TR Snippet - Discussing Mark Twain at the Venetian

While I tossed away and folded hand after hand, an old local and I discussed American literature:  Steinbeck, Joyce Carol Oates, Twain, London, Steven King, Poe.  It wasn't a detailed discussion with critical depth, but he had read most of the books.  He presented the idea that Twain is banned from some school libraries.  I told him that for 20 years I taught Twain in the inner city to my honors classes and they ate it up. 
But again perhaps times are different now.  We certainly had long discussions of racism inn those classes, and the idea that audience changes over time.  I also had great backup material especially one video that describe Jim as the first multi-dimentional Black character in American literature. 
No  student was ever forced into reading anything in my classes that offended them, but no student ever objected to Twain.  I could always offer substitutes and alternative assignments, but my Black students knew my love and respect for Black literature and they loved the freedom to argue that Twain was a racist.  Few argued very long.
Huck of course is the character they can best identify with.  He could have come from their neighborhood.
And they did get that great irony when Huck is guilty about not turning Jim because of the way he has been raised in a racist society.  That single part of the novel is perhaps the best way I know to teach irony and to point out that sometimes an author has a character purposely be oblivious to the truth that the author  wants the reader to understand.  Similar is Scout's descriptions in To Kill a Mockingbird.

 Well, it distracted me from a game in which I could only play the best cards in best position. 

TR Snippet - Live Limit Pokerx

POKER

I always played at Flamingo in spite of the large rake.  I thought the number of loose tourists overcame the additional rake.  I only need one extra person calling pots I win when they should not to overcome the rake.  Then too I liked the dealers there who knew me.  And I knew some of the regulars.
However, I did not even play once there this trip.  They dropped all the bonus pays and concentrated on a city wide bad beat.  This is always a long shot and only good if a tourist happens to hit the cycle when lower quads need to be beat.  Otherwise it is just $2 more out of every pot. 
Limit poker won't sustain that. 
Now also the hourly comps earned per hour are less valuable because all the CET buffets jumped their prices. 
Finally, resort fees at all properties and the end of the Quad as a frugal choice as well as the steady erosion of room offers reduced the benefits of playing to nothing.
One of the goals this trip was to find other places to play regularly.  I did some exploration, but I still have places to try.
I learned that M Life points do not expire like CET points. So that means I don't have to go every six months or get a charge card or get a buddy to play for me on my card. 

I probably would like the MGM games.  I did not get to try them this time.
Both of these are much more accessible from downtown with the WAX dropping right at Tropicana.
I did like the Nugget downtown and Sam's Town.  I played there often.  And there are other games to explore in the future while I look for a home.

EASTSIDE CANNERY
I noted that Brian is still a brush. I like him. They had a tournament but did not have a 2-4 game and of the times I was there.
I heard from local friends at Sam's Town that folks are disgusted with the EC game and the casino was struggling to keep it alive.  Mostly locals play the limit games in both places, so they determine the life or death of the poker room.  One particular complaint was not having full tables.

I was sorry not to be able to get Wild Bill out there for a game as he is a real baseball aficionado. The last time I was there all the regulars at the table talked and bet baseball and Bill would have enjoyed the chatter. 

As for me, I'd rather have the pretty girls who show up once in a while at the Golden Nugget.  I'm not a big baseball fan.

MONTE CARLO

I liked the 2-6 game on one visit here did quite well.  It was full of loose tourists.  One even paid me $20 to vacate my seat so his buddy could play.
The second visit was a disaster.  There were a few bad players when I first arrived, but I never was in a hand with them because my cards were so bad.  Then the table filled up with local regulars Perhaps coming in to see the football and enjoy the high hand promotion each quarter. 
I was licked and I knew it. 
I retreated, having lost $125, my largest Limit loss of the trip. 
They rake $5 for the house and $1 for promotion here.  That is pretty high. Sam's town rakes just $3 for the house  and $2 for promotions. 
I am still not really finding a game I love consistently.  I guess the Golden Nugget 2-4 when high hand promotions are up (2 AM to 2 PM) is the most comfortable. 
No limit just does not seem to work for me in Vegas, and I often get tired out and could not play it tired even if I found a game I liked and could afford.
Then too, in a town where I might play with folks from all over the world, the 2-4 games offer opportunity for social interaction.  NL games rarely have much good story telling, just bits on "outs" or "junk" or "rivers" and such.  I like the poker, but it is after all the same game over and over again whereas the lives of strangers offer infinite variety.

I liked staying downtown, waking at 3 AM and wandering down to the Golden Nugget game with enough time to earn a $`10 breakfast voucher.  It will certainly be part of my upcoming trips.  They told me that they would honor the ACG coupon about once a month.  I just had one this year.  For a while, some regulars were abusing this and the breakfast voucher, so they don't change breakfast voucher dates anymore. 
That is a disadvantage.  Most comps earned in most rooms go on a card and can be used anytime.

SAM'S TOWN


They have a 2-6 spread which I like, but it is local and regular dominated.  I walked in and saw my old friend Kevin and a group of the local players there. 
The game confused me. 
I just thought some of the betting was strange.  Once a fellow with the nut hand did not bet the river.
They did say that they all played with one another regularly, and they seemed to be there more for the cracked aces than to take each other's money. 
They gave me too much respect, perhaps because Kevin had greeted me, and so I bet on the come and second best and generally stole pots with a $4 bet. 
I scooped up a few pots early on, but my profits drained away.  I left with about $27 profit and a good visit with Kevin.  I like the room and the game, but I don't understand the betting, and I give everyone respect. 
One interesting hand was playing J-Q with just one opponent and drawing out a straight to crack his Aces, but it was before they paid any bonus, so he just lost.  
I'm not certain he was very happy with me. 

Kevin came in to the poker room again on my second night, but he did not stay because he was annoyed that they had opened a third table while still having two empty seats at the first two tables and some of the seats filled with props.  They do fill tables with props to keep games going.  This practice reduced the odds of Cracked Aces.

