Best Casino in Lake Tahoe: Comped Travel Awards 2020 ...

what is the best casino in lake tahoe

what is the best casino in lake tahoe - win

T’was the night before matching

And I’m hyped as heck
I’ll type this story before i doublecheck
My Redditgifts profile for the millionth time
All is want, is to ensure that I’m
Through with answers, and funny too
It’s time for the recap without further adou.
​
Man those rhymes are getting worse and worse.
Anyway, I'm back with another adventure calendar countdown. For anyone unfamiliar, I send my giftees on an immersive treasure/scavenger hunt every year for secret santa. I’m talking through my side of things just as a way to give you a peek behind the curtain.
You can check the last three posts here, here, and here.

Wanna know what happens when an adventure doesn’t go quite as planned? Because this is what happens when an adventure doesn’t go as planned.

I give you:
Constructed Adventure no. 46: The Archer Princess and the cactus pin.
I was super intrigued when I learned my giftee lived in a small town outside Reno, NV. I was even more intrigued when I learned that she often did Legacy Horseback rides and was learning horseback archery.
This adventure was going to be in the wilderness.
After a bit of communication, I was relieved to learn that her and her husband would be fine heading into Reno. There was just so much more to work with.
I landed in Reno, booked my stay at one of the cheap hotel/casinos (Note: They’re all cheap) and went scouting! I’d done the usual Yelp/Google/TripAdvisor scrape to find my best possibilities for stops and beelined to a cute little place called “Daughter’s Cafe.” This is a Restaurant built in a home. The Owner lives upstairs. She’s super cool and the food was incredible. Pretty sure I ate there every day. Anyway, unprompted, the owner told me about these wild chickadee birds that live in the mountains halfway from here to lake tahoe (about a 45 minute drive). She hand drew me a map and gave me a bag of seed and said
“If you stand still, they’ll eat out of your hand”
Unreal.
So I drove up the mountain, rented up some snowshoes, and fed some chickadees. It was a magical experience that I HAD to send my giftee on. (note: normally I dont like having any spot have a longer travel distance than 15 minutes but occasionally I’ll make an exception).
Also, since she did archery, I really wanted her to have to shoot something down. So I scouted a spot 5-10 minutes into the trail where she would shoot down a chest from a tree.
After that spot, most of the other stops were pretty simple. She’d hit a few places in the Riverfront district, before stopping in at a speakeasy, then hitting an incredible hike, deciphering someone doing semaphore 100’s of feet away, and then meeting me up the mountainside under a fully decorated real christmas tree!
When she got her initial package, it contained a little cactus pin. The goal was to signpost every stop with the pin. (Signposting is a technique puzzlemakers use to let players know they’re on the right track). Everywhere she went, she either found, or someone was wearing one of the pins!
The day kicked off perfectly! The weather was temperate and everything looked up. My giftee and her husband hit the cafe, ate breakfast, and headed up the mountain. They picked up the snowshoes from a place midway to the spot. The guy behind the counter was kind of a jerk, but he still played along.
Then they got to the spot. I actually passed them as they got out of their car! Me and a friend who I flew in (Same guy who helped me will all the other adventures) returned our shoes and then waited...and waited….and waited....
An hour passed by.
Turns out there were two parallel paths with the same name! One was the correct path (Signposted with large roses along the way) and the other was the incorrect path. I made three big mistakes that led to this snafu:
  1. I should have done more thorough scouting to notice the other path with the same name.
  2. I should have been more detailed with directions and how long they should expect to take on the trek
  3. I gave them my phone number at the beginning of the adventure but never got theirs. They ended up leaving the note with my number in their car.
So after snowshoeing 2-3 miles into the mountains, they decided to turn back to their car, get my number, and text me.
Needless to say we were just a bit behind schedule.
Once they got back to their car and messaged me, we sorted the issue and they found and shot down the chest with ease!
They headed back down the mountain and continued their adventure. But we’d lost a ton of time on the day. Once i arrived at what was supposed to be the final location, it was getting dark, and it was brutally windy. I was pretty miserable up there and I can’t imagine they would want to be up there after snowshoeing such a long way!
So I called it! I messaged them to stay in the speakeasy and order more drinks! I drove back to the spot, and gave them all their presents at the bar. It was so much nicer than up on a dark windy hilltop.
So that’s it! Another adventure in the bag. Definitely NOT what I expected but still fun. I learn a lot of lessons after each adventure and sometimes hiccups happen!
It goes without saying that if you’re ever planning a treasure/scavenger hunt for someone, don't hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to double check your plan and point out potential pitfalls you might have.
Hope you enjoyed this recap. No shameless plug this time! Just a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to the mods and admins who run Redditgifts. Tomorrow is their day of reckoning and all i can say is

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ MODS TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

submitted by squeakysqueakysqueak to secretsanta [link] [comments]

S23 E15 - A Road To The Finals

Last time on Hell’s Kitchen...
The final four each got a visit from their siblings, who became judges in their final Black Jacket Challenge. Tamina‘s dish left a bad taste in the judges’ mouths, including her brother’s. In the end, Brett scored a nearly perfect score of 22, and won the challenge. At dinner service, each of the chefs took a turn to run the kitchen to become the Co Head Chef at Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe. Tamina’s performance on the appetizers...led to a hault. And so did Rod’s undercooked chicken. However, Brett performed the best in leading his brigade, while Tamina was a hot mess throughout the night, and during the elimination Ceremony, Chef Ramsay has eliminated Tamina, ending her dream of becoming Co Head Chef at Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe.
After Intro
Bella was surprised as she made it to the final three, and found out that she was excited to go far in the competition, and was close to getting to the finale and winning the competition. Brett was in the same mood for getting into the finale as he firstly got the Black Jacket, and then got into the final three, and the other two things on his list that he wants to get done is getting into the final two/the finale and winning the competition so he can go to Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe to become a Co Head Chef.
Later that day, Chef Ramsay asks the final three chefs to meet him by his office as there was a special present waiting there. Chef Ramsay revealed the first surprise coming out the door was members of Bella’s family, which had her husband, Alejandro, and her oldest children, Ricardo and Sofia. Bella was excited to see her husband, and she walks up to him and hugs him. She also walked to her children and kisses them.
The next surprise revealed through the doors were members of Rod’s family which had his mom, Carole and his girlfriend, Kate. Carole was crying in tears, and went up to hug Rod, saying that she missed him, and Kate asked Rod how he was doing, and Rod answered that he was doing great.
Brett was still waiting for his surprise, and Chef Ramsay reveals the final one from the open door, which surprised Brett, as he saw his wife, Tammy and his infant son, Jon. Brett mentioned that he was missing his one year old son’s birthday from making it get far in the competition, and Tammy told him that he can do better.
Chef Ramsay had the chefs spend a quality time with their families, and as the final four spend some time with their families, Tammy asked Brett who his biggest competition was, and he pointed to Bella and her family, and mentioned that she was the love of his life, and Tammy said that he was already married, and cannot get a second girlfriend, and Brett also learned about the fact the she was married, as he saw her husband through the doors.
When Carole, Kate and Rod talk about getting far in the competition, Kate was asking if he can cook better than the other competitors he was going against, and he said that he definitely can, despite being arrested twice. The first time since he was 18, and the second time when he was 21. Carole said one fact about her life, that she has been away from her husband, who served in the Navy, and Carole felt like it was a difficult time hanging by herself, and wished to talk to him.
Bella, Alejandro, Ricardo and Sofia have their conversation about getting far in the competition, and Bella said that she was the only one left in the competition so far, who has yet to be nominated and mentioned that she never will. Ricardo told her if she has faced a difficult time during the competition, and Bella mentioned that she has faced some difficulties while working in the kitchen, especially when some people were making mistakes during dinner service.
After twenty minutes of talking, and spending quality time with their families, Chef Ramsay tells the final four to say goodbye to their families, as they have a different surprise awaiting their journey. Chef Ramsay has told them that their family members will be arriving to see a show at Lake Tahoe’s theatre, but he tells them that they have a different approach. Chef Ramsay gives them tickets to go to Lake Tahoe.
Semi - Finale Trip
Chef Ramsay sent the final three chefs to the airport to board their plane to Lake Tahoe, and Chef Ramsay finds out that there are a couple of fun and surprises there when they arrive there, and Chef Ramsay jumped on his helicopter leaving the chefs at the airport to catch their plane to head to Lake Tahoe.
When the final three get on the plane, Bella had no idea what surprises that she, Rod nor Brett were going to experience. Were they going to a restaurant for dining. Brett told her to relax, and mentioned that she will find out what it is, when they get there.
The first part of the final three’s break, is that they head to the mountains to ride snowmobiles, and Bella got excited as she never been on a snowmobile before. When the final four begin their snowmobile ride, Rod sees the lake on the right side, but said that it was blocked by the trees, and Brett mentioned that it was nice to get out of Hell’s Kitchen for a day, as he felt like it was a challenge win for him. Bella called it a thrilling ride.
The next part of their final three break is that they head to Harrah’s hotel and casino, and when they enter the suite, Rod called the suite gorgeous, and Bella felt that there was a bar, filled with sushi, caviar, and more fancy foods, and when the final three made a toast to getting to the semi-finals, Brett mentioned that he wanted to go snowmobiling again, as it was very nice, and wondered if they had snowmobiles in Philidelphia, and Bella said that he was from the Northeast, so they might have them there, and Brett said that Lake Tahoe was the better place to go snowmobiling, and felt like he wanted more tickets.
Final Tasting Challenge
Later that day, Chef Ramsay arrives with Sous Chefs, Christina and Jay, and asked them if he had a good time, and Brett mentioned that he liked it, including the snowmobile ride, impressing Rod, who called him crazy. Chef Ramsay said that for the Final Tasting Challenge, they will each have a mentor, but Chef Ramsay said that there was three contestants left, and three staff members, but Chef Ramsay said that he will not be mentoring, instead Chef Ramsay invites back Season 19 winner, Kori, as Bella was excited to see her again, and runs up and hugs her after seeing her during the Signature Dish Challenge Reward back from the beginning of the competition, and Bella was hoping that she would be getting her as a mentor, as they both had Latin backgrounds, and Chef Ramsay told her to wait and see what card she got, and he mentioned that each mentor has a diamond card, an ace card, and a Jack card.
Chef Ramsay decides that Bella would go first, as she was hoping to get Kori. The card that she pulls out is an ace, and Chef Ramsay had mentioned to the mentors to show who had the ace card. Christina showed the ace card, disappointing Bella, but she felt fine with Christina as she worked with her, due to being the red team’s sous chef.
Chef Ramsay then had Brett go. The card Brett pulls out is the diamond card, and Brett had Kori as his mentor, thus leading Rod with Jay as his mentor.
For the Final Tasting Challenge, each chef had to recreate a menu which featured a cold appetizer, a hot appetizer, and three entrees that featured seafood, chicken and red meat for one hour, and has the Sous Chefs help them with their cooking, and Chef Ramsay announced that the person with the lowest number of points will automatically be eliminated and not advancing to the final 2. Each chef will be judging from a scale of 1 to 10.
(Skips cooking)
First up, Ben Ford will be tasting the cold appetizer. Bella presents a Rattitouille Zuchinni Bruschetta, and Ben asked Bella if she was on a diet, and Bella said no, she was going to be in the finale. When Ben tastes the appetizer, he found out that there was good flavour, and he awards her 7 points. Next, Rod presents his marinated goat cheese, and Ben finds it too rich, and Rod gets 5 points. Next, it is Brett who judges his Fava and Ricotta toast, and Ben finds the melting in his mouth, and Brett gets awarded with 9 points.
Bella - 7, Rod - 5, Brett - 9.
Next up, Bobby Flay will be tasting the hot appetizer. Bella presents her Beef Taco Roll-ups, to present her Mexican Roots, and Bobby finds that flavour is there, and he gives it a 9. Rod presents his squid risotto, and Bobby finds that it had a lot of flavour, and the rice is perfectly cooked, and gives him an 8. Brett presents his Sausage stuffed mushroom caps, and found that the presentation is underwhelming, and Brett is given 6 points.
Bella - 16, Rod - 13, Brett - 15
The next chef to judge the seafood entrees will be Ina Garten. Bella presents her buttermilk fried lobster with fried rice, and a salsa to go on the lobster. Ina liked the combination of salsa going with the lobster, but it looked more of an appetizer than an entree, and Ina gives Bella 6 points. Rod presents his balsamic glazed salmon with asparagus and polenta. Ina told him that the fish is glistening, and Rod is given 8 points. Brett presents a pan seared sea bass with fettuccine in a pesto sauce, and Ina tells Brett to taste the pasta, as it was lacking salt, and Brett was given 5 points.
Bella - 22, Rod - 21, Brett - 20
The next chef judging the chicken dishes is Giada DeLaurentiis. Bella presents her chicken roulade, and Giada finds that the chicken is juicy, and Bella was awarded 8 points. Rod presents his chicken Parmesan with noodles in a butter sauce, which was given praise, and also was given 8 points. Lastly, Brett presents his General Tao Chicken which was too sweet and Giada gives it 6 points.
Bella - 30, Rod - 29, Brett - 26
The final person who will be judging the red meat dish, will be a guest who judged the International Soup Challenge. It is Wolfgang Puck. First, he tries Bella’s hangar steak with a mushroom gravy, mashed sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Wolfgang finds the steak cooked medium-rare, and her gravy tastes good. Bella garners a perfect score of 10. Next, Rod presents his NY strip with a mint pea risotto, and Wolfgang gives praise, gaining a score of 7. Lastly, Brett presents his beef stew served with fresh garlic bread, which needs a perfect score of 10 to tie, and while Wolfgang finds it tasty, he gives it a score of 9, eliminating him, leading Bella and Rod to be the finalists.
Bella - 40, Rod - 36, Brett - 35
Chef Ramsay congratulates Bella and Rod for making it to the final 2, and told Brett that he was just too close to tying but it was not that good to get a score of 10. Chef Ramsay told them in order to run a brigade to become he Head Chef at Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe, they have to run a brigade of other people, and he welcomes back the returning chefs...
...Chloe, Tabuki, Arabelle, Becca, Marvin, Erykka, Tamina, and told Brett to join them.
Since Bella had the most points in the Final Tasting Challenge, she gets the first pick for her brigade. The first person Bella picks for her brigade is Brett because she knows that he was a talented person to have a brigade, and that his cooking is decent. For Rod’s first pick for his brigade, he chose Becca, as she was a strong woman, and felt like her cooking was on point.
The next person that Bella wants on her brigade is Tabuki because she does not want any drama kings or drama queens in her kitchen, and felt that Tabuki had the level to grow and mature. The next person that Rod picks on his brigade is Marvin because he’s got a good palate.
Next for her brigade, Bella picks Tamina as she was very creative, while Rod picks Erykka for his team, as she had a few bumps, but was hoping not to be left with Arabelle on his team.
The last pick is between either, Chloe or Arabelle, and Bella did not want either of them, as Chloe makes a bunch of mistakes during service, and with Arabelle, she felt like she was not a team player, and had the drama. Bella has decided to pick Chloe as her last choice, leaving Rod with Arabelle, as he felt his team would be anybody but Arabelle.
Bella (red kitchen) - Brett, Tabuki, Tamina, Chloe
Rod (blue kitchen) - Becca, Marvin, Erykka, Arabelle
Next time on Hell’s Kitchen...
It is the last episode, and the finale gets to the boiling point, where either a red jacket or a blue jacket pulls it off, to win the competition, and become the Co-Head Chef at Hell’s Kitchen Lake Tahoe.
submitted by StrongQuarter1144 to HellsKitchenFanFics [link] [comments]

18k off a 4k freeroll vs. $800 to $12 to $10k. My first time playing bacc vs. most recent.

