I know things are rough all around with the economy, but I think one of the biggest problem is that people are afraid to go out and spend any money. The net result is that everybody suffers from a lack of activity and this causes a downward spiral and a self fulfilling prophecy of decline and depression. On my 14 day trip, I traveled, I ate, I gambled, I rented a car, I stayed in fancy hotels I went sightseeing and I had a great time and I hope I added a little to the GNP with “My Personal Economic Stimulus Plan.” Below is Part I of the recap of my trip – I hope you have as much fun reading about it as I had doing it.

I was supposed to leave Philadelphia at 11:00 am on January 28th, but due to weather problems and having to get the plane de-iced (we had 15 planes ahead of us in line) we did not leave Philly until around 1:30 pm. I had planned to go to Doug Saito’s Auction at the Las Vegas Club which started at 3:00 pm Vegas time. Due to the delay in Philly, I arrived 2 hours late just after 3:00 pm Vegas time. I called Doug on his cell phone from the plane to place a couple of bids in the auction, but his phone was off and he did not get the message till later in the day. The bad thing was – I didn’t get the chips I wanted, but the good thing was I saved around $500.

I picked up my rental car a 2009 black Chrysler PT Cruiser with about 3000 miles on it. After stopping at a gas station on Las Vegas Blvd. to figure out how everything worked on the car, door locks, lights, wipers, etc I proceeded to Harrah’s were I was staying for the next 3 days. When I drove down LV Blvd I noticed there was nobody on the street – no traffic at all and very few folks walking around. I only had to stop for a couple of red lights and that was it, the place was DEAD!!!

When I go t to Harrah’s I went to the Platinum check in room to pick a leather jacket that was part of my package along with my 3 day comped room. I tried the sample jackets on for size and the 4x fit real well – nice and roomy. I went to the counter and told them I needed a 4x jacket and they gave me one and I went up to my room. I was a little tired so I laid down and took a nap till around 9:00 pm. When I got up and got a shower and got dressed, I tried on the 4x jacket – what a surprise – the sleeves were abut 6” too short and I could not zip up the jacket – the size tag said 4x but it could not have been more than a large. – oh well I would exchange it tomorrow for a true 4x..

I went down to the casino and was pleasantly surprised to find $5.00 minimum craps and roulette tables. I played craps and lost about $200, then I went to the roulette table to play – not to harvest. I played for a while but didn’t win anything big. The most fun I had was watching a young surfer looking guy from California win on almost ever spin with no idea what he was doing. He had bought in for $20 and had all of his color chips in front of him around $250. I was glad to see him winning big and I began to give him some advice on how to manage his winnings. The next time he hit I told him to tell the dealer to give him some “green” chips ($25 chips). When he got the chips, I told him – “Put those in your pocket and DON’T bring them out.” He looked at me kinda funny but he did what I suggested. Time after time he hit and I keep telling him to pocket the green chips. His girlfriend came up and almost passed out when he reached in his pocket and showed her all the green chips. He continued to win and I continued to coach him on the finer points of roulette betting and keeping his winnings. He finally had pocketed $500 in green chips and had another $60 or $70 in roulette chips. I told him play the chips in front of him and then leave with his $500. He did exactly what I told him and walked away with $500 after tipping the dealers $15 as I had suggested he should do. He thanked me several times and I told him go have a nice dinner and to buy his girlfriend a nice present. He left with a big smile on his face and I had one also. I didn’t win anything but it sure was fun seeing a novice take some of Harrah’s money home with him.

I played some slot machines, including my favorite machine “21 Gambler”. I hit a couple of small jackpots, earned a bunch of points and finally went to bed at around 4:00 am.

On Thursday morning, rather Thursday afternoon (about 1:00 pm), I got up went to exchange my mis-sized leather jacket. I got another 4x and this time I tried it on while I was still at the counter. This one didn’t fit much better than the first one, so I ended up taking the sample jacket from the rack and it fit great. I had to pick up a prescription at Walgreens, so I walked down LV Blvd to the drug store which is near the MGM. On the way back I stopped at Paris and took the Eiffel Tower tour. I had a ticket left from last year when I had come out for the 2008 Superbowl chip show. At Paris there was no one in line and I went right to the elevator and up to the observation level. There were only a couple of other people on the observation deck – last year I had to wait in line about 30 minutes and the observation deck was crowded.

