Local For A Week.

We had a super great time in Las Vegas last week. The weather was so great with highs in the 80's a lot of sun no wind just perfect. Didn't even have to wear a jacket at all.
The flights both coming and going were very good as we arrived both times early and never had any issues with our bags or anything else. However at the LV airport coming home they use those new scanning machines and I was pulled over for extra screening due to the machine showing "something" up my left leg. I told them it was probably my 12 inch plate in my leg. They rub up my leg and lo and behold felt a plate! " Oh I do feel it sir" was all they could say. Next time maybe I should wear a towel wrapped around my head and not shave and thus the P/C thing to do would be to let me through without incident!
Stayed at the Palace Station which is a local's casino about 2 miles from the strip behind Circus Circus. Since my father in law needed a way to get to the car show we rented a car out at the airport. In LV they charge a 47 percent tax on car rentals! Kid you not. The quoted price for our small Ford was about 140 but after the taxes and gas etc. it came to almost 300 dollars! Ouch.
The rooms at the Palace were in fact quite nice and good size. The hotel staff was nothing but nice at all locations that we visited. However the food at times was not so great. We ate mostly at the buffet because it was cheap and decent food much like a Furr's would be. However we also ate at the cafe which was horrible and very over priced with terrible service. My 10 dollar hamburger ( when I finally got it) tasted like a manhole cover. We also had a meal at their steakhouse. The prices were quite high with my steak about 32 bucks alone. The salad bar and clam chowder soup were quite good but the steak itself was quite dry and had a very plain taste to it. Plus they only had one waiter that night to attend to over 30 people! Add all this into the fact that my father-in-law got sick just before he was served his meal and had to go back to his room, and well you get the picture. Then the bill came to about 160 dollars with tip.
Gambling wise the Palace Station offered a lot in the VP area in which to play this is due to being a "locals place" I'm sure. We did go to a lot of the strip places this trip and their VP offerings were quite horrible to say the least. They can get away with this because most locals do not ever play at the Strip places just because of this fact. My gambling results were not great but not bad either. I hit 3's with a kicker once for 200 dollars and Aces on BP once for 100. I could only play at the quarter level ( sometimes 50c) due to my low bankroll for the trip. Ended up winning 240 overall which is not too bad. Had a amazing 24 4 to the Royal hands during my trip! Oh well we will get them next time.
My wife had a great first night as she hit 10 Quads and was up close to 400 dollars! However the next 3 days she went "Quad Dead" and slowly took her winnings. She ended up about 50 bucks.
Funny things that happened: Well let me introduce you to Frank. He is a local 83 years old and drives a 68 Mustang. He comes in and plays the bar-top video poker machines twice a week for hours on end. I saw him on Wednesday night at 10pm and he was still playing at 4pm on Thursday afternoon trying to hit the progressive Royal which had reached over 1600 dollars! The bartender told me that Frank does this about twice a week in which he will spend almost whole days there at the bar playing! What a hobby but hey it allows him to have something to do and he gets around real well for his age. He also loves to smoke cigarettes so when he asked me for a light I used the time to talk with him for awhile. He lives but only 2 miles away and said he hits about 2 to 3 Royals a month during on average during his normal play. He never plays anything but quarter VP and just loves living and playing in LV. Hey I just hope I have half of this guys energy when I reach his age.
The other interesting thing was I kept seeing this other guy playing VP at the bar all week long. I knew that I had seen this guy somewhere at sometime during my life but couldn't place him. Finally on my last night (Thursday) I looked up and saw him looking at me and could see he was thinking the same thing. He came over and asked me my name and then it hit both of us where we had met. We were both part of a bowling team in Dallas Texas back in '92 when I lived down there going to school! Small world indeed. He is now retired and moved to LV back in 2001. Like Frank he lives in the neighborhood and plays VP there every night. He loves living there too as he said the fact that the food is cheap and no income tax really helps him. Plus playing VP as a hobby keeps him young. Just wild that we would meet some 2000 miles away 18 years later.
Coming home from a LV trip is never fun and having to get up at 4am to reach our early morning flight out really is not too fun at all! This week at work has been very hard since all I want to do is sleep it seems. But all in all we had a super great trip, and the wife got to spend some time with her father who said he had a great time as well. Hey we got out of time, won a little money and meet some old and new friends... can't beat that. Our next trip out probably won't be until Feb. but by then the bankroll should be back up and ready to go. More later.

Happy Halloween!

Most people probably went out trick or treating last night but I'm thinking some will go out and party tonight. Looking at the kids outfits last night was fun and made me remember fondly of a time many many years ago when my friends and I would venture out for candy. It was fun then and I do hope that today's kids had fun as well as that is what it is all about. Times change I know and I do hate most of the changes but kids, Halloween, candy and fun should always remain and I hope it does.

Yesterday was spent in Tulsa with my wives family there and it was fun to see everyone and have a few laughs. We don't see them much throughout the year so when we do get the chance it seems like we always have a blast. We will all meet up on Thanksgiving which is something to really look forward to. Of course I learned a week ago that I have to work Thanksgiving Night which sucks but in this day and age we are all just pretty much happy to have a job. Which reminds me of the upcoming elections on Tuesday. It is so important for our country now and the future so I hope everyone gets out and votes. We all did our early voting on Friday and look forward to seeing the returns in LV this week. Can there be anything better than drinking some crisp brew playing videopoker and watching us take our country back?!

On the gambling practice front I'm more than ready. This morning I hit a Royal for 4K on the simulator putting me at + 5100 for my practice sessions. Hope this turns into a sort of omen for the upcoming trip. Today will be spent checking the message boards, cleaning and packing. I got up at 5am and have been going strong since. I already printed our SW boarding passes ( A of course) and I'm more than ready to get out of here and enjoy myself. I had two sets of friends in LV this past week and have not heard from either group. Usually this is a bad sign since all gamblers like to talk about there trips like little old ladies getting together. Hope their results were great and that they just had too much jet-lag to reach me as yet.

Let's see I already have gone to the bank, store and got the bags all out ready to be packed with clothes and goodies for the plane trip. We have to leave for the airport at 6am but I love arriving in LV early in the morning and then have a nice long day to ease yourself into the new time zone and of course the gambling and crazy encounters that always arise while one is there. Looking forward to everything. So the countdown has started as we are now talking hours rather than days or weeks to go. Doesn't get any better than this!

Pumped For Las Vegas!

Only 2 more days to go and I will be in the Big City trying my luck and watching all the sights and listening to all the crazy sounds that always go on there during a visit. I sort of wish we would be there for Halloween as it is always a special and crazy time but that will have to wait until next year. Of course the mid-term elections will be going on and this year it is huge in Nevada as they try to get rid of Harry Reid once and for all.

Let's wrap up what happened this week leading up to the big trip. First of all it always seems like the week before a vacation seems to drag on and on and this week it followed that pattern for sure. On Tuesday the wife was hit by a 84 year old women driving beside her in a non-lane and just took out her car! The car was towed away and the old lady was put in a police squad car and taken away too. Thank god she had insurance. The next day was spent dealing with her insurance agency and trying to get our car fixed and a rental car for the wife. After yelling and screaming and threats and many phone calls things were finally taken care of. However the wife then had to have a procedure done to her back on Thursday where they inject a jell like substance into her spine to take away the pain. Lovely way to get ready for a vacation trip! However the doctor assured her that within 4 days she should be pain free and ready for her trip. We will see but gosh she is really in alot of pain right now.

We also booked a room at Palace Station for ourselves and the first 3 nights were free with the last night having a rate of only 29 dollars. Why the Palace Station? Well since we have not been out there since April, the longest such time between trips in 15 years, this was the only free offer we had left. Plus my father in law is going for a convention and is staying there as well so this will make it easy for us to get together. Anyway the Palace Station is not too bad. It is off the strip but they offer a free shuttle to the strip every 30 minutes and pick you up and drop you off at the airport. The food is good and cheap and the gambling is very good do to it being considered a "locals casino". So all in all not too bad. It is not Mandalay Bay but hey it is not bad.

Today everyone wants to go up to Tulsa to see family and have a visit. Don't know yet if I will make the trip as I have a lot of things to do here to get ready for the trip and spending a day out of town may be a little too much. Plus my nephew's little kitten took a fall and hurt her hip and now has trouble getting around and probably needs someone here to watch her and give her pain pills to her etc.

On the gambling front I have had very little time to work on my VP strategy for this trip and I need to make some final adjustments to it and get ready. My bankroll has shrunk with having to use this money to take care of pain in the ass everyday problems that always seem to come around every payday! As it stands now I have enough to play only up to the 50c maybe (maybe) the dollar level but that would be pushing it. It really does not matter since this trip is really all about finding out once and for all if this VP strategy works or not and that can be seen at the 25c or 50c level.

As for the weather in LV during our trip we lucked out there as it is suppose to be in the high 80's with a lot of sun! Amazing for November and great for us. As it stands now no shows are planned but I'm sure we will probably see something during our stay. So much is to get done and planned in the next 48 hours. However with the work thing done it is time to start getting ready and prepared to kick some ass... More later.

