Leaving Las Vegas...

Helen and I are hip-deep in preparing to leave LV on Thursday.

We've been pretty busy lately and I really haven't done a good job of keeping up the blog reports. So here's a brief update on our recent activities.

On Sat. April 16 I played in a huge poker tourney with futile results. The tourney was so big that it required four different sessions with about 800 players per session on Sat. The top 400 advanced to the finals on Sunday. The overall winner got $40K and everyone at the final table was guaranteed $1,000.

We all started with $1,400 in play chips. The first two 12-minutes rounds were Limit Texas Hold 'em, then a round of Omaha (which I had never played before) then five rounds of no-limit. In the first round I had pocket Kings lose to a flush on the river. That sort of set the tone for things to come.

In the Omaha round I made a HUGE blunder. In Omaha you receive four hole cards, instead of two. Otherwise it's like limit holdem. Since I didn't really know the rules, I made up my mind to just fold every hand for the 12-minute session. But after watching a couple of hands, I thought I understood the game. And when I got dealt 3 clubs (with the Ace) I thought I'd play and try to land the flush. Sure enough, the flop contained two clubs and I began betting. One guy called and eventually he hit a straight while I proudly announced "flush" showing my cards. Little did I realize I could only use TWO of my hole cards. I had made a HUGE mistake and I really had nothing! My face was red as other players snickered...

I finally went out in the 1st No Limit session when I had $600 left and I was dealt J-J. I shoved all in and got called by a guy with A-Q. He hit a queen on the flop and my day was done. I collected $75 for qualifying for the tourney, plus a cool hat.

Since then I have not played any poker and done VERY little betting at all. I've been stashing cash to pay for the gas/hotels on the long drive home. As part of that practice, I've been burning up the comps I've earned over the winter. Yesterday Helen and I enjoyed a really nice Easter Dinner at The Suncoast - she had Lamb Chops, while I had a New York Strip Steak with mashed potatoes and two jumbo shrimp filled with crab. I used my players points for the comp!

I still have about $50 in Suncoast comps to use over the next 3 days.

Gambling-wise, the trip started very well and ended on a low note.

December, January and Feb were winning months, March was OK and April was a loser. Highlights were visits by Scott and his family in February when we all went to see "The Lion King."

In March Helen's sister Sharon & husband Larry made their first trip to LV. Larry and I had a great time betting "March Madness" games together and one of the highlights was him hitting a 3-team parlay for $120.

One regret is that we never made a trip to LA to visit Helen's brother Norm and his family. After Sharon & Larry left in March, we tried to arrange a visit, but Norm's work schedule made it impossible. We'll do better next year...

We're packing up our household belongings and getting ready to hit the road. Over the next couple of days, I'll take a few loads to the 10x10 storage unit, which is costing us $84 a month. On Thursday the movers are supposed to be here between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. It'll cost $260 (the minimum for 2 guys at 2 hours) to have them move our furniture and any items I can't take myself. The guy who's always moved us was not available, so we're going with this new company which is about $60 more expensive. That's a tank of gas!!

I hope we can get on the road by noon or 1 on Thursday. If so, we can drive to Gallup NM, about 6 hours away, where we'll stop. Then Friday it's across NM, across the Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma. On Saturday we'll drive through Missouri and into Illinois where we'll spend the night, maybe around Springfield. That's about 7-8 hours from TC and we should get home Sunday afternoon/night...

Hopefully there won't be any weather/travel issues on our trip home...as our LV adventure winds down til next year!!!