Summer 2012 – Day 13
As these reports continue on day after day, there’s the inevitable problem of repeating things. After all, I’m a man who thrives on routine. I go to bed at the same time, wake up around the same time, brush my teeth before I shave, and put my left shoe on and then my right. This explains why complete retirement simply isn’t in the books for me…where’s the schedule? I say this because I as the days go on and I’m doing pretty much the same thing, that doesn’t leave much in the way of an interesting report. I’m sure there will be days something interesting will happen (like my winning something good would be a good start—yet to happen), and other days, I’ll be left with the more uninteresting events.
After checking out of the Silverton (I’ll be back here in three weeks), I loaded my things in the car and noticed from the parking garage how nice the day was starting out. I walked over to the edge and took a picture of the Strip in the background but wanted to catch the morning sky free of thunderclouds for the first time in days. The temp was in the high 80s with a small breeze—perfect weather—for now.
View from the Silverton Parking Garage looking towards the Strip
I made a stop in Henderson to fill up at the Costco ($1.31 per gallon—for those of you who don’t know, if you use your Costco American Express to pay for gas, you get another 3% off, which is returned to you in a merchandise check once per year effectively making the gas here really $1.27 per gallon). I then went into the store to get some new underclothes. Some have wondered if I do laundry on these six to eight week trips and the answer is I don’t. I do this once per year, and so it’s about time to buy new things anyway. My shirts and pants I’ll simply put into a laundry bag for when I get home, but I throw away last year’s underclothes and buy new ones each year. Of course, I can’t leave a Costco without buying a hotdog and soda ($1.50 for both a quarter pound dog and a drink with refills is still the best deal anywhere).
I then made a stopover at the Harvest Bread Co. once again to pick up a sandwich for later in the day. As I drove along the State 95 to Laughlin, I wanted to take another picture of the solar farm hoping that the angle would be better from this side of the freeway and going this direction, but it really wouldn’t have been any different. As I passed it today, there were dozens of semis lined around the latest one being built unloading the panels for installation. There are no signs from the highway as to the name of this place or who might own it.
The drive to Laughlin was otherwise uneventful (the rest stop I’ve been wanting to take a picture of (for years now, it seems) is STILL not open. I can only assume that Fred, Jose, Pedro, and Sven are simply taking their time finishing things up. I first stopped once again at the Riverside to play the Quick Quads. The session was uneventful, and I cashed out with a small loss. When I checked into Harrahs, I asked the clerk what time the poker tournament registration would be held. She looked on her computer and said there was no poker tournament being held. What? She looked again and told me I was there on a Scratch Off promotion. What? Oh for crying out loud!
I went to my room on the 14th floor and for the umpteenth time, I’ve been given room 85. This is the very last room at the end of hall next to the fire escape exit. This actually worked out last year as there actually was a fire in one of the rooms and I had to use the fire escape along with all the other customers trekking along in their robes and slippers at 2 AM. I checked my folder with all my promotion offers, and sure enough, there was my scratcher card. It’s called Mystery Reel Rewards. At the promotions booth you scratch off one of the three hidden boxes on your mailer. You can win from $15 to $750 free play. Look, it’s no mystery. I’ve done these many times before, you ALWAYS win $15. A couple years ago, in my frustration, I stood by the side as the line of people scratched off their cards. ALL of them had $15, except one person did scratch off $100, but to no one’s surprise, the person was a 7 Star card holder. I have two more days, so I’ll keep you posted as to my other “mystery” prizes.
Not the scenic picture of the Colorado River this time...my standard parking lot view
My plan today was really no plan. I wasn’t going to go anywhere but stay in the hotel and gamble. I took my $15 freeplay, added another $35 to play some single line Jacks. An odd thing happened here, I hit quad 8s four times. Perhaps, in hindsight, I should have gone over to the roulette table and put everything down on 8. Though it was a good session playing for a good long time (a current theme this trip), I still eventually lost the $50—damn four-to-Royals were in abundance this time around. . I will share one humorous (and frustrating for me) moment. As I’m playing, the man two machines down stared at his machine. He asked what was going on. He was playing Bonus Poker for $.50 and the machine locked up. The music was playing. He honestly had no clue what he was doing or what was happening. I walked over and told him he hit a royal. He asked me how much he won. I told him $2000. He looked at me in shock. “You’re shittin’ me!” No. I pointed out the lit 4000 coin hit on the machine and the flashing JACKPOT. I don’t think the guy believed me until the attendant finally came and confirmed it. He was blown away. He had no idea what he was playing…ain’t it always the way? I left and walked over to play Spartacus for $20 and ran it up to $70, not bad for a penny game that hates to give out bonuses I lost some of that at other penny games and finally called it night.
