The Wheel Of Fortune

Flight from Newark to Vegas was uneventful and would you believe that they didnt even serve a snack,dinner,nada on a 5 hour flight.Oh well thats America West. We arrived at around midnight and took the bell van to the Orleans. Trip was comfortable and checkin was quick.The Orleans has wonderful comfotable rooms and a friendly staff and my o my those hot looking waitresses. After checking in we went down to the 24 hr cafe and had the steak and egg special for just 2.99,ah only in Vegas.We spent the rest of the night gambling and broke about even.

Next afternoon we eat at the Mexican restaurant which was very good and hung out at the pool since it was over 100.At dinner we took the shuttle over to center strip and had Dinner at Bellagio Buffet(wagerworks).The casino is beautiful and the light show was fantastic,however unless you like exotic foods like rattlesnake with cream sause id skip it if it wasnt free.The desserts were great. We then headed over to Osheas and Casino Royale where we got to place a bet on an online sportsbook site near the entrance.Between my wife and I we won 300 dollars.

Tuesday we ate at Emerils, very expensive but worth the money. I have never had a porkchop as good as this one was. Most of the rest was spent looking at the other fancy casinos. Paris beautiful but as stuffy as the French,Venition ditto but beautiful pictures.MGM too big feel like an ant.

Wednesday we ate at the Mirage buffet(wagerworks) it was excellent food with the best desserts.We also took in the Dolphin tour it was wonderful and even convinced us to stay at the Mirage the next trip.The pool grounds are beautiful.Later that day we took in the Monte Carlo pub which had terrible burgers,terrible country music,but a pretty good and very large nacho salad. Thursday we went to Little Anthony and Platters show at the Stardust.If you ever get a chance to see these 2 groups perform dont miss it,it was great.We then headed downtown and the Freemont st show was great.Downtown slots seemed much looser and were fun.

Really took a bath on let it ride, did ok on blackjack, but the only slots we had luck on were the Chinese Takeout and Wheel Of Fortune. Also saw a young man win 22 thousand on a dollar 10 times machine. May it happen to all of you my friends. internet poker

The Smell Of Coffee In The Morning

Tuesday morning I wake to the smell of coffee. Mr B makes the best! We sit at the giant window and watch the morning in the most FUN city I know. Check out is at 11:00, so we pack and Mr B takes the goods to the car...the wallet is lighter so the load was not as bad as coming in.

I visit the Slot Club host area and spoke with our host by phone to get names of people who helped with our security breech. I did not ask for online gambling comps, as we did not play much at NYNY and had an enormous suite for $50 a night. I figured I would catch them on the next trip.

I then went to check out and had a rude awakening and a rude clerk. I asked for the receipt to be printed before she charged it out for my audit. She charged it out and gave it to me. There was water charged that we did not use and she charged us $115 for the suite. I explained the situation that I had not asked for it, but she didn't seem to care. I said, "Look, let's just call your manager". She said don't get upset, I'll give you credit. What a way to burst my bubble when the others had been so great. No worries.

We headed for Bellagio for lunch. This place is lovely, but smelled like cigar smoke, even Mr B smelled it. Strike this place for us...no offense, but my allergy meds would not be able to keep up with the heavy smell. The Slot Club desk was efficient and I had a very nice conversation with the supervisor (who was the only one that could give us our WW Buffet that day). We talked about the Oceans 11 filming. She said it was finally over and none too soon after 6 weeks. She said one of her friends at work signed up and had a ball, but would probably not do it again as it was grueling work that last long hours.

The slots at the Bell were just as hungry as everywhere else, so we fed them and headed over to the buffet to feed TheBiscuits. The food was good and variety very good. I made a huge salad with the different salad greens and fixings plus cheeses. Hit the bread basket for a nice selection. I then had fresh veggies, al dente (not for most southerners taste, but I like it). Would have cost a fortune in a nice restaurant. Bread pudding was A+.

We head for downtown and our check-in at Main Street Station for 3 nights.

I had spoken to the the executive assistant to the General Manager of MSS after writing a letter a couple of months ago to get casino rates. We struck up a conversation when she confirmed my reservations and we agreed that I would give her a call when we arrived. She was just leaving for the day, but stopped by the lobby to wish us well and was so hospitable. The hotel is small and it made us feel at home to "know" someone there. Folks, this place is a treasure. We paid $35 per night. I will write a full report in the Travel, Gamble and Sleep section, but I must tell you to please check this place out if you appreciate fine old decor. The rooms are large, bathrooms small, but clean and certainly ample. As the clothes were already ironed from NYNY, we moved them on hangars and hung them and ran (OK all you "Throw the bags in the room" folks...we did it...white knuckles for me, but we did it). Room 1619 facing the Space Needle and the Plaza.

We had decided that since we had made a point to stay Downtown and had so many buffet tickets + planned a nice meal at Bootlegger Bistro, we would forgo the TOTW at the Strat, so we headed for Fremont Street through the California, but got stopped by Mr B's favorite car... some kind of cadillac. This spot turned out to be his home away from home many time through out the last 3 1/2 days. I finally pulled him away and we hit mucho many casinos downtown. The weather was great and we had a blast. Finally rested for dinner at the Golden Nugget ??? Cafe for Nachos and Bread Pudding. Pretty good nachos, but bread pudding an A+....yes, there is a trend here. We love Nachos and we love bread pudding, but not usually together. Check the recap for report. We drank and played and played and drank and were up and down and down and down and up a little, but had a great time. Marguritas became our mistress/gigalo. WOF, 777, Double Diamonds were our friends and foes that evening. In fact, I think this trip, they all became Audry II and we became Seymour!

Back to the room to find a message from Slickmoves, wishing us well. So sorry we missed them.

