Last Strip Trip of 2008

After being away from Las Vegas for about 10 days, it was time to return to the Strip to see if they were still giving away money.

I headed to Bally's where I parked and checked into the poker room. At 9 a.m. the room was busy and there was a waiting list so I headed over to Bill's Gambling Hall. Their tiny poker room - actually just a roped off area - doesn't open til 11 a.m. so I played a little blackjack and left about $10 up.

I was itching to play poker, so I went to the Flamingo and was immediately seated at a $1-2 No Limit game. For the first 30 minutes, I don't think I played more than 1 or 2 hands. I won a small pot with a pair of Kings, but was pretty much card dead. My $100 buy-in dwindled and I ended up rebuying for a second $100. After dropping about half of that, I took a lunch break and grabbed a chicken salad on rye (pretty tasty).

Then I hit the Flamingo blackjack table and after an up-and-down start, I managed to eke out a $65 profit. I didn't want to give that back, so I quit for the day and took a walk over to Caesars Palace to check out the sports book. I bought tickets on today's bowl games - I took Nevada (a loser), Rice over WMU and OKie State over Oregon. We'll see how those turn out.

For the trip, I lost about $85.

On the way home, I stopped to cancel our storage unit. I talked to the managers there about renting a larger unit next year - one that will hold our futon, platform bed, TV, dining room set and several boxes of kitchen stuff. We had a 5x5 foot unit that easily held last years items and cost us $29 a month. They suggested a 5x10 foot unit that would run $61 a month, but I think we could get the stuff into a 5x7 unit for only $37 a month. Anyway, we'll have to factor that rent into our budget. I'll be checking with them in April.

I also stopped by a local grocery store and picked up some celebratory munchies for New Year's Eve. We had considered hitting the Strip for NYE, but after hearing some of the hassles involved, decided to celebrate at home. The Strip is expecting some 250,000 people. There are several restrictions about where you can park, what you can carry (no cans or bottles allowed on the Strip) and access to some of the casinos. Today, for example, you could not park at Bill's unless you were a hotel guest or had a player's club card.

Anyway, we're looking forward to watching football bowl games and popping a cork on our champagne in the privacy of our apt. In many ways 2008 was a heck of a year and we're looking forward to 2009 with optimism.

Hope your year is filled with nothing but blessings...

Back in the Vegas Routine

We're back from spending a great holiday week in Katy with Anna and her family. After driving 14 hours on Saturday and 10 more on Sunday, we arrived back in our apt. on Sunday afternoon. Monday was spent unpacking, going through a stack of mail, paying some bills and restocking the groceries.

Of course, I did find a few minutes to make a fb bet at the Suncoast Casino, which happens to be right near the grocery store. The ticket is a Super Ticket, which allows you to roll the point spread 10 pts, but doesn't pay a ton. Anyway, my $20 bet includes NC State +17, Northwestern+23, USC-1, Alabama-2 and Texas pick'em. So yesterday both NCST and NW came through. Now if those other big favorites hit, It'll be a $50 winner.

A few errands to run today and 3 more bowl games. May go with Nevada, Rice and Oregon today, but no strong feelings. Best bet would be Nevada against Maryland. Hate to go against WMU vs. Rice, but the Kazoo boys have to go all the way to Houston for what is essentially a home game for the Rice Puddings. Also not a big MAC fan vs other conferences.

More adventure details coming tonight...

A Strip Trip Before We Head to Katy

Helen wanted to spend today prepping for our drive to Anna's in the morning, so she sent me to the Strip to make some gas money.

I arrived at Bally's about 11 a.m. and immediately got a seat in a $1-2 No Limit poker game. After buying in for $100, I didn't wait long to get into action.

On the third hand I was dealt, I looked down at Q-Q and raised the pot to $12. I got four callers and the dealer flopped a 10-J-Q, giving me a set. One guy bet $25 and two others folded while two of us called the bet. The turn card was a 4. The guy bet $25 and I went all-in for $65. One guy folded, while the original bettor called. I showed by 3 Qs and he showed K-K. That pot totalled over $200 and was the highlight of my session. I won 6 or 7 pots in the $50-60 range, but none over $100.

When the poker dust settled, I had won $635. That ought to be enough gas money to get us to Texas and back, LOL!

What's Rarer in LV - Winners or Snow?

Once again we challenged the expert blackjack dealers at the Suncoast Casino and once again we squeeked out a modest victory.

I had to go to the nearby post office to get some stamps and it happened to be en route to the Suncoast, so I stopped in for a couple of hours. Actually, Helen encouraged me to go so she could get caught up on some Lifetime Channel shows that she's been watching.

