LV Report 4-3-06 (2 of 12)
How nice it was to get a solid nine hours of sleep. The
room I was given is so nice, I'm going to especially ask for it when
I return on Thursday (yes, I'm back here for another three days this
weekend, more on that later). The view at night is fantastic facing
the strip. It's the last room on the corner, so I don't have anyone
on that side of the wall. The temperature is perfect and it's
quiet. Of course, some would complain that right outside the
curtain is the huge Vegas Club flashing neon sign; however, thanks
to the suggestion of one of you Las Vegas Advisor readers, I bought
some potato chip bag clips at the 99-cent store and clipping the
curtains together, it was completely dark. Perfect!
Unlike the showers over at Main Street Station (I'll be
there next week), I can stand straight up while washing my hair.
Unfortunately, there's no hair dryer, but overall, the water
pressure is excellent and everything else about the room is fine.
A lot of people come to Las Vegas for different reasons.
For the many of us who come here more than a few times per year,
we've done the shows, seen the major hotels, and with the exception
of a new opening somewhere (which is every other week), we pretty
much don't run around town as fast as we can to see as much as we
can. For many, they come to gamble, gamble, gamble. They like to
sit at a slot or video poker machine for six hours at a time.
That's perfectly fine for them. I'm usually good for about two
hours a day, then the monitor screen begins to look wavy, and I'm
not making good play decisions. My trips to Vegas are a time for me
to truly relax. This is where I catch up on my movies, my reading,
and a lot of self-thinking. I'm a devout people-watcher and enjoy
sitting at a bar with a beer watching a baseball game (go Padres!).
I budget just enough to enjoy myself each day, and if I have
a day where I lose that day's budgeted money, well, it's
disappointing, but that's okay too. Of course, it's a real bonus
when you don't lose, but again, it's not the real reason I come
here. I bring my own little coffee maker, buy a pound of grinded
Starbucks and sit back in the room each morning reading the paper.
I don't have to run off to work, worry about that day's lesson plan
(I'm a teacher), or fret over having some meeting or another. It's
unwinding brain time, and I enjoy every minute of it.
I had an hour or so before my first session in the slot
tournament, so I went after the DDB (double double bonus) video
poker progressive. In this game, you need to catch a few quads
along the way or you're headed for disaster. I was down $60 when I
caught four 8s. This kept me alive for awhile. By the time I was
in for a hundred, I caught four 2s, which brought me back a bit.
Finally, it was my time to play the slots.
I was at machine 14, which has absolutely no meaning to me
whatsoever. The session is ten minutes long. I used the strategy
of hitting the button with on hand, and then switching to the other
never missing a beat. The others were using their fists, their
palms, and one old, seasoned veteran had gloves on, leaning forward
so as to not miss a thing. After it was all said and done, I had a
total of 3030 points, pretty much right in the average of everyone
else except for some old grizzly lady with a Minnie Pearl hat on who
had racked up over 4000. We signed our cards and left needing to
return at 3:15 for session two. There are three sessions total, and
the combined scores are added up to find out the winners. I fully
expect to be sitting with the others applauding the cash winners
tomorrow.
I headed for Starbucks on Rancho Dr. to file yesterday's
report and check emails. The weather was almost summer-like today
topping 80 degrees. It was nice to drive with the window down for
the first time in months. I then headed on back to the Vegas Club
for my 3:15 PM tournament.
Again, tried as I did, I only scored a little over 3000
points again. I should be right in the middle of the pack, in other
words, outside the money. I'll need a miracle tomorrow to place in
the dough during my final session at 10:15 AM. With my tournament
obligations behind me for the day, I drove over to the Hilton Hotel.
I've heard that if you don't keep your card activated for at
least six months, you lose all your points, so I wanted to put a few
on there. They have my favorite machine there in their huge sports
book, Spin Poker. I played Ugly Deuces on it while watching the
Padres on the big screen. It was an amazing run. I played from
4:30 to 7:00, and though I only hit the deuces once on one line, I
still managed to cash out $100 ahead. I then went to get my cash
back, and lo and behold, I had another $105 coming to me. I can't
leave the Hilton without playing at least one twenty through the
Pick `em machine. I cashed out for $50. Very sweet. It was nice
walking out of the Hilton with some of their money. Oh, and for an
extra bonus, the Padres beat the Giants
yea!
By the way, the big deal about the poker room opening there
is a lot about nothing. It's a very small room with about six
tables and the usual assortment of flat screen TVs. What I did like
was the new remodeling job they've done with the bars. They are
really nice now. The Hilton continues to impress.
After getting back downtown, I once again opted for the soup
and shrimp. With a drink, the meal comes to just over five bucks,
and makes for a filling dinner. I walked downtown a little bit and
watched the show on the Freemont Experience. I've seen them now
dozens of times, so it was no big deal. However, what was
impressing was how many people were there watching it. The walkways
were packed. I remember before the Freemont Experience was built, I
was pretty skeptical that it would attract people to downtown, but
it certainly did. It's nice to see.
Well, once again I go to bed with more money than I woke up
with this morning. Wouldn't it be sweet if this was the case every
day of this trip? I could only dream.
More tomorrow