WPBT Day #2.... I can has Jeannie?

Wednesday – Day #2

After a delicious breakfast at Bellagio, Peb’s and I headed down to Freemont Street. This was about when we found the two sure signs that Vegas is struggling bad.

1) We had The Deuce all to ourselves and
2) It was the same at Binions.

Seriously, we had five cocktail servers drooling over our every move. We've owed Mainstreet Station a few bucks since our last visit and for whatever reason, it was the only place with more players than staff at the time. So we figured we’d give them a chance to make some of their cash back from us. BOY DID THEY! We ran worse than pathetic and after losing the bulk of our planned bank roll, we bailed on the game and headed back to the strip. Usually it’s me that can’t take the loss and has to head back to another table, this time however, Peb’s suggested ‘a quick run into The IP to take a stab.’

I agree and sit down.

My first five hands go like this;

Trip 8’s for $150 + dealer pairs for a boat and $165 +$315
No brainer pocket Queens +$20
No brainer pocket 10’s turned trips +$50
Dealt Ac-Kc-Qc for a mini-royal +$250
Trip 2’s +$150

Now that’s $785 the easy way!

We made the decision to take the money and run.
(read: The Peb’s is wise!)

We started making plans for a great night out, featuring an authentic Mexican meal and Margaritas at Diablo’s Cantina in The Monte Carlo. Here's my two words, for their use of the word, “authentic”.

Bull crap!

That's a little harsh I guess, as it wasn’t really terrible. It just wasn't what I was hoping for. Despite the great ambiance and excellent service, the food could have been from TGI Friday, Chili’s or any of the other boxed food chains available. Had I known that was coming it would have been fine, but since I had my expectations lifted under false pretence, it was more than a little disappointing.

We closed off day #2 with a shot at the penny slots, which has long been a favourite for us both. As is almost always the case when there’s $0.30 a pull on the line, Peb’s ran so friggin’ hot it was incredible. Peb’s as you may or may not know, is a victim of PSBF and despite the diseases severity, she manages to live a fairly normal life otherwise. Oh, you didn’t know? I’m so sorry dear reader. PSBF is short for Penny Slot Bonus Featureitis. It generally flairs up in those carrying it, once a machine recognizes that a carrier is sitting down within its grasp. The machine will start to play loud music, whistles will blow, bells will ring and possibly if the carrier does it right, even television or movie clips will start to show up somewhere on the large format screen above. There are often excessive clanging noises, as if the machine is paying out in the old style, despite the fact that it currently only dispenses a paper slip as a prize. The machine itself matters not! Carriers of PSBF have the ability to hit every possible combination of bonus features any machine may happen to have. Let me give you a few examples, now let’s see… over her run around the casino floor, I think I saw every character in the Wizard of Oz, all of the Star Wars characters AND the ships they fly through space. I saw each of The Village People AND heard the songs they are known for, along with every actor to have ever played Batman and of course, all of the ones who’d played a Villain as well.

Hmmm… I feel like I’m missing something. UH, Ummmm…. OH, right!

I also saw all the characters from Lord of The Rings, Sex in The City, The Rat Pack, Goonies, Dirty Dancing ( 1 & 2) Little House on The Prairie, I Dream of Jeannie and although I think it said That 70’s Show, I’m pretty sure it was ALL of the actors, in ALL of the TV shows, EVER made in the 70’s. Truly, Peb’s PSBF was in full lock mode, as she couldn’t miss a single feature. I think she and her disease turned that single $10 bill into a little slip of paper, that had a 3 digit number on it. And it started with a 4.

It was rainy and cool as we started to head back to our Hotel, so I hailed us a cab. I knew we were pointed in the wrong direction when I did it and most certainly, that is NEVER a good thing with the Vegas Cabbies. Although our little jaunt cost me $15 door to door for what was basically a U-Turn, my Peb’s stayed warm and dry. Money well spent to me.

With that our Day #2 was over and all that was left for me to do was, dream about a young Barbara Eden being given to me as a gift, courtesy of a very generous and slightly hammered Dean Martin. I knew he had to be hammered alright because as he left me with the beatiful Jeannie, he just kept screaming…

WHEEL…..OF…..FORTUNE!



My sincerest thanks for dropping by….

WPBT: Day #1....

