Well I reported on my culinary finds up above, so now I'm going to report on the three poker tournaments I played while on my 70th birthday trip to Vegas.
On Thursday, my first full day in town, after a delicious breakfast at Vickie's Diner (953 E Sahara Ave) I called an Uber, then headed to MGM to play their late morning tournament. Apparently they no longer had that one, so I headed next door to the
Horseshoe (3645 S Las Vegas Blvd).
I love the earth tones that they used for the decor, tables, and felts. They give it that beautiful southwest look, and I adore that part of the country.
Horseshoe hadn't cancelled their tourney and I'd made it with about twenty minutes to spare.
The poker room, and the casino itself, was clean, well lit, and the cocktail waitresses did an excellent job keeping our cup holders filled.
The poker room staff were very friendly and the dealers were highly skilled, as you'd expect in an upper level casino like the Horseshoe. The players did a lot of talking, joking, and all seemed to be having a great time which made for a very fun and enjoyable four hours or so until my 99 on all-in didn't quite make the grade.
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When I woke up Friday morning I was officially 70 years old, and it was going to be a long day. So I was up and dressed early, had tea and glazed cruller in the food court, then walked from Harrah's to
Caesar's Palace (3570 S Las Vegas Blvd) for their ten o'clock tournament.
The walk over to Caesar's was very nice because I was in the sun, and more importantly sheltered from the cold wind, for most of the way. A perfect situation for someone wearing a skirt.
Inside there were a lot of nice earth tones, and everything was so beautiful.
I paid my $100 entry (there was also a $50 add on at the first break) and played the slots for a bit while having a cigarette. One of the things I liked best about all the casinos I was in is that, aside from the poker rooms, they allowed smoking.
It was a good group of players and excellent dealers, so we all had a happy time chatting and playing without any controversies. It couldn't have been a nicer time with nicer people. The staff were all professional, efficient, friendly and the waitresses were always around. My little "good luck" wolf that I'd been given at a tourney in NH was a good conversation starter too.
All in all the atmosphere was very welcoming. ❤️
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Saturday was another big day because in addition to breakfast at Lou's Diner (431 S Decatur Blvd) and the 10am tourney at
South Point Casino (9777 S Las Vegas Blvd), I was also going to have drinks at six with someone I've known for years on an internet talk forum.
I dressed in a semi-Annie Oakley style which was the perfect choice because South Point definitely had a western atmosphere.
The statue is Benny Binion, legendary owner of Binion's Horseshoe and also the early mentor of Steve Wynn. On the wall behind him those are the halters of various horses, and there are many more on the wall to the left of the picture. The place was pretty crowded because there was going to be a bull riding competition that evening.
Once again I got to play surrounded by all of those lovely earth tones, and another multitude of extremely nice staff, dealers, and players. The $75 entry fee was perfect for a low roller like me, but I was treated like a millionaire.
It was only 4pm when I was eliminated, and Tony wouldn't arrive until six so I had two hours to kill. So I wandered around the casino looking at the table games for a bit, and then decided to have a drink and relax. I spent awhile sitting, playing video poker, and enjoying a couple of $4 scotch and sodas at one of the many bars they had in the casino area. It has been ages since I sat at a bar, watching sports on television, and enjoying a cigarette while I sipped my drink.
On my previous scouting patrol I keyed in on a $10 craps table, so after forty minutes at the bar I headed over there. My craps knowledge had been gathering dust for over thirty years. It was a double odds table, and the poor dealer had the patience of a saint, as he often had to tell me how much odds I could place on the five, six, eight, and nine. Those two scotch and sodas I'd had didn't help much either. LOL!! But the table crew were all very nice people, and the cocktail waitress came by often.