On that second visit Bob Reynolds was there and my buddy from home, Wild Bill, sat next to him.  They talked horses the entire time.  Bob had his handicapping software right there and went over some of the races with Bill before the Breeder's Cup race. 
It was neat to connect them, two guys who love the ponies.
The game this night was fine.  There were two people who bet poorly, one who complained about the game because it was not a no limit game. 
I love to play with no limit players on a limit poker table.  It always annoys them and puts them off their game.  They just don't get it. 
I had pocket Aces once, but they won, and so I did not get the $100, but collected a small pot.  
I had made $39 when Bill decided to head back to the strip to watch the girls parade in Halloween costume.

EL CORTEZ

I played well here on my first visit.  Generally, I was very tight/ aggressive.  There were a bunch of braggarts speaking both English, German, Polish and overbetting. 
I did not get too many good cards. 
My best hand was K-J which did nothing on the flop and I just decided to try the trick of raising on the button.  The turn gave me nothing. All checked to me and I checked.  The river looked like it gave no one anything.  They checked to me again and I took a stab and bet the $6, stealing a pretty good pot.  One guy's comment let me know that he had bet A-K.  It was a foolish move that paid off by luck and the fact that I bet out only once in an hour. 
I played next to Jackie Gaughn and it was the day before his 93rd birthday.  He is terrible.  He splashes every pot and the only disappointment is when he catches an unexpected river card and takes the pot.
Other times I noted that, at least in the evening, it is not only rock hard locals but some tourists and newbies to the game.  However, they end the game around 2 AM, staying a little while longer if it is full, but ending still before the late night fish can really splash the pot.
Jerry had one of the high hands each day I was there.  He played to my right the last visit and tried to bet me off my pair of kings with a big $6 on the river.  I called against my better judgment, and he had nothing but 2-9.  I was surprised he had even played such crap.  He bet the entire way.
He is a good player.  He just took me as a fellow who has more sense than I actually have. 

I am sorry they don't play beyond 2 AM, as I suspect that the regulars would wander over to the Golden Nugget for the double bonus promotion and leave the rest there for me.

GOLDEN NUGGET
Since they double the bonus hands from 2 AM to 2 PM, quite a few regular locals show up about 9 in the morning.  They play a very tight game.  No one raises preflop.  They want to be able to see the flop as easily as possible and to connect with possible bonus hands or fold. 
They play well.  If you bet third best against them, someone will win or you will collect a very small pot.
On the Saturday of the Life is Beautiful festival I thought perhaps the high cost of parking would keep the locals away and the tables would fill with festival going tourists. To some extent that may have worked, but not enough to really change table selection.
On that Saturday one guy just bet or raised whenever the spirit moved him.  His pal was drunk and misread his hand or tried to push us off on the river. 
I called with pocket queens on the river and took a huge pot with just queens holding up.  Another local named Tony had the nut straight and did not raise the drunk.  The drunk had misread his hand and had a pair of kings, or he was just that bad a player. Tondy missed the raise because he was sure they were splitting the pot. 
Tony chewed over and over his not raising what he expected might be a chopped pot.
I flopped 4 tens for bonus, slowplayed while people bet into me, missed the raise on the river because the better was after me and checked.  Still had a good pot and $50 bonus.  Good too as my final profit for the session was $45, just the amount left of the bonus after a $5 dealer toke.

Another time I had one hell of a morning.  Two hands that I had before the river became hands that everyone shared on the river.  Once I had the nut hand on the turn, Broadway. 
I had the queen. 
I raised and was called. 
No one had a queen, but one showed on the river, the board played,  and the pot was split four ways.
On my last hand I had two pair on the flop and bet it.  I was called.  The river was a king and my opponent held pocket kings.
So I lost $100 that session. 

In the beginning there were just a few of us and the rake was 50 cents and a dollar for bonus.  We played one big blind.  Nice.  The rake is $4 with a dollar for the bonus.  The rake at Monte Carlo was $5 and $1.  Although the pots were small, I think it was still a good game.  Chopping was common.
I lost a had when I bet second best, a ten with a queen kicker.  The flop had been an Ace and my opponent had checked that Ace and bet it when the ten came. 
The guy who called my bluff once only had a pair of sevens.  He just was not folding 
I should have known. 
I tried two bluffs and both failed.  I only tried twice, and I thought showing both would set me up to be called on river bets. 
.
A woman sat next to me, but she was a bit annoying.  I asked her about the Life is Beautiful and whether it was worth the $100 to $140 armband entrance. 
She justified it in a defensive manner. 
I then asked details, and she continued to argue it was a good deal, without answering any of my questions about what was free inside and what required more payment. 
I hate to talk with people who have attitude but no facts. 
Later she complained that she had turned around, and when she turned back her cards were gone.  I doubt that happened, as she was in an end seat.  However, I showed her my card protector and told her the advantage of using one. 
She was not impressed. 
An injustice had been done. She did not want to take precautions that it would not happen again, but just to complain about it. 
And she had not really realized the problem until we were in the next hand. 
I like it when women join a game, but she could have stayed out.  I hate to play with whining folks just looking for a reason why they are victims.

Wild Bill and I played one night at a table that was very loose when we joined, and then gradually the worse players lost.  I did well but lost three times to pocket Aces when I held pocket kings, pocket queens, and pocket nines that went to a full house.  I bluffed one hand with K-Q and my opponent said that he put me on A-K and he had a smaller Ace, so he folded after my river bet. 
I did not tell him I bluffed. 
I just said that I thought I had him beat which was a lie, but then this is poker. 
However, I lied so poorly that I knew that the bluff would have to be my one and only river bluff.

My worst session was across two tables one morning and I left down $260.  In each case there were two preflop reraisers, so it was expensive to see the flop. 
The game then has the flavor of bingo. 
I had pocket Aces twice in a row and only won once.  
My first hand (before I had table information) was 6-9 of hearts in a preflop that was not raised.  It flopped so that an 8 would give me a straight to the 9, and I foolishly got squeezed after the flop and then had to call the raises on the turn because there was too much money in the pot to not try for an inside straight with the 9 as definite advantage. 
Well, I should have known from the raises that two 8's were out there already. 
The hand cost me $20.
I switched tables and it did not help.  I got killed.  Here I played with John from the UK who I know from my last trip and three Australians who I have played with before.  All are good players.
One maniac, a Black fellow, talked the whole game about what he knew about all our hands, even sometimes when he did not have cards.  I did not care because the cards he put me on were wrong 90% of the time, but he was sure he was a grand poker player and knew it all, even after the repeated ATM visits. 
Finally, he left in a huff with no money.
Then the second maniac tightened up his play to match the table of rocks. 
For some odd reason this fellow brought five racks of chips to the table and stacked up all the money. 
What was that about? 
Perhaps he thought it would intimidate new players. 
He too was a know-it-all.  I love running into Latinos at the table because maybe I get to talk about Central America or speak some Spanish, but this guy was an exception.  I finally had to just ignore him because he just went on and on and on,  and I could not understand him.  It was not his lack of English;  it was the weird things he argued.
  