Six Days To Go!

Well it has been awhile since my lost post but things here on the old homefront got very busy last week and I think I must have caught a cold or something in Reno as I have not felt well since we got back. Spent all of last week working on a new Video Poker Strategy to try out in Las Vegas next week. The problem for this trip is that due to other "life" things popping up, I have had to use part of my gambling bankroll on other things.... Ouch. Thus I will have a short bankroll for my upcoming trip and will probably only be able to play up to the 50c level or maybe dollars. Still I feel very good about where my game is right now and confident that this is going to be a very good trip gambling wise. Let's hope so.

Last week I practiced so much that my hand starting hurting and I had to cut back on the practice time. I have not been out to the Great City since April and this is the longest period of time between trips for me in the past 15 years! Thus I wanted to make sure I made the most of it and I believe I finally have came up with something that is less risk but still has a great chance to take home some of the casinos money.

After working last night I now only have 4 more work days before vacation and believe me I'm ready. Hope the weather out there holds up as it is in the 70's with lows in the 50's right now which is fine by me. We are staying at Palace Station with my father in law and I have been thinking that we should ask for the " O.J. Simpson suite when we check in. Yes this is the hotel where he got busted for trying to steal back his stuff that he had lost due to the lawsuit. Wonder if the suite comes with gloves, blood spots and pictures of a White Bronco etc.?

On the home front have not really done much of anything due to feeling tired and worn down. Did watch the season finale of Mad Men. Oh my Don is getting married again! Liked it much better early in the season when he was on his own. It ended with it being June of 1966 so next season should be the start of the war and peace movements, sit ins etc. If you haven't watched it do yourself a favor and take a look someday. Great show and won the award for " Best Drama" again this year. One of only 4 shows that I watch on tv anymore.

The rest of this week will be spent trying to feel better, start to decide what to pack for trip and also of course practicing VP on the computer. Really hard to decide what to pack this time of year when you go out there. In summer and spring you know it is going to be hot and the packing is easy but fall and winter can be tricky. Friends of mine just got done with that problem as they left this morning for a 7 day trip. Oh my this is their 10th trip out there this year already and if they have a good trip they are booked for Thanksgiving Week. Wish I had the chance to go as often as they do. Oh well maybe after I win the lottery or some long lost uncle remembers me in his will!

Now it is time to get some work done and something to eat before dragging my tired ass back down to work. Why is it that the week right before vacation always seems to drag on the longest?

Lazy Sunday

This weekend has been a lazy affair with not much going on and I sort of like it that way for a change. I'm now two weeks away from my Las Vegas trip and this is the time I usually check the weather reports there everyday hoping that everything holds up for my trip. I have been going out there the first week of November every year since 1996 and the weather has always been great, not too hot or too cold. There have been a couple of years where it rained and once it snowed on me out in Henderson and then cleared within 1 hour and shot back up into the 60's! That was really a strange day as we went into our favorite BBQ place, Lucille's and when we came out it was in the 40's and very overcast and I noticed white stuff coming down. Little kids were out running in it wearing shorts and t-shirts and we went into Green Valley Ranch to do some gambling. Everybody in the casino was talking about it and after a couple of hours we went back outside and it was sunny and 62 degrees! Love it when that happens.

I did spend about 6 hours practicing on my VP play yesterday so much so that my arm started hurting a little bit. I think I'm making some type of progress my need to tink with a few things and also let my mind get around the fact that I may have to play up to the 5 dollar level if I do decide to play this certain strategy. That is 25 dollars a hand... Ouch. Don't know if I can really go through with it but I will have to do so if I want to follow my code of "always doing what I said I was going to do". We will see but I have to get a lot more comfortable within in the next 2 weeks or will chicken out on the whole thing.

Today is being spent re-doing my DVR since Cox has felt the need to change everything around with a new software program. Why does it always seem that whenever these companies change their products to a "new and improve" deal the product always without fail seems to suck big time! Maybe I just don't like change in any form..LOL as I'm getting old you know. But I just always feel like we they change and "improve" these things it just goes downhill. We will see.

Once that is done I guess I will make lunch which will be pasta again which has become somewhat of a Sunday tradition here the past month or so. Then it will be nap time while I "watch" some NFL football. I have to go back into work tonight so I better rest up. I have a new co-worker starting on my shift tonight so I hope nothing major happens! Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday. More later.

Waking Up In Reno

Well the Reno trip is done and over with and what a blast I had. Meeting up with my dad was so great and the people of Reno are some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. So let's go over the highlights of a very fine moment of time for me.

The weather in Reno had turned cold and wet. Two days before I arrived it was in the 90's and then when I got there it was in the 50's with heavy rain. Where my dad lives and was driving up from they had a freak snow storm of 5 inches and closed all of the passes into Reno/Tahoe area. What should have been a 2 or so hour drive for him turned into a 4 and one half hour nightmare each way.

The Harrahs charter was very good and smooth. The flights both out there and back went off without a hitch. The bus rides from and back to the airport went great as well and they even take care of your bags and drop them off in your room when you arrive. Can't give them anything but high marks for the whole operation and for under 200 bucks you can't beat it.

Our room at Harrahs was good size clean and ok. Nothing special but nothing bad either and for free it is quite alright. The casino and hotel area itself was somewhat of a maze in itself. I talked with a security guard and was informed that the complex itself is actually 10 different buildings chopped up and turned into one hotel! Yes it was a maze of confusion but towards the end of the week I was almost getting use to getting around.

The food was above average and free. That is right every meal but one there was taken care of. The only problem is that most eating places in all of the Reno hotels, were closed except for the weekends. Your choices were very limited during the week because of this. I'm a basic eater and the choices that I did have were good enough for me and I didn't go hungry at all.

The city of Reno itself is quite a charming place. It is not Las Vegas but then again it never tries to be. Everyone I met and I mean everyone was very very nice. Everybody I talked to that lives there just loves it and wouldn't leave for anything and why would they with all that that place has to offer. Within an hours drive you can be at Tahoe, Carson City, Virginia City, California or Pryamid Lake etc. All sorts of things to do and see in and around the city itself. They have a beautiful Riverwalk area with the Truckee River running right through the middle of the town. Shops eating places coffee houses and casinos line the streets of the Riverwalk. Very cool place that you can even raft down yourself if you wish too. Loved it myself and spent a couple of hours there twice while I was there.

The casinos are above average in Reno. The downtown casinos of which there are 9 remind me a lot of downtown Las Vegas. The Silver Legacy, Eldorado and Harrahs are nice the rest kind of run down and not so great. Fun to walk the streets and look in the little gift shops and walk under the "Biggest Little City In The World" sign. Only problem was the homeless and bums of which there are quite a lot running all over the downtown area. Also they have been hit hard by the current times as most mom and pop stores and eating places are all out of business and boarded up. Some big time places like Red Lobster and Olive Garden are out of business there as well. Very sad to see and makes you think about how bad times are in this country.

Seeing my dad was great but due to the weather driving and the fact that he is getting up there in age and has very bad knees lead to not being able to spend as much time with him as I would have liked. We were able to talk and have a great breakfast one day and took a drive up to and spend the day at Virginia City which is so cool. It is a old western town with shops and a Mark Twain office tour as well as some neat bars. It's location is above 6900 feet so the views and drive up there was so cool and I took a lot of pictures. At some points you are actually above the tree line and will look out and see houses built right into the mountains... very cool. We were going to go and check out Tahoe too but because of time and weather we decided to wait until another time and day to do that. We all had a wonderful dinner at Atlantis which is a beautiful hotel outside the downtown area. This place looks like it would be at place right in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. Our dinner was great as I had a fish dish with crab meat on top of it. Very nice. Soon however it was time for dad to head back home and we said our goodbyes and both had teary eye looks and empty stomach feelings as he drove off. His drive home was horrible as he met up with fog,rain,sleet and snow. All this in the first week of October! Side note here the day after we left the weather turned back to nice with sunny skies and highs in the 80's again. We just picked the wrong week to go.

Gambling wise all of the casinos had good to great Video poker games. As I said the Atlantis and Peppermill hotels were very very nice and rival the best hotels in Las Vegas. The strategy I used is based on getting Quads of which you should get at least once in every 400 hands and I can play over 600 hands an hour. So if you go almost 2 days without a Quad well you can probably tell how bad I was feeling. Also I didn't want to risk too much of my bankroll what with a Las Vegas trip only a couple of weeks off. At one point I was down almost 300 bucks and was ready to just give up take a losing trip and cut my losses and start preparing for my LV trip. Then I had a rush hitting Aces, bonus 4's twice and finished up hitting some smaller quads to bring myself all the way back and icked out a 125 dollar trip win. Heck I will take it after being down so much to start with. However I have just about decided to dump this strategy since any strategy that has the fact that Quads have to be made to win with it is just a little too risky I think because you can go into droughts like I did that just kill your whole thought pattern. I would rather play a safe strategy that grinds away little wins at a time and Quads are just a great bonus. That is what I'm spending the weekend on practicing and have been since 4am this morning. Still a lot of work to do on it though but I wanted to get this report out before I forgot about it or just decided to shuck the whole thing and this blog site altogether.

