Vegas stories by Spike (ongoing TR)
07-23-2016
, 10:26 PM
07-23-2016
, 11:09 PM
I've played in cash games a couple of times with a guy at Bay 101 who does that. He also never shuts up.
07-25-2016
, 04:20 PM
I'm back! Being in Mormonland didn't kill/convert me, but I admit I was pretty awful with taking pictures this weekend. Mostly it was because I was driving, but some of it was just plain forgetfulness. I'll have a post coming up with the report, but the long and the short of it is: SLC is beautiful, it was worth seeing, the hotel was amazing, but we may have been better off spending that kind of money doing a staycation at the Bellagio or something.
To answer some questions...
I honestly think people tip too little at tournaments, so I'm not the best person to ask about tipping. This town was built on tips. If you're at 5%, you're probably good. I try to do at least that much.
I was unaware of that song, but that's kind of funny. Tonopah, like most of the rural cities around, pretty interesting and full of history. It's only about 3 hours from Vegas one-way, and the road is scenic. Plus, there's the Clown Motel next to the graveyard. I've always assumed the Clown Motel/graveyard thing is sort of like the chicken and the egg. You don't know which came first, but one can't survive without the other...
Agreed. SR-50 is known as the Loneliest Road in America, and it's eerily beautiful.
He didn't that night. I'd have to think back to other tournaments to see if he did.
How was the poker scene in Reno? My week-long trip up that way got canceled so I honestly don't know what the games are like.
Not the same guy. This is an older gentleman. He and his wife have matching fedoras. He's retired so traveling for different games wouldn't surprise me at all.
I honestly thought Hooters/Tropicana would have implemented them next, only because of their proximity to MGM and about a half dozen MGM-owned properties. Only time will tell, of course.
I can squeeze in the very quick Under the Bed Cat story:
Before moving to Vegas, Steve was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs. He bought a townhouse and, though the details are unclear, basically used it as a place to drink, party, and get laid. One night, he was mid-party and realized the group needed a beer run. It's about 11:15pm at this point and Michigan state law says no alcohol sales after midnight. The race is on!
He bursts through the door at Wal-Mart, grabs some beer, and is in line by 11:45. "Perfect", he thinks. "Plenty of time to buy this before midnight and hit the road back to the laaaaadies." However, either the cashier was new and incredibly slow, or the people in front of him kept causing problems. Whatever the case, Steve did not get to the front of the line until 12:05am. The cashier informs him that it's after midnight, and alcohol can no longer be sold. Steve pleads his case - that he was in line in time and should be allowed to purchase the beer. Security is called, Steve is adamant (because who isn't stubborn as **** at 21 when there's a chance to get laid hanging in the balance?), but the store won't budge.
At this point, a sensible person would admit defeat, leave, and hope the party can continue without it. A less noble person would steal the beer and make a break for it. Steve, being slightly intoxicated and very horny, split the difference: He threw the money for the beer on the counter, and left, hoping Wal-Mart wouldn't notice.
Wal-Mart, of course, noticed.
Steve was arrested for stealing. He claims he didn't steal because he left the money for the beer. He's given a ticket and a summons. Before going to court, he moved to Las Vegas, so he is now a Nevada resident working in the casino industry waiting for a court date over some stolen beer.
He manages to keep his nose clean between the arrest and the court date, so when he flies back to Michigan for the trial, he's expecting this to be thrown out. "It's ridiculous!" he would say. "I paid for the beer! They just didn't ring it up." I urge him to not use this defense. I waste my breath. The judge hears this nonsense and tells him to shut his mouth. Steve ends up taking a plea that involves him getting X hours or Y days of community service. After checking out the list, he realizes that his community service can be to take a cat that's scared of people and foster it for a month.
Let me repeat that.
For stealing beer, his punishment is to get a cat for a month.
He takes the cat home, and it immediately crawls under the bed and stayed there for about 23.5 hours a day, hence its name. The cat eventually warmed up to Steve enough to come out from under the bed sometimes, but it never wanted to be around other people. To his credit, if the cat did become more social after the experience, it was worthwhile. But I just can't help but feel a little weird that his "punishment" is something a lot of people actively seek out.
To answer some questions...
Quote:
When we got paid there was the usual short speech that any tips to the dealers were appreciated. So I gave 50$, thinking that its maybe a little low..Less than 10% and all that. Then I see the next two tip 2$ each..And now Im thinking I must have overtipped greatly..
What would be the normal tip on a tournament score like that?
What would be the normal tip on a tournament score like that?
Quote:
Everytime I hear or read the word Tonopah; it reminds me the song Willin'; by Little Feat. Great song; if you haven't heard it, Tonopah is in the chorus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaRCE83Epqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaRCE83Epqs
Quote:
Small world. The first week of June trailered the motorcycle to Vegas for some WSOP cash games, then up 95 to Reno, listening to a Little Feat CD in that God forsaken strip of desert.