Dennis from Ohio was there.  He is an old guy who generally wears a suit coat and must stay in Vegas a long while when he visits because everyone knows him. 
He is good humored and a fine player.
He bluffed me off a pair of nines when four hearts were on the board but he had nothing. He showed the bluff. 
I knew that he would not bluff for a long while after that one.
My kings went to trips twice.  Once I lost with lower kicker.  Once with pocket kings my opponent caught broadway on the turn and raised my bet.  I paired the board with a 4 on the river for the full house and he paid me off, but knew he was beat when I bet out.

Pots got small. 
It was too late.
I packed up and left.  The high hands were all down anyway.  Perhaps Saturday is not the morning to play.
 
VENETIAN

POKER WITH BROTHER JIM
Here are the notes I took that day:

Jim and I went to the Venetian to play 4-8 poker.  We caught seats right away at the same table and had a great few hours of banter with each other and some on the table who were not too serious.  The dealers were very friendly and it was a tourist crowd.  They were not terrible players, but they were not very good. 
Jim plays much better poker than I do and has much more experience, having played in the World Series and at many card rooms around California where poker card rooms are as commons as McDonald's.  This is unlike New York where the best gambling we can seem to build are rip off gambling machines with fake video poker.
He did well in the beginning and was well ahead of me.  My hundred dwindled down to about forty when I was dealt pocket Aces.
Jim was not in this hand. 
I bet aggressively. 
The flop came three hearts and I had the Ace of hearts.  The turn came an Ace, so now I can only be beat if someone has the heart flush already.  That did not seem likely.  No one raised me at all.  The river was a heart and I showed the nut hand and collected a nice pot that put me back over my buy in. 
The pots were large enough to offset a lot of small drains.
And the rake caps at four dollars with no bonus dollars taken and with the last dollar not raked until the pot is sixty dollars.  So while most casinos advertise a ten percent rake, but always take more, the Venetian advertises a ten percent rake, but often takes less.
Slowly I made some money, and I seemed to feel myself in the groove of the game.  Talk with Jim entertained me between hands.  Then the cards went a bit sour for both Jim and I.  After playing tight for a long while, I noticed that my table image was giving me too much respect with guys folding their own bet outs if I raised. 
So I started to steal, especially if I missed on the river and had nothing. 
Once I stole three pots in a row with nothing.  I never got caught.  I felt like I was my poker buddy Gregg back in the old days.
Jim and I were only in two hands together.  In one I held K-Q and flopped two pair.  I checked, Jim bet, and I check raised him with quite a few others in the hand.  By the river it was down to just Jim and I.  I was sure I had the pot, but I checked anyway.  He almost bet into me with his K-3 two pair. 
Had he done that I could have teased him all day about trying to get greedy when I was giving him a break.   As it was, I just teased about check raising him.
The other hand we were in together I had 7-9 of hearts on the button.  I raised to represent other higher cards and perhaps get a free card.  Reraises were unkown in this game so the raise filled the pot with lost of money.
The flop had both an Ace and a King.  All checked to me and I could feel their weakness. 
So I bet again, representing those high cards.  One guy and Jim called. 
On the turn I still had nothing, they checked around to me, and I checked, figuring I was lost. 
On the river I had nothing, but they both checked to me and looked weak. 
So I bet, and they both folded.  It took Jim a while to try to decide whether to dump his pocket 8's, but he did.
So, as well as a stolen pot, I had another hand to tease him about.
It is fun for me to have beaten him because he is such a better player. 
In the end I was up a hundred and twenty eight dollars, and he was even to the dollar. A good day of poker. 
I figured that half my profit was due to bluffing.
Before we really needed to leave, I sensed the change in the table.  New players were tighter, pots cut to half of what they had been, and I had that frustration of playing with all good players.  My button raises would take out both blinds.  I am following my instinct on table changes. 
So, I cashed out.  Jim was a few minutes behind me, but I felt good too about trusting that instinct and getting out with my profit before it drained away. 
Elizabeth shopped at the Fashion Mall while we played and had some quiet time.  She was very kind to free us up cheerfully.

Wild Bill and I got in a game at the Venetian on Saturday night that was full of aggressive players.  Most of the hands were won with middle straights on cards that did not connect at first.  One woman bet and raised everything she held.  More bingo.
I was lucky in two hands.  I got a free river and pulled the wheel on a hand I should not have played.  I held 5-7 in the big blind, asked Sherri the dealer to pick up the mental image of the card I wanted.
"I am thinking of a card, Sherrie," I said.
She flopped 6-8-9 and I said, "That is just perfect...could not be better..." and I was so not believable that a guy bet into me with two pair when the river tossed up the third spade and I feared my straight was dead. 
I could not believe he had bet fourth best hand. 
"I told you I had made the perfect hand on the flop, " I said.
But, of course, he took my banter as  bull and  as Bill pointed out, I had disengenously asked for "a card,"   so they all put me on a pocket pair. 
Sometimes the best bluff is to tell the truth.

In the end I lost $45 and decided the game was too rich for my blood.  I like a flop game, not one with so many preflop raises from folks with way too much money and cards why should really fold. 

Overall, I am happy to be out of the CET raking machine.  If I keep to my idea of leaving games that seem a poor selection for me and going to play when some bonus promotions are in effect, I think I can more than break even. 
And that is what I like.
Even more pleasant for me is the interaction with people from all over the world, the collection of their stories, and the tavern party like atmosphere of limit poker.




