Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[I KNOW IT]

This is the right hand edge of Caesars, & then, I think, the rear of the Bellagio.

Note the humongus new blocks to the right of the Bellagio, the land upon which they stand must be worth a fortune. I assume, but don't know, they will be Hotels, they are massive.

This is the new project you mention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_CityCenter

[tikay]

The airport is in the distance, but is no more than 2 miles from the Strip, which seems a bit strange.

When the airport was originally built in the 1940s, there was no Strip - it was in the desert five miles out of town. However, Las Vegas expanded towards the airport, hence it seems a bit strange now.

Compare it with London - in the 1940s the main airfield for London was Croydon, which is now completely subsumed within the city. So they built Heathrow, then out in the country, but that's heading the same way as the city grows.

Yes, I guess that adds up.

By coincidence, I drove past Croydon Airport on Sunday morning at 6am & made a note to go visit it one day, it's very art-deco, & they have an old BOAC aeroplane still parked outside. Beautiful! This is the best pic I could find. It's on, believe it or not, a road named "Purley Way".

You should check out Shoreham airport if you like your ArtDeco airports:

Click to see full-size image.

Very nice - I've never visited the Airport, though I spent many a holiday in Shoreham. Was there not a 'plane crash there a few years back?

We used to go visit Shoreham Harbour a lot, very picturesque. Well, not, actually. I'm not sure if the Power Station - which is the purpose of the Harbour I assume, to facilitate imported coal - is still there.

[tikay]

this is the only pic I can find of the lido as it is today. definitely the one I was thinking of

That is just surreal - an art-deco Diving Board over a Garden Centre!

[tikay]

You've seen these things below, used as cup or Glass Holders at Poker Tables, to avoid spillage.

At Caesars the other night, I needed one, after the Valet served me with a coffee.

The ever-efficient Dealer shouted "FLOOR", & "Floorman" came scurrying across. Dealer says to Floorman.....

"The English Gentleman requires a Beverage Containment Device please".

So there you have it, they are not Cup Holders after all.

[tikay]

I bumped into this Gentleman tonight at Caesars Palace - he is, in my view, not ony the best World Champion in recent years, but possibly the best Ambassador the game has. He conducts himself in exemplary fashiom on & off the table, & is a credit to poker. I've rarely seen him dressed any different - 'Stars top, knee-length shorts, white socks, Compo-style open-toed sandals, & Thewy Man-Bag slung over his shoulder. He's a man very comfortable in his own body.

I too think Raymer has been an excellent ambassador to the game and seems like a nice person. Even the most mild mannered lose their temper.

From CardPlayer and the $50k HORSE Championship:

Greg Raymer Eliminated by Mike Matusow

It's funny how things work out at the WSOP. Greg Raymer drew a seat right next to his nemesis Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and just as peeple were thinking to themselves how well the two former rivals were getting along, Matusow somehow went and messed it all up. We're not sure exactly what happened and/or what was said, but Raymer was eliminated by Matusow and left the tournament with a bang. Raymer got up from his seat, ripped the 8 in half and stormed out of the room.


Raymer confirmed this happened on a related 2p2 thread.

I'm really surprised at that, but I suppose every man has his breaking point, & given Matusow has the social skills of a cockroach, I suppose he would be the one to push Greg past his tolerance level.

I bumped into Greg again today, & wanted to ask him about this incident, but I bottled it. We discussed, as my means of getting round to the Matusow fracas, the '05 incident when a Railer sort of stalked/threatened Greg's wife, & Greg lost his cool, big time, quite reasonably utc. Even today, he got visibly irked at the memory, & quite animated discussing it. F-words were in abundance, quite unlike Greg.

But a queue formed to get Greg's autograph - he really does have patience for everyone - and the moment for such a convo was not right.

He told me, by he bye, that he won't be playing the (Betfair sponsored.....) WSOP-E, as it clashes with the WCOOP. He said "they are hardly likely to allow me to sit at a Table with a lappie alongside me, now are they?". I said "well, if it was at DTD they would". "DTD?" said he.

