Return to Plaza - entry one

GAMBLING

Well, I left off yesterday thinking I'd make it to the
WiFi and I never did. That changed the events of the day and because of those changes, I made money.

I went out to mail Lucky Pete the coupons because he is going soon to Vegas. I was anxious to get them out on Friday because I did not know the hours of the post office. I had a rough idea of where it was, but the bellman here at the Plaza seemed to send me in a different direction, so that what I thought was a short walk took me well up to the El Cortez, and in the heat I decided not to eat on my points at Main Street Station, but to buy a nice meal at Mamacita's Mexican Cuban place near the El Cortez and then get in the poker game there.

The game was tough at all tables. I switched tables once and landed in a seat right next to Jackie Gaughn. This is a fine seat in which to play because the old fellow plays very loose and calls right to the river, paying off good cards. He might even call with a busted straight that he does not read right. The rest of the players were all difficult to beat, especially one who manages his seat right next to me. So it is difficult poker. And I am losing.

Particularly I am losing to Jackie who catches the river when I have the winning hand. One particular pot was huge with my pocket kings flopping trips and looking very good against my opponent to my left who held A=K and had two pair. Jackie chases these high cards with his 5-8 of diamonds and catches on the river. The entire table erupted in laughter, including me. But the hand cost me over $100.

When Jackie leaves, I ask for a seat change and manage to get to a third table that has opened with some young tourists who are no limit players. They play fine poker, but I can beat them at this game, and I almost get even when most leave and the rest of us are put back on the first table. Here the poker is hard and gradually the tourists are eliminated, so I am thinking of leaving when I have a ten and the flop comes with two more. I slow play and the turn gives me quads which are big enough to be the second highest hand of the day. However, I have to get ten dollars in the pot to qualify and I don't have that amount. Also I have to go to the river. There are four in the hand and I check again. No one bets. Finally the river comes. I count chips and bet two, get only one caller, and luckily he raises two and that is just enough. I can't reraise and chance pushing him out, so I call and get on the board.

Now these high hand awards are for the entire day and the contest goes until two A.M. Generally, on a weekend, straight flushes win. Players only need to have one card in their hand so it is pretty easy to qualify. I expect to lose, but when I call the room after two A.M. I find out my hand has held up, so I get $225. Their awards are simply the raked money for that day divided between two high hands.

I leave and head back. I am tired, but mostly I know I can't beat these players. I play jack-eight as my last hand just on a lark, and it catches the jack for a pair and the eight on the river to beat my jack-nine opponent. So I win a few dollars and leave down fifty three dollars.

I am tired, but I decide to try the Plaza 2-4. Playing that will be mostly luck. I'll play tight and hope the best cards hold up. Then I'll get paid. Otherwise I'll give up money to trash hands. The players are terrible, but not too loose, but I don't catch too much. I loose sixty almost immediately and then stay down from twenty to forty for the rest of the night. The table gets down to five and in this game that is a great thing because I have a better chance of winning with fewer people. They will pay me, but there won't be so many calling all sorts of things. Two of the players will pay A-K to the river and act surprised when it does not win. Someone taught them it is a great hand so they keep calling with it. They don't need a pair. Once they pay my pocket threes that flop trips. Often I win when I think I must be beat, but they are playing fourth best hands.

Then I get confused. My pocket jacks flops quads on the turn. There is a guy betting into me (without a full house by the way) but I think that I have to take these quads to the river, so I just call. At the Plaza high hands do not need to go to the river. This cost me eight dollars or maybe sixteen. My pocket jacks are one the top high hand awards and get me $250 and the money in the pot.

So before collecting the El Cortez payout I am $131 ahead in a day of bad poker results. The bonus hands have paid me. Luck, no skill. On a trip that has been one loss after another, this is very easy to take.

And once again I am amazed at the turns of causal relationships in life that make poker so fascinating. Had I not mailed the coupons to Lucky Pete may day would have changed and none of this would have happened. So many results in life hinge on small decisions. We struggle to do the best we can with what we know, to play the hands we are dealt, but randomness withholds or delivers benefits even against the odds.

I did not expect to get back much of my losses this weekend because I am playing such low stakes games with swings of perhaps a hundred dollars in a day. I thought myself pretty unlucky to be at the bottom of that curve in the poker itself and then the high hands took me back.

PLAZA

I got a fine room here at the Plaza again on the eleventh floor. I did hear some trains this time. Still it does not seem to bother me as it once did. Perhaps the white noise of my apnea machine while I am sleeping takes care of the train or it just is a different sound here at the Plaza than at Main Street Station.

The pool was very, very cold today. This does not discourage me because I swim in cold water at home, but it did seem odd. They must have just changed the water.

In the tennis courts are these odd horse shoe pits. Wooden three sided barriers enclose a pit with some sort of stone and rubber mats. I asked about horse shoes and it seems that they had some aluminum horse shoes last year, but they got lost. They have reordered, but the reorder has not arrived. So no horse shoes this trip. Normal iron horse shoes would not be good for this pit as on missed throws they would chew up the cement. So this was a good idea, but they did not follow through and get the equipment.

EL CORTEZ CABANA AND GOLD SPIKE

I could have had Gold Spike rooms this trip for $9 a night, so I wanted to see what it would be like to walk from the El Cortez to the Spike after playing poker. With the new Cabana rooms also not far from there, the area seemed lighted and safe. I stopped in to the Cabana rooms and talked with the security guard and he said other than pan handlers and the regular sort of downtown characters, they had not had any problems in that one short block. He said that he was there watching as was the security at the Spike. So I have put it on my list of frugal possibilities. I walked past it at midnight and then walked to Freemont. There were folks in the streets walking, and it did not seem to be a problem. The security guy said that between the El Cortez and the Western, and in that direction, things were still a bit risky.

So I did not see the Cabana rooms, but I did see the foyer. Wow! Very nifty. They keep little red candies and a plate of fruit available for guests also. This is a small thing, but it makes a difference to me as I would make a meal of an apple or two just as down here at the Plaza I make a meal of the shrimp at the Golden Gate.

As I readjust my focus to making my Vegas trips truly frugal again, these two casinos are in my sights again.

MAMACITA's

I had a fine meal as always, but there was for a while one strange character. He was one of these fellows who talks loud and engages everyone. He wants to be the center of attention. So he came in loud and talking about coming to the casino with $20 and leaving with $900. This might be true or not. Then he insisted that the staff was going to pick what he ate, bothered some family eating soup to get their opinions, finally decided on something. They gave him takeout and he said he wanted to eat there. I think they wanted their money up front. He ate the soup, was quiet, and suddenly he was gone. I wondered if he had paid.

PS I was to see him over the next couple days acting out on Freemont. Is he a street person?

The videos were great as always. Spanish music videos with sexy girls and some soft tones. I wish I had brought my pad as one song in particular I would have liked to find later.

I tried the Havana plate this time. Sorry not to have the names of the foods, but it was very good and very much off my diet. Two deep fried concoctions with corn and meat, black beans, rice, crispy toast. The horchata is never ending there. They just keep filling it. And the meal starts with Mexican chips (the good kind) and some fine salsas. It was delightful for about $16 plus tip.

Tuscany in Vegas Wednesday

GAMBLING

Well, the downward spiral of poker continues in spite of finding good games and playing extremely tight. I played more at the O'Shea's but the game was very different with almost all experienced players this time. I lost a bit there. There were still some loose players and had I caught cards, my kickers would have reaped some benefits, but flops matched nothing and I threw away junk until I just gave it up.

I tried no limit at Oshea's and at Bill's. Bill's was the best game, but again I lost. My losing hands were:

1. Limped in pocket sixes flop a set, and beat by a set of jacks that draws two spades for a flush. (first and last hand played at Oshea's )

2. Pocket aces bet strong enough to only keep two opponents, each all in. Both the pocket sevens and the queen seven draw straights.

