The urban population of Las Vegas is about the same as that of the entire State of Hawaii. While there might now be almost 20,000 from Hawaii living in Las Vegas, the visitor count is way more than ten times that number per year. Most of them pick one of the Sam Boyd properties, especially the California, Main Street Station and Fremont Hotels.
I thought I'd do something totally different, so I'm staying with my brother Dan, and today he dropped me off at Red Rock Casino, where I did not drop a dime into a slot machine. I instead spent much of the day at their sports book room and played eight $2 parlay cards while watching the assortment of college football games. Had a Starbucks frappuccino and donut for breakfast:
I missed two eight picks by one, but won on one card, and two others are still alive going into the NFL games Sunday.
This a good a time as any to explain why I will forever be ahead in gambling. It was, perhaps, two decades ago, when I stopped through Las Vegas and picked up.... hmmm .... eight $2 cards, although one or two could have been as much as $5. I did bet today $5 on Marquez for the upcoming boxing match tonight because that is the minimum. Anyway, on I went to Washington, D.C., and stayed at a motel in Arlington, close by Matuba, a Japanese restaurant, which, sorry to say, just recently closed (there is another one in Bethesda today--photo to left above). It was a dreary, wet and cold Saturday, so I stocked up on a sub, chips and six pack of beer, stayed in bed all day and watched those football games on TV. As the day went on, one of my ridiculous cards with 12 or 15 picks was perfect except for the final game. At close to 11PM a field goal saved me, and I won several thousand dollars.
Back to the present, Dan and I each had a very large hamburger for lunch and were joined by one of his racquet ball buddies, Joe, for the Hawaii-Las Vegas football game at Sam Boyd Stadium:
This is where it gets complicated, as Hawaii fell behind by a considerable score, so we decided to move on to the Timothy Bradley - Manuel Marquez boxing match. In the hour we took to get to Buffalo Wings, where we had to pick up Gabby, Joe's wife, and throughout the fight, Hawaii came back to edge ahead. Just around the time the fight was won by Bradley:
University of Nevada at Las Vegas kicked a field goal while time was running out and, unlike my financial victory two decades ago, Hawaii lost. During this period, an adjacent screen was the American League Baseball Championship game, with Detroit no-hitting Boston until the ninth, when a single was insufficient to overcome a Detroit 1-0 win. At least I lost nothing on this game. Incredibly enough, the conclusions to these three sporting events occurred just about at the same time.
That was not all. Dan and I then went to Geisha House for dinner:
I had beer, hot sake and a strange teppan yaki assortment of meats and chicken with orange colored rice. There was a giant TV screen where Texas A&M edged Mississippi in college football. Geisha House is a very large restaurant where this screen is the centerpiece. Only in Las Vegas.
I woke up at 6AM this morning, so nearly 18 hours later, I'm posting this packed day! Tomorrow, on to Oxnard.
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Tropical Cyclone Phalia at 115 MPH just crashed into India:
Typhoon Wipha is now at 115 MPH, but will strengthen into a Category 4 by Monday:
Most computer models now show Wipha turning eastward, but nevertheless impacting Tokyo and Fukushima as a typhoon on Tuesday. If you're traveling to Narita during that period, be aware.
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