Birthday Girl

The birthday girl with her birthday "cake."

Yesterday was Ms. Lucki Duck's birthday, the big five-oh. My 30th and 40th birthdays didn't really bother me, but my 50th was different. At fifty, you can no longer assume that you have more than half your life ahead of you. It was a time time of reflection, asking yourself if you like and respect the person you have become and if not, what changes you need to make.

It was moving day for us, checking out of the Orleans at noon, with check in at three at the Encore. So we had some time to kill. The birthday girl decided she wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory at the Forum Mall for lunch. She had some concoction called "Chinese Chicken Salad" that she said was good. I went with the soup and salad, with the soup of the day being cheese with broccoli. I'm not a big fan of broccoli, but the soup was very tasty. Ms. Lucki Duck's birthday cake was a slice of strawberry cheesecake, which she shared with me.

Mmmmmmm.

From there, we headed over to Caesars and played some Double Bonus video poker, with the birthday girl clipping them for about $50 bucks. Must be her lucki day!

We stopped at a few shops on the way out. For all you Bears fans, Dick Butkus was at Field of Dreams signing autographs (for a fee). He may be 70 years old, but he's still on tough lookin' son of a gun!

We walked over to the Mirage and donated about $20 to their casino, picked up our car, and headed over to the Encore to check in. The registration line was long, but moved rapidly, with our wait no longer than 15 minutes. Our room is way up there, 53rd floor to be exact. Wow, what a view! You can see both the golf course and the strip.



Room view of golf course.



Room view of Strip

 The room is very nice, with contemporary furnishings. It's actually more of a mini-suite, with a separate bedroom and living area. It has a full sized couch, with end tables and coffee table. Also, a work station with free internet (which is why you're getting these updates), and a bar. The bar has a full fridge of drinks and there are also snacks in the room. For a price.

A bag of potato chips? $8. Twelve ounce soft drink? $5. Want to have room service bring you a pot of coffee, which is four cups worth? $27.

I'm glad we made the trip to Walmart last Saturday.

After unpacking, we headed out to the strip, stopping for a sandwich at Ray & Joe's (or something like that), then walking thru the Wynn, Palazzo and Venetian. We came back to play at the Encore, with the birthday girl winning a little over $70 on a "Red Rooster" slot machine. It was her day! I was also a big winner, relieving $2 from the Wynn Inc coffers.

I'm sure the Wynn Board of Directors is in an emergency meeting, trying to decide how to counteract the cash-flow problems we have caused them with our big win. Perhaps they'll be able to withstand the huge loss we put on 'em, but if you own stock in the company, do you really want to take that chance? I bet the stock is dropping as you read this. SELL!

The birthday gal with some guy.

I'm hoping to get together with lightning36 today or tomorrow. I had suggested breakfast, but he said breakfast didn't fit his concept of Vegas.

Lightweight. LOL!

Till next time, win the flips.

Vegas Invaded By Alien Cows!

Our trip to Vegas to celebrate Ms. Lucki Duck's birthday was uneventful. Our flight actually arrived early and our baggage was "coming 'round the mountain" as we arrived at the carosel. Nice.

We caught the shuttle over to the rental car center to pick up the car and were on our way to the Orleans. However, we changed our plans, deciding to head over to the Walmart on Spring Mountain at Paradise and pick up our supplies for the week. A few snacks and drinks, and we headed to the hotel. Check in was fast and easy, as it always is at the Orleans, and we were finally in our room and decided to rest for a few minutes before heading out for dinner.

Ms. Lucki Duck has had back issues for the past three months (she had surgery about 15 years ago), but had been feeling better the past few days, including this one. However, when she laid on the bed, her lower back spasmed. Ouch!

It wasn't pretty.

It took forty-five minutes, a pain-killer and muscle relaxer got her mobile again. Since she wasn't feeling well, we decided to stay and eat on the property.and ended up at Subway. She was feeling better by the time we finished, so we walked the casino and found a couple of penny video slot machines to play.

"Alien Invaders From the Planet MooLah" was our choice. If you've never played this machine, let me tell you, it is hilarious! The "wild" symbols are cows, which are beamed aboard the alien UFO's that are piloted by cows, then disappear from the screen. They are replaced by other symbols that are also beamed aboard by the multi-talented bovines. Fun, fun, fun!

I guarantee that the game designers were on some strong hallucinogens when they came up with this one!

We each donated about $20 to the alien cow cause and headed to our room for the night.

The best news of the trip thus far is that Ms. Lucki Duck awoke to minimal back pain this morning, which is her birthday. Hopefully, the rest of the week will be pain free for her.

