Less than 24 hours

By this time tomorrow evening I will be in Vegas....unsupervised....waiting....it will test my self- control. I will try and work out, wrap up some work, grab some food, finalize my research, and then go pick up Eric, Don, and Mike. More than likely, I will have a few drinks on the plane, change clothes at the Mirage, camp out at the UTH table, loss a shit ton, forget to pick up everyone and then pass out around 1:00am all depressed.

But I can't help myself. I'm so excited for this trip. On Sunday I had to get out of the house because I was just too amped up for the trip. So I tivo'd the selection show, took Morgan swimming, and then came back to have dinner with Carol. My dinner consisted of me just standing in front of the TV watching the selection. Something about the selection show on the Sunday prior to our trip that really just makes it all real. It's like Christmas eve. Once church is over on Christmas eve, it was then Christmas seemed real and right around the corner. That's the selection show for me and Vegas.

And I don't really like doing brackets anymore because I suck. I tend to flip flop every year between picking all the favorites or all the underdogs. I honestly get more excited looking at the NIT bracket than the NCAA bracket now. I will fill out one bracket for a pool I'm in with my Zurich buddies back in MD, but I'm forced too because that is how we decide the ranking order for our fantasy football league. I hate the NCAA bracket so much I have outlawed it my offices.

So after the selection show, I just can't get focused. I was getting into a heated argument with a lady in product management today, and in the middle of the argument, my mind wandered and started thinking about how to measure who is the best and worst craps roller in the group. Should we keep track of how many points and hard ways each of us hit to determine this or should it be measured by the length of time of all of our rolls. How great would that be that on Sunday Eric announces that Mike D is the best roller because he rolled for a total of 282 minutes during the entire trip while Derek rolled for measly 52 minutes. Should we pay someone to keep track of this for us? We probably could, but how much would that cost? Where is Bill James when you need him to make sure that we are using the right measurement. And let's just say Audrey, whom I was having the discussion with, told me to call her back because it was obvious I was distracted.

So just some last minute thoughts on objectives, stretch goals, and pitfalls for the trip:

1. What unchartered gambling aspect will we venture into during this trip. $50 craps? $300 BJ? Highroller Slots? I can say that I'm excited and nervous to find out.
2. I watched a lot of mid major basketball this year and I'm wondering if this is tainting my view on the games. Why do I look at every mid major and think they will cover or win. Davidson vs Louisville? Easy, Davidson. South Dakota St? Layup. Montana, Belmont, New Mexico St, Iona, and Ohio? Done. If I hadn't watched so much basketball, would I do better or worse? We will find out.
3. I need to see Dick this year. I hear from so many people at work that he just raves about our trips and looks up to us as gamblers. Every January he calls to make sure I'm still coming and asks personally about Lee, Eric, Wiz, and the "other couple" which is Don and Mike. I ignored him last trip because he was at the Hilton, but this year he is at the nugget and will find time to get with him to watch some games. He is a blast to drink with and was there for my greatest craps moment ever. I can't ignore him this trip.
4. I will try to share what Rock Chalk Jay Hawk means to the group without being called an idiot or asked to leave the table.
5. Since Don told me he was going to wipe his ass with the present I was going to buy everyone, I will need to look for a new present. Still thinking on what that could be....
6. Carol put the guilt trip on me finally. Looks like I'll be on the hook for a new Pottery Barn bedroom set for Morgan upon my return. She is 6 months pregnant and miserable, but still wants to go.
7. I think we need more pictures. Not of anything bad, but just of the group. I was going through some old photos from college and it was bringing back some great memories. I think the only picture we have is of the royal flush that the board was dealt in UTH.
8. I packed 6 pairs of shorts. I'm going to do my best on not wearing any long pants during the trip.
9. I just get so excited thinking about hitting the hard ways. And I really don't get all that excited with $5 or $10 on it anymore. I need at least $25 to let out a yell. That's not good at all is it.
10. I think that while we will lose out on the eye candy going in and out of Revolutions, I do think we will love the new setup for UTH. Its right next to the craps table and I think that it will create a lot of hard decisions on what we will play. Someone will try to play both and I can't wait to see what the pit bosses will do.

Can't wait to see everyone. I will try and post some updates this year.

Gambling Problem??

I found this article in a magazine I was reading about college kids and their gambling problems. The issue is, I think I answered "yes" to about eight of the questions. I know Layup probably has at least six I can think of...

The NCRG, Gamblers Anonymous, health professionals and gaming executives offer their assessment on when it’s time to realize the presence of problem gambling. These questions pertain to those viewpoints.
It’s time to obtain professional help if you answer yes to at least five of the following questions:
Did you ever lose work or school time from gambling?Did gambling make your home life unhappy?
Did you ever gamble to win money to pay debts?
Did losing make you want to return quickly to get it back?
Do you often gamble until your last dollar is spent?
Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Do you gamble to escape problems?
Have you ever contemplated suicide in the aftermath of gambling?
Have you ever suffered a loss of self-control in the middle of gambling, e.g., throwing drinks or slamming a glass off the table?
Have you ever taken a cash advance in order to chase your losses? (Many carry an interest rate of more than 30 percent.)
Do you drink more than you normally would while playing?
Has more than one person ever told you that you cannot control your gambling?
Have you ever missed a rent or mortgage payment because of gambling?
Have you ever committed an illegal act to finance gambling?
Have you experienced high blood pressure for an extended time after playing?

Vegas Budget Planning

So now it gets serious. Vegas is right around the corner and I'm struggling with my bankroll. With the recent move, the savings account is a little low as we await the check for the loss of sale on our home and reimbursement for paying a duplicate mortgage. Carol's dividend check which is more than enough to support the trip to vegas, still hasn't come yet, and it is also holding up our taxes. And my yearly bonus doesn't get paid until 10 days from now. The timing is so far off this year, I should be super stressed out and wanting to cancel the trip. But I can honestly say I don't think I've been this excited in a very long time. I'm attributing it to a couple of things:

• Living in the midwest. Gone are the days of 80 degree weather and the 10 minute drive to the beach. Why would anyone want to live here? The wind is constantly blowing and its cold as shit. I'm tired of hearing people tell me how I will never want to leave KC after I get used to it. I think these people have given up on life. Why would you want to live here if you had a choice to move? Ugh.



• Renewed focus on College Basketball- Maybe its all the time I'm spending inside, but man I've watched a ton of college basketball. While I'm not killing it, I'm holding my own on the gambling front. I can't wait to watch some of these games and just relax.



• Quick trips to Holywood- What a jolt of energy it is to have a brand new casino 14 minutes away from my house. Door to Door. It seems like Carol and I are getting a babysitter every other day and making a quick trip up to the casino. Its gotten my juices flowing for craps especially and finialized my decision on UTH.



• Renewed focus on tracking play- Had an amazing trip last year. The highs and lows were impressive. I was tapped out and had to utilize the old "pay for dinner on the CC to get cash" trick to fund one last craps run that resulted in a run back up to even. My goal this year is to be even (+/10%) by the end of the trip, but to be able to articulate where the money went.

So I felt bad last year that we really didn't have any pre-Vegas posts and not that much chatter post trip. I won't let that happen again. So to get back to basics, below is my planned budget for each type of game/activity starting with the biggest dollar events:

Craps ($4,300): If you have an hour to waste, read some of the old posts on our craps play. Simply hilarious. To put it in perspective, if I was on my death bed and make a wish foundation came to me to grant me one wish, it would be to play craps with this group of guys coming on this trip (and Jay/Laura) one last time. We simply have the best group!!! Playing with Wiz a couple of weeks ago for 2 hours was simply fantastic and now we have a full couple of days? Man, I just can't wait. I agree 100% with Eric on the need to have all of us at one table a little more often. I plan on spending as much time at these tables as possible.

BJ ($2000): Salon play only. Ready to put in some good sessions here. I'm done playing BJ just to kill time like the old days. Oh there's a $10 table, lets just sit down and have some fun. Not this time. That's what I'll use UTH or Pai Gow for in this trip. I will only play when I'm ready to go for the kill. And unlike Eric, I have no problems referring to the card. I love doing this when I have 15 against a 10. Pisses Wiz off to no end.