Anyway, I sat down at a double-deck pitch table with one other player and immediately lost about half of my $100 buy-in. Then things turned around and I won 3-4 hands in a row to get back near even. It was up and down for a while. At one point I was up about $75, but things turned sour. That's when I took a break and counted my profit of $31.

That wasn't too bad, but I was kicking myself for not stopping when I was up $60 or $70. So I took a break for lunch and considered grabbing a quick hot dog at a cart near the sports book. The dogs are only 75 cents. I walked over to the nearby buffet and checked the lunch price - $8.99. That seemed pretty good.

"Would you like to pay with your club points," asked the cashier.

"I'm not sure I have enough," I answered.

She quickly scanned my card and told me I could put $5 toward the price. So for $4.25 (tax included) I had the whole buffet at my lunchtime mercy!

I started with a plate of cold peeled shrimp, two bbq ribs, and a piece of fried chicken. I followed that up with my fruit & salad selections - a small green salad and two pieces of chilled watermelon. Then came dessert, a tasty slice of carrot cake. I always think of my Mom when I have carrot cake - it was her favorite.

After waddling out of the buffet, I thought about playing some more blackjack, but opted to sit at a 25-cent video poker game. I put in $10 and went up and down until I connected on four 7s. A few spins later, I cashed out $21, a cool profit of $11 for about 10 minutes work. That equates to an hourly wage of $66, after taxes.

With a profit of $42 in my pocket, I took a walk around the casino, checking out the Suncoast's second story bowling alley area. Then I decided to give blackjack another try. I started out on a lucky streak and ran my $50 buy-in up to almost $100 in about 30 minutes before things went bad. I walked from this session with a profit of $21.

So the total gambling take for the day was $63 - not great, but better than losing. I've been on a nice roll lately - no huge wins, but steady profits over the past few sessions.

While I was bringing the Suncoast to its knees, the weather outside was turning frightful (at least by Las Vegas standards). Snow is falling and both TV and radio are predicting many inches of snow, with some mountains getting up to 10 inches of white stuff. There's even a chance the Strip will get 3-6 inches tonight!

One TV weather guy noted that LV schools have not had a snow day since 1979, but tomorrow it could happen for the first time in 29 years! The same guy noted that McCarran Airport has NO SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT - yikes!

I feel for any people from the Midwest or Northeast who thought they were escaping snow when they planned their Vegas Vacation, only to find the weather nasty here too.

Tonight I whipped up some hefty salads for Helen and me - baby spinach, romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, kalamata olives, and mushrooms, all topped by shredded cheddar. Tasty, but light, especially after my buffet lunch.

Tune in tomorrow for details on LV's battle against Mother Nature...

A Little Blackjack and a Lot of Movie

Helen insisted I get out of the apartment this morning, so I drove to Bally's, parked and hiked south about a mile to the MGM Grand to cash a $60 football ticket from the weekend games. It was a good walk and I needed some exercise. While there I played a little blackjack, losing $36 in about 20 minutes.

Then I walked back toward Bally's and ended up at Bill's Gambling Hall where I managed to eke out a $55 blackjack win over the course of an hour.

So for the day, I was up $19 and decided not to play any more so I could quite a winner, albeit a slight one.

I still had some time to kill before heading home, so I walked over to Caesars Palace and had lunch (a huge pizza slice & a diet Pepsi). After lunch I walked over to Bellagio to check out the poker action (saw no big poker names) and went to the sports book where I kicked back in the leather recliners and just rested while checking out some futures bets. The Tigers are 22-1 longshots to win the 2009 World Series.

Bellagio has a lot of Christmas decorations up and, as usual, they are spectacular. Huge silvery packages with bows the size of Buicks, about half-a-zillion potted poinsettias and some outrageously huge candy canes. Very cool.

I rolled home about 2 p.m. and Helen and I went over to the Suncoast theater to catch a 3:30 showing of "Australia" with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. It was long, almost 3 hours, but really pretty good. After the movie we had dinner at a small cafe - sweet and sour chicken for Helen and lemon chicken for me.

Then it was a quick ride home and time to plan tomorrow's adventure...

Snow in Vegas? That's a Longshot, Right?

Well, for the first time in 5 years, Las Vegas received a measurable amount of snow today.

The flakes began falling around 9 a.m. at our apartment and the big, fluffy flakes kept coming down until around 4 p.m., leaving some 3-4 inches on the ground. It piled up white and pristine on the grassy areas around our complex, but on the cement walkways and parking areas it was only a sloppy, mess the consistency of a 7-11 Slurpee.

