Helen's sister Sharon and her husband Larry arrived Tuesday night and we've been keeping them busy seeing the LV sights for the past couple of days.
They're staying at the Luxor and on Wednesday we picked them up at 11:30 and drove down to Bill's where we parked. That gave us easy access to Caesar's Palace where we checked out the action and toured the Forum Shops. One highlight was the HUGE aquarium outside the Cheesecake Factory.
After a while, we crossed the Strip and had lunch at Margaritaville. Larry and I started off with a couple of cooling Landshark Lagers, then we split an enormous Volcano Nachos order. Sharon and Helen both had chicken quesadillas. We were all STUFFED when we waddled out.
We made our way north, past O'Shea's,the IP, Harrah's and into the Venetian, where Larry and I headed to the sports book and the ladies went shopping in the Canal Shoppes. After a couple of hours, we all met up and I drove them back to the Luxor to call it a night.
On Thursday, we picked them up at noon and brought Sharon and Larry back to show them our apartment. Then we drove to the Red Rock casino where Larry and I made a pair of parlay hoops bets (more on them later) and then headed out to the Red Rock Natural Area.
Red Rock is one of our favorite, little-known areas around LV. It's an impressive rocky, mountainous area that is breathtaking in its beauty. You drive a 13-mile loop to see all the sights and there are several stops to take photos and just soak up the view. As a bonus, we get in free since Helen has a lifetime pass to any National Park. It's available to anyone who is disabled. Very cool. Sharon and Larry really liked Red Rock and it's such a change from the glitz and glamor of the Strip.
After a couple of hours at Red Rock, we drove back to the Red Rock Casino to have an early dinner - about 430 - at Yardhouse, a new eatery that claims to have the most draft beers in the world. It's an impressive assortment and Larry and I tried their wares. He opted for Moose Drool, a hearty brown ale, while I went for Alaskan Red, a robust red. Both were excellent, as was the food. Larry, Helen and Sharon went for a hearty mac and cheese dish, while I had a personal pizza. Since we were there during happy hour, all our meals were half price. The tab for the four of us, including three handcrafted beers and soft drinks, was only $60.
While there, we watched the beginnings of our hoops games. Larry and I both went with Florida, Butler and Arizona. And even though FLA had to go overtime, we won all three bets. We each bet $20 and took home $120 profit. SWEET!!!!! It was Larry's first ever sports bet and he's already itching to get something down on tonight's games.
We're picking them up at noon today and some of the things we're considering today are a trip to the Bellagio Conservatory, maybe a meal at Bellagio Buffet, a tour of the car museum at the IP, the Mac King magic show, and perhaps a trip to the Hard Rock Casino, which is off strip a couple of miles. Whatever we do, our adventure continues...
Friday, March 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Company Comin'
Helen and I are getting ready for a visit by her sister Sharon and her husband Larry. They'll be flying in tonight, escaping Detroit's nasty winter weather for some Vegas sunshine. Forecasts here are for partly sunny skies and mid-60s temps for most of their weeklong visit.
I haven't been playing much poker or blackjack lately. My latests visits to the poker room were not successful - losing my $100 for two straight days on the 12th and 13th of March. One poker highlight - I've logged 30 hours of play at the Red Rock which qualifies me for a huge tourney on April 16-17. Everyone who qualifies gets $75 and those who make it through the 1st day receive $200. Top prize is $40,000 and all who make the final table will receive at least $1,000. Should be fun.
Lately I've been focusing on March Madness and that's had mixed results. Lost a teaser parlay Sunday when Purdue got knocked off by VCA. We'll make some more hoops bets this week when action resumes on Thursday.
Helen and I went to the show last week to see "Rango." She likes Johnny Depp and he's the voice of the lead character. We thought it was OK, but Helen did say she was a bit disappointed in it.
With Sharon and Larry in town we'll be doing lots of touristy things. They'd like to see Hoover Dam and Red Rock. Plus we'll be eating at Margaritaville, Grand Lux Cafe and Hash House A Go Go, plus other venues. They're staying at the Luxor and will be here til the 29th.
And so our adventure continues...
I haven't been playing much poker or blackjack lately. My latests visits to the poker room were not successful - losing my $100 for two straight days on the 12th and 13th of March. One poker highlight - I've logged 30 hours of play at the Red Rock which qualifies me for a huge tourney on April 16-17. Everyone who qualifies gets $75 and those who make it through the 1st day receive $200. Top prize is $40,000 and all who make the final table will receive at least $1,000. Should be fun.
Lately I've been focusing on March Madness and that's had mixed results. Lost a teaser parlay Sunday when Purdue got knocked off by VCA. We'll make some more hoops bets this week when action resumes on Thursday.
