Night Out

Hey Gang.

Sorry, no further progress on the trip report, which I know seems to be what everyone is anticipating. I just hope it's not a disappointment.

I've been busy, of course, since the last update. I went out last night, down to the Sahara to see the Savannah Jack show. For those of you who aren't familiar with Savannah Jack, they are the next big act in country music, having played together for the past three years or so. Anyhow, they are on the cusp, just got a record deal with a new label, and their first single will be released nationwide in June.

Anyhow, they are mega-talented musicians and put on a helluva show. I'm not a huge country music fan by any stretch of the imagination, but any kind of live music is always interesting to me, and they didn't disappoint. They played a bunch of favorites to get people in the door but mixed in their own music to get people to listen and also sell a few cd's after the show. I damn near pissed myself laughing when the lead singer did impersonations of both Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in the same song--it was certainly a crowd pleaser.

Oh, and full disclosure here, the lead guitarist, Mike Ulvila, is married to my niece Allison, so you know, I went to the show to see him play. I always knew the guy had talent, but damn, this group could easily take off. Just a great show all-around. Like I said, if they can convert me, a non-country-music fan, they can convert anyone.

So listen for them come June. Also, they wrote another song called "Dancing With No Music Playing" that is pretty damn good--good enough that Lee Greenwood recorded it and is releasing it as a single this summer too. So keep your ears open for that one, too.

After the show we got to hang out and talk, have a drink, and visit for a bit before some drunken yahoo from the casino stumbled in and pretty much ended the party, although providing a bit of entertainment as security escorted him away.

Once I left the Sahara, around 12:30 or so, I made my way out towards the trailer parks and used car lots of Boulder Highway and found myself at Falcon Rob's dollar dice table. I only had about $12 in my wallet when I got there, and discovered that getting money from an ATM at a joint like that is a little different that I'm used to. It only took about five tries and a visit to the cage, but I was strapped with $32 only ten minutes later.

The purpose of the visit wasn't really to play dice, I just needed to talk to Rob--there are some openings at my casino and I'm going to try and get him in there, and we were making plans on getting together tonight and grilling some steaks, too.

Anyhow, playing dollar dice at a joint like that is an opportunity that doesn't cross my path everyday, so I *had* to buy in. Of course, I had one of those rolls that only comes around about once or twice a year, and didn't realize it till I was twenty minutes deep into it. Of course I wasn't playing with red and green like I normally would, I was big pimpin' with dollar checks and the the Nevada Palace version of the Banana Chip--25 cent yellow chips.

So I made $47 on a dollar craps game with double odds only, and walked away shaking my head and thinking "if only...."

Oh well, it was a good time hanging out at Rob's table, we got our business taken care of, and I made a little scratch, too. Can't complain about that. I did, however, stop at the cashier's cage on the way out and grab a handful of moist towelettes, rubbing down all exposed skin before getting back in my truck. The Nevada Palace is a funky place in more ways than one, and I didn't want to bring any of it home with me.

Had my camera been working properly, I would've gotten some priceless photos, the least of which was a very scary poster full of odd-looking meat advertising their deli. Yep, a new digi-came is the next gadget on the must-buy list...

Once I got home, I was wide awake, of course. So I started doing laundry and re-arranging my room. I had a huge picture laying under my bed, waiting for a frame repair. Unfortunately, when I lifted the bed up to move it, I accidentally stepped on the picture and shattered glass all over the carpet. And I do mean all over... It took me almost an hour to pick up and discard all the scattered remains and then vacuum it up sufficiently enough that I felt safe to go barefooted again.

Finally around 6:00 am I ran out of gas and got some sleep. I still have lots to do before Rob gets here (gonna go grocery shopping and maybe even go down to KFC and pick up a bucket of coleslaw, at the risk of lighting up my comments section again...), but I wanted to pop in and post an update.

Oh and thanks for all the kind thoughts for Mamasan. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear about all the attention she's getting. Word out of Tennessee today is that she's doing fine and will be going back home. Her heart is fine--and I suspected it was because we've never had any history whatsoever of heart disease and such in our family, but we do have a minor history of hypochondria.

That's all for now--more tomorrow.

Mikey