New York City - Places and Poker - High Stakes

New York City

Eight million New Yorkers claim that NYC is the greatest city on earth, and eight million New Yorkers can't be wrong -- except for one thing: no poker. Oh, sure you have the odd underground club, holes in various bowery or west side walls. And no doubt you can find high stakes home games on the top floor of the Dakota or the Waldorf. But the fact is that the city that never sleeps isn't even on the poker map.

Well, hey, no city's perfect. Not even one that never sleeps.

But if you've got a thick bankroll and you're ready to let the Franklins fly, there's no place anywhere like the one and only Big Apple. Here's my quick flyby on the places to stay and play in NYC.

LANDING

Understand that nobody stays in New York on the cheap. Even a room at a Holiday Inn can set you back two yards. Then again, who comes to New York to be cheap? No, you come to New York to live large, and if you really want to live large, here's where you'll want to land.

W Times Square. From the minute you walk in, you leave the buzz of Times Square behind and enter a world of almost Zen tranquility. Check out the glass-encased waterfall just outside the elevator that takes you to reception. It'll have you literally walking on water as you ride up, check in and zone out. And when you're refreshed and ready to hit the town, all of Times Square and Broadway are just outside your door. Truly rocks and rings.

Tribeca Grand Hotel. I think TGH does itself a disservice by calling itself a "grand hotel." Not that it's not grand -- it is -- but the word suggests something stuffy and old fashioned, which this place sure as shit ain't! All sharp angles and stainless steel, the look is almost religiously post-modern. And the service? Crisp, perfect, virtually android-like. Buried in the heart of SoHo, it's your perfect heart-of-everything pied a terre.

If you like old school New York, check out the Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South. For a truly astounding amount of money, you can get a room with a view of the park -- telescope included. Also a flat screen TV, DVD player, all-marble bathrooms and Frette linens (whatever the hell they are). The rooms can be a little on the small side, but for a hotel that remembers what five-star means, RC is the place to be.

FUELING

There are more than 18,000 restaurants in New York City, which means you could dine out every breakfast, lunch and dinner for more than 16 years without doubling back. For some reason when I'm in the Big Apple, my taste runs away from high tone establishments like the Four Seasons and Tavern on the Green, and more toward the joints that the locals seem to find and love. Here are three of my favorites. Three down, 17,997 to go.

Mickey Mantle's. I'm not a Yankee fan, but somehow it gives me a thrill to be in the sort of place where the Mick and his buddies would throw down after ball games. Die-to-try: the roast duck quesadillas, lobster club, and the barbecue special shipped exclusively to Mickey Mantle's from Lufkin, Texas. Check out the gift shop for all sorts of oddball baseball memorabilia, or just knock back a few martinis and pretend you're planning to go 3-for-5 tomorrow with two home runs.

The Beekman Pub. If you find yourself sloping around City Hall, slope into the Beekman for a perfect pint of Guinness or Bass on draught. The food is good, solid pub fare -- nothing special, but nothing that'll steer you too far wrong. Best things about the Beek': private rooms for parties out of bounds and karaoke nights on Friday.

Forbidden City. It wouldn't be New York without Chinese food and while there's no shortage of great Asian restaurants, Forbidden City offers both top food and a top vibe. Stumble in around 11pm and you'll see ample eye candy filling their fine forms with wasabi baby octopus, beef tataki and shrimp wrapped snow crab claw. All of it's good, none of it's expensive, and you can wash it all down with Red Rice Ale or Magic Hat #9, a couple of brews I defy you to find elsewhere.

PASSING THE TIME

One of the things I like to do best is take a schvitz (that's steam bath to you) in one of NYC's great spas like the Wall Street Bath and Day Spa. It's a co-ed joint, so you can steam and sweat and sauna your day away in the pleasant company of betties in bathing suits or treat yourself to a Swedish, Balinese or hot stone therapy massage.

I'm no freak for museums, but the Museum of Modern Art brings out the culture vulture even in me. Stunning collection. Everything from Van Gogh and Cézanne to Warhol and Jasper Johns. Don't plan your attack. Just let your feet lead you from one amazing work to the next. If they tore down everything in NYC and left MOMA standing, the city would still be worth the trip.

You wouldn't pass through the Big Apple without checking out a night club or two, would you? I favor Vue on East 50th, especially for its Saturday Late Nite parties, rocking salsa, Spanish rock, merengue and Latin hip-hop till four a.m. Bar 13 in Greenwich Village is the place to be in summer, when they open the roof deck for drinking and dancing under the stars. And if you get bit by the nostalgia bug, the art deco Copacabana will take you back to cocktail hour in the '50s.

That only scratches the surface of what to do and see in NYC. Here's a few other items from my don't-miss list:

• Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty. I know it's corny, but both places will make you feel something you've never felt before.
• Ground Zero. Not the feel-good trip of the year, but important.
• Coney Island. The subway ride is half the fun. The hot dogs are the other half.
• The Flat Iron Building. NYC's first high rise, it's just freaky-strange and fun to look at.
• The Bronx Zoo. A world-class zoo is always worth a look.
• The New York Public Library. Perfect place to waste a rainy day.

I could stretch this list to another twenty or 200 entries, but let's just say this: When you get to New York City, go off in any direction -- you're bound to find something very cool.

BONUS: TOP FIVE SONGS ABOUT NEW YORK CITY

• New York, New York -- Frank Sinatra
• Rockin' Around in NYC -- Marshall Crenshaw
• Talking New York -- Bob Dylan
• New York City Serenade -- Bruce Springsteen
• Take the A Train -- Duke Ellington