SAM'S TOWN 2-6 SPREAD

Mention Bob Reynolds and hook up with Bill.
won at the 2-6 limit where I saw Kevin and played with the regulars at Sam's.  It was a strange game.  I took a bunch of pots with some aggressive play early on and then tightened up when the cards did not come.   Their play was very complicated and based on what they knew of their opponents.   They did strange things on the river, like not bet because they knew no one would call, not even a $2 value bet. 
I was included perhaps because I knew Kevin.  Otherwise I would have been an outsider.  Then I also clearly knew about poker other places and about resort fees.  One woman thanked me for keeping her out of downtown this weekend.  It amazes me how insulated locals can sometimes be about what is happening in  Vegas.

TR Snippet - Video Pokerx

VIDEO POKER

ROYAL AT THE D

I went up the escalator to the D to head for bed because I was exhausted, but decided just to put in $20 at the Vue Bar because the quad progressive was up to over $50. 
In a few hands I hit quad 3's and then another quad.  Trips came regularly.  I was thinking of quitting at $60, but decided to play down to $40.  More good hands put me above $100 and I decided to play down to $100, figuring an $80 profit was better than the average session.
I was dealt K-KQT7 of diamonds.  I held the 3 Royal cards and up popped the A and Jack for a royal flush which was worth $1087 on the progressive meter.  Very nice.
This was not the right play.  The kings outranked the three to the royal and the penalty 7 added weight to not playing the royal draw.
Still, I played the long shot.
So in a trip where I have been up or down each day, hovering around $300 or less each way, I went for a few days over $900 up.  I tipped the bartender a ten and the hand pay person a five.  In one way that annoys me.  At the Four Queens all the money just goes into the machine electronically.  No fussing about hand pays.  But still I tend to tip and this was a progressive hit, so the added money more than covered the tip. 
Another way to look at it is that my new diet of low drinking saved me bartender tips.  I drank just one merlot and they brought me another when I hit and tipped. 

ORLEANS


Bill likes the senior Tuesday deals, and so we played our favorite triple play nickel progressive DB and earned chances to play the free video poker tournament. 
I play an all or nothing tournament strategy on the Double Double Bonus they use as a pay table.  All pairs are split.  I often pick just one Ace,  Two, Three, Four and hope for more quads.  It is not like a cash game because the score is all or nothing. 
We had earned two sessions each and my four Aces and one other Quad put me in the lower winners, so the next day I had $50 of freeplay.  I played It off and for a while afterwards, but left with $30 profit.
On the triple nickel play I caught 9 quads. You would think that would give me a good profit, but it did not.  Bill caught just one or two and then hit a royal.  He was farther ahead than I was.  He just missed a $400 royal as it was hit just before he hit.  Too bad.


SAM'S TOWN

I started with full pay dime deuces (nickel with 10 for full pay) and was up $30 in the morning and then down $15 by the time of the show.  After the show the nickel machines were full, so I decided to give quarters a shot and that was a good decision.  Often in video poker the mid paying hands will be good, but no jackpot hands will come, or jackpots will come and the middle paying hands will drain profits.  I stayed even with midpaying hands, hitting quads time and time again.  Then, all of a sudden, there was a king and four deuces. 
My first thought was, "Oh, good.... five of a kind" and then I realized...duh...... that I had hit much better than five of a kind.  I left up over $200.
Sam's Town and some of the Station Casinos offer a promotion which is common with a coupon from the American Casino Guide, but on some days it requires no coupon. 
If you play a certain number of points, you get a free buffet or a free movie with no points deducted.  I played on movie day and managed two free movies.  They give movie passes, good at any Cinemark movie for the month.
There was nothing that caught my interest on the day I was there, but when Bill and I went to the next Toast of the Town we saw
Bad Grandpa  afterwards, and I loved it. It is filmed like Candid Camera with real people in many of the scenes.  The Grandpa is outrageous and very funny.
Afterward I took another $30 from the nickel deuces.  I did not hit even one wild royal, but ground out a little profit with 5  and 4 of a kind.  I like the game.

I don't really know the Deuces game and I should have spent more time on the Dancer's tutor in practice before I went.  I did some practice there in the room, but I often too time to check plays on a sheet and see what to do.

EASTSIDE CANNERY

Sometimes I play video poker just to keep points current and use freeplay.  It took me forever to figure out how to load my $3 of freeplay.  It turns out that when one gets to the place where it shows the $3, we have to pick a box marked "other" and that will load it. 
Totally counterintuitive, but then I've found the Eastside promotions are as a rule counter intuitive. 
That being said, they have a new system where you swipe at a kiosk and get deals.  It takes a long while, but at least for locals who can collect game pieces over many visits, it might be a good deal.
On some of my trips, however, the kiosks were broken.
I played their 9/6/90 JOB and lost my first $20 and free play fairly quickly.  My second $20 was to be my last at risk and it played up and down forever before I hit $40.50 to cash out with a 50 cent profit and went for my free buffet courtesy of the Webpass program.
My first visit to the Eastside Cannery scored:  One nice hat (they have some of the classiest casino logo hats)  One free buffet eaten and enjoyed.  Vouchers for 2 for 1 buffet and three free drinks.  And 50 cent profit.  Also I did enjoy the JOB.
On my next visit I dropped $100 in the same JOB, so I guess they got their promotion's worth out of me.  That time they had sent me $12 of freeplay for November.  However, like all counterintuitive promotions, I could not play it until the 3rd of November. 
How stupid is that!

So I have a love/hate relationship with the Eastside Cannery.  Some of it is just great; some of it is pretty lame.
I tried to see a standard room and get the idea of the size of the bathroom, but they would not show me a room.  Strange.  I expect to stay all downtown next trip with maybe one brief trip out to Boulder, perhaps a Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday.  I want to be able to see Claudine Castro late Monday night and the Toast of the Town on Thursday.  And I hope to make those days a window for my local relatives to come out and meet up with me.  Maybe I'll just spring for the big bucks and get a corner room.  I know those bathtubs are deep and wide and would be great for these psoriasis soaks that seem to do so much good for my skin.

