After a stop at the hospital to say so long to Faye, I finally hit the road. For the first time that I could remember, I really didn't want to make this trip. It was just before 1pm and it would usually take me about 4 hours for the drive, so I would be arriving about 5 pm. As I was making the drive, it felt sort of lonely not having someone with me. I kept looking over to the passenger seat to see if someone had magically appeared. I was listening to the Chargers and the 49ers games until the signal died somewhere in Victorville. I had loaded 3 CD's for the trip, Hootie and the Blowfish, Phantom of the Opera, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I played Hootie first. On the third track there's a song called "Let Her Cry" or something like that. Just always seems to make me teary eyed. If you've ever lived with an addict or an alcoholic you'll know what I'm talking about.
During the trip, it started to drizzle on and off and I set the wipers on delay. But one thing I like about this Lincoln is when it starts raining harder....the wipers start going faster automatically. And they would be going full force shortly as I headed into the mouth of the storm. Traffic heading south from Vegas was in bumper to bumper mode, and I thought that would be a good thing in this storm. Slower speeds...less accidents. Heading north was another story as some drivers drove as if it wasn't raining at all. I was doing 80 mph and was getting passed left and right. But fortunately, the rain passed and it was clear sailing ahead.
I got off at the South Point exit to take the back way to the Silverton. It was just before 5pm. I wanted to see my host before he left to make sure everything was in place as I know he would be off the next two days. The bellman, Ted, met me at the reception area ready to head up to the room. It almost looked ridiculous that the bell cart was only half full. Usually we need two carts when we check in. My host met me and made sure I had an extra carton of cigarettes so I wouldn't have to open the gift basket that was up in the room. It contained 4 cartons, two for Faye and two for me. It also contained 3 huge wine goblets, a picture frame and some sort of porcelain jar and some goodies like Ritz Bits to snack on. I'm sure that Faye will enjoy that when I bring it home to her.
Once I made sure things were in place in the room, I had to make some bets on my laptop, but I couldn't get a connection. I made sure I had the right password and as hard as I tried, it wouldn't get connected. Called the front desk and they sent up a technician to take care of the problem. I wound up calling in my bets as the tech wqas still working on the problem. Even though my Giants were playing, I just couldn't bet on them as they habitually have a mid-season swoon each year. So I bet the under as I thought it would be a low scoring game. I left the techs in the room and I headed down to the bar.
Even though I was hungry, I was going to pass on dinner until later. Fayes family had arrived, and I knew they would want to be eating soon. I passed them coming to their rooms while I was going down to the bar. Damn! It looked like a freakin' tribe coming down the hall.
Finally, I made it down to the bar. I had already heard that one of my favorite bartenders got fired. When I bumped into someone near the bar, I got the whole story. Apparently, a young man came up to the bar with a glass of beer in his hand, and ordered another one. She made the assumption....and you know what happens when you "assume"....that he had been carded at another bar, so she never asked him for an ID. Bad mistake. Turns out this guy had been gambling in the pit, and not only were they letting him gamble, but they were serving him drinks. BAD MISTAKE!!! Apparently, this kid also had a room here on the 4th floor. He turned on the bathtub and passed out. Do I have to say anything more? Water poured down 3 flights until security got up to the room. They finally find out that he is only 18!!! When his mother was called to pick him up, they told her that she was going to have to pay for the damage. She told them that THEY had let a minor drink and gamble and she wasn't going to pay for anything. Now they have to hope that she doesn't sue. So heads had to roll! They fired a pit boss, a dealer, a server and my bartender. Geez! But now the game had started and it was time to drink and gamble.
The bar was pretty full and I couldn't get any of my usual seats. I was told there was plenty of free play ($625) on my card, so I decided to use it first rather than my own money. For some reason, it just wouldn't bring up my Promo $ so we had to call a tech to fix the problem. So I slipped a hundred into the machine and started playing. It would be 7 hands before I hit a payable pair. This wasn't a good start. The tech came by and took down my players card info and said he'd be right back. I cashed out the $65 that was in the machine and reinserted it back in hoping it would change my luck. The tech came right back and told me to try it now. It worked, and I added another hundred of "their" money.
