Dinner on the Strip & Bellagio Fountains

Helen and I decided to have dinner down on the Strip Tuesday night and take in a couple of Bellagio Fountain performances.

But first, she sent me over to the Suncoast to play a little blackjack and, hopefully, make enough money to cover dinner. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and it resulted in one of the most frustrating sessions of the entire trip.

I found a seat at a $5 blackjack table and did very well early. In fact, I WON THE FIRST 7 HANDS! I was up about $100 and thought this had the makings of a very profitable session. But I violated one of my basic bj tenets and failed to walk soon enough. As good as the cards were running, they turned bad. Eventually I lost my winnings along with my $100 buy-in.

To change my luck, I drove to the Red Rock, where I played for about 45 minutes and ended up losing another $25. So gambling today was a $125 loss...

I returned home around 3 and Helen and I just relaxed before heading to the Strip about 4:30. We parked at Bill's and opted for an early dinner in the Victorian Room, one of my favorite casual eateries on the Strip. We both chose the Taco Salad with diet colas. It was tasty with a lot of taco beef.

After dinner we used the elevated bridges to make our way over to Bellagio. It was a little early for the 6 p.m. show, so we went into the Bellagio to see the elaborately decorated conservatory. On the way, I spotted a 50-cent Haywire slot machine - one of Helen's favorites. We decided to play it, so I shoved in a $20 and started play. We were up and down and up and down and suddenly got a HAYWIRE-HAYWIRE-3 BARS for $50. We immediately cashed out $68 - a $48 profit!

Then we made our way to the conservatory where it was beautifully decorated to honor the Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox. They do such an impressive job with these displays which change 4-6 times a year.

Soon we headed out to see the Fountain Show. It was a comfortable evening - afternoon temps had hit 72 or so and it was still balmy. Shortly after 6 we saw "Hoe Down" by Aaron Copeland. At 6:30 we watched "God Bless The USA" by Lee Greenwood. It was so nice, standing there in shorts & Hawaiian shirt in late Feb. watching these amazing productions. A very fun time!

Then we drove home, had a big bowl of popcorn and watched some TV. Another great day in LV and I'm sure today our adventure will continue...