Reaching for the Stars – Chapter 9
I was recently going through some of the posts on the LVA and one by loydthelover caught my attention, who gave us the link to the site, Las Vegas of Yesterday:
https://nevadahistory.wix.com/lasvegasofyesterday
It’s a wonderful site with pictures of many of the older hotels, long gone now, that stirred a lot of memories for me. So, I thought I might share a little of my own Las Vegas history. Considering I’ve been visiting here for the past 42 years writing about this place for the past 12 years, I like to explain my fascination with this city.
In 1972, I was in the U.S. Air Force and had spent my 21st birthday in Da Nang, Viet Nam waiting for my year long deployment to end and hoping to come home in one piece. Though we were restricted to the base, the Viet Cong launched rockets at the base almost every night hoping to hit the fighter jets, but were terrible at aiming them, so they tended to fall all over the base, fortunately, one of them never found me. As a belated present, my older brother said when I came home; he’d treat me to a birthday trip to Las Vegas starting a tradition that I continue to this day with my son (since he turned 21, we’ve come to Vegas for his birthday for the past 19 years).
I remember so well that first trip. We stayed a motel behind Slots-a-Fun, at that time billed as the largest motel in the world (who can forget their legendary one pound hot dogs?). My first show ever was at the then International Hotel (later the Hilton and now the LVH) and starred a young, mustachioed Bill Cosby in the main showroom. The cost was simply a two-drink minimum. After the show, we walked around some and when we came back, we watched Cosby now sitting at a poker table smoking a huge cigar tossing money like I’d never seen before (the table was located next to the showroom where there is now a small high limit slot area). I was fascinated with the way all these men were tossing $100 chips around like play money (in 1972, $100 was almost a week’s pay for me). It was exciting to watch.
Slots of Fun. I remember so well getting sick after eating the entire one pound hotdog
The International Hotel (later the Hilton) is where I saw my first main show with Bill Cosby
It wasn’t long before I started taking overnight charter flights out of San Diego that were sponsored by casinos (the Dunes and the Stardust were the ones I used) and were free as long as you played only in their casino. You’d fly in at about 9 PM, get bussed to the casino, given a badge identifying you and your play tracked by the pit boss, and finally bussed back to the airport around 5 AM back to San Diego. During those days, I limited myself to Craps. I also cheated a lot by taking my badge off and slipping out the side door to visit some other casinos. Eventually, I no longer received any more invitations. But that didn’t deter my excitement of going to Las Vegas. Now, I would just have to make the 5-hour drive each way, which I did at least three or four times a year.
The Dunes is where I discovered cheap food and learned there’s no winning “system” to gambling
The Stardust who claimed the largest neon sign in the world for years. I played live poker for the first time here, but the big game was 7 card stud. Texas Hold ‘em was a long ways off.
I remember running across Las Vegas Blvd (it was only a two way street then) to the Silver Slipper. The Dunes had a small snack bar right in the middle of the casino where they sold hot dogs for a quarter and Cokes for a dime. I couldn’t believe the prices of the food. Breakfast could be had for 99-cents and the ham steaks covered an entire plate. The Stardust had a lounge right in the middle where I watched performers that would start work at 11 PM and play until 4 AM (little did I know that I would one day be that guy when during my band days, we played the Red Lion Inn in Elko, NV starting at 10 PM and finished at 4 AM—the longest hours at a gig in my career as drunk gamblers would wander in screaming for their favorite songs).
I vivid remember walking into the Thunderbird Casino and noticing how run down it seemed. It was a really long building and homeless and beggars were everywhere. I remember most the smoke. It was a low ceiling and now real ventilation. After walking through the casino once, I never went in again. I was soon renamed the Silverbird for a short time and finally the El Rancho, where I had my first $.99 buffet. It was finally torn down in 2000.
The Thunderbird Hotel
I used to just walk down Las Vegas Blvd from the Strip to the downtown area enjoying all the small shops and wedding chapels. My imagination always working whenever I saw shop owners or customers wondering just what was it that put them at the spot at that time. What was their back story? Why did that couple choose THAT wedding chapel? Back in those days, prostitution was overt and commonplace. I got very used to the solicitations just smiling and saying no thanks. I suppose I should have been more careful about my safety, but I simply never felt threatened or worried and nothing has ever happened. Of course, we live in a different world today. The atmosphere and the electricity in the air just got under my skin. Having very little to no money to spend on these trips made it even more interesting because I could only fantasize about what it would be like to get stuff for free, to have bellmen say “sir” and just sign my name for food. It seemed so out of reach—and that was okay. There’s no doubt in my mind the reason I’m an advantage player today with pursuit of comps came from those days of being on the outside looking in.
