TR Snippet- The Mentalist

I am sure this was a free groupon.  I can't remember if there was a fee, but that makes the show about $10.
compare Groupon to Living Social to Gold Star on fees.
I liked the show, but it was not hard to figure out the way the "magic" was conducted.  He seemed to be reading minds by touching cards we filled out preshow, but actually that was the material he used.  I was in line afterward with the main couple he had engaged in mind reading and all of the information he used they had put on the card.  At first she had not stood up.  Another person with her initials had stood.  He combined information from both her and her husband, but it was all on the card. 
The nailgun trick does make me cringe.  Surely some night the fellow will in some way make a mistake.  Still, I knew that he had a way of knowing which gun had bullet nails and which did not.  The audience member picked "left" from two choices and he picked up the gun that was "left" for the audience, but "right" for her.  Clearly he would pick that gun whatever she said.  I had seen a similar bit on Mike Hammer.
The ball trick where numbers appear on a card in an enclosed envelop is clearly slight of hand with the numbers written and faced where they could be copied.  The guy who had his pin number read seemed like a plant to me, especially when he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this man is amazing, he is absolutely right."
But it was entertainly just the same and well worth the small amount I paid for a ticket.

TR snippet - Toast of the Town/Bad Grandpax

This variety show is on at Sam's town at 2 PM every Thursday.  Tickets are free when you swipe your B Connected card at a kiosk. Each week is a totally different show, except for the back up band.
 Before the show, they do a drawing for giveaway purses or CD's or other promotional gifts, so come early if you want to be in the drawing, or if you want a prime seat.  It fills up with seniors. 

The music in the show generally features the old chestnuts of past years, but since it is different every week, you can't be sure.

October 24
This was an amazing show, perhaps one of the best I have seen.
The host was Derrick Richards, a comic and singer who had a bit of the style of Chris Rock, but the looks of Sammy Davis Junior.
The tone of the show was more soul and less sentimentality.  I liked that.
The two main vocalists were called Champagne and Caviar.  They sang well loved songs and added a soul flavor.  They tried hard for audience participation and even once came down into the audience and shook hands and gave high fives. Their outfits were black with tops that had glitter.  Their stage choreography was energetic and fun.  One of the fellows was a huge man, more like a football player than a dancer.  Vocal interpretations included voice modulation.
Songs included:
You Were Always on My Mind (check Elvis note)
Bring It Home to Me
Sugar Pie Honey (one of the best)
Story of Love  Glory of Love  (Beaches)
Derrick sang  Candy Man and Lovely Day.  He did look like Sammy Davis
Also singing was Jessica Vanic, a 14 year old Freshman who was shy when speaking but had an incredible stage presence and a voice to match.  She sang a song about being in apartment 14G and hearing opera below her and skat music above her and she would sing those parts as well.  It was one of the most entertaining songs I have ever heard. 
Here is the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl7r4nBHgv4

She also did a fine version of Paper Moon.
The comic appearing is at the Riviera this week, and I guess I want to put off a visit there. I liked him, but I'm betting that his material would be repeated.  He jokes about being in Vegas and about general trends.  At one point he had some Jesus jokes and one great Christmas joke where his mother calls him and wants him to come home for Christmas because up North it snows and snow is essential for the true meaning of Christmas.  "Mom," he says, "Jesus was born in a desert.  He was surrounded by sun and sand and  Jews........I'm in Southern Florida."
 
The second show was on Halloween and not as smooth.  All the folks were in costumes. The host I've seen before, and he is talented but well past his prime, and so sure of himself I guess he does not rehearse.  He stumbled a bit through the show.  It is a relaxed venue, but should not be that relaxed. 
Still, Wild Bill and I had a good time.  The comic told some old jokes, but was funny. 

This trip I tried to play a bit on the day of the show  at the Full Pay Deuces I go so my average is not eroded by attending the Toast of the Town.
Also, the first Thursday I had earned with play two free tickets to the movies and Bill and I saw Bad Grandpa. 
Now, those who are easily offended need to skip this show and no one should bring a grandkid, but Bill and I loved it.  The unique aspect is it was filmed in front of real people like candid camera, so the actors do outrageous things in front of everyday people who don't have a clue what is going on.  Great and funny skits.

We had eaten a 2 for 1 buffet on a voucher from Webpass at the Eastside Cannery, so it was a fine day on Boulder, full of coupons and freebies.

TR Snippet - Jeff Civillico and Turf

This is a show well worth your time.  I liked it better than most of the comedy and better than the Mentalist.  It is juggling with jokes.

It opened with this contortionist from America's Got Talent. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gBzOkuZFMU
I had great seats and was right next to the extended portion of the state where this fellow did part of his act.  He certainly could twist his body in very unusual ways.

 
Jeff was much better than I expected.   He is not the polished and sophisticated stereotype.  He is fresh and energetic and just naturally funny.  His facial expressions are full of good humor and fun.  He that college goofball guy who you just love to have around you. 
He is a fine juggler and he gets folks juggling with him, interacting with the audience in ways I have not seen and it is easy and friendly and fun.
 
The show was packed.

TR Snippet Meetups

Meeting up with board friends is not an easy task for me.  Although I go for long periods of time, I go for a slow and unscheduled pace and I like to be away from schedules.

My sleeping is an issue. I never know when I can sleep and when I can’t.  Vegas is grand for that lifestyle.  I can always look for a poker game or an early morning VP session.  Shows alone seem hard to keep in focus.  I have to concentrate on check out days and often get them confused.  At the beginning of this trip I was totally confused on time.

I can also just take a day and do nothing but sleep.  My pace it like that.  Whenever I can sleep, I sleep and am pleased with the privilege.

 

At home when I am awake at odd hours, I write on discussion boards.  The boards are here when I am fresh and awake at whatever hour.  When I write I have time to consider, to edit, to check the elusive details.

In Vegas I am often over tired.  Sometimes in conversation I can’t remember words or details of anything I’d like to say. 