I was out grocery shopping when it began and walking into the store I saw a teen girl trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue while two others took pics with their phone cameras. But I was on a grocery-grabbing mission and spent an hour cruising the aisles at Albertson's in Summerlin.

Heading home, the roads were wet but not too bad. I'm pretty sure these Vegas drivers don't know how to handle snowy roads, since the last measurable snowfall was back in '03, according to the TV weather geeks. When I got home, Helen and I decided to just stay in today. Not a good day to negotiate around town.

So I wrote my January casino entertainment column for the Booth papers. Every month I collect the info on which acts will appear at Michigan casinos for the coming month. For example, the January lineup includes two concerts by Jewel, a visit by Chubby Checker and a show by Styx. I add some info about the entertainers and put it all together in an 800-1000 word column that runs in the Booth papers on the first Sunday of the month. It also goes on Mlive in the travel section.

After that, I picked up a biography of Mike Royko that I'm reading and ripped through a few chapters. By then it was time to start a big pot of chili (with the snow, it seemed hearty and somehow appropriate). Helen spent her afternoon talking on the phone with Anna and Natalie.

By Vegas standards, a pretty low key day. If the weather improves we'll get out tomorrow and revive the adventure...

Another Football Sunday in Las Vegas!

Football Sunday is always fun in Las Vegas and today was no exception.

Helen and I enjoyed a breakfast of scrambled eggs that I prepared this morning, then we watched some of the 10 a.m. fb game of the Jets vs. Bills. I had several live parlays and teasers going. Around noon Helen suggested I might enjoy the games more at the Red Rock Casino, so I headed over there - tickets in hand.

The crowd at the Red Rock was lively and loud. There were 8 different games shown on the TVs and big screens in the sports book, but it wasn't easy to find a seat. Finally I settled in and watched the Packers game, since it was part of a 3-team parlay that would have paid $300.
Some three hours later, I had one winning ticket that will pay me $60 when I cash it. It's a teaser of Saints +9, Lions +24, 49ers +13 and Jets -2.

On the way home from the casino, I stopped at our nearby library and picked up a Janet Evanovich book for Helen (Lean, Mean Thirteen) and two books for me - a Mike Royko biography and a book of short stories by Hunter S. Thompson that includes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. We did a lot of reading last year in LV and will probably get into the habit again this year.

Tonight I'm grilling up some hotdogs with some baked beans for dinner. Pretty classy dining in LV, huh?

The adventure continues tomorrow...

A Full Day of Poker at Harrah's

Saturday has always been a lucky day for me to play poker on the Las Vegas Strip. I don't know if it's a combination of tired drunks who are at the end of an 18-hour bender or a fresh batch of college kids who come to town with their ballcaps on backwards and their sunglasses at the ready, but I've always had food fortune on the weekends.

So I was optimistic when I arrived at the parking deck of Bill's Gambling Hall about 9 a.m. and pulled the Saturn Vue into one of the few remaining spots. I walked down thru Bill's, thru the Flamingo, past the Imperial Palace and into Harrah's, where I had never played poker before. I wanted something different today and found it at Harrah's.

I had to wait about 15 minutes for a seat in a $1-2 No Limit game, but it was worth it. In the fourth hand, I hit a full house and won a nice pot of about $70. I played until 4 p.m., remaining in the plus the whole time, but not without some threatening moments. At one point I was almost back to even, but I won a couple of small pots to stay up around $50-60. Near the end, I won two nice pots in a row (one with three 3s and the other with an Ace high flush) and then I left - with a profit of $143 for the day.

While I was grinding out some profit at poker, Helen did the laundry, relaxed and watched some TV. When I got home, we decided to have takeout from a local deli. We both had delicious sandwiches...a great ending to a great day.

Tomorrow is football Sunday...

'Cadillac Records' Is Worth Seeing

The highlight of our day was seeing 'Cadillac Records,' a biopic on the Chess record label and a compelling look at founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) and Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright).

We went to a 12:15 p.m. matinee at the Red Rock Casino theaters. Before the movie, we had a pizza lunch in the casino food court and I put $5 into a blackjack game and played until I ran it up to $6 - a 20% return on our money, LOL! That was the only gambling for today.

Narrated by Cedric the Entertainer, who plays blues songwriter-bassist Willie Dixon, the movie tells the story of Chess, a label that was a pivotal force in introducing Chicago-style blues to a much broader audience and in helping turn early rock 'n' roll into a national sensation. Chess and Waters meet and being making music in the late '40s and proceed to light up the record charts.

