Okay… Had to continue my rant. First, let’s all just get this straight… I KNOW the drinks are free & I DON”T expect them to serve say a Rombauer Zinfandel to me as a comp drink while gambling. BUT, come on! EVERY casino we went in Laughlin offered me the same two choices, cabernet or merlot. Yes, that is it. Even when I asked, they said no, we have cabernet or merlot. So, am i the only wine drinker that gambles? Really?

I had the just cabernet. UGH! Bad. REALLY painful! Did it stop me? Of course not! I dutifully sucked down my comped cabernet in a juice glass while heavily tipping the cocktail waitress… But I did PAY! Oy! What a bad wine will do to you!

Here is my suggestion Laughlin casinos. Do with it what you will… Offer a second choice that guest can pay a nominal fee for… Believe me, they will!

So, just got back from a short trip to Laughlin, NV with my husband. Okay, before you start shaking your head and thinking WTF?! Let me just state that this was a Birthday trip for hubby and his request. What can I say? I aim to please!

Husband is a BIG gambler. Me, I like to gamble, but much prefer to eat & drink! So…What does Laughlin offer the foodie? Sigh. I wish I could say more, but from where we ate (between feverish stints at the slots and roulette table) it was just okay… If that!

Put it this way we ate at the Coco’s three times in two and 1/2 days!  So Laughlin you HAVE to “do” a buffet right? Well, we did a dinner buffet at The Edgewater where we were staying. I had water-logged brussel sprouts, soggy pasta, VERY salty salad with ranch dressing and some bread. Yes, that’s it! NOTHING looked good. Husband ate prime rib, which he liked and two bites of a lukewarm chicken enchilada. NEXT!

Ate birthday dinner at The Hickory Pit steakhouse inside same hotel. Classic steakhouse feel which I love! You know, salad and baked potato carts and silver domes…

I ate what has to be the worst bruschetta ever created… Think untoasted bread. Not even a hint of a matchflame came near this bread. Canned diced tomatoes, pre-shredded parmesan cheese and SOMETHING sweet?! UGH! Didn’t eat more than one bite. I mean where is the olive oil crunch of the bread? The garlic & basil in the topping? The acid of the ripe tomato? NOT here! LOL!

Husband had oysters on the half shell (yes, in the desert) and loved them!

I then had a very nice Caesar salad. Garlic, lemon & good croutons. Husband ate house salad with ranch, standard tomato, romaine, onion, crouton with ranch dressing. Brought to him on the cart under a silver dome! Tee-Hee!

Then I had a Very good and VERY big baked potato. With butter, sour cream and scallions. Husband ate the King Crab Legs and loved them! My potato came with a toppings cart! oh BTW, very limited wine list…:(

Then we ate at Nathan’s stand. Great french fries and very good dog. Even though it lacked the natural casing that my husband grew up eating on Long Island, NY.

Bad pizza slice from S’Barros…

Best meal? A grilled vegetable and swiss burger at Coco’s! Grilled sliced mushrooms, tomato, onion, pickle and perfectly cooked fries…

So I guess my tip for eating down the river is go to Coco’s! LOL!

Three games in the NBA tonight on TNT Thursday.  People continue to be looking for underdogs to back, where we usually find value, but don’t forget we’re in the playoff stretch.  Motivations are dramatically different and the Chalk is going to begin to win out.  When you put a playoff bound team on the road and take away a few points for them to cover, the spreads are just where we want them to be for the favorites.  I like two such games tonight.

Take Atlanta Hawks -7 at Washington Wizards. The Boston Celtics have been doing their part to let the Atlanta Hawks move into the 3rd spot in the East, but Mike Woodson’s team has been hesitant to take control.  The Hawks have lost the first 2 games of this 3 game road trip.  The skid started when they gave up a 12 point lead to the Heat in Miami, then they played an inferior game in New York where they were unable to sink a game winning shot as time expired.  So, why expect the Hawks to win tonight?  The Hawks haven’t lost 3 games in a row in over two months and that streak was started by two beat-downs from the then healthy Cleveland Cavaliers.  The Hawks are a solid playoff team – clearly one of the top four teams in the East – and the Wizards are a perfect team to use in getting things back on track.  The Hawks have beat the Wizards in both prior meetings this year (both games in Atlanta) by 11 points and 6 points, and that was much more talented Wizards team.  This Wizards team has lost 4 in a row, including the first game of this homestand where they were beaten by the Rockets 96-88.   The Hawks are a better team than the Rockers.The Wizards have only won ATS at Home 38% of the time this year; the Hawks have won  ATS 56% of the time on the Road.   Take the Hawks -7.