THE D

After days of terrible results at Double Bonus at the Four Queens,  I started with $100 in the Bonus game at the Vue
Bar in the D. In spite of the fact that the royal had gone to  over $1200  and would generate tax paperwork. I went down to about $50 and stayed in that place a long while, up or down ten dollars.  Then I had four Aces dealt to me.  I played longer and caught four nines and then I had four tens dealt to me.  When I caught four Aces for the second time, I decided to quit and wait for the quad bonus to fill up again. 
Had I hit the Aces on Double Bonus I would have earned another $200 just on those hits as well as more on the other quads.  Strange. 
It did put me back up for the trip, however.
I liked playing at the D.  It is quieter than the Four Queens.  The music is oldies and they have large bottled of Perrier and a decent merlot.  That all makes me happy.
The Deuces Wild nickel machine is still there as well.  One woman was on it and stayed on it for the hour or so, but other times I had time to play it.  I made no money on it.

My first quarter bet on the Sigma Derby snagged a winning exacta that paid 61 to 1.  I had not other wins, but cashed out up about $15.
 

TR Snippet - Riding the Busx

Walgreen's at the downtown location still sells 15 and 30 day all access passes, including senior discounts.  My 15 day was just under $18.


I had a good time in Vegas and rode buses often on my 15 day senior reduced bus pass.

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. 

However, 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 just two dollars by bus, but at least a half hour and perhaps an hour more in travel time.

Elizabeth is not riding the buses.

BHX/HDX

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  downtown 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 is a bus stop that serves the SDX, the WAX, the CX and DVX and each one of these buses goes to the BTC fairly quickly from that location. 

Be careful to get off at the BTC as overshooting with some of the buses 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. 

I did.

So even though it backtracks the path of the bus, it may just be the most practical and easy for tourists who want 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 Casino 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. 

That did not make much sense since those folks at the Binions stop answer questions all the time and shout out loud instructions.  How hard would it be once an hour to announce that the coming bus would go to Tropicana, NYNY, MGM, and Excalibur?

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.  That made more sense, but it was still disingenuous.  I wish that we could always get accurate, consistent, and complete information from the RTC.  If their time studies show the WAX is crowding up, maybe it could run every half hour.

 

 

On Friday and Saturday nights It was a real advantage to take the WAX and just walk from Tropicana to wherever I wanted to go.  It is a shame the bus company can't find a way to explain that to people. 

 

OVERCROWDING

I was surprised that the nights I took the Deuce home from the Venetian there was no real crowd. This was not my experience last trip from that stop.

 

Once, after going to the Orleans and catching the SDX just North of MGM to go up to Riviera, 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.

I also had a good travel companion.

when I had asked the WAX driver whether to walk North or South for the SDX (lots of construction around there now and I wanted to be sure) this woman said I should just follow her as she was going in that direction.

She had recently moved from LA to Vegas with her three children.  Friends and family worried she would not do well, but she had a job at Home Depot, a 3 bedroom apartment that cost half the price of a one bedroom, and good daycare for the younger kids, some of that free at school.  She was very happy and would bring her mother out the next month.  She was happy too to have escaped a drug using husband.

BUS
There were so many changes this trip, especially in the BHX and HDX stops out of downtown.  Apparently the HDX can only be caught at the BTC or at the Outlet Mall as it gets right on 15.  And yet I saw a stop mentioned downtown at Ogden and Fourth.    This many have been a change only to accommodate the Life is Beautiful Festival.

Life is Beautiful; Not for bus riders. 
 
That was the concensus among locals forced out of their routine by this festival.  Buses were detoured.  Stops were closed.  It was really a nightmare and the routes were changed well before the festival started. 
To ride the bus up to Sam's Town I had to walk to Maryland from the stop at the old Western.  I was happy it was early in the morning.  Coming home, a guard on the bus suggested I get off at Maryland, but I opted out of that.  I was dropped me at 3rd and Carson out of that risky neighborhood between the Western and Maryland.  I suggest that if you are staying at the El Cortez, you don't ask where the closest bus drop off is located.  Ask for the closest to the Fremont Experience and walk from there.  That is the saftest, but the bus drivers and guards and locals will think that the physically located closest stop to the El Cortez is the ideal.
I was stupid not to have gone for the Sam's Town shuttle bus going out, but I did not bring the schedule, and I was at the El Cortez.  The free shuttle  is faster than the BHX, but it only comes every hour and twenty minutes so wait time can erode the benefit. It is free, but that is a moot point for me as I have an unlimited pass. 

Coming back I left from Eastside Cannery so the BHX was convenient and I took it again rather than walk to Sam's Town.

Sam's Town prints a fine little booklet with all that information.  I just had not put one in my pocket this trip.

The BHX bus is much different.  Those old user UNfriendly ticket machines are gone as well as 3 door boarding.  They board only from the front where there is a driver to ask questions.  Security hops on and off at random.  I like it better as the BHX does collect from the lowest economic class and always there are some rather unusual folks riding.  I like it that the driver is not all tucked away in his little cave.
I miss the HDX stopping at Sam's Town.  That has changed a 16 minute ride into a 45 minute ride.
I talked a long while with a security guard on the BHX and the driver there knew the routes. My morning driver had not and did not read his electronic map well.

I rode the BHX back from Sam's Town on Halloween.  There were a few costumes on the bus.  A young guy from Denver was on his way to the Greyhound station and I showed him the stop and how to walk there without getting bogged down with his luggage in the Fremont Experience crowds.  They were very thick.  I should have taken my own advice and gone a back route to the Golden Nugget for a late buffet.

WAX

After the upscale week of my trip, I rode to the ariport with my wife in a cab.  From Departures I crossed the street to Baggage and found Ground Zero.
I just missed the bus from the airport by 6 minutes and had to wait the rest of the hour, but the bus ride was comfortable and easy for luggage.  I was prepared with a book, Francine Prose's Blue Angel (which has nothing to do with the Vegas Blue Angel) and the jumble letter puzzle from that morning's paper,  so the bench on a pleasant day kept me well entertained.  There was a long stream of 109 buses.  If I had not had the large suitcase, I might have taken one of those, but the WAX is so comfortable with luggage and such a fast ride that it is generally worth the wait.

