#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 3, part 2

Halloween 2021 was not what I expected. 

It was my seventh #VegasHalloween in 11 years, and my plan, typically, is to spend the evening downtown. 

In 2019 my life partner really wanted to see Lady Gaga on Halloween Night. She didn't want to pay $400 per ticket, and that was lowest priced ticket days before the show, if you were shopping the online ticket resale sites. 

Fearing a major overhaul was in the works at the dirty circus, we stopped at Circus Circus the day before  Halloween, in the middle of the afternoon. I hadn't seen the inside of that joint in years, and wanted to see it in its vintage glory, in case the recent sale of the property was soon to bring a whitewashing of the décor. 

Nobody heaps praise on Circus Circus. It's old, it's kitschy and it's not the least bit glamourous. But so many of us bemoan the loss of casino theming, it would be a shame to ever lose this Vegas relic.

A view from outside the dirty circus on Oct. 30, 2019. This view is going to change, one of these years. Allegedly change is coming in two years. Yeah, we'll see.

While walking around, we found a ticket booth selling show tickets. I knew it was a waste of time to price check what they had, but my life partner insisted. Much to our shock, we found tickets at approximately $135 each. I had been watching ticket prices drop a little bit from day to day, but nobody was dumping them that cheap a full day before showtime. Sure, they were near the top of the theater, which ain't great, but I've seen much worse seats. It's not the hockey arena we were visiting, after all. It was a ticket in, and we had no regrets. 

My 2019 cellphone wasn't going to get a good pic of the Lady on stage, or flying through the air of a dark theater, but I got a pic of the giant video display showcasing her piano prowess during my Halloween 2019 concert. My first Gaga concert, and probably the last. I'm cheap. 

Flash forward two years, and the three sisters are talking about going to Lady Gaga on Oct. 30. We saw the "Enigma" show, a corny production with a simple story that unfolds as Gaga performs the hits. Last month, she was doing the jazz and piano show she likes to do, and the sisters wanted to see it. I didn't need to go. Count me out. 

They didn't go to the show on Saturday, Oct. 30, because midway through the week the bride-to-be decided she wanted to have a dinner gathering for the 18 of us there in Vegas for the wedding. That killed any plans for the sisters to see Gaga. 

Given there was no formal group gathering happening on Halloween night, the sisters started talking about going to see Gaga that Sunday night. I learned about this on Sunday afternoon, after the wedding, while we were dining at Saltgrass. 

Somewhere in the discussion it went from a party of 3 to 4. The bride's father's sister became part of the plan. (She's not an aunt to the sisters, who are cousins to the bride. Let's leave it at that.) 

So after changing clothes at the Plaza, I headed downstairs, knowing that I'd eventually be hitting the road and dropping off a group of concertgoers at Park MGM. It was just before kickoff of  the NFL's Sunday night football game, and a World Series game 5. I wanted to place small wagers on each. I wanted to wager on the Atlanta Braves to win, and I wanted to wager on Dallas to beat Minnesota. 

I got there in the final seconds of the wagering for baseball, and as I was about to place a wager, it went off the board. Oops. So then I wagered on the NFL game. I wagered $25 on the visiting Dallas Cowboys. 

The moment I put my wallet in my pocket and turned around to head out of the sports book I heard the NFL pregame announcement. The Dallas starting quarterback was not playing, and a backup with no experience was starting the game. Dallas was a 5-point underdog, but suddenly this looked like an easy victory for Minnesota. Just my luck. 

At Circa I watched part of the game in the free seats in the sports book with the bride and groom, while other family members milled about at the Mega Bar. (It's a big bar in a huge casino. I don't know why that's so amazing.) As 7 p.m. approached, it was time to head to the concert. 

We drove over to Caesars Palace to pick up the bride's aunt, which I thought would be a nightmare, but we got lucky. Weaving in and out of Caesars entryway is a chore right now, thanks to construction, but we succeeded. Getting into the Park MGM area to drop off the foursome wasn't much of a challenge either. So far, so good. 

By the way, they had slightly better seats in the balcony than we had two years ago, and the tickets cost them about $180 each that afternoon via whichever ticket site they used. 

My options: Go back downtown, only to head back three hours later to pick them up, or find somewhere else to go. For those who think that they should have taken a cab back after the show, the sisters were splitting the rental fee for the SUV between them. All it cost me was gas money and my driving service when needed during the weekend. Fair trade in my world. And even without the fair trade, you put others before yourself sometimes. This was one of those times. 

Given every trip to Vegas for more than a decade has included a visit to the Pinball Hall of Fame, and I hadn't been there on this trip, and was resigned to the idea I wasn't going for the first time in many years, Lady Gaga gave me a convenient excuse to drop in. I had been to the latest incarnation on the south end of the strip in June, twice, so I knew what I was getting. It was a quick jaunt on the backroads to loop around Mandalay Bay and pull into the lot. 

I had a nice chat with a local couple, who had to be in their 70s. They were just getting in their car, and I said hello. We talked for five minutes. There they were, on Halloween night, getting out and enjoying pinball together in Vegas. Warmed my heart. 

Inside it was not very busy. It was Halloween night, plenty of people had other plans. I saw proprietor Tim Arnold walking around, something that's not uncommon. I've talked to him before, but he doesn't know me enough to remember me. But I said hello and asked how late he was open. He said that he's still maintaining reduced hours as a result of the pandemic, so he was closing at 9 p.m.

That gave me an hour to look around, see what I didn't recognize, play a few old favorites and head for the door. The first game I played was Theatre of Magic, a game I don't to play regularly back in Minnesota, mostly because I don't go to a lot of places to play pinball on a regular basis these days. I won three free games on top of the game I paid 75 cents to play, and chewed up a bunch of time on that machine alone. 

I played this machine first.

By the time an hour had passed, I had spent less than $3, and played plenty of pinball for that money. Almost criminal. My final game of the night, an Elvira-themed machine, is one of three Elvira machines that has been licensed over the decades. This one was the second game to feature Cassandra, and was manufactured in 1996.

I played this last. Seemed like an appropriate final game on Halloween. (Cell phone photography of pinball machines is not my strong suit.)

So it's 9 p.m. on Halloween, and I'm back in the parking lot. Where do I go from there? I contemplated the Orleans, a place I have stayed many times and typically visit when I don't stay there. Instead I chose to go check out a locals bar I read about, courtesy of one of the local TV stations, The Sand Dollar, a "lounge" along Spring Mountain Road. 

I'm not sure the Halloween makeover of a longtime bar warranted news coverage by one of the TV stations, but that's how I learned about it. I had considered stopping in on Friday afternoon for one drink, but was too tired and not in the mood. 

So there I was, shortly after 9 p.m., heading into the bar. I didn't plan an elaborate Halloween costume this year, but I had this cheesy manufactured costume I bought a few years ago. Basically you wear it over your normal clothing and you're supposed to look like you're at the podium, bidding on a The Price is Right showcase. It was a perfect, simple costume for a theme party a few years ago, and it was a simple, easy way to play along with Halloween without going to a lot of effort. I had no idea how grateful I was going to be for not planning an elaborate costume this year. 

