Playing marital detective @ the Cal

Arrived about noonish and began my job to determine how a man can leave home regularly and come back for a change of clothes only to repeat.
Saw Ty (he has no idea I’m shadowing him for knowledge on the home front ). He played vp— so did I. He played craps and so did I. So far nothing worth noting. But I shall not be deterred. He’s got to be up to something other than being known as the traveling man.


caution—-photo dump.

There’s always tomorrow....so far he likes to gamble and eat

stay tuned........

 

I wanna scream at all the 4oak on JoB. But hey it's still 125 bones. I'm like "ooooh a set of 4's big money ohhhhhh JoB...." (sad trombone noise from price is right) but a win is a win and you got a premium on quarters. Keep on winning!

 

@bubbakitty - maybe you need a disguise

 

I knew I had those with me when I left .....

 

A recap of yesterday’s ups and downs.
Checked in and have a room facing the older tower with MSS across the hall and across the street. I problems. Unpacked, assessed the situation and headed downstairs after a thorough cleansing of the “touchables” with the Clorox wipes provided by that lady that always seems to be around the house

Decided on an amount to lose for the first day and headed out. Business IS picking up but there was really no other direction to go.
Found Ty at the sports bar which is really just that as the betting window is still closed. The lights are on and games displayed with odds etc., but no counter person to grumble and hit the keyboard and snatch your money from your hand.
Played vp for a bit and then I got my first tour of the new kid on the block and I was quite impressed. With the ginormous screens and display of NFL on Sunday. I was not impressed with vp offerings. If you are a slot player you could possibly never leave until the grandchildren’s college funds had seen better days. There were many and it was loud. Nothing to really add to what others had observed but it is noticeably of normal volume when you are away from the center of the casino and only hear reflections of music/game announcers. It was quite the sight however. Placed my winning parlay on Cardinals -6 and Tampa Bay -3 1/2. Should of bet the Don’t.
Beer (tap) selection at the seemingly endless bar was
large. But I only saw Arrogant Bastard (which is also at the Orleans, or was 10 years ago) and stone and shocktop. There may have been some good ones between two handles but it was too crowded and too noisy to linger and peer. Did not check out bottle selections beyond observing bottled Budweiser and Miller/Coors light. Yippee.
We discussed how being from Michigan and apparently proud of it the idea of bringing in craft beer from that state on rotation for exposure to those brews not experienced by those outside the area. Something unique. It fell on deaf ears.
Left there to go to the D for retrieval of match play chips for SWA boarding pass and you get a new card for your old one. It is supposed to work at all 3 properties. I’ll probably never know but that’s what the lady said. It was busy at the D but not so much it was crowded. There was a sign on the table at the entrance that said “50% floor capacity”. Not sure how they keep up with that having multiple entrances and all. But it looked less than that though I admit I have no vision in my head of 100% unless it was the re-opening back in June when it was wall to wall.
We checked out some of the paytables for vp and were not impressed but we aren’t easily impressionable guys either so maybe they are impressive to most.
Headed for el Cortez to pretend to be high rollers from out of state with plans to bankrupt the casino. We were on so close. Ty was to my right playing “wingman” when our financial advisor finally showed up to my left and proceeded to bring us back above the line of humiliation. It wasn’t long after that we got the stink eye from the pit guy that basically said “color up, we know your game”. So we did and both realized a profit and completed our first step in the plan.
Went to the players desk which informed us we could check at any machine, but inquired about free play available. We discovered we each had 40$ Instead of pushing the envelope further this visit, we nodded and were out the door within seconds.
Back to the California to play more vp prior to dinner. I had eaten at the airport in Austin about 7:00 in the am Vegas time and needed something besides another beer. Interestingly enough they had li’l sunpin’ somethin’ from Laquinitas and I had a couple of 3 of those while Ty was doing something else. Imbibement wise.
There was actually a line to get into the Cafe unless emerald. Then there was no line. That was our line. We waltzed right in and with a brief wave we’re escorted to the adult table.
Soup with a heavy corn presence, hot wings, Korean ribs, and fried shrimp with French fries (not shown) were enjoyed by all. All good as well. (I think potatoe salad was the mystery photo).
went back to the sports bar and the crowd had cleared somewhat, licking their wounds from defeat I’m sure so we played more vp and had more beer and conversation with the barback who used to be 1/2 of the crew at the bar in Redwood (which is still closed). Seemed more upbeat than September but still not having a grasp on their futures sorta keeps everyone subdued at best.
That’s all I can think of but certainly probably not all that happened.
I did finish up a bit for the first day which is good but will be cautious also as those silly cameras seem to follow you closely when the house is missing a bit of ca$h. We’ll see.

