Day 15
Saturday December 29, 2007
Well today is the final day of the trip. My flight isn’t until midnight though so I have all day to do some stuff. My day started off with a text message from NNylons. She’s back in Ottawa and was working today. We wrote back and forth a few times and I still can’t believe she was here and gone already.
Once I got ready I started off the day by running some errands to finish up the trip. After those were done I hit the Cannery for the last time this trip. I played some 5-play video poker. I hit a few quads to keep me alive and got just enough dealt winners to come out ahead by $100. I also had enough points to get some gift cards. Today they actually had the Wal-Mart cards and I got those. I also played a $10 match play on the field at craps but lost that when an 8 rolled. In total I won $90 cash and walked out of the Cannery with $80 in gift cards. THIS is the way promos are supposed to work. While I was walking out I remembered how much more I enjoyed hitting promos and really need to get back to doing this more on the next trip.
From the Cannery it was back to Planet Hollywood to pay back some markers and then finish packing up to check out. I really liked this room here at Planet Hollywood and hate to leave. Actually I hate to leave Las Vegas, but after an ass kicking like I’ve had this trip, home sounds like a good thing right now.
On the way out of Planet Hollywood I saw my host and he has invited us back for another trip (go figure, lose your ass and get invited back!). I also told him about the parking situation here and he said management knows about it but there’s not a whole lot they can do.
When I left Planet Hollywood I stopped for a late lunch at Jack in the Box one last time for the trip and then headed out to the Pinball Hall of Fame for one more afternoon of games. I hung out here for a few hours and as always played a variety of classic video games and pinball machines. I know I say this all of the time but please check this place out.
Next stop was to make a stop at my friends Anne and Steve’s house to drop off some stuff I had for them. Since time flew by this trip I never got to see them. I think this is the first time ever that I’ve been in town that this happened and I felt bad. After I dropped off their things I made one final gambling stop at Silverton to use a 2X points coupon. I played some 10 play video poker. I got just enough dealt hands to keep going but the quads were again far and few. I managed to hit aces and the quads I hit were bonus quads. It really amazes me that I can be dealt trips and not pull one quad so many times. I wanted to keep playing but the clock said it was time to take the car back and get to the airport.
I had gassed up the car before stopping at Silverton so from there it was right over to the rental car center. Silverton is pretty close to this place so I was there in a few minutes. Returning the car was quick and easy and there were no issues with the return. There was no wait for the shuttle and in a few minutes we were pulling into the terminal.
I nearly crapped myself when I saw the line to check in at the USAir counter. I had plenty of time though since I got to the airport about 2 hours ahead of my flight. I used the self check in kiosk and then proceeded to wait in the same spot for the next 40 minutes while the agent tried to find some people a stand by flight. Why these people were in the express line and not the full service line is beyond me. By the time I got to the line and checked in I was a little bit pissed off to say the least. The supervisor in the area was useless and all he did was bitch at people for moving too far forward and blocking the aisles. When I got to the counter my bag was 1 pound overweight. I was waiting for this lady to bust my balls about this because she was about to get her ass chewed out, and at this point, everyone would have missed their flight while I made a scene. She commented that it was over but wasn’t going to charge me or worry about because of the long wait. In my mind I was thinking, good decision.
Security was quick and for the first time in years I didn’t encounter and assholes trying to get through with stuff they aren’t allowed to bring and followed the rules. Maybe people are finally getting it.
By the time I got to the terminal they were already pre boarding my flight. It was nice to not have to wait here in a crowded terminal but I was a little aggravated that getting there 2 hours early almost wasn’t enough.
Boarding went well but these people with their carry on bags is absurd and I really wish that airline personnel would do their jobs and enforce the limit on the amount of stuff people bring aboard and the size of the items.
The captain came on and said the flight was going to be 3 hours and 50 minutes into Philadelphia. This would actually get us into the terminal early. After take off I fell asleep and other than waking up twice along the way I slept for the entire flight home. We landed in Philly about 15 minutes early. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing since I already had about a 3 hour lay over and now it’s even longer.
I had to switch terminals so hopped onto the shuttle bus and in just a few minutes was over to Terminal F. Once over here I checked my gate and then got some breakfast at one of the stands. I had bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a toasted bagel and that came with breakfast potatoes for $5.75. Add another $2.75 for juice and you’ve got one expensive breakfast! This is tough to take after food was comped all week long.
After breakfast NNylons called my cell phone and we talked for a while and this really passed the time of my layover. We still can’t believe how fast this trip went for us. Before I knew it they were calling for pre board on this flight and then we were all boarding. The flight time to Newburgh was only going to be an hour and probably less because we had winds in our favor. When we were approaching Newburgh I could see some familiar places, including the shopping center right up the road from here. I was actually able to follow the roads and saw my house from the plane. I only wish I had my camera ready to take a picture of that. It’s not everyday you get to see your house from a plane.
We landed in Newburgh about 15 minutes early and for some reason it took 20 minutes for baggage to come out. This made no sense to me since there were only 20 people on the flight. It was my lucky day though because 2 of the first 5 bags out were mine. In just a few minutes I was on my way to the plant (where I work) to pick up my car and I was headed home. I pulled into the driveway at exactly 12 noon as the 1oth annual Christmas/Birthday trip came to an end.
Total win/loss for the day $300
Total comps for the day $80
Final Thoughts
Eff Yous
Total win/loss for the trip -$8600
Total comps for the trip $5230
Total comps for the trip without rooms $2062