UTH ($1000): OK, so I'm going to just set a loss limit here and be done with it. I plan on scaling back the $$$ amount of my play and just do this to waste time. No more $25 per hand play like before. I'll be ok with just going a little smaller and being ok with slowly losing my $800.

Sportsbook ($750): I don't need a lot of money on each game. Maybe just $25 to have a great time and keep me interested. So the budget allows me to lose roughly 30 games. That should be more than enough.

Roulette ($600): 2 sessions seems to do the trick. I don't need to play this all the time, but I love to just smoke a cigar and relax at an empty roulette table during the mid afternoon.

Pai Gow ($500): Played a couple of times recently and I'm really starting to like this game again. I've stayed away for too long since UTH swallowed up all my time. Now with the new strategy, I'll have more time to play here and relax. Too bad they don't have TVs up yet.

Wiz ($380): I owe Wiz some money for the golf pool and the UNC win. Will pay this off the second he gets off the plane.

Spa ($200): Hopefully will be able to fit one massage in.

BJ Switch ($100): Will sit down for one session, get yelled at by Eric and Wiz, will pick up shortly there after. Hopefully I will only lose $100 during that time.

Video Poker ($100): Video Poker with Dick. Yes Dick is back again. Missed him last trip. He will be at the Nugget and will try and get down to see him if possible.

Food ($70): Will get everything comp'd I guess.....

So that ends up being a pretty nice budget. Wow. That added up pretty quickly.

Pre Vegas thoughts

This time next week, I will be on the plane to LA for the annual Vegas trip. This will be the 10th straight March trip for me - either the tournament weekend or the weekend before. Some quick thoughts going through my head 7 days before the trip:

1. I think there will be a slightly different fell to this trip given the timing. Some of us will be out there on Tuesday evening, and all will be in Vegas by 11 am on Wednesday. This is a first. Just think, by Friday morning, the trip will be half over.
2. I'll try to have some self discipline and not go overboard on Wednesday with the NIT games.....lots of luck with that.....
My resolutions in the gambling arena:
3. Would love to play more tiles.
4. Craps - I have a feeling this group will set a record with the number of hours spent on the craps table. I am committed to playing more hardways, less horns, and pressing more of the 6s and 8s. And I would like to dip my toe in the buying the 4s and 10s too.
5. More group sessions at craps. All 6 (7? 8?) of us need to be at a table for at least 2 hours every day.
6. Could do with less BJ Switch.
7. I want to finally - FINALLY - have a winning Pai Gow Poker session with John the Dealer.
8. Can I try to become more self sufficient at the black jack table and not go running for the card every time I have a questionable hand? I'm getting worse at the "book" plays as I get older. A-7 vs an 8. 3-3 vs a 7. 3-3 vs a 3? I'm not 100% sure what to do.......
9. I'll be at the UTH table a lot, I fear.....
10. Sports betting - I know I say this every year, but bigger bets, less games. It's just that I can't help myself........
11. I could use more alcohol in my system this year.
12. Excedrin PM every night. That really did help last year to get consistent sleep. (Is that compatible with #11?)
13. Let's try to eat some breakfast every day, ok? The buffet is good to tie you all the way through dinner.
14. And exercise....at least twice.
15. And one spa session too.

The problem with #12-#15 is that those activities interfere with the gambling time. How many hours in a day are there?

1 week to the tournament

One week from today, the tournament tips off in Dayton! And Selection Sunday is just 5 days away. You know what that means - it's time to look at the latest Bracketology and view the projected games for the 2nd and 3rd round. Most of these categories are familiar ones, but some new ones have been created just for this year!

The Kampen Game
(8) St Mary's v (9) Purdue

Layup's 5-12 Lock
(5) UNLV v (12) South Florida

Eric's Ohio Underdog game
Layup's New Homeland game
(8) Kansas St v (9) Cincinnati

Layup's $1000 on the Money Line Game
(3) Marquette v (14) Belmont

The 7-10 Game No One Cares about
(7) San Diego St v (10) St Louis

The Jay Memorial 9 am Thursday 1st upset of the Tournament Game
(6) Vanderbilt v (11) Washington

Wiz's ACC Lock
The Game Most Likely to create Eric-Wiz Side Action
(8) Iowa St v (9) Virginia

One of these years it will happen for Don game
(3) Georgetown v (14) Akron

Mike's Philly Cheesesteak game
(4) Indiana v (13) Drexel

The Game only Eric cares about
(7) Creighton v (10) California

The Random over/under that Laura is passionate about game
(6) Gonzaga v (11) Harvard

Leland's Dino Gaudio Bad Coaching Memorial Game
(7) New Mexico v (10) West Virginia

Eric & Layup's Summer Sports Camp Game
(2) Michigan St. v (15) Loyola-MD

Catch of the Day

Today, after basketball, we had our weekly trip to the supermarket. The back of the store was the seafood section, an area of the store I usually do not go into - but today was different.

I noticed a small counter set up on the floor with about 10 people around it. I got closer and took a look.

The seafood department worker was cutting up these beautiful Norwegian salmons in front of all the customers. I joined in when he was just starting the first fish. The butcher (is that the right term?) started cutting up all the parts of the fish - head, skin, tail - and instead of throwing it away, he would put those parts in the blue trays that you see in the picture.

A mini skirmish then ensued as the customers all fought over who would have these parts of the fish.

At the end, the filet was left; more trays were brought out, and filet portions were placed in the trays....but no takers for that.

I'm horrible at guessing weights of these things; I'm guessing it was a 15, 20 pound salmon?

Then the next fish was brought out, and people started jostling to get in position. The lady in black at the top of the phot already had one head, and wanted another.

I went over to the seafood case, picked out a shrink wrapped package, and that was dinner for Janice and I tonight. I got .35 KG - about 3/4 of a pound - for 42 RMB , which is $7. Is that a good deal?

If it's 2:00 pm, it must be time to.....

Took Warren to the hair cut place (yes, the "salon") across the street. I took him in at about 1:50 pm. At 2:00 on the dot, music started playing on the loudspeakers.....and all the idle staff at the salon (yes, about 20 of them) went outside and started dancing.

(Yes, of course, another video clip of Chinese dancing!)

The guy closest to the window in the beret seemed to be the ringleader.

Does the CDC know about this?

It's spring in Guangzhou, where the weather is extremely humid 12 months out of the year. The days/weeks when it transitions from 50 degree highs to 65-70 degrees is dramatic. Whenever this occurs, massive amounts of condensation forms on the walls, glass, stone floor- anything with a hard, cold surface is coated with water. It can be dangerous!

In response to this hazard, the apartment staff has put up this helpful notice - well, I think it has to do with the weather.....maybe I am completely mistaken and we should move out now......

A restaurant for Layup

OK, I've got a backlog of posts ready to go - just no time to post them! It's almost at the point where I'm not sure where to start.

To get the juices flowing, here's an advertisement for a restaurant in Guangzhou that I will save for when Layup comes. I'm sure it's delicious!








Also - we are in the process of planning our next vacation. I went by a travel agent and saw this ad on their window - cruising! Take a cruise offered by the renowed Costa cruising fleet!

If you look hard enough, the name of the ship is seen in between the sets of windows in the middle-left of the ships. You can barely make it out.....the "Concordia".....

Tonight

Going to the new Hollywood casino tonight at the KC Speedway. Special guest flying in? Wiz. Oh boy. This could be a costly night. I'm bringing Carol along to be the adult watching over us. The last time Carol watched over Wiz and I, Wiz went on one of the craziest runs in BJ I've ever seen, only to walk away with a small gain because he didn't know how to press properly. After the dealer berated him for his play, I think we lost his winnings betting on black.

And my hiatus will be over on playing UTH. Lasted a little over three months. Not bad for an addict.

State of the art Airports

Well, you know the drill by now. 7-8 days of silence followed by one day of 3 or 4 posts crammed together. Today is your lucky day, dear reader!

As most of you know from past posts, we went to Thailand for Chinese New Year. We spent the first few days in Chiang Mai and then went to the southeastern island of Ko Chang.

In order to get to Ko Chang, you flew from BKK in a prop plane (Freddie and Warren both asked - is that a real plane???) for 45 minutes and landed at the small town/city of Trat. From there, you took a van and a ferry to the island.