Hawthorne is interesting. As the worlds largest ammo depot, I was tempted to ask the main gate they had any 22 lr ammo available. Common sense prevailed.
Hawthorne is interesting. As the worlds largest ammo depot, I was tempted to ask the main gate they had any 22 lr ammo available. Common sense prevailed.
I can squeeze in the very quick Under the Bed Cat story:
Before moving to Vegas, Steve was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs. He bought a townhouse and, though the details are unclear, basically used it as a place to drink, party, and get laid. One night, he was mid-party and realized the group needed a beer run. It's about 11:15pm at this point and Michigan state law says no alcohol sales after midnight. The race is on!
He bursts through the door at Wal-Mart, grabs some beer, and is in line by 11:45. "Perfect", he thinks. "Plenty of time to buy this before midnight and hit the road back to the laaaaadies." However, either the cashier was new and incredibly slow, or the people in front of him kept causing problems. Whatever the case, Steve did not get to the front of the line until 12:05am. The cashier informs him that it's after midnight, and alcohol can no longer be sold. Steve pleads his case - that he was in line in time and should be allowed to purchase the beer. Security is called, Steve is adamant (because who isn't stubborn as **** at 21 when there's a chance to get laid hanging in the balance?), but the store won't budge.
At this point, a sensible person would admit defeat, leave, and hope the party can continue without it. A less noble person would steal the beer and make a break for it. Steve, being slightly intoxicated and very horny, split the difference: He threw the money for the beer on the counter, and left, hoping Wal-Mart wouldn't notice.
Wal-Mart, of course, noticed.
Steve was arrested for stealing. He claims he didn't steal because he left the money for the beer. He's given a ticket and a summons. Before going to court, he moved to Las Vegas, so he is now a Nevada resident working in the casino industry waiting for a court date over some stolen beer.
He manages to keep his nose clean between the arrest and the court date, so when he flies back to Michigan for the trial, he's expecting this to be thrown out. "It's ridiculous!" he would say. "I paid for the beer! They just didn't ring it up." I urge him to not use this defense. I waste my breath. The judge hears this nonsense and tells him to shut his mouth. Steve ends up taking a plea that involves him getting X hours or Y days of community service. After checking out the list, he realizes that his community service can be to take a cat that's scared of people and foster it for a month.
Let me repeat that.
For stealing beer, his punishment is to get a cat for a month.
He takes the cat home, and it immediately crawls under the bed and stayed there for about 23.5 hours a day, hence its name. The cat eventually warmed up to Steve enough to come out from under the bed sometimes, but it never wanted to be around other people. To his credit, if the cat did become more social after the experience, it was worthwhile. But I just can't help but feel a little weird that his "punishment" is something a lot of people actively seek out.
07-25-2016
, 05:50 PM
Saturday/Sunday, July 23-24
The wife mentioned that she wanted to get away for the weekend. My first instinct was Grand Canyon/Phoenix. A buddy/former band mate of mine was flying to Phoenix for a work thing on Sunday, so I thought that would be a good trip. But, his flight didn't get in to Phoenix until late, so doing dinner at that hour + the drive back seemed too daunting. Plus, who wants to walk around in Arizona when it's 110+ outside? Next, I thought maybe LA/San Diego, but that always seems like a better idea in the abstract than in practice. LA is just too crowded for me. As much as I thought it would be nice to lay in a beach, I don't know how "relaxing" it would be to have 500,000 other people all clamoring for space at the same beach.
I started trying to go a little more abstract - Portland, OR; Denver, CO; Billings, MT; Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT... really all of those "big" cities in the area that aren't too far away. I then decided to work my way backwards - find a hotel that suits us and plan the rest of the trip around that. That's when I found it: The Grand America in Salt Lake City. This place just oozed class. It was far and away the most expensive hotel in SLC, but at like $230 a night it really wasn't break-the-bank bad. The rooms were even bigger than some apartments I've lived in. I was excited. I told the wife I found the place. Then it was time to plan the route. I've mentioned before that we're big fans of taking day trips up and down through Nevada to check out some of the smaller rural communities, and there were plenty around where we haven't been. I found a great route that would get us to Tonopah (quaint town), Battle Mountain (always has federal jobs open online so I was curious), Elko (one of the "bigger" small cities), and West Wendover (right on the Utah border and the closest casino stop to SLC). The full map looked something like this:
CLICKY CLICKY
But then, I ran into a problem. If we leave at 9am, with drive time, stopping for gas/meals, and losing an hour to the time change, we're not going to get to the hotel until about midnight. Is it worth it to stay in a place so fancy if we're only going to be there for a few hours? I started to second-guess myself. Maybe I should stick with something smaller or less ambitious. I try to find alternatives, in addition to just scrapping the idea of going the long way through the small towns. But the wife chimed in to trust my instincts, and that I should stick with plan A. We'd even leave at 5am if need be, just to make sure we get enough time in this hotel. So we're booked! I decided to splurge and booked her a hot stone massage Sunday morning, since all that driving will take a toll out of both of us.
