Day 15 Wednesday August 21, 2002
Got up around ten today. I actually planned on getting up early but I guess the sunburn I got is really kicking my ass pretty good. Today is my last day and it’s not going to be a full day. My flight will be at 11:59pm tonight so I have only about 12 hours to go until this trip is comes to an end. For the most part today will be spent getting my things packed up and playing a little bit this afternoon. I really can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks already. It seems just like yesterday that I was getting off the plane and picking up the rental car heading to Circus-Circus.
I started off the afternoon by going down to the strip and seeing Gary and CC one last time before I left town. When I got to the Riviera they were playing some video poker. We spent about an hour or so talking about my trip so far and then I headed back up to Sunset Station to do some more packing. I usually wait until the last minute to pack and end up rushing my ass off to get packed and get out to the airport on time but for a change I’m doing things the right way.
At about 5pm I went down to the casino. I was meeting Anne and her mother for some gaming and dinner. Me and Anne played blackjack while her mother played video poker. I was playing low limits because blackjack had been so bad to me this trip (and every trip in the last 2 years if I recall correctly!). It was a good thing because it was more of the same old crap losing with 20’s and breaking every time I hit. A new dealer came and it got a little better but then went down hill again. I dropped $80 here and said NO MORE blackjack.
Anne cashed out a little bit ahead and we went over to get her mother so we could go eat. We went to Capri the Italian restaurant at Sunset Station. We had a fried cheese appetizer. It’s really a big round mozzarella stick but in this case it was actually provolone. It also had little bits of pepperoni in it. It was very good but a bit much at $7 for a slab of melted cheese the size of a small hamburger.
I ordered the chicken florentina as my entrée. It’s a chicken breast stuffed with spinach, ricotta, and garlic. It’s breaded and cooked to a golden brown. The meal also comes with a salad that’s full of meat and cheese. Not being a big salad fan I pretty much just picked the cheese and meat out! The chicken came with vegetables and mashed potatoes. This seemed odd that you got mashed potatoes with your entrée in an Italian restaurant to me. The meal was very good but seemed a bit pricey to me at $16.99. I hate over priced food and the words chicken and sixteen dollars should NEVER be used in the same sentence as far as I am concerned!
After dinner we played craps. This was a $2 table with 10X odds. I bought in for $200 which was my final limit for the trip. If I lost this I was quitting and ending the trip. The table started out great and right off the top I was up over $100. It does add up quick though when you’re taking full odds and the shooters are hitting their numbers especially the 4 and 10! The table stayed pretty good for a while before it turned. By now Anne ran away and went to play more blackjack. I stuck it out at the craps table though. I eventually lost everything I was up and most of my buy in. I was down to my last bet that I backed up with only 5X odds because I was out of money. The shooter made the point and I was back in the game. From this point on it got really hot again with every shooter (including me) keeping the dice for about 10 minutes each. Of course as the table is now on fire Anne comes over and tells me it’s time for me to get out of the casino and it’s time to for me to head to the airport. It was my turn to shoot though and I still had plenty of time. I took the dice established a point and then sevened out right away. I stuck around for one more shooter who had done a great job his last time. This time was no exception either. I unfortunately had to color up and leave. I cashed out with $455 for a $255 win at this table. Not bad for $2 craps (with 10X odds)!
After cashing in at the main cage I said bye to Anne and Terry and headed up to the room for the last time. I quickly changed my clothes and packed the last of my stuff and it was time to head out to the airport.
I still had to gas up the car so I took 95 to Tropicana and stopped for gas. This is when I knew it was just about over. I hate to gas up the car on my way to the airport. Traffic was pretty light tonight and I got back to the Dollar car lot to return the car. The return would have gone very quickly if the agent could have gotten her printer to work. I stood around here for about 15 minutes waiting for this nimrod to get her act together. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in a hurry to get to the airport. She finally got my receipt printed up and I got on the first shuttle bus. I was the only one on it and the ride was just a few minutes to the terminal.