3. Ace queen lost to pocket kings that flopped a set. I'd have folded early, but again my opponent had very little money left.

4. I can't remember the little ones that may have cost me a bet preflop. The rest of the losses were small folded hands. Few of my cards made anything on the flop.

My wins were small as well. One was good. Ace eight caught two pair and a weak opponent stayed with me with queen eight. An eight came on the river and my opponent paid me my solid value bet. I did not go all in as I thought I'd scare him. I think he was tempted to come over the top, but he played it safe.

I liked the games and I liked my play. No regrets. At the low limit game I did try two $5 push out river bets against good players, and then gave that up as I was called out.

Bill's at night was easy to play with $100 replenished as the small bets drained it to $80. That put me well within reach of almost all the bets even from those who were stacked heavier. Bill's this morning was as Slink described it. A bunch of regulars get together to hit the busted aces and kings bonus hands. They buy in small so when they lose, they don't lose much. They rarely bet and hands are very small so I could not get paid. I also made some mistake judging because the pockets that pay bonuses are basically invisible. Also, the guys stay so that pocket kings stayed while I bet my jacks full and caught a king on the river to beat me. In any other game he would have been pressured by my large bets to fold.

So I won cracked aces and cracked kings, but still did not win money. I left just nine dollars up.

I also chose this scenario to play some borderline hands. That is a mistake. If the pots can't get very big, then what good is calling the dollar blind and hoping to connect? I should do as the others do and just buy in for $20 at a time, hoping to get aces or kings cracked without spending much on the hand.

So, I am confused about all the poker in Vegas and ready to play downtown where I know the games.

I expect I'll just play that really small game at the El Cortez for the rest of my trip. No matter what now this will have been the worst trip for losses of my life and the stats are huge, approaching $3000. I have generally held a lifetime loss of about $5000 so this is incredibly volatile with just nothing winning anything much at all.

FOOD

I went to Himalayan Cuisine where I had a ten dollar restaurant.com coupon that cost me 80 cents. Most restaurant.com coupons require two people, but they agreed to honor it. It is just down the street across from the atomic museum. To get there you get off the bus one stop beyond Terrible's and walk away from the stip a block and cross the street into a small strip mall. Getting back is walking a half block away from the strip to the nearest bus stop.

It was a great treat and a change from buffets. I ordered half portions liberally in order to get a few tastes. That made the meal a bit more expensive, but I was treating myself. I did not drink any of the wonderful assortment of Belgian beer but had mandarin iced tea and it was very good. I had two. No free refills and $4 each.

I did try to note the names of the beers, all unknown to me ( I can't read my own handwriting) and perhaps I'll try one on my next trip after I have to time look at them on line:

Piraat Flemis IPA

Gulden Draak

Urthel Vloam se Bock

St Bernadus Abtis

Du chessede de Brugogan

Bornem Double Abben Ale

Nostradamus Brown Ale

Cherish CherryLambic

Cherish Rosberry Lambic

Troubadour Obscura

I ate:

vertical vindaloo with lamb – spicy chuncks of lamb in a gravy. Very good with bites of Naan.

Organic Tantric chicken Tandoori – I suppose I should have tried dishes new to me, but this favorite was very, very good.

Chana masala – chick peas in garlic and other spices.

All was a great treat. This is more pricey than my usual Indian food at home, but I'm happy I went. The atmosphere is quiet. Other customers were for the most part native to the food. That is always a good sign.

The menu is very well written. Here is one bit I collected on a dessert I did not have room to try.

Himalayan Snowball: Mango and passion fruit sorbet with raspberry sorbet core covered in white chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate stripes. Looks like a snowball on the outside but when cut open it blooms like a bright Himalayan spring flower.

One traditional dish I passed on was called Lamb Saag Dhindo and the menu joked that it was LSD but not mind altering. Lamb, spinach, corn meal.

As well as individual dishes, an assortment of sampler platters that cost about $30 were available. These seemed a good value, especially when using a $10 coupon. One was a vegetarian sampler. Much of the food was organic and vegetarian.

Spice level could be chosen. I chose hot and found the vertical vindaloo well spiced and very good.

A take out menu was also available.

LAST TUSCANY DAY

I don't know if I will get on line again. This is my last full day here. Tomorrow I will go to the Plaza taking the 202 Flamingo bus to Swenson and then the 108 to downtown.

I have enjoyed the quiet and the comfort of these large Tuscany rooms and will come here again if I can get a good price. They were a good substitute for Eastside Cannery rooms as the trip to and from the strip takes just minutes. My thinking for future trips is to continue to concentrate on staying on Flamingo and collecting possibilities along this route. Even with all the construction and the one lane of traffic, the ride on the bus was not long either way.

RELATIVES

The Tuscany also gave my relatives fairly easy access to me with a room for chat as well as poolside. I'll see Chris tonight for supper and hear all his stories. Gayle is still thinking of when it might be comfortable for her. She has not been feeling well again.

Tuscany Tuesday

Yesterday was fun. I ate way too much because I had three meals. I walked up to Terribles for a free breakfast. I was going to use my points, but they just gave me a lunch voucher, so I saved my points. Then I took two of my relatives to a little Chinese place that is a favorite of my grandniece Jan and her boy George. And finally I had late night breakfast with my nephew Mike at the Denny's that has replaced the little diner attached to the Wild Wild West.

I had been hoping to hit some graveyard special in the old cafeteria I remember that served such good hamburgers.

It worked out well for a bit more time to talk and a bite to eat before Mike went home to his dogs. Mike is vegetarian but eats eggs. So the Denny's build your own Grand Slam was a good idea. I had the $3.99 special.

I expected the WWW might be a little raw, but I did not expect to be in the company of almost a dozen prostitutes who were laughing and joking and having their late night breakfast.

Few were very attractive. Some, you wondered how desperate some fellows could get. They were down right scary.

I would pay them not to have sex with me.

It was entertaining. We were not approached.

As we left, two police cars had a car pulled over in the parking lot.

The Rehac realtives, my sister's children and their children seem to be doing pretty well and that is good. They struggle in this economy and in life as all young people do, but they seem to be in a better place than when I last saw them. Health issues haunt some of the older ones.

The little guy George is a delight. His speech impediment is improving, so he is easier to understand. He is a happy, friendly, easy going little boy looking forward to first grade. He came swimming here at the Tuscany, made friends immediately, and behaved himself. His mom makes sure he does. He also had a good time picking his favorite Chinese restaurant eating pot stickers and chow mein.

Jan's choice I think was a Mexican place with a mariachi band, and I am a bit sorry to have missed that, but perhaps I'll see them again and we can go there.

GAMBLING

Current losses for the trip $2147

I played a wheel of fortune quarter slot in the morning at Tuscany and lost money, but perhaps that will be a catalyst for offers. Sometimes it happens even with small amounts played for just one day. Tuscany poker room seemed short of players, and I won't play the short tables anymore. They have a tournament at ten that is $25 but has rebuys. I won't want to play if those are unlimited.

I played some no limit at the Hard Rock and did not feel very comfortable. In less than half an hour there were three sets of quads, and the last one took out my king high spade flush, but it was my own fault because for complicated reasons I gave a free card.

They do have an interesting promotion. They pay for all high hands as long as one card in your hand plays (not counting the kicker on a flopped board quad)

Once it confused play. A fellow with trip aces slow played just a bit too long I thought hoping for a river ace. With two aces on board, this meant he was giving free cards toward full houses rather than taking the pot with his trips.

So in the evening, feeling defeated and very low bankrolled, I played that 1-5 spread limit game at O'Shea's. It was just fine. Most of the players were more used to no limit, so there were not many manics. One maniac kept talking about being in Vegas where we need to “gambol” and betting his bets to drive people out. He was to my right which I liked except I needed to surrender most of my dollar blinds.

