Saturday, March 16
It's the annual free day - Saturday - for the trip. Nothing on the agenda except for dinner that night - except getting the losing parlay in ! Of course, we weren't close to a winner again or even a free dinner for someone. It was a lackluster trip for parlay suspense across the board.
However, sometimes during the free day, ad hoc activities get planned! At about 8:30 am, a call went out for breakfast at the buffet and then a mandatory meeting afterward at the craps table. I'm not sure what happened - but all 7 of us didn't show up at the same time. I can't believe the craps tables were packed at 9:45 am on a Saturday....but maybe I was wrong.
Had my first good roll of the trip - where I started rolling a string of 8's - and only a few people were there to take advantage. After that, nothing....no one seemed to be able to roll and the profits from all my 8's were gone in a flash. No one could roll - frustrating.
Next up, of course, would be UTH. It seems Layup and I always end up on a Saturday late morning/early afternoon at the UTH table near the atrium (with all the natural light) with Gary the dealer. Layup had gotten into the habit of trusting Gary with his sports picks, so there was always conversation about the games coming up (or going on). And boy oh boy, that conversation dragged. The UTH game is hand dealt at the Mirage - and Gary would hold the cards, deal one to the players, and then stop and talk about Kentucky basketball or ask for a score update. I'm sitting there waiting for the second card and Gary is going off about his 3 team parlay last night that missed by the hook or something. After 30 minutes, it got aggravating. After an hour or so - it affected me mentally.
The good thing? The relief dealer came on and gave me quad 5's (which I did not lose, by the way) which floated me through the afternoon.
Ah! One memory that is coming back was the appearance of the "girlfriend" from Wednesday. I think this girlfriend was a 50-something overweight woman (probably from the Midwest) that loved UTH as much as the rest of us. She whistled to herself, sang, and tried to talk to us - but of course, no one wanted to have anything to do with her. So whenever a group of us sat down for UTH session, she usually was there and an icy wind came over the table.
Layup and I got up from Gary eventually- and headed to the salon for round 2 of baccarat. The session was going choppy until an Asian man sat down at the table next to me. Layup and I were taking turns driving with limited success, so we started to listen to this guy.
"Don't play this hand.."
"No, not banker here"
"Now we go heavy on player"
It was fun to let him take the lead and he did fairly well for us! Of course, I can't help myself and I can't sit out multiple hands - so I started betting banker on each hand and lost any profits that the Asian helped me get.
Wiz and others came in during the session and, of course, Wiz headed to the BJ table - Layup joined him and I eventually got there. It wasn't notable - I lost half my bankroll, as usual....I hate salon blackjack. It was extremely frustrating for Wiz as I have in my notes that he had no double opportunities for 4 shoes in a row. Just a complete grind.
After a rest, it was dinner at Craftsteak at the MGM. We always say we are going to gamble at the MGM before dinner, but we never do. Maybe next time we build in an hour for gambling before any MGM dinner. The dinner itself was great - even though I ate about 10% of my dish.... Don and Mike ordered a very expensive bottle of wine that 5 of the 7 drank - so when the bill came, how do we split it up? While the Purdue engineers were arguing for 5-10 minutes with the Clemson finance analyst on how to split it up, the industrial engineer in me quickly figured out the solution- a proud moment in my Vegas dinner history.
The taxi ride back was - let's just say, awful. We had a driver that wouldn't shut up. Someone brought up strip clubs and food - and we were given a 15 minute lecture/tour of each strip club and the quality of their steak. I have the text messages here where we didn't think it was too bad to start, but everyone agreed with me at the end. Just a painful ride back.
Micah had to leave before dinner, so we had 7 of us looking to gamble back at the Mirage. There was an open $25 blackjack table for 6 of us - so we all sat down (except for Wiz, who disappeared into the salon) for a full table session. It didn't start very well - I wasn't getting cards and all my doubles failed. Layup took his customary position at 3rd base - and about an hour in, had a 14 vs a 3.