When I entered the airport there was just a short line at the America West counter but then I remembered that there is a special line for those of us going to Newark. There was no wait here and in less than 2 minutes I was checked in and on my way to the gate.
Now I knew it was over as I made my way through the metal detectors. Not only did I make my way through, I think it was the first time in years that I didn’t get stopped to be hand searched. From here I made my way to the gate and just waited for them to start the boarding process. In the mean time I watched people play slots and video poker.
When the boarding process began there was a mad rush for the line. I still don’t understand why people do this even when their row isn’t called. It’s not like they aren’t going to get on the plane. The worst part is the gate agents that allow it and never tell these people to go sit down because their row hasn’t been called yet.
The flight took off on time and I was sitting on the right hand side of the plane. As we took off I had a great view right down the strip. Now I’ve been to the top of the Stratosphere before and the view is great but nothing can compare to seeing down the strip from the plane. The only drawback is that if you get this view it means you are going home!
The movie was Life or Something Like it with Angelina Jolie. After the flight attendants came through the cabin with their $5 headsets I pulled my own out of my carryon and plugged into the system. The girl sitting next to me asked of they worked and I said sure they do, I swiped them from the last flight. At that point she went into her bag and took out the set she swiped from her last flight! Now if you remember my comments about the movie on the way out (Showtime with Eddie Murphy) this movie made it look like the movie of the year. This movie was horrible with a capital H. About the only thing it was good for was passing the time on this miserable 5-hour flight back home.
Since America West cut out all meals on their flights all we were given to eat was a bag of mini pretzels and a soda. This wasn’t a problem for me though since the meal I ate at Capri was way too much food to eat.
The flight home was pretty uneventful and smooth with exception of one small pocket as we got closer to Newark. The only other event that was quite annoying was the sick bastard that was farting the whole way home. Yes, the whole way home and what a smelly bastard to boot!
We landed about 20 minutes early in Newark and I made my way down to baggage claim. Now Newark in notorious for taking forever to get your bags back to you. Today was no exception. After about 40 minutes of standing around the bags came out. One thing I overheard while I was standing there was a lady telling her friends that flight was very bumpy. I was wondering if she was actually on the same plane I was because like I said above, this flight wasn’t bumpy at all. The only exception to this might be for the hour or so I was asleep but if it was really that bumpy it would have woke me up. When the luggage started coming out my large suitcase was the first bag out. This was great since I would hopefully get my second bag quickly since they should have been loaded together. No such luck for me though. It was actually just the opposite. My smaller suitcase was actually one of the last bags out. After over an hour at baggage claim I was on my way to the monorail and to Avis.
When I got to Avis there was a short line but it moved quickly. I’m still amazed that so many people show up with no reservation and have no idea what type of car they want. When I got to the counter it took all of about 5 minutes to get my contract before I was on my way to the garage. It would have been 3 minutes if the agent weren’t chit chatting with other employees.
I got out to the garage and my car was in the preferred spot right outside the door. I’m not a preferred customer of Avis but I did rent a Cadillac to drive back up to Newburgh in. I know it sounds like a pricey way to go since I usually rent a compact, mid, or full sized car but for some reason the Caddy was only $7 more than the small car so I said what the hell. Why not! This car had every option known to man and was easily the most comfortable car I ever drove. The only bad thing about this is now I’ll want to drive one every time I go out to Las Vegas now. If only they weren’t so pricey.
After giving the car a once over I was on my way home. Of course Newark airport is under all types of construction and all of the signs are missing or wrong and I circled the dump a few times before actually finding my way to the NJ Turnpike. As I was driving home I thought of one thing. Even though it’s 9am here on the East Coast it is still only 6am out in Las Vegas. Being it’s only 6am I am still a registered guest at Sunset Station for the next 6 hours. Go figure, I’m 2500 miles away from Las Vegas but I’m still a guest of Sunset Station. About an hour later I was home and this trip came to an end. (Even though I was still a registered guest at Sunset Station!)
Total win/loss for the day $150
Total comps for the day $49
Final thoughts
Thanks for taking the time to read my report. All questions and comments are welcome so feel free to e-mail me !