A No-Fuss, No-Muss Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day was one of the smoothest, nicest, most relaxing in recent years.

Being in Las Vegas for a major holiday is a bit different for us than for other folks. While others may have family and friends gathering for the day, Helen and I spend it together. We don't have family and very few friends here to share the day with. So we always go out for a nice meal, this year at the Red Rock casino where we opted for the buffet. Tons to choose from and - in the tradition of Thanksgiving - all you can eat and more!

We decided on an early meal and got there about 11:30 a.m. The buffet began serving a traditional Turkey-mashed potatoes-stuffing-cranberry sauce and tons more at 8 .m. and continued until 9 p.m. When we arrived there was already a long line, but thanks to my President player card, we got into a line with only 3 people ahead of us.

The buffet was $21.95 per person, but I was able to use $21 in comp points that I had racked up by playing at Red Rock, so with tax included I had to only pay $24 for our two dinners. It's pretty hard to get two Thanksgiving Day meals for that price anywhere.

In a few minutes we were seated at a cozy table for two and I was off to fill our plates. Helen wanted to start with salad, so I got her a green salad and a pasta salad, both were good choices, she said. I opted for a healthy plate of about 20 peel-and-eat chilled shrimp with sauce. After peeling-and-eating the shrimp, I got in line for our entrees.

As a buffet veteran, I know that you need to walk and check out the whole selection before making any food choices. There was a line of about 20 people for the turkey carving station and that was annoying, but I spotted a second carving station that was slicing turkey and prime rib. I was feeling pretty clever as I got us each a healthy slab of turkey breast, then looked for the other Thanksgiving side dishes. But there were none at this station. Aaaargh.

I had to take our plates and hike to the back of the now-even-longer line at the other turkey station, which also offered prime rib, ham, lamb and baked salmon. The woman ahead of me had all those meat choices and nothing else piled on her plate. Apparently not a vegetarian, but rockin' her all-protein diet

Things moved along quickly and I was able to fill Helen's plate with mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce and sautéed brussel sprouts. I had the same. For dessert, we each enjoyed a slab of chocolate cream pie.

After eating, we went to the sports book to check on the Lions game. I had made a parlay bet of Vikings -3, Chargers -1 and Redskins -7. My $15 ticket was a winner and I'll go back today to collect $90. Helen watched me play a little 25-cent video blackjack and I won another $3.50 and racked up a few comp points too.

Then we returned to the apartment and spent the day relaxing. I watched football while Helen was on the phone with relatives and friends. In the evening we watched TV and enjoyed a slab of the free pumpkin pie that I had picked up on Wednesday. A fun, relaxing day as our adventure continues...