Reno Baby!!!
Richard called on Friday night asking if I wanted to go to Reno for an overnight trip (he got invited to a video poker tournament on Sunday). Um . . . Hells Yeah! I haven't played poker in a long time, and was missing it.
I arrive at his office around 3PM on Saturday. He has one more patient to see before we ship off. It's a late start, but that's okay. The ETA is around 9PM that night (spoilers: we actually make it). First, we need to drop Kiko off at John & Matthew's. They're home (natch) but aren't answering the door. We hope we aren't catching them in flagrante delicto. Mercifully, they aren't. Kiko chases their cat Abby around the house. I'm laughing at the cat's terror. It's highly amusing! But we want to get going, so we hit the road.
The California Department of Transportation apparently wanted to test Richard's driving abilities. So they put up as many detours, cones, flashing lights, and slow moving assholes as humanly possible. We got through the Sierras most by cursing.
But soon the emerald city was looming in the distance! (For reals...this one building (Silver Legacy?) is lit green at night. Quite awesome! Richard even sang songs from The Wizard of Oz.) We dodge a few meth hags and get to Harrah's in seconds flat. The room is amazing. It's a mini-suite. We had the option of that or a smoking non-mini-suite room with two beds. I'll sleep on the couch in the mini, thankyouverymuch.
Dinner! Oh merciful dinner...But no "floor show" like last time, when we sat next to the window and saw strung out tweakers panhandling across the street in front of Cal-Neva.
I head off to find a good poker table. And by "good" I mean not Harrah's. Their poker room is fairly open and directly across from a noisy "entertainment" area - a group of blackjack tables where the dealers are scantily clad and where they occasionally get up on a raised dais to dance about to obnoxious, loud music. Not so much. . .
Instead, I go to El Dorado. It has a real poker room. I play until 4AM (O.o). There were only a few interesting hands. It's amazing how many hands you have to throw away during a game. I have a crush on one of the dealers (Paul, who's originally from San Ramon was in construction and *dreamy eyes* - I totally don't slip him my number, which I so wanted to do, but probably isn't a good idea, right?).
I got back to the room, only to realize that I didn't pack any pajamas (Oy!).
The trip back was mostly uneventful. The traffic was horrific, though. And then I slept.
Oh! and I broke even. Hurray!
I arrive at his office around 3PM on Saturday. He has one more patient to see before we ship off. It's a late start, but that's okay. The ETA is around 9PM that night (spoilers: we actually make it). First, we need to drop Kiko off at John & Matthew's. They're home (natch) but aren't answering the door. We hope we aren't catching them in flagrante delicto. Mercifully, they aren't. Kiko chases their cat Abby around the house. I'm laughing at the cat's terror. It's highly amusing! But we want to get going, so we hit the road.
The California Department of Transportation apparently wanted to test Richard's driving abilities. So they put up as many detours, cones, flashing lights, and slow moving assholes as humanly possible. We got through the Sierras most by cursing.
But soon the emerald city was looming in the distance! (For reals...this one building (Silver Legacy?) is lit green at night. Quite awesome! Richard even sang songs from The Wizard of Oz.) We dodge a few meth hags and get to Harrah's in seconds flat. The room is amazing. It's a mini-suite. We had the option of that or a smoking non-mini-suite room with two beds. I'll sleep on the couch in the mini, thankyouverymuch.
Dinner! Oh merciful dinner...But no "floor show" like last time, when we sat next to the window and saw strung out tweakers panhandling across the street in front of Cal-Neva.
I head off to find a good poker table. And by "good" I mean not Harrah's. Their poker room is fairly open and directly across from a noisy "entertainment" area - a group of blackjack tables where the dealers are scantily clad and where they occasionally get up on a raised dais to dance about to obnoxious, loud music. Not so much. . .
Instead, I go to El Dorado. It has a real poker room. I play until 4AM (O.o). There were only a few interesting hands. It's amazing how many hands you have to throw away during a game. I have a crush on one of the dealers (Paul, who's originally from San Ramon was in construction and *dreamy eyes* - I totally don't slip him my number, which I so wanted to do, but probably isn't a good idea, right?).
I got back to the room, only to realize that I didn't pack any pajamas (Oy!).
The trip back was mostly uneventful. The traffic was horrific, though. And then I slept.
Oh! and I broke even. Hurray!