Greetings from Las Vegas. This is Day 2 of our trip report, covering Tuesday, April 4, 2000.
Roz went down to the Rio Spa at 7:00 a.m. for a two-hour workout, while I
completed and posted the first day's report and monitored CNBC for the unfolding
debacle on Wall Street.
A few weeks ago, we met the sister of a deceased cousin at an 80th-birthday
party for another cousin. When we learned that she would be visiting Las Vegas
while we'd be there, we arranged to spend a little time with her. The woman,
a spry lady in her 70s whose name is Rena, and her friend Ellie were waiting
when we drove down to the Las Vegas Club where they are staying.
It was about 11:00 a.m. and, being just a few blocks from Shade Tree Shelter,
we asked our friends if they'd like to meet Shade Tree's Debbie De Souza and
take a look at construction progress on the new shelter. Rena is a bubbly person
with an engaging personality, and we figured correctly that she and the effervescent
Debbie would enjoy each other.
We wanted to see Debbie at this time because she's about to leave on an infrequent,
well-deserved vacation, and this would be our only chance on this trip. Debbie
came down from the office to meet us, hugs were exchanged all around and, as
expected, she and Rena immediately hit it off. We crossed the street to the
construction site and Debbie pointed out various features of the project, which
is well along and still on schedule for its August completion. We are very excited
about the "new" Shade Tree, and also excited to know that we're only
months away from becoming active participants in the ongoing programs of this
vital
agency. -And thanks again to all who have helped Shade Tree through your purchase
of Las Vegas Online lapel pins and Las
Vegas calendars.
Our visit with Debbie also led to solution of a worrisome problem, as she volunteered
to perform necessary caretaker functions at our new house during the weeks between
our June closing and our permanent relocation planned for early August.
We presented Rena and Ellie with a variety of lunch options, and they made
Sam Woo Barbecue their choice. My regular readers know that nary a trip goes
by without one or two meals at Sam Woo, the local branch of the California chain
of Chinese restaurants. Sam Woo is in Chinatown Mall on Spring Mountain at Wynn,
just minutes west of the Strip.
I had my usual BBQ pork fried rice and a platter of roast duck. Roz had her
usual house-special chow mein. Rena and Ellie shared orders of vegetable fried
rice and orange chicken. The total bill was $41, and our companions could not
believe how much food the money had bought. And, of course, all totally delicious.
Though I've not mentioned it much recently, visitors to Sam Woo or any of the
other excellent Chinatown Mall restaurants should also consider allowing time
to check out several of the unique shops in the mall. One such store sells handsome
imported lacquered furniture, vases and other decorator items, all at reasonable
prices. A bakery has a selection of elaborate wedding cakes on display. And
the Ranch Market, anchoring the mall at the eastern end, is well worth a brief
tour to ogle the exotic foodstuffs on display, including some of the most unusual
seafood I've ever seen. And if you've ever heard the old saw about the Chinese
eating
every part of the pig but the squeal, this market's offering of pork products
proves it.
After lunch we brought Rena and Ellie directly over to Sun City Anthem. We're
already fielding a lot of inquiries from people with whom we rendezvous in Las
Vegas, as well as from friends and relatives, who want to see the development
and absorb the flavor of what Del Webb is offering for a lifestyle. On this
day, our two passengers had the expected "ooh" and "ah"
reaction as we entered Anthem Parkway through the entrance gates with their
waterfalls on each side of the road,
followed by a similar response as we approached the turn-off to the sales pavilion
and they got their first glimpse of the golf course meandering through the gullies
below.
We led Rena and Ellie through the model-home village for a couple of hours,
spending much of the time in our own model as you might expect. Then, on the
way out, we took them by our own house on the construction site. Del Webb's
safety regulations required us to remain in the car, but we were pleased to
see that just one day after our initial site visit, insulated sheeting panels
are going into place.
Our friends were planning to see Bill Acosta's show at The Luxor, so we dropped
them off at that resort and headed to The Rio. Upon arriving back at The Rio,
I discovered that I had made a major gambling error that cost me money even
before I had risked my first dollar at the tables. For weeks, my plan had been
to bet big on the Red Sox and their all-world pitcher, Pedro Martinez, in their
April 4 opening game to christen Seattle's beautiful new Safeco Field. But instead
of making my wager early, I was planning to put my cash down shortly before
the expected 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) start of the game. Whoops!! I think what happened
is that ESPN exercised its contractual prerogative to order a change in the
starting time, so at 5:45 p.m. I learned that the game had started at 5:00 p.m.
and it was too late to
make my bet. So instead of having the pleasure of protecting my investment by
sharing crowd reaction as I watched the game in the sports book, I skulked back
to our room with Roz and watched the last six innings there.
Final score: Red Sox 2, Mariners 0. Yeah, yeah, I know that I didn't actually
lose any money, but in my mind I did. And that, my friends, is the demented
mind of the gambler -gg.
After the game ended, we went downstairs for dinner at Mama Marie's Cucina.
I've never been fond of this place, finding the food pedestrian. In my humble
opinion, for example, their red pasta sauces taste like Chef Boy-Ar-Dee or Franco-American,
and, anti-heretics beware, I'd take Olive Garden's spaghetti sauce over Mama
Marie's any day of the week. For us on this trip, it does have the dual advantages
of being just a few steps away from the Masquerade elevators and being one of
the Rio dining venues for which we have a food credit. - Don't look for Mama
Marie's to appear on anyone's list of the city's best Italian restaurants, especially
when The Rio itself has a vastly better alternative in Antonio's Restaurant.
While we waited about 20 minutes to be seated in Mama Marie's, I did my first
gambling and took a loss on $10-20 blackjack. Then we sat down to dinner, Roz
ordering a house salad and a grilled salmon entrée, served with barely
cooked potato wedges and broccoli. I had chicken paillard, which is just seasoned
and grilled boneless chicken breast, accompanied by the same vegetables. Total
bill was around $40.
After escorting Roz back to the room so she could watch a TV program, I returned
to the casino. First I played Let It Ride for about 90 minutes, losing my table
investment, and then I did a couple of hours at a BJ table, sharing company
with one other player and two alternating dealers who were very fast and efficient.
After an initial setback, I recovered and left the table with enough of a profit
to show a pretty nice net gain for the day.
And so ended Day 2.
--Best from David ...in Las Vegas
