Summer 2012 – Day 5
I suppose after waking up at 7:30, I should have gotten everything taken care of and head out to the day considering it’s my last day in Vegas until I return in a week. However, I have a full pot of coffee just made and am reading this month’s book club Carolly Erickson’s THE LAST WIFE OF HENRY VIII. So, I knocked off a few chapters before finally heading out to the car. One of the nice things about being in the east tower is I can park in the Sportsbook parking lot and avoid going through the casino all together.
One of the TV shows I enjoy watching is called “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” and recently Guy (the host) has visited a few places around Vegas I thought I’d go check out. If you’re unfamiliar with this Food Network show, Guy travels around the country looking for out of the way small places that have good food that normally don't get any notoriety outside of the locals who write into the show. On the show, the owner or chef goes through how they make some of their key dishes. One of the places I was intrigued with is called John Mull’s Road Kill Grill. It’s a butcher shop that later opened a BBQ joint in front of the shop. I had a really difficult time finding the place even with my GPS taking two or three wrong turns. It’s located in a neighborhood surrounded by track housing in North Las Vegas about a mile from Sante Fe Station Hotel and Casino. I walked in to try a small portion of their BBQ, but it was 10:30 and only the butcher shop was open. The lady said they didn’t start serving hot meals until 11:00. I’ll probably make another trip when I’m on a return visit in a couple of weeks.
Road Kill Grill. Odd location, strange entrance, but some of the best BBQ in Vegas
Since I was so close to the Sante Fe Station, I thought I’d drop by. I made a fast stop here last summer during my Hit ‘em All Vegas trip but I really didn’t have the time then to really walk around the place. This is one of the Stations Casinos older properties and has gone under remodeling and upgrading a couple of times the past few years. Though the outside still is the same, the inside has been transformed into a modern casino. The Sportsbook is state-of-the-art (I took a pic to share but it turned out too blurry—sorry) and the rest of the place appears clean and modern, though it’s really a sea of slot machines. There’s a very nice food court and a movie theater complex. It was 11:00 AM and I noticed it was the showtime of the new Spiderman movie…if you know me, you know I’m a movie buff, so the temptation was just too great. The movie, though a tad long, was very good. It might be a bit dark for smaller kids, but the writers and director did a super job reinventing the story. Besides, Emma Stone is in this one, and frankly, I’d buy a ticket to watch Emma Stone sit on a rock. (3 ½ claps)
After playing and losing at a couple of games, I headed next down Rancho Dr to the Texas Hotel and Casino. This is another Station property that is huge. My intention for stopping was to simply use one of my coupons for a margarita, but as I was walking along I found a machine with 9/6 Jacks, so I slipped in a hundred to see if my luck would improve. I did play a good while logging in almost 4000 points, but I finally cashed out at $20. Why bother at this point? Because across from where I was playing were a couple of the new Lord of the Rings machines I talked about in yesterday’s report that I had some luck and profited at the Red Rock. I took the last $20 and put in the machine and hit the bonus on the very first pull. That was a $30 bonus. I played a bit more and caught another bonus. It was here that I had my biggest win of the trip so far. It costs $.35 per game on this and this bonus finally ended after I won $101.00. Of course, when I win something like this, I’m thinking to myself, “Damn, if was playing the max coin in at $3.50, I’d have won over a grand!” I’m never satisfied. I played some more and finally cashed out $125, a nice little run.
A thirty-five cent bet netting a $101 win...if only they were all like that
It’s already 4:30 when I leave Texas Station as I’m meeting LVA member Shari downtown at 6:00 for dinner. The rest of the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives tour will have to wait until next time. I headed downtown and parked in the Main Street Station (MSS) parking garage. The heat in Vegas on this day is reasonable at 94 degrees, but I still will look for a garage whenever it’s possible. Besides, I enjoy the walk through MSS, the California, and the Vegas Club to get to the Freemont Street Experience. The place was hopping! Any of the doubting Tomas’s who said the Freemont Apron was a bad investment were proven wrong as there were thousands up and down the corridor.
