"Working Man"
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I started my trip off by getting dropped off by Amy and the kids. It was nice to get to see them up until the final hour. After getting through the network of security, I sat and listened to my MP3 player while watching the gate area fill with fellow passengers. Suddenly I was surprised by a visitor in uniform�it was Genese (Coral�s friend, Marisa�s mom) in her Song Flight Attendant dress. She had told me earlier that when she put in her resignation that her assignment on my flight was lost, so she would not be joining me on this trip. The surprise made the trip much nicer and easier to take. I got complimentary drinks and a movie. The movie was Syriana, which is a politically-charged movie about the Middle East and those are two subjects that are way off my radar and above the capacity of pea-brain. Needless to say I was lost the entire time I was watching it, but it did pass the time. Although I could have done without the headache, it was nothing a free drink couldn�t get rid of later. I also spent some time talking to Genese and some of the other attendants in the back of the plane. I always wondered what they did during these long trips, so that was cool to get a behind the scenes look at this occupation. I arrived safely and said good-bye to Genese as she traveled back on the red-eye to Florida. The airport was busier than I expected for a Sunday and the line for the cab took about half an hour, but I got to the Flamingo and un-packed all by about midnight.
Day 2 (Monday): Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You
Once my room appeared �lived-in�, I called Matt who got in earlier on Sunday and was staying at the Imperial Palace. As it turned out, they were gambling at the roulette wheel in the Imperial Palace so I told him I was on my way over to meet up with him and his friends. When I arrived at their casino, it wasn�t long before I saw them all sitting at the table and while I never met any of them, it was easy to tell which guys were Matt�s friends because they all had their fitted hats backwards like some gang and I was depressed that I left my hat back at the room. I snuck up and quietly sat at the table unnoticed. I sat through one roll of the ball and once the next round started I was finally detected by asking Matt if he meant to place a bet by saying, �Excuse me sir, did you want just 30-red or the 30-33 split?� It took another second before he looked up from his cheat-sheet with all the numbers that the casinos hand out as a guide for better betting to see his cousin asking this stupid question and touching his chips and not a complete stranger as he initially thought. At this time, his scorn look turned into befuddlement as to how I was able to sneak under his finely-tuned radar. Then all of his friends who had the same looks were saying things like, �I was going to say something when I saw his Steeler shirt.� This was how the gambling trip got started and how I got to meet Matt�s friends, (Shawn) Morgan, Timmy, and Dave.
For the next 15-minutes or so, we did some more gambling, watched a few of the �Dealertainers� (dealers that impersonate famous musicians and singers) in action, and walked around aimlessly until we decided to go to Barbary Coast. While there we did some more various gambling at different tables and some drinking at the same bar for a while, but nothing to write home about. Once we got bored with this action, we headed back to Imperial Palace. Some more drinking and gambling ensued while in the Palace. Pacific time was starting to take effect on our Eastern time bodies so it was time to head to bed and rest up for the next day�s activities. After some more stops and side bets along the way, I eventually got back to my room at about 5 AM.