Lack of sleep retards my functions.

 Lately I have been drinking almost no alcohol so I don’t lose whole days as I once did, but I am still too tired too often.

Then too I like the solo experience in Vegas, like the serendipitous meetings with strangers from all over the world at poker games, on buses, at bus stops.  I played poker with people from Nicaraqua, Eskimos from Alaska, guys from  Australia, Great Briton, Canada, Portugal.  I used my limited Spanish to help the Portuguese fellow understand the difference between limit and no limit and to engage the wife of a fellow I met at a party.

I missed meetups with my Vegas relatives this trip.  We just did not connect.

I did manage a great morning with my old locker mate from Kensington High School who now lives in Vegas.  Bob and I discussed the old days but also had good debate on politics, taxation, and Vegas in general.  He and his wife moved here a few years ago but found they did not like it.  They are going to Pennsylvania next.

Also I saw Mike (handle: hardware) who keeps in touch on my blogs arranged a meetup and video poker morning at the D after which he was kind enough to drive me out to Sam's Town.
He is a good bit younger than I am, but seems to like my writing and company.  He has plenty of interesting things to say and the time went quickly as we played a bit of VP.  It was one of my worst VP sessions. I lost nearly $100, but  I think he did well and the bartenders kept the drinks coming.  His were real.


Blonde's Board held a great meetup called Garboyle at Hennesy's downtown.  I was scheduled to make the whole meet, but they moved my Jeff Civillico show from 2 to 4 PM, and I had to rush back from the strip for just the tail end of the meetup.  Still, I met many of the folks I see on line and had some good discussion. Included were:
Kiddo, Kobi Dog, Blonde, NMChop, Eva from Germany and her husband Wolfgang, Trawna Jack, Royal Flusher, a number of people were very kind about my writing and who I remember reading often on that board. 
Nice.
It was a nice room at Hennesy's,  quiet and easy for talking.  Bonnie was in her million dollar lei outfit.  This was just brilliant!  She got a good bit of attention on the street as well.

 

TR Snippet - Interesting Strangers

I met many interesting strangers while traveling around.  I was unsure of where to catch the SDX after being dropped off at the Tropicana by the 201 from the Orleans.  Wild Bill thought I should go South.  I thought I should go North, but there was all this construction.  I asked the driver and she sent me North.  As I excited a woman I think was Vietnamese said, "Just follow me;  I'm going to that stop." and so we struck up a conversation that lasted all the way to the Riviera.
She had lived in LA with her three boys in a tiny apartment that cost $1100 a month.  She worked minimum wage jobs so all her money was going into rent.  Her drug addicted husband was constant trouble in spite of being separated and she had a mother to care for as well.
She decided to go to Las Vegas and see if she could make it.  And she was thrilled to be a success.  She works at a Home Depot and has managed a three bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood for half of what her tiny place cost in LA. 
Her boys get free after school child care.  Soon she will bring her mother too.  And the husband seems much farther away. She was happy and proud.

On the SDX one other time going downtown there were three girls who were lively and having a good time.  One was from Scotland.  One was singing songs and doing the facial and hand gestures of a stage presentation. 
A tall Black man with a huge Afro and a backpack sat in front of them, but when a couple came on the bus and looked for seats, he offered his and moved to sit next to the Scottish girls.  That started a very interesting conversation in which each told parts of their lives.  He was not hitting on them, but going home to watch "The Good Wife" on television. 
It seems he sells bootleg beer from his bag on the strip and so they bought a couple cans at $2 each.
The couple that entered wore black T shirts that said bride and groom.  They were not beautiful people, but short and quirky looking, but they were beautifully happy.  Three house ago they had gotten married after being together a few years and they were in love and finding the celebration a great deal of fun.  A few wedding guests were in the front of the bus.  I loved the idea of getting married and then taking the bus.

Once the girls discovered all of this, they were very excited and got up to take pictures.  They popped open the beers and gave them to the newly married couples and it was laughter and smiles all around. 

I could see it all easily from my side seat in the SDX. 

I met plenty of interesting people playing poker.  At the Monte Carlo I used my small bit of Spanish to help an older  Portuguese gentleman understand that it was a limit table, not no limit.  The dealer had been unable to get that idea across in English.  At the Golden Nugget I met a guy from Amherst NY, a suburb of Buffalo where I was raised and not far from where I went to college.  He was very funny and he had the Buffalo accent.
There too I met some of the fellows I had played with on my last trip, including a very pleasant guy name John from the UK.
IThanks for that info on tournament tables.  I have not played tournaments there.  I might next trip.  I'm reading my Dan Harrington.  I wonder if they will pay $2 for tournament players as well.  Perhaps not. 
I really play poker as much for the people as for the game.  Vegas is rich in visitors and all have stories.  Most are on vacation, so they are easy to engage in conversation or banter at 2-4 limit.  I mostly play that.
Here is one experience I had at the Golden Nugget:
[I]I had the most fun with a young Eskimo woman and her Western dressed man.  She was the worst poker player of my trip, betting and raising on anything and losing quite a bit.  He could play, but he started to raise her if he thought he might push out others at the table, just to make the damage less severe.
He started the story telling by telling us about being a long line halibut fisherman in the Bering Straight.  One large halibut had flipped the wrong way and dumped him in the very cold water.  He could survive in that just a few minutes as he had not put on protective gear.
The captain donned protective gear and went in to save him, arriving just as he was going unconscious.
When he woke up, he was in bed with the Captain's wife.  She was dressed just in a bikini and held him tightly in her arms. 
"Oh..oh, he thought.  I am really in trouble now."
But this was at the captain's bidding, a way to warm him up and bring him back to a conscious state.
It turned out there were two other players at that table who had fished the Bering Straight.

The Alaskan girl, Juanita, told me about cooking fish in her village.  She said they used a curry that they made there in a traditional recipe or perhaps they used thyme.  There was too much catsup in her recipes, but I've now tried just thyme and liked it.

