Monday at MGM

It's been a couple of days since I posted an entry, so there are a few things to catch up on.

Saturday night Helen and I went to see "The Nutcracker," a production by the Las Vegas Ballet. It was performed at Paris Hotel and Casino and I enjoyed the show quite a bit. I'd give it a solid B, but I think I liked it more than Helen did. She's a real Nutcracker fan and noted that this performance varied from the more traditional version in a few ways. I didn't really notice the difference, but she did.

One interesting note, the performance was sponsored by poker pro Phil Ivey and his wife. We looked through the audience to see if Phil was there, but didn't spot him anywhere.

Also, on the way out of the theater, as we were getting Helen into her wheelchair, I managed to gouge a chunk of flesh out of my right-hand pinkie finger. I jammed it on some metal on the wheelchair and it was bleeding pretty good, so we stopped at a restroom as we left. I drove home with my right hand swathed in a couple of tissues. At the apt. we wrapped a bandaid on it and it was sore, but usable.

Also Saturday, I talked with Gordon about our Dad's situation. He'll be moving into an adult care center called Forest View, about 10 minutes from Bev's house in Lincoln Park. Seems like a smooth transition from Gordon's place in Fla to the new facility and Dad seems fine with the move. That's a big worry off my mind. Putting Dad in a facility was one of those decisions we just had to deal with.

On Sunday, we went to church early, then I headed over to the Suncoast to watch football and play bj. It was the second losing day of the trip. Between bj and fb bets, I went down $120. Got home about 5 and made us a couple of hefty salads for dinner.

This morning, Helen and I had coffee and watched the morning news before I headed to MGM to play poker. Between 10 and 3 p.m., I ground out a profit of $86, a nice turnaround from Sunday's setback. I got home about 4, picked up our mail and checked my emails. Just finished putting together a big pot of chili on the stove where it'll cook for an hour or so. Tonight we'll be relaxing and watching some TV, but tomorrow our adventure continues...

Profitable Strip Stroll

Friday morning began with coffee, a bagel and an hour-long visit with our Italian friends, Tony Soprano and his family.

About 9 a.m. I hit the road to the Strip. I parked at Bill's Gambling Hall and made a football bet for my friend Terry. He likes the Cardinals -12 vs. Detroit tomorrow. I played a little blackjack at Bills, cashing out with a modest profit of $26.

Then I strolled next door to the Flamingo where I sat down at a $10 bj table and played for about an hour, racking up a profit of $50. So far in two stops, I'm up $76.

Over dozens of Las Vegas visits, I've always tried to do a few of these "hit and run" strolls down the Strip. My theory is that during any single bj session there is a point where a player is usually up, even if it's only $20 or so. If you stay longer, you often give back that minor profit. But if you take that profit, then hit the next joint, you can rack up $100 or more during several stops.

With that in mind, I wandered into Harrah's and played at a bj table for about an hour or so with two farmers from Kansas. They were still there when I cashed out with a profit of $57. That's $133 in three stops and I decided to take my profit and have lunch - an eight-piece order of wings and a diet Pepsi at WingStop inside O'Shea's.

From there it was back to Bill's where I parked the car. Now it was about 2 p.m. and I fully intended to head home with my $133. But I saw a $5 bj table beckoning me and I bought in for $40. A young couple was playing there and it was obvious they didn't know what the heck they were doing. I cringed inside and bet minimum bets of $5-$8, fearing the impact their goofy decisions would have on my cards. After about 15 minutes, I was up $23 and decided to walk.

So during the four sessions, I profited $156 - nice!

When I got home, there was an email from my brother Gordon, explaining that this weekend they will be bringing my Dad back to Michigan from Florida. Dad will be going into an adult care facility in a Detroit suburb, near my sister Bev. Dad's been falling repeatedly and needs more care than Gordon and his wife Chris are able to provide. I'm feeling sad about this, but hopefully Dad will get quality, compassionate care in this new home.

For dinner I slapped together some tasty chicken salad sandwiches, with a crunchy dill pickle and corn chips. Not fancy, but delicious.

Tonight Helen and I will be going to the Las Vegas Ballet performance of The Nutcracker at Paris Hotel and Casino. Really looking forward to this holiday masterpiece as our LV adventure continues...

Wagerless Wednesday & Profitable Thursday

Wednesday was devoted to running some errands and just relaxing.

The morning began with hot coffee and the morning news. At 945 I took Helen to her weekly Bible study group at the Lakes Lutheran church, then returned home to check emails and read some online news web sites. After picking her up at 11:30 and returning to the apt., I made us lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches.

Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up a few things, which turned into a major shopping trip. Got back to the apt. about 2:30 and just relaxed a while, watching TV, getting the mail and kicking back. Dinner was some hefty salads with organic greens, cucumbers, roma tomatoes, cheddar cheese and kidney beans. In the evening we watched some TV and our niece Katie called.

This morning I headed off to the Strip for some poker. I parked at Bill's Gambling Hall, then walked across to Bally's where I got in a $1-2 no-limit game. I bought in for $100 and played even for about an hour. Then I hit a real dry spell and even though I was patient, my stack dwindled down to about $45. But, as poker sometimes goes, I won a pot with Aces and 10s
and then another with three 7s. Not huge pots, but enough to get me ahead about $25.

Eventually I checked my stack and I was $10 up and decided to walk. I returned to Bill's where the car was parked and since I hadn't had lunch, opted for one of their $2 hotdogs. But first I sat at a blackjack table where I won the first 6 hands before the dealer had to shuffle. A quick count showed I was up $75, so I cashed out and went for that hotdog.

While at Bill's I got a $50 bet on the Colts for Terry and a $20 fb teaser for myself that will pay $140 if it hits - Colts over 38, Pats -1, Saints -1, Packers +8, Chargers -1 and Cardinals -6.

Total profit for the day was a hard-fought $65, pending the outcome of the fb bet.

Got home about 4p.m. and whipped up a tasty dinner of beef nachos with guacamole and sour cream. Now we're just relaxing with the Thursday night comedy shows on NBC - always a chuckle or two there. But tomorrow our adventure continues...

Bellagio Visit

Tuesday morning I started the day by writing my January casino entertainment column for the Booth newspapers. It takes about two hours to compile the concert lineup and write it.

Then I had to make a quick trip to the Suncoast to cash a fb ticket for my friend Terry, who just missed a $1,000 winner when the Az-SF game failed to total more than 44 points. Anyway he backed it up with a $150 under bet, so I needed to go get his cash.

Helen was on the phone with Anna when I left the apt around 9:30. After getting T's money, I found a blackjack table and played for about 45 minutes. It was a really nice run with several nice double downs and splits. Playing $10-20 per hand, I walked away up $240. But I wasn't the biggest winner at the table. A guy sitting at third base was playing $50 to $200 per hand and had a HUGE stack of black ($100) and green ($25) chips when I left. Hope he walked with a nice profit and didn't give it back!

I was home by 11 or so and made Helen and I a lunch of turkey, cheese and lettuce sandwiches in pita bread.

It was such a nice day - 60 and sunny - that we decided to take a ride down to the Strip. It was Helen's first visit to the Strip since we arrived in LV. She's been relaxing at home for most of the time.

We decided to check out Bellagio and its Christmas decorations. We parked in the B's parking deck and took an elevator that delivered us right outside the Conservatory, which was BEAUTIFULLY decorated with all types of floral plants. Huge reindeer were made of brown nuts (someone said pecans), while polar bears were made of white flowers (maybe carnations) and hundreds of poinsettias were stunning. Oversized Xmas packages and candy were on display, along with towering Nutcrackers. Like everything at the B, it's really impressive!!

We stayed at the B for about an hour or so, checking out the casino decorations. After walking a while, we took a break at a 25-cent blackjack machine. I put in $20 and cashed out with $20.50 - a profit of 50 Cents! That's a 2.5 percent return on my money...not outstanding, but about the same as a bank CD, I think!

After returning home, we watched a little TV and thought about dinner. We decided on lasagna (Thank You Stouffers) along with a side salad. The evening was spent with our TV friends from "The Office" - a two-hour chucklefest from 8-10 on TBS. A quiet night, but today I'm sure our adventure will continue...

Sunday at Red Rock, Monday at Suncoast

Sunday morning began with Helen and I attending the 8 a.m. service at The Lakes Lutheran Church. Never hurts to start the day in an inspirational way.

After church, I headed over to the Red Rock to watch the NFL games, which begin at 10 a.m. out here in the Pacific Time Zone. I had 4 parlay, teaser cards and they all went down. Closest I got was a $20 parlay that would have paid $500 if I hit all 5 games. Hit four of five, losing on the Raiders +1 against the Redskins.

Meanwhile, my friend Terry has a VERY LIVE 6-team parlay ticket that will pay $1,000 if Az-SF combine for more than 44 points tonight. And it's a "Ties Win" parlay, meaning that if the total hits right on 44 (24-20, 27-17) T will collect the grand. As a backup, he had me put $150 on the under for him. But interestingly, since he got the first ticket, the total rose to 45...which means he could actually hit BOTH tickets if it falls right on that magic number of 44!!!!