Till next time, win the flips.

Vegas Bound!

Wynn's Encore Las Vegas

Ms. Lucki Duck and I are flying to Vegas in the morning to celebrate her birthday. It's a special one, one that has one of those "zeros" at the end of it.

We'll stay at the Orleans Saturday night and then move to the strip for the remainder of the week. We are booked at the Encore through Friday and have never stayed there, so I'm excited to see what they have to offer.

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The casino party we did last Wednesday went well and I have included a few pictures of the event. The client was Chuy's restaurants, which offers a Tex-Mex menu and is very good. They are mainly in the southwest, so you may not be familiar with their chain of eaterys, but if you get to Texas, give 'em a try.



Ya' think the cowboy in the middle was having fun?

Roulette Table

"Flyboy" and his Mom "Lil' Annie Okie" from our
Friday night poker game at Tin Man's.
They both were poker dealers at our gig.






 

Casino Party!

Ms. Lucki Duck and I have a side business that provides casino parties to the local community. You can click here for more info.

We are providing a party for a bunch of big-wigs at an executive retreat tomorrow night. That's right... Lucki Duck will be hob-nobbin' with the goober smoochers! I hope to have a few pictures.

The bad news is that the party doesn't end until midnight, which means I won't get to bed until around 2:30 and have to be to work at 8 am. Thursday's gonna be a looooooong day!

The good news is that it pays well and will get both myself and Ms. Lucki Duck ready for our Vegas trip next week!

Till next time, win the flips.

Dominos and Poker

I was asked to play dominos with a group from church a couple months ago. "Forty-Two" was the game, one I had never played before. I was given a crash course by a friend, and I was on my way. The group meets once a month, so gaining experience is slow. I was invited to their latest get together Saturday night, and they were looking for one more player.

"Do you know anyone who can play?"

"Sure" I said. "My Mom plays."

That was a true statement, but she hadn't played in about 40 years. I hoped she would remember how the game was played after so long. It was cool having her there, she'll be 82 next month and I'm 53. In all those years, we have never played 42 together.

The way the game is set up, you change partners after each game. We were partners for one game, and we won! But, we also were opponents in a game.

She. Kicked. My. Butt.

Isn't that child abuse?

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I was a big winner at J-Dawg's Poker Extravaganza last Thursday, walking away with an extra $33 in my bankroll. We only had 6 players, so we were able to play some games we usually are unable to play. Five card draw, Seven card stud, Mexican Sweat, Razz, Badugi, we played 'em all and had a great time! Except for Farmer Harry and Glass Man, who both had a couple of re-buys. J-Dawg won the High Hand Jackpot with a 6 high diamond straight flush playing Omaha.

I also won a little scratch at Tin Man's $5 NLHE Tournament this week, min-cashing the tourney when I ran my K-8 offsuit into Debbie's A-Q. I didn't improve and finished third. Debbie and Tin Man chopped the first place money.

I was up and down in the $2 buy-in cash game, finishing with a $5 profit. Debbie also won quite a bit in the cash game, as did Philly Phanatic. Big Daddy kept getting second in the hands he played and took a pretty good hit for the night. I'm sure he was glad it was just a $2 game!

It was a fun week of dominos and poker, but today was "Honey-Do" day around my house. Time to pay the piper I guess :o)

Till next time, win the flips.

Table Image

We had a full table at Tin Man's $5 NLHE Tourney. The highlight of the tournament was Bluffin' Bev actually pulling off a huge bluff against Flyboy! She pushed the turn for 8BB with only ace high, then showed the bluff when Flyboy mucked. The whole table let out a collective OOOOOHHH!

I guess Bev's table image has changed a bit.

We got down to the money with myself, Lil' Okie Annie, and Music Man left standing. Music Man pushed for 5BB with A-9 and I had an easy call with J-J. The flop brought another J, but the turn gave MM a gut shot straight draw. The way I've run lately, I was surprised when he didn't hit it on the river.

With the blinds so high, Lil' Okie Annie and I chopped the first place money, rather than playing bingo for the whole thing.

The cash game started out bad for me. I re-bought four times before gaining traction. My last re-buy was the result of a failed semi-bluff. There were two limpers in front of me as I checked my big blind with 5-2 of hearts. The flop had two hearts and a duece, but I checked, hoping to see a free card. Philly Phanatic bet 30 cents, which was half the pot. Rick folded and I called. The turn was a blank, but I thought I could probably push Philly off his hand, which I figured was second pair. I pushed for $1.50, which was a little larger than the pot. Philly hemmed and hawed, but finally made the call, tabling second pair with a lousy kicker.

