A Pirate Looks at 60
05.28.2016 Like the bird on the Buffalo
Hey Now! Up at 5 a.m. Since it's Saturday, I figure I'll let my Sweet Ti sleep in back in VA. Soon I'm downstairs still chasing Emerald, the Shiny Green Card. I notice the Gator Bucks 9/6 $1. DB Progressive is up to 13k, but there's not an open seat. So it's over to the Wally Gator Shorty I go and hang with Jesse. He tells me there's a team that's been trying to take down that Progressive all night. They have an extra person who feeds them food and drinks and fills in when one of them takes a break. That's a pretty volatile game and there's a bunch of them. The funny thing is that about half an hour later someone hits it- and they weren't part of the team. They all leave. I get down to business and insert coin.
Time to switch to dollars. One of the things I really enjoy about playing at the shorty machines is there's more room for me to lay out my Ippy and dumbphone and notepad. It's like having my own little office space. Meanwhile I fall below a hundy and switch back to .50
I'm really getting into the Vega$ playlist I put together before the trip. I came up with about 100 songs. Sweet Ti calls to fill me in on all of my chores that she's doing for me. She says she never realizes how much I do around the house till I'm gone. I really appreciate all she does too. Team Mays- Fuck Yeah! I head upstairs to get ready for the tourney. This may very well call for my new Hawaiian shirt.
And 2 near beers. I once again dutifully get in line and am standing next to some slant machines when I realize they are .25 9/6 DDB. So I insert coin and play a bit while listening to this dude who is talking a poor girl's ear off.
Then the line starts moving along pretty good so I cash out with a push. I had an excellent 3rd session, pulling in 132k points. 4th place in my group. I walk over to Brendin's Irish Pub. I just realized they have refreshments set up in here for the tourney. I spot this....
They are closing tomorrow. Along with the Western Union Money Laundering Service.
I walk in and look around. This is a nice bar. They have the tourney results so far, and I'm doing better that I thought. I'm in 28th place out of 270 people. And with today's total, I should hopefully be in the money. While I'm checking the results I hear "Brucie!" It's Tracy, the CW. She calls me over as she's placing her drink orders at the bar. She tells me she thinks I'm high on the Beck's N/A in my hand. Turns out she may be right- my brain still thinks there's alcohol in it after all my years of imbibing. So they are gonna blow out the walls and turn this place into some kind of Sports Bar. Ought to be interesting. Tracy is working the middle section of the casino again today and after I leave Brendin's I run into her again while walking around. She grabs me and tells me to play this particular Wonder 4 machine. Insert coin. I started out playing for $3.20 a spin because the ticket I put in was around $50. Then I hit this. Roll it Jimmy....
Well, that certainly worked. Time to up the ante to $8. a spin. Tracy comes by and I show her. Thanks Darlin'! Then all hell breaks loose.
Jim?
Hey Now! Martha and Brenda were there right away to do my paperwork. I am already in the system here so it didn't take long. I toked them and Tracy got hers too- plus an extra $2. bill. AND I cashed out $417. Not bad for a $50. investment. But then I notice there's something wrong. My card points have gone to zero. That won't do. I pull my card and try it in another machine. Same results. So I bop over to the Player's Club. Jennifer takes my card. While she is looking up my account I ask her where she is from. Her accent sounds familiar. Rocky Mount VA. No shit. My Father was from Danville, not too far away. Know where Dry Fork is? "I sure do Honey" My family still has a homeplace there. "Ain't that sweet" She's great. And she found my problem. I just made Emerald, the Shiny Green Card. I ask her if I get any perks right away for making Emerald, the Shiny Green Card.
"I can give you a lanyard."
Actually she left me with a quote of her own personal philosophy to life.
"To the world you may only be one person, but to that one person you may be their world."
Words to quote by. Just don't ask for any frillin perks. I'm feelin' me some Triple Double Diamonds. So I insert coin.
I call my Sweet Ti to share the news about my hand pay. She is pleased, but misses being here. I miss you too my Love! Next I amble over to the Crawdad and as the shorty is occupied, I opt for Sweet Ti's lucky Cherry Poppin' machine and hang out with Daniel for a bit. Turns out to be not for very long, as I'm soon smoked out by a couple of players next to me. I did spot Mikey- a.k.a. Gollum for the first time. Daniel tells me he won't even serve him. Gollum and his Bud Light, Jägermeister, and smokes.