Take Portland Trailblzaers -5 1/2 at Golden State Warriors. Have you noticed that the Portland Trailblazers are trying to end the debate about who will be in the playoffs from the West.  Even with Memphis occasionally playing well (like last night in Boston), Portland has pulled 3 1/2 games ahead (the Rockets and Hornets are barely in the discussion).  In fact, Portland is now within striking distance of the three clubs ahead of them (Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio).  The Blazers are 4-1 in their last 5, losing only on the Nuggets home court.  They are 4-2 SU and ATS in their last 6 Road Games (where they have beat the spread 65% of the time this season).  They are meeting a Golden State Warriors team that has to be admired for the grit and determination they revealed with a 5 game road trip back East where they could barely put 8 players on the court – even though they lost all 5 games.  Monta Ellis may suit up for this one, but the team is still injured and not at full strength.  The first game home is always a tough one, particularly when the road trip was long and difficult.     The Warriors did beat the Trailblazers in Oakland back in November as a 7 1/2 point underdog.  Then when they played in Portland in January, the Trailblazers won by 16 points.  That’s the Portland team they will face tonight.  The Warriors are 4-5 at Home since Feb. 1, beating only one playoff team in the bunch (Atlanta).  They lost to 4 playoff teams (and Philadelphia) by 8 or more points (3 double-digit losses).  Take the Trailblazers -5 1/2 .

William D. Cammisano Jr., pleaded guilty in February

After a month of guilty pleas by six lesser players, a long-awaited federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accused four men of operating a multimillion-dollar Internet gambling scheme.

Prosecutors declined to put an “organized crime” label on the case, and did not use that phrase in the charges. But it is reminiscent of the wiretap-driven mob gambling case so familiar in Kansas City over the last 50 years.  

Look’s like God is gambling with our lives again.

COMEDIAN JAY LENO ONCE delighted millions of “Tonight Show” viewers with his “stupid criminals” routine, where he would highlight the week’s most pitiful heists and holdups for his audience’s amusement. But if he had just looked beyond America’s shores he could have created an entire show around the subject.

For example: On the night of February 24, 2004, Germany’s most woebegone gang raided the city’s second-largest casino, located at the Park Hotel on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz…

Continued…

This a typical boring day at work.   I have things to do but I just don’t feel like doing anything.  Right now I’m listening to some Paganini and it’s the highlight of my day.

For the past 2 weeks I’ve started playing some online casinos and let me just say that I now understand the addictiveness of it.    The emotions that you get when you win and lose are so intense that you body is just asking for more.   Now if I could only win it would make my day.

In what can only be described as a puzzling turn of events, UEFA banned Lyon from carrying their shirt sponsor – online betting operator BetClic – in last night’s Champions League tie, despite Spanish laws making it perfectly legal for them to do so.

Their opponents Real Madrid, sponsored by online betting firm bwin, display the logo week in week out in Spanish football and did so again last night, prompting bewilderment as to why their French visitors were banned from doing the same.

The double standards on display angered BetClic Chief Executive Nicolas Beraud and Lyon chairman Jean-Michael Aulas, who issued a joint-statement before the match criticizing UEFA’s actions, stating that since the tie was being played in Spain, where advertising of online-betting is permitted, the order had “no legal basis.”

Despite fundamental EU laws aimed at ensuring the freedom of cross-border trade and services, several member states continue to ban legal EU betting firms from their territories, while allowing local monopolies to offer the exact same services to their citizens.

Right2bet, an organization fighting for the rights of consumers to bet with whichever licensed EU operator they choose, has constantly offered opposition to what it believes are the unlawful actions of certain governments, and UEFA’s intervention has left them surprised.

Right2bet spokesman Ari Last said: “Last night’s farcical situation in Madrid highlights the inconsistent and illogical regulatory environment that currently exists within the EU regarding online betting.

“The Champions League represents everything that is wonderful about cross-border integration and competition in the EU, and we can’t understand why UEFA imposed the restriction upon Lyon last night.

“We share the grievances of BetClic and Lyon in regard to this decision.”

Never before have I seen anything quite so obviously wrong. Something has to be done. Start off now by signing the right2bet petition.

Vendors in participating in the Glass Craft and Bead Expo in Las Vegas April 9-11, 2010 are flocking to area vacation rental properties. 

As many of the items brought to the convention are either very fragile or very heavy, most of the participants are either driving to Las Vegas, or at least have arranged transportation when they arrive.  A vacation rental allows vendors and participants to maintain careful control of the products, thus attracting guests.

Chez Paulina homes have large, private and well-finished garages, as well as ample living space for products to be stored or shown.  Several of our homes are only a 10 minute drive from the Southpoint, where the convention is to be held.  A Chez Paulina vacation home is therefore the perfect location to privately gather your colleagues from the convention, without additional expense.

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