A great way to end our seventh anniversary, in front of the famous sign!
Las Vegas 2010 is off to a great start. It always begins in a rough manner because I can never sleep the night before a flight due to my fear of flying, but there’s no other way I want to get to a faraway destination. Somara claims I had a brief nap around 3 AM, I really didn’t get much rest due to the borderline illness I manage to shake off (hooray!). Maybe the lady pilot/co-pilot knew I was traveling with her yesterday, it was the smoothest airplane journey I can remember. How did I know there was a lady in the cockpit? When we exited I quickly poked my head in and said thanks for the smooth ride. Glad to see women flight crews making progress in the commercial airlines.
The funniest realization so far was the creation of city’s new car rental center. I don’t know when it was built nor completed because we haven’t rented a vehicle here since 2003 but it’s a great idea; deflect all the additional traffic away from an already crowded section. However, when we picked up the car, the clerk asked us if we needed immediate directions and we said, “Yeah, Tahiti Village.” He chuckled, pointed out the window and replied, “Right over there.” It was across the street, the rental-car shuttle practically drove us to TV. Had I known better, had no scruples and was a total cheapskate, I would’ve bailed on the rental and walked over in the 95 F/36 C heat.
Speaking of Tahiti Village, the higher-end room we scored rules. We plan to give a quick tour of it at a later time. Fear not, we have no intent to ensnare anyone into the timeshare stuff. Believe me, I hate companies that are always bugging me to be involved in their pseudo pyramid scheme, it was a major peeve of mine with Dish and organized religion. The view during the day is weak but it does look more impressive in the evening.
We also made a quick side trip to a grocery store for the cheap supplies to save money. Seems the people of Las Vegas remain saddled with Albertsons. How lucky we Austinites are to have HEB because we paid about $60 for what I know we could’ve scored for under $45 easily.
After a nap to recuperate from the packing, preparing and flying, we celebrated with an anniversary dinner at Bellagio’s buffet. I didn’t want to stuff myself yet Somara’s parents gave us a $50 Visa gift card and this buffet is packed with fancy stuff I enjoy: salmon, expensive cheeses, lobster-stuffed ravioli but no pate last night.
We also premiered the first round of our video poker contest at Caesar’s Palace. This time we ironed out the rules ahead of time and were in agreement. Somara was off to an early lead at $30, then I pulled through with a couple good hands which kept me alive until she went broke first, leaving me $10 and the winner! The initial roulette wager from one co-worker was a bust, sorry Ben. Our traditional number 27 didn’t fare better neither…31. I need to hit the other casinos’ sports books soon. I couldn’t believe CP didn’t have any futures stuff ready for the NHL or NBA yet they had the odds available on…brace yourself…Canadian Football.
Day 2 promises to be cooler. We will be going to the Liberace Museum and Pinball Hall of Fame (they’re very close together). Stay tuned, I hope to keep you interested and send your wagers in via e-mail or SMS if you missed the chance before we left.
Gambling Report:
- Video Poker: Steve 1, Somara 0 ($10, $0)
- Somara: -$20
- Steve: -$20 (I cover our joint losses in roulette)