I soon began reading anything and everything that was Las Vegas. I tried every “sure fire system” devised from the evil Martingale to the 31-Unit bet system. Of course, nothing ever worked. Early in my craps playing stage, I remember being very embarrassed at the Dunes thinking I had the perfect strategy. If I played both the Pass Line AND the Don’t Pass Line at the same time, I couldn’t lose and just hand after hand I’d rack up the “comps” from the pit boss. However, after the first 12 was rolled and I wasn’t paid on the Don’t Pass, and asked what the deal was, everyone at the table simply laughed at me. The boxman explained to me my error and promptly told me to quit reading books about systems. I walked away feeling foolish, but with a very big lesson having been learned. I never walked into the Dunes Hotel and Casino again.
When my little brother, Larry, turned 21 in 1984, my older brother and I took him to Las Vegas for his first Vegas experience. We stayed at the Landmark Hotel (later destroyed for real in the movie MARS ATTACKS). It was Larry’s first time in Las Vegas and he saved about $250 for the trip (a lot of money for him at the time). We checked into the hotel after a long drive, and he wanted to take a nap for an hour or so before we “hit the town.” I went to the room to wake him up and his money was gone. Someone had come into the room and stole all his money, which he foolishly left on the nightstand. He didn’t lock his door. I felt horrible for him. Fortunately, my good friend since high school, Stephen Bishop (some of you might know him from his hit songs “On and ON” and “Separate Lives” in the 70s), had come along with us and he gave Larry $200. I will never forget that wonderful gesture. Needless to say, we have all learned to always lock and bolt our doors since.
The Landmark Hotel – My little brother will never forget this place
I have vivid memories of watching downtown change from the neon string of lights from the Mint and Horseshoe casinos with all-way intersection crossings to what it is today. Before the canopy, driving down Freemont Street was a rite-of-passage for anyone with the latest Corvette Sting Ray to an old beat up Rambler. I remember when the first columns were being constructed for is what is now the Freemont Experience and wondering what was going on. The construction seemed to take forever. A fun night was just hanging out after the canopy was finished which was then using plain colored light bulbs instead of the LEDs today and watching the men flying on bungee-like cords changing the burnt out bulbs with new ones.
For most, this is just another picture of Fremont, but I remember these pink lights on the Mint as if it were yesterday.
I spent my first honeymoon in 1973 staying at the Tropicana. My wife wasn’t a gambler and I was still just learning craps. One night she stayed in the room and I went down to the table, which in those days were $2 minimum bets. Even that seemed like a lot of money to me. I didn’t know very much aside from playing the Pass Line and I was too nervous to play the odds because I wasn’t sure how to do it. The table was full when the dice were given to me. To this day, I’m still a bit in the fog as to how it all went down. I do know that I held the dice for a long time. I was just playing my $2 line bet each time, and I remember winning and winning. Every so often the stickman would push more money my way and I didn’t know why. It seems some of the gamblers at the other end of the table were placing hard way bets for me. At the time I had no clue but I now know I was probably hitting a lot of them. When I finally rolled a seven, everyone applauded and there was a black chip thrown at me from the other end of the table. I asked what was this and some guy said, “That’s yours kid, great roll!” I had NEVER held a black $100 chip before. I scooped up my winnings and took it to the cashier. I had gone down to the table with $20. I came back to the room where my wife was on the bed and like something out of a movie; I threw almost $500 up in the air and onto the bed. I don’t think I slept for the next two days.
The original Tropicana Hotel
The next 20 years after I left the Air Force, I made my living and supported my family by playing in a Top-40 cover band at night and going to college classes during the day. That took its toll on my marriage, but I still managed to get my weekend trips to Las Vegas at least every few months. I went through stages. I finally learned to play craps correctly and with the proper strategy. I still couldn’t afford to play at tables beyond the $5 limit, but at least I was losing money slowly and feeling secure with the attitude “I can afford to lose this much money.” I tried a little blackjack, but I was too impatient to learn card counting and my math skills border on stupidity. I was convinced (and still am to this day) that when I walk up to a blackjack table, there is a 16 stamped on my forehead. I can remember very clearly when I saw my very first video poker machine. It was in the Tropicana Hotel on the second floor as you head to over to the back tower. At that time, I had no clue how to play it and had no idea that this very first Draw Poker machine would one day change everything I know and do in Las Vegas.
