Summer of Cal/Nev – Day 46
It was moving day once again as I packed up my things at Palace Station (nice rooms in the tower) and moved to Orleans for a three night stay and my last stay in Las Vegas this summer—it’s enough. I pretty much took my time this morning as I knew I couldn’t check into the Orleans until the afternoon and I was to pick up David (timberwolf) at the Rio before today’s MPT meet.
This reminder for the teens was on every floor of the Orleans
I decided to look into getting the newer Iphone 5 as my 4S is acting up a little lately (it froze twice not long ago and it seems to be heating up too early and the battery life is seemingly getting shorter during the day). I had seen an add from Best Buy that they are offering to buy back the 4S and deduct it from the 5, so being that I had some time to kill, I headed out. I used Siri to direct me to the closest one from the Orleans and she sent me to Russell Rd into an industrial area, which was odd. When she announced I had arrived at my destination, I looked at the building and it did indeed say Best Buy…Shutters. For crying out loud! I gave it another try, this time asking for Best Buy Electronics and this time she got me to the right place on Maryland Ave., not far from UNLV.
I talked to a young girl who took my phone and checked some specs and went on the computer to look up something and finally told me that they’d buy my phone for $170 and that the Iphone 5 is $199 with the two year AT&T extension. So, the new phone would only cost me $29. That was good with me and told her let’s do the deal. She began the paperwork and went to initiate the two-year extension only to find that I’m not eligible for an extension until next March. I apologized for wasting her time as I didn’t realize I still had that much time left on my current contract (stupid AT&T) but bought a power adapter for my car, so it wasn’t a complete wasted trip.
I picked up Dave at the Rio and we attempted a back way into the Mirage parking structure which ultimately ended in a couple of U-turns and ultimately with us still taking the Strip entrance to the garage, but it all worked out. We were still a little early for the meet and just walked around looking at the newer machines and took pictures.
The Atrium at the Mirage. There's work being done so only half of it was there
The Beatles LOVE still going strong at the Mirage
After a fortunate discovery, I played a Buffalo penny machine (after we both got replacement slot club cards) and won a nice little $43, we ran into Jeanne Marie (noahcat) who had just scored a quad on spinning wheel. She introduced us to her husband, Norman (they recently got married) and after cashing in the tickets, we headed for the suite. The suites at the Mirage are on the four top floors and they’re simply called the A, B, C, and D floors. The suite was a freebie from the Vegas game (one of the many on Facebook) that the MGM properties sponsor. Harv has been playing it since its inception and logged in enough points to get two nights here. I took pictures of it and tried to get a picture of the view, which was fantastic, but the suites all have that Beatles LOVE screen over it and the camera couldn’t focus past it.
Living room area of the suite at the Mirage. Players fueling up before the game
Bathroom area of the suite at the Mirage. Not pictured the toilet/bidet room and walk in closet
This is the 7th annual MPT (Mattress Poker Tournament) and 6th in Las Vegas. I have been to five of them. It got its name from a home game played at a casino that was played on a mattress (simple enough) by LVA members who live on the East Coast referred to as the ECLVA (East Coast Las Vegas Advisor) members. Interestingly enough, most aren’t members anymore but everyone over the years have become friends and even though the mattresses aren’t always used all that much anymore, this continues to be a very special event that everyone looks forward to attending. For the East Coasters, this is really a week-long event that includes meals together, a bowling tournament of sorts, and a golf tournament (I call them tournaments but really only games with a little betting going on). I usually only play the poker, but this year, I’ve been cajoled into attending the golf tournament tonight—though I don’t play golf—at all—ever. On Wednesday, everyone flies back to the East Coast, and we West Coasters drive out of town as well.
Mascot keeping an eye on the game
About the only thing I did right was shuffle
JM (noahcat) was first out...ouch!
And time ran out for me.
My tenure this year was quick as I was the third man out (fourteen played). My Ace/Queen with on Ace out on the flop couldn’t hold up to Harv’s Ace/King. I don’t know who end up winning this year, but I’ll report that back to you in tomorrow’s report.