BEST BUS RIDE

I hopped on the SDX at Paris and sat in the seats facing the exit.  To my right were three girls who had been attracted by the Life is Beautiful Festival.  One was from Scotland and her accent was a delight.  Another sang songs and overacted the stage moves.  She was both funny and entertaining.  In front of them sat Mickey, a light skinned Black fellow with a huge frizzy Afro and carrying a backpack.
On came two from Washington state who had been married just 3 hours ago.  Both had T shirts with glittering "Bride" on one and "Groom" on the other. They were a bit of an odd couple, not classic beauties,  probably in their forties, short, with unusual faces.
He was in old jeans.  Both were delighted with each other and the day and the trip.  They were fun to watch.  At one point he turned to her and said, "Isn't this just a fun trip?"
They had been together for two years and finally decided to marry.
Mickey gave them his seat, so they could sit together and the Scottish girl with friends got wind of the circumstances,  so a fuss was made and photos needed to be taken. 
And "Going to the Chapel and We're Going to Get Married" had to be sung with stage moves acted by the one girl. 
Mickey moved back to sit by the Scottish girl and they both had a fine conversation.  He was not trying to hit on her, just be friendly. 
He had a backpack with what he called bootleg beer; it was Bud in a can that he sold on the strip for $2. 
The Scottish girl bought two cans, opened them and passed them up to the married couple to help them celebrate.
It was a reception of sorts with this motley collection of folks from all over,  all delighted to celebrate a wedding. 
I loved it.  I stayed quiet and just enjoyed the conversation, all the fuss and laughter and joking. 
I felt once again old. 
This entire crowd at the Life is Beautiful Festival has made me feel old.
 
Mickey was off at an early stop  to go home and watch "The Good Wife."
The rest of us were off near the Fremont Experience, at a stop on Carson, probably a detour and part of Festival changes.

Like the poker table, the strip buses give us an opportunity to meet, enjoy and interact with people from all over the world.  Many of them are out on a lark of some sort, happy and celebrating.  For me, that interaction is a large part of the trip.  I can't go everywhere in the world;  in Vegas, small appetizing bits of the World come to me.
 

TR Snippets - Party going with Brother Jim

In the evening of our day of Venetian gambling, brother Jim took us to two parties that were fabulous.  First we went to the top of The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, high above Vegas with all the city spread out around us.  Even the bathroom had glass walls so taking a leak we were looking out at miles of lights.  It was pretty sensational. 
The folks here were very friendly, and I was in a few interesting conversations.  There were some very beautiful women to watch.  It was great.
Waiters came around with chicken on a stick, small bites of sesame seed steak in a dark sauce, small round crackers with smoked salmon and shrimp on a stick.  We could sit at that party, and they would bring the free wine to us.  It was delicious too. 
I sat with a fellow and his wife from Mexico.  As it turned out, she spoke no English, so with his help on my errors, I engaged her around gambling in Spanish, and I was surprised how easy the Spanish came to me.  She liked it because she had been isolated.  I took their photo with the city behind them.  It was a fine visit.  He was part of a union and we did talk about unions and how important they were for us.
Another fellow liked hearing all about all my Vegas deals and coupons.  He was the husband of one of the women who work with Jim, and she was delightful as well.  We talked some of retirement. She is almost ready.
A very pretty woman named Sara and two of her friends talked with Jim for quite a while, and listening in I got a better idea of what it might be like to hear him do business as they were working out some business details. 
Her beautiful face was lit from below by the soft red lights so that in the conversation she was animated and a delight to watch.  Another very pretty woman who works in television journalism joked and talked with us for a long while.   I just had a great time.
From there we went to a second party in the Mix night club. 
That was amazing!
Checking in was very odd.  It did not seem they took our names.  They had to see a photo ID, but my Vegas bus ID was enough, and they did not check my birthdate. 
 The music boomed and one entire large wall and ceiling was a screen that had light displays and sometime windows where people pushed their hands and bodies against the glass as if they were on the other side.  
Other performers danced in costume around the night club or performed bungy jumps from the top of the wall.  One woman came into the center of the dance floor suspended high above the dancers on a ring. She did acrobatics on the ring. 
The dance floor was packed and Elizabeth passed on dancing.  We did not stay long, but it did give me an idea of what a
Vegas night club might look like.  However, the mix of people were older than the usual young clubbers, and not dressed to the nines.
There was no food at the second party, but we could drink.  I had had my three wines by then, but Elizabeth got a second beer.  All free.
We walked into the Red Square bar, but it was not as much the bar of ice that I thought I remembered.  The real Ice Bar was upstairs and cost an entrance fee to experience.  They dressed customers up against the cold.
http://www.mandalaybay.com/entertainment/lounges/minus5-ice-lounge/
We went back to Jim's room and talked until we could not stay awake. 

Another night he took us to a party at the Mob museum, but it was mobbed and not as nice as the other.  Particularly disconcerting was in a room with graphic photographs of bloody bodies there was a fellow carving a roast of beef.  Yuck!!  Really insensitive juxtaposition.
This helped my no meat diet, but did not do much for the party.

Actually, I am probably not a very good audience for the mob museum. 
Why celebrate murderers?  Will we have a Somalian pirate museum soon or how about a museum to celebrate terrorist suicide bombers?

I'd rather see semi-naked show girls myself.  Or see all the Vegas spread out below me while I sip read wine and practice my Spanish.

TR Snippet photos

Elizabeth and I walked around the Caesar's shops and I brought my camera.  I take so few photos in Vegas, but here is a nice collection from that day.

 

TR Snippet - Visuals

I was too tired to make  a trip to the museum on the Campus.  That and the Bull Fighting would have been fine on the same day, and one other day I got close to going.  But I did not go.  I was sorry to have missed it. 

Elizabeth and I toured a fine gallery in Caesar's with something of Marc Chagall, but I can't remember exactly what.  I like his work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

I know nothing about art.  I only know what I like.  As a viewer of art I am total cliché.
And for that reason I don't like much modern or abstract art. 

What really caught my attention here was the Rober Deyber collection of art that develops puns on an old sayings like "Bad Hair Day"  of Doggie Paddle."  These were a good bit of fun.

https://www.google.com/search?q=robert+deyber.com&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&rlz=1I7ADFA_enUS467&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RUN9UoHdFM-24AOJxYHYDA&ved=0CEcQsAQ&biw=1067&bih=447

We could have paid at Caesar's to see Andy Warhol, but this place had the Marilyn Monroe collection in the back.  That was more than enough Warhol for my taste.

