Ollie headed off to the Orleans to play 8/16 O8. Flynn refuses to play there, and opted to take a walk prior to hitting the tables near home. Wednesday was the coolest day predicted during the entire trip so he took full advantage of the ‘cool’ temps. A few observations: To those who says ‘Vegas is back!”, Flynn says “bull”. Yes, casinos are open to 100% & no masks, HOWEVER, there are still numerous businesses that are not open or open for only limited hours. Nothing was open at the Park outside NYNY (noonish). Nada. Couldn’t get food, couldn’t buy souvenirs. Walking through the interior of casinos in general, many of the retail vendors are closed or have limited hours. This includes sundries / revenue makers run by the casinos themselves. Food options are limited.
The demand for these services seems to be high, therefore the most reasonable conclusion that Flynn can surmise relates to the severe labor shortage. There are plenty of tourists wanting to spend $. Reservations at high-end restaurants are booked solid. The streets/walkways are packed. And, FFS, the line down the sidewalk to get into the M&M store is insane. (Flynn is resigned to standing in it some time today, because the Best Neighbors Ever will need a pay-off for watching the jerkofacat.)
On a side note, Flynn was rather impressed with the Park MGM – an entirely non-smoking hotel and casino. Flynn did a fly through the ground floor, lobby, casino, by the pool, and so forth. He stuck his nose through the (closed) doors of the bars. Frankly, being a degenerate poker-playing drunk, he hadn’t really given the place much thought. Mind changed. The casino itself is not as huge as many others and is easy to navigate, the décor is not over-the-top (tasteful), and the entire place smells great. The ‘Eataly’ section is a tish touristy and overpriced (duh), but it’s still fun to walk through because you can actually smell the food, instead of old smoke. If Flynn gets tired of playing poker, he may head over there and throw a few bird-dollars at some blackjack. Riiiiiiight .
Enough touristy stuff, on to poker, which by the way, has been crazy busy. Lots of tournament events, and the cash games at the big rooms have lists galore. Flynn opted for the Aria this day, took his 1/3 seat, and played. He ran into Tim (Trooper97). Flynn played and played. He changed seats 3 times at the first table (not a usual tactic, but had more to do with position on other players). He switched tables about 8 hours into his stent, All to no avail. Card dead as bird-possible ever. Nada. Yeah, there were a few ‘hands’ in there, scattered about, but the majority of the nine hours spent there, he was bored stiff. Down a little over a buy-in (one bad board does that), Flynn called it a night. For those of you who read the Chronicle for tactical food advice, be aware that Lemongrass is closed on Wednesdays. Having had a salad from the Patisserie for lunch, Flynn gave up and tried Posh Burger for late night dinner (they close at 10 pm). He had the chicken sandwich, which was much better than he expected. Don’t bother with the fries.
To summarize: FLYNN WAS BORED PLAYING POKER.
Back home to this view. Ollie stumbled back an hour later, a winner.
Fin
Flynn