Maybe not the best gambling come up ever told, but my personal best. Not dollar wise, I've cashed out way more before. It's a long read, but worth it.... Check this shit out....
I go up to buy a vintage boat in Illinois. 12 hour drive to Texas. Due to crazy weather (worst thunderstorm I have ever driven through by far) and even crazier girls, get stuck in St. Louis. Had an incredible night with and even more incredible woman on her birthday. Start heading home back to Texas.
Driving through Oklahoma it starts up again, really bad rain. Nope, not doing this again, I take the next exit. I'm in Tulsa. Exit coincidentally at the hard rock (was just gonna wait the storm out or maybe see if they would comp my room). They say no way, you don't have any players card and this ain't Vegas, you gotta do some damage to earn your free room. I'm like ok...bet....(I am a high stakes baccarat player)
So I buy in with $800, tell cashier that I'll be back shortly with $10k. Yeah......okay buddy sure....
I get wrecked, down to my last $12. Feeling shitty and mad at the rain. I proceed to turn that $12 into...well alot. Table max is $1000. My new best bud Jason from OKC was there and we started killing it. We made a deal with the pit boss that if we run them out of $500 chips they would go to cage and just out the golden $1000 chips. They said yeah ok, those chips are dusty because they never need them.
I hit max bet wins 9 separate times. Beat a natural 8 with a natural 9 (if you don't know bacc it's the hardest and most satisfying thing in the world) twice for table max bet if $1000. My buddy Jason and I followed each other rarely betting against each other. We wrecked that table bad and did what we said we would do, drained every $500 chip they had. Pit boss begrudgingly called the cage for the ultra rare $1000 chips. Said it hasn't happy in 3 years.
In 3 hours I hit my goal, cashed out at exactly $10,000. And headed to cashier. Same girl who I told her I'd be back either broke or with 10k. Slow walk, with my best ass face on. You could tell she felt bad because unlike the dealers cahiers love when people win.
I put 10 $1000 chips on the window table, and said....I don't fuck around when it comes to Baccarat. Told ya. She flipped out, couldn't believe it.
Got a casino hostess, free suite which was super nice, and a free room anytime I am in Tulsa.
Also there was this Mexican pimp who was like a degenerate one armed bandit (plays slot machines like a tool). He tried to hustle me for all his jewelry for like $2000. I gave him $250 but only if he included his heiña's turquoise ring as well (I am a fucking savage). So that's why I am all blinged out on the drive home.
And yes, for the doubters, I didn't give a dime back and drove straight home. Going to Vegas in two weekends with some girls and an even nicer free suite. Not going to gamble at all, just rent an exotic car and finally do all the cool Vegas non strip fun nature activities Ive always wanted. Lake Tahoe, Red Rock Canyon, float trip, etc.
Yes 2020 sucks but I'm tired of it brining me down. Met somebody very special and from here on out I'm dedicated. Positive vibes only!!!! 💯
Required disclaimer: I don't even like to gamble because it is super stressful for me. I only go once or twice a year. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS. Scared money don't make no money.....
Oh, big shout-out to mother nature. Without those two rainstorms I wouldn't have fallen in love or had a much needed come up. If only I could have danced with my baby I'm the rain it would have been icing on the cake.
Made it home safe to Texas with boat intact and a fat stack. Life is good!!!!
P.s. I was taught baccarat while living in Korea for 3 years. My white ass with big blonde hair and blue eyes, and for some reason Al the older Koreans would stop me in the street saying James Dean......James Dean!!!
Well I was playing in a poker tournament, this guy does the James Dean thing during a break in the tournament as I'm walking to get a quick bite if food and bathroom. It's the final table and I'm in like 3rd place with 7 players left (not too big, I think it was $300 buy in, 100 players or so) .
Anyway so he stops me and says....in his best broken English, Player ....Banker...James....James (he points at each).... Player, Banker?!?!
I'm like shit I dunno this weird Asian card game never even seen it. Banker is like the house right? House always wins, so I say and point banker....
Again with the natural 8 losing to natural 9, player loses. Bank wins. Guy shits a brick and slides me his winnings. He makes me sit down. I realize he bet 4.2 million won ( like ~4000USD) at the time. And he just gave it to me thinking I was his good luck charm. He taught me how to play (it's very very easy to learn bacc...) But more importantly taught me how to play with balls of steel which is a required learned skill in this game.
We proceed to wreck the table, I think I cashed out somewhere close to $18k and he hit like 75k. I ended up going back to tournament damn near blinded out but still in 5th place. Took third place and took home whatever $$$ that was.
Like I said I have cashed out more but my first and last times playing bacc were extremely memorable. 18k off a 4k freeroll and $800 to $12 to $10k. What do you guys think
submitted by Jive_Turk to baccarat [link] [comments]

My first time playing bacc vs my most recent time (EPIC POLL & INSANE STORY)

Maybe not the best gambling come up ever told, but my personal best. Not dollar wise, I've cashed out way more before. It's a long read, but worth it.... Check this shit out....
I go up to buy a vintage boat in Illinois. 12 hour drive to Texas. Due to crazy weather (worst thunderstorm I have ever driven through by far) and even crazier girls, get stuck in St. Louis. Had an incredible night with and even more incredible woman on her birthday. Start heading home back to Texas.
Driving through Oklahoma it starts up again, really bad rain. Nope, not doing this again, I take the next exit. I'm in Tulsa. Exit coincidentally at the hard rock (was just gonna wait the storm out or maybe see if they would comp my room). They say no way, you don't have any players card and this ain't Vegas, you gotta do some damage to earn your free room. I'm like ok...bet....(I am a high stakes baccarat player)
So I buy in with $800, tell cashier that I'll be back shortly with $10k. Yeah......okay buddy sure....
I get wrecked, down to my last $12. Feeling shitty and mad at the rain. I proceed to turn that $12 into...well alot. Table max is $1000. My new best bud Jason from OKC was there and we started killing it. We made a deal with the pit boss that if we run them out of $500 chips they would go to cage and just out the golden $1000 chips. They said yeah ok, those chips are dusty because they never need them.
I hit max bet wins 9 separate times. Beat a natural 8 with a natural 9 (if you don't know bacc it's the hardest and most satisfying thing in the world) twice for table max bet if $1000. My buddy Jason and I followed each other rarely betting against each other. We wrecked that table bad and did what we said we would do, drained every $500 chip they had. Pit boss begrudgingly called the cage for the ultra rare $1000 chips. Said it hasn't happy in 3 years.
In 3 hours I hit my goal, cashed out at exactly $10,000. And headed to cashier. Same girl who I told her I'd be back either broke or with 10k. Slow walk, with my best ass face on. You could tell she felt bad because unlike the dealers cahiers love when people win.
I put 10 $1000 chips on the window table, and said....I don't fuck around when it comes to Baccarat. Told ya. She flipped out, couldn't believe it.
Got a casino hostess, free suite which was super nice, and a free room anytime I am in Tulsa.
Also there was this Mexican pimp who was like a degenerate one armed bandit (plays slot machines like a tool). He tried to hustle me for all his jewelry for like $2000. I gave him $250 but only if he included his heiña's turquoise ring as well (I am a fucking savage). So that's why I am all blinged out on the drive home.
And yes, for the doubters, I didn't give a dime back and drove straight home. Going to Vegas in two weekends with some girls and an even nicer free suite. Not going to gamble at all, just rent an exotic car and finally do all the cool Vegas non strip fun nature activities Ive always wanted. Lake Tahoe, Red Rock Canyon, float trip, etc.
Yes 2020 sucks but I'm tired of it brining me down. Met somebody very special and from here on out I'm dedicated. Positive vibes only!!!! 💯
Required disclaimer: I don't even like to gamble because it is super stressful for me. I only go once or twice a year. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS. Scared money don't make no money.....
Oh, big shout-out to mother nature. Without those two rainstorms I wouldn't have fallen in love or had a much needed come up. If only I could have danced with my baby I'm the rain it would have been icing on the cake.
Made it home safe to Texas with boat intact and a fat stack. Life is good!!!!
FIRST TIME PLAYING BACC:
I was taught baccarat while living in Korea for 3 years. My white ass with big blonde hair and blue eyes, and for some reason Al the older Koreans would stop me in the street saying James Dean......James Dean!!!
Well I was playing in a poker tournament, this guy does the James Dean thing during a break in the tournament as I'm walking to get a quick bite if food and bathroom. It's the final table and I'm in like 3rd place with 7 players left (not too big, I think it was $300 buy in, 100 players or so) .
Anyway so he stops me and says....in his best broken English, Player ....Banker...James....James (he points at each).... Player, Banker?!?!
I'm like shit I dunno this weird Asian card game never even seen it. Banker is like the house right? House always wins, so I say and point banker....
Again with the natural 8 losing to natural 9, player loses. Bank wins. Guy shits a brick and slides me his winnings. He makes me sit down. I realize he bet 4.2 million won ( like ~4000USD) at the time. And he just gave it to me thinking I was his good luck charm. He taught me how to play (it's very very easy to learn bacc...) But more importantly taught me how to play with balls of steel which is a required learned skill in this game.
We proceed to wreck the table, I think I cashed out somewhere close to $18k and he hit like 75k. I ended up going back to tournament damn near blinded out but still in 5th place. Took third place and took home whatever $$$ that was. Korea's biggest currency denomination is a 10k won bill, like $10. So I literally walked out with a paper bag filled with money, like I robbed a bank, went home and spread it all over the bed and had sex on it like I was Scrooge McDuck or Walter White or Lil Wayne. Oh to be young again.
Like I said I have cashed out more but my first and last times playing bacc were extremely memorable. 18k off a 4k freeroll and $800 to $12 to $10k. What do you guys think?
View Poll
submitted by Jive_Turk to gambling [link] [comments]

I don't know what to title this, so I'll just go with "Arcade Weirdness". XD (Okay to share!)

