There’s always something new in Las Vegas, and that includes downtown. The historic area north of The Strip has been bustling with activity in recent months, and we’re not just saying it’s bustling as an excuse to type the word “bust” a couple of times. Probably.

During our last visit to the Golden Gate, the oldest operating casino in Vegas, we noted they’ve recently opened a high limit salon. And it’s precious.

Photos of the dancer-dealers is allowed, with their permission. Which we're 31% sure we were given. Hey, it's loud in there.

The “intimate” high limit room has two shoe blackjack tables and one double-deck game. We hear the room may add a baccarat table in the near future.

The room features plush, high-backed chairs, in case your feet get tired from all the, you know, sitting you’re doing while playing blackjack.

Comfy.

The new high limit room isn’t all that high limit when you compare it to The Strip, with two tables having a $25 minimum and another with $50.

The tables are manned, or rather, “personed,” by the casino’s popular go-go dealers. In fact, the only tables we saw personed by male dealers in the entire casino were at the craps tables. This blog does not generally have a problem with this trend, as long as the dancer-dealers know what the heck they’re doing.

Let us know if you spot anything new in downtown Las Vegas, and we’ll use it as an excuse to visit and snap some pics.

No Las Vegas casino would be complete without playing cards. They’re used in blackjack and poker and a variety of other games, including Pai Gow poker, which in Chinese translates as “that card game this blog doesn’t understand because it may involve math.”

So, here’s a question about playing cards: Why are there 52 cards in a deck?

It's good to be the king.

Come to find out, many believe our modern decks of cards can be tied to astrology. The four suits, for example, are said to represent the four seasons. Not The Jersey Boys, the other four seasons. Please try and stay focused.

The 13 cards of each suit represent 13 months of the lunar new year. A lunar month (“sidereal lunar month” to be precise) has 28 days, so if you multiply 13 months by 28 days, you get 364, which is the number of days in a year in something called the positivist calendar. (It’s actually 364 plus a festival day commemorating the dead, for a total of 365.)

You may have already figured out that our 52-card decks are related to the fact a year has 52 weeks.

For the record, this blog still hates math.

The weight of an average playing card is 0.063 of an ounce. You'll win a bar bet with that one some day.

Here’s a bonus trivia item about playing cards.

Ever wonder why the ace of spades gets special treatment in terms of its design?

The ace of spades is also known as the "spadille."

The fancy design got its start under the reign of James I of England.

He created a law requiring that an insignia (usually hand-stamped) appear on the ace of spades to prove payment of a tax by card manufacturers. That special tax existed in the U.K. until 1960, and the practice of putting an ornate spade symbol on the ace of spades stuck around.

Now you know!

We’re not sure “Sir Jac” would “Die 4 U,” but this talented “dealertainer” would definitely dance parts of himself off to entertain “U” and your fellow guests at Imperial Palace.

The indefatigable Sir Jac as the inestimable Prince. Thanks again, Internet thesaurus!

We love that Sir Jac (possibly not his birth name) never seems to stop dancing, even when he’s dealing blackjack.

Here’s a little peek at his time on the dealertainer stage at Imperial Palace, courtesy of one of his fans.

Find out more about the Imperial Palace dealertainers, and take a look at all our featured dealertainers.

This blog is always up for trying its luck at casino games like roulette, blackjack and slots, and now those games are available free on Facebook with the Caesars Casino game.

Free coins do, indeed, make us feel welcome, guy-in-a-suit. Thanks.

The realistic roulette, blackjack and video slots games are completely free to play, with more games coming soon. Sorry, no craps yet! Nothing’s perfect in life.

Hmm, which game do we choose to crush first?

With the Caesars Casino app, it’s all the excitement of playing in your favorite casino, with none of the risk (or cigarette smoke), so what’s not to love? Oh, and nobody’s trying to high-five you without your permission. This blog hates that.

No nasty looks from other players if you split 10s. Yeah, baby!

We’re liking the bonuses, and as you play, you get other perks, and different game levels can be unlocked along the way, just to keep things lively. There’s a handy FAQ to quickly get you up-to-speed on the various games, but everything’s pretty intuitive if you’ve played the live versions of the games.

We're betting on red and black and green. It's not real money, so what do we care?

As you might suspect, since it resides on Facebook, the Caesars Casino is a fairly social game. You can gloat about your virtual casino accomplishments to friends, as well as being able to send them additional coins and video slot spins, blackjack hands and roulette spins. And unlike with games such as Farmville, your friends will actually enjoy hearing from you when you share your Caesars Casino updates. And if they don’t, are they really the kind of friends you want? We’re just saying.

We’re just kidding about the Farmville thing! (Actually, we’re just kidding about kidding about it. Farmville is annoying. This is a casino, not a farm. Casinos are fun. Farms smell. Moving on.)