Chess went on to experience great success by recording blues artists such as Little Walter and Howlin' Wolf, convincingly played by Columbus Short and Eamonn Walker. Little Walter, especially, is portrayed as a tragic, edgy and unstable guy - a man quick to turn violent.

Chess hit its commercial peak in the '50s with Chuck Berry, played by Mos Def, who would deliver several chart-topping early rock standards. The company was so prosperous that all of its artists drove Cadillacs - hence the title.

The acting is top-notch. Brody is a man consumed by his musical mission. But it's really the soundtrack that makes this film so sweet for blues fans who will enjoy the great sounds of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Etta James (played by Beyonce) Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon.

Especially interesting are the film's portrayal of Waters' first trip to Europe, his meeting with the Rolling Stones (who paid homage to their hero) and Chuck Berry's reaction to hearing the Beach Boys rip off his tunes.

If you have any interest in early rock n roll or the blues, see this entertaining flick. It'll leave you plenty Satified!

After the movie, we returned home and just relaxed. For dinner I whipped up ravioli with marinara sauce and side salads of baby spinach, thinly sliced tomatoes, kalamata olives, and topped with grated cheddar. It was pretty tasty, I must admit.

That's all the news for today...

A Coffee Crisis and a Full Day of Poker

It was still dark when the first crisis of the day hit our apartment. Around 5 a.m. (I'm still an early riser) I flicked on the coffee, then hit the bathroom. When I came out a few minutes later, no coffee... apparently Mr. Coffee passed away quietly during the night. Our condolences to Mrs. Coffee and the little Coffees, but darn, I need my morning caffeine.

So by 6:30 or so, I was on the road to pick up another coffeemaker. First stop, our nearby Target. No luck. It opens at 8 a.m. (I thought LV was a 24-hour town, but whatever...) Quickly drive 7 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart, which DOES stay open 24 hours. Snatch another Mr. Coffee that is marked down to the bargain price of $14.88. Almost makes me want to buy 2 or 3, but I resist the investment.

Go home, fire up the new java maker and enjoy a hot cup of coffee. My plan is to go play poker on the Strip today, while Helen relaxes at home and decorates our Luther Tree.

By 9 a.m. I am down at MGM Grand and checking out their only $1-2 No Limit game. I grab a seat and play for about 90 minutes, racking up a win of $120. So I take a break and visit the nearby sports book where I enjoy a coffee and fine cigar and play a slew of fb bets for this weekend's games.

After about an hour, I check back at the poker room, but it's jammed now and there's a line of about 6-7 players ahead of me. I decide to walk to the Monte Carlo and check out its poker room. No problem getting a seat there, but my luck is nothing but bad. Poor starting hands and never made anything. The best hand I had was two-pair...no sets, no straights, no flushes. Tough to win anything, but I did bluff at a couple of pots that kept me going. After about 3 hours, I was down $70 when I left just before 4 p.m.

Walked back to the MGM and fought my way through the Strip traffic to return to the apartment where Helen had decorated the beautiful 3-foot Luther Tree with red apples, white ribbons, white roses and white lights. It's beautiful and is our only holiday decoration this year.

That's our report for today. Tomorrow we're planning to stop by a Linens N Things store that is going out of business and catch a movie at the Red Rock Casino theater...

The Furniture Arrives...Hours Late, Of Course

Today was a day to be patient.

Our furniture - a dining room set, a black chair, a coffee table, an end table and a bedside table - is going to be delivered today. Helen got a call from the delivery people to let us know that the items would be here between 10 a.m. and noon. They wanted to be sure someone would be home.

So in the early morning I wrote a freelance article and we leisurely waited for the furniture. Soon it was 10:30, 11, 11:30, 12:30...

I read three new poker magazines that I picked up at the Red Rock Casino the other day and we watched a little TV.

Finally about 1 p.m. Helen called to check and we found that our delivery wouldn't be here until between 2 and 5 p.m. AAAAAARGH. There's a special place in Dante's Inferno for delivery people who don't show up on time and don't bother to call.

I ran out to pick up some groceries for dinner. Tonight I'm making the World's Best Sloppy Joe Recipe, courtesy of Charlie Johnston's mother. I was fortunate enough to enjoy this taste treat when we visited Charlie's son, Andy, in East Lansing prior to the MSU-OSU game this fall and have made it several times since. After only one sandwich, Manwich lost a longtime customer. This recipe's combination of sweetness and tanginess is more than mere words can describe -even for an experienced restaurant writer.

Anyway, the delivery guy finally showed about 3:45 p.m. It took him about 20 minutes to deliver the stuff, but his being late cost him any tip at all.