Helen and I went to the show last week to see "Rango." She likes Johnny Depp and he's the voice of the lead character. We thought it was OK, but Helen did say she was a bit disappointed in it.
With Sharon and Larry in town we'll be doing lots of touristy things. They'd like to see Hoover Dam and Red Rock. Plus we'll be eating at Margaritaville, Grand Lux Cafe and Hash House A Go Go, plus other venues. They're staying at the Luxor and will be here til the 29th.
And so our adventure continues...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Suncoast Visit
Tuesday started with a flurry of work activity. I'm researching an article about the Michigan prison system and spoke with a PR person who is helping me get some info from a TC consulting firm for the piece. Once I get answers to the questions I sent her, I'll be ready to pull together the article, hopefully by tomorrow or so...
Meanwhile, after working I returned to blackjack action at the Suncoast and was able to grind out a profit of $32 after about 45 minutes of play. Not great, but it's always nice to post a profit. Took a break and enjoyed a comped buffet lunch of grilled chicken, fried rice, pasta with veggies and carrot cake. No interesting hoops games, so I headed home.
Helen was busy emailing her sister Sharon who is coming to visit us in two weeks. Sharon and husband Larry will arrive about 9 .m. on the 22nd and stay til the 29th. Helen's very excited and is working with Sharon to decide what they'd like to do and see and where to eat. Sounds like we'll be visiting Hoover Dam, Boulder City, and the Red Rock Natural Area, plus lots of casinos. Meals will include Hash House Ago Go, Margaritaville and at least one buffet. It'll be fun to have them here.
I headed home by about 2, since I didn't want to overdo it as I recover from this pesty cold. I'm functioning at about 90 percent now with congestion and occasional coughing. I still feel weary, though and can tell I'm not quite 100 percent.
We watched TV last night and I whipped up a dinner of spinach souffle and grilled potatoes. It was the first souffle we've had and I was not that thrilled. Won't go there again...but the spuds were very tasty.
Today's weather is climbing into the mid-70s for the first time. It'll be like that for about a week or so at least, say the predictors. Definitely shorts-and-t-shirt-weather!! And so our adventure continues...
Meanwhile, after working I returned to blackjack action at the Suncoast and was able to grind out a profit of $32 after about 45 minutes of play. Not great, but it's always nice to post a profit. Took a break and enjoyed a comped buffet lunch of grilled chicken, fried rice, pasta with veggies and carrot cake. No interesting hoops games, so I headed home.
Helen was busy emailing her sister Sharon who is coming to visit us in two weeks. Sharon and husband Larry will arrive about 9 .m. on the 22nd and stay til the 29th. Helen's very excited and is working with Sharon to decide what they'd like to do and see and where to eat. Sounds like we'll be visiting Hoover Dam, Boulder City, and the Red Rock Natural Area, plus lots of casinos. Meals will include Hash House Ago Go, Margaritaville and at least one buffet. It'll be fun to have them here.
I headed home by about 2, since I didn't want to overdo it as I recover from this pesty cold. I'm functioning at about 90 percent now with congestion and occasional coughing. I still feel weary, though and can tell I'm not quite 100 percent.
We watched TV last night and I whipped up a dinner of spinach souffle and grilled potatoes. It was the first souffle we've had and I was not that thrilled. Won't go there again...but the spuds were very tasty.
Today's weather is climbing into the mid-70s for the first time. It'll be like that for about a week or so at least, say the predictors. Definitely shorts-and-t-shirt-weather!! And so our adventure continues...
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday Update
I've been battling a winter cold for the past five days, so the Vegas activity has been slower than usual recently.
It was Wednesday night when I started feeling feverish and chilled. Then Thursday I launched into full-blown coughing, sneezing nastiness with a fever of 101.5 (sounds like an fm-rock station). Anyway, Helen had me take some meds and by Friday, I was feeling good enough to visit MGM Grand for some poker. My throat was scratchy and I sipped coffee and water during the day, but was able to play.
Key hand came after about an hour of playing. I had won a couple of small pots and was up maybe $25-30 after buying in for $100. Looking down I found a 6-7 of Hearts and decided to call the $2 blind bet. Flop comes 5-8-9 - I flopped a well-disguised straight!!
After three guys checked, I bet $15, hoping that someone might have some over pair like J-J or Q-Q and would raise me. The guy to my immediate left called the $15, but the guy to his left shoved his whole stack of $150 or so into the pot. I WAS THRILLED and knew I had the highest possible hand... I CALLED and pushed in all my chips. The other guy who originally just called, folded.
Since there was no other action, we showed our cards. The guy showed a 5-8 offsuit - he had flopped two pair. I showed my straight and looked forward to taking down this $300 or so pot.