The Trat airport was built in the late 1990's and should have a movie shot there in the near future. It is what you'd imagine an isolated, tropical airport to be. Where is Higgins --- or Tattoo?

The first picture is from the runway (we were on a golf cart heading to the plane on departure) looking back at the airport. The entire airport.

The second picture is the departure "lounge" - simply an open air hut (with a 2 foot fence around it, for security reasons!). The golf cart you see is the one that took us to the plane.

Calling all Butch Harmons out there

Well, this ought to get the comments flowing.

Over the Christmas holiday, we went to Sanya - the southernmost island in China- and I took Freddie (who is now 10, almost 11) golfing. He played about 12 or 13 complete holes, scoring legitimate 8's or 9's on most of them. it was a lot of fun - that's just about the age I was when I first went on a real course with my dad...... (ah, the fine Pine Ridge GC in East Lansing, MI....)

Anyway, for your pleasure, you can compare and contrast the swings here. Freddie's ball went about 120-130 yards down the middle. I was impressed.

My foot slipped on my swing, so we don't need to talk about where it landed.

Chinese Writing

So I'm trying to figure out a little bit about how you actually write Chinese characters. In general - on signs, in most books- you read left to right. (However, bus listings are different; the stops for a particular bus route are read from top to bottom).

This left-to-right direction is just a general guide, however. I guess it is more correct to say that you read from "front" to "back". For instance, the Chinese characters for "China Southern" - the big airline in Guangzhou - start at the front door of the plane. If you are looking at a plane, and the nose is on the left and the tail on the right, the China Southern name (in Chinese) would start on the left and be read from left to right.

However, on the other side of the plane - where the nose-to-tail direction is right to left - the characters are reversed. The first character is the right-most character, since it is near the "front",and the characters are read from right to left.

Got all that? It's the same way for buses, too. The name of the company is read in the door - to - back direction, whether it is left to right or right to left.

The next question, of couse, is how the English translation of the company name is written? Here is an actual picture of the bus used to transport us from the plant to the hotel up near Shanghai. Obviously, the door is on the right, so the Chinese characters are read right to left....why wouldn't the English characters be read in the same way?

This would make a good sobriety test in the states... "please read this text"......on second thought, maybe you have to be drunk to read this clearly......

Travel Note - Chinese New Year

Just one quick observation about the sights we see this time of year. Starting from about the 15th of the month, and continuing through the 10th of February, everyone travels. It's like Thanksgiving Sunday on steroids.

Our office is right next to the main Guangzhou train station, so the crowds outside on the street are at least 5x what they are on a normal day. The travelers coming in and out of the train station never ends.

And they all see to carry these gigantic plastic bags. It's not a plastic bag from a grocery store, but a large bag that zips made of material that you would cover your outdoor porch furniture with in the winter. It's plastic-like on the outside, but there is some cloth on the inside. I hope someone in the comments has a better way to describe this material.

When I say they are gigantic, I mean it. It is not a reusable bag from the store - it can easily fit a large suitcase inside of it. When packed, they can weigh up to 60-70 pounds.

Everyone has these bags - and they are brightly colored; red and yellow stripes; blue and green flowers; purple stripes with blue accents. All these people in grey clothing carrying this massive colorful bag.

What's in there? I can't help but think it is the majority of their life's belongings. This is the big holiday for the country, where people travel to their family for 2-3 weeks; why wouldn't they pack up everything in that bage for the trip?

It's oddly mesmerizing to watch these old women, weighing 90 pounds, carrying a 50 pound bag with their possessions around the train station area, looking in vain for their family members to show up and pick them up.

Let's Make a Deal!

Hello all, back from Thailand and the Chinese New Year holiday. Fireworks are still going off infrquently at night here, even though this is now Day 8 after the official start of the Lunar New Year.

We spent last week going to Chiang Mai for 3 days, a city in Northern Thailand, and then to an island in the southeast, Ko Chang. I will have pictures to post from those locations; hopefully it will all be up this weekend.

Chiang Mai has a night market that is a tourist destination - and it was right down the street from our hotel, so we frequented it several times during the trip. It's clear that I am not the best bargainer in the world.

But it's not all my fault! A lot has to do with leverage - who has the leverage in the negotiations?? And it is a FACT that if you have kids with you, you have no leverage.

We stopped at a sunglasses stall the first night - we all needed new ones - and immediately the boys saw the rows of multi-colored Oakley and started trying them on. Even Martin got into the act, and after 3 minutes he was in love with these yellow-framed Oakleys.

Well, it was finally time for the payment.

The vendor pulled out the calculator; "555 Baht for all of them."

The rate is about 30 Baht to 1 US Dollar.

I tried to be suave and negotiate. "How about 300 for all 5?"

She looked at the kids. Freddie and Warren already had theirs on; Martine was actually going up to strangers and saying, "See my new sunglasses? They're yellow!"

She replied: "I'm sorry, fixed price. 555 Baht".

I tried one more time. How about 400?

"No, sir, fixed price. 555 is the best".

500?

"550 is my final offer."

Done! I got her to come down 5 Baht!!!! That's......well, that's 16 cents.

But without kids, you have the leverage. I went into a clothing store to look at some T-shirts. "200 each" was the reply.

I said "I'm not interested", and walked out.

I got 3 steps away, when the man called back "100 each!". Done! I bought two.

I heard every line in the book out there from the vendors trying to guilt the white man into paying full price.

"It's Chinese New Year, this is the best I can do for you".
"Ooooh, you look like someone who appreciates good quality! Let me show you my other golf hats I have."
"I can't come down on price, I have children to feed."

And yes, all those lines worked on me.

T-shirt with a message?

Before we leave for vacation - Thailand, thanks for asking! - I have to share this picture of a T-shirt someone was wearing on the river walk next to our apartment.

It is incredibly difficult to get a picture of someone's shirt, trailing them, without them knowing.

However, I should have asked her how much she would take for that shirt. This would be a great gift for someone I know.....

The year of the dragon

And to prove it is the year of the dragon, the dragon made an appearance at the school program.....

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Guess what???

It's time for another holiday! It is Chinese New Year time here....the whole country closes up shop for one week as we celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Out with the old year (Rabbit), in with the new (Dragon). Apparently, being born under the Dragon year is a sign of good luck - so officials expect a big jump of births in 2012. They saw the same increase in births in 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, ......

The school had the Chinese New Year program yesterday - here's one of the songs from the show.

The Bugs Bunny trick

Do you remember Bugs Bunny cartoons - when Bugs was running away from Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam? He would disappear into a rabbit hole; Elmer would point the gun down the hole and say: "I got you now, wabbit!"

All of a sudden, Bugs would somehow pop into the picture and get his revenge on Elmer. Elmer would have that look on his face, saying "But..how? How did you get out of there???"

Funny, right? Hilarious?

Had the same experience yesterday. One of the joys of being an ex-pat is that our supporting firm requires us to pay quarterly taxes. They give us some money and the 1040-ES forms, and the requires us to file the forms. Never mind that they are based in Cleveland and we are 12,000 miles away in China.

Anyway, our OND returns were due this month, and we still don't have a good way to mail anything back to the US. I found out that one of the managers was heading back to the US on the week of the 9th; great! I put the form and the check in the envelope, sealed it, addressed it to the IRS center in St Louis, and asked him to mail it in the US. I gave him $2 for the stamps, even!

Fast forward to yesterday. In the Guangzhou office, I get a note that I have pouch mail for me at the mail office. Now, we have a PO Box in Cincinnati that letter can be sent to and then it is automatically forwarded here to work.

I go downstairs to see what came - a card? A Bill? - and what is it?

It's the envelope that I sent to the IRS - addressed to the IRS in St Louis. Sealed and all - with the uncashed check and tax form inside.

How? How did this appear back to me in China? There are no stamps, no postmark, no markings whatsoever that it was handled by the US Post office. My PO Box was used as the return address.......but still, how is this back to me?

I feel like Wile E Coyote after lighting a stick of dynamite, closing his eyes and putting his fingers in his ears....and then , 5 seconds later, the stick returns to him just as the fuse is about to run out......

Hoosiers!

Two people care about this....

God I have to get acclimated to the Big 12 quickly. College sports is all they care about down here. Kansas vs Baylor is all anyone could talk about today.

