OK, I better finish the diary off before football season starts. Don't want to still have Vegas entries to do when we start focusing on the NFL - and mixing up Vegas stories with my themed NFL picks. What will it be this year? Top 17 Sesame Street characters? Top PSAs from the 80s? Best Headline News anchors? (David Goodnow would be #1)
Anyway, on to the final installment of the diary...
Saturday, March 11
It's the free day! A day with no obligations and we just go with the flow. Important NCAA games starting at 8:30 am and continues on until about 11 pm; 3rd round golf from the most boring tournament out there (the Valspar); Premier league; drinking; possible Bare - too much for mere amateurs to handle.
Where did the day start off? Of course - at the UTH table, around 6 or 7 or so. Had a moderate session and then off to craps to find any sort of lightning in a bottle - no luck this time. A boring early morning. Went off to put the parlay in - I had the last game of the day, the New Mexico St. Aggies -3 at the Orleans vs. Bakersfield. A rematch from last year - the Aggies wanted revenge. That would tip at 9 pm; it was now 8:00 am when the ticket was put it. 13 hours to wait.
Of course, I threw out the recommendation of Vermont 2nd half against Albany; the score was tied and Vermont would crush them by more than 6 in the 2nd half!
Breakfast was a surprise - McDonalds! - where we plotted all our golf and basketball bets for the day, and tracked Albany hanging with Vermont the whole way, losing by only 3. Thanks guys.
Serious gambling commenced after breakfast - back at the UTH table; plenty of Baileys and coffee and vodka lemonades were flowing as the table got hot. We were there for 2, 3 hours or so and I think everyone had a wonderful session. What to do with all those profits and you want to get more drunk? There was only one option for me....it was not salon blackjack......it was baccarat!
Yes, showing up buzzed at an empty baccarat table at 11 am is a great idea! Glenn, the dealer from Pittsburgh, was there, surprised to see us - and he remembered Layup and I. Layup and I did our old alternating driver trick - the driver makes the call (player or banker) until he loses, then it switches. I sat down and ordered a Redbreast 15 right away - an Irish Whiskey I had on our Ireland golf trip last year. Just superb! I think I had 2, maybe 3 at the table.
The baccarat sessions was lukewarm to begin; maybe we had a slight profit after the first 45-60 minutes or so - then it went downhill quickly. We ended up losing our profits from UTH and more by the end. But - the good news - I was feeling super drunk. Happy drunk! At 12:15 pm!
Back to UTH - where I have a note that the table was on fire. I think everyone made a bundle - except me; I did well but the numbers don't show anything memorable for me. Hopefully everyone has memories from that session. We got up; I went over to craps (with Leland, maybe?) - a lady that was a virgin roller rolled all the numbers except "4" before a 7 showed up; nice job, except that 7 would have been really nice.... that was the only bright spot for an hour as I proved again that I could not roll this trip.
We decided to get lunch at this point at CPK - and this is when I hit the wall. I was coming down from an alcohol buzz and started to feel exhausted ---- the food took forever to come (it was probably just 10 minutes) and I don't think I said a word at the table. Layup, Wiz and Leland went outside to the pool; I went and took a nap.
Afterwards, back to the craps table where Leland and I had our only winning session; I didn't double my money but made a nice profit. I couldn't roll and I got a little aggravated so I left....walked around a bit, watched basketball. I came back to the table 30 minutes later and Leland was smiling like he got away with murder. "The table got so hot! I was trying to find you to call you back over because everyone was hitting points!" I can't complain, since I did leave with a profit but......there is this new invention called a phone that will allow you to send messages to others that aren't there. I may have to show Leland how to work a phone during Vegas 2018.
Back to UTH to join the others where now my UTH luck was running cold. No good news there. It was now 6 pm or so and I just needed a break. I needed to get out of the casino for a bit. I think it was Mike, Mike and I took a walk down the strip - up north - and over to the TI just to get fresh air and walk around. I needed a full timeout.