I also liked the Picazzo Aquatints.  At least it says so in my notes.  I don't remember these particular pieces on this website appearing at this gallery.  But they give an idea of the work.
http://martinlawrence.com/picasso_frames/picasso2.html

Wandering here was all free.  Free art is my favorite art.

THE AQUARIUM

At Caesar's we also visited the aquarium and watched these fine and unusual fishes swim around the tank.  I like this little aquarium as well as most that I see.  Silverton is interesting, but I really like this one better.

I like fish very much, and especially when they are free.

BELLAGIO

We visited the Fiori de Como blown glass in the lobby of Bellagio and we toured their conservatory.  Maybe I was tired, but it did not move me as it often does.  However, I did note that even in my tired and jaded sense, the blown glass here was much, much better than the piece at Foxwoods that is similar in theme.

http://www.bellagio.com/attractions/fiori-di-como.aspx

I was very excited to show my wife the sculptures that depict art in the lobby just before going into O.
http://www.bellagio.com/shopping/richard-macdonald.aspx

She is very interested in dance and body movement and part of an International group that practices Authentic Movement, a rather abstract sort of movement meditation.  I thought this would be a highlight of the trip.

She did not like it.

After seeing how it was made, she softened a bit. 
After seeing O she softened a bit more, but in her mind his sculpture exaggerated and contorted the looks of bodies and they ceased to be beautiful.
And she may have softened just because she saw how disappointed I was.  I had seen this my last trip to Vegas, and thought about her on my last trip, and was very excited to see it with her.

Now O she loved.
And Zumanity as well, for different reasons.

UGLINESS

The strip is the opposite of artistic.  All of NYNY and Monte Carlo are walled off by those ugly construction metal and wood monstrosities that allow just a tunnel for walkers.  Bill's looked like it had suffered a bomb attack and I understand that those who stayed that week in Flamingo learned what real noise might be and learned it before breakfast.
I've really had it with the strip. It just never seems to be finished.  Eternal rebuilding is part of some section of the strip.
I know there will continue to be renovation downtown as well.  Plans are to make huge improvements around the new Grand and create a neighborhood that appeals the way East Fremont was created out of that haven for the street people. 
But somehow it is not quite as intrusive.

My last trip I went from downtown to the Orleans and struggled to get my luggage over the bridge and around MGM to catch the 201 to the Orleans.  The corner was closed to pedestrians. 
The corner for walking was open this trip, but there still was construction there and for quite a section going North.

We saw the Bellagio fountains and those were fine. I liked them again. 
I liked the night view of Excalibur from the 201 bus stop. 
I liked some of the sights at night with the lights and these fine glasses I have that sharpen my vision. 
But I'm too old for all this construction and it offends my senses.

I liked the view of Vegas from afar like that view from on top of Mandalay Bay at one of the parties Jim took us too.  That still held romance. It was amazing and with a little red wine it was even more amazing.  Wine has always enhanced my sense of night and lights.  I remember as a young man with a very old hand held camera, taking a time exposed photo of the lights over Toledo from a stone staircase.  I remember it perfectly. 

Mostly strip views did not satisfy this trip.  Don't fret Vegas, it's not you, it's me.  I'm old and I want you finished and unchanging.



 

TR Snippet - Comedyx

SIN CITY

These guys are still up to their tactics of representing lower prices than they have.  On the strip a fellow was passing out complimentary passes, but when folks got to the theater, they found out that the "one drink plus tax and box office fees" meant that it cost $15 for this free show.
It is not that this is a bad price, only that it feels sleazy.
On the way out I asked Vanessa,
"What does it cost to come to the show with these long complimentary passes?"
And she went into such a carney spiel about how they had to cover the box office expenses and the taxes and on and on, comparing it to Groupon, until I finally interrupted her.
"So What does it COST to go to the show with these tickets?"
I think my tone and eye contact got through to her.
"Fifteen dollars."
"And then do I have to buy a drink?"
"No that is included."
I think I paid $20 for the show with drink on Groupon.  I can only drink red wine or water.  The wine was very sad and the worst I have had on the trip to Vegas anywhere. 
I don't think that is outrageous pricing, but it is more than I paid for any other comedy or similar show.  I think I am done with Sin City.
They had the same host I saw last time and one comic along with the Burlesque.
I loved the comic but could not rise to the others.  However, I think that is really more about my mood than about the show. 
In most comedy shows there is a funny host and two comics.
There is no question that the $12 show at Bally's was a better deal.  Here they had three comics and no bullshite.

