Day Three Las Vegas Trip

Today is the last day here in Las Vegas. It has been a very fast paced few days. We have done lots of walking, and we have learned to take taxis. We were able to see exhibits, attend a show and of course spend some time gambling.
After breakfast we decided to go over and walk through NYNY before we left town. After going through the casino Cindy decided she wanted to walk through the MGM. MGM is building something at the front of the casino. We had to walk around the area to get to the casino. We walked through the casino until we got to the Lobby. It was huge. We then started our walk back through both the MGM and NYNY to get back to the Monte Carlo to check out. When we arrived at the Monte Carlo Cindy wanted to go and see the shop by the front door. I went over and played a slot machine. I put $20 in and played while Cindy was gone. When she came back I was even and decided to cash out.
We went up to our room, got our stuff and came back down and checked out. We now have about 45 minutes to wait for the shuttle to come pick us up. We were sitting in the Fast Food area and I decided while we were sitting waiting I would go play the Video Poker machines one last time. I wanted to play the same block of machines that have been good to me the past couple of days. I put $20 into the machine and I did not play very long when I came up with 4 of a kind. This paid me $72. I felt that was enough. I walked away and went back to get Cindy to go get the shuttle.
Once we arrived at the airport and checked in and got through security we went to the gate and waited for our plane. As we were waiting I was thinking about playing the Video Poker machines in the airport but I had read somewhere that you should stay away from them since they are not loose. They are only there so people can put money in while waiting for their flights. I watched quite a few people win at slots in the airport. I was wondering if that statement was really true. I never did go and play. I was happy with my winnings and was willing to stop and did not want to take the chance of blowing money now.
The plane arrived and we got the announcement that we would be delayed due to an emergency light on the door of the plane. Our delay took us to about 3:15. We were supposed to leave at 2:16. We were also supposed to have a 1 hour and 25 min. layover in Seattle. It was being eaten up here in Las Vegas. We did get out of Las Vegas about 3:30. We arrived in Seattle at 6:10 and Cindy took off for the other terminal to try and catch the plane. I took a pit stop on the way over and caught up with her at the terminal gate. Yes, they were waiting for us. It was nice to see other people must have had the same problem since we were not the only ones trying to get to this plane. We arrived in Pasco where the cold hit us as we got off the plane. It was nice to be home. We enjoyed ourselves and had fun.

Day Two Las Vegas Trip

We ate at a buffet this morning. When we were done we decided to get going for the day. We also decided that after yesterday and all the walking we did we would now use the taxi system to get around. It will cost us a little bit more but at least we would save our legs and feet.
First stop was the downtown strip. We were dropped off at the door of Binions Horseshoe. As we walked in we noticed the dark wood and low ceiling. I noticed the pictures of past Poker Champions on the wall and we walked over to them. Standing next to those pictures was a person that started talking to us. He has been with Binions for 6 years as a dealer. He talked to us about some of the history and what was going to happen in the future for Binions. A company has bought Binions and will be taking all of the carpet out with the horseshoes on them and also changing all the chips. He told us that we need to get ourselves a chip because they will be gone. He mentioned that some of the chips are being sold for 2 or 3 times their value on the internet. We walked over to the poker room. The recent past champions pictures were on the wall. It was impressive to see where it all began. We went out of the casino and into the walkway of the downtown strip. This would look impressive at night with all the lights on. We went into the Golden Nugget and Cindy played a slot machine. Back out on the strip we walked the length and back. We went back into Binions and I sat down to play blackjack. I was able to walk out with one chip.
Back into the taxi and we went to the Mandalay Bay Casino. We went through the shops and we went through the Shark Reef. Such a big aquarium with all kinds of sharks and other tropical type fish. Cindy was able to pet the baby stingrays they had in a petting pond. We purchased tickets for the Imax Theater in Luxor to watch a 3D movie on sharks. By having the glasses on the sharks seem to come right up to you, the jellyfish would swim past you and you could reach out and touch them, so it seemed. By this time it was now about 3:45 and we wanted to get back to our room to change for the evening.
We walked through Excaliber, New York New York and arrived back to the Monte Carlo. We rested for a little bit.
At about 4:30 we took a taxi to the Luxor. The dinner reservation was for 5 PM. We were early by 10 minutes so we went out to the casino floor. Cindy found a machine she wanted to play so I put in $20 and she started working the machine. She was able to hit paydirt for $176. She paid me back my $20 and we headed for dinner. The dinner consisted of Salmon for Cindy and I had the Filet Mignon. Very good meal. We were done in time to go to the show " The Blue Man Group ". Our seats were in the mezzanine in the middle section. We were in the front row as well. The show had a lot of crowd participation. They were very good with the tubes. The guys would go up into the crowd. At one point they went to the back of the room and started to pull rolls of paper to the front over the people. There was so much paper and we were moving it forward to the front. At one point Cindy was buried in paper, as I was, and she was able to get the paper off of her and I heard her scream. I started to get to the top of mine just in time to see one of the guys staring at Cindy about 2 - 3 feet from her. The expression or lack of was priceless. It was a fun show.
After the show we got a taxi to the Venetian. Cindy noticed that they had some art pieces from Picasso and others they were showing. We just didn't have the time to see this one. We took a taxi back to the Monte Carlo and Cindy wanted to go shopping and then to bed. I was headed to the casino floor for some more gambling.
Walking down to the casino floor I decided to start with the Video Poker machines. I wanted to work the same machines as I did last night. I sat down and put in $20. My strategy was to play the same way I did last night. Keep all pairs. Keep all face cards unless a pair was on the screen. I got a 4 of a kind and it paid off about $200. I actually ran the machine out of money and an attendant had to come and refill it so I could get all the money due to me. At that time I decided to move to another machine two seats down. I put in $20 and started the same strategy. An older gentleman came around the corner and wanted to know if I was done with the machine I had just won on. He stated he had just left it before I started on it and won. He went back around the corner and moved his stuff to that machine and started playing. He never did get anything from it. The machine I was playing came up with 4 of a kind and it paid off about $125. I decided to move down a couple more chairs to the machine I used last night. I put in $20 and started using the same strategy. The older gentleman kept watching me and asking about what I was doing. This time I went through the $20 and did not win anything. I took my two buckets of coins to the cashier and she gave me $300 in cash. I wanted to play blackjack and I headed over to the tables. I walked around the tables to find a seat available and could not find a seat at all. All the tables were full. I sat down at a blackjack video machine. I put in $20 and by midnight I was even and decided to call it done for the night.