 

2 more photos from last night. The beer was good!!

 

Saw a tv show once about a guy who had a family in the next town over and was discovered when a sales lady saw his picture on the second wife’s mantel and commented he looked just like her best friends husband.
He was out of town calling on “customers” at the time~~~ But now I don’t think that is the case here. Saw another movie about a hit man that was a “salesman” that took him all over the country to do his “job”. His wife and neighbors had no clue. THAT could be in play.
That COULD BE his shadow in the above clip. I dunno.
More updates as they happen.

 

good luck @bubbakitty !

 

I heard that besides the bartops, there aren't many (if any) VP machines in the entire two-level casino. Disappointed.

 

Good hits, but you need the kickers when playing the $1 machines.

* I miss sitting at Redwood bar, and having some craft cocktails.

 

Yes. But not sure I’d survive the volatility of ddb @ $ level. However 5’s—K’s for 125$ at JoB vs 62.50 at 25 cent makes up for it somewhat. Love the thrill of the kickers but sometimes it eats on you (me) at the $ level

This is what I observed. High limit room ty scrolled through the various levels. Even at 100$ it was 7/5 JoB. Fortunately no one got pissed off with us looking around as no one was playing it.
Not sure how all of this is going to play out in real time. Sports seems to be the focus and slots for the off peak times as the sports screens dominate. Table games just seemed to be there but not necessarily the focus either. And, this was during Sunday’s football games so it might be different on a Tuesday afternoon.

 

That's great to hear, I like that Little Sumpin' .. Can you get that from the waitresses or do you need to be at a particular bar?

 

Hi Bubbakitty & Ty!
You guys have a great time, but remember I’m not there to bail you out this time

If you get back to The D would you let me know if they’ve put the UTH table back on the floor? They had taken the carnival games out in September.

Thank you & have a great time. I’ll be watching for all the royals!

Ann

 

Sports bar. It’s funny. I played quarters at sports bar and got it. Played $ job on floor, sorry only goose. Duh!! So I played the game.

 

would also like to hear thoughts on the new Craps table location..
and how 'bout them friendly dealers?

 

I'm happy to see you guys are having a good trip! Keep living your best lives.

I'll have to try those Korean ribs the next time I'm there bubbakitty!

 

You keep a close watch on Ty and let the home front know if anything causes speculation! Take care and win big!

 

