TUESDAY:
Again the alarm clock went off at 05:30 with us again struggling to get out of our beds. Another long day about to begin. The breakfast at the meeting was buffet style and much better, eggs, sausages, hashbrowns, muffins, fresh fruit, a variety of juices and plenty of hot coffee. Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday...we both attended meetings all day until 5 pm. Out the 20,000 attendees we ran into a former co-worker who now works in a hospital out in Baltimore. I trained Heather at our hospital when she began her career and I am glad to see that she is doing well. She gave us her phone number and we agreed to have dinner together that night....but where?....Seafood, Steakhouse, Asian, Mexican???? We called Heather later in the afternoon and decided that Tao at the Venetian was our dining destination.
This was the fourth time that I have dined at Tao and each time the food and service has been great. I ordered a bottle Emeritus Pinot Noir for our dinner wine, Squab lettuce wraps, lobster won tons and Miso glazed Chilean sea bass was on the menu. Great meal and great conversation. We decided to have our dessert at a small bakery just down the hall from the restaurant, the gelato really hit the spot. After a superb meal, what should we do next?....The GATE of course. Heather is not a big gambler, but we seated her at the BJ table between Mike and I and took turns placing bets on her spot so that we could play two hands at a time. I think she was surprised how antimated and crazy we can get when we are out of the work setting...I don't call Mikey "Madman" for any reason. The CW, Ivy, immediately brought me a Tangueray and Tonic (the real deal) without me asking for one...good girl. We played until around 12:30 when I could see that Heather was starting to fade. We cashed in with both of us making a modest profit (in the neighborhood of $100) and then drove back to the Luxor and bid Heather adeiu.
WEDNESDAY
No breakfast meeting today. Mike said that he had enough continuing education credits to last him and he was taking the day off. I, on the otherhand headed out for an 0800 meeting and told him I would give him a call to meet up for lunch. Lunch was at Tacos and Tequila at the Luxor. They have decent lunch specials at a very reasonable price. The food was tasty as was my glass of Sangria. After lunch we walked past the roulette table and I bet on black...lose....another bet on black...lose again....back to the meetings, Mike was off to NYNY to play some BJ. My last meeting ended at 5 pm and I walked back to the Luxor with a stop to grab a Heineken to drink on the way. Mike was already back in the room, having gotten hammered at BJ at NYNY. He bought in at a $10 table only to find out it was paying 6:5. We couldn't decide on dinner, we were still kind of full from lunch, but I did want to spend a little time at the Rio Wine Cellar...a stable on all of my Vegas trips.
Jose and Joel were working tonight; Mike is not a wine drinker so he said he was going to do some gambling and he would be back a little later. Jose said that they had several bottles of wine that had been opened earlier and that they he would set me up with a special flight of these wines. Jose has always been good to me so...let's go for it. I sampled three different Tuscan wines, a California Cab, a very nice Zin, Turley, which I have had before and an Australian syrhaz...unfortunately it wasn't a Mollydooker. Mike returned midway through my sampling and said he had been at the routlette table...he lost $400 in a couple of spins....ouch. I quickly finished the rest of my wine and said my goodbye to Jose and it was off to Downtown.
I left the car with the valet at the Gate....what about dinner? Another gourmet meal like last night?.....nah....Hot dogs at Mermaids...I also had a deep fried Twinkie...my first...not bad. The Fremont Experience was jammed with mobs of people...they had several bands playing to kick off the start of the Rodeo finals. We headed immediately to the Golden Gate and settled into our usual table for some more BJ. Things started out great for the first couple of hours, I was up about $250 and Mikey was ahead also. Then Mike did a real stupid thing. We were playing at a table that had a six deck dealt from a shoe, which gave us a break now and then when the dealer had to shuffle. Mike decided to let John, the pit boss cut the cards....after that the wheels came off...we both started to lose. I decided to quit while I still had a little over $100 profit for the night. Mike was down at that point...what to do? "Triple Your Bet"!!! Mike's last bet of the night was for $100 and again he was dealt a blackjack...nice! After cashing in our chips, it was 01:30..time for the Rhino.
We drove over to the Spearmint Rhino, paid the $30 cover charge and each had a gorgeous babe in tow before we even got to our table. The place was not very crowded and we had a steady flow of women stop by to chat with us and offer lap dances. I usually hit the Rhino when I am out to Vegas on one of our "Guys" trips so this wasn't our first time. The girls were not as pushy with trying to sell the "Let's go to the VIP room" scam. I had a couple actually sit down and talk to us for a while before moving on. Drinks were pretty expensive....a bottle of water, shot of Grey Goose and a G & T cost me $32. Mike and I decided to call it quits around 05:30 and then crashed in the room after getting a late check out time.