We opened the drapes in our room to the light of the Strat Tower and the Plaza. We fell asleep hoping to hear the trains. As I've mentioned before, I grew up near a switching yard, so the sound of trains is very comforting to me.

It's getting on midnight, so I will save the 18th until tomorrow...what's a Vegas trip without a HO visit! gambling online

Staying At The Marquis

Our Marquis minisuite would be about an hour and a half wait, no problem. But it took the checkin person almost 50 minutes to get my friends 2 rooms set and somewhat close to me>something that supposedly was preset! The checkin person was nice enough, but just didnt seem ontop of her game and kept disappearing and reappearing with no notice. At least while waiting we discovered that my host had given us complimentary entry into the blackjack tournament that weekend. And I made her aware of the prior problem which she verified she had NOT spoken to anyone about and pledged it would be looked into. Feeling a little better we had dinner at America while waiting (love that Four cheese pizza with pepperoni) and settled into the room. I can't say enough how much I love the Marquis Jacuzzi, with its extra size, corner jacuzzi, and excellent view of the strip. Ask for it, they're topnotch!

Thursday night and Friday morning we played lots of blackjack, and didnt have a winning session?! I even went to sleep at normal hours and didnt play overnight like I usually do. None of us could win. Even the ladies were getting killed on slots! Friday we bopped over to MANDALAY BAY and found a terrific property again. Mark and I explored the Shark Reef, worth a visit!! The tables were more generous as we both won and were rated quite well, and we received a comp to their Buffet. I couldn't believe it, I love their Buffet! Such variety. Fresh foods. Smiling service. I know the ladies were having fun on their own, but they missed a great experience. I was so impressed I found out from a host that if I played there later I'd get a comp room and made mental notes as we headed back to NYNY for our pretournament party.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be for us at NYNY this trip. the party was in the upstairs lounge, had loud music, Smirnoff girls, and frankly just wasnt what we hoped for. After thanking Vickie (host) for everything, and learning she would handle the problem (asking if we needed anything else), we left and played more bj. What a slaughter! We may as well have just dumped our wallets on the Online Poker tables! As Mark said,"sometimes the bear gets us!" After seeing how the ladies were doing (having fun seeing other properties/sunning/eating) we went back to Mandalay. Although table luck dried up there too, I got the comp room and checked in.
You must stay at Mandalay Bay! The room I had was on 20th floor with an amazing Strip view. The room was well sized, and the bathroom area quite pleasing: sunken tub, separate shower, separate stall area. Even Mark was impressed, I believe. After we parted for the night, I ordered room service and had another nice surprise. Fast, hot, tasty food and milkshake heaven I played about two more hours downstairs before turning in. Next morning, brought the Mrs. over so she could see the room and place we're likely to stay next trip. She was definitely into it!
The bj tournament at NYNY will be discussed in a separate post, but suffice to say followed the pattern of weirdness. I should've advanced, but didn't...and didn't care?! They gave us nice shirts and held another party that evening, but I just wasn't into it. I appreciate my host's gift, though and had a shot at moving on>wasn't meant to be this trip.

Since we were leaving Saturday night, I took Mark but to MB and we explored. The beach is outstanding (you need a key to get into it!) and something I really look forward to using on future trips. Wherever we played, we were still getting beat, but oddly had come to "accept" it. Our moods were good after almost a week, and we all met up again for a final dinner at NYNY. After that, I had fun relaxing, playing, jacuzzing until checking out around 10:30, where Barb discovered host had given her Friday/Saturday comped...another nice touch to offset the problems! We bid adieu to Barb at airport and took America West redeye back to Bwi. Got in early, waited for luggage for 45 minutes! Back home on Sunday, Alisa and I couldn't believe the adventure, though more costly bj/slot wise than normal, was over and so much fun overall. Can hardly wait for next trip already! poker website

The Noisy Neighbors

I really feel for all of you out there who have a problem with noisy neighbors. I myself have the same problem. I live in a 2 story apt. bldg on the bottom floor. Above me lives a couple living together along with a dog and a cat. Ever since they moved in, there is no such thing as "quietness" Peace & Harmony are a very important thing to me in my home. To me a home is a sacred place (a refuge) It is a place I want to be able to come home to and just relax, read, do my meditation, take a nice bubblebath etc. These two above me were brought up in a barn somewhere. It is just like having tow big elephants up there. When they walk my ceiling seems as if it is going to cave in. They are constantly pacing back and forth and always banging walls, and dropping things on the floor above me. When they come in and out of their amsterdam apartments they slam their door so hard my walls shake. They also both have very loud voices, so I hear everything. Another thing they do that I think is quite tasteless is their barbeques. As they have no balcony, they set their hibachi barbeque on the walkway next to my dining room window and have at it. The smoke and carbon minoxide comes straight through my window into my apartment. It also makes matters worse as I am a vegetarian and dont enjoy the smell of raw meat cooking coming into my apartment. Oh, yes, and they also exercise their dog upstairs every night. I hear them going back and forth up and down the hallway. It sounds just like a herd of animals. I have talked to these people at least 3 or 4 times about their noise. The girlfriend apologizes and says she will ask her boyfriend to try to quiet down too. The noise calms down a little for maybe one or two days, and then it's back to the way it was. I discussed the barbeque issue with the boyfriend. He promised he would move the barbeque over a little so as the smoke would not come in my window. He still puts the barbeque in same place, and I also get to hear their loud voices shouting through the window also. I am at the point to where I am considering looking for a new place. I have been in this apartment for 3 years, they moved in about 8 months ago. I really do not think it is fair I should have to move, but I am tired of feeling angry, and not even being able to enjoy my little "oassis" in the big city. If this is my kharmic debt I hope it is over soon!! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I am glad I am not the only one who is being mentally abused by neighbors. condos

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