Friday night, we meet up with Joboo and Brad at Jjanga. I hate to say it - but I can no longer recommend Jjanga. It's been my go-to sushi spot for a couple of years now, and I belittle and berate anyone who says differently (especially Goyemon - c'mon, it's a 90 minute wait for average-at-best food, stop it already). But now, it's gone so far downhill that it's no longer at the top of my list. Service was excellent, don't get me wrong. But things like the crab ball and gyoza were much smaller than before, the bulgogi burrito wasn't wrapped properly and there was about 1/4 the bulgogi as before, the salmon didn't taste right... no one was happy. Even the mochi ice cream at the end was trash. Just a real disappointment that it's gone to ****.
It's 4am. Why the **** is my alarm going off at 4am? Oh right, because we're morons who decided to get on the road by 5am instead of doing the sensible thing and staying at a place other than the Clown Motel in Tonopah Friday night, and continuing the drive in the morning. We pack our clothes, snacks, caffeine, and hit the road.
The one thing I forgot about: there are a ton of bugs on these roads, and they apparently love to Kamikaze windshields:
I'd take a picture of the grill, but it's just more of the same.
Welcome to Beatty:
Immediately after leaving Beatty we start to see signs for Tonopah Station hotel and casino. They offer a free room with a roll of the dice. I knew there were hotels other than the Clown Motel!
This sign says "Tonopah: Home of the Muckers". If the NHL team doesn't take this nickname, I'm canceling my season tickets.
We grab a bite to eat at the Mizpah Hotel's Pittman Cafe. Both the hotel and cafe are ranking #1 for Tonopah on TripAdvisor. This place sticks to its historic roots, but they have an odd sense of decor:
Walls upon walls of celebrity photos and checks. But not signed photos and not checks made out to the hotel. Stock photos and checks made out to random people/places. Dozens of them. All along the walls. Rural Nevada, man...
At this point, the wife has a clue as to where we're going, but doesn't say anything so she can play along with the surprise. Damn, I thought I was more clever than that. Back on the road:
We're winding our way out of a National Forest and arrive in the town of Austin, NV. Their motto is "What happens in Austin, you brag about". Touche, Austin. There's nothing of note and the roads are windy, so I'm not taking pictures. Then we see a sign that says "Stokes Castle" and immediately turn off for a random adventure. We're going up this treacherous, one-lane but two-way mountain dirt road, until we get to a plateau and see this:
We get back on the road and hit Battle Mountain. It's another quaint little rural town. I didn't think to grab a picture of the town itself, just the menu at the Mexican restaurant we went to that said "Served with Rice and Rice". I take a chance that it's a misprint, and it is. Rice and beans galore! We eat too much, but before we can get back on the road I can tell my wife is a little upset. She starts asking questions about where we're going. "Have we talked about this place in the last month?" Yes. "Have you been there before?" Yes. "Is it a nice place?" It damn well better be. "Are we going to the Peppermill in Reno?" Not even in the right direction. She perks up. "Oh thank god. I mean, Reno's nice but I didn't want to wait around while you play poker all weekend." Oh good, I've got my wife back.
Next stop: Elko
If you can't see that, it says "Gateway to the Rubies". Nevada is a mining state to the tune of a few billion in tax revenue every year. It's actually a bigger town than you'd expect, but I only thought to grab this one pic:
As we're leaving, I get a text from my buddy Gremlin. "Hey what room are you in at the Mizvah? Me and Jess are in the Victorian room". I haven't mentioned Gremlin too much in my stories yet because he really hasn't been around for too many of them. He and Brad had a big blow-up argument a while back and Gremlin sort of self-excluded himself from activities. Plus he doesn't drink or gamble, doesn't much care for home poker games, and would rather stay home and play video games.
Gremlin was born and raised in San Bernadino county, but moved to Pahrump for his senior year of high school. After graduation, he immediately joined the Marines. I know what you're thinking - "Spike, why did someone who hates the water join a branch of the Navy?" Did I mention he hates the open water? ****ing HATES it. Since the Marines are a bunch of sadistic ****ers, they stationed him on Okinawa for three years. After being discharged, he came back to Vegas and began working as a slot tech. He joined up with our group and was a little bit of an outcast - when you have a dozen or so loud, drunk gamblers who want to stay up until 5am playing cards, it's hard to fit in as an introvert who doesn't like to gamble and starts work at 6am. Still, he managed to come to all non-gambling events, and even had a great time while doing it.
When Jamie and I broke up, I found my apartment complex by random chance. Gremlin wanted to look for a new apartment, too, so I showed him where I was going to live. He marched into the office and said "Please tell me the apartment right above Spike is open". They informed him that it was rented, but that the apartment next door would be available. Sold! We were neighbors for about a year and a half, but we both met our significant others during this time. After about eight months of non-stop hanging out, we decided to focus on people we actually wanted to ****. I'd say it worked out well.