Freemont Experience on this day
As expected, the place has been infiltrated by the many people with the notion of getting dressed up like cartoon characters, Las Vegas showgirls, and famous musical and movie icons in order to get tips for pictures. At first I became upset with this display believing it to be too trashy and carnival-like; however, I’ve changed my mind recently. I do think now that they add to the craziness and novelty of the place. The only thing I didn’t like was one girl who dressed up like a sexy devil wearing a little else but a red thong bikini with a pitch fork and horns. Though she was getting some business from the drunken college boys, there are lots of small children here as well. Two boys of about 11 caught my attention as they walked by with their parents and their mouths wide open never taking their eyes off her as they passed by.
I met up with Shari at the foot of the stairs of Magnolia’s in the 4 Queens. We decided to have dinner at the Chicago Pizza upstairs, which for my taste buds makes the best pizza in town (just something about the thin crust ingredients). Shari and I last saw each other about three years ago. So, we had a lot to catch up on. She’s doing well working at Kaiser in Portland and I told all about my life as a semi-retired school teacher. She turned me on to some great coupon deals that I missed and handed me a lot of her extra American Casino Guide coupons. We had a really nice time splitting a delicious pepperoni and sausage pizza.
LVA member and friend Shari...sorry for the focus.
I related how much a bad video poker trip I was having. I’ve yet to catch a quad on single line for the past five days, though I somehow hit three straight flushes. This is one of the longest quad droughts I can remember. After dinner, we sat down at the full pay machines in the Keno area. I put in a hundred and played Jacks and Bonus for quarters while she just played nickels not wanting to gamble on this trip very much, but was nice enough to keep me company and lend moral support. After dipping down into the 30s, I held three fours and finally scored the fourth for my first quad of the trip. Despite getting four-to-the-royal five times during this session, I finally cashed out at $50. It occurs to me right now as I write this that I have $40 in free play from the 4 Queens that I’ve completely forgotten about. Oh well, I’ll be staying for a night at MSS in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll collect it then.
We said our goodbyes, and I headed back to the car but not before dropping a $20 into another Lord of the Rings game. Of course, lightning rarely strikes twice, or in this case three times, and I lost it. I drove back to the LVH for my final night here and then it’s back to Laughlin for three nights and a tournament.
More tomorrow.
I suppose after waking up at 7:30, I should have gotten everything taken care of and head out to the day considering it’s my last day in Vegas until I return in a week. However, I have a full pot of coffee just made and am reading this month’s book club Carolly Erickson’s THE LAST WIFE OF HENRY VIII. So, I knocked off a few chapters before finally heading out to the car. One of the nice things about being in the east tower is I can park in the Sportsbook parking lot and avoid going through the casino all together.
One of the TV shows I enjoy watching is called “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” and recently Guy (the host) has visited a few places around Vegas I thought I’d go check out. If you’re unfamiliar with this Food Network show, Guy travels around the country looking for out of the way small places that have good food that normally don't get any notoriety outside of the locals who write into the show. On the show, the owner or chef goes through how they make some of their key dishes. One of the places I was intrigued with is called John Mull’s Road Kill Grill. It’s a butcher shop that later opened a BBQ joint in front of the shop. I had a really difficult time finding the place even with my GPS taking two or three wrong turns. It’s located in a neighborhood surrounded by track housing in North Las Vegas about a mile from Sante Fe Station Hotel and Casino. I walked in to try a small portion of their BBQ, but it was 10:30 and only the butcher shop was open. The lady said they didn’t start serving hot meals until 11:00. I’ll probably make another trip when I’m on a return visit in a couple of weeks.
