While stopping yesterday’s update at the end of the ceremony, that wasn’t the end of the wedding trip.  As people milled around and hung out for a bit, some getting pictures of Gracie and Sweet Pablo back in the chapel, David Westbay had a bag filled with wedding cake.

Really, Really!  What a funtastic and thoughtful gesture.  Dave handed out cake to anyone that wanted some.  There were two pieces of cake wrapped individually in cellophane and it was really wedding cake.  I took one and ate half of it and gave the other half to our limo driver Brett.  Nice, and it shows great on you Dave for being so thoughtful.

This is the milling aftermath, as everyone gabbed for a moment, out on the street for the benefit of the smokers.  And the Wedding Mafia was long gone by this time.

We were back in the bus for this shot, and incidentally, one of the back windows appeared to be popped from its casing and our driver was a tad worried about it.  He decided we should drive the side streets instead of the freeway – and the wind was incredible that day.  Note the champagne glasses and SC in this picture.

So we drove, down Las Vegs Blvd., out past Tropicana, the bloggers drinking it up and chatting it up in the back, me and Brett chatting it up in the front.  Somewhere close to the Luxor the question came from the back, “What are we doing?”  Earlier Brett had asked them if they wanted to just go to the Venetian or to drive around for a bit because he still had us on his schedule until 3 p.m. and we finished at the whorehouse courthouse (read previous post) earlier than planned.  No one came up with an answer so we drove.  Now it was decided we should go to the Venetian and off we went.

I called Marie to make sure she was coming as a ‘friend of bloggers’ to play in the tournament and she beat me there.  She was in a $4-8 Omaha 8 game by the time I arrived.  I sat down to help start a $4-8H game and after a few minutes of the same Card Fairy shit that has plagued me for months, I noticed the line forming to register for our tournament.  I picked up and tagged Marie as I wanted to eat before the tournament started.  We both registered and then ran over to the food court, ordered, and semi-gorged as we sat next to Jason and Rachael’s table.  Then we were off to the tournament.

Truthfully, I have no attitude for holdem.  And I still felt like crap, it was a 3 day holdover now, and I really just wanted to head back to my room and see if I could sleep for 24 hours but there were bloggers about, poker to play, and I had work to do when I got back to my room, and I had left my truck way the hell down at the Tropicana and it was windy and cold.  Hello poker table.

What a nightmare draw I got.  Pauly, Miami Don, Gracie, Gene, a couple I don’t know, but it was a damned tough table.  No one was going to give away anything.  I made one big hand, raised it a tad before the flop with K-K, got one caller, and flopped quads,  I slow played it a tad and got a small amount on the turn and a small amount on the river.  I looked at the usual cards, trapped myself once when I made a King High straight and Gracie made the nut flush…but I don’t mind.  I went bust trying to run over Gene with A-Q and he had A-A, I flopped top pair and played it like I had the aces.  He apologized for busting me.  Shoot…that’s the way the game goes, I would have done the same to him if it went the other way.  *love ya Gene*

Here are a few of the players at the tables, damned few actually, the staff made an immediate announcement telling us that no photography was allowed.  I took these without flash and they are dark but it can’t be helped.

Our almost commissioner of marriage, Alcanthang, didn’t play in the tournament, he milled around and talked to people.  It seemed strange to not see his butt planted in a chair with chips and cards in both hands.  And I’ve heard around the rumor mill that Al took care of the limo service for the wedding.  What a great treat, thanks Al.

I wasn’t the first out but I was close.  This picture was almost in complete darkness and I goofed around with an image program to lighten it up a tad.  Say hello to little miss first out – Maudie – as she receives an award and recognition from Pauly.

I really wasn’t in my normal picture taking mode and I barely covered anyone that was playing.  *shame-shame*  I talked with Marie for a minute, she knew I didn’t feel well and I told her I’d mill around for a bit before leaving.  She was my horse in the tourney since I broke the back of the one I was riding.  I found a Keno machine that allowed me to sit peacefully for about 40 minutes and gave up $176 to my pocket.  Thanks Keno Machine.  I had the opportunity to cross paths with the groom more than once and he was having such a great time and so happy, it was kind of like feeding off of another person’s energy…just watching his animated talk and enthusiasm made me feel better.

I went to the Real Deal Theater and visited with a coupla guys that were working on stocking posters.  The poker tables all have a logo on them and it’s the same as the posters these guys were prepping for sale.

But soon I knew I was either going to find a couch to pass out in or go find a way to my truck.  I opted for the way to the truck.  I went back to the poker room and stopped by numerous bloggers for goodbye hugs, and saw smokkee for the first time during the weekend, told my horse I was leaving and headed out to find a taxi.  I found one, only his ears were painted on.

The taxi driver apparently heard the voices in his head rather than mine and the valet that both told him Tropicana.  He jumped in the North turn lane and headed downtown on Las Vegas Blvd.  When he hit Twain, I told him he was going the wrong way.  He did the apology thing and flipped a U.  And stranded us on Las Vegas Blvd.  Hate it!  He asked where I was from.  Shit!  I said, “Las Vegas!”  It took us 25 minutes to get down the strip traffic to the Tropicana.  I left him, jumped into a cold truck, and finally made the hotel room, did some website work and passed out…vowing to stop taking Crestor.

The only thing I could narrow all of the ‘not feeling good’ blues to is the statin – Crestor.  It takes it awhile to kill me and then it starts, usually in waves of semi-comatose, feel like I can’t stand up or think, and muscle pain, this time my kidney was off and on pain stabbing.  I went through a lesser seige of it about two weeks ago and then felt ok.  This time it sort of started to soak in that something was really out of the ordinary wrong.  I’ve tried a variety of statins over the last 5 years and none of them seem to fit.  And have tried other cholesterol remedies but nothing seems to work.  Now I think I have to just start eating grass and jogging about 5 miles a day and see if that does the trick.  From everything the Dr.s have told me over the years some people are just pre-disposed to high cholesterol…hello lucky!

Within 24 hours I felt better.

I’m sure I missed something I wanted to remember to post…oh well.  I had a great time.  My horse busted out too.  Damn it!