March Madness, bruised hips...a guys Vegas trip.

PROLOGUE:
Madman Mike and I started to plan out our annual guys trip last November. Jersey Mark jumped on board, but true to his past behavior, didn't book his flight until the last minute. I booked 4 nights at the Rio for Mike and I (comped) and offered Mark a couple of free nights at the Gold Coast, but he declined and got a room at the Palms. I had lucked out when I booked the suite at the Rio....I made the reservation the day before CET changed their policy concerning resort fees for comped rooms...saved myself $100. Car rental prices were all over the map, but I finally was able to get a full sized car from Enterprise for $234 for the week. I left the show selection to Mark and Mike...two guys from New Jersey..okay let's see the Jersey Boys at Paris and an after show dinner at BLT steak next door at Bally's. Game, set, match..now all we had to do is endure the Minnesota winter..damn, coldest Feb. that I can recall. Started to check the Vegas weather reports about 2 weeks before the trip.....temperatures predicted to be in the 70's....YES!!!

MONDAY 3/16
Mike and I finished our night shift on Monday morning and each of us rushed home to do some last minute packing and squeeze in some zzz's before heading to the airport. I told Madman that I would pick him up at 1:30. My phone rang at 2pm....I overslept...yikes. Twenty minutes later I picked up Mike and set a new personal record in getting up to the Cities. Made it to the park and fly lot exactly 60 minutes after leaving Rochester. Since we had upgraded to first class, we bypassed the TSA lines and breezed thru security. First thing on the agenda was a double Hendricks gin and tonic at the bar...ahhhh. The flight left on time, dinner was a pasta salad, chicken breast with roasted red potatoes. I passed on the warm chocolate cookie for dessert and dozed off until shortly before landing.

Usually when I fly Sun Country to Vegas we land at terminal 3...this time we pulled up to one of the "D" gates and we had to take a tram to terminal 3 to pick up our bags. We were in and out of the rental center in 15 minutes after arriving, driving a new Toyota Camry. Took the "back" roads to the Rio, slipped the clerk at the Diamond check-in desk a Jackson and got upgraded to a Samba suite in the Masquerade tower. Nice room, overlooking the south Strip, no noise issues from the VooDoo lounge. I left a note for the maid to be sure to leave coffee for the coffee machine along with a box of Kleenex tissues which she furnished the next morning. We gave a call to Jersey Mark and he walked over from the Palms while we were unpacking. First stop of the night was some blackjack at the Golden Gate downtown. Mark doesn't gamble too much, so we had him sit between us so that we could coach his play. It was a typical first night session for me...lose my ass the first 30 minutes and then spend the rest of the night clawing my way back to even. It took me two hours, but I made it and then went into the plus column. Madman left the table for the restroom when the most notable hand of the night happened. I was dealt two 3's, Mark a queen and a "2", dealer a face up "6". Split the 3's, get dealt another 3, split, another 3, split. I get decent cards hitting a 17, two 18's and I double down on the last 3 for a 20. Before I can say anything, Mark motions for a card which the dealer promptly gives him...Nooooooo!. He gets a 10 for a bust. The dealer flips over her hole card, it's a jack, then deals herself a 4 for a "20" I lose three hands and push on my double down...sigh.... took a long pull from my bottle of Heinekens and shook it off. I ended up down about $100 for the night. Shortly before we left I ran into another LVA member, Timberwolf, whom I had met and hung out with on my last trip in December. He was enjoying what seemed to be many libations at the bar, compliments of a very lovely female bartender. We chatted for a while, with promises to get together tomorrow downtown.

Picked up the Camry from the valet and then drove down to the Spearmint Rhino, Mark's favorite place. The "talent" was first rate, with many girls sitting and talking with us before offering a lap dance. Of course, there were the sharks that immediately pressured you to go to the VIP room; no thanks. One particular stripper really got nasty with Mike...she wanted to be comped for sitting and talking with us...that's not going to happen. Mike finally got up and left...she looked at me...I shook my head...she got up walked five feet away and starting on hitting on some other poor sucker. I thought Mike had left, but in a minute he returned. Meanwhile, Mark was busy in the VIP room. The evening (early morning) ended in the usual manner. Mark had blown through his money, I got bored, and Madman wanted to stay. Mark and I headed back to the hotel, leaving Mike to fend for himself. I played some VP at the shutters bar at the Rio, after dropping Mark off at the Palms. The Heinekens were going down smoothly and the music that they play at night at the bar is first rate..all the tunes from the late 60's early 70's. It got to be 4:30 and I decided to get some sleep. Halfway to the elevator I ran into Mike...."You tired?", "Nah...let's play some craps!" We each bought in for $200 and couldn't get anything going. We each quickly lost $100 and decided to call it quits and close the books on day #1 in Vegas around 6AM.

