I just flew back from Las Vegas and boy are my arms tired. "Bud-
Dumph!"
"For me, Las Vegas was Shangrila, Xanadu, and the Big Rock Candy
Mountain all rolled into one."
--Jean
Scott
Now I know what they mean when they say, "What happens in
Vegas, stays in Vegas." What stayed in Vegas for me was some of my
money.
Dolores and I stayed at the Flamingo, but had to play video
poker elsewhere because of all the lousy games there. We played
mostly at the Palms and at the Hilton. The Palms is definitely the
place to play VP. On Friday, I managed to hit a couple of quad Aces
in a short
period of time playing 10/7 DB and the long pinging of the machine,
as it ran up the credits, brought a red-jacked attendant over to
check me out. He watched for a while, then left as soon as he saw
that it wasn't either Bob Dancer or Jean Scott playing, only some guy
wearing a VP Pappy monogrammed shirt. I hoped to be asked to leave as
this is a badge of honor among VP players, but no luck.
Speaking of Jean Scott, Dolores and I had dinner with Jean and
her "charming" husband Brad at the Rio. (she comped) For all of
Jean's friends who are worried about her, she looked fine and was in
good spirits, although she was concerned about some tests that she
had coming up. Nice people, like most pro or semi-pro gamblers that
I've met over the years. It's an honorable society.
"I got cigar boxes full of bad checks from Square John Businessman,
but not one from a gambler."
--Amarillo Slim
If anyone should get over to the Hilton to play some Pick'Em at
the bar, next to the Star Trek room, talk to Sam the bartender.
Sam and I had a running battle of wits and insults for a couple of
days and he helped make our LV visit much more enjoyable. Tell him "
Dimples"
and "Murph The Surf" from Detroit ( our new assumed names at the
place) said Hi! We spared back and forth on Friday for several hours
and when we returned Saturday, Sam saw me coming and stuck napkins in
his ears so he couldn't hear me talking. Funny guy. By the way,
Dolores won $400 Friday, playing Pick'Em, and hit a straight flush on
the dollar machine for $1199, plus another $200 Saturday. Hey! I'm
supposed to be the expert in this family, and I lost.
"Casino: A gaudy smoked-filled den presided over by men with no
necks and patronized by busloads of congenital optimists."
--Rick Bayan "The
Cynics Dictionary"
Although I mostly won playing video poker, I kept playing "Da
Slots" with
Jerry, my brainy engineer friend and his wife Virginia (see "VP DOES
VP IN TC BY BUS" at midwestcasinoguide.com)just to be friendly and
kept giving it back.
I know what you guys think about playing the slots, but just before
you
say anything, let me lay this on you; Virginia hit a progressive slot
machine at the Flamingo for $17,400 while we were standing there
watching. Quite exciting. Lucky, of course, but it can and does
happen to a select few once in a while.
The only show we saw was "Legends" with the Aretha Franklin
imitator being my favorite.
"Ls Vegas is also a cultural center, featuring extravagant
theatrical productions in which world-class performers express the
artistic concept: "Get a load of those hooters."
--Dave Barry
Terry & VP
"There are three things that will always be with us: death, taxes,
and casinos."
--VP Pappy