THURSDAY:
The alarm went off at 10:30....where are my pharmaceuticals...that Twinkie I had last night is doing back flips!! We both packed our bags in slow motion and did the TV check out and dragged our bags to the car. Lunch was at the Burger Bar in the Mandalay Shoppes area. The burgers were good and Mike's vanilla shake was awesome, but the service was veerryyy sllooowwww. My stomach thanked me for finally getting some real food and I actually felt like I would survive the day. The table area at the Luxor was dead as was the rest of the casino so we decided to drive over to the Orleans to play some $5 BJ for a few hours until we had to leave for the airport. The parking lot at the Orleans was full and the casino was full...full of people wearing jeans and cowboy hats. All of the BJ tables were full..the place was like a boomtown. We actually heard someone let a loud YeeHaw from one of the tables. We played some VP for a bit then I remembered I had a $25 free bet that the Orleans had sent me. I got the voucher from the players club and bet on red. Now Helen and I usually bet on black at the roulette table, but this trip red kept coming up...it did 10 times in a row when we played at the Luxor one night. Red, winner! I hadn't played any 3 card poker this trip, to I sat down at a table that had two other players while Mike opted to watch. I played for about ten minutes, winning a couple of hands and losing a couple when I was dealt three 2's. I had bet $10 on my pairs plus bet, and that paid me 30 to 1....nice way to end the trip....cash me out.
Sun Country had a couple of 1st class upgrades available when we checked our bags so we flew home in style. The dinner entree was lasagna..not bad. The Tanguerays and tonic were pretty good also. We both dozed for a bit and soon we were touching down in Minneapolis.....34 degrees...welcome home. At least I didn't have to chisel ice off of my windshield this trip and there was no traffic on the way to Rochester. Dropped Mikey off and was walking into my house around 02:00. My cat bitched me out for awhile...like a cat can do. I have a lady come in once a day to feed him and clean the litter box, but we have been together for over 12 years and the little bugger misses me. I unpacked and finally crashed on the couch with my cat curled up next to me. Another Vegas trip in the books.
EPILOGUE
I gained a lot of useful information at the conference, it's difficult to keep up on all the new medications and therapies that are coming out all the time. Three and a half days of meetings was mentally and physically exhausting. I really like gambling at the Golden Gate, I'm treated like a person there. The dealers really like Mike and I because we tip regularly and treat them with respect and not make lewd comments or marriage proposals like I have witnessed from other players at the table. I did not get to play with my favorite red-headed female dealer. She was busy every night dealing at the Spanish 21 or PaiGow table. Did toss her a $5 chip each night when she was dancing in the pit. Our play at the Gate resulted in pretty much taking care of our hotel bill. Hope I get some decent offers in the future from them.
I liked our room at the Luxor, but the gambling in the casino pretty much sucked big time. They had one bikini clad dancer in one of their BJ party pits on Sunday evening...$10 tables paying 6:5. The rest of the week the minimums stayed at $10 or above at all times of the day...and they were not very busy. The dealers were bored and not very friendly or talkative...pretty mechanical....sucked the enthusiasm right out of you. I played some VP one afternoon and had a couple of different CW's walk right by me and not stop to offer to take a drink order. I had to go to a roulette table in order to get a drink. When we left the Luxor on early Thursday afternoon the place was like a Tomb; while the Orleans was jumping with players and vibe. I ended up not giving the Luxor much play, so I don't know if I will receive anymore offers of free rooms from them. Other than dinner at Tao, I did not spend anytime time on the strip. I didn't get to play my Lions Share slot at the MGM or play the Sigma Derby. The only place we gambled downtown was at the Gate...only walked thru the D and had dinner at the El Co. Weather was mild, with Thursday being down right sunny and warm.
I haven't let the dust settle and started looking at next trip. Super Bowl??? The Orleans is offering me two free nights and a $25 dining credit...checked and I can use it during Super Bowl weekend with the following Monday costing me $35. Harrah's is offering me a free night and a reduced rate for Friday...tempting....airfare...Sun Country & Delta around $350 RT....wait Spirit Airlines RT to Vegas for $147????? Booked. Looks I will spend Super Bowl sitting at a bar at the Orleans with my hands wrapped around a cold Heineken. Madman is going to try and talk the wife into letting him go....going to be a tough sell. Fingers Freddie has expressed some interest, so I might have a wingman for the trip. Only 47 more days!!! It's a wrap, thanks for reading.
