Before I do anything else, I want to wish my son Travis happy birthday today. Happy birthday “old man.” I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you.
Terry likes opals, and a while back the stone fell out of her favorite opal ring, a vintage piece she really loves. So we’ve been hitting some of the antique stores and pawn shops here in Las Vegas looking for a new ring, or better yet, a stone to replace the one she lost.
When we were here with Greg and Jan White a couple of years ago, we stopped at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, made famous by the TV show Pawn Stars. I even got to meet Chumlee, whose real name is Austin Russell. I was going to invite him to my next family reunion. My kinfolk put the fun in dysfunctional, so I thought he’d fit right in.
While we were there Greg bought Jan a very nice opal ring, so we decided to go back and see if they had something Terry liked. The hit TV show has turned what was once a family business into a major tourist attraction and sometimes there are long lines to get in, but we lucked out and only had to wait about ten minutes.
Once inside, the shop is nothing like what you see on television. It’s long and narrow and very crowded. You go up the right side of the store, moving with the crowd, and then back down the left side and out the door. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any opal rings, so it was a waste of time.
The other day I mentioned that I have decided I need a pontoon boat, and we saw a nice one at Bass Pro. So while we were out we went back so I could drool over it again. Terry said I look pretty happy behind the wheel. What do you think?
It was about 5:30 by then and we were ready for dinner, and since the Silverton Casino is right next door to Bass Pro and their buffet had good reviews, we decided to check it out. As with all casinos, if you get their free players card you get a discount on meals, so we stopped and got our cards first, which only took a couple of minutes.
Terry and I agreed that this was the very best buffet we’ve had in Las Vegas; head and shoulders above the one at Boulder Station. The selection is bigger and better and everything was fresh and very good. The service was also excellent. Our waiter kept our drink glasses full and came by several times to ask if we needed anything.
But the icing on the cake was still to come! Dinner for the two of us cost $30, and they gave us back $10 each in slot machine credit. I went through mine pretty fast, but Terry promptly won $72.15 and we walked out winners! You just can’t beat that!
When I told a friend about this billboard we saw the other day he didn’t believe me, so yesterday we took a picture as proof. What can I say, it’s Vegas, baby!
Back at home, I had a PayPal order for a subscription to our digital edition from someone named Richard D Pfouts, but when I tried to send him a link to the digital issue the e-mail bounced. Richard, if you’re reading this, please contact me at editor@gypsyjournal.net with the correct e-mail address.
It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Crazy Days in Big Lake, the third book in my Big Lake mystery series. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.
Thought For The Day – There’s no vaccine against stupid.
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