Chasing rockets

[Rick]

I used to get to Vegas once or twice a year, mostly for the race track. Was a pretty nice silhouette range there and the SHOT Show once a year. All the buffets were a big draw for me especially the ones downtown. I'd play a little blackjack while there but I'm not a big gambler. When I would see I was down around $50 or so I'd say self this ain't much fun and get up and leave. Whenever I was up $50 or so I'd say self if you sit here any longer your gonna give this back to them and I'd get up and leave. I'll never win or loose big in that town but a little entertainment never hurt anyone. I have seen not only entire paychecks disappear but people loosing their houses and everything. It's over my head, just don't understand that. What a lot of people fail to understand is that town was not built on winners.

 

[RBHarter]

Having grown up and lived most of my life in Nevada with liquor in every store and 3 slots for every cash register , I learned early on if you can't afford to lose it you best leave it home . Take $20 to play if you play and get back to the 20 put it in your pocket and play on their money it'll be gone soon enough . If you lose your 20 you're done .
It doesn't matter if your personal limit $1 or 1000 , play it that way and you'll be good to go . I've seen people do really stupid things . There was that dropped a $100 on one number on the roulette table ..... Not black or red just one number .......poof $100 gone .
I drank about $10 in beer on $15 and hit a $41 keno ticket . Woo hoo up $26 bucks , $2 more paid for the room . Breakfast was only $8 . That about sums up #9 of my 10 biggest nights .

 

[Bret4207]

Outside of raffle tickets for churches, clubs, etc, I have never, ever gambled with my own money in my life, not in the sense of bingo or cards or casinos. Never even been in a casino when I wasn't on a raid. I just never understood the concept or the willingness of some folks to blow their money that way. Of course, probably most of those folks look at what I do spend my $ on and shake their heads too. To each their own!

 

[Intheshop]

I literally grew up at a horse racetrack. The general manager and his wife were close dear friends with my parents. Another set of friends raised jumper/hunter national champions. Me and a friend were fixtures at the track and could wander around at will. We used to see them doping horses which was always entertaining? They'd let us make 2$ bets as kids,and we'd win some money then go buy junk food,wash repeat.

Fast fwd.

Never even bought a lottery ticket,and dang proud of it. Been to Vegas several times and never dropped one cent. But I would go to a horse track and make a few 2$ bets for old time sake.

 

[KeithB]

I know folks that go to Las Vegas and have a good time and really don't spend more than they would if they went to some theme parks or other vacation spots. Decide how much you can lose gambling and stick to that, take advantage of low cost food and rooms, etc.

We have a casino here in town, used to be on a riverboat moored dowtown in the Ohio river but Indiana changed laws and now we have a land based casino. Haven't been to the new one but the old one had several nice restaurants in it. But there is just no fascination in me to walk across the hall into the casino.

Guess I know I'm a loser, no sense rubbing my own face in it by being a loser with an empty wallet!

 

[fiver]

sounds like I have the same luck as everyone else.
we have a little casino just north of us on the Indian reservation, no drinking, no smoking, sometimes they have some 80YO country music star or comedian come play their lounge.
the wife used to want to go up there from time to time.
I told her I wasn't interested in driving that far just to spend some money but I'd be glad to pull up and wait for her to go throw some 20's on the carpet inside the front door if it would make her feel better.
that would save us both the time of putting it in a machine and watching the wheels go around.

 

[Rally]

Lamar,
Not that kind of shopping. On the se corner of Fargo , along I29, is a Fleet Farm store that sell bulk nuts, party mixes, etc. I stop there once a year and buy what the wife will use for cookies over the holidays. Also bought both of my grandsons shell vests. They were 30% off all orange clothing. My oldest son, two grandsons and I are planning a pheasant trip 28-30 th for them but i’m Staying until the 2 nd of January. My son coaches girls hockey, has two girls in it, and going in five directions always. Lucky he can make it.

 

[fiver]

some of those farm stores do carry an assortment of stuff you have to see to actually believe.
we have a WW-2 surplus place down below us in Utah that seriously had everything [if they could find it]
they had bought so much surplus they were selling it into the 2,000's and still have some out back of the place.
the kids took it over and expanded the store into what used to be their warehouse side of the building, now they got so much stuff it turns into a 2+ hour tour just wandering the aisles picking and poking at it.

