Summer 2012 – Day 17
This morning I got up early and headed for downtown to pick up Terry and Louise to take them to the airport. (Some of you asked about whether or not they were familiar with the theater in Aurora. They live in a different part of town but they had been to that theater on occasion to see a movie, but that’s about all). As I drove down Las Vegas Blvd, I made a quick stop to take a picture of the Pawn Shop featured on the Pawn Stars TV show. It was 6 AM so it was a good time to take the pic without the long line of people usually waiting outside to get in. I’ve been inside and it’s a—pawn shop.
If you really want to visit this place, 6 AM is the time to go.
After dropping them off at McCarran, I drove back and noticing on the billboard of the Tuscany that they were offering 10X points today, I pulled into the parking lot, found my slot card, and played a few games. There’s a progressive Joker’s Wild bank that I’ve played many times before and played for about five minutes when I was dealt a very rare 5-of-a-kind for $100. After trying my luck on a couple other games, I headed out with a small profit.
Not really worthy of a jackpot shot, but it's such a rare dealt hand.
I had decided that I’d see the new Batman movie this morning, but the first showing wasn’t until 9:45, so I drove up Flamingo and pulled into the Bill’s Gambling Hall and drove up the spiral driveway to the very top floor. There’s a terrific photo-op here that most don’t know about. I’ve taken some pics from here a few years ago, but for the newer readers, I thought I take some more today. If you drive to the very top floor of the parking garage, you can go right up to Las Vegas Blvd and get a great view of Caesars and the Bellagio. I found this because of the movie SHOWGIRLS where a scene was taken here showing Elizabeth Berkley overlooking the Strip eating a burger.
Caesars in all its morning glory
Bellagio from Bill's parking garage
I walked into Bill’s and put in my Diamond card and was surprised that they STILL haven’t switched over to the Caesar’s card system. I then strolled into the Flamingo and though it was expectedly slow this early in the morning, I was drawn to the center because of shouts coming from one of the crap tables. One table was packed with a second circle of men behind them trying to get a look at what’s going on. I managed to slide my way into the circle and saw a table just loaded with stacks of chips. The shooter made another number and another huge shout came from the players. Obviously, this table is on a big roll. The stacks of chips were not the usual whites and reds (1s and 5s), but were all greens (25s), blacks (100s), and even some scattered yellows ($500s), easier to recognize as they are larger than the other chips. I’ve seen this kind of thing before, once at the Bellagio and another time at the old Tropicana. For some reason, a table simply gets hot. It’s fun just to witness as tens of thousands of dollars exchange with every roll of the dice. However, what’s even more fun is to spy on the pit bosses behind the table nervously observing the day’s bottom line getting destroyed on their watch. During the short time I was there, I saw the bosses stop play twice (in hopes of breaking up the momentum and lucky streak); once to add more large chips to the table and then again in hopes of changing the dice, which the table would have no part of (they changed the extra dice but couldn’t change the dice the shooter was using as the table was shouting, “Same dice, same dice!”). It was a classic Vegas moment. I would have liked to have taken a picture but there was no way the pit boss was going to allow that. I watched for about five minutes before a 7-out and left, but the betting kept going.
I found a bank of the new Lord of the Rings machines and hoped to continue my lucky streak, but it didn’t work out this time around, so I walked back to Bill’s and drove away headed for the Towne Center where the Rave movie complex is located. I’ve been here many times before because it’s also the location of the Apple store where I’ve bought my last two phones over the years. The Towne Center (located south of the Mandalay Bay next to the Fry’s Electronics building) is really just a shopping center but is set up like a small town. It’s another hot day and once again, the center of the “town” is full of families who bring their children here to play at the water games area and picnic on the grass.
Beautiful morning in the center of the Towne Center shopping center
Where to take the kids on a hot day to splash around for free.