This morning I went to Suncoast to get his under ticket and played some blackjack while there. I had a really nice session - cashing up $195. So I put $50 on the Cardinals -4 tonight. That means for today I'll either profit $145 or $245 -- Go Cards!!

While I was grinding out a profit at the green felt tables, Helen was on the phone with Anna and later her sister Natalie. Still cold and snowy in TC. Not at all like here where it's 58 and bright sunshine. What a great place LV is in winter!!

That's all for today, but tomorrow our adventure will surely continue...

Friday and Saturday - A Push

Didn't mean to fall behind in the blogging, but I need to catch up Friday and Saturday in this one entry.

Friday saw me park at Bally's then head to Planet Hollywood for some poker. I arrived around 11 a.m. and got seated at a shiny new $1-2 no limit game that was just opening. Things did not go well. I got very few good starting hands and when I did, they seemed to fall short on the turn or river. My best hand, a flush, got beaten by a higher flush. My pair of Qs got edged on the river by an Ace. Things like that. But that's poker. Anyway, I left down $140 for the day.

For those watching our diet, dinner was a Middle Eastern feast with hummus, fresh pita bread, kalamati olives, tabouli and lebne. Dessert was a fist full of Ghiradelli chocolate squares - Man, those babies are addictive!

Niece Katie called last night and it was great to catch up with her. She'll be coming out here on Feb. 18 for an open end visit. Can't wait to show her the sites.

This morning I had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a few items and Helen's prescription, before going down to the Monte Carlo poker room. I parked at the MC and walked to Planet Hollywood to cash a hoops ticket. The walk was made MUCH longer by the construction of City Center along the west side of the Strip. They have the sidewalk blocked, so what used to be a straight walk down the Strip is now a meandering hike up steps, across walkways, and back down steps - all outside the City Center. Man what a hassle!!!

After cashing the ticket, I returned to the MC and got a seat at a $1-2 no limit game. It was up and down from the get go. Aggressive play with only average cards enabled me to get up $60-70 early, but then a L-O-O-O-N-G dry spell saw my pile melt back to about even.

Things looked better when I glanced at my hand and found A-A looking back at me. I bet $15 and got one caller. The flop was 3-9-J of mixed suits and I tossed out $25. The guy called. The turn was a Q and I bet another $25, hoping he had something like K-Q. Anyway, he went all in for $25. He showed his Q-Q, giving him a set and my only hope was to snag one of the two remaining Aces. No luck...

I had told Helen I would be home about 5, but when the time to leave came I was down about $60, so I called and pushed back my departure by an hour. I was hoping I could hit a hand or two to at least get back to even. My plan worked perfectly when I looked down and again saw A-A looking back at me.

This time, I was REALLY aggressive. I was in late position and an early raiser bet $15 and got four callers. I had about $75 left and went ALL IN. Two guys called, one had K-K and the other had 10-10. My Aces held up and the pot was over $200. When the dust settled, I had posted a hard-earned profit of $142 - two dollars more than I had lost on Friday, LOL!

I called Helen and we decided to celebrate with a take-out dinner of sandwiches from Jason's Deli, a national chain with a store only a mile or so from our apartment. I went for the "New York Yankees" pastrami on rye, while Helen opted for the "California Club." Both are hefty sandwiches in true deli tradition.

Now we're just relaxing after dinner with a little TV, but tomorrow our adventure continues.
..

Free Show Tickets, Sort of...

Thursday's adventure began on the Strip when I parked at Bally's and went to Paris to cash a sports bet (Go, Red Raiders).

While at Paris I planned to buy a couple of tickets to The Nutcracker, one of Helen's favorite Christmas traditions, which is being performed by the Las Vegas Ballet at the Paris theater. I arrived about 9:15 a.m. and the ticket booth was closed til 9:30, so I killed time at a blackjack table waiting for the booth to open.

It worked out well, since I racked up $150 in chips in about 20 minutes. I needed $130 for the tickets, so I took the money, walked and made the purchase. Free tickets, plus $20 - a good start to the day.

While there I made a $50 hoops totals bet (Syracuse & Florida over 145 - easy winner!!!) and a $100 bet for Terry on the Pistons (over 198.5 total - winner!!!)

I haven't been to Bellagio or Caesars Palace yet this trip, so I walked thru both of them to get a little exercise and to see what had changed. The B is in full-blown holiday mode with oversized presents and candies decorating the place. It's beautiful as usual.

