Summer 2012 – Day 27
I woke up at 8:30 and my tournament time was at 10. There goes my chance to get the trip report written and posted in a reasonable time. I started my coffee maker, brushed my teeth and started to shave—no hot water—that is, no water coming out at all. The cold water in the sink was fine—but not hot. Okay. I went to take my shower—no water at all. Ugh! I called down to the front desk who called engineering. She called me back saying they had just changed a pipe or something and the water should be back on in about ten minutes. Great! I didn’t have ten minutes, so I hustled down to the slot area after running a comb through my hair. I’m a bit of clean-a-holic when it comes to showering. I HAVE to shower every day, or I feel like crap—I know I need to chill, after all it’s just one day—but that’s me—another reason why I’m never invited out camping—cots? Sleeping bags? I don’t think so.
I headed down to the new slot tournament area. I picked a ping-ball out of a basket and my machine number was 8. I waited for our 10:00 appointment time. The machines here are still the classic Red, White, Blue 7s but these are not the mechanical types, but rather video machines.
The new tournament machines
I sat down and waited for the go command and sat like everyone else pushing a button for 15 minutes. Quite honestly, it’s a little stupid. The same results could be had in drawing names out of a hat (of course, where’s the fun in that?). Fifteen minutes is actually a pretty long time to punch a button. Of course, I’m doing terrible. The older lady on the end has two other older ladies standing behind her cheering her on. The player has this determined look on her face as she meticulously pushing her button alternating hands every ten or so pushes. It seems to be working, she’s hitting some jackpots. You can easily tell when this happens because of the screeching cheerleaders behind her. I have to admit, it’s more fun watching her than my machine. As is usual for me on slot tourneys, I manage to find the coldest machine in my row. Everyone’s score is approaching the 10,000 point mark while I hover around 3,000. I have played in dozens of these slot tournaments, and for whatever reason, I always do terrible at them. I’ve never even come close to a cash prize. Video poker tournaments are different story—after all; it does take a little skill. Anyway, with only three minutes left, I start to finally hit a couple of jackpots and amazingly finish with the second lowest score in my row—somewhat of a victory in my book.
It was time to go and finish yesterday’s trip report. Once again, it’s going to be later than usual. The Orleans charges a $6 per night “resort fee” (shame on them) that allows you to use the safe in your room (previously always free anyway), make free local calls on your room phone (nobody needs this anymore as cell phones are everywhere), and there’s free Internet at the Java Coffee house next to the registration desk. This is bogus as well because Internet here is free for everyone anyway. Again, just a BS tacked on fee that you don’t have the choice to not accept. Anyway, I finished up my report and headed down to the Java House downstairs to send it in. Being that I was waiting for my next tourney session, I took the time to read many of the comments. Thank you for them and keep ‘em coming.
I hadn’t eaten anything yet and only had a bottle of OJ for my vitamins. I didn’t feel like a big meal so I settled for a hot dog in the sportsbook. The dogs here are $1.50 each and though okay, can’t come close to measuring up to the dog cart in the South Point where the hot dogs are only $.75 and you can have any topping you want on it. However, this was good enough to fill the bill. Today had a senior promotion which was a drawing. If you put at least 50 points on your card, you can get extra drawing tickets. I end up with 600 tickets as I spun a wheel and that was my prize. They’d be picking three (and only three) names for a prize of $4K each at 4 PM. It was another tough day at the machines, I not only lost at single line full pay Bonus Aces, but I also lost at the nickel 9/5 BP triple play with all royal progressives. It’s just a rotten trip gambling wise.
To add further insult, my next session at 1 PM where I picked lucky machine 53 netted me once again the lowest score in my row. The guy next to me beat my score by more than double. Hey! There’s no skill here…I can press my button with the best of them…geez! I finally headed back to my room to catch some more of the Olympics before I head over to Ballys to pick up the girls and show them downtown and the Fremont Experience as well as dinner.
It has been raining here off and on all day. There was a little excitement in town as an air conditioner caught fire during the night on the roof of Treasure Island. It then sent smoke from the ventilators into the room rooms as far down as the 24th floor, which required evacuation. A couple of guests were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but are okay.
