Starting the Atlantic City Roller Coaster Ride
Posted by Wolfshead on Nov 21, 2011
Some words I never thought I would say but right now I’m pokered out. It will pass in a week or two but really couldn’t look at a card to save my life. Have a nasty cold that’s only getting worse that’s basically kept me from doing crap the last two days but figure I better write something before VJ gets everything screwed up as usual.
Picked up VJ on Wed for the AC road trip. This one started a bit different from the last one in the fact that I was not prepared at all. Last time I was packed, ready and up early to hit Chester while waiting for her flight. This time I didn’t even start packing until midnight Tuesday and left myself betwixt and between Wednesday morning. Up too early to head out to the airport but not early enough to hit Chester. Actually I screwed up because while I didn’t have enough time to head to the poker room I did have some free slot cash I could have played and wound up wasting the coupon. The story of this trip. So I lazed around until it was time to boogie and headed out. Timing wound up perfect. I had no sooner hit the waiting lot than Josie’s plane had landed and I headed over to the pick up point. She was waiting there and we were off and running. Only problem was the rain, it was coming down fairly steady. Actually we lucked out because an hour or so later the weather there got so bad flights were being delayed up to two hours and Route 42, the road we take once over the bridge in to Jersey, turned in to a parking lot for awhile. The way my day went it really wouldn’t have mattered.
We hit Jersey and Josie asks if we can stop on the way as she forgot a few items. As it was raining and my plans for a side trip in to OC were put on hold I had decided to take the Expressway down this time but it looks like the Black Horse Pike will once again be the yellow brick road. I was figuring on a Wal-Mart closer to the Shore but Josie spots a Rite Aid and says that it will do so we stop and she gets what she needs and I pick up half a dozen bags of cough drops and a bottle of Pepsi. Cold was starting even then and I hate it when I get a sore throat at the casinos because you pay through the nose for throat drops if you can even find them. Decided to be prepared. Same with the soda, think they are up to $2.50 a can in the machines in the hotel. Screw that. So we have what we need and back on track. Since the side trip to Ocean City is postponed I resort to plan B. Last two times I’ve been to Harrah’s on a Wed I’ve been able to check in early so figure we’ll hit Harrah’s and I’ll drop VJ off with my bag at the front door while I park, I’ll check in, we’ll play some poker and then I’ll take Josie over to the Borg and I’ll play some over there. Best laid plans of mice and men …. The first part goes well and even though the garage is crowded I get a spot near the elevators. So far, so good. I decide to stay inside and ride the escalator down to the casino. Down escalators and I aren’t very compatible these days but I don’t feel like taking the elevators down and then crossing to the hotel outside and getting soaked. I call Josie and tell her to meet me at the front desk and start to cut through the casino. I get there and there is a line at check in and VJ has kindly gotten in it to reserve me a place. Nice gesture but in Harrah’s at least I rate a bit better and I signal her to meet me over in the semi express line. All that time at Chester does have one advantage, a platinum card at Harrah’s which gets you some perks. If I hadn’t been tied up all last winter I might have made diamond which gets you even more. Maybe this year. So at least no waiting to get to the check in desk. Once there it’s a different story. I requested the same room I had last trip or a similar one and they are willing to give it to me but it’s not made up yet. Damn. They’ll check me in but I can’t have a key until later. If I want they have a similar room in the smoking section. Sorry, no. I can handle smoke in the atmosphere if needed but what I can’t stand is that stale smoke smell that penetrates everything in a smoking section. I’ll wait. So I check my bag and we head back to the poker room.