I played at that machine for a while and watched the game. The game was sure going my way as only 3 points had been scored and they were going into the 2nd quarter. For some reason, the bar emptied out, and I decided to move to one of my favorite seats where I've hit 3 royals so far. The progressive jackpot was nearing $4900. After only playing for a few minutes, the "tribe" showed up at the bar and they were ready to eat. Even though I wasn't going to join them, I had to make the trip to the buffet so I could charge it to my room. I couldn't believe there were 10 of them going to eat. The tab came to $176 as they include an 18% gratuity for a party of 8 or more. I guess that gratuity will be charged to me as the Silverton doesn't pick up tips on your comps.
So it was back to gambling. One bartender was leaving and surprise, surprise, a bartender that I've always had a crush on showed up to tend bar. Win or lose that night, the "view" was going to be nice. She had been on the extra board until the other bartender got fired.
But it was now time to pay attention to gambling. I finally hit my first 4 OAK catching two 7's after holding two. I then hit 4 Kings, and both of those payouts were on Bonus poker. I also hit two progressive jackpots, both for $207 on the four 2-4's. As you know, or most of you know, I switch from Bonus Poker to DDB. Once time when I did, I hit 4 8's for a $250 payout. I was getting tired and hadn't eaten, so when the "tribe" got back from dinner, I sat with some of them for a while and then headed to the coffee shop for something to eat. I already had my mind set for a BIG prime rib, and that's exactly what I ordered...the King size cut. And boy was it good. That Sundance Cafe sure has some good eats. After dinner, I headed up to bed for..hopefully...a good nights sleep. I'm sure it wasn't past 10 pm. I slept until 4:35 am and maybe fell asleep for an hour more. I called Faye at 5 am hoping she was already awake. After the phone rang 4 times, I hung up not wanting to wake her. But she called me right back and we talked for a while. She really didn't like it where she was although she could go out and smoke there. I have a feeling that I'll be picking her up in a few days and bring her back to Vegas.
So it's almost 8:20 am and the tribe just called to see about breakfast. I'm also meeting two LVA's for breakfast around 9:30, so I better jump in the shower and get ready to meet them. See you later.
During the trip, it started to drizzle on and off and I set the wipers on delay. But one thing I like about this Lincoln is when it starts raining harder....the wipers start going faster automatically. And they would be going full force shortly as I headed into the mouth of the storm. Traffic heading south from Vegas was in bumper to bumper mode, and I thought that would be a good thing in this storm. Slower speeds...less accidents. Heading north was another story as some drivers drove as if it wasn't raining at all. I was doing 80 mph and was getting passed left and right. But fortunately, the rain passed and it was clear sailing ahead.
I got off at the South Point exit to take the back way to the Silverton. It was just before 5pm. I wanted to see my host before he left to make sure everything was in place as I know he would be off the next two days. The bellman, Ted, met me at the reception area ready to head up to the room. It almost looked ridiculous that the bell cart was only half full. Usually we need two carts when we check in. My host met me and made sure I had an extra carton of cigarettes so I wouldn't have to open the gift basket that was up in the room. It contained 4 cartons, two for Faye and two for me. It also contained 3 huge wine goblets, a picture frame and some sort of porcelain jar and some goodies like Ritz Bits to snack on. I'm sure that Faye will enjoy that when I bring it home to her.
Once I made sure things were in place in the room, I had to make some bets on my laptop, but I couldn't get a connection. I made sure I had the right password and as hard as I tried, it wouldn't get connected. Called the front desk and they sent up a technician to take care of the problem. I wound up calling in my bets as the tech wqas still working on the problem. Even though my Giants were playing, I just couldn't bet on them as they habitually have a mid-season swoon each year. So I bet the under as I thought it would be a low scoring game. I left the techs in the room and I headed down to the bar.