Anyway, Gremlin and his chick have been living together for a while but I haven't heard too much from him lately. I was happy that he found a girl (and, to be perfectly honest, he's punching WAY WAY WAY above his weight class with this one). I'm happy they have a good life together. I had no idea they were coming up north. I asked what the deal was, he said they're getting hitched in Tahoe on Tuesday and they're only in Tonopah for the night. It's a small ceremony, he said, only about ten people, but we're definitely welcome to come if we're around. Regretfully, since we're headed in the wrong direction and both of us have to work this week, we had to decline.
I honestly don't know...
Are they even trying at this point?
We come over a hill and see West Wendover and Utah:
We decide to stop at the Peppermill to grab a $1 chip and use the restroom. I thought this was really weird:
It's a TV that cycles through HD images of other places. Not advertising services available to guests. Not touting everything Nevada has to offer. Pictures of Boston, NYC, Seattle, Italy, Rio... I couldn't figure out why they did that.
It's a couple more hours of driving before we get to SLC. When my wife sees the hotel, she says "Oh, okay. I get it now".
SLC really feels like a nice little city. We didn't do too much exploring, but we did walk to a place called the Copper Onion for dinner. Really good food, but the service was a little meh.
We crash far earlier than we needed to, woke up early and requested a late check out. I tell my wife she's got a spa appointment at 11, and when she's done I'll meet her in the indoor pool area. The spa at this place is four stories tall, with a giant indoor pool and hot tub. It's a great end to a really nice weekend away.
Unfortunately, all good things must end. We pack up, swing by the temple (and I mean *THE* temple), and hit the road back home. It's only going to be about 6 hours coming back, so that should make things a little better. There are more towns along the way, but finding a place to eat is no easy task. We forget that everything is closed on Sundays in Utah, but we did find a Culver's in some random city between SLC and Provo.
The drive back puts us through the corner of Arizona. And what drive through Arizona would be complete without going around a crazy canyon road?
The wildfires in San Bernadino make for some great Vegas valley sunsets:
But it screws up my view of the Strip:
Grabbing a burrito at my favorite Mexican chain before we finally get home:
And that's that. Like I said, the drive was probably too long for a simple overnight trip. I think we'd probably do the shorter route and go for a few nights if we make this drive again. Still, it was an adventure. And I have the best adventure partner ever.
The wife mentioned that she wanted to get away for the weekend. My first instinct was Grand Canyon/Phoenix. A buddy/former band mate of mine was flying to Phoenix for a work thing on Sunday, so I thought that would be a good trip. But, his flight didn't get in to Phoenix until late, so doing dinner at that hour + the drive back seemed too daunting. Plus, who wants to walk around in Arizona when it's 110+ outside? Next, I thought maybe LA/San Diego, but that always seems like a better idea in the abstract than in practice. LA is just too crowded for me. As much as I thought it would be nice to lay in a beach, I don't know how "relaxing" it would be to have 500,000 other people all clamoring for space at the same beach.
I started trying to go a little more abstract - Portland, OR; Denver, CO; Billings, MT; Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT... really all of those "big" cities in the area that aren't too far away. I then decided to work my way backwards - find a hotel that suits us and plan the rest of the trip around that. That's when I found it: The Grand America in Salt Lake City. This place just oozed class. It was far and away the most expensive hotel in SLC, but at like $230 a night it really wasn't break-the-bank bad. The rooms were even bigger than some apartments I've lived in. I was excited. I told the wife I found the place. Then it was time to plan the route. I've mentioned before that we're big fans of taking day trips up and down through Nevada to check out some of the smaller rural communities, and there were plenty around where we haven't been. I found a great route that would get us to Tonopah (quaint town), Battle Mountain (always has federal jobs open online so I was curious), Elko (one of the "bigger" small cities), and West Wendover (right on the Utah border and the closest casino stop to SLC). The full map looked something like this:
CLICKY CLICKY
But then, I ran into a problem. If we leave at 9am, with drive time, stopping for gas/meals, and losing an hour to the time change, we're not going to get to the hotel until about midnight. Is it worth it to stay in a place so fancy if we're only going to be there for a few hours? I started to second-guess myself. Maybe I should stick with something smaller or less ambitious. I try to find alternatives, in addition to just scrapping the idea of going the long way through the small towns. But the wife chimed in to trust my instincts, and that I should stick with plan A. We'd even leave at 5am if need be, just to make sure we get enough time in this hotel. So we're booked! I decided to splurge and booked her a hot stone massage Sunday morning, since all that driving will take a toll out of both of us.
