A Daily Diary - "June"

TUESDAY - 06/29/2010 - Today was another day at the WSOP. My friend Jim decided to play in a $200 entry deep stack tournament. There were 640 players in the tournament. I played live poker and ended up loosing $45 for the day. I played at a table with some people that I have known and played with for the past seveal year and had a relaxing good time. I even captured some pictures for them. Here is one of my friend Hannah Elisabeth. Hannah has a great website, check it out ... http://hannahqueenofhearts.com/  After about 6 hours of play he got knocked out in the 200th spot. We stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken on the way home and pickup up dinner. Connie and I ate it over a TV show and went straight to bed. It was a long day.

MONDAY - 06/28/2010 - Today I had to face the long lines at the DMV to register "Betsy", the affectionate name we have given to our 1992 Cadillac. Because I have to present a Veterans exemption certificate, which save me $68/year on the registration fee, I cannot do it online. My neighbor Jim had to do his as well, so we both got up at 6:30 am and headed down. By the time the doors opened at eight, there were more than 300 people in line. After we finished Jim treated me to breakfast. I took him to one of our favorite places, Blueberry Hill. He hadn't been there yet and liked it. We then went back and spent the next three hours "dipping" and reading by the pool.

SUNDAY - 06/27/2010 - I spent most of the last two days, and today, working on the pictures I took of my neighbor Jim while he played the Senior's tournament at the WSOP. I finally finished up at around eleven and headed to the pool with a printout of the finished product. Jim came out and thought it was great. I told him I would place it online later so he could send copies to his kids and friends. You can check it out here ... Jim's WSOP Picture Book. Connie and I spent the rest of the day watching movies and TV shows.

FRIDAY - 06/25/2010 - The pool was closed again today - still a problem with the filter. Marc came over this morning and shared a CD of some of the pictures he took on his recent trip to Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. He had some really nice pictures that certainly made us want to take a trip to Yellowstone. Made a trip to Walmart to pick up some needed supplies. In the afternoon we went to the "M" for two free lunch buffets. Neither of us had any luck gambling, so we came home and watched some prerecorded TV shows and went to bed.

[Picture Caption: Always try to see the glass half full]
Learn something new every day. Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil? A. Honey

THURSDAY - 06/24/2010 - Got up to 109 degrees today. Went to the pool, but wasn't able to get in much reading.  Was surrounded by three of our neighbors.  My friend Marc was back from his trip to Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. He talked about his trip and showed us some pictures. After the pool and lunch, we headed to Wallmart to do some grocery shopping.  I went over to the "M" and picked up $40 playing poker, came home and had pizzza for dinner over a couple of TV shows.

WEDNESDAY - 06/23/2010 - It was suppose to reach 105 degrees today, so I hit the pool early. Connie stayed in and did some wash and ironing in between watching the Wimbledon tennis. After showering and changing we headed to the Southpoint Casino for a 2-1 buffet lunch and a movie. We saw Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diez, which just came out today. We both enjoyed it - click the title for our review. Before heading home we stopped at the "M" Resort and picked up some free wine. Connie lost $20 on slots, but I won $68 at the poker table which more than paid for the movie, lunch and the valet.  [Picture caption - Always try and help a friend in need!]

MONDAY - 06/21/2010 - Another beautiful day in Nevada - not a cloud in the sky. I spent a few hours at the pool talking with neighbors and starting a new book. We got another visit from "the parrot". We saw him for the first time yesterday and think that he must have escaped from someone's home as he seemed quite tame. I went back and got my camera and was able to get up close enough to touch him and get some pictures. We tried to feed him but he didn't seem to want anything to eat.  I was surprised to see him come back again today.

My neighbor Jim wanted to take Connie and I out for dinner as thanks for my help in his tournament placing and to thank Connie for sitting home alone for two days. We made plans to have his victory dinner at The Palm restaurant located at the Forum Shops inside Caesar's Casino. And what a dinner it was. We all shared a 5-lb baked stuffed Canadian Lobster. We then shared a New York Style Cheesecake and Key Lime pie for dessert. Both were excellent. Double-click the pictures to enlarge.

SUNDAY - 06/20/2010 - First, allow me to update my friend Jim's WSOP journey. After a long grueling day on Friday which ended after 10 hours of play with a record of 3,142 entrants and a total prize pool of $2,827,800.00, the field was reduced to 424 players. Jim ended up in 392nd place with only $6,000 in chips left. Still 68 places away from placing in the money at the cut-off of 324, Saturday's play was going to require a little bit of luck as well as some some strict chip management. After more than three hours of play on Saturday, with only $2,300 in chips left, he finally made it into the money. Approximately 40 minutes later he got knocked out in 236th place, beating out 2,906 players and ending with a payout of $2,094, slightly more than double his initial entry fee of $1,000. Though still far short of the first place prize pool of $487,994.00, it was still a very admirable showing as a first time event player. Connie and I helped him celebrate his achievement at the pool this morning with champagne mimosas. I finished the audio book I've been reading at the pool, True Blue by David Baldacci. After watching the U.S. Open we all headed over to the "M". Unfortunately, none of us had any luck.