I was asked in front of 150 people today, which local college I would follow. I wanted to say who cares about your fly over conference, but I couldn't. I said that I won some money this year on K St football so I'm partial to them, but I'm really curious about KU basketball. That did not go over well at all. Then someone asked "Well what about Missouri" which I responded "What about them?" Everyone looked angry. I then joked that I'll cheer for the only college that can win a championship....Pitt St. That got a laugh and I quickly asked for another question.

Found out today that one of my female managers played on the Purdue golf team from 2001-2004. She has a fathead of Drew Brees in a Purdue uniform in her office which just looks weird. Asked her if she wanted to come to vegas to play golf with some other purdue grads and she asked when did they graduate. I estimated that it was in 93, and she said, Wow, why are you hanging out with such old men and I said I ask myself that same question every year. HA! Loved it.

The Move to Kansas City

While I'm sure it won't be as exciting as Eric's updates on his experiences in China, I'm going to try to provide some interesting updates from Kansas City now that I'm almost settled in here. We can then compare which culture is more strange and interesting. Just a few notes since arriving here on Christmas:

• Upgraded our 1600 sq foot home for a cozy 3500 sq foot home. And its half the price of our home in California. That's going to be nice.


• Got a nice kick in the pants this past week as we got some snow. First snow that I've experienced in about 9 years. It was snowing sideways and the high that day was 11.


• Moved to a town called Olathe. Quiet little suburb southwest of KC. The local McDonalds advertises a 50 peice chicken mcnugget meal deal. Its number 15 on the value meal deals. McDonalds wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't a demand for it, so wow! Very impressive.


• Looks as if KC's values their Bass Pro Shops like most of us values Nordstrums. Bought Morgan's first piece of camo which was a pink camo stuffed animal. She loves it and won't put it down.


• Funny to see people's desk decorated with Royal's gear. I have seen countless Brett, Sabs, Wilson, and Quisenberry bobble head dolls.


• They are opening up a brand new casino (Hollywood Casino) about 10 minutes away at the KC Speedway. I'm praying that they don't have UTH there....please don't have it there.


• People are religious about college sports down here. Kansas, Kansas St, and Missouri dominate most of the conversation. Fun.

Me and Mike Gundy

Well, I guess today is officially the day I can imitate Mike Gundy and actually be telling the truth!

Short clip of Gundy
Here's the long version, the 3 minute press conference.

I'm always fascinated to see who shares my birthday. For the longest time, it seems that there were only a few celebrities that shared my birthday:

Rod Stewart
Pat Benatar (boy, those two names explain a lot, don't they? -ed)
George Foreman
Wille McCovey

Now I've finally found a few more names to add to that list:

Jake Delhomme (1975) - maybe this explains why I was so excited when he was named our starting QB in 2010.

Glenn Robinson (1973) - the Big Dog. Where is he now?

Doug E Doug (1969) - does he qualify as a star?
and finally

Chris H E Smith (1979).
Don't know who he is? Well, read this and it will make you want to jump.

Kansas City and Golf

Am I the only one super pumped about the start of the golf season? Its come to a point now where the start of the season for golf now rivals those of other sports. If I had to ranked the most anticipated start of certain sporting seasons I would have to go with:

1. The start of the NFL season. Fantasy Football, Gambling, and now the SuperContest, I really couldn't sleep. It felt like Christmas as a little kid. That Saturday was a wash as I was just trying to get prepared for Sunday. I think I was in bed by 9 the night before.
2. The start of March Madness. Yes, I count this as its own separate season. Vegas, the games, and being with friends at the tables the night before arguing who is the idiot and who has the true lock of the year is very entertaining.
3. The start of the golf season. The main pickem pool, the side pool, the fantasy league, and the gambling. I spent most of this afternoon dissecting a new pool I joined that uses last years earnings for golfers and sets a salary cap of $19 million. Pick your team. Extremely entertaining and challenging.
4. Everything else from Baseball, NBA, College Football, NHL, and WNBA.

The only downfall to this golf season is that I'm now living in Kansas City in the Central Time zone. Man I'm going to miss the Pacific Time Zone and having those early Thursday and Friday morning text messages coming in when I'm still in bed about my golfer.

A late Christmas gift for Layup

Just before Christmas, I took the boys to the mini street market a block from our house. One of the "booths" in that market is a DVD stand.....selections of many recent American movies, with the sound in English. They also had many DVD sets of American TV series, such as House, Glee (for Janice), Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, etc.

Then I saw this. I think this makes the perfect gift for Layup, at the low low price of 25 RMB!

Also from the China Daily...

I bet many of you NBA fans out there are asking yourself: "Geesh, I'm glad the NBA is back, but what I really miss is Stephon Marbury. The world is not the same without him".

Well, fear not! He has a weekly column in the China Daily. Here is one of them from a few weeks ago.

"The world has taken notice of our start..." Jay - isn't that correct? Aren't you noticing the 10-0 start of the Beijing Ducks and putting them in your daily 3-team parlay?

A friend

Posted without comment: Here is the front page of China Daily, the official English newspaper in China, on the day after Kim Jong-Il's death was announced.......

NFL Week 17: Marina Bay Sands

Happy New Year! Active blogging should begin soon, as the NFL season winds down and the photo backlog on my iPhone continues to grow. Let's see if I can put in 10 posts over the next 10 days.

With the kids out of school, we took a quick trip to Singapore this week. What a neat city/state. It's hard to get over the fact that the whole country is only 30 km x 40 km in size......but there's enough to do for a good 3 days. We went to the science museum, went snow tubing (there is a place called Snow City, a warehouse-size building that makes artifical snow and allows you to tube down a 60 foot hill), rode the big ferris wheel, and saw a movie! An actual movie! We haven't seen a movie in a real movie theater in .......2 years? 3? That was nice......

I have to include the famous pool picture..swimming on top of the world....

And oh yes, of course, gambling. We stayed at the Marina Bay Sands, one of only two hotel-casinos in Singapore. So of course I had to try out (every night...even had a good session with Janice!)

It's just a little different there - even different than Macau. First, you have to present your passport at the door - to at least 3 people. Foreigners can get in for free, but if you are a Singpore citizen, you have to pay a $100 entry fee just to get in. So there are multiple checks to make sure you are truly a foreigner.

The casino itself is amazing. It's two stories, with the main floor filled with tables. Filled. Blackjack, Roulette, Sic Bo, Baccarat - and two new ones, Pontoon and Three Pictures. I have no idea how to play those last two - Pontoon is sort of a blackjack variant. They also had the other Texas Hold em Table game, which I played a lot.

The whole feeling gambling there is just....a bit different. Dealers seem to change every hour or more, less frequent than most US casinos. There are a host of side bets on the blackjack table - there is a "lucky 8s" bets where you see if you can get a pair of 8's with your hand and the dealer's up card (or, if you are lucky, 3 of a kind). And the dealer does not deal himself two cards right away. He deals himself the up card - and that's it; normal play commences. Once all the players are done, then the dealer takes his second card. I don't like that.

About the side bets: it seems to be accepted that anyone can bet on anyone's cards. For instance, I was playing blackjack, and got a pair of Aces. Yes, split please! Play came to me, and the dealer split them - and then asked if I wanted to put a separate "any Pair" bet on the split aces.

Uh, no thank you. Just deal the card.
The dealer was about to pull the card out --when the guy 3 seats to my right leans over and puts a $25 chip next to my card. He wanted to play the any pair! The dealer pulled up a 7.
Then the next hand; the delaer paused again asking for the any pair bet; I didn't even get a chance to say no when another $25 chip came from the same guy. I got a 10, which was not a pair for him.

It is common to bet for other's hands. I can't get use to that.

In the end, it's still gambling, it's still fun, but it's just a bit different and you never know what unknown idiosyncracy you will bump up against.

It's kind of like week 17 in the NFL - it's still football, but the week is different; you don't know who is playing at full speed, who is mailing it in, who will sit the starters in the 3rd quarter and which 3-12 team will play full out to win.

Anyway, on to the games:

Chi 28, Min 20. I have to believe the Vikes will mail this in after the AP injury last week.

GB 20, Det 17. There will be a letdown factor for the Lions after the win last week; also, Flynn is not that bad as a backup.