(Not sure what permissions are required, but this is totally okay to share on a future episode if you guys would like. I would honestly love it if you do!) ^_^
​
After falling behind a whole bunch after you guys switched to weekly episodes, I finally managed to get around to sort of binging a lot so I could finally catch back up. As such, I heard a bunch of viewer stories, and was reminded of a strange event (one of the few) of my own that I figured I would put out there and see what people's thoughts are on it.
I'd first like to preface this story with an important personal note by saying that I am a staunch Catholic and am very much in the Jesse camp of skepticism and just complete disbelief when it comes to paranormal/supernatural stuff, and will forever maintain that what happened to me has a logical explanation to it, even if I'll never be sure what that explanation is. "^_^
As a bit of important background info, I currently just turned 30 years old this past July (I'm officially old now. T~T) . My family annually vacations in Lake Tahoe California/Nevada ever year in August and has done so for the past ~20 years, since it's the best time for hiking as there's no snow on the mountains and the melting snow makes the numerous lakes & rivers as full and lively as possible. In the evenings, it has always been extremely common for us to head across the state-line to the Harrah's casino for some evening gambling at the video poker machines at the bar and some Blackjack or Pai Gow table games, but me and my two brothers (one older by about 3 years, one younger by about 2 years) would instead frequent the arcade at the Harvey's hotel/casino just across the street where we would play while our parents gambled. (As a dumb aside, in this arcade there is also a claw machine filled with just colored ducks that I tweeted out with the whole SGS tagged with the hashtag #DucksForDavis back in 2018 that Jesse liked, and I'll always be so happy for that, so thank you Jesse. That made my day. ^_^)
A tourist pamphlet book of coupons that we would get from our time-share gave us an additional $5.00 or so in tokens for cashing in $20.00, and this arcade offered a redemption prize of $5.00 in tokens in exchange for 500 tickets. This particular arcade also had a baseball themed timing-based ticketing game that would give you 3 plays per token and would pitch a slow, medium, and fast "pitch" that you had to time on the Jackpot light that would give [at a minimum] 25, 50, and 100 tickets respectively that would only increase upon more unsuccessfully attempts. Over the years of us playing that game, my brothers became good enough at it to the point where it was VERY easy to exploit and win significantly more than in $5.00 in tickets. For example, we would often win double-that or more by earning 1000+ or 1500+ tickets per every $5.00, so we essentially paid $20.00 up front and played for free the rest of our trip and would get the best prizes every couple of years after accruing enough tickets (we managed to get a Wii one year at ~20k tickets as I recall). So basically, we never had to actually spend any money at this arcade to play or win anything. I was never particularly good at this game myself, so I would most often just stand around and watch them exploit this clearly unbalanced game and proceed to play other games that I enjoyed after we had enough tickets in surplus to exchange.
I don't remember exactly when this particular event happened since all these trips have basically blurred together in my head, but one time within the last 10 years (I want to say 7 ago or so but that's really just a guess), I was standing next to this ticketing machine while they were playing like normal. There is an airhockey table just to the right of this game, and at the time we were playing I distinctly remember 2 teenage boys aggressively playing while I just watched my brothers exploit this ticketing game.
At a certain point, I just remember feeling SOMETHING strike me extremely hard and fast across my right temple and I immediately dropped to the ground. Like I straight-up just collapsed and slumped to the ground, clutching the side of my head in pain. My initial thought was that the airhockey puck had accidentally gotten hit into the air and hit me and that was what I felt. When I dropped to the ground, my brothers were very visibly concerned about what had happened to me and stopped what they were doing to make sure that I was okay.
I slowly stood up from my knees, rubbing the side of my head vigorously to help alleviate some of the pain, insisting that something had just hit me but that I was okay but was just hit by an airhockey puck. But when I glanced over to look at the airhockey table to the right of the game cabinet, I don't remember seeing anyone at the table and there was no evidence of any stray puck anywhere on the ground, and I had no lasting damage/pain/bruise on my head from this supposed 'hit' I took. It basically appeared that I was struck in the side of my head by nothing and I dropped to the ground randomly for no reason with no indication that anything had physically damaged me.
Because it happened so long ago and none of us REALLY paid attention to what had occurred or happened, neither me or my brothers can really remember all the exact details such as if anyone was playing airhockey that night or if anyone was at the table after I supposedly got hit by the flying puck, so I tend to take all of this with a grain of salt. I certainly don't believe it was anything supernatural or paranormal, but it was certainly a bizarre occurrence that stands out in my memory to this day.
Anyways! That's it. ^_^ Not something SUPER bizarre, and I don't believe that anything unexplainable, paranormal, or supernatural occurred that day, and I've never experienced anything like it since. I'm absolutely certain there's an explanation for what happened, even if it's just me mentally experiencing this for seemingly no reason, but I'm curious and interested to hear people's thoughts.
submitted by Caelum_Solaris to ChilluminatiPod [link] [comments]

My tale of almost getting caught -- can anyone here top this?

One of the members here asked this question: Anyone wanna share stories of times SO’s spidey senses were tingling and you had to do damage control?
This happened many many years ago, when I was new to the "being married" life. My wife and I went to South Lake Tahoe and we were sitting together playing roulette. It was decent occupancy...all the tables were full, but not so crowded that I could not get a view of people around and about. I caught sight of a blonde stunner walking past the craps table, and she turned the corner, the casino lane took her toward our table. I was trying very hard not to stare, but this woman was simply one of the most gorgeous babes I've ever seen. Imagine Tiffany Coyne from "Let's Make A Deal" (yes, I go gaga for skinny blonde Barbies!) 🔥❤️
As she approached our table, I wondered if she was an escort. Or maybe she was already with someone and was just browsing the scene alone while her man was gambling somewhere else. She casually gazed over our table and then kept walking at a slow but steady pace. And then she passed us and was out of sight. She never made eye contact with me, so I figured she wasn't looking for company. But with my wife sitting right next to me, maybe she didn't want to waste her time with me? I couldn't think about what numbers I wanted to bet anymore, lol...I was struck with a huge dose of sexual uneasiness...my mind was wandering and I began daydreaming about her. These lingering thoughts can be so pleasurable in and of itself, and I was shifting so much in my seat that my wife asked me if I needed to use the bathroom! I said no and we continued to play.
10 minutes later, I could see the blonde again...walking the same route as she did before. I was going to get to enjoy another chance of this eye candy, and as I looked around at the others, it boggled my mind how nobody else was really looking at her. When people are deeply in their gambling and smoking and drinking, I suppose sex isn't high on the list! But being the nymph that I am, I could not resist. This time, I made a conscious effort to stare. And this time she made eye contact with me! She gave a very quick and sweet smile, and proceeded to keep walking. Again, she went out of sight.
At this point, I was 50% sure that she was a high-priced escort. But there were too many unknowns to be 100% for sure. I needed more clues. I was hoping that she would walk around a third time, so that I can stare at her again and perhaps give her some flirty or inviting gesture to indicate that I'm interested. But she never came by again.
After about 20-30 minutes, I didn't see her so I figured she left...maybe with somebody else or went to play slots or her room. Who knows. But my wife wanted to play something else so we grabbed our chips and left the roulette table. She went to play slots and I went to cash in the chips. Near the cashier's cage, there was a hallway that led to the restrooms. And at a short distance, I saw the blonde...and she was looking my way. I took my cash and proceeded toward the bathroom...staring at this beauty all the way. She and I locked eyes and she just blurted it out, "Hey I saw you looking at me." I thought she was going to be mad for staring, but before I could say sorry, she asked me if I wanted company! I was like... JACKPOT!!!!!! She asked if I had a room, and I said yes. I gave her the room number and told me to meet me on that floor near the elevator. But first, I needed to go tell my wife that I will be playing in the slot area too, and I made up some bullshit thing like don't come look for me because I believe it's bad luck if I have someone next to me when I'm playing the slots. She said ok.
I took the elevator to my floor and when the doors opened, there she was! Did I fucking die and go to heaven? She gave me this soft hug and her body felt so nice to hold. Whatever perfume she was wearing was smelling very nice! I gently squeezed the small of her back toward me...I made sure she could feel "my excitement" in her crotch area. She was wearing a tight thin dress, so I knew she felt me. I held her hand and led her to my room. When we got inside the room, she confessed that she and her husband had lost a lot of money at Harrahs, and she was very pissed off at him. And she asked me if I would be willing to help her out. Well, at least she wasn't an escort, but nothing was going to stop me now. This was a Tiffany Coyne lookalike...and I'm fucking this woman 👉👌💦come hell or high water!
I don't want to go into details, but there was no clock watching or hastiness. We took out sweet time, and I enjoyed every inch of her body. I was so built-up that I couldn't hold my cum in anymore...and ended up shooting it deep down her throat when she was sucking. But I was still hard as a rock and we kept going. We did several positions for the next 30-40 minutes.....then she got on top of me to ride me...but after about 5 minutes into that, my worst nightmare looked like it was going to happen! Someone was trying to open my hotel door!
The blonde suddenly stopped riding me...I pushed her off me and jumped toward the door to hold it closed! My wife was on the other side saying, "Hey! Why aren't you letting me in?" The blonde was hiding behind the side of the bed...naked and looking worried...and I motioned her to stay quiet. I cried to my wife, I can't let you in! She kept trying to use her electronic key to open the door and I kept pushing it closed again, and she shouted, "Why not?" I repeated, "I can't! Go back downstairs! I'll meet you there!" She replied, "No, I'm tired! I want to come in the room!"
I was literally feeling like this is the end...I'm gonna get caught...it's over. But suddenly, the words just came out, "I can't let you in...it's embarrassing" She asked, "What's so embarrassing??!!" I told her, "I pooped all over the floor" She asked in disbelief, "WHAT?!" I told her that I think something I ate or drank gave me diarrhea and I ended up shitting my pants before getting to the toilet, and I just want to clean it all up before letting her in. I glanced over at my blonde friend, who was trying her best to control her laughing. "Can you please go downstairs and wait until I'm done?" My wife laughed and said, "Okay, I'll be at the roulette table"
The blonde and I resumed our fucking...it seemed more special after that incident...I guess we bonded being partners in crime? I didn't want to risk my wife coming back up, so I told her let's finish this and fuck me in my favorite position... the reverse cowgirl. When I was about to cum, I pushed her off and splattered her face. We both laughed so hard about what had happened earlier, and soon thereafter, we kissed and parted ways. Wish I had asked for her number...ah, my one regret!
Then, to cover my tracks, I did the unthinkable. I squatted and took a shit on the carpet by the hotel door! I rubbed the shit into the fibers and onto the tile leading to the toilet. I did a half-ass job with the cleaning, so as to prove to my wife that I did have uncontrollable diarrhea. Fuck, the room smelled awful! But it had to be done. I got a $150 cleaning fee from the hotel later, but that was one expense I was more than happy to pay! My wife never did suspect anything, and to this day, I still think that this was the closest I ever came to ruining it with her.
Such are the dangers of this lifestyle 😬
submitted by KnightAnthony to adultery [link] [comments]

The Junk Bond King

Junk bonds are bonds issued by companies with poor credit ratings, such as CCC, as opposed to investment-grade bonds that are issued by companies with a AAA credit rating.

Chronology

His Crimes

The junk bond scheme:
  1. Milken controlled both sides of the deal, he controlled both the lenders and the borrowers.
  2. he controlled the lenders because he controlled a huge network of federally insured Savings and Loan banks, reputable insurance companies, and junk bond funds.
  3. so Milken would then raise money from his network of lenders to buy junk bonds from a junk company (borrower), with the promise that the junk company will use some of that capital to buy junk bonds from other junk companies (borrowers) in Milken’s junk bond empire. This inflated the demand for the junk bonds.
  4. junk bonds yielded Milken a high commission, and Milken would also get equity in the junk companies that he had just financed with capital.
Junk bonds financed corporate raiders, and information about those takeover bids was improperly shared, creating criminal insider trading opportunities.
Milken often tried to get as much as five times the maximum markup on trades that was permitted at the time.
Milken’s friend and business associate, Ivan Boesky:
  1. Ivan Boesky’s conviction of insider trading in 1986 is what lead to Milken’s downfall.
  2. Milken had substantial business dealings with Boesky.
  3. the first lead into Milken’s crimes was a payment of $5.3 million by Ivan Boesky to Drexel Burnham listed as a consultation fee. Boesky told the SEC this payment was for Milken’s profits form an illegal trade.
  4. Boesky implicated milked in insider trading, stock manipulation, fraud, and stock parking.
Milken’s shadow entity, MacPherson Partners:
  1. Drexel’s internal investigation discovered suspicious activity in one of the limited partnerships Milken had set up to allow members of his department to make their own investments called MacPherson Partners.
  2. Members of MacPherson Partners included: Milken, other Drexel Burnham executives, a few high value Drexel Bernham customers, as well as a few managers of money market funds - all friends of Milken.
  3. MacPherson Partners acquired several stock warrant)s for the stock of Storer Broadcasting in 1985. At the time, the powerful private equity firm KKR was in the midst of a leveraged buyout of Storer Broadcasting, and Drexel Burnham was the lead underwriter for the bonds being issued.
  4. One of Drexel Burnham’s other clients bought several Storer Broadcasting warrants and sold them back to the high-yield bond department (controlled by Milken) at Drexel Burnham.
  5. Drexel Burnham’s high-yield bond department in turn sold them to MacPherson Partners (also controlled by Milken).
  6. Those warrants were then handed out by Milken to members of his family, and the money managers bought the warrants for themselves without notifying the clients of the funds they were managing.
  7. By allowing his wealth fund management friends to buy the warrants, Milken was essentially bribing them so they would in turn help him with his junk bond manipulation.
​

His Trial, Conviction and Sentence

During the trial, Milken spent $3 million a month on his legal defense and an expensive public relations firm.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to 3 counts of securities fraud, 2 counts of tax evasion, and 1 count of conspiracy to commit the other 5 crimes.
Milken was ordered by the court to pay a fine of $200 million and to pay $400 million to defrauded investors.
In a separate civil suit Milken had to pay out an additional $500 million to defrauded investors. Sentenced to 2 years for each of the 5 counts of tax and securities fraud for 10 years total.
When the judge read the sentence, Milken misunderstood and thought he had received 2 years total. After his lawyer told him that he was getting 10 years, the blood drained out of Milken’s face, he took his wife into a witness waiting room, closed the door and let out a blood-curdling scream.

