2018 World Series Odds

Real baseball fans know it's not too early to look ahead to next season. The Red Rock casino sports book is posting odds for the 2018 World Series, only 11 months or so away.

Tigers fans, no need to read further.

Dodgers 9-2
Indians 5-1
Astros 11-2
Yankees 7-1
Nationals 8-1
Red Sox & Cubs 9-1
Diamondbacks 12-1
Cardinals 18-1
Angels & Brewers 25-1
Mets, Rays & Blue Jays 30-1
Mariners, Rockies, Twins & Giants 35-1
Rangers 40-1
Braves 45-1
Orioles 50-1
White Sox 60-1
Royals 70-1
Marlins, Reds & Pirates 80-1
Athletics, Phillies & Padres 100-1
TIGERS 125-1

NCAA Hoops Odds

Red Rock sports book has posted odds for the upcoming college basketball season. Here are some of the highlights to win the title game on April 2, 2018

MICHIGAN STATE 7-2
Duke 7-2
Arizona 5-1
Kentucky 10-1
Kansas 14-1
Villanova 15-1
Florida 20-1
Purdue 30-1
North Carolina 30-1
Louisville 35-1
Xavier 50-1
UCLA 60-1
MICHIGAN 75-1
Gonzaga 75-1

The 2017-18 Adventure Begins!

Our winter in Las Vegas is off to a smooth start.

After leaving Traverse City last Saturday morning, we drove 12 hours and spent our first night in Lebanon, Missouri. On Sunday we rolled for 9+hours before stopping for the night in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Then on Monday, we arrived at the Red Rock Hotel/Casino about 4:30p.m. and got checked into our comped room on the 8th floor.

We spent Monday night and Tuesday at the Red Rock, watching sports and playing a little blackjack. In my only BJ session I dropped $60. It was frustrating because in the course of roughly 30 minutes I had only two blackjacks and on both of them the dealer also had a blackjack, so I won zip, zero, nada!

Wednesday was move-in day, so we were at the Shadow Hills apartment complex at 9 a.m. when the office opened. Got all the paperwork finalized, picked up the keys and met the movers at 11 a.m. Two hours later the guys had us all moved into our apartment - 1105. This is the same building that we were in last year, right next door to our former unit, 1106.

We had arranged for the Cox cable guy to come on Thursday to hook up our TV and computers, so Wednesday afternoon we decided to see a movie at Red Rock's theater. We chose "Murder on the Orient Express" and we both enjoyed it, especially since the tickets were only $4 each on Senior Citizen Day. Cha-Ching!  Regular ticket prices for seniors are $9.99, so we saved $12 with the senior discount.

Thursday and Friday were spent unpacking and getting the place organized. There's a lot that goes into setting up a household every few months. I was busy grocery shopping, running errands, cleaning the car and other little chores. I made a stop at Red Rock sports book to buy a couple of football tickets. One teaser with the Steelers -2 (Winner), Saints -3 and Patriots -2 that will pay $62.50. The other is a parlay with the Steelers -7 (Winner), Patriots -7 and Eagles -3. That $10 wager will pay $60 when it hits.

Thursday's dinner was a middle eastern feast with fresh pita bread, hummus, Kalamata olives and lebne. Really nice to have tasty fresh pita again! For dinner on Friday, I whipped us up a couple of nice salads, topping them with rotisserie chicken from the local Albertson's grocery store. At $5.99 a bird, it's hard to beat those tasty chickens. With crunchy romaine lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sweet mini-peppers and cherry tomatoes, it was delicious and healthy.

Helen has pitched in getting the place organized too. She's feeling pretty strong after the road trip and that's always a good thing. Yesterday I did some more grocery shopping and other errands. Then we settled in to watch the U-M and MSU games at home. For dinner I made us some wraps, using the rest of the rotisserie chicken and a few baby carrots on the side. We often eat casually on game days!
Helen's been keeping in touch with Anna, Scott and friends, letting them know we've arrived safe and sound.

Today we'll probably watch some of the football games at home, relaxing and rooting for the Pats, Eagles and Saints. And so our adventure continues...

Prepping to Leave

Our days in Las Vegas are rapidly winding down and we're looking forward to our return to Traverse City.

But we've had a bit more fun before we leave. Helen's brother Norman and his wife Lorraine came to town for visit, arriving Thursday. Norman and I hit the Planet Hollywood sports book, while Helen and Lorraine shopped in the Miracle Mile Stores. We all gathered for dinner at Yolo's, a Mexican eatery at PH. Lorraine and I opted for fish tacos with rice and beans. Helen had a taco salad and Norman enjoyed his burrito. It was all delicious and we'll have to do it again!

Yesterday we joined them for a brunch at Grand Lux Café at the Venetian. It was a fun time with good food and good friends. Then they headed back to their home in Thousand Oaks and we watched the Tigers game in the Venetian sportsbook before we returned to our apartment to begin packing.

Helen and I leave on Wednesday. Movers are to arrive between9a.m.and 1 p.m. Then we turn in our keys, stop byCox Cable to turn in our box and hit the road. I hope we're homeward bound by noon or so. We're thinking of spending Wed. night in Winslow, AZ, about 4.5 hours from LV. Helen's interested in checking out a small park there, dedicated to the Eagles song"Take it Easy" which includes the line about "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona." So that will be an interesting visit.