Ten 16, Hou 13. Tennessee needs to win this game.

SF 24, StL 6. The Rams are already trying to figure out who will be their next coach; the 9ers still need to win to lock up the #2 seed.

Was 24, Phi 20. Why are the Eagles going to try hard in this game?

Jax 17, Ind 10. I can't believe the Colts will win this and lose the #1 pick.

NO 27, Car 24. The Niners will win, and that means the Saints will let up down the stretch.

NE 31, Buf 10. The Pats need this game and will try to gain some confidence - especially on D - after last week's Miami game.

NYJ 20, Mia 17, OT. Can't you just see theJets somehow sneaking in?

Atl 30, TB 10. Tampa has mailed it in since November.

Oak 23, SD 16. I just don't think the chargers have one more good game in them after they were eliminated last week.

Az 24, Sea 17. Who is the most unmotivated here?

Den 23, KC 13. Are we really going to deny Tebow a chance at the playoffs?

Bal 27, Cin 17. Baltimore needs a win to get the 2 seed and home field if they play pIttsburgh in the playoffs........I can't believe they will actually let this slip through their fingers.

NYG 27, Dal 20. Who will choke the most?

Best bets: we're ending with 20 of them! Last week: my worst week at 5-10; overall: 133-109-11

Chi +1.5
Chi/Min over 41.5
GB +4.5
Ten/Hou under 39
SF -10
Was +8
Jax -3
Ind/Jax under 37
Car +7
NE -10
Buf/NE under 49.5
NYJ +3
Atl -10
Oak -3
SD/Oak under 48.5
Az -3
Den -3
Bal -1.5
Bal/Cin over 38
NYG -3


And for the final supercontest picks:

GB +3.5
Was +8
Car +8.5
Bal -2.5
NYG -2.5

NFL Week 16: Imperial Palace

Merry Christmas to all out there! It's Christmas Eve morning here, where everyone is late to wake up in the house. This is probably a bad idea since Santa needs everyone to go to bed early tonight so he can prepare.....or Santa can get up at 3 in the morning to wrap presents tomorrow....while the NFL is on! Hey, what an idea!

This is another weird week, getting me out of my routine. It's Saturday, we are at home, with no soccer games, and there will be NFL games tomorrow morning (instead of Monday morning). It's a weird feeling to adjust the routine after 15 weeks. We are actually going into work on Monday morning - this means I can actually be productive at work on a Monday instead of being hal asleep on 4 hours of sleep?

When I talk about weird feelings in casinos, there's one casino that stands out as one that I am very uncomfortable at. Kermit could guess this answer right away without looking at the title - it's the Imperial Palace. Wow, I do not belong there. It starts with the extra long craps tables - I think they are designed to fit 10 on each side. It's very hard to throw the dice all the way down and hit the wall on this extra large table. It's like asking Greg Maddux to now throw a strike from the mound that is 75 feet away, not 60' 6". Usually, I am close to drunk when I gamble there, and there is heavy smoke fog in the casino - so when I roll, I can't see the dice. It's like gambling on the 1988 Fog Bowl playoff game. I'm relying on Verne Lundquist, the stick man, to tell me what the result of the roll is.

And then we get to the blackjack pit. It's not gambling as usual there. Somehow we end up there on a Fri or Sat night - which is when the performers come out and sing/dance in the middle of the pit. They usually are cover bands for famous artists; Madonna, Elvis, etc. The one still seared in my head is the Freddie Mercury look alike singing "Bicycle" while a stripper does a pole dance around an actual bicycle.

And I'm supposed to decide whether to split 3's vs a 4 with this going on?

And, finally, it's impossible to get to. There's no direct entrance to the casino off the strip. (Is there?)

It's not like I hate the place - there are others that I dislike a lot more than IP - but I just don't feel 100% there. I'm out of my comfort zone - like doing the picks on a Saturday morning.

But here they are, anyway:

Bal 23, Cle 9. Tell me how we will stop a very angry Ravens team with Ray Rice in the backfield. He rushed for 200 against us a few weeks ago -without really even trying.

Den 31, Buf 20. I just can't see the Broncos blowing this one.

Car 27, TB 17. I can't trust the Panthers just yet to win convincingly, even over bad teams like TB.

Was 27, Min 13. I think the Vikes have packed it in for the year; Washington, somehow, is playing well - they remind me of the 2009 Mangini-led Browns.

Ten 24, Jax 17. What to think of the Titans after last week's loss to the Colts? They had a playoff berth in their hand!

Pit 23, StL 7. Let's see how Batch can play in this one.

Cin 24, Az 23. Again, I will say it: I don't trust the Bengals. They may win, but it will be down to the wire.

NE 27, Mia 24. Mia will be able to score on the Pats, and have some defense, enough to stay in the game.

KC 23, Oak 13. I think last week's loss is it for Oakland. They will pack it in.

NYJ 24, NYG 21. Does anyone outside of New York care about this game? Wow, what a dud this turned out to be.

SD 28, Det 24. I've gone back and forth on this one. Maybe - just maybe? - the Chargers have turned the corner (albeit too late)???

Dal 28, Phi 24. Just a hunch. Rob Ryan will figure something out after being embarrassed the last time he faced the Eagles.

Sea 27, SF 20. Seattle is too hot right now.

GB 31, Chi 10. The Pack have something to prove.

NO 34, Atl 23. Speaking of "hot" - I lost in my semi-finals last week due to Brees and his FIVE touchdowns.

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 8-5-1; overall: 128-99-11.

Bal -12
Den -3
Den/Buf over 43
Was -7
Az +4.5
Az/Cin over 41
Mia +9
KC -2.5
Oak/KC under 42
SD +1.5
Dal -1
Sea +1
SF/Sea over 37.5
GB -11.5
NO -7

Supercontest picks:
Bal -13
Den -2.5
Az +4
Mia +9.5
SD +2.5

NFL Week 15: Boomtown Casino

Good morning everyone! We are taking off for early this morning for Sanya, a resort town on the island of Hainan, located on the southern tip of China. (The best part, according to the kids? No immigration to travel through!)

Hainan island is currently the world's center for golf course construction; there are over 100 courses on the island, and more projects are underway. China is imposing strict regulations on the construction of new courses on the mainland; however, on the resort island of Hainan - go ahead! Knock yourself out! I think Nicklaus has multiple projects in progress now, as does Norman.....

Yes, I'm taking the clubs - and we are taking the boys' clubs as well. This will be the first time they will be golfing since we moved here; I'm sure they have outgrown the set we bought them in 2009. Freddie will be hitting my hybrid and then tossing it in the lake - just like his father!

I won't have access to the blog while I am gone, so I am up early this morning to post the picks. Getting up early to gamble is no big deal to me, but getting up early in order to post the picks before a morning flight requires a lot of logistics at 5:30 in the morning - very much like my degenerate travels to gamble in Biloxi.

There was one fall weekend in 2002 when I was in Albany, GA, for work - we have a paper plant there. I was there for a total of 9 days straight. Saturday we did testing on the line, and Sunday was a free day. What to do? I could go to a friend's bbq that evening (but I didn't know many people there); I could go to Friday's and watch the NFL games (but it was a dry country, so no beer), or......
I could drive 5 hours one way to Biloxi!

You know which one I chose. I left at 6; the first 2 hours of the drive was a trip going through the deepest of the deep south. (Find a map and try to find a route from Albany to I-10. It's very difficult). I arrived at the Boomtown casino around 11, where I gambled for 4-5 hours ($3 craps RULED!!!) and left around 5 to get back. I kept an eye on the Browns game while at the tables; the upset the Saints that day.

So today's small sacrifice for you, the dear reader, was nothing compared to what I did to get my fix 10 years ago. Ah, memories.

On to the games:

Dal 31, TB 14. The Bucs look like a team that has given up.

NYG 27, Was 17. I think the Skins will have a letdown, and the Giants know they have to keep going.

GB 31, KC 16. Orton is back! And lovable coach Romeo is back as well!

NO 27, Min 20. I neeed a big day from Harvin for one of my playoff games....

Sea 16, Chi 13. Chicago's offense still is struggling, and the Seahawks are on a roll.

Buf 27, Mia 23. Just a complete gut pick. I think Miami will lose a bit of their effort after Sparano was fired.