One of the first of the video poker machines
Through the years, I continued to read every book I could find. Computers were now coming into our lives and I bought one. I remember my first model required a floppy disc every time to boot it up. The Internet was brand new and thanks to my continuing to go to college (it took me nine years to finally get my Bachelors and Masters) I was privy to the latest technology. I would look for anything Las Vegas and soon came across a chat room board called Curley’s Room. There weren’t a lot of members but those who contributed were hard-core Las Vegas followers. At the time, I was astonished that I could begin a conversation and someone from across the country and even from Italy would respond in real time. It seemed like magic. Many of us from that board have remained in touch today, a good thirty years later. These was the core group that taught what it was like to get free rooms and free food and have a host take care of things for you. I remained a nickel and dime player but I got to enjoy seeing others get all these benefits that I could only dream about. At the time, our casino of choice was Sam’s Town (still two remodels away). I got to hang out with folks and they’d treat me to buffets and lunches all the time. I always felt guilty being the taker and never the giver but they never gave me the impression they ever minded sharing with me. To this day, I’ve never forgotten those times and I go out of my way to give to others now that I’m in that position.
Curley’s Room soon gave way to Loadstone, a site dedicated to “advantage” players, a term that soon became synonymous with my agenda today and the bane of many casinos. After a couple of years, Loadstone soon gave way to an up and coming news journal called the Las Vegas Advisor. In those early years, we used to get our coupons every year in the form of card stock sheets, about six of them. Today of course, the LVA is the standard bearer of players looking for the best bargains and latest news that’s Las Vegas.
From those early days at Sam’s Town (at that time referred by us as Lollytown named after long time member Lolly, who seemed to have that place wrapped around her little finger), the focus began on video poker. Like blackjack, it turns out that video poker, if played close to mathematically perfect, could be a game that the player has the advantage over the casino—hence the term advantage player when combined with the winnings and the comps earned from the slot points accumulated. Soon video poker strategy books began to appear and some video poker stars emerged. Bob Dancer and Jean Scott became the poster kids on how to not to only win money, but to get free rooms, food, and beverages along the way. Soon came a software program called Win Poker that allowed you to practice playing video poker and the program would act as a tutor teaching you the right and wrong cards to hold on any number of different video poker games.
I would sit at my computer hour after hour, day after day, learning first how to correctly play 9/6 Jacks or Better, then Deuces Wild, then many of bonus games that followed. I continued to subscribe to the LVA. I got on all the message boards and asked lots of questions. Members would exchange newly found “deals” that would pop up during the year where the player had an advantage such a multiple point days, or giveaway promotions. It has taken years of practice at the games, and a network of friends before I began actually breaking even and occasionally making a profit at video poker. I began getting a few off-night free or discounted rooms. By this time, my band playing career ended and my teaching career began. I was still in debt and was still making just enough money to get by. Any disposable money I had went to my new hobby: playing video poker and learning to become an advantage player. I could only afford to play VP in denominations of nickels and dimes. Soon, the Strip hotels took out these machines, which left my playing at the local casinos. I loved playing at the Reserve, Sam’s Town, and many of Coast properties who still offered full pay schedules in nickels and dimes.
Today, aside from a few banks of machines around town, everything is ticket-in-ticket-out technology. You can still find plenty of games in nickel denominations, but rarely are they full pay. Like everything else in life, we adapt. It’s been 40 years and I’m still in touch with Lolly, AP, Candace and others from Curley’s Room. I’ve graduated to quarter and dollar play. I’ve moved up from Gold, to Diamond, to now 7 Stars status at Caesars. I’m now “that guy” others come to for answers. I know a lot, but I don’t know everything. I still make mistakes. I’ve been writing about Las Vegas now for two decades and I’m still learning something new all the time. I’m not the coupon crazy guy that consumed me for so long—nowadays I rarely use them and end up giving my LVA coupon book to others. I continue to look for the “deal” but thanks to my Diamond and 7-Stars status, I’m comped pretty much everything I need. I’m enjoying the role of the guy who picks up the check, or gives the free room away. Despite all of this, I still enjoy just walking down the old part of Las Vegas, peering into the windows and wondering who those people are and how did they got here and what do they do here in Las Vegas. Everyone has a story.
