LV Report 4-8-06 (7 of 12)
Well, now begins my second half of the trip. I'm behind in
winnings to this point, but there's plenty of time. One royal would
put me right back in the black, so we'll see. That's the beauty of
playing disciplined play. One win will usually bring you back, but
even if it never hits, I'm still within my recreation budget with no
remorse.
A couple of things to note: I really don't expect beyond
the norm type of service from places like Vegas Club. It's a third
tier type of hotel; clean and efficient. However, last night when
I came into my room, the maid had not only turned down the bed, but
after seeing I brought my own coffee maker, left me a few
prepackaged coffees and accessories including some Styrofoam cups as
well as an extra floor towel for the vanity. I was quite impressed
with this. Obviously, she didn't see my Starbucks coffee and cup on
the shelf. I was taken aback by such nice service at this hotel. I
left a nice tip for her this morning (sexist meI assume it's a
woman).
The view from my room faces the California Hotel just above
its pool area. This would be great if it was open and there were
many bikini clad ladies roaming about. However, it's closed and I
mention this because of the size of the pool. It's abnormally small
for a rather large hotel. It's smaller than many home pools and
there are no chairs or anythingjust a bare pool and some guy out
there doing the usual maintenance on it.
I went to the Starbucks on Paradise by Terribles' Casino to
file yesterday's report and gave Albert (AP), who I was going to
meet for dinner and show that night, a call. He said he was about
to have lunch over at the Palms. So, I drove on over there and
found him with some others in the café.
It was a very nice reunion I wasn't expecting. A little
background first: In 1997 or thereabouts, I came across a chat room
called Curley's Las Vegas Chat room. I don't remember how I found
it or if someone had told me about it, but it was then that I began
chatting with other Las Vegas enthusiasts. Like all chat rooms,
people came in and out, but there were a hard core group of people
that were on almost every night. These people were Lolly, Stan and
Patti, Tullio (who was chatting from Italy), AP and Candice and a
few others. Well, we got to know each other and finally all met in
Vegas sometime around 1998. Though Curley's is gone, we've all
stayed in touch and occasionally hooked up in Vegas. Eventually,
Stan and Patti moved to Vegas from Milwaukee but the rest of us
still come in to town a few times a year. AP and Candice from
Canada, Lolly from Los Angeles County, and even Tullio from Italy.
When I walked up to meet AP, there was everyone except
Lolly. Even Tullio was there. It was great to see them all again.
Also, there were Tom and Sue who run the VPFree site, and it was
super finally meeting them. We had a nice time catching up, and
when their food arrived, I excused myself as I was off to see a
movie. We all agreed to meet tomorrow at the Green Valley Ranch for
dinner at 5:30. AP and I decided we'd have dinner later that
afternoon at Palace Station and then head over to the Stardust for
the Tim Conway and Harvey Korman show, which AP had comped tickets.
I drove over to New York, New York to park and then walked
over to the MGM where my movie was showing. It turned out I had an
hour to kill before showtime, so I walked around the MGM. Am I glad
I did! There was a pageant being held there called the Miss USA
Pageant, and walking everywhere were girls, girls, girls, all
beautiful, all wearing their number attached to the hip. It was
evidently a lunch break as there was a smorgasbord of girls
wondering around the food court. I was in the Charlie's Chocolate
Factory of eye candy. It was as much fun watching the parade of
girls as it was watching the girls looking at the other girls with
askance looks sizing up the competition. I then hustled down to the
CBS Store at the end of the MGM forum and picked up a Late Night
With David Letterman coffee mug as I had broken mine at home a week
before coming. I watch Letterman almost every morning (DVR it)
before going to work, and I MUST have my Letterman cup of coffee
(I'm really only 14 years old).
I headed to the movie theater to see V FOR VENDETTA. This
movie was far better than I thought it would be and stands now as my
favorite of movie of this year so far. Natalie Portman does her
best acting to date. I really liked this one.
After the movie I walked back to New York, New York and
stopped to play Pick `em Poker for a bit. This was a mistake. I
lost $80 at this. I like the game, but the swings between quads and
higher can be hell. I left and drove over to Palace Station to meet
AP for dinner. I was an hour early, and I happened to pass a Triple
Deuces 10-coin nickel machine. I've been on quite a deuces binge
this trip and figured another $20 would be worth a shot while I'm
waiting for AP. Within ten minutes I hit the deuces for a nice
$300.00 win. This is now the eighth time I've hit the deuces this
triprather amazing. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for my first
royal. This win, though it doesn't bring me completely back in the
black, it really helped.
AP and I had dinner at the café in Palace Station. He had
the chicken and I had the catfish dinner. It was REALLY good, but
too large a meal to finish. AP used his Station points for the
meal, and I left the tip. I'm pretty sure my Internet friends are
starting to call me JMan the Mootch. It seems lately that
everywhere I go with them, they're picking up the tab. Of course, I
would if I had the points on my card, but as a lowly nickel player,
I never get enough points. I certainly do appreciate their
generosity, but I still feel a bit guilty about it.
Part of AP's free offer at the Stardust included two tickets
to see Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Along with them was a very
talented female impressionist. The show was what you'd expect it to
be. The two guys doing a lot of their skits from the Carol Burnett
show, taking questions from the audience and generally just having a
good time. It was a fun show and the place was packed. I noticed
two younger guys at the table next to mine, and they certainly were
out of their generation not getting most of the references to all
the old shows of the 60s. However, when Tim Conway did his golfing
Gorf routine, the place was in stitches.
It was the fullest day of my stay this time around in Vegas,
and all the time, I'm fighting off this cold. The Tylenol cough and
decongestant liquid I'm taking tastes terrible and after two days
doesn't seem to do one thing it proclaims on the label. Perhaps a
good night's rest will do the trick.
More tomorrow.