Friday night, we meet up with Joboo and Brad at Jjanga. I hate to say it - but I can no longer recommend Jjanga. It's been my go-to sushi spot for a couple of years now, and I belittle and berate anyone who says differently (especially Goyemon - c'mon, it's a 90 minute wait for average-at-best food, stop it already). But now, it's gone so far downhill that it's no longer at the top of my list. Service was excellent, don't get me wrong. But things like the crab ball and gyoza were much smaller than before, the bulgogi burrito wasn't wrapped properly and there was about 1/4 the bulgogi as before, the salmon didn't taste right... no one was happy. Even the mochi ice cream at the end was trash. Just a real disappointment that it's gone to ****.
It's 4am. Why the **** is my alarm going off at 4am? Oh right, because we're morons who decided to get on the road by 5am instead of doing the sensible thing and staying at a place other than the Clown Motel in Tonopah Friday night, and continuing the drive in the morning. We pack our clothes, snacks, caffeine, and hit the road.
The one thing I forgot about: there are a ton of bugs on these roads, and they apparently love to Kamikaze windshields:
I'd take a picture of the grill, but it's just more of the same.
Welcome to Beatty:
Immediately after leaving Beatty we start to see signs for Tonopah Station hotel and casino. They offer a free room with a roll of the dice. I knew there were hotels other than the Clown Motel!
This sign says "Tonopah: Home of the Muckers". If the NHL team doesn't take this nickname, I'm canceling my season tickets.
We grab a bite to eat at the Mizpah Hotel's Pittman Cafe. Both the hotel and cafe are ranking #1 for Tonopah on TripAdvisor. This place sticks to its historic roots, but they have an odd sense of decor:
Walls upon walls of celebrity photos and checks. But not signed photos and not checks made out to the hotel. Stock photos and checks made out to random people/places. Dozens of them. All along the walls. Rural Nevada, man...
At this point, the wife has a clue as to where we're going, but doesn't say anything so she can play along with the surprise. Damn, I thought I was more clever than that. Back on the road:
We're winding our way out of a National Forest and arrive in the town of Austin, NV. Their motto is "What happens in Austin, you brag about". Touche, Austin. There's nothing of note and the roads are windy, so I'm not taking pictures. Then we see a sign that says "Stokes Castle" and immediately turn off for a random adventure. We're going up this treacherous, one-lane but two-way mountain dirt road, until we get to a plateau and see this:
We get back on the road and hit Battle Mountain. It's another quaint little rural town. I didn't think to grab a picture of the town itself, just the menu at the Mexican restaurant we went to that said "Served with Rice and Rice". I take a chance that it's a misprint, and it is. Rice and beans galore! We eat too much, but before we can get back on the road I can tell my wife is a little upset. She starts asking questions about where we're going. "Have we talked about this place in the last month?" Yes. "Have you been there before?" Yes. "Is it a nice place?" It damn well better be. "Are we going to the Peppermill in Reno?" Not even in the right direction. She perks up. "Oh thank god. I mean, Reno's nice but I didn't want to wait around while you play poker all weekend." Oh good, I've got my wife back.
Next stop: Elko
If you can't see that, it says "Gateway to the Rubies". Nevada is a mining state to the tune of a few billion in tax revenue every year. It's actually a bigger town than you'd expect, but I only thought to grab this one pic:
As we're leaving, I get a text from my buddy Gremlin. "Hey what room are you in at the Mizvah? Me and Jess are in the Victorian room". I haven't mentioned Gremlin too much in my stories yet because he really hasn't been around for too many of them. He and Brad had a big blow-up argument a while back and Gremlin sort of self-excluded himself from activities. Plus he doesn't drink or gamble, doesn't much care for home poker games, and would rather stay home and play video games.
Gremlin was born and raised in San Bernadino county, but moved to Pahrump for his senior year of high school. After graduation, he immediately joined the Marines. I know what you're thinking - "Spike, why did someone who hates the water join a branch of the Navy?" Did I mention he hates the open water? ****ing HATES it. Since the Marines are a bunch of sadistic ****ers, they stationed him on Okinawa for three years. After being discharged, he came back to Vegas and began working as a slot tech. He joined up with our group and was a little bit of an outcast - when you have a dozen or so loud, drunk gamblers who want to stay up until 5am playing cards, it's hard to fit in as an introvert who doesn't like to gamble and starts work at 6am. Still, he managed to come to all non-gambling events, and even had a great time while doing it.
When Jamie and I broke up, I found my apartment complex by random chance. Gremlin wanted to look for a new apartment, too, so I showed him where I was going to live. He marched into the office and said "Please tell me the apartment right above Spike is open". They informed him that it was rented, but that the apartment next door would be available. Sold! We were neighbors for about a year and a half, but we both met our significant others during this time. After about eight months of non-stop hanging out, we decided to focus on people we actually wanted to ****. I'd say it worked out well.