We get back to the poker room and it’s busier than it was our last trip. Waiting lists for 1-2 and the pink game. VJ decides to hit a 2-5 game rather than wait and I put my name on the list for the pink and sit at a 2-4 table to kill time. Can’t afford to donk off too much as I had put the majority of my bankroll in my bag and hadn’t planned on checking it so if I donk too much at 2-4 I’ll leave myself short for the 7.50-15. So I’m playing fairly reasonable for a 2-4 game and but still drop about $50 in the hour to hour and a half I’m there before they call my name on the other list. VJ is up over at the 2-5 and is kind enough to let me borrow enough to give me a full buy in for the pink game until I get my bag out of hock. Didn’t make any difference. I’m so cold decked that I need mittens to handle the cards and avoid frost bite. No big hits but no big losses either, just steady bleeding. After about 2 hours or so Josie comes over to check it out, saying she is up pretty big. Nice for her. While she’s there I actually scoop a hand to give me some playing chips but toss them all back about 15 minutes later. Decide things are bad enough and decide to go check on the room and head back to the desk down almost my full buy in plus the $50 from 2-4. It’s no better at the desk, room still not ready. I wander over to the coffee shop and decide to kill some time with a large black and a slice of carrot cake. Sit there people watching and think the place is damned crowded for a Wed afternoon. Found out later there were a couple of conventions going on. No wonder the room wasn’t ready and I couldn’t find a parking spot. Anywho about an hour later I wander back to the desk and the room still isn’t done. The guy offers me a suite in the Atrium Suites. That place isn’t to far from the poker room either and it’s a nice gesture but again it’s a smoking room. No thanks. I call VJ and tell her change of plans. Rather than get checked in I’ll run her over to Borgata but I’m not going to stay and play, I’m coming back to get my room. She says fine and we head out. She tells me she’s made her tourney buy in and then some at the 2-5 table. Glad someone is doing well. I tell her she is lucky and she gets on me for that. Tell her I don’t mean lucky as in luck sack lucky but as in when she gets it in good her cards usually hold up as opposed to me who can get it in good and have the asshole hit his two outer 5 out of 6 times. I would kill for a session where the odds actually hold up for me most of the time.
So we head for Borgata. As you leave Harrah’s Borgata is right in front of you and there is a road that connects the two. Unfortunately it is one way and that way from Borg to Harrah’s while we need vice versa. You can turn either left or right and the sign says left so left I go. Follow the road around and there is a sigh that says stay left for Borgata so I stay left even though it seems to be the opposite way. All of a sudden no more signs and we are heading away from Borgata. This ain’t good. I make a u turn and head back. Sign on the road says Borgata to the right so right I go. By now it’s dark out and so I’m counting on the signs. Next sign points to all the casinos to the right so we follow it. Eventually we wind up where we started, in front of Harrah’s. We made one big, friggin circle. So off we go again. Again I go left but at the second left I stay right which at least heads me in the direction of the Borg. Unfortunately that’s all we do, go past, as there is no exit off the highway. I head down the road until I hit a turn around then shoot on back. Now there is no problem because I know how to get there from here as it is how I usually go and a couple minutes later I’m dropping VJ off at the front of the Borg. Still wondering who designed that signage or if I missed one in the dark somewhere.
The return trip is easy, as I said there is a straight road running in those directions and minutes later there is more fun. The garage is packed and there are no spots anywhere near the elevators. Might have found one up on the roof but the rain has killed that option. For some reason my car does not like sitting in the rain overnight. If she does she goes through a 20 minute routine to get running right and I prefer not to risk it this far from home. So I drive around a few times looking for something near the elevators. Nada. I finally decide to chance something. There are spots near the front stairwell which is even with the front entrance. I still need to get my room keys so I figure why not. Stairs aren’t my best friend but I’m heading to the Borg tomorrow and not taking my bag so maybe it won’t be too bad. I park next to the stairwell and head down. As I figured down wasn’t so bad. My worry is heading up the next day. Well I didn’t have to wait until the next day. Heading across the street to the hotel it dawned on me. When leaving I had to dig out my Harrah’s card from my wallet to avoid the parking fee and I had left my wallet up in the car. Great. Up the steps I go. Guess what? Those 5 flights were killer in my condition. I wonder if anyone is watching the cameras in the stairwell and how fast they’ll get the ambulance there when I collapse. Fortunately I don’t though once at the car I decide it ain’t happening again. I start it up and head over to the valet service. Exercise probably did me good but figure I better wait until I’m closer to home to start it again. Tell the valet to make sure to use the garage and not the surface lot unless they want a ton of trouble starting the car tomorrow and head for the desk. Room is finally ready so I get my bag out of hock and head up. By now it’s close to 9, I’m hungry, I need a shower and my legs are hurting like hell. Poker is done for the night. I call room service, grab a shower while waiting, enjoy my dinner, swallow some pain killers and decide to go bobo and get a fresh start in the morning. Thus were the morning and the evening of the first day.
Time to put my cold back to bed so thanks for the listen.
November 21st, 2011 at 19:10
I bet you’re as sick of me as you are of poker right now! lol
“…Josie asks if we can stop on the way as she forgot a few items….”
You’re a gentleman not to mention the item I’d forgotten.
November 21st, 2011 at 22:02
Interesting to hear two versions of the trip …
November 21st, 2011 at 22:32
Interesting recap, so far.
November 22nd, 2011 at 12:09
Probably will as we were in seperate hotels most of the time as opposed to the last trip so much different experiences. Bresides I’m an experienced raconteur with a great memory when it comes tto stories. Someone else just tosses them out there willy-nolly