‘That’ would entail everything that has been going on since my fellow bloggers left town. That was over a week ago and I’m just catching up on current events. I have night pictures of Bellagio’s Conservatory that will go up soon – I will also take early a.m. shots when natural light is streaming through the skylight but they may not be as impressive as the night shots. All I do is wake up, work on the computer, answer emails, chat here and there with someone about/on the website, take my daily walk, shower, and head for Bellagio so I can sign the E/O Play list. *Why doesn’t she just quit? Psst! Rumor has it that she hasn’t managed to scrape all of the dust off of the shelves and get everything organized enough financially to just cut and run.* Besides, I love Bellagio! It’s my home. And I have some of my best fun just kicking chips around in the $4-8H games there. Perfect examples would be:

Marie plays frequently at Bellagio now that The Stardust is closed and waiting for the wrecking ball.* She’s a big plus on my list. But here are a few more reasons. I landed in a new game that was just cranking up on a ‘Tuesday’ – note the emphasis on Tuesday – last week. Monique…er…ahhh…Gina and Stephanie were on the list for the same game. Hot damn, Sam! We laughed our butts off over the time we had played together before and chatted up. They had just taken exams, Stephanie was very pleased with how she felt she did. *nice blush*

They ordered drinks and proceeded to play poker. Stephanie had A-A slammed. Yuk! She didn’t raise before the flop and got taken down by the blind. I told her we needed poker lessons…she agreed. They are both so damn cute! Of course I had my camera. As luck would have it, a great, young man, John, was in the seat next to Steph (I think he’s the one that busted off her Aces), and he opted to go for a cigarette so I could sit in his seat and have my picture with them:

But of course I had to take their picture, just the two of them, because seeing them and playing poker with them is better than good. If you’re into spontaneity, genuine laughter and warmth, you can’t help but enjoy the time with these two. I do!

More than one person crossed my radar in this game. John, the one that vacated his seat so I could do the picture thang with the girls, is from Greece. He was in Vegas about four years ago and came only to play poker. He remembered me, had played poker with me…the funniest part of it was that he remembered my voice. I asked him if it was because I was screaming when I got A-A beat. *laughter* Here’s John:

Another great intro in this game was Dave Dillman – Dave, send me your blog link, I want to hook you up but I swear I can’t find it right now. Dave happened to land a seat in our game and took the 10s. He put something down in the 10s and marched immediately to me (I was in the 3s) and introduced himself. He had a hyster-ipifically blog post about his dog and entering a tournament while he was on the road that I chuckled over when I read it. He posted behind the button and informed me that he was going to try and win my money. I scored first as he had to give up his $4 post to me. Ladies and Gentlemen…Dave:

Gina went on a mini rush and played the hell out of her hands. I couldn’t help but chuckle over one hand in which she beat the pants off of the guy on my left. Her play was a bit out of the ordinary…we need those poker lessons girls. In one hand, the guy next to me raised. Gina was in the BB and called. The flop was something like 9-little-little. Gina bet. Two to three callers, including the guy on my left. The turn brought a Jack. Gina checked, everyone checked to the guy on my left, he bet, Gina called, a couple of hitchhikers were in there too. The river brought a blank, Gina checked, the hitchhikers checked, the guy on my left bet, Gina called. Gina turned over A-J for a winner. The guy on my left was shaking his head. I sort of was too. She bet when she had nothing and checked when she did…she should have check raised his butt or fired on the river. She won with Aces too. WOOO-HOOO!

BTW, the guy on my left – I think his name is Brad (Brad check in here and leave me a comment) – is part of the team responsible for Diner Dash.

Gary came to collect Marie, Dave moved into her seat (she was in the 2s), and we visited as we played. I couldn’t put two and two together and get four, I was a ‘blinder’ and a watcher. I finally took a walk. When I returned, the two beauty queens, Gina and Steph, were gone. They left me this, scrawled on a Bellagio napkin:

My cards never changed. I watched players come and go and continued to look at the dearth of poker hands while my chips bled away with the blinds. Somewhere around 11:30ish to midnight, the time clock released its hold and I released my claim to the chips I had put on the table. I bade everyone goodnight, picked up the remainder of my ammo, and hit the door.

*****

*Marie and Gary and I have discussed ways to watch the implosion/explosion/wrecking ball at the Stardust, where I can take pictures of it without having to fade the aftermath of the settling dust and the crowds that will be out watching it fade into nothingness. If anyone has any great ideas, send them to me now, not after the fact.