Once after I bet a hand and she folded, I collected chips and said, "Well, I put out the bait, but no fish bit."
Juanita did not miss a beat, "Maybe you need a longer rod."

Coming in such a dry delivery from this sweet girl, this crack was one of the funniest jokes of my trip.

She and he man bickered a bit about when they would leave and he left her to pack up and get ready to drive out.  They had a six hour drive and he wanted to get on the road.  She wanted to stay and play. 
While her man  was gone, another player moved to her left and used her betting to raise when he was strong and narrow the field.
She was a great puzzle to many of the players and one of the newest at the other end of the table suspected collusion.
"Are you two together?" he asked, pointing to the fellow to her and the fellow to  her left.
"No," the table answered.
"I looked at him and said, "She and I are together," and that really left the other end puzzled for a long minute.
"You are a couple?" the fellow asked incredulously.
"Yeah," I answered, "In my dreams."
And the table cracked up. 
For an old guy such interaction with a sweet and pretty young thing is a great deal of fun.  I don't get much of this anywhere these days except in Vegas.[/I]


Fisherman were all over the Golden Nugget this year.  I met a fellow who traveled all over the world to fish Salmon. He lived on Kodiak Island in Alaska.  He was not a great story teller, but he had great passion talking about salmon.
Right at the table with the Eskimo girl was another fellow who had fished the Berring Straight only with a trawling net.

At that same table on another day I met a fellow who lives now in Thailand, but lived a long while in Central America.  He and his buddy behind him told about Nicaraqua and I'm interested in going.  He had build an apartment complex on a high cliff at Ocatal Beach on the Western shore of Costa Rica.  This is one of my favorite beaches for swimming and snorkeling.

I met another fellow older than I am who had lived most of his adult life on sailboats.  He now lived in Bermuda.  In between boats he had built an orphanage in Thailand and lived there a while.  He loved the kids.  He said that he had delivered a boat from South Africa to Miami once, but that generally if he wanted to live in a place, he did not sail there, but sold his boat and bought on in his new location.
It was a hard life to keep a steady woman relationship.  Hard to get a boat "wench" as he put it.  He had had a long relationship that just ended because she needed to be near grandchildren from a previous marriage.
He handled his medical needs by depending on the Veterans hospitals, but I guess he had been very healthy most of his life.  That is a poor way to get health care.
I asked him about pirates and he said that the sailors talk and know pretty much where it is safe.  He also thought that he was not much of a target for pritates, but I would be afraid to be at risk of kidnapping or worse.

TR Snippet - Buffets

BUFFETS

I am next to useless as a buffet reviewer because I use buffets to avoid and limit carbs, meats, dairy, sugar, and to eat vegetables and fish with meat only once in a while for a treat.   
I pick the cheaper buffets because they are just as good at basic salads.
Also I tend to eat midday to save money and the better foods are often saved for later.
So I know that Main Street Station is a great buffet, but I never eat there anymore because it is not great for me. 
The Golden Nugget has smoked salmon and all the fixin's for great lox, except sometimes the creamy horseradish is missing. 
 
I rarely eat an evening buffet as the lunch is fine for me.  Often a meal otherwise is a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit.  I get good value from the free fruit at the El Cortez Cabana rooms.  They even have pears!

When I was with my wife for the upscale portion of the trip, we used MyVegas deals to eat free or 2 for 1 at Bellagio and Aria.  Both offered me plenty of choices.  I loved Aria the first visit, but was less enthused the second. However,  it may be that the meal at the Capital Grill overshadowed all tastes the day afterwards just as the bland taste of the hot crab is poor competition with our winter life of fresh stone crab three times a week or even the lobster bisque at Capital Grill or the oyster stew at Al's in the Orleans (not on the menu) 

Here are my notes on Aria:

We took a cab from the Orleans to Aria.  Fare was $9.50.  The cabby went the back street and it did not take long at all.  This put us in good time for the midday buffet and cut out some of the walking we would have had we taken the Tropicana bus.

I liked the feel of Aria and I loved the buffet.  It is my new favorite buffet.  They had plenty of interesting gourmet tastes all labeled clearly on chalk boards.  There were plenty of foods that fit perfectly into my diet. 
I ate steamed clams. 
There were also mussels. 
And there was crab all split and somewhat warmed up on a steaming table.  It was all good.  The cod with sauce was fine but not hot enough and not my favorite. 
In very tiny green salad cups were two anchovies unlike any I eat at home.  These looked like fresh fish.  They were salted but not overwhelmingly so. 

They had some mild machego cheese.  It was good, but not really what I've eaten in Spain. 

There was an extensive Mid Eastern section.  I only tried the curried lentil soup.  It was really good and not the plain, generic stuff usually served in Indian places.

The coffee was good. Elizabeth thought it was just okay.  That is a high evaluation for her on any buffet coffee.  I thought it was some of the best coffee I have had.

I liked the assortment of hot sauces and picked one to drop in my tomato juice.  There was also both regular and creamy horseradish and that made a virgin bloody Mary. 

The music was louder and faster than I would pick, but they mixed the songs.  There was some of the whiny modern sounds and the songs with lyrics that no one could understand interspersed with :Oh, Oh, Oh. Oh….      This sort of stuff seems to be a fad for filing in when the lyrics are exhausted.  However, there were Spanish and Italian musical cuts as well as some older songs.  It was not the best, but better than many places.

At about 3:30 they brought out the supper foods and there was plenty of interesting meats, so I had a taste of lamb leg.  It was lean and tasty.  They also had lamb ribs.  I think this is only offered on the weekend nights.

I liked the windows to the trees outside and when I go again, I’ll asked to sit by the window.

