Post by Bevo on Jun 19, 2020 17:35:50 GMT
MamaBevo and I first went to Las Vegas in the summer of 1986. I was unemployed at the time, having just been laid off by Dow, and still not having a new job yet. We rode in a van, driven by her Step-father, and her Mom. All the way from Houston. They were both smokers, but didn't like smoking in the van with us in the car. So, they stopped every 2 hours or so for a coffee and smoke break. It took us two days to drive there. We stayed at the Stardust Motel. While waiting in line to check in, I but a quarter in a machine and won $5. I was hooked.
We've been back to Vegas AT LEAST once a year every year since. It's always slightly different each time. New casinos popping up. Old casinos going down. We've been there when they had cigar conventions.. where the smoke was so thick in the Venetian that you couldn't see across the casino. We've been there when they were having the "Oscars for Porn Stars". That was an interesting trip. We were there 2 weeks after 9/11.... it was EMPTY! This trip may have been the weirdest.
We arrived on Thursday evening, having flown one-stop through Chicago. At O'Hare, the terminals were pretty crowded. Maybe half of the people were wearing masks? McDonalds and Starbucks were the only things that were open, and both had a long line. The airline lounges were closed. Boo. Our flights were about 60% full. We were in Business Class, but got virtually NO service. But, we were given a "tapas box" and a bottle of water. Everyone had to wear masks on the plane.
The airport at Vegas was EMPTY! I mean, no one at all. The stores were all closed. Walking from our plane to the baggage claim area, we saw NO other people other than those on our plane. If you've ever been to Vegas, you know that the taxi line can sometimes be 100-150 yards long. There was NO ONE in line. We walked right up to the first of 10-15 taxis waiting. It was weird.
We got to Ceasar's at 11:30 am... our room was ready to check in. So, we put our stuff up and went to the pool. At noon on Thursday, the pool was busy. About half of the chairs were gone, so most were full. Chairs were arranged in groups of 2, so we had no one next to us. That was cool. What also was 'cool' was, the water. The main pool was not being heated. It was ICE cold. OMG. IF you could actually get IN the water, it would continue to sting... until you finally got out. You did cool off quickly though.
For some reason, there seemed to be a lot of black people there? More than usual. Maybe they had a convention or something? But, it didn't matter. Everyone was really cool. It was actually kind of fun to see. At the Garden of the Gods pool at Ceasar's, there were people of ALL colors, races, and cultures... hanging out together in the sun. Laughing, splashing, talking. It was as if all the strife in the world was non-existent.
The waitresses took drink orders. They wore masks, but no bottoms. Yep... butt cheeks completely exposed. It was a good way to draw attention away from the masks. Apparently, this is the new style now... most of the younger girls at the pool were wearing G-string suits that fully exposed their asses. A couple of them could have used a cover, but.. overall, I'd say I approve of this fashion trend.
In the hotel, every other room was blocked... so, NO ONE was in rooms are either side of us. That made for a very quiet stay. We NEVER had to share the elevator with anyone. We were able to keep 6' distance easily. All the restaurants were open and we didn't have to make any reservations. They also all had some great specials. We split a 4 lb lobster at The Palm for $55. One the first night we were there, we saw a guy win $10,000 on a buffalo machine. That was cool. 5 minutes later, we'd split up... and, I started playing a machine called "Cash Machine". A guy right beside me won $10,500. I was shocked! TWO $10k winners, on different machines less than 10 minutes apart. I texted MamaBevo about it. She told me, "Go get some!".
Not 5 minutes later, my machine hit for $2000. They hadn't even paid the other guy yet. I texted MamaBevo to tell her, and she wouldn't believe me. I had to take a picture and send it to her. Then, she came running! Always great to win some dough on the first night. Better to win it on the LAST day. But, more fun to win it on the first night.
There were tables open at Ceasar's, but the stakes were high. I played Craps on a $25 table. That's much higher than I like. I started with $400. After 10 minutes, I was down to $100. OUCH! But then, I got to roll and went on a heater. I rolled a 4, four times in a row, with $50 bet on it. That's a $100 win each time. That was fun. We had to wear mask at the table, which made it hard to consume my crown royal. In the middle of my roll, I had to signal for a "TIME OUT"... so I could drink. I thought it was hilarious. Not sure the dealers were all that impressed. But, they were happy when I hit a Hard 4, with a $5 chip bet on them. At the end of my roll, I was $900 up. I stayed for the next shooter, lost $50, then cashed out Never got to play craps again the rest of the trip. The next day, the table stakes were $50.