BUUUUUUT, the turn was another 5 - giving the guy an unbeatable FULL HOUSE... The guy had three outs (two fives and 1 eight) and he hit it. Turns out the guy who folded also had flopped two pair 8s and 9s.
I didn't rebuy and left to watch some basketball, feeling sicker than before and it wasnt because of my cold. AAAARGH. But those things happen in poker. The guy had about an 8 percent chance of winning and he did.
Saturday and Sunday were both stay-at-home days, trying to fight off this cold and feel better. The fever is gone, but now I'm just coughing and sneezing. Yesterday Helen spent some time talking with her sister Sharon who is planning to come to LV in a couple of weeks. Sharon and Larry have never been here before and are looking at coming March 22-29 and staying at the Luxor. It'll be fun to have them here and I'm sure I'll be over this cold by then.
We also watched lots of TV, including several episodes of some auction show. That was kind of interesting to see the eclectic mix of auction items. Sort of like Pickers and Pawn Stars combined...
Today I need to do an interview for an article I'm writing about Michigan's prison system. I'll be talking to the head of a consulting firm that specializes in helping prison's and jails solve problems. The firm is based in TC.
Also, today we plan to visit the local Target so Helen can pick up a few things. Not sure if I'll visit any poker rooms or not, but the adventure continues...
It was Wednesday night when I started feeling feverish and chilled. Then Thursday I launched into full-blown coughing, sneezing nastiness with a fever of 101.5 (sounds like an fm-rock station). Anyway, Helen had me take some meds and by Friday, I was feeling good enough to visit MGM Grand for some poker. My throat was scratchy and I sipped coffee and water during the day, but was able to play.
Key hand came after about an hour of playing. I had won a couple of small pots and was up maybe $25-30 after buying in for $100. Looking down I found a 6-7 of Hearts and decided to call the $2 blind bet. Flop comes 5-8-9 - I flopped a well-disguised straight!!
After three guys checked, I bet $15, hoping that someone might have some over pair like J-J or Q-Q and would raise me. The guy to my immediate left called the $15, but the guy to his left shoved his whole stack of $150 or so into the pot. I WAS THRILLED and knew I had the highest possible hand... I CALLED and pushed in all my chips. The other guy who originally just called, folded.
Since there was no other action, we showed our cards. The guy showed a 5-8 offsuit - he had flopped two pair. I showed my straight and looked forward to taking down this $300 or so pot.
BUUUUUUT, the turn was another 5 - giving the guy an unbeatable FULL HOUSE... The guy had three outs (two fives and 1 eight) and he hit it. Turns out the guy who folded also had flopped two pair 8s and 9s.
I didn't rebuy and left to watch some basketball, feeling sicker than before and it wasnt because of my cold. AAAARGH. But those things happen in poker. The guy had about an 8 percent chance of winning and he did.
Saturday and Sunday were both stay-at-home days, trying to fight off this cold and feel better. The fever is gone, but now I'm just coughing and sneezing. Yesterday Helen spent some time talking with her sister Sharon who is planning to come to LV in a couple of weeks. Sharon and Larry have never been here before and are looking at coming March 22-29 and staying at the Luxor. It'll be fun to have them here and I'm sure I'll be over this cold by then.
We also watched lots of TV, including several episodes of some auction show. That was kind of interesting to see the eclectic mix of auction items. Sort of like Pickers and Pawn Stars combined...
Today I need to do an interview for an article I'm writing about Michigan's prison system. I'll be talking to the head of a consulting firm that specializes in helping prison's and jails solve problems. The firm is based in TC.
Also, today we plan to visit the local Target so Helen can pick up a few things. Not sure if I'll visit any poker rooms or not, but the adventure continues...
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Baseball Season Win Totals Are Out
The Suncoast released their BB Season Win Totals on March 1. Here are some of the most interesting...
Phillies - 97
Red Sox - 95
Yankees - 92
Braves and Giants - 88
Rockies and Rangers - 86.5
Twins -86
Reds and Brewers - 85.5
White Sox - 85
TIGERS, Dodgers, A's, Rays - 84
Cardinals -83
Cubs - 82
The two lowest totals are the Royals at 69 and the Pirates at 67.
All of these totals are set at -115, meaning you have to bet $115 to win $100. A $100 bet will net you something like $92 or so. I'll be looking at other casinos to see if win totals are different at other place. Typically there's a game or half-game difference at some places. That can mean a lot. In fact, Nick and I lost our $100 bet last year by a half-game. The Tigers had to win over 81.5 and they finished 81-81. Aaaargh...
Phillies - 97
Red Sox - 95
Yankees - 92
Braves and Giants - 88
Rockies and Rangers - 86.5
Twins -86
Reds and Brewers - 85.5
White Sox - 85
TIGERS, Dodgers, A's, Rays - 84
Cardinals -83
Cubs - 82
The two lowest totals are the Royals at 69 and the Pirates at 67.