Clemency from President Trump

​
On February 18, 2020 Trump granted clemency to Milken, although his lifetime ban from the securities industry is still in effect.
America’s Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, is longtime pals with Milken, and was the prime mover in convincing President Trump to pardon him. Mnuchin has flown on Milken’s private jet.
Another fat cat advocating for Milken was Nelson Peltz, who has raised over $10 million for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.
And don’t forget Trump's fattest fat cat, Sheldon Adelson, who also advocated on behalf of Milken.
Many powerful figures in high finance came together to lobby the White House on behalf of Milken, including:
  1. Sheldon Adelson: a major Republican donor and Trump supporter, Adelson is the chief executive officer of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.
  2. David Bahnsen: a former Morgan Stanley managing director and wealth management executive who wrote Trump in 2017 urging him to pardon Milken, calling the junk bond king’s prosecution a result of “a period of class envy run amok.”
  3. Tom Barrack: the chief executive officer and chairman of Colony Capital Inc., Barrack is long-time Trump ally. He faced a call from an investor in November to step down in part over distractions from investigations into his political and personal activities.
  4. Rupert Murdoch: a powerful media mogul and longtime Trump ally who put the power of News Corp. behind the president.
  5. Maria Bartiromo: a popular anchor on Fox Business, Bartiromo has interviewed Milken as recently as 2018 (and has also interviewed Trump). The network is part of Murdoch’s media empire.
  6. Ron Burkle: a billionaire investor who controls Yucaipa Cos., Burkle made his fortune in the grocery-store industry. Burkle, a Democratic fund-raiser famous for his friendship with Bill Clinton, made news last year when he was rumored to be interested in acquiring the Trump-friendly National Enquirer.
  7. Elaine Chao: the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Chao was a key speaker at the Milken Global Conference last year, where she spoke about the future of mobility as well as women in government. She’s married to Republican Senate Majority Leader and top Trump ally Mitch McConnell.
  8. Rudy Giuliani: Trump’s personal lawyer, the former New York mayor has lately been embroiled in the Ukraine scandal. As chief federal prosecutor in New York in the 1980s, Giuliani sought to prosecute Milken.
  9. Rabbi Marvin Hier: dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Hier was invited by Trump to speak at his inauguration. The rabbi in 2018 called on Trump to fight extremism in the U.S. after a shooting at a synagogue.
  10. Ray Irani: chairman and chief executive officer of Ray Investments Ltd. and former CEO of Occidental Petroleum, Irani stepped down as a board member at Wynn Resorts Ltd. following a sexual harassment scandal involving company founder Steve Wynn.
  11. Robert Kraft: owner of the New England Patriots and a longtime Trump supporter.
  12. Richard LeFrak: a billionaire developer and Republican donor, LeFrak appeared in a 2010 episode of Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice.”
  13. Randy Levine: the president of the New York Yankees and a longtime supporter of Republican politicians, including Trump.
  14. Kevin McCarthy: a Republican congressman from California, McCarthy is the House Minority Leader and a longtime Trump supporter.
  15. Larry Mizel: chairman and CEO of home-builder MDC Holdings Inc.
  16. Arte Moreno: owner of the Anaheim Angels, which he purchased from The Walt Disney Co. in 2003
  17. Sean Parker: Napster co-creator and Facebook Inc. billionaire who has attended the annual Milken Institute Global Conference.
  18. John Paulson: founder and owner of Paulson & Co., a New York-based investment adviser that manages about $9 billion, Paulson is best-known for making $15 billion in 2007 on a bet against mortgage bonds.
  19. Nelson Peltz: founder and chief executive officer of Trian Fund Management LP, Peltz is well-known as an activist investor in companies like Wendy’s and Dupont.
  20. Steven Roth: chairman and chief executive officer of Vornado Realty Trust, a REIT that holds more than 22 million square feet in commercial property, mainly in New York.
  21. David Rubenstein: co-chairman and co-founder of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm with $222 billion in assets under management.
  22. Larry Ruvo: senior managing director of Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, the state’s largest liquor wholesaler.
  23. Marc Stern: the chairman of TCW Group Inc. hosted a $10,000 per person fund-raiser for Trump at his Malibu home in 2018 attended by Vice President Mike Pence.
  24. Steven Tananbaum: the founder and chief investment officer of GoldenTree Asset Management LP, one of Wall Street’s biggest investors in distressed debt.
  25. Ted Virtue: the chief executive officer of MidOcean Partners, the middle-market private equity and credit firm, who previously oversaw Deutsche Bank AG’s $35 billion direct investment portfolio.
  26. Andrew von Eschenbach: a U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief under President George W. Bush, he now serves on the board of Bausch Health Cos.
  27. Mark Weinberger: the chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young LLP, Weinberger quit Trump’s business council after the Charlottesville white supremacists rally but later dined with the president.

Conclusion

Milken likes to tell his life story as a smart guy who grew up wanting to be a scientist and lead America in the space race, but after his first year in college the Watts riots happened and it made him rethink his life. After talking with a Black man who told him that he couldn’t get access to capital because he was Black, Milken decided he would dedicate his life to making sure people with ability would have access to capital.
So Milken changed from a science major to finance, went to business school, made $billions on Wall Street all so he could help Black people?
There are plenty of people who in part owe their wealth to Milken and his junk bonds, and these people heap praise on Milken saying he created a lot of wealth in America and helped society tremendously.
The wealth, though, went to those people heaping the praise!
As for the companies Milken financed helping society, it would be difficult to argue that case. The big name companies that were financed by Milken include: CNN, Rupert Murdoch’s empire, Wynn casinos, Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital, etc.
Milken was not helping society, he was helping people on Wall Street get rich.
Government watchdogs are usually too weak to take on the crimes of the super rich, because the government watchdog worker still gets paid whether for not the Wall Street crook gets busted.
There is no incentive to play by the rules.
Milken has done a lot of philanthropic work especially in regards to cancer research with that $2.5 billion he had leftover after getting out of prison, although he hasn’t given away that much money considering his net worth in 2020 is $3.8 billion.
What I find most fascinating about the Milken story is the power of his public relations machine. All the major media outlets cast Milken as a philanthropist and not a criminal.
Another sign of the overwhelming influence of the wealthy on the American zeitgeist.
submitted by Arch_Globalist to RunagateRampant [link] [comments]

The Locked Cabinet and the Virus

I had been called to the city of sin for a bi-annual conference that I had taken for the past 24 years. I had sat through it in health, in the cold, rain, and sickness. I was there 10 days after Tupac was murdered, and was walking down Fremont street several months later on the day when they took Christopher Wallace. A year later in 1998, a colleague and I woke up to a phone call from my then wife telling me about what happened to President Clinton, and that was when the words, "For a blowjob?" coming from my companion led me into a similar predicament. For the next several years, a tangled divorce that I've never fully unwinded from, occupied my attention. It wasn't until the morning of September 11th in 2001 that gave me the wakeup call I needed. I scooted the young blonde out of my room and told her to call her dad, since I knew Tom was in New York that day.
Mosque bombings, terrorism, market bubble bursting, swine flu, recession, succession, shootings, a shooter, second divorce, new house, new life, and the same old job on the same old beat all meant that Las Vegas and I had been doing this dance through the thick and the thin for over two decades.
And I have never seen it like this.
My uber driver nodded, "Yeah man. Shit is wild. I only picked up 8 people in the last 9 hours."
He was young, the new leather interior in a wide bodied Escalade smelled like an expensive loan. His eyes were twitchy as he tried not stare at me, wondering if I was going to cough from all the dry mouthing I had been doing from the LAS to my hotel.
I had grown used to the stares, the selective social distancing for looking Chinese and all of its stereotypes as the weeks leading into March of 2020. The beginning trend of people instinctively coughing whenever they saw me soon became a daily ritual. It was all a part of tribe mentality I convinced myself, chuckling as I remembered the pie scene from the movie Stand By me.
That made my uber driver nervous.
"Here we are," he finally breathed.
I thanked him and proceeded to the service counter with my carry on.
"Sorry for the wait," replied the representative, "We laid off 80% of our staff this morning."
I was taken aback by her candid greeting.
"Looks like you'll be in a private room owned by one of our guests. And as it is not through the hotel, please contact your host for any services that you require. We will need a $500 deposit on a credit card for any incidentals."
Several minutes later I found myself riding the elevator up 26 stories and into my rental. I contacted my host through the app to let him know that I had arrived. It was my first time using the app service so if anyone wants to chime in on how necessary or unnecessary that action is, please, enlighten me.
I had chose this room because there was a large, deep soak bathtub. I don't have many preferences in life but if there is a chicken fried steak on the menu I must get it at least once, coke over pepsi, and onion rings. Don't ask me why they are all food based, but they are, except for the bathtub. At nearly 6'1 I am always trying to find a decent soak. When I was younger my grandmother owned a Japanese soaking barrel, and ever since then I have been chasing after that nostalgic experience. Instead I often find myself cramming, contorting, and cold above the chest.
There was not much for me to do as President Trump had canceled his conference with the Jewish Coalition, which meant that other subsequent CEO's began withdrawing from all the other Vegas conferences. Something that I should have foreseen, which could have otherwise prevented me from traveling during this time. But there was no helping it, and this was definitely not the worst place to be stuck in.
I looked into the bathroom mirror and decided to wash the trails of the airport from my face and then made my way down to the casino floors. Everything was closed. All the restaurants anyways. So I hailed a cab and found my way to Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen. The best lobster risotto I ever had, a mediocre bar experience, a change of hands for an 8 ball on the street, and I was on my way into Caesar's Palace. I had reasoned with myself that my foresight was not the best at this time so blackjack and poker were out of the question. I stuck to roulette and craps, winning big at the dice. And if you've ever been to a high roller table then all the movies are true, there you will find willing women to blow on the ivories for you.
Somehow we found our way back to my room, a slew of fancy cocktail dresses and Victoria secret's underwear were strewn in a near comical fashion. A rolled Benjamin walked down Abbey road. And there's nothing quite like two young and beautiful women taking pictures of your junk to brag to their friends later to accentuate your high. Everyone loves an anomaly.
The two of them were in town for CONEXPO, one of the world's largest construction gatherings. One was 28 and a leading architect for a large firm and the other was a 32 year old forewoman who was sent to accompany her to fill in the job's specifics.
"You've got soft hands for a construction worker," I quipped.
She raised her drawn in eyebrow at me, "Not as soft as a desk jockey's."
We both laughed until our eyes were drawn to the young architect who had begun to slowly undress in front of us. She swayed her hips to the lofi soul of Joji. My champagne glass sparkled in the light as the smells of girl scout cookies lit up the bathroom.
"You don't mind if I smoke do you?"
"Oh, give it here," came the architect's voice.
"I should probably get an ashtray."
I got out of the tub and walked into the living area. I pulled open a few drawers, and found nothing. I tugged on the handles of the cabinet underneath the wetbar only to find it locked. That was when I noticed the notice stickied on its door, "Please do not open. These are my private possessions," made with a cheap labeler. "There's probably alcohol in this thing," I said aloud. I turned to look into the bathroom but neither of them seemed to care as I watched the water falling from their hair and down their backs. The rest of the night was well, you can imagine.
I woke up around 4:30 A.M. and heard an ungodly rattling. As I stirred in bed, I heard a voice asking sleepily, "What was that?"
"I don't know," came another voice. "It's probably the pipes or something."
The architect was unsure so she got up and turned on a light. She turned to look at me, "Did you get this on AirBNB?"
"Yeah, something like that."
We heard the rattle again. I could tell that she was afraid so I decided to get up with her.
"Do you know where the light is," she asked?
"Nope," I said as I struck a match for dramatic effect.
"Oh god," she rolled her eyes.
I smiled, "It's more fun this way."
She grabbed my arm as we made our way into the larger part of the suite in search of the noise. We looked in the closet, the bathroom, the enclosed toilet, and I even pulled a few drawers open for effect.
"What is this," she asked me. She had found the cabinet under the wetbar.
"I don't know. It was locked when I got here." I struck another match, "It says not to touch it or something, owner's possessions I think."
"Oh god, that is so creepy," she moaned. "I once went to this place in Lake Tahoe and it wasn't until the last day that my boyfriend found a loft that was hidden because the stairs had been removed. When he climbed it, there was a router and a twin sized bed in the corner. Super chills man."
"Well, the cabinet is too small for anything weird to be in there," I told her.
"You don't know that, have you ever seen those double jointed circus people?"
"Well, if there's some more champagne in there, then I wouldn't mind breaking the lock."
"It would be warm," she said.
"Ah yes, the important things."
We laughed, but just as we were going to get back into bed she ran into the bathroom and got a towel and tied an extensive knot around the handles.
Several hours later we were woken up with a loud banging. I bolted up in bed.
"Sir!"
My mind raced to gather itself and assess at least 9 things wrong with my current situation. Cops, someone's boyfriend, my wife? Oh shit, why was I still getting myself into these predicaments? You would think I've learned a thing or two by now.
"Sir! This is hotel security. Are you in there sir? We're asking everyone to evacuate the building."
I got out of bed and rushed to open the door before they keyed their way in, "Hey what is going on?"
A man in an N95 mask and gloves was at the door, "Sir, we've been asked to evacuate everyone out of the building immediately. The hotel will be closing due to SARS-COV-2."
"What's going on," one of the girls asked.
"Miss, everyone needs to leave. We are evacuating the building. Please gather your belongings."
I looked at my companions and subsequently told them, "I can't believe they canceled Vegas."
For the next 20 minutes we scrambled to get ready. For a group of strangers it worked decently well. We cut the last lines and split it between the three of us. A smile, a kiss, and a hurried goodbye later meant that we found ourselves rushing for the elevator.
"Oh god, I forgot about the towel I tied to the cabinet," the architect said.
"It shouldn't be that much of a problem. Someone will just take it off later," I tried assuring her.
"What if no one gets back in there for weeks?" She looked at me slightly anxious, as if she was afraid to breathe the words, and a side of me knew what she was going on about.
"Alright, I'll go back," I told her.
The forewoman looked confused.
"I'll got with you," the architect said.
"No, you two get downstairs and see what is going on."
She looked at me with these doe eyes, the same look that has kept me awake for the past several days as I am laying here in boredom.
"I'll be fine I told her."
I ran back to the room, slid my keycard and began to untie the knot on the cabinet. And in my paranoia I took a video recording of the place before leaving, just so that I had evidence that the room was left in relatively good order later. The door slammed behind me, I pulled up my app to request an Uber as I made my way to the elevator. My phone vibrated, it must be the app I reasoned as I began shifting through my luggage to make sure I had gotten everything. When I reached the ground floor I searched for my two companions but found hotel personnel were rushing people into open taxis and Ubers to the airport. An entitled prick stood outside the valet desk as a manager profusely apologized for the inconvenience and how the hotel would compensate for one thing or another as he opened the door to a Porsche Panamera.
There was nothing for me to do except get into an Uber. I pulled up my phone expecting to see a familiar message that notified me that my driver would be arriving in 3 minutes, but instead it was a message from my host that simply said, "Thank you."
submitted by FingerFlares to nosleep [link] [comments]

My Idea for GTA 6

It'll be HUGE.
How huge? It'll have the biggest map in the series, encompassing the whole state of San Andreas (including Los Santos, San Fierro, Las Venturas, and a new city called San Joseph, based on San Jose), with locations you can access by taking a plane to, including Liberty City, Vice City, Carcer City, North Yankton, even locations north and south of the border.
This time, there will be SIX protagonists, these being Michael, Franklin, Trevor, Niko, Taliana Martinez, and an aged, HD Universe version of Tommy Vercetti.
We'll also find out what has happened since GTA V:
We also get to see how the NPCs are doing:
So, to recap:
So, whaddaya think?
submitted by BNSF1995 to GTA [link] [comments]