It was time for the movie and I was pleasantly surprised to get in for the senior price of only $5.00. After buying my requisite kid’s snack pack, I settled in the already ¾ filled theater. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of us flashed (at least for a moment) on the Aurora tragedy while waiting for the movie to begin. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was good—but not great. The problem for me was that the second act, which relied mostly on exposition, was simply too long. The first and last half hours of movie were great. Plus, I believe the ending was written just right, and without giving anything away, does leave the audience with hope and a few interesting questions (3 claps).
After the movie, I stopped in the Ale House, which is located on the end of the shopping area facing Fry’s. I enjoyed a good beer and a small order of calamari while watching a baseball game. I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and an old favorite, the Green Valley Station Hotel and Casino. Having been a big fan of the TV reality show “Casino,” I still enjoy walking around this place, which was the first of the upscale Stations’ properties. Though they keep up on the latest machines, the overall look of the place remains the same. There’s a movie complex, a food court, sportsbook, poker room, and everything else you come to expect in a major resort. When the TV show was on, this place was packed all the time, however, these days, it’s just another large casino tying to hold on to its corner of the local’s market.
One shot of the Green Valley Station casino area
I put a hundred into an 8/5 bonus poker machine. It appeared at first to be another quad drought session when with only $6.25 left, I hit quad 7s. Then only two hands later, hit quad 7s again. Finally, after a long while of holding on, I hit quad Aces and cashed out $185.00. I was going to call it a day, but I passed a machine I hadn’t seen before called 5 Dragons. I thought I’d put in a $20 hoping to catch a bonus (I’m always curious what bonuses are like on new machines). I did finally hit one for 20 free spins, then retriggered for another 20 and cashed out $77.00. Thinking it might be a lucky day for me, I tried a couple more and lost, so I finished up and left. It was my second straight day of profits albeit small profit, but profit nonetheless.
I stopped to pick up a sandwich and headed back to the Candlewood Suites and called it a night. I received a text from Terry saying they had arrived in Hawaii. I watched a little TV and was asleep by 9 PM (geez—I’m old).
More tomorrow
This morning I got up early and headed for downtown to pick up Terry and Louise to take them to the airport. (Some of you asked about whether or not they were familiar with the theater in Aurora. They live in a different part of town but they had been to that theater on occasion to see a movie, but that’s about all). As I drove down Las Vegas Blvd, I made a quick stop to take a picture of the Pawn Shop featured on the Pawn Stars TV show. It was 6 AM so it was a good time to take the pic without the long line of people usually waiting outside to get in. I’ve been inside and it’s a—pawn shop.
If you really want to visit this place, 6 AM is the time to go.
After dropping them off at McCarran, I drove back and noticing on the billboard of the Tuscany that they were offering 10X points today, I pulled into the parking lot, found my slot card, and played a few games. There’s a progressive Joker’s Wild bank that I’ve played many times before and played for about five minutes when I was dealt a very rare 5-of-a-kind for $100. After trying my luck on a couple other games, I headed out with a small profit.
Not really worthy of a jackpot shot, but it's such a rare dealt hand.
I had decided that I’d see the new Batman movie this morning, but the first showing wasn’t until 9:45, so I drove up Flamingo and pulled into the Bill’s Gambling Hall and drove up the spiral driveway to the very top floor. There’s a terrific photo-op here that most don’t know about. I’ve taken some pics from here a few years ago, but for the newer readers, I thought I take some more today. If you drive to the very top floor of the parking garage, you can go right up to Las Vegas Blvd and get a great view of Caesars and the Bellagio. I found this because of the movie SHOWGIRLS where a scene was taken here showing Elizabeth Berkley overlooking the Strip eating a burger.