Hou 24, Car 23. Letdown for the Texans (just like the Niners let down last week).

Ten 20, Ind 13. The Colts are playing for Caldwell's job! That will give them the edge they need! (right? No...)

Cin 19, StL 16. I don't trust this Bengal team much anymore.

Oak 27, Det 20. Two teams imploding, so go against the dome team playing outdoors.

NE 24, Den 13. I saw the Broncos' game live last week, and I still don't believe it. How did that happen?

Phi 27, NYJ 24. I can't believe I am a sucker for the Eagles again this year.

Bal 27, SD 20. These are the games that the Chargers consistently lose under Norv.

SF 20, Pit 17. What a great measuring stick game for both of these teams.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 12-7-1; overall: 120-94-10.

Dal -7
Buf -1
Mia/Buf over 41
Sea +3.5
Sea/Chi under 35.5
Car +5.5
Ten/Ind under 41.5
StL +7
NYG -6.5
Oak +1.5
NYJ/Phi over 44
NE -7.5
NE/Den under 46
Bal -2.5

Supercontest picks this week:
Dal -7
Sea +3.5
Car +6.5
Bal -2.5
And - for the first time this year! - Cle +6.5

NFL Week 14: Riverside Casino

It's going to be a relatively relaxing Sunday/Monday for NFL football for me, as the Browns have already gotten their heartbreaking loss out of the way on Friday morning. Thanks, guys! (I introduced one of our friends here to an impressive f-bomb rate in the 2nd half. I also have him convinced that all announcers are out to ignore/diminish the Browns. What's that saying? "You're not paranoid if they really ARE out to get you? That's how I feel....)

Anyway, (oh, by the way, how come I am watching the game 12,000 miles away, and I can tell that McCoy doesn't look right --- but Shurmur can't?)

OK, got that out of my system.

So now we head to week 14, and a plethora of games to focus on without the distraction of the Browns. Kind of like a relaxing buffet of games and 5 hours of the red zone channel.

And when I want relaxing gambling, there's no question what is #1 on the list - Riverside Casino in Iowa! $5 craps, $5 blackjack, $5 Pai Gow Poker, $5 roulette, and $5 UTH. What else can you ask for? It's fun, easy, and you can't get in too much trouble there in terms of losing a bankroll.

The clientele? Well, a mix of retired farmers and U of Iowa seniors. That's it - you are either 21 or 73 there. The 21 year olds are impressed if you double the table limit (ooooh! $20 odds?) and the 73 year olds are too into their own game and busy chatting with the dealers.

The dealers themselves are not very good - there were an average of 2 mistakes made every time I played craps, and UTH was a disaster - but most of the time they were friendly.

The picture above is the walkway from the parking lot to the casino (I think; I don't actually think I made that walk in the daylight). Most of the time that was made in 10 degree weather with 30 mph winds.

It's everything a non-stressful, low-intensity casino should be....just like a Sunday without Browns football. And I'm so glad (in retrospect) that it wasn't open when I lived there; with the boys being 4 and 2 years old, and Janice going to bed at 9:30 most nights, I would have made the 15 minute trip at least 3 days a week and become a regular. At least.....

On to the games:

Cin 23, Hou 13. The Bengals will take their Steelers/Ravens frustrations out on TJ Yates and the Texans.

NE 27, Was 16. I think Belicheck will get this team focused after a too-close win over the Colts last week.

NYJ 24, KC 10. I'll say it again, how does KC score more than 10 points?

Mia 23, Phi 16. I think the Eagles have given up.

Atl 27, Car 20. I believe in a very desperate Falcons team. Probably to my detriment.

Bal 28, Ind 13. Like the Pats, Baltimore will not show anything special this game, and (most likely) a back door cover will ensue.

Ten 23, NO 20. I don't think people realize how bad the Saits are on the road.

Det 33, Min 21. The vikings defense last week was awful.

Jax 16, TB 13. Another team that has quit - the Bucs! I think the Jags rally around their interim coach here.

Den 17, Chi 10. Boy, is Tebow catching the right teams at the right time.

SF 24, Az 23. Maybe a letdown for the 49ers as they clinched the division last week and the Steelers coming up next week.

GB 31, Oak 24. Another let down game - this time for the Packers after the dramatic win last week?

SD 31, Buf 13. Please just shoot me - why am I trusting this Chargers team again?

NYG 27, Dal 24. It's time for a Romo collapse in the 4th quarter, isn't it?

Sea 20, StL 6. The Rams remind me of the 2000 Browns with Spergon Wynn as QB. The Rams did not cross the 35 yard line last week.

Best bets: 20 (!!) of them. Last week: 10-7; overall: 108-87-9

Cin -3
NE -8
NYJ -10.5
Mia -3
Phi/Mia under 45.5
Atl -3
Ten +3.5
NO/Ten under 50
Min/Det over 46.5
Jax +3
TB/Jax under 40.5
Den -3
Chi/Den under 35.5
Az +4
SF/Az over 39.5
Oak +11.5
SD -7
NYG +4.5
StL -10
Sea/StL under 36.5

And for the Supercontest:
NYJ -9
Atl -2.5
Ten +3.5
Az +3.5
Den -3.5

NFL Week 13: Mandalay Bay

All the college football championship games (Clemson? ACC champions? Oh yeah, that Orange Bowl of Clemson vs TCU will be a real winner) remind me of a great weekend we had in Vegas for the end of the college football season – Layup’s bachelor party in 2006.

We didn’t technically go on Championship weekend – we went the week before Thanksgiving, which was then the end of the Big 10 season. There were so many games that Saturday, we camped out in the book for 12 hours placing bet after bet. It was awesome.

Mandalay is now one of my favorite casinos that I rarely go to anymore. The service seemed good, the table limits were high (although, looking back, were they really that high?), and the book seemed to have ample space to set up shop for the day. The games were normal – I don’t recall any carnival games – although I got killed at most of them. The restaurants were good, and (at the time) they had a good show in “Mama Mia”. ABBA music! What’s not to like?

The only problem is that you feel like you are on an island down there at Mandalay – if you want to leave the casino, there’s really nowhere to go within 10 minutes walk. You either take a cab or that stupid train to the Luxor. There’s no escape if you have a bad day.
Not much more to say about Mandalay – I would love to try it out again someday. But I’ll always have fond memories of the 2006 Ohio St- Michigan game, being in that book watching the last #1 vs #2 matchup (before this year).

On to the games.

NE 27, Ind 10. I don’t get the revenge angle here at all. “oooooh, Brady and Belicheck will pile up the score, and show the Colts who is boss!!! They will score 45 here!” Really? They’re going to rub it in to Jim Caldwell, Curtis Painter and crew? What’s the motivation here? They will run up the score – on purpose – against an 0-11 team? That smacks of weakness. This will not be the 45-3 beatdown that the Pats did vs. the Jets a few years back.

Ten 24, Buf 17. The Titans are still in it, and have the motivation.

Chi 19, KC 9. How many points will the Chiefs score on the road?

Atl 17, Hou 10. Again, how many points will the Texans score with their 3rd string quarterback?

Min 17, Den 13. If Tebow can do it AGAIN, this time in a dome….I don’t know. I am kind of a believer, but jeees – just put 8 in the box to stop the run! San Diego just plain quit last week, that’s how the Broncos won that game….

NYJ 20, Was 13. The Jets have to win out (or close to it). They won’t let the 2nd worst team in the NFC beat them.

TB 27, Car 17. Maybe Freeman is injured, maybe not. But I have enough faith in the Bucs defnse – and no faith in the Panthers D.

Mia 23, Oak 16. Oakland coming to the east, playing a 1:00 game vs a team that has 10 days rest.

Pit 24, Cin 20. I just think the Bengals will be in all these games coming down the stretch.

Dal 23, Az 20. A typical nail-biting win for the Cowboys in the desert.

GB 34, NYG 27. Does anybody really believe the Pack will lose a game this regular season?

SF 24, StL 6. Same comment above applies here – how many points do you see the Rams scoring? 6? 9? Maybe 10?

NO 34, Det 20. I think the Lions are in free fall.

SD 20, Jax 17. Maybe, just maybe, the Jags will be freed up and play loose after their coach got fired.