One maniac, one drunk. That was enough. It is three maniacs capping every preflop that make for an impossible game.

For a long, long while I played nothing. I just got very poor cards and threw everything away.

It is important to throw away in this game because everyone will draw to the river.

I managed one pot early on that kept me in dollars for blinds. And then the cards changed.

Of course, I had a tight table image, but I was not totally ignored. I did not get in any monster pots, but I was called by players who had not woken up to the fact that I had not been in many pots because I only played when I had good hands.

The largest I was in I lost, having capped my pocket kings preflop to another's pocket aces only to see an ace come on the river. I layed down the kings and saved a little money.

Along with the maniac there was a drunk. Once on the blind I had 3-4 of spades and decided to add the raised dollar just for fun. The flop came 6-2-4-3 and I decided to test my table image. A three dollar bet got all but a couple callers out. My next three dollar bet took out all but the resident drunk. I checked the river as my hand had not improved, and won with the deuces to this fellow's A-J. I laughed and laughed and said, “I thought I could bet all of you out” and that changed my table image as after then none wanted to be showed up again.

So pocket queens called my pocket aces, so confidently that I checked the turn. An ace came on the river for my trips and she called me then as well.

Finally, here is a game I feel in charge of that requires a low bankroll to play.

I had flirted with trying to get a flight home early. I had just had enough of getting beat up. Playing this game with some sense of control and with my nephew as fun company restored my spirit of adventure.

O'shea's is fun too because the cash tables are just a few feet from the open access to the strip and when not playing, I can entertain myself with watching the crowds full of pretty girls and characters. Folks at the table were friendly too once they got over the idea that I was not going to show my cards when I folded.

I had fun, won over a hundred, and enjoyed a game with my nephew who could play with a small bankroll. Mike played very well and lost $8, three of them were tips for drinks.

I had some time to talk to the dealer about my dilemma as we waited for a table to fill. I told him my disappointment at the end of the machines at Excalibur, my not knowing where to find a small no limit game, and he suggested Bill's, so I may try that place again. It is a fifty cent/ dollar blind and there my hundred buy in would sometimes put me in a top chip position. Certainly I'll go back to O'Shea's, and more importantly I think I'll try to arrange my future stays on Flamingo for access to everywhere I want to go by bus without the Deuce.

I don't think I would be so far down if I had played poker at O'Shea's and skipped the video poker and the Laughlin 2-6.

I don't think O'Shea's gave comps before, but now you can give them a Harrah's card and they put $1 an hour on it. I like Harrah's poker comps because whereever I am I can use them. My last were used for the Paula Deene buffet in Tunica and had been earned in the Horseshoe in Indiana. You have to come with a card or go to the Imperial Palace or Flamingo to have one cut. You give the dealer the card and he holds it. When you leave, you take it to the back where they run the touranments and swipe out. It is an awkward process.

POOL

I swam here and I liked the pool. I thought it would be smaller, but it is just fine with nice jacuzzi's around it. In the evening it was very pleasant to sit out there and chat.

WIFI

I had no trouble finding a nice table to get on the internet at the little cafe and the two times I went there, I was the only one. I saw a fellow on his computer in the pool area as well, so that would be a good option. It is good to see some of these places offer central locations for free internet. It was easy enough to connect. “Conventions” was the name of the service.

Today I am here at almost noon and the place is almost filled.

BUS STOP

I was a bit worried about early morning returns to the Tuscany if the bus stop was far from the casino. It is right in front of the hotel. My room is in B near the elevator, so it is a really short walk from bus to room. I did not need that bus access last night as Mike drove me, but it excites me as it makes this a great location. Lots of construction just now on Flamingo and some traffic hold ups, but by the time I come back again they will be cleared.

BEER

I have been an opponent of Bud for years and wished they did not so dominate the market. In many spots in Florida, Bud and Bud lite and its clones is all that is available. Then they decided to brew American Ale. Well, it was about freaking time!

O'Shea's serves it on tap in a cup. It is not St Pauli Girl of the Edgewater, and it is not the distinctive and wonderfully rich taste of Saranac India Pale Ale, but at least it does not remind me of watered down urine.

They also serve Guiness. One single dollar blind and they serve Guiness. That is a cheap way to drink.

laughlin edgewater part two

BACK AT THE EDGEWATER

GAMBLING

I checked into the Edgewater for my second weekend of comps and proceeded to immediately lose $300 in video poker I would not have played had I not had a host. I followed it up with $200 more. It all drained in the volatility of this game without a single quad. I was on a bit of a video poker tilt hoping that I could get some of my earlier losses back. Hoping for the elusive royal, then for the elusive aces, and finally just for any quad at all.

So if you are reading this Edgewater, keep hosting.

I did discover that I don't enjoy the video poker when I am losing and that changes my game plan there. I'll play much less, quitting after small losses. It also means that I may by chance catch some free nights here or there, but I won't try to keep the offers.

The live poker went well, but I still was down a few chips when I left. I expected to see some tourists, but for the most part I just saw the regulars. A couple were poor players, but most were super cautious and because I was playing very tight, they knew when I had cards. I played four hours and just stayed about even. However, I can enjoy the poker when I am losing too and I can't imagine losing $500 at live low limit poker in one day.

PS After coming home I discovered that a regular poster on the LVA board was playing against me at the Edgewater and sort of recognized me but did not say anything. Too bad.

So I am learning this trip again, but it is very costly.

I will skip the Laughlin segment next time. It is just too hard to find a game with tourists and then they don't last very long. This is the exact problem I had playing up the Mississippi River. In Vegas I can move from game to game as I size up the players. Here, having eliminated the 2-6 as beatable, there is just this 2-4-6 at the Edgewater and to find that filled with locals on a Friday night is just too discouraging. Tourists came to play, but not enough to start a second table.

Saturday I won the $25 tournament in the morning. It is a nice event with no rebuys. I almost did not get in as I was an alternate and not signed up early enough. Players were good enough to be fooled. I played tight until the loose folks left, then got aggressive and came from way behind to be top chipped. The best player lost when he went all in with an ace sometime and I called with suited connectors and caught the flush. The last opponent lost when he kept trying to get caught up to my chip lead by going all in to steal my blind. He did it finally when I had pocket aces and they held up. Since he was doing this I just called my small blind, showing no strength, and he bit hard.

VIDEO POKER TOURNAMENT

I was only in two tournaments. I paid for a $25 tournament and won that one. I also earned a $100 freeroll. They started with 12 tables and I managed to get down to 12 players before I was eliminated. They paid 10 and the lowest pay was $187 so that would have been a fine no risk win.

I would have won more than that had I simply gone all in on one hand.

Three players were in the hand at a time when we had to try to get some chips before another blind raise. One guy went all in. A second guy called. I held pocket tens and had to either go all in myself or fold. I folded. One guy had pocket nines. Another caught his ace for a pair on the flop. The turn was a ten. The river was a ten. I'd have had quads and enough chips to put me in the running for more than just the tenth position.

ROOM

I did not get a safe this time. I did not need one at all as I don't need even one day of room service. I leave for the Tuscany on Sunday. Otherwise my room is the same and just down the hall from my old room: riverview, coffee maker, everything ship shape. Janella took good care of me again.

COMPS

My last visit I got a free VP tournament ( top pay $10,000), a free comedy ticket, and a free buffet in addition to my rooms. This weekend I won't need anything as my poker comps will take care of my food. There I can use comps I know I have rather than charge meals and then have to pay. Our first trip all our food was comped so easily, we thought that would happen again. But this time the Boileroom did not count. It is all very confusing.