Again the alarm clock went off at 05:30 with us again struggling to get out of our beds. Another long day about to begin. The breakfast at the meeting was buffet style and much better, eggs, sausages, hashbrowns, muffins, fresh fruit, a variety of juices and plenty of hot coffee. Today was pretty much a repeat of yesterday...we both attended meetings all day until 5 pm. Out the 20,000 attendees we ran into a former co-worker who now works in a hospital out in Baltimore. I trained Heather at our hospital when she began her career and I am glad to see that she is doing well. She gave us her phone number and we agreed to have dinner together that night....but where?....Seafood, Steakhouse, Asian, Mexican???? We called Heather later in the afternoon and decided that Tao at the Venetian was our dining destination.
This was the fourth time that I have dined at Tao and each time the food and service has been great. I ordered a bottle Emeritus Pinot Noir for our dinner wine, Squab lettuce wraps, lobster won tons and Miso glazed Chilean sea bass was on the menu. Great meal and great conversation. We decided to have our dessert at a small bakery just down the hall from the restaurant, the gelato really hit the spot. After a superb meal, what should we do next?....The GATE of course. Heather is not a big gambler, but we seated her at the BJ table between Mike and I and took turns placing bets on her spot so that we could play two hands at a time. I think she was surprised how antimated and crazy we can get when we are out of the work setting...I don't call Mikey "Madman" for any reason. The CW, Ivy, immediately brought me a Tangueray and Tonic (the real deal) without me asking for one...good girl. We played until around 12:30 when I could see that Heather was starting to fade. We cashed in with both of us making a modest profit (in the neighborhood of $100) and then drove back to the Luxor and bid Heather adeiu.
WEDNESDAY
No breakfast meeting today. Mike said that he had enough continuing education credits to last him and he was taking the day off. I, on the otherhand headed out for an 0800 meeting and told him I would give him a call to meet up for lunch. Lunch was at Tacos and Tequila at the Luxor. They have decent lunch specials at a very reasonable price. The food was tasty as was my glass of Sangria. After lunch we walked past the roulette table and I bet on black...lose....another bet on black...lose again....back to the meetings, Mike was off to NYNY to play some BJ. My last meeting ended at 5 pm and I walked back to the Luxor with a stop to grab a Heineken to drink on the way. Mike was already back in the room, having gotten hammered at BJ at NYNY. He bought in at a $10 table only to find out it was paying 6:5. We couldn't decide on dinner, we were still kind of full from lunch, but I did want to spend a little time at the Rio Wine Cellar...a stable on all of my Vegas trips.
Jose and Joel were working tonight; Mike is not a wine drinker so he said he was going to do some gambling and he would be back a little later. Jose said that they had several bottles of wine that had been opened earlier and that they he would set me up with a special flight of these wines. Jose has always been good to me so...let's go for it. I sampled three different Tuscan wines, a California Cab, a very nice Zin, Turley, which I have had before and an Australian syrhaz...unfortunately it wasn't a Mollydooker. Mike returned midway through my sampling and said he had been at the routlette table...he lost $400 in a couple of spins....ouch. I quickly finished the rest of my wine and said my goodbye to Jose and it was off to Downtown.
I left the car with the valet at the Gate....what about dinner? Another gourmet meal like last night?.....nah....Hot dogs at Mermaids...I also had a deep fried Twinkie...my first...not bad. The Fremont Experience was jammed with mobs of people...they had several bands playing to kick off the start of the Rodeo finals. We headed immediately to the Golden Gate and settled into our usual table for some more BJ. Things started out great for the first couple of hours, I was up about $250 and Mikey was ahead also. Then Mike did a real stupid thing. We were playing at a table that had a six deck dealt from a shoe, which gave us a break now and then when the dealer had to shuffle. Mike decided to let John, the pit boss cut the cards....after that the wheels came off...we both started to lose. I decided to quit while I still had a little over $100 profit for the night. Mike was down at that point...what to do? "Triple Your Bet"!!! Mike's last bet of the night was for $100 and again he was dealt a blackjack...nice! After cashing in our chips, it was 01:30..time for the Rhino.
We drove over to the Spearmint Rhino, paid the $30 cover charge and each had a gorgeous babe in tow before we even got to our table. The place was not very crowded and we had a steady flow of women stop by to chat with us and offer lap dances. I usually hit the Rhino when I am out to Vegas on one of our "Guys" trips so this wasn't our first time. The girls were not as pushy with trying to sell the "Let's go to the VIP room" scam. I had a couple actually sit down and talk to us for a while before moving on. Drinks were pretty expensive....a bottle of water, shot of Grey Goose and a G & T cost me $32. Mike and I decided to call it quits around 05:30 and then crashed in the room after getting a late check out time.