 

[RBHarter]

In Reno , which has about as much in common with Vegas as a small frame Martini and a #1, they have a few events every yr , actually Sparks , that the big clubs pay for name bands to play open air free shows for hours . The Hot August Nights show is a week long car show , the Sparks Nugget is on one of the cruise sponcers , they have 2-3 bands from 6-11 PM free for 5 nights of the show . It probably costs them 40 grand just for the bands .
For many years the gaming paid the bulk of the state expenses . Education money was huge . Roads were well funded too . In fact as long as it made money for the industry and gave them people that were reasonably well educated and well spoken and had some foreign language the industry was happy to pay . Then we got a couple of gold diggers who's motto was if you can pay 6% of gross freely then 10% shouldn't be any bother at all . Oh you'll only pay 8% that's fine you can have a new room tax , $10/night or 5% of nominal rate whichever is more . Boom $15/night rooms were $25 and then they had to be updated so folks would spend 25/night in 10 years you had cheap rooms over $70/night . Then the gas price surge and a little depression hit . Harrah's , Wynn , and many others took a huge hit and then along came the river boats and the Indians . Another gas price surge and depression and it changed everything in the industry and gave Nevada , at state level , it's first really deep deficit that they almost took seriously the Brothel Owners Association offer of a $5/John service tax , just 1.5 million/yr . Ultimately it was declined as it would "legitimatize" the Brothel industry .

 

[Rally]

I've only been to Vegas once, didn't gamble at all. Took the wife and she had a ball. She even came out ahead $105. I was working a trade show and came out of there with a considerable amount in orders for snares. Good three days for us.
Also did a trade show in Biloxi. The sea food buffets were second to none. I ate so much shrimp cats followed me around for a week! They had a table full of chunked fresh fruit and long skewer sticks, with a chocolate waterfall at the end to coat your fruit with. Probably best meals I've ever had, all for $17.00 per head. Played Black Jack for 3 hours waiting for our plane and lost $115. Cheap entertainment. That was the year before Katrina and I heard that casino was washed about 1/2 mile inland during the storm, and is now land based.

 

[CZ93X62]

Not much of a card player......ah, H--L, I'm a LOUSY card player. I don't care much for Vegas, Reno has a nice gun show 3X/year, and the small town casinos throughout the state I enjoy visiting and playing in. I fit very firmly into Rick's description of $20 per sit-down and $50 a trip as a hard loss limit. Same rule applies in the Amerind casinos, of which there are several 30-60 minutes away from my house. I don't "frequent" them, though--I visit 2-4 times a year, usually as an adjunct or conclusion to a desert trip for hunting or shooting. My usual haunts are the video blackjack or draw poker machines, and I can play for hours on $20-$30. Overall, I have likely broke even or slightly ahead, but have entertained myself for countless hours. Lots cheaper than theme parks, and few lines to stand in during the week.

I have an old partner from work that is a for-real professional gambler. World Series Of Poker-level card player, and plays fantasy football as an income source. He is one of the guys from work that I have brunch with on Tuesdays, and due to a poker tournament in Vegas that ties him up into Tuesday we moved the date back to Wednesday (12/18) next week. It is his retirement gig, and he is very good at it. The tournament is paying for his flights to and from the tourney, and his room and meals are all "comped". Gambling is his job, and he works at it just about every day and on some days for many hours. He does not "gamble"--his view is that he plays with skill, and the odds favor boldness in play with an undercurrent that the house's take is a constant that is built into the games by their very nature. The take is purely a function of numbers, the more people through the door = the more money the house brings in. So casinos and cardrooms want tournaments going on to attract onlookers, who will invariably drop dollars into machines or onto tables. R.B. Harter's text is an almost verbatim repetition of Duke's view of his vocation and its environment.

 

[Rally]

Made my second trip and conditions are great. Most everything is frozen enough to walk on and most crops are out. Got my birds today by 2 but should have been done by noon. Missed my first bird, an easy shot, dog put it right in my face, and it was close. Probably would have shot a hole in it if I had hit it! Gun jammed so no second shot. I’m having some ejection problems with these new 16 gauge Rio bulls. May need to trim them for a shorter OAL. Saw a review from someone else, (Ballistic products review) that was having problems chambering them also.
Cash is doing well and beat the big dogs to my second bird. Hank flushed it, easy 20 yard left to right, that dropped directly to my and Cash’s front. Head shot bird that was “flying” on the ground. Cash jumped right on him without hesitation! I let him mouth it some and he tried to drag it out by a wing. Lots of praise and a cookie and off we went again. He’s thoroughly enjoying this, but I’m afraid he might wag that little tail off. Enjoying having a puppy around.