Even though I was hungry, I was going to pass on dinner until later. Fayes family had arrived, and I knew they would want to be eating soon. I passed them coming to their rooms while I was going down to the bar. Damn! It looked like a freakin' tribe coming down the hall.
Finally, I made it down to the bar. I had already heard that one of my favorite bartenders got fired. When I bumped into someone near the bar, I got the whole story. Apparently, a young man came up to the bar with a glass of beer in his hand, and ordered another one. She made the assumption....and you know what happens when you "assume"....that he had been carded at another bar, so she never asked him for an ID. Bad mistake. Turns out this guy had been gambling in the pit, and not only were they letting him gamble, but they were serving him drinks. BAD MISTAKE!!! Apparently, this kid also had a room here on the 4th floor. He turned on the bathtub and passed out. Do I have to say anything more? Water poured down 3 flights until security got up to the room. They finally find out that he is only 18!!! When his mother was called to pick him up, they told her that she was going to have to pay for the damage. She told them that THEY had let a minor drink and gamble and she wasn't going to pay for anything. Now they have to hope that she doesn't sue. So heads had to roll! They fired a pit boss, a dealer, a server and my bartender. Geez! But now the game had started and it was time to drink and gamble.
The bar was pretty full and I couldn't get any of my usual seats. I was told there was plenty of free play ($625) on my card, so I decided to use it first rather than my own money. For some reason, it just wouldn't bring up my Promo $ so we had to call a tech to fix the problem. So I slipped a hundred into the machine and started playing. It would be 7 hands before I hit a payable pair. This wasn't a good start. The tech came by and took down my players card info and said he'd be right back. I cashed out the $65 that was in the machine and reinserted it back in hoping it would change my luck. The tech came right back and told me to try it now. It worked, and I added another hundred of "their" money.
I played at that machine for a while and watched the game. The game was sure going my way as only 3 points had been scored and they were going into the 2nd quarter. For some reason, the bar emptied out, and I decided to move to one of my favorite seats where I've hit 3 royals so far. The progressive jackpot was nearing $4900. After only playing for a few minutes, the "tribe" showed up at the bar and they were ready to eat. Even though I wasn't going to join them, I had to make the trip to the buffet so I could charge it to my room. I couldn't believe there were 10 of them going to eat. The tab came to $176 as they include an 18% gratuity for a party of 8 or more. I guess that gratuity will be charged to me as the Silverton doesn't pick up tips on your comps.
So it was back to gambling. One bartender was leaving and surprise, surprise, a bartender that I've always had a crush on showed up to tend bar. Win or lose that night, the "view" was going to be nice. She had been on the extra board until the other bartender got fired.
But it was now time to pay attention to gambling. I finally hit my first 4 OAK catching two 7's after holding two. I then hit 4 Kings, and both of those payouts were on Bonus poker. I also hit two progressive jackpots, both for $207 on the four 2-4's. As you know, or most of you know, I switch from Bonus Poker to DDB. Once time when I did, I hit 4 8's for a $250 payout. I was getting tired and hadn't eaten, so when the "tribe" got back from dinner, I sat with some of them for a while and then headed to the coffee shop for something to eat. I already had my mind set for a BIG prime rib, and that's exactly what I ordered...the King size cut. And boy was it good. That Sundance Cafe sure has some good eats. After dinner, I headed up to bed for..hopefully...a good nights sleep. I'm sure it wasn't past 10 pm. I slept until 4:35 am and maybe fell asleep for an hour more. I called Faye at 5 am hoping she was already awake. After the phone rang 4 times, I hung up not wanting to wake her. But she called me right back and we talked for a while. She really didn't like it where she was although she could go out and smoke there. I have a feeling that I'll be picking her up in a few days and bring her back to Vegas.
So it's almost 8:20 am and the tribe just called to see about breakfast. I'm also meeting two LVA's for breakfast around 9:30, so I better jump in the shower and get ready to meet them. See you later.
