Dateline Dayton – Conclusion of my trip to Las Vegas with my brother-in-law Willie:
After my first two sessions at the Silver Strike Tournament on Saturday, I was in good shape, point-wise. On the other hand, Willie had poor scores at both his sessions.
After visiting Hooters in the evening, we were back on Fremont Street, but once again it was chilly, too cold for the normal activity. There always is a crowd, but not wall-to-wall this time. After a couple trips down Fremont, I chose to return to the hotel for the night since I would be getting up again at 2:30 a.m. to play the Silver Strike machine.
This time, though, all of the machines still in use – even at 2:30. Soon a machine did open, and I took the chair. I struck up a conversation with the nice young man playing next to me, asking if he needed any particular strike. He needed a kind that I could not spare.
After I got the red cap I needed, which happened in no time, I quit playing. Another player nearby whom I had spoke to earlier was a fireman, who wanted to participate in the Silver Strike tournament. Because of his work schedule, he couldn’t. I asked if he still needed the one blue cap he had sought earlier. I had an extra, and I traded him two regular strikes for my blue cap. I could have gotten more, but I like to help people with this hobby and make collecting strikes fun for everyone.
A Time for Resting
Now it was time to go back to bed for a few more hours of sleep. Willie and I enjoyed breakfast in the hotel/casino, especially since it is tasty it and reasonable. Willie did well at his Sunday morning session and even though I had the same machine at 9:30, it was my poorest session.
Later, we walked over to Sam’s to check out their Silver Strike machines. I was disappointed on two counts; first, they only have one machine in play and secondly, there were no new strikes in the machine. I had a total of 30 strikes from when we were at Sam’s last May, along with a few trades I was able to make. I was hoping they would reinstitute their $300 strike program. Not likely. I just cashed in my Sam’s strikes.
At 2 in the afternoon, we returned to the Four Queens for the awards ceremony. I ended up No. 41, and Willie was behind me. If I had had a better session in the morning, I could have been in the money. Still, it was a great outing.
Afterward, I went over to the Mirage to see if I could get any of their new strikes. They were placed too far apart, so I had no luck. I played for almost an hour and it only cost $15. In addition I knew the person playing the other machine, so that made the time interesting.
I returned to the Four Queens where I met Willie for supper at the hotel since we had a two-for-one coupon. Another excellent meal!
Early Monday morning found us on the way to the airport for our return home. A most rewarding trip, and already we are already looking forward to next year.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net