Thank you, Amazon, for providing this stock image of my costume. The microphone looks more phallic than the picture suggests. People will remind you of that.

I threw on the costume and headed inside. The place was not packed, but there was a decent crowd assembled, most donning some sort of costume. This place ain't fancy, and it's a venue for live music. I knew that much going in. 

The entire place was decorated, but I wouldn't call it amazing. They had plenty of fake cobwebs across the ceiling, and lots of little decorative touches through the bar. Cute, but not jaw dropping. I wouldn't recommend going there just to see the Halloween makeover. I took a simple picture of the pool table area when nobody was in that corner, and a picture of the decorated entryway to the place. I didn't want to look like a tourist, taking pics of every decorative accent in the building, and it wasn't that amazing, anyway.

Again, cell phone limitations in play. But you get the idea. 

The nifty entryway into The Sand Dollar.

These were the only Sand Dollar patrons in costume I took a picture of. Somebody else had asked them to pose for a picture first. That was my cue to follow suit. 

The bar had Halloween-themed cocktails, but I ordered a simple cocktail to start. A band was warming up, so I was optimistic the music would start any minute. I wasn't in the mood to try to make chit chat with anyone, so I was content to stand and enjoy the music. I found spot to stand that wasn't in anyone's way, and waited seemingly forever for the music to start. Turns out the band didn't play until 10 p.m.

So the music finally starts playing. I figure the band is going to play cover tunes, and given it was Halloween, there would be something, anything, referencing the fact it was Oct. 31. 

My expectations were a little low. The six-piece band began with an instrumental tune. And after several minutes, they were still going strong. After 25 minutes it sounded like their opening jam was about to end. And then it picked back up again, and continued until 10:50, at which point they ended the jam and took a break. 

It was quite a surprise, and very entertaining. Not what I was expecting, but very enjoyable. There was no introduction or sign telling me what band it was, but my after-the-fact research tells me it was Überschall, an improv band that is composed of past and present musicians performing for the Blue Man Group, evidently. 

The Sand Dollar's Halloween decor wasn't worth the price of admission, (there was none,) but if you enjoy an improv band featuring three drummers, two guitars and a keyboard player, you'd be entertained by Überschall. They play at the Double Down Saloon periodically, it appears.

Lady Gaga's show lasts about 2-1/2 hours, I was told, and I assumed she wouldn't start at 8 p.m. sharp, so I expected to be getting a "show's over" text by 11 p.m.

What I didn't expect was to run into somebody I know at the Sand Dollar. 

Toward the end of the Überschall set, a guy approached the area where I was standing. He looked familiar to me, based upon his profile. But it's dark, there's music playing and I assumed there was no chance I knew this guy. A few minutes later the music ends, the guy turns around to head to another area of the bar, and looks at me, as if he recognizes me. 

My general rule: When you see somebody you don't immediately recognize, but are so sure it's somebody you know and haven't seen in a long time, you're probably right. 

I texted my friend Sam, who is a well-known scribe in Vegas, asking where he was at the moment, and if it was a lounge. I received a generic "LOL" reply, and I wondered if that was his way of telling me he was doing something far more interesting on Halloween night. Sure enough, that was Sam, and seconds later he walked up to me, asking why I what I was doing at the lounge. 

Sam knows I'm a tourist, and we first met in 2015. I have read his work for years, and enjoy much of what he writes. When I was in town this past summer, I interviewed him for an episode of my non-Vegas podcast. It was the second time we had met in six years. And I certainly didn't expect that Friday afternoon we'd cross paths again, if only for a few minutes, barely four months later. 

Sam was simply out and about that night, hitting up a few spots specifically because it was Halloween. He was soon on his way, and I took that as my cue to ready myself for the return trip to Park MGM. 

Sam is on the left, the decaying writer of this blog is on the right.

The return trip was quick and easy, the pick up was no challenge, and we dumped the aunt off on the Flamingo Road sidewalk alongside Caesars rather than drive her into the property. I offered to pull into that side entrance area on Flamingo that accesses one of the towers, but she wanted to walk around to the front of the property, so she did. And off we went to downtown. 

I dropped the sisters off at Golden Nugget and parked our rental vehicle at the Plaza. 

I grabbed my costume and headed out to Fremont Street moments before midnight in order to gaze at the spectacle that is Halloween in Vegas. Before I ever made it out of the Plaza, I ran into the Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth. I have a special place in my heart for the Macho Man, as he was my costume inspiration in 2016. 

You can find these folks on YouTube, I would later learn. 

I didn't request too many specific photos on Fremont Street. I'd often take pics of folks posing for somebody else, and sometimes that included a random person in the picture. And while I don't avoid pics of the scantily clad women parading about on Halloween, they're usually not my priority. Here's a sample of what I found after midnight. 

I did not tip this street performer for this picture. Shame on me. His balancing act was quite impressive. And yes, he picks up that bottle and uses it as part of his act. 

 

My second Macho Man of the night. I saw one more, but never at a good time to stop him and get a picture. Oh well.

These clowns were creepy, and garnered plenty of attention.

I didn't immediately realize the entire cast of Gilligan's Island was represented by this group. Once I realized they had all seven castaways, I waited nearby until somebody else asked them to gather together for a group photo. Then I grabbed mine. 

A simple costume idea. It would have played well five years ago. It still gets laughs, although Hillary Clinton never went to prison, but plenty of Trump bobos have. 

I asked this guy for his photo. His dedication to a creepy look was outstanding. 

This seemed like a pic worth grabbing at the time.

Bill Cosby's career is forever tarnished, and that likely includes appreciation for the old "Fat Albert" cartoons. Nonetheless, this simple Dumb Donald costume blew me away. I had to ask this guy for a pic.

I ended my evening back at the Plaza, where I bought in for $200 at a table game. It was my one big gamble of the weekend. I didn't win, but I held onto a little and finished my night playing a few bucks through the machines at the bar before going to bed. Another Vegas Halloween, as odd as it was, had come to an end. 

Not drinking much that night and not staying awake until 4 a.m. didn't bother me, I had an afternoon flight home. I typically avoid flying home the day after Halloween, but it made sense to do so for this trip, as my life partner and her sisters were doing so, and this was a bonus trip in my world. Three nights is short by my standards, but I'm so grateful it worked out. 

The final hours in Vegas were uneventful. I checked out of my room, picked up the sisters and drove us to Ellis Island, where we had lunch before heading to the airport. The lunch service was a lot slower than we expected. I'm pretty sure the waitress forgot to put our ticket in for a while, so we waited more than 30 minutes for our food. It didn't appear tables around us were waiting that long. 