Best bets: 17 of them. Last week: 7-7; overall: 98-80-8.
Ind +20.5 (!!! I can't pass that up)
Ind/NE under 48.5
Ten +2
Chi -7
KC/Chi under 37
Atl -1.5
Atl/Hou under 38
Min +1
Den/Min under 37
NYJ -3
NYJ/Was under 39
TB -2
Mia -3
GB/NYG over 53
SF -14
StL/SF under 38
NO -8.5


For the Supercontest, maybe Tony Dorsett is the lucky charm we need (he looks good in person for being 50 years old!)

Ten +1.5
Atl -3
Mia -3
TB -3.5
SF -13

NFL Week 12: Luxor

We had a bad week last week. Our Supercontest picks are 0-9-1 over the last two weeks. (That is probably statistically impossible if we were picking 10 games at random). So - to change our luck, let's review the casino that I seem to always win at over the years.

That's right, the Luxor. Everyone's favorite gimmick casino. It is amazing to walk into the lobby, look up, and see the inside of a pyramid with the hallways facing out. And the light at the top - the most visible item on earth when viewed from space.

But the casino, and my history there, is what stands out. I think I got my first tip from a high roller at the craps table. (I was rolling, some guy was betting blue chips ($1000!) on the BIG RED every roll - and I was ice cold, and kept rolling sevens. He tossed me a $100 chip after a while. I was amazed!) That was in 2003, I think. Then there was Layup's bachelor party, when I had a very good blackjack run to end the trip.

The casino, of course, is nothing spectacular. It is overly-lit, laid out in a weird floor plan (because of the shape of the building, obviously). The dealers are unremarkable, and one entrance to the casino is the people-mover to the Excalibur. And the tram that one has to take to the Mandalay is odd.

But I don't ever recall losing much there. It has a warm place in my heart as a safe haven from the gambling waters. And if ever I need a safe haven, it's this week.

About the Browns - I'm pulling a Ben Crenshaw out here...."Mark my words, I've got a very good feeling about this...."

To the games:

Az 20, StL 10. It's amazing that we actaully lost to this Rams team.

NYJ 27, Buf 10. Are we one week too late on the Bills collapse? Or are the Jets worse than everyone thinks- and this will be a close game?

Hou 23, Jax 10. Schaub is out - so what? The Jags can't score, and the Houston defense is pretty good. How will the Jags score more than 10 points?

Ind 28, Car 24. This is it - the last stand for the Colts. A loss here and it is 0-16.

Ten 24, TB 10. I like what I see in Locker. Tampa's last stand was last week at Lambeau.

Atl 27, Min 17. I have Ryan in the playoffs (already? -ed) in one of my leagues- the 300 yd, 4 TD game just isn't going to come this year.

Oak 20, Chi 17. The Bears defense is still good, and will hold down the Raiders - but I don't have faith in the Bears without Cutler.

Sea 23, Was 10. Last week was an aberration- the Skins always play the Boys tough. Back to reality for Shanahan.

NE 27, Phi 20. I think Belicheck is a better coach (and has better players) than Coughlin, and will gameplan well for Vince Young.

SD 20, Den 14. Staying away from this game. Anything can happen here - a 30 point Charger win, or a 20 point Denver upset.

Pit 24, KC 10. Speaking of teams that can't move the ball - the Chiefs!

NO 28, NYG 27. The Giants are a perfect example of a zig-zag team. Just when you think you can write them off (last week), they will have a big showing.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 5-9-1; overall: 91-73-8
Az +3
Az/Stl Under 39
NYJ -9.5
Hou -6.5
Ind +3.5
Car/Ind over 46.5
Ten -3
TB/Ten under 43
Sea -3
NE +3.5
Den/SD under 41.5
Pit -10.5
Pit/KC under 40
NYG +7

Supercontest picks:
Az +3
NYJ -8.5
Ten -3
Sea -3.5
NYG +7

NFL Week 11: Binion's

It's getting to that point in the NFL season where I feel like the picking becomes routine and less exciting. Over the first few weeks, the process to put together the picks is pure excitement. Another week! There's only 17 of them! Weeks 6-9 or so become an adrenaline rush, as we think we know some things about teams that Vegas (and others) haven't caught up on.

But now, the rush is gone, the reviews feel like work, and there's not a ton of effort that goes into these picks. It doesn't help that I spent all last week in India, where I didn't have a solid bowel movement for 5 days and we got delayed getting to the plant one day because a oil truck hit a motorcycle and killed two people. There's only one two-lane road to the manufacturing area near Bhopal - and that's an adventourous ride in itself; but then you have to avoid the cows, boars, and elephants on the road.

So there's not a lot of analysis in this week's review. Kind of like going downtown during our Vegas trip. Someone always suggests we do it one of the days - it's usually the third day, where tiredness creeps in. The intent to go downtown is -what? It's not the excitement of gambling; it's not the high stakes - what is it? I find myself not caring too much one way or another when I gamble downtown. So I lose $300 playing craps....that's fine for 4 hours of entertainment at Binions where the players are worse than in central Indiana, and the constant ringing of the drink "clicker" will be in your ears for days. The smoke will too.

It's fun, it's gambling, yes.....but I'm not a big fan of the downtown experience.

Let's get back to fun in the NFL this week. Maybe if we don't botch a snap on a 22 yard field goal to take the lead with 2:00 to go, some of the fun will come back.

Dal 23, Was 10. How, again, will Washington score? (ed- isn't it time for a Romo Pick 6? I think so. )

Min 27, Oak 17. Let's remind ourselves - Oakland is not good; they lost to Denver and Kansas City the two weeks prior. So they beat an imploding Chargers team. And Minnesota ran into a buzzsaw.

Buf 23, Mia 20. Miami's wins recently are against the Skins and the Chiefs. I'm not going to believe in them until they actually beat someone decent.

GB 31, TB 21. Something tells me the Bucs will keep it close.

Det 27, Car 20. You couldn't have two worse showings last week than those from these two teams.

Bal 27, Cin 24. I think the Bengals will stay in this, as the Bal defense is just not good enough to shut down teams like they used to. But I can't see the Ravens losing here.

SF 26, Az 17. The magical ride for the 49ers continues....

StL 23, Sea 10. The Seahawks are a different team away from home. And Jackson is a better runner at home.

SD 31, Chi 24. A purely irrational pick. Cutler can't have 3 great games in a row, can he?

Atl 30, Ten 20. This is the Falcons' season here. They will get up early and pile it on.

Phi 27, NYG 24. The Giants are due for an illogical loss right about now. And the Eagles will find something to pull this out (do I say that every week???)

NE 31, KC 14. Will anyone outside of Boston watch this game?

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 10-8-1; overall: 86-64-7
Dal -7
Dal/Was under 41.5
Min -1.5
Buf +3
TB +14
Cin +7
Cin/Bal over 40.5
StL -3
Sea/StL under 39.5
SD +3.5
SD/Chi over 45
Atl -6.5
Ten/Atl over 44
Phi +5.5
Phi/NYG over 45

We will switch it up this week; here are the 5 Supercontest picks.
By the way, I need to calculate the odds of me going 10-8-1......and 5 of the 8 losses were the 5 entries for the Supercontest.....

Min +1
Buf +2
Atl -6
StL -2
SD +3.5

Week 10 Picks

Maybe Felix Gordo will help us....

SD -7
Car -3
Buf +5
Det +2 1/2
Min +13

NFL Week 10: Belterra

It’s going to be a weird Sunday/Monday for me this week. I am flying to India and will be staying overnight in Delhi. I have not yet firmed up any sleeping plans for tonight, so I could be watching the games in a lonely corner of the Delhi airport bumming off the free wireless. Or, I could be in a “sleeping pod” they have at the airport, where overnight travelers can stay in and get a few hours of sleep. But with the arcane airport access rules that Indian airports have, I may be paying $300 for an overpriced hotel room that I will use for 5-6 hours.

So we need to think of a comfort of home this week, and what better comforting memory to have than the Belterra casino between Cincinnati and Louisville. It’s the only casino with UTH in the area, and was the most popular stop for me, Don, Mike, and others for the past 3-4 years. The limits are cheap – they still are! – there usually is a $5 craps table open all the time. The UTH is always $5 as well. The high limit room is expensive - $25 a hand for BJ in the room! Who can afford those stakes?

