I fell asleep last night watching the Golden Girls - yeah, I said it!
Upon waking up I readied myself to head down to the casino floor and over to the Bellagio to check out the conservatory.
The conservatory was decorated with a Japanese theme - complete with cherry blossoms, pagodas and Hello Kitty (reminding me of the new attraction in Taiwan - a Hello Kitty flight to nowhere).
While walking through the Bellagio I noticed that there were hand washing stations located near the slot machines.
And, what would a walk through of the Bellagio be without an assessment of their scooter situation. In the half hour or so I was there, I only saw one scooter - which was being driven by an elderly gentleman.
Upon returning to Caesars Palace I secured an energy drink and headed to play WOF. As I sat down, this happened:
Young shirtless white kid with his hair in corn rows walking through the casino shouting the "N" word at his equally idiotic friend.
As I shook my head in disbelief, I put $100 into the WOF slot machine and basically hovered around my initial credit amount until the 10th spin when I hit for $40 - I cashed out with $143.
Trip is -20
While walking through the Caesars Palace lobby earlier, I witnessed the following:
-a young guy spitting directly on the lobby floor; and
-a toddler in a stroller drinking a can of Mountain Dew.
I made plans with @LuckysLasVegas and @Detroit1051 to enjoy some Hawai’ian food downtown at the California. I ordered the teriyaki chicken bowl with broccoli - it was delicious and the price was modest - will definitely go back.
California casino floor
Circa construction
I was not feeling well today so I spent the afternoon and early evening relaxing in the room watching The Firm.
Thereafter, as it is my last night in town, I went down to do some gambling. I bought in for $200 at an empty $25min. blackjack table and just as the dealer was about to deal some guy jumps in and bets at 1st base. Of course, he won the first four hands and I lost the first four hands. I got up and decided to play a double diamonds slot machine. I put in $100 and proceeded to receive not one win in twenty spins.
Trip is -220
I then found another $25min. blackjack table and bought in for $300 at 3rd base. The guy in the middle seat was repeatedly admonished to wear his mask and then he began unbuttoning his shirt down to his navel - this caught the eye of the pit boss and the guy actually argued with the pit boss about whether he really had to button his shirt back up - he did. I guess he was wannabe Larry Dallas. On the first hand, the guy at 1st base was dealt an 8, 3 and doubled against the dealer’s 9, asking for the card face down. The idiot in the middle had 5, 2 and asked if he could get his card face down. The dealer informed him you can only get a card face down on a double - this goofball decides to double his 5, 2 v dealer 9 for the sole reason of wanting a card face down. I lost the hand and left the table.
I moved to the next table, which was empty but. as seems to be the case whenever I sit at an empty table, someone immediately plopped down a few seconds after me - do they wait for me to sit down? So the guy who sat at 1st base was nice enough and he was winning a bit while I was remaining ± 50 of my $300 buy-in. The gentleman at 1st base then took a call and I was playing head’s up. The dealer went on a heater - she either dealt herself or made a 20 on 11 out of 13 hands - I pushed the two hands she didn’t have a 20 and was summarily dismissed.
Trip is -520
I took a stroll around the casino and then headed back for a final test of my luck at the blackjack tables.
The first table I sat at had two of three seats open and I sat down at 3rd base. At 1st base was a guy celebrating his 40th birthday and the blackjack gods were smiling on him as he was quickly up $1200 (he was betting black chips but the table was only $25min.) His friends stopped by to tell him they had dinner reservations they were already late for. He replied that he could not leave while he was winning. His friends told him to “go big or go home” so he put up $500 and was dealt a K, K against the dealer 9. However, he was not satisfied - he split Kings. On the first King he was dealt an 8 and on the second King he was dealt a 9. The dealer then turned over an Ace for 20. The next hand he put up his last $200 and was summarily dismissed by a dealer blackjack.
By the end of the shoe, I had lost another $200. I could not get into any sort of groove or go on a run.
I decided to switch tables and found an empty table and played head’s up. I had $300 in chips left and I had set a $1k loss limit for this trip so, this would be my last stand.
My last stand would be short and sweet. I was betting $25/hand and lost my final 12 chips in 13 hands. The dealer had 3 blackjacks and was dealt or made 20 or 21 on every other hand - I was lucky enough to push one.
So, the trip ends -1020.
Feeling the pangs of hunger, I headed to the Caesars Palace food court and ordered two slices of pepperoni. The girl putting my order together must have been sweet on me as she threw in a free slice (finally a win).
I am now in the room. It is a rare event to hover around even for an entire trip as I did during this one. However, winning or even was not “in the cards” this trip but, overall, I had a great time and look forward to being back again soon - hopefully by that time the Covid crisis will be over and Vegas can get those scooters under control. Thank you all for joining me on the trip.