Well, another Vegas trip has come and gone. As some have remarked rarlier, it's true: the Tuesday after the trip really is the worst day of the year.
What's the point of the diaries? Well, I think it's 30% to have others fill in hazy details from the trip, 20% to make sure all hilarity and craziness is documents, and 50% for entertainment in the future, when you re-read this diary 2, 3, 4 years from now or later.
So here we go, trying to put together the pieces from a particularly hazy trip:
Wednesday:
Arrived with Don and Mike around 6 pm or so after a record retrieval of bags from baggage claim. Of course, walked by the casino and saw the crowd already parked at the UTH table. After unpacking and cleaning up, Layup left for dinner with his boss and we got started.
Unbelieveably, my first action on this trip was not UTH, nor Pai Gow, nor craps - it was Blackjack switch with Wiz. Boy, was I out of practice - and that game messes you up. I hit on 13 vs a 4 twice (and Wiz didn't even catch me before it was too late!). Wiz switched his cards, and then decided to unswitch. A huddle of the dealer and floor person followed, with the decision being that you can unswitch.
A winning UTH session and then a mediocre craps session followed, then more UTH where more losing followed. A theme for the week? I don't recall any of these sessions. I decided I had enough and headed up around 12:30 or so.
Thursday
4:00! My body woke up bright and early at 4. I tried to stay in bed as long as I could - 4:30? 4:45? - before I had to get up. First, I checked the PGA tour web site to see when my pick, Vijay Singh, would be teeing off. Wiz got us all into a $25 side bet on our golfers for this. Vijay would be teeing off around 8:30 eastern. Cool!
Headed down to the sportsbook at 5 - with a V8 and Strawberry milk in hand. Made all the wagers within 90 minutes.....during that time, decided to check the leaderboard to see how Vijay was doing.
Hmmmm....not there. Why not?
It's past 8:30 in the east. Why isn't he on the leaderboard? His name is nowhere to be found. This can't be good.......he ended up with a WD as his back flared up. That's what I get for picking a 49 year old guy.
Jay's best bet for the day was the Old Dominion - Notre Dame under. Well, as soon as the game tipped (and we had our customary 9:00 tipoff handshake), he's rooting for the four corners - and for the shot clock to be shown on the screen. He channelled his inner Richard Dawson on every possession.... as each possession was winding down, he would loudly request:
"Show me......SHOT CLOCK!"
He ended up winning his bet.
Left Layup high and dry at the craps table...it was 10:45, and we decided to play craps. I had to leave for golf at 11:30, so I was thinking to myself that I could only play for about 30 minutes. I got the chips in the middle of the roll, and decided to wait until the point was made (or sevened out). I usually bet the 6's and the 8's; I then saw the rolls come out as:
10
8
6
5
8
6
8
I was beside myself. I was furious. I grabbed all my chips, apologized to Layup, and went right to the cashier. Net on that session: $0.
Golf was ok, I guess, for the first round of the year. Great course; it just took a while to find any sort of rhythm. I do know where I was when I found out that Sam Houston covered (7th green), Murray St won at the buzzer (6th tee), and the Butler/UTEP over hit (16th fairway).
Leland mentioned he went in on the Ohio Money Line - they got off to a hot start. That can't possibly win, can it?
As we were driving back, I got some cryptic texts from Layup about winning big - big? how big? - at the Sahara, of all places. I'll let him give more details.
Leland and I went in on the Wake money line, since "you couldn't afford not to bet it". It did come through as two terribly coached teams fumbled chance after chance away in regulation and overtime. Dinner with Layup's boss - where I did not embarass myself, unlike the next night - two winning craps sessions (I think at least one was with Mike and Laura - is that right?) and a final, ending UTH session that netted me $300 - it was a good day, with the exception of Vijay.
What's the point of the diaries? Well, I think it's 30% to have others fill in hazy details from the trip, 20% to make sure all hilarity and craziness is documents, and 50% for entertainment in the future, when you re-read this diary 2, 3, 4 years from now or later.
So here we go, trying to put together the pieces from a particularly hazy trip:
Wednesday:
Arrived with Don and Mike around 6 pm or so after a record retrieval of bags from baggage claim. Of course, walked by the casino and saw the crowd already parked at the UTH table. After unpacking and cleaning up, Layup left for dinner with his boss and we got started.
Unbelieveably, my first action on this trip was not UTH, nor Pai Gow, nor craps - it was Blackjack switch with Wiz. Boy, was I out of practice - and that game messes you up. I hit on 13 vs a 4 twice (and Wiz didn't even catch me before it was too late!). Wiz switched his cards, and then decided to unswitch. A huddle of the dealer and floor person followed, with the decision being that you can unswitch.
A winning UTH session and then a mediocre craps session followed, then more UTH where more losing followed. A theme for the week? I don't recall any of these sessions. I decided I had enough and headed up around 12:30 or so.
