Computer Virus Attacks, But We're Back Now

My trusty laptop had been giving me problems and last Monday it finally froze up and wouldn't let me access my emails, so on Tuesday I took it to our local computer guru, a friendly knowledgeable guy named Armando, LV Computer Doctor.

He took it apart, cleaned it up, installed Windows 10 and a few security programs and we're back online. I picked it up this morning and it's faster than ever. We met Armando last month when we had Helen's laptop undergo the same cleaning and updating process.

Beginning Jan. 1, I have been faithfully tracking our wins and losses. Through eight days, I have had six winning days and only two losing days. My good fortune has continued in both blackjack and poker. Before going to Armando's, I visited Red Rock casino and had a nice blackjack run that netted me $270 in about an hour. Then it was time for the 30-minute drive to the computer shop.

After leaving Armando's shop - he has a place about three miles northwest of the Strip - I drove to Wynn to play. The place was surprisingly busy, but it reminded me that the Consumer Electronics Show is in town. There used to be a standing joke that the pocket-protector-sporting CES participants would come to town with a fresh white shirt and a $20 bill and never change either one.
Not big spenders.

Anyway, I made my way from the rooftop parking deck, past the Ferrari store (yes you can buy a car there, but act fast because it's supposed to close soon) and to the casino. Found a blackjack table and won $130 in about 30 minutes. Then I took a break and checked out the elegance of Wynn and its sister casino, Encore. Both are beautiful, upscale locations that rival the elegance of Bellagio. While strolling into Encore, I played bj for about 15 minutes and posted a $70 win. Then it was a hike back to Wynn and up to the car.

I drove south on the Strip, finally stopping at Excalibur. Haven't been there for a couple of years, but I thought I'd check it out. Excalibur is a bit shabby compared to Wynn or Encore. Compared to other joints on the Strip, it's a family-oriented, low-roller sort of place. It's one of the MGM properties where they accept the MCard, which I turned in when I sat down for some blackjack. I looked for a two-deck pitch game, but all they have are 6-deck shoe games. I settled in and in about 15 minutes, I was up $120 and decided to walk.

So far my hit-and-run technique was working perfectly - four stops, four wins. I still had about two hours before I would head home, so I drove to MGM to play. I decided to mix things up and play some poker there. I checked in at the poker room and they were about ready to start a new game in 10 minutes. So I took a walk, visited the restroom and by the time I got back the game was beginning.
I sat four seats to the left of the dealer, one of my favorite spots. It's easy to see the flop from this point.

It was an up and down session. I won a couple of early pots with two pairs. On one hand I looked down at A-A and anticipated raking a nice pot. But when I bet $7, everyone folded and all I won was $7 from the blinds and two other players. Never got up too much or down too little. But as I was getting ready to go, I realized I was down $18. I really wanted to post another win, so I was happy when I looked down and, once again, saw A-A winking back at me.

This time, I bet $7 and got two callers. The flop came 4-7-J of different suits. The two callers checked and I again bet $7. One guy called, the other folded. Turn card was a 2. I bet $15 and the guy folded. So I took down a pot of $35, showing the Aces. Two hands later, I racked up my chips and left with a $16 profit. For the six sessions, I won $606. A nice day's work and the second highest total of the year, so far.

While I was out, Helen did some healthcare paperwork that she needs to do annually for her MS medicine. I need to mail that tomorrow. She also did some texting with Anna, who is back in Houston after visiting Michael in LA for awhile.

Traffic was heavy leaving the Strip and it took almost an hour to get home, where I made us two fresh, healthy salads for dinner. We enjoyed some Ghiradelli chocolates for dessert while we watched TV. Then it was time for me to get caught up on the blog as our LV adventure continues...