• 
• Shopping: Your wife and kids want you to bring them back some Vegas goodies. Head to M & M's World by the MGM Grand. You can get all kinds of M&M's merchandise including clothing and every color of M candy imaginable. Not into M&M's? Everything Coca-Cola is next door. Lots of classic Coke gear to purchase or head upstairs to the soda jerk and try the Tastes of the World, a taster kit of 16 different Coca-Cola products from around the globe.
• 
• Free entertainment: Vegas is expensive, especially during a big conference like CES. Luckily for you, there are plenty of free attractions that are worth seeing. Head to the Bellagio after 8 p.m. The famous fountain show goes off every 15 minutes until midnight. Head to the entrance just to the right of the fountain and grab some gelato before the show.
• 
• Strip shows: Besides gambling, Vegas is famous for its amazing shows. At Wynn, which has the dubious distinction of being the most expensive hotel on the strip, pick up tickets to Le Rêve, a Cirque du Soleil-esque production set in a very-impressive circular water tank. Beware, the show is dark Tuesday and Wednesday, so plan accordingly.
• 
• Gambling: What would Las Vegas be without some gambling? Head to the Sahara for the lowest minimums on the Strip, including $3 blackjack. Make your gambling budget last longer while collecting as many free drinks as you can stand.
• Got your own tips? Put 'em in the comments.
• (Las Vegas Sign photo by fadedpictures, M&M store photo by Alaskan Dude, Sahara photo by Pocheco)

Mix '06 is hot and, like all tech conferences in Vegas, debaucherous. Thanks to Flickr for making what happens in Vegas not stay in Vegas.

Steve Ballmer's PA: "Well, a third of my time is spent arranging his schedule, but it's mostly picking up pieces of chair." [Source]

"So, Mr. Arrington, I've been demoing my product for like 40 seconds. Are you gonna blog it yet, or what?" [Source]

After the jump, Bill Gates finds a special friend.

Technorati's Tantek Celik and tech consultant Scott Isaacs get micro.

In the middle of his speech, Bill Gates begins talking to an imaginary creature he calls "Harvey." [Source]

MS evangelist Robert Hess (not to be confused with Apple evangelist Robert Hess) does his "look sober for the camera" trick with software developer Tim Scarfe. [Source]

Silicon Valley isn't going Hollywood — it's going Memphis. [Source]

So, I'm in Vegas for CES watching a bunch of self described music execs party at The Wynn and this guy is out of control drunk. He actually not only grabbed the breasts of some random women in the group as he walked past her, which was definitely NOT well received, but was actually overheard saying "you know, I never realized what an asset you were to the company" to another women in the group he was with as he ran his hand down her ass. All the while he's bragging about how he just got his second round of funding for his music company.

Guesses, of course, go in the comments.