For dessert I had a small piece of very rich chocolate.  I liked it.  Also I had a small slice of pecan pie that was wonderful as well.  Well worth going off the diet

EASTSIDE CANNERY

I'm probably the only guy who likes this place.  It is cheap and I can eat here.  Also I have a zillion points from when I played Webpass on their site and this trip I managed to have a local friend print out my vouchers for food, drink and a fine hat.  The redemption procedure is ridiculous, but I do like free. (see last review)  I don't play any games there.  MyVegas is much superior.  But I check in for three minutes every day and get 700 so I keep current and can earn a free buffet for every trip. (Perhaps 2)
They first earn my respect because they have Cholula.  Places with only Tabasco need to get with the times.  Any Louisiana sauce would be fine.  And at the Asian station there were two other hot sauces.
Drink refills do not need the server.  You can just go up when you are thirsty and help yourself.
That being said, the servers are very, very attentive.  Each time I ended up over tipping.
The music is old chestnuts....  well not Sinatra old, but I heard Buddy Holly.....and the music is not so loud that you can't talk or hear yourself think.
I used a 2 for 1 from the Webpass and took poker buddy Bill on the Thursday we did Boulder.  I liked the mahi mahi that day.

I usually go off my diet for the black and white yin yang moon cookies or perhaps for one with M and M's.

GOLDEN NUGGET

My main food spot now downtown is the buffet at the Golden Nugget.  I usually go for breakfast, but on Halloween I went for an off diet supper.  Using the $10 poker voucher the meal is under $10 cash.  The food sure tasted good.  I ate chicken fajitas, salad, a small bit of exceptionally delicious mushroom soup flavored with a very small bit of grilled steak.  The deep fried shrimp are delicious.  I also mixed up some vegetable dishes and made my own versions.  For dessert it was the nuts off the top of a slice of pecan pie.
Saturday is a good day to use the $10 coupon for breakfast.  It cost me $6 for the Golden Nugget buffet and there was creamy horseraddish for my lox with tomato, onion, and capers.  Lox is my usual pick. 
Weekdays the breakfast is only a dollar more than the poker voucher. 
Sundays it is a bit more expensive and I go other places.
Diane is my favorite waitress.  She went out of her way to see I had creamy horseradish one morning for my lox. 
Avoid the greens if you don't want sugar in the diet.  They are heavily into sugar.  Why  a place will have healthy greens and then add so much sugar that we can taste it is beyond me.
However, there is plenty of interesting salads and a large selection of fruits including nice pink grapefruit and canned pears.  The egg maker is very accommodating and does a fine job cooking healthy omelets of eggs over easy. 

ORLEANS

We had the lunch buffet before the pool.  Good offerings here are made better with Cholula hot sauce .  The mendula is just wonderful.  I think it is really pozole.  I take just the broth and so I think that I am closer to my diet.
I had some cabbage and a good salad using just vinegar and the hot sauce. Refried beans were good and I added a small bit of chili.  Some pumpkin ginger soup seemed to have too much sugar.  I drank lots of coffee and liked it. 
Elizabeth hated the coffee. 
She had a good sampling of meats and I guess she did okay.  I had a small taste of tuna.  For dessert I had caramel sugar free iced cream.  That was great.

SPICE MARKET

As a treat I went to the Spice Market.  The price has increases since it was the most affordable, but with a destination.com coupon and the last of my Harrah's points I got supper for $23.  I wanted supper because I wanted to go off my diet and have lamb.
They did not have the grilled lamb I remember, but they did have tasty bits of leg of lamb and I was satisfied.   The tempura shrimp made the meal.  Other tastes were fine too.  It was a night of indulgence for me, the only real time I left the diet alone and just had what I wanted.

 

TR Snippet - A Sense of Breakfast at Trump Towers

Here is a bit of lobby art.  I should have taken more photos of the Trump Tower.

A bit of a diary from the tower.
I feel rested, but it is not even 4 AM.
Yesterday was a fine day. 
We went down here just off the lobby to breakfast and it was delightfully comfortable.   We had great fruit and a garden omelet full of veggies, good coffee, with access to the NY Times and soft background music.
Jim and Anne joined us and our left overs were enough for their breakfast with just one more order of berries.  
We had a great long visit, told stories, got into more ideas and issues than just family catch up details. 
It was Anne's last day and she took the taxi.  Her travel home was just fine:  friendly and interesting cabby, window seat, no charge for drinks, and no difficulties.   Nice.
 

TR Snippet - Restaurants

In the upscale portion of the trip we ate at some fine restaurants and I did manage for the most part to find in the menu something on my diet.

The best food we had was at the Capital Grill in the corner of the Fashion Show Mall.  Everything was good.  The steaks looked wonderful, and I tasted one that was just fine.  My Sea Bass was one of the best pieces of fish I have eaten anywhere.  Sides were all very yummy.  I best liked the mushrooms.  Jim ordered a bottle of  Terrazas Malbec from Mendoza Argentina that was delightful and went very well with the meal. 
The ambiance was just perfect, lots of old wood and interesting art hangings with many of them featuring The Rat Pack and other stars and celebrities.  It was quiet. 
The waiter was just an amazing resource.
I see they are a chain and new locations are coming so others must feel as positive as we did.
Some of my delight was with the company.  That flavors the meal.  Jim and Anne are some of my most favorite people, and drinking a bit of wine with them is one of my most favorite fun experiences in life.

TABLEAU AT THE WYNN
http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Restaurants/FineDining/Tableau

Jim, Anne, Elizabeth and I  sat in this canopy and had lunch one day.  I liked the colors and designs.  I ordered the wrong food, getting a dish I thought was all mushrooms that included pasta.  I usually avoid pasta.  It was fine. Everyone else loved their meals.

TAMBA
http://www.tambalounge.com/main.html

I went to this on solo.  Traditional Indian food is recommended on my diet, but what I got here spiked my sugar level.  I did not choose a food but a sampler called Buddha's Feast.  The ambiance was great with very plush booths, Indian prints and  library wall of books.  I always like eating around books.  The music was okay, but it was not Indian but some sort of jazzy hip hop.  Somehow getting the whole experience of the ambiance of this Indian place and then having someone singing about MFer's is just weird. 
They have an inexpensive buffet in the afternoons and perhaps the foods would be better choices for me. 
Yesterday, here in Albany  I ate in a nice little local Indian buffet and only one food on the menu had added sugar and that was honey.   
But again I ate the nan at Tamba and not at my local place. 
My next Indian is the one easily served by buses right near the Sahara monorail stop.  India House might be the name.

