We left at 11 a.m. to meet my friend Claudine Grant for lunch at the Grand Lux Café at the Palazzo, the Venetian's sister property. I parked at the Venetian on the 7th floor. We refer to it as the "Rocky Colavito" floor. Naming the floor after ballplayers, usually Tigers, helps me remember where we parked. Sometimes it's on "Al Kaline" or "Hank Greenberg" or "Yogi Berra" or "Charlie Maxwell" but never "Mickey Lolich."
Claudine is PR manager at the Venetian, specializing in Restaurant and Entertainment PR. I met her two years ago at a Super Bowl Party and we've been facebook friends ever since. Helen had not met her before, but we had a great soup-and-salad lunch and it was a quick hour before Claudine had to get back to a meeting.
Helen and I checked into our handicapped access room on the 15th floor and it was very comfortable and easy for her to navigate in her wheelchair. It has sheer blinds and curtains that are opened/closed by a switch on the wall. And 3 TVs, including one in the bathroom. We looked forward to spending three nights - all comped - there in style!
After resting a bit, I went down to play some blackjack. I looked all over the gaming floor before settling into a less-than-desirable table. It was a $15 minimum bet and it only paid 6-5 for a blackjack. The only tables that paid 3-2 had minimum bets of $50 and $100, a little too high for me.
Despite the drawbacks, I had a good session, winning $350 in about an hour.
Then I took a break and strolled to the sports book where I bet $25 on CMU to win their hoops game against Western Michigan. CMU was a 3-point favorite, but they were playing at home and I figured they could handle the Broncos in this rivalry showdown, so I made the bet and left. I checked back at halftime and was stunned that WMU was topping CMU 53-40. Surely that game was lost and I went on a walk around the Venetian.
I checked back at the sports book with 10 minutes to play and CMU had whittled the lead down from 13 to 12 points. I sat down and suddenly CMU came alive, hitting a 3-pointer, then a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 5 with about 5 minutes left to play. The Chippewas actually took a one-point lead with 2 minutes left on the clock and I began to think I might win the wager!
They swapped baskets and the score was tied 81-81 when Central had the ball with 20 seconds to go. They passed it around and their star guard Marcus Keene nailed a 3-pointer with only 4 seconds on the clock. I figured I would get a push and get my money back. Pretty nice after trailing for 38 of the games 40 minutes!
WMU in-bounded the ball and in an attempt to steal the pass, CMU fouled a Bronco player who calmly nailed a free throw making the score 84-82 and turning my push into a loss. But he missed the second free throw and in a scramble for the loose ball, the Broncos fouled a CMU player who calmly went to the free throw line and nailed both shots. That made it 86-82, but 3 seconds still remained on the clock. WMU inbounded the ball and tried a halfcourt shot that, thankfully missed. My $25 bet returned $22.75 - a small but exciting victory!
By now it was about dinner time and Helen and I opted to check out the Venetian's food court instead of one of its upscale eateries. We settled on some Italian fare - I went for spaghetti and meatballs, while Helen had a tasty grilled panini. Then we went back to the room for the night.
On Saturday morning, I went down to get coffee and blueberry muffins. They were delicious and became our morning routine for the 3 days we were at the Venetian. I would go down, play a little bj and bring back breakfast while Helen slept in a bit. Saturday's first session was a $200 profit. A profitable and tasty procedure!
After breakfast we drove to the Bellagio to check out the Conservatory and its Chinese New Year display for The Year of the Rooster which will be up through February. It's an impressive work and we were lucky enough to get there before it was too crowded.
After the Bellagio stop, we walked next door to Caesar's Palace and strolled through the Forum Shops. It was getting close to dinner time and we decided to visit The Cheesecake Factory, one of Helen's favorite eateries. Usually there's a wait to get a table, but we were lucky to get right in - another win! Helen had an Asian Chicken Salad and I enjoyed a Chicken Salad Sandwich with fries.
Then we walked back to the Bellagio, got the car and drove back to the Venetian.
We rested in our room for a while, then I went down to see if my luck would continue at the bj tables. It did and in about an hour, I racked up a $220 win. Then it was back to the room for the night.
On my Sunday morning breakfast run, I started the day with a sweet win of $590. It was one of those special times when the cards were just falling my way. I hit 4 double-downs in a row at one stretch.
And had back-to-back blackjacks twice!
I took breakfast back to the room about 8 a.m. and we enjoyed our muffins & coffee together. Then I went back down stairs while Helen got ready for the day. Our Super Bowl Party was to start at 2:30, so we had time to do other things in the mean time. I decided to visit the Palazzo and found an empty blackjack table there.
It was another luck-fest as I hit hand after hand playing heads up with the dealer. After about 15 minutes, I was joined by a guy who bought in for $3,000 and started playing $50 to $100 a hand. I was hoping his presence wouldn't change my luck...and it didn't! We both were hitting hands and the dealer was busting on a regular basis. Mr. Big Bucks cashed in after winning $1200 in about 30 minutes. A few minutes later, I left with a $600 profit.
Before the football game even began, it was a SUPER SUNDAY for me!
At 2 p.m. Helen and I headed over to the Palazzo Ballroom where the Party was being held. At check-in I learned that 1,000 guests had been invited to the comped affair which featured fully stocked bars and buffet lines of great food.
There were Georgia BBQ Pulled Pork to honor the Falcons and New England Clam Chowder for Patriot fans. There were beef sliders, nachos, mac & cheese, veggie wraps, hot dogs, green salads, potato salads, chips, dips, and for dessert brownies, pecan tarts and a freezer full of haagen dazs ice cream products. I sampled almost everything, washed down by 3 Coronas. Eat and drink all you want for free!
The game was exciting, even though we had some money on Atlanta and the Under. I did hit some props - no interception by Matt Ryan, both teams to score more than 7 TDs and Atlanta to score first, so it wasn't a total loss. Helen was a little concerned about sitting at a table with a bunch of drunken guys watching football. But we sat with two ladies who were Packers fans and whose husbands had been invited to sit in a special High Roller section. So our table actually had 5 women and only 3 guys and Helen had a great time!
Hopefully we'll get invited back next year!
After the game we walked though the Canal Shoppes and Helen bought 4 stone bracelets that she really admitted. Then it was back to the room to rest a bit. A fun, fun Super Bowl Sunday!
We checked out of the Venetian on Monday morning and drove to the Wynn. Helen had never been there and we'll be going there next month to see a John Fogerty concert. So I wanted her to see how nice it is. Like other casinos, the Wynn is celebrating The Year of the Rooster, so there are lots of displays with Roosters.
Then I drove us home as Helen talked with Anna on the phone. And today our adventure continues...
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