I was recently going through some of the posts on the LVA and one by loydthelover caught my attention, who gave us the link to the site, Las Vegas of Yesterday:
https://nevadahistory.wix.com/lasvegasofyesterday
It’s a wonderful site with pictures of many of the older hotels, long gone now, that stirred a lot of memories for me. So, I thought I might share a little of my own Las Vegas history. Considering I’ve been visiting here for the past 42 years writing about this place for the past 12 years, I like to explain my fascination with this city.
In 1972, I was in the U.S. Air Force and had spent my 21st birthday in Da Nang, Viet Nam waiting for my year long deployment to end and hoping to come home in one piece. Though we were restricted to the base, the Viet Cong launched rockets at the base almost every night hoping to hit the fighter jets, but were terrible at aiming them, so they tended to fall all over the base, fortunately, one of them never found me. As a belated present, my older brother said when I came home; he’d treat me to a birthday trip to Las Vegas starting a tradition that I continue to this day with my son (since he turned 21, we’ve come to Vegas for his birthday for the past 19 years).
I remember so well that first trip. We stayed a motel behind Slots-a-Fun, at that time billed as the largest motel in the world (who can forget their legendary one pound hot dogs?). My first show ever was at the then International Hotel (later the Hilton and now the LVH) and starred a young, mustachioed Bill Cosby in the main showroom. The cost was simply a two-drink minimum. After the show, we walked around some and when we came back, we watched Cosby now sitting at a poker table smoking a huge cigar tossing money like I’d never seen before (the table was located next to the showroom where there is now a small high limit slot area). I was fascinated with the way all these men were tossing $100 chips around like play money (in 1972, $100 was almost a week’s pay for me). It was exciting to watch.
Slots of Fun. I remember so well getting sick after eating the entire one pound hotdog
The International Hotel (later the Hilton) is where I saw my first main show with Bill Cosby
It wasn’t long before I started taking overnight charter flights out of San Diego that were sponsored by casinos (the Dunes and the Stardust were the ones I used) and were free as long as you played only in their casino. You’d fly in at about 9 PM, get bussed to the casino, given a badge identifying you and your play tracked by the pit boss, and finally bussed back to the airport around 5 AM back to San Diego. During those days, I limited myself to Craps. I also cheated a lot by taking my badge off and slipping out the side door to visit some other casinos. Eventually, I no longer received any more invitations. But that didn’t deter my excitement of going to Las Vegas. Now, I would just have to make the 5-hour drive each way, which I did at least three or four times a year.
The Dunes is where I discovered cheap food and learned there’s no winning “system” to gambling
The Stardust who claimed the largest neon sign in the world for years. I played live poker for the first time here, but the big game was 7 card stud. Texas Hold ‘em was a long ways off.
I remember running across Las Vegas Blvd (it was only a two way street then) to the Silver Slipper. The Dunes had a small snack bar right in the middle of the casino where they sold hot dogs for a quarter and Cokes for a dime. I couldn’t believe the prices of the food. Breakfast could be had for 99-cents and the ham steaks covered an entire plate. The Stardust had a lounge right in the middle where I watched performers that would start work at 11 PM and play until 4 AM (little did I know that I would one day be that guy when during my band days, we played the Red Lion Inn in Elko, NV starting at 10 PM and finished at 4 AM—the longest hours at a gig in my career as drunk gamblers would wander in screaming for their favorite songs).
I vivid remember walking into the Thunderbird Casino and noticing how run down it seemed. It was a really long building and homeless and beggars were everywhere. I remember most the smoke. It was a low ceiling and now real ventilation. After walking through the casino once, I never went in again. I was soon renamed the Silverbird for a short time and finally the El Rancho, where I had my first $.99 buffet. It was finally torn down in 2000.
The Thunderbird Hotel
I used to just walk down Las Vegas Blvd from the Strip to the downtown area enjoying all the small shops and wedding chapels. My imagination always working whenever I saw shop owners or customers wondering just what was it that put them at the spot at that time. What was their back story? Why did that couple choose THAT wedding chapel? Back in those days, prostitution was overt and commonplace. I got very used to the solicitations just smiling and saying no thanks. I suppose I should have been more careful about my safety, but I simply never felt threatened or worried and nothing has ever happened. Of course, we live in a different world today. The atmosphere and the electricity in the air just got under my skin. Having very little to no money to spend on these trips made it even more interesting because I could only fantasize about what it would be like to get stuff for free, to have bellmen say “sir” and just sign my name for food. It seemed so out of reach—and that was okay. There’s no doubt in my mind the reason I’m an advantage player today with pursuit of comps came from those days of being on the outside looking in.