The nice thing about these “local” casinos is that they really do offer everything under one roof. The Orleans has celebrity showroom, a movie theater complex, a food court, a bowling alley, and an cornucopia of restaurants: sushi, café, buffet, Mexican, TGIF, Irish Pub, food court, and a steak house along with a couple of snack bars and a hot dog cart. There is also an ice skating rink, which also serves as the home of a professional minor league hockey team, and a sports center where major acts perform. It really is a huge complex—oh, and you can gamble on one of the largest casino floors in the city as well. I hung in the casino until the four o’clock drawing. Here’s a surprise—my name wasn’t called. I went to my room to watch some of the Olympics for a couple of hours and then drove over to Ballys to pick up the girls to take them downtown.
I told them I was taking them to dinner and here was an opportunity to have ANYTHING they wanted. They pick their favorite food, I pick the restaurant. Steak, Lobster, Crab legs, Sushi, BBQ ribs, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, even Cuban food was all on the table. What would you like? “I don’t know…a hamburger?” I took them downtown and parked at Main Street Station and had dinner in the 777 Micro-brewery. They enjoyed their hamburgers, and I had fish and chips. The food here is always good and we had a nice time. Even though it’s Monday night, the place is jammed as is all of downtown and all of Las Vegas for that matter. Summer is a slow time in Las Vegas? That’s hard to imagine.
Tonight's live performance Rock of Vegas. Good band.
We took the walk through the California, Las Vegas Club, and onto the Fremont Experience just in time for the first showing on the canopy of “American Pie.” We walked down the entire street making short stops along the way to see the sights and the occasional bathroom break. We then headed back and stopped at Binions where in the back they have one of the discount Las Vegas logo clothing shops. The girls didn’t find anything they cared for and then back to the car. The plan was to stop at the Pawn shop of Pawn Stars, but it was sprinkling and there was a line to get in. So instead, being that was their last night, I drove down the center of the Strip so they could see all the hotels with all the lights and sights. Katrinna got on my phone and harassed Cindy all in good fun. We made our way all through the Strip finishing up at the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign where we stopped and snapped a couple of pictures.
Last stop for the girls. Hard to believe in all the times I've been here, I've never taken a pic of the sign
Mr. Tour Guide was done for the night, and we made our way back to Ballys and I dropped the girls off and said our goodbyes. I drove back in the rain to the Orleans. I was tempted to try the machines one last time tonight, but having already met my loss limit, I trudged my way back to the room, grabbed some ice from the dispenser for my Coke Zero and watched the Olympics until midnight.
More tomorrow.
I woke up at 8:30 and my tournament time was at 10. There goes my chance to get the trip report written and posted in a reasonable time. I started my coffee maker, brushed my teeth and started to shave—no hot water—that is, no water coming out at all. The cold water in the sink was fine—but not hot. Okay. I went to take my shower—no water at all. Ugh! I called down to the front desk who called engineering. She called me back saying they had just changed a pipe or something and the water should be back on in about ten minutes. Great! I didn’t have ten minutes, so I hustled down to the slot area after running a comb through my hair. I’m a bit of clean-a-holic when it comes to showering. I HAVE to shower every day, or I feel like crap—I know I need to chill, after all it’s just one day—but that’s me—another reason why I’m never invited out camping—cots? Sleeping bags? I don’t think so.
I headed down to the new slot tournament area. I picked a ping-ball out of a basket and my machine number was 8. I waited for our 10:00 appointment time. The machines here are still the classic Red, White, Blue 7s but these are not the mechanical types, but rather video machines.
The new tournament machines
I sat down and waited for the go command and sat like everyone else pushing a button for 15 minutes. Quite honestly, it’s a little stupid. The same results could be had in drawing names out of a hat (of course, where’s the fun in that?). Fifteen minutes is actually a pretty long time to punch a button. Of course, I’m doing terrible. The older lady on the end has two other older ladies standing behind her cheering her on. The player has this determined look on her face as she meticulously pushing her button alternating hands every ten or so pushes. It seems to be working, she’s hitting some jackpots. You can easily tell when this happens because of the screeching cheerleaders behind her. I have to admit, it’s more fun watching her than my machine. As is usual for me on slot tourneys, I manage to find the coldest machine in my row. Everyone’s score is approaching the 10,000 point mark while I hover around 3,000. I have played in dozens of these slot tournaments, and for whatever reason, I always do terrible at them. I’ve never even come close to a cash prize. Video poker tournaments are different story—after all; it does take a little skill. Anyway, with only three minutes left, I start to finally hit a couple of jackpots and amazingly finish with the second lowest score in my row—somewhat of a victory in my book.