Day One Las Vegas Trip

Here it is the 11th of January and we are packed and ready to leave for Las Vegas. Having looked online for the weather report we find the Las Vegas area was having 15 - 20 mph winds. Hopefully when we get there the winds will have died down and we will have enjoyable weather.
I have done quite a bit of flying since 1990 for the hospital I work for as well as vacations. I am very much afraid of heights and being in a plane does not make me feel any better. I was given Xanax for my flying fear when I first started out. Of course now I can get on a plane and feel safe. My fears have been narrowed down to take offs and landings and even those don't bother me much anymore. Pills, I don't need any stinking pills.
The flight from Pasco to Seattle was uneventful and we arrived safely. Now, to find our next gate to get on Alaska Airlines. We had to go from a satelite to the main terminal and our tickets said gate D and the terminal screen said gate C. We decided to follow the terminal screen. We had to travel on 3 different underground trains to get to the C terminal. Once we arrived we verified the plane we needed was actually leaving from this gate.
The plane left and we were to arrive in Las Vegas on time. As we were getting closer to Las Vegas the pilot came on the overhead and asked the attendants to secure the cabin earlier than usual and he wanted them seated early due to 40 mph wind gusts in Las Vegas. It was already getting bumpy and the plane was being jostled around. As the plane was about to land the nose of the plane rose up, as I notice all planes do, to land on the back tires first. At that moment the planes left side lifted and the right side tires touched the ground. The pilot immediately put the engines in reverse and put the brakes on to get the plane to come down on the left side and then the nose of the plane came down. The attendant came on the radio and said "wow", "folks that was for real". I am rethinking my use of medications to travel. Getting off the plane and into the terminal felt good. We found our luggage at the baggage claim and headed for the shuttle. When we stepped out of the terminal the force of the wind hit us. It was almost hard to stand up and not be blown over. We found the shuttle and got into the bus.
We are staying for the next three days and two nights in the Monte Carlo. Very nice lobby. We were able to get checked in and we are on the fourth floor with our room near the core of the Hotel. We decided to eat a a cafe since we had not eaten yet.
We made plans for the day in our room. We would start walking through shops and look at the casinos. Our first stop was the Bellagio. The Monet exhibit was there and we decided to go through that. The paintings that were here were from the Boston exhibit. The attendant gave us each a wand so you can walk throught the exhibit and listen to the history of each painting. I found this very interesting to be able to see the actual paintings from the 1890 - 1900's. The stories about the different styles and what he was trying to achieve. My favorite painting was the one that took two different seasons to complete. You can see the different seasons in the way he painted the hills and the fact he paid the owner of the land to pick the leaves off of the tree so it would look the same during the two seasons. Another painting was a bridge over his man made pond in his back yard. The exhibit was interesting and was fun to visit.
We continued the walk over to Caesar's and walked through the shops. It has grown so much since the last time we were here. It was getting dark outside and were getting ready to head back to our room. We crossed the street and went into Paris. Each Casino we walked into was so elaborate. The lobbies were beautiful. We walked the shopping area and decided to eat in a restaurant which had an outside eating area to the casino. Our meal was very good. Cindy had soup and I had Prime Rib. Our feet and legs were very tired. We still had a ways to go to get back to the Hotel. We had decided not to take our coats with us and now we wish we had.
Back in the room Cindy decided to stay there and go to bed. I was ready for my first night of gambling. I first walked the casino floor to see where the machines and tables were located and get the feel of the place. I decided to start the evening off with Video Poker. Having done quite a bit of reading on strategy I wanted to try it out. I found a set of machines that looked like they met the criteria I was looking for. I started out by putting $50 into the machine. About 30 minutes later I hit a 4 of a kind. Four K's with an Ace. I cashed out for $96.25. Not bad for 30 minutes. I then went looking for a blackjack table. I did find one and the seat was in the 7th position. I gave the dealer $105 to start my evening. I will always start with a certain amount and when it is gone I will not keep going. I will walk away from a table if I am not doing well or if I have lost what I started with. I was not doing well at this table. My strategy was fine it was the hands I was being dealt and what the dealer was getting. I would get 18 and the dealer would get 19. I would get 20 and the dealer would get 21. The table was starting to remark about how unlucky I was. I finally played down to my next to last chip. I was given an Ace to start the hand. My second card was an Ace as well. I split the hand with my last chip. The next card was another Ace. I then pulled out the wallet and gave the dealer $20 to play another card. The next card was another Ace. I now had 4 aces out on the board. Each of the Aces now get one card. I recieve a 4, 2, 3 and my next card was a face card. The dealer drew 21. I loose on three and push on the last one. I now play a few more hands with the chips I have left and then with my last chip I get an Ace. The next card is another Ace. I pull out the wallet again and give the dealer another $20 to play the split. I get a 3, and a face card this time. The dealer draws a 21 again. At that point my luck turned around. I was able to build my stack up to $100 and I decided to call it quits for the night. I had played about 2 hours. Total for the night was +$1.

Back from LasVegas Vacation

I will post the vacation soon.