Saturday was Draft Day for my fantasy baseball team, "Inside The Parker."
It's an online event for me, while other owners in the league gathered at Nick Edson's house for the draft day fun. We started at 10 a.m. (Vegas time) and it was over in about two hours. I'm pretty pleased with my squad, which is loaded with sluggers and RBI guys, but very light on speed. Here's the roster:
C - Yadier Molina, a solid choice at a position that has only a handful of stars and plenty of .230 hitters.
1B - Edwin Encarnacion, a threat to hit 40 home runs for Cleveland.
2B - Jose Ramirez, a versatile Cleveland star who should hit 25 home runs, score 80, drive in 90 and hit .310 or so.
3B - Nolan Arenado, my first choice, the #3 pick overall. Could lead the majors in home runs with 45 to 50.
SS - Didi Gregorius, Yankee with surprising power for a shortstop. Should score tons of runs for the Bronx Bombers.
OF - Aaron Judge, another threat to lead the majors in HRs. This guy could easily hit 50-plus for the Yankees.
OF - Adam Jones, a solid player on the Orioles, should clout 25 homers this year.
OF - Trey Mancini, a quiet star for Baltimore. Another 25 HR guy who should hit .280 or better.
Utility - Trevor Story, a solid backup at shortstop with some power.
Utility - Miguel Sano, Twins slugger with awesome power. Another 30 HRs would not surprise.
Bench - Albert Pujols, aging slugger should get lots of RBI chances batting behind Mike Trout.
- Nomar Mazara, Texas slugger is solid outfield support.
- Gregory Polanco, more outfield backup. 20-plus HR expected here.
- Ian Kinsler, could score lots of runs for the Angels with Trout and Pujols batting behind him.
- Greg Bird, may ditch him soon.
Starting Pitchers - Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Rich Hill, Alex Wood and Sonny Gray.
Relief Pitchers - Kenley Jansen, Alex Colome and Jeurys Familia.
After the draft, I ran some errands, including a stop at the Middle East market for dinner fixings. Then Helen and I watched Michigan basketball and some PBS mysteries before ending our day. And so our adventure continues...
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Blackjack Tourney and More Fun on The Strip
On Monday Helen and I checked into Ballys in preparation of me playing in a $75,000 Blackjack Tournament on Tuesday & Wednesday at The Cromwell.
We settled into room 2460 in Ballys Indigo Tower with a beautiful view facing east. It was easy to see UNLV's Thomas & Mack Arena, home of the Runnin' Rebels basketball team and The Hard Rock with its classic huge guitar sign.
I registered for the tourney and learned that there were some 1,200 players enrolled. Play began for me at 9 a.m. on Tuesday when I was assigned to seat 2 on table 9 at the Cromwell.
Making the short walk from Ballys to the Cromwell, I arrived about 8:45 and was seated with 4 other players, all guys. The sixth seat went unclaimed. Since the top player at each table advanced to the next round, I only had to beat 4 guys to advance. Each player started with 1,000 in tournament chips - 8 $100 chips and 8 $25 chips. The dealer would deal 20 hands of bj and when it's over the guy with the most chips advances to the next round.
Halfway through the 20 hands, we were all pretty close. The leader had about $1200 and I had 800, with everyone else closely bunched. Then came a key hand. While most of our bets were conservatively $25 or $50, one guy bet half his stack - $400 - and got dealt a pair of eights against the dealer's king.
Proper blackjack strategy calls for the player to split his eights and that's what the guy did, shoving his last $400 out. On the first 8, he caught an Ace for 19. On the other 8, he snagged a 3, then a 10 for a solid 21. The dealer flipped her hole card, a 7 and the guy doubled up his chips to $1,600 taking the chip lead.
I had a whole series of poor cards. Four times I got an ace on my first card, only to get a small card on my second. Never a blackjack!
With 3 hands remaining the same guy had the chip lead. After his big hand, he conservatively bet only $25 a hand to try to keep the lead. With $700 in chips, I knew I had to do something dramatic, so I bet $400 and lost. Then I bet my last $300 and drew a 17, losing to the dealer's 19. My tourney was over.
But it was fun and I hope I get invited back next year.
I returned to the room and shared the story with Helen and we decided to visit the Bellagio Conservatory to see their Spring Display. It's always amazing to see what they come up with made of flowers and other plants. This year the highlights were birds, turtles and fish, plus running water.
Wednesday night we went to sleep about 10 or so and I had a strange experience. I had a dream in which I was sitting at a poker table with a huge pile of chips. So tall that I had trouble seeing around the stacks of multi-colored chips. There was no playing or anything else involved, just me sitting with the chip mountains.