Final thoughts: Reno is a quaint little town with a lot going for it through location and beauty. The people are very very nice and are happy to be living there. The weather in the winter months would probably be way too much for me since I hit the white stuff so much. The gambling is good and of course regulated unlike Indian casinos so that makes it nice. Will I visit again? Probably yes as it is and was a nice place to take a vacation and a break from the wildness that can be Las Vegas at times. However LV is the Super Bowl of gambling and my favorite place on earth so my upcoming trip has got my so very pumped up! Have to know turn my attention to that and get ready! Thanks for reading.

Reno Baby!

Well the day has finally come for the Reno trip and later this afternoon I will be drinking a lot of beer and playing a lot of videopoker and winning a lot of money! At least let's hope so. I spent the weekend working on my plan of attack and the strategy I'm going to use and even though I feel very confident that I'm going to have a great trip, I finally realized I don't have the bankroll to play at the 1 dollar level this trip. When I factor in the fact that I will be in Las Vegas for another trip within 4 weeks then it is clear that I have to play within my means this trip. Thus I will be playing quarter, maybe half-dollar level this trip and that is fine with me. This way I won't have that added pressure of losing my bankroll when luck runs cold, and I can also see if this new strategy is indeed the one and will work in actual casino play.

The weather in Reno is going to be something else as it goes from 90's yesterday to 60's today with rain both today and tomorrow. Yuck! The rest of the week will be sunny with everyday in the 60's so at least no chance of snow for me this trip. However with this cold front out there my dad is concerned that he may very well hit some snow showers on his trip from California to meet up with me.

Spent the weekend looking up stuff on Reno and the area around it. Should be a beautiful place to take photos of and walk around the area. Hope to maybe do some fly fishing and of course eating some nice fresh trout too. I will be writing a report of the extra trip when I get back both the good and the bad. Let's just hope that everything falls into place for a very great trip that I can look back upon and remember forever with great thoughts!

The week in catch up.

Boy I had a very busy week and the upcoming weekend looks like it will be just as busy. Let's start at work. Since I will be off next week I had to get my goals/review done for the year last week. I never exactly know what to put down and how to shape the words into something that the higher ups will like and respond to. Finally I was able to finish that and submit it all by Thursday morning and what a relief it was to finally get that done and over with for the rest of the year. The response I got from it was much more positive than what I got last year so here is hoping I will not have to take classes and be put on probation again next year. After 15 years maybe I will catch a break.

I then had to turn my sights on my upcoming Reno trip. People started wanting rooms and making travel plans to meet up with me out there and I had to work the phones and the internet to get things done. Then it was off to the eye doctor for exam and the contact place for boxes of new lenses. Then off to the bank and to shopping for some new digs for the trip. After checking the weather reports for Reno all week it is really really strange. They will go from the 90's on Sunday to 60's starting on Monday when I arrive. Hey that is ok but the lows are what concerns me... 34 to 39 degrees at night! Hell, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to pack the heavy coats and clothes this trip but now it seems impossible.

The more and more info I get on the Reno area the more I have come to realize that the people who live there love it. It was really hard to find bad reviews for locals there or from people who were out for a visit. The food prices are cheap the gambling is cheap and the people seem nice with a great area and many many things to do other than staying inside the casinos. It loooks like it is going to be a busy and very fun week ahead for me and I'm looking forward to it... just wish the weather would have held up warm for another week there but alas you can't have everything!

Gambling wise I have decided on a strategy finally that will give you a high reward but it comes with a high risk. Hope it works and hope I get some nice hits next week. The margin of error here in this game is very high. Get a cold spell going with a Quad drought and one could be totally wiped out early. Plus I have another trip planned to LV coming up in less than 4 weeks from today so I have to have some bankroll saved for that one too. We will see what happens and of course it should be interesting to live through and report on which I will do on this blog when I get back. Hell, I'm ready to get gambling again as this is my first gambling trip since April! Looking back on the past 15 years when I first started gambling this is the longest I have ever gone between trips. I'm ready to get back in the action and kick some ass too. Should be a lot of fun.

After taking care of most all of my errands yesterday I now have all day today to relax and get ready for my trip. I got my wake up call from the cats at 3am this morning. After 2 pots of coffee and a nice ham steak and eggs breakfast and a lot of time on the internet, I think I'm about ready to go back to bed and lay down for awhile. Big day of College Football ahead so maybe some rest should be the order of the day here.

Oh I had another special moment at work this week that really put a extra bounce in my step. A great friend sent me the worlds greatest birthday card since I will be out of town next week during my BD. It was so nice and so sweet and reminds me again of how great and special it is to have such good friends that are thinking about you and doing something nice for you too. Really made my week and pumped me up too. This person is so very special to me that I can't even put it into words but just talking about it now is pumping me up and bringing a smile to my face all over again!

So there you have as the catch up for the week. I'm looking forward to my trip and being able to gamble again, fish for some trout, spend time with family and friends and of course my birthday. Look forward to making the best time of it and enjoying myself and having a lot of fun!

Lazy Saturday

So what is it like in a day of the life of a semi pro gambler living in the heartland? Let's go over how my day has gone to give you some sort of a idea.
This morning it all started at 5:00am when one of my cats started pounding on the blinds to wake me up. This is really nothing new as this same cat does this every single day at different times. It's not like my 3 cats don't have enough to eat. There are a total of 8 different food dishes with 5 different flavors located in the house. Yes I spoil my cats but hey they only live 15 years of life so they should be spoiled and enjoy their short lives is the way I look at it. No this cat hits the blinds to wake me up for wet kitty cat food that has to be opened by an actual person. So after getting my tired ass out of bed to feed the 3 darlings it was then decided to go ahead and start my Saturday since going back to sleep now would be a waste of time.
After brushing my teeth and making a pot of coffee it was then onto the computer to check emails while listening to a Las Vegas radio station on my Iphone. A short comment about my Iphone here, I just love it! I can do everything on it that I could with a laptop plus even more as I can make phone calls with it but then again who the hell talks on the phone anymore when it is so easy to text or email someone instead and then still be able to do something else at the same time?
After checking the emails it was then online to check the Las Vegas papers and the college football updates. Then it was time to practice my video poker strategy for my upcoming trip to Reno. I have finally decided which strategy I'm going to use and now I feel committed to it and have to get ready.
After 3 hours of this it was time to get out and get some breakfast, a paper and some Cigs at a discount smoke place. Breakfast was a take out at a Braum's store on the way home. Ham,egg and cheese muffin with hash rounds and a cup of about 2 hour old coffee...yum and only right under 4 bucks! Wow prices on everything are crazy right now and this is really a total waste. Note to myself stop buying breakfast at Braums.
Now it is home again and after reading the paper and drinking some of the old stale coffee and smoking a cig it was time to get back on the rail and doing something more productive again. So I made myself a "fresh" pot of coffee, feed the cats some more wet kitty food ( spoil them I know) and then back to VP practice online. This time however I'm listening to a sports radio station while typing away on the old keyboard.
The plans for later today are so easy to plan. At noon it is lunch time with friends and family as I do every Saturday at Jimmy's Egg. Afterwards I need to run some errands to the store and drop of cleaning etc. Back home I will go and then the tv finally comes on as I "watch" a afternoon game while taking a nap! Yes one can do these 2 things at once as I have been doing just such a thing for years so I know very well it can be done.
Later this afternoon I will again get my tired ass out of bed, feed the cats yet again a can of the wet stuff and then plan on what I want for dinner. Right now I really can't even think what the hell that will be except to say I will go out and bring something home as I can't and won't cook dinner for myself on a Saturday! Then tonight it is more football watching only this time instead of taking a nap during a game I will be playing VP on my Iphone while "watching" a game. Finally around midnight tonight it will be time to wrap up the day and get some sleep all the time wathcing for that "blind call" that is sure to come sometime between 5 and 6am and then back up again to start a new day.
Pretty exciting shit right? I will now allow all of you to relax after reading this very exciting report on my day and let you calm down a bit as your realize how boring your own lives are as compared to mine. More later.