Caesars in all its morning glory
Bellagio from Bill's parking garage
I walked into Bill’s and put in my Diamond card and was surprised that they STILL haven’t switched over to the Caesar’s card system. I then strolled into the Flamingo and though it was expectedly slow this early in the morning, I was drawn to the center because of shouts coming from one of the crap tables. One table was packed with a second circle of men behind them trying to get a look at what’s going on. I managed to slide my way into the circle and saw a table just loaded with stacks of chips. The shooter made another number and another huge shout came from the players. Obviously, this table is on a big roll. The stacks of chips were not the usual whites and reds (1s and 5s), but were all greens (25s), blacks (100s), and even some scattered yellows ($500s), easier to recognize as they are larger than the other chips. I’ve seen this kind of thing before, once at the Bellagio and another time at the old Tropicana. For some reason, a table simply gets hot. It’s fun just to witness as tens of thousands of dollars exchange with every roll of the dice. However, what’s even more fun is to spy on the pit bosses behind the table nervously observing the day’s bottom line getting destroyed on their watch. During the short time I was there, I saw the bosses stop play twice (in hopes of breaking up the momentum and lucky streak); once to add more large chips to the table and then again in hopes of changing the dice, which the table would have no part of (they changed the extra dice but couldn’t change the dice the shooter was using as the table was shouting, “Same dice, same dice!”). It was a classic Vegas moment. I would have liked to have taken a picture but there was no way the pit boss was going to allow that. I watched for about five minutes before a 7-out and left, but the betting kept going.
I found a bank of the new Lord of the Rings machines and hoped to continue my lucky streak, but it didn’t work out this time around, so I walked back to Bill’s and drove away headed for the Towne Center where the Rave movie complex is located. I’ve been here many times before because it’s also the location of the Apple store where I’ve bought my last two phones over the years. The Towne Center (located south of the Mandalay Bay next to the Fry’s Electronics building) is really just a shopping center but is set up like a small town. It’s another hot day and once again, the center of the “town” is full of families who bring their children here to play at the water games area and picnic on the grass.
Beautiful morning in the center of the Towne Center shopping center
Where to take the kids on a hot day to splash around for free.
It was time for the movie and I was pleasantly surprised to get in for the senior price of only $5.00. After buying my requisite kid’s snack pack, I settled in the already ¾ filled theater. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of us flashed (at least for a moment) on the Aurora tragedy while waiting for the movie to begin. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was good—but not great. The problem for me was that the second act, which relied mostly on exposition, was simply too long. The first and last half hours of movie were great. Plus, I believe the ending was written just right, and without giving anything away, does leave the audience with hope and a few interesting questions (3 claps).
After the movie, I stopped in the Ale House, which is located on the end of the shopping area facing Fry’s. I enjoyed a good beer and a small order of calamari while watching a baseball game. I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and an old favorite, the Green Valley Station Hotel and Casino. Having been a big fan of the TV reality show “Casino,” I still enjoy walking around this place, which was the first of the upscale Stations’ properties. Though they keep up on the latest machines, the overall look of the place remains the same. There’s a movie complex, a food court, sportsbook, poker room, and everything else you come to expect in a major resort. When the TV show was on, this place was packed all the time, however, these days, it’s just another large casino tying to hold on to its corner of the local’s market.
One shot of the Green Valley Station casino area
I put a hundred into an 8/5 bonus poker machine. It appeared at first to be another quad drought session when with only $6.25 left, I hit quad 7s. Then only two hands later, hit quad 7s again. Finally, after a long while of holding on, I hit quad Aces and cashed out $185.00. I was going to call it a day, but I passed a machine I hadn’t seen before called 5 Dragons. I thought I’d put in a $20 hoping to catch a bonus (I’m always curious what bonuses are like on new machines). I did finally hit one for 20 free spins, then retriggered for another 20 and cashed out $77.00. Thinking it might be a lucky day for me, I tried a couple more and lost, so I finished up and left. It was my second straight day of profits albeit small profit, but profit nonetheless.
I stopped to pick up a sandwich and headed back to the Candlewood Suites and called it a night. I received a text from Terry saying they had arrived in Hawaii. I watched a little TV and was asleep by 9 PM (geez—I’m old).
More tomorrow