Summary of Monday.
Got up and headed to the sports bar / coffee shop about 7 in the am after a long shower and other necessary tasks. Nothing of note vp wise but it was sad to see Ruth the bartender having to explain 1) no there wasn’t anything open that early for a caffeine fix and 2) yes you could sit at the bar and have a coffee for 2.50 $’s American but 3) there were no refills for the 4) styrofoam cups.
In anticipation of such rigid rules I brought my own cup and saved the world by refilling the styrofoam provided and then transferring to something with a handle. It was a gift from my wife some 20+ years ago and at the bottom says
“He’s exactly the kind of man I’ve always wanted to change”
as they ride up an escalator obviously in the midst of a shopping spree. Hey, I don’t get it either but it serves the purpose of turning this into this
Had “free” bailey’s and forte while playing. Ok so it might have been better to just order.
Ate breakfast at the Paradise cafe. Waitress from the assisted living center was our server. It is so sad it has to be funny. Bless her heart.
Walked over to the D to check out the upstairs bar which services sigma derby players. It was crowded the previous night as we waltzed through. We did not notice if the carny games had returned to the floor but did notice several clowns hanging about but of little consequence. Still 50% capacity so the sign says.
Played BP with some progressives. First time I’d ever noticed a progressive on the straight flush. Always been a steady 250 when noticed at all. It grew by incremental pennies as we played but was undisturbed as we parted. Had a Bloody Mary of little note except it came in about a 6 oz glass. You put an ounce of alcohol and a lot of ice and some olives with a lime and leave room for a dash of Bloody Mary mix and there ya go. And we went shortly thereafter.
Back to the cal for uneventful gambling and it was time for a nap which turned into a fitful toss of the turn but somehow was restful.
Plan was to meet up with one of the bartenders (instead of the usual “he was a tall, thin man” this guy is short, with blonde hair slowly greying at the temples) still on the sidelines from the Boar’s Head at Pizza Rock about 4. Like clockwork he showed up at the California a little after 4 and we made our way 3 abreast (which was not as attractive as it sounds) to the PR.
We were seated after the hostess asked us to scan the menu on our phones. The “deer in the headlights” look was not anticipated and she just shook her head and got an actual menu from under the counter and said “follow me” but I know she was thinking “don’t look back” as she led the way in case we were still mulling over scanning what symbol with our phones???
We were updated with the latest (still secret but soon to be revealed ) facts as to the progress of negotiations in the return to work prospects for MSS employees, local area food banks and a sort of review as to which offered what on certain days of the week, the status of several employees we interacted with routinely on each previous trip to MSS and much more.
Had you been there and joined the conversation it would probably have adopted the “DITH” look too.
I had ice tea MUCH to Ty’s amazement but something about breakfast just wasn’t sitting well and wasn’t cooperating with the eviction notice either. A beer was ordered and a vodka or 4 by my table mates.
After 10 or 15 minutes we got to order from the Happy Hour menu. We were happy now. (I think the servers had been warned we were not tech savvy and thus probably going to be a problem). And we aren’t, but we weren’t.
2 orders of meatballs and garlic bread and a calamari pizza and truffle fries and probably more but by this time I’d had most of my second iced tea and was feeling pretty good. BUT when consumed THIS could be considered a wee bit late for a photo but it was all I had. And no one wanted to deal with cleaning it up so we had time to talk about other things and plan for the rest of the visit which included the obligatory visit to Circa.
It was again impressive but much less crowded than the previous NFL SUNDAY(!). Our bartender friend was not so impressed especially when he played 20$ through at the bar and saw only 1 coin for 2 pair on BP. He used foul language and when he hit cash out was disappointed you don’t get a Tito for 0.00. It’s a new world.
We returned to the cal to plunder more loot when a ringing phone alerted us to the presence on the block of yet another bartender (this one has no hair) with his wife and kids and their imminent appearance in our area. Our first bartender called home and said he’d be leaving in 10-15 minutes once the anticipated appearance occurred. I think he left about 1 hour later. No one has heard from him since either. (maybe she needs to get him a coffee cup with a cute caption ).
The more hair challenged bartender showed and hugs (men hugging in the COVID era....it is what it was) were shared by all (actually his family stood back a bit and did the parade wave) Facts and fantasies were exchanged and eventually ways were parted but not until parking validations were ineptly garnered x3. Back to the sports book bar for a nightcap or 3 (maybe 4) and then off to catch some zzzz’s.
Upon further review (as zebras often are want to talk) I was down a bit for the day monetarily speaking but still up for the trip and wayyyyy above the Mendoza line in emotions after contact with people we had seen so regularly but been void of since.
Tomorrow begins with breakfast at the 4 Queens where the assisted living help are never scheduled to work on Tuesday’s.

 

Only thing of note was he picked up the tab for pizza rock and as he did so asked “Anyone interested in renting some property in Georgia?” We both shook our heads and said “not at the moment”. He was quite pleased as now he could place this on his expense account since we had “talked shop”.
Just beware of men in dark suits and briefcases arriving at your door.

 

I was there yesterday for about 4 hours. This is very true. However, the bars are well...Mega Bars. Seriously, the Mega Bar is huge and it has 8/6 Bdlx at quarters, but the size of the drinks are inversely proportional to the size of the bars. There are four full pay BP game king machines at 50c just behind the sports book on the first floor. It's definitely worth checking out, but the VP is meh, especially when you go on an extreme quad drought while playing Bdlx.....





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