5.5 Year Relationship at a Crossroads and about to move in together

My (25M) GF (25F) and I have been dating for over 5.5 years. We met first day of sophomore year in college, and started dating after becoming good friends in a few months. We've been together ever since, and graduating from school and moving to NYC separately, each with roommates from school. After 3 years of living apart (15 min walk away) my lease ended and I moved in with her and her roommates for this summer while her lease goes til end of August. We're scheduled to move in Sept. 1.
To give a very crucial backstory, last Fall was the lowest point of our relationship - she actually said she wanted to break up with me one night and I slept on the couch and said I didn't want to give up. The next day we had a normal Sunday, actually kind of happy strangely. We got to that low point due to the fact that she doesn't trust me. She's had trust issues with me for a long time dating back to college because I was secretive about when I smoked pot or that I occasionally packed a lip on a drunk night - dumb stuff. Last fall though, for some reason one night we were talking about not having secrets before getting married being important to us and all of a sudden my heart started to THROB . I couldn't stop it and my face got white and she saw me and asked what was going on. I could hardly speak and she got really really scared. It was because, for some reason I still don't know, recalled that I had made out with my ex 4 years ago when I was home for Christmas in college Junior year. I didn't tell her this though. I had just got back from a trip to Lake Tahoe with all my best friends like the night before and she kept accusing me of sleeping with someone on that trip because that was the only thing that could've made me so nervous and my heart pound. I vehemently denied this because it simplu wasn't true and would never do that to her and was genuinely hurt she could even think that I was capable of doing that to her. Eventually, after brutal days, we got over it and it just kind of eeked away...
But then, almost every time we were hanging out, watching a TV show or movie where the people are like making out or doing anything sexual whatsover, and my girlfriend is laying on my chest, my heart starts POUNDING again, just like it had the first time and she would always get so upset, same thing over and over all Fall. She was studying for a big test (for finance job) all Fall too, she was stressed and anxious while I enjoyed football season. So right before I go home for Christmas, we're having our last night together, trying to enjoy each other but it was just off. Felt like miles between us. I had even started to grow resentful at this point because I felt like i didn't deserve to feel so badly all the time and am a really great BF to her. We're sitting down that night and she starts breaking down crying, and finally she just says "I know there's something else. It FEELS like there is something else. Please just tell me and I promise I'll listen and try not to be mad" and then I started breaking down too. I knew I had to tell her if we were ever going to work. I finally told her that I had cheated on her 4 years ago one night when I was home from Christmas and made out (I'm from Pacific Northwest, family still lives there) with my ex gf from highschool. I truly was blacked out and don't remember doing it at all - i felt sick when my buddy told me what happened the next morning. She cries immediately but thanks me and we sort of fall asleep crying. I went home the next day for Christmas.
​
Christmas was awful. She really didn't take it well and blacked out for most of the 2 weeks. She made out with a guy from highschool too and told me about it Chritmas eve. She would black out and text or call me saying such nasty things and that she was going to live her life and wishes me the best yada yada - It was just a rough break and she really made me feel terrible a lot. We finally facetimed and had a long talk at the end before we came back. I told her i wasn't mad at her and that I was sorry and that I take responsibility for everything - the last fall, this christmas, everything. She basically doesn't know if she can get over it and we come back to the city. The first weekend we had, we went out for dinner and had a really weird date where we both cried alot, and she expressed that she still was so mad at me and didn't know how to not be and didn't trust me still and accused me of having more secrets - she still thought I had sex with someone in Tahoe or something. The next night she breaks down after an argument says she can't do it anymore and breaks up with me basically. I told her she was upset and this was a mistake and that we could really be special if we got through this because I finally had nothing to hide and understand the importance of trust and the damage i caused. She told me she could maybe one day forgive me but she didn't trust me and didn't promise she ever would. I told her i forgive her for everything she did all christmas and that I would prove her right day by day, being honest and telling the truth. We went to Miami together the next week (it was planned already) and had a really really great time. We kind of turned it back around on that trip I thought. I did tell her on that trip that I was afraid my heart might still beat whenever she was on my chest because I noticed it had happened once since I told the truth and was afraid it might still for no reason besides maybe PTSD - i still dont understand why it does now.
So we've been dating since and really the last 8 months have been great. I've been a hundred percent honest with her - mostly about dumb things like I dipped at a wedding one weekend or did cocaine with my friends once in Tahoe (she doesn't like drugs and told me never to do them which I respect and tell her if it happens once in a very blue moon). My apartment lease was up at the beginning of summer and moved in with her and her roommates for the summer until we finally move in to our own place Sept 1. There have been a lot of instances this summer where I've been made to feel like im not a good boyfriend or someone whos trustworthy. One example being that I didn't tell her that my best buddy and I were staying at a hotel one night when I visited him in Texas after we gambled at a nearby casino until the night of. She calls me and tells me how shady i am and that i make her worry every time im away. I was and am still upset about this and feel like its a complete overreaction and unfair to say i was lying - i told her i was at a hotel and staying there myself! This led to us texting angrily all day the next day and me not enjoying my last day with my friend before I came back. So this type of things has been happening occasionally this summer and every time it gets down to her saying I still don't trust you and I don't forgive you. And that she doesn't always think of me in a positive light.
My heart beat again one night and she accuses me again, says there's a reason it still beats. I'm at a loss. There is absolutely nothing else for me to tell her and no reason why it still beats- it's the strangest most frustrating thing I've ever felt because it really really messes stuff up for us and I can not control it. The more I think about it the more it happens. It doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to - like hardly at all now, but it still will once every while. So I finally tell her I can't feel this way anymore. I really am the best boyfriend in the world to her and I feel like such a bad guy all the time because of her and her unwillingness to trust me and think positively of me. I tell her that I've done all in my power to make up for it, and that I am able to forgive her for what she's done to me, and i need her to do the same for me. she says she doesn't know how to do that and that she'll work on it. long week, lots of talking and tears, really no progress.
Last night, she notices my iphone passcode is different and asks why. I tell her becuase it just made me change it for some reason and the new one is *****. She says how that's weird and hers never does that. She keeps saying its so weird and I'm finally like what are you getting at exactly? And she says she doesn't think that happened. I'm flabbergasted - after everything I said to her last week and all that we talked about and how important I emphasized that I can't feel like that anymore, the NEXT DAY she starts on about how I'm lying about why my iphone passcode (THAT I TOLD HER) had changed? That was last night. She eventually apologized and we've been texting all day about how we don't know if we should move in together, if she can't trust me how will we work, etc. I really don't know. We signed a 28 month lease, slated to move in together on Sunday. I don't know what to do. Move in and hope she's able to start trusting me? Or just continue to deal with it hoping it gets better? Call it all off? Fuck IDK
TLDR - GF doesn't trust me. I don't deserve it. Will it get better / should we move in?
submitted by justforthispostgone to relationship_advice [link] [comments]

Trip log: Yesterday's mini solo adventure (US), my Hard Rock pin collection, and Pokemon Go

A few weeks ago I received an alert that the Indianapolis Hard Rock Cafe would be closing soon. I've been meaning to travel there for a while and for the sake of getting my pin, but now I was on notice. Last year I received similar notices about the Lake Tahoe cafe (the hotel replaced the cafe) and the St. Louis cafe last year, so I'm somewhat familiar with planning these trips with some haste. Checking my unused Southwest travel funds and my schedule, I decided to create a day trip which involved hitting not only the Indianapolis location, but also possibly grabbing a pin from the Tampa Bay airport's Cafe as well. So, here was my Saturday:
​
Flight 1: DCA-MDW (DC to Chicago, departing at 6:15 AM)
Flight 2: MDW-IND (Chicago to Indianapolis, departing at 8:30 AM)
Flight 3: IND-TPA (Indianapolis to Tampa, departing at 4:40 PM)
Flight 4: TPA-DCA (Tampa to Washington, departing at 7:50 PM) I was concerned beforehand that this was silly and become too stressful. But I'm so glad I did this - for better or for worse, it went better than anticipated and has inspired me to try similar challenges in the US. Maybe it was a crazy plan, but maybe I'm the right type of crazy to try it. Some background: I collect Hard Rock Cafe guitar pins from locations around the world. Pins are great souvenirs - they are easy to pack, typically cost $10-15 (unless a Cafe is closing, then it's cheaper), and take up far less space in my home compared to a shirt collection or the like. I've been doing this for a bit over 20 years, collecting roughly pins from roughly 50 properties. I have a few rules:
The night before
My flight would be leaving early out of DCA, so I decided to have a quiet evening at home and to shower before going to bed. While I typically shower first thing in the morning, I learned to shower at night through stressful weeks at work: Showering relaxes me, and helps me fall asleep far faster. Typically I don't have an issue falling asleep on a normal night, but this wasn't a normal night. The shower did its job, and I fell asleep around 8:30 PM.
I packed my day bag: Wallet, extra external battery for my devices, iPad mini with games/books/crosswords/music loaded, plug-in charger, Clif bars (bought before my trip so I wasn't paying airport prices for snacks), headphones.
​
Flight 1: DCA-MDW
I was questioning my sanity before this leg. My body decided to wake up around 3:15, well ahead of the 4:00 alarm. GREAT. I had slept *enough* to not be a complete mess, so I got ready and eventually called a Lyft to take me to the airport (I had debated driving, but parking for the day would have been more expensive than rides to and from the airport). My Lyft driver arrived just after 5:00 AM, and boy was he a pro - he had a full, backlit snack bar selection in the car along with an iPad set up for trivia games. He immediately noticed my lack of luggage and asked "So...do you....work at the airport....or....?" I laughed, realizing I was going to explain this crazy trip to someone. So I began explaining my collection and how my day would play out, and he laughed. "Boy, you're one of a kind." He's never heard of solotravel now HAS he?
We arrived at Terminal A, which is the original terminal at Reagan National Airport. I arrived roughly 30 minutes before boarding, and I was surprised at how many people (high school students in particular) were already at the airport. WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE AND WHY DON'T YOU SLEEP. Thankfully I have TSA pre-check, so it took me maybe five minutes to get through security.
So many teenagers. I'm not Clint Eastwood "get off my lawn" old, but I'm getting closer to 40 and farther from my high school years. I'm a morning person, but not perfectly awake at 5:00 AM among the general population. Perhaps the kids were enjoying the cheaper airfare - just like I was! - but goddamn how are they SO excited that early? Thankfully I didn't have to endure this for terribly long, and my flight to Chicago was basically a giant adult nursery. Sweet dreams....
​
Flight 2: MDW-IND
We arrived to Midway about 15 minutes early, which gave me some extra time to grab breakfast at the airport and find my next gate. For as tight as the connections felt today, I appreciated any extra padding in my schedule. Because I'm a Pokemon Go player, I fired up the app and began searching for Mons while I walked. What luck! I managed to complete the weekly research quest, and for the first time I had Regirock appear for the Research Breakthrough. I love collecting Pokemon during my travels so they reflect the locations in their profiles, so my Regirock is from Chicago. I also managed to win a Mawile raid with an anonymous partner (thank you, whoever you are), so I have that guy as well.
I keep forgetting Midway isn't O'Hare in terms of food options. I appreciate any opportunity I can get to have Tortas Frontera at O'Hare, but I'm not sure why my brain tortured itself by not remembering YOU'RE GOING TO MIDWAY. That said, the cup of coffee I got from True Burger Co. was better than I expected and exactly what I needed. It was time to board my flight once I was finished with my breakfast, and basically I blinked and I was in Indy. We had to take a moment to de-ice the plane before departing, but the flight was maybe 30 minutes long.
Indianapolis
Because I prefer to take the cheapest options possible AND I had time, I wanted to take the IndyGo public bus from the airport to downtown. Here were my options:
My problem was there was no machine or kiosk where I could buy bus fare, and the bus would require exact change. I asked someone in Ground Transportation if there was anything available where I could purchase a ticket, and I was pointed to....the $12 private downtown shuttle. No. I want the bus. I walked back into the main terminal and found a general information desk, and I asked them if there might be some way to get on the bus. What angels - they were able to make change for me (I had $2) so I could run down to the bus stop and hop on board. No $12 shuttle for me!
The bus took about 40 minutes, stopping along the way and letting me see more of Indiana than I would have seen from the highway. We stopped roughly one block away from the Hard Rock Cafe, so I jumped off the bus and made my way to the restaurant. Since the property is closing in a few weeks, all of their merch was 75% off. Sales like this tempt me into purchasing more, but no, I don't have time for that. I'd have a million shirts and mugs. Unfortunately, and somewhat expected, the pin selection was just okay. I managed to find a pin with an Indy 500 checked flag on it, so I selected that pin. I somewhat broke my rule by purchasing a second pin (not a guitar pin, but reflected the checkered flags in a cool way), but together the pins were just over six bucks. Still cheaper than one pin at a "normal" cafe that isn't closing.
One strange thing about my collection: For as much as I adore collecting pins from these properties around the world, I've had a meal at a Hard Rock Cafe....once? It was in the Caribbean almost a decade ago. I don't go for the food, and usually I'm trying to find a place in a city for my meals that is special. Knowing nothing about Indianapolis, I reached out to my friends for some advice. One friend recommended (fairly emphatically) to try Milktooth in Fountain Square. It was less than a mile from the Cafe, didn't seem to have horrific wait times, and not horribly priced. Off I went...
...and GODDAMN, am I glad I went. This place is hipster-tastic and slightly more luxurious/pricey than I allow myself while traveling, but I would fly back just for the sake of having this meal ago. My wait was maybe five minutes and I sat at the bar. After going over the menu with the server, I went with some items he recommended:
This dish was both salty and sweet, and I was wondering initially "Do I love this or HATE IT?" Mostly, I hated it because it wasn't my typical bland waffle with bland syrup and bland butter. But this breakfast challenged my apparent blandness, and slapped the back of my head. It was fantastic. Probably favorite waffle...ever? Getting my pin made yesterday a "win," but this brunch was such an unexpected surprise. Lesson reaffirmed: Trust your friends and their recommendations.
I finished my meal around 1:30 and figured I should make my way back to the airport. I was no longer near the airport bus route and I decided to take a Lyft. My driver arrived, and I had a great time chatting with him about his experiences with customers. Note: Don't eat in his car, and if you do, clean up after yourself you animals.
Back at the airport I settled in at a charging station (Pokemon really sucks my battery dry) and figured I'd get comfortable while I waited for my for Tampa. Just as I got everything set up....GASP - SURPRISE! A friend of mine from school, someone who I had not seen in over a decade, had commented on a post I made on Facebook when I arrived in Indianapolis. He was ten gates away! I posted where I was seated, and almost immediately he replied that he was coming to find me. WHAT! He happened to be passing through the Indy airport, making his way home after attending a conference. What incredible luck. So I gave him a huge hug and we talked for about 20 minutes before he had to run back to his gate for his flight. This was unreal. As much as I love getting my pins and taking on these mini adventures, THIS moment really made my day.
​
Flight 3: IND-TPA
As I told my friend, I was waiting for my flight to Tampa where I had a chance to get a second pin at the airport. The cafe didn't exist the last time I visited Tampa, though I had visited the Hard Rock casino just outside the city. If my flight arrived on schedule, I had a faint possibility of getting the second pin during the 30 minute layover. I was in the C Terminal and the cafe is located in the main terminal. Luck was on my side, and my flight arrived 20 minutes early. Thankfully the Tampa airport isn't enormous and seemed particularly sleepy when I arrived, and the cafe happened to be located beside the doorway between the airport shuttle station and the main terminal. In and out in five minutes. This pin was about $11, which felt so expensive compared to the bargain from the Indy location, but whatever.
Pokemon collection was extremely underwhelming at the Tampa airport. Very few gyms and stops available. Not that I had tons of time, but give me a regional Mon right?
​
Flight 4: TPA-DCA
I experienced some turbulence during my flight back to DC, which was the only turbulence I really had on any of the flights that day. My energy levels were getting really low at this point - can't imagine why - and I was ready to find my bed back home. The flight was just under two hours. As opposed to the high school I seemingly entered earlier that morning to board my flight to Chicago, Terminal A was a ghost town when we arrived in DC. Aside from those on our flight or attending to our gate, I didn't see any other passengers at the gates in the terminal. It was a strange, peaceful way to reenter my neighborhood after such a fun day. Again, I indulged myself and got a Lyft (hey, I got a discount recently on some rides, don't hate). This driver also noticed my lack of luggage, which prompted him to ask why I was getting a ride from the airport, so I explained my whole day to him. He got a huge kick out of it, accusing me of being a special agent traveling to four cities in a day on a secret mission.
That's right, sir (and here we go, TLDR folks) - my mission was to collect one, maybe two enamel pins from a novelty restaurant chain, and I accomplished the hell of that mission. I managed to run into an old friend along the way, tried some insanely delicious food, and got some great Mons during my trip. I saw four states in one day in two timezones. I wasn't able to fall asleep immediately when I got home, mostly because I was still feeling the adrenaline of running from city to city to accomplish my goal. My pins have found their way to my pin collection case, sitting among the pins from Reykjavik and Sydney and Hong Kong and Rome. All of my pins have stories, but I love that I can now talk about my trip to Indianapolis and Tampa in the same day.
(Holy shit, this post was longer than I anticipated. I hope you enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing it.)
submitted by yaymay to solotravel [link] [comments]