Very nice, Larry! Keep 'em coming!

Sorry to read about the Splitting 3s incident. Did anyone explain to Mark the math that says that with 12 the player is better off standing versus a Dealer's 4, 5 or 6? And I guess it doesn't help things that the card that he shouldn't have taken would have caused the dealer to Bust!

Maybe you should make it back to El Cortez for some good 21 (although I know that things didn't go well for you when we played there but I've done good there overall).

RecVPPlayer

TUESDAY 3/17---Luck of the Irish
We rolled out of bed at 10AM ready for the day(yeah, right). Breakfast was at HHAGG at the Rio. They were pretty busy so we ended up sitting at the counter. Good food and plenty of it. Texted Mark where we were and he arrived a short time later; ordered a glass of juice and then said he wasn't feeling well and was heading back to the Palms for some more sleep. After our late breakfast we decided to head downtown to check out the St Patrick's Day festivities. There wasn't a lot of things going on the FSE in the early afternoon, not a big crowd as of yet and the bands were just getting set up. The so called "street" performers were out and I wish I hadn't seen some of them...I still am having nightmares. There was a couple of guys wearing nothing but a type of thong that barely covered their 'privates" and nothing else. One of them was a really old guy...seeing his old wrinkled butt as he bent over....I may need therapy to get over that picture. Another "vision" was a heavy set lady wearing a thong and pasties over her breasts. I'm all for free speech, but this is pushing it. Parents should definitely refrain from bringing their kids downtown if this kind of stuff continues to happen. We played some VP at the Vue bar and some BJ back at the Gate, then headed back to the Rio to get ready the show.

Picked Mark up at the Palms and self parked at Paris. I played some VP, broke even while Mark and Mike took a tour of the casino. We went to the early show (6:30pm) and felt like youngsters in the theater....a lot of elderly people in the audience. Mark and Mike being born and raised in New Jersey really like the show....I think they were having flashbacks of back home. This was the 3rd time that I have seen this show and I still consider it one of the best shows that Vegas has to offer. After the show it was time for a great dinner at BLT Steak at Bally's.

I had made a reservation for 9PM through Open Table. The restaurant wasn't crowded, so I don't know if a reservation would have been required on this particular night. Our waiter was a great guy and anticipated our every need and whim. I ordered a glass of Far Niente chardonnay to start things off. Mark and I ordered the NY dry aged strip steak while Mike had the filet. Side dishes were an order of asparagus, stuffed mushrooms and creamed spinach. Our waiter brought us some pate to try...delicious as well as their famous popovers, again very tasty. I ordered a Stags Leap merlot to go with my steak...great tasting wine. The meal went at a leisurely pace and we were too stuffed to even think about desserts. Harrah's had sent me an e-mail earlier in the day on my I-phone with discounts and specials one of which was for 20% off at BLT Steak. I showed the waiter the offer on my phone, he took it over to the manager and came back in a minute and said that they would honor the discount...sweet. The damages came to a little over $300...about what I expected for a steakhouse on the Strip. My steak was delicious; hands down beat the steak I had at Ruth Chris at Harrahs last fall. We'll be back next year.

Mark said that he was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel...WTF?....dude, you slept all afternoon, and you are leaving in the morning! Couldn't talk him into heading out on the town. We dropped him off back at the Palms and headed for the Gate downtown. When I pulled into the valet I was told that they were full...a first. Drove over to the self park at the Nugget....full. We ended up parking over in the area south of the bus depot for 5 bucks. Things had really picked up on the FSE since this afternoon. place was a madhouse.

We met Timberwolf and his friend Julie playing blackjack at the Gate. We joined their table and had a riot playing with them the rest of the night. Julie couldn't get over that my nickname is BigLar, as I stand 5'5" tall and that's on a good day. I wasn't what she had envisioned. No matter, we were old friends within 5 minutes, high fiveing and hugging each other with each blackjack win, and win we did. After a while Julie decided that she wanted to play craps so Mike and I joined at a table and the fun really began. Julie was jumping up and down giving Mike and I "hip checks" every time one of her bets won. A lady down on the other end of the table had a good run and we made a tidy profit from our craps session, along with having a wild and crazy time with Julie's antics. We rejoined the blackjack table only to learn that our favorite dealer, Tina, had run into some trouble with one of the players. Earlier in the evening, two women sat down at our table, one of which had extremely LARGE breasts and was wearing a top that barely covered them. If she would have sneezed, those puppies would have busted loose. Anyhow, after we had left for the craps table, this woman and Tina had some "words" and this bitch picked up her chips, got off of her chair and then threw her drink at Tina and promptly exited the Casino. Crazy stuff. Julie had finally run out of gas, so Timberwolf left with her to take her back to the DTG. Mike and I packed it in, headed off to the Rio, I played some VP at the bar, had one last Heinekens and then crashed. Another great day in Vegas. I'll try and wrap this up tomorrow..........

