One
of the great ironies of going away to Vegas for 24 days is I have
encounters with friends and family who I don't otherwise see, and I
have them without interruption.
It
was grand to see my oldest son Frank in just this sort of context.
We were very close when he was a young man, and Vegas held good
memories for each of us.
We
got to process family business, update each other on events and
feelings, plan for the future.
We
laughed to be planning my death.
What
should I do with all my tshotchkes? I am not like intelligent older
people. I am still collecting LP records and odd cups for tea. I
like all the old bits and pieces of my past, but what a chore for my
kids to have to sort through when I'm gone.
So
at least he wants me to write family history, to record photos of all
the bits and pieces of my junk and write up the story of each. It
will help them know what to keep. It will help them get rid of
things and still have a record of them.
Vegas
is such a strange context for this conversation.
We
got to plan for my next modern purchase, a Smart phone. Seeing what
he and my wife have I lean now to a Galaxy, perhaps the newest that
number 5, that advertised the best sort of camera.
But
frank says I need to at least see a Fablet.
My
wonderful new cargo pants change the entire sense of carrying a
phone.
Big
is quite possible.
Frank
is very encouraging. He wants me to write more. He wants a Vegas
book to come out of all my experience and perspective of frugal
approaches.
He
lost $350 in three days, but he knew that he was getting the best
advice on VP and going very cheap for the rest of the trip. His wife
will be pleased enough because his budget for loss was $600. We
stretched it.
And
there were other processed bits that I can't write here.
It
was all good.
He
had a ticket to Chris Angel from playing a bit of MyVegas. I bought
one for $87 to go along with him. I think he was a bit disappointed
in the show. There is too much self aggrandizement in the show now,
less magic and more memoir. And it was not perhaps what Frank
expected in a Cirque show.
Still,
it was something to see. I was not disappointed. The tickets at
rack rate were $130 and the seats were great. When Angel disappeared
off stage and appeared in the audience, he came hooded into a seat
right in front of us.
My
favorite trick was for him to make an entire motorcycle appear, one
from his collection chosen at random by an audience member.
I
liked that he wanted random folks and developed a system for getting
them, but it too took too long from the show.
I
like MacKing better, but that could be because I like his personality
better.
Frank
and I paid $26 each on a 2 for 1 to see 40 is the new 20 at the
Riviera.
I
thought this was not going to say much about being 68, but I was
wrong. The comic was not focused on 40 but on after 40.
This
was my favorite comedy of my trip. Matt Kazam layered the jokes, one
punch line on top of another and his pace was fast and his timing
perfect. He was very likeable. He was raw in spots but not the kind
of raw that just depends on bad language and gross comments for a
laugh. I taught inner city for 30 years. Bad language and gross
comments were an everyday joke, and while I'm not often offended, I
just don't think today's comics are anywhere near as creative as my
tough mouthed students in that area.
We
played poker tournaments at The Plaza and some video poker there, JOB
at the bar with comped Guinness for Frank. The tournaments are so
cheap that I can't believe they will last, but are just there to
entice folks to set up cash games on the Poker Pro machines. And
right across the casino was a three piece jazz group playing the sort
of music I like.
LINK
TO THE PLAZA
What
was very different from our visit years back was that Frank was not
interested in playing the horses on the Sigma Derby. I remember when
we walked the strip with very little money to gamble, we always
stopped at the Stardust for some time with quarters in the Sigma
Derby.
Sharing
a room with Frank was fine and that was a bit of surprise to me.
I
used to advertise that I had rooms and an extra bed and different
friends or family might take advantage of those, but these days I
sleep so poorly that I did not want to share much room space. But I
shared with him and we seemed to do well.
Of
course, there was very little sleep. We got perhaps 3-4 hours at
most at night and were on the go when normally I might be in for a
nap.
Once
there was a malfunction in his room key. I was happy to have added
his name to the room because it was late at night and he managed to
solve it without my getting dressed. He was locked out. Security
helped. I was too sleepy, so I don't remember the details.
After
he left on the WAX for the plane, I planned to sleep the day away.
That
was when the D owned new city block venue for loud obnoxious noise
rehearsed and then performed some heavy metal grinding awfulness
right behind my room.
So
there was no sleep, but I was just too tired to go play poker.
I
watched some mindless TV, but the noise was so loud even that was a
challenge.
There
are no quiet rooms at the Four Queens any longer.
It
may change how I arrange my trip more than any changes in comp
formulas.
LINK
TO FOUR QUEENS.
Fortunately,
it is not every night, just some selected weekends. However, it is
the weekend nights I like to cover at the Four Queens.
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