Artist rendering of Mikey
More on Mikey to come a few days hence. I stop by to see our Reneee and give her a hug. It's so different without my Sweet Ti. I'm usually at Jittery Vegas every morning to get her coffee and Reneee's pick- Winchell's Donuts. But I don't drink coffee in Vegas. I live on water, Pepsi Max and NA. Across the way I hit Invited Guests. May is in, and I ask her what kind of special treatment I get for making the Shiny Green Card. "Nothing." Seriously?. "You can have some coffee from over there." She points at the Emerald Lounge. "Or a bottle of water." Thanks, but no thanks May. The Emerald Lounge consists of a couch, a couple of chairs and tables, and a coffee machine. Oh, and a TV. Whooptie Shit. Instead, I go upstairs and grab a Beck's NA and the keys. Out at the car park I remember that I backed Midnight in. It's got a back up camera, so I might as well take advantage of it. She whisks me quickly over to Gold Coast. I take a spot in the overflow section of the Emerald Lot. I've actually been parking out front in the Emerald lot for years, it isn't gated. Inside it's surprisingly empty for the middle of the day on a Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
I still think the Hippie Pit clashes badly with whatever kind of decor that the Gold Coast is supposed to represent. Mark said he played here last night and after 8 p.m. they give away all kinds of swag whenever someone at a table hits a blackjack. Monopoly Jim???
Monopoly Big Money Reel. I'm playing with San. We are having a good ol' time. Until she starts losing her money that is....
I call Mark, he says he will be down in a few minutes. I proceed to do what is becoming my usual thing here at Gold Coast. I try Buffalo Deluxe, Multi-Strike, DBDW, and Gold Line Buffalo and quickly lose $400. I figure at this point it's cheaper to go up to Mark's room that to stay here on the floor. I'm trying to make at least a few thousand points a day here to keep my offers coming. But at this rate, I kinda doubt it. I left Mark some ACG coupons, and we use one for a free lunch buffet. Turns out you have to redeem it at the player's club. No prob, I get in the Emerald (TSGC) line, and get behind some yahoo who takes 10 minutes to finish his business. At the buffet there isn't a line, and we walk right in. This buffet is about on par with Sam's Club. Except it's bigger and airerer.
Plenty of Asian selections. They even have kimchi. The real thing too. Heat! I guess it's worth a $4.99 comp. We split for Orleans. Mark tells me about his Friday night adventures ar Rio. Best thing was that he found a shortcut to get there thru the self park at Gold Coast and a side entrance at Rio. Beats walking out on Flamingo. We hit the Coast Liquor at I score fifth #4 or #5 of Crown for him and another Rack of Beck's NA for yours truly. Up to stock Wheelie®, down to hit the Crawdad. I start with .50 BP, have to parley down to Boner Deluxe. It's short pay here, but I needs me 400 credits quick...
Mark starts out with .25 BP.
And that hand just pisses him off, because he usually plays DDB. But here on the bartops. it's 9/5. He readily switches in hindsight.
We next move over to the slants in front of the buffet since they have DDB and DBDW in full pay.
I never even have a screenshot on DBDW. Still chasin' Quad Deuces with or without the kicker. It's time for me to go up and get ready for the Stardust Shindig. They aren't posting the Tourney results till then. I've got an extra ticket for Mark, but he has his sights set on hitting the Palms tonight. So he goes out to wait for the shuttle back to Gold Coast. We make plans to meet at the Hippie Pit around 8 p.m. for a blackjack/swag session. I grab the tickets and a frosty brew and take the excalator past the Hooters (very old A.C. joke) to the Shindig. I find the posting of the standings. Looks like I did pretty good. 16th place. Good for a cool $150. And a nice Shindig to boot!
I converse with the Chefs about the Pulled Pork. 'Cause I'm all about the pulled pork. Yepper, they use Boston Butts and Hickory wood for Da Smoke just like we do back in VA. The sucklin' pig was cooked Hawaiian style in a pit with banana leaves. I spot our Reneee...
Reneee!!!!
She's doing a gig on the side serving here. So I move my shit over to one of her tables. Nice layout. The band used to play at the Stardust. And by my conversations with folks, most of them have been coming to this Tourney since before the Stardust closed down. Not sure what the Tourney was called back then. Maybe just the Stardust Tourney. They added Reunion after they got rid of everyone's favorite property and tried to build the Echelon Place. How'd that turn out for ya Mr. Boyd???? Let's hear the band play there Jim!