I soon began reading anything and everything that was Las Vegas. I tried every “sure fire system” devised from the evil Martingale to the 31-Unit bet system. Of course, nothing ever worked. Early in my craps playing stage, I remember being very embarrassed at the Dunes thinking I had the perfect strategy. If I played both the Pass Line AND the Don’t Pass Line at the same time, I couldn’t lose and just hand after hand I’d rack up the “comps” from the pit boss. However, after the first 12 was rolled and I wasn’t paid on the Don’t Pass, and asked what the deal was, everyone at the table simply laughed at me. The boxman explained to me my error and promptly told me to quit reading books about systems. I walked away feeling foolish, but with a very big lesson having been learned. I never walked into the Dunes Hotel and Casino again.
When my little brother, Larry, turned 21 in 1984, my older brother and I took him to Las Vegas for his first Vegas experience. We stayed at the Landmark Hotel (later destroyed for real in the movie MARS ATTACKS). It was Larry’s first time in Las Vegas and he saved about $250 for the trip (a lot of money for him at the time). We checked into the hotel after a long drive, and he wanted to take a nap for an hour or so before we “hit the town.” I went to the room to wake him up and his money was gone. Someone had come into the room and stole all his money, which he foolishly left on the nightstand. He didn’t lock his door. I felt horrible for him. Fortunately, my good friend since high school, Stephen Bishop (some of you might know him from his hit songs “On and ON” and “Separate Lives” in the 70s), had come along with us and he gave Larry $200. I will never forget that wonderful gesture. Needless to say, we have all learned to always lock and bolt our doors since.
The Landmark Hotel – My little brother will never forget this place
I have vivid memories of watching downtown change from the neon string of lights from the Mint and Horseshoe casinos with all-way intersection crossings to what it is today. Before the canopy, driving down Freemont Street was a rite-of-passage for anyone with the latest Corvette Sting Ray to an old beat up Rambler. I remember when the first columns were being constructed for is what is now the Freemont Experience and wondering what was going on. The construction seemed to take forever. A fun night was just hanging out after the canopy was finished which was then using plain colored light bulbs instead of the LEDs today and watching the men flying on bungee-like cords changing the burnt out bulbs with new ones.
For most, this is just another picture of Fremont, but I remember these pink lights on the Mint as if it were yesterday.
I spent my first honeymoon in 1973 staying at the Tropicana. My wife wasn’t a gambler and I was still just learning craps. One night she stayed in the room and I went down to the table, which in those days were $2 minimum bets. Even that seemed like a lot of money to me. I didn’t know very much aside from playing the Pass Line and I was too nervous to play the odds because I wasn’t sure how to do it. The table was full when the dice were given to me. To this day, I’m still a bit in the fog as to how it all went down. I do know that I held the dice for a long time. I was just playing my $2 line bet each time, and I remember winning and winning. Every so often the stickman would push more money my way and I didn’t know why. It seems some of the gamblers at the other end of the table were placing hard way bets for me. At the time I had no clue but I now know I was probably hitting a lot of them. When I finally rolled a seven, everyone applauded and there was a black chip thrown at me from the other end of the table. I asked what was this and some guy said, “That’s yours kid, great roll!” I had NEVER held a black $100 chip before. I scooped up my winnings and took it to the cashier. I had gone down to the table with $20. I came back to the room where my wife was on the bed and like something out of a movie; I threw almost $500 up in the air and onto the bed. I don’t think I slept for the next two days.
The original Tropicana Hotel
The next 20 years after I left the Air Force, I made my living and supported my family by playing in a Top-40 cover band at night and going to college classes during the day. That took its toll on my marriage, but I still managed to get my weekend trips to Las Vegas at least every few months. I went through stages. I finally learned to play craps correctly and with the proper strategy. I still couldn’t afford to play at tables beyond the $5 limit, but at least I was losing money slowly and feeling secure with the attitude “I can afford to lose this much money.” I tried a little blackjack, but I was too impatient to learn card counting and my math skills border on stupidity. I was convinced (and still am to this day) that when I walk up to a blackjack table, there is a 16 stamped on my forehead. I can remember very clearly when I saw my very first video poker machine. It was in the Tropicana Hotel on the second floor as you head to over to the back tower. At that time, I had no clue how to play it and had no idea that this very first Draw Poker machine would one day change everything I know and do in Las Vegas.