I ordered prime rib for lunch given I hadn't had my standard prime rib meal the entire weekend. Fun fact, other than a breakfast bar in my hotel room an hour earlier, I hadn't eaten a meal since Sunday afternoon at Saltgrass. Other than a little candy at the Pinball Hall of Fame, I ate almost nothing until lunch at noon on Monday. That happens to me in Vegas occasionally, and I didn't even think about a meal that entire evening. 

One food pic from my trip, prime rib at Ellis Island. No complaints for less than $20.

I gave myself about two hours to return the rental car and get to my gate for departure. The shuttle buses were slow at the rental center and security screening was super slow on Monday afternoon. A friend who was in town that weekend, but I had not seen, was on the same flight home as I was. She messaged me that it took more than an hour to get through the security screening. I was certain I would miss my flight, but TSA did something to pick up the pace, as the line eventually started moving far more briskly than it had been when I arrived. I was the last ticketed passenger to be seated, and they bumped me up to an exit row. I wasn't the last guy on the plane, there were a few standby passengers hoping and praying they'd get a seat to Minneapolis, as well. I think they did. 

My seventh trip to Vegas for Halloween in 11 years was complete. I wouldn't have been sad had I missed out, at least that was my thought leading up to the trip, but I suspect I'd have regretted not being there come Halloween weekend. 

Oh yeah, those Sunday night sports bets. I missed betting on Atlanta, and Houston went on to win that night, so it would have been my fourth consecutive failed sports bet of the weekend. As for the Minnesota-Dallas NFL game, I regretted betting on Dallas as soon as I walked away from the counter and learned that five-year pro Cooper Rush, who had never started an NFL regular season game in his life, was the Dallas starting quarterback as the Cowboys' regular starting QB, Dak Prescott, was a late scratch. 

I watched some of the first half at Circa and followed the scoring updates on my phone at the Pinball Hall of Fame. It looked like Dallas was going to struggle to score points, but Minnesota failed to light up the scoreboard, as well. Dallas not only covered the 4.5-point spread, but won outright 20-16. I won cash on Sunday night all because I was a minute too late to bet on baseball and because I bet against Minnesota seconds before I learned late breaking info that would have led me to switch my bet. 

When it comes to sports betting, I swear I'm wrong 90% of the time. I need to bet the opposite of my instincts. 

#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 3, part 1

Halloween, a bittersweet day in my world. 

As a child, Halloween was always an exciting time. Yes, there's a historic, religious origin that gave way to the commercial silliness of today. Be it the promise of candy, the creepiness of the afterlife that dwells in the hallways of haunted attractions across the United States or the convenient excuse for adults to showcase their creativity and be anything other than who they are, Halloween is fun for all ages. If you're into any of those sorts of things. 

I can't explain my attraction to horror, the undead or the creepiness that lurks down a dark corridor of an abandoned building, but as a kid I was drawn to the challenge of bravely navigating the local haunted house during my earliest years living in Small Town, Indiana. There were years in my life when Halloween came and went without much fanfare, but more often than not, partaking in the Halloween festivities became an important part of my fall. And for the past 15 seasons, I have worked in the haunt industry. All but one of those years as an employee of a corporate amusement park's Halloween weekends. That's another story for another blog. 

For the seventh time in 11 years, I spent my Halloween in Las Vegas. I won't recount all of those trips, either, but I will note that my first was in 2011, prior to this blog. 

This year's Halloween trip wasn't a sure thing. Under different circumstances, perhaps I would have skipped Halloween in Vegas this year. I haven't made them all since 2011, obviously. But it was a wedding I was not obligated to attend that prompted my trip to Sin City for Halloween weekend. 

After a late night playing cheap keno and drinking cocktails at the Plaza, I had a hard time rolling out of bed before 9 a.m.

No big deal, I had nowhere to go that morning, but I did want to wager on some early NFL game. I am rarely in town on a Sunday morning, particularly during the football season. After not betting on college football Saturday, I had to have a little action on Sunday morning. Having lost $60 on two UFC fights on Saturday, I wagered a healthy $20 on Sunday morning. Buffalo was hosting Miami, favored by plenty, and by 7.5 or 8 at the half. Figuring Buffalo was going to score a bunch at home, I wagered $20 on Buffalo to cover the first-half spread. 

And the score at halftime was 3-3. 

I don't bet on a lot of sports. And I usually bet something simple, often against the spread. I swear I win less than 20% of the sports wagers I make. I need to pull a George Costanza and bet the opposite of every sports instinct I have. 

Wager placed before kickoff, I ventured out of downtown. I wanted to take a little time and just drive around, seeing the areas tourists never see. Or roll down Boulder Highway on a Sunday morning, before traffic was heavy. Maybe have breakfast at Klondike Sunset. But I was slow to get going, so I had two objectives Sunday morning: Supplement my cash at a non-casino ATM and grab a fast food breakfast, preferably from somewhere I don't have access to back here in Minnesota. 

And where did I end up grabbing breakfast from? McDonald's. At least I knew what I was getting. 

Back to the Plaza, it was time to clean up for the wedding. While I was staying at the Plaza, solo, my life partner and her sisters are getting ready at Golden Nugget, where the wedding party is also staying. 

The wedding party went to the wedding chapel via a limo, I picked up the sisters. I have been going to Vegas for nearly 25 years, but never for a wedding. On Halloween 2021, it was time for my first. 

It's a block or so off Las Vegas Boulevard, and it's a nice place
to get married if you're not getting married at your casino. 

The chapel of choice was The Little Vegas Chapel. No fancy casino chapel for this party. We went to some nifty little building a block or so off Las Vegas Boulevard, a couple of blocks away from Dino's Lounge. 

The wedding couple chose the Elvis wedding. The chapel was a nice little room and Elvis did a nice job of running a wedding ceremony. There were several elements to the ceremony, including a few songs by Elvis. We were invited to dance with the newlyweds during the final song of the ceremony, and thanks to the insistence of a few in our group of 16, including the bride and groom, we all danced during the final song. 

The King doesn't get a lot of love in Vegas these days, but you can count
on him to be performing a wedding somewhere in Vegas on any given day. 

After the ceremony there were a few pictures outside the building, along with those that were taken inside the building prior to the ceremony. I think that was plenty. Most folks want 1,000 pictures from their wedding day, and there's value in having those, but probably not as much as people spend for them. The photo collection the newlyweds amassed seemed to be plenty. 

A pre-wedding photo inside The Little Vegas Chapel.

This must be a classic Cadillac, right? 

Not sure how often these cars hit the streets, or what they're used for, but I suspect they send them when you don't have a wedding party to pick up, and therefore don't need the stretch limo.

Ceremony is over, it's back to the casinos, and vacation mode. 

There were two children in attendance. Young kids, too. Elementary school age. They're the niece and nephew of the bride. So it was kind of important that they be there for their aunt's unorthodox wedding. They were not staying at a casino. Their family was at a timeshare off the strip, down from Ellis Island. 

The problem on Sunday afternoon was finding a place where a group of 12 or 14 people can assemble for food and drink, with two children in tow. With no plan, our destination ended up being Saltgrass, the modest priced steak house at Golden Nugget. 