So when I woke up at 2 a.m., I got dressed and walked down to the poker room. Helen and I have always agreed that if I get up early, usually 4 or 5 a.m., and want to go down to gamble, I can do it as long as I return to wake her up at 7:30. So it wasn't too unusual for me to leave.
Anyway, I got to the poker room and there was one game going, with one seat available. I took it and won the first two hands I played. Within a half hour, I had grown my $50 buy-in up to about $120 or so. Things were going really well.
There was a know-it-all loudmouth sitting two seats to my left. He's the kind of irritating player who always tells you how to play the hand, whether he's in it or not. He spews statistics, percentages, pot odds and analyzes everything for everyone. Very annoying and, frankly, bad poker etiquette. When he took a bathroom break, the player to my right whispered to me ,"What a jerk!"
"You know how to deal with a jerk like him, don't ya," I answered.
"No how?"
"You take all his chips!"
And two hands later I had the chance to try. I was dealt K-K and bet $12. The Jerk called and everyone else folded. It was head-to-head when the flop came Q-5-9 of different suits. I bet $25, hoping The Jerk would call or maybe even raise. He didn't hesitate when he raised it to $50.
"All In" was my response, moving my last $90 or so toward the pot.
"I call" said The Jerk, arrogantly tossing down his A-Q
I showed my K-K and waited for the dealer to show the turn and river cards. The only way I could lose was if The Jerk caught one of 3 aces or 2 queens. That didn't happen and I got all of The Jerks chips. He stormed away from the table muttering something under his breath. I didn't catch what he said, I was too busy stacking chips!
The game broke up about 4 a.m. and I had won $256 over the two hour session. I returned to the room and slipped back into bed. I had trouble getting back to sleep, but eventually did and woke up about 6:30. Helen never knew I left the room until I told her the story and showed her the cash.
"It's like Christmas," she said. "You go to sleep and someone comes into the room and leaves you presents!"
In this case, I was Santa and the $$$$ was our presents!
We checked out a few hours later and returned to our apartment. And so our adventure continues...
We settled into room 2460 in Ballys Indigo Tower with a beautiful view facing east. It was easy to see UNLV's Thomas & Mack Arena, home of the Runnin' Rebels basketball team and The Hard Rock with its classic huge guitar sign.
I registered for the tourney and learned that there were some 1,200 players enrolled. Play began for me at 9 a.m. on Tuesday when I was assigned to seat 2 on table 9 at the Cromwell.
Making the short walk from Ballys to the Cromwell, I arrived about 8:45 and was seated with 4 other players, all guys. The sixth seat went unclaimed. Since the top player at each table advanced to the next round, I only had to beat 4 guys to advance. Each player started with 1,000 in tournament chips - 8 $100 chips and 8 $25 chips. The dealer would deal 20 hands of bj and when it's over the guy with the most chips advances to the next round.
Halfway through the 20 hands, we were all pretty close. The leader had about $1200 and I had 800, with everyone else closely bunched. Then came a key hand. While most of our bets were conservatively $25 or $50, one guy bet half his stack - $400 - and got dealt a pair of eights against the dealer's king.
Proper blackjack strategy calls for the player to split his eights and that's what the guy did, shoving his last $400 out. On the first 8, he caught an Ace for 19. On the other 8, he snagged a 3, then a 10 for a solid 21. The dealer flipped her hole card, a 7 and the guy doubled up his chips to $1,600 taking the chip lead.
I had a whole series of poor cards. Four times I got an ace on my first card, only to get a small card on my second. Never a blackjack!
With 3 hands remaining the same guy had the chip lead. After his big hand, he conservatively bet only $25 a hand to try to keep the lead. With $700 in chips, I knew I had to do something dramatic, so I bet $400 and lost. Then I bet my last $300 and drew a 17, losing to the dealer's 19. My tourney was over.
But it was fun and I hope I get invited back next year.
I returned to the room and shared the story with Helen and we decided to visit the Bellagio Conservatory to see their Spring Display. It's always amazing to see what they come up with made of flowers and other plants. This year the highlights were birds, turtles and fish, plus running water.
On Wednesday Helen and I spent the day visiting Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile shops and relaxing in the room. One highlight was our dinner - a delicious deep dish pizza from Giordano's at Ballys. We got the small pie, plus a Caesar salad via takeout and enjoyed it while relaxing in our room
Wednesday night we went to sleep about 10 or so and I had a strange experience. I had a dream in which I was sitting at a poker table with a huge pile of chips. So tall that I had trouble seeing around the stacks of multi-colored chips. There was no playing or anything else involved, just me sitting with the chip mountains.
So when I woke up at 2 a.m., I got dressed and walked down to the poker room. Helen and I have always agreed that if I get up early, usually 4 or 5 a.m., and want to go down to gamble, I can do it as long as I return to wake her up at 7:30. So it wasn't too unusual for me to leave.