Generally I want to use up my comps because I doubt I'll make the trip again for a while. The 2-6 games, especially on weekdays, are just much tougher to beat than I expected. The players are good and the pots are small and the tables are not filled often enough. So it becomes a repeat of my experience playing poker up the Mississippi. Even at the Edgewater, where there is a game I can beat, I should not try to start the day there but wait for other visitors and tourists and full tables. Then I am not the fish.

It has cost me a bit to learn that this trip.

Also, I do want to find some no limit niche where I can feel comfortable. This trip it will be hard when I get back to Vegas to play no limit as I will be down bankroll, but I'll try somewhere. I just wish I knew where that should be.

So I am using up my comps and feeling a bit sad to be leaving this river strip of casinos perhaps for the last time. There EW things I like here very much.

Friday night I hoped to play some tourists, but it was the usual players. After ten Amber and her husband joined the table. She deals at the Belle and I remembered her as a player at the Edgewater as well. She was ruthless. Unlike the others Amber was aggressive so that I'd not be able to get free cards or know what was up when she acted. She also would keep up a banter that would distract. So I was smart and headed back to the room.

FOOD

I used my poker comps to buy a fine pecan pie to take to my room. I added two dollars to the ten in comps and it made a fine late night snack. I'll have it for my extra meal until I leave on Sunday.

RIVER PALMS

My last morning I took a walk along the river and I walked far enough to reach the River Palms where I went in to find the poker games in full swing, so I played for an hour waiting for Granny's to feed my that fine gourmet buffet.

At the table was Grif from the Laughlin Trip Advisor board only I did not know it until I left. I asked when I arrived, but no one seemed to know he posted on a board (or what a board was) They were all grieving the end of the room coming this August. It was sad. Some had played there regularly for many years.

I played poorly, much too loose, chasing all sorts of things. One hand with Grif, however, I slow played a flopped fullhouse until he caught his flush and raised me. I reraised. It would have been a better play in a structured game where the bet was higher on higher hands, but I never sensed any strength. I might also have give Grif time to catch a larger full house that my sixes full of aces, but that seemed unlikely to happen. More likely was that a six dollar bet in the beginning would just grab a small pot.

Sitting next to me was a woman with the most interesting voice. She was beach blonde and while she did not sound like Betty Boop, her voice approached that sort of tone. I kept thinking she would be perfect playing along side Dick Tracy.

I left after my bad play up $8.

GRANNY'S

A second fine meal at Granny's. I wanted to eat there before I left in case I don't get to Laughlin for a while. Lamb chops and snails sure beat the medicre food at the other buffets I tried in Laughlin. Everyone raves about Harrah's, but everyone has a car. In August heat I was happy to make the walk to the River Palms in the morning. Harrah's is just too damn far.

Well, so long Laughlin. I'll miss you, but I just don't play well enough to do the weekdays and it is too expensive to come just for the weekends unless I happen to be here with a car.

laughlin tropicana

TROPICANA PAID NIGHTS

My weekday nights I bought for ten dollars a night. It was good to give myself days when no gambling is required. These are comfortable rooms with wide screen television. However, there is no Turner Classic Movies here either. I was happy to have the computer during those commercial times. I watched an old Bond movie, Goldfinger. I remember enjoying this at one of the old theaters in my town when I was a young fellow. I know I took a date and had a fine time, but I can't remember the girl.

GAMBLING

Tropicana poker:

My Tropicana first experience was very hard. One day I played very tight and positioned myself to the left of the pattern raiser who was trying to dominate. He was a dealer named Lucas. He slowed his raises until he could change his seat. We began to play musical chairs. He was a good fellow. There was plenty of laughter around the table and I out played him a couple times.

But my money drained. I had bought in for $350 and had about a hundred left when my pocket jacks went to trips on the flop. We bet back an forth. He had played and actually raised my jacks with his 8-10 offsuit. and then had luckily flopped a straight. I did not suspect it, as he had played mostly high cards all afternoon.

No full house. He took a good pot.

Fun, but what a long wait for cards to play and then a tough hand. While I was there, one player had pocket aces four times and others also had them. There is a wheel for cracked aces so it was exciting. I did not get more than those pocket jacks and played five hours waiting for the junk hands to quit. I got just the one pocket pair and generally my aces held low kickers.

I came back for a little play in the evening.

There were new more passive players. One was very bad. Mario, who works at the Edgewater Poker Room was there with his deft, aggressive play. I positioned myself just two to his left and was happy playing in that position, but unable to use it to any advantage as I got not cards for reraising his aggressive bets. I lost only one hand to him when he flopped a full house and I bet my kings into him.

Later I annoyed the table once by raising a full six dollars and trying to steal the pot or catch a straight draw which did not happen. I was playing so tight, I figured it would insure that I was called with later good hands, but it was a wasted six dollars because the good hands did not come.

The clear attempt to steal with the folks at this table did not make me popular. These folks wanted a peaceful game of predictable play and I did not fit that pattern. They did cheer, however, when I killed the resident fly.

I just got no cards, and when the table diminished and the pots became so small no high hand would be paid if I hit, I called it a night.

By Tuesday I had determined that there is no way to beat this game except to be a dominator and then you need to be ready for the same swings in action that no limit play offers. Too many rocks here.

My number of prime hands and winning pots should have assured me of winnings, but it did not. I sat next to Patrick who plays a game similar to what is in the “How to Dominate 1-2 no limit” that I've been reading, so I was in a fine position to reraise in order to eliminate the rest of the players, to call my suited connectors knowing the main bettor had aces and something. and to fold whenever he told me he had premium hands. He did not steal or bluff. He could not really because no one took his raises as unknown danger and by the time those were called, there was too much money to fold.

RIVERSIDE

I played the same game at Riverside with some of the same players and experienced the same frustration. My won pots were small, and if I chased anything, no matter how many outs to the river, I lost. I never seemed to catch a river. My straight flush draw cards flopped three diamonds and just my bet of $2 to begin to build the pot from ten to twenty scared everyone away. So while the promotions are good, meeting the pot minimum is difficult.

EDGEWATER

As dealer Doug says, “This is the only game like this in the world” A two – four-six structured limit game.

One promo at the Edgewater is to give tickets for straights, flushes, and higher for a $25 drawing each hour. To get a coupon the player must show a his hand on the river. So you can sort out those who have been betting real hands from those who are betting second best. That is an enormous advantage. Of course, it works both ways. Folks know when I bought one. Well, some folks. Others did not seem to notice when I did not reveal what should have been a straight or flush.

One day at the Edgewater I experienced how much table selection may influence how I do.

For the first five hours I played with all locals well known by the management who played easily, reading players perhaps, but certainly figuring the odds on plays. I lost $210 in spite of hitting a drawing for $25. Added to the competition was the problem that the table did not fill up with people.

I did have one exciting hand heads up with Jerry, an old fellow looked like my brother except for the odd suntan patterns caused by too much time in the sun on his motorcycle.

Biker Jerry was a good old guy. His voice was so much like that of an old buddy Jimmy who lives near me and gambles. Both are big burly men.

Biker Jerry and I got into one head to head. Each of us held A-Q and we capped raises on a board that made Aces full of Queens the nut hand just short of four Queens. The betting suggested this might be a bad beat. But it was all just fluff and money in the rake for the house.

I went for a nice free supper at Coco's and that took a while. I was mentally beating myself up a bit for playing too long in a spot where I knew I was outplayed and where my winning hands were too sparse. One incentive had been that I wanted to log hours for a freeroll promo that is worth $100 for a tournament on Saturday night. However, I imagine there too I'll meet players who just seem to have a third sense about cards and people and are very tricky and hard to beat.

I walked by on my way home and checked to see that the table was not almost full, and the players had changed to some extent. One fellow, a friendly old biker guy named Jerry waved me in to a seat next to him, and I decided to give it another try.

It was still a tough table while two regulars remained, but once they left, and the players were fairly predictable tourists, I could play a tight game and pull in some chips when I won. I got in the groove and won back all but $68 of my losses.