Derrick the Flash came out and awarded the Big Money winners their Big Checks and told the rest of us that our money would be available outside the ballroom in a few minutes. I saw Jeanette and Ron, Sue and her hubby, and Lanelle and Miss Phyllis. I was having a blast walking around and digging on the band. But it was time for some mega drawing downstairs, and the crowd thinned out pretty quickly. I gave Reneee a hug and a nice tip, and left in search of my winnings. Linda Colvin paid me and told me to let her know if I needed anything else. I had been trying to get ahold of her before our last trip. She was supposed to be my new host after Tammy Turner got kicked way up the food chain. But Linda was out on a medical leave. Glad she's back and doing fine.
They even made this easy. Just truck over to the cashier, sign the chit and get handed a hundy and a fitty. They will work just lovely as my seed money for the impending blackjack/swag session. I grab the keys and a chilly beaverage and Midnight whisks us once more up Arville over to the Gold Coast. The Hippie Pit is right deserted once again. It's 8 p.m. But the music is sweet. Mark kept telling me they played classic rock. Well I was thinking the usual swill you hear on the radio that I can't stand. But no- he was right. They are jamming out deep cuts. Dead, Traffic, Floyd, etc. And the sound system is great. No swag yet. Or Mark for that matter. I sit at a DD table and play heads up with Gerald, who is actually a girl despite her name. It's 3:2, $5. Resplit and double after split. I buy in for a hundy. She very swiftly rips me a new one. She is filling in bust hands and pulling rabbits out of her hat. Hey Jim!!!!
There went that hundy. I'm busy trying to get a hold of Mark. I decide, screw it, I'll go up to his room. I know what happens here if I try to play anything else. The vacuum is attached firmly to my BR. I hit the elevator and just as the doors are closing I spot Mark emerging out of another one. Figures. We finally hook up and sit back down with Gerald. She promises to be kinder to me this time. I'm at 3rd, Mark's at 1st. It's just us for a couple of shuffles, and going good. Jose the pit boss is prepping the swag for dispersal. Then a couple of Asian ladies sit in between us. I'm betting $10 a hand usually, switching back and forth from 1 to 2 hands depending on the count. Not that the count has much of a chance to get favorable, Gerald is cutting off around half a deck. Jose calls for swag the next BJ, and Mark hits one. He passes out LED lighted necklaces. We play on and I hit a BJ. I get a green foam VW beetle. Then he switched to hats, glow stick items, and my favorite- tie dyed bandanas. Everyone is grooving to the beat. And swag. Then after I have been playing 1 hand for a couple of shuffles the count gets good so I raise my bet and add another hand. Gerald misses dealing in one of my hands and stops dealing. I tell her don't worry about it, let's just play as the cards lay. But she calls Jose over and he asks us all to look at our cards and if we all like our hands and agree, we will go with the deal. Everyone agrees, and we play out the hand. Gerald pulls out a 6 card 20 after starting out with a 6. We all bust. That really pisses off one of the Asian ladies. She's playing for a red. Mark and I are playing 3 reds each. I offer her a red chip to make up for her loss. No, she's pissed and starts cussing me out in some foreign language. I didn't do anything wrong. Now over the course of my playing career I've been cussed out in many different languages. Especially since I always play at 3rd base. Basic Strategy too. Fuck it. Doesn't bother me at all. But the cards go South after that and I'm getting tired. I color up for a small win, collect my swag, tip Gerald and amble over to the cashier. While I'm waiting, I listen in on today's local- Ralph. Waitin' to cash his paycheck. He used to be an Uber driver but now drives for Lyft. Doesn't have a single nice thing to say about Uber. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment going around about Uber. Mark has been really happy with the Lyft service he has been getting. Ralph has some interesting ride share tales from the road. I would imagine driving around here. Back at the Hippie Pit, a couple of wild and crazy chicks have taken my place at Gerald's table. I would have sat back down, but that asshole Asian bitch is still there. The really crazy chick had on a halter top and every time she won a hand she would throw her hands up in the air like she don't care. Great fun to watch. I wish them all luck and Midnight back home. I end up my night at my $4. Buffalo machine and eke out a small win.
Yet another packed full of goodness typical Sin City day comes to a close. Profitable once again I might add....
Totals: Orleans: 9880 pts. Gold Coast: 3220 pts. Profit: 1.2k.
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05.29.2016 All we were doin' was hangin'
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