Double Down on Eleven

Day 2:

Where to begin? Well, let's start with the beginning of the day, I guess. We had a very early lunch at one of our favorite New York hangouts, 'wichcraft, a fancy little sandwich place in Gramercy that makes worlds greatest chocolate cupcakes (and the sandwiches aren't too shabby either. I had:


Grilled Cheddar, Smoked Ham and Apple on Pumpernickel
Cucumber Salad
Chocolate Sweet Muffin

The meal was great and the gambling bug got us both before we could do anything else...so we stocked up on cash and headed for the BlackJack tables. They only have a couple of $5 tables and most of the rest are $10 - the $5 stay full, so we had to sit at a $10 table if we wanted to play anytime soon.

Angie settled in with dealer Howdy (I am not lying, that is his name), and I watched for a dozen hands before I jumped in. About the time I sat down, some guy (who is a long lost Chelios brother) and we went to town. Very quickly I was down about $50 (I started with $100) and was very irritated with the cards I was being dealt. I made some comment to Howdy and suddenly he had to reshuffle the decks. This shuffle was great. I was up to $220 in no time. I did always split Tens, even though I know that isn't a good move...except when I get 21 on each.

Faux-Cheli was losing all his money, but then I realized that he was getting irritated. Next thing you know, he pipes up and makes some comment about us not playing right...I'm sorry, I doubled my money and he is down to his last $20??? I ignored him, even though I wanted to make some snippy comment, but I didn't. He lost his last $10 and left in a huff. Howdy looked up and made some comment under his breath that tickled me.

We played some more and I still had about $170 and it was time to switch out dealers...in walks the Money-Sucker, Mati. This woman has a stone-cold look at all times and is about 4' 10", but she tends to shrink and rise throughout her dealing...I'm not sure how - maybe there is a box under the table? Anyway, she starts dealing and Angie and I both start losing. I think to myself that I will stop playing when I have $100 left, but this woman was a bitch! She wiped out Angie and kept making comments to us...NO...lecturing us on how to play the game. I'm sorry, who asked her? Besides, I was following basic Black Jack Strategy

Look, I don't come to Vegas to be lectured by a crazy little Hungarian woman with a God complex. I come to play, and if I lose my money, then that is my fault and it gives her job security - so shut the hell up!

When I had $50 left, I walked away from the table. We shopped a bit and on the way back, I noticed that Howdy was back. I sat down and played a couple of hands and worked my way back to $70, when in walks Mati. I colored up quickly and ran from the table. Her comment to me was, "uh oh, she is back." That's enough to walk away for me - if I had had a drink, I would have thought about throwing it in her face.

We headed back to the room to chill out. We played Killer Bunnies and then got ready for an early dinner at Nobhill, a Michael Mina restaurant (a fabulous San Francisco hef). Now it is really hard for me to eat at his restaurants because he is obsessed ith ingredients I cannot eat. But I still managed to have:

Classic Cheese Fondue with San Francisco Sourdough
Shelton Farms Chicken Tetrazzini with Truffle Macaroni and Cheese, Buttermilk Onion Rings
Caramelized Banana Tarte Tatin

Then we had some time to kill, so we came up to the room for me to change (my shirt, which I spilled food on and my hair, which was driving me nuts). We watched The OC and then headed to Treasure Island to see the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystère. It was amazing and intense as usual and we loved it. Afterwards, we took the death ride in a taxi back to the MGM and I still think we died on that trip...the guy drove like a mad man and I will remember his face forever and will NEVER get in a cab with him again!

Off to start Day 3 - stay tuned.