CP looked the same, though a bit too quiet. I walked through the Forum Shops and exited near the Mirage, where I went in to check out a new eatery, BB Kings BBQ. It looks bluesy and since it was almost 11 a.m. I had some brunch there - three pancakes and bacon, plus coffee for $18, including tip. A bit pricey for flapjacks.

Then I crossed the street to Harrah's where I sat in at a bj table and quickly lost $100. Tried another table and things went better - I won $205. That was all the cards for the day. Walking back to the car, I stopped at Ghiradelli's to buy Helen some chocolates and at Bill's Gambling Hall where I made a $25 parlay bet on the Steelers-Browns game. They have a promotion going where you get a Free t-shirt if you make a $25 fb bet, so I did get a shirt, though the bet lost when the teams couldn't score over 33 points.

So far the day I won $125 in blackjack, plus $25 on the sports bets. Not bad.

When I got home, Helen was really surprised by the chocolates and show tickets. Dinner was a couple of hefty salads that I crafted out of organic baby greens, roma tomatoes, black beans, salsa and grated cheddar, We're looking forward to seeing the Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 19. Hitting the Vegas Strip on a Saturday night will be BIG fun as our adventure continues...

Wagerless Wednesday

Yesterday was devoted to running some errands with Helen and just taking a break from my winning streak.

After breakfast I took Helen to her Wednesday morning bible study group that meets from 10-1130 am each week. I dropped her off, then returned to the apartment to catch up on emails and relax. About 11 I went to our storage unit to let the manager know we are turning over our unit. They're friendly people there and we'll probably use them again when we pack up in late April.

Then I picked Helen up, returned to the apartment and fixed us a lunch of turkey, cheese and lettuce sandwiches on pita bread. A crunchy dill pickle served as a tasty garnish.

Then it was off to Wal-Mart where Helen had a long list of things she wanted to pick up, including a prescription. The pharmacy was such a huge frustrating hassle. We dropped off the prescription as soon as we arrived and the clerk said it would take 45 minutes to fill. Fine, we were shopping anyway.

While we were at the pharmacy, I got a phone call from my friend Terry who was interested in getting a bet down on the Red Wings game to go over the total of 5 goals. Lucky for him I wasn't heading to a casino, since it was a 1-0 game.

After 45 minutes we had picked up all our items and returned to the pharmacy where we were told there was a problem with the insurance. After 15 minutes of waiting there, we were told the insurance was fine, but now they didn't have a large enough supply of the drug to fill the prescription. What kind of pharmacy doesn't keep enough meds to fill a routine prescription?

I don't know what's more inefficient, the Wal-Mart pharmacy or the LV Post Offices. Both are TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, the pharmacy gave Helen a partial fill to last 3 days and asked us to come back late today or Friday to pick up the rest. I'll wait til Friday, maybe even Saturday, to get the remainder. We headed home and watched some TV, then I whipped up a dinner of spaghetti and a hefty side salad.

Today I plan to head to the Strip and see if my streak (7 straight winning days) will continue...

Poker Turns Ugly

Tuesday morning found me heading out to mail a package full of shoes to Katie in Traverse City.

The post offices in LV are easily the worst operated facilities I have ever had the displeasure to use. EVERY single time I've been there it's been long lines, literally out the door. They manage to achieve this ineptitude by opening only 1 or 2 windows when there are 6 other windows that remain unstaffed. When I arrived, about 930, I counted the folks ahead of me and I was 26th in line. Some 35 minutes later I finally got to the window, mailed the package and bought Christmas stamps.

Then I was off to the Excalibur to try their poker room. Since I was last there in May, the Excalibur converted their poker tables from all electronic to having live dealers. I read on one poker website that the players there were typically beginners, so I was eager to fish in that pond.

Unfortunately, I had nothing but bad fortune this trip. My best hand, an A-high Flush, was beaten on the river by a guy who hit a king to give him a full house, one of only two outs he had to win the hefty pot. When I did get a good hand, A-A, no one would play so I won a tiny pot. What a waste of good cards. When the smoke settled, I was down $170 and took a walk after about two hours of getting bruised hand after hand.

I consoled myself at a blackjack table and squeeked out a $30 win, leaving me still down $140. It was about 1:30 and I decided to go to Bally's and check out the poker scene there. It was busy and there were three names ahead of me on the $1-2 list, so I signed up and waddled over to a bj table to kill time.

It turned out to be a good move. I won 4 of the first 5 hands and was quickly up $50 or so. Eventually I built that up to $270 and decided to walk after recovering all I lost at Excalibur and leaving with a profit of $130.