The Trip in South Lake Tahoe - #42

Date: July 15, 2019
Days Left: 15 Days Left
​
About a month ago a good friend of mine was visiting me in Santa Monica. We talked about doing a trip to Lake Tahoe where we can go party but most importantly relax. Even though I am from northern California originally I was never lucky enough to spend much time in Lake Tahoe. I have been up there a couple of times but never in the summer. Here is how my trip went:
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July 11
I started it off by flying out to San Francisco on Thursday. Drove out to LAX with my car since I did some calculations and figured I would save about 10 dollars if I drove myself and left my car overnight instead of taking an Uber. That decision bit me in my ass later on. I got to LAX and their long term parking was closed so with the time I had left I had to choose the closest long term parking which was pretty much double of what I was originally going to spend. Anyways, I got to the airport and with the 15 extra minutes I had, I decided to check out the lounge with the Priority Pass that came with the Chase credit card that I applied for. Free alcohol and free food. You already know I enjoyed my time up there. So I landed in SFO and my little bro Eazy picked me up. It’s always a good time when we link up. We went back to his house for a minute and my other best friend from my hometown up north came to kick it with us for a little bit as well. We smoked, ate pizza, laughed and listen to music for the entire time. Shared with everyone what my plans are with the next few months. Eazy offered me a room in his home if I decide that I want to move to SF after the trip. Which moving to SF is definitely part of my plan so that really warmed my heart when he offered me that. Eazy is also working on a project of his own with music and branding. Excited to see what the future holds for us. Afterward, all that I was taken into the city and dropped off at my other friend’s house in Twin Peaks since I was heading out to Lake Tahoe the following morning.
​
July 12
The next day we headed up to Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Before this, I had to go pick up my friend from his work in his car so we can just leave straight to Tahoe from there. I got to his work and he invited me in for lunch. Wow, my eyes open up when I walked and saw the different life of work? This was much better than what I had experienced. On top of getting free socks, I was greeted by everyone I walked by and the most amazing part was that there was free food. It was pretty damn good, I am not going to lie. We picked up a couple of his other coworkers and headed up to the lake. We got there pretty early so we poured ourselves some drinks and headed to the beach. Played some cornhole and had some beers. Headed back to the house where the rest of the crew finally arrived. Again we started drinking, aggressively this time. Together we all headed out to the casino. I played one hand of $25 on blackjack. Scored a 19 but just like every other time, the Dealer scored blackjack. I took the rest of my money and got out. We ended up all going to the club that was in the casino. I was pretty drunk at this point. I was on a budget so I didn’t want to buy any more drinks. But friends kept on buying me drinks on drinks even though I wasn’t asking for it. I nearly blacked out. It was all a blur. However, I do remember Baby Bash (the dude who sang Suga, Suga, and Cyclone) performing up there and running into Jerry Rice at a table. It was insane. We ended up leaving later on and headed back to the cabin. 4 of us, hammered, got in the hot tub to relax. A taxi pulled up and we thought it was one of the guys. We called him over and chatted it up with him. Asked him how his night went. After 15 minutes of talking to this guy, we realized this was just a random guy. He was apparently blacked out and had no idea where he was. We directed him in the direction to go and he was on his way. It was too funny.
​
July 13
This day was by the far the best day of the trip. Just unbelievable. We started off all hungover cracking up from the night before. Grilled in the morning and then began our adventure. I had planned prior to this to take shrooms in Tahoe to really get lost in the beauty of the nature around me. Everyone else was down to trip as well. We all took a little less than normal but were still able to feel it. We then headed to Zephyr Cove. It was a party over there. So many people were walking around. The only thing that we brought to the beach were speakers, water and a blunt. But that was all we really needed. We got on to the beach and the first thing we started looking for was shade. We were waiting for others to get up so we can take over their location. Slowly but surely we made our way to the perfect spot. We sat there for a good while just listening to music, drinking booze and enjoying everything around us. A few of us decided to go Jet Skiing while a few of us decided to go paddle boarding and kayaking. I decided to get myself a paddleboard and just relax. It was such an amazing experience. We had paddled out into the water and the moment I started looking around I was seeing images that I have never seen in my life before. I mean I’ve seen mountains, lakes, and trees. Don’t think I am crazy. But I never have seen it like this. The water was so blue it looked like the actual color of blue. Not a shade of blue but the actual color of blue. Trees were vibrating with the green. The mountains in the distance were topped off with a cool white snow cap. I felt so small in such a big world. The shrooms started kicking in for a bit and I just felt euphoric for a moment. Nothing else mattered at that time, besides the fact that I was invited into one of the greatest pools of water I have ever seen. After a moment we headed back. A very good friend of mine told me of the place she knew that would be perfect to experience while tripping on shrooms. She couldn’t take all of us plus the place was too peaceful to invite a bunch of drunk guys. But I trust her judgment and decided a couple of us would go experience this. We headed out there. Grabbed her dog. And drove to the other side of Lake Tahoe. After a while of driving, we have arrived. I was blown away. It looked like something out of a movie. Colors were just unbelievable. The scenery was so calm and meditative. The location was called Mount Rose on the Northside of Lake Tahoe. It was a meadow with a creek. The snow was still around in the middle of July. We were catching the sunset out there. The colors that I saw were colors that I have never seen before naturally. We also added our own music to it which made it feel like we experienced something out of Coachella. It was a moment of pure peace. We headed back to the house. The girls decided to head back to their home and the rest of the guys just kept on drinking. I couldn’t go out and do another day of partying so I decided to just stay in with a couple of the other guys. Hang out and just smoke and relax.
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July 14
I woke up and felt so relaxed. Negativity was just flushed out of my system at this point. We had to head back home at this point. I got dropped off at the airport and while I was on my seat in the plane we had been delayed an extra hour. There was a man next to me who sparked up a conversation. I usually don’t like to talk on trains and planes. I like to be as productive as I can by either reading, writing, resting or anything besides talking. I guess that is something I need to work on because who knows what doors can open. Anyways, we got to talking. His name was Erwin. He was an orthopedic Surgeon and a professor at UCLA. We got to talking about random stuff. But then we got onto the topic of what I do for a living. I shared with him that I had quit my job 2 weeks ago and that I was going to travel across the world. He asked if I had another job lined up and I told him no. He was shocked. He persistently tried to persuade me to cancel my plans to go back to school and got some sort of degree on top of the bachelor’s that I had. He shared with me that it would be a great idea to go to Law School and that I can always go travel. I told him I just can’t do that. At the end of the day, I don’t want to go on a normal route. Instead, I will create my own path and follow that. I will get to my destination my way and I will enjoy every moment of it. Instead of just enjoying some of it.
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Well, that was my weekend. And it was exactly what I wanted.
submitted by Justinjoyit to Just_Enjoy_It [link] [comments]

The 1970 Disappearance of Donna Lass: Was the Zodiac Killer Responsible? (New "Trail Went Cold" Minisode)

On September 6, 1970, 25-year old Donna Lass mysteriously vanished while working her shift as a nurse at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel-Casino in South Lake Tahoe, California. Donna’s last entry in her log book at her workstation was written at 1:45 AM, but the entry was unsigned and appeared to be unfinished. Her last sentence ended with the words “complains of” before the pen trailed down the page, which seemed to imply that Donna was interrupted in the middle of writing.
Later that same day, Donna’s boss and landlord both received separate phone calls from an unidentified man who claimed that is she was going to be out of town because of a family emergency. Donna’s boss decided to call Donna’s mother in South Dakota and learned there was no family emergency. After Donna was reported missing, her car was found parked at her apartment complex in Stateline, Nevada. She had actually just moved into her new apartment the very same day she went to go work her last shift.
On March 22, 1971, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery received a cryptic postcard with a collage pasted on the back. It featured an advertisement for Forest Pines condominiums in Lake Tahoe with an artist’s rendering of a small village of condos near a snow-covered wooded area. There were some cut-out phrases from newspapers and magazines pasted across the ad, and these phrases included “Sierra Club”, “around in the snow”, “peek through the pines”, “pass Lake Tahoe areas” and “sought victim 12”. A hole was also punched over some pine trees located in the upper right hand corner of the ad. The postcard was postmarked “Zodiac” and featured the trademark circle cross symbol which he liked to attach to his correspondence. The specific area pictured in the ad turned out to be the Boise Cascade condominium complex in Incline Village, Nevada, which is located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The authorities conducted a search of this area, but found nothing. The implication seemed to be that the Zodiac killer sent the postcard and was taking credit for Donna Lass’ disappearance. The postcard would be the last correspondence from the Zodiac for nearly three years, though Donna’s sister would receive a cryptic Christmas card in 1974, which featured a picture of trees covered in snow and was signed “Best Wishes, St. Donna & Guardian of the Pines”.
There is no direct evidence to tie Donna Lass to the Zodiac killer, but it’s worth noting that before she moved to Lake Tahoe, Donna worked at the Letterman Army Medical Center in the Presidio of San Francisco, only a few blocks away from where the Zodiac murdered his last confirmed victim, Paul Stine, in October 1969. An investigator named Harvey Hines has always believed the Zodiac was a career criminal named Lawrence Kane, who lived in close proximity to the Stine murder. What’s particularly interesting is that Kane and Lass both moved from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe around the same time period and Kane also worked at the Sahara Hotel-Casino, selling real estate out of an office located right down the hall from Donna’s workstation. But even if Kane abducted and murdered her, opinions are still mixed about whether he was actually the Zodiac, as the circumstances behind Lass’ disappearance do not seem to fit the Zodiac’s M.O..
I analyze this disappearance in the latest minisode of my podcast, “The Trail Went Cold":
http://trailwentcold.the-back-row.com/2016/10/19/the-trail-went-cold-minisode-4-donna-lass/
Sources:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lass_donna.html
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/lake-tahoe-disappearance.html
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/category/donna-lass
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/nov/15/was-tahoe-disappearance-linked-to-zodiac-kille
https://books.google.ca/books?id=EdBQ9jvHU80C&pg=PA224&lpg=PA224&dq=donna+lass+%22complains+of%22&source=bl&ots=Ey7Ofqg5pu&sig=4VVRfusjUpGwmkH6oG_wSdzCbrI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj58sb_9-bPAhVCNj4KHaa-B_oQ6AEIRDAH#v=onepage&q=donna%20lass%20%22complains%20of%22&f=false
submitted by Robinwarder1 to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]

I posted a few photos from the first week of a road trip around the USA I'm doing at the moment. Some requested a write up, so here's part 1 for anyone interested!

