Neal Pollack's LA

Writer Neal Pollack takes to the Wall Street Journal for a travel piece, describing his version of LA Noir, And hey, Commerce makes an appearance. "A few miles south of downtown sits the L.A. suburb of Commerce. Never has a name for a place seemed less apt. Just off the highway are its two major landmarks: a set of midrange outlet stores, and the Commerce Casino (6131 Telegraph Rd., commercecasino.com), the largest and most potentially interesting of L.A.'s 24-hour poker rooms. If you want to tap into the real soul of this town, spend an hour or two playing $2 ante there, with a plate of cheap chow mein and one of the most international cast of characters you'll ever encounter. The desperation rises off the table like steam off a subway grate." [WSJ]