Texas Tech was playing TCU in hoops, so I walked to the Paris sports book and put $20 on the Red Raiders -2.5. They won 80-70, leaving me with a hard-earned profit of $150 for the day.

When I got home about 4 p.m., Helen was watching TV. I got some spaghetti sauce going on the stove with roma tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and onions. It was a tasty, filling dinner to top off my comeback. Later we watched reruns of "The Office" (still funny) and wound down with a cheese and crackers snack. Pretty exciting LV lifestyle, huh? But today our adventure continues...

Monte Carlo Monday

On Monday I visited the poker room at the Monte Carlo, one of the nicest rooms on the Strip. It's done in tones of brown and beige, with comfortable chairs and nice tables that seat 9 players. Some poker tables seat 10, which is a little too crowded for my taste.

Anyway, I waited about 20 minutes, killing time on a 100-play 1-cent poker machine that my friend Terry and I played last year (cashed out 12 cents up), until they got a $1-2 no limit game going with 6 players. Soon the table filled up. I was lucky enough to win a couple of small pots early, getting up about $50 after 15 minutes. It was a portent of things to come.

This turned out to be one of the best (luckiest) poker runs I have ever had. Over the next four hours, I had A-K six times, K-K twice, Q-Q once and several other pairs. After about 90 minutes, I was up about $325 when the BIG hand of the day developed.

I was dealt Q-J of hearts and called the $2 blind. There were 6 of us who saw the flop of A-K-10 of mixed suits. I had flopped an A-10 straight, called Broadway!! The first player, a 60-ish local wearing an Orleans jacket and a Mandalay Bay ball cap, bet $25, causing four others to fold around to me. I called his $25, thinking that a raise might scare him away. The turn card was a 7 and the first guy bet $50. Again I called. The river was a 4.

There were no flush possibilities and I knew I had the highest straight, so it was just a matter of trying to get the most cash out of my opponent. He aggressively shoved out $100 and I (fake) thought about it, all the while giggling inside. I hemmed and hawed and raised him to $200. He didn't have the other $100, but went all in for about $70. I showed the straight and he flung his pocket 10s into the middle of the table.

He had flopped a set and was behind from the start!!

He didn't rebuy and stormed away muttering.

That hand put me up about $650 and I was rolling. The whole table was very reluctant to get into big hands with me. I lost a few small hands, then cashed out at 3 p.m. with a profit of $625 - my best poker day of the trip and one of the best in the past two years.

Before heading home I had a slice of pizza and a drink at Sbarro's in the MC food court. I called Helen to share the good news. Leaving the Strip was tedious. Rain and heavy traffic slowed my trip home and along the way I stopped at the Middle Eastern Market for fresh pita bread, hummus, tabouli and lebne. It's one of Helen's favorite dinners and one we have at least once a week.

The evening was relaxing, just watching TV and catching up on emails. Today I have a couple of errands to take care of - a trip to the dreaded LV post office to mail shoes to Katie and gassing/washing the car. Probably play somewhere today too as our LV adventure continues...

Suncoast Pays The Most

Sunday morning began with Helen and I attending the 8 a.m. service at the Lakes Lutheran church, just three miles or so from our apartment. It was great to see several of our friends there and they warmly welcomed us back.

By 9:15 we were back home where I whipped up a breakfast of scrambled eggs with sauteed onions and mushrooms, topped with melted cheddar. It was pretty tasty and a nice way to start our Sunday.

About 10:15, Helen got a call from her longtime friend Pat who lives in Italy. I could tell they had a lot of catching up to do and I was interested in watching football, so I slipped over to the Suncoast to catch the games. I had a live $10 teaser ticket that would pay $100 if it hit. I had no real interest in the early games and really hoped to get a seat at a $1-2 no limit game in the Suncoast poker room. But there was a tourney underway, so I headed to the blackjack pit and grabbed a seat there.

The game was double-deck pitch and it began slowly, with a win-lose-lose sort of stuttering start. Then things picked up and I was suddenly up $50 or so. One big hand happened when I bet $20 and caught a pair of 8s vs. the dealer's 5. Had to split the pair and snagged another 8. So I shoved another $20 out there for a total of $60. After the dust settled on my side, I had two 19s and a 14. Dealer had 10 in the hole and slapped a 7 on top for a 22- BUST.

That $60 win really got things going and after about two hours I was up almost $200. Then things turned bad again and I dropped about $40. But in true BJ fashion, the next shoe (or fist, since the dealer was dealing two decks from her hand) was profitable and when it was over I was up $220. It's my 5th straight winning day and the LARGEST of the trip, so far!

I decided to quit there, look for some lunch and check the fb scores.