All of these totals are set at -115, meaning you have to bet $115 to win $100. A $100 bet will net you something like $92 or so. I'll be looking at other casinos to see if win totals are different at other place. Typically there's a game or half-game difference at some places. That can mean a lot. In fact, Nick and I lost our $100 bet last year by a half-game. The Tigers had to win over 81.5 and they finished 81-81. Aaaargh...
Scott and Lisa's Visit and More
On Feb. 22, Scott and Lisa, along with grandkids Katherine, Mason and Noah arrived in town for a week-long visit.
Helen and I had long been looking forward to their trip and we were not disappointed. It was a whirlwind week of fun. We did some typical tourist things on the Strip and enjoyed it even though it was a bit tiring. After arriving on the 22nd, we walked through the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood and ate dinner at the PH Buffet. Then kids were really impressed by the food variety and "all ya can eat" aspect of the buffet. We ate and ate til we were stuffed...
At the kids' request, Helen spent the night at their hotel - the Marriott, just off the Strip near PH.
On the 23rd (while I played poker), Helen took the group to visit the Bellagio lobby, conservatory and fountain show, then led them through the Caesar's Palace Forum shops on a shopping trip. They had a tasty lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in the Forum shops. On the 24th, Scott and Lisa visited with friends in Henderson, while Helen and I just relaxed a bit.
On the 25th, all of us had a nice lunch with Bruce and Sandi who arrived in town for a Garth Brooks concert. Lunch was at Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian and, once again, I overate on a beef tips and pasta dish.
On the 26th we got together to attend a matinee (4 p.m.)The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. It was a great show, even though I'm not a big fan of musicals. The kids really enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a family-friendly Vegas show. After the show we all hit the MB Buffet and, again, ate til we were stuffed. I'm noticing a theme here... The 26th was also my 63rd birthday and I got a nice phone call from niece Katie. Always good to hear from her.
One poker highlight took place during the week. I was playing at Ballys when a guy sitting next to me hit a Royal Flush in Clubs. He held a Q-J of Clubs and the Flop had the A-K. The river card was the 10 of Clubs and the guy scooped up a $500 pot, plus a bonus of $6850. And all of us at the table were given $200 because of a promotion that Ballys calls "Roundtable Royals." So even though I lost $100 of my buy-in, the $200 made it a profitable day.
Scott and Lisa left on the 28th and returned to Grand Rapids via Denver. Their trip home went well and Helen and I are now returning to our regular routine - me playing poker, her keeping things organized in our apt and staying in touch with friends and family on the phone. And our LV adventure continues...
Helen and I had long been looking forward to their trip and we were not disappointed. It was a whirlwind week of fun. We did some typical tourist things on the Strip and enjoyed it even though it was a bit tiring. After arriving on the 22nd, we walked through the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood and ate dinner at the PH Buffet. Then kids were really impressed by the food variety and "all ya can eat" aspect of the buffet. We ate and ate til we were stuffed...
At the kids' request, Helen spent the night at their hotel - the Marriott, just off the Strip near PH.
On the 23rd (while I played poker), Helen took the group to visit the Bellagio lobby, conservatory and fountain show, then led them through the Caesar's Palace Forum shops on a shopping trip. They had a tasty lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in the Forum shops. On the 24th, Scott and Lisa visited with friends in Henderson, while Helen and I just relaxed a bit.
On the 25th, all of us had a nice lunch with Bruce and Sandi who arrived in town for a Garth Brooks concert. Lunch was at Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian and, once again, I overate on a beef tips and pasta dish.
On the 26th we got together to attend a matinee (4 p.m.)The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. It was a great show, even though I'm not a big fan of musicals. The kids really enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a family-friendly Vegas show. After the show we all hit the MB Buffet and, again, ate til we were stuffed. I'm noticing a theme here... The 26th was also my 63rd birthday and I got a nice phone call from niece Katie. Always good to hear from her.
One poker highlight took place during the week. I was playing at Ballys when a guy sitting next to me hit a Royal Flush in Clubs. He held a Q-J of Clubs and the Flop had the A-K. The river card was the 10 of Clubs and the guy scooped up a $500 pot, plus a bonus of $6850. And all of us at the table were given $200 because of a promotion that Ballys calls "Roundtable Royals." So even though I lost $100 of my buy-in, the $200 made it a profitable day.
Scott and Lisa left on the 28th and returned to Grand Rapids via Denver. Their trip home went well and Helen and I are now returning to our regular routine - me playing poker, her keeping things organized in our apt and staying in touch with friends and family on the phone. And our LV adventure continues...
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