It's good to have all the furniture in place. The apartment finally looks closer to what we want it to and we're that much closer to feeling like we're in our winter home.

Tomorrow I plan to play some more poker, so tune in for the details of another gambling venture...

New Furniture and My Full House Beats His Set of Aces

Our mission today, should we choose to accept it, was to locate some high quality furniture for next to nothing prices.

So naturally, our first stop was at Wal-Mart - the home of low prices and some shady looking characters, especially here in Las Vegas. The furniture search was only moderately successful - we found some lamps we could live with, but figured we'd keep looking. We did pop for some assorted kitchen doodads, including a can opener, spatula, spaghetti fork, slotted spoon and more. Always able to find something plastic to spend money on at Wal-Mart.

Then we headed out to Cort Furniture, a national renter of furniture. They have a spacious nice showroom where they sell lightly used and some new items, so we checked it out. Long story short, we bought a dining room table, 4 dining room chairs, a black living room chair, a coffee table, two side tables and three lamps, complete with shades and light bulbs, LOL! I considered hauling this stuff in the Vue, but decided to have it delivered and cough up the $70 delivery charge. It should be here tomorrow.

It'll be nice to have all of our furniture in place. We've been here one week today and by tomorrow we'll have the place pretty much the way we want it.

After all that shopping, I needed to hit the Strip to cash our winning FB teaser ticket and to see if the Poker Gods were on our side today. Helen had found a dime, which she considered to be good luck. So with that talisman tucked in my wallet, I made my way to Bally's where I parked and checked out the poker room. It was busy, but there were about 6 names ahead of me on the $1-2 No Limit waiting list, so I played a little BJ there before heading to the Imperial Palace. I won about $15 at blackjack.

At the IP, I immediately got a seat and bought in for $100. I didn't have any hands worthwhile for quite a while, but I remained patient and didn't throw my money into losing situations. I won a couple of small pots, but eventually found myself down about $40 when I was dealt 10-10. Five of us were in the pot when the flop came A-10-3, giving me a set of 10s. One guy bet $20 and it was pretty obvious he either had an Ace or wanted us to think he did. Everyone else folded to me and I just called his $20. The turn card was another Ace, giving him (I believed) 3 Aces and me the full house. The river was a 7 and he bet $20, I raised him another $25 and he called. I raked in a pot of about $125 that put me ahead for good. I eventually left up $72 and went up to the IP Sports Book where I bet a $50 3-team basketball parlay - the Pistons, the Bulls and the Lakers. If all 3 just win tonight, I'll cash a ticket for $104.

On the way home, I stopped at the local Middle Eastern market and picked up some fresh bread and two hefty chocolate bars that we'll enjoy tonight for dessert. Dinner was a casual meal of olives, lebne, hummus and that tasty bread.

Tune in tomorrow to see if our furniture delivery is flawless...

A Futile Search for Furniture But a Great Lunch

The day started with me doing a phone interview for an article I'm doing for the TC Business News. It's a business profile of a company called Back in the Black - an operation that helps other companies find ways to cut expenses. It went smoothly and I'll write this in the next few days. My deadline is Thursday.

At the top of today's agenda was finding some quality used furniture for a reasonable price. By using the internet we located a couple of Salvation Army stores that looked promising. I don't know how those guys from the Home and Garden Channel always seems to score cool tables and chairs for under $50.

The first store was easy to find, about 8 miles from the apartment. But the furniture selection was shabby looking and overpriced for Salvation Army fare. We had more trouble finding the second store, located on Boulder Highway, about 15 miles from our LV home. After finally locating the store, we found a better selection, but still no chair, end tables or lamps that were nice enough to take home.

By then it was lunch time and Helen suggested The Cheesecake Factory, which happens to be her favorite eatery and is only a couple of miles from our apt. She was beaming as she perused the menu and settled on her favorite meal there - the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. I opted for a chicken quesadilla that came with a hefty side order of guacamole and sour cream. We both loved the meals and I made a solemn vow to come back here several times in the next five months.

We got back to our apartment around 2 p.m., collected the mail (nothing but two bills) and just chilled out til I made dinner of salad and pasta.

At 5:30 p.m. we started watching Monday Night Football because I have a teaser ticket that will pay $100 if the Bucs & Panthers total more than 34 points. Despite a 10-3 halftime score, the teams went nuts in the 3rd quarter and have tied the score at 17-17 right now...nope now it's 24-17 Carolina and WE WIN, WE WIN, WE WIN!!!!!