Anyway, Gremlin and his chick have been living together for a while but I haven't heard too much from him lately. I was happy that he found a girl (and, to be perfectly honest, he's punching WAY WAY WAY above his weight class with this one). I'm happy they have a good life together. I had no idea they were coming up north. I asked what the deal was, he said they're getting hitched in Tahoe on Tuesday and they're only in Tonopah for the night. It's a small ceremony, he said, only about ten people, but we're definitely welcome to come if we're around. Regretfully, since we're headed in the wrong direction and both of us have to work this week, we had to decline.
I honestly don't know...
Are they even trying at this point?
We come over a hill and see West Wendover and Utah:
We decide to stop at the Peppermill to grab a $1 chip and use the restroom. I thought this was really weird:
It's a TV that cycles through HD images of other places. Not advertising services available to guests. Not touting everything Nevada has to offer. Pictures of Boston, NYC, Seattle, Italy, Rio... I couldn't figure out why they did that.
It's a couple more hours of driving before we get to SLC. When my wife sees the hotel, she says "Oh, okay. I get it now".
SLC really feels like a nice little city. We didn't do too much exploring, but we did walk to a place called the Copper Onion for dinner. Really good food, but the service was a little meh.
We crash far earlier than we needed to, woke up early and requested a late check out. I tell my wife she's got a spa appointment at 11, and when she's done I'll meet her in the indoor pool area. The spa at this place is four stories tall, with a giant indoor pool and hot tub. It's a great end to a really nice weekend away.
Unfortunately, all good things must end. We pack up, swing by the temple (and I mean *THE* temple), and hit the road back home. It's only going to be about 6 hours coming back, so that should make things a little better. There are more towns along the way, but finding a place to eat is no easy task. We forget that everything is closed on Sundays in Utah, but we did find a Culver's in some random city between SLC and Provo.
The drive back puts us through the corner of Arizona. And what drive through Arizona would be complete without going around a crazy canyon road?
The wildfires in San Bernadino make for some great Vegas valley sunsets:
But it screws up my view of the Strip:
Grabbing a burrito at my favorite Mexican chain before we finally get home:
And that's that. Like I said, the drive was probably too long for a simple overnight trip. I think we'd probably do the shorter route and go for a few nights if we make this drive again. Still, it was an adventure. And I have the best adventure partner ever.
07-25-2016
, 09:51 PM
07-26-2016
, 02:48 AM
Quote:
I played poker at the Peppermill and while the room was exceptional, it was infested with nit regs. Flopped a set of Queens with 2 hearts, nit reg calls my all in bet of ~80 with 75hh and naturally catches the heart, and then slow rolls me.
I'm sure it would be much better with a weekend or convention type crowd.
I'm sure it would be much better with a weekend or convention type crowd.
That the Peppermill has these types of players surprise me exactly 0%. When the population is small and the selection of games limited, these are the guys who have to chase promos in order to feel like they're getting their money's worth. I'm not even sure if they think poker is a beatable game. They just like bonuses.
That actually means quite a bit. Thank you.
There's a lot of open space, so there's a Bureau of Land Management office and (I think) Forest Services are out there. I just did a search on usajobs.gov, and 21 of the 21 jobs available are through BLM.
If you ever want to get a big laugh at a poker table, just use any Groucho Marx quote. My favorite (although I'm not entirely sure he actually said it - could just be an urban myth) is when he was hosting a game show called You Bet Your Life, and a new contestant comes on. She's introduced, so Groucho starts asking questions.
Groucho: Are you married?
Woman: Oh yes.
Groucho: And kids?
Woman: My husband and I have fifteen children.
Groucho: Fifteen kids?!?
Woman: Well I love my husband.
Groucho: I love my cigar, but every once in a while I take it out of my mouth.
Monday, July 25 -
This is a day I should have forgotten about. I should have stayed home. I should have done laundry. I should have gone grocery shopping (**** I still don't have food for lunch tomorrow). After work, I should have done anything except what I actually did.
I decide I want to play a session at yet another place I haven't been in a while. The wife is working late and I left work early, so I've got plenty of time to screw around and see what happens. I think back to TheTrooper's videos. He's been playing quite a bit at the Golden Nugget, but always mentions that he might go to Planet Hollywood. I haven't been to PH in a long, long time, and they've got 3 tables of 1/2 running. I call and get my name on the list, and head on out:
I forgot how crazy the Miracle Mile shops can be, and there are people everywhere. I'm starting to get annoyed, and I don't like playing when I'm annoyed. But I've made it this far, so I soldier on.
