Sunday, October 11, 2015

TR SNIPPET THE SWIMMING POOLS


I like the Gold Coast pool in November because it has a heated pool. We did not need that this trip because every day it was 100 degrees.

Generally, I am okay in that kind of weather if there is no humidity, but this time the heat got to me for the first two days. After that I seemed to adjust pretty well.

Still, the dry air means that coming out of the pool wet and not using a towel will cool off the body quickly, and there was shade when we swam and where we sat along edge of the pool.

One day the whole pool was Germans speaking German. I enjoyed the sounds. In college I might have followed the drift of the conversation but now I only catch a word or two. There were some pretty bikinis, however, and somehow they communicate well across all languages.

The next day there was a luscious young blond rubbing herself with suntan lotion. No, I did not offer to do her back for her.

In the pool there was some good conversation with folks who are old and migrate North or South based on the season. So we shared lake stories and boat and dock frustrations that come with aging.

Another woman thought she was an expert on video poker and on the local casinos. She lived not far away. However, her information was just wrong. If you don't start with the premise that VP is played using a virtual 52 card deck and that the random number generator creates a pretty good randomness, then I can't really learn much from you. She was all about the change of machines. They took out the ones she won on. And luck. And she kept telling us that many years ago her mother had taught her how to play. Well, when I was first learning I listened to my buddy's mother who told me that I should watch and see what a machine was dealing and if there were a lot of jacks, that would be the luckier card to hold. I'm very thankful that these folks exist and that they are local as they give enough to the casinos for them to still want to attract players.

She also told me that all Emerald card holders have their resort fees on any paid nights waived. If that is true, I learned that from her.

And she had good experience with hosts at the Orleans and talked about one who is a comp nazi. She regularly plays at the Fremont but she does not play pickem poker. She was a double double, triple double player but she had nothing much to say about strategy. She was very annoyed with Bob Dancer because he is arrogant. Well, what else is new. He also has some good points to make. I did not bother her with Grochowski, Paymar, or Linda Boyd. Why bother? I just don't get how someone can have video poker as their passion and not actually study the game enough to check pay tables. I'm not an expert and I don't have a good mind for learning the games, but I still understand that the EV is in the mathematics of the game and the comps added. And I have Dancer's tutor right here on my Vegas computer to check questions. And I have a strategy card in my pocket. Although I have to admit, I don't look up as much as I should.



On another visit we found the pool area much more comfortable in spite of the temperature being 106. I had a nice conversation with a young Latino mother while her husband swam with their cute 8 year old boy. She was delightful.

We swam and talked and joked and napped. I think we have tomorrow planned out with Red Rock in the morning and then a trip to the Orleans in the afternoon for both some live poker and some video poker and a meal at the Irish Pub behind the Orleans.





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BINION'S POOL



The pool at Binion's is nice except for two things:

It is hard to locate.

The music is piped in radio, including commercials.



I went only one day while I stayed at the Four Queens. There were a few sun bathers, but no one was in the water. It was a bit cool, but fine. Hot weather dominated September so even unheated pools were very comfortable.

I tolerated the music. Actually, this time the 97.5 station was not that modern nasal whine crap but a Black soul and R and B selection and most of it was not too bad. There were a few frantic raps, but there were some songs I liked.

What kills the mood, that drifting off while breast stroking in circles, was the loud and in you brain commercials where people shout out their product. Is there some market analysis that shows folks buy more if they hear about a product in a dramatic, in your face, shout? Why Binions can't get some sort of a tape of decent background music is a mystery. I think the radio station is the pick of the attendant.



There was a nice water fountain with cool water, one of the few working in Vegas. There were bathrooms. And the view is very nice although it can't be seen from the pool.

It is a fine place for sun. There is no shade.

It is generally uncrowded. Ask at the Four Queens desk before venturing over.

Finding it inside Binions can be a chore. Generally, I walk around the building and go in the back door by the place where they now have a blowout sale on shirts. However, this time I had to pass through five homeless and one ugly woman with really bad beaded hair apparently did not like my simple hello. She tossed a plastic water bottle so that I almost tripped and when I looked back she was doing a nine year old like mock of my walk.

Street people are more aggressive these days downtown. From that door and the shirt sale it is easier to find the right elevator to the Pool Deck, but I'll go through the casino next time. I came back through the casino. Remember that the Binion's is a horseshoe inside so go to the North part of the shoe.



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AIR B AND B POOL

I rented a bed and bathroom near Maryland and Flamingo as a way to do laundry. The pool was adjacent to the laundromat, so all the while it washed and dried I swam. I was alone and it was cool but very nice. There was not music. There were no people. I hate waiting for laundry. This worked just great.

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PALACE STATION POOLS

I really liked these pools. There are two right near one another but separated by rooms. Each has a jazuzzi. One will be heated in November.

The only downside was there was no bathroom.

I used the one in the fitness center, but it was a bit stange walking in there dripping.

In spite of the bad reviews of Courtyard rooms, I may book some if I don't get better offers. That would put me close to my own room for a bathroom break.

The pool opened very early in the morning. Good hours.



THE ORLEANS POOL



I always enjoy the Orleans pool, and this was no exception. However, one day it did not open until 10 AM because the cleaner had not finished getting out the leaves and the chemical guys needed time to do their jobs.

It was frustrating that I had to wait.

However, there was compensation. They did a photo shoot for one of the Ms. Olympia women. I don't know here name, but she was very attractive, more so than most. Here she is in 2012, the one on the far left.

http://www.vegasnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Ms-Olympia-Weekend-2012-570.jpg



That morning she was dressed in a sparkle outfit with very attractive black anklets which matched her long black hair. She took these off and did poses around the pool in her ivory bikini. It was nice entertainment for a morning swim.



http://www.vegasnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Ms-Olympia-Weekend-2012-570.jpg




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