Saturday, March 12
Well, this is a first - I think I was the second or third person to make it downstairs to the casino floor that morning. I'm not sure why I was "late" (for me) in getting to the floor that morning. As you know, I'm usually there by 5, 5:30 at the latest. I don't think I went down until about 7 - horrors! I was probably putting in my Saturday conference tournament picks for that damn pool and/or finalizing the parlays for the day.
I first headed to - where else? - the UTH table - but found no room at the inn. Layup and Wiz were there, playing, and were not in a happy mood. There were two other people at the table: one, a regular American from Lexington with a blue UK shirt on; he seemed to have made friends with Wiz and Layup at the table - but all three were annoyed with the second guy there.
This second guy was probably a Brit, wearing a sportcoat and clearly was still partying from night before. He was chain smoking and (I recall) had at least 3 glasses of alcohol at the table. Apparently, he wasn't budging from the table as he was winning, but was so obnoxious. I'll let Wiz and Layup explain in the comments why he was considered an ass - but that's the worst kind of gambler to gable with - an asshole who wins. An ass who loses is fine, because you know the pain is temporary as he's bound to leave soon. But a mean winner? Ugh.
I found no reason to stay there so I went over to play craps with a few strangers; the Bailey's and cocoa kept coming as I chased the Horn High ace Deuce, hard 4s and 10s, and the all small.. They never showed up, and I got killed. By then it was time for my morning massage.
After the spa trip, it was about 10:30 am on Saturday, and the sports day was in full swing! There was college B ball, golf, NBA, NHL - so enough sports to fill up the entire wall of the Mirage sportsbook. But - in one little monitor at the bottom center, I was watching FS2. Yes sir - it's FA Cup action, yo! Quarterfinals between Chelsea and my adopted Everton team! I even had on my Everton shirt.....
The book was packed, and there was literally no one else in the room watching soccer, let alone vocally rooting for a team. That means I could be as obnoxious as I wanted during the game - no one would have a clue what I was yelling at. Lukaku scored twice in the second half - both occured when the main game in the book, Michigan-Purdue, was in commercial, so everyone heard my shrieking - as Everton pulled the upset, 2-0. Everyone won a +170 bet on them.
What was next? A gambling experience that is a 180-degree turn from a thrilling soccer win; 30 minutes of Pai Gow! And not just any Pai Gow experience; three of us sat down to play and we found out we had a break in dealer. It was a complete farce; we literally played 1 hand every 5 minutes. I couldn't take it any more and got up....
Of course, UTH was still packed (and I think the ass was still there); by then, everyone else had joined us on the floor looking to gamble; 4 of us (Don, Mike, Mike and I) ended up at an empty $25 blackjack table. We had a good time; cards were decent (but never great), as we played for over 3 hours and I ended up down $10. However - I was shocked at the amount of shuffling that occured. We would have 5 or 6 people at the table, and I am pretty sure that we had a shuffle every 8-9 hands. I think we played with a 6 deck shoe - that's the only explanation, right? I can't ever recall a shoe being penetrated that "short" before a shuffle. Did I look like a counter? (Maybe it was Don....he has that look about him)
Parlay update...Don had the first winner of the day with Purdue in the Big 10 semis; my pick of Ark-Little Rock came home a winner; Mike A picked the Raptors, and they won. Wiz had Tx A&M - who won their SEC Semi. To keep the streak alive, all Mike D needed was to have Villanova win the Big east over Seton Hall. A layup, right?
(Not sure where Layup, Wiz and Leland went in the afternoon - I don't think there was an off-campus field trip, but you never know....)
Dinner was at Rose Rabbit Lie at the Cosmo - which was great. What a find, Leland. However, the excitement during this trip happened before dinner as we were walking through the Cosmo casino...we passed by the high limit area, and saw the Holy Grail....a UTH table in the high limit area!!!! It was reserved (no one was playing) but we had to ask the pit boss ....what action is needed to reserve a UTH table?
The answer was - $100,000 action per hour. (is that right???- ed. ) We quickly started doing the match. 6 people at a table, 40 hands/hour - meaning 240 total hands - --- this means action of $400 per hand is needed. That's about a $75-$100 limit table...........hmmmmmm.......well gentlemen, we now have our goals.
