Helen's Birthday!!

Helen spent much of her birthday on Friday taking phone calls from friends and family. If it wasn't a phone call, there were texts and emails all wishing her the best on her special day. She enjoyed all of them and literally spent hours visiting with loved ones.

While she was busy, I headed out to play poker and blackjack locally. My first stop was at Red Rock casino, where I played some morning poker. I had to wait about 20 minutes for a new game to begin, so I enjoyed some complementary coffee as I waited. When the cards got in the air, I did OK early, winning a couple of pots and building my $100 buy-in up to about $140 or so.

The key hand came when I was dealt at A-Q, both diamonds. I bet $16 and got only one caller. The flop came A-Q-J of different suits. I was looking at the top two pair, but there was also the danger of a straight hitting, so when the guy bet $30, I raised him to $90, thinking I could take the pot right there. I was surprised when he went All-In with the rest of his chips, about $60. I hoped he had A-K or Q-J, so I called.

He showed K-10. He had flopped a straight and my only hope was to hit a A or Q on the turn and river. Neither came and I lost my whole stack. I left the poker table and tried blackjack where I had a nice hot streak and got back my $100 in less than an hour.

I took a break around noon and came home to make us lunch - vegetable soup for Helen, bean soup for me.

Then I headed over to our other local casino, Rampart, to try my luck there.

Spent a couple hours there and netted $50 profit in blackjack. It also gave me a chance to check out the new remodeled sports book. It's a beauty - bigger, brighter and more comfortable that the old sports book which was cozy, but gloomy due to its dark wood paneling and dim lighting.

I headed home about 4 o'clock and we went off to dinner at one of Helen's favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. She enjoyed the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad, while I opted for Pasta DaVinci, penne pasta with mushrooms and chicken in a cream sauce. Tasty and filling!

We brought home leftovers, along with a slab of Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake for dessert.

The day ended with some quiet TV time and us sharing the cheesecake. And so our adventure continues...