Random Thoughts

I love September mornings here in the heartland. You wake up or in my case get off work, and it is cool but not cold and has a nice crisp smell to it. You know very well that later in the day it is going to be in the 90's again but hey that is ok since the sun goes down earlier and the morning will again bring a nice cool feel to a start of a wonderful day.
Actually I just love the month of September and everything about it. The month brings the start of school, start of the football season, start of cooler weather, start of the fair, and for people who care about such things ( I don't) the start of the new television season.
Of course the month of September does bring something else with it the start of fall and then winter weather... Yuck! Here in Oklahoma we seem to really have only 2 seasons at times, very hot and humid and very cold and wet with horrible winds thrown in for good measure. You have not lived until you try to drive 25 miles in ice or wet snow just to get to work or the store etc. Of course I'm not looking forward to that but right now I try to clear my mind of what is to come and instead focus on right now and enjoy it while it last.
On the work front last week I think the word "tired" pretty much sums it up. The whole week I was just so very tired and ended up just working and sleeping the whole week away. There were a couple of days when I wouldn't even have dinner but instead just stayed in bed and rested. No I'm not sick or anything but I think having the week off the week before really sort of spoiled me. It didn't help that for a few days there at work it just kicked my ass with alarms strange phone calls and equipment breaking down etc. Hope this week, which starts tonight, is nice and smooth and above all quiet.
On the Las Vegas front, some more friends just got back last week and said the crowds on the weekends are huge again and for the clubs. However the table games are sometimes empty maybe because of the horrible 6-5 rules that the casinos now offer on blackjack and the tightening of comps for machine players. The Plaza Hotel downtown announced that they are closing their rooms so that they can upgrade them...right! Sounds like that old time hotel may just very well close maybe for good. It is a shame really and this type of thing is going on in all walks of life all over the country right now. I could say this is what we get for being "stylish" and electing someone that talks good, rather than the best person for the job. We should be out of this so called recession by now just like in years past but instead it has gotten worse with no end in sight. The upcoming November elections are going to be huge for our country.
On the gambling front my Reno trip is now but 2 weeks away and I'm not ready. Last week I hardly practiced at all due to all the sleeping and now I have 2 strategies that I could use but don't know which one I will try out for real in Reno. One of them is high risk high reward and the other is high risk (money wise) but gives you nice little profits about 90 percent of the time but one session loss will pretty much wipe out your profits and then some. So I have to decide what to do and must keep in mind that I have another trip to Las Vegas planned just 3 weeks after I get back from the Reno trip. The rest of this weekend and all of next week will have to be spent on getting ready and everything down but I'm concerned.
So that is pretty much all that is going on from here in the heartland today. I think I will have some nice pasta later and watch some of the early NFL games. Then it is nap time and maybe some more practice on the old VP play. Hope everyone enjoys their nice Sunday and the weather because change is right around the corner.

Nine Years Later

Most all of us will always remember exactly where we were, what we were doing and how will felt on this date nine years ago. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the victims families and friends. Today is going to be a tough and very hard day for a lot of people in this country. May the good lord bless all of us and our country during these very difficult times.
My vacation ended yesterday and tomorrow night I will have to drag my tired ass back to work. Coming up I have a Reno trip starting on October 4 and then a Las Vegas trip on November 1. Yesterday we finally booked the airfare for the LV trip and got a great rate of 210 dollars roundtrip. It looks like we will be staying at Palace Station since it will be free unless of course some nice offers from other places come in the next few weeks. All of our good offers from the so called "nice hotels" all run out on Oct.31 so as it stands now Palace Station it is. For those of you who have never been to and even heard of the PS it is a nice mid to low roller locals hotel located off strip behind Circus Circus at the far North end of the strip. The rooms are very nice and pretty good size, the food prices are very cheap and good value and their steakhouse ( the Broiler) is very good at mid range prices with great clam chowder. The casino is good size with a lot of video poker offerings. Comparing it to other local casinos in LV it is not as nice as say The M, Green Valley Ranch, South Point or Red Rock. However it is nice enough, clean, cheap and located in Las Vegas so it is not too bad at all. I think we will probably rent a car this trip and off set the price with what we are saving on the room. I'm excited about going as it has been 6 months since my last trip out and that is way too long!
My vacation was nice in that I did nothing at all but whatever I wanted to do when I finally would wake up in the mornings. Sure I would have rather been at a nice bar in Las Vegas drinking so tall cold ones while playing some VP but hey it still turned out to be a nice week. I did some shopping, met up with some family and friends that I have not seen in awhile, got caught up on my tv shows and watched some football. Sometimes we all have to just take off and recharge our batteries a little bit and this is exactly what I did.
On the VP strategy front, it is coming along slow but forward. I think I finally have settled on a playing strategy that I will use next month and we will see where it goes and how it does in live action. In the back of my head I'm thinking that a good winning trip there and one the following month in LV will lead me to taking even more trips next year as I will then have a bigger bankroll, a winning and trusted strategy and more vacation weeks from work built up in order to go out more. We will see.
Today I'm not going to do too much but watch more football and hang out a little bit with family and friends. It should be a great day of football with some huge big games between rank teams. Should be a interesting and very nice Saturday.
The weather has been very strange again this past week. For a couple of days it was cool in the mornings and very nice during the days with highs in the 80's. Then later in the week it rained like cats and dogs and got cool again. Then yesterday it heated back up to the 90's and was like a mid-August summer day rather than September. Today it should be nice with temps back in the 80's and a nice cool morning. I love September weather and wouldn't mind this year round. I'm almost at the point where I can turn the A/C off at night and open the windows which leads to some of the best sleeping conditions one can hope to ever enjoy.
So that is it from here in the heartland. Hope everyone enjoys their Saturday and have a lot of fun with family and friends.

Vacation Blues.

You know my feeling has been since '96 that any vacation time spent away from Las Vegas is a waste. However when you have 10 weeks of vacation built up at work and they tell you that you can only carry over 12 or risk losing it and next year you will have 15 weeks then yes you better take some even if you can't make it out to Fun City. So this week after Labor Day I decided to take the rest of the week off. I have a Reno trip coming up in less than 4 weeks and a Las Vegas trip 4 weeks after that so this week would be spent staying at home and making the best of it.
So what have I done? Well I spent Tuesday cleaning the house up and taking the car in for a oil change. I also watched some shows that I had on DVR, listened to the Highway Station from Las Vegas on my IPhone and practiced my Video Poker strategy online. Quite exciting right? To make matters worse I have friends in LV right now clowning around and having a lot of fun. They keep sending me text and calls and emails with photos about how much fun they are having without me... the bastards! Here I'm sitting at home trying to save money for my upcoming trips and boy do I miss not being in LV. Well I will have "my time" soon enough. I just hope the weather in Reno the first week of October does not turn into a mess!
So what is on tap for today you ask? Well I'm going to go to the Pizza Buffet, read some books, look at some message boards (LV of course) and practice even more VP online. Why so much practice? I have decided to try a new strategy during the Reno trip and I have to practice that and also the special plays that go with it etc. This strategy was made up for me by a pro player in Arizona that I'm friends with and he said he has never lost with it. The only problem is that it does not win too much and the risk is quite high for little gain. However the "chance" of a nice big hit is there and that is what is exciting about it. Plus the win rate on it is quite high too. So we will see. If this thing crashes and burns in Reno then I can always go back to the old strategy for the Vegas trip a few weeks later. Have to see if this thing works in real time though. I have this vision in the back of my mind of taking those 12 weeks of vacation next year and travel to Las Vegas about once a month to have fun and make money and have the hotels pay for my trip except for airfare. To do this I have to have a winning strategy that continues to win small amounts while waiting for that big hit to come along and make the whole trip positive in the winning bracket. So practice it is and so far it is going well. We will see.
In the news: Saw that one of the lions at MGM went after and attacked a trainer in front of the public a few days ago. This scares me in that they may shut down the whole thing in the future because of events like this. I watched the video of the attack on You Tube as a vistor happened to be there to record it. MGM never issued a statement on it so I guess they are trying to keep it hush hush at this point. The Las Vegas Sun did have an article on it
I also saw that Steve Wynn has banned Paris Hilton from his WYNN Hotel because of the found drugs in her purse. Oh well this just means Ms.Hilton will move on to another hotel casino to party at. In fact I sort of think this is a mistake on Steve's fault. Say what you will about Paris and the hollywood types like her but she does bring in business and people want to see her and be around her and the people like her all the time. Yes this is the problem with out society right now but of course it is "Mob Rules" and that is the way things are right now. Maybe things will change in the future but then again maybe not. I can't worry about things like this since I have a vacation to live right now!

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

We really all need this day off for Labor Day what with all the taxes that we pay these days this holiday is well deserved for all of us working stiffs out there. Hope everyone enjoys their day off and do something fun and with the family.

