Super Super Bowl Plans!

Took advantage of a couple of offers to make some special plans in February.

The Venetian invited me to enjoy 3 comped nights and tickets for two for a special Super Bowl Party on Feb. 5. So this morning I called. Helen and I will be enjoying three FREE nights in a Venetian suite, specially adapted for handicapped visitors. Then on Super Bowl Sunday we can attend the free party. It should be big fun!

I also received an invitation to take part in a $150,000 blackjack tournament at The Paris hotel/casino on Feb. 24-26. I made a call and we're booked into a newly remodeled room for 3 nights at Paris -All Comped! Included is free entry into the tourney which has a top prize of $35,000. Is it a coincidence that the finals of the tourney happen on MY BIRTHDAY?

And so our adventure continues...

What a Week!

It's been quite a week here in LV with a strong winning streak at the gaming tables, but family health crisis that has raised our stress level.

Back in TC, Helen's sister Susan had been rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding. She underwent a successful operation yesterday and will remain hospitalized for a few days before going to a center where she can rest and undergo rehab. Susan fell in early November and broke her right arm and it's been a series of health problems ever since. Helen has been stressed and on the phone with family keeping updated on Susan's condition. Susan's arm is almost healed now and hopefully her health will continue to improve.

I've been playing poker and blackjack daily, though a bit less because of Susan's situation. It's been a winning streak...until last night's poker tourney. Some 55 players qualified for the Ballys freeroll tourney and I was pretty confident when it started. I won a couple of small pots early and had about 5,500 in chips in front of me when I got dealt K-K. A couple of guys called the $200 big blinds and I went all in, hoping to take down the pot. But I got called by a guy who had A-5. When an Ace hit the flop, I was in trouble. I was the third player out of the tourney and headed home.

But the day wasn't a total loss, since I won $580 in blackjack at Ballys.

Earlier this week, Helen and I saw a show - "The Bronx Wanderers" a family group - Dad and two sons, plus other players - who do a lot of early rock and doo-wop music. Dion and the Belmonts and the Four Seasons were some of their inspirations and they did a lot of their songs.

Also, I got some show tickets. We're going to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on Feb. 18 and Rod Stewart on March 15. Looking forward to both of them!!

And so our adventure continues...

Stuff I've Seen Lately in Las Vegas

Over the past few days, I've seen things that were sort of interesting and I thought I'd pass a few on for your consideration.

On Saturday, while playing poker at Ballys, one guy busted out and left the table. His replacement...Santa Claus. Yep, a guy with a bushy white beard, big red coat and red hat bought in for $200 and began to play. Turns out he's a Southern California guy who just did a gig as Santa at a corporate party and now wanted to play poker. Kind of unusual trying to get a tell on the Jolly Old Elf, but I did take a few of his chips in two pots. He was so authentic-looking that 3 players at the table took selfies with him. Dogs playing poker, you see that. Santa playing poker, not so much.

Later Saturday, as I was leaving Ballys and driving home down the Strip, traffic slowed to a crawl. Turns out that there was a fender bender in front of the Mirage where a small car had its left front fender crumpled by one of those huge rolling billboard trucks advertising "Girls Right To Your Room." Not every day you get your car damaged by a rolling hooker sign...only in Vegas!

On Monday I was walking from Bellagio to Ballys across the bridge that connects the two casinos. I took an escalator down toward Ballys and at the bottom was a haggard-looking homeless woman who had staked out a panhandling spot near the bottom of the escalator. She sat cross legged and held a warn hand-scrawled sign that read "Homeless and Hungry. Please, Anything Would Help." She had a small pan with a scattering of loose change in front of her and a full backpack behind her. I was a bit sympathetic, until I noticed something next to her backpack. It was a tall Starbucks iced coffee, which carries a price tag near $5 or so, I think. So this hungry gal could have bought breakfast, but opted for her daily dose of cold caffeine. Where else but Vegas do the panhandlers sip Starbucks?