The clientele? Of course, not the best. That’s the only downside if you can handle it. The UTH table is particularly bad, if I remember correctly. I think I got yelled at for going 4x on A-Q; I know Don had plenty of strange looks with his card and going all in on K-7.

But it’s home, it’s comfortable. It’s like meat loaf. Yeah, it’s not flashy, and there are more elegant casinos in the area, but Belterra makes you feel all warm inside. I don’t ever recall getting killed there – I’ve lost money, sure, but not a complete outing disaster unlike other casinos.
And the Jeff Ruby steakhouse is a plus.

The Browns will hopefully have some meat loaf home cooking this week with the Rams coming to town. I remember Steve inviting me to a home game in 1991 to watch the Rams; I had to back out at the last minute due to some events that I won’t rehash here at this time. 99 was our expansion season, and the Rams were on our schedule; I thought that would be a game we could possibly win, playing on the road and the Rams starting QB, trent Green, went down in week 1!

Of course, that was the Rams’ magical season.

The first Monday night game in Cleveland since 99 was vs. the Rams in 2003; another disappointing loss, and that game spelled the end of the Couch-Holcomb merry go round. However, in 2007, we won in St Louis in the middle of the season as we realized that maybe this Derek Anderson was going to be a good QB……

When are we ever going to get a decent quarterback?????

On to the games:

SD 31, Oak 13. Uh, not so much.

Hou 24, TB 20. Tampa is a good home team, but how are they going to score
here?

Phi 31, Az 10. I have to believe that the Eagles will take out their frustrations on someone. And the Cardinals are terrible – Skelton on the road?

Mia 20, Was 10. Browns vs Redskins, neutral field…..over/under is 15? Who ya got? I am a little surprised that the Dolphins are still playing for Sparano. And I picked up Reggie Bush in one my league –a nice surprise.

Den 21, KC 20. Just a hunch. I continue to believe that Kansas City is no good.

Ind 17, Jax 14. Another rhunch. If there’s ever a game the Colts will win tis year, it has to be this one. How does Jacksonville move the ball?

Dal 30, Buf 28. Another sol crushing loss for the Bills. However, I don’t see the Cowboys stopping Buffalo like the Jets did last week – unless the Ryan borthers compare notes.

Atl 30, NO 24. I think the Saints have proven themselves to be a poor road team, and Atlanta is moving into high gear.

Car 27, Ten 13. Carolina off a bye ? They will figure out how to contain the Titans and score at home.

Pit 27, Cin 23, The Steelers are a trap pick, and I am staying away. But really, I am biased and I just can’t force myself to see the Bwengals winning here.

Bal 23, Sea 20. Seattle is a good home team, and this is a trap game for the Ravens. Steelers last week, and the Bengals next week?

Det 27, Chi 14. A letdown game for the Bears after the big win Monday night. I think the Lions will be ready to go after the bye.

SF 24, NYG 17. A game between two teams that I still don’t think are all that good. However, the Giants are on the road, and I think the 49ers wear them down with Gore.

NE 24, NYJ 20. This should be a great game, and I still have faithin Belicheck and Brady to not lose 3 in a row.

GB 27, Min 20. The Packers’ defense have a lot of holes in it. I think Ponder and the Vikings will score some garbage time points to cover the spread.

Best bets: 19 (!) of them, 0-1 already this week. Last week: 7-9; overall: 76-56-7
SD -7 (loss)
Phi -13.5
Mia -4
Was/Mia under 37
Den +3
Ind +3
Jax/Ind under 37.5
Buf +5.5
Buf/Dal over 48
Car -3.5
Ten/Car under 47
Atl -1
Pit/Cin over 41
Det +2.5
Det/Chi over 43.5
Sea +6.5
SF -3.5
NE +2
Min +13.5

The life of an ex-pat child, part 361

Last week, we dropped off the kids at school - and we noticed that all the teachers were in formal dress - women in dresses, men in suits. The boy scouts arrived ( the middle / high school campus is 30 km away; they are not usually at the elementary school) in their uniform and the American flag.

We learned that the US Ambassador to China visited the school that day to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the school. The ambassador talked to the kids in an assembly that day.

We talked about this over dinner - we got out the internet and showed the boys this picture.

Do you know who is in the picture?

"Yes - that's Gary Locke! He is the ambassador from the US that came to the school today!"

And who is the other person in the picture?

"I don't know....he hasn't come to the school yet."

Hungry?

Are  you hungry?
Can I interest you in a hot dog with lettuce - for breakfast?

What about this as an afternoon snack?

I owe this blog a lot of posts

Yes, yes, yes, I am way behind in regular posts of updates of our life in China. I've got about 6 posts all lined up and ready to go - I just need the time to go ahead and type them up.

While you wait, please enjoy some more Dancing on the Square videos by our apartment. As usual, this is taken on the public square right by our apartment (with the Pearl River in the background).

I love the fact that the leader is counting in English.

Week 9 Picks

NO -8
Dal -11.5
NE -8.5
Pit -3
Chi +8

NFL Week 9: Monte Carlo

The Browns head to Houston this week to play the favored Texans. If maybe, somehow, the Browns can get out of there with a win - they would be 4-4 at the halfway mark of the season. Yes, it is unlikely, but it is possible. There is a very small chance - like hitting a 6 way parlay or a $100 hard 8 - but stilla chance.

It reminds me of the old days at the Monte Carlo. It would be Saturday afternoon - we had a bad, but not horrid, Friday night - and you are within sight of break even (.500). Just one good run is needed! One big parlay, one nice craps run, or one good shoe at blackjack....

...but it never comes. You sink deeper and deeper, and by the end of the day,you're just trying to hang on for dear life. I have a feeling, at 3-5, the Browns will be hanging on for life after Sunday.

What to say about the Monte Carlo? It's the scene of my first serious gambling multi-day trips (starting in 03). So many good memories, good and bad....and none of them invovled being "up" for a long period of time. I always felt that I was chasing losses....from Black Friday to the International Craps scene, and yes - of course - banking Pai Gow against my friends. But even though it's the scene of so many losses, there are some many good memories that it's impossible to frown when thinking of this place.

On to the games:

Atl 23, Ind 13: Where is Indy's mind? I have to think that Atlanta realizes they can't afford to slip up here, especially after a bye.

NO 31, TB 16: The Saints have to be pissed after the loss to the Rams. They will be hungry for revenge at home.

Buf 27, NYJ 20: The home field advantage for the Bills is worth 3 points alone. I think they will be able to score when needed, unlike the Jets.

Mia 20, KC 17. A total gut feel game. KC is not that good, and will suffer from a letdown after the Mon night gift.

SF 23, Was 20. When is the run going to end for the 49ers? Are they really going to go 4-0 on the east coast? (It's against the Skins, so yes)

Dal 27, Sea 13. Does anyone know who the Seahawks QB is? Rob Ryan and the Cowboys are out to prove something.

Oak 20, Den 10. We all know how bad Den's offense is. What about the Raiders? They scored 10 vs. the Browns and 0 vs. the Chiefs. Who says the will run all over the Broncos?

Ten 27, Cin 17. The Bengals, a 5 game winning streak? Please God, no.

Az 31, StL 17. One win vs. the Saints and we think the Rams are off the bottom 3? No. Rams are still in the bottom 3 of the league. They should not be favored on the road (until next week......)

NE 34, NYG 20. Going with the anger theme again - the Pats will take care of business after the loss to the Steelers.

GB 31, SD 24. I will not hazard a guess on where the Chargers' minds are at.

Pit 27, Bal 17. There's no way the Steelers will let themselves get swept by Flacco - at home. No way.

Phi 31, Chi 27. After a bye, the Bears will keep this close. I don't think we can be confident in the Eagles just yet.

Best bets: 16 of them. Last week: 8-6. Overall: 69-47-7.

Atl -6.5
Atl/Ind under 45
NO -8.5
Buf -2.5
Mia +4
SF/Was over 37
Dal -11.5
Ten -2.5
Oak -7
Den/Oak under 42
Az -3
StL/Az over 41
NE -9
Pit -3
Chi +8
Chi/Phi over 47