What a week! It's been a busy week with Daisy, Wendell and Maxine in town. I'm almost glad that I have to go to work, so I can rest and return to my diet. Naw, not really. I hate to see friends leave town. But it has been an incredible week that kept me busy. So much so that I feel the urge for a trip report.

This week started off with a big lunch that was followed two hours later with a big all you can eat ribs dinner, thanks to Daisy. After a tour of the SouthCoast we all saw Louis Prima Jr upstairs in a ballroom. We had front row tickets thanks to Wendell getting on the phone and ordering tickets as soon as possible. I've seen Louis Prima Jr a few times, and this was their best perfomance that I have seen. They were still excited from their Saturday night show in New Orleans where Louis Prima Jr performed in front of his mother for the first time. The whole band was on cloud 9.

The next night was Dixieland jazz at the Gold Coast followed by another wonderful meal at the Cortez Room. Daisy and I checked out Arizona Charlies for some lounge music. It was supposed to be Coasters. Instead it was a guy that normally plays at the Plaza who was once a Coaster. It is my opinion that "The Coasters" are long gone. The original group has been replaced many times over and there might be 200 Coasters out there. So whether it is a group formed by an orignal member such as Cornell Gunter, or one of 200 previous title holders, or the current set of guys, none of them are the originals and all should be judged on their own merit. The guy we saw at Arizona Charlies was pretty good. He was a better singer than a comedian, and he always had a handful of jokes inbetween songs. He is a pretty good performer. Perhaps he just has a bad agent that books him at the Plaza and Arizona Charlies. The night turned out okay for me as I gave Daisy a video poker lesson...for a change. Before this night, she was tearing up anything with premium payout. We found some very favorable games of 8/5 bonus with progressives for 4OKs, SF, and Royals. We each got a few progressives. I got one that payed exactly one more coin than a non progressive. I got another one where I was dealt a straight flush. I held on to the hand a few minutes to let the progressive build up. Building up a penny at a time, it was a very slow go, so I let it build up past the point where it added another coin and finished the hand.

Wednesday was interesting with dinner at Arriva. It's the Italian place in The Gold Coast. It was a pleasant surprise for all of us. It was a very good Italian meal, with attentive service and reasonable prices. After dinner, we headed to Harrahs for Clint Holmes show. Daisy had purchased seats in advance near the front. She made sure I sat by the aisle. Sometime before the show, she bribed a mean old woman to come harrass me saying that I was in her seat. This woman was persistant, rude, and dimwitted. I figure Daisy put her up to it because I broke her VP streak the night before. Finally the lady left and sat in a booth for the rest of the night. The Clint Holmes show was being taped for a PBS broadcast in August, possibly on the first Saturday in August. Because of the filming, the show did not go normal. They stopped many times to wipe off sweat, change tapes, redo lines, etc. Still it was good Clint Holmes doing what he does best. He is a high energy entertainer. At the end of the show, they brought out a huge piano and we were entertained by Roger Williams for about 20 minutes. IMHO, that was the highlight of the show, even though Clint was right on his marks, he had his sister singing with him, and even his mom sang some opera for us. So it was a packed evening of entertainment.

Thursday night started with dinner at Benihanas in the Hilton. I'm not a fan of oriental food, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I see why Wendell keeps going back to this place. It was way too early to go lounge hopping, so Daisy and I ran a couple of races at Sahara Speedworld, and then she had to go back to Sams. I think we were all pretty tired. Wendell, Maxine, and I stayed at The Casbar for a little lounge music and left about halfway through the first set.

I ate way too much food. And it was all the good stuff too. Great ribs, steaks, Italian, and oriental. All top notch food, and all big servings. We were entertained every night. I am so glad that Wendell, Maxine, and Daisy let me share their vacation with them. It's a lot more action than I normally see. Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Your hospitality and generosity are proof that TalkVegas has the best friends on the web.

JMT,
Thanks for sharing your good time with us all here (stuck at home). Our up-coming trip still seems so far away.
Thanks for my Vegas fix! It sure sounds like you ate well this past week!

JMT, you are too funny! I wouldn't sic that woman on a mangy dog<g>, and I certainly wouldn't call her a lady.

You must have been snacking on the side ... or you should have run around more with Wendell and Maxine because I lost weight trying to keep up with them on this trip.

Thank YOU for your part in making this trip so special! I was so pumped up that I got out of the car after an 8 hour drive home and had to do an exercise session to work off the spare energy<g>.

edited to remove LVRJ material

I guess I'll have to see Clint at Harrah's again, just in case he decides to retire, but I sure hope he finds another performing home in Las Vegas. I wonder if Boyd will snag him for appearances in one of the Coast showrooms?

I almost have enough Harrah's brownie points saved up for a couple more free tickets, so I won't even have to give Harrah's a dime for the show.

Good food, and good music....what more could you want!! Well, ok, a few good drinks also!! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time together. Enjoyed the trip report, thanks.

JMT,

Thanks for your report. Was Roger Williams at the Clint Holmes show the 80+year old edition?

Yes it was Fred. And what a treat it was. He was moving just a little slow walking across the stage. I just hope I can move around that good when I hit his age. We had a great view of hands when he played. Talk about tickle the ivory, this guys fingers were amazing. And the pretty music that came out of that big honkin piano was very nice. He seemed like a really nice guy and seemed to have fun playing for us. He played an audience request, Autumn Leaves.

JMT: I really enjoyed your "trip report" but not nearly as much as all the activity - thanks for contributing to our trip - we had a blast!!! Maybe we can do it all again in July???