I went into the Diamond Lounge for a margarita on the rocks (I think I only buy these because I like the salt around the rim) and watched a little baseball as the Angels were killing the Tigers. I walked over to the “food court” of the Diamond Lounge here. Now, you good folks from Atlantic City know that your DLs there serve complete buffets with meats, fish, chicken dishes with a large assortment of desserts, ect. Here’s today’s entire food offering in Laughlin, Nevada. See the picture.
Today's Diamond Lounge food offerings....yummy....(okay, the pasta salad was pretty good).
I enjoyed my time simply relaxing on the patio of the Diamond Lounge. There was hardly any humidity today and the temp was around 90. In the shade, it was actually very pleasant.
Nice day to hang out on the Diamond Lounge Patio
I headed up to my room and on the door was a paper explaining that for the next three days between 10 AM and 2 PM, the maintenance department where going to begin installing all new “green” shower heads in order to save water. Now I’m all for the recent trend by hotels that leave cards on your bed saying that their new policy is to not change sheets during a guest stay unless requested and another saying that if your towel doesn’t need changing, simply don’t leave it on the floor, and now this shower head thing. (Here comes the cynical me) Okay, this all might be all and good saving water and cleaning and such, but the memo goes on and on about how they’re doing this because they care SO much about the environment and that their policy is all about the GREEN movement (oh and by the way, we’ll—the company—save a ton of money on our water bills and cleaning supplies). Again, I’m actually all for this, so I’m not sure why I’m even mentioning all this—just the random thoughts of an old, suspicious dude.
More tomorrow.
As these reports continue on day after day, there’s the inevitable problem of repeating things. After all, I’m a man who thrives on routine. I go to bed at the same time, wake up around the same time, brush my teeth before I shave, and put my left shoe on and then my right. This explains why complete retirement simply isn’t in the books for me…where’s the schedule? I say this because I as the days go on and I’m doing pretty much the same thing, that doesn’t leave much in the way of an interesting report. I’m sure there will be days something interesting will happen (like my winning something good would be a good start—yet to happen), and other days, I’ll be left with the more uninteresting events.
After checking out of the Silverton (I’ll be back here in three weeks), I loaded my things in the car and noticed from the parking garage how nice the day was starting out. I walked over to the edge and took a picture of the Strip in the background but wanted to catch the morning sky free of thunderclouds for the first time in days. The temp was in the high 80s with a small breeze—perfect weather—for now.
View from the Silverton Parking Garage looking towards the Strip
I made a stop in Henderson to fill up at the Costco ($1.31 per gallon—for those of you who don’t know, if you use your Costco American Express to pay for gas, you get another 3% off, which is returned to you in a merchandise check once per year effectively making the gas here really $1.27 per gallon). I then went into the store to get some new underclothes. Some have wondered if I do laundry on these six to eight week trips and the answer is I don’t. I do this once per year, and so it’s about time to buy new things anyway. My shirts and pants I’ll simply put into a laundry bag for when I get home, but I throw away last year’s underclothes and buy new ones each year. Of course, I can’t leave a Costco without buying a hotdog and soda ($1.50 for both a quarter pound dog and a drink with refills is still the best deal anywhere).
I then made a stopover at the Harvest Bread Co. once again to pick up a sandwich for later in the day. As I drove along the State 95 to Laughlin, I wanted to take another picture of the solar farm hoping that the angle would be better from this side of the freeway and going this direction, but it really wouldn’t have been any different. As I passed it today, there were dozens of semis lined around the latest one being built unloading the panels for installation. There are no signs from the highway as to the name of this place or who might own it.