BANANNA LEAF RESTAURANT  RIVIERA

Banana Leaf at Riviera.  Great hot and sour soup.  3 veggie dishes.  I had tofu and vegetable.  Huge bowl of soup for $7, a meal  in itself.     This one did not affect my sugar.  I'll go there again even with no coupon.
http://govegas.about.com/lw/Travel/North-America-and-Caribbean/Banana-Leaf-at-the-Riviera.htm

Most of the time now I don't do restaurants, but stick to buffets.  In a buffet I can see what I am eating and there is always enough selection to allow me to stay on my diet.

ORLEANS CAFE

We have always love this spot and the oatmeal that seems so inexpensive and good and comes with plenty of additives to choose.
However, it spiked my blood sugar.  My dietitian says that is it common for some folks to spike with oatmeal.  It is the first I've had since I was diagnosed with difficulty.
Sad. 
I remember my 60th birthday month long bash here in Vegas.  I stayed at the Orleans and met folks as they came to Vegas.  I often ate the oatmeal.  Now that is over. 
This is a fine little diner and a good break from the buffet.  Graveyard specials have always been priced well.

 

TR SNIPPET MY VEGAS REWARDS/EASTSIDE CANNERY REWARDSx

The retail value of the rewards I redeemed from my wife's My Vegas site and from mine, and used in just three Vegas days, totaled over $700.  I was amazed that I could book two cirque shows within the narrow three days that Elizabeth had open in our schedule around meeting her brother and his wife.  I know some of it was luck, but some of it is also the structure of the program that just seems to want to work with us.
It also helped that I knew rewards were refreshed at 7 AM and was waiting and ready at that time to buy tickets.
Added to that was the ease at getting the tickets once purchased. 
Right after buying any award, I just called the MyLife number and locked up my seats.  Then I just had to stop at an M Life counter when I got to Vegas and pick up the tickets.

We ate our free Bellagio lunch buffets and went to redeem the O tickets, and we got the Zumanity tickets for the following day  at the same time, so that we did not have to worry about getting them before the 4PM deadline on the day of the Zumanity performance, or worry that somehow we did not have what we needed, or arrange a busy schedule around another MLife counter visit.
Before Zumanity we had a buffet at Aria and liked it so much that we went back again a few days later, using a 2 for 1 reward off the MyVegas site, and so I managed to capture a total of 6 rewards.

I copied confirmation numbers, but they told me one number was not right.  It did not matter.  They could access the tickets by checking my account.  It is a very good idea to connect your MyVegas account to your M Life card before you go to Vegas.  If you don't have an M Life card, call and ask and you can sign up for one on line.

I was going to try to get one more buffet just to see  if MyVegas would let me add in a fourth reward in spite of the rolling 30 day rule, but actually my poker buddy Wild Bill and I had so many food offers from poker and coupons that it just was not needed.

Compared to the rigmarole required by the Eastside Cannery  to redeem freebies on their Webpass site, My Vegas is a dream.  To get one free buffet, one 2 for 1 buffet, 2 drinks, and a hat (under $50 value total ) at Eastside Cannery I had to call a local Vegas buddy with a printer and talk him through my site so he could bring printed vouches with him when we met for breakfast the next day. 
Printed vouchers must be shown  at the Player's Club and translated into printed coupons with 7 days of buying them with points, and the schedule of our first week was just too packed for me to bring them and redeem them this trip. 
Once they are redeemed, then we have a month to use them, but it means that within the first 7 days of the trip we have to get out to Eastside Cannery and do the paperwork.
It also means we are limited to those rewards that are still current when we do.
I generally plan a trip that catches the end of one month and the beginning of another (so that I can get monthy promotional room rates and free play at the Four Queens and the D twice on the same trip.)
Later in the month many of the rewards at the Eastside Cannery are gone.  At the beginning of the second month, I am in Vegas with no printer.
You can read my frustration with this program on a post from my last trip

http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2013/05/eastside-cannery-webpass-disappointment.html

In contrast, The My Vegas freebies, worth a great deal more, were done efficiently and all electronically, and I had 90 days from purchase to redeem the buffets.  So once I purchased the buffets at home, I could use them any day I decided on my trip.
And there never has been much of a line at M Life counters.  At Eastside Cannery counters there is generally a long wait, especially when the kiosks are broken down and all other business must be accomplished in a Player's Club line as well. 

Because M Life could all be done electronically the last reward (Aria 2 for 1) from my wife's site I actually bought at the last minute while I was in Vegas.  This would be impossible at the Eastside Cannery site because I would need a printer.  With everything electronic, no printing was needed, and effortlessly we had a last minute 2 for 1 at Aria bought the morning we used it.

I'm not saying to avoid the Eastside Cannery.  The rooms are fine. The VP is full pay.  In fact, the JOB is the best in Vegas, 9/6/90.  However, when using Eastside Cannery Webpass promotions, get all the details required for redemption before you plan a purchase using points.  



 

TR Snippet - Music

MUSIC AT POOLS AND BUFFETS

Okay, I'm old.  67.  And my music tastes are older.  I'd prefer Jazz from the 20's, 30's, 40's  like that featured on WGBH Jazz Decades where Ray Smith gives a great commentary on music or swing.  Or I'd like the music and soft jazz so popular now on John Pizzarelli's Radio Deluxe.
But I am also pretty eclectic and enjoy all sorts of sounds, providing there is variety and it is not so loud that listening is painful and talking impossible.
Were I arranging music for these places I'd create a varied menu of music from all over the world. Everything would not be radio rock and there would be many fewer songs sung with a nasal whine and going  "oh, oh, oh."
 