My overpriced chicken sandwich wasn't anything to go back for, but add a large beer to that, and a good one, not that Bud Light I usually drink, and a bill for about $25, or slightly less, wasn't obscene. The service was efficient, and the staff was quite accommodating to our large group spread out over two giant tables. I'd order something a bit fancier if I dine there again. 

Late afternoon is upon us and it's time to go change clothes, after a stop upstairs. The sisters were discussing their Sunday evening plans, and they had yet to be finalized, so I went up to their room, awaiting their plan. That plan didn't involve me, technically.  

With that Sunday night plan yet to be finalized, it was time for me to head back to the Plaza. No more Sunday church duds for me. It's time for casual clothes prior to some of us reconvening at Circa, where the bride and groom want to watch their Minnesota Vikings take on the Dallas Cowboys. There was no set plan for the remainder of the evening, other than the bride and groom planned to remain downtown and take in the Halloween atmosphere. I planned to do that, too. And eventually I did. 

#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 2

My first full day in Las Vegas qualifies as atypical in several ways. 

Having a rental vehicle, I have easy access to places many tourists may never go. 

Having fallen asleep before midnight on Friday, I must have gotten a full eight hours of sleep. I set my alarm for sometime after 7 a.m., and didn't jump out of bed at the sound of the first, second or third alarm. Eventually I rolled out of bed and began getting ready for the day ahead. But my first destination of the day was sidetracked by breakfast. 

My life partner texted me. She and her sisters were coming to the Plaza for Breakfast at the celebrated Hash House A Go Go, which has more locations than I would have guessed in the Vegas area. Surprised by this, I invited myself to join the, especially given the fact I had a $25 meal voucher courtesy of the Plaza. 

After breakfast I placed a couple of wagers on the afternoon UFC main events. Yes, UFC had Saturday morning and afternoon fights, thanks to the card taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. My buddy is pretty good at handicapping the UFC, so I put a modest $30 down on two picks he gave me, which were the co-main events. I bet on one fight to go over 2.5 rounds, and the other to go under 4.5 rounds. 

Then it was off to the Broadacres Marketplace in North Las Vegas for flea market action. I had been there in June with my podcast producer, and I made my first visit on a Friday night in October 2020. I don't buy much at flea markets, garage sales or any other type of secondhand goods outlet, but I can spend long hours browsing at the right place. I spent more than two hours under the warm Nevada sun, and I will detail my experiences and observations about this giant flea market in a future post. And soon. I promise!

Who buys a mattress set at a flea market?
Somebody must, because there was more than one vendor selling them. 

I have no idea what a bunny sells for at the mall pet store, but $65 must be a bargain. 

Broadacres Marketplace has several food vendors, a stage with live music,
beer sales and a few carnival rides, as well as carnival games, for the kids. 

After my day at the flea market was complete, with one $10 purchase I won't discuss at this time, it was off to Jerry's Nugget. I wasn't hungry at this point, so I stopped at Jerry's Nugget on my way back to see what kind of low-roller action was available. Jerry's had $5 craps with 2X odds, some $5 blackjack, albeit with continuous shuffle machines and a $5 table game that was a lot like Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, but seemed to be a bit different. I didn't take the time to learn how it was different. 

Jerry was offering hand-shuffled blackjack, but even Jerry wants $10/hand for the privilege these days. 

I opted for my conservative craps play. I don't make many exotic bets, I pretty much bet the pass line with an equal odds bet behind it. I don't make big money on a hot roll, but I don't drop huge money in short order. If we make points, I make a little money. If we crap out, I don't. 

I had a couple of decent rolls, making a few points, but nothing spectacular. There was a woman who joined the table and talked quite a bit. She was making multiple side bets before many rolls, and was basically telling the dealers who was supposed to be getting paid. She was a handful, to say the least. 

Jerry's Nugget offers a couple of those prop bets where you have to roll all the numbers. If every combo of 2-12 is rolled before the 7, on any come out roll, anyone betting at the start of the come out roll wins 175-1. If you bet on 2-6 or 8-12, you get like 34-1, or something close to that. So in 10 rolls, a $1 bet could win $175, but it's likely one of the 10 numbers won't be repeated, assuming the shooter doesn't crap out. 

This woman was betting a couple bucks on all three props each turn. After me, the dude before her began shooting. He had no dice technique, he just picked them up and tossed them. And it took a while for him to do it, but he eventually hit all 10 combos without crapping out. When he hit his final number, a 3, she erupted. She had $4 on the 175-1 bet, paying her $700. She had three bucks on the lower range of numbers, so that paid her just over $100. And she collected previously on the 8-12 spread, too. So she won over $900 on this guy's turn. Amazing. 

She had several bets on the table when she won the big payout. She immediately gave the shooter about $50 in chips. As she waited to get paid, she told the dealers all her bets on the table were theirs. As soon as she got paid, she walked away, leaving money on the table for the dealers to reap the benefits of. And the shooter continued his turn several more rolls before finally hitting a 7. 

How high maintenance was this woman? She was so slow in tossing out her side bets each turn, and disputing what the dealers and stickman were doing, that it sometimes took more than two minutes for the next roll to occur. The boxman had seen enough, declaring no more string betting, or the action would be declined. He was not having any more of it. 

And how did I do with my conservative, boring strategy? I finished the afternoon $15 ahead. The woman near me walked away with hundreds of dollars. I walked away with $15. But it was fun playing on a live table for low stakes. You don't find $5 tables anywhere tourists frequent. 

After Jerry's, I decided I had to see what the Silver Nugget was like. You pass it after Jerry's, on your way to the flea market. I decided Saturday was the day I'd see what it had to offer. 

There was a little kiddie fall festival/Halloween carnival in the parking lot next to Silver Nugget, or perhaps that was part of the Silver Nugget parking lot. It wasn't open, but people were getting ready for that evening. It looked cute, and lame for kids 10 and older. 

There were a few folks seemingly hanging out in the parking lot, which I found odd. I didn't park particularly close to the door, and that didn't matter, but it could have mattered. I noticed that the front parking area and entry to the casino looked rather messy, as if cleaning up the outside of the building wasn't a priority. The pile of Pringles on the ground near the front doors was a nice touch. 

I knew Silver Nugget was a mistake when I saw the signs taped up to the entrance doors: Masks available for $2. 

If this joint can't afford to give away masks to customers too lazy or careless to bring them, this place was not for me. 

Inside I found a casino with no table games, a weird layout of machines, as if they didn't have enough machines to fill the floor space, one bar with a few folks hanging around and yucking it up, a small sports book in the back corner and a side annex that had machines scattered in there, as well as an entrance to a restaurant that didn't appear to be open in the middle of the afternoon. I would later learn that there's a bowling alley and "event center" at Silver Nugget, but I didn't realize it at the time. It's in an enclosed area separate from the casino, allegedly.  