Let's play catch up. Last week was ok work wise as most people were just trying to get the week over with to start the long weekend. For myself I knew that I was taking the following week off so the week seemed to creep by slowly as it always does when one has a vacation week coming up. No problems at work to deal with which is always nice.
On the home front of course the wife had the procedure for her back on Monday and then spent the rest of the week trying to take a easy and hope that the pain goes away a little. It finally did which is a blessing with the Reno trip now only weeks away.
Friday and Saturday was spent with family members cooking out and watch the start of football season which is always nice. The best part about September is the cool mornings and nights and after the long hot summer we have had around here it was a much needed break from the heat. In fact Saturday morning it was so cool that I had to put on jeans for the first time since last April. Of course the mid afternoons are hot and it did reach the 90's but the evenings are oh so nice which help makes September one of my favorite months of the year.
Saturday I drove the 40 some odd miles out to see my twin uncle's and their familes to watch the OU football game. We cooked hotdogs and hamburgers and just sat around talking and laughing about the "old" days. It was fun despite the drive. Times like this are ones to be enjoyed and remembered for years to come. As I get older I start thinking about things like this and try to enjoy these family moments even more.
Sunday was spent staying all day at home cooking out myself as I started up the grill and had some nice London Broil's. I never even got on the computer once all weekend but did watch some games and also some programs that I had taped and did some reading. I just enjoyed really being off and not having to rush to go into work on Sunday night as I usually have to do.
Today for Labor Day I decided to stay at home again ( see a pattern here) and cooked some nice pasta and just watched some old time tv shows that I enjoy. Tonight is the Boise State- Virgina Tech game which is probably the biggest single game in BState history. I will be pulling for them since my view is almost always to go for the little guy the underdog if you will.
Now with the Reno trip only 4 weeks away I need to spend the rest of this week getting my gameplan down and my VP playing strategy down and ready to go. Looking at the weather out in Reno it is quite strange as it is 90's during the day but a very cool 40's at night. I'm starting to think that even the first week of October will be almost cold out there unlike Las Vegas where their October is some of the best weather you could ever hope to see. I have still been thinking about how this Reno trip could be a waste of vacation time as going anywhere else but LV is a waste for me! However the chance to see my dad and spend time with him makes it very nice and the gambling should be fine. After doing some research online Reno looks a lot like downtown LV so it should be fun. I just hope the weather holds up and of course the VP play and luck.
Well that is about all from here in the Heartland. It will really feel nice tonight not having to go into work and just kick back watching the ballgame, drinking some beer and surfing a little online. Should be a good week indeed.

Starting Another Work Week

Well while most of you were sleeping and still enjoying what was left of your weekend I was busy at work keeping my company safe. It started out as a wild shift with strange phone calls from far away lands, hookers walking up and down the street on a muggy late August evening and street bums looking for coffee and quarters. However I came through it without putting myself in harms way and ended one day closer to a long weekend!

This morning I have to stay up and take the wife to the hospital so that they can jam a needle in her spine to relief pain coming from a nerve caused by an accident some 30 years ago. She has been in a lot of pain the past few weeks so this procedure should help her and numb the pain a little. Sure I could be in bed with the A/C cranked up sleeping and dreaming about LV trips but hey I need to be there for her as she has been for me at times. Plus nobody likes to go to the doctor or hospital by themselves at least I don't. Just hope that I can get some by this afternoon for some type of nap before having to go back in again tonight.

Looking at the LV news for this past weekend I saw that Paris Hilton got arrested again this time in front of the WYNN Hotel for having a little bag with some white stuff inside. It seems that her boyfriend was driving and the street police smelled some weed coming from the car as they drove out of the WYNN's parking lot. After pulling him over they noticed that she reached into her purse for a hankie or something and the bag fell out so they arrested her too. You would think with the way I feel about so called movie stars and the way people flaunt all over them that I would be happy about what happened to Paris but really I'm not. In fact to the shock of many I actually like her. You see she is a rich party girl who does not have to work and can do what she pleases and this really piss off a lot of people just because they wish they could live life like this. But unlike most Hollywood types she is what she is and makes no bones about it. She does not try to be something that she is not and makes no excuses about having a good time. I can handle that a lot better than most of those clowns out there whom try to make us all believe that they are so smart and above all of us and lecture us about "going green" and giving money to far away lands and adopt kids from other countries etc. In other words they are phonies and full of shit and that is why I can't stand most of them. But with Paris she just is what she is and does not try to pretend to be anything else and I can really deal with that so much better. Plus I saw her once in LV and boy she is quite pretty too... hey she really is up close. I hope she gets it together and does not have to go back to jail. Hey she was not even driving so maybe she should and will get a pass.

Well it is off to the doctor. Hope everyone has a good Monday and enjoy your work day!

Where Have I Been? Lazy.

Its been awhile... and I'm not happy about it. When I started this thing I told myself I would keep it up to date and write almost everyday. Will make a effort to do just that in the future as things are starting to heat up around here. The long hot boring summer will soon give way to the start of fall and then football, gambling trips, cooler weather and a extra bonuce in ones step.

Today lets start off by talking about something that has really turned into a problem for all of us and our lives. I like to call it "Mob Rules". This is when the media or certain "beautiful people" like movie stars and rock stars etc., throw out an idea or belief and the "Mob" of the American people take it and run with it. One example is Starbucks. Think about it they are selling beans for 10 bucks a cup and people are lined up in droves to buy this crap! It's coffee for crying out loud that really taste like any other coffee but because it is Starbucks and Mob Rules, people just have to have it. Give me a break. Most of it taste like bitter shit anyway but because everyone else does it well you have to do it too.

Another example is bottle water. Oh my people it is water for crying out loud. Studies have shown that it is no better than the water you get out of your pipes but because Mob Rules we just have to have it. They are selling this shit for 3 dollars and sometimes more for a bottle of this stuff that you can get for free. I see all of these people walking around with these bottles looking cool because they see these no talents on their favorite t.v. shows drinking it. I just want to reach out and say Enough People... Grow up it is Water!

Still another is Tiger Woods. Who the hell cares about this guy and the "not important so called sport" that he plays. I'm so sick of him and his now exwife and his sport that it makes me sick. Golf is a total waste of time and space. There I said it and lighting didn't strike me down. Think about it... these courses take up huge amounts of space and land that could be put to better use. Think about the water it takes to keep these things "green" all the time. Hell it takes a lot of "bottle water" to keep these things up. Then the equipment and fees cost a huge amount and people go out there and do it because " mob rules" and hey all of these movie stars do it. Tiger Woods and golf could go away forever tomorrow and we would all be the better for it!

Still another example. Shows like American Idol suck! Sorry but the truth hurts sometimes. In fact every so called reality show sucks big time but hey people watch it because ( all together now) Mob Rules. Next time you sit down to watch one of these waste of time shows, think about what else you could have done with that hour of your life and you will probably think what a total waste of time the whole process is. But why do the networks put these things on all the time you ask? Answer they are cheap to put on and produce because there is little or no actors fees to pay. Just a bunch of morons getting on and acting like total fools and we just seem to lap this shit up like dogs because well everyone else does. Nobody it seems think for themselves anymore they instead want to be hip and cool.

Another example. Remember the show Friends? What a total suck job that was with a bunch of no talent actors and horrible writing. I tried to watch it once and got ill really I did. Why was it popular... Mob Rules. People went on and on about it and how pretty Jennifer A. was and hey it "caught on". Hey next time you see Jennifer really look at her and tell me she does not have a face or a horse! She is so overrated and such a no talent that most all of her so called movies end up going straight to video after a few weeks. I swear I could get in my car and drive to the local market and wait for about one hour and see 10 or 12 ladies who are sooo much better looking! Really think about and see if I'm not right. But hey if Oprah and The View says that she is great then hell it has to be true... right?!

Ok, rant over but take a few minutes this weekend and think about this whole thing of Mob Rules and how it affects your views and life and you will really start to open your eyes to all of this crap. They always try to slant your views to what is hip and in and no that if they can get the right people to endorse such nonsense they can control you.

Well my weekend is almost over. Not looking forward to going in and starting my work week tonight but at least most of us have a long weekend coming up to look forward to. Plus every week gets me closer to my own upcoming trips. I think I will make some homemade tacos with salsa and then maybe watch some old movies and take a nap. Everyone enjoy your Sunday and do something fun.

Trips Finally Planned

Well I finally have my trips planned for the rest of the year. I have only been able to go out to LV once this year in April. The problem was not lack of vacation time as i have 10 weeks this year. No the problem has been having to use my gambling bankroll for bills and other "problems" that have come up the past few months. Now that school has started and I have been able to get caught up on things, the bankroll will start to grow again and trips can now be booked.

My next upcoming trip will be the first week of October (birthday) to Reno/Tahoe of all places. Harrahs sent me a 4 free night stay along with 250 dollar roundtrip air offer that I booked upon getting it in the mail. The reason this trip is so important is that my dad lives only about 1 hour away in California and can meet up with me there. It has been almost 10 years since I have seen him and now that he is in ill health it makes this birthday trip that much more special. I will also be driving over to look at the lake and maybe side trips to Carson City, Virgina City and maybe Sparks. I have been looking at the videopoker offered in the local casinos there and it looks pretty good so this trip has turned into a win win situation.

My second trip will be the first week of November to the greatest city in the world of course...Las Vegas. Now this trip is a little tricky. I know I will be going but don't know how I will get there or where I will be staying as of yet. Let me explain. My father-in-law is driving out there for a auto-parts convention. He is renting a van and does not want to go alone. I have never drove to LV before but maybe now would be a good time to do so. However I really don't look forward to a 18 hour driving trip back and forth. We will see but driving would save a little money on airfare too so who knows what I will do just yet. Now he has also booked his rooms in a suite at Palace Station and has offered me a chance to stay there. Now I have stayed at PS before and even though it is not plush like say something on the strip it is a basic clean cheap nice play to stay and play. So as you can see even though i know I will be going then I just need to make up my mind as to the "other" things that need to be done before that trip.

