Saturday, January 13
Kip
designated this as the, “Day of Rest”, and she was partially correct. We did not have any gaming planned, although
it was a moving day. Based on my play
from last summer, I had an offer at Silverton, which we booked two nights, with
$150 in Free Play, and $25 +$75 in food comps (that’s how the vouchers came
out, don’t ask me why). I was also able to get a decent deal on a rental car
starting this day ($92.47 starting today, returning Wednesday) with EZ Car
Rental, so I had to get there to pick it up.
I reserved it for 10:00 AM, but a friend of ours was driving in today around
10:30 AM, so I would pick it up a little late.
He picked us up pretty much on time, and got me to the rental car
facility around 10:50 AM. There we
parted ways, as he and Kip were going to have brunch at Border Grill and do
other things. I was going to the Golden
Knights hockey game that night with a local friend.
This was my
first experience with EZ Car Rental, as I usually go with more well known names
like Alamo or Dollar to name a few. The
first thing was when I went to the EZ area, the sign said to go to the
Advantage desk, where there was quite a long line. Even with three people working, it still took
quite a while for the line to move. I
eventually got my vehicle and then waited again outside to get my keys. After getting burned one time with some
damage, I gave the car a thorough inspection, marking all of the little dings
and scratches. The wheel wells were a bit dirty, as was the rear bumper, which
I noted. By the time I was finished, it
was close to noon. I was going to meet
two of my local friends for lunch at Silverton, so I let them know I was on my
way. I arrived there around noon and one
of my friends was already there. I
checked to see if I could check in, and I was able to. We waited in the lobby until my other friend
arrived and we went to have lunch in the Sundance Grill.
I had never
eaten there, I had only been to the buffet, but the Grill was nice. My friends had
sandwiches and soup, while I had a chicken parm.
 |
| Chicken parm you taste so good. . . |
It was good to catch up with
one of my friends, who I didn’t get to see last year. I hadn’t gotten the food
comps yet, but I was going to use them for the Bellini Brunch and Twin Creeks
Happy Hour tomorrow, so I decided to charge it to the room (not knowing if they
do discretionary comps or if it is strictly points). The other friend was going
to the game with me, so I had him wait while I took my bags to the room and took a few pictures. I was a bit disappointed with the room. It wasn’t anything
spectacular and looked a bit worn. There wasn’t a view at all, really. Our room
overlooked a loading dock area, which made it only slightly better than viewing
a casino roof.
Our plan was
to play some poker at MGM Grand, then have the buffet for dinner, then head to
the game. Well, I was a bit full from my
big lunch and Jim wasn’t too hungry either, so we scrapped the buffet idea and
decided that we’d pick something up at the game.
I hadn’t
played live poker in a casino for some time, but I play just about every month
at home (of course, it’s not the same). There was a waiting list when we arrived,
but soon enough, there were more people waiting and they opened up a new table.
I played pretty tightly, folding a lot, and then I got pocket aces. I made a
pre-flop raise and had a few callers and the flop came out something like
7-4-3. I bet out again and I think there
was just one more caller. The turn brought a 5, which made the flopped straight
easier for someone to have, well the other guy to have. I still bet out and he
called, the pot was pretty large now. A 2 came on the river, which gave me a
wheel (A-5 straight), so the only hand that was going to beat me was if the guy
had a 6, to make a higher straight. Well, I didn’t think he had a 6, going that
far, but I checked to him, and he bet out $50. I thought about it for a bit,
did he really have a 6? I thought, well if he did, more power to him, as I
called. I was happy when he showed pocket queens. I showed my aces and took
down a nice pot (Jim said it was the largest pot of the session). I joked with
Jim that I was only playing aces, and later on I made a small pre-flop raise
and everyone folded, and I showed them I had aces again. I recall not losing a
pot at showdown, and was even able to bet some people off pots where I didn’t
necessarily have the best hand. Around 5:00, we decided to play until Jim was
going to be the big blind and then headed out. Jim cashed up a bit, and I
cashed up $147! Not bad for not having played in a casino for years.