"Hit me". He was distracted for some reason - drinks? - and this decision shocked the table
The dealer stopped, and asked him again. Layup said yes - give me a card.
Well, of course you know what happened. A 10 appeared, busting Layup and it would have been the bust card for the dealer.....who then drew to a 19.
To his credit, Layup refunded the bets of everyone at the table based on his bad decision. He got up immediately and joined Wiz in the salon. I'm sure this is just one more anecdote on why he never plays blackjack on the main table. The mood for the rest of us didn't improve, and we split up as some went to bed...and some went to UTH, including me. I think our girlfriend was there and, of course, it was a losing session for me. At about 11 pm, I called it a night.
Sunday, March 17
Most of the group - including Layup - left early (like 6, 7 am) so we all said our goodbyes the night before. I had a later flight - like 11 - and thought I could do some early morning gambling, but I had no energy for it. My diary shows zero gambling activity for me that morning - is that really right? The last message I have is that our whistling girlfriend
The flight back was long, and I wasn't feeling all that well. I still am getting used to understanding how taxing travel is for me during chemo sessions. But it was all worth it for 5 days in Vegas.
Of course, I am looking forward to Vegas 2020 and I fully expect to make it out there. I know there has been some talk about moving locations from the Mirage next year.....and I'm open to that!
It's the annual free day - Saturday - for the trip. Nothing on the agenda except for dinner that night - except getting the losing parlay in ! Of course, we weren't close to a winner again or even a free dinner for someone. It was a lackluster trip for parlay suspense across the board.
 |
| At least we went 4-3 on this |
However, sometimes during the free day, ad hoc activities get planned! At about 8:30 am, a call went out for breakfast at the buffet and then a mandatory meeting afterward at the craps table. I'm not sure what happened - but all 7 of us didn't show up at the same time. I can't believe the craps tables were packed at 9:45 am on a Saturday....but maybe I was wrong.
Had my first good roll of the trip - where I started rolling a string of 8's - and only a few people were there to take advantage. After that, nothing....no one seemed to be able to roll and the profits from all my 8's were gone in a flash. No one could roll - frustrating.
Next up, of course, would be UTH. It seems Layup and I always end up on a Saturday late morning/early afternoon at the UTH table near the atrium (with all the natural light) with Gary the dealer. Layup had gotten into the habit of trusting Gary with his sports picks, so there was always conversation about the games coming up (or going on). And boy oh boy, that conversation dragged. The UTH game is hand dealt at the Mirage - and Gary would hold the cards, deal one to the players, and then stop and talk about Kentucky basketball or ask for a score update. I'm sitting there waiting for the second card and Gary is going off about his 3 team parlay last night that missed by the hook or something. After 30 minutes, it got aggravating. After an hour or so - it affected me mentally.
The good thing? The relief dealer came on and gave me quad 5's (which I did not lose, by the way) which floated me through the afternoon.
Ah! One memory that is coming back was the appearance of the "girlfriend" from Wednesday. I think this girlfriend was a 50-something overweight woman (probably from the Midwest) that loved UTH as much as the rest of us. She whistled to herself, sang, and tried to talk to us - but of course, no one wanted to have anything to do with her. So whenever a group of us sat down for UTH session, she usually was there and an icy wind came over the table.
Layup and I got up from Gary eventually- and headed to the salon for round 2 of baccarat. The session was going choppy until an Asian man sat down at the table next to me. Layup and I were taking turns driving with limited success, so we started to listen to this guy.
"Don't play this hand.."
"No, not banker here"
"Now we go heavy on player"
It was fun to let him take the lead and he did fairly well for us! Of course, I can't help myself and I can't sit out multiple hands - so I started betting banker on each hand and lost any profits that the Asian helped me get.
