I’m going to try this report in segments, starting with transportation on Southwest flights in and out of Sacramento. LOL, I loved waiting at SMF – they put in nice computer bars at every gate, and there I was, playing WinPoker right next to all those business folks catching up on work between their flights<g>. I enjoyed my wait on the return trip from McCarran too – made $50 on a nice deuces machine, which just about paid for my parking fees ($9/day) when I got back home.

There wasn’t much of a crowd at the airport or rental car facility where I had reserved an economy car at a base weekly rate of $95 ($143 after all the taxes). Thrifty was short on economy cars, so I was given my choice of the intermediate row, and I picked out a Ford Fusion because I had never driven one before. The Fusion handled nicely, was thrifty on gas (22 mpg-all city driving) – and worked out to about $1.61/mile since I only put 91 miles on it. It was worth every penny to be where I wanted when I wanted to be there.

My first stop was Sweet Tomatoes, that soup/salad/bread restaurant I’ve talked about before. This has become sort of a decompression stop for me; I just slow down, relax and remember to smell the roses along the way on the rest of the trip. I was definitely in a salad mood on this trip; there was another good Cobb salad at the Flamingo coffee shop, and I had a great pecan-crusted chicken salad at TGIFridays out at Sam’s Town. For any salad fans out there, that one has the sliced chicken breast on top of romaine lettuce, cranberries, blue cheese, celery and mandarin oranges, with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Yummy!

Now that I’m through with the salad section, I have to admit that food just wasn’t a priority on this trip. LOL, I had some Fiber One bars with me, and they even substituted for dinner one night at Bally’s. Sam’s had a continental breakfast as part of the VP tournament, so I started a couple of days with just a small bagel and some fresh fruit. I tried the Sports Deli at Eastside Cannery when I wanted something to tide me over until dinner, and they serve a decent brat with fries for about $3.50, but I like the Coast hot dogs better. I also made a couple of visits to Diamond Lounges, to tide me over till the next meal – enjoyed chips & dip, good pretzel sticks & brownies, but I never made it back between 4-6 pm to try the hot appetizers. Dinner my last night was a slice of pizza from Sbarros at Bally’s, and I did make it out to Aliante where I tried the buffet – not great but good food, and I had my first desserts of the trip there – too many desserts<g>, but they were cut small, and I was in dessert withdrawal! Port o’Call buffet at Gold Coast is my traditional “last morning in Vegas” breakfast whenever possible, and I finally had a piece of pecan pie there Saturday morning.

LOL, I wouldn’t drive all the way out to Aliante for the food or the gambling (there is full pay VP), but it was great fun to meet the Taters out there - and thanks for brunch! I found them on some new penny machines that wouldn’t give me squat, but it was fun watching Tater & Toby hit the bonus rounds. We had a pleasant brunch; Tater gave me a cute little Valentine heart piggy bank (to save up for future trips), and we played mainly video poker after eating – I broke even on my gambling out there, which was rather nice after Sam’s Town<g>. I’m seldom in a hurry in Las Vegas, so the scenic city routes worked out by Toby & Tater allowed me to smell the roses along the way. My version of their advice would be to get on Martin Luther King Blvd and don’t turn until you make a right on Aliante Parkway. LOL, you need some faith here because MLK changes names twice north of Craig Road, to Camino al Norte and Camino Eldorado, then it merges with Centennial Parkway just before you get to Aliante. I never did the freeways on this trip, but I got to watch the I-15 parking lot on my way back to Bally’s about 4 p.m. that afternoon, via Charleston, Main St, Paradise Rd, Harmon and LV Blvd. Some of those freeway folks tied up my surface route a few minutes at their Charleston exit, but it was pretty smooth sailing for prime time traffic.

I had one dinner with a pharmacist friend, her husband and father at the Flamingo coffee shop. This was my favorite “Diamond perk” of the trip because we avoided a fairly long line and were seated immediately, which was much nicer for dad. I had that good Cobb salad I mentioned earlier but was amazed by the BLT my friend ordered – the cook that prepared it must have learned his trade at the Stage Deli because there was about an inch of bacon stacked in it. Her hubby & dad had the Reuben – with an equally impressive stack of meat. LOL, no salad for me the next time I eat here! They were kind enough to pick me up at Sam’s Town, and we started our afternoon with the Big Elvis show and ended with some VP out at Sam’s Town – and I thank them for dinner if they read this.

OK, let’s take care of the rest of the gambling here. I played Lee’s Treasure Chest Machines out at Sam’s Town that night, and that was probably my best run at Sam’s – I hit a couple of quads within a half hour, collected my usual 140 coins on the first but got 250 coins on the second one. I was out at Sam’s for a VP tournament, and I bombed out as usual<g>. That’s really an exaggeration; I had three mediocre rounds and came in 112th – you had to be in the top 100 to get even any play money. I did love the tournament set-up: three 20 minute sessions to play off 1000 credits. This is the first time I’ve played a tournament where you had time to think. There was a DJ playing oldies, and the tournament sessions were so relaxed that you were able to enjoy the music and chat with your neighbors. My machine dealt me a quad 2 minutes into the first session, but that was the last one I saw. Our tournament gift was a nice little cherry wood jewelry/watch/change box, and they fed us 4 times, so I’ll hope for more invitations.

