Our day out on Lake Mead

I was going a bit stir-crazy, so I convinced Natalie to get a day trip planned. She got directions out to Lake Las Vegas and pack a cooler, our bathing suits, sunscreen, and a couple of towels. We toured the grounds of the Ritz-Carlton and the Hyatt Regency. Natalie picked up a small piece of artwork for the house, and we stopped at a lakeside cafe to get something to drink. Even though it was extremely hot, it was pretty nice. The lake was smaller than I had expected. I really wanted to rent a see-doo or a small boat, but they did not have any rentals at Lake Las Vegas.

Since we were right near Lake Mead, we decided to go over there. We drove around the south shore of the lake and stopped at every marina along the way looking for a good place to rent a boat for the day. At our third marina, we decided to cool off and get something to drink at the dockside bar. There were a few locals there and quickly we sensed that they were recognizing me. In fact, they had. Chuck and Marilyn Kruse introduced themselves and offered to take us on a boat ride. They seemed like really nice people, so we took their offer.

They had a really nice boat named Serenity Now. It was a fairly large, 2 bedroom yauht with all the bells and whistles you could think of. It even had autopilot! Chuck and Marilyn took us around the lake, and along the way ran into one of their friends, Gino. Gino had a 3 story houseboat with probably 50 people on it. They were having a blast in the hot tub, at one of the 2 bars, or over by the grill. Gino even had a couple of dogs on the boat. We swam in the cool lake water for a little while. The sunset over the lake and mountains was very pretty.

Everyone was so friendly and we had such a good time. Thanks again to Chuch, Marilyn, and Gino for such a great day.

American Casino

The other day, Natalie and I headed out to Green Valley Ranch, where the Discovery Channel films the show, American Casino. We toured the property and had a couple of drinks by one of the pools. The staff was friendly and the place was done up real nice.

The hotel was getting ready for a beachside concert by Seal. We were filmed a bit, but I don't know that we will make a show. The spa's pool is being used as a set for some soap opera. Natalie tells me the name is Passions. So, needless to say there were camera men and cords all over the place. We enjoyed our brief visit and may go back and spend the night sometime when things are a little less busy.

Mirage PPT and our trip to the Wynn

I played in the PPT at the Mirage the other day, and got knocked out by Vinny Vin.

Natalie and I went over to the Mirage yesterday at about 10 pm to check out the action. We watched two tables play some of the tightest poker I have seen in a while. I was actually more interested in the basketball game to see if my second half bet would pay off. We got some Pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen and some chocolate cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli. Then we went back to check out the action some more. Nothing major had happened After signing a few autographs, we decided to go check out the Wynn since we were in the neighborhood.

The Wynn was nice, but we were expecting something really inovative. Steve Wynn wowed Las Vegas when he did the Mirage, and changed the way casinos are designed with the Bellagio. I think he did just about everything that could be done between those two casinos. It was really nice at the Wynn, just too much like the Bellagio. The casino used more red and had a little asian look to it; there is a Ferrari Masarati dealership on the property; but other than that, it was very similar to Bellagio. There is a mall with two "underground" restaurants nearby. There is a bar that overlooks the water feature and a snack bar near the sportsbook and poker room.

We went downstairs to the bar called Parasol Down and watched the water show. I'll tell you a little about it without giving it all away. It was a big white wall with water runnning down it at the far end of a pond. A projector put images up on it while things popped up from behind and in front of the wall. We hadn't seen anything like it.

After the show, we checked out the poker room. Marcel Luske, Casey Kastle, Jim Miller, and Lou Asmos were there. The room is pretty large and has plush furnishings. About 2 or 3 am we decided it was time to go home.