In the smaller pools were I swim and places where I dine, I'd make the music basically background and go for mellow over ear splitting.  Id' include some boleros, some blues, some jazz, some Nina Simone or Billie Holliday, some Ella and Satchmo.  How about  New Brazil.  Soft soul. Jack Teagarden.  Easy Willie Nelson.  Lyle Lovette's   If I Had a Boat.  It'd toss in a Mills Brothers and the Rat Pack would be represented. 
I'd try to do what Pizzarelli does, get songs that had some following but were done in unusual vocal style.  I'd include a bit of Louisiana Cajun and perhaps a folky Phil Ochs or perhaps Judy Collins.   Simon and Garfunkle would be there or at least Simon by himself.  The Beatles would pop in.
In Vegas I'd take a look at the popular shows that feature music and use songs from each.  Bee Gees could be there with the Beatles and the Rat Pack and whatever the Scintas were singing.
I'd skip opera but some classical bit might be a nice break, perhaps Rap and Classical in the same song.   Flamingo guitar would be included.  A dulcimer piece.  A piano bit.  James Taylor or Carly Simon or Carole King.
I experiences swimming to classical at Turning Stone pool. 
Generally, I don't listen to much classical and then only like the mellow and nothing too dramatic, but I found it just great for getting in the mindless zone while swimming.
Aria's buffet approached some of that.  It was all rock and too loud, but they did have cuts from all over the world so I heard some in Spanish, some in Portuguese. 
Eastside Cannery was just fine.  There were old chestnuts like Buddy Holly.
The D Vue Bar were old favorites on a great Boze system.
At least I'd not buy some loud radio track of whinning, nasal, lyric obscure music.

TR Snippet - Wifi

I had great wifi at the Orleans and the Trump.  The Orleans now provides it in the room with the resort fee and I paid for the rooms, so I automatically paid the fee.
I carried my small computer up to the Java spot at the Orleans when Wild Bill and I met up on his first day.  That is great free wifi and no coffee need be bought.
Any room ending in 26 at the South Tower is a fine Four Queens room for me.  It is very quiet and on the end, so my television cannot bother anyone in the middle of the night.  However, I am tucked too far away to get the free downtown wifi here.
Denny's is open 24 hours, right on the FE and has free wifi. However, I hated the music there and their veggie skillet spiked my blood sugar so it must be filled with crap.  the wifi was very, very slow.
Actually, once I was in solo mode, I did not need or want wifi.  I hardly have time to draft trip report memories in my word processor. 
Most of my time on computer I spend writing while I am fresh some notes or even some snippets of my trip.  I won't remember them otherwise.
 About the only thing I miss is listening to Ray Smith's Jazz Decades while I take a tub soak or do laundry.

However, I think by next trip I will have a smart phone so at least I can check email and look to see when the next bus is coming.

 

TR Snippet Downtown Grand

I walked down to the new Downtown Grand for  a look one morning.
It nice in its newness, but nothing out of the ordinary. 
VP pay tables were terrible.   It did not seem to have created any new spin on the gambling.  Everything seemed the same as any other casino.
The pool is not done yet.  It will be ready for the ribbon cutting.  That is to be different with  fake grass and bushes creating the illusion of an outdoor pool in someone's yard. 
A large TV screen will offer movies. That seems like a great way to pass the time when the bankroll is depleted.
They gave me $3  for signing up.  Whooopee!  $3 seems the new come-on.  That is what I got out at Eastside Cannery for my first freeplay in October, but by November I got $12.  I had not played more that a small amount.
The Grand freeplay required me to play to activate it (so it isn't really freeplay.)  I picked a penny machine and it would activate for just playing one penny. 
They have a long card about the size of two post cards explaining just how to do that in incredible detail. 
I think the card is worth more than the freeplay.
Perhaps I could have then cashed it all out after activation.  It looked like I could. 
Not me.  I'm a risk taker.  I played a five lines at a penny each on an Irish 3 7's machine and had quite a good time.  I thought of myself as the poster Pluto. 
I had only one good hit;  most of the time a win meant I got my nickel back.  After a while of up and down fun play I cashed out for $4. a mighty profit for the morning.
I looked at the menu from two diners.  The folks were very glad to show them to me and talk about the little diners, but I did not see anything special about them, except they seemed overpriced.  Not terrble, but  just down from Wallgreens going west there is a taco place with a hummus plate and two vegan selections.  These were under ten dollars; the Grand prices were not.
I asked about vegetarian and I saw the young fellows face go from excited to disappointed, until he remembered the one veggie meal.  It is a veggie burger that "really tastes very good" because it is deep fried.  Of course it is.  Most folks looking to eat veggie stuff want the food to be deep fried.  Like oreos.

Here is the lobby.  The guard said that folks had been pilfering the red roses.  Hey, welcome to downtown.

Below is the detail of this dice art.

 

Here is a hidden bar off the lobby.  I think waiting for a room would be easier in this hotel.

 

I walked over to the old Gold Spike just to see.  It might be an interesting place to meet my relatives and play some pool.  $1 a game.  They have a DJ nights.  Somehow I suspect the music will not be John Pizzarelli's Radio Deluxe. 
There was a strange luxury in places to sit, even one lounge as big as a bed.  The guard said I could sit there but not sleep.
Do I look that homeless? 
I did not ask if I could bring a sweet, young bit of stuff and cuddle.  
I did not check for wi fi.
I looked at the Grill menu and once again was not impressed for my diet.  I forgot to see if the legendary blueberry pancakes were still there. 
Another taste I can't have anyway. 
On one wall of shelves I did see all these hot sauces and that was impressive. 

I love hot sauce. And so many places have only my least favorite, Tabasco.  Someone has done some impressive marketing to get Tabasco exclusively in so many places.  It would not cost more to offer other brands and flavors.  This place seems to have gotten that message.

So maybe I could get a couple poached eggs and some good hot sauce.  Maybe.