One of the first of the video poker machines
Through the years, I continued to read every book I could find. Computers were now coming into our lives and I bought one. I remember my first model required a floppy disc every time to boot it up. The Internet was brand new and thanks to my continuing to go to college (it took me nine years to finally get my Bachelors and Masters) I was privy to the latest technology. I would look for anything Las Vegas and soon came across a chat room board called Curley’s Room. There weren’t a lot of members but those who contributed were hard-core Las Vegas followers. At the time, I was astonished that I could begin a conversation and someone from across the country and even from Italy would respond in real time. It seemed like magic. Many of us from that board have remained in touch today, a good thirty years later. These was the core group that taught what it was like to get free rooms and free food and have a host take care of things for you. I remained a nickel and dime player but I got to enjoy seeing others get all these benefits that I could only dream about. At the time, our casino of choice was Sam’s Town (still two remodels away). I got to hang out with folks and they’d treat me to buffets and lunches all the time. I always felt guilty being the taker and never the giver but they never gave me the impression they ever minded sharing with me. To this day, I’ve never forgotten those times and I go out of my way to give to others now that I’m in that position.
Curley’s Room soon gave way to Loadstone, a site dedicated to “advantage” players, a term that soon became synonymous with my agenda today and the bane of many casinos. After a couple of years, Loadstone soon gave way to an up and coming news journal called the Las Vegas Advisor. In those early years, we used to get our coupons every year in the form of card stock sheets, about six of them. Today of course, the LVA is the standard bearer of players looking for the best bargains and latest news that’s Las Vegas.
From those early days at Sam’s Town (at that time referred by us as Lollytown named after long time member Lolly, who seemed to have that place wrapped around her little finger), the focus began on video poker. Like blackjack, it turns out that video poker, if played close to mathematically perfect, could be a game that the player has the advantage over the casino—hence the term advantage player when combined with the winnings and the comps earned from the slot points accumulated. Soon video poker strategy books began to appear and some video poker stars emerged. Bob Dancer and Jean Scott became the poster kids on how to not to only win money, but to get free rooms, food, and beverages along the way. Soon came a software program called Win Poker that allowed you to practice playing video poker and the program would act as a tutor teaching you the right and wrong cards to hold on any number of different video poker games.
I would sit at my computer hour after hour, day after day, learning first how to correctly play 9/6 Jacks or Better, then Deuces Wild, then many of bonus games that followed. I continued to subscribe to the LVA. I got on all the message boards and asked lots of questions. Members would exchange newly found “deals” that would pop up during the year where the player had an advantage such a multiple point days, or giveaway promotions. It has taken years of practice at the games, and a network of friends before I began actually breaking even and occasionally making a profit at video poker. I began getting a few off-night free or discounted rooms. By this time, my band playing career ended and my teaching career began. I was still in debt and was still making just enough money to get by. Any disposable money I had went to my new hobby: playing video poker and learning to become an advantage player. I could only afford to play VP in denominations of nickels and dimes. Soon, the Strip hotels took out these machines, which left my playing at the local casinos. I loved playing at the Reserve, Sam’s Town, and many of Coast properties who still offered full pay schedules in nickels and dimes.
Today, aside from a few banks of machines around town, everything is ticket-in-ticket-out technology. You can still find plenty of games in nickel denominations, but rarely are they full pay. Like everything else in life, we adapt. It’s been 40 years and I’m still in touch with Lolly, AP, Candace and others from Curley’s Room. I’ve graduated to quarter and dollar play. I’ve moved up from Gold, to Diamond, to now 7 Stars status at Caesars. I’m now “that guy” others come to for answers. I know a lot, but I don’t know everything. I still make mistakes. I’ve been writing about Las Vegas now for two decades and I’m still learning something new all the time. I’m not the coupon crazy guy that consumed me for so long—nowadays I rarely use them and end up giving my LVA coupon book to others. I continue to look for the “deal” but thanks to my Diamond and 7-Stars status, I’m comped pretty much everything I need. I’m enjoying the role of the guy who picks up the check, or gives the free room away. Despite all of this, I still enjoy just walking down the old part of Las Vegas, peering into the windows and wondering who those people are and how did they got here and what do they do here in Las Vegas. Everyone has a story.