On Sunday, we went to play golf at Rio Secco. MamaBevo went with me and rode along. It's a GORGEOUS course. It's full of roadrunners, coyotes, rabbits and birds... Multi-million dollar homes and beautiful views of the strip. I had just bought a new set of irons for my birthday, and I hit em well. Haven't played since last October. Shot a 50 on the front 9 and a 43 on the back nine. Out of my 7 shots over par on the back, 5 were three-putt bogeys. I was hitting the ball well. Best I've hit my irons in years.
On Monday, we moved to the Cosmopolitan hotel (More free rooms). We were able to check into our room at 10 am. The pool there is smaller than Ceasar's, but also a younger, hipper, and more naked crowd. Me likey! The casino there was considerably more crowded.. as were the elevators. We had to share rides several time. One time, I was playing a quarter Wheel of Fortune machine (that was paying pretty well) when a group of 6 people came up to the small little area I was in and were playing right next to me. There were no chairs there. We're not SUPPOSED to play on machines right next to each other. Most people respected that. These clowns didn't. They seemed high, were acting like fools, so.. I logged off and moved away. That was the only time I felt worried about anyone being too close.
We went to the M&M store to buy some blue M&M's for my grand-daughter. Some old lady in a mask started griping at MamaBevo. "I hope you're not sick", she said... "Cause you're not wearing a mask and you're very close to me". I told her, "You'd better hope we're not sick, cause if we are a dozen cloth mask aren't going to protect you". MamaBevo wasn't happy with me. We bought our stuff and headed out. Naturally, we ran into the same old lady and her husband at the door. She grabbed her masked husband and pulled him back. "Stay away from these crazy people" she said. I had to smile. Now, I'M the crazy one. LOL
Over the weekend, the strip seemed fairly busy, although with less people and cars than normal. But, on the weekdays? It was DESERTED. We saw a guy riding a bicycle in circles right down Las Vegas BLVD, in front of the Bellagio. Never thought I'd see that. We didn't go downtown on this trip cause someone told us it was a 'war zone' after the protests. It was fenced in. Had to go through metal detectors to get in. No live music, and most stores boarded up. There was actually a protest march on the strip on Saturday, but we never saw it. I think we were at the pool.
The first night we were there, the Ceasar's sportsbook was closed. That was weird. But, they opened on Friday. That night, they were showing arm wrestling on the big screen. I shit you not people were betting with each other on ARM WRESTLING.. and, cheering as the arms went back and forth. It was exciting.... sort of.
By far, the strangest Vegas trip we've ever made. But, it was fun and very relaxing. We may be going back in September, if our cruise gets cancelled.
We've been back to Vegas AT LEAST once a year every year since. It's always slightly different each time. New casinos popping up. Old casinos going down. We've been there when they had cigar conventions.. where the smoke was so thick in the Venetian that you couldn't see across the casino. We've been there when they were having the "Oscars for Porn Stars". That was an interesting trip. We were there 2 weeks after 9/11.... it was EMPTY! This trip may have been the weirdest.
We arrived on Thursday evening, having flown one-stop through Chicago. At O'Hare, the terminals were pretty crowded. Maybe half of the people were wearing masks? McDonalds and Starbucks were the only things that were open, and both had a long line. The airline lounges were closed. Boo. Our flights were about 60% full. We were in Business Class, but got virtually NO service. But, we were given a "tapas box" and a bottle of water. Everyone had to wear masks on the plane.
The airport at Vegas was EMPTY! I mean, no one at all. The stores were all closed. Walking from our plane to the baggage claim area, we saw NO other people other than those on our plane. If you've ever been to Vegas, you know that the taxi line can sometimes be 100-150 yards long. There was NO ONE in line. We walked right up to the first of 10-15 taxis waiting. It was weird.
We got to Ceasar's at 11:30 am... our room was ready to check in. So, we put our stuff up and went to the pool. At noon on Thursday, the pool was busy. About half of the chairs were gone, so most were full. Chairs were arranged in groups of 2, so we had no one next to us. That was cool. What also was 'cool' was, the water. The main pool was not being heated. It was ICE cold. OMG. IF you could actually get IN the water, it would continue to sting... until you finally got out. You did cool off quickly though.
For some reason, there seemed to be a lot of black people there? More than usual. Maybe they had a convention or something? But, it didn't matter. Everyone was really cool. It was actually kind of fun to see. At the Garden of the Gods pool at Ceasar's, there were people of ALL colors, races, and cultures... hanging out together in the sun. Laughing, splashing, talking. It was as if all the strife in the world was non-existent.