Anyway, I got to the poker room and there was one game going, with one seat available. I took it and won the first two hands I played. Within a half hour, I had grown my $50 buy-in up to about $120 or so. Things were going really well.
There was a know-it-all loudmouth sitting two seats to my left. He's the kind of irritating player who always tells you how to play the hand, whether he's in it or not. He spews statistics, percentages, pot odds and analyzes everything for everyone. Very annoying and, frankly, bad poker etiquette. When he took a bathroom break, the player to my right whispered to me ,"What a jerk!"
"You know how to deal with a jerk like him, don't ya," I answered.
"No how?"
"You take all his chips!"
And two hands later I had the chance to try. I was dealt K-K and bet $12. The Jerk called and everyone else folded. It was head-to-head when the flop came Q-5-9 of different suits. I bet $25, hoping The Jerk would call or maybe even raise. He didn't hesitate when he raised it to $50.
"All In" was my response, moving my last $90 or so toward the pot.
"I call" said The Jerk, arrogantly tossing down his A-Q
I showed my K-K and waited for the dealer to show the turn and river cards. The only way I could lose was if The Jerk caught one of 3 aces or 2 queens. That didn't happen and I got all of The Jerks chips. He stormed away from the table muttering something under his breath. I didn't catch what he said, I was too busy stacking chips!
The game broke up about 4 a.m. and I had won $256 over the two hour session. I returned to the room and slipped back into bed. I had trouble getting back to sleep, but eventually did and woke up about 6:30. Helen never knew I left the room until I told her the story and showed her the cash.
"It's like Christmas," she said. "You go to sleep and someone comes into the room and leaves you presents!"
In this case, I was Santa and the $$$$ was our presents!
We checked out a few hours later and returned to our apartment. And so our adventure continues...
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Hoops on a Three-Dog Night
Helen and I are watching the NCAA basketball tourney and hoping my wagers pay off.
I went over to the Rampart casino this morning and picked up a pair of tickets. One is a money line parlay of Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga. The other features Michigan -3.5, Texas Tech -1.5 and Gonzaga -3.5. Really hoping the Zags can spank Ohio State tonight.
While at Rampart, I ran my players card through one of their kiosks and learned that I had a Birthday Surprise which turned out to be $25 off at any of the casino restaurants. We'll be using that for a free dinner in the next 3 weeks!
Helen saw a TV commercial for a fast food place called Weinerschnitzel that is running a special of five chili dogs or five corn dogs for only $5.99. She wanted to try them, so after going online and locating the nearest store, I headed out to get us dinner. I got a little twisted around because the restaurant is on a small side street off a main drag, but eventually I found the place.
So here's our dinner while we watching Kansas and Seton Hall - Go Jayhawks!!
You can guess who had 3 dogs and who had only two!
And so our adventure continues...
I went over to the Rampart casino this morning and picked up a pair of tickets. One is a money line parlay of Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga. The other features Michigan -3.5, Texas Tech -1.5 and Gonzaga -3.5. Really hoping the Zags can spank Ohio State tonight.
While at Rampart, I ran my players card through one of their kiosks and learned that I had a Birthday Surprise which turned out to be $25 off at any of the casino restaurants. We'll be using that for a free dinner in the next 3 weeks!
Helen saw a TV commercial for a fast food place called Weinerschnitzel that is running a special of five chili dogs or five corn dogs for only $5.99. She wanted to try them, so after going online and locating the nearest store, I headed out to get us dinner. I got a little twisted around because the restaurant is on a small side street off a main drag, but eventually I found the place.
So here's our dinner while we watching Kansas and Seton Hall - Go Jayhawks!!
And so our adventure continues...
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Visit to Red Rock Canyon
On Tuesday, Helen and I ran a few errands then made the 10 minute drive to beautiful Red Rock Canyon National Preserve.
It's a stunning natural rock display just south and west of our apartment. You drive along a 13-mile scenic drive that features several places to stop and take pictures or begin hiking trails. Because of her disability, Helen has a lifetime pass to any national park, so we got in for free. That was nice because they have more than doubled the fee from $7 per car to $15 per car.
It's a stunning natural rock display just south and west of our apartment. You drive along a 13-mile scenic drive that features several places to stop and take pictures or begin hiking trails. Because of her disability, Helen has a lifetime pass to any national park, so we got in for free. That was nice because they have more than doubled the fee from $7 per car to $15 per car.
And so our adventure continues...
Monday, March 12, 2018
NCAA Basketball Championship Odds
The Rampart casino has posted their odds today.