LVC

After the Mentalist, we were allowed to stand in line and see the LVC comedy show for free.  
I did not laugh much.
In all fairness I was tired and the themes were pretty raw and not my style.  A Mississippi comic cracked on his own culture and on being fat.  Perhaps some of the jokes were a bit clever, but his delivery was very weak.  I saw him again at the LA comedy Club at Bally's later in the week doing the same material, and he seemed better.
The second comic was a Black guy who also seemed just a bit over the edge.  He exploited racial stereotypes of the Black family, including the idea that no Dad lives with his baby Momma.
The headline did have very good delivery, but his themes again were all sexual and all about the inadequacy of marriage.
I'm not offended by any of this, but I do get bored.
Wild Bill says I just see too much comedy and that other tourists who see one show when they come don't get as jaded as I get. 
And I was overtired.
And our free seats were in a small section quite a ways from the stage and set off at an angle.  No comic actually played to us, and it was so isolated that the woman behind me talked and a young boy of about 13 lay down on three seats and went to sleep while his mother texted and nearly blinded me with the cell phone.
So I was overtired and annoyed.
I don't quite understand why folks would bring two preteens to a raw comedy show and not walk out, but one of the funniest things was to see this youngster who was supposedly being corrupted by the constant Fuuuk and sexual material (including references to shaved vaginas and sex with sheep) fell asleep.  Doesn't that add argument to my impression that this was pretty boring.
I don't quite understand the fascination with the word Fuuuk in comedy.  Are we to assume the audience has not heard this word?  Does it never lose its power?  Perhaps I am jaded having taught in the inner city for so long where it was the most common adjective. 
One of my lessons in language was to attack it as a word that eliminated more exact and powerful vocabulary.  And shite as well.   Both are crutch words and preclude the learning of precise new vocabulary.
I tired to get the students to see that the real problem was not so much the disrespect shown (all teens love to disrespect adults whether with these words or "whatever") but that overuse encouraged habits of weak modification. 
One of my colleagues had a great lesson on the word in which she showed that could work in a sentence as almost any part of speech, including the obscure gerund.  Kids hearing their teacher use the work were perhaps for the first time amused by grammar. 
She was asked to stop by administration.
Yeah.  Like those inner city kids who had all been kicked out of regular highs school needed to be protected from such vocabulary so that it could be seen as totally in their power and the shock value would be enhanced so that they had even more reason to choose it.
In most cases telling a teacher "Fuuuk you" in any context was grounds for being sent to the office and perhaps sent home for the day.  Who invented this punishment for inner city kids must have been raised somewhere I never taught because it was no punishment for most of my students to be sent out on the streets for a day rather than having to study.
I did something very different.  I wanted to take away the power of the speaker, especially the power of his audience.   So my answer was the same one I learned in the Air Force.
"Sorry, no time for romance, I've got to teach," and then perhaps  "but thanks for the offer" or  " sorry, you are not my type"  
Students then laughed at the student using the word and the speaker lost his/her audience, lost the power of the word,  and also lost immediate suspension for a day.   In inner city classrooms it won over the audience and often,  if fukk had  just had been said in a moment of frustration got a chuckle out of the speaker. 
And when I was challenged, I could again tell them to think about what they were saying and what the words meant and to choose a way to complain that would give them real respect.
I suppose nowadays I'd be in the principal's office.
Well, to get back to the comedy.  If all it takes to get a laugh is the word "fuuuk" then I could have just stayed in my classroom and not bothered with comedy shows.  There was no ticket charge for those years of improved standup.  In fact, I got paid for the pleasure of the show.

RIVIERA

I know you think of this casino as downscale, but the comedy is upscale and cheaper than the others with no added fees and no hassle over drinks.  They even say that in their advertisements in the Vegas magazines.  "No other additional charges."  Clearly this slaps Sin City in the face. 
And you can buy a drink at a reasonable price.  Merlot was $6 for a full cup as opposed the the half cup at Sin City for $9.  Beer was the same.  Wild Bill had 2 for 1 coupons for drinks along with his free coupons for the show (he stayed at the Riviera) and so for $7 (with tip) we each had a drink. 
The red wine at Sin City tasted almost too terrible to drink.  Riviera's was fine.  It is not the upscale wine I had when the brother-in-law picked malbec at the Capital Grill, but it was as good as anything I get in the casinos.
Plus, there was not bait and switch on tickets, no confusion as to what was free, no added drink minimum.  There are two free tickets in the American Casino Guide.  I don't think you will be disappointed.  It is a sleeping bargain.  Groupon and such sites also have periodic sales.
John Bizarre was playing again.  I must have seen this fellow 6 times and much of his material is used over again, but his energy, body and facial expressions, energy, and clever spins on common happenings was more entertaining than the other comics.  A second comic was also very good, good timing, good twists.  Fuuuk certainly must have been said, but it was not the main attempt at humor.
The club is comfortable and nice.  The people are easy and accommodating. 
I don't get the idea when I go that the club is trying to squeeze me.
 

TR Snippet The show O and Zumanity

We saw O today.  It was amazing again.  It was surprising to me how fresh it seemed.  I really remembered very little detail.  I loved it and I’d go again on another trip.

I particularly want to investigate the three contortionists, Asian girls who looked like sisters.

I loved all the high flying acts and the great dives.  I had not remembered the scuba divers in one section being brought up like fish out of water, flopping their fins.  They must be the source of water for the actors who just disappear in the water. 

The clowns I remembered and they were funny in a very subtle and mimed way.  We actually got a photo of them in the preshow comedy.   Audience on stage in an interesting part of the show.  The main character comes out of the audience, but is a plant.  I am not certain of the two who dance with the clowns, but one seemed very skilled.

We sat next to a fellow from Sandusky, Ohio who came to Vegas for his son’s wedding and was the only one to sit on the son’s side for the ceremony.  He did not gamble, but he did have a full set of shows planned.  It was sad to think of him all on his own.  His brother was supposed to come and cancelled.

My seat was just a few seats from where I sat last time.  I like being center stage for this show.  We were close enough to see everything, but not very far away. 

We went out pretty early for the tickets and the buffet, so we had to take two shuttle trips in the same day.  The buffet was fine and unlike my oatmeal breakfast good on my sugar numbers.  Perhaps it is just all the walking helping that number reduce.   I started yesterday at 153. Spiked to 223 but after the buffet I was back to 119 where I belong.   Mostly I ate smoked trout and pickled herring.  I did taste a tiny sliver of the end of a flank steak.  I had plenty of vegetables and huge portions of mushrooms.  Everything was very good.  I even had a butterscotch cookie for dessert.

Once again getting tickets was a breeze.  We managed to pick them up for the Zumanity show as well in one easy stop.  I only had managed one buffet ticket, but the price now for the Bellagio is lower than Spice Market over at PH.  It was 23 dollars.  All you can drink is 10 dollars.  That seemed pretty good.  I did not get that.  In fact, I have not had a drink except for the Smithwick’s at McMullen’s.  Elizabeth carried in some cognac in a water bottle from home and that gives her a little nightcap if she wants.

I did remember being more tired last time.  This time I had a terrible time sleeping the night before and finally got to be in the middle of the day and slept out my weariness.  I even slept through Elizabeth going swimming.  It was perfect planning and I was more rested for this show than any show I remember in the past. 

On the way through from the shuttle drop off we had coffee at one of the streetlike cafes in Paris.  That was perfect.  I actually got two coffees for the price of one.  For sweetener I added a small drop of anise and that sure makes a great drink with no stevia.

ZUMANITY

I can see why folks were offended by this raw show or disappointed that it is SO very different from the other Cirque shows.  We liked it just the same.  I did not take good notes, so I don't have details.  It seemed funny and risqué and a nice free treat from My Vegas

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.