Not annoying! Well, you might want to turn the sound off after the first six or eight hours. Just saying.

If you’re digging the Caesars Casino experience, and deplete your virtual coins, you can purchase more with real-world money. Yes, quite a few people do this, actually. Hey, fun’s fun. Twenty thousand coins for $5 is a pretty inexpensive form of entertainment when you get right down to it. But there’s no obligation. Just be lucky, and you’ll never need to purchase a Caesars Casino coin in your life. Or have lucky friends who can give you coins. That works, too.

Roman society, from what we can tell, was based largely on grapes and water features.

So, check out the new Caesars Casino. And if you’re curious: This blog is currently raking it in at roulette, having its posterior handed to it at blackjack, and holding steady at the “Road to Riches” and “Roman Triumphs” video slots.

Play in the Caesars Casino on Facebook, already.

We weren’t sure how to feel about this at first. The Imperial Palace has a new Amy Winehouse “dealertainer.” Dealertainers are those folks who deal blackjack and also perform as music’s icons, past and present.

Once we got past our “too soon” moment, it occurred to us, the real Amy Winehouse seems to have loved a good time, and this blog gets the feeling dealing cards and singing songs and helping Vegas visitors create unforgettable memories is something Ms. Winehouse might have gotten behind.

So, here’s Gloria, as Amy Winehouse.

Gloria, channeling Amy Winehouse at the IP.

Learn more about the dealertainers at Imperial Palace, and check out all our featured dealertainers.

Just about everyone loves them some “dealertainers,” those multi-tasking folks who deal blackjack at Imperial Palace while taking on the persona of music’s immortals and performing for guests.

Today, we feature Karen who does a turn as Tina Turner when she’s dealertainmenting, which, we realize, might not be an actual word.

What's splitting 8s got to do with it?

Find out more about the Imperial Palace dealertainers, and tell us your favorite in the Comments section.

You  know them, you love them, they’re the famed dealertainers of the Imperial Palace.

We should amend that a bit. You probably know a few of the IP’s famed dealertainers (blackjack dealers who also perform onstage), but do you know them all? You probably will, if you keep reading this Las Vegas blog.

Today’s featured dealertainer is Jeff as singer Michael Buble.

Jeff and his biggest fan. See what we did there?

Check out all our past featured Imperial Palace dealertainers, because having you read our “old stuff” means less energy being expended by this blog coming up with “new stuff,” and we’re big fans of that.

If you want a blog that lives by society’s rules, go somewhere else!

We just found a fun puzzle in the upcoming winter edition of the Total Rewards magazine (Total Rewards is the player loyalty program of Caesars Entertainment), and we’re posting it here for your amusement. We didn’t even ask if we could. That’s how this blog rolls.

The top and bottom halves of this card don’t match (the top half is accurate). Try to spot all 16 differences, eagle eye.

Dude, careful with that blade.

In case you need a closer look, you can click here to download a larger version.

If you can’t spot all 16 differences, like we totally did in about 30 seconds, visit this Web page to see all the differences spelled out for you, you big baby.

Here’s early look at the new issue of Total Rewards magazine, which we expect to lift liberally from for future blog posts.

Today’s featured Las Vegas dealertainer is Susan, who takes on the persona of Charo as she performs and deals blackjack in the always-lively dealtertainer pit at Imperial Palace.

Susan's isn't exactly like the real Charo. You can actually understand what she's saying.

Bonus real-Charo trivia: The enduring performer’s real name is María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten. We did not make that up.

Find out more about the Imperial Palace dealertainers and take one home as a souvenir. Which, upon further reflection, would be relatively illegal, so nevermind.

You know ‘em, you love ‘em, we shoot ‘em. They’re the dealertainers of Imperial Palace.

Today’s featured dealertainer is Lana as pop powerhouse, Pink.

You try dealing blackjack and doing that lip thing all at the same time.

See all our featured dealertainers. Got a favorite?

Bonus Pink trivia: The singer’s real name is Alecia Beth Moore.

They deal blackjack. They entertain. Hence, the mash-up: “Dealertainer.”

A day or two ago, a loyal Pulse of Vegas blog reader (yes, they actually exist) asked, “Have you featured the guy who plays Adam Lambert at the Imperial Palace?” We have, in fact, not. Until today.

J.D. channels Adam Lambert in the Dealertainer pit at Imperial Palace.

Still not sure what a dealertainer is? Visit their official page on the Imperial Palace site.

Or check out all the dealertainers featured in this blog. As Halloween approaches, the dealertainers at Imperial Palace are a great source of inspiration! Of course, we have a few Las Vegas Halloween Costume ideas of our own, too.