Thursday we'll drive across the rest of AZ and New Mexico and perhaps into Texas. Friday will take us across OK and into Missouri, where I hope we can reach Lebanon or Rolla. Then Saturday it'll be 12 or 13 hours home in TC.

And so our adventure continues...

My Fantasy Baseball Team

Last Saturday we had the online draft for our fantasy baseball league, "The Edson Hard Balls."

There are eight teams in this year's league and I'm the defending champ. My squad - "Inside The Parker" had a strong season last year and on Saturday I ended up drafting 6 of the guys from my winning team. I'll be making changes during the year, but here's my current roster.

C - Evan Gaddis
1B - Anthony Rizzo
2B - Jose Altuve
3B - Josh Donaldson
SS - Trevor Story
OF - Mark Trumbo,  Adam Jones  & Andrew McCutcheon
Utility - Albert Pujols, Kendrys Morales
Bench - Justin Tuner, Jose Ramirez & Marcus Semien
SP - Justin Verlander, Jon Lester, Michael Wacha, Tanner Roark & Lance McCullers
RP - Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, Jeuryls Familia & Alex Colome.

The five hitting categories that we win points in are HR, RBI, Runs, BA and Steals. Pitching categories are Wins, Strikeouts, Saves, WHIP and ERA. This squad is strong is sluggers and relief pitching. My starting 10 averaged 31 HRs & 93 RBI last year. That's good, but I lack speed and will struggle with batting average.  I expect to do well in HR, RBI, Runs, WHIP and ERA. Should keep me competitive!

Exit Strategy

The past week has seen us preparing to leave LV and return to TC.

On Monday I visited our usual storage place to rent a 10x10-foot unit to store all of our household items for the summer. Got the sad news that no units of that size were available. Uh-oh. So I immediately began searching online for a new storage facility and found one that is only 10 minutes away and a little cheaper per month. But instead of snagging a 10x10, I was only able to rent two 5x10 units that are next to each other. No huge difference, but I did have to buy two separate locks at $15 each.

After renting the units, I called our movers and arranged for them to pick up our stuff and haul it to storage on April 12. They'll be here between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on that day. It'll take them about two hours to handle that chore, then Helen and I will hit the road for Michigan.

So Wednesday, April 12 is officially our departure date. If all goes well, we should get to TC late on Friday or on Saturday.

After handling the moving details, I got the oil changed in the car and also made an appointment to have our taxes done at an H&R Block office right near our apartment here. Always dread tax time, because we always have to send a check to the feds. But it'll be good to get that taken care of.

I have had a chance to play a little poker. At Ballys I played enough to qualify for the monthly free roll tournament and will play in that tomorrow, April 1. Hoping not to play like an April Fool and would like to cash for $500. That would cover the gas & meals on the trip home!

Also played two days at Planet Hollywood and won both days. On the second day, I felted the same guy twice. Once I got dealt pocket Aces and took his $80 stack when he had K-K. Then he rebought for $100 and a few hands later, I was dealt 6-6 and hit a 3rd 6 on the flop of A-5-6 of mixed suits. Once again the guy shoved in his stack of $90 and showed A-K. He grimaced when I flipped over my sixes and I took down the healthy pot.

Planet Hollywood is running a promo that if you play 3 hours between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. you get a free buffet - good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Last night Helen and I used the two free coupons to have dinner there. It's a $60 value, since the dinner buffet is priced at $30. Helen ate healthy, enjoying couscous salad, grilled veggies, hummus and pita bread. I started with peel & eat shrimp and a fruit salad, followed by prime rib, green beans, grilled potatoes and rice pilaf. We both enjoyed desserts - cupcakes and fruit pastries, along with coffee.

Driving back from the Strip, we encountered some amazingly high winds. Power was out in a few intersections, snarling traffic. But others had it much worse, losing power and having trees and signs toppled. Winds of 82 mph were reportedly recorded at Red Rock only 8 miles or so from us. As I write this, I'm still able to hear the winds howling a bit outside. But we're safe and warm - and with power - so we'll do fine.

And so our adventure continues...

Long Time, No Write...Or Win

It's been 10 days since I posted anything, so it's time to catch up a bit.

The two main reasons for not posting is the March Madness has kept me busy. I've been researching and betting games every day and I've lost more than I've won. Today I won with Michigan, but lost with Michigan State.

And my poker & blackjack luck has apparently run out. Looking over my records, I have not had a winning session since March 12 and I've played at least one session every day. That's a solid week of not winning! It wears you down mentally to lose every time you sit down at a table, but I'll be back at the poker table soon.

One highlight of the past week was on Wednesday night when we saw Rod Stewart in concert at Caesars Palace. He's 72 and still a bundle of energy for the 90-minute show. Access for Helen is the best at CP and we look forward to seeing more shows there in coming years.

We're rooting for Michigan in the NCAA tourney. My friend Terry asked me to get him a $30 ticket on the Wolverines before the tourney began and the odds were 60-1. So if they win it all, he collects $1,800. The next day I decided I should go along with him and by the time I bought my $10 ticket the odds had dropped to 40-1. Go Blue!

We're starting to prepare to head home in about 3 weeks. I need to get the oil changed in the car, rent the storage unit and line up the movers. It's a whole process shutting down our LV home and getting back to TC. We miss our friends there and it'll be good to get back into our TC routine.

But for now, our LV adventure continues...