Greetings from Vegas

The adventure continues... we were checked in before 10:30pm PST last night, flying in on a Saturday night is different. Our plane was just over 1/2 full, so there was room to move and breath. Oddly enough, we were chastised when we boarded because they insisted that we should have checked in 15 minutes prior. They were actually calling for the Wolfe's and Murray's over the airport intercom. Hey we were just next door at the bar. Anyway, no one was left behind.

The shuttle from the airport to the Imperial Palace was quick and painless. After checking in and stowing luggage, we grabbed a quick bite and then headed for the casino floor. Frank and I headed for the Poker Room while the Snappers headed for table games over at O'Sheas for some reason.

The Imperial was VERY busy last night. VERY!!! It took a while to get a seat at a table, and when that happened it was a $2/$4 Limit table. I heard later that it took nearly 2 hours for the guy that signed up at the same time as I did to get seated at a $1/$2 NLHE table. Like I said it was busy. Frank just reminded me that the poker room actually RAN OUT of $1 chips and was actually putting the orange-ish $4 chips in common play. Folks were showing up with those exclusively in their racks, when first getting seated. The dealers and poker room manager all said that THIS had never happened. One dealer who was just starting his shift, asked "What the hell are all the $4 chips doing on the friggin' table?!" Yeah I think he actually said friggin'.

I was pleased to find that the IP had gone hi-tech. For those of us who have played at Wheeling Island, you'll feel right at home. The electronic tables, with the auto shufflers, and dealers LED display, and card swiper are all identical. I talked to some of the dealers last night about them, and they said they really like them, and are a vast improvement over the old ones. Everything is tied in to the computer system and they have a flat panel display to let you know where you are on the waiting list, and what games are currently being spread. They've also expanded the bad beat and high hand bonuses. Between 8 and 11 AM each day, if you get Aces cracked you'll get the $100 bad beat money, or $50 for Kings. There are progressive payouts for high hands as well, such as quads, straight flushes and royals. The highest one currently on the board is the Club Royal Flush, which when I last saw it last night in the WEE HOURS was at $2,987. Frank, got up this morning before the rest of us, since he wussed out early : ) and headed for bed. He got his Aces cracked and took down the $100. That'll work.

Last night, I played $2/$4 and drank, alot, and decided the drunk was more important than the poker and decided the cards were just something to do. From 11:00pm to around 5:00am I was in the poker room. I was up for a while, a modest 40-50 bucks but I was tippin' and drinkin' and havin' a great time. There was a preponderance of eye candy to behold. How do they get such little tiny Asian girls, with big boobs. Must be in the water... Anyway around 4:00am Big Red stopped by to tell me she was still on the casino floor, playing and was UP, but didn't wanna jinx it by counting yet, she said not to leave without her, and she flitted off again. Shortly after that I got my Kings cracked (sadly no bonus) by a guy with a pair of Jacks. Then I proceeded to have Big Slick busted twice, once by a J-3os, ick... I would win with crap like Q2s, and lose with the biguns. I missed hitting open enders about 7 times in under an hour, and watched the stack begin to dwindle. So around 5:00am I decided to cash out down $68. Not bitter, just getting bored. I found Big Red at the 3-card-poker table, still continuing her winnin' ways. I sat down and played too. Had a few Jack and Cokes each and just enjoyed the table and some really great dealers. I sat with $100, cashed out for $200, even after dropping some RED tips to the dealers, who continued to hand me 6 to 1 straights! Around 6:45am we decided a few hours in bed would be a good idea.

Oh, and Big Red finally decided to let me in on her winning streak. Between Let It Ride, BlackJack, Crazy 4 Poker, and 3 Card poker all night, she was up a whopping $500! Hell yeah!!! Lady Luck is a fickle little bitch though so she's not gonna do anything stupid and blow it all. Yeah we'll see.

Won't be long til we head down to NYNY. Yeah I know, we're behind schedule, so bite me, I'm on Vegas time baby! We're just about ready to go though, so I'll wrap up now. I've gotta call a few of you, to put you at ease. We did make it, we're not in jail, and so far will not need a shot of penicillin to take care of any anomalies.

Stay tuned.

Regards,

cheer_dad