I've been receiving mail from Terribles for years, even though I don't play
there, with $5 coupons enclosed. Yesterday I decided to have a fun day on my
day off from work by riding the CAT bus up to Flamingo to Terrible's and get
my dough. Bad Idea. Once inside Terribles the first thing I noticed is the
isles are still too narrow, just like they were on opening day. Second thing,
the Mc Donald's is gone and in it's place are slots. I guess Short pay Bonus
Poker is a better thing for Ed Herbst than Big Macs. But not to worry, I avoid
Mc Donald's due to the fries sticking to the roof of my mouth because of the
type of grease they're cooked with.
On to the players club as directed on my coupon. It's still the same tiny
hole in the wall with three boothlings. I couldn't help but notice the huge sign
saying "3X Points On Tuesday And Thursday, slots only." Sent chills down my
back, it did. The line was still long. I got an idea at that point. Why not
move the players club to the former Mc Donalds area, move all the slots from
that room to the old players club but in miniature form. People could stand
and hit tiny buttons as if they were having button hole conversations deceased
relatives in a mausoleum. You get that picture? I think it would work.
When I got to the club window I was informed that I only showed $3 in my
account for the $5 coupon and there wasn't anybody there to up my coupon to $5.
The guy said it so fast I wondered if it was a standard practice to bait and
switch like that. Why, I was crestfallen but accepted the reduced amount and
started my march through the tiny isle maze to the cage then out the door.
Do you think I, JT, will let them get away with this??? I'm JT. I appear in
all the Bob Dancer publications, software, and video poker classes as either
"JT sooted" or "JT off"... [I heard that] I have a way with email. I'm going
to send email to everybody I can find in the Herbst corporation to complain.
My method of complaining goes all the way back to the early 80's when in Los
Angeles and getting a six month bill for the LA Times of which I never
subscribed. The story goes, I was living in a apartment in the corner of the
building with my door facing another door. It was like we could of had one mat and
nobody would have noticed. The people next to me were busy medical students
at UCLA, had subscribed to the Times but never picked up the paper. I got
tired of seeing papers stack up and began reading them, daily in fact. After
about six months I decided to call the Times and tell them of the error. A week
later I got a bill for all six months of my neighbors subscription. I opened
up the paper and copied about thirty names of bureau chiefs, reporters,
editors etc and sent off snail mails. A few days later I got a response from a guy
named Higby apologizing for the mistake and exonerating me from all
financial obligation.
But my day of fun at Terribles and riding the CAT bus was not over. While
waiting for the bus to go back down the Flamingo hill a young man, also waiting
for the bus engaged me in a conversation. He asked If I ever went to
Terribles. I said I was just in there. He asked if I knew two bartenders he named
that worked at the sports bar. I said I don't even drink. He pulled off his
baseball cap to reveal only half a head of hair, said he was twenty six, losing
his hair and made a bet with the bartenders that he would shave his head by
tomorrow. Wanting to handicap some odds I asked how much was the bet. He said
it was just a friendly bet. I was wearing a baseball cap, removed to show my
bald head and said bald is not such a bad thing. I advised him to wear a
baseball cap after shaving his head because women seem to notice me a little
more, not romantically exactly, well sort of. He told me he wears his baseball
cap backwards because it makes him look younger. I put my cap on backwards at
that point.
JT
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