Viva Las Vegas: Journey Out West!
So the trip began a little later than anticipated. Here was the schedule:
Tuesday June 10:
830pm - Chino gets off work, goes home to shower and get his bags and picks me and Drock up. We get gas, and off we go with me driving the first leg of the trip.
Wednesday June 11:
10pm - Arrive at The Imperial Palace and check in. Take showers, get dressed and go gamble and check out the Strip.
Thursday June 12:
Do anything and everything along with entering a poker tournament, watching a show, and hopefully win some money.
Friday June 13:
Check out by 11am, eat at In-N-Out Burger, watch The Incredible Hulk and leave Vegas by 5pm.
Saturday June 14:
Arrive back home by 7pm.
Alrighty...well then. It started off with Chino being a little late and not packing until after work. So we weren't picked up until about 11pm. Then we went out to eat. So we didn't leave until midnight. Still...my calculations are always awesome, so the 4 hour lee-way time I added went into effect. I drove the first 11 hours from Houston to Austin, then upwards to Roswell, New Mexico. At Roswell we switched off and Drock drove through New Mexico and Chino took the last leg to Vegas. Drock drove for roughly 6 hours, and Chino drove for about 6 as well.
We got to the hotel at about 1am, which is okay considering there was traffic on the freeway at 1am. (Some accident or something.) The strip is beautiful. Seriously. Anyway, we grabbed out bags (me with Ein ;-D ) and took them up to our room. Took showers and went down to the casino floor. I blew 100$ on gambling and gave the other 100 to Chino so I wouldn't gamble it away. I wanted to see a show and had the 100$ specifically for that purpose. Drock was apparently a lucky charm or some shit cuz he won like every other time. Chino was just having fun but came out pretty even.
After that we went back to the room, went to sleep and woke up, got showered and dressed and went down the casino floor again. Chino and Drock signed up for the comp program and got a ticket for 10$ off a show. What a surprise! The exact show I wanted to see. So they gave it to me and I asked Chino for the 100$ I gave him so I could go get the ticket. He gave it to me. I went to the line. Checked my pockets and pulled out the coupon. But no 100$ bill.
I looked around for it, and checked my pants, pockets, wallet and everything...no bill. I met up with chino and drock at subway in O'Sheas and told them what happened. Both pretty sympathetic and said they'd gamble to see if they could get me some cash to see the show.
And off we went to play some roulette. drock got enough money to just playing for fun now, so I was like "Put one on 14." And he did. And IT HIT! seriously. So he got 36$ for the 1$ he put down. Crazy, eh? Then i was all "Try 35." And IT HIT!!! Damn! 72$ just on 2 numbers. He said he'd give me 40$ of it. Since I gave him the numbers. Sweet. I decided to keep it and live off of it for the rest of the trip though.
SO! After that I asked Chino if he'd be willing to sponser me in the poker tourney. 45$. Of course I'd pay him back. So he said sure. So we both registered.
I'll skip through the boring stuff and say, despite my mediocre playing ability, my okay poker-face, my sunglasses and (lack of a) hat outfit and my sincere love of the game...I made it through 5 rounds and got to the final table with the most chips. Chino did not. Don't think I'm a better player though. I'm not. He's great, just got bad hands, and afterall...I was the one to take him out of the game. ;-) First bet though at the table and I was out. No worries it was a great time though.
And that night we went to the Harrah's buffet. TOTALLY AWESOME. they have everything a buffet should have. Crabs legs, potatoes, beef, brisquet, turkey, stuffing, corn on the cob, mexican food, tacos, italian pastas, thousands of deserts. Totally stuff. After that I got dressed in my nice blue suit and went to the karaoke bar. Sang 2 songs. The first one chino and drock saw, and they said I did great. The audience applauded at the end...pretty loudly too. And you'll see when you click this link to hear the song. (not me singing but listen to the last note. I got it spot-on.) drock recorded it and he's gnona give me a copy that i'll put up here soon.