FRIDAY 06/18/2010 - This is World Series of Poker day. One of my neighbor friends is playing in the $1,000 entry Senior Texas Hold'em Tournament at the WSOP being held at the RIO Hotel and Casino. I told him I would drive him down and provide moral support. Here's wishing him luck. More later.  Here's later! The tournament started at noontime. There were 3,194 players in the tournament. They played 10 levels, with the last level ending at 1:30am in morning. Jim ended up in 392nd place of the remaining 427 players. I played live poker all day while he was in the tournament.  I was "up" all day and ended up loosing a big hand around mid-night that cost me a couple of hundred dollars.  I ended the day down $40 which wasn't too bad for playing 13-1/2 hours. His tournament resumes tomorrow at 2:30 in the afternoon. Here's congratulating him on his effort so far and wishing him the best for tomorrow. He has to get to 334th place to finish in the money.  Oh yea, did I mention first place would be $487,994 dollars. Come on Jim!

Picture of the Day

THURSDAY - 06/17/2010 - It was a beautiful, clear, windless morning - not a cloud in the sky. So we headed to the pool early for some time in the spa and some relaxing reading. When we came in we decided to go to Red Robin for lunch before heading to the "M" for a little "play". For a change of pace, Connie won $60 on slots and I lost at the poker table. We came home and watched game seven of the NBA Playoffs with the Celtics and Lakers. After maintaining a lead through the first three quarters, the Celtics got into early foul trouble in the fourth and ended up loosing in the final quarter 79 to 83. Though the result was disappointing, it was a well fought game.

Picture of the Day

WEDNESDAY - 06/16/2010 - The high for the day was 93 degrees. I tried to spend time at the pool reading while Connie did some wash and ironing, but the winds drove me in after only an hour and a half. The gusts were between 25 and 40 mph. It is amazing to look out and still see snow on Mt. Charleston in mid-June after have almost two weeks of temperatures over 100 degrees. After showering we headed to the "M" to use a 2-1 coupon for their lunch buffet and some gambling entertainment. Before leaving and heading home we picked up two bottles of wine, the days' free give-a-way. We watched a Netflix movie, Revolver, and a 2-hour episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" and then headed to bed.

TUESDAY - 06/15/2010 - Since they took the stint out of my kidney and bladder yesterday, I have noticeably begun passing dozens of pieces of the shattered stones. The good news is that there has been no real pain so far; knock on wood. After spending a good part of the morning reading at the pool we headed to the Southpoint to see the movie, The Karate Kid. Click title for our review. After the movie we picked up some Chinese takeout for dinner while we watch game six of the NBA playoffs. It was a very disappointing performance from the Celtics as they lost to the Lakers, 67 to 89, tying the series 3-3. Here's hoping they are able to do much better on Thursday's final game.

MONDAY - 06/14/2010 - Another beautiful day in the mid-nineties so we headed to the pool early before the temperature got too hot. I made a few quick snacks for lunch before heading to the doctors office for another follow up on my lithotripsy back in April. According to the doctor, the KUB X-ray showed only a few pieces of the broken up stones left. Apparently I've been passing them and not knowing it. Hello? So he decided to remove the stint that was put in during the operation. The good news is that supposedly I now won't feel like I have to urinate every 20 minutes. That would be a good thing. Another follow up is scheduled for the end of July to decide where we will go from there as I still have a large stone in the right kidney.

SUNDAY - 06/13/2010 - We didn't do much yesterday. Even though the pool was still shut down, it was quite windy and overcast and even sprinkled a little in the late afternoon. We decided to hit a couple of casinos. Connie had some free slot play and picked up some free placemats for the dinning room table. Today was a  gorgeous day and the pool was opened by late morning. I prepared us a picnic lunch and we headed out. We spent nearly four hours reading, talking with a neighbor, having lunch, sitting in the spa and just sunbathing. After coming in we showered and got ready to watch the Celtics and Lakers in the 5th game of the NBA Championship Playoffs. Even though Kobe Bryant may have turned in a great game for the No. 1-ranked Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 38 points, it wasn't enough to overcome Paul Pierce's 28 points and the great defensive effort of the No. 4-seeded Boston Celtics as they beat the Lakers 92-86. It's now on to LA on Tuesday.

FRIDAY - 06/11/2010 - The pool was still shut down. Major bummer! The weather was in the low 90's with just a slight breeze - perfect for reading at the pool. Management had someone sawing down trees in the morning. I worked on the computer for a while and then headed down to Freemont Street and the Strip with my neighbor Jim to make some reservations for a vacation we are planning for July. Took some more pictures of some of the "Neon" signs put up by the Neon Museum.

