Sayonara

We said so long to California late last night. We had a great time, more details and photos to come. I wanted to share a bit about the weekend before we left for fun in the California sun.

Friday, Frank and I went Siena Deli. There wasn't a Boar's Head sign in sight. We had an eggplant parm and sicilian sandwich. Both hit the spot!

Afterwards, my mom watched Nicky so Frank, Amy and I could go to Sahara. We've all spent a lot of time there and we wanted to say our good-byes before it closes this weekend. When we walked thru the doors for one final time all the memories there came flooding back. Sadly, we could hardly recognize the place. Much of the casino was dark, including the poker room and back pit where $1 BJ had been offered. It was only the main casino that was open for business. Table limits were $5, so we passed. We played a couple slots and lost. We also tried our luck at roulette. We lost there, too. We took one last look around and thanked the 'ole girl for the memories and then we left for luckier pastures.

Somehow, we ended up at The Palms. This was wildly out of the norm for Frank and I, but my sister is a HUGE fan of Playboy so we popped in. They ended up playing poker, and I played some goofy Goose Chase slot that reminded me of my mom. Shockingly, it was extremely generous and bonuses were hitting left and right. I cashed out $130 ahead. Then, I gave video poker a whirl. I like to play those full pay Double Bonus machines by the front door, even though, I rarely win. But Friday was my lucky night I hit 4-of-a-kind. I made another $50. Meanwhile, Amy and Frank were holding their own playing poker. They ended up cashing out ahead. It was a fun night, and likely one of the few left under Maloof's reign. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for The Palms and the site of the Sahara.