Near the end Biker Jerry won the $50 drawing when he was out of money and just playing to stay alive until the drawing. Then on my second last hand, I caught four sixes for an extra $25.

What I needed was players who would not throw away hands when I had some strength.

So there it was.

POKER TALK

At the end of August the poker room at the River Palms is closing. That should help the other rooms collect players. There was plenty of tough feeling about the attitude of the River Palms lately, the gutting of video poker, the ending of free rooms for poker play, the issues around substandard hotel rooms sometimes without enough towels. I guess they are having some tough times.

I keep wondering why room deals are so hard to get for regular poker players anywhere. It seems to me that free room offers, when rooms are twenty/forty dollars on the internet, would add people to these casinos without reducing their cost. Often poker players come with slot playing spouses or take breaks to play slots or blackjack or craps. I should think they would rather fill rooms with these customers than the folks with coolers who are clearly just there for river sport and probably just take the cheap rooms and don't gamble a bit.

I brought this up often. The Tropicana manager name Bee explained that the poker room itself had to pay for the rooms of players and for some reason the cost to the poker room is more than what I can find any day on the internet. Bee argued that the hourly comps would get players like me, who might sit for twelve hours, enough comps to offset room prices, but when I went to use my comps to take money off my room charge, they told me I could not do that. I had just enough for breakfast so I still was able to use them up, but long hours of play would simply result in a player having too many comps to eat up.

Other workers in poker room speculated that the attitude of the casino was that the poker room was more of a nuisance than an asset. If they could, they would not have it at all, but player pressure makes it necessary. If one casino closes it and another does not, folks drift to the casino with the option of live poker. At the same time, there might be long periods when they employ dealers and offer space and they can't get games going.

But which is it? Are the rooms a liability or do they actually attract people in groups and so provide the casino with slot and other table game players as well?

VIDEO POKER

Bee, the manager of the Tropicana poker room contended that the chips in a VP machine sets up the payoffs like a slot machine and that the paytable is just for amusement.

I have vowed not to get into this ridiculous conversation again, but I this is a fellow high up in the decision making part of this casino, and yet he does not know how a VP machine works. Of course, he is too big a guy to learn from little old me, even to take suggestions I make to read the literature that might bring him up to speed.

He does not see the contradiction between dealing from a 52 card deck randomly with a set pay table, and setting up a computer to pay out in random cyles or that a player might be able to figure the payback and control it with perfect play.

He is a very nice guy, but one of those guys who has his mind made up, so don't confuse him with facts.

Bob Dancer? Jean Scott? Dan Paymar? Linda Boyd? Vp Free? The difference between Class II and Class III machines?

I bring all this up and he just tells me about how connected he is to governing gambling boards and the Nevada Gaming Commission which I don't really follow well enough to outline here, except I do get it that he is telling me he makes decisions or advises those who do and yet has no fundamental knowledge of how a VP machine works.

He is not suggesting that anyone cheats. The chip is set by the manufacturer and he is not saying the casino changes that chip on the sly. He is just saying the paytables as all, “Smoke and Mirrors”.

“Don't pay any attention to this,” he says as he covers a pay table with his hands.

Video poker tutor software? No clue they exist.

I bring them up, and he tells me what an important role he has in managing gambling in Nevada and how they look for “two fers” like me, the folks who take too much advantage of deals and edges, and then they eliminate all their comps. It is a veiled threat I guess, although what comps he might take from me are questionable. I have wondered if the Four Queens read my trip reports and decided to drop me from the mailings, but what otherwise, what comps might I have to fear losing?

Poker rooms here and at the plaza fall al over themselves giving me free food because I am playing twice as long as I need to and overlook dysfunction when it happens and a dealer makes a mistake, and recruit players to empty seats.

Bee clearly has a good sense of what a poker room should be and has both knowledge about what pleases customers and a passion to make his room work.

So odd that a fellow would have connections to those making gambling decisions, smarts about how a poker room should be run, and not even a rudimentary knowledge of video poker.

Of course, he does not want to learn from his customers.

Also he is a close talker, so no matter how often I strep back, he is in my face. Remember Seinfeld and close talkers? Well, he is one of those. All the while he is talking to me I keep backing up and still I can't get more than six inches from his face.

His logic around video poker machines reminded me more of the Seinfeld character Kramer when he would argue with Jerry about something.

I tried all the approaches I could. I suggested that if the paytables are all “smoke and mirrors,” as he suggested, and had nothing to do with the cycle of pays on the machine, why not up all the pay tables on the Tropicana machines, so full pay tables replaced the unplayable inventory they now used? Why are Vegas casinos even bothering to downgrade paytables all over the city? They could attract lots of players by putting high paytables in their machines.

His answers all started with “Trust me” but did not even acknowledge the issues.

We ended friendly, and over all, I liked the guy, but it is amazing to me that I have read more than some of the folks who help make decisions about gambling and work in the field every day. However, I guess I should not be surprised. I met often met teachers who stopped learning when they graduated from college or developed professional positions based on ignorance, were not up to date with educational theory or new practices, and were not up to listening to parents.

The Tropicana is a great poker room, and much of that is because of this guy Bee. He takes a personal interest in the regulars, even splashes the pot with free plants that are his hobby. It is a nice touch. However, across the street I heard that he had annoyed them by coming over to recruit players for his room from the Edgewater.

TROPICANA POOL

When I came last time, I thought the pool hours were ten to eight. I must have missed the adult only hours of seven to ten in the morning. It was uncrowded and really great. Coming right at seven meant there were still some dead bugs and leaves floating as the attendant kept skimming. Soon they were gone. I think I am going to bring my own little skimmer with me and skim while I swim at some of the these places.

This is the most delightful pool. The shade is here almost all day and it is quiet and easy in the morning adult hours.

MOVIES AND SHOPPING

I found a Bell's Outlet in the nearby outlet stores and while it was not as good as those we visit in Florida, I saw plenty of things reasonably priced. I bought a picture album with a really nice ceramic cover showing old poles and a good looking rainbow trout. And I bought a nice pair of good sun glasses for just $6. I like Bell's sunglasses.

I went to see the movie, “ I Love you Alice Cooper” and I liked it. These are corny movies made with an adolescent audience in mind, but I find them always a good bit of fun. Perhaps having taught high school all these years sets me up to see high school movies. Of course, the teachers are generally portrayed as stupid. Even the parents get better ratings than the kids.

Laughlin Edgewater Part I

WEEKEND DAYS- EDGEWATER

HOTEL

My Edgewater host Janella set me up with a fine room again overlooking the river and with a safe and a coffee maker. The anti slip rubber mat for the shower is very useful. I have trouble sometimes with soap feet keeping my balance. Everything is clean and new looking and fine. I have a good little table and table lamp for my computer and it fits in the safe so I feel more secure when I am out of the room. I like the view of the river and the mountains way off in the distance. I like it here on a low level floor as well as it gives me great views of the riverboats passing. There was even a cute bikini girl bathing in the river and behind the palm tree grassy area with her wet hair flowing, and water crystal clear to the rocky bottom, it looked like an advertisement for a tropical paradise. Such an odd contrast to the desert.

My first night I slept very well after only having three hours sleep and a nap in the bus on the trip up. I was tired as I stayed up at the plaza playing poker until 3 AM.

This is such a fun and comfortable place in August. There are boaters and families and young folks everywhere, unlike other times of the year when gray old guys like me dominate.

ROOM SERVICE

I used room service at the Edgewater since I would be able to lock up my valuables in the safe and wanted more coffee anyway. As I left, I asked them to do me next so there was no chance of coming up in mid cleaning in my wet bathing suit and dripping in the hallway waiting for the finishing touches.

I also asked for coffee and they gave me plenty to get me through tomorrow, so I'll skip service tomorrow.

