Welcome Back!

Welcome back to you and to me.
I have no idea what caused me to revisit Blogger today, but here we are.  I spent a while reading some very old posts when this one jumped out at me.

Worked 8 hours tonight. Where have all the E.O.s gone? Actually, I only worked 6.5 hours with three thirty minute breaks spread throughout the afternoon. By mid afternoon the place was a rockin'. All tables were full and the lists for the low limit games were 30-40 deep-- and it is only Monday. How long can this continue? As house after house opens (or re-opens) their poker rooms you have to wonder when the saturation point will be reached. Of course some "experts" said that LV had too many hotel rooms years ago. Conventional wisdom be damned. 

 That was written in January 2005.

Just let m say that times have changed and leave it at that......

What just happened?

I don't know what to make of the fact that half of the country just ignored these numbers.
Interesting.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ (Warning! Clicking this link will make your head spin)
Around July 1, 2012 the national debt exceeded GDP for the first time ever.
Today, the national debt is $16,238,560,000,000+ That's trillion with a capital T.
$51,000+ for every man, woman and child in this country.
That's nearly $142,000 for each taxpayer.
The average household income in 2011 (latest figure available) was $50,054 (same as 1996 levels).
In the time it took me to type this, the national debt increased by about $33,000,000.
Sigh.

Preparing for Xmas 1897 Style

In the little town of Barton, Maryland on Dec 23, 1897, John Mowbray (or his wife, but the account was in his name) purchased from the General Store:
To Gu (?) 30¢
Do 30¢
Calico 77¢
Hdkfs (?) 15¢
Doll Baby 35¢
4 1/2 Gingham 32¢
Skirt 85¢
Fir (?) 25¢
Do 25¢
D0 25¢
Silk Muffler $1.25
Corset 50¢
Socks 45¢
367 Hay $2.75
Corn 50¢
Flour 80¢
Sugar 50¢
Coffee 50¢
Soap 25¢
1/2 Apples 35¢
Corn 25¢
Oranges 25¢
M. Nuts 25¢
9 Cabg. 18¢
Pickles 10¢
Candy 10¢
Bread 25¢
2 3/4 Butter 69¢
C. Oil 5¢
M. Oil 15¢

The store was owned by my grandmother's family (she wasn't born until 1914)and John was also an ancestor. At the end of December 1897 John owed the store $47.95. In 2011 dollars that is about $1298.50.
If you had relatives in Barton in the late 1890s and are interested to see if they had an account and what they may have purchased, shoot me their names and I'll look them up for you.

Seems like forever.

I just passed the 8 year mark at the Palms. Based on several loose assumptions, I'd estimate somewhere between 2,750,000 and 3,250,000 individual two card hands dealt. Somehow it feels more like 10 billiongazilliontrillionmegamillion.....

Happy 10th Birthday David!

Today my nephew turns 10.

7-3-01 our world changed.

Two short months later THE world changed.

David, I wish you a happy birthday and a bright future.

Uncle Wayne is proud of you.

A Chip Down Memory Lane

The 19th annual convention of the Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club has come and gone. When I lived back east, I used to time one of my yearly LV visits to coincide with this convention. After moving to LV I attended for several years. For the last 3 years, despite living here, I didn't make it to the convention. So, this year I took a night off of work to accommodate a midday trip to the Southpoint Casino and I spent some time on the bourse floor. If you have any interest at all in chips, casino related ashtrays-china-matchbooks-swizzle sticks-postcards etc etc you would be amazed when 80-90 dealer tables are set up all loaded with casino stuff. For the first few times it can be a little overwhelming. After you convince yourself that you can't, ever, have one of everything, it takes the edge off.

This year I purchased my very first ivory chip. Antique ivory chips are interesting in many ways. Not the least is that in a custom set containing hundreds of "identical" chips, no two are exactly alike. The scrimshaw work was, of course, painstakingly done by humans so minute differences exist. I chose this one because it displayed my initial. Some debate took place, but the consensus was that the letter was a W. I can live with it either as a W or an M since either one is appropriate.

After I bought the chip, Dr. Myers (a legend in chip circles) told a story about a customer who approached his table at the convention and proclaimed that he would never buy an ivory chip because an elephant had to die in order for the chip to be made. Dr. Myers, straight faced, told the customer that he could verify that this particular elephant had died of old age. The customer bought an ivory chip. Maybe you had to be there, or maybe you have to know Doc, but it WAS funny at the time.

My only other purchases were a few chips low on the $$ scale but not in history. One of the chips is from the Royal Nevada. Most probably have never heard of this place which existed on the Las Vegas strip from 1955-1959. If, however, you have ever been in the huge swimming pool (the largest in Nevada when built by the Royal Nevada)that was behind the Stardust you have been in the Royal Nevada pool since the Stardust acquired and later engulfed what was the Royal Nevada. By the way, if you ever happen to find this chip without the drill hole cancellation, congratulations! because it's worth well over $1,000 today.

The Monte Carlo Resort chip is from 1968 when the resort was located in Laughlin, NV. This place closed in 1977. 19 years later the Monte Carlo that you are all familiar with opened on the Las Vegas Strip. The two California Club chips, from the 1960s, were in play at 101 E. Fremont Street and not at the California Hotel of today located at Ogden/Main.
Although very plain in design, I think these chips have character. How I wish I had been here in LV way back when. The stories that these chips could tell.............

The State of Real Estate in Las Vegas

Zillow, how you make me laugh. It's either laugh or cry, so I am choosing to laugh at the moment. Your latest update puts my condo $57,900. A quick search of identical condos in the same complex shows the first listing as for sale for $49,900 so I'd guess your Zestimate is a little on the high side. I guess the good news is that it only decreased $900 in the last month. Is there a bottom to this madness? Too bad that I paid $177,400 a short 4.5 years ago and that I still owe well over twice your estimate. Aw, good times in Vegas I tell ya.

I read something recently that said over 85% of all homeowners in Las Vegas valley were underwater. I'm not really surprised.

So I have to wonder if the guy who gave me this, ah, thing, as a toke on Saturday night knew that I was SCREWED when it came to my condo or.....

It was the most forward proposition I have ever received while dealing poker.

Take your pick!

I'm still in a laughing mood about it so you can laugh along with me.

Seriously, a condom as a tip.

No, apparently I still haven't seen it all in a poker room.

ROFL