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Las Vegas, Nevada
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| May, 2001 |
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We arrived in Vegas none the worse for wear totally enthused and full of stories about our trip. It was time to buckle down and get to the task at hand. Both Karen and I were playing in the Pool Tournament and refereeing when not playing - in between making plans for next year's road trip. |
| Karen drove home with hubby Steve that year. I think she must have pre-planned that just in case we were in "kill" mode by the time we got to Vegas. However, we ended up following each other home on the highway. We stayed at Jackpot, Nevada the first night and Great Falls, Montana the final night. |
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| May, 2002 |
| This year we refereed the VNEA pool tournament in Vegas, so spent 10 sunless days inside the Riviera Hotel, constantly wishing we were on the road. We did a small tourist afternoon at Liberace's museum and then a fast shopping spree (20 min) at the Outlet Mall on the west side of Vegas to buy attire for the evening banquet. |
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| Fifteen miles outside of Vegas we found our first cactus tree and of course had to take a picture. Then we boogied into the desert and off in search of ghost towns. |
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| January, 2006 |
| In late December, 2005, Reg from Australia came to North America. Robin wasn't able to come which was a bit of a disappointment. Reg and I spent time touring around Calgary then hopped a plane to Vegas on January 1st, 2006. The Pauleys from Indiana met us there. |
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"The Vegas Connection"
Reg, from Australia, Bill Becky and Franny from Indiana and me from Canada. |
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Love Birds |
Talking to Aunt Rita |
Christmas in Vegas
We decided ahead of time to have our Christmas in Vegas together so we made a makeshift Christmas Tree out of the lamp. We covered it with a towel and plastered bows all over it. Of course the gifts from Australia were the highlight of our santa tree. Reg gave Bill and Becky some TimTams. A Tim Tam is a chocolate covered malted biscuit filled with chocolate cream filling - delicious. |
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Australian Books |
Whatever it was - it must have been funny. |
| Reg gave me two books, Great Aussie Slang and Ultimate Aussie Insults & Jokes. Now I will know what those Aussies are talking about. I have to admit when someone told me I was "fair dinkum" I thought I was being insulted. No worries mate. |
| On the Strip |
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Colts Fan (one anyway) |
Nickels? |
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Defintely not nickels |
Getting the hang of it now mate |
Breakfast at the IHop - 2 pm
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Bill's Hummer ? |
We spent a lot of time up and down the Strip. Franny and I bought some sparkly false eyelashes (much to Bill's horror ha ha and mom wasn't too impressed either). We looked quite beautiful (I thought).
We headed for the Excalibur - supposedly so that Franny could have some fun too doing kids stuff. So? Who are all these adults playing like a bunch of kids. We had to do everything - play the arcade, buy flashing necklaces, win stuffed toys, chew bubble gum and ride the roller coaster - well Bill and Becky did - not a chance of me getting on it.
I did get brave though and go up the Stratosphere Tower. It was ok but I stayed in the middle and left the overlooking to the rest of the gang. |
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The Kids |
More Kids |
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The Vegas Connection |
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Three Adults, one Child, and one Chicken - ME!! |
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The Eiffel Tower. Nope - sorry - not for me. I had tried to go up the Tower before and came right back down so I knew I didn't want to try again. I was allowed to get into the picture though then waited in the casino for everyone to come back. Suited me just fine. |
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| May, 2006 |
This year our travels were going to take us back to Las Vegas. The pool team Karen and I played on won the trip to the International Valley 8 Ball Tournament held every year at the Riviera. The "Guys & Dolls" Pool Team was a throw together group of players and it turned out to be the greatest team. Everyone got along and we had great food, fun, and team spirit all year. We played 100% at playoffs, never lost a game and our trip to Vegas was secured. |
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| After leaving Rhyolite, we traveled south on Hwy 95 through Pahrump (name makes me laugh) and into Vegas from the west. It was time to "let the games begin". Our team played exceptionally well and survived until the last match before the "big" board (final playoffs). |
| The guys wanted to enter into the hardluck tournament but Karen and I were anxious to get back on the road. So, we bid them good luck, left them to their playing, checked out early, and were on our way again. Oh yeah, Karen got to spend two nights with her hubby, Steve, while in Vegas. |
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| June, 2010 |
Vegas Disaster
We arrived in Vegas at 8:30pm - DISASTER!! On checking in at the Riviera I realized I didn't have my wallet. We searched the car high and low - no wallet. The last time we used my Visa was for gas in Hurricane, Utah. We phoned the gas station and the McDonalds but no luck - no wallet. Fortunately, we had enough cash on hand to pay for two days at the hotel and one day of internet. Panic set in and the next three hours were spent on the phone and emails cancelling all my bank accounts, Visa, paypal automatic payments and anything else I could think of. Fortunately, my drivers license and birth certificate were still inside my passport folder so the only significant losses I had were my bank cards, Visa cards and about $100.00 cash. I emailed my office requesting some back up funds and Visa arranged to provide me with emergency funds wired to a Western Union.
Finally at 1:30 am I could breathe easy and get some sleep. Now wouldn't THAT make a great Visa commercial? All that panic then me sleeping like a baby!!
In response to my email, Sharon (from my office) phoned first thing in the morning to make sure we were OK and to let me know that arrangements were in the works to get some funds to us. Once Gloria got back to the office, Steve would be able to pick up a cheque to deposit for us to draw cash out each day with Karen's ATM.
In the meantime, we went to Western Union and picked up the cash Visa had wired. So our slight disaster was now under control. We headed to the factory outlook to buy some summer clothes and a new wallet for me. More good news came shortly after that. The gas station phoned to tell me that someone had handed in my wallet. So we headed back up I-15 to Hurricane - 125 miles - to pick it up. Even better news - all my cards and even the cash were still in it. Apparently someone did hand it to them but the clerk forgot to tell the night shift that it was there. No harm done.
The wallet was intact, all credit cards and cash not touched. I tried to find the good samaritan but no one knew who the young man was. I wanted to give him the cash in the wallet for his honesty. It was a nice feeling to know that there are honest people wherever you travel. |
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Riviera Hotel
Karen took pictures of the room because we both had the feeling it would be our last trip to the Riviera. We'd heard that the Pool Tournaments were being moved from this location and honestly - the Riviera is badly in need of an overhaul and new management that gives a damn. For example, my bed had a flat sheet for the bottom. That would be OK except it was a single sheet and didn't go to the end of the bed. When I stretched out my feet were on the mattress cover. The towels were hard as rocks - no softener in the wash. Seems like they are just trying to cut small corners. We have the feeling another dinosaur is going to feel the effect of dynamite. Too bad because walking into the lobby felt like "coming home" for us.
The Riviera opened on April 20, 1955 as the first high-rise and the ninth resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The Riviera is one of the oldest and most famous casino resorts in Las Vegas. The Riviera also broke new ground in its design. Previously, strip resorts resembled roadside motor courts.
The opening of the Riviera, along with the Dunes and the Royal Nevada casino resorts, within a month were the subject of a famous issue of Life Magazine, on June 20, 1955 with a Moulin Rouge showgirl on its cover. The headline was "Las Vegas-Is Boom Overextended?" and a story about how Las Vegas had built too many hotel rooms to be profitable. Liberace was the featured headliner at the resort's opening, and for many years afterward. |
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