He got the full DTD PR job, & sounded impressed!

He added that he would think it poor form to play Online via a Lappie at the same time as playing a Live Table. I told him players can & do at DTD. "What? Not if I were playing there, because I'd object" he said.

Mother-Hen should prepare the Ban-Stick for Greg Raymer.......When in Rome, & all that.

[tikay]

From Fox News, July 1st, 2008.


Tour Bus Catches Fire At Rio

No One Injured During Blaze

POSTED: 9:21 am PDT July 1, 2008
UPDATED: 9:36 am PDT July 1, 2008


LAS VEGAS -- A tour bus caught on fire in front of the Rio Hotel-Casino, destroying the vehicle, firefighters said.

Crews received the call just after 5 a.m. Tuesday.

While they do not know what caused the blaze, crews the fire spread to a palm tree before it was knocked down.

No one was injured during the incident.

Was a bit surreal this morning. The table looked up at the news saying a bus had caught fire at the Rio. Hmm, it's not daylight outside yet is it? Was all anyone had to say. Confirmed by the dealer who just came on shift, it was daylight and the news could be live.

How long you here for Rich? If you are still here next week, let's hook up & play some poker. Thewy, Jim "77dave" McShane & Phil "bobby1" Quayle are all lined up. Call me if you get chance, or drop me a note.

[tikay]

This is the right hand edge of Caesars, & then, I think, the rear of the Bellagio.

Note the humongus new blocks to the right of the Bellagio, the land upon which they stand must be worth a fortune. I assume, but don't know, they will be Hotels, they are massive.

This is the new project you mention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_CityCenter

Thanks Craig. I took a closer look at this today, & the Wikipidea article, I must say, it's absolutely immense. Wiki says it covers 76 acres. A local told me it as the largest "single-site" Construction Project in the world right now, & that may be an exaggaration, but it does have monumental scale. It really is a jaw-dropper, & the Construction standards are superb. The concrete finish is immaculate, the steel frame is triple-primed, & it's all very neat & orderly. I used to be able to tell if a construction Project was profitable just from looking at how ordered the Site Compound was - the tidy ones were generally on time, & on budget.

Sadly, the safety standards in this Vegas Mega-Lith are less than satisfactory, & two workers died in just over a month recently, both in horrific accidents.

I actually drove into it yesterday, after getting seriously lost on the way back from the Airport. I took a wrong turn, followed a coach, & ended up in the Site, then had the problem of getting out, via 2 wheel-washes & three security barriers. At each barrier, as I opened the window to explain "why" & "how", and dressed in my English Tourist garb, the guy said "you must be from England"......

[tikay]

McCarron Airport (Vegas) 1pm today. Hot enough for you?

[tikay]

Or, for the kids, in Celsius. Phew.

[tikay]

Just for Chilli-Bobs - here's Uncle Peter. This was taken in the agonisingly long Rio Corridor.

[77dave]

I also heard it was the biggest construction in the world. It has a budget of $7.4 billion so much for a recession

[tikay]

Three Brits chilling by a Rio Bar tonight.

Can anyone.....

a) Name these three.

b) Name their Ladbroke online aliases.

c) Estimate how much that brick of $ bills in the plump players hand is worth?

[tikay]

I also heard it was the biggest construction in the world. It has a budget of $7.4 billion so much for a recession

Yup. And it's the biggest single loan for a Construction Project ever. Allegedly. And probably. Have you seen it Jim?

[tikay]

Another Brit-threesome intent on bringing home some serious lolly. Ash Hussain, Zippy, & another of the brothers, whose name I have forgotten.

I note, with sadness, that the Compo-Thewy style Footwear is catching on. Jeez, white socks!

[77dave]

If you go into the Bellagio, past the lobby by the gardens they have an office with models and layouts of the plot. Also it has a looped video showing the planning of the project. Be interesting to see if it gets opened on time and if it makes its budget. MGM have so much power on the strip these days.

I know you are a fan of the Wynn and not a fan of the Venetian but im so glad that there are still independants on the strip to stand up to the likes of Harrahs and MGM.