I walked across the street to meet David at the Casino Royale (he doesn’t play in the game though he does join in the bowling and golfing). He wanted to check his club status and make sure that he’s eligible for their free night offers. It turns out there’s a bit of a dispute and he was given a card to contact the manager, which he says he’ll do when he gets back home. He did have a $5 match coupon which he put on Red on the Roulette (he says he always plays Red) and won. He said he’ll use the winnings for the tip as we then walked next door to Harrahs to the Diamond Lounge.
Big Elvis is back and performing in the Duel Piano lounge at Harrahs
This is a regular stop as this Diamond lounge, which has had the same two bartenders since it opened (Robert and Ray) and is one of the nicer ones in town. The food tends to be a little better (today, the ubiquitous chicken wings and a chicken cordon-bleu puffy thing) along with the usual veggies and chips and finger desserts. Robert is a “talker.” Start any subject and Robert is a reservoir of knowledge and opinions. He is a bartender who has no problem when people are talking to each other and will ask, “What’s that?” to inject himself into the conversation. Some might find it obtrusive, but you just roll with it. David and I were talking about so many high school basketball players everywhere and Robert let us know that they’re all over town and that the tournament is at the Thomas-Mack Center for the week and there are over 5000 games. He also let us in on how the new Ferris Wheel can’t possibly make money, why Caesar’s Corporate gives so much money to CEO Gary Loveman, and a half dozen other topics. All this while the guy on our left at the bar is building a pyramid of one dollar bills on top of the bar. There’s never a dull moment…
Free entertainment in the Harrah's Diamond Lounge
We spent a good hour enjoying the food, the conversation, and the drinks in the Diamond Lounge and I started to run out of gas. (My timeline might be a little screwy her—Cadillac margaritas are to blame) We walked back to the Mirage where we ran into Tennis Bum and Noahcat, who was playing the new Family Guy video machine. As we were walking up, she was raking in the money having just hit three of the progressives—sweet!
Family guy win for Noahcat
We chatted with them for a bit and synchronized our times for tomorrow’s golf game. David chose to stay on the Strip for awhile and would take the shuttle back to the Rio, so I went ahead and headed back to the Orleans. It was certainly a fun day and it was just great seeing old friends from the East Coast. I hope to make it out to their turf sometime soon.
More tomorrow.
It was moving day once again as I packed up my things at Palace Station (nice rooms in the tower) and moved to Orleans for a three night stay and my last stay in Las Vegas this summer—it’s enough. I pretty much took my time this morning as I knew I couldn’t check into the Orleans until the afternoon and I was to pick up David (timberwolf) at the Rio before today’s MPT meet.
This reminder for the teens was on every floor of the Orleans
I decided to look into getting the newer Iphone 5 as my 4S is acting up a little lately (it froze twice not long ago and it seems to be heating up too early and the battery life is seemingly getting shorter during the day). I had seen an add from Best Buy that they are offering to buy back the 4S and deduct it from the 5, so being that I had some time to kill, I headed out. I used Siri to direct me to the closest one from the Orleans and she sent me to Russell Rd into an industrial area, which was odd. When she announced I had arrived at my destination, I looked at the building and it did indeed say Best Buy…Shutters. For crying out loud! I gave it another try, this time asking for Best Buy Electronics and this time she got me to the right place on Maryland Ave., not far from UNLV.
I talked to a young girl who took my phone and checked some specs and went on the computer to look up something and finally told me that they’d buy my phone for $170 and that the Iphone 5 is $199 with the two year AT&T extension. So, the new phone would only cost me $29. That was good with me and told her let’s do the deal. She began the paperwork and went to initiate the two-year extension only to find that I’m not eligible for an extension until next March. I apologized for wasting her time as I didn’t realize I still had that much time left on my current contract (stupid AT&T) but bought a power adapter for my car, so it wasn’t a complete wasted trip.
I picked up Dave at the Rio and we attempted a back way into the Mirage parking structure which ultimately ended in a couple of U-turns and ultimately with us still taking the Strip entrance to the garage, but it all worked out. We were still a little early for the meet and just walked around looking at the newer machines and took pictures.
