Great Day on Anna's Birthday

Tuesday was Anna's Birthday, so we called down to Houston to wish her the best. She and Helen were still chatting when I decided to go make some money.

I drove over to Red Rock about 10 a.m. for a little blackjack action before heading down to the Strip. Walking into Red Rock, I pulled a ticket from my wallet, that I knew to be a loser. For the Monday night college football championship game, I bet a $20 parlay involving Clemson, total fg made and most points scored in the second half. I believed it was a loser because I thought I needed more than 3 fgs to win and Bama and Clemson kicked 3 between them.

But checking the ticket, I had a winner! Turns out I needed 3 fgs, not OVER 3 fg. Senior moment, I guess. Always double check your tickets! So I cashed for $120 and headed for the bj pit. I had a nice run and in about an hour I racked up $320 and decided to head to the Strip.

I parked on the roof of Bellagio, then walked over to Caesar's Palace where I headed straight to the box office where I bought two tickets for the Rod Stewart concert on March 23. They
were $117 each. Then I found a bj table and in about 30 minutes I was up $180 and decided to buy more tickets.

I had learned about a reasonably-priced Motown show at Planet Hollywood called "Hitzville" so I decided to get tickets for that. "Hitzville" features music by the Temptations, Supremes, Four Tops and more. Should be a good one. And the girl at the ticket counter recommended it highly, saying she's seen it three times. I joked that she HAS to say that, right? But no, she admitted some of the shows are not her favs. She gave me $25 off each ticket for a locals discount. So for both stubs, it was only $92, including taxes and fees.

I've been getting a good deal of walking along the Strip and the hike from CP to PH was taking its toll in the form of a blister on my right heel. I had a previous blister on my left foot, so today I switched from my sneakers to my sandals. I knew the right heel was sore, but I was surprised to see that it was bleeding. So after buying the tickets, I looked for a bj table to sit and rest a bit.

Played one-on-one with an Asian woman named Ral. It was a 6-deck game dealt from a shoe and I was betting $10-15 per hand and doing really well when I encountered the biggest hand of the day - or several days. I was up about $170 and was playing one or two hands, depending on how the cards were running. At this time, I played two hands of $20 each. On the first hand I was dealt 7-4 and on the second it was 3-3. Ral showed a 6, so I doubled down on the first hand and split the 3s. I got a 7 on the first 3 and had to double down on that. Then on the second 3, I got another 3, splitting them again. Then I got another 3, again splitting.

On two of the 3s I got face cards, but on one of them I got an 8, triggering another double down. By the time the splitting and doubling was over, I had 8 bets out there of $20 each. Ral flipped her hole card, showing an 8 for a total of 14, then she hit - an 8 and BUST! That $160 win propelled me to a $410 profit for the session and I left, planning to walk gingerly back to Bellagio and the car.

But as I walked by Paris, I decided to visit Ballys and hobbled under the Eiffel Tower, along the cobblestone walkway and into Ballys. This place has been my comfort zone for decades. I clearly remember coming here in 1984, during my first trip to Vegas, and winning $600 in one session. There have been plenty of other winning - and losing - bj sessions here over the years. So I settled into a bj table, planning to rest my foot, get a bottled water and play for 30 minutes or so. Got the water and began to play. I started slow, losing one, winning one, losing two, winning one, etc. I was dwindling my $100 buy-in when I hit a streak. I won 5 hands in a row, slowly bumping my bet. When the shoe ended, I was up $120 and decided to leave. I limped back across the bridge to Bellagio and made my way to the car.

It was the most profitable day of the year - over the 4 sessions, I netted $1,030. My first THOUSAND DOLLAR DAY of 2016. On the way home, I stopped for some takeout at Jason's Deli, one of our favorite eateries. I had a pastrami on rye and got Helen a California Club sandwich. Tasty stuff! Helen had spent the day making some custom birthday cards online and talking with relatives.
On Monday, she had fun skyping with her sisters Nat and Susan in TC. It was Susan's birthday and Helen was able to "attend" a little party for Sue via the internet.

Tonight we have tickets to see John Fogerty at the Venetian. Should be fun hearing lots of those old Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. Dinner will probably be somewhere on the Strip. And so our LV adventure continues...