 

[Rally]

cash with the first two birds

 

[Bret4207]

That has to be nice!

 

[Rally]

Well got back Saturday but was tough finding birds the last couple days. Drove clear over by Aberdeen, which was a waste of time, unless you want to pay for birds. Most of the area has very little Walk in land and even less CREP land. I was scouting different areas for a family hunt starting December 28-31, for my oldest son and two grandsons. I never hunt the same piece twice, so covered some ground looking. Think I found enough birds to keep it interesting for the three days they will be there. I'm staying the full five days, if the dogs are in good shape. Cash is having a ball and getting the hang of it. Hunting on his own, and never had any troubles with him getting too far away. He almost caught a hen and wined and yipped when it came out from under his nose. He's small enough he roots through the cattails like a Beagle. Should be able to hunt him solo this next trip, if not next year for sure. I'll be there by myself the last couple days, so am planning to put him down solo in some small pieces of cover, just to see how he behaves.
The area received a bunch of rain this year, with some corn left standing, that may just be grazed off late winter. Any low ground was wet, with standing water, now frozen. They got an early cold snap that left about a half inch of poor ice, then got about a six inch snow on top of it. The snow settled to about 3 inches now, but still some rotten ice under that snow. The recent cold weather firmed it up some but any running water is still open and running hard in the few drainage ditches there. The water is running off after the recent cold weather, leaving shallow cattail ponds with suspended ice with 3 inches of snow on it. I still fell through a couple times this last trip but there was little to no water under the ice, so stayed relatively dry with rubber knee boots on. Can be tough on a guys shins if your walking too fast.
The birds are transitioning from ag crops, which have mostly been cut, to cattails/ rough ground cover. Some areas that were wet, have good cover, close food supply, had no birds at all. Seems the wet weather must have killed a lot of the spring hatch. State reported the bird numbers were down. The areas that were dry enough to be hunted early season, got worked over pretty good early season, because the low areas were all holding water. The birds that are left are wild, and were flushing way out of range, like 200 yards ahead. Still plenty of birds, but miles walked to bird bagged ratio is high this season. Enough hens around to keep Cash interested and the pheasant fool who feeds him too.

 

[CZ93X62]

"Hot Summer Nights" week-long car show. One year the Reno Gun Show's meeting was the same weekend as the end of that car show thing. I would like to find whoever engineered THAT debacle sequence. The one good bit of news......we had made reservations months ahead, Marie wanted to go so we nailed a room down early-on.

Arrive Thursday late afternoon, crowded as &^%$, but that's the Show. We learn that Hot Summer Nights is wrapping up its run on Sunday, and that same Little Voice that kept me alive during my lawdog days was gently whispering......"GTFO of here, mui pronto." That might have been a tough sell to SWMBO, so I stayed low and kept dark. Thursday evening was genuinely fun, had a good meal and unexpectedly ran into one of my cousins from the Bay Area who was doing some dealing at the Show. We hung out for a while, he went on to meet some fellow levergun buccaneers, and Marie and I call it a night semi-early.

Cousin R was all about being in line to get in the door as early as possible for the Friday opener. Marie and I felt otherwise, and lazied around sleeping late. We went in about noon, after a decadent brunch of about 8K calories. That might be a mild over-description. We strolled around in the crowded halls, Marie getting her first gen yoo wine Jackalope Head Mount from the predators that hawk such wares. Marie looked at knives, I looked at over-priced S&W and Colt wheelguns, and after a couple hours I snagged the object of the exercise (a sleeve of Rem #6-1/2 primers) and called it a day.

After a nice nap, we got up about 5:30 and went in search of food. Mission accomplished, and as the sun was setting Marie saw the driving range and wanted to hit a bucket of balls. We both had a good time at that, 4 buckets all told. We hike back up to the hotel proper, and another danger sign presented itself--though not immediately recognized as such. Lots and lots of early-to-mid-20s double-breasted life-wreckers clad in clubbing outfits were roaming the casino and hotel. Quite scenic, and half a lifetime earlier I might have called this a target-rich environment, but with Marie in tow that was a thought best left on the down-low.

We get into the elevator, and Marie asks--"Is there a dance venue in here somewhere?"

The Little Voice--"Play dumb."

Me--"I don't know, babe. There might be a ballroom."

Marie--"Those girls are here to dance. And a lot more!" A good time for me to remain silent. Spanish ladies can go from standing start to TODO INSURRECTA Y INQUISICION in under four seconds.

