Weekend Update - Like Buttah,We're on a Roll!

Nothing but profits this weekend on the gambling front.

On Saturday, I went to play poker and blackjack on the Strip with the remnants of the Computer Electronics Show, some 140,000 visitors to LV, including hundreds of media types.

My first stop though was the Red Rock, to buy some sports tickets. I put $25 on MSU and a $20 parlay of MSU, Providence and the Red Wings. Luckilly, the Wings banged home two goals in the last 3 minutes and they all hit and I cashed for $177.

I got to the Bally's poker room around 9 a.m. and won $32 in about 45 minutes. I sensed things going bad, so I left Bally's and went to Bill's Gambling Hall where I bought in for $100 at a blackjack table. I quickly went down, down until I changed tables where I went up, up...after about 30 minutes, I was up $12, so I walked with that small profit.

My next stop was the Imperial Palace sports book where I checked out a few games, but made no bets. I did have lunch at the Burger Palace, a grilled chicken sandwich, before resuming my trek north down the Strip. Harrah's invited me in, so I sat at a handicapped accessible table. Those are special lower tables that use regular chairs and are infinitely more comfortable than most blackjack tables. This was one of my better runs and I was quickly up $70, but when I lost two $10 hands, I made a quick exit with my $50 profit. There were also some uber-loud fratboy types at the next table and it was just not a comfortable situation, so I left.

I crossed the Strip to the Mirage, making my first visit there since last year. It was a pretty rude greeting from the Mirage, I bought in for $100 and was down to $20 before you could say "Eye-popping Volcano." I switched tables, bought in for another hundred and began winning. When the green felt dust settled, I was up $40, so I quit for the day.

Total for the day - +$102 in blackjack and +32 in poker for a total of $134.

Helen and I celebrated with Cheesecake Factory takeout - a southwest chicken salad for her and a hefty order of Buffalo Wings and fries for me.

Today I went over the Suncoast to watch the fb games and play some blackjack. The result was the most profitable blackjack session of the entire winter.

I made four sports bets - winning on U-M and Ohio U hoops games and losing on Penn State and a football parlay of both underdogs and both unders. I went 2-2 on those actually winning $2.50 in the process.

But it was at blackjack where my luck shined today. I bought in for $200 and played even for 30 minutes or so. Then I caught fire winning 3-4 bets in a row several times. I never bet more than $25 a hand, but soon found myself up $500 or $600 when a pit boss came over to watch my play. He offered to comp me the champagne brunch and I accepted.

"I've been watching you and you're winning most of the hands," he said. "But you're not betting enough."

I was a little suspicious, thinking he wanted me to give it all back in a run of big bets, but I did press my bets up to the $30 to $50 range. The great run continued. A couple of times I won $100 on a hand when I had $50 bet and successfully doubled down. I never did lose a big bet. It was really fun.

After losing 3-4 hands, I took a break for the buffet where I enjoyed some fried chicken, bbq ribs, fried rice, and asparagus. Of course, I had to have a glass of champagne, LOL. And a slice of banana cream pie for dessert.

Then I went to the sports book to catch the Steelers-Chargers game. I watched the game, until my parlay was an official loser, then headed home.

My profit for the blackjack was $1,140 - my first four-figure session!!

While I was racking up chips, Helen was working on her sewing project and just talked to her sisters Natalie and Susan. Now we'll have to find something for dinner. Tomorrow the adventure continues...