I am back from Vegas! I had a bit of a scare at the airport--I checked in so early at JFK that one of my bags hitched a ride on an earlier flight...Luckily, one of my co-workers spotted my bag in the Jet Blue Office. My manager invited me to ride in a limo to the airport with the rest of our co-workers from the flight. There's nothing like arriving in style!

I won over $2;000; I kept $1,800; the rest I won for co-workers and friends--I doubled some people's money, so they loved me! I won $15 waiting to meet some friends for dinner. I won every time I stepped into a casino, thanks to my customized strategy. I almost hit big jackpots on progressive machines, but almost doesn't count. I won the most at The Venetian because it was the closest casino to the Sands Convention Center. I found a slot machine I had never seen before, Wild and Lucky on one of my lunch breaks. In less than 10 minutes I tripled the $20 I put in. I went back a few hours later on my later afternoon break only to find the machine's service light on. I went to a cashier and asked her to page an attendant. I won $200 more on the same machine! I made it a point to go back to the same cashier, to show her I won! The beer hall was great fun and the food was good. I had some really good Italian food with another co-worker another night,  tri-colorgnocchi with sweet tender rabbit, two mojitos and for dessert, mango Crème brûlée with kiwi sorbet. My only regrets: I didn't get to as many casinos as I would have liked--I was there on business and I didn't get to have sushi.

Vision Expo West wasn't as well attended this year; the economy might have something to do with that...

I am sitting here @ JFK with an hour to kill before my Jet Blue Vegas flight boards.  I love wi-fi--I have been checking my e-mail.  My driver was prompt--I kept him waiting, but only for two minutes.  He didn't fasten his seat belt right away, so every few seconds, the car dinged...I didn't really mind though, because when I win in Vegas, the slot machines will go ding, ding, ding!  He was from Peru.  We talked about the economy.  I told him I was going to Vegas for work, so we got to talking about gambling and I shared my slot machine secrets.  There are plenty of slot machines to go around.

Despite two cups of coffee, I am not awake...I can't wait to take a nap on the plane!  I didn't have my boarding pass out when I went through security.  I forgot to take it out of my bag that they were scanning when the security officer asked for it.  I was not asked to produce it when I retrieved my bag.  Gee, I feel safe...

Can't wait to hit the slot machines, hard!!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I have a car coming to whisk me away to JFK @ 6:00AM on October 1 for my Jet Blue Vegas flight! I am going for work to attend International Vision Expo West. I went last year and saw lots of exciting eyewear; in my downtime I won $1,600.00 on the slots!  Here's hoping I do 100 times better this year!  I went to the bank to get my Vegas $$, right after I went to the Post Office to put my mail on hold while I'm away.

We get the first night to ourselves, so I am having dinner with Renee, who works in Circulation and her husband at Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas.  I looked at the menu online the other night--I'm looking forward to some authentic German beer and food!  Afterwards, her husband will drive us to the Hard Rock Hotel, so I can show her my slot machine strategy... Another night, Mary, one of the Editors I work with and I are gonna head over to Bellaggio to dine at Yellowtail.  I love sushi!

If I do well, I might splurge on a late show...I'll be back on October 6 with all of the scandalous details!

 

This time next month I will be in Vegas for 5 days for a work-related trade show!  Let the games begin.  Can't wait to hit the slots!

I won a nice chunk of change, $1,600, in Vegas playing quarter, dollar and five dollar slots! I only went home with $1,200--I treated myself to an 11th row center $100 ticket to Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island. The show was phenomenal--the acrobatic actors wore colorful costumes and pulled off some really incredible moves!

Back to the slots...I have a few tactics: I only play certain machines, Pinball, Double Triple Cherries, The Munsters, Double Diamonds, Double Triple Diamonds, and Haywire. I start with quarter slots and play machines in high traffic areas, because casinos want people to see winners! When I win $80 or more on quarters--I won $120 in less than 15 minutes, I switch to dollar machines--I prefer to play machines on the far end of a row--the tend to pay faster--though I did win on some middle of the row machines. I even won $25 on a five-dollar machine, so I went to the high-limit slots and played a hundred dollar machine, but I lost...

I won more betting three credits at once, instead of just one. I won $340, $360 at each casino: the Venetian, Treasure Island, Harrah's, New York, New York, the MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Tropicana, which was the only casino that still paid with coins--that's the best sound in the word--the fake clanging that accompanies the payment vouchers pails in comparison.

I had some really good food, including a volcanic shrimp cocktail, but I missed out on sushi...My co-workers even gave me $$. I won one girl $100 with her $20, so she was happy!

I'm off to Las Vegas bright and early this Tuesday morning--I've got a car picking me up at 6:00AM--yikes!  Mornings and I are not the best of friends, but I'll have over 5 hours to sleep on the plane with the time change.  I'll be in Vegas for an eyecare industry trade show; it will be interesting to see various facets: eye doctors, optometrists, retailers, and suppliers.  I'm staying at Treasure Island.

I went to Las Vegas on vacation with my friend Tasha a couple of years ago.  The odds were definitely in my favor--I won $600 playing the slots at various casinos:  New York, New York, The Pink Flamingo, etc.  One machine ran out of coins before I got all of my winnings, so I had to flag down an attendant to pony up the rest.

To celebrate, I treated us to an expensive sushi dinner and paid with a c-note!  I was so lucky, I gave Tasha a dollar and told her to play the slot machine on the far end of the row--she won $80!  See, the casinos rig the machines on either end of rows new the front door to pay out, so passers-by will be lured in!  Each casino has a different payout time, one will payout at breakfast, another at lunch, a third at dinner, and a forth late at night....It's all about timing.  Here's another tip that's helped me win big:  Slot machines are like men--if it isn't paying out--cut your losses and move on!

Here's hoping I hit the jackpot!  Be good and try not to miss me too much!  As for me, I'll be in Vegas, so there's no telling what I might do...

I've been at my new job as E-News Managing Editor for http://www.vivionmonday.com for over two months now. The work is interesting, my co-workers are smart and friendly and I've got great medical/dental benefits. One of the perks for working for an eyecare publication is glasses at 50% off the usual price. With that in mind, I got a really cute pair from Marc Jacobs with Essilor Crizal, Transitions lenses! Crizal is a state-of-the art AR coating so advanced water rolls off--it's a surreal sight. Since I have to be famed, I might as well look good!

Another really cool perk is getting to attend an eyecare industry trade show in Vegas next week! We're getting there a day early, so I'll have time to hit the slots! I'm flying out on Jet Blue. I haven't flown with them, yet, but I've head nothing but good things!