Thanks for posting, enjoying your report so far.

Great report so far. Sounds like you had a fun trip!

Thanks for Part 2 of your report and that's great that you also were able to hang out and play alongside other LV lovers.

And it's too bad that Tina had that confrontation with the patron, but I know that things happen.

RecVPPlayer

WEDNESDAY 3/18:
Mike and I were up at the crack of 10:30, both of us a little blurry eyed...glad I took a dose of Pedialyte before falling asleep. Shake the cobwebs off and make the first big decision of the day..where to have breakfast....Peppermill. The parking lot at the restaurant was as full as I have ever seen it, which did not bode well. The place was packed, no room at the counter and over a dozen people waiting for a table...we're outta here. We drove down to the Gate(naturally) and had breakfast at the counter at Dupars, using our $15 food credit. A grizzled old guy sitting next to MadMan starting spouting off about how he knows all about good food and where to get it here in Vegas, as the server placed a heaping plate of meatloaf with all the trimmings in front of him. Mikey asked him where the best place in Vegas was. His reply was, "McDonalds"....so much for the expert opinion. Mike and I had the Denver omelets, which were delicious. We bid adieu to our culinary "expert" and headed out to the blackjack tables. We played for about an hour with a new dealer, Carl. He was kind of quiet, concentrating on his dealing at first, but warmed up to us after a while and laughed at our jokes. Played some craps and chatted with Steven, the boxman, who knows me(we are from the same hometown back in Michigan) and treats me well. I think we made a little money and after a hour we decided to take a walk down the FSE.

We ended up again at the Vue bar and played VP for a couple of hours...not winning, but not losing too much either. We stopped into the 4 Q's so that I could play the Silver Strike slot next to the cashiers cage. My $20 yielded me three coins to add to my collection. It was getting close to dinner time, but Mikey was still full from the omelet. I had the LVA BOGO coupon for coney dogs at the American Coney Island at the D so we used that and scarfed down a coney dog, heavy on the onions....which ended up being dinner, being the gambling degenerates that we are.

We strolled back to the Gate and parked ourselves at a blackjack table and spent the next nine and a half hours playing cards; never changed tables. When MadMan and I were alone at the table, we would each hit a winning streak and when we had other players at the table we would lose. I can't believe how many people are clueless when it comes to playing blackjack. We saw so many bonehead plays during the course of the evening, it was amazing. Standing on 12,13 or 14 against the dealer's ten. Splitting tens against a dealers face card. Standing on a soft 16 and finally, hitting on a hard 19...just to name a few. The frustrating thing was that these guys were winning consistently and we were losing. One woman was winning and her decisions were totally baffling. Mike got so upset that he walked away from the table and I quit playing until the woman quit with a tidy profit after about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile I got a text from Julie saying that a couple of guys from their group was downtown and were dropping by the Gate. She sent me a picture of them and told me to be on the lookout. I scanned the casino and thought I saw one of them over by the bar. I told Mikey to watch my chips and that I would be right back. Turns out that it wasn't the guy and we never did see them that evening. Turns out that I was one lucky SOB for leaving the table at that particular time. While I was on my scouting mission for these two guys, some drunkard walked by our blackjack table and proceeded to puke all over the floor and on my chair. If I had been playing at the table I would have been at "ground zero". A clean up crew was quickly on the scene; one of them giving me "the look"....hey it wasn't me!!! I think we both lost a little that evening, we got to know the pit crew and the dealers pretty well.

Picked up the car from the valet and headed back to the Rio. Madman was fried at that point and headed for the room while I decided to play some VP at the shutters bar and have one last Heineken. I had a really attractive young damsel sit a couple of chairs down from me, and then a few minutes later move over to the stool next to mine and start playing video poker. No words were spoken, but she would look over and smile at me every now and then. After about 5 minutes she cashed out and walked away...most likely a hooker. But I have to say that they have cleaned up the shutters bar at night because that was the only possible hooker I saw at the bar for the entire trip; in years past, the shutters bar at the Rio was the late night hooker's central. While I was playing the bartender walked over and starting talking to a guy about six chairs down from me, he looked like he had fallen asleep. The bartender's tone grew louder and louder, but still no response from this guy. He finally walked from behind the bar and gave him a good shake....nothing...geesh, I think the guy is dead. Finally, after several more good shakes from the bartender the guy awoke from his stupor, said he was all right so the bartender left him alone. I guess as long as he could still sit in the chair and not fall down, all is good. Cashed out with a $20 win and headed back to the room.