Thursday
4:00! My body woke up bright and early at 4. I tried to stay in bed as long as I could - 4:30? 4:45? - before I had to get up. First, I checked the PGA tour web site to see when my pick, Vijay Singh, would be teeing off. Wiz got us all into a $25 side bet on our golfers for this. Vijay would be teeing off around 8:30 eastern. Cool!
Headed down to the sportsbook at 5 - with a V8 and Strawberry milk in hand. Made all the wagers within 90 minutes.....during that time, decided to check the leaderboard to see how Vijay was doing.
Hmmmm....not there. Why not?
It's past 8:30 in the east. Why isn't he on the leaderboard? His name is nowhere to be found. This can't be good.......he ended up with a WD as his back flared up. That's what I get for picking a 49 year old guy.
Jay's best bet for the day was the Old Dominion - Notre Dame under. Well, as soon as the game tipped (and we had our customary 9:00 tipoff handshake), he's rooting for the four corners - and for the shot clock to be shown on the screen. He channelled his inner Richard Dawson on every possession.... as each possession was winding down, he would loudly request:
"Show me......SHOT CLOCK!"
He ended up winning his bet.
Left Layup high and dry at the craps table...it was 10:45, and we decided to play craps. I had to leave for golf at 11:30, so I was thinking to myself that I could only play for about 30 minutes. I got the chips in the middle of the roll, and decided to wait until the point was made (or sevened out). I usually bet the 6's and the 8's; I then saw the rolls come out as:
10
8
6
5
8
6
8
I was beside myself. I was furious. I grabbed all my chips, apologized to Layup, and went right to the cashier. Net on that session: $0.
Golf was ok, I guess, for the first round of the year. Great course; it just took a while to find any sort of rhythm. I do know where I was when I found out that Sam Houston covered (7th green), Murray St won at the buzzer (6th tee), and the Butler/UTEP over hit (16th fairway).
Leland mentioned he went in on the Ohio Money Line - they got off to a hot start. That can't possibly win, can it?
As we were driving back, I got some cryptic texts from Layup about winning big - big? how big? - at the Sahara, of all places. I'll let him give more details.
Leland and I went in on the Wake money line, since "you couldn't afford not to bet it". It did come through as two terribly coached teams fumbled chance after chance away in regulation and overtime. Dinner with Layup's boss - where I did not embarass myself, unlike the next night - two winning craps sessions (I think at least one was with Mike and Laura - is that right?) and a final, ending UTH session that netted me $300 - it was a good day, with the exception of Vijay.
2 comments:
You forgot the 4th reason, so that those who are no longer allowed to go can live vicariously through you...
This was one of my favorite trips ever. Although, I agree with Eric that much of it was a blur. 6 straight days inside a casino will do that. Adding to the confusion is that these trips are starting to have a similar flow from year to year. The first night out there is always a winner. It’s almost as if they know you just arrived and align the stars to make sure you win on your first day. The Sahara, which is becoming a golf-day tradition for 3 of us, never disappoints. This year it was a highlight of my trip-twice. First time with an hour+ craps roll that netted quite a nice profit. Second time with decent rolls all around the table and a player that kept offering to pay for the hard ways for everyone-first for $5 and then for $25. Each. At a full table. Too bad it didn’t hit. Also…a pumped guy with a tat on his bicep who threw the dice as if he was throwing a right hook.
A second staple is the all day UTH session. This marathon involves take-out food eaten “like wild bears” at the periphery of the table while the dealer and onlookers shake their heads in disgust. Oh yeah, and half a day of UTH. Good times. On this note, I am becoming hooked on carnie games. I remember a time where I wouldn’t consider playing anything but BJ, poker, and craps because those were “winning games”. Older and wiser (?) I’ve given up that dream and just want to play games that are fun. It’s vacation, right? The thought of grinding it out at BJ for 3 hours is so unappealing—especially with BJ switch right around the corner! How can it compare to getting dealt 9-8, 8-9, switch and split both, get 2 additional 8’s on the 8 hands, splitting the first of those (apparently you can only split 3 times), and watching eagerly as the dealer busts and I get paid on 4 hands. Of course, these games also come with larger losses, but for some reason that didn’t faze me this year.
We also managed a number of great dinners with the whole group-more than I can remember in any past year. Wish Craftsteak could have been earlier—never fun to spend a fortune on food you can’t enjoy because you’re eating at the equivalent of 2am EST. Dos Caminos was great.
Other than that, details are hazy. I remember lots of drinks with whipped cream, Jay betting the ND under at least 10 separate times, racing from the Sahara with our $$ before we got jumped, trying repeatedly to figure out if I had 3rd nut kicker with 2 unders, or 4th nut draw with 7th kicker (that card was awesome), pretending craps was like Monopoly with each number being a property (“I own that!”) and a story about Obama highlighting the life of Gary the UTH dealer who commutes from CA to Vegas just for his health insurance. Can’t wait for everyone else to post so that I can remember what I did on this trip.
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