Road Kill Grill. Odd location, strange entrance, but some of the best BBQ in Vegas
Since I was so close to the Sante Fe Station, I thought I’d drop by. I made a fast stop here last summer during my Hit ‘em All Vegas trip but I really didn’t have the time then to really walk around the place. This is one of the Stations Casinos older properties and has gone under remodeling and upgrading a couple of times the past few years. Though the outside still is the same, the inside has been transformed into a modern casino. The Sportsbook is state-of-the-art (I took a pic to share but it turned out too blurry—sorry) and the rest of the place appears clean and modern, though it’s really a sea of slot machines. There’s a very nice food court and a movie theater complex. It was 11:00 AM and I noticed it was the showtime of the new Spiderman movie…if you know me, you know I’m a movie buff, so the temptation was just too great. The movie, though a tad long, was very good. It might be a bit dark for smaller kids, but the writers and director did a super job reinventing the story. Besides, Emma Stone is in this one, and frankly, I’d buy a ticket to watch Emma Stone sit on a rock. (3 ½ claps)
After playing and losing at a couple of games, I headed next down Rancho Dr to the Texas Hotel and Casino. This is another Station property that is huge. My intention for stopping was to simply use one of my coupons for a margarita, but as I was walking along I found a machine with 9/6 Jacks, so I slipped in a hundred to see if my luck would improve. I did play a good while logging in almost 4000 points, but I finally cashed out at $20. Why bother at this point? Because across from where I was playing were a couple of the new Lord of the Rings machines I talked about in yesterday’s report that I had some luck and profited at the Red Rock. I took the last $20 and put in the machine and hit the bonus on the very first pull. That was a $30 bonus. I played a bit more and caught another bonus. It was here that I had my biggest win of the trip so far. It costs $.35 per game on this and this bonus finally ended after I won $101.00. Of course, when I win something like this, I’m thinking to myself, “Damn, if was playing the max coin in at $3.50, I’d have won over a grand!” I’m never satisfied. I played some more and finally cashed out $125, a nice little run.
A thirty-five cent bet netting a $101 win...if only they were all like that
It’s already 4:30 when I leave Texas Station as I’m meeting LVA member Shari downtown at 6:00 for dinner. The rest of the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives tour will have to wait until next time. I headed downtown and parked in the Main Street Station (MSS) parking garage. The heat in Vegas on this day is reasonable at 94 degrees, but I still will look for a garage whenever it’s possible. Besides, I enjoy the walk through MSS, the California, and the Vegas Club to get to the Freemont Street Experience. The place was hopping! Any of the doubting Tomas’s who said the Freemont Apron was a bad investment were proven wrong as there were thousands up and down the corridor.
Freemont Experience on this day
As expected, the place has been infiltrated by the many people with the notion of getting dressed up like cartoon characters, Las Vegas showgirls, and famous musical and movie icons in order to get tips for pictures. At first I became upset with this display believing it to be too trashy and carnival-like; however, I’ve changed my mind recently. I do think now that they add to the craziness and novelty of the place. The only thing I didn’t like was one girl who dressed up like a sexy devil wearing a little else but a red thong bikini with a pitch fork and horns. Though she was getting some business from the drunken college boys, there are lots of small children here as well. Two boys of about 11 caught my attention as they walked by with their parents and their mouths wide open never taking their eyes off her as they passed by.
I met up with Shari at the foot of the stairs of Magnolia’s in the 4 Queens. We decided to have dinner at the Chicago Pizza upstairs, which for my taste buds makes the best pizza in town (just something about the thin crust ingredients). Shari and I last saw each other about three years ago. So, we had a lot to catch up on. She’s doing well working at Kaiser in Portland and I told all about my life as a semi-retired school teacher. She turned me on to some great coupon deals that I missed and handed me a lot of her extra American Casino Guide coupons. We had a really nice time splitting a delicious pepperoni and sausage pizza.
LVA member and friend Shari...sorry for the focus.
I related how much a bad video poker trip I was having. I’ve yet to catch a quad on single line for the past five days, though I somehow hit three straight flushes. This is one of the longest quad droughts I can remember. After dinner, we sat down at the full pay machines in the Keno area. I put in a hundred and played Jacks and Bonus for quarters while she just played nickels not wanting to gamble on this trip very much, but was nice enough to keep me company and lend moral support. After dipping down into the 30s, I held three fours and finally scored the fourth for my first quad of the trip. Despite getting four-to-the-royal five times during this session, I finally cashed out at $50. It occurs to me right now as I write this that I have $40 in free play from the 4 Queens that I’ve completely forgotten about. Oh well, I’ll be staying for a night at MSS in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll collect it then.
We said our goodbyes, and I headed back to the car but not before dropping a $20 into another Lord of the Rings game. Of course, lightning rarely strikes twice, or in this case three times, and I lost it. I drove back to the LVH for my final night here and then it’s back to Laughlin for three nights and a tournament.
More tomorrow.