I also have been working on that "new" VP strategy from my VP Pro in Arizona. It has worked pretty well on the IGT Videopoker.com site ( where you are playing the real games they have in casinos) and I'm now starting to add some special plays to the strategy and hope this will push me up over the top. If I do hit a nice Royal on either of these trips then I will probably be making more LV trips before the end of the year since I have to use at least 3 more weeks of vacation time at work or risk losing it.

Otherwise things here have been going along pretty much like it has all summer long... boring and hot! The kids are now back in school which helps with my sleeping during the day. The nights are starting to get just a bit cooler at night with a small "cool front" coming in this week which should cool things down to the 90's during the day. Also football season is only a couple of weeks away... so things are indeed looking up for the rest of 2010.

Today I will spend it cooking some nice steaks out on the grill, taking a nap before work and looking forward to seeing the new Mad Men episode tonight. Trips, family, cooler weather, steaks, football, and fall colors coming all add up to a future of some pretty interesting things coming my way.

Team Sucks Again

It's hard being a fan of just one team. Most people are what I call "bandwagon" fans who seem to follow only those teams that are on top at the present time. I guess I'm just not wired that way and this leads to a lot of heartache it seems.
Tonight was the start of the NFL preseason. I have been a Rams fan for 38 years and was excited about seeing the "new" team. First went over to family and friends to watch the game. We had hamburgers, drinks, watermelon, and popcorn. Then for 3 hours watched a display of horrible football play. Our 78 million dollar QB was sacked 3 times. The Rams offense had 8 yards rushing and ran the same old 3 and 4 yard pass patterns. On defense it was a little better against the run but deep TD passes were given up right and left. Just horrible. Team sucks fans suck and the town itself sucks. Didn't even sellout and was blacked out in the St.Louis area. While watching it I was struck by the fact that I could have and probably should have spent the 3 hours doing something else. I could have read some books, listen to the radio, played around on the computer or maybe watched old movies or old t.v. shows. Anything would have been better than what I watched and spent wasting my time with.
Oh well live and learn. Maybe I should become one of those "bandwagon" people and wait and pick a team in first place in mid-season like everyone else seems to do!

Let's Play Catch Up.

Sorry for missing the week but I was busy with sleep habits and new things to do at work. First of all I had to take my "punishment" classes at work due to the bad attitude review I got last year. After working 15 years on the graveyard shift it was quite hard to just turn around and go in during the day for 9 hours. The classes was not as bad as I feared and not as great as I hoped but I made the best of it. What made the class much better is that there were a lot of interesting and very good looking young ladies in the class. However I hate breaking into "groups" and we did that every hour it seems. Oh well it is over with and done for. Feel like what Martin Luther King said " free at last"...

I took a day of vacation on Friday so it turned out to be a nice 3 day weekend for me. My nephew started to school again on Thursday and it was also his first day of High School. My how the time has flown as I remember holding him hours after he was born as it was just last yesterday. He said that he hated it but I think he really had a pretty good time it is just that he is low in the pecking order this year and the Sr.s are probably putting him and all Fr. in their place as happens in high school everywhere.

Early in the week I had breakfast with another good friend who just got married last month. She came back from her time off to learn that her new husband was laid off at his job! Not good. So things are starting off hard for them but they seem to be pulling through. He already has a new job and they are making it. Hope things turn around for them as she is such a nice person and this should be the best time of her life.

I plan to relax the rest of the weekend and just enjoy myself. My uncle called at 5am to see if I wanted breakfast. Of course I was up as I always am on the weekends and we meet and had a nice talk and meal. It has been so very hot here that I really don't feel like going out at all during the day or even at night if I don't have too. Later I will be having my usual Saturday Lunch with family and friends and then the rest of the weekend is free.

The Rams first preseason game is tonight and is going to be on tv here in my area. That is very rare and I usually end up listening to their games on the radio. Plus Sam Bradford of Oklahoma will be playing in his first game and it will be fun to watch him perform and see what he can do and see what the Rams as a team can do too. After only winning 6 games in the past 3 years they can't do much worse can they? It is sometimes hard to be a fan of one team when they are so bad but hey going on 38 years with them so why quit now. Will have more to write about later this weekend and tell everyone about a future gambling trip or two.

Is Fall Here Yet?

Hot! Yes it has been very hot in this part of the country. So much so that for a couple of days last week it was hotter here than in my favorite city Las Vegas. Now that is pretty bad because it is also usually very humid here too. Much looking forward to fall myself. It seems when the weather cools a little and the kids are back in school and the football season is starting up... well it is like a whole new New Years all over again.

It is very rare that I ever get sick very much. It has been almost 15 years since I even had the flu and I never take that stupid, "don't know what exactly is in it" flu shot that they offer every year. Thus when I woke up on Monday morning with a headache, nose and eyes running and feeling just plain horrible, it was a very rare thing for me. To top it off feeling horrible in this heat just makes the whole "summer thing" a pain in the ass.

Finally I had to take some kind of sinus pills and Advil just to live. I got up Monday at around noon and started to make a pot of coffee. You see I have trouble taking pills and the heat of the coffee seems to make the pills go down better and faster. So here I was my tired ass still very sleepy and I bumped the coffee pot against the sink and Wham... the thing broke into a million little glass flecks. After cleaning that mess up I went out to buy a coffee pot since at this point I need and want this coffee and also I need to take these pills. I didn't fell like getting cleaned up so I just put on a baseball cap and a t-shirt with some shorts and crocs. I was just going 3 miles to the neighborhood WalMart store. Well I learned that this store does not carry coffee makers anymore. Oh crap so now I have to drive another 6 miles to a Target. This place is packed as people are buying back to school things and it is the lunch hour for many people too. I find the coffee maker but the lines are huge. While standing in line my nose and eyes start up again and stuff is pouring out onto my face oh boy it is horrible. Plus I already look like crap since I didn't bother to get cleaned up. Just a horrible crazy summer day! I feel better now but boy early in the week I doubt that I would have felt up to even a trip to Las Vegas if I had a vacation planned.

The rest of the week went well as work was not too bad and after my bout with sickness was over the week started going back to normal except for the heat of course. Friday was spent shopping with nephew for school clothes and books etc. He starts school on Thursday of next week his first year of high school (9th grade). Boy oh boy where does the time go?

On the Las Vegas front I have been looking a lot at the old Tropicana Hotel and what is taking place there. First they have a new owner and now they are in the process of building new towers, rooms, casino, pool and entrance way. This is a old hotel and was once called " The Tiffany's Of The Strip". The James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever was filmed there back in the 70's. From all accounts the place is starting to look great with a real southseas style and look to it. It helps that it is in a great location and they have a lot of land to build on. I do hope they make it and don't have to blow the old lady up. We have lost too many of the great old hotels in LV and need to keep some of them for history sake if nothing else. Looking forward to checking it out during my next trip out whenever that may be.

On the job front well "its a job". Next week I have to take more "punishment classes" due to the "bad attitude" review that I got last year. It seems going to work and doing your job and never calling in for 15 years is not enough anymore. Not looking forward to these classes at all. Sitting in a circle with a bunch of people you don't even know or care to know and having everyone talk about their feelings and themselves is not my idea of fun. Oh well.

For the rest of the day I have big plans in my head but the heat outside my make me decide to sleep my weekend away again and stay inside. However right now I plan on getting my haircut, having lunch at Jimmys Egg ( pork chops I think) and then reading some books and taking a nap. Later I think I will grill hamburgers outside and maybe watch some old movies. This is the life I tell you!

Been awhile. Summer Time Blues.

When I started this thing I told myself that I was going to keep up with it and write almost everyday. However when I get home in the mornings the heat added with the stress at work just makes me so tired I end up going to bed. Need to make a effort to keep this thing up to date and also add to it and get it the way I want it to be and can be proud of.

Last week at work was not too bad for the most part. It is just the summer heat that sort of wears me down this time of year and leads to me feeling the blues. When I think back upon it the past work week was one of the best I have had in awhile.

Friend got to go to LV last week and just got back late last night. He only plays BJ with a little craps thrown in from time to time. This is like his 5th or 6th trip this year already and I have only been able to make 1 so far this year which sucks big time. He had a winning trip and won a few hundred to go along with free rooms and food and 1 free airline ticket. Boy LV is a cheap good vacation when everything works out. Due to money matters I'm having right now and having to use my gambling bankroll on some bills, it looks more and more like I won't be able to make it out again until my birthday week in October. I just need to buckle down and quit spending so much and try to save a little but it is hard. Prices of everything cost some much right now it is crazy and hard to save anything! Hell I may have to get a second job just to pay the bills.

On the home front things are going pretty well. My nephew went with a church group to Texas and 6 Flags and had a great time. He starts school now in about 10 days. I remember years ago when I was in school we didn't start back until the Thursday before Labor Day. Of course we didn't have A/C in the classrooms either like they do now. Still it will be good when school starts back up and these kids will be off the streets at night which is good for my job and will be in school during day which is good for my sleeping habits...Laugh.