The room is running as normal and not too loud. I check in, and only have to wait about a minute before a seat opens up. I'm off my game. I can feel it early and I ignore all warning signs and instincts and stick it out. All told, I punt my $200 buy-in after about 90 minutes and leave. There were a few hands of note:
About my fifth hand at the table, I'm in the hijack. UTG raises to $7 and the player to my right calls. I look down at two black aces and make it $25. Original raiser folds, player to my right calls and checks dark. Flop comes AK7 (yay!) all diamonds (booooo). I check behind. Turn is Td for the four card flush. Player checks, and I decide if he doesn't have a diamond I'm so far ahead. I bet $40 and he goes into the tank. ****. He's definitely got the flush, but maybe this is something like 99 with the diamond? Or maybe he's got two black tens underneath and he's debating what to do. He eventually folds. I show the aces just to get a reaction from people. Player asks if he shoves, do I call? I don't have too many chips behind, so I'd probably be committed. He turns to his friend and says something. I THINK it's "Good fold, then", but I can't be sure. So much for getting information.
A woman sits down to my left and she's UTG her first hand. She raises to $5 and five people call. I see 64o from the BB and call. Flop 862r. Checks to her, she bets $5. Two other callers, I call. Turn is a 4 completing the rainbow. I lead out for $20. She calls. River is an A. I check, and she bets $20. I have zero read on this person, but she can't be all that strong, right? I call and she shows A2. And this is why poker players kill themselves. I wish I could say I took all her money in the end, but two hands later, she racks up and moves to another table.
About half an hour later, someone has taken her old seat and raised UTG to $10. Four callers, I see Q9dd and call. Flop QQT. Checks to the raiser and he bets $15. I know this game - he's C-betting here, not realizing his AK is no good but still expects everyone to fold. I call, then lead for $35 on a 2x turn. He folds. Very next hand, I have AKss. It limps to me in the SB and I make it $10. BB raises to $30 and I feel like he's just trying to make a move and get some money back that he lost last hand. It folds back to me, and I put him all-in for his last $99. He thinks for a moment, and eventually calls. Board bricks out, and he shows JJ. ****.
It's about this time that I look up and see TheTrooper sitting a few tables away. I wait for the button to pass and go over to say hi. I start to tell him I'm a fan, and he's like "Yo don't say 'fan' at the table". I apologize and dismiss it, we chat for a second (and it's a quick but friendly talk), and I leave. Then that interaction started to bug me. He's putting himself out there on the internet for people to recognize, why would he get mad when he gets recognized? That didn't make any sense to me. I felt like it was an arrogant slap in the face. Here I am, taking time out of my day to say hello and let him know that another random internet stranger is appreciating the work that he does, and he gives me **** for it right away.
Back in my previous life, I was a drummer in a couple of punk bands around Boston. None of them went anywhere really, but we sold a few thousand CDs and played with some bigger bands (Lagwagon, Ducky Boys, the Queers, Dropkick Murphys before they got popular, Anti-Flag, the Scaries, the Trouble, Hot Rod Circuit, $5 Bucks!, the $ellout$!, Kicked in the Head, Patent Pending...) It was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I quit back in 2004 because I wanted to spend more time with my then-girlfriend and have more time with my mom who was going through chemotherapy. But every once in a while, I'd get recognized on the street. If someone came up to me and asked for a picture, I'd happily oblige. If they wanted to talk about music or some show they saw, I'd talk with them for basically as long as they wanted/I was able to. I wanted to be engaging. For the fans that stuck around the longest and knew my sick sense of humor, I'd try to personalize "autographs" whenever we got new press shots (typically that meant crossing out my face and writing "HA HA I quit!"). I thought back to all this, and TheTrooper's response bugged me a lot.
I'm stewing on this when I eventually go broke. There's an early raise to $11 with two callers. I see two black queens and ship my last $69 in there. Three people call and I say "This is either really good, or really bad for me". Flop comes AKx and I know I'm toast. One guy bets out into an empty side pot causing the other players to fold. The board runs out with a couple of bricks and I say "How far behind am I?" He shows AThh. I table my QQ and head out the door.
As I'm walking out and driving home, I think more about that incident with TheTrooper. And I get it now. I can't compare how TheTrooper reacted with my reactions back home. He has said on numerous occasions that he wants the image of the villain. He wants a confrontational, antagonistic table. How can he get that image if people are coming up to him, smiling, laughing and regaling him with their favorite memory of his videos? He's there to work, and he's there to maintain an image. I wasn't distracting him. I was potentially costing him money. It was nothing like back in the day, where I could chat and laugh with fans with zero negative consequence either way. I can't stay mad at someone who reacted like that. I realize this as I'm driving home, and this kind of personal insight makes the night slightly more palatable, especially after such a **** showing at the tables.
Plus, if TheTrooper connects the dots between this conversation and what we talked about later, it's going to reveal something super embarrassing about myself. So there's that...
07-26-2016
, 05:34 AM
I've seen a bunch of Mormon temples in CA and AZ and the one here in Century City is a nice piece of architecture
as is the one in La Jolla/San Diego
But the one in SLC is pretty awe inspiring as far as American houses of worship go. I mean...
That thing is right up there with the Crystal Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm not much of a religious person but I've always been highly fascinated by the size and architecture of these places.
as is the one in La Jolla/San Diego
But the one in SLC is pretty awe inspiring as far as American houses of worship go. I mean...