After a short nap, I woke up ordered room service, and headed down to the casino for some gambling while I awaited a call from Matt to get our meeting time and location. I decided to play Texas Hold �Em 2-4 to conserve the loss of monies. I arrived at about noon and sat and talked to all the different players with different stories over a four-hour period. My plan worked and I lost only $80 over this time interval, which would have been much more had I played any other game of chance. Finally, I called Matt and asked where they were at to make sure they weren�t still sleeping. As it turned out, they had been up and touring Treasure Island and the Mirage since about the same time I awoke, but they were waiting for me to call. They were on their way to the Forum Shops in Caesar�s and we decided meet at the sports book. After a no-show, I called and found that there was a misunderstanding as to how the hell to get out of the Forum Shops with all the corridors and evening sky overhead to help with the confusion. I eventually tracked them down and we sat and enjoyed a beverage as we watched the people walk by with their bags o�stuff. We then walked through the casino and back across the street to the Imperial Palace. On the way to the casino, I met what seemed to be a long-lost friend and had something happen to me that hasn�t happened in an era. Let me preface this part of the story with a little �Dan History�. Back in the 80s, I had long hair, but did not use drugs. These two conflicting personality traits were tough for people to understand. I was constantly approached to either partake or buy or sell drugs to others. When I refused or told them I didn�t do drugs, I would get weird looks from people like they were saying, �Dude, you have long hair, you must have (use) weed?� This stopped happening to me when I cut my hair and became one of the normal looking people. Well my new best friend, Pedro picked me out of the crowd and offered me women, drugs, or as he put it, �Anything you need.� He even felt comfortable enough to show me his inventory, some �speed-balls� in his chest pocket. I tried to shake him by making jokes and acting nonchalant about just seeing about $2000 worth of drugs in Pedro�s front pocket, but to no avail. He followed us from just outside the casino, through the casino, past Deborah Harry and the rest of the Dealertainers, and to the congregation point. He did eventually move on after I refused with an awkward smile, but he was never too far away. We resolved that we wanted to get some cheap gambling in this evening and targeted the Orleans as our next stop. Before we were on our way, the guys had to make a quick stop in their room upstairs. I used this time to put in a quick call with Amy and play some video poker. While I sat at one of the many machines in the area, but close to the main walkway, none other than Pedro came prancing by my seat. He instantly recognized me and passed me his �card�. I looked down to find his name and number written on a torn piece of paper and again got the same sales-pitch of �Anything you need, just let me know� and he moved on to the next customer. When the guys returned, they couldn�t believe that I was so lucky�my first number in Vegas. If I would have saw him again or even given him a call, we may have had to get those heart necklaces that are split in half and have the phase �Best Friends� to split up between us.
We continued to talk about my new friend as we waited in line for a cab that holds 5 guys. After a good while of waiting, the cabbie in the front grew impatient and broke one of Vegas� rules by accepting a fare of 5 in a sedan. Morgan, Dave, and I were in the back seat and Timmy was in the passenger�s seat while Matt sat on the arm-rest in the front seat. This would have been funny enough if the driver would have been normal, but this guy took every short cut and found every stop sign in the greater metropolitan area. This doesn�t mean he stopped at a single traffic signal, but just the slowing down caused discomfort for our hero, Matty in the front, imitation seat. When the cabbie started yelling out the window at other drivers and not exactly paying attention to the rode, even though it was a bit more dangerous, it also became more humorous. We finally arrived at the Orleans and got right to gambling. Morgan, Dave and I sat at a blackjack table right off the bat. I left this post and after an hour or so of losing (I never do good in this place), we decided to eat at the buffet. This is one of the biggest and best buffets in town and was certainly worth the money. After dinner, it was time to head back to the strip. We arrived at the Imperial Palace and the guys wanted to head to the local convenience store for some cheap beer and I headed to the poker room.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Conservative Play Will Get You Nowhere Slow
I played 2-4 Hold �Em for a couple hours at the Imperial Palace and even saw the guys pass by, but they rejected my wishes to do the wave from the gallery. That was the last I saw of them for the night/morning, but I continued gambling. By this point, the losses were mounting and it was time to start tuning down the bets. Not that they were ever that high to begin with, but when you are losing the money goes fast. The 4 or 5 AM hour arrived and it was time for another quick snooze back in the room. While trying to enter my room, it took a few tries to get the key to work and get my tired body inside. This information may not currently have much relevance, but later in the story it becomes more vital.
At about noontime, I left the room and wandered the strip. As I headed south, I hit Barbary Coast, Bally�s, and Paris. I then remembered that the Aladdin holds a daily poker tournament at 1 PM, so I headed down one more casino. I signed up and was in the tournament psyching myself up to play conservative in this tournament, but at the same time knowing that you need to win some hands early to stay alive. By the fifth hand, I was dealt a suited ace-7, which is a pretty decent hand to see the flop. After the flop, I had 4 cards to the nut-flush and pushed. Only one guy called my raise by going all-in so I called and we were heads-up. That last club never came and his pair of kings beat my ace-high and most of my chips were gone. A few hands later I went all-in and lost the rest of my chips�so much for playing conservatively. I wrote that one up to bad luck. I left the scene of the crime and looked down the strip to find the Monte Carlo, which for some reason always brings me good luck. Well at least the place didn�t bring me bad luck because I probably broke even on this trip. After a while in the casino, I figured it was time to find out were Matt and the guys were located. I placed a call and found out they were getting ready for the games. It was almost time for the Pirates and Penguins games to start, so I told him I was on my way and for him to place two bets for me�$20 on the Pens to win (at 2.5 to 1) and $20 on the Bucs to win (at even money). Using my Vegas short-cut expertise, I headed to the back of the Monte Carlo casino to jump on the tram to take me to the Bellagio, only to find it was �temporarily closed�. I had to turn around and go all the way back through the casino, but not before hitting the Nathan�s in the food court for two all-beef, chili-dogs.
