A few ramblings and observations from my last little junket to Vegas...

Chip alert, there are supposed to be 1st anniversary commemorative chips issued at the Paris, but nobody could tell me when they were going to be available. One of the dealers at the French roulette table thought they were going to be NCV chips, given away to VIP's. If so, I hope they give me one! :-)

The good people at the Paris put me up in a mini-suite this weekend instead of the standard room that I usually get. 28th floor, corner suite with two windows, great views, it doesn't get much better than that! It was the first time I've seen a telephone on the wall in the bathroom next to the toilet. It even had a dataport. I guess if you have a laptop with you, you can take care of more than one type of business at the same time.<G>

I played some roulette at the new London Club at the Aladdin. It's definitely a different atmosphere in this separate gaming area. Very quiet. The players, dealers, and floor personnel don't have to yell to be heard by each other. I got comfortable playing in that room very quickly. They have four single-zero roulette tables, very similar to standard American roulette tables, but with an added twist or two. On the layout in front of the dealer there's an oval with the numbers as they appear on the wheel on it. It's purpose is to allow betters to place sectional bets much the same as you can on the French roulette table at the Paris. The outside even money bets (red or black, even or odd, 1-18 or 19-36) are treated like they are in Atlantic City (as I understand it) if the number zero is hit. You lose half of your bet instead of all of it like you would on standard roulette tables in Vegas. It's not as good as "imprison" with this type of bet on the French table (your entire bet stays in place for the next spin), but it is an improvement.

I accidentally took a roulette chip with me when I took my first break from playing at the London Club. When I went back for another session, I went back to the same table that I was playing before because I knew the dealer. A floor person came over as soon as I sat down, and asked me if I had mistakenly removed a chip from the game when I was playing earlier. Thinking that I had probably been the only person to play that table earlier, I already had the chip in my hand, placed it on the table, and bought in using the same color that I was before. They watch those chips pretty close!

I asked the pit boss if there was any way that I could buy a set of one of each color to send to a certain friend in California. I tried every angle that I could think of. He wouldn't let me buy a set, even though several of the dealers were vouching for me, knowing there wasn't anything I'd do to compromise the integrity of the game. He suggested that I discreetly remove one of each color by buying in on different occasions and requesting a different color each time. ....given the experience that I had with the one chip that I took by mistake, he would almost have to let everyone else working the floor know what was going on, and that wasn't going to happen. I'll try to buy a set next time I'm out there, after the staff and management have had more time to settle in and get comfortable with regular customers as well as each other. Sorry Katie, I really did try to get you a set!

Those who collect casino matches are gonna have a difficult time storing matches from the London Club in a binder. The box is a triangular cylinder, looks cool, see the picture below.

At the airport today, I discovered a sports bar on the D concourse that you can smoke in. I knew there was a bar that you could smoke in at the main terminal, but didn't know of such a place in either of the remote concourses. They've had the glassed-in designated smoking areas for some time, but I've always felt like I was sitting in fishbowl in them.

While at the airport, I closely watched people exiting the moving sidewalks, looking to see if anyone exhibited what I would call "accelerated inertia phenomenon", or the "Katie moving sidewalk launch syndrome." For some mysterious reason, she seems to speed up at the end of a moving sidewalk, and almost crashes on the landing! I've concluded that this only happens to her. Now we have two Katie-related syndromes. <G>

Flew on a 757 for the first time. It was a strange set up. We boarded plane in the middle, where the first row of coach sets at the bulkhead/galley was row 20, the rows in front of the bulkhead/galley all 1st class. I was in row 45. When you're that far back in the plane, it feels like the front of the plane is half a mile into the air before the tail gets off the ground.

I've come to the conclusion that all fussy babies on airplanes should be stored in the overhead baggage compartments. <G>

I had fun, too bad I wasn't able to hook up with some of the Vegas locals that I had planned on seeing this weekend.

Bob :-)