"Good call" I said, "I'm on a draw."

I whiffed the river and Philly took down a nice pot, most of it mine. Someone commented on the call and Philly said, "I know he bluffs a lot, so I thought I'd see what he had."

I guess I need to take a note from Bev and work on my table image.

I got on a bit of a rush later in the evening and ended up with a $1 profit. WHEEEE!

Good times with good friends. Hard to think of a better way to spend an evening.

Till next time, win the flips.

Armadillo Eggs, Cop Donuts, and Poker



Armadillo Eggs

 We had 12 runners at J-Dawg's Poker Extravaganza last night. Farmer Harry brought pizza and I brought some Armadillo Eggs, which made for a tasty meal.

For those of you who are not from Texas, Armadillo Eggs are a combination of ground sausage, cheese, jalapenos, and flour. The sausage is rolled in flour and wrapped around a piece of cheese that is wrapped around a jalapeno pepper. It's baked for about half an hour and is delicious! You can get the recipe here if you're interested.

Riverboat J brought donuts for desert, claiming he had to battle his way out of the police station to procure said donuts. Riverboat is a state trooper, so it may be a true story :o)

I was the big winner on the felt, parlaying my $20 buy-in up to $60 in this dealer's choice limit game. The big hand of the night for me happened playing our version of "Coconut." Coconut plays like hold 'em, except you are dealt three hole cards and can play then all. On this particular hand I looked down at J-J-7, with two hearts. I was the small blind and called a raise from Ray-Ray, hoping to flop a set and go from there. Ray-Ray will limp everything, including hands like A-K, A-Q, so I was pretty sure he had pocket queens, kings, or aces.

The flop was Q-J-9, with two diamonds. I checked my set, trying to keep the pot small. Ray-Ray could easily have a set of queens here, plus there was a lot of chemistry on this flop. Stamps, Cell, Farmer Harry, and Ollie the Accountant all checked. Ray-Ray bet 50 cents, with all of us calling.

The turn was the case jack. BINGO! I checked again, as did everyone else except Ray-Ray, who bet another 50 cents. Cell folded, but the rest of us called.

The river was another 9, which I figured would complete a full house for Ray-Ray. I was almost positive he had pocket queens. It was checked around to Ray-Ray, who bet $1. I raised to $2. Stamps called, Harry and Ollie folded, and Ray-Ray called, tabling Q-Q-9. Stamps had a lowly straight and I dragged a nice pot with my quads, which ended up also winning the High Hand Jackpot for the evening.

Sah-weet!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend. A little warmer weather would help!

Till next time, win the flips.

Perspective

"Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear."

And the elephant is closer!

It's all a matter of perspective.

High Stakes Poker- Season 7

High Stakes Poker is returning for a seventh season later this month. Their big news is that Gabe Kaplan will be replaced by Norm McDonald as announcer.

I don't really care who's giving me the play-by-play on the show. I liked Kaplan okay, and I also enjoy McDonald's dry wit. As far as poker knowledge, I would have to give the nod to Kaplan.

But I watch the show because of the players. Who can forget Dwan betting over a quarter million dollars on the river with 9 high and Phil Ivey seriously considering calling with a lowly pair on sixes. Wow! That was entertaining TV.

We'll have to enjoy the memories of both of those players on the show. PokerStars is the main sponsor and both Dwan and Ivey are Full Tilt guys. So goodbye to them and also Gus Hansen and Eli Elezra.

I don't know about you, but I'm less likely to watch the show without those players seated at the table. Dwan is a fascinating player to watch and Ivey, Hansen, and Elezra are all interesting players that are very creative in the ways they play their hands. They will all be missed. PokerStars may have a smaller audience tuning in because of this, regardless who's sitting behing the microphone. It seems like they would want the biggest bang for their buck that they could get.

First episode is February 26th on GSN. We'll find out then.

Till next time, win the flips.

Super Bowl Results

How'd ya do with your Super Bowl picks? My bet on the winner of the game, along with my favorite prop bets are listed below.

1) Who will have more?
    A. Blake Griffen rebounds VS. Super Bowl 2nd quarter points. My pick is 2nd quarter points.
         2nd quarter- 17 points, Griffen- 16 rebounds. WINNER!

    B. LeBron James points + assists + rebounds VS. Super Bowl points scored. Take LeBron in this one.
         SB points- 56, LeBron 22. LOSER. (LeBron's worst game of the season. Sheeesh.)