That thing is right up there with the Crystal Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm not much of a religious person but I've always been highly fascinated by the size and architecture of these places.
this thread
07-26-2016
, 02:58 PM
Quote:
I don't know if all of that was the problem with your interaction with Trooper. It may have been as simple as not wanting to be known by a random walking up. Why is this guy known? Is he famous, or a pro? Maybe he just wanted to remain anonymous to the other players at the table.
Quote:
I've seen a bunch of Mormon temples in CA and AZ and the one here in Century City is a nice piece of architecture
as is the one in La Jolla/San Diego
But the one in SLC is pretty awe inspiring as far as American houses of worship go. I mean...
That thing is right up there with the Crystal Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm not much of a religious person but I've always been highly fascinated by the size and architecture of these places.
as is the one in La Jolla/San Diego
But the one in SLC is pretty awe inspiring as far as American houses of worship go. I mean...
That thing is right up there with the Crystal Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm not much of a religious person but I've always been highly fascinated by the size and architecture of these places.
I was honestly surprised there were honest-to-god, barely spoke English Mexicans up there. There's a Yelp review for this place that said "They should call their bathrooms 'Jesus' because they are immaculate". And they really were pristine. It really showed a pride in what they do and how they care for things that sometimes gets lost.
According to Wikipedia:
Quote:
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,871 people, 1,053 households, and 731 families residing in the community. The population density was 1,588.3 people per square mile. There were 1,455 housing units at an average density of 804.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the community was 81.30% White, 0.14% African American, 2.54% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 11.81% from other races, and 3.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.58% of the population.
07-26-2016
, 11:15 PM
Had to throw in my favorite pic from US95:
...seems odd they couldn't keep it going with a sign like that.
...seems odd they couldn't keep it going with a sign like that.
07-27-2016
, 01:28 AM
I now have a possible trip to Phoenix in the works this weekend if my buddy is still in town. If not, the wife is working and has an appointment with our Thai tailors to get more suits made.
I'm starting to forget what stories I've told during this thread so forgive me if I'm repeating myself. Back in January, the wife was sent off to Macau for a month for work. She was scheduled to work six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. Granted, she was staying at the Wynn and the entirety of her stay was comped (including all meals inside the hotel) so it wasn't all bad. But that much time in a foreign country, staying in a hotel, especially for someone who doesn't gamble was kind of a drag. One night, she tells me she wants to go to a beach somewhere and relax for a few days after this is all over. Her flight home (Macau to Taipei, Taipei to LAX, LAX to Vegas) is pre-booked and can't be changed, so my initial thought of meeting her in Hawaii was shot down. I do a bit of research and find the perfect spot: Phuket, Thailand.
I fly in to Macau for a couple of days and hang out with the wife at the Wynn. I actually get in a little poker action at the 25/50HKD table (about $3/$6 USD) and come out ahead about 1500HKD (or about $190 USD). It should have been a lot more, but in a hand where I turned the nut flush with a re-draw to the royal, the river paired the board and my opponent showed the full house. I was too jetlagged to play more than a couple of hours, but it's a really nice room.
We head out to Phuket and it's paradise. The Thai people are the nicest people on the planet (until it comes time to make a deal... then they're bloodthirsty monsters). We're staying on Karon beach, but just over the hill on Patong beach is a tailor that will create a custom suit for you in a matter of just a couple of days. It's kind of spectacular, but they didn't know who Don Cherry was so it was a little disappointing. I wanted something to honor Grapes, dammit!
(If you don't get that reference, here's probably the most tame suit he owns):
Long story short - the tailors work their magic and we've been very happy. I got a 3-piece suit and two shirts, the wife got a suit jacket, pants, skirt, and dress. They shipped it to us via overnight courier, all in for $1100. These tailors are so popular in the States, they come for about a month and travel from city to city meeting with clients. Luck would have it that they're in Vegas now, so the wife is going to get a couple more suits made. I don't necessarily need any more, but I should start dressing better. Maybe it's time I start dressing like I'm 36 going on 37, not 36 going on 17...
... but damn, t-shirts are really comfortable.
One final note about that trip: We couldn't change my wife's flights at all. There are no direct flights from Phuket to Macau. Our trip home consisted of five flights. That one "day" actually lasted almost 40 hours. We flew from:
Phuket to Bangkok
Bangkok to Macau
Macau to Taipei
Taipei to LAX
LAX to Vegas
That flight from Taipei to LAX was sort of weird. The airline offers a handful of different sections: Economy, Economy Plus (basically domestic US first class), Business Class, and "Royal" Class. I picked Econ Plus since it was only like $200 more than Economy. But my wife's company won't settle for anything less than the best. She was in the Royal Class, a seat worth about $8000. That seat alone made me wonder if I'm in the wrong line of work...