I'll be cashing that ticket tomorrow at the Paris casino down on the Strip...after another morning search for furniture. Tune in tomorrow for the results of the quest.

NFL Sunday and Pasta ala Needle Nose Pliers

Helen and I began our day early with breakfast at the Suncoast Casino, less than two miles from our apartment. I made a few football bets while we were there, then we took a ride looking for some used furniture to add to our accomodations. Next on our furniture shopping list are some assorted tables - end and/or coffee - plus a chair and some lamps. We were unable to find any consignment/used furniture joints that were open today, so that will be a project for tomorrow. Furniture shopping and lunch out somewhere interesting.

We returned to the apartment and I watched the early (10 a.m. starting time in Vegas) games while Helen took a nap. I won two bets on the early games, so early in the later games (1 p.m. Vegas time) I returned to the Suncoast to cash those winning tickets and watch the end of the games. I also sat down for about an hour of $1-2 No Limit poker and cashed out $55 ahead. No big hands, but a steady flow of $20-30 pots that kept me in the profit zone.

When the football dust settled, I won those two bets and have a live 5-team teaser bet that will pay $100 if Carolina and Tampa Bay combine for more than 34 points on the Monday Night game.

In my mind, if I can win an average of $50 a day in poker, or blackjack or football, that's $1,500 a month that we have for fun. So far, so good.

About 5 p.m. I returned home and started to make dinner - bowtie pasta in a tasty marinara sauce with onions and mushrooms. Got the pasta water boiling and started making the sauce, when I realized we didn't have a can opener. I managed to open the cans of sauce and crushed tomatoes with a large knife, but had to turn to the handy toolbox to get the needle nose pliers to peel back the tomato can wide enough to get the crushed tomatoes out of the can and into the sauce pan. Thank you Craftsman!

For Helen, I whipped up a small side salad of baby spinach, onions, olives, tomatoes and shredded cheese. I ate too much pasta, but it was pretty tasty and I was hungry.

So soon we'll have to make another trip to our regular hangout - Target - to pick up some kitchen utensils. Last year we brought all those things from home, but we now need a can opener, a ladle, at least one big cooking spoon, and who knows what else.

Tune in tomorrow to see how our furniture shopping went...

A Day of Poker

Saturdays in Las Vegas always crackle with extra energy. Visitors fly in for long weekends and squeeze fun out of every minute they're in town. The California Crowd motors over from LA on I-15 and brings a laid back energy along with them.

But today is even more exciting because MGM is hosting a huge fight - Manny Pacquio vs. Oscar
De La Hoya - and the National Finals Rodeo is being held at the Thomas & Mack Arena. There are fight fans and cowboys everywhere. I wish I had a buck for every cowboy hat I saw today.

In the midst of this zaniness, Al made his way to the Strip for a full day of Poker. His plan was to get there early, around 9 or 10 a.m. and hopefully take advantage of some bleary-eyed Cowpokes who were pulling all-nighters. After parking at Bally's, I hit the casino's poker room. They had only 1 table going and a waiting list of 5 ahead of me. Not waiting around for that.

I headed down to the Imperial Palace, where I've had some luck before. Immediately I was greeted by a friendly Poker Room floor man, who directed me to a seat at the only table they had going. Good news is that I got an immediate seat. Bad news is that it was 2-4 Limit poker, not the 1-2 No Limit that I prefer. For poker newbies, Limit poker means that you bet $2 on the first rounds of betting and $4 on the turn and the river. It's a more mechanical game than No-Limit and usually results in much smaller pots, since the largest bets are multiples of $4.

Anyway, on the 3rd hand I played, I hit a full house and won the pot. But because of the relatively small bets, I only raked in a pot of about $25. In a No Limit game, a hand like this would probably have been $100 or more. That was the highlight hand. After that winner, I went card dead and ended up down $70 for the 45-minute session. The IP poker room is a friendly, laid back place full of new players and a few experienced card sharks. It's usually easy to walk away a winner, but not this time. At least I enjoyed a couple of the chocolate chip cookies they make available free to players.

Then I headed to the Flamingo for my first experience in their vintage poker room. This is where such pros as Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson and Doyle Brunson used to hold court. I was greeted by a host and led to an immediate seat at a 1-2 No Limit table. I ended up playing there for about 4 hours with some real friendly players. The action was good, with lots of raising and a few guys going All-In. Unfortunately I didn't win any huge pots, but still managed to win $85 by taking in several $20-30 pots.