It was time to go and finish yesterday’s trip report. Once again, it’s going to be later than usual. The Orleans charges a $6 per night “resort fee” (shame on them) that allows you to use the safe in your room (previously always free anyway), make free local calls on your room phone (nobody needs this anymore as cell phones are everywhere), and there’s free Internet at the Java Coffee house next to the registration desk. This is bogus as well because Internet here is free for everyone anyway. Again, just a BS tacked on fee that you don’t have the choice to not accept. Anyway, I finished up my report and headed down to the Java House downstairs to send it in. Being that I was waiting for my next tourney session, I took the time to read many of the comments. Thank you for them and keep ‘em coming.
I hadn’t eaten anything yet and only had a bottle of OJ for my vitamins. I didn’t feel like a big meal so I settled for a hot dog in the sportsbook. The dogs here are $1.50 each and though okay, can’t come close to measuring up to the dog cart in the South Point where the hot dogs are only $.75 and you can have any topping you want on it. However, this was good enough to fill the bill. Today had a senior promotion which was a drawing. If you put at least 50 points on your card, you can get extra drawing tickets. I end up with 600 tickets as I spun a wheel and that was my prize. They’d be picking three (and only three) names for a prize of $4K each at 4 PM. It was another tough day at the machines, I not only lost at single line full pay Bonus Aces, but I also lost at the nickel 9/5 BP triple play with all royal progressives. It’s just a rotten trip gambling wise.
To add further insult, my next session at 1 PM where I picked lucky machine 53 netted me once again the lowest score in my row. The guy next to me beat my score by more than double. Hey! There’s no skill here…I can press my button with the best of them…geez! I finally headed back to my room to catch some more of the Olympics before I head over to Ballys to pick up the girls and show them downtown and the Fremont Experience as well as dinner.
It has been raining here off and on all day. There was a little excitement in town as an air conditioner caught fire during the night on the roof of Treasure Island. It then sent smoke from the ventilators into the room rooms as far down as the 24th floor, which required evacuation. A couple of guests were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but are okay.
The nice thing about these “local” casinos is that they really do offer everything under one roof. The Orleans has celebrity showroom, a movie theater complex, a food court, a bowling alley, and an cornucopia of restaurants: sushi, café, buffet, Mexican, TGIF, Irish Pub, food court, and a steak house along with a couple of snack bars and a hot dog cart. There is also an ice skating rink, which also serves as the home of a professional minor league hockey team, and a sports center where major acts perform. It really is a huge complex—oh, and you can gamble on one of the largest casino floors in the city as well. I hung in the casino until the four o’clock drawing. Here’s a surprise—my name wasn’t called. I went to my room to watch some of the Olympics for a couple of hours and then drove over to Ballys to pick up the girls to take them downtown.
I told them I was taking them to dinner and here was an opportunity to have ANYTHING they wanted. They pick their favorite food, I pick the restaurant. Steak, Lobster, Crab legs, Sushi, BBQ ribs, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, even Cuban food was all on the table. What would you like? “I don’t know…a hamburger?” I took them downtown and parked at Main Street Station and had dinner in the 777 Micro-brewery. They enjoyed their hamburgers, and I had fish and chips. The food here is always good and we had a nice time. Even though it’s Monday night, the place is jammed as is all of downtown and all of Las Vegas for that matter. Summer is a slow time in Las Vegas? That’s hard to imagine.
Tonight's live performance Rock of Vegas. Good band.
We took the walk through the California, Las Vegas Club, and onto the Fremont Experience just in time for the first showing on the canopy of “American Pie.” We walked down the entire street making short stops along the way to see the sights and the occasional bathroom break. We then headed back and stopped at Binions where in the back they have one of the discount Las Vegas logo clothing shops. The girls didn’t find anything they cared for and then back to the car. The plan was to stop at the Pawn shop of Pawn Stars, but it was sprinkling and there was a line to get in. So instead, being that was their last night, I drove down the center of the Strip so they could see all the hotels with all the lights and sights. Katrinna got on my phone and harassed Cindy all in good fun. We made our way all through the Strip finishing up at the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign where we stopped and snapped a couple of pictures.
Last stop for the girls. Hard to believe in all the times I've been here, I've never taken a pic of the sign
Mr. Tour Guide was done for the night, and we made our way back to Ballys and I dropped the girls off and said our goodbyes. I drove back in the rain to the Orleans. I was tempted to try the machines one last time tonight, but having already met my loss limit, I trudged my way back to the room, grabbed some ice from the dispenser for my Coke Zero and watched the Olympics until midnight.
More tomorrow.