I dug myself a hole gambling my first day at Sam’s Town then played the rest of the trip fairly even. For once, I played almost entirely VP during a trip – my only penny session was with the Taters out at Aliante. I discovered that Bally’s is like the Flamingo (who woulda thought?) - they have some horrible pay tables, but each has some machines that are decent too. I never did hit Deuces on this trip, but I finally got Aces over at the Gold Coast and a straight flush at Bally’s my last night. I spent less time gambling on this trip, so I played more 50 cent and dollar Bonus poker – to build up brownie points and keep those hotel offers coming.

I didn’t talk my way into a suite at Sam’s Town (DRAT!), but I did get my requested King room. Sam’s must have bought their king & double mattresses at different sales because the kings are much softer and easier on this ole lady’s back. Sam’s added a nice 37 inch LCD television to their rooms since my last visit – it had a beautiful picture for video check-out<g>. OK, it was turned on once before that to check out the picture and menu, and they had some interesting free exercise programs listed. I wanted to check those out – “tomorrow” <VBG>. I stayed 3 nights at Sam’s, then moved to Bally’s where I did snag an upgrade to a very nice room in the north tower for my last 2 nights. The room had a comfortable desk & chair, sofa & coffee table and a safe which was never needed. The coffee pot served me well; there were no naps on this trip.

For entertainment, I spent some time watching the USBC Masters tournament at Cashman Center; two of my favorite PBA west bowlers were in town for that, and one of them (Robert Smith) made it through to match play before getting eliminated. I would have enjoyed going out to the Bowlfest on Saturday, (Terry Fator was free entertainment!) but I had scheduled this trip before I realized the PBA was in town, and I flew home at noon on Saturday. LOL, next year, I’ll schedule my trips after checking the bowling schedule – watching is great fun, and it keeps me away from those video poker machines too.

It was total enjoyment listening to Pete Vallee and Chuck Rawlings in the Big Elvis show at Bill’s Gambling Hall. Pete does mainly Elvis songs, but he did Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” at one show, and that was awesome! Chuck usually does some Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty, but he’s awesome on “Cara Mia,” "Chantilly Lace" and “Lady Willpower,” and he can do Elvis too. I was really bummed by the switchboard at Bill’s my first day – the first thing I did when I got into town was to call Bill’s to find out if Big Elvis was performing, and the lady said he was still sick but might be in on Tuesday. Why didn’t she mention that Chuck was doing the show? @*$#@%!!! One couple from Canada said they didn’t even realize Chuck wasn’t Big Elvis until he announced it at the end of the show. My other complaint about this show: why doesn’t Harrah’s/Bill’s ban smoking in that corner lounge area? Pete was out sick over a week because of asthma. IMHO, they have two great talents performing – give the guys a break! I honestly don’t know which of the two I enjoy the most, but I REALLY love it when they team up, especially on “Pretty Woman.”

My last night, I had a 3 hour gap between the last Big Elvis show and the George Wallace show, and I really should have taken a nap or sat down for a good dinner, but I was just too wound up. I was also tired and thinking up ways to stay awake<g>. I did a lot of walking, over to Bally’s for a quick bite at Sbarros, back to the Flamingo Diamond lounge to print my boarding pass, back to Bally’s to put that pass away. I watched a couple of Bellagio fountain shows from the pedestrian overpass in front of Bill’s – cool weather, rain sprinkles & a brisk breeze were just what I needed.

LOL, I had no problem staying awake at the George Wallace show, not even during his church session. His opening act was MOSAIC, a very good group of 6 guys that sing all types of music, sounding like they have a few instruments & voices backing them, but the 6 of them do all the sounds with nothing but 6 microphones. George came out and started jiving with them, and the next thing we knew, he decided we were going to church, and MOSAIC was leading hymns. He was jiving with the volunteer singers from the audience too, until one lady stepped up and even George Wallace just listened – she had a truly amazing voice that moved everyone there to a thunderous ovation. I would have liked to be there the next night too – George said he’d be talking about President Obama instead of preaching<g>. George Wallace reminds me of Bob Hope; he roasts everyone but without malice or viciousness. His “I be thinking” routine also reminds me of Bill Engvall’s “Here’s Your Sign” stuff. I will definitely be back to catch him again!

I caught two other lounge shows along the way – the first was a group called In-A-Fect that plays at Roxy’s on Tuesdays and Wednesdays out at Sam’s Town. They weren’t playing “my” music, but they sounded good enough that I requested veranda seating at TGIFridays and enjoyed them during dinner as well as later from a video poker machine. I was playing bonus poker next to a local lady (another Daisy!) who said this group occasionally plays oldies at the Indigo Lounge at Bally’s too. I wish they had been playing the Indigo this week because the group there (V-51) sure wasn’t playing oldies<g>. I’m sure they’re good, but I’m equally sure it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The music wasn’t so bad or loud that they’d drive me away from a good VP machine, but I didn't enjoy them enough to keep playing the lousy pay tables at that end of the casino either.