The biggest hand I had unfolded like this: I was dealt a Q-J and limped into the pot for $2. Six of us played and saw the flop that was Q-6-6. So I've got top pair and bet out $12. Three guys call. The turn card is a 4 with no chance for a flush. I bet $15 and only 1 guy calls the bet. The river card is another 6, giving me a full house, so I bet $25 and my lone challenger raises to $50. I have a full house with the top pair (queens), so I have to call, especially since the pot is now over $100. Since the guy was not raising all along, I don't think he has the fourth 6, but I do suspect that he also has a queen and we'll split the pot. I call his raise and he turns over pocket Aces.

"Nice Hand," I spit out through terse lips...

Outside of that one hand, I had a great time and was really pleased to walk away a winner, since I hit no really big hands. I had one straight and every other winner was two pair or successful bluffs.

While I was playing poker all day, Helen straightened out our closet, talked to her sister Natalie and played around online. We both had fun!

More tomorrow...

Another beautiful day in Las Vegas with temps in the low '60s and a brilliant blue sky.

I started the day by writing a restaurant feature for the Northern Express. Before we left town, I interviewed Nabiel Musleh, the owner of Zakey, a new Middle Eastern eatery on Hammond and Three Mile. He's an energetic, outgoing guy and we'll be sure to visit Zakey when we get back to town. I encourage anyone who enjoys Middle Eastern food to support this guy's efforts to bring authentic M.E. cuisine to the TC region.

Then Helen and I went on a trip to our new favorite place - Target - where we bought a pair of plastic storage units. I think we've visited Target every day since we arrived in LV. One storage unit is a 4-drawer, another a 3-drawer, both for our closet. We also picked up a 3-foot artificial Christmas Tree that we will use for our Luther Tree for the holidays. We brought the decorations, but did not bring the tree from home.

Around noon, I went to the Red Rock Casino, the nearest to our apt, where I played some blackjack. It was an up and down session, but after about four hours I managed to squeek out a $125 profit. The casino is offering a promotion that enabled me to cash in my club points for some sweet items - a man's gray fleece jacket for me and a red fleece blanket for Helen. It was pretty cool to get cash and apparel, LOL!

On the way home from the casino, I stopped by a Middle Eastern market and picked up dinner - fresh pita bread, greek olives, hummus and lebne (a tasty, thick yogurt). We'll be enjoying that tonight and basking in the glow of our ill-gotten gains, LOL!

More tomorrow...

We've made it to Las Vegas with no major problems, but plenty of fun travel adventures.

We left Sunday morning about 6:45 and drove south to Chicago before snow began snarling traffic and slicking the roads. Chi-town radio was going bonkers with dire warnings of bad roads and bad weather, but it was really no problem for any experienced northern Michigan driver. They were lamenting that Chi-town was gonna get 1 to 3 inches Sunday and another 1-3 on Monday. We rolled through that and the snow was pretty much over by the time we crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis. We hit another patch of flurries near Rolla, Mo. where we spent the first night. We'd been on the road for about 13 hours, stopping only for gas. We had packed several p&j sandwiches and a few apples for nutrition. Dinner that night was a tasty deep dish pizza from Papa Johns, delivered right to the room.

We hit the road early on Monday, rolling out of Rolla about 7 a.m. Heading west, we went into Oklahoma, through the northern Texas panhandle and into Santa Rosa, NM, just east of Albuqueque where we spent the second night. It was another 13 hour driving day, but Helen was a real trooper. We made no stops, except for gas. Dinner this night was some burgers and fries from a nearby fast food joint.

Another early start on Tuesday as we sailed out of Santa Rosa about 6:45. The scenery along I-40 was stunning, with bright blue skies and vast horizons. It's really "Big Sky Country" but also has some real pockets of poverty along the highway. We were able to roar along about 80 mph, since the speed limits are pretty much 75 all the way.

Crossing into Arizona, the scenery changed as the altitude climbed. Instead of the arid New Mexico territory, we rolled into hilly, even mountainous, turf that is covered with pines. Northern Arizona is somewhat similar to northern Michigan, but about 40 degrees warmer with no snow right now. We clipped along, passing Prescott and reaching Kingman (birth place of Andy Devine) about 3 p.m. That's when I phoned the apt. management and let them know we were on our way. Kimberly, the mngr, said they close the office at 5 p.m. so we had to be there by then to get our keys and check in. She was skeptical that we'd make it, but I assured her.

So we set the cruise control on the quick side of 80 and kept a sharp eye out for patrol cars. It's 100 miles from Kingman to LV, but you also have to cross the Hoover Dam and traffic there can slow to a crawl - like 5 mph. Plus we had to navigate LV freeways during rush hour...