THURSDAY:
The alarm went off at 10:30....where are my pharmaceuticals...that Twinkie I had last night is doing back flips!! We both packed our bags in slow motion and did the TV check out and dragged our bags to the car. Lunch was at the Burger Bar in the Mandalay Shoppes area. The burgers were good and Mike's vanilla shake was awesome, but the service was veerryyy sllooowwww. My stomach thanked me for finally getting some real food and I actually felt like I would survive the day. The table area at the Luxor was dead as was the rest of the casino so we decided to drive over to the Orleans to play some $5 BJ for a few hours until we had to leave for the airport. The parking lot at the Orleans was full and the casino was full...full of people wearing jeans and cowboy hats. All of the BJ tables were full..the place was like a boomtown. We actually heard someone let a loud YeeHaw from one of the tables. We played some VP for a bit then I remembered I had a $25 free bet that the Orleans had sent me. I got the voucher from the players club and bet on red. Now Helen and I usually bet on black at the roulette table, but this trip red kept coming up...it did 10 times in a row when we played at the Luxor one night. Red, winner! I hadn't played any 3 card poker this trip, to I sat down at a table that had two other players while Mike opted to watch. I played for about ten minutes, winning a couple of hands and losing a couple when I was dealt three 2's. I had bet $10 on my pairs plus bet, and that paid me 30 to 1....nice way to end the trip....cash me out.
Sun Country had a couple of 1st class upgrades available when we checked our bags so we flew home in style. The dinner entree was lasagna..not bad. The Tanguerays and tonic were pretty good also. We both dozed for a bit and soon we were touching down in Minneapolis.....34 degrees...welcome home. At least I didn't have to chisel ice off of my windshield this trip and there was no traffic on the way to Rochester. Dropped Mikey off and was walking into my house around 02:00. My cat bitched me out for awhile...like a cat can do. I have a lady come in once a day to feed him and clean the litter box, but we have been together for over 12 years and the little bugger misses me. I unpacked and finally crashed on the couch with my cat curled up next to me. Another Vegas trip in the books.
EPILOGUE
I gained a lot of useful information at the conference, it's difficult to keep up on all the new medications and therapies that are coming out all the time. Three and a half days of meetings was mentally and physically exhausting. I really like gambling at the Golden Gate, I'm treated like a person there. The dealers really like Mike and I because we tip regularly and treat them with respect and not make lewd comments or marriage proposals like I have witnessed from other players at the table. I did not get to play with my favorite red-headed female dealer. She was busy every night dealing at the Spanish 21 or PaiGow table. Did toss her a $5 chip each night when she was dancing in the pit. Our play at the Gate resulted in pretty much taking care of our hotel bill. Hope I get some decent offers in the future from them.
I liked our room at the Luxor, but the gambling in the casino pretty much sucked big time. They had one bikini clad dancer in one of their BJ party pits on Sunday evening...$10 tables paying 6:5. The rest of the week the minimums stayed at $10 or above at all times of the day...and they were not very busy. The dealers were bored and not very friendly or talkative...pretty mechanical....sucked the enthusiasm right out of you. I played some VP one afternoon and had a couple of different CW's walk right by me and not stop to offer to take a drink order. I had to go to a roulette table in order to get a drink. When we left the Luxor on early Thursday afternoon the place was like a Tomb; while the Orleans was jumping with players and vibe. I ended up not giving the Luxor much play, so I don't know if I will receive anymore offers of free rooms from them. Other than dinner at Tao, I did not spend anytime time on the strip. I didn't get to play my Lions Share slot at the MGM or play the Sigma Derby. The only place we gambled downtown was at the Gate...only walked thru the D and had dinner at the El Co. Weather was mild, with Thursday being down right sunny and warm.
I haven't let the dust settle and started looking at next trip. Super Bowl??? The Orleans is offering me two free nights and a $25 dining credit...checked and I can use it during Super Bowl weekend with the following Monday costing me $35. Harrah's is offering me a free night and a reduced rate for Friday...tempting....airfare...Sun Country & Delta around $350 RT....wait Spirit Airlines RT to Vegas for $147????? Booked. Looks I will spend Super Bowl sitting at a bar at the Orleans with my hands wrapped around a cold Heineken. Madman is going to try and talk the wife into letting him go....going to be a tough sell. Fingers Freddie has expressed some interest, so I might have a wingman for the trip. Only 47 more days!!! It's a wrap, thanks for reading.