If you’ve been to a casino, pretty much anywhere in the known universe, chances are you’ve seen a Shuffle Master automatic card shuffler.

They’re the machines that keep the cards shuffled so your dealer can concentrate on 1) banter, 2) paying your wins correctly and 3) making that completely sincere sad face when your blackjack hand comes up short. Which never happens, of course. It’s Las Vegas!

We stopped by the corporate headquarters of Shuffle Master here in Vegas not too long ago, and loved speaking with company representatives about various innovations coming down the pike. But we just couldn’t take our eye off something on display in the Shuffle Master lobby.

Specifically, a prototype of the very first Shuffle Master shuffler.

When we saw this, we were in gambling nerd heaven.

The original Shufflemaster shuffler was invented by John Breeding, a truck driver from Minneapolis, back in the early 1980s. What sparked his invention? Reading a story in the Wall Street Journal about card counters in Atlantic City casinos.

Prior to his foray into gaming equipment, Breeding had also sold cemetery plots, check writing machines and encyclopedias.

It took 10 years, and an investment of $1.3 million clams, before the first Shuffle Master machines were leased out. In 1991, Bally’s Las Vegas was the site of a field trial for the Nevada Gaming Commission to get the machines approved for use in casinos. Once approved, Bally’s was also Breeding’s first customer for the machines.

Every day they're shufflin'. Yes, we went to the LMFAO concert at Planet Hollywood, recently. So sue us.

Interesting John Breeding fact: He invented the popular Let It Ride, the poker-style casino card game.

Breeding retired in 1997, but his invention lives on.

Read more about the history of Shuffle Master, and check out another Shuffle Master innovation, Rapid Craps at Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Salloon.

So, what do you think about automatic card shufflers? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

How on Earth did we effectively waste time at work before YouTube?

Who knows? But lately, there’s been a flood of YouTube videos featuring Las vegas-related goodness, so it’s time to dive headlong into the shallow end of the videographic wading pool. Or something.

First up, it’s Chumlee! He’s one of our favorites from Pawn Stars, the History Channel reality show set in downtown Vegas’ famed Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. It appears Chumlee recently went on a mission to find singer-songwriter Bob Dylan on the Strip, specifically at Caesars Palace. We won’t spoil the ending.

One of the greatest Las Vegas summits ever!

Next, it’s time for Oprah’s heir apparent, Ellen, to try her hand at dealing blackjack in Las Vegas. She donned a bunny suit at the Palms to raise money for two animal advocacy groups, the Gentle Barn and the Farm Sanctuary.

Always split 8s. Just trust us. The book says split 8s.

The dance-happy talk show host gets a crash course, then hits the casino floor. Upshot: It’s not as easy as Vegas blackjack dealers make it look.

The fun continues with a new ad campaign for Las Vegas from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

What do you think of the new tagline, “Life is short, summer is shorter”? As always, this blog remains neutral. Although, who decided life is short? Try attending an opera or listening to that guy who plays the sax on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Sometimes, life seems to drag on forever.

Onward!

We love this slickly-produced video for Sea Thai at Bally’s Las Vegas. Granted, we mostly love it because the music is by Napat Snidvongs, which we think just might be the same sound a bowling ball makes when it’s dropped into an open piano.

Sea Thai is actually fairly awesome, and it’s also one of the only Thai restaurants on the Strip, so read more and enjoy some of our best food photos ever.

One more YouTube video for your edification, whatever an edification might actually be. Angel Porrino, of TV’s “Holly’s World” and Peepshow at Planet Hollywood fame, is now a featured performer in Absinthe at Caesars Palace. When we first started describing her act by saying “she tap dances virtually topless in a giant balloon,” people kind of looked a us funny. Now, video vindication.

As promised, “Absinthe” is sexy, strange and supremely original. Catch “Absinthe” live, because as good as YouTube is, it still doesn’t dispense beer.

Yes, we’ve been slacking on our Imperial Palace dealertainers lately, but we’re about to make up for it. It’s Dalyn as Taylor Swift.

Dear, Imperial Palace. Please hire a Kanye West dealertainer. That would be a blast.

Unfamiliar with dealertainers? Where have you been? They’re the fun-loving blackjack dealers at Imperial Palace who also perform on the casino’s stage. We would call the IP dealertainers a hoot-and-a-half if people still used that phrase. Learn more.

Do you have a favorite dealertainer? If you enjoy answering rhetorical questions, we’d love to hear your thoughts in our Comments section.

Which Imperial Palace dealertainer is your favorite? Not sure what a “dealertainer” actually is? Please try and keep up.

Today’s featured dealertainer is Nayivi as Shakira.

Nayivi, everyone. And for a minute there, Alice Cooper was our favorite dealertainer.

See all our featured dealertainers to-date.