President Obama just declared an H1N1 Emergency.   I had predicted weeks ago that was coming!

And I am starting my 8th week fighting whatever-it-is. Last week I spent 3 days in the hospital with lots of testing that eliminated a lot of maybe-this-is-the-problem issues. And I have more tests tomorrow (Monday) but that will be as an outpatient. Thank goodness. It’s hard running our “life command center” from a hospital bed – although I kept my calendar and cell phone by my side. 

I was in Spring Valley Hospital – same hospital where Brad has been in the past - and just a few minutes from our condo so it is very handy. Nice facility - all rooms there are private ones and at night you have a beautiful view of the Strip lights. I had to laugh during an only-in-Vegas moment when I was being admitted. They gave me a list to check off all my belongings and under the Money Column one of the items was “Casino Chips.” 

I just have not been able to answer all your nice e-mails, but I do really appreciate all the kind words.

In the meantime, here are a few tidbits about driving around Vegas that might be helpful to some of you:

 •Dean Martin Drive (formerly known as Industrial Road) is a very handy way to avoid I-15. You can pick it up near Downtown, at Wyoming (between Charleston and Sahara) and go south on it almost all the way to the M Casino (turning left onto Southern Highland at the south end to actually get to M). Along the way you can turn onto Rio Drive to get to the Rio/Palms/Gold Coast; turn onto Trop to get to NYNY/Excal; turn into a little connector (forget the name) to get up onto Hacienda and get to the back garages of Excal, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay; stop at Silverton; get off on Silverado to go to South Point: and then continue south to M. This street is almost never crowded, even when I-15 has become a parking lot.

 •Koval is a construction nightmare from Trop to Flamingo. Avoid at all costs. It might be longer to use Paradise/Swenson but it is quicker.

 •The Airport Connector, our favorite shortcut from the west side of town to the east, is  in construction mode and will stay there for about a YEAR!

[Add Comment] [Email Blogger]

On March 31 I wrote about our “crawl” through construction from Valley View to east of the Strip. I mistakenly said we were traveling west; obviously we were going east. Last night we came home (which is west of the Strip) from the airport via Trop  and there was no problem traveling west. Right now at least, most of the delay is when you are traveling east. 

Again, I recommend using the DI Arterial as much as possible, especially during high traffic times, to miss the congestion and delays crossing the Strip.

[Add Comment] [Email Blogger]

From the Road Warrior column: “Motorists can expect delays and lane restrictions through September on Tropicana Avenue, from Paradise Road to Interstate 15.” We experienced this first-hand, an almost-an-hour crawl going east on Trop from Valley View to the east side of the Strip. This construction delay is a 24-hour event. And switching to Flamingo isn’t a good alternative if it’s after 9 p.m. since there is lane closure there all night. Thank goodness for the DI Arterial, which is the best way to avoid traffic jams crossing the Strip. 

From Norm’s “Vegas Confidential” column, quoting Bill Maher: “The Federal Reserve says Americans last year lost $11 trillion dollars in household wealth. You know, that is our own stupid, greedy fault for putting money in banks. If we’d lost it in Las Vegas, they would have at least comped the room.”

[Add Comment] [Email Blogger]

Gambling Podcasts

Steve Bourie interviews many well-known gambling names on his monthly podcasts, Anthony Curtis, Max Rubin, John Grochowski, to name a few. This month he and I talk about getting the most for your money when visiting a casino. Also last March we talked about gambling and taxes.  You can see the list at http://americancasinoguide.com/podcasts.shtml and click on any to listen.

Mini-slot Tournaments

Excalibur is starting midday mini slot tournaments Thursdays through Sundays. I know there are others held at Ellis Island, Terrible’s, NY-NY, to name a few. There are more listed at http://lasvegasadvisor.com/tourneyresults.cfm. However, for up-to-date information on any of these, you might want to call the casino near the time you plan to participate. These mini-tournaments have a habit of coming and going with little or no publicity. Some are free; others have a small entry fee, typically $20.

Shuttle To/From New M Resort 

There is a shuttle between the M and the Fashion Show Mall, 7 days a week. Call for schedule near the time you want to ride for up-to-date information.

Machine Stickers

For years on all video poker machines at any Harrah’s property it took $10 to earn one point. Recently in Atlantic City, a few of the video poker machines with better paytables (mainly 9/6 JoB) were changed to give one point for $20 coin-in. Fortunately the machines have a sticker informing the players of this change.

In fact, putting stickers on video poker machines is a relatively new development that players must watch for. The Palms and the new M sticker machines that aren’t eligible for promotions.  Stations casinos sticker their Optimum Play machines stating that they require $4 to earn one point (versus 1 for 1 on other machines). 

I’m all for stickers on bad-schedule video poker machines. What about this sticker: “You cannot win on this machine!"

[Add Comment] [Email Blogger]

I was excited when I heard on the news that airlines were doubling the compensation for bumped passengers. You'll who have been following my travels down through the years know that getting bumped is one of my favorite frugal tricks. But once I read an article giving details about this new airline rule announced by the Transportation Department my excitement quickly changed to “Never mind.” This new mandated increase would only apply to involuntary bumping, not the kind when I volunteer. 

However, with the airlines looking for ways to cope with rising gas costs, by cutting routes and working to fly more full planes, there may be a rise in overbooking. And volunteers may need to be enticed with bigger payment packages so the airline can avoid the higher penalty for involuntary bumping.

Let’s hear it for airline overbooking! 

[Add Comment] [Email Blogger]