OK, so bear with me because I'm not the greatest with formatting. But I'll try my best!
As the title suggests, I posted some photos of the first week and a bit of a 6 month solo road trip I am currently undertaking around the USA and parts of Canada. They were received relatively well, and some people asked if I could do some updates along the way. So here's the first one and hopefully it can inspire some people to do similar!
Why?
Firstly, some background on the trip. Around about 4-5 years ago I had a pretty shitty bout with anxiety and depression. This isn't a sob story so don't feel bad for me, I'm actually quite good now. But anyway, after a few trips to a Psychologist, we both decided that it would be a good idea to set a goal that would actually get me through the days. As a university student coming to the end of my degree, starting work didn't really excite me.
So after some deliberation it was decided the only thing that excited me was travel, and no matter what type of work I got upon graduation, I would do it for about 2-3 years and save everything to put towards a 6 month road trip across North America. I actually studied American History at uni, so obviously that's what drew me here. More topical to current events, I actually took a lot of inspiration from Anthony Bourdain. Sounds made up now, but RIP.
Where?
I started planning this trip as soon as the decision was made. So if you're wondering why things are so detailed, that's probably why. Originally a lot was focussed around things with historical significance, like American Revolutionary sites, or Civil War Memorial, etc. But I've also always had a love for nature and hiking so that's where the National/State/Regional Parks come into play.
Then the love of food travel shows started to seep in. Anthony Bourdain being the main one, then a bit sillier shows like Man Vs. Food, and yes, even Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives played a role, for as much shit that Guy Fieri (deservedly) cops here. This drew me to certain cities.
I had already done a 5 week trip to the USA in 2013/14 for Christmas and NYE where I hit the main touristy spots like NYC, Vegas, LA, etc. So this trip was to focus more on the small towns, national parks, and open road.
When?
My previous trip was over Winter, so this trip had to be warmer weathegreener pastures. Originally planning to start in June, it just so happened that a sale popped up around January for return flights from Melbourne to LAX for AU$850 leaving in May and returning in November. Too good not to pass up and not that far from what I had planned anyway. Only problem is I cut it a little short because my cousin is getting married on November 10th and I couldn't miss it, so I arrive back in Melbourne the morning of... Cutting it fine, I know.
Itinerary
Now to the stuff that people will probably actually care about. My general direction that I'm heading in is a loop from LA, back to LA. That was the best looking map I could make out, but it gives you the idea. The good thing is I only have things booked about a week in advance at this stage, so it's more a 'rough' itinerary than anything.
I arrived in the country on May 20th and have a ticket home on November 8th. It was best to have a return ticket because otherwise those border guards will be on your back and you put yourself at risk of getting turned back at the airport.
May 20th - June 8th
So now to the actual good stuff, with pictures and all! Going through each place I've been, what I enjoyed there and recommendations. This will probably be the way each subsequent post will be set out, if I commit to doing them (which I have a tendency to be terrible with commitment).
Los Angeles, CA. 20/05 - 21/05:
OK, now when I say Los Angeles, I didn't actually spend any time in LA outside of the Airport. I got my car and took it straight to a place called Santa Paula, CA. I've been to LA before, spent about a week there, did everything touristy, and didn't particularly enjoy it. Not to say others wouldn't find it enjoyable, just not for me. Santa Paula itself isn't much to write about, but the drive from Santa Paul to Fresno had some cool parts.
Fresno, CA. 21/05 - 23/05:
Now I know what you're thinking, "Who the hell would go to Fresno?" I say this, because basically everyone I encountered in Fresno asked me that question. I went because it was a good base to explore the Sierra National Forest. Can't say much about Fresno, though. Also, a little side note, I'm not that proud of my photos early on. Everything is shot with my iPhone and it's taking me a little time to figure out how to get the best shot. Still in the process.
Santa Cruz, CA. 23/05 - 26/05:
Originally, I wanted to stay in Monterey for this portion. However, everything was either way too expensive or booked out, so I settled for Santa Cruz. Or more specifically, Felton, which is out the back of Santa Cruz. I was happy with the decision.
Sausalito/San Francisco, CA. 26/05 - 29/05:
I stayed in a hostel across the Golden Gate Bridge which I believe fell under Sausalito, but was in the Marin Headlands. I'd been to San Francisco previously so didn't feel the need to spend all my time in the city. I would park on the outskirts and catch the BART to downtown.
Lake Tahoe, CA. 29/05 - 31/05:
I didn't know how I was going to like Lake Tahoe, because having Nevada there and casinos around I thought it might be a little much for me. Can confirm, it's a lovely spot that far exceeded expectations.
Redding, CA. 31/05 - 2/06:
Another baffler for some people who didn't understand why I would go to Redding. This was my gateway into Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Also was an interesting little town with the giant Bethel Church) centred here.
Crater Lake National Park, OR. 2/06 - 5/06:
Based myself about 20 miles outside of Ashland, OR whilst exploring Crater Lake National Park. Stayed with this total hippie family at an Airbnb which turned out to be on a Weed Farm. I'd forgotten that it was legal in Oregon. But they were the best.
Eugene, OR. 5/06 - 7/06:
Back when I was at university, I seriously considered transferring to the University of Oregon for a year. I kinda regret not doing it, especially after being in Eugene and seeing the town/campus. I didn't take a lot of photos, mostly just walked around and took it all in.
Portland, OR. 7/06 - 9/06:
Currently in Portland and to be honest I haven't actually checked out the city itself at all. I'm planning to on my way out tomorrow, so here's what I've done so far anyway.
Summary
If anyone makes it this far, I bloody salute you. I can say already though that the last 2 and a bit weeks have been amongst the best of my life. From here, I head to Seattle tomorrow, before crossing into Canada and doing the Rockies. I'll try to make these a bit more regularly so it's not a huge chunk of writing that is terribly written and hard to read. If anyone has any questions or wants to know more, please reach out! I want to help in any way I can if you're planning a similar trip or a trip to an area I am going/have been.
Cheers!
submitted by saintsfooty to roadtrip [link] [comments]

2018 Ultimate Playing Card Holiday Gift Guide

2018 Ultimate Playing Card Holiday Gift Guide

NB: I posted an off-site link to this last week, but figured I'd just re-post the entire Gift Guide here. I've edited it slightly, and also included some information about Black Friday specials.
The end-of-year holiday period is just around the corner. And for many of us, holidays means gift-giving and gift-getting. As they say, it is better to give than to receive. But we all know that receiving gifts is great too, especially if it involves playing cards! Playing cards make great gifts, if when carefully selected to suit the tastes and style of the person that you're buying for.
It's always good to plan ahead, and to think about the kinds of playing cards that would make good gifts for others. But we also have to think about the kinds of gifts that others will be buying for us, because we really don't want Uncle Bob or cousin Mary getting us yet another unwanted pair of socks, toiletry set, or ugly t-shirt. So let's be smart about this: a well-timed and careful whisper in the right person's ear can help get things moving so that a lovely deck of custom playing cards ends up heading our way these holidays.
We're in this together, and at the suggestion of the good folks over at PlayingCardDecks.com I have done some hard work for you by putting together this 2018 Ultimate Playing Card Holiday Gift Guide. It's not a comprehensive list, nor is it intended to say that these decks are necessarily the "best" or the only ones out there - so please don't go screaming about decks that aren't on this list. I haven't seen every single deck that's come out in the last year or two, and obviously these are my own choices based on my own personal experience - you might suggest others that are equally as good. But it will give you some great ideas for playing cards you can pick up as gifts. It's also the kind of thing you can post on your social media, or email a link to your family and friends, as a small hint of what they might want to consider getting for you. This is really about showing them love by making their job easier in finding you the perfect gift, right?!
So whether you're a keen playing card enthusiast already, or whether someone in your life sent you a link to this list as a not-so-subtle hint, I'm here to help you out. I'm confident there's something on here for almost everyone. I've especially focused on playing cards that were released in 2018, but haven't limited myself to that entirely, because I want to give you lots of choices.
PS: Don't miss the very bottom of this Gift Guide, where you'll find some great promo codes for the upcoming Black Friday weekend, which will give you up to 25% off the regular price for these decks!

For the Card Gamer

Once in a while, what you're looking for in a deck of playing cards is pure class. Whether it's for playing a game of poker or for a game of traditional cards, it's nice to have a deck that looks classy and sophisticated from the moment that its tuck box makes its first appearance. And when the cards do emerge from the box, the feeling of refinement is only confirmed by the classic beauty and style within. If you are looking for something sophisticated and elegant that is also very functional, with clearly recognizable indices and suits, the decks in this category are for you. These decks are practical, while at the same time making a stylish statement.
● Visa Playing Cards (2017) - These lovely decks (available in several colours) have a luxurious look from the tuck box onwards, and the metallic gold and silver used for the card backs and court cards makes them look super stylish and elegant.
● Cobra Playing Cards (2018) - The tuck case immediately impresses with blind embossing and gold foil, with serpents decorating both the box and the fronts and backs of the cards, and a graphic design that is just all round classy. Courtesy of Cartamundi's B9 Cardistry Finish, the cards are supremely soft and inviting, while still having a standard look that ensures they are very practical.
● Hudson Playing Cards (2018) - This recent release is a tribute to the Hudson Playing Cards that were produced alongside the Hudson River until the factory wound up operations in 1871. While the card faces are fairly standard, the card backs are very stylish, and the tuck box - as to be expected from Theory11 - is super classy, with extensive use of foil accents and embossing.

For the Cardist

Card flourishing has a long history in the magic industry, but in recent years the art cardistry has developed an independent existence, and is gaining legitimacy as an art-form in its own right. For best results, cardistry benefits from a deck of cards that is colourful and has striking patterns, which will enhance the visual aesthetics of card flourishing. These cards need not necessarily be very functional for playing games or card magic - although often they can serve a dual purpose of being used for this as well. But of primary importance in card flourishing is the visual appeal, and having a design and pattern that looks great when the cards are being handled.
● Virtuoso FW17 Playing Cards (2017) - When it comes to cardistry, it's hard to look past one of the dominant forces in this growing art-form: The Virts. Based in Singapore, they were the first produce a deck entirely optimized for cardistry, and their Fall/Winter deck is the latest version of their popular and smooth performing series.
● School of Cardistry v4 Playing Cards (2018) - Any mention of cardistry is hardly going to be complete without the lively presence of Jaspas Deck, the bubbly personality behind the New Deck Order and the School of Cardistry. This is the fourth edition of their deck, which continues their exploration of what they describe as a new standard for cardistry: non-standard faces that are all identical! Optimized entirely for cardistry, this hypnotic design and energetic purple and orange colours of this deck won't go unnoticed.
● NOC Summer v2 Playing Cards (2018) - The NOC decks have been popular with cardists for half a dozen years already, since their minimalist design is ideal for the simplicity and elegance of card flourishing. For the summer of 2018, these snappy decks were released in three great new colours: blue, orange, and a limited edition pink.

For the Collector

There are people who collect decks out of sheer love for their variety and novelty - you may even be one of these people! The decks featured in this category are creative decks that have extra touches that make them particularly appealing to the card collector, such as an individually numbered tuck seal. They often have lavish tuck boxes, other intriguing features that generate interest, and have been produced by well-known designers with a solid reputation of creativity and success.
● Top Aces of WWI Playing Cards (2018) - One of the latest decks from popular designer Jody Eklund, noted for his attention to detail and history, comes a deck that is a tribute to the flying dare-devils of the first world war. As always, Jody's artwork is exquisite, and each court card features a notable historical figure from the era. In this Signature Edition each deck comes in an elegant tuck box that is individually numbered.
● House of the Rising Spade Playing Cards (2018) - Stockholm17 is a designer from Sweden with a large following, and this deck represents his latest effort to hit the market. A limited edition two deck set, it consists of two different decks: Cartomancer, which is a tribute to the tarot deck; and Faro, which features cards without indices and a one-way design, just like the vintage decks of the 1800s.
● Planets: Saturn Playing Cards (2018) - This is the sixth and newest addition that makes up the popular Planets series, representing all the planets in our solar system. The collector will be in love once he sees the luxurious tuck box, which is arguably the best yet, and features gold holographic foil, white foil, interior foiling, and embossing.

For the Connoisseur

At times we might be looking for something stylish and classy that we can use for anything involving playing cards, whether it is card magic or card games. The important thing is that we want to show class and style. Certainly the custom playing card industry has produced some very original and stylish decks, bursting with character and energy, while still having somewhat of a traditional or more serious look. Here are some examples of such classy decks that are on offer.
● Green Wheel Playing Cards (2018) - Green and brown are the dominant colours in this elegant deck, which has a lush split-pip design. The bicycle theme and look is inherited from its popular predecessors, the Red Wheel Playing Cards and Blue Wheel Playing Cards, which both have an elegant use of metallic inks, and which I also highly recommend.
● Aphelion Luxury Playing Cards (2018) - Created by Italian team Parama Playing Cards, this deck has a box that makes an instant statement of style with its gold foil and embossing, while the metallic gold inks of the court cards ensure that any standard deck placed alongside it looks very ordinary.
● Makers Blacksmith Playing Cards (2017) - From publishing house Art of Play comes one of the finest tuck boxes you'll see, with elegant gold and silver foil in intricate lines stamped all over a jet black box. Oh, and the cards are great too - highly detailed characters inhabit the court cards, with a simple black and red colour scheme emphasizing the customized artwork!

