Hey Everybody...
I'm enjoying what should be a relaxing day off, but since I was a nice guy and traded days with my friend Jen so she could do Halloween with her young son, I'm preparing for my sixth straight day in the green felt jungle. But before you think, Aw shucks, what a nice boy!, my main motivation to make the trade was so I can have Thursday night off to go out and play craps with Courtney and Steve B. The plan is to hit the Golden Nugget for awhile, then drive out to my new favorite spot, Green Valley Ranch, and give them a try.
Anyhow, I got a good eight hours sleep last night after what had to be the longest shift I've ever worked. I can't really afford to take any time off, so I had to endure last night all the way to 4am. It was sooooo slow all night, but for whatever reason, while all the tables around me were dead, I was busy the whole time. I also got moved to the dice table for my last hour of the shift, and wouldn't you know it I had six players at my end while the other base dealer had nobody at his end. So I was working my ass off while they other guy just flipped the marker puck from ON to OFF every couple of minutes. Sometimes life just ain't fair. Oh well, I can't complain too much--I hardly ever get to deal dice anymore, so it was good practice.
But nobody was more thankful than I was to see the graveyard shift show up. I was so tired, but I managed to stay up long enough to watch my Tivo'd episode of "Heros" before passing out. It was the end of a very long day.
It began after four hours of sleep--the alarm was turned up loud enough to wake the dead, otherwise I would've slept all day, as I'm still fighting the effects of last weekend with the buffoons. Anyhow, the plan was to meet up with Steve B, George, and Marlisha at the Peppermill for breakfast.
I actually got there a few minutes early, and had time to get a tall cup of coffee and Bailey's and have a nice visit with my favorite bartender, Krista, before everyone showed up. There was also about a half-hour wait for a table (The SEMA convention with a hundred thousand attendees was happening just down the block, and half of them, it seemed, wanted to eat breakfast at the Peppermill too), but my regular waitress, Sandra, gave us the hookup and as soon as a table emptied in her section, she held it for me and we snuck in ahead of everyone else.
Sometimes it's nice to have a little juice in this town...
It had been awhile, so I took another run at the chicken fried steak and eggs, with the requisite sourdough toast. I almost finished it, but both Steve and George gave it a try, too. Steve had also brought a buddy with him, who went the lunch route with some spicy wrap thingy, and said it was excellent. Marlisha had a plateful of the largest pancakes known to man, along with bacon and sausage and stuff. The cocktail waitress kept us stocked with Irish coffee and Bloody Marys, and with the great conversation and good company, it was a very enjoyable breakfast all around.
Steve B insisted on covering the bill for the whole crowd, which was most generous of him anyways, but considering the bar tab, it was a downright saintly gesture. He and his pal (who's name I can't remember for the life of me...) decided to take off and head downtown and get checked into the Main Street Station (they'd come straight from the airport), while George, Marlisha, and I decided to spend a few hours relaxing in the Fireside Lounge with cigars and fancy martinis.
Krista hooked us up with some of her famous Chocolate Martinis--crystal clear, sweet as candy, but more dangerous than a box full of scorpions if you weren't careful. So tasty, but don't plan on getting up and doing anything after drinking a couple of them... While we were lounging about enjoying the good company, fine cigars, and excellent martinis, we were witness to the best free show of the day.
A couple of chicks, on what was clearly their last day in Vegas, had spent the evening at a strip club getting lap dances and such. And they had managed to pick up one of the hottest chicks to ever grace a brass pole and bring her to the lounge for drinks after her shift. (Yes, we were watching intently and picked up all of this information...) Anyhow, they spent their day drinking champagne and making out by the fire. Good times all around!
I don't think there is anything more enjoyable than watching a little PDA from lipstick lesbians. I mean, since there were no sports on tv and all...
I kind of wish we would've had a video camera with us, for professional purposes only, of course--it was good footage that could've been used in one of those "What happens in Vegas..." commercials.
Even without the free show in the fire pit, it was still a wonderful afternoon. As tired as I was, it was nice to relax with a good cigar and good friends. We eventually settled up the tab and walked across the street to visit the Stardust one last time before it's appointment with the wrecking ball. I picked up a couple of chips, hoping that in about 30 years they might be worth something, but I doubt it.
For a casino on it's deathbed, it was surprisingly busy in there. Of course, a few tables had already been taken out, and the chip banks were taken off of all but two of the dice tables, but there were still plenty of people playing blackjack and drinking at the bars. We didn't spend but a few minutes in there before heading back and saying our goodbyes. We made tentative plans to get together again in December, and a few minutes later I was back home trying to get a quick nap in before heading back to work.
It's been a long week, but a pretty good one.
Mikey
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