I think - need confirmation from others - that we were all lazy and just went to the buffet for dinner. After that, still time for some gambling -and there were no seats at the UTH table; I was hovering around multiple tables (UTH and Pai Gow near Revolution for a while). Leland was at the Pai Gow table playing with 2 drunk cowboys that were obnoxiously trying to get the Asian dealer to bump fists for every winning or tieing hand. It was amusing the first 4 times - and then it got old quick. Leland was the dealer's only outlet for sanity. A seat opened up and I joined; big mistake as I got crushed.
We went over to the host to get our bill straightened out; everything was fine - and we got to watch the New Mexico St. game (remember that) in the "Million Dollar Craps" room in the back of the Salon. One last gambling session for the day; I was done with UTH for the night and went back to craps for any scraps of magic; there were none and I ended with another loss. To bed....
Sunday, March 12.
Some of the group left early at 6 am or so (like Wiz and Mike A, I think). I didn't have to get to the airport until about 9 or so - so I had some time for one last UTH session. Layup and I played some early morning UTH - and it was an interesting session. First, I was on first base (on the corner), and I knew the dealer at the Pai Gow table next to me. She had no one at her table, so she was an active spectator at our table - yelling at our dealer to give us winners. After a while, I would show her my hand and then bet; I would play by the book and go 4x on K-8 and A-3 and Q-J.
She acted like a concerned mother. After I showed her a Q-10 or so, I went 4x....
"No! What are you doing? Don't do that! Wait for the flop..."
There were three hands in a row where I got 4x hands....
"Oh no! You are giving me a heart attack! Don't go 4x!"
I half enjoyed making her sweat; I should have gone 4x on 7-3 to see what she would do.
The perfect ending for the trip came near the end of the session; I had a K-7 where both cards were black. Time to go 4x again! The flop came with the 6 and 8 of spade. Interesting!
The river was both the 9 and 10 of spades. Oh my! I know I have a black 7.... Layup and Mike A had straight flushes this trip....can it be my turn? Did I have the 7 of spades, or was it the 7 of clubs?
The dealer turned his first card over....7 of spades. Nice. He had the straight flush.
(I had the king of spades, for a losing K-high flush).
Went to the airport, dropped Layup's car off, hung out in the Am Ex lounge with Don - went to the restroom and looked in the mirror - and I saw a bunch of grey hairs for the first time. Not the greatest way to end Vegas 2017....
Anyway, on to the final installment of the diary...
Saturday, March 11
It's the free day! A day with no obligations and we just go with the flow. Important NCAA games starting at 8:30 am and continues on until about 11 pm; 3rd round golf from the most boring tournament out there (the Valspar); Premier league; drinking; possible Bare - too much for mere amateurs to handle.
Where did the day start off? Of course - at the UTH table, around 6 or 7 or so. Had a moderate session and then off to craps to find any sort of lightning in a bottle - no luck this time. A boring early morning. Went off to put the parlay in - I had the last game of the day, the New Mexico St. Aggies -3 at the Orleans vs. Bakersfield. A rematch from last year - the Aggies wanted revenge. That would tip at 9 pm; it was now 8:00 am when the ticket was put it. 13 hours to wait.
Of course, I threw out the recommendation of Vermont 2nd half against Albany; the score was tied and Vermont would crush them by more than 6 in the 2nd half!
Breakfast was a surprise - McDonalds! - where we plotted all our golf and basketball bets for the day, and tracked Albany hanging with Vermont the whole way, losing by only 3. Thanks guys.
Serious gambling commenced after breakfast - back at the UTH table; plenty of Baileys and coffee and vodka lemonades were flowing as the table got hot. We were there for 2, 3 hours or so and I think everyone had a wonderful session. What to do with all those profits and you want to get more drunk? There was only one option for me....it was not salon blackjack......it was baccarat!
Yes, showing up buzzed at an empty baccarat table at 11 am is a great idea! Glenn, the dealer from Pittsburgh, was there, surprised to see us - and he remembered Layup and I. Layup and I did our old alternating driver trick - the driver makes the call (player or banker) until he loses, then it switches. I sat down and ordered a Redbreast 15 right away - an Irish Whiskey I had on our Ireland golf trip last year. Just superb! I think I had 2, maybe 3 at the table.