The waitresses took drink orders. They wore masks, but no bottoms. Yep... butt cheeks completely exposed. It was a good way to draw attention away from the masks. Apparently, this is the new style now... most of the younger girls at the pool were wearing G-string suits that fully exposed their asses. A couple of them could have used a cover, but.. overall, I'd say I approve of this fashion trend.
In the hotel, every other room was blocked... so, NO ONE was in rooms are either side of us. That made for a very quiet stay. We NEVER had to share the elevator with anyone. We were able to keep 6' distance easily. All the restaurants were open and we didn't have to make any reservations. They also all had some great specials. We split a 4 lb lobster at The Palm for $55. One the first night we were there, we saw a guy win $10,000 on a buffalo machine. That was cool. 5 minutes later, we'd split up... and, I started playing a machine called "Cash Machine". A guy right beside me won $10,500. I was shocked! TWO $10k winners, on different machines less than 10 minutes apart. I texted MamaBevo about it. She told me, "Go get some!".
Not 5 minutes later, my machine hit for $2000. They hadn't even paid the other guy yet. I texted MamaBevo to tell her, and she wouldn't believe me. I had to take a picture and send it to her. Then, she came running! Always great to win some dough on the first night. Better to win it on the LAST day. But, more fun to win it on the first night.
There were tables open at Ceasar's, but the stakes were high. I played Craps on a $25 table. That's much higher than I like. I started with $400. After 10 minutes, I was down to $100. OUCH! But then, I got to roll and went on a heater. I rolled a 4, four times in a row, with $50 bet on it. That's a $100 win each time. That was fun. We had to wear mask at the table, which made it hard to consume my crown royal. In the middle of my roll, I had to signal for a "TIME OUT"... so I could drink. I thought it was hilarious. Not sure the dealers were all that impressed. But, they were happy when I hit a Hard 4, with a $5 chip bet on them. At the end of my roll, I was $900 up. I stayed for the next shooter, lost $50, then cashed out Never got to play craps again the rest of the trip. The next day, the table stakes were $50.
On Sunday, we went to play golf at Rio Secco. MamaBevo went with me and rode along. It's a GORGEOUS course. It's full of roadrunners, coyotes, rabbits and birds... Multi-million dollar homes and beautiful views of the strip. I had just bought a new set of irons for my birthday, and I hit em well. Haven't played since last October. Shot a 50 on the front 9 and a 43 on the back nine. Out of my 7 shots over par on the back, 5 were three-putt bogeys. I was hitting the ball well. Best I've hit my irons in years.
On Monday, we moved to the Cosmopolitan hotel (More free rooms). We were able to check into our room at 10 am. The pool there is smaller than Ceasar's, but also a younger, hipper, and more naked crowd. Me likey! The casino there was considerably more crowded.. as were the elevators. We had to share rides several time. One time, I was playing a quarter Wheel of Fortune machine (that was paying pretty well) when a group of 6 people came up to the small little area I was in and were playing right next to me. There were no chairs there. We're not SUPPOSED to play on machines right next to each other. Most people respected that. These clowns didn't. They seemed high, were acting like fools, so.. I logged off and moved away. That was the only time I felt worried about anyone being too close.
We went to the M&M store to buy some blue M&M's for my grand-daughter. Some old lady in a mask started griping at MamaBevo. "I hope you're not sick", she said... "Cause you're not wearing a mask and you're very close to me". I told her, "You'd better hope we're not sick, cause if we are a dozen cloth mask aren't going to protect you". MamaBevo wasn't happy with me. We bought our stuff and headed out. Naturally, we ran into the same old lady and her husband at the door. She grabbed her masked husband and pulled him back. "Stay away from these crazy people" she said. I had to smile. Now, I'M the crazy one. LOL
Over the weekend, the strip seemed fairly busy, although with less people and cars than normal. But, on the weekdays? It was DESERTED. We saw a guy riding a bicycle in circles right down Las Vegas BLVD, in front of the Bellagio. Never thought I'd see that. We didn't go downtown on this trip cause someone told us it was a 'war zone' after the protests. It was fenced in. Had to go through metal detectors to get in. No live music, and most stores boarded up. There was actually a protest march on the strip on Saturday, but we never saw it. I think we were at the pool.
The first night we were there, the Ceasar's sportsbook was closed. That was weird. But, they opened on Friday. That night, they were showing arm wrestling on the big screen. I shit you not people were betting with each other on ARM WRESTLING.. and, cheering as the arms went back and forth. It was exciting.... sort of.
By far, the strangest Vegas trip we've ever made. But, it was fun and very relaxing. We may be going back in September, if our cruise gets cancelled.