The Atrium at the Mirage. There's work being done so only half of it was there
The Beatles LOVE still going strong at the Mirage
After a fortunate discovery, I played a Buffalo penny machine (after we both got replacement slot club cards) and won a nice little $43, we ran into Jeanne Marie (noahcat) who had just scored a quad on spinning wheel. She introduced us to her husband, Norman (they recently got married) and after cashing in the tickets, we headed for the suite. The suites at the Mirage are on the four top floors and they’re simply called the A, B, C, and D floors. The suite was a freebie from the Vegas game (one of the many on Facebook) that the MGM properties sponsor. Harv has been playing it since its inception and logged in enough points to get two nights here. I took pictures of it and tried to get a picture of the view, which was fantastic, but the suites all have that Beatles LOVE screen over it and the camera couldn’t focus past it.
Living room area of the suite at the Mirage. Players fueling up before the game
Bathroom area of the suite at the Mirage. Not pictured the toilet/bidet room and walk in closet
This is the 7th annual MPT (Mattress Poker Tournament) and 6th in Las Vegas. I have been to five of them. It got its name from a home game played at a casino that was played on a mattress (simple enough) by LVA members who live on the East Coast referred to as the ECLVA (East Coast Las Vegas Advisor) members. Interestingly enough, most aren’t members anymore but everyone over the years have become friends and even though the mattresses aren’t always used all that much anymore, this continues to be a very special event that everyone looks forward to attending. For the East Coasters, this is really a week-long event that includes meals together, a bowling tournament of sorts, and a golf tournament (I call them tournaments but really only games with a little betting going on). I usually only play the poker, but this year, I’ve been cajoled into attending the golf tournament tonight—though I don’t play golf—at all—ever. On Wednesday, everyone flies back to the East Coast, and we West Coasters drive out of town as well.
Mascot keeping an eye on the game
About the only thing I did right was shuffle
JM (noahcat) was first out...ouch!
And time ran out for me.
My tenure this year was quick as I was the third man out (fourteen played). My Ace/Queen with on Ace out on the flop couldn’t hold up to Harv’s Ace/King. I don’t know who end up winning this year, but I’ll report that back to you in tomorrow’s report.
I walked across the street to meet David at the Casino Royale (he doesn’t play in the game though he does join in the bowling and golfing). He wanted to check his club status and make sure that he’s eligible for their free night offers. It turns out there’s a bit of a dispute and he was given a card to contact the manager, which he says he’ll do when he gets back home. He did have a $5 match coupon which he put on Red on the Roulette (he says he always plays Red) and won. He said he’ll use the winnings for the tip as we then walked next door to Harrahs to the Diamond Lounge.
Big Elvis is back and performing in the Duel Piano lounge at Harrahs
This is a regular stop as this Diamond lounge, which has had the same two bartenders since it opened (Robert and Ray) and is one of the nicer ones in town. The food tends to be a little better (today, the ubiquitous chicken wings and a chicken cordon-bleu puffy thing) along with the usual veggies and chips and finger desserts. Robert is a “talker.” Start any subject and Robert is a reservoir of knowledge and opinions. He is a bartender who has no problem when people are talking to each other and will ask, “What’s that?” to inject himself into the conversation. Some might find it obtrusive, but you just roll with it. David and I were talking about so many high school basketball players everywhere and Robert let us know that they’re all over town and that the tournament is at the Thomas-Mack Center for the week and there are over 5000 games. He also let us in on how the new Ferris Wheel can’t possibly make money, why Caesar’s Corporate gives so much money to CEO Gary Loveman, and a half dozen other topics. All this while the guy on our left at the bar is building a pyramid of one dollar bills on top of the bar. There’s never a dull moment…
Free entertainment in the Harrah's Diamond Lounge
We spent a good hour enjoying the food, the conversation, and the drinks in the Diamond Lounge and I started to run out of gas. (My timeline might be a little screwy her—Cadillac margaritas are to blame) We walked back to the Mirage where we ran into Tennis Bum and Noahcat, who was playing the new Family Guy video machine. As we were walking up, she was raking in the money having just hit three of the progressives—sweet!
Family guy win for Noahcat
We chatted with them for a bit and synchronized our times for tomorrow’s golf game. David chose to stay on the Strip for awhile and would take the shuttle back to the Rio, so I went ahead and headed back to the Orleans. It was certainly a fun day and it was just great seeing old friends from the East Coast. I hope to make it out to their turf sometime soon.
More tomorrow.