When I finally made it to Caesar�s for the game, I found Matt, Timmy, Dave, and Morgan ordering more beers and adjusting their small-screen, personal TV, which is located at each station of the sports book. We sat and watched the Pen game, but the Bucs were not on TV. It seemed that every time I left the area to use the bathroom or play a quick game of chance, the Pens would do good. By the third period and with the Pens down by a goal, I was forced out of the sports book area by the guys and not allowed to return until the game was finalized. The strategy did not work for the Pens and they lost, but the Bucs pulled their game out and we broke even with our bets. After the game, we walked across the street to the Imperial Palace. They were hungry and wanted to use their free buffet coupons (one of many) and I was still feeling the affects of the chili-dogs and wanted to head back to the Flamingo to resolve my key problem.
I got to the inactive front desk and told the friendly Flamingo employee my problem. Just as I was telling the intriguing key story, I recognized the lady who checked me in on Sunday as she passed by. I remembered that she was from Philly and made notice of my Steeler shirt because of all the good-mannered banter I took at the time of my initial check-in, so I called her over to help my cause. I was not aware that people from Philly had such a disdain for Pittsburgh people. When I half-heartedly suggested that they should up-grade my room, they both agreed, but then I got the feeling that this kind gesture would be wasted on me. I thought that during a trip with Amy this improvement would be better appreciated. I even asked if I could save this room up-grade for a time that I came with my wife, but they declined my generous offer. So I went up to my old room to pack and once again the key wouldn�t work. The next step was to call security, let them know of my problem, and wait in the hall like a delinquent as people passed by with anxious looks on their faces. The guard eventually came, let me in the room, and I packed my things as I sang the theme song from the Jeffersons. When I arrived at my new digs, I was flabbergasted. The bed had its own room and the other room had a 52 inch TV, a couch and two seats, and a vanity. The view out the window allowed me to sit in my comfortable chair and watch the fountains of Bellagio or anything in the southern view of the strip. After settling into a new room once again, I headed over to Imperial Palace to catch up with the guys playing Keno and we played a few rounds of Keno for the free drinks and cheap bets. I never played Keno before, but you always can find the Keno lounge in any casino and it is always filled with action (because I am writing this and you can�t see the sarcasm written all over my face and in my voice). It is a slow paced game and you can bet a buck and win up to $100,000, but the best part is the free drinks given to the Keno customers taste just as good. After losing as much as the drinks were worth, I convinced them to check out my new room. We spent some time taking pictures in the new suite and generally amusing each other with silliness and idiocy before we were on our next adventure.
After a nice walk down Tropicana and over Las Vegas Boulevard, we weren�t at Grandmother�s house, we were in the home of Merlin and all things medieval, the Excalibur. As usual, our first stop was the bar and bathroom. But once we got our bearings straight, we headed for the games of chance. I thought I�d make my first game craps since I felt my luck swinging in the right direction and Dave came along to try and learn this complicated game. After a few rolls and getting no where except Dave finding out how to lose at this game, I packed up the rest of my chips and moved to one of my new favorite games in the casino. There is a new game that I have seen in the casino that I think has pretty good odds and its called Crazy 4 Poker. I sat at this table, which was pretty empty. That was when the night changed for the better. I started off with $100 and walked away after a good while with $265, but that wasn�t the best part. I should have made more money and the crowd let me know that fact. I started off with only Dave passing me helpful hints at the beginning, but as time went on, Matt, Timmy, Morgan, and even the dealer, Sonja from Bulgaria were telling me what to do and when to do it. These arm-chair gamblers were all playing vicariously through me and voiced their opinions when I didn�t play the bonus bet and got a big hand that paid off pretty good. In this game, the best hand you can get is 4-of-a-kind and based on my play at Hooters, I should have known that one was coming. Every so often, a flush or a straight would come, but then I looked down at 4 threes. After I grimaced for not playing the bonus play, I showed the guys sitting behind me and my fan club erupted. After that, even though Sonja threatened to quit if I didn�t, I wasn�t about to play the bonus because statistics say it will take 4 years before I get another hand like that one. On the way to the casino cage to collect my winnings, we figured that I lost out on maybe $100 - $150 because I refused to play the bonus bet, but it would have been nice to play it that one time and get $250 for a $5 bet. The guys were getting ready to call it a night at about 2 or 3 AM because they were leaving the next day, but I thought my luck was just starting, so I said good-bye and went back to work.