I tweeted about what a mistake it was to stop in after driving by the place a few times, and for some reason that tweet blew up, at least by my standards. It got a few retweets, and I think I know which retweet brought it to the masses, but I can't guarantee it. All I know is that I got a lot more action on that tweet than I do on anything else I tweet, and that lasted for more than 24 hours. Very unexpected. 

I had no idea this simple picture and a comment via Twitter would
garner more attention than anything else I shared during my weekend in Vegas. 

After wasting 15 minutes at Silver Nugget it was time to go back downtown, where I bopped around and won a few bucks at the Plaza, only to lose a few bucks low rolling at Circa. Those UFC bets I made? The fight I bet to go over 2.5 ended in less than 2.5, and the fight I bet to end in less than 4.5 went the full five rounds. So much for my expert. 

Oh yeah, I had a small ticket to redeem at Circa, and I took it to the cage. As I was waiting, some old dude was at the cage, off to the side, with two much younger women. I'm not sure exactly why, but the dude was rubbing one of the young women's butt quite vigorously for several seconds. He didn't care if anyone saw him, clearly. It wasn't the most bizarre thing you'll see in Vegas, not by a long shot, but that image is forever burned in my mind. 

I returned to the Plaza to clean up. Dinner was at 7 p.m., and we were going to Chicago Joe's. 

I know of it, and it was my suggestion we go. The bride-to-be wanted a group dinner on Saturday night, and we had 18 people there for the wedding. She decided a group dinner was a great idea about four days before Saturday night. And she really wanted Italian. A little online research reminded me that Chicago Joe's isn't miles away from Fremont Street, and I've read references to the quirky little building that looks like a house. People are mostly positive toward it, so I thought it was a reasonable option, assuming they could take a reservation for 18. Sucker bet!

And yet, against all odds, they said yes. We sat at five tables in the back of the building. It was a bit tight, but it worked. We couldn't move about easily, but it worked out well, and everyone seemed pleased with their meals. 

Our group waited outside the entrance to the quirky Italian restaurant known as Chicago Joe's prior to our dinner reservation. It's downtown, about a one-mile walk from Golden Nugget, so says Google.

Chicago Joe's is a modestly priced place that makes good Italian food. They serve beer and wine, but no alcohol, as best I could tell, and they've been in business since 1975. It's not a must-visit restaurant, but it's fun, delicious and a good value. I'd like to dine there again sometime. 

I will say this, I splurged on a shrimp and pasta meal, but didn't love the shrimp. It wasn't bad, but I think next time I'll skip spending extra on the shrimp and go with the big meatball or Italian sausage. 

Perhaps most amazing: We had one waiter for the entire party, for the entire evening. Drink orders, food orders, food distribution, drink refills and multiple checks and credit card charges: Darrin did it all. He was on the move from start to finish. He would make loud announcements occasionally to the entire group, and you'd think he was from Boston, not Chicago, but he got the job done efficiently, and paid attention to detail when it was necessary. It was borderline amazing. 

Not the best photo, but the only one I have that shows the interior of quirky Chicago Joe's.

Dinner ends and we return downtown. I hung out for a bit with my life partner and her sisters. We had a drink at a Golden Nugget bar. The ladies, after a day at the pool and plenty of drinking, were ready to call it a night. These aren't late night people, for the most part. I departed and hit Fremont, soaking in the Halloween atmosphere provided by many people in costume. 

I also toured many of the casinos, as if I expected to find something new or unexpected. I walked down to El Cortez, then worked my way back through a heavy crowd in the Fremont East district. I popped into the Fremont, California and Main Street Station and gawked at the crowds. I didn't gamble a dime, and was most tempted to play a nickel video poker progressive game at Main Street Station that had a nice payoff working on the royal flush for a 50-cent max play. But I skipped it. 

I didn't take Halloween photos on Saturday night, but there was a Day of the Dead group
that gathered in front of a fire truck parked in the middle of Fremont Street near El Cortez. 

My night was almost over. I went back to the Plaza, intended to buy a $3 Bud Light and retire to my room. But then I decided to sit down at the bar, order a cocktail and play 25-cent keno. My goal was to hit 4-for-4 and win a whopping $25 for my 25-cent play. I did that within the first $5. Wow, big winner!

The bartenders were rather prompt with the drinks, so I had a few and decided to lower my keno wager to 10 cents, simply to avoid losing my tiny profit swiftly. And thanks to my continued play, I hit 4-for-4 twice more, which amused me greatly. Each subsequent win paid me all of $10. Of course I should have stayed at a quarter a game, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to win big money either way. I had about six cocktails and won $30 while doing so. I felt like a king at the end of the night. 

It's amazing how a modest win can make for such a pleasant final hour of your day.

#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 1

I am old and lazy, so I don't write as often, or as frequently as I would like, about my trips to Las Vegas. but I will chronicle a lot of details from my trip during the next few days. 

In 2011 I spent my first Halloween in Las Vegas. That was a solo trip. In 2021 I spent my 7th Halloween in Vegas. It's that much fun. 

This year's trip wasn't necessarily going to happen. My life partner and her sisters were traveling together to Vegas for their cousin's wedding. I was not obligated to go. I did not book a trip with them. The two sisters are married, with two children. Their families were not going, and I wasn't expected to go, but perhaps it was presumed I would go since I go at least once a year, and often more than once in a year. 

When I go, I like to go for several days, and given I went for eight nights this summer, I would have been fine with skipping this Halloween. The cousin's wedding was on Sunday, and that necessitated a weekend trip. I often go from Sunday to Friday or Saturday. 

Long story short, when I got another three-night offer from the Plaza a couple of months ago, after the sisters booked their trip, I booked a three-night stay that overlapped the wedding weekend. Then I found a reasonable round-trip flight via Delta, using my points. Sounds like a cheap trip, eh? 

Indeed it was. And we like to rent a car, and opted for the convenience of having one, which the three sisters split amongst them. 

My job: To do the driving, and transport the sisters, as necessary. 

I arrived on Friday, Oct. 29, early in the afternoon. The sisters did not book their flights on Delta, so I traveled separate. I arrived about five hours before they did. 

I'll skip the detailed story about the rental car considerations and pursuits. I avoid renting from Budget, but that's who we used this time around. The sisters chose an intermediate SUV, and after 45-50 minutes of waiting in line to complete the paperwork, it was off to the parking ramp, where I had to wait about 15 minutes for my vehicle to show up. That's how short they are for rental vehicles these days. And of course I got a white vehicle. I never choose white. Alamo, and others, let you choose from a row of vehicles. Oh well, I'll live. 

Everybody wants to rent a car from Budget...until they do it.

For what it's worth, there weren't many people waiting at any other rental agency, but Budget had a long line waiting. Rates are higher than I've ever seen, and cars are in relative short supply, reportedly, but somehow Budget knows how to undercut the competition. 

I ended up with some Nissan, and it was a nice ride. 