Took us all afternoon to hit the five places I had to go. Using coupons and offers I had saved, I ended up with hotel rooms for 8 nights, 4 nights in Laughlin and 4 on the Strip for a total of $35.00. Plus I booked 4 shows with 2-1 coupons saving another $160. Gotta love this place. We stopped over to the Rio to watch some of the World Series of Poker Tournaments. My friend Jim is going to play the $1,000 entry senior event on Friday. Made dinner when I got home and watched some TV shows with Connie. My sister called before we headed off to bed and we talked for nearly an hour and a half catching up on the past month. It was a long day.

THURSDAY - 06/10/2010 - I went to the "M" all day to try and hid a high-hand jackpot. No luck again but, won all the money back that I had lost earlier in the week. Watched the Celtics play a great basketball game to beat the Lakers 96 to 89 and tie up the NBA Championship Playoff Series with the Lakers, two games to two. Talked with my brother Tommy about his new (new to him) car. He bought a 1995 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee. He seemed pretty happy about it. He sent me this picture the next day. Looks pretty sharp.

WEDNESDAY - 06/09/2010 - Okay, I didn't even post anything for Tuesday. It was a bad day as the Lakers beat the Celtics, 91 to 84, putting them up 2-1.  It was a very disappointing day! Pool was locked up due to "filtering" problems. We went to see the movie, Get Him To the Greek. It supposidly had a good rating for being funny, however we didn't feel it was all that good. It was full of crude language, vomit, prolific drug use, infidelity, and generally low class manners and morals, ... F-bombs and vomit are not humorous. We only gave it [2-Stars]. Went to the "M" after the movie and won $15. Bought some Hot Fudge sauce and came home and had banana splits for dinner over a couple of TV shows.

MONDAY - 06/07/2010 - We decided to go to the Cracked Egg for breakfast. It's a little expensive, however very reasonable with a 2-1 coupon. They have the best homemade coffee cake. After a couple of hours at the "M" we made a stop at Green Valley Ranch on the way home. I won back what I had lost at the "M" and ended the day with a $50 profit. Connie didn't fair so well. I made a fruit salad for dinner which we watched over game three of the NBA Champtionship playoff with the Celtics and Lakers. Unfortunately the Celtics lost.

SUNDAY - 06/06/2010 - I got up and cooked a breakfast of hash, poached eggs and English muffins which we watched over the men's finals of the French Open tennis. After tennis we went out to the pool for some reading. The picture to the left is the view I have while laying back listening to my audio book. Still too full from breakfast, we decided to skip lunch. I headed to the "M" to try my luck at hitting one of their high-hand jackpots in the poker room while Connie stayed home and watched a couple of movies. I did get a straight flush and made a couple of hundred dollars. I got home in time to watch the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2nd half of game two of the NBA finals. Now tied at one game each, it's on to Boston on Tuesday.

SATURDAY - 06/05/2010 - Just another 107 degree hot and sunny day, reminding us why we love air conditioning. I worked on upgrading several of my computer programs to their latest version while Connie read and watched the women's final of the French Open tennis. We then went to Green Valley Ranch casino fo some free slot play and to have their 2-1 Brunch. Besides the crab legs being quite dry, several other items were not up to par. Neither of us thought it was anywhere near as good as it used to be when we first moved here. I won $58 while Connie lost $20 playing her free slot play. We then headed to the "M" for some more free slot play. I picked up another $18 at the poker tables.

FRIDAY - 06/04/2010 - Today was carpet cleaning day. They have someone come and clean your carpets and AC/Heating vents twice a year for free. We spent the early part of the morning picking up "stuff" and getting it out of the way. They showed up at 10:00 and were done by 11:00. We "opened" up everything and headed to the pool to wait for everything to dry. It was a beautiful pool day - 102-degrees with blue sky and just a slight breeze. I got half of my audio book read (listened to?). I came in and prepared a "picnic lunch" to eat by the pool. Everytime we go to the pool, Connie gets a serenade from a Mocking Bird, usually pearched high atop one of the palm trees. The carpets were mostly dry by 3:00 and I came in and put everything back in its place. Everything cleaned and dusted - good for another year! Connie came in and we watched the season premiere of "Burn Notice" over a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie and ice cream. I then played on the computer while Connie read. We were going to go see the Henderson Symphony Orchestra at and outside concert, but decided that it was just too warm and stayed home and watched a Netflix movie instead.

TUESDAY - 06/01/2010 - Again, it was a nice day, temperatures in the 80's, but TOO windy. I only spent and hour at the pool trying to read. Can't believe we are nearly halfway through the year and we've only been to the pool half a dozen times. Worked some more on cleaning up and deleting unnecessary files on my computer. Made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch. Watched some prerecorded movies and TV shows. Got a call from my neighbor wanting to know if I wanted to go play poker with him. I said yes and we headed to the "M". He played in the tournament and got knocked out at the final table, I won $250 playing live poker.

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