After I left the guys, I went to the poker room for a while. It was a fun, friendly game, but luck didn�t follow me into this game. After an hour or so at poker, I moved on to video poker and found a cool game that is new to the market. There is a deuces-wild game and there is a joker poker game where one wild joker is thrown into the 52-card mix, but this game combined both of those games, but had about the same odds of a deuces-wild game with one extra wild card. I played this game and got up and cashed out. I would then move on to the next game and lose it back. This cycle went on for the better part of the morning until I called it quits. On the way out, I saw a guy standing at a craps table with a suitcase behind him. I have some certain �luck rules� that I always follow in craps like lady luck, if you hit the chips you will seven out, and don�t ever say �seven� at the table. Another golden rule is if the shooter has a place to go, you will do well at craps. For example, one time I played next to a guy that had dinner reservations to meet�he ended up rolling the bones way pass his reservation time. I figured this guy had a plane to catch and was going to be rolling for a while, so I jumped in the game. The first couple rounds he did great, but then some one else jumped in the game and started rolling and the guy with the suitcase lost his urgency of leaving, so I guess that meant he didn�t really have to be anywhere and ruined the luck rule. Needless to say, most of my winnings for the morning were gambled away in this game. I walked away from the game dejected and looked at the time to find it was a little past 6 AM. I was going to catch a cab, but then I realized that the monorail would probably be opening soon so I strolled over to the MGM via New York, New York. By the time I got to the monorail, it was 7 AM. I was up with the sun, on my way back to my suite, and just like all the high rollers in Vegas, most of my gambling money was gone.
I didn�t spend much time sleeping in the suite because I wanted to say good-bye to Matt and his buddies who were leaving today. I got up at 10 AM, got a shower, and headed to the Imperial Palace to catch up with them. They wanted to use the last of their free coupons at the buffet, so I joined them. For the price, the buffet was pretty good, but for me anytime I can pile on five pounds of scrambled eggs on my plate it is a good buffet. The bad part of the meal was that we couldn�t sit all together and for how empty the place was, it didn�t seem like a tough request. By the end of the meal, we were all in the same booth telling stories anyways. We then walked over to the sports book to make some futures bets (I abstained because I want to keep my undefeated streak alive with the futures bet of the Steelers I made last year), walked through the souvenirs gift shops, and walked to the casino entrance to say our final good-byes. They had a 2:30 plane to catch and I was now on my own to tour Vegas.
