarding medical and other services to children of illegal aliens. Here, we the taxpayers are screaming to high heaven about all the so-called giveaway programs foisted on not only Ventura County, but on the whole of California. Comes along Congressman Elton Gallegly, courageous enough to bite the bullet and offer a legal solution, and he is vilified, called a racist and other delightful epithets.

JW Marriott Resorts have a little something extra for holiday visitors: a $100 credit to spend during their stay. The deal is good at resorts in Tucson, Orlando, Fla., San Antonio and other venues and lasts until the end of January. The deal: The offer, called the Holiday $100 Resort Credit, doesn't go live until Nov. 1 and requires a two-night minimum stay. Extra days score an additional $50 resort credit that can be used for dining, a round of golf or on spa treatments. I like this deal because it's good at resorts in the West, including three in Arizona, one in Las Vegas and another in Palm Desert, Calif.

Washington -- More than 20 House Democrats are planning to bring people affected by gun violence to President Obama's State of the Union address next week as part of an effort to press for new gun control measures in Congress. Each member of Congress may bring one guest to the State of the Union address, which Obama will deliver Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. EST. As of Friday afternoon, at least 23 House Democrats had committed to bringing people affected by gun violence, according to Jonathon Dworkin, communications director for  Rep.

Want to feel like a rock star? You don’t need an agent. Just check into the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego and check out a $2,000 electric guitar. On the heels of Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, which began the “ Check In. Rock Out ” program more than a year ago, the San Diego link in the music-themed chain is letting guests use handmade, high-end Gibson guitars for free. Among the models are Les Paul Studios, SG Standards and SG Specials, said Blake Smith, global music marketing manager for Hard Rock International.

Dear Ms. Winfrey: I get it. I understand why you have so many guests on your show offering advice about health. I'm not a fan of alternative medicine, but I know sensationalism sells. Stuff that stands up to scientific scrutiny often lacks the pizazz that makes for scintillating television. And just because I'm not into aligning my chi or awakening my Tony Robbins giant within doesn't mean other people don't have the right to seek alternatives to modern medicine. I know you are interested in presenting the millions of people who watch "Oprah" with different options.

Walt Disney Co. is replacing the Disney Club with a credit card in which you will earn points with each purchase ["Fan Incensed Over Closure of Disney Club," Oct. 1]. Just what everyone needs, another credit card in their wallet. I can see that I will be spending more time at Universal. With attendance down, you would think they would be doing more to attract guests, not alienate them. They've raised ticket prices, discontinued many of the classic shows that made Disney, raised the price of parking, discontinued the Disney Club -- what's next?

Will they or won't they? That's the question that supporters of Sen. Pete Wilson for governor are asking. Will Pete and Gayle Wilson sing at William and Willa Dean Lyon's Saturday night the way they sang at Jim and Nancy Baldwin's last October? There's no mention of it on the party invitations, fancy little numbers that ask guests to come to Coto de Caza for "The Orange County Premiere Dinner Honoring Our Next Governor of California." But there was no mention of it on the invitations to the Baldwin bash in Emerald Bay either.

We've all asked the same question. Where do television and radio talk shows get their guests? One source is the "Directory of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons," now in its fifth year of publication by Broadcast Interview Source of Washington, D.C. Short title: the "Talk Show Guest Directory." The directory contains more than 6,000 listings and ads, predictably weighted toward such topics as drugs, sex and religion. But there's far more.

Two Ritz-Carltons are pampering frequent guests with what they call "luggage-less travel": They'll clean and press your clothes, replace your toiletries and store them until your next stay. You pay for the cleaning and toiletries; the rest is free. The 300-room Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C. began the program in October for guests who stay four times or more a month; the 341-room Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia picked up the program in January for guests who stay more than twice a month.