The Sun Doesn't Always Shine in Vegas

That's what they tell me - "Of course it rains here!" Well since I have been here, attempting to settle in as a "local," and not a visitor or a vacationer, the sun has been shining, and shining, and shining to the tune of 100+ degrees temperature for the last two weeks! But guess what? They weren't kidding. This morning the sun was NOT shining and as I looked up to snap the photo below I think I even felt a rain drop.

Right now, at 8 AM, it's 96 degrees after an overnight of 100 and more. The rest of the week promises temps above 110 which is no big deal around here. I lived through 116 last week and didn't notice anyone else blink! That's the desert for you. But, remember it's a DRY heat! Yeah, right!

For the last two weeks I have been sharpening my poker skills which have become rather rusty from lack of play. Returning to the tables with little prep resulted in loose play and too many bad calls. That behavior is on the way out after having dropped a $100 at a $2/$4 table at Santa Fe Station (3 hour session) and $3 at a similar table with a 1/2 Kill at Red Rock after about two hours. My play on WSOP.COM has been better - two final tables in small tournaments going out on the bubble once and one place before the bubble another time.

I tripled a $25 buy on a .25/.50 No Limit Hold'em table on line for my only cash thus far. That was very satisfying but necessitated a quick exit before I bled that profit away too.

Lessons being learned: stop calling from the small blind with junk especially on short handed tables and always - ALWAYS - stay aware of and capitalize on position. Things will improve.

My original plan was to play in the Super Seniors event at the Rio last weekend for $1000 but my level of play dissuaded me from that. Since I am a permanent fixture around here now I can wait until next year for that and test my abilities on smaller tournaments around town.

I am planning a few blog posts on things I miss and do not miss about New York. Stay tuned. Right now I am not missing many things although I am missing many people.

I'll keep in touch.

Arrived and Settling In

Five days on the road but we are finally here in Las Vegas with our two dogs.

That isn't actually the view we had driving in but that's one of the views everyone associates with Las Vegas. We are actually about 30 minutes north of the strip and that's the way we came in, from the north on I15. Before that it was I70 from Columbus, OH to just west of Cove Fort, UT and onto I15 and eventually Vegas. Before Columbus we drove a combination of I80, I287, I78, and I76 until we were able to level out and head mostly west.

It's a beautiful country and at 500 plus miles a day you get to see a lot. The east is green and cluttered followed by farms and fields as far as the eyes can see. Missouri and Kansas are flat and monotonous aside from the nice state police office in Mizzou who stopped me for going 81 in a 70 mile per hour zone. She let me go with a warning either because my wife told her we were recently retired and going to visit our grandkids for the rest of our lives or because she noticed a recently happening accident a few hundred yards back in her rear view mirror. Toed the line from there on!

Eastern Colorado is not a whole lot different from western Kansas but after Denver the vistas are something that a New York urban dweller rarely gets to see. Mountains, huge mountains. Rocky crags on all sides. Ski areas with snow still on the slopes in early June! Utah gets boring and then spectacular and the short stretch of I15 that snakes through Arizona defies description - scenery not to be missed!

From our little house in North Las Vegas the view is more like this:

Not too shabby!

We have been here for a week bunking at our daughter's house waiting for our furniture and supplies to be delivered. We have been graced with ample face time with the grandkids who are happy to finally see us after what must have been an eternity of waiting for them. We have visited a casino once in this time and we are sure the frequency of visits will increase shortly.

More to come.