Yesterday I headed down to the Strip to play poker and I got stopped at a red light behind a huge silver Cadillac Escalade with dark tinted windows. I glanced at the Nevada license plate and it read "Celine 1." Curious, I changed lanes and stayed next to the Caddy and we both got caught at the next red light. Glanced over to see who was in the car and it was an older guy in a white shirt and tie, perhaps a chauffeur? No one else was in the car, so I assume he was running errands for the Canadian Song Bird.

And so our Vegas adventure continues...

World Series Odds

Since MLB's Winter Meetings are underway this week, it's a good time to check out the odds for the 2017 World Series. These numbers are from the Red Rock Casino.

Cubs 11-5
Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox 9-1
Indians 10-1
Mets, Astros, Blue Jays, Giants 12-1
Rangers 14-1
Cardinals, Orioles, TIGERS 20-1
Yankees 22-1
Mariners , Royals 25-1
Pirates 30-1
Marlins 45-1
White Sox 60-1
Rays, Rockies 65-1
Angels 80-1
Athletics 90-1
Phillies, Twins, D-backs, Brewers 100-1
Braves, Padres, Reds 125-1

Football Sunday & Poker Monday

Helen and I spent a quiet day at home on Sunday watching football.

And, of course, what's football without snacks? So I made a trip to the Middle Eastern Market to pick up a few things.  The only problem was that the market doesn't open til 10 a.m. on Sunday and that's when the early NFL games kick off. So I planned it so I would be there right at 10 when they opened and get back to the apartment by 1030 and I'd only miss part of the first quarter in exchange for fresh pita bread, lebne, hummus and olives.

So I get to the market at 9:55 and park. I see a woman walk into the store, so I hop out of the car and stroll in. I was greeted by a feisty little woman who says "Not open, not open, no cash, no cash," in a thick eastern European accent. Turns out the cash trays had not arrived yet. Apparently the owners take home the register drawers every night and he hadn't yet arrived. Perhaps he had a late Saturday night and was running a bit slow.

I grabbed a basket and walked around the market getting my items and by the time I was done, the cash drawer had arrived and I was out of there and driving back to the apartment.

Helen and I watched the games, munching on our treats. She was also on the phone with relatives and friends, while I monitored by fantasy football teams. It was a good day, as I won both of my fantasy games and won a 4-team teaser bet that won me $50.

Over the weekend I had been having some problems with my laptop. I kept getting a message that my battery was low,even though I had the power cord plugged into the wall. A couple of times, it just went dark on me for now reason. So I drove over to the localBest Buy where the Geek Squad checked the power cord and it's working fine. So I decided to stop by and see our Vegas computer expert, Armando on Monday.

But first I had to play some poker at Ballys. I got there about 1030 and there were two seats in a game that had been going for some time. I could sit in the #3chair or the #7 chair. I took 7 and it was the right decision. It resulted in a GREAT poker session for me.

I bought in for $200 and 30 minutes later had about $240 in front of me when I was dealt the K-Q of hearts. The guy to my left bet $15 and I was one of 3 callers. The flop came A-J-3, giving me a shot at a straight. The better tossed another 15 in the pot and I was his only caller. The turn card was the 10 of clubs, giving me my straight. My opponent bet 30 and I raised it to 75. He called. The river was a 2, no apparent help to anyone. He checked and I went all in, shoving the remaining 150 into the pot. He didn't hesitate and called with sort of a sneer... I showed the straight and he showed A-J. He had flopped two pair.

That was the first of several big hands and big pots I won. I had 3 full houses, a couple of flushes and 3 or 4 trips that won for me. I had the biggest stack at the table for hours and was able to bully/bluff my way to 4-5 pots when my hand didn't connect. At the end of the day, I left with $600 profit.

On the way home, I stopped to see Armando and told him about my problem. He said to bring in the laptop and I probably will. Though ever since, it's been working great. So I may wait til it flares up again so he can see what happens. I also stopped at a local deli and pickedup a couple oftasty sandwiches for dinner. I opted for a hefty reuben and a California club with turkey, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. and we shared both.

