Hit ‘em All Nevada – Day 33
I was woken up last night around 2 AM from an argument going on last night between a couple. That in itself is not so unusual but this couple was French and their arguing (not too intense) was interesting. French is such a beautiful language that even arguing sounded romantic. Obviously, I had no clue what they were saying but it was interesting.
I got up early and bought the Internet for the room so I could log in the report from here, but the more important reason was that today is Aug 1, which is the first chance I find out if my two retirement deposits were made. For those of you who don’t know, I retired this year in June (semi-retirement really—I’ll be teaching a drama class after school) and after filling out all the paperwork, making all the necessary requirements, today is the first day I find out if I did everything right. I checked my bank account and they are both there—whew! It’s still a very strange feeling that every month for the rest of my life, that money will be deposited every month and I don’t have to anything—it just doesn’t compute my head just yet.
Today is the annual Mattress Poker Tour (MPT) at the Palazzo. For those of you who are not familiar with this, Bob and Harve of the East Coast Las Vegas Advisor (ECLVA) group organized this a few years ago and it’s exactly as it sounds, a poker tournament played on a mattress in one of their rooms. This year, we’re going to meet at a room on the 40th floor at 3 PM. You can check out this year’s opening ceremonies here:
Mattress Poker Tornament Welome Video
If the above link doesn't work, copy and paste this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Fm5gbIYeE
I finished yesterday’s trip report and was out of the room around 10:30 and drove over to Terrible’s Casino to get some breakfast in their café. I have a lot of food comps saved up there. After some scrambled eggs I had some time to kill, so I played a little bit. The first thing I noticed is that all the full pay jacks have been downgraded to 8/5, so that takes care of the last remaining full pay poker here. I slipped a $20 into the newer Spin Money penny game and chose the green 7s as my spin feature. They came up three times, and I cashed out a small profit. Then I tried a couple more games and finally left with a $30 more than I came into the joint with.
I drove over to the Palazzo around 1:30 by way of Paradise to Sands. This will get you right to the underground parking garage allowing you to completely avoid the Strip traffic. There are always plenty of spaces available and very convenient. I remember so well when Martin and I stayed at the Wynn on a comp when it had just opened and looking over what was to eventually become the Palazzo, but there was just this one monster hole being dug into the ground. Little did I know I’d one day be in that hole, parking my Vue, and heading up in the elevator to the casino.
As most LVA members know, the Palazzo and Venetian have stopped all their low and mid-comps to everyone. Their machines are tight and video poker is poor. However, there’s no denying that the hotels and the casinos are beautiful. Even though it’s a Monday both places are jammed and the casinos are busy. I played some LOTR and a few other games and couldn’t manage anything—not surprising here—you rarely see anyone winning here.
It was 2:45 and I started heading up to the room but never got further than the elevator entrance because the guard wouldn’t let me up without a room key. I called upstairs and asked for someone to come down with a key to let me in. Dave (timberwolf) came down and got me and we finally got up to the room. A few people were running a little late, so the game didn’t get starting until a little before 4 PM.
Harve and Bob furnished some booze and snacks and the game got under way. It is always a great time. The idea that once a year you and your friends travel 3,000 miles to the desert in the middle of the summer to play a game of poker in your room. I’ve been honored to have been invited the past couple of years and it’s always a great time. One of the usual players, Todd, couldn’t make it out this year, but he was there via the Internet on a Skype type site and as you can see in the pictures, was giving his advise (through written signs as his audio wasn’t working) throughout the match.
Personally, I hung in there down to the final table (mattress) and became the bubble boy (the person going out just before the money) busting out in 5th place when my suited connectors 6 and 7 of clubs were beat by Rob’s pocket 8s. I didn’t stay to the end so I’ll report the winner in tomorrow’s report. I was supposed to meet Terry and Louise at the M for dinner, but the game went longer than anticipated, so I text him that I’d meet up with them tomorrow instead. After the game finishes, the whole group of ECLVA will be heading to their next event, a midnight bowling tournament (MBT?). Midnight to 3 AM is no longer in my make-up. Many thanks to Dave (timberwolf) for taking the pics during the tournament.
Jeanne Marie's MPT t-shirt
Jeanne Marie (noahcat) on bed, Cathy on left and Catherine (bigfus) on right
The games begin
Noahcat is the first out and receives a hot chick calendar as first out prize
Quad 10s beat out a full house for the Bad Beat of the day
Final table (mattress). Me in the SDSU jersey and the laptop has Todd looking on
I'm out in 5th--once again the bubble boy
I went back to Ballys and played a little more. The only game I had some success with was a new Wheel of Fortune penny game that uses the Da Vinci Diamonds style of cascading winning combinations. I hit more than my fair share of bonuses and profited a bit, which was good because I had lost once again at video poker—good ol’ video poker has been a real disaster this entire trip. Eventually I went downstairs to get some dinner and headed back to my room. Thanks again to all of the ECLVA gang for including me in your MPT and it’s just a matter of time before ESPN picks up the option and you all become rich and famous.
