Dateline Las Vegas – Continuing an account of my recent vacation outing with my brother-in-law: Saturday morning I was up early, to take the bus to the Strip to visit the Mirage. They have two Silver Strike machines in play. I played both, not at the same time, as I have seen people do. I won a fair number of Strikes on this visit, even one blue cap. They have a $300 strike program, so I kept the Strikes I won to apply to the 30 needed for that strike. Hope to accomplish that on our visit next year.

Upon returning to the Four Queens, I found Willie and we went to breakfast. After a delicious meal, we headed upstairs since Willie’s tournament playing time was 9:45. Mine was 11.

We waited until I had played and then we headed out for lunch. Willie had a terrible score in his round. I managed a decent score, although far from scores being tossed around.

Gamboling and Gambling

Willie’s next playing time was 1:45 and mine was 3. We walked into casinos along Fremont Street before  turning back to the tournament. Willie did much better in the second round, and I did not. The Four Queens Three Hundred Strike was going to be distributed at 5 o’clock. After playing, I walked to the cashier’s cage to get into line.

After receiving my $300 Strike, it was back upstairs for the Silver Strike Club trading session. I have always found the setup for this trading session clumsy. They use round tables. You never know who owns the Strikes on the table. Years ago I tried to get the trading session to become more totally member-friendly, especially for the first-timers. I failed.

On Saturday night, after supper, Willie and I took a cab to the Wynn Casino. Willie had won there on a previous visit. His goal: To find the same machine and win again. That proved  difficult, even impossible. It was not accomplished.

Once back downtown, we spent more time on Fremont Street before going back to our room.

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday morning. In the afternoon, the awards ceremony was held. Willie was able to break 100, finishing 99th. I ended up No. 26, six places out of the money. It was, as usual, a great tournament, and the Four Queens staff does an outstanding job.

After the awards ceremony, we went to Heart Attack Grill for supper. We had a great time,with a friendly nurse and the table of six next to us, who were enjoying one member’s birthday. A female member of that group would check to see how we were doing, which made for a fun time for everyone. The husbands in the group even shook our hands as we were leaving.

The rest of Sunday evening was spent much the same as Saturday, although I did play the Four Queens Silver Strike Machine, one more time. Then it was time to pack for the return trip to frosty Ohio.

We left Las Vegas at 11:35 a.m., with no problem, although I had about 50 silver strikes in my carry-on. Strikes always cause me a problem in security at the Dayton Airport.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted pmhenn@sbcglobal.net