Over in the sports book they had a mini buffet of $1 hot dogs and $1 pulled pork sandwiches. I opted for the pulled pork and it was huge and tasty! The best $1 lunch I've had in a LONG time!! The sports book was buzzing. Anyone who's been in a Vegas book during NFL Sunday will know how electric the atmosphere can be with cheering erupting on every play. I was lucky to snag a seat and watch the late games, including the Dallas-Giants game. I had Dallas +2 in my teaser and felt good when they jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Then they fell apart and lost to the New Yawkers, who had lost their last 5 games...aaaargh!

Headed home after that debacle where Helen was online when I arrived. For dinner I made her a hefty salad and I opted for some of the leftover BBQ we enjoyed the night before. Ribs and chicken filled me up and there are still a couple of ribs left for munching on tonight. We'll definitely be hitting Famous Dave's BBQ when Katie arrives in February. She loves BBQ and I'm pretty sure she'll love this place.

We watched some TV, Lord of the Rings, then went to bed tired but happy. That chip cashing can really wear ya out!

Early morning weather reports warn that SNOW IS POSSIBLE today! Maybe an inch or so in the LV Valley. One noted that the last snow in LV fell a year ago yesterday. We remember it well - the locals went sort of whacky with lots of fender benders and kids making snow angels in a half-inch of white stuff. Out here they think 40 degrees is C-O-O-O-O-L-D!!!

Today I'm thinking of hitting the strip for some more poker. Maybe Planet Hollywood again or the Monte Carlo or Venetian. Each has its good/bad points. PH has newbie players, but is usually busy with tourneys. The Monte Carlo is quiet and comfortable, but often filled with tight-playing old geezer locals. The Venetian has plenty of games and comfortable tables/chairs, but also has some of the toughest players in town. Where to go, where to go?

Tune in later to see what happens in our LV adventure...

Planet Pokerwood

Yesterday's poker session took place at Planet Hollywood, which was buzzing with cowboys in town for the National Finals Rodeo.

I drove to Bally's and parked, then hiked through Paris to the PH where I had not played poker in a few years since they relocated the poker room. A few years back the PH management moved the poker room from its own private area to the center of the casino where it's not really a room, but a roped off area with passersby all around.

Anyway, after about a 15-minute wait I got a seat at a $1-2 no limit table. It was kind of interesting because MOST of the players were VERY inexperienced.

In fact, while I was waiting a guy approached the room manager and asked about games. The manager said they had a $1-2 no limit game going and the guy asked what the 1-2 meant. The manager explained that was the size of the blinds and I was SHOCKED that this guy didn't understand what 1-2 meant and yet he was willing to play in a Vegas poker room. Unfortunately this guy didn't get a seat at my table...

After playing for about 15 minutes I could tell who the good players at my table were. There were only 3 of us who seemed to be experienced players. Within an hour I was up about $75 with no huge hands, just collecting several $15-30 pots. One BIG hand pushed me way up. Here's how it unfolded:

I was dealt J-9 of Hearts and called the $2 ante. The flop came 10h-As-8h, giving me a STRAIGHT FLUSH draw, plus a straight draw. One guy bet $15, another called and I called, leaving 3 of us in the hand. The turn card was a 7c, giving me the J-7 straight.

The first bettor, who I figured had an Ace, tossed in $25, the 2nd guy called and I quickly raised it to $75. The first guy called and the 2nd guy folded. I showed the straight and the first guy showed his A-10, a losing two pair. That healthy pot put me up about $175.

My friend Terry called and wanted some six team parlays - in fb, hockey and hoops. They both went down. As of this morning, he still has a 6-team nfl ticket that would pay $1,000 if it hits. I have a $10 fb teaser ticket from two days ago that will pay me $100. I need Titans +13, Minn ovr 43 and Cowboys +2.

Terry and Gary are thinking of coming out next month. That's always fun when they hit town!

No other big poker highlights and I was never able to get up over $200, eventually walking with a profit of $144.

To celebrate our win, I stopped at a Famous Dave's BBQ place and got a sampler platter that Helen and I really enjoyed. It was loaded with ribs, chicken, pulled pork, beans, slaw, potatoes and muffins. Will be munching on the leftovers today while watching some football as our LV adventure continues...

Poker at MGM Grand

The morning began with hot coffee, toast and a look at the Record-Eagle web site to see the snow hitting the Traverse City area. Here the Las Vegas locals are complaining how cold it is - highs only in the 50s, brrrrrr.