The drive to Laughlin was otherwise uneventful (the rest stop I’ve been wanting to take a picture of (for years now, it seems) is STILL not open. I can only assume that Fred, Jose, Pedro, and Sven are simply taking their time finishing things up. I first stopped once again at the Riverside to play the Quick Quads. The session was uneventful, and I cashed out with a small loss. When I checked into Harrahs, I asked the clerk what time the poker tournament registration would be held. She looked on her computer and said there was no poker tournament being held. What? She looked again and told me I was there on a Scratch Off promotion. What? Oh for crying out loud!
I went to my room on the 14th floor and for the umpteenth time, I’ve been given room 85. This is the very last room at the end of hall next to the fire escape exit. This actually worked out last year as there actually was a fire in one of the rooms and I had to use the fire escape along with all the other customers trekking along in their robes and slippers at 2 AM. I checked my folder with all my promotion offers, and sure enough, there was my scratcher card. It’s called Mystery Reel Rewards. At the promotions booth you scratch off one of the three hidden boxes on your mailer. You can win from $15 to $750 free play. Look, it’s no mystery. I’ve done these many times before, you ALWAYS win $15. A couple years ago, in my frustration, I stood by the side as the line of people scratched off their cards. ALL of them had $15, except one person did scratch off $100, but to no one’s surprise, the person was a 7 Star card holder. I have two more days, so I’ll keep you posted as to my other “mystery” prizes.
Not the scenic picture of the Colorado River this time...my standard parking lot view
My plan today was really no plan. I wasn’t going to go anywhere but stay in the hotel and gamble. I took my $15 freeplay, added another $35 to play some single line Jacks. An odd thing happened here, I hit quad 8s four times. Perhaps, in hindsight, I should have gone over to the roulette table and put everything down on 8. Though it was a good session playing for a good long time (a current theme this trip), I still eventually lost the $50—damn four-to-Royals were in abundance this time around. . I will share one humorous (and frustrating for me) moment. As I’m playing, the man two machines down stared at his machine. He asked what was going on. He was playing Bonus Poker for $.50 and the machine locked up. The music was playing. He honestly had no clue what he was doing or what was happening. I walked over and told him he hit a royal. He asked me how much he won. I told him $2000. He looked at me in shock. “You’re shittin’ me!” No. I pointed out the lit 4000 coin hit on the machine and the flashing JACKPOT. I don’t think the guy believed me until the attendant finally came and confirmed it. He was blown away. He had no idea what he was playing…ain’t it always the way? I left and walked over to play Spartacus for $20 and ran it up to $70, not bad for a penny game that hates to give out bonuses I lost some of that at other penny games and finally called it night.
I went into the Diamond Lounge for a margarita on the rocks (I think I only buy these because I like the salt around the rim) and watched a little baseball as the Angels were killing the Tigers. I walked over to the “food court” of the Diamond Lounge here. Now, you good folks from Atlantic City know that your DLs there serve complete buffets with meats, fish, chicken dishes with a large assortment of desserts, ect. Here’s today’s entire food offering in Laughlin, Nevada. See the picture.
Today's Diamond Lounge food offerings....yummy....(okay, the pasta salad was pretty good).
I enjoyed my time simply relaxing on the patio of the Diamond Lounge. There was hardly any humidity today and the temp was around 90. In the shade, it was actually very pleasant.
Nice day to hang out on the Diamond Lounge Patio
I headed up to my room and on the door was a paper explaining that for the next three days between 10 AM and 2 PM, the maintenance department where going to begin installing all new “green” shower heads in order to save water. Now I’m all for the recent trend by hotels that leave cards on your bed saying that their new policy is to not change sheets during a guest stay unless requested and another saying that if your towel doesn’t need changing, simply don’t leave it on the floor, and now this shower head thing. (Here comes the cynical me) Okay, this all might be all and good saving water and cleaning and such, but the memo goes on and on about how they’re doing this because they care SO much about the environment and that their policy is all about the GREEN movement (oh and by the way, we’ll—the company—save a ton of money on our water bills and cleaning supplies). Again, I’m actually all for this, so I’m not sure why I’m even mentioning all this—just the random thoughts of an old, suspicious dude.
More tomorrow.