More tomorrow
I was woken up last night around 2 AM from an argument going on last night between a couple. That in itself is not so unusual but this couple was French and their arguing (not too intense) was interesting. French is such a beautiful language that even arguing sounded romantic. Obviously, I had no clue what they were saying but it was interesting.
I got up early and bought the Internet for the room so I could log in the report from here, but the more important reason was that today is Aug 1, which is the first chance I find out if my two retirement deposits were made. For those of you who don’t know, I retired this year in June (semi-retirement really—I’ll be teaching a drama class after school) and after filling out all the paperwork, making all the necessary requirements, today is the first day I find out if I did everything right. I checked my bank account and they are both there—whew! It’s still a very strange feeling that every month for the rest of my life, that money will be deposited every month and I don’t have to anything—it just doesn’t compute my head just yet.
Today is the annual Mattress Poker Tour (MPT) at the Palazzo. For those of you who are not familiar with this, Bob and Harve of the East Coast Las Vegas Advisor (ECLVA) group organized this a few years ago and it’s exactly as it sounds, a poker tournament played on a mattress in one of their rooms. This year, we’re going to meet at a room on the 40th floor at 3 PM. You can check out this year’s opening ceremonies here:
Mattress Poker Tornament Welome Video
If the above link doesn't work, copy and paste this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Fm5gbIYeE
I finished yesterday’s trip report and was out of the room around 10:30 and drove over to Terrible’s Casino to get some breakfast in their café. I have a lot of food comps saved up there. After some scrambled eggs I had some time to kill, so I played a little bit. The first thing I noticed is that all the full pay jacks have been downgraded to 8/5, so that takes care of the last remaining full pay poker here. I slipped a $20 into the newer Spin Money penny game and chose the green 7s as my spin feature. They came up three times, and I cashed out a small profit. Then I tried a couple more games and finally left with a $30 more than I came into the joint with.
I drove over to the Palazzo around 1:30 by way of Paradise to Sands. This will get you right to the underground parking garage allowing you to completely avoid the Strip traffic. There are always plenty of spaces available and very convenient. I remember so well when Martin and I stayed at the Wynn on a comp when it had just opened and looking over what was to eventually become the Palazzo, but there was just this one monster hole being dug into the ground. Little did I know I’d one day be in that hole, parking my Vue, and heading up in the elevator to the casino.
As most LVA members know, the Palazzo and Venetian have stopped all their low and mid-comps to everyone. Their machines are tight and video poker is poor. However, there’s no denying that the hotels and the casinos are beautiful. Even though it’s a Monday both places are jammed and the casinos are busy. I played some LOTR and a few other games and couldn’t manage anything—not surprising here—you rarely see anyone winning here.
It was 2:45 and I started heading up to the room but never got further than the elevator entrance because the guard wouldn’t let me up without a room key. I called upstairs and asked for someone to come down with a key to let me in. Dave (timberwolf) came down and got me and we finally got up to the room. A few people were running a little late, so the game didn’t get starting until a little before 4 PM.
Harve and Bob furnished some booze and snacks and the game got under way. It is always a great time. The idea that once a year you and your friends travel 3,000 miles to the desert in the middle of the summer to play a game of poker in your room. I’ve been honored to have been invited the past couple of years and it’s always a great time. One of the usual players, Todd, couldn’t make it out this year, but he was there via the Internet on a Skype type site and as you can see in the pictures, was giving his advise (through written signs as his audio wasn’t working) throughout the match.
Personally, I hung in there down to the final table (mattress) and became the bubble boy (the person going out just before the money) busting out in 5th place when my suited connectors 6 and 7 of clubs were beat by Rob’s pocket 8s. I didn’t stay to the end so I’ll report the winner in tomorrow’s report. I was supposed to meet Terry and Louise at the M for dinner, but the game went longer than anticipated, so I text him that I’d meet up with them tomorrow instead. After the game finishes, the whole group of ECLVA will be heading to their next event, a midnight bowling tournament (MBT?). Midnight to 3 AM is no longer in my make-up. Many thanks to Dave (timberwolf) for taking the pics during the tournament.
Jeanne Marie's MPT t-shirt
Jeanne Marie (noahcat) on bed, Cathy on left and Catherine (bigfus) on right
The games begin
Noahcat is the first out and receives a hot chick calendar as first out prize
Quad 10s beat out a full house for the Bad Beat of the day
Final table (mattress). Me in the SDSU jersey and the laptop has Todd looking on
I'm out in 5th--once again the bubble boy
I went back to Ballys and played a little more. The only game I had some success with was a new Wheel of Fortune penny game that uses the Da Vinci Diamonds style of cascading winning combinations. I hit more than my fair share of bonuses and profited a bit, which was good because I had lost once again at video poker—good ol’ video poker has been a real disaster this entire trip. Eventually I went downstairs to get some dinner and headed back to my room. Thanks again to all of the ECLVA gang for including me in your MPT and it’s just a matter of time before ESPN picks up the option and you all become rich and famous.
More tomorrow