Anyway, we arrived at 4:45, got our keys and unloaded the car into the apt. We had no place to sleep and considered staying at a LaQuinta hotel which is right next to the apt. But I really wanted to stay in our new home, so Helen and I went looking for a futon, which we plan to use for a couch and a bed for visitors. Luckily, we located Futons4Less, only two miles from us on West Sahara. After about 45 minutes of checking out the inventory, we bought a futon and mattress, plus a platform bed with a great mattress, plus an end table that the guy was selling cheaply.

But it was already about 7 p.m. and the guy couldnt deliver the futon and bed until the next day, so we were still without a place to sleep. We decided to take the futon mattress to the apt and use it to sleep on the floor, LOL! It worked great! We had a good night's sleep in our new place and awoke fresh and ready on Wednesday to get the new apt. in order.

After buying the futon, we went to our storage unit and took a load of items to the apt. That included our kitchen, bathroom and other items we left there since last year. On Wednesday, I finished emptying our storage unit, bringing our TV and TV stand to the apt. Also on Wednesday, we called the local cable company - Cox Cable - and got the TV going, but had trouble getting the internet service working.

I had to make three calls to Cox today to get it all squared away, but now we're up and online.

This morning we went to Target to buy some kitchen knives, a set of flatware, a wine opener (to open a gift bottle that the apt manager presented us) and a stock pot to use for pasta. We'll be using that pot to also fire up some popcorn tonight - that's our wild Vegas lifestyle, LOL!

Today I had my first gambling trip to the strip. Not real profitable, but a lot of fun. I got down there around 10:15 a.m. and started out winning at blackjack at Bally's. Then played in an 11a.m. poker tourney there, finishing in the mid-20s out of 48 players. Crossed the street to Bill's Gambling Hall and dropped a few more dollars playing BJ before winning some back at a goofy game of Blackjack Switch. You play two hands and can swap cards between the two hands. That's the advantage. The disadvantage is that blackjacks only pay even money and if the dealer's hand hits 22, it's a push.

After playing there, I wandered next door to the Flamingo, where I suffered a real lip-beating at blackjack there. Hand after hand saw me either busting out or losing to a dealer's better hand. That can happen at bj and you just have to recognize it and try to limit the losses. After that losing session, it was already 2:30 p.m. and I was ready to head home.

Along the way, I made a $30 4-team hockey parlay bet for my good friend Terry. He'll collect $910 if it hits tonight. I also picked up a 5-team football teaser bet that will pay me $100 if...err, when, it hits.

That pretty much catches us up to date. More LV adventures tomorrow...

We're getting ready to host Thanksgiving with a party of 12 expected for the food, fellowship and football. Then on Friday I'll be finishing up a few interviews for the Northern Express. I needed to get the interviews taken care of and I'll write those articles either Saturday if I feel like it or after we get to LV. Saturday will be a day to pack and prep for the long trek.

We're never driven from TC to LV directly, but expect it to take three days or so. Our first day, which will be Sunday if all goes well and the weather looks clear, will find us driving from TC through Illinois. We cross the Mississippi River at St. Louis and drive for another 3 hours or so into Missouri, stopping somewhere around Rolla or Lebanon.

The second day should take us through Oklahoma and Texas into New Mexico, somewhere near Albequeque. Then our third day should get us near, if not to, LV. Once we hit town, we'll spend our first night at a LaQuinta Inn that is right next door to our apt complex. After a good night's sleep, we'll be getting our keys and checking out the apt. We need to go furniture shopping right away, since we're not renting furniture this year. We decided to buy furniture and will need to get a futon and bedroom items ASAP. It'll be pricey, but an adventure!

Today we sent the first month's rent to Wellington Meadows in preparation for our LV trip. The current resident of the apt. left on Nov. 20 and our lease officially begins Nov. 29. Helen's already talking about packing her clothes, so I'll be getting the suitcases out soon and getting them ready to fill. Nothing too interesting today, but the clock is ticking...

I've been encouraged by friends to establish a blog to keep track of our adventures as we prepare to spend the winter of '08-09 in Las Vegas. Helen has been working the phones to set up our utilities at the apartment - Wellington Meadows. It's the same complex we stayed in last year, though we'll be in a different apt. unit. Our address there will be 9550 West Sahara, Suite 1136, Las Vegas NV 89117. I've been busy getting the car prepped to make the cross-country drive and today I took her wheelchair and 3-wheel walker to have some preventive maintenance done before we leave. Last year one of her walkers broke a brake cable and it took 3-4 weeks to get it repaired. Don't want that to happen again if we can avoid it.