An unexpected vacation, Part 3 (The Big 5-0-0)

I was on my way to Las Vegas. This would be the first time I ever went to a destination all by myself, where I wasn't going to have to visit someone or abide by some schedule. I was just going to check into a hotel, gamble and relax before driving back home to San Diego.

I got to Las Vegas in the late morning. The first thing I did was go Downtown. I had heard that the slots were looser there, so I thought I would try my hand at the machines and play some blackjack. After years of seeing that neon sign featuring the cowboy beckoning with his thumb into the Pioneer casino, I actually got to go inside. The first thing that caught my attention was that for all of its iconic reputation, it's not very large. I played some slots and some blackjack, but didn't really win anything.

I spent most of the afternoon going from casino to casino, just playing blackjack. Around 3pm, I knew I could go check in at a hotel and decided to go to Circus Circus to see what they had available. I went to the front desk and they had a room in their Manor Suites available for $19. WOW! THAT'S CHEAP! I checked in and went to my room. I remember how one of my teachers in high school had gone to Vegas and he said that the room was like Motel 6. That described my room exactly. It was No Frills: two queen-sized beds and some festive trim on the walls. Of course, in Las Vegas, you spend very little time in your room, so the accommodations don't need to really knock you out.

After getting settled, I went out and rode the monorail to what I thought was the main casino. I wondered why I couldn't find the big area where they had the circus acts and the games for the kids from when I had been there in 1978. It turned out I was in the casino in their towers. I did not realize how LARGE Circus Circus was. (I guess the Tower casino was for those guests too lazy to walk all the way over to the main casino.) I found the main casino. I played more blackjack and more slots, but never really won any money. One of the cool things I liked about Circus Circus was that most of their female dealers were young and cute. It did prove to be rather distracting. After gambling awhile, I was feeling hungry, so I looked for something to eat. They had a pizza restaurant there. I ordered a pizza, but it wasn't as good as I was expecting. Usually, I can eat an entire pizza like nobody's business, but I think I barely got halfway through. It was probably the worst pizza I'd had since Video/Pizza in Roswell.

I figured I had spent enough time at Circus Circus' casino. I went outside and started walking down the strip. I soon came upon Caesar's Palace. I walked through the Shops at the Forum and then came back out to play blackjack. I sat at the same table for two hours. During that time, my chip pile was increasing, so I would start placing higher wagers. However, I soon found myself losing, so I would go back to my original wager. My pile would go back up and I would again increase my wagers. And of course, I started losing again after that.

A strange thing happened at one point. I could hear a guy who sounded drunk come up behind me and ask the dealer, "Can I play?" and placed a $20 bill on the table. The table was completely full and I don't think the dealer heard his initial question. The dealer gave the guy his chips and he continued to stand behind me. The person next to me said, "Hey, this guy here thinks he's playing your hand." I had two face cards dealt to me. He added, "He thinks he's winning." I gave the hand motion for "stand" and I saw the guy's hand also making the "stand" motion. Yeah, he did think he was playing my hand. The dealer got a 20 so that meant I pushed and my chip remained on the table. I saw the guy's hand reach toward my chip. I immediately slapped my fingers down on it so he couldn't pick it up. He said, "Hey!" I said, "That's MY chip!" The dealer informed him that he had given him $20 worth of chips and that he wasn't playing. I guess he got the message and went away.

So I pretty much broke even for the night. I walked back to Circus Circus and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and ate at the breakfast buffet. This was the first time I'd ever gotten to do this. And it was so cheap! The thought occurred to me (as I'm certain it has for so many people who have come to Vegas) that I could easily make a living as a gambler. With the hotel room being $19 a day and meals being so inexpensive for all the food you can get, all I had to do was go out every day, quickly make $100 playing blackjack and I could make $36,000 a year without having to really work. I thought this was very viable. But I"m glad I never tried it. For starters, I would eventually learn that it's possible to have very bad streaks at the tables. I recall one time that I lost nine hands in a row without going bust on any of them. Even though I was getting 18, 19 or 20, the dealer ALWAYS had a higher hand. That probably happens more often than you expect. Another thing I didn't know was that I had paid the Sunday night rate, which is generally the cheapest night, AND this happened to be on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend, when so many people are already trying to go home.

I walked around and gambled some more. Playing at one blackjack table, I had actually gotten $200 ahead when it was just me and the dealer. I found I preferred playing mano a mano because everything happened so fast and that's how I was able to ratchet up my chips. But as you might expect, I started losing after awhile and I kept losing. I wound up having to get a cash advance on my credit card so I could get myself home. I couldn't afford to gamble anymore. Yeah, that living in Vegas thing started looking like a bad idea.

Even though I lost a lot of money, it was still the best time I'd ever had by myself. I always enjoyed going to Vegas after that. And the nice thing was that since it was only six hours away, I could easily drive up and see my parents every time they decided to come to Vegas. I could just sponge off of them and it didn't cost so much.

One interesting side note: When I checked in at Circus Circus, I remember they referred to their motor lodge as the "Manor Suites." But recently, I made a reservation for an upcoming trip to Vegas and I made reference to the room being in the Manor Suites. The reservation desk corrected me and told me that the rooms were not suites, it was a motor lodge. I told her that they called them the Manor Suites when I stayed there 24 years ago. She didn't have much to say about that.

No vacation is really without its fallout. I'll get to that tomorrow.

(And a special side note: Not counting my "Redux" articles, this is my 500th blog post. I really thought I would be done with my WHOLE life by now, but I was wrong. We can probably expect at least another 250 posts before I catch up with my current life and can start on Phase Two.)