Having sold several million copies and soon to be released as a major motion picture just about everyone has heard of the Da Vinci Code. Almost as old and almost as controversial but not so well known is the local version called the "Da Kine Code".

Horseshoe Fremont

It's a well known fact that people from Hawaii love "to go Vegas". Our treks to the city that never sleeps are borderline ritualistic. Cashing in the change you've collected since the last trip, making sure the animals will be cared for, the yard watered, shopping for snacks and dinner for the plane and Omiyage for friends and relatives in Vegas are just a few of the preparations.

According to the Las Vegas Visitor & Convention Authority (the guys who keep track of such things) 822,626 people boarded a plane in Hawaii bound for Las Vegas in 2004. In reality this number is on the low side because it does not include those of us who visited family in Cali or our kids going to school in Colorado or visited Mickey and then drove to Vegas. It also does not include those of us with frequent flyer miles on carriers without direct flights who have to stop in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego or some other city and catch a connecting flight to Vegas.

Caesars Palace

Last years estimated gross revenue from the top six Las Vegas operators (Boyd Gaming Corp., Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment, Mandalay Resort Group, MGM Mirage and Station Casinos) was $18.9 Billion... I know that most of that money comes from Californians because everyone knows people from Hawaii don't lose... we just break even!

How many times have you asked someone if they won in Vegas and they replied "Ahhh I paid for the trip" or "if you count da airfare, I jus' about brok even" or "if you count da airfare and da food I wen brok even" or my favorite "if you count da airfare, food and shopping, I made little bit."

Over time we have developed our own unwritten code that has been passed from generation to generation by parents and close relatives known as "Go Vegan's" so the secret of "The Da Kine Code" lives on.

I'll translate the code for you folks who don't "go Vegas" but first you must swear never to reveal me as the source of this information. Like the Magicians Code and the Da Vinci code, The Da Kine Code is protected by a veil of secrecy. The penalty for allowing the uninitiated access into our secret (Go Vegan's) society is a lifetime of bad luck... and yes gamblers are very superstitious.

So the code goes something like this... Wen you went? Wen you came back? So how you did?

It's our response to the last question that contains the secret The Da Kine Code...

"I paid for the trip" or "good... if you count da airfare, I jus about brok even." means "I lost everything I brought, but I was good cause I nevah wen use da ATM!"

The next reply "Was good... if you count da airfare and da food I wen brok even." In The Da Kine Code means "I lost everything I brought, but I only wen to da ATM a couple of times!"

And when you say... "Was Really Good... if you count da airfare, food and shopping, I made little bit." You're really saying "I lost everything I brought AND I wen to the ATM AND I cashed a few checks... I was bad, bad, bad"!

The final most important aspect of The Da Kine Code is that in exchange for this moment of truth between fellow "Go Vegan's". One does not judge the others behavior and tacitly promises not share the truth with the confessor's spouse (who probably spent too much while shopping... but that is the subject of a different code).