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Published: July 12th 2011
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Airport slots
I played the one on the far right. I was up at 5 a.m., having slept soundly once again on the Hometics Smart Foam mattress cover on the bed in Steve and Nicky's guest bedroom.
I packed my bags and hauled them downstairs where I drank a cup of coffee and did some last-minute computer stuff.
Steve rousted Lisa out of bed and put her into the car seat to accompany us to the airport and we were out of the driveway about 6:50 a.m.
It looked like all of Las Vegas was flying when we got to the airport, but I checked by large bag and dragged my carry-on through the TSA checkpoint with no problems.
After the tram delivered me to Concourse D, I phoned Maria to let her know I was ready to get airborne.
At Steve's suggestion, I got the Delta guy to change my seat from 17B (the plane has two rows of three seats in coach: ABC and DEF) which put me between two people to 9D, an aisle seat next to a couple who were flying home to Memphis. (I had a silent struggle with the woman for the armrest between us. She won the first half of the trip and I
Oh, why not?
The airplane restroom sink won the second half.)
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has grown explosively since I was there with my ex in the late 1980s, but one thing has remained the same - rows and rows of slot machines to capture whatever loose bills folks like me have as we're leaving town.
I picked a machine close to Gate D40, examined the contents of my wallet and put a $20 bill into the slot. The machine gave me 80 25-cent credits and I began to play, fully expecting to see my 20 bucks evaporate. About 15 plays into the session, however, I hit three bars and the machine began registering credits and more credits. By the time it finished, I had $75.50, which put me $55.50 to the good.
I pretty much never win at these things, so I decided it was time to quit and take my winnings.
I strolled over to the Starbucks stand and bought a chocolate chip muffin and a vente mocha cappuccino to celebrate. I was finishing my muffin and ready to start on the mocha when I heard myself being paged by Delta. Seems they had boarded everyone but me and I had to abandon the mocha and haul ass to the gate.
We were in the air at 8:37 a.m. and about three hours and two time zones later we landed in Memphis at 1:35 p.m. local time. Stepping out of the plane onto the walkway, the humid air hit me like a hot wet towel in the face.
I collected my checked bag, called the ParkItHere shuttle, used most of my winnings to pay my parking fee, and headed for home, rolling into our driveway about 3:45 p.m.
It was a fabulous trip and I was treated like royalty, chauffeured around in a Porsche Cayenne and a Lexus convertible. Steve and Nicky are wonderful, generous hosts and I am in their debt.
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