From the airport it was check-in time at Plaza. I slept less than four hours on Thursday night, as I worked late into the night on a ton of stuff, and didn't have much time to sleep. I could have used a nap on Friday afternoon, but determined I wouldn't get much rest before having to go to the airport to pick up the sisters. Given I hadn't eaten breakfast, or a meal at the airport, I needed something to eat. I went downstairs to Pop Up Pizza. 

It was fine, but nothing exceptional. Given it was 4 p.m. Vegas time, or 6 p.m. back in Minnesota, and I hadn't eaten a meal, I had no complaints. (A fig bar on the way to the airport and a Delta in-flight cookie do not count as a meal.) 

I bummed around downtown for an hour, blowing $20 on low-roller stadium gambling at Circa before heading to the airport. 

Airport pickup was a success, and we had time to spare. We had dinner reservations at the celebrated Herbs and Rye on Sahara Avenue, west of the strip. Our reservation was for 8 p.m., so we were hoping to get in an hour early. 

We were within a mile of the place when one of the sisters got off the phone. She had multiple calls from a Vegas phone number, but no message. So she called to find out why. One call: Ignore it. Multiple calls: Something is not right. 

It turns out the sister's wallet fell out of her giant purse, which tipped on the floor of the plane. And somebody from the airline found it, so she was welcome to come retrieve it. Therefore we turned around and started heading back to the airport. 

As we were driving back toward the airport on Interstate 15, we suddenly heard a funny, puzzling sound. We had no idea what it was. I turned the radio off, and it stopped. We came to the determination that my life partner's cellphone was trying to sync up with the car stereo. 

Except it wasn't. Moments later that loud, unsettling sound began again. Did we have a flat tire? It didn't seem like it. The car was still smooth. Troubled, I exited near the car rental center, and pulled into the Boot Barn parking lot. (I went to that store with a friend many years ago.) I checked the tires, and all were fine. There was nothing in the wheel wells to suggest what the problem was. There was no sign of anything dragging under the bumpers, either. 

I got down on the ground and looked under the SUV. There's the problem. The front of the underbody panel was hanging loose. We hadn't hit anything, but the screws or whatever was holding it in place had come loose, lowering the front of the panel. The wind it was catching intermittently created that horrible sound. The panel wasn't dragging on the pavement, it was all airflow vibrating into the panel opening. 

With three sisters and their luggage in tow, our first objective became exchanging the rental vehicle. 

We were near the rental center, so that was easy enough to get to. I expected a delay getting a vehicle, and a lot of hassle. Were they going to try to stick me with a damage claim? I didn't hit anything. It was not due to my negligence. 

So we pull in to the return center, I quickly explain what happened, and with no hesitation the nice woman at the return center tells me they'll get me a new vehicle. She looks under the vehicle, sees the damage, says that's not safe, and 30 seconds later we're  hauling our luggage to the "Fastbreak" counter in the garage, where I had to fill out a short form detailing what happened to the vehicle. The counter employee offers us a choice of about three SUVs, and I simply asked for one that isn't white. He gave me a Chevy Blazer, which wasn't the best choice, it turned out. 

We quickly learned there was far less cargo room in the back of the Blazer than there was in the back of that Nissan we had. And I didn't like the feel of the vehicle as much. But we were out of there, with a different vehicle within 15 minutes, that was most important. 

Onto the airport, where the sister runs into the baggage claim area to retrieve her wallet. Within minutes we're back on the road, and it's just before 8 p.m.

We're not going to make it to Herbs and Rye by our reservation time, however, so my life partner calls and asks if we can still be seated. Herbs and Rye is playing hard ball, acting like they can't wait more than 10 minutes to seat us. But a little negotiating and pleading catastrophe seems to win us five minutes or so of favor, so we proceed. At this point it's 10 p.m. back home, none of us have had dinner, and the sisters are more than ready to go to any other restaurant in Vegas, but we set out, once again, for Sahara Avenue. 

We're again within that final mile of our destination. I'm in the left lane, as you need to make a U-turn to get to the restaurant. I'm prepared for that, but what I'm not prepared for is the moron to my immediate right, who I'm not watching. He decides to start moving over into the left lane, as he seems to have just figured out he needs to make a U-turn, as well. My girlfriend tells me to watch out, as if I can do anything at this point. I look to my right, and I can see the moron's rearview mirror within six inches of our vehicle. There's nothing I can do at this point. There's a median to my left, so I can't just move over if there's no traffic coming from the other direction. 

Thankfully the moron wakes up in time to realize he's going to hit my black SUV, and moves back into his lane, probably terrified by the fact he nearly took us both out on Sahara Avenue. (I never saw if the driver was male or female, I just assume the moron was a male. I'm sexist.)

I didn't have time to freak out, as I only caught the last glimpse of the near-collision. But the moron was still trying to get over to the left, and had slowed down, of course, after nearly killing all of us, or so it appeared in my rearview mirror. This, of course, wreaks havoc for the cars behind us. I'm surprised the moron didn't cause a crash involving those drivers. 

It appeared the moron did get behind me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to get to Herbs and Rye, as well. But that didn't appear to be the case, as best I could tell. I was largely focused on my driving. 

So we finally get into the restaurant, the stress on my heart at this point is about to kill me, and we sit down in this rather dark restaurant to eat. Good luck reading the menu! 

Herbs and Rye is well known because it offers half-price steaks during its happy hours, which run like 5-8 p.m. and midnight to 3 p.m.

It's a dinner only restaurant, and not open on Sundays. It's quite the unique business model in Sin City. 

I don't know for how long, but they have been running their happy hour pricing all night in recent weeks, and that included our Friday night visit. All the steaks are half price. And a few of the pasta dishes are, too. And a couple of appetizers, I believe. If you want a rail drink, that's half price, as well. 

Two of us had half-price steaks. I had the New York strip for $24.50. Yep, it's a $49 steak, allegedly. 

My life partner had the ribeye, which I think was menu-priced at $59. 

My steak had too much fat in it, and it was hard to see where the fat was when you're cutting it in the dark. I had a sample of the ribeye, and it was better than mine. The steaks are naked. Like any steakhouse, if you want anything for the steak, that's an extra charge. I like mushrooms with my steak, but I don't need them. And if your steak is any good, it shouldn't need sauces or anything extra. 

We split a few sides for the table, and they're not huge, yet cost about $10 each. But they were pretty good, and we had enough to go with our entrees, so I have no complaints. 

We tried their fancy cocktails, as well. I had the "weekend at the Waldorf," a rum drink I thought I would love. I did not. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. It was $14 or so, and not really worth it. 

The restaurant is nice, and it was well staffed. It's not a fancy steakhouse at Bellagio, but it's a nice enough place. Some folks were far more casual than I was. 

I will try it again, and I will try a different steak. I don't do steakhouse dinners in Vegas often, and if I get a better steak than the strip steak I had, I could see myself going there once per trip in the years to come. 

Sorry, no pictures of the food. It was dark in there, and I'm not a food blogger. I'll take food pics, but it's not a priority every time I eat a meal.  