Wiz and others came in during the session and, of course, Wiz headed to the BJ table - Layup joined him and I eventually got there. It wasn't notable - I lost half my bankroll, as usual....I hate salon blackjack. It was extremely frustrating for Wiz as I have in my notes that he had no double opportunities for 4 shoes in a row. Just a complete grind.
After a rest, it was dinner at Craftsteak at the MGM. We always say we are going to gamble at the MGM before dinner, but we never do. Maybe next time we build in an hour for gambling before any MGM dinner. The dinner itself was great - even though I ate about 10% of my dish.... Don and Mike ordered a very expensive bottle of wine that 5 of the 7 drank - so when the bill came, how do we split it up? While the Purdue engineers were arguing for 5-10 minutes with the Clemson finance analyst on how to split it up, the industrial engineer in me quickly figured out the solution- a proud moment in my Vegas dinner history.
The taxi ride back was - let's just say, awful. We had a driver that wouldn't shut up. Someone brought up strip clubs and food - and we were given a 15 minute lecture/tour of each strip club and the quality of their steak. I have the text messages here where we didn't think it was too bad to start, but everyone agreed with me at the end. Just a painful ride back.
Micah had to leave before dinner, so we had 7 of us looking to gamble back at the Mirage. There was an open $25 blackjack table for 6 of us - so we all sat down (except for Wiz, who disappeared into the salon) for a full table session. It didn't start very well - I wasn't getting cards and all my doubles failed. Layup took his customary position at 3rd base - and about an hour in, had a 14 vs a 3.
"Hit me". He was distracted for some reason - drinks? - and this decision shocked the table
The dealer stopped, and asked him again. Layup said yes - give me a card.
Well, of course you know what happened. A 10 appeared, busting Layup and it would have been the bust card for the dealer.....who then drew to a 19.
To his credit, Layup refunded the bets of everyone at the table based on his bad decision. He got up immediately and joined Wiz in the salon. I'm sure this is just one more anecdote on why he never plays blackjack on the main table. The mood for the rest of us didn't improve, and we split up as some went to bed...and some went to UTH, including me. I think our girlfriend was there and, of course, it was a losing session for me. At about 11 pm, I called it a night.
Sunday, March 17
Most of the group - including Layup - left early (like 6, 7 am) so we all said our goodbyes the night before. I had a later flight - like 11 - and thought I could do some early morning gambling, but I had no energy for it. My diary shows zero gambling activity for me that morning - is that really right? The last message I have is that our whistling girlfriend
The flight back was long, and I wasn't feeling all that well. I still am getting used to understanding how taxing travel is for me during chemo sessions. But it was all worth it for 5 days in Vegas.
Of course, I am looking forward to Vegas 2020 and I fully expect to make it out there. I know there has been some talk about moving locations from the Mirage next year.....and I'm open to that!
2 comments:
Great write up as always. I can't remember a lot of the details either but I totally forgot about the Derek blackjack moment when we hit his 14 and the whole table went ape shit. He stormed off while yelling, "This is why I never play BJ on the main floor!"
Hilarious!
I totally forgot about the "girlfriend." I seriously hope she never had her arm around me.
Layup selected the "expensive" bottle of wine. There was a second "house" selection that was quite good.
"Dressed to the nines" ? How old are you?
What I remember from that dinner is how cold I was (showing my age) and the amount of Lemoncello that was consumed.
The cab ride back to Mirage after dinner at the Aria. WOW. 2nd craziest driver I've had in Vegas. He could not stop talking. I think Layup kept feeding him with responses. He wanted to take us to a strip club and offered "free" cab fair to/from. And asked multiple times about a rub 'n tug. Dude, just drive the car and drop me off at the Mirage. Should I have changed clothes when I got back to casino?
The round at Southern Highlands. You forgot to mention the course maintenance and aeration that was occurring. Pissed MikeD off on the back side. Our caddie was one of best we've had. He was working hard to keep the course in good shape and new the distances.
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