    C. Big Ten basketball points (3 games) VS. Packers net yards. I'll take the Big Ten.
         Big Ten- 414 points, Green Bay- 338 yards. WINNER!

2) Number of times Brett Farve will be mentioned during the Fox broadcast. The over/under is 1.5 times. Puh-lez... the over is a no-brainer here!
     Only remember Favre's name mentioned once. LOSER.

3) Will a punt hit the scoreboard? Umm, no.
     WINNER!

4) What color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach? Take yellow at 3-2. (This one is my favorite!)
    Orange. LOSER. 

 5) Packers win the game 24-21.
     Packers 31-25. WINNER!

That's four out of seven. I'll take it!

Till next time, win the flips.

Super Bowl Picks

Me: "I can predict the score of the Super Bowl before it even starts."

You: "Oh really? Let's have it."

Me: "Nothin' to nothin! HA HA!"

You: "Be careful with that joke, it's an antique."

Super Bowl XLV kicks off tomorrow night in what should be a very entertaining game. And for you gambling degens, there are also some interesting prop bets that can be made. Below are a few of my favorites, along with my pick.

1) Who will have more?
    A. Blake Griffen rebounds VS. Super Bowl 2nd quarter points. My pick is 2nd quarter points.
    B. LeBron James points + assists + rebounds VS. Super Bowl points scored. Take LeBron in this one.
    C. Big Ten basketball points (3 games) VS. Packers net yards. I'll take the Big Ten.

2) Number of times Brett Farve will be mentioned during the Fox broadcast. The over/under is 1.5 times. Puh-lez... the over is a no-brainer here!

3) Will a punt hit the scoreboard? Umm, no.

4) What color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach? Take yellow at 3-2. (This one is my favorite!)

So there you have it, this years Super Bowl prop bets. Let's hope for a close game!

Oh yeah, Packers win the game 24-21 if you're interested in who wins. You heard it here first!

Till next time, win the flips.

Back On Track

I finally had a nice day on the virtual felt. My hands held  when I got it in good, I won my share of flips, and I even got lucky two or three times.

About time :o)

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We had 12 punters at J-Dawg's Poker Extravaganza last night. Stamps smoked a brisket and Ray-Ray brought some Girl Scout cookies he had purchased from his neice, which made for a nice meal.

Stamps won the High Hand Jackpot with quad kings. For me, I ended with a $15 profit for the night. My big pot of the night was against Riverboat J. We both hit our flush draws on the river, his jack high, mine ace. I also won a big pot at double flop hold-em with aces full of queens, beating J-Dawgs flush and Dealer Larry's straight.

No one noticed that it had started to snow while we were playing and by the time I left, the road markings were covered, making the trip home on back country roads a little more exciting. We get measurable snow once every couple of years, so I don't get much practice driving on the powder. For that I am thankful.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and enjoys the Super Bowl.

Till next time, win the flips.

Bellagio Robber Caught

Did you hear that the man who pulled the Bellagio caper last December has been arrested?  Anthony Carleo, 29 and son of a municipal judge, was busted Wednesday while trying to sell his $25K chips to undercover officers. Mr. Carleo has been charged with use of a deadly weapon while commiting a robbery and also trafficking a controled substance.

It appears Corleo literaly has the balls of a burgler, but was unable to cash in his bounty without getting caught. You may remember the Bellagio announcing that they were discontinuing use of the $25k chip and all of them must be cashed in by April, hoping to flush out the robber. Looks like Carleo's hand was forced and he walked right into the trap.

Gotta love it when a plan comes together.

Till next time, win the flips.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Rolling blackouts, single digit lows, snow, sleet, freezing rain.

Crap, how far south do you have to move to get away from this?

An hour and a half north of here, the Super Bowl officials are freaking out! The DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) ain't so rapid at the moment. Seems they didn't think it would get cold enough to freeze their tracks during the night, so they opted to stick to their regular schedule and not run trains all night to keep the tracks open.

Well, guess what? LOL.

Add to that the frozen bridges and overpasses in big 'D' and you have a monumental mess on your hands. Fortunately for the NFL, the game is in Texas and the temperature should be in the upper 50s on Sunday.

Texas is under a level 3 power crisis. I don't know what that means, but from listening to news reports, it's more serious than say... Devcon IV! Our power is shut off for 30 minutes every two hours to decrease demand. It's more of a nuisance than anything serious, but it's just one more thing to throw on the pile despair in the Lone Star state.

I know you folks in the Midwest and Northeast really feel sorry for me!

Till next time, stay bundled up and win the flips.