After dinner, we came back to the Mirage for the evening session; I think Leland, Mike A and I ended up at the craps table. Again, I was throwing out the $5 chips on the Horn High Ace Deuce and the All small. Leland and Mike A started playing the all small but not the horn.
At one point, Mike rolled - hit a point, and then he rolled again. He rolled a 2....loser on the line, but a winner for me. I pressed the Horn High. Next - a 12. YES! I said as the dealer (again) took the money from the line. Finally, a third roll - 3.....I started cheering loudly and did a little dance. $15 Horn High Ace Deuce - and the 3 came up!
Mike was a bit dumbfounded. "Why are you cheering? We lost again on the pass line. Did we win the all small with that?"
I think this is my direct quote: "No - all that's important, Mike, is that I make money. Just keep rolling like that and make me money!". The table got a bit frosty with my comment....
The night ended at the UTH table with a stoic Ruth who killed all of us with bad hands. I think many in the group finally turned against her.
Sunday, March 13
By 6:00 am this morning, both Layup and Wiz had left - Layup heading to Asia for a 2 week business trip immediately after leaving the Mirage. He said his business class flight was the perfect way to recover. Mike, Mike and Don had an earlier flight to Cincinnati, so they were up and gone by 7.
That left Leland and I; I started the morning at the craps table where some kid hit 3 hard 4's in a row - and was just the "9" away from the all or nothing. Leland joined for a bit; we had the breakfast buffet then back for one last unsuccessful run at craps.
I took Leland to the airport in Layup's rental - I agreed to return it - and on the ride over, we talked about the 2016 presidential election. I tried to convey to him how Trump was attractive to many in middle America. (At this point, Trump was the favorite - but hadn't locked down - the Republican nomination). I think we agreed that it was sad how fractured America had become; we don't socialize with people outside our class/societal status much any more. It was a deep conversation - something that was more appropriate for a Monday dinner rather than a final discussion after a 100 hour gambling session.
I dropped Leland off at the terminal, then tried to find where the rental car return was for McCarran airport. Holy shit - it seemed to be in Tucson. Lugging my clubs all over that damn garage, on the overcrowded shuttle bus and then in the 30 minute check in line for Delta was a sour end to another great trip.
Well, this is a first - I think I was the second or third person to make it downstairs to the casino floor that morning. I'm not sure why I was "late" (for me) in getting to the floor that morning. As you know, I'm usually there by 5, 5:30 at the latest. I don't think I went down until about 7 - horrors! I was probably putting in my Saturday conference tournament picks for that damn pool and/or finalizing the parlays for the day.
I first headed to - where else? - the UTH table - but found no room at the inn. Layup and Wiz were there, playing, and were not in a happy mood. There were two other people at the table: one, a regular American from Lexington with a blue UK shirt on; he seemed to have made friends with Wiz and Layup at the table - but all three were annoyed with the second guy there.
This second guy was probably a Brit, wearing a sportcoat and clearly was still partying from night before. He was chain smoking and (I recall) had at least 3 glasses of alcohol at the table. Apparently, he wasn't budging from the table as he was winning, but was so obnoxious. I'll let Wiz and Layup explain in the comments why he was considered an ass - but that's the worst kind of gambler to gable with - an asshole who wins. An ass who loses is fine, because you know the pain is temporary as he's bound to leave soon. But a mean winner? Ugh.
I found no reason to stay there so I went over to play craps with a few strangers; the Bailey's and cocoa kept coming as I chased the Horn High ace Deuce, hard 4s and 10s, and the all small.. They never showed up, and I got killed. By then it was time for my morning massage.
After the spa trip, it was about 10:30 am on Saturday, and the sports day was in full swing! There was college B ball, golf, NBA, NHL - so enough sports to fill up the entire wall of the Mirage sportsbook. But - in one little monitor at the bottom center, I was watching FS2. Yes sir - it's FA Cup action, yo! Quarterfinals between Chelsea and my adopted Everton team! I even had on my Everton shirt.....
The book was packed, and there was literally no one else in the room watching soccer, let alone vocally rooting for a team. That means I could be as obnoxious as I wanted during the game - no one would have a clue what I was yelling at. Lukaku scored twice in the second half - both occured when the main game in the book, Michigan-Purdue, was in commercial, so everyone heard my shrieking - as Everton pulled the upset, 2-0. Everyone won a +170 bet on them.What was next? A gambling experience that is a 180-degree turn from a thrilling soccer win; 30 minutes of Pai Gow! And not just any Pai Gow experience; three of us sat down to play and we found out we had a break in dealer. It was a complete farce; we literally played 1 hand every 5 minutes. I couldn't take it any more and got up....