Food wise I have really gotten into a rut. Some old stuff every week it seems. Case in point last night I didn't feel like cooking but didn't want to get cleaned up and go anywhere either. So I ended up getting a hamburger at Sonic. What a waste! Oh it was alright but not great. To make up for it I'm going to have home made tacos today with a new salsa that I'm going to try and make here at home. Store bought salsa sucks big time and I have tried just about all of them I think.

This weekend I have not done anything at all except read and sleep. I'm almost done with 2 of my books and need to finish them since there is a new book out that I want to buy and read called "under the neon sky" wrote by a guy who use to be a doorman at the MGM for about 10 years or so. Sounds interesting and I want to be done with these other books and just read this one book by itself this time.

On the VP front I have not practiced at all this weekend or much last week at all. When you don't have a trip coming up and can't make it out there for a few months you start thinking "Why bother"? However I need to get back on it and start getting pumped up about my future trips that I'm sure to be taking this fall.

Tonight it is back to the grind...yuck. My next vacation break is not until Labor Day week. Can't wait for that.

Thursday.... Or Friday Eve

The weather is just totally off the wall. With the heat and then add in how humid it has been, and the whole thing just drains me of energy and all I want to do is sleep and or stay indoors. I can't wait for September when there is a little break from this heat and of course football season and the kids going back to school. Ah my favorite time of the year!

Things at work has been quite nice this week so far with one shift left to go. Oh I have been busy but nothing major has happened which is always a good thing. On Tuesday night the downtown area had a rather funny event going on. Lady Gaga was in concert at the same time that the National Baptist convention was going on. How these two events get along with one another is quite funny or maybe all those things people have said for years about the Baptist are somewhat true.... Laugh. I wonder if some of them even maybe went to the concert? The only good thing about the Lady Gaga event was the dresses and shoes that the ladies had on that night..quite nice. However some of the men were dressed in the same outfits so that brought the whole event down a notch or two! There is just something about seeing men in short skirts and high heels that makes me want to stay inside even more than usual!

On the Las Vegas front the SouthPoint Hotel and Casino opened a new wing a few days ago. They added more rooms, another bar and lounge, some new eating places and of course added even more video poker machines. This place has almost turned into my very favorite spot in all of Las Vegas. The rooms are big and nice, the eating places cost a lot less than what you see on the strip, they have 5 video poker bars, a sportsbook, a nice pool and some of the best hotdogs in town anywhere. The employees work for one guy and not a corporation which tends to make them happy and have great big smiles on their faces. In fact other than The M resort and Green Valley Ranch, this place is really one of the best places in my book in the whole LV Valley area. What made me think of all this even more was the fact that I got an offer from them yesterday for 35 dollar a night rooms up until November. Hope that I'am able to use this offer sometime soon before it runs out. If anyone out there is thinking about taking a trip to LV and has a car or will rent one then you should really look into staying here... it is very nice and you will be happy that you did.

I had thought about taking trips out to my favorite city in Sept. Oct. and Nov. but now it looks like I will only be able to go Oct. and Nov. Recent events seem to come up every month that takes a little bit more out of my gambling bankroll and thus makes it seem impossible for me to take 3 trips in a row like that. So as it stands now I will make the trip out for my birthday week and then the yearly trip that I make each November. Lets just hope that things hold up and nothing major occurs that would dig even more into my gambling bankroll.

Weekend plans are now forming too. Early plans call for maybe spending Saturday with family members that I have not see in awhile and then the usual book reading and taking naps. The weather really prevents me from wanting to do much of anything as I have said before.

My good friend from Atlanta is going back out to LV this weekend for his 6th trip already this year. He plays blackjack and craps only and boy do I wish I could join him for the fun this trip out too. But alas I must wait and let the excitement of a far off trip hold me for now.

Hope everyone has a great "Friday Eve" as we get ready for our upcoming weekends.

14 Years Ago.

Happy Sunday to everyone.
I just checked my notes and yes it was 14 years ago today that I made my very first trip out to Las Vegas. Las Vegas looked a lot different in July of 1996 than it does today. No Bellagio, NYNY, Paris, Mandalay Bay etc., were not even built yet. We stayed at the Monte Carlo and it had only been open for a few weeks and was so new that they didn't even have postcards of the place printed up yet.
I remember that after booking the trip a month in advanced I started reading books and practicing the game of blackjack in order to play that game during my trip. I didn't even own a computer yet so I would practice by hand and by using a little handheld game I bought at a outlet mall closeout. I also read 3 travel books on LV to get ready as I didn't know what to expect. I have to be honest that I didn't have high hopes about being too impressed about the whole thing. Boy was I wrong!
The first thing I noticed was the size of the hotels. These things are huge almost like cities within themselves. Also the heat was something else as it was not humid as it is here and the heat is a difference that you do notice. I was wearing a brand new pair of Docker slip on shoes and let me tell you that within 3 days the heat from the street had made a hole on the bottom of them! We are talking heat here.
Another thing I loved right off about the city was the freedoms that one enjoyed. You could just walk anywhere with a beer or drink in your hand. Slot machines were everywhere even at the airport and the clothes that people wore were out of this world. People do act a lot different there than they would back home.
My total bankroll for the trip was 300 dollars. That was for gambling and food! So here I have been practicing my bad ass blackjack playing and I proceed to lose 180 dollars the first night with 4 nights left! I just about cried when I went to the bathroom and realized that I was almost out of money. It was now 2am and I decided to play 20 more dollars and then go to bed. I won 160 of it back and then quit for the rest of the night feeling as it I had won! The rest of the trip I had to play at the 3 dollar tables in every dive joint on the strip. Food was still pretty cheap at the time as this was before all the highpriced dining places came into being.
We walked everywhere and saw everything on the strip. We even took the bus downtown and spent one night there. We would start each day at about 9am and drink and walk and gamble until almost 4am every night. I was a lot younger then and could handle such a pace. It was so much fun! In fact it was the greatest vacation I had ever had in my lifetime and I was hooked.
Gambling wise for the trip I made out really well too even though I had to play at the small betting tables. Remember I went out with 300 dollars total for everything? Well I came home after all the gambling, food, gifts and drinks that I bought with over 500 bucks! Not too bad for a first timer.
Well times have changed. Blackjack is no longer my main game, the food prices on the strip are very high, and many many new hotels are there with fancy dance clubs in every hotel. However it is still a cheap vacation since rooms are still cheap and airfare is usually not too bad. I still love the place even to this day but will never forget my first trip when I really feel in love with one of the greatest cities in the world.

Working For The Weekend.

Well I took almost a whole week off from writing and I'm sorry for that. I want and need to keep this blog up to date and will try harder to do so in the future. I'm still not sure how and what I want this blog to grow into but feel like I have a better grasp of what it is that I want, we will see.

On the work front this past week it was in a word great. Very quiet, very few problems and sort of reminded me of years past and the reason I have stayed on for 15 years. In years past you did your job and people would just leave you alone to do your job. When you messed up they would come down on you and you either picked it up or you were gone. It seems like in today's work place showing up everyday and doing a good job and then going home just does not seem to make it anymore. Let's hope this past weeks trend continues but somehow I seem to doubt that it will.

On the Las Vegas front. The Big Elvis got married. The Big Elvis use to weigh close to 900 pounds but had a super great voice and puts on the best free show on the strip everyday at Bills Hotel and Casino on the strip. The BE has now lost over 500 pounds met a nice lady at one of his shows and now is making a go of it. The couple got married at the lounge that he works at everyday....

http://m.lvsun.com/videos/2010/jul/16/4145/

I wish them great luck in the future.
One of my favorite hotels in all of LV is Southpoint. This weekend they are opening a brand new section to their hotel with new rooms, bars, eating places etc. It is a great hotel to stay and play at and is owned by a single owner not a big company that only makes it better. The service is great, the food is good with lots of choices, 6 bars to play VP at, a movie theater, a arena for horse shows, a good pool and big clean nice rooms. It is a great place to check out next time one is in LV. You can either take a cab out from Mandalay Bay that will cost you about 20 bucks from there or you can pick up their shuttle at the Fashion Show Mall.

On the gambling front, I have not made much progress this week at all. I'm in the process of reading some books and need to practice my VP strategy more in the coming weeks. I'm still holding out hope that I will be able to go out the week of Labor Day but money is tight right now as it is for just about everyone who indeed works, so I may just have to hold off until the week of my birthday in October. By the way if anyone out there wants to practice or just have fun playing videopoker the very best site to go to is videopoker.com. It is free and you are playing the very same games from IGT that are inside the casinos.

On tap for the weekend is not much other than to try and beat the heat by doing things in the mornings and late afternoons. My nephew spent the night last night and we stayed up watching tv until past 2am this morning. For today really no plans other than to surf the net, read some books, watch some taped shows and movies and practice some VP. Then it is back to work tomorrow night at 10pm. July and early August is really a drag time for most everyone but things do seem to pick up past mid August when kids go back to school and football camps and practice starts back up. Thus the best time of the year is just around the corner.

