Long Over Due Report. Part One

April 4th
Left San Jose after a 40 min delay due to a hydraulic leak from the rear cabin door. Arrived in Las Vegas at 12:10pm. Grabbed my luggage and caught a cab to the Barbary Coast. Upon my arrival at the BC, I noticed that for a Sunday afternoon in Vegas there were a whole lot of people all over the place. It then hit me that I’m in Vegas during the NHRA finales, Spring Break, and Easter Vacation. I stood in line behind three sets of collage kids checking into the BC. Now these kids were demanding up grades and in general giving the clerk a hard time. When it was my turn to check in, I proudly walked up to the counter and stated that I was not collage student. This got the clerk to start laughing. He asked if I had a preference for a room. I asked if there were any left that looked out over the fountains. I then handed him my ID and credit Card with a couple of Bills between them. The clerk just looked at me, and then said that he would be right back after making a copy of my ID card. When he came back it was with a nice young lady who looked at the computer screen and said that it would be ok to give me that room. I was given my room key card and off to the 4th floor I went. When I opened the door, not only did my luggage hit the floor, but also my jaw. I was given a Suite!!!!! Cha Ching I’m a winner all ready.

I quickly changed out of my suit and tie into some more comfortable clothing. I then headed out on to the Strip and caught the 302 bus down to the Sahara to visit my friend Toasty who works there. When I got there the place was jumping. Lots of people at the Tables and slots. I wondered on over to the Bar that Toasty works at, and started to catch up on old times with him. Several hours and about 8 Gin& Tonics later, we decide to get together on Wednesday night to check out the Star Trek Experience. At this point I find that I’m very hungry. So I hit the World Famous Sahara Buffet. To tell the truth I found that it was not that bad. The only thing I would stay away from is the Salad Bar. Time to head back to the BC for some fun and games. I swear I don’t remember the walk from the Sahara to the BC ever being that long. I get back to my room and jump into the Jacuzzi and everything is just wonderful.

After freshening up I head on down to the Pai Gow poker tables and buy in for a $100. For some unknown reason I could not lose. After about two hours, I watched my Red chips turn into Green chips, then into Black chips. I found that the cocktail waitress kept me fully supplied with my Gin & Tonics…. Maybe it was all those Red chips I was tipping her with. I was now up about $850. I decided to stop right there and go out for some dinner. The Pit Boss suggested that I might like the food at Big Al’s Oyster Bar at the Orleans. Now that sounds like a Capital Idea. So out the door I go, hop onto the Shuttle, and off to the Orleans I go.

I got to the Orleans and went straight to Big Al’s. I had a very good Cippino with sourdough bread. I believe I also had 3 or 4 oyster shooters before the meal. After dinner I started to wonder around the Orleans until I found the Pai Gow tables. Well I sat down and bought in for a $100, and had one heck of a fun time. The Dealers were a laugh riot. The Pit Bosses were even having a good time kidding with us. But it was the people playing at the table that made it so fun. We were all cracking jokes. All us guys were developing Whiplash watching the Cocktail Waitresses go by, and I was winning again. It was just plane fun. After a few hours most of the people had left the table, and I decided it was time to head back to the BC. I cashed in my chips. I’m up another $320. In my slightly inebriated state, ok in my Highly Inebriated state. I head outside to catch the shuttle back to the BC. Only to find that I had missed the last shuttle by two hours. I then go back in and sit down at the lounge by the front doors, and order some coffee. When the waitress “Jamie†brought me my coffee, she asked why I was looking so sad. I told her about missing the last shuttle back to the BC. She gave me one of those looks that said either your very drunk, or very dumb. She suggested that I go outside and walk down to the Cab stand just around the corner from the entrance. DUH!!!!!! I thanked her and I think I gave her a $20 for the coffee. I don’t remember much of the Cab ride except that the driver did not speak any English, and that the cab had a strong odor of curry.


Part two Drunken Buffoonery in Downtown. Or I took a walk down to the Western at Night