I wanted to try my luck at another tournament at the Aladdin and see if I could make a dent in this field. I lasted 2 hands this time around with a stupid rookie mistake of going all in with pocket 10s versus a made hand of a flush�oh well. I was very disappointed in my play during both 1 o�clock tournaments, but this one was especially bad on my psyche because I know I can play better. With a very grim look on my face, I headed to Casino Royale and played some cheap games. I played 100-hand, penny video poker, which gives you 100 hands to get the best hand possible based on the cards you hold with your initial hand. During this round, I got not one, but two royal flushes. It was worth only $40 (4000 credits) each, but when you start out with $5, that�s not too bad. I think it is really funny that I have never gotten a royal flush in my life while mostly playing quarter and dollar video poker, but the second I sit down at a penny video poker machine, the royal flushes come in pairs. I also played blackjack switch, which is a pretty cool game where you play two hands of blackjack and can switch the top two cards if it helps. I walked away from this game after doubling up my allowance. As you can tell, my funds are such that I am watching my bets very closely by this point in the trip. The next stop was the Venetian. I really didn�t play much here, but I just like to see the atrium of this casino on each trip. I then crossed the street to Treasure Island or TI as they like to be called now. Played a few games including my new favorite Crazy 4 Poker, but the game wasn�t as kind as usual. I took the tram to the Mirage and passed through this property real quick and then Caesar�s to see the sights. While in Caesar�s, I felt my body telling me how tired it was on just 2 hours sleep and a total of about 12 hours since Sunday. My next game plan was to finally fully utilize the suite. I called room service for dinner and was in bed by 7:30 PM to get plenty of rest because it will be hard enough to keep my eyes open during training without help from a lack of sleep.
Day 5 (Thursday): �And Now for the Boring Part
I was well-rested (finally) for my first day of training, which was a short walk over to Harrah�s. We had it in one of the meeting rooms and I learned a few new things, but nothing Earth shattering. At KSC, the main thing for the permitting I was here to learn about was how to avoid PSD permitting and this is true for the majority of the people at the training. The regulations went through some changes in 2002/2003 so this was the main reason to revisit the training for me. Once I was finished with the 8-hours of information, I headed back to my suite and changed into my play clothes. I played some 2-4 Texas Hold �Em at the Flamingo and made some conservative bets�basically betting only good starting cards and only staying in hands that I would most likely win. I ended a nice run and was up after the short stint. The worst part of the game was having to listen to the guy next to me; it was obvious to me that he had been at the table and drinking for a while and he was also a Seahawk fan. He ranted about how the Seahawks would have �killed� the Steelers in the Super Bowl if the referees hadn�t blown all the calls. Not personally knowing the guy and trying to keep my cool, I had to just grin and bear it the entire time. After a short while of biting my tongue, I changed the subject to this year and had a nice conversation about the wild free-agency market of this season. After about an hour or so at the table and $40 up in chips, it was time to move on. Then I headed over to Bally�s for dinner, playing a few games of chance along the way while trying to miser my money as best I could. I did a pretty good job of it and even played Crazy 4 Poker and made some more money for my impending dinner plans.
Because Amy is not much of an adventurous eater, I take advantage of opportunity when I am traveling for work or by myself to eat food that Amy will just not eat. This time was just the same and I stopped by Ichiban for a sushi dinner, which is also nice because they have those sushi bars and you don�t feel like a loser for sitting by yourself. After dinner, I took the time to complete my souvenir shopping as I passed the perfect place (plus the added value of using a credit card to waste money instead of buying chips at a table). I then decided to take the monorail all the way to the north end of the strip for some cheap gaming at the Sahara. I sat at a single deck blackjack table and tried to count cards in a very simplistic manner. By this I mean I kept track of the aces and small cards and didn�t really count them just tried to up my bet when aces were not out and I saw what seemed to be a lot of small cards out. This was a minimum of $5 table so I only pushed my bet to $10 when it was obvious. One of the bad things about single deck is by the time you get a good idea of what is in the deck, the dealer reshuffles. The other bad thing is if you are doing a good job of keeping your money and taking a few bucks from the casino, the pit boss takes notice. I think having the pit boss constantly looking over your shoulder at a $5 table is stupid unless you are betting $25 or more and I wasn�t. I also think that this scrutiny is bad luck because what little money I was up started shrinking and then completely disappeared when I couldn�t make a bigger bet for fear of getting sent to the back room where I would be met by Tony and Guido for placing $10 bets. It was time to move on to the next table. I played 3-card Poker with the friendliest, most sympathetic dealer that completely burglarized my money in a matter of minutes. It was ugly. I would get a pair and she would get a higher pair. I would get an ace with a 10 kicker and she would get an ace with a queen kicker. I don�t think I won a single hand and she honestly felt bad for me when I walked away without any chips. I would have loved to tip her for being so nice, but I had no money left. It was time to slow it down and play nickel video poker again. I played for a little while and headed home with my tail between my legs again. This was when I had my second prostitute experience.