For the Magician

Magicians definitely have their secrets. Admittedly, most magicians prefer to work with a standard deck, and have developed such skills with sleight of hand that you can hand them an ordinary deck of quality playing cards and they can work miracles with it. But once in a while, there's a need to perform miracles of an extraordinary nature, and they're looking for something with that added extra that gives them the means to accomplish the impossible. Here are some specialized decks that will be ideal for anyone interested in serious card magic.
● Mechanic Optricks Red Playing Cards (2018) - This brand new release features card backs with hypnotic flip-book animation. Yes, really! But the real draw-card lies in the innovative gaffs that are included, especially the Optibox Gaff (makes your tuck box look empty even when there's a full deck inside), and the Anamorphic Gaff (creates an optical illusion that a card is being seen right through the deck!).
● Marked Maiden Back Playing Cards (2017) - Don't tell anyone, because it is top secret, but yes, marked decks are really a thing - but only for card magic, not for cheating! This looks like an ordinary Bicycle deck, but the markings are very easy to read, so you don't have to strain to figure them out or decipher them, and many consider it the best modern marked deck for exactly that reason.
● Bicycle Magic Playing Cards (2018) - This deck isn't so much a deck to be used for card magic, as it is a tribute to the art of magic itself. The card backs and faces include mischievous imps, along with various items long associated with magic, like wands, top hats, gloves, and dice, while the court cards feature delightful images depicting different magic acts. The art style/colours have a distinctly vintage feel, making this an ideal collector's piece for a magician to appreciate.

For the Artist

Even if you're not an artist, you can still enjoy something that is artistic. A deck of playing cards is the perfect canvas for showcasing some colourful and artistic designs, whether they have been created by famous artists, or by artists who have just used playing cards as their chosen medium to create something colourful and beautiful.
● Mondrian Broadway Playing Cards (2018) - These playing cards pay tribute to famous Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, and the card back design is based on his 1943 work "Broadway Boogie Woogie", which expresses his fascination with New York. Colourful and playful, it is ideally suited to card flourishing.
● Untitled Playing Cards (2018) - Along with the sequel Untitled V2 `Reflections' Playing Cards (2018), this vibrant deck was created by noted photographer Adam Borderline. It is a tribute to abstract art, as well as to the creativity and fluid motion that are essential to cardistry.
● Masterpieces Playing Cards (2017) - More than a deck of cards, this is a miniature gallery of individual works of art. Created by Bocopo Playing Cards, it was a collaboration that involved 8 artists, 348 hours of work, and 58 illustrations. Each face card has a unique and fresh design that is its own work of art, and tells a different story.

For the Animal Lover

Do you love animals? Or do you have an animal lover in your life? How about a deck featuring dogs, or cats, or else some great artwork of animals from around the world? These beautiful decks are sure to please anyone who appreciates our four legged friends, whether they are family pets or the kinds of animals you'd normally only see at the zoo.
● GAIA Playing Cards (2017) - With stunning and realistic artwork by talented young artist Ben Sinclair, these playing cards feature delightful hand-drawn pictures that showcases animals in different ecological habitats and biological communities. Amazing art, and a beautiful deck that is also available in a Moonlight Edition that offers a nocturnal perspective.
● The Dog Playing Cards - Friends of canines will love this deck, which features a close-up of a dog on every single card, not just the court cards. And each single card pictures a different dog, making this deck a real treat to look through! ● Sweet Cat Playing Cards - Created to help support abandoned cats, this is a deck that friends of felines will appreciate and enjoy. Much like the Dog deck, it features a gorgeous photo of a different furry friend on each and every card.

For the Children

Children especially like decks that are colourful, and that are lively and fun. Here we have some more light-hearted decks that are sure to amuse kids and adults alike. If you're looking for something playful, and that is designed to keep the inner child happy, then these are decks for you.
● Rainbow Unicorn Fun Time Playing Cards (2018) - This deck first started as a joke, but has gone on to become a legend in the card playing world, and has even appeared on TV. When noted cardist De'vo is involved, you know that it's going to be special, and this quality deck offers a whole lot more than rainbows and unicorns, and is fun for all ages!
● Chicken Playing Cards (2018) - I've been amazed by how popular this deck has proven with children and teenagers, who find the playful feathered friends pictured on this deck irresistible. A whimsical deck with extensive customization, the highlight has to be the delightful court cards, which feature our fowled friends in all manner of exalted poses.
● Sharks Are Wild Playing Cards (2017) - Aimed at preschoolers, this deck isn't just a collection of playing cards, but is also an award winning game, designed to help youngsters learn sequencing (i.e. counting forwards and backwards). It has colourful cards where various sea creatures replace the usual pips.

Novelty decks

I'm a real sucker for decks that look highly unusual, and have a great amount of novelty. Admittedly, not many of these are the kinds of decks that would quickly make it to the table for a card game, although many of them are certainly functional and playable. But the prime appeal of these kinds of playing cards is to the collector who appreciates the unusual elements that decks like these bring to the table. Here are some prime examples.
● Music Box Playing Cards (2017) - Novelty doesn't come much bigger than this: the Music Box deck doesn't just have the luxuries of gold foil, a custom numbered gold key, and a cherry wood look. This deck's real claim to fame is that it plays music! It has a unique tuck box design that plays 30 seconds of "Claire de Lune" when opened, and has the genuine sound of an old fashioned music box with a metal comb flicking over metal teeth.
● Burger Playing Cards (2017) - Part of the Deliciousness series from Flaminko Playing Cards, this deck celebrates the almighty burger. The design suggests two halves of a bun, complete with sesame seeds, which have a tactile feel courtesy of UV spot printing on the box. Each suit has been individually customized to depict foods that you'll find on an actual hamburger bun, including the patty, lettuce, tomato, and cheese!
● $100 Bill Gold Foil Playing Cards - Looking for high bling at a low price? The tuck box and all the cards in this deck are entirely made out of gold or silver foil, depending on which deck you choose. The card backs feature the image of a US $100 bill, and the shiny surface of gold or silver catches the light, and is sure to make an immediate impression of luxury. Yet all this shiny-ness can be yours for under $8!

Pink decks

Are looking for something with softer colours or a more feminine look? Just because they're heavy on pink doesn't mean that these decks are strictly "girlie" decks - guys might like them just as much! So regardless of whether you're male or female, if you're looking for something pretty in pink, you'll find something here for you.
● Sakura Spring Playing Cards (2018) - This unique all-pink deck is dedicated to the Japanese cherry blossom. It is entirely done in different shades of pink, with a simplified look that is a true exercise of harmony and beauty.
● Hanami Playing Cards (2018) - Another wonderful deck that captures the elegance of cherry blossoms, the Hanami deck features a palette of soft colours and a captivating design that will especially be appreciated and enjoyed by cardists.
● Madison Rounders Pink Playing Cards (2018) - Daniel Madison's highly popular series of Madison Rounders finally arrives in a colour that everyone has wanted to see: pink! Thin crush stock ensures that it handles as smoothly and softly as it looks.

In-House decks

Not only does PlayingCardDecks sell playing cards, but over the last couple of years the man at the helm of operations, Will Roya, has also used his expertise and experience in the magic industry and the playing card industry to produce a number of high quality custom decks. Here are several great decks that have been produced under the PlayingCardDecks banner in 2018.
● Ancient Warriors Playing Cards (2018) - This is great as a limited edition and matching two-deck set, one in a red/gold colour scheme, and the other in black/silver, with metallic inks. Each suit represents a different culture of ancient warriors (Crusaders, Japanese, Zulus, Aztecs), with gorgeous detail, and aspects of each civilization are also reflected on the Aces and pips.
● Strigiformes Owl Playing Cards (2018) - One of my favourite decks from 2018, this deck is full of owls. It has just the right colour combinations to give a true nocturnal feel, and the artwork is incredible, especially on the court cards. Every card has highly customized pips, along with intricate and ornate details, and a terrific graphic design.
● Royal Vortex Playing Cards (2018) - Looking for bling? Look no further! This deck was created in honour of PlayingCardDecks' first anniversary. To celebrate, it has a gold and black colour scheme on the card backs with an enormous amount of gold foil. The card backs are also designed to give the impression of a hypnotic and eye-catching optical illusion.

Licensed decks

It's amazing how many different decks have been created that are based on your favourite characters from TV shows, films, comics, books and more. You can check out the entire range of licensed decks, but here are some of my favourites.
● Bruce Lee Playing Cards (2018) - This is the second and completely revised edition of a deck that is a beautiful homage to a popular martial artist. The vivid black and yellow will appeal to cardists, and one notable feature of this updated deck is that each card features a different philosophical Bruce Lee quote in easy-to-read white capitals!
● Saturday Night Live Playing Cards (2017) - It's a famous TV Show, and now it's a deck of cards! All the customization in this deck is inspired by the show. And because it's a Theory11 deck, you can count on a spectacular tuck box, with lots of foil accents and embossing!
● Princess Bride Playing Cards (2014) - This deck is a wonderful tribute to the classic comedy film of the same name. The court cards all feature characters from the film, such as Westley, Princess Buttercup, Inigo Montoya, Vizzini, and the giant Fezzik, and include memorable lines from the film like "Prepare to Die!" and "Inconceivable!" The number cards are also absolutely exquisite, and the entire deck is heavily customized, really captures some of the magic of the film.

Vintage decks

Some of the most eye-catching decks are the ones which look the oldest - even though they are made of high quality playing cards that are brand new. Whether it's a result of a vintage or a deliberately distressed look, or whether they are a modern replica of a classic deck from the past, these decks look like they have arrived into the present straight from the past, and yet look and feel fantastic. You'll find more by checking out the full range of vintage decks.
● 1883 Murphy Varnish Playing Cards - This is a high quality replica of a 19th century deck originally created to promote Murphy Varnish. It is a famous transformation deck, which means that each card features clever artwork that incorporates the pips as part of a larger picture, which in this case is both entertaining and ingenious!
● 1889 Texan Playing Cards - Want an authentic look straight that's more than a hundred years old? The Texan deck was first printed in 1889, and USPCC has brought it back into circulation, using a yellowed tinting on the cards to give it an authentic antique look, and with court designs that are typical of that period.
● Vintage Classic Playing Cards (2017) - This deck is brand new, but looks much older than it really is, courtesy of the faux-aged look and yellowed tones. A black triangle on the edges of the cards creates beautiful fans and spreads that card flourishers will love, while each card has a unique dirty, weathered, and worn out look that will instantly grab attention.

Cardistry decks

Yes, I know we already have a For the Cardist category earlier in this list. But you didn't really think I could get away with having only three cardistry decks in this list, did you? Plus you might just need a cardistry deck for yourself as well as for the cardist in your life! There are lots to choose from, but here are some of the favourites that came out this year and have made it into my own collection.
● Off the Wall Playing Cards (2018) - This unconventional deck comes from Art of Play, and has a surf-skate theme that opts for a deliberately styled casual look, yet with a bold choice of energetic and vivid colours include a vibrant blue, orange, and yellow, along with some black. The stylish and borderless card backs are loud and dashing, but isn't that exactly what cardistry is often all about?
● Superfly Spitfire Playing Cards (2018) - Inspired by modern streetwear, fashion, and culture, this deck is the third in the Superfly series from Toomas Pintson. It has eye-catching colours with a vibrant teal-green, yellow, and black, plus a unique card back design that reminds me of a finger-print, and of course the distinctive "Superfly" branding on the cards themselves. I love the fact that each card has one pip that picks up the finger-print style design of the card backs.
● Casual V2 Playing Cards (2018) - One of the more elegant and sophisticated cardistry decks I've ever seen, the luxurious look and feel of the tuck box already impresses. The card backs have a clean geometrical design consisting of triangles and parallelograms, and use complementing tones of brown, mint green, and gold. The gold uses pantone/metallic inks for a truly elegant look, and also returns in heavy doses on the court cards. Thin crush stock completes the perfect cardistry package.

Gilded decks

Occasionally what you're looking for is something absurdly expensive and over-the-top. Something with lots of bling. Bring on the gold foil, the embossing, the iridescence, the UV spot printing, the exotic tuck case, and whatever other luxury you can think of! And especially: gilded edges. Here's a few examples of such gilded luxury.
● Unicorn Rainbow Gilded Playing Cards (2018) - This exclusive deck was created for the Magic Live! 2018 event, and is a limited edition with a tuck box that has embossed glitter, and an iridescent foil. But the best is inside the box: the cards have metallic gilded edges for a stunning and shiny iridescent/rainbow look. Unicorns don't get better than this!
● Ombre Edged Playing Cards (2017) - Unlike most gilded decks, the Ombre Edged deck doesn't feature gold or silver edges, but the gilding uses red and blue to match the card backs and courts. These colours are carefully blended together with a gradient look that makes this deck like no other, and the tuck box is cleverly designed to show off the gilding even when the deck is inside the box.
● Spirit II Gilded Playing Cards (2018) - These stunning decks have all the bells and whistles collectors love: embossed tuck boxes with foil accents, individually numbered seals, and fully customized artwork on every card, which is inspired by the mystical stained glass windows of ancient cathedrals. Gilded edges in gold and silver just add to the feel of luxury.

Standard decks

While most of us love customization, there are times where we don't want much in the way of customization, but are looking for something more ordinary, with a standard and traditional look. Decks like these will fit the bill perfectly! All of these selections are available in both red and blue backed cards.
● Honeybee Elite Playing Cards (2018) - This is a new edition of the popular Honeybee series from Penguin Magic. It has a honey-comb style borderless back design, the super-soft thin-crush stock from USPCC which handles smoothly, and has been receiving raves from card handlers world-wide.
● Arrco Playing Cards (2018) - The Arrco decks are an iconic and practical deck, with a signature back design and superb handling that made them popular with everyone who used them in the late 20th century. Now this classic and beloved deck is back in print, with the air-cushion quality and handling from Bicycle.
● Copag 310 Playing Cards (2018) - Cartamundi has been making a real splash with their new B9 True Linen finish card stock. It's slightly thicker than a normal Bicycle deck, but is amazingly soft, and handles fantastic straight out of the box. These decks have been receiving rave reviews, and with good reason! As an added bonus, you can also get popular gaff decks (e.g. Svengali deck, Stripper deck, Gaff deck) with the same Copag card-stock and designs.

Cheap decks (under $5)

Fortunately you don't have