Back inside our room, we start getting ready for bed when the most godawful sub-woofer onslaught I ever heard started up at 9 P.M. sharp. Techno music. The windows vibrated--as did the floor, the walls, and the bed. It continued for 30 minutes, nonstop. It stopped for 10-15 minutes, then up it went again. All night--until 3 A.M. The "stops" gave you just enough time to drop off to sleep, then THUMP THUMP BUMP BUMP all over again for a half hour. This wasn't Reno--it was Guantanamo.

The sub-woofers surrendered at 3 A.M. Ah, peace at last.......for about 10 minutes. The aforementioned life-wreckers were still on the hunt, apparently. Now they infested the hotel hallways, squealing and laughing and knocking on doors--to include our own.

Marie--"Invite her in, so I can......"

Me--"That would cause talk. They will wear out, and crash shortly. You want another night of this $%#@?" I got a look that would shrivel asbestos. "Got it. Let's crash and get out of here after we get up later."

About 9:30 A.M. we got into line to check out a day earlier than planned. By this time, the front desk staff had tired of arguing with older gun show attendees (like us) who wanted to leave, and were issuing refunds for the asking. Refund secured, an even larger line waited to have their cars brought out by the valets. 45 minutes later--at noon--we started the truck and headed south for home.

The fun wasn't over yet. We gassed up and got under way. By the time we made Bridgeport, summer thunderstorm clouds were boiling over the peaks. Lightning started squirting all around, then came gully-washer rain--a bit of hail--dry spots, then as we drove down Sherwin Grade toward Bishop the lightning down-strikes were hitting every 5-10 seconds. All power was out by the time we got to Bishop, and remained out for the entire length of Owens Valley. The first illuminated sign we saw was south of Olancha--20 miles from home in Ridgecrest.

Neither of us has returned to the Big Reno Show since then (Aug. 2013).

 

[RBHarter]

Last count I saw was 18,000 cars . If you have a lust car made before 1972 and after about 1920 there's a chance you'll see it or a variant .
AMC Marlins to OM real deal autographed 428 SCJ AC Cobras to a Johnny Cash Model A Lincoln powered coupe , the Lincoln that the drive train came from and a stock Model A with a crank handle . I even saw a Speedster C Porsche and a 944 equipped Gia . You'll get tired of shoe box Chevy's but there are a couple of right hand drives in the mix . Black and silver 57' Stingray ? How about 1 ea with the straight 6 , 283 4V , 283 Dual Quad , and 283 fuely . I think the only American super car not represented in all of the looks I took was the 69-71 Hemi Road Runner/Super Bird/Daytona and Duesenberg . The Batmobile has made several appearances with up to 4 present of the original 65-67' series . Packs of Packard's .

Does kind of screw up the gun show mojo though .

 

[Rally]

Have you ever hunted pheasant while 12-14” of new snow fell, in a 33 mph wind? I have, my son has, and my two grandsons have, much to our distaste. The kids weren’t too impressed. I saw the forecast, advised my son, but he couldn’t change his schedule, so we went.
Did you know in a 33 mph wind you can’t hear somebody shoot on the opposite side of a shelter belt, much less hear a flushing bird? What a nightmare.
Four guns, one bird, in part of two days hunting. I got the bird, despite trying to put the kids where they might get some shooting. Everybody got to shoot at at least one bird, but didn’t hit anything.
Cash had to walk behind one of the labs because the drifts were up to our waste on the upwind side of any cover. His entire stomach was covered in snowballs, ranging in size from walnuts to tennis balls, but he didn’t quit! He’s gonna make a fine bird dog in a couple years.
The ditches were full of cars and trucks on the way home Monday. My son left an hour before I did and I29 was closed when he got to it. He had to take two tracks all the way home. I94 to Mn 336 and Mn 10 were an ice rink all the way to Detroit Lakes. Slow going all the way home. Next year............

 

[fiver]

it sounds like you should have found some open water and decoyed in some Ducks.
sometimes the effort just ain't worth the trouble, but [shrug] if you take the bad it just makes the good all that much better.

 

[popper]

FIL used to hunt them in Ne cornfields with Queenie black lab. Story one time (out of season and after a few cold ones) saw the warden coming a long way off. Put stuff away. Warden gets there asked what they are doing? Nothing! Then lab tucks a bird into his hand - he shoos the dog away - who's dog is that? Never seen him before! Several times he had to return 'porch stolen' birds.