THURSDAY 3/19
We again woke up in the late morning hours...man, I could use some more sleep, but it's Vegas and there are things to do and see. I used another LVA BOGO coupon for the Rio lunch buffet..good deal at a great price. There was a good selection of food and we stuffed ourselves after not having a real dinner the night before. Today was the first full day of March Madness basketball and the Rio sportsbook was crazy busy. People cheering and people moaning with each made or missed basket. The betting lines moved swiftly; I made a few bets on a couple of underdogs, which turned out to be losers...sigh. I also made a futures bet for my brother, a season ticket holding Packer team "owner" to win the Super Bowl next season at 4:1 odds. I hope he can hang on to this ticket. Several years ago I bought a ticket that the Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup...and they did! Unfortunately, my brother misplaced the ticket. It has been a running joke between us about it. About a month before this trip I got a call from my brother. He was cleaning out one of his desk drawers, and stuck in the back of the drawer.....was the ticket! I told him that he should have it framed.

Mike had promised his wife that he would get some presents for his two kids at the M & M store located on the south Strip. We parked the Camry at the Ballys/Paris self parking area and I texted Timberwolf that we were in the Paris Casino. They had moved from downtown to Paris the previous day. A few minutes later I got a call from him and he came down to meet us. Whoa, it must have been one hell of a night for Timberwolf...looking like he had been "road hard and put up wet". We cruised the casino and found Julie, chatted for a bit and then decided to get together later in the afternoon for drinks at the Diamond Lounge.

What a mess walking down the east side of the strip....costumed performers, people hawking nightclub passes, gawkers standing in the middle of the sidewalk and escalators out of service. After purchasing some outfits for his kids, Mike and I crossed the Blvd, walked thru the Monte Carlo and took the tram up to the Bellagio. The conservatory was under construction as they were changing the display to their spring theme. Damn, I need a drink. Lucky for us we were able to get a couple places at Bally's bar. We ordered up a couple of Heinekens, played some VP and watched the basketball games on the overhead TV's. The guy next to me hit a $1600 handpay...nice. I hit a couple of quads playing JOB and cashed out with a $100 profit. Timberwolf called and told us to come up to see their room. They had a really nice one, with a huge bathroom area...probably as big as a regular room at the Golden Gate. We ended up having drinks in the Diamond Lounge, thanks to the generosity of Timberwolf and Julie. Those lemon drop martinis go down really smoooooooth. A couple of more people from Timberwolf's group joined us and we had great conversation. They had dinner reservations at El Segundo Del Sol...some kind of special dinner that the restaurant offers once a month. Timberwolf asked us several times to join them, but I couldn't convince Mike to try some excellent Mexican food and Tequila, so we had to pass up the offer. Mike and I hung around after they left and had one more drink and grabbed some food from the buffet(turned out to be dinner)...I had a chocolate martini...every nice. I could have very easily sat in the lounge all night drinking free booze, but alas...it"s Vegas and there are things to see and do!. I was approached by a "suit" as we were leaving...the guy shook my hand and thanked us for dropping by...no, thank YOU!

Now, where do you think we ended up for the rest of the night?.....right...back downtown to the Gate. We found a blackjack table and played until the wee hours. I did well this session, down $200 at first, then up $400 and then ending with a little over $200 win. MadMan did well at first, started pressing his bets, then losing and then started to chase. We had 3 guys from Arizona sit at our table for several hours. They were doing well. Just before they decided to leave, one guy started upping his bets and went on a 15 minute streak where he could not lose....it was amazing to watch this run of luck...and fun too. They had to come and replenish the black chips at our table..they didn't have any purples. The guy finally quit walking away with over 3 grand easily.