I stopped at a couple other casinos on my way back to Harrah’s. When I got to Harrah’s I watched the twin girls at the “dueling pianos lounge” they really put on a great show. I then went and played some more slot machines. I had worn my leather jacket because it was kinda chilly outside around 35 degrees. When I started to play I put the new jacket on the back of the stool. I moved over a couple of machines and then got up and went back to play the “21 Gambler” machine again. After a while, I got up and was going upstairs when I realized I had left my jacket at the first slot machine on the other side of the casino. I knew which machine I had been playing, but when I got there the jacket was gone!!!! @#%&&#@*& - damn. I had only had the jacket for about 6 hours and I had lost it – what a bummer!!!! I went to bed – maybe tomorrow would bring some better luck.

On Friday, I got up and went to the Superbowl chip show at the Alexis Park. They had the show in a different room than last year and after wandering around the hotel with a couple of other lost chippers we finally found the show room. It was good to see all my old friends and I walked around for a couple of hours just saying hello to every one. After doing all the socializing, I went from table to table and looked for chips I needed. I only found one Nevada roulette chip that I needed for my collection – that was priced below $400 or $500. I bought a few illegal and other assorted non denominational chips, in total I bought around 25 to 30 chips. Not very many chips, but it was great to see everybody.
When I got back to Harrah’s I called lost and found to see if my jacket had been found. The girl in the office said nothing had been turned in and to check back – I figured the jacket was gone for sure. I had dinner and played more slots – they had raised the table minimums to $10 since it was the Friday night before the Superbowl – but the casino was still not really busy.

I was sleeping on Saturday morning when the phone rang around 8:00 am. Who would be calling me at this time of the day?? I answered the phone and it was lost and found department – my jacket had been found !!! My luck was finally beginning to improve. I checked out of Harrah’s and stopped over at the Superbowl show to say good bye to everyone and tell them I would see them in June. I had brought some chips with me to sell and trade and I got together with a couple of chippers away from the show floor and I sold a few chips and picked up a couple of other chips. On my way out of the show Walt Dirziliatis stopped in to make a cameo appearance. He was on his way to Australia for the 500th time and was going to be flying I the new Super sized plane that was now flying back and forth to Australia.

I left Vegas and headed for a couple of nights in Laughlin. On my way to Laughlin, I stopped at Railroad Pass casino and had a nice lunch. In Searchlight, I stopped at the Nugget to get their special 10 cent cup of coffee. It was Saturday afternoon and they had their Blackjack table open. There were a couple of people playing and I sat down at the $2 table and bought in for $15. I had a nice run of luck and in about a half hour I cashed out with $150.00. After my good luck, I went over to the restaurant and got my 10 cent cup of coffee and a $4.00 piece of apple pie a la mode with vanilla ice cream – life is good.

I checked in to Harrah’s in Laughlin and then took a ride down to the Avi casino. I was going to pick up some slot cards for my collection, but the slot club had closed for the night when I got there.. I went back to Harrah’s and played some slot machines and then went to bed.

Ah, Superbowl Sunday was here and I had to go and make my bets on the big game. I took Arizona with the points and also straight up. The game was close but I ended up losing $10.00 when Pittsburg pulled out the victory. If Arizona had hung on I would have won a couple of hundred dollars. I went out and hit several of the Laughlin casinos and picked up some slot cards and actually harvested some roulette chips that I needed. I had a coupon for 2 free buffets at Harrah’s and there was a guy in front of me who was going to pay for his buffet. I said, put your money away, join me for a free buffet. He said thanks and we went in and ate dinner together. He was a Native American from El Paso, Texas and he had retired from the Air Force. We had a good time talking about casinos we had visited and he told me the next time I go thru El Paso stop and see him. I just might do that on my way home from the Convention in June.

This is the end of Part 1 of my trip report the next part will recap my continuing adventures in Arizona.