When I was seated for the George Wallace show, I assumed that there was the usual one drink minimum, and I thought the drinks were rather overpriced – wrong on both counts<g>. There is no drink minimum at his show, and $16 (+tip) is a fair price for an 18 oz Pina Colada in a souvenir glass. LOL, 40 years after my first trip to Las Vegas, I finally own one of those pink Flamingo glasses. I was still sipping when I wandered back through Bill’s one last time to see if karaoke was still going on (not) and still sipping during one last cigarette at the bonus poker progressive at Bally’s. I didn’t even see my straight flush hit, and I had no problems sleeping that last night<g>.

I did jot down a lot of notes, but they were organized chronologically, and I may come back with some things I left out by doing this report by activities, but I’m going to close for now by saying I met some great people on this trip! OK, a few of them were friends I met by design, but I’m also talking about casual encounters everywhere I went – exchanging recipes with a lady before I even flew out of Sacramento, chatting with nice folks watching the bowling at Cashman, discussing the economy with a young couple from Kentucky at the Big Elvis show, joking with my fellow players during the VP tournament or the valet at Sam’s that did a Tim Conway slow-walking act so I could finish my cigarette before he got my car – right up to swapping yarns with a nice lady from Philadelphia (Doris) my last night at the George Wallace show. Everywhere I went, I just ran into nice people, and that makes for a very good trip.

I like the George Wallace show too. I hope you won't be too disappointed if the next time you see it, you see the same situation where a girl with an amazing voice stuns the crowd. Even if you know it's planned, it's still good.

Mosaic has been trying to break into the Las Vegas market for a few years. They've paid their dues by doing free shows, networking with the right people (including George Wallace and Kelly Clinton), and becoming involved in the community. They are just starting to break out on their own by headlining at places like the LV Hilton. They are entertaining although it's not my style. There was a group here last year called Toxic Audio that did the same thing. They played the V theater for a while. I think they play Reno a lot. If you like that style of music, you might want to check them out.

Daisy, thanks for the great report! I needed a vegas fix! REALLY NEEDED IT!
Ya know, with things slowing down a little, maybe have a little more time to be nice to one another again. It's one of the main reasons we always spend some time downtown where it is always slower!
I'm just curious if the crowd has changed any? Less 20somethings, in the house? I always wondered where they got all this money to throw around the strip?
Sounds like you had a great trip and I didn't read where you really got killed any one night? So, all things considered, it sounded like a perfect trip!
Thanks for taking the time to type it all out for us!!!!

Daisy - sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for the TR. I definitely need to make it to Bills for the Big Elvis/Chuck Rawlings show. I love those CDs you made for me and should really try to see them in person. Glad you had such a great time!

When the lady started singing at the George Wallace show, I looked at Doris and said "ringer" ... but really didn't care by the end of her song. She was that good. LOL, I said MOSAIC was very good, but the hymn was their only song I really liked, which doesn't take away from their talent.

I'm always happy to supply a Vegas fix. I wish I was there today<g>, but I'm doing the next best thing - listening to some "Vegas withdrawl" music.

You raise a very interesting point, Lee - there might have been a slightly older crowd in Las Vegas this time. Either that or maybe it was just the things I was doing draw an older crowd<vbg> because most of my conversations were with the 40+ group.

ROTLMAO! Speaking of the 40+ crowd, there was a lively group at the Big E show - a lady from England was celebrating her 40th birthday with 12 friends, and they were all wearing red & white Elvis outfits and having a LOT of fun. I ran into them later that day, and they were having a ball posing for pics with some of LV's finest motor cops - good thing there's no open beverage law for pedestrians!

You didn't read where I got killed any one night because I didn't write it, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I dug myself a hole out at Sam's the first night, then played the rest of the trip pretty even and ended up under budget for the trip.

Mike, if you enjoyed the CD, then you will really enjoy the show because Pete sounds so much better now than when he recorded those tracks, and Chuck does a lot more variety than the Conway Twitty samples I sent you. RE: some of the other tracks - Daniel O'Donnell isn't scheduled anywhere near Las Vegas yet this year, but he does have have some performances in CT, OH, NY and (attention, Lee) Reading, PA. Oh, yeah, I did have a great time.

always a fun report from the deuece,wish i was there instead of sitting at home watching "oprah"feeling a lot better and they finaly have my meds worked out.dr. appointment on thurs at which time i will pitch going back to work and a april 5th-9th vegas run.i needed the vegas fix and i am sure he will ok that vegas trip.c u n april folks.

I wish I was there too, DAG ... glad your meds are settling down and you're feeling better!