As I mentioned in my last story, I always heard of the vast amount of hookers in the greater Vegas area, but I had never noticed any that were obviously �working�. Well on my way back to my room I encountered a group of working girls in the concourse leading to the Flamingo lobby. The first girl was a very attractive mid-eastern lady walking by herself that I gave a second glance at as she passed. My first clue that she was �on the clock� was that she also looked back at me and smiled when she spotted me looking at her. A few feet later, another girl was on her cell phone and she was not as good-looking as the first. Then came the next clue where she interrupted her conversation to say, �Hey, baby!� to me. I said hi back and moved on to find the final and most convincing clue that this was a line of working ladies that I had just run into. Two more young ladies followed, both even less attractive than the last, and one of them had ambushed the gentleman walking in front of me. I overheard her say, �If you don�t want to party, you know hugs are for free.� At that point, I put my head down and took a B-line for the elevators. I figured out their strategy. They put the most attractive lady in the front to get you excited and then follow that up with the aggressive ladies to �hook� you into the transaction.
Day 6 (Friday): Get Me Out of This Place!
Today was the last day training and Vegas. As a rule of thumb, I do not like to spend more than 3 or 4 days in Vegas unless I am with my wife. This was no exception. I started the morning off by checking out of my suite, which was depressing because unless I start winning or start making more money, I will not be able to afford this luxury again. Because of a poker tournament in the meeting room atHarrah�s, they moved our training class to the Improv room. All of the presenters made sure to reference the fact that they were not comedians in one form or another and believe me the audience never made that confusion. The training ended at about 3:30 with some very interesting information about all the court decisions presented by the lawyer in the group. After the training was wrapped up, I wanted to try to gather up my good fortune of the past and go back to Excalibur. The weather of today was not nearly as nice as it had been�it was kind of cool and windy and threatened to rain the entire day, so the trip to the south end of the strip was quick. I found the wild-card video poker, one of my favorite games of this trip, and tried my luck. The credits went up and down, but mostly down. After a while, I decided that the luck was gone and tried another means at getting money. While I was playing video poker, I noticed that my comp value seemed higher than it had been and figured that it must be because of the long session of Crazy 4 Poker from the other night. I took my card over to the comp desk and found that I had $18 in cash waiting for me. You better believe that I took that money and ran�right over to the Luxor.
I always try to make a trip to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay Resorts, but not because of cheap gambling or good luck. The only reason I visit these places on almost every trip is because it always reminds me of other times in Vegas with Rich and Matt. From the time I passed Crispy Cream Doughnuts in Excalibur all along the moving walk-ways of Luxor and into the casino bar and House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, I envisioned the times walking with Rich and Matt and laughing at every joke or comical anecdote told. It was a perfect way to end a trip that was the first time I was back in Vegas with Matt since Rich�s passing two-years ago. I was looking around at the sights and outwardly smiling at certain things�it was kind of surreal and I�m sure people were looking at me like I was crazy. Then all of a sudden another feeling hit me�hunger.
I jumped on the tram back to Excalibur, walked across the familiar bridge to New York, New York, and had New York-style pizza at the same place where Amy and I at the first night on the first trip we took together back in 2003. Needless to say, without any friends to talk to, I turned into a foolish sap and took these long sentimental journeys through the city of sin�it was time to get me out of this place. The rest of night was spent killing time with what little money I had left at Barbary Coast. On the monorail back to the Flamingo area casinos, I finally put my expertise to work by helping 3 ladies through the maze from the monorail to the walk way to Caesar�s. After a few hands of blackjack and video poker, I went back to the Flamingo, got my bags, hoped in a cab, and taxied off to the airport. My red-eye trip was a bit restless, but went as smooth as could be expected. In the Orlando Airport, Genese met me at the gate and gave me a ride home because she was working another red-eye from San Francisco. It was a lucky break that the last few trips for Genese happened during my travel. It was also nice because Amy was planning to pick me up, so that saved her a trip. I was back home by 8 AM and was very happy to be there. With two trips already clocked-in the first 4 months of 2006, it will probably be a while before another trip is taken�not to mention, I need some time to recuperate physically, mentally, and most of all financially.