We were all tired after dinner. None of us had any interest in a wild night on Fremont Street, so I dropped the women off at Golden Nugget, where they were staying, along with the wedding party, and I parked at Plaza. We noticed there was a fire in a lot along Main Street, a block or two off of Fremont Street. The fire department was on the scene, and we couldn't see it clearly, but we're certain it was a Dumpster fire. Yes, a literal Dumpster fire. Seemed appropriate for how chaotic our night had turned out. 

There would be no big Friday night for me. Seems lame, I know, but I worked my ass off on Thursday night, not going to bed until 4 a.m., I needed rest to make it through the weekend. I got a $3 bottle of Bud Light and retreated to my room shortly after 10 p.m.

I spent an hour watching TV and playing games on my cellphone, but I was asleep before midnight, and I have no regrets. 

Up next: My unorthodox Saturday, the tweet that resonated with a lot of people and a visit to a quirky, longtime Vegas restaurant. 

One obligatory photo of Fremont Street, as I first exited the Plaza on Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. 

The loss of Tuscany table games is a sign of the new normal

It has been a long, long time since I've taken the time to post an instant reaction to something happening in Las Vegas, but this one piggybacks on my observations and conclusions made during my trip last month. 

The fine folks at Vital Vegas, (it's one guy,) wrote about the loss of table games at another Sin City casino. In this case, the often forgotten Tuscany Casino dumped its modest collection of table games, I learned today. 

Shocked I am not. 

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, I could find $5 blackjack downtown and at plenty of off-strip casinos just a few years ago. Two decades earlier, $5 blackjack was the standard, with some  casinos offering $3 minimums or gimmicky $1 tables to attract low rollers. Times change, and $5 doesn't go as far as it use to, but two years ago it wasn't that hard to find $5 minimums on table games if you were willing to play off the strip. 

Given the fact we all presumably earn more per year, due to inflation if nothing else, than we did 20 years ago, and the fact that there are plenty of $10 or $15 players to be had at craps and blackjack tables up and down Fremont Street, what incentive does Main Street Station have to offer a $5 blackjack table when it reopens? In the summer of 2018 I ended up killing an hour on an August Friday night, and I most certainly played $5 blackjack. 

Table games are labor intensive. I don't have any inside knowledge about the economics of a blackjack pit, but it doesn't take a math major to know that the house will win more over time if the table minimums are $15 rather than $5. 

Casinos had higher minimums for their table games during the pandemic simply because they had fewer seats available at a blackjack table. If you're capped at three seats to a table due to social distancing requirements, you're going to want to increase the minimum for the seats you have, as long as  you can still put asses in those seats. 

Once the capacity restrictions were lifted, plenty of people made it a priority to return to Vegas. And it didn't take $5 tables to put asses in the seats. So we have a new normal.

Obviously smaller operators with less traffic don't have the luxury of simply raising the table minimums and expecting people to fill those seats. 

The Orleans wasn't offering $5 blackjack on a Thursday night last month. If you're a local or a low roller who doesn't want to play at the higher minimums, you go elsewhere. But elsewhere is quickly becoming extinct, it seems. 

During last month's trip, I made it a point to visit a handful of odd joints I don't normally visit. My friend/podcast producer was with me, and he has never seen the locals casinos, so we made that part of our experience. 

I knew Joker's Wild had removed its table games. That made sense. They are a locals joint that doesn't attract big spenders, so the low roller blackjack tables and the famous $1 minimum craps game weren't going to make meaningful money. Instead of simply closing the tables during the pandemic, they were pulled. As of mid-June, they hadn't been restored. 

I wound up inside Casino Royale during my trip, a place I don't visit very often these days. I remember playing Spanish 21 there one night many years ago, when I was still staying and playing on the strip. I had a great time on a Sunday night, and the pit was busy. Not to my surprise, there are no tables at Casino Royale, at least not as of mid-June. Casino Royale is known as one of the last bastions of low rolling on the strip, so perhaps its days of live table games are over. 

I had never been inside the sketchy Wild Wild West, despite driving by it many times on my way to The Orleans. Having hyped its sketchiness to my friend, we were compelled to visit on a steamy Sunday afternoon. It was rather empty, not to my surprise, and there were no longer table games to be found. That wasn't a shock, either. 

There are still tables to be found at smaller casinos. On our Friday afternoon trek down the Boulder Highway we stopped at Skyline Casino. The tables were there, but they weren't open, not to my surprise. I suspect you can get $5 action there. And we went all the way down to Club Fortune Casino, which I had never been to. Again, they had tables, but they weren't open on a Friday afternoon. I'm guessing they still offer $5 action. But these aren't destinations typical tourists will ever see. 

And yes, you can still play $5 blackjack. We had lunch on Saturday at Jerry's Nugget. (More on that another day.) We stayed to play blackjack, as $5 tables were the norm. So was $5 craps. It's a Saturday in Vegas, at a very locals casino, and there were a bunch of people playing low minimum blackjack, roulette and craps. The craps table was pretty full, and offering a $5 minimum. Jerry's Nugget knows how to draw the locals, and was doing so. 

We also played a few hands of $3 blackjack prior to lunch at Jerry's Nugget. Real deal blackjack at none other than Poker Palace. This name may not ring a bell to tourists, but it's a small, no frills dump a few miles from downtown. We had been at the big flea market that morning, and after four hours of flea market scouring, we stopped at Poker Palace for a beverage. Turns out they were just getting ready to open their tables, so we sat down for 10 minutes on a Saturday, around the noon hour, to play at Poker Palace. The cards at the table looked like an old deck kept behind the bar at a small town Minnesota bar. And the joint had hardwood flooring. It was so, so weird, but dammit, we played $3 blackjack in Vegas, and somewhere I have one of the Poker Palace silver dollars from the table to prove it. 

I mistakenly thought we were at Bellagio.

I've always known that Tuscany has table games, but I've never been there to see it for myself. The casino is still there, but with no tables, I'm not likely to stop in any time soon. 

Tuscany isn't as convenient as Ellis Island when it comes to accessing the property from the strip, but it would seem that now, more than ever, the Tuscany tables should have been doing brisk business, offering $5 games not far from the strip. Perhaps it was just far enough that people wouldn't walk over to it, but it isn't that much further away than Ellis Island is, and Ellis Island is doing just fine offering lower minimum table action.

The loss of table games at low roller joints like Joker's Wild, Wild Wild West and Tuscany suggest to me that the days of $5 tables are mostly history. Sure, they could return, and sure, The Orleans could start offering them again after the pent-up demand for burning through cash in Vegas subsides. 

But I think the absence of tables at Tuscany is another sign that the days of the $5 tables are about over, even for the locals joints. Stadium gambling, bubble craps and other machines are the new normal for low rollers. On the heels of the pandemic, video gambling that requires less labor is helping usher out the $5 craps and blackjack era. Tuscany is another nail in that coffin. 

And so it ended

I spent 8 nights in Vegas, and it all went by in a hurry. It always does. 

Let's start with a recount of my final night in Vegas.