The 2nd song was My Way which they couldn't stay to listen to, but equaly great applause.
So after that I went out to find a trick. Unfortunately I found one and Drock told me not to do it. Fucker. I could of had sex. Anyway....
...Went back to the room, went to sleep and woke up to Friday at 10am.
Got dressed, grabbed our stuff and checked out. Went to the In-N-Out Burger which was packed.
LIterally...a line of people out the door. we bought food. it was good. it was awesome. it was the best. then went to a gamestop. (why? cuz drock wanted to see a gamestop not in houston. they're a national chain, they won't be any different.) then to a theatre to see incredible hulk. was it awesome? yes it was.
then we left for home. First Chino, who drove over the Hoover Dam (and is also awesome) and onto Tucson (that's pronounced Tuck-Sun), Arizona which took about 8 hours from Hoover Dam, then me cuz it was night and nobody else likes driving at night. Then Drock, then me for the last part from San Antonio to Houston.
we said we're gonna try to go again. I want to go before the end of the year.
why? because i now have an awesome job. if all the paperwork goes through, i've been asked to take a HelpDesk position for ACS Call Center on the SW side of Houston. It's kind of far, but it's 13$ an hour, with no taking phone calls. i'd be doing troubleshooting on-site for the call center's computers. complete benefits, company paid certifications for anything i want in IT, and gurarnteed 40 hours a week minimum, with a definite posisbiltiy of overtime. no weekends, and double pay on holidays. :-D paid--time off starts after 30 days. vacation days after a year. benefits after 30 days as well.
so with that job I could be making a good $1900 a month. And after the car and cell phone and insurance, that's about 1200 left over that I can save up. I want to take $1500 to gamble with, and another $1000 to use for shows and entertainement, taxis, that shit you know. so yeah...and i want to stay at Caesar's Palace. Totally going all out with suits and EVERYTHING.
:-D
wish me luck. i need it now more than ever.
And you know...despite losing my money, and the gut-wrenching drive there and back, along with my fear of mountains (and there were many)...it's always good to be back home.
Tuesday June 10:
830pm - Chino gets off work, goes home to shower and get his bags and picks me and Drock up. We get gas, and off we go with me driving the first leg of the trip.
Wednesday June 11:
10pm - Arrive at The Imperial Palace and check in. Take showers, get dressed and go gamble and check out the Strip.
Thursday June 12:
Do anything and everything along with entering a poker tournament, watching a show, and hopefully win some money.
Friday June 13:
Check out by 11am, eat at In-N-Out Burger, watch The Incredible Hulk and leave Vegas by 5pm.
Saturday June 14:
Arrive back home by 7pm.
Alrighty...well then. It started off with Chino being a little late and not packing until after work. So we weren't picked up until about 11pm. Then we went out to eat. So we didn't leave until midnight. Still...my calculations are always awesome, so the 4 hour lee-way time I added went into effect. I drove the first 11 hours from Houston to Austin, then upwards to Roswell, New Mexico. At Roswell we switched off and Drock drove through New Mexico and Chino took the last leg to Vegas. Drock drove for roughly 6 hours, and Chino drove for about 6 as well.
We got to the hotel at about 1am, which is okay considering there was traffic on the freeway at 1am. (Some accident or something.) The strip is beautiful. Seriously. Anyway, we grabbed out bags (me with Ein ;-D ) and took them up to our room. Took showers and went down to the casino floor. I blew 100$ on gambling and gave the other 100 to Chino so I wouldn't gamble it away. I wanted to see a show and had the 100$ specifically for that purpose. Drock was apparently a lucky charm or some shit cuz he won like every other time. Chino was just having fun but came out pretty even.
After that we went back to the room, went to sleep and woke up, got showered and dressed and went down the casino floor again. Chino and Drock signed up for the comp program and got a ticket for 10$ off a show. What a surprise! The exact show I wanted to see. So they gave it to me and I asked Chino for the 100$ I gave him so I could go get the ticket. He gave it to me. I went to the line. Checked my pockets and pulled out the coupon. But no 100$ bill.