But I was determined to spend much of the day indoors at the MGM Grand poker room. I arrived about 9:30 a.m. and quickly got a seat at a $1-2 No Limit table. It was a pretty tight table with few raises and fewer big pots. I won the third hand I played and was up about $30 early. Then I lost a few hands, leaking chips when I'd miss the flop.

But one big hand helped. I was dealt A-5 offsuit and called the $2 blind. The flop came K-2-3 in mixed suits. A Cowboy in a black hat bet $10 and got three callers, including me. The National Finals Rodeo is in town and the place is crawling with ol' boys in Stetsons and sporting belt buckles the size of hubcaps. The turn card was a 4, giving me a straight A-5, called a Wheel.

The Cowboy bet $25 and the other two players folded. I raised him to $75, hoping he had a pair of Kings or maybe two pair. I knew by his early raise that it was unlikely he was holding 5-6 which would have given him a bigger straight. He called my raise and the river card came - a 10 which didn't seem to help him.

He bet $50 and I went all in - about $80 worth. He called and nearly spewed his Coors when I showed him the Wheel. He mucked his cards without showing, so I guessed he had Kings or maybe two pair. It was a sweet pot and the highlight of my day. I played a while longer, then had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch and left about 3 p.m. up $125.

On the way home I picked up our mail and it was ALL for Helen. She got a beautiful birthday card from Anna and a couple of books from our niece Katie. Helen was really touched by both Anna's card and Katie's thoughtful gift.

Tonight we celebrated my poker success with takeout from the Cheesecake Factory - Helen's favorite BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad and I opted for a 10-piece order of their hot wings.

Now we're watching CMU play Ohio U for the MAC Championship - go Chips!!! I have CMU in a $10 7-team teaser bet that will pay me $100 when it wins. While I'm monitoring the game, Helen is on the phone thanking Katie for the books she got today. All is right with our world!

Sports Future Bets

For anyone interested in long-term sports wagers, here's some info I picked up from Bill's Gambling Hall yesterday. Bill's is a Harrah's property and offers the same lines as found at Caesar's Palace, Bally's, Paris, Flamingo and Harrah's.

SuperBowl
Colts 5-2, Saints and Vikings 3-1, Patriots 7-2, Chargers 8-1, Bengals 12-1, last year's SB participants Steelers and Cardinals 15-1. LIONS, Browns, Bucs and Rams are already off the board - eliminated. Longest current odds are Bears, Redskins, Chiefs, Raiders, Bills and Seahawaks at 999-1. Biggest drop from preseason - Carolina 10-1 early is now at 500-1.

NBA Championship
Lakers 6-5, Celtics and Cavs 3-1, Magic 6-1, Suns and Trailblazers 10-1, PISTONS 70-1.

NHL Stanley Cup
Penguins 7-2, Sharks and Blackhawks 4-1, RED WINGS and Capitals 6-1, Bruins, Flyers and Avalanche 12-1.

March Madness
Kansas 9-5, Kentucky 6-1, Texas 8-1, North Carolina 10-1, MSU and Syracuse 12-1, Duke and Villanova 15-1. Some perennial powerhouse hoops teams are getting big numbers - Georgetown 20-1, UConn 25-1, Wake Forest 35-1, UCLA and Memphis 50-1, MICHIGAN, Gonzaga and UNLV 75-1. Longest shots in the list are BYU and Nevada 200-1.

Strippin' Day

Today I made my first trip to the Strip and while it was not magical, it was slightly profitable.

I parked the Vue at Bally's about 9:30 am and checked out the poker room and blackjack action. There was slow, with only one $1-2 No Limit poker game in action, but there were 3 names ahead of me on the waiting list, so I didn't hang around.

I wandered across Flamingo Ave. through Bills Gambling Hall, where I bought two $20 football tickets. One is a 3-team parlay of Bills +3.5, Florida -5.5 and Vikings -2.5. That will pay $120 when it hits. The other is a 6-team Super Teaser with Bills +9, Buff-Jets under 41, Texas -8, Saints -4, Vikings +4 and Patriots Pick Em. That one will pay $140.

After getting the ticket, I continues past the Flamingo and down to the Imperial Palace. There I got a seat at a $1-2 No Limit game and about even played for two hours or so. No big hands, just taking down small pots and waiting for good cards that never came.

Then I got a call from Helen who was having trouble ordering something online. Seems like a web site was rejecting our credit card and she wondered what the problem was. I knew there was no problem with the card and that a payment wasn't even due for another week or more. Anyway, she was upset and I was baffled about why our credit card was an issue, so I left the game and decided to head home.