Most of my time was split with two friends. Thomas, my podcast producer, was there first. Dave, my college friend, came second. Their stays in Vegas overlapped one night. 

Dave took a red-eye flight home on Thursday, and I wasn't leaving until Friday afternoon, so I was on my own for the final night. After dropping Dave off at the airport, I drove straight to The Orleans, a place I have stayed many times.

Normally I'd park in the ramp, head in and hit the tables when visiting The Orleans. Instead I parked in the front corner lot, far from the door. There weren't many cars in the area. I was closer to Tropicana Avenue than I was to the front doors of The Orleans. 

I stood there looking at everything from a distance for at least five minutes, wondering if it was my last time at The Orleans. My future in Vegas had been on my mind periodically during this trip, as I noted in my previous blog entry.

It's the roadside sign for The Orleans, the casino I have stayed at multiple times over the past decade.
I have found myself sitting in a quiet corner of its parking lot for a few minutes the past few trips, contemplating life as I know it. 

I took a picture of the giant Orleans sign out front and finally headed inside to try my luck at cards.  

I spent a couple of hours playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em. I didn't win money. I lost about $65 during my time on the table. It was a mostly forgettable night of cards, save for two things. 

A dude, probably younger than me, but hard to tell for sure, ended up right next to me. This dude was wearing a track suit, and had an East Coast accent. He referenced being from Boston at one point. And he also mentioned something about being comped at the casino, suggesting he was not a Vegas transplant. 

His distinct look is not what I will remember most. It wasn't his incessant table talk that I will remember most. It was his cash that I will remember most. 

I don't walk the tables at Bellagio, Wynn or other swanky casinos. I suspect I'd see a lot of cash on some of those tables if I did. I see people with hundreds of dollars in chips sit down at Orleans tables periodically, but I don't recall having ever noticed anyone with $5,000 in chips seated anywhere on the floor. I'm sure I have, but it doesn't fascinate me enough to remember it happening.

Mr. Track Suit didn't have a huge stack of chips in his possession as he sat down, but he had a fistful of black chips. It looked like $1,200 or $1,300. That's a lot for a $5 Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em table, but not obscene. And he played $25 hands every time, talking up a storm and trying to decide whether or not to bet his 9 high pocket card following the river. Seriously, the guy talked a lot. Given I talk a lot, that's saying something. 

The thing that struck me as odd about his presence was the cash he was carrying around. I'm sure a lot of people are carrying more cash than I would guess. But Mr. Track Suit had a strap of $100 bills tucked into one of his pockets. I didn't gawk at it, but he pulled it out on two different occasions, looked at it briefly, and somewhat discretely, then put it back wherever he had it tucked. 

I suppose it could have been a single $100 bill on top of a stack of $1 bills, but I doubt it. I'm guessing they were all $100 bills, and it sure looked like $10,000 to me. Perhaps there was a little less in it, given he had more than $1,000 in chips on the table.

I'm sure most longtime gamblers have seen big stacks of cash flashed somewhere, but I don't recall ever seeing it, and I never would have bet on the place where it happened being The Orleans. 

I was lucky that night. As I said, I lost about $65. Hardly a disastrous night. But I was set to drop $170. No big deal, given I was up for the week. But I took home an extra $100 thanks to an error. 

Dealers make mistakes. It happens. I had noticed earlier in the evening, after the hand was done, that I was shorted $10 on a full house payout. I knew it didn't seem quite right at the time of the payout, but I wasn't sharp enough to catch why as I studied the payout.

Cards were scooped up, I pulled chips back, here comes the next hand. Then it hit me. I was paid even money on my "blind" bet, when I should have been paid 3:1. It seemed a little late to call for a check of the payouts, so I accepted it as a dealer error that went against me. Sometimes the dealer errs in the player's favor. That has happened plenty of times. So this one went against me. It likely wasn't the first time, but in this case, I realized it after the fact. 

So as the night goes on, my luck swings back and forth. I'm never ahead at the table, and as midnight passes, I'm down on my luck again. I need to check out of my room at 10 a.m. Friday anyway, and I'm betting with my last chips. There would not be another buy in. 

The dealer made an improbable queen-high straight, killing the table. Me, too, I think. I'm pretty sure that despite the king in my pocket cards, I don't have a straight. She looked at it for a moment, and I realized she was trying to analyze it. I almost told her I didn't have it, as I am certain I didn't. Then she paid my hand and cleared my cards. 

Nobody said anything, not even Mr. Track Suit. We all sat there in silence for a second, then I lamented how the dealer's 9 in her pocket killed everyone else at the table. Onto the next hand, I'm still in the game.

I certainly didn't try to mislead the dealer, or suggest I had a winning hand, as Mr. Track Suit liked doing periodically. I'm 99% certain, based upon the cards I was seeing past midnight, that I didn't win. The silence at the table certainly suggested to me that I didn't, otherwise the other players would have commented about my nice hand. 

Was I wrong for not sharing my doubt about having a winning hand? Perhaps. You could argue it was unethical. If I'd had a straight, and she scooped my chips, I'd be quick to point that out, of course. 

On the other hand, I am confident a dealer mistake earlier that evening cost me $10. It's not an even mistake, I came out ahead, but until that point, I was shorted $10 by the house for more than an hour. 

I'm not losing sleep over this. 

I played a bit longer. I played the next hand, and put a $1 tip on the "trips" bet for the dealer. Given the gift it appeared I had just received, I figured I could offer a modest tip for the dealer. And on the very next hand I hit a full house. A nice little win for me, and a $9 tip for the dealer. 

I tipped a buck on the "trips" bet again during the next hand, but my luck had run out. After another modest win and a loss, I was ready to call it a night. I colored up for $100 that I shouldn't have had and made my way to the door. 

It was time to go back to my room at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club Resort. That's the name that shows up on Google, anyway. 

It's a timeshare joint on Koval Lane, behind the High Roller wheel at the Linq, and next to the MSG Sphere that's under construction. It's a decent place, and like many non-casino hotels, it has its benefits and drawbacks. Dave owns timeshares. Yes, more than one. He bought them on the cheap from disgruntled owners, and seems to like the perks and benefits he gets as a result. We paid for five nights at the Desert Club, we weren't using his "owned" week, or whatever he has. It was $200 for five nights, just a short walk down the street from Ellis Island. 

I spent five nights at the Desert Club Resort on Koval Lane. From the north boundary of the property you can get a good look at the fantastic MSG Sphere. A concert venue behind the strip? Why not, it works for T-Mobile Arena, although access to MSG Sphere won't be as slick. 

I returned to the Desert Club to begin packing and preparing for my Friday departure. I didn't have a ton of packing to do, but I did run a load of laundry before going to bed. Having a washer and dryer in your vacation unit is nice. 

Perhaps I'll elaborate on the pros and cons of the Desert Club in the future. 

My Friday morning was highly uneventful. I played a little pinball before returning my rental vehicle and heading to the airport, wondering when, or if, I'll have an appetite to do it all again.