Later, we had a guy sit at our table and buy in for $20 ($10 minimum)...I hate these kind of players. He lost two hands, bought in for another $20 and finally won a hand. He made a snide remark to Tina, our dealer, about that it was the first time he had seen her smile. One thing for sure...Tina is a great and friendly dealer, but she does not stand for any crap by a player who is rude. She looked at him square in the face and told him off. What a jerk. The prize for the most noteworthy player at our table was this greasy, old drunk guy who sat down next to me late in the evening. He bought a pack of cigarettes from the cigar/cigarette lady. He opened the pack and then pulled the filter off of the cigarette and lit up. Classy guy. He bought in for $20, lost it, bought in for another $20. Meanwhile he orders a beer, doesn't tip the CW and is dropping ashes all over the table even though he has an ashtray in front of him. I'm choking on the smoke, and he is lighting up one cigarette after another; after pulling off the filter of course. Finally his wallet is empty and he leaves the table, but leaves a $5 chip when he walks away. When he doesn't come back, I push the chip to the dealer and tell her it's hers. It's getting late and I want to leave, but MadMan is still in chase mode. I finally cash out to preserve my win and sit at the bar to slow play some VP while Mikey plays on. Around 5 AM we call it quits and head for home. Mike calls for a late check out which thankfully is granted to us...a win! Lights out at 0600.

FRIDAY 3/20:
I'm up at 11:30, shower and pack as Mikey struggles to get out of bed. It's been a long trip, with little sleep. Check out was short and sweet..threw the bags in the Camry and drove over to the Orleans to have lunch at Big Al's Oyster Bar. MadMan had a big bowl of chowder while I had a half dozen oysters, a small cup of chowder and a crab poorboy sandwich. Our server chided me for not using enough horseradish on my oysters. Hey after trying my father's homemade horseradish years ago...I swore off the stuff for life. The first year my Dad made it, he cooked it up in the basement...after that, my Mom banished him to the garage the following years when he made this lethal concoction.

Of course, we ended up back at our usual haunt, the Gate. Played some BJ then down to the Vue bar for VP and then back to the Gate for craps and more blackjack. All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Vegas trips, unfortunately. Dropped off the car without incident, upgraded to first class and headed for our boarding gate. Dinner was a sandwich at Puck's restaurant over by the D concourse...very tasty turkey club. We flew the redeye back to Minnesota....my on board T & T put me out for most of the flight back. Landed to 30 degree temperatures. This was the first time on one of our late winter/early spring Vegas trips that I didn't have to drive home in a snowstorm...take that Old Man Winter! Pulled into my driveway at 07:30, fed my cat, Nick, and slept most of the day. I'm getting too old for this .....maybe not.

EPILOGUE:
First and foremost I want to thank Timberwolf and Julie for being such great people to hang out with in Vegas. Next time I play craps with Julie, I will remember to wear padding for those "hip checks" of hers. Looking forward to meeting up with you again on future trips. This was another losing gambling trip, my fourth in a row...it could have been worse...down about $500. We had a great dinner at BLT Steakhouse...spendy, but great food and service. I didn't get to spend a lot of time at the Rio wine cellar; just one evening for an hour. Jose set me up with a special flight of two whites and two reds....love that Lust Zinfandel. Enjoyed seeing the Jersey Boys again; a must if you have not seen it. We took a brief tour of the Grand Bazaar shops on Thursday; not impressed. I wonder how many of the shops will still be open for business 6 months from now. The escalator to get to Bally's casino is still not working so you have to weave your way around and cross at your own peril via Bally's valet area in order to get to the casino....what a mess.

When I heard of the Riviera being sold and soon to be demolished I decided to book a suite for two nights in late April, to give the "Old Girl" one last fling before she fades in to Vegas history/folk lore. So, flight booked, two nights at the Riv and two nights....where else, the Golden Gate. Purchased a ticket to see Crazy Girls, a show that has been on my Vegas "bucket" list for quite some time. I plan on getting a shave and a haircut at the barbershop at the Riv. Neil, the barber, has been cutting hair there for almost 40 years...I'll bet he has some great Vegas stories to tell. This will be a solo trip so I should be able to pace myself and not have to try to keep up with MadMan Mike....but after all he only gets out to Vegas once a year, bless him.

That's it...hope you enjoyed the report. Hopefully I'll be able to add some photos of the Riviera from my April trip.

Thanks, Larry for the finale to your report! Sounds like a very nice time was had and sorry that you ended up losing, but happy that you were able to escape from getting hurled on at GG.

And yes, it amazes me how clueless people can be with Blackjack play when they can actually help themselves to possibly win more or at least lose less (and/or be able to play for possibly a longer amount of time -- especially if this is what they are really looking for) by playing smarter and understanding the probabilities!

RecVPPlayer

What luck, to have escaped that drunk hurling right on your spot at the BJ table.
Ick, but that's a Vegas story to tell from now on.

Enjoyed your report very much. Enjoy the next trip, especially saying farewell to the Riv.