But as I reached the car, I checked my phone and there was a message from Helen saying that she ordered the item by phone and that there was REALLY nothing wrong with the credit card. After getting that message, I returned to Bally's poker room where I grabbed a seat in a $3-6 limit game. I don' t really like limit poker as much as no limit, but I took the seat and in the next hour or so I won $45 before leaving.

So far I'm up $181 in two days of poker and blackjack.

On the way home I stopped at the post office and picked up a package. Niece Katie ordered some shoes about a month ago using our address and they finally arrived here in Las Vegas. Now we'll have to ship them back to her. We called her tonight to tell her about the shoes. She's getting her house cleaning business going and will be working on a client's house tomorrow morning. Katie is a hard worker and we're doing what we can to help her get this business launched.

Dinner tonight was another Middle Eastern food feast with hummus, tabouli, lebne, black olives and pita bread. Tasty and no cooking for me, since I was worn out from a long day of poker. But tonight we'll get a good night's rest and continue our adventures tomorrow...

How Do They Stay in Business?

Today I made my first gaming foray into the green felt jungle that is Las Vegas. About 9 a.m. I rolled into the Red Rock Casino to cash a sports bet that Nick Edson and I teamed up on last spring. We bet $50 each that the Detroit Tigers would win more than 80.5 games in 2009. The $100 ticket paid $174 for $87 each. That's our $50 back + $37 profit.

After getting the cash, I sat down at a $10 blackjack table and stayed for about 4 hours, eventually walking away $60 up. I also visited the poker room and picked up a couple of poker magazines to read when I had a pastrami and swiss sandwich at the food court.

Then I rolled over to visit the Suncoast, the other casino near our apt. This was a nice session, since I won the first three or four hands and was up all the way. At one time I was up just over $100, but settled for a $76 profit when it was time to head home at 5 p.m.

While I was sweating out the card games, Helen was working hard at the apt. emptying suitcases and getting the place in order. It's always surprising how much it takes to get the place organized. For dinner I built us a couple of hefty chicken salad sandwiches, with a side order of feta-olive salad and a crunchy dill pickle. Now we're just kicking back watching some TV, catching up on emails and relaxing. But tomorrow our adventure continues...

Early Morning Update

Just to add a few notes after yesterday's entry:
Our road trip had a few interesting aspects to it. On the drive from Katy to LV, we spent most of the first day driving through rain - sometimes a pounding, splashing deluge - across much of Texas and New Mexico. The second day, from NM to NEV was beautiful, sunny and 60s. The clear weather and light traffic made it easy to roll into town about 3 hours before I had planned, but that was great.

Yesterday's move-in was tiring but had some fun aspects. The moving guy, Mike Lynch, is a friendly, talkative guy and we have a few things in common - Mike's an avid Raiders fan - and we spent 30 minutes or more trying to analyze the Silver & Black problems. In April, just after the NFL draft (and another Raiders bad pick) Mike and his team will move our stuff from the apt. to the storage unit.

Today I'll be making my first trip to the Strip to see if the casinos there are still implementing their policy of giving FREE MONEY away to visitors. Otherwise I'll be forced to sit at a poker table and take the cash from strangers. Oh well...Check back tonight for an update on my gaming fortunes.

A Long Trip, But We Made It

This year's journey to Las Vegas included a stop at Anna's in Katy, a suburb of Houston, for Thanksgiving. Helen and I arrived on Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday when we hit the road to LV about 5:30 a.m.

Our route took us across Texas (a 10-hour trip) and into New Mexico where we spent the night in Lordsburg at a Comfort Inn. We usually have been staying at Holiday Inn Express in our journeys, but this Comfort Inn was MUCH nicer and cost about $30 a night less than the HIEs that we've been at. We were up and on the road by about 5:30 on Monday. We drove into Arizona, through Phoenix and north toward Nevada. Along the way we passed about a dozen horse trailers heading north. I wondered where they were all headed, then Helen noted they were probably going to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Sure enough, we rolled right across Hoover Dam just ahead of the horses and arrived in LV about 2 p.m. We got our keys and I unloaded our luggage, then headed to our storage unit where I picked up our futon mattress, the TV and a few other items so we could comfortably crash in our apt.

At 7 a.m. today, I met our moving guy at the storage unit and by 10 a.m. they had moved all our belongings into our place. We began unpacking and storing things, then I headed to the grocery store to stock up to the tune of $210. I still forgot a few things and will run out in a little while to get dishwasher soap and who-knows-what.

Today is Helen's birthday, but she says she doesn't feel like going to dinner tonight. We're both tired, but we'll do that later. We'll relax at home tonight, but you can be sure that our Vegas Adventure continues...