I looked around for it, and checked my pants, pockets, wallet and everything...no bill. I met up with chino and drock at subway in O'Sheas and told them what happened. Both pretty sympathetic and said they'd gamble to see if they could get me some cash to see the show.
And off we went to play some roulette. drock got enough money to just playing for fun now, so I was like "Put one on 14." And he did. And IT HIT! seriously. So he got 36$ for the 1$ he put down. Crazy, eh? Then i was all "Try 35." And IT HIT!!! Damn! 72$ just on 2 numbers. He said he'd give me 40$ of it. Since I gave him the numbers. Sweet. I decided to keep it and live off of it for the rest of the trip though.
SO! After that I asked Chino if he'd be willing to sponser me in the poker tourney. 45$. Of course I'd pay him back. So he said sure. So we both registered.
I'll skip through the boring stuff and say, despite my mediocre playing ability, my okay poker-face, my sunglasses and (lack of a) hat outfit and my sincere love of the game...I made it through 5 rounds and got to the final table with the most chips. Chino did not. Don't think I'm a better player though. I'm not. He's great, just got bad hands, and afterall...I was the one to take him out of the game. ;-) First bet though at the table and I was out. No worries it was a great time though.
And that night we went to the Harrah's buffet. TOTALLY AWESOME. they have everything a buffet should have. Crabs legs, potatoes, beef, brisquet, turkey, stuffing, corn on the cob, mexican food, tacos, italian pastas, thousands of deserts. Totally stuff. After that I got dressed in my nice blue suit and went to the karaoke bar. Sang 2 songs. The first one chino and drock saw, and they said I did great. The audience applauded at the end...pretty loudly too. And you'll see when you click this link to hear the song. (not me singing but listen to the last note. I got it spot-on.) drock recorded it and he's gnona give me a copy that i'll put up here soon.
The 2nd song was My Way which they couldn't stay to listen to, but equaly great applause.
So after that I went out to find a trick. Unfortunately I found one and Drock told me not to do it. Fucker. I could of had sex. Anyway....
...Went back to the room, went to sleep and woke up to Friday at 10am.
Got dressed, grabbed our stuff and checked out. Went to the In-N-Out Burger which was packed.
LIterally...a line of people out the door. we bought food. it was good. it was awesome. it was the best. then went to a gamestop. (why? cuz drock wanted to see a gamestop not in houston. they're a national chain, they won't be any different.) then to a theatre to see incredible hulk. was it awesome? yes it was.
then we left for home. First Chino, who drove over the Hoover Dam (and is also awesome) and onto Tucson (that's pronounced Tuck-Sun), Arizona which took about 8 hours from Hoover Dam, then me cuz it was night and nobody else likes driving at night. Then Drock, then me for the last part from San Antonio to Houston.
we said we're gonna try to go again. I want to go before the end of the year.
why? because i now have an awesome job. if all the paperwork goes through, i've been asked to take a HelpDesk position for ACS Call Center on the SW side of Houston. It's kind of far, but it's 13$ an hour, with no taking phone calls. i'd be doing troubleshooting on-site for the call center's computers. complete benefits, company paid certifications for anything i want in IT, and gurarnteed 40 hours a week minimum, with a definite posisbiltiy of overtime. no weekends, and double pay on holidays. :-D paid--time off starts after 30 days. vacation days after a year. benefits after 30 days as well.
so with that job I could be making a good $1900 a month. And after the car and cell phone and insurance, that's about 1200 left over that I can save up. I want to take $1500 to gamble with, and another $1000 to use for shows and entertainement, taxis, that shit you know. so yeah...and i want to stay at Caesar's Palace. Totally going all out with suits and EVERYTHING.
:-D
wish me luck. i need it now more than ever.
And you know...despite losing my money, and the gut-wrenching drive there and back, along with my fear of mountains (and there were many)...it's always good to be back home.