The Trip To Vegas

We were scheduled to leave Knoxville on Saturday at 6 p.m., which didn't happen because our plane was over an hour behind schedule. So that put us into Cincinnati way, way late. What we needed was at least twenty minutes to make it from one end of the airport to the absolute farthest point possible, which was, of course, our next gate. What we had was five minutes. So, we sprinted like hell through a ghosttown-of-an-airport that was literally shutting down for the evening (at 8 p.m.), knowing that if we didn't make it, there wouldn't be another flight to catch. We ran for what seemed like three miles, but what was likely about a half a mile. Nevertheless, when we finally made it to the plane (and it was still there, thank God) I was out of breath, sweating, on the verge of puking, and definitely regretting the two beers I drank right before we boarded back in Knoxville.

But, made it we did and then it was on to Vegas, where as soon as we landed, I bee-lined to the restroom. Because I have that one little teeny-tiny phobia...getting up to use the bathroom on a plane. I would rather sit in pain than use that scary little john. So I'm always floating by the time we land. Anyhoo, the next thing was to make our way to baggage claim where we anticipated waiting for another twenty or thirty minutes, but low and behold, our suitcases were the first ones out of the chute. Last on, first off, I guess. Now, if you've ever been to Vegas, you know what the taxi line outside the airport is like. It's usually a never-ending line that winds around for ever and ever and can take thirty minutes or longer to get through. Not this time. We practically walked right out the door and into the arms of a waiting cabbie. It all went so smoothly that it made me kinda nervous. But we were headed to good ol' Harrah's, where we like to stay for three reasons: it's free, it's a good, central location and we like their poker room. After we checked in and unloaded our stuff in the room, we headed for the Oyster Bar, where we have a fairly recent (our last three or four trips) tradition of eating our first Vegas meal, and it never disappoints.

On Sunday, we played the 11 a.m. poker tourney at Treasure Island ($50 buy-in) which Ron won! It was a great way to start, and as it turned out, although we played in three or four others during the trip, that was the only win either of us had. It was not, however, the only money that we won playing poker. I actually had a couple of shall we say sa-weeet sessions playing 1,2 no-limit at the cash tables at Harrah's. But no slot machine spit out a jackpot and no craps table turned our fortune.

Other than somehow losing my cellphone (the casino is mailing it back to me) and the mid-flight turbulence that made me think we were heading to the big casino in the sky on the way home, it was a great trip. One of the best Christmas presents ever.