I first went to brunch in my dry bathing suit and a nice button shirt and then on to the pool from there.

That worked.

It is a very undressed community here.

TELEVISION

I do miss having the TCM channel as I did in Vegas. I love that commercial free station with those fine old movies and that would break up my day when I am too tired or broke to play well.

GAMBLING

I played quite a bit of video poker and even some slots. I save a portion of my bankroll to play heavy vp here as these two comped weekends are the only times that any of my rooms or food depend on my play. Friday night I was in the hole for $272 when I started the live poker and the cards just came to me while the table paid off these finely developed hands. In a short while I had few friends at the table and had accumulated almost $200. The rest of the evening was much more normal and I left with only $123 profit, happy my losses had been hedged as I have a number of days here to play yet.

I decided to just do one more $20 before bedtime, seven pulls on the Megabucks, and that left me with just $17. I thought I'd play it through the video poker and I just could not lose. All those elusive quads came as well so in a short while I cashed out for a profit of $150 and so reduced my losses for the day to $19. Pretty damn good given all my other lost sessions this week.

Saturday afternoon was the best VP session in my recent memory. I hit aces and about five other quads bringing my winnings up high enough for the poker machine to skim off some and cash it out to me automatically. I have not had that happen in many, many sessions. It helped offset my heavy losses.

Saturday night was not so good. I had a couple beers and a hamburger with homemade chips at the Boiler Room but it was too crowded and it took forever to get food while I kept pumping in twenties.

The guy next to me shouted into his cell phone for half my time there reviewing his former life of bar fights and other low life activities, remembering who had done whose wife, and all at the top of his lungs so he could hear himself over the rock music. It was very annoying.

I played 8/5 Bonus while I waited and the low volatility did not help me. The first twenty had gone by without a single hit. Two pair were few and far between after than. I lost $70. Then I went over to the poker room and got on a 2/4 where I played badly and then on a 2/6, where I could see all these guys were locals who knew each other and knew this game perfectly.

No tourists.

I would be the fish.

So I just left. Lost $65. I realized that Saturday night or not I was too tired to be up for 2 AM poker, so I listened to the Dixieland band for a while, played some VP and Megabucks and went to sleep down $100 for the day.

Best hands- Quads are the saviors of 10/7 DB although a good run of FH and Flushes will do a job as well. One day after trying for hours for the development of quad aces ( $200) the damn things were dealt to me. They also came as part of my run of quads on my most productive session.

No straight flushes.

Plenty of four to the royal making my heart skip a beat and allowing me to practice again preparing for any tragedy of near misses at wealth. I heard the Megabucks winner only had twelve dollars in the machine. Amazing! I have not seen any big wins on my $21 Megabucks seven pull play a day. Why, on those seven pulls I should have hit twice, don't ya think?

I revisited the Colorado Belle on Sunday and found a much softer game, but I lost more. I played about twelve hours with just a break to see that I had also lost with my poor showing in the video poker tournament. No money. I enjoyed the poker. I played poorly in the beginning against the better players and then gradually grinded my way back to near even until some aggressive guys come and created huge pots which I lost.

I liked the game.

The Edgewater poker room is moved to a pleasant and quiet spot near the sports book. I think I like the Edgewater room better than the Belle. It is less noisy and may attract more tourists, but I was too tired for that as well on Saturday night when the good poker usually can be had. I had done well there on Friday. Amber, Floyd, and Rebecca were the dealers. They are all friendly and pleasant folks. Floyd may think that some of us talkers are a bit silly at times, and he may have a bit reserved disdain for our foolishness, but in general it is a very comfortable room and a quieter contrast to the Plaza room. Floyd is always friendly, but perhaps guys from Montana cannot be silly. Amber makes up for that, and I love flirting with her and listening to her complain when I move my seat away from her and to a spot where I can see better. All the dealers are friendly.

They will squeeze ten players into these nine person tables, and it does get crowded in the seats next to the dealer. Someone needs to design a table that accommodates ten players and still is small enough so the dealer can easily reach. Perhaps a table that expanded for the tenth player would work.

The game is 2-4-6 limit and that extra 6 makes a good bit of difference. $3 is taken for the house and $2 is processed into promotions for the players, so there is some good money to be had for high hand awards. Sadly, no aces cracked, so of course mine were cracked by an opponent who chased his low pair of sevens to the river for trips in spite of my raising and then betting as much as possible. I let him bet the river six, so at least I did not get raised. He was not so dependable that I could lay down the aces and save the six. Here position cost me six dollars as he would have checked into me and hoped to trap me. I had bet out every other time. It is important to do that with aces in good position because then on the river you can often save six dollars by checking. It is important to not bet single pairs in any position on the river unless representing something larger or being on a table with an idiot calling low pairs. Even then I'd rather give up the last bet needlessly once in a while than face the raise. Guys with two pair will raise the river just to see if they can represent something huge.

It was a fine game and good fellows at the table. One named Barry knew a lot about Henderson and casinos there and I gained a good bit of information on tournament play. He plays so much he says they all know his name in those Henderson card rooms. He played a good game I thought.

He told me that his wife played hours and hours of video poker and established so much play that they had good comps. He thought the machines were fixed and that her strategy of “Never take the low wins, but go for the royals” put her well ahead of others they knew. I talked a bit about Nevada law and random number generators, but I was wasting my breath. He knew she did well and was ahead for most of the time although they kept no records of their wins and losses. I wondered why I wasted my breath. If all players were like her, the casinos would not be letting my 10/7 DB slip away into rotten pay tables. Even here at the Edgewater the few full pay machines do not pay points. The money through them, however, does count toward the formula for room comps and so far I seem to be winning that count. This is the first host I have ever had. I tried once at the Orleans but they did not respect VP poker play and when they did give me a bit off one room, it was grudgingly. I'm a low roller, and I like asking for deals, but I don't whine, easily take, “I'm sorry” for my answer ( the Four Queens is giving lately but maybe not after I chased the royal there way over my bankroll allocation) and I resent being treated with disdain.

That is one reason I liked having this host recommended by VP writer Linda Boyd on a Midwestern Board video poker board she hosts. Live poker is full of whiners too, but it does not have to be that way. My largest win in recent years was at novel writer John Blowers home game (Life on Full Tilt: confessions of a Poker Dad) where I took $1000 in a low level cash NL game in one evening, most of it his.

“Hey Dewey,” he said, “the progress toward turning this novel into a movie is going so well and I am having so much fun since I quit my job and devoted myself full time to writing and working on all the details of the movie, that if I circulate a bit of money to my friends so they have a good time, I enjoy it as much as winning.....well (with a chuckle) almost as much as winning.”

There is a man with class.

He took a lot of criticism from Annie Duke on that “Best Damn Poker Hand” show when he was first to be eliminated on some rag hand he played on a lark.

I stopped watching the show.

Too many of these competition shows, and there are dozens of them now competing in fashion, cooking, dancing, you name it, have that section where the “judges” humiliate people by telling them “the truth” I find that humiliation offensive. Opinion can be made, and we do it every day at the poker table, in ways that do not degrade the learner/listener.

Well, I ramble.

You know what I mean, however, because you read these boards where every so often the tone of a poster is acerbic. I suppose I have fallen in to that trap once in a while, but it is not satisfying on a personal level.

Joe was another fellow at the poker table and I know I have seen him here before. He was dressed in a black outfit and walks with a cane. He was a friendly guy. His talk was old age outrage at the failing body. The doctors were telling him to have neither coffee nor tea. Tea seemed to bother his stomach the most which is just the opposite from my own responses. He basically said that since he did not expect to get out of this life alive, he'd do whatever in the hell he wanted. The doctors were all hypocrites anyway, Joe said, as he would see them out having a cigarette a few minutes after trying to get him to stop smoking.

