I’ll try to do it justice with my write-up, but I have to admit I’m exhausted.
Right off the bat, I will say that both my and Sacha’s expenses were totally paid for by a very, very generous person. I had nothing to lose by going, so I went. I’m really glad I did.
I arrived in Las Vegas around 1:00 pm on Friday and took an Uber to the Bellagio.. James couldn’t attend because my invite came near the last minute, and he couldn’t get off work. He knows about my search partner, of course, and knows our relationship is strictly platonic. My search partner, who now everyone knows is Scott, was there when I got there, but had a business meeting to attend so he generously gave me a little money to play the slots with until Sacha arrived 4:30.
I played a couple slots, and won a little and lost a little, then went up to the room to rest up because I knew we’d be up late. We had planned to go see one of my old friends, Scott Nicholson, perform his dueling pianos show at the Excalibur at 9:00.
Here’s a pic from the air near my layover in Minneapolis. It was -8 degrees — the coldest weather I’ve ever experienced!
But alas Vegas was much warmer:
Sacha and I had a great time catching up, and just talked until Scott arrived at 5:45. I feel very comfortable with Sacha, because she gets me. Her son and ex-husband are both autistic, so she recognizes the traits and doesn’t think I’m too weird.
Sacha is full of inspiring stories. I’m glad she’s as outgoing as she is, because there was never awkward silence. I’m not the best at speaking, so I was content to listen to her interesting and informing stories.
After a bit, we decided to go downstairs and try our hand at Blackjack. I still had the money Scott gave us, so I gave half to Sacha and we bought into a table. Basically, we couldn’t lose. It seemed like Blackjacks were in season, because they kept showing up. So we walked away with a nice surplus of chips, and Scott said we could keep what we won.
Scott arrived, and we decided to eat at Gordon Ramsey’s pub at Caesar’s Palace. I order the black Angus steak and Mac n cheese. It was a ton of food. I ate my steak, which was delicious, and some Mac n cheese, but couldn’t come close to eating it all, so we boxed it up and took it back to the room for later.
By that time, it was already 9:00, which was like midnight to me. I was exhausted. Mike Cowlings had invited us to a suite at the Flamingo, but Sacha wanted to talk to Jason, and I just wanted a hot bath, my iPad, and that comfy Bellagio bed. So Scott headed to the suite, and I climbed into a nice hot bath and put together a jigsaw puzzle on my iPad before getting into bed. I needed to unwind after processing so many sights, sounds, and textures. Las Vegas used to soothe me in a weird way, but now that I’m older, the crowds and noise and lights are too much. Except when this happens—that’s a thousand dollar payout, by the way...
The next morning we had breakfast in our room and talked about ttotc and ouaw a little. Scott had set up an appt at the spa for me to get my hair done, but I decided I didn’t want to sit for an hour, and I didn’t much care who liked or didn’t like my hair, so I asked Sacha if she wanted it. She said she needed a trim, so she enjoyed the spa treatment. She really deserved this little getaway and I wanted her to really enjoy herself.
Time flew by that day. After Sacha had her hair trimmed, we were supposed to meet John Bobbitt and boomergirl for lunch, but John Bobbitt was running behind, so boomer, Scott, Sacha and I enjoyed a nice brunch at the Bellagio Buffet.
John Bobbitt finally arrived, so we met and said hi to him in the lobby, then Sacha took him to lunch at Noodles.
Scott’s father had passed away on Thursday, so he was not able to stay for the poker tournament, and he left after lunch.
Boomer and I went to play some penny slots where she tore them up. She’s a lucky little lady! I finally found a machine that liked me, so I ended up with a decent cash out voucher as well.
As an aside, the Property Brothers were at Bellagio by the giant pig filming a commercial. Pretty cool!!
Time flew by, and soon it was time to leave Bellagio and head to Bally’s for the poker tournament. No one "shunned" me, that I could tell.
Everyone was very nice, including Jamie, who approached and asked if we could talk. I won’t divulge what was said, but at the end,we hugged. I wonder if anyone caught that on camera. Lol. We both want the hate and lies to stop. If a certain forum continues to spread hate and lies, well, just know you’re going against Jamie’s wishes.
The poker tournament itself was fun. The way it worked was that you bought in at $60, and they gave everyone the same amount of chips. So although you played with thousands of dollars in chips, you really only invested $60. And you had to play until you busted, or won. If you busted within the first hour or so, you could buy in again with another sixty. Thankfully, I didn’t go bust and need to take advantage of that option.
I’ve never played poker in a casino, so I didn’t really know anything about the game. However, the dealers knew there were some noobs in the room, so they were very helpful and friendly.
My table had some pretty cool guys at it, also very friendly and helpful. I had a strategy, which surprisingly worked, and I steadily built my stash of chips as players started to drop out.
I had a couple of great hands, and one EPIC one, in which I played a fierce match with John Bobbitt, who was known as a very aggressive player. I was nervous when he went just about all in, and he had a large stack of chips. I had to put in most of mine to meet his bet, too. Everyone else had folded.
So I met his bet, and there was a LOT of money in the middle of he table, and he looked really confident. But I had a straight. So, I thought he could be confident with a pair of Kings or Aces. I didn’t think he would have anything better. I still had a chance to win.
The time came when we had to show our hands, and he had a straight too, with a higher high card. I thought I’d lost...BUT it turned out I had a straight FLUSH. I didn’t even know until the dealer pointed to me and said, “You win!”
I couldn’t believe it, and everyone at the table cheered. That felt pretty good, and John was a great sport and shook my hand and said "Well played." I told him the same and the game went forward.
Time whittled on, and I was growing tired, yawning frequently. I wasn’t looking forward to the long trudge back to the Bellagio (I had to detour through Caesar’s to cash out a voucher), but I didn’t want to quit playing —I was having too much fun.
When they condensed to one table, I couldn’t believe I was there. Of course, boomergirl was there too, because she’s a little leprechaun of Lady Luck. Not to mention a secret Jedi Poker Master. Her pile of chips made mine look nearly invisible.
I knew I wouldn’t last too long, and I was right. I think there were 11 or 12 at the last table. I remember Copper Dan saying, "And then there were 9," after a player busted out. I’m pretty sure I was the next to go when I had a pair of kings and a pair of low cards or some hand like that, and someone, Mike Cowling, I think, had a pair of Kings and something higher than 3’s. I can’t remember, really, because by that time, I was pretty exhausted. I told everyone thanks, and to have a great night and bowed out with a smile. I lingered a bit to cheer for boomergirl, but my eyelids were too heavy to stay long. Sacha and most everyone had already left, so I started my hike back to the hotel, happy with how the night played out.
These were the top five...no surprise that Boomer is there....congrats to all the winners! I borrowed this photo from DeCall, since I was long asleep by this time...
Sunday morning, I woke up early, and took an Uber to the airport, which wasn’t busy at all. I flew through security and made it to the gate early enough to relax and charge my phone before I boarded. This time, the layover was in Detroit, which also looked frigid.
So there ya have it...quick, fun, progress-filled weekend!