Virginia, Villanova and Duke 5-1
MICHIGAN and Purdue 8-1
MICHIGAN STATE and Arizona 10-1
Cincinnati and North Carolina 12-1
Xavier and Kansas 15-1
Gonzaga 22-1
Kentucky 25-1
They also offer an interesting bet where you can bet on which Seed will win the tourney.
#1 seed 7-5
#2 seed 2-1
#3 seed 9-2
#4 seed 6-1
#5 seed 12-1
#6 thru 16 seed 10-1
Virginia, Villanova and Duke 5-1
MICHIGAN and Purdue 8-1
MICHIGAN STATE and Arizona 10-1
Cincinnati and North Carolina 12-1
Xavier and Kansas 15-1
Gonzaga 22-1
Kentucky 25-1
They also offer an interesting bet where you can bet on which Seed will win the tourney.
#1 seed 7-5
#2 seed 2-1
#3 seed 9-2
#4 seed 6-1
#5 seed 12-1
#6 thru 16 seed 10-1
Friday, March 9, 2018
More Platin'
The Las Vegas roads are packed with vanity plates. Check 'em out.
Ice Cube salesman?
JJ has apparently fallen on tough times?
Rubber-armed pitcher throws a knuckler?
Buckeye fan in LV.
OK, so where are the other dwarfs?
Dinner at Planet Hollywood
Helen and I drove to Planet Hollywood to cash in on a couple of buffet comps that I had earned last month by playing 3 hours of poker during the day until 2 p.m.
They offer this, I suspect, to keep the poker room busy during what is typical a slow time. Most poker is played at night and us daytime players often have trouble finding a vigorous game before the neon lights the Strip.
Anyway, it's a pretty sweet deal for players. It's not hard to play 3 hours and receive the free buffet which is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Dinner is worth $20, so you're earning almost $7 an hour for the buffet, plus $1 an hour on your player card, so it's very generous compared to other poker rooms.
So Helen and I drove down about 4 p.m. with the idea of eating, then watching Eastern Michigan play basketball. After arriving, we ran $40 through a Wheel of Fortune machine and hit....zero!
We then took the elevator down to the buffet area, which has been significantly remodeled since our last visit. The seating area is considerably smaller and the food serving area is about reduced by 1/4.
The quality of the food is the same, there are just fewer choices.
For example, the Italian section had only 3 choices and the seafood area (not our favorite anyway) also had only 4 items to choose from. And they moved the peel-and-eat shrimp from the seafood section to the salad section, who knows why?
Fortunately the Middle Eastern area was still there and I got Helen some chicken and beef kabobs, grilled vegetables, hummus and bread, green beans plus some lasagna. I opted for a big plate of shrimp and Caesar salad for starters. I followed up with chicken and beef kabobs, and lasagna. For dessert, Helen had two lemon &raspberry things, while I had two chocolate cupcakes.
Then we headed to the sports book to check out the EMU game, but we got there early and decided not to stay. The seating isn't conducive to the wheelchair and there were a handful of screaming 20-somethings who made the visit unpleasant. We drove home, watched some TV and called it a day.
But today our adventure continues...
They offer this, I suspect, to keep the poker room busy during what is typical a slow time. Most poker is played at night and us daytime players often have trouble finding a vigorous game before the neon lights the Strip.
Anyway, it's a pretty sweet deal for players. It's not hard to play 3 hours and receive the free buffet which is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Dinner is worth $20, so you're earning almost $7 an hour for the buffet, plus $1 an hour on your player card, so it's very generous compared to other poker rooms.
So Helen and I drove down about 4 p.m. with the idea of eating, then watching Eastern Michigan play basketball. After arriving, we ran $40 through a Wheel of Fortune machine and hit....zero!
We then took the elevator down to the buffet area, which has been significantly remodeled since our last visit. The seating area is considerably smaller and the food serving area is about reduced by 1/4.
The quality of the food is the same, there are just fewer choices.
For example, the Italian section had only 3 choices and the seafood area (not our favorite anyway) also had only 4 items to choose from. And they moved the peel-and-eat shrimp from the seafood section to the salad section, who knows why?
Fortunately the Middle Eastern area was still there and I got Helen some chicken and beef kabobs, grilled vegetables, hummus and bread, green beans plus some lasagna. I opted for a big plate of shrimp and Caesar salad for starters. I followed up with chicken and beef kabobs, and lasagna. For dessert, Helen had two lemon &raspberry things, while I had two chocolate cupcakes.
Then we headed to the sports book to check out the EMU game, but we got there early and decided not to stay. The seating isn't conducive to the wheelchair and there were a handful of screaming 20-somethings who made the visit unpleasant. We drove home, watched some TV and called it a day.
But today our adventure continues...
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