I was thinking how much gamblers tend to be undisciplined and how difficult that is in these last decades of life. More than the general population, gamblers are not disciplined and careful but want to be in constant party mode. The careful folks are the ones shocked by our gambling and those for whom losing a bet would just seem so irresponsible. I often find it hard to tell my gambling stories to such people, however, I have to listen to their golf stories.

Golf, they think, is much superior to fishing or gambling. Well, there is something to be said for getting out walking, but there the superiority ends. While we may have some second hand smoke in the casino, the golfers have second hand high power chemicals all around them. What looks like pristine green is grass grown to ecologically resemble cement. And I challenge any golfer who plays and travels regularly to beat the cost of my gambling hobby, even with my losses. Let's see them find 23 days away from home at $12 a night for hotel and under ten a day for food and drinks (minus tips- I don't keep track of those but it would be a wash).

And in between gambling I fish for panfish. This sport costs me nothing, puts food in my freezer, and puts me out rowing in a real natural setting.

I don't drink while fishing. So in Vegas I can drink.

I watch my foods at home, not successfully but I do what I can. So in Vegas I can eat an occasional potato chip. It tastes so good when I have not had a white potato in perhaps six months.

And I don't like losing money either, but it is, after all, only money, and I play the best odds I can find. Also, the poker table is a fine place to practice mental metaphorical life experiences where only money can be lost.

Losing on the river costs me chips, but it prepares me for the luck of the end of life, lets me pratience, teaches me how random reality is, and keeps me humble.

Okay, I ramble again. Sorry. It does me no good to defend gambling to my buddies, so I have to do it here where I have a chance.

I met one board poster who I have often seen here in Laughlin and enjoyed catching up with him a bit. He posts less on the generic boards now, but he is on one of the poker boards. He was good with language and very funny. So while in the Belle, I chatted with him a bit. His board name was Mohave and his writing was very good. Perhaps I can talk him into writing in a few more places. He is on a major poker board, which I think is a fine poker discussion, but I don't seem to get motivated to go there.

VIDEO POKER TOURNAMENT

How can a casino pay back 75 of 200 contestants, the top price being $10,000? The offer asked for $30 and gave three free nights.

Then the reception served us some fine finger foods which made my supper. It was a decent spread and waitresses came around pushing drinks and asking how to help us. I felt like a high roller. The only thing that I thought was not so interesting was the “present” some CD of video poker games for the computer that the casino probably got as a marketing deal. Most regular video poker players already have a good tutor and it does not look like this disc includes any instruction anyway. And why would it? I was hoping for a hat or a tournament shirt. I was not looking however for one of the Edgewater giveaway shirts as they have to be the worst promotional shirt I have ever seen, just a duplication of the Player's Card logo which is not very artistic. I love shirts and hats, but this one I guess I'll give away. In a lunch line I saw a wonderful shirt from these two casinos, so at times they must give away (or perhaps it was purchased) some better shirts. This had painted photos of the casinos on the back.

Session One- score 1005

I used a strategy that favored royals, sf, and quads. I also took a second to consider penalty cards. For example, if the flop included queen /king offsuit, I would be playing only one card, so I'd play the card that matched the fewest suits of the throw aways, or one that hand the best shot at a straight in spite of the throw aways.

Session Two-

While I was playing, my host Janella came by and talked to me and checked that I was happy. I asked about the comedy and within minutes I had a free ticket to tonight's show. She is a honey.

After the first session of VP, I started to play at the full pay machines and what a chore it was to readjust my mind. I had to really concentrate for quite a while, especially since I play 10/7 DB which includes a number of counterintuitive quirks. Finally I got it. Third hand gave me quad jacks and it was all quads after that. There was little to back them up, so I lost a good bit back, but I still ended up $262 ahead. My best VP session.

PURCHASES

Speaking of shirts I got four for ten dollars downtown that are very nice 2XX for my son who works hard for little money and hates buying clothes. These are irregular because they are spotted with black specks of some rubbery something, but it comes right off with the fingernail, so it was a good bargain.

I probably won't buy any Edgewater playing cards as they have fairly standard backs. I need some unusual cards of good quality for a dollar, and with no black marks on the edges. These are hard to find.

POOL

What a fine pool! There were plenty of people and lots of kids, but I had plenty of room for swimming. The water was perfect. The jazuzzi was empty of people and wonderful. In early morning the building shades the water, but even at noon there were shaded areas in which to sit out of the sun. No cabanas, just sheltered tables, but perfect for reading or playing a game of chess or for parents watching their children. No lifeguard. Bathrooms were clean. At the entry to the pool was a Dairy Queen for refreshing cold drinks. Also there was a pile of styrofoam cups so if a swimmer arrived with a drink in a glass it could be put in the cup and then brought into the pool area.

I got good exercise and was well entertained with the antics of the kids. I know that old guys, especially poker players, are supposed to be grumpy about a group of kids laughing and jumping and playing games in the water, but for me it is a delight. I swim at home in the lake we life on and enjoy the quiet, but it does get a bit dull. I also enjoy hearing some Spanish and being in a group of Latino people enjoying life. Here for the cheap price of a ticket to Laughlin I can experience a taste of Mexico without the espense, the worry over crime, or the traveler's experience. Delightful in every way!

So I am refreshed and ready to try my hand at the first VP tournament run. I'll be more than content to finish in the first fifty and earn $50 or more.

FOOD

I ate at the brunch buffet and what a treat for just over $5. A chef made my overeasy eggs sprinkled with onion, cheese, peppers. There was smoked salmon with capers, onion, and tomato. As they do in most places with Latino customers, the hot sauce of choice was Cholula rather than Tabasco. My favorite. Somewhere they found stone crab. I eat this often in Florida right off the boats. It is rather delicate and does not keep long. This was in good shape and while not quite a good as the right off the boat fresh stuff, it was still really good. Oddly someone had cooked them in something that clung to the shells and was greasy so the work of it was messy. But I endured and ate two large helpings.

The bacon was not crispy.

Is it ever??

Lots of interesting cold salads. Plenty of fruit. The ice cream machine was open and they served small M and M and peanut toppings. They had a chocolate chip cookie that made my dessert.

Boiler room:

I had a Mexican style hamburger with those finely cut homemade potato chips and enjoyed the food, but Saturday night was just too crowded. The music was pretty strong rock and roll and it was fine, but not my favorite. It took a long while to get fed there.

I may go back tonight, but I'll get a different hamburger. The burger was good, but I did not think the Mexican topping was very hot or authentic.

Granny's Pioneer Buffet- This trip I have kept track of my food costs (less tips) and if my food is comped here at the Edgewater as I think it will be, I went into a $25 buffet having spent only $16 on food in my first seven days.

So I guess this place is a splurge.

I was happy to get an early reservation as I know I was up early and had time to get hungry, and I wanted to be back for the second try at the VP. tournament where a couple royals would net me a nice ten grand. That is the top prize.

At first I was anxious because they have a dress code and I wore a T shirt. That would be against the rules in winter, but now the summer code is in force and precludes beachware, tank tops, ripped jeans (hmmm at the Italian opera these are the latest fashion) and swim wear. Walking shorts are fine. I had walked a good ways and did not want to walk back. I was saved by winter.

This is a gourmet restaurant and here we are treated very well. The waitresses are unrushed as we are. They watch and wait with precision. They are pleasant and not snobbish. They will bring out cooked to order eggs, make a bloody Mary or fill your champagne glass, bring plenty of juice and coffee. They will pay attention to all this. You never have to look around.

I passed on coffee twice and the second time I said, “I'll have it with my dessert.” So when I went up to get dessert, she watched and poured the coffee so it would be hot when I came back. Then she warmed it once. All without me so much as glancing in her direction.