After dinner we watched "The Wolf of Wall Street," on our On Demand. Then it was time for bed. And today our adventure continues...

Poker Day at Ballys

Haven't played poker on The Strip in over a week, so it was time to head to Ballys.

Got there about 10 a.m. and no game was going at the time. I was hoping there would be overnight action still going on, since the National Rodeo is in town and those cowboys love their poker as much as they love their ponies.

I walked to the sports book and bought a $25 ticket on Western Michigan -16.5 points in the big game against Ohio U. Then it was back to the poker room where I sipped coffee and talked with a couple of dealers until a game got going at 10:30. I bought in for $100 and my stack went up a down a bit for about two hours. One guy at the other end of the table, let's call him The Villain, kept stealing pots $10 pots with $100 raises. No one had a hand good enough to call those big raises and he kept building his stack until he had more than $400 in front of him.

I had about $150 in front of me when I looked down and found both red ACES peeking back at me. The Villain bet $15 and everyone else folded until it got to me and I raised it to $30. The Villain looked at his stack and counted out $75, shoving it into the pot and announcing "raise" with a sneer.
I hemmed and hawed, knowing full well I was going to wager every one of my chips on those Aces.
After 30 seconds or so, I announced "All In" pushing my stack toward the pot.

"Please call, Please call, Please call," I thought to myself.

"I Call" said the Villain, flipping over A-Q of spades.

I showed my two aces and his face flinched. He knew he was in BIG trouble. His hand never improved and my aces brought me a pot of over $300. That was the final hand Villain played. He took his remaining chips and headed to the cashier.

That was the highlight of my poker trip. Before I headed home, I stopped by The Nosh deli at Ballys and picked up two salads for dinner - a Greek salad and a chef salad. Helen enjoyed the chef salad while I had the Greek. They were uh, just OK. Lots of lettuce and green, but not enough other items to make them really interesting.

While I was gone, Helen was on the phone with sister Nat. She also opened a birthday package from Scott, Lisa and family. It's a bunch of lotions and beauty products.

We watched Western Michigan win the exciting game 29-23. My ticket was a loser, but it was fun watching the Broncos win the MAC title.

And so our adventure continues...

Happy Birthday to Her

Thursday was Helen's birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner at her favorite eatery - The Cheesecake Factory.

We got there about 5 p.m. and by 5:15 we were greeted and seated by our waiter, Shawn. After ordering drinks, we perused the menu. Helen usually gets her favorite Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad, but today she went with something different, Steak Diane. I opted for a medium-rare ribeye.

Soon after ordering, Helen started getting phone calls and texts from family. Brother Norman called from So Cal, sister Susan called from TC, grandson Stephen texted from Houston, grandson Alan texted from So Cal. It was a flurry of communications for the Birthday Girl.

After a few minutes our meals arrived. Helen's steak was a cut into beef medallions and topped with grilled mushrooms and onions that had been sautéed in a wine sauce. A generous order of mashed potatoes rounded out the hearty platter. My ribeye was done perfectly and came with another heaping order of mashed potatoes and perfectly steamed green beans.

Shawn came repeatedly to check on us and refill our drinks. I mentioned that we were celebrating Helen's Birthday, hoping we might get a free slab of cheesecake for the occasion.

After our meals, Shawn and another server brought Helen a free small-sized chocolate sundaes and serenaded her with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday To You." She was appropriately embarrassed, but was a good sport. I know she hates that limelight, but she took it well.

We were both too full for dessert at the time, but we got two slabs of cheesecake for later.  Helen chose the Turtle cheesecake, while I went with the Red Velvet cheesecake. We got home about 6:30 and didn't feel ready to try the desserts until after 9. They were delicious, rich and filling. Neither of us could finish them!

Before leaving for dinner, I visited, and lost at, both local casinos - Rampart and Red Rock. Dropped $65 at Rampart and another $25 at Red Rock. We'll try to get that back, with interest, in the next day or two.

And so our LV adventure continues...