This was
going to be Jim’s first hockey game, and we went by the sports book (which was
on the way) and he wanted to put down some bets on the game to make it
interesting. He took the Knights to win and also the puck line for the Knights
to win by 1.5 (well, they had to win by 2). Although I didn’t fully handicap
the game, I want along with it. Had I done more research, I would have taken
the Oilers (since last year, teams that were playing their first game off their
bye week went 10-16-4, doh) and under 6, which I mentioned to Jim seemed high
to me, but oh well. . .
 |
| Spoiler alert, these lost! |
We walked
into New York New York, and followed the signs to the T-Mobile Arena, which
lead us back outside and up through The Park to the T-Mobile Arena. There was a sea of orange and blue as one
would have thought we were up in Edmonton with so many Oilers sweaters. I, of course, was wearing my Hartford Whalers
sweater with pride, well as much pride as one can have wearing it.
We got to
the arena around 6:00 PM, plenty of time for the 7:00 PM start. We got up to our seats and admired the
view. We were able to catch the warm
ups, and then we decided to get dinner before the game started. A cheeseburger, fries, and a coke cost $15,
which wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things, and it wasn’t too bad
either.
 |
| Our view! |
 |
| $15 T-Mobile Arena dinner. . . |
When we got
back, we discovered we were in the wrong section, which meant we actually moved
to better seats, which was a bonus. The pregame was a spectacle! I wonder if
they’ll be doing this show and such all of the time, or is it just blown out
this way for the inaugural season. Some of it was a bit hokey, but some of it
was nice.
 |
| Our new view! |
 |
| Part of the pre-game display. . . |
 |
| Game on! |
The Knights
played a bit sloppy, as this was their first game off of their 5 day “bye”
week. They fell behind early, but
managed to tie the game up and actually took the lead before giving it up, and
the game would go to overtime. The overtime didn’t last long, as the Oilers
scored 53 seconds into overtime, with Jim asking me, “Is that it?” Yes, Jim,
unfortunately it is. And damn, under 6. . .
 |
| Overtime! |
 |
| And over. . . |
The many
Edmonton fans really loved my sweater, possibly because they were drunk, but
also because they know hockey. I supposed I was tacitly supporting the old WHA
team, even though I had bet on the Knights. During the game, they announced the
51/49 raffle (similar to the 50/50 raffles I’ve seen at other arenas, where the
money is split evenly between the raffle winner and the sponsored charity,
except in Vegas, you get a better deal, and get 51% of the money) was over
$130,000! I’d never seen anything like that, and Jim said we should go get
tickets, which we did. Unfortunately, neither of us won. . .
 |
| Oiler fans rejoice. . . |
 |
| The usher was kind enough to take a photo for me. |
The walk back
was a show, with Oilers fans celebrating all over. We eventually made our way back to the MGM
and out the parking garage. Traffic wasn’t too bad as we made our way back to
Silverton. Jim had a bit of a drive
home, as he lives in the opposite direction, but he seemed to enjoy himself and
hopefully he’ll get out to more games (although hopefully they’ll be cheaper
tickets).
I received a
message from Kip around 9:15 PM, saying she got the key okay (I left her name
on the reservation at the front desk) and that she was in for the evening.
Well, I felt like doing a bit of play, so I tried some Wheel Poker Deluxe,
which I had luck on last year at The Mirage, but no such luck tonight. I also tried some Loose Deuces Wild, but that
went bad as well. I finally found the
8/5 BP machines and tried those with no luck either. That’s the one depressing
thing for me playing VP. You make the right holds but that is not a guarantee
of winning. I tried some dice to try to turn my luck, but the table was choppy.
I did make a quick point of ten and was close to even, but tried another few
shots and lost. Then I bombed out on $1
Wheel of Fortune and lost there too. I finally decided to chase my losses on $1
8/5 BP, and was finally rewarded with a regular quad and then quad 2s to take a
$250 profit. I tried another $40 shot on 25c BP with no luck. I then decided to
call it a night. I think it was around 1:00 AM.
I got up to
the room and the bathroom light was on, though Kip was in bed. We talked about
our days, and I turned out the light and went to bed. It wasn’t a winning day, but still a fun day.
. .
Sundance
Grill: $37.89 (charged to room), friends left tip
T-Mobile
Arena dinner: $15
51/49
raffle: $20
Drink tips:
$4
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