The baccarat sessions was lukewarm to begin; maybe we had a slight profit after the first 45-60 minutes or so - then it went downhill quickly. We ended up losing our profits from UTH and more by the end. But - the good news - I was feeling super drunk. Happy drunk! At 12:15 pm!
Back to UTH - where I have a note that the table was on fire. I think everyone made a bundle - except me; I did well but the numbers don't show anything memorable for me. Hopefully everyone has memories from that session. We got up; I went over to craps (with Leland, maybe?) - a lady that was a virgin roller rolled all the numbers except "4" before a 7 showed up; nice job, except that 7 would have been really nice.... that was the only bright spot for an hour as I proved again that I could not roll this trip.
We decided to get lunch at this point at CPK - and this is when I hit the wall. I was coming down from an alcohol buzz and started to feel exhausted ---- the food took forever to come (it was probably just 10 minutes) and I don't think I said a word at the table. Layup, Wiz and Leland went outside to the pool; I went and took a nap.
Afterwards, back to the craps table where Leland and I had our only winning session; I didn't double my money but made a nice profit. I couldn't roll and I got a little aggravated so I left....walked around a bit, watched basketball. I came back to the table 30 minutes later and Leland was smiling like he got away with murder. "The table got so hot! I was trying to find you to call you back over because everyone was hitting points!" I can't complain, since I did leave with a profit but......there is this new invention called a phone that will allow you to send messages to others that aren't there. I may have to show Leland how to work a phone during Vegas 2018.
Back to UTH to join the others where now my UTH luck was running cold. No good news there. It was now 6 pm or so and I just needed a break. I needed to get out of the casino for a bit. I think it was Mike, Mike and I took a walk down the strip - up north - and over to the TI just to get fresh air and walk around. I needed a full timeout.
I think - need confirmation from others - that we were all lazy and just went to the buffet for dinner. After that, still time for some gambling -and there were no seats at the UTH table; I was hovering around multiple tables (UTH and Pai Gow near Revolution for a while). Leland was at the Pai Gow table playing with 2 drunk cowboys that were obnoxiously trying to get the Asian dealer to bump fists for every winning or tieing hand. It was amusing the first 4 times - and then it got old quick. Leland was the dealer's only outlet for sanity. A seat opened up and I joined; big mistake as I got crushed.
We went over to the host to get our bill straightened out; everything was fine - and we got to watch the New Mexico St. game (remember that) in the "Million Dollar Craps" room in the back of the Salon. One last gambling session for the day; I was done with UTH for the night and went back to craps for any scraps of magic; there were none and I ended with another loss. To bed....
Sunday, March 12.
Some of the group left early at 6 am or so (like Wiz and Mike A, I think). I didn't have to get to the airport until about 9 or so - so I had some time for one last UTH session. Layup and I played some early morning UTH - and it was an interesting session. First, I was on first base (on the corner), and I knew the dealer at the Pai Gow table next to me. She had no one at her table, so she was an active spectator at our table - yelling at our dealer to give us winners. After a while, I would show her my hand and then bet; I would play by the book and go 4x on K-8 and A-3 and Q-J.
She acted like a concerned mother. After I showed her a Q-10 or so, I went 4x....
"No! What are you doing? Don't do that! Wait for the flop..."
There were three hands in a row where I got 4x hands....
"Oh no! You are giving me a heart attack! Don't go 4x!"
I half enjoyed making her sweat; I should have gone 4x on 7-3 to see what she would do.
The perfect ending for the trip came near the end of the session; I had a K-7 where both cards were black. Time to go 4x again! The flop came with the 6 and 8 of spade. Interesting!
The river was both the 9 and 10 of spades. Oh my! I know I have a black 7.... Layup and Mike A had straight flushes this trip....can it be my turn? Did I have the 7 of spades, or was it the 7 of clubs?
The dealer turned his first card over....7 of spades. Nice. He had the straight flush.
(I had the king of spades, for a losing K-high flush).
Went to the airport, dropped Layup's car off, hung out in the Am Ex lounge with Don - went to the restroom and looked in the mirror - and I saw a bunch of grey hairs for the first time. Not the greatest way to end Vegas 2017....
