From: donnaTAKETHISOUT@msn.com   
      
   I posted the following trip report to alt.vacation.las-vegas.  Don (D-unit)   
   asked me to post it here as apparently this group has been a bit slow.  I   
   was going to edit out the Vegas parts that didn't apply, but decided to   
   leave the whole thing intact.  You have been warned.   
      
   I'll be posting additional parts of the report over the next four or five   
   days but you'll have to go to alt.vacation.las-vegas to read them as I   
   promise not to post those chapters here.  ;)  FWIW, they will include   
   reviews of Elton John, The Fab Four, the new Cirque du Soleil show "Love,"   
   and Phantom of the Opera.   
      
   Donna   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   Now you swear and kick and beg us   
   That you're not a gamblin' man   
   Then you find you're back in Vegas   
   With a handle in your hand   
      
   You go back Jack do it again   
   Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round   
   You go back Jack do it again   
      
   From "Do It Again"   
   Walter Becker and Donald Fagen © 1972   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   At 6:30 AM Saturday morning July 22, I found myself doing it again as my car   
   pulled out of my driveway and headed towards Las Vegas.  What prompted this   
   trip was my stay last fall at my cousin Mark's home in Maui.  While I was   
   there, he suggested that it would be fun to meet in Vegas for a long   
   weekend.   
      
   Over the months as Mark and I talked, the duration of the trip somehow grew   
   from a three to a six night stay.  Then Mark decided that he really wanted   
   to be in Las Vegas to celebrate his 55th birthday.  Since he wanted to   
   arrive on a Monday, this meant we would meet in Vegas on July 24.  Knowing   
   how hot it would be, if my aunt was still alive, I would have had a serious   
   talk with her about why she gave birth to my cousin during this particular   
   time of the year.   
      
   Going during the last week in July would put me in Vegas exactly one year   
   after my trip to The Venetian when I netted a $36K gain.  Could it be   
   possible that I am luckier during this time of year?  Crazy thoughts began   
   to flood my mind.   
      
   Shortly after our plans began to firm up and I booked the rooms for our   
   stay, I connected to AVLV and read the following:   
      
   >From:Kurt Ullman   
   >Date:Fri, Apr 28 2006 9:43 am   
   >Steely dan at the Alladin   
      
   >Set for July 22.  Mike McDonald (one of the original Dans, who went on   
   >to fame and fortune with the Doobie Bros and some solo stuff) will be   
   >out with Becker and Fagan.   
      
   I replied to Kurt's post saying too bad I was arriving two days too late to   
   catch this show.  By now, some of you know that I am somewhat of a music   
   freak.  (Others might argue that I am just a freak pure and simple.)  Steely   
   Dan is one of my favorite groups.  I really wanted to catch this tour.  I   
   checked to see if the Dan would be playing in Orange County.  At that time,   
   there wasn't an OC date published on Ticketmaster.   Hmmmmmmmmmm.......I   
   could drive in two days early, buy a single ticket, hopefully get a really   
   great seat and go to the concert.  Since I hadn't seen Steely Dan since the   
   beginning of the century, I thought it might be a fun way to kick off the   
   trip.   
      
   This would also mean that instead of six nights, I would be in Las Vegas for   
   eight.  Previously, I had never stayed for more than four nights.  For me,   
   this would be an extremely long Vegas trip.  I argued with myself about the   
   logic and expense of doing this.  I lost.  I bought a ticket for the Las   
   Vegas Steely Dan concert and suddenly, I was committed to an eight night   
   stay.  Thanks, Kurt!   
      
   My next task was finding a decent hotel that allowed Saturday check-in.   
   Mark and I were scheduled to stay at The Aladdin from July 24 until the   
   morning of July 27.  The logical choice (especially since the concert was   
   there) would be to stay there.  I called and verified that they did not   
   allow Saturday check-in.  No big surprise.  They wanted me to arrive on   
   Friday and I wasn't about to do that especially since they wanted more than   
   $300 a night for Friday and Saturday.  After searching around, I wound up   
   reserving a single night at The Orleans for July 22 and then for Sunday,   
   July 23, I arranged to move to The Aladdin.   
      
   The cost of spending Sunday night at The Aladdin was $304.11.  I could have   
   stayed at The Orleans for less than half of that.  The logic here is that   
   Mark was flying in on a direct redeye flight from Maui.  He was scheduled to   
   arrive at 8:30 AM and knowing that he has never been able to sleep on   
   planes, he expressed hope that I would already be registered in the room so   
   that once he arrived, he could get some rest.  Knowing that the likelihood   
   of checking in that early on a Monday morning would be nearly impossible, it   
   would be best to check in on Sunday.  Since Mark was such a gracious host   
   and let me occupy his guest room for four weeks last fall, I opted to spend   
   more and stay at The Aladdin.  I was all set.   
      
   Of course several days after I bought the ticket and booked everything, a   
   new Steely Dan show popped up on Ticketmaster.  This show would be in Irvine   
   and would take place just three days prior to the Las Vegas show.  Figures.   
   The Irvine venue is less than five miles from my house.  I looked at   
   available tickets and found that I wouldn't have gotten as good of a seat at   
   the Irvine venue--not even close.  Oh well, while more expensive, Vegas   
   would also be a lot more fun!   
      
   As I wrote above, I left at 6:30 AM.  The drive was uneventful.  Except for   
   a one mile stretch along the I-15 in the Ontario area, I didn't see ANY road   
   construction zones until I reached the Nevada border.  In spite of the   
   construction zones slowing me down, I arrived at The Orleans at 10:30 AM.   
      
   It took about 20 minutes standing in line to check in.  This is when I   
   realized how spoiled I had become with invited guest and more recently, VIP   
   check-in experiences.   Using my cell phone, the wait gave me a chance to   
   check my email.  (I found Verizon signal strength to be excellent throughout   
   the Orleans property.)   
      
   After I checked in, I joined the players club and decided to play slots for   
   a bit before heading up to the room.  I walked over to a $1 Wheel of Fortune   
   machine and fed it a $100 bill.  I noticed that the machine had a location   
   number of 8-N-1 and thought it could be a good omen from my old modem   
   communication days.  (8-N-1 translates to an 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop bit   
   data frame.)   The good vibe must have worked as that $100 bill was the only   
   money from my original bankroll that I played while on this trip.  Within   
   the first 30 seconds of playing, I hit a $400 bonus spin and a few spins   
   later, got another bonus spin.  This time, I hit a $1000 bonus--my first   
   ever on a $1 Wheel Of Fortune machine.  Continuing to play, I hit several   
   small payouts and promptly played them back.  I eventually cashed out at   
   exactly $1500 making it a $1400 gain.  A great start to what would hopefully   
   be a terrific trip.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)