 

TR Snippet Buses and cabs

The upscale week of my trip was all with cabs.  I learned that it is under $10 before tip  to get from the Orleans to the Aria.  That seemed really reasonable and it was very quick.  In some cases, especially when four people are involved, cabs are cheaper than buses. 

Elizabeth and I cabbed from the airport to the Orleans.  It was more than I expected.  About $24 with tip.  I remembered to ask for no tunnel, but the fellow did drive leisurely and the lights along Tropicana were all red.  He was milking us.

This confirms my bus intentions for solo.  It would have cost me two dollars by bus, but at least a half hour and perhaps an hour more in travel time. And Elizabeth is not riding the buses.

BHX

I never took the ride I planned on the HDX to Sunset Station or Fiesta Henderson.  Perhaps I'll do it next time.  One bus driver told me that I should just get the HDX at the BTC, but I am unsure whether he meant just during the Life is Beautiful or always..

I've decided that the best advice to give tourists is to have them go to the BTC for either of these buses simply because it is simple and unlikely to be changed.  In front of Binions () or perhaps I would say on the side) is a bus stop that serves the SDX, the WAX, theCX and the  DVX and each of these buses goes to the BTC fairly quickly.  Be careful to get off at the BTC as overshooting with some will put you a long way from where you want to be.
Then at the BTC the bay for the BHX is just inside the wall and there is shade to be found and seats and even a bathroom if you have time.  So even though it backtracks the path of the bus, it may just be the most practical and easy to go up Boulder.
Sam's Town has a free shuttle as well.  I have not taken it and did not have times written down.
If you don't mind the old Western neighborhood and are up at the El Cortez, then you can walk up  to catch the BHX there and save some time, but sometimes your bus stop companions may be a bit seedy. 
Going to the BTC puts you out of any bus stop issues.  You will find seedy characters on the bus, but there is an accessible driver now and for one of my trips there was a security guard so less difficulties for those of you uncomfortable with the lower middle class folks.

USING THE WAX ON THE WEEKENDS

I used the WAX from this same Binions spot on the weekends to offset the strip traffic.  It comes every hour, but was predictable with one glance at the schedule posted at the stop.  the times I was going the bus came 26 minutes after the hour so that was very easy.  It is a simple ride to Tropicana.

They will not tell you that at the stop.  The RTC guides posted at the Binions stop particularly stress that the bus goes to the airport and not to the strip.  I said as I boarded that that seemed untrue, and the bus driver first said that he had worked that corner and that to say it would be a strip bus for some opened it up to a million questions.  Then he said that the bus company wanted to keep that WAX from getting overcrowded so there was always room for passengers and their luggage.  On Friday and Saturday nights It was a real advantage to take the WAX and just walk from Tropicana to where ever I wanted to go.  It is a shame the bus company can't find a way to explain that to people.  What if they just asked to see folks going to Tropicana, MGM, Monte Carlo just a few minutes before the bus arrived?

I was surprised that the nights I took the Deuce home from the Venetian there was no real crowd.  Once meeting Wild Bill after going to the Orleans and catching the SDX just North of MGM I was not allowed entry on the first and fullest bus, but another came just a few minutes afterwards and it was not crowded.  Bumper to bumper traffic made it a long journey to the Riviera but it was not so bad.  I had  a seat.

TR SNIPPET- BLING

There seems to be increasing bling used to attract gamblers in the casinos these days.
It is happening here at home at Foxwoods with certain days promoted as days when a certain something is given away.
I never go just for the bling at home, but sometimes it will get me out when I am visiting Vegas and looking for something to do.
Some of this stuff is just junk. Foxwood and the Orleans seem to offer the junkiest bling.
But I'm always happy with a good hat when that is offered.
Terribles did the most in this direction years ago.  I don't think Silver Sevens continued the tradition of giving out lots of merchandise for little money.  I don't think they have a distinctive red hat.
Almost every casino tries to trade some merchandise for points.  Usually, this is a pretty bad deal for us, especially if it increases play.  We might better spend some time shopping at the dollar store.
At the Orleans on senior day we have found long lines for really inexpensive junk.  However, the one on this trip was done to shorten the line.  They gave tiny little Halloween bags with money in them.  Most people got a $2 bill.  I got $5.
Even some of the junk can be useful.  I use a small roulette themed alarm clock from the Orleans to time my copying of LP or cassette  music to CD on my Crosley machine. The alarm gets me there so I have time to stop the recording and change the record or tape.
This visit at the Four Queens I became eligible for a baking dish.  We have so much household stuff now that I thought this might not be worth packing home, but it turned out it was a very nice dish and came with a fine fitted cover and an insulated carrying case.  Perfect for Thanksgiving and my pumpkin bake.
In the past I've gone to the free slot tournaments at the Four Queens and the consolation prizes have been of good quality.  One year there were fleece blankets that we use while watching TV.
Redemption at the Four Queens seems easy.  I was in line to get my cashback and the clerk told me of the promotion and also that I had $80 unused freeplay.  One of my worst sessions in VP was playing the freeplay and the cashback because the progressive royal was up to $1151.  I hit nothing that session, but I did get the baking dish.
Eastside Cannery had a similar promotion and the prizes looked good.  They also have one of the nicest hats I've seen, a classy black with only a moderate addition of a bit of white somewhere. 
Redemption is a nightmare as mentioned in other posts.  And the free electric kitchen appliance was on a date when I would not be there and looked pretty hard to ship home.  But then most of the promotions at the Eastside Cannery are focused on getting locals out and not on attracting tourist trade.
The Four Queens baking dish just fit in my soft second bag and Southwest still has that two bag free policy, so I easily packed it home. 
I carry the soft bag out empty just for that reason. I have room then for souvenirs and bling.  Also, on the way home, I can pack all the heavy things in that bag and know that I am below 50 pounds in my large bag.  I can weigh it at home, but that is harder when packing to leave a casino.
 

