Downtown Photo Run

This morning I headed downtown to take photos of some of the attractions I am including in an article on "10 Vegas Attractions That Are Cheap or Even Free."

So by about 9:30 I was strolling through the lobby of Main Street Station in search of a very special men's room that houses a large section of the Berlin Wall. Luckily the first men's room I found contained the wall, which runs along the five urinals in the facility. I waited til a couple of guys left the room, then clicked off 4 or 5 pics while the washroom attendant wiped down the counters. It was all over in less than a minute and I was outa there.

My next stop was the Golden Nugget, about a two block walk from MSS. My goal at the GN was to find a 16-pound Golden Nugget that they have on display. A quick check with security sent me right to the big rock, which is encased in glass and called The World's Largest Gold Nugget.
I took a few pics and headed across Fremont Street to my final stop on the downtown run - Binion's Horseshoe where they have a cool $1 million on display.

The cash turned out to be not that impressive. It's stacked inside a plexiglass pyramid in the middle of a poker table. But after taking a few pics, I stopped at a nearby snack bar and enjoyed a cheeseburger and coffee. Then it was off to see the legendary Binion's Poker Room, where the World Series of Poker originated. It's a cozy room whose walls are lined with large photos of some of the poker greats who have played there, including Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Puggy Pearson, Johnny Moss and Stu Unger.

They were just getting a $1-2 no limit game going, so I grabbed a seat. I played for about an hour before losing my $100 buy-in on a tough hand. My three kings lost to a full house and I was heading home, about a 30 minute drive.

I got home about 2:30 and just spent some time relaxing, paying bills and watching TV. Helen called and we talked for about 15 minutes. She's having a great time visiting her brother Norman and his family. For dinner, I fired up a can of New England Clam Chowder and built a turkey sandwich.

Tomorrow our adventure continues...