Monday Again.

Greetings and happy Monday to everyone. My weekend turned out to be one of a lot of naps for some reason. It rained here in the heartland most of the weekend and maybe that had something to do with or maybe I'm just getting old too. When I say nap I mean the 4 to 5 hour kind which I guess most people would call "sleep" rather than a nap.

The pizza on Thursday night turned out to be not as great as I had hoped. I was with a party of 10 and everyone else just raved about it and loved it. I guess I'm getting picky but it was not as good as it usually is and when you rave about something to others and they make a long drive just for pizza you want it to be great.

Friday at work was great as it was quiet and slow. After getting off at 6am I then proceeded to have a huge breakfast at Jimmy's and then a "nap" which felt great as it had been a long week. Dinner was at a place called Charleston's where the food and service is usually very good and it was this night too. Again the people I was with raved about it but since I had the trout it was again just so so ( see a pattern here?). Spent Friday night watch some tv and reading on my 3 books that I have started all at once.

Saturday was spent having lunch with friends at Jimmy's followed by me taking a huge 6 and a half hour nap. I woke up and there where 10 calls and tons of text messages waiting for me as everyone was wondering where I was. Hey when you work nights you sometimes have a bad habit of sleeping during the days even on the weekends. No dinner for me that night as everything was pretty much closed by then and I really didn't feel like eating anything anyway.

Sunday I spent the morning cooking homemade tacos with rice and beans and it was great. I then really wanted to get on the computer and look around and maybe play some VP to practice etc., but ended up falling asleep again and not waking up until it was 1 hour before I had to be at work! I had just enough time to cram down some hotdogs and rush in. Thank god it was quiet last night again for a change.

Now it is Monday again and the dog days of summer are really here now. Nothing to really look forward to until Labor Day. I'm really thinking of maybe going out to Las Vegas Labor Day week for a few days. The airfare is setting at 250 RT right now and of course I have those free room offers at NYNY. Oh that reminds me, I just heard from my great friend at work and she is going out to LV the middle of September for the first time in 15 or so years. I'm so excited for her and hope that she has a great time and will want to go back again and again.

Well that is it from here. Just another lazy Monday in the middle of summer. Hope work goes well again tonight. It should as they are running a Mad Men special on tv that I could watch if in fact it is quiet!

Pizza Night

Work has really turned into a joke. A fat lady got on our floors ( not during my shift) and people just let her right into the floors and offices and she made off with a couple of billfolds and then proceeded to go to Lowes and HD and charged thousands on the credit cards. I guess she needed a little home repair work done or something! Happened in the middle of the day and it is all on video as she pretended to be talking on cell phone and just walked around lobbies and stairwells and nobody that came in contact with her noticed she didn't have a badge on. Oh my. Maybe we will all have to take more classes because of that!

Otherwise my shift has been very quiet this week and I'm so glad that the weekend is finally here. Tonight people are driving in from Tulsa and we are going out to Italian Jims pizza in a town called Yukon. To show just how good this pizza is they are making the 2 hour drive down just to have this pizza and then will be driving back to home to Tulsa after dinner. I of course will be going almost right to work after dinner but I did sleep a little today and hope the night is as slow as it has been with no big women trying to sneak in....Laugh!

Got free room offers from NYNY today for 3 free nights midweek and a special of 59 bucks on weekends. This offer is good up until October so it is pretty good. I have not stayed there in 12 years so why I got this offer is beyond me. Hey free is free so tonight I will look at airfares and may go the week of Labor Day in September for 2 or 3 days. Getting ready for a LV trip always puts a little extra bounce in ones step.

I'm now in the process of reading 3 books at once ( bad habit) plus I need to practice my VP and also watch some old movies I taped this week too. Boy what a busy weekend I have planned.

Hope everyone has a great "Friday Eve".

Not As Great As I Hoped- Not As Bad As I Feared.

Even though I hated having to work the night of the 4th it didn't turn out as bad as past years at all. Maybe the rain had something to do with it or the way people feel these days but the power drinkers and 40 year old "teenagers" were not out in full force. It did take me forever to get there due to traffic problems downtown. It was total gridlock due to people running red lights in all directions. Once at work it was very busy for the first 2 hours but after that it was like everyone just went home. Plus lots of people with kids this year that just wanted to enjoy the fireworks. Not really a bad way for me to pick up a little extra "gambling" money at all.

I got a big laugh out of the 4th of July poll that showed 21 percent of Americans could not name the country we fought against in 1776! I bet if they would have asked them who won this years American Idol or Dancing With The Moron's winner they would have had better results....! Oh my we have some major problems right now in this country. Maybe the tide will turn starting this November but then again 21 percent is really pretty damn high.

The rest of my work week has been pretty good with few problems. I did learn that I have to take even more off duty classes as punishment for my bad review that I got last year. In short they have been trying to run me off and have me quit but I'm still holding in there. The classes are indeed a pain in the ass but something one must just put up with today. I only have 2 more days this week and then the weekend.

Tomorrow night family members are driving down from Tulsa to go eat pizza at this great place that is way out of the way. This family owned pizza joint has been open for about 15 years and we have been with them since the start. The pizza is just great as they use real cheese and make everything fresh. Yes it is about a 30 to 40 minute drive from where I live but it is worth it for sure. Everyone we take out there just falls in love with the place.

Well that is about all that it going on right now. I'm still reading that new gambling psyche book and need to take some time out this weekend to practice on my game. No telling when my next trip out will be due to these classes I now must take but I'm thinking about and looking at maybe the first week in September. Will keep everyone posted. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday. Time for me to try and get some more sleep before going into work.

Happy 4th Everybody!!!

I know that we have a President and Congress who are self-serving, narcissistic, ego maniacal morons trying to destroy the greatest nation the world has ever known. We may very well lose our country forever sometime soon because of all these. So enjoy today and our country while you still can. Have fun with your family and friends and be proud that you are (were) part of the greatest nation of all time!

My 4th will probably not be as good as most peoples. I had an American style breakfast of bacon and eggs and will have a nice dinner of pasta and salad and then I have to get some sleep! At 10pm I will be at work dealing with all of the 4th nut jobs and power drinkers who have no idea really of why they are celebrating. Well someone has to work on the 4th I guess and tonight I'am one of those "someones"!

My weekend has gone pretty well. I spent Friday night with family and friends at a steak cookout and then watched some stand up comedy. Saturday was spent at a lunch with some more friends and family members and dinner by myself which turned out to be Popeyes chicken. Between all of this I have been involved with ready a book on Gambling Psychology and have to deal with upper levels of betting and getting over issues of tilt and how to play better and think more clearly when playing at higher limits. It is sort of a book on keeping your gambling play as sort of a business and using your time and bankroll as inventory as you move up. So far it has been a pretty good read but I must admit that I have at times almost fell asleep too!

Well that is all for this morning. Happy Birthday America!!!

Weekend Finally!

The weekend finally is here and although it is not the long weekend that most everyone else will enjoy at least I will be off for a few days.

Work last night was very slow and quiet which is just what I needed due to my lack of sleep the day before. Then as I was leaving I ran into a old friend whom I had not seen in quite awhile. She is a very pretty, smart, charming and interesting, the kind of person who just brightens your day to see and talk to. This just put an extra bounce in my step as I left for home.

I then proceeded to cook myself a huge breakfast of hotlinks,eggs,toast and juice. After playing around on the computer it was then to bed for some much needed sleep. Tonight there will be a cookout with family and friends and then a nice lunch tomorrow with some more family and friend members. The rest of the weekend is free and I will need it to gear myself up for the Sunday night shift at work.

How bad could your shift get you ask? Well the 4th is just below New Years Eve as far as bringing out the drunks, power drinkers and the problem children in their 40's who have no idea or concept in what they are doing or why they are there. A few years back I had to work the 4th and was outside trying to stop people from throwing beer bottles at my office building. I then proceeded to ask a group of them what the 4th of July even means? Their answer was to look at me like I was crazy and then said " its July 4th a time to drink eat and shoot fireworks". I then asked but why and they never did get it. They know nothing about why everyone is celebrating just that they are. Hmmm these people must have voted for Obama and must watch American Idol and Dancing with the stars! These are the types that I had hoped to avoid but will be dealing with all over again Sunday night. Not exactly the way I thought or hoped to be spending my Sunday night to be sure. My only hope is that it will pour rain come Sunday night and keep some of these people away. Fingers crossed!

I wish that I were in Las Vegas right now playing a VP machine drinking a cocktail and knowing that come Sunday night I will be watching fireworks blast off above the strip. I have never spent the 4th there but other than the heat I think it would be a blast and is something that I probably needed to plan for and do in the near future. Maybe next year.

I also have a pile of books I need to get through and read sometime soon. Now that the house is clean and the yard is taken care of maybe I can spend more time reading and enjoying myself. So as you can see I have a pretty full weekend ahead of me. It is just that I dread Sunday night sooo very much.