TR Snippet - LAUNDRY

LAUNDRY AND CLOTHES

This was a fine trip for laundry.  I just did it once at the 4 Queens.  Some of my dirty things I sent home with my wife after the first week.  So that left me more lightly packed and able to launder just once in the middle of the 15 day trip.  One hour and my 21 days were full of clean clothes.
The weather was a problem for packing.  I packed long sleeves and it stayed really warm.  It is hard to know what to wear. 

Doing the laundry is easy with Fels Naptha soap.  A bar last trip cost me 98 cents at Walmart on Boulder and lasted two trips.  It also seemed to take out stains better than I manage at home in the washing machine.  I love it.
I wash clothes in the sink and toss them in a full tub.  Then I get in and use my feet like a fellow squishing the grapes for wine.
I empty that and fill it up once again for a second rinse.
It works well, and everything dries in a day or two, but it is a wrinkled dry for everything except the best blended fabrics.   
I brought great cargo pants this trip, shorts and long pants. All those cargo pockets let me wear a T shirt with no pocket because they have enough pockets to compensate.  In fact, they have so many pockets that I lose things right in the pants.  At the Monte Carlo, after looking all over and under the table for my phone, a fellow player called the number and there was the phone,  hidden one of the pockets. 
That was embarrassing.
I suggest drying clothes outside the bathroom as much as possible because it can get a bit steamy in there after running all that water.  The fan does not keep up.
And in the 4 Queens  room I turned off the fan and lights for much of the process so I could follow the news on the television. 
Doing laundry is boring.
I carry a plastic bag for any clothes that don't dry enough for checkout.  I generally carry extra hangers, but I did not need them at the Four Queens.  The closet was really long and gave me plenty of space.  Otherwise, conventional hangers are needed because the kind that slip into rings in a closet can't be used in other spots in the room. 
I also carry a steamer that takes out wrinkles.  That helped with the all cotton cargo long pants I brought and with cotton T shirts.
The nice thing about being downtown is that if we do run out, T shirts are everywhere for very little money.  I packed out 4 for $10 that I did not need to wear there.  Two were to give to my son and his wife.  And I only shopped for a few minutes in one store.

I do avoid jeans.  I could not get them to dry.  Actually, I could not really get them to clean up two trips ago.  The fabric is just too heavy.



THIS IS THE LAST SNIPPET FROM THE 2013 OCTOBER NOVEMBER TRIP.

cheese puns gone wild

Okay, this one post  is not really about Vegas at all, but in my personal blog (now gone private,) oddly enough this was the most favorite link to bring people in.  So I hated losing it.  Perhaps I'll reconnect with a Pokerbluegill Blog reader.  It was posted in 2008 and still had hits the last day that Pokerbluegill was on a seach engine.
Again, the privacy of Pokerbluegill had to do with spammers.  If anyone is interested just email me a gmail account (you need that for access) and I'll send back an invitation.

And to add one new one from Staci:
Sweet dreams are made of cheese,
Whom am I to dis a brie.



Telemea about it!!

Still..ton, as great uncle Beaufort always said to his Bruder Basil:
" Cheese puns have been around Fromage to age, and while some may be all Blarney, they should be part of any Saga, the answer to any Queso."

Cantel if he was right.

Butte, Were they Aragone, Ada.......be.......lost without them?

We'd be Bleu' ; we'd Greve.

So Button your lip, miss Rose.

We Edam up cause they are so Gouda.

Now...........Locatel me if that ain't the Trou du Crue.

So I say,
While it certainly is all in the Tyning.

Until the final Crecenza.......

(after which it is all Feta compli)

Brie ng it on.

Sancere-ly,

Your pun Munster.

********************

 

flippertie said...

c'mon guys, theres stiltons of bad puns left....

5:03 AM

Anonymous said...

two's company... cheese, a crowd

8:24 PM

Anonymous said...

All these cheese puns... I camembert them no longer.
I suppose they are for the grater good.

11:24 AM

Dewey said...

Gouda postal. You're a brick for keeping well aged thread curing. I'm adelost to understand whey in the entire blog this saga takes the most hits; what curd explain it? Go figue. But I'd Greve to see it go. It would be a grate schloss.

1:25 PM

Anonymous said...

These puns are so cheesy. I think we've milked them for all they're worth. Can I see an end in sight? I sharpam. Enough with the mixte bag of puns,let's just goutu the next topic and see what other puns we can ferment.

8:09 PM

Anonymous said...

He seriously foled those puns one Gouda Murol for Cheeses everywhere. Enough to make a Farmer proud. Especially that one named Jack.

8:17 PM

Dewey said...

I'd like to thank you, whoever you are for all the attention to this post over the years. It gets so many hits. I am amazed. It just started as a joke between me and a very dear friend.
I see the hits on my counter.
I can't believe that two of you have commented today after three and a half years.
Amazing.

8:50 PM

Dewey said...

We watched an interesting Frazier where Roz is telling about going home to Wisconsin to see her family and one of the games they play is to talk only in cheese words

Strategy Comparisons

This is a great chart for those who wonder about playing JOB strategy on other games.
http://www.videopokerhelp.net/wrong_strat.html

Here is a chart comparing cashback in various casinos.  Four Queens comes out on top of this one.
http://www.advantageplayer.com/lasvegas/index.html?content=/lasvegas/slotguide/cash_back_chart.shtml

Issues with my private blog

Some of you read another more personal blog and I've decided to make it a private blog by invitation only.   Let me know you want access, the gmail account you would like to use, and when I can, I'll send you an invitation.
I'll keep this account public as long as I don't get spammed so much it is not worth the bother doing the moderation.
Sorry for the confusion.  I liked being public but that is just not practical anymore.

laughlin bus

http://www.sntc.net/pdfs/Express%20Flyer2%2005212013.pdf

Looks like I could stay in Laughlin for a few days for not much money using this express bus.

video poker chart

This is an interesting comparison of the effect of strategy on the various games and what one strategy will do to another game.

http://www.videopokerhelp.net/wrong_strat.html