Las Vegas Trip Report Part III: Filling in Some Details

For many reasons, including style, memory and, most importantly time considerations, I do not usually write epically long posts like my friend Rob. However, I sometimes get asked to expound a tad on some of what I've written. I have had three such requests from my last post. So ... here we go!

The trip with Alicia

It was my last night in Las Vegas, so I wanted to make it worthwhile. I had been playing poker with TBC at Planet Hollywood, but his sleep schedule dictated that his night would be ending quickly. Alysia called and asked if I was up for  getting a dinner off The Strip. Hell yes! However, her car was in the shop ... again (ha!) and she would be driving her brother's car. He was getting dressed and then the two of them would pick me up. That seemed okay, so I said goodbye to Tony and headed to the nearby ABC shop to get something to drink. I eyed a big ca of one of my favorite beverages, Stiegl Radler, but decided against it since I didn't want to chug it or drink it in the car. Bad move, as AC's brother, Solomon, took FOREVER to get dressed. In the meantime, I burned time in a sports memorabilia shop. I'm sure the guy running the place has seen plenty of my type before: always trying to be a comedian. There was a 50% off sale, and I spotted a signed photo of former Chicago Blackhawks player Alex  Zhamnov. For those not quite into 1990's NHL history, Zhamnov was traded to Chicago for legend Jeremy Roenick. Blasphemy! Zhamnov never quite panned out in his several Chicago seasons. I saw a $50 price on the photo and asked the guy, "$25?" He said "yes," and I replied  "You'll give me $25 to take this away from you?"

Anyway ... AC and Solomon picked me up and we headed toward Rio, where Solomon was heading to meet up with friends before heading out to Sapphire Gentlemen's Club. Watching AC and her brother navigate their way was a treat in itself!

Once at Red Rock after eating dinner, AC had a strict deadline of when we had to leave. Let's just say I kind of ignored it and stretched things out a little. We headed to Sapphire and picked up Solomon and friends. And no, I had no desire to go inside. u see, I believe in CLEAN LIVING, of course! I was squeezed into the back seat with the friends, who I'll let AC describe in a blog comment. We dropped the friends off at Ellis Island, and AC decided not to join me for a late late night session at Venetian. Once there, I was treated to the loud noise of a huge gang walking through the V. It turns out that the gang was led by none other than NBA superstar Kevin Durant!

I eventually grabbed an Uber back to my hotel and got a short amount of sleep before taking the hotel shuttle to the airport.

Koala Logic

I saw TBC take a nasty cold deck beat at Wynn/Encore and keep his composure. Good job, Tony! However, Koala was peeved that at either that beat or one other bad one, Tony blamed the loss on Koala. u see, if Koala had not been there, Tony would have already left and NOT lost the later hand, of course. Well, I figured that logic was good enough for me. When I torched off my stack at MGM (A-K vs A-A on a King-high flop), I informed Koala that it was his fault since I was there with him and he owed me a few hundred dollars to cover half my loss. Amazingly, he turned down my request. However, on the night I cashed out about $1,400 dollars at MGM, he later told me that he was entitled to half my winnings that night! The nerve of the guy -- he he!

Could TBC hook up with the Man-hating Woman?

I have described the Man-hating Woman as having similar behaviors to Tony: quick angry outbursts, not paying attention to play at the table, burying her face in her phone playing Candy Crush Saga or Bejeweled. Seems like a match made in heaven, right? Ummm ... no. Believe it or not, Tony has much more in the way of social skills than that wretched woman. She's actually just the female version of the nitty, nasty Las Vegas grinder that we visitors despise. She wears headphones to tune out the world, plays uber-tight and at some point sucks the fun out of the table. One would think that someone living in Las Vegas being able to make money off poker would be a tad happier or, perhaps,a tad smarter and use personality to make the table atmosphere optimal for a grinder to make money. Well, that's not her. Sadly, I think she is just one of those people who thrives on being miserable. I wouldn't want to see Tony or anyone but a sworn enemy get anywhere near her.

The ride from Hoover Dam to McCarran International Airport

Long after I'd flown back home, Alysia drove TBC and Koala to the Hoover Dam area where they hit the local casino. On the way back to Las Vegas, they called me and we had a long, funny chat. The subject then focused on Tony's getaway, which he decided would be that night. He spotted a cheap fare to Cleveland and wanted me to go online and book his flight for him as Alysia drove him to the airport. Now, of course, booking a flight usually means providing information that I didn't know ... like maybe Tony date of birth or other personal information. I also wondered why a guy who could easily torch off a couple grand martingaling blackjack seemed afraid of the plane fare going up $50 dollars or so when the flight was only around a hundred bucks anyway. I actually looked up the flight to see if it was still around $100, but as Alysia was getting near the airport anyway, Tony wound up getting the ticket there ... at the cheap price.

Next trip to Las Vegas?

I am tempted to make a trip in a few weeks -- September 4-8. That would make three trips in a span of about ten weeks. Would that officially make me a degenerate? Or more of one?

Thanks for reading!