The hostess did a very odd thing however. At first, she seated me at a table set in the corner by a coffee and juice table. I am a large fellow and she should have easily noticed that I could barely fit through the space. Another woman did notice and she moved me when the hostess went back to the front. I wondered if this was due to the T shirt, or because I was a single diner. Reservations should have indicated that they were not crowded.

I ate at ten as the place opened. It was very uncrowded and I would do it again. As folks came in at then thirty, it filled up enough for the conversational noise to obstruct the delightful quiet classical piano music. Well, you can take some folks to the gourmet, but you can't teach them to use their gourmet restaurtant voices. Forget the dress code. There should be a sign up about that.

There is one very interesting wall hanging in the waiting area. It is the first page of the San Francisco Chronicle from September 9, 1897 and the articles report:

*No More men for Manila ( including a little graphic drawing of typical Manila scenes.

*Peary's letter from Greenland

*An announcement that the Baltimore/Ohio railroads were to become transcontinental

*And the oddest story of all to entertain gourmet restaurant customers as they wait for seating, an article telling the story of a chef who tried to poison an emperor.

These would be interesting the average person.

I wonder if you can guess why I might be especially intrigued.

Seating took a few minutes. It was all very relaxed. A sign announced that we had a table in our name for no longer than 2 hours. What a fine relaxed time this might be for a romantic interlude.

I had tasted the fine food here once before so I knew I wanted some snails and lamb chops. The snails are not quite the garlic butter recipe that go me hooked in France, but they were very good nonetheless. I did not ask for snail utensils and I was sorry as they were coated and difficult to manage without getting the coating on the fingers. And no, I did not lick my fingers. What part of gourmet didn't you get?

I did get good use from the fine green linen napkins.

I was hungry enough to eat very well. This would be my meal of the day. Perhaps I'd have a snack at the Boiler Room later if the crowds had thinned and the music softened. But I am not certain I'll do that. Maybe I'll get a Dairy Queen.

So I had tastes of lobster Newberg, full of nice large chunks of meat shrimp Alfredo, one crab claw, a perfectly cooked broccoli dish, moist crab cakes in a dill sauce, a skewer of fresh fruit to cleanse the palate, and a flambes dessert of black berries, blueberries and banana in Grand mariner.

I also indulged some fine crispy bacon. Mundane perhaps, but I have not had any yet this trip.

And although I do not eat sushi, I was interested and tried one along with a small bite of black caviar. Green and red were also available.

I skipped the beef dishes, the interesting cold salads, and many other taste sensations including frog legs which were dry last visit. I skipped the cold raspberry soup although I remembered it was good.

My bite of dessert with the flambes was a tiny bit of layered cakes, surrounded by chocolate with a checkerboard pattern all shaped like a large tear drop and topped with a bit more chocolate and a berry.

I generally just have a bit of soft iced cream for dessert and skip those buffet desserts that look rich and taste bland. If all the little desserts taste as good as they look, that alone would be worth the price of the buffet. I love this place!

Now I am drinking coffee in my room so as not to be so sleepy from eating when I play my second session of the VP tournament.

DRINK

Say what you want about these low end casinos. I can tell you that I am more likely to get better comped drinks at the low end places than at the high end. I always enjoy Myers Rum at the El Cortez. Plaza had the tequilla 1800. Now here at the Edgewater they bring St Pauli Girl dark beer, even into the poker room. Getting comped dark beer anywhere is very hard and generally the best I have found is Sam Adams and that comes in a cup from the tap and I don't like it that much. My neighbor Ron drinks it while I drink NY Saranac beer, brewed in many assorted flavors and types in the old Utica Club brewery. When we can't think of anything else to say, we argue about these beers. It becomes a little like a discussion between a Yankee and a Red Socks baseball fan, only I don't care about being a fan of baseball, and Ron is an ardent Yankee fan who insists on drinking a Red Socks beer. And that area of NY needs the business much more that Boston. I wish that it had a wider distribution.

These St. Pauli Girl bottles are a real treat, but Saranac is better.

Back a couple decades ago in my family room I had a large poster with the St. Pauli girl serving her large mugs of great bier. She is a cutie and the beer tastes so great that as I am writing this I understand that just before I quit this last session I saw a jack of hearts and read it as a jack of diamonds, so I quickly cashed out. Now I realize it is time for my nap. Know when to walk away; know when to RUN.

COMEDY

After my busted comedy experience at the River Palms last trip where one of the comics was an amateur and not a good one, I was leery of seeing another comedy act. However, this was great. It was “sold out” but I managed to sit uncrowded and have a view over another uncrowded empty seat. Many decided to watch while standing in the back.

Both talked about sex and relationships. The woman was billed as one who had enjoyed many relationships over her lifetime, while the fellow was the family man complaining about his wife. They were both very funny. She had some takes on sex that were unique and she was very skillful in presenting them. She also talked about her baby, a surprise, in odd ways, like justifying sending her to work as a baby model, and the entire set was very funny. She was not crass. She just came across as a woman who used the male need to have daily sex. She had some good material also from a visit to troops overseas. She has played on desperate housewives??

He was very animated and used his body and facial expressions as well as fast talk to make us laugh. His humor was family humor. It was all about how marriage is a power struggle for controlling space. It was all funny and the audience was laughing the entire time. He could tide their laughter and adjust his timing speeding up or giving funny facial pauses and he worked in a good bit of material. Janella got me a ticket, but full price this show would have cost $10, tax and everything included. Some even were mailed free drink coupons. That was the case of the woman next to me who lived in Apple Valley, California , there with her sister from LA.

We had a good chat, but she was a heavy sports fan, and I am not good in that department because I follow no sports. They were bantering and funny and we had a good time joking about and kidding and waiting for the show to start.

Almost everyone here is from California and nearby. They are shocked that a guy from upstate NY would be here.

“Well, you don't have that NY accent,” she puzzled. So once again I needed to explain why we say “upstate” NY and distinguish ourselves from that part from NYC folks. I told her I live in the country on a small lake a half hour from Massachusettes, not much farther from Vermont, and she was very surprised that such things even existed in NY. I told her I had been raised in Buffalo, and so we talked too about “Western” NY.

“That is near Canada?” she asked.

“Right,” I answered.

I asked her if they raised apples in Apple Valley, but she just laughed and said it was “high dessert” Then she speculated that there were so many horses who left “road apples” all around the area, that perhaps those naming the town had been thinking of those apples.

I don't know.

I do know that in upstate NY we could call a place “Apple Valley” and let folks pick there own fruit. We have fine orchards near my home. Where she lived you would think they could celebrate some of the fine deserrt growth. On the way up to Laughlin I was taken with these small red cactus. I don't know their names, but I might if folks who named these Nevada towns used some common sense. And I don't mean horse sense, either!

I am having such a fine time. When I was at the Plaza, I was thinking it was foolish to travel way out here on the bus, but I am happy to be here now.

It is an entirely different flavor.

And where Vegas can be rather quiet in August, this place is hopping with young people taking advantage of the cheap rates and the opportunity for easy water fun. As I write the rented jet skis zip up and down the river. At home these annoy me, but here we are insulated from the worst of the sound and it is fun to watch them and to watch the river taxis and other recreational boats. I got a fine sense of the strength of the current when I saw a boat just drifting by. The captain was on the phone. I wondered if they were drifting because they were broken down and if so, why they did not have a signal or an anchor.

It is a bit too hot for me to really enjoy much Riverwalk walking, but I may do some after I move to the Tropicana on Monday. I'll be gambling less those days, doing a bit of shopping at the Riverside, buying another watch at the Watchman store (I left mine home, and I miss it) and wandering about a bit in spite of the heat. I did enjoy seeing the koi carp again last night between the Belle and the Edgewater. Otherwise, I have not seen too much. There is something wonderful and old fashioned about these river taxis speeding to their next stop on the night river.