First off two apologies;

1) For each of those frustrated,

Listen…. I honestly DO get the whole, “how do we find you?/how do we contact you?/what’s your number Bammer?” run of comments and concerns, that seem almost never ending during any of the gatherings I get the chance to attend. But honestly, I’d rather participate in what’s going on than tweet, text and read about it, while it IS actually going on. I initially came to this realization during my first WPBT. That was when it became quite apparent to me at least, that I was so concerned with making plans and telling the world about them on my phone, I was actually missing out on several key moments with a few of the kids I was really hoping to meet up with in the first place. I not only vowed never to make that same mistake again after my return home that year, but I have also now attended every single gathering since that point, TOTALLY unplugged. A decision that wasn’t really that easy to make to be certain! I went into it knowing that I could miss out on something special being thrown together and posted on Twitter, as an invitation to the masses to attend. So once again during this WPBT there was no phone, no tweets, no #hashtags and no dial-A-shots for me.

2) For those that gathered for Bammer’s Happy Hour Friday,

I just plain fucked up. No excuses, no good reason, no absolution for me. I was so into the after-golf drinks and companionship with others, I just plain lost track of the time. If there is one truly positive side to this apology for those that made the effort to show up at my party however, please know this. I STILL feel like shit for not hooking up with you all.

Now onto the action!

I took Peb’s in early this time because knowing what was coming our way starting with the Thursday night arrivals, I just plain wanted a couple of days with her and quite selfishly I can admit, I wanted them all to myself. We started the day with The IP and a little Let-It-Ride. I get asked about, or hear the comment so often, “You go to Vegas and its The Imperial Palace for you, really?” YES REALLY! If you don’t get why I love the place, may I suggest a quote from a friend that has made all 7 Winter WPBT’s and actually helped me understand the IP’s draw.

“I don’t know, it’s like a comfortable pair of shoes I guess.”

When we sat down and handed our cash to the dealer, the pit boss makes his way over to the table, extends a hand and says, “Well, well, welcome back Pebbles and Bam-Bam!” With a rather wry smile he continues, “Do you two plan on taking all of our money again this year?” Did I mention that he said this BEFORE we were able to present our players cards? Or that we hadn’t sat down at the IP for two years! Then about ½ an hour into our first session, there was a dealer change. I looked up from my drink to notice something vaguely familiar about the young lady behind the table and as she took the time to look up herself, “HELLO Pebbles!” came out with delight. It was Mandy, the dealer that we went on one Hell of a run with over a period of two days during the WPBT that same two years ago. Not surprisingly, (to me at least) five hands in, Mandy deals Peb’s a 3-Card straight flush for $200.

“Drinks, Cocktails. Drinks, Cocktails. Drinks, Co….. BAMMER! PEBBLES!” were the next words we’d hear. Two years ago, nearly to the day, Rena was slinging her drink tray our way with a baby on board. She remembers the tip I gave her after a big hand and my comment, “The first round of diapers are on me.” We catch up and share some laughs about her first two years as a parent and as if nothing had changed except for her lack of another being inside of her she asks, “Scotch?” When Rena returned with our drinks, I hoisted my glass in her direction with a resounding “Cheers!” It took a moment or two after my first swig but then it hit me, this was NOT an ordinary Scotch! “Rena dear, what have you done?” I asked bemusedly. “You guys are so great, I wanted to surprise you. I went out back and had someone go up to The Hash House for me, do you like it?” she asked as she beamed. That girl took the time and effort to have an 18 year old Macallan poured just for me.

We played for hours. The players at the table changed over a couple of times. One by one the dealers wished us, “good night and good luck.” and even the lovely Rena had to finally make her way home, back to be the Mom of her child. Yet there we sat, comfortable in our old pair of shoes, the place known as The Imperial Palace.

Our walk back to The Monte Carlo was filled with smiles, smooches and reminiscing about the hands that made or broke our bankrolls. As is often the case, more often than not, we combined our rolls to find that after all the hours of play and tips; we had exactly $10 of profit between us. On the walkway bridge between The Aria and Cosmopolitan, there was a girl playing a 12-string Guitar. VERY well I might add! Now I’m not that big on the charity pool that can be Vegas, where a guy with a puppy in a cage or the one with a sign that reads, ‘Why lie? I need Beer’ never seem to change over the years but hey, this young lady was actually willing to work for her cash. So naturally, to me at least, the nights profit went right into her guitar case. It may be just me of course, but I thought her smile was well worth it.

And with that, our WPBT day #1 was in the books.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....