Shopping, Poker and the PH Buffet

The past 36 hours have been a whirlwhind of activity as our friend Gail arrived late Monday night.

Flying in from Florida, Gail was supposed to arrive on a Northwest flight at 9 p.m. In typical "Northworst" fashion, the flight was shoved back two hours, so she didn't hit McCarran International Airport until 11. In another "Northworst" anomaly, she was routed from Orlando, Fla to Detroit to Las Vegas. It was a 12 hour travel day for her, with more than 8 hours of actual flying time. After snagging her bags, we got out of the airport about midnight and drove down the Strip to give her a first-time-in-LV-visitors view of the lights of Sin City.

We stopped at Harrah's to grab a bite at Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar." But by the time we got there, the bar's kitchen was closed. We were all tired and disappointed so we decided to continue driving the Strip, looking for food. Gail was so hungry, we opted for a Big Mac combo at a McDonald's drive through...it took forever. This joint served the slowest fast-food in the West. It was so bad that the driver behind us in line didn't wait for his order and just drove away.

Finally we got back to the apt. where I crashed and the girls stayed up talking and laughing.

Tuesday morning I headed out to the post office and mailed a birthday gift to one of Natalie's girl - Brandi - whose birthday in Feb. 25. Helen and Gail were up and moving by the time I got back and we headed down to the Strip around 11:30. We parked at Bill's and I guided the shoppers over to the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Then I walked back to Bally's to find a seat at a $1-2 No-Limit poker game.

I was lucky to get there just as they were starting a new game. I have a theory that you're better off getting into a new game than taking a seat in a game that is already under way. My feeling is that if the game is under way and the seat is open, it most likely is empty because the previous player wasn't getting cards and walked away a loser. Who wants to sit in that seat, right?

Anyway, in the first hand I played, I had 2-7 of Spades. I was on the big blind, so I had already put $2 in the pot. When the flop fell 7-7-A I was in pretty good shape. Eventually the hand came down to me and another guy. The turn card was (drumroll here) a 7. I had four 7s and eventually won the $60-70 pot. The loser was grumbling about "how could I play 2-7" but I just told him "I really don't know how to play" grinning as I raked the pot...

But, despite the good start, I ended up losing my $100 buy-in when I went all-in and my A-high flush was beaten by a full house on the river.

But despite that bad beat, I came back with some aggressive play. I took down a $100 plus pot when my 3 Jacks beat As and 8s. Eventually after about 2 hours of play, I found myself up $215 and decided to walk away with the profit. It was about 3:15 p.m. and I remembered that MSU was playing Purdue at 4 p.m. So I headed down to the Bally's sportbook and put $20 on the Spartans +2. What a mistake! The Spartans got spanked...

Just after I made the bet - about 3:45 p.m. - Helen called to say they were done looting the Forum Shops and wanted to pillage the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. So I walked from Bally's over to CP and met them in the CP check-in area. We all made a chilly walk from CP to PH and entered the Miracle Mile near the Hawaiian Tropic restaurant. It was 4:30 and we agreed to meet back at that spot at 7:30.

I headed right into the PH sportsbook and watched the Spartans lose to Purdue. It was depressing and I was glad I only had $20 on the game. Eventually I drifted out into the casino and played some video poker ($2.50 profit) and video blackjack ($3 profit). About 6:45, I ran into the girls who were done shopping early.

We had originally planned to have dinner at Margaritaville, but since it was quite a hike in the cold we opted to eat at the PH instead. Our choice was the buffet, one of the best in LV, in my humble opinion. There was about a 15-minute wait and it was pricey. The dinner price is $27.95 each - $90 with taxes.

I had a mound of chilled shrimp with tangy sauce, plus some cajun rice for an appetizer. Then I went for Middle Eastern fare with tabouli, hummus, grilled veggies and chicken kabob. Dessert was chocolate cream pie and a fudge chocolate cake. Gail opted for prime rib, chicken, veggies and more. Helen had a Middle East plate that I prepped for her with hummus, tabouli, pita bread, stuffed grape leaves, and grilled vegetables. Helen, like her fairy tale counterpart Mary, also had a little lamb. Her dessert was chocolate cream pie.

We were all stuffed and walked off dinner by hiking back to Bill's and the car. Tired, but happy, we drove north on the Strip until we hit Sahara. Gail was snapping photos of the casino lights like a freelance papparazzi. By the time we got home, it was after 9 .m. and I headed directly to bed to read a bit and let the girls stay up, guzzle wine and talk.

Today we started with a bagel-and-coffee breakfast. We'll be relaxing today, because tonight we're heading to Bally's for the 7:30 show of Jubilee as our adventure continues...