The Audacity of Dopes. Day 1, Part 1

They said it would never happen. The cynics said it couldn't be done.
But because of your support, my Day 1 trip report is here.

For the last 13 years straight, a few friends and I have gone to Vegas
each fall. We started going the first week of the NFL season in our
early days, but mainly due to my work schedule in September, we've
recently been going in mid-December. While we can't take advantage of
any pool time during December, the rates are outrageously low and we've
gotten used to the bargains. Attending this year, we're myself, Bob
Black (2007 Big Empire Sigma Derby Handicapping Challenge Champion), and
Joey Dimes. A few other guys were close to coming, but another
disadvantage of mid-December is its proximity to the holidays and more
important family gatherings for those who are not as dedicated to Vegas as we are.

My Southwest flight out of Columbus (Ding fare $205 r/t) left town at
7am, but I was up at 3:30 watching SportsCenter reruns with a 2-year-old who couldn't sleep. I left the house at 5 and got to the airport in plenty of time for my flight. I had stupidly forgot to print my boarding pass until late the night before, but still got a B pass, and that was good enough to get a decent aisle seat. In fact, despite the announcement of a "completely full flight", I managed to not have anyone in the center seat next to me. You might say I was kickin-it "John Payton style". I'm sure the grown man nearby who was sitting on his wife's lap the entire 4-hour flight instead of sitting in the seat next to me did it because they preferred to sit that way, not because of me.

I slept for about half the flight and also watched a Vega$ episode on my
laptop. The flight landed early, but I had a message from Joey Dimes
who was flying in later that morning that his flight would be late.
That was no problem for me, as I needed to send off a couple of FedEx
envelopes for work, pick up the rental car, and do some coupon runs
before he arrived.

I asked a woman at the information desk where the FedEx drop box was
(it's next to the Post Office on the second floor), and I was able to use the free wi-fi to send some emails and a couple of packages.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burtcohen/2176605767/

I also retrieved a voice mail from Andrew in Alabama who must have been working too early on a Saturday morning. He was going to clue me in on a good deal for something, but realized as he left the message that it wouldn't work out. Still, I appreciated his well-wishes as I started my trip. Next, I headed outside and grabbed the rental car shuttle. I thought I might have to shun this gentleman on my shuttle, but with a closer look, I decided it wasn't necessary:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burtcohen/2176606933/

I picked up my rental from Thrifty - a compact for $9/day plus taxes,
fees, and additional screw jobs. The car I picked (a Dodge Caliber)
looked OK initially. But it wasn't until I left the rental facility
that I realized that the car had no power windows or door locks.
Neither one would be a problem on a solo trip, but getting two
dopes that you're traveling with to remember to lock the doors each
time we left the car proved to be a challenge and I really ended up
hating the car because of it. Who the hell makes cars without power
locks these days anyway?

One thing that I like about the new rental car facility is that now I get to start each trip with a drive past the Welcome to Vegas sign on the south strip, which I always get a kick out of. I threw in a CD of Sinatra live at Caesars from 1982 and headed up LVB. My plan was to take advantage of a few coupons before picking up Joey Dimes. And boy did I have coupons.

Donna was kind enough to send me a slew of coupons in the mail before my trip, many of which had originally belonged to Walt. There was no way I could have even made a dent in all the coupons she sent, but we did take advantage of many and they were very much appreciated. Furthermore, I felt like royalty each time I used one of the coupons as they had all passed through the hands of the King and Queen of AVLV. Thanks, Donna. You're the greatest.

Speaking of classy ladies, my first stop was Hooters.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burtcohen/2177398908/

Today was the last day to take advantage of their free $100 in slot play promo. Thanks to Westie and Dr. Baf for posting info on that promotion. I signed up for the promotion and went to a roped off area of slot machines where an attendant actually took out a $100 bill and placed it in the machine. I played a $1 machine and literally did not hit one paying combination. The $100 was gone in roughly 3 minutes, even shocking the attendant. I walked around a bit, noticing that blackjack felts no longer display the odds for paying a blackjack, and headed for Hard Rock.

I used an ACG coupon for their excellent fun book and got a card for their new (new to me) Rockstar slot club. I like the Hard Rock. The casino and hotel are fun, not too big, still have decent .25 VP, and the rates can be very reasonable during the week. I made $5 on the free $10 slot play, and lost my $10 matchplay on the pass line at the craps table. However, I was next in line to shoot on this slow Saturday morning, so I bought in for a few bucks and managed to make $45 on my roll, after which I threw $5 to the crew. You might say I was tippin' 'em "TC in CT style".

I headed to the airport to pick up Joe and parked in the short term passenger pick-up area. I went into the airport and noticed on the monitors that Joe's flight was going to be even later than he had originally thought. Time was now starting to get tight for me, as I was planning on playing a poker tournament at noon at the Venetian. I waited as long as I could with no word from Joe, and sped back north out of the airport toward the V.

Part of me thought that I could save a cool $550 (the buy-in for the tournament) by just waiting at the airport for Joe's flight to arrive. But in recent years I've gotten in the habit of flying into town early in the morning and playing a big tournament my first day in town. A decision which can often make or break my gambling budget in the first few hours.

I decided to play in the tournament and leave Joe to cab it to the strip once he arrived.

-Burt

--
"I don't want to be your clown anymore. I don't want to do your donkey
work."

Binzer to Dan Tanna in Vega$ episode 19 "Doubtful Target"


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