Of course, UTH was still packed (and I think the ass was still there); by then, everyone else had joined us on the floor looking to gamble; 4 of us (Don, Mike, Mike and I) ended up at an empty $25 blackjack table. We had a good time; cards were decent (but never great), as we played for over 3 hours and I ended up down $10. However - I was shocked at the amount of shuffling that occured. We would have 5 or 6 people at the table, and I am pretty sure that we had a shuffle every 8-9 hands. I think we played with a 6 deck shoe - that's the only explanation, right? I can't ever recall a shoe being penetrated that "short" before a shuffle. Did I look like a counter? (Maybe it was Don....he has that look about him)
Parlay update...Don had the first winner of the day with Purdue in the Big 10 semis; my pick of Ark-Little Rock came home a winner; Mike A picked the Raptors, and they won. Wiz had Tx A&M - who won their SEC Semi. To keep the streak alive, all Mike D needed was to have Villanova win the Big east over Seton Hall. A layup, right?
(Not sure where Layup, Wiz and Leland went in the afternoon - I don't think there was an off-campus field trip, but you never know....)
Dinner was at Rose Rabbit Lie at the Cosmo - which was great. What a find, Leland. However, the excitement during this trip happened before dinner as we were walking through the Cosmo casino...we passed by the high limit area, and saw the Holy Grail....a UTH table in the high limit area!!!! It was reserved (no one was playing) but we had to ask the pit boss ....what action is needed to reserve a UTH table?
The answer was - $100,000 action per hour. (is that right???- ed. ) We quickly started doing the match. 6 people at a table, 40 hands/hour - meaning 240 total hands - --- this means action of $400 per hand is needed. That's about a $75-$100 limit table...........hmmmmmm.......well gentlemen, we now have our goals.
After dinner, we came back to the Mirage for the evening session; I think Leland, Mike A and I ended up at the craps table. Again, I was throwing out the $5 chips on the Horn High Ace Deuce and the All small. Leland and Mike A started playing the all small but not the horn.
At one point, Mike rolled - hit a point, and then he rolled again. He rolled a 2....loser on the line, but a winner for me. I pressed the Horn High. Next - a 12. YES! I said as the dealer (again) took the money from the line. Finally, a third roll - 3.....I started cheering loudly and did a little dance. $15 Horn High Ace Deuce - and the 3 came up!
Mike was a bit dumbfounded. "Why are you cheering? We lost again on the pass line. Did we win the all small with that?"
I think this is my direct quote: "No - all that's important, Mike, is that I make money. Just keep rolling like that and make me money!". The table got a bit frosty with my comment....
The night ended at the UTH table with a stoic Ruth who killed all of us with bad hands. I think many in the group finally turned against her.
Sunday, March 13
By 6:00 am this morning, both Layup and Wiz had left - Layup heading to Asia for a 2 week business trip immediately after leaving the Mirage. He said his business class flight was the perfect way to recover. Mike, Mike and Don had an earlier flight to Cincinnati, so they were up and gone by 7.
That left Leland and I; I started the morning at the craps table where some kid hit 3 hard 4's in a row - and was just the "9" away from the all or nothing. Leland joined for a bit; we had the breakfast buffet then back for one last unsuccessful run at craps.
I took Leland to the airport in Layup's rental - I agreed to return it - and on the ride over, we talked about the 2016 presidential election. I tried to convey to him how Trump was attractive to many in middle America. (At this point, Trump was the favorite - but hadn't locked down - the Republican nomination). I think we agreed that it was sad how fractured America had become; we don't socialize with people outside our class/societal status much any more. It was a deep conversation - something that was more appropriate for a Monday dinner rather than a final discussion after a 100 hour gambling session.
I dropped Leland off at the terminal, then tried to find where the rental car return was for McCarran airport. Holy shit - it seemed to be in Tucson. Lugging my clubs all over that damn garage, on the overcrowded shuttle bus and then in the 30 minute check in line for Delta was a sour end to another great trip.
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