kangaand2roos
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
Dinner was to be with Dad, Danny and their friend Fred. We were being comped at one of the hotels nicer restaurants. I don't really remember the meal itself, but afterward, we all went back to the casino. Dad and Danny went to play blackjack and I went to put my new mad craps skills to the test. Fred was also playing at my table. We played for a while and were up a little bit, down a little bit. No big swing. Then Alex started to roll.
Who is Alex, you ask? Alex was a young guy who spoke another language, though I'm not sure which. He was at the table with a group of friends who were having a great time. Alex started rolling and he just kept rolling point,after point, after point. Have you ever been in a casino when a blackjack table is on a roll? It gets loud and very exciting. Like at a sporting event where the home team is doing well, but on a smaller scale! A hot craps table draws a crowd.
I was playing aggressively as Danny had taught me, and I just had a pile of chips in front of me. I had NO idea how much! The croupiers are amazing though and quickly learned how I was betting and I no longer had to tell them what I wanted to do. They even reminded me if I forgot to put down odds or something. My dad came over to see what the ruckus was about and I made him leave so as to not jinx me (which he had done countless times in the past when on a blackjack streak) Alex just kept rolling and rolling. When he was finally out, I colored in (traded in my small chips for bigger ones.) and played a bit more, until the table turned, and I walked away. I walked over to my dad's table and showed him my VERY FIRST purple ($500) chip ever! Now that I think about it...it may also have been my last!
All in all the streak had been maybe 10 or 15 minutes and in that time, playing $5.00 base bets, I had won over $500! There is almost no greater high than a winning streak like that at a craps table!
I am a good gambler in that I can walk away from a table when it's time, winning or losing. I had had a long, tiring day, and I was pretty sure it couldn't be topped, so I bid the men adieu, and went to bed.
Then next morning, I kind of explored the nearby hotels and casinos and, of course, bought my Taz nightgown! In the early afternoon, I met up with Dad in the casino at a craps table and he was about ready to go up for a nap before we had dinner that night. We were eating a Michael's at the Barbary Coast before I caught my redeye flight home. He looked at me and said, your on a roll, win my money back for me. He left me with his chips and within 10 or 15 minutes I had won back his $300. I went up to the room to nap myself, and he was still awake. When I told him I had won back his money, he said "You're hot...you have to keep playing!" so back down to the casino we went! His deal was this: I played, he staked me and I was to get 1/2 of the winnings, no risk to me if we lost. Danny, Fred and some other horsemen were playing and we joined their table. Were doing pretty well and eventually the dice got to Danny and he had a pretty great streak (not Alex great, but pretty great,) and soon we were up $500! It was getting close to our time for dinner, so Dad gave me my cut, $250, and we got ready to go.
Dinner at Michael's was an experience I have yet to top! The restaurant was tiny. Not more than 15 or 20 tables. We sat on high backed, velvet covered chairs. There were no prices on the women's menus. I had Florida Stone Crabs (a first for me) and Dover Sole flow in that day from Dover, England. Remember that I was temporarily handicapped, so eating crabs wasn't an easy proposition. One of the waiters actually got the crabmeat out of the shells for me! In between courses, they brought the intermezzo, sorbet, to cleanse our palates for the next course. I had seen this done once or twice before in very nice restaurants. What I had never seen before was to have that sorbet served in a dish with Dom Perignon!
The food was great. We had some very nice Pinot Grigio (I had had my last dose of codeine that morning). Whenever I stood to use the phone or go to the ladies' room, I came back, not to a refolded napkin, but a NEW one! It was truly a meal to remember (and clearly I did, because this was over 17 years ago!!
Unfortunately, it was soon time to head back home. Dad was staying on for his conferences, so he drove me to the airport for my redeye.
SO...you might be wondering what in tarnation any of this has to do with Disney. Well, did you notice early in the story that Dad had gotten me an Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas. Well, I REALLY LOVED that book, and went on to read whatever I could get my hands on about Las Vegas. Like so many of us on these boards, no amount of minutiae was too much for me!
Then I found out that there was an Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World too! A UG for my old friend WDW! How awesome would that be?! So I bought it, and my quest to learn every possible thing there is to know about The Most Magical Place on Earth began! I have purchased a new UG every year since! If I had saved them all, I could probably build a house out of them by now!
For about 6 more years, WDW guide books would be as close as I came to WDW (this was before internet use was so prevalent, so we read actual books!) until I won a contest at work, and was finally able to return to my Laughing Place!
Up next...the pre-law-school trip with my sister.
P.S. To any of you getting married or having your first baby, I also HIGHLY recommend the Unofficial Guide to Planning a Wedding and the Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby! Both were the best in their categories (and I read them all!!
)
Who is Alex, you ask? Alex was a young guy who spoke another language, though I'm not sure which. He was at the table with a group of friends who were having a great time. Alex started rolling and he just kept rolling point,after point, after point. Have you ever been in a casino when a blackjack table is on a roll? It gets loud and very exciting. Like at a sporting event where the home team is doing well, but on a smaller scale! A hot craps table draws a crowd.
I was playing aggressively as Danny had taught me, and I just had a pile of chips in front of me. I had NO idea how much! The croupiers are amazing though and quickly learned how I was betting and I no longer had to tell them what I wanted to do. They even reminded me if I forgot to put down odds or something. My dad came over to see what the ruckus was about and I made him leave so as to not jinx me (which he had done countless times in the past when on a blackjack streak) Alex just kept rolling and rolling. When he was finally out, I colored in (traded in my small chips for bigger ones.) and played a bit more, until the table turned, and I walked away. I walked over to my dad's table and showed him my VERY FIRST purple ($500) chip ever! Now that I think about it...it may also have been my last!
All in all the streak had been maybe 10 or 15 minutes and in that time, playing $5.00 base bets, I had won over $500! There is almost no greater high than a winning streak like that at a craps table!
I am a good gambler in that I can walk away from a table when it's time, winning or losing. I had had a long, tiring day, and I was pretty sure it couldn't be topped, so I bid the men adieu, and went to bed.
Then next morning, I kind of explored the nearby hotels and casinos and, of course, bought my Taz nightgown! In the early afternoon, I met up with Dad in the casino at a craps table and he was about ready to go up for a nap before we had dinner that night. We were eating a Michael's at the Barbary Coast before I caught my redeye flight home. He looked at me and said, your on a roll, win my money back for me. He left me with his chips and within 10 or 15 minutes I had won back his $300. I went up to the room to nap myself, and he was still awake. When I told him I had won back his money, he said "You're hot...you have to keep playing!" so back down to the casino we went! His deal was this: I played, he staked me and I was to get 1/2 of the winnings, no risk to me if we lost. Danny, Fred and some other horsemen were playing and we joined their table. Were doing pretty well and eventually the dice got to Danny and he had a pretty great streak (not Alex great, but pretty great,) and soon we were up $500! It was getting close to our time for dinner, so Dad gave me my cut, $250, and we got ready to go.
Dinner at Michael's was an experience I have yet to top! The restaurant was tiny. Not more than 15 or 20 tables. We sat on high backed, velvet covered chairs. There were no prices on the women's menus. I had Florida Stone Crabs (a first for me) and Dover Sole flow in that day from Dover, England. Remember that I was temporarily handicapped, so eating crabs wasn't an easy proposition. One of the waiters actually got the crabmeat out of the shells for me! In between courses, they brought the intermezzo, sorbet, to cleanse our palates for the next course. I had seen this done once or twice before in very nice restaurants. What I had never seen before was to have that sorbet served in a dish with Dom Perignon!
The food was great. We had some very nice Pinot Grigio (I had had my last dose of codeine that morning). Whenever I stood to use the phone or go to the ladies' room, I came back, not to a refolded napkin, but a NEW one! It was truly a meal to remember (and clearly I did, because this was over 17 years ago!!
Unfortunately, it was soon time to head back home. Dad was staying on for his conferences, so he drove me to the airport for my redeye.
SO...you might be wondering what in tarnation any of this has to do with Disney. Well, did you notice early in the story that Dad had gotten me an Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas. Well, I REALLY LOVED that book, and went on to read whatever I could get my hands on about Las Vegas. Like so many of us on these boards, no amount of minutiae was too much for me!
Then I found out that there was an Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World too! A UG for my old friend WDW! How awesome would that be?! So I bought it, and my quest to learn every possible thing there is to know about The Most Magical Place on Earth began! I have purchased a new UG every year since! If I had saved them all, I could probably build a house out of them by now!
For about 6 more years, WDW guide books would be as close as I came to WDW (this was before internet use was so prevalent, so we read actual books!) until I won a contest at work, and was finally able to return to my Laughing Place!
Up next...the pre-law-school trip with my sister.
P.S. To any of you getting married or having your first baby, I also HIGHLY recommend the Unofficial Guide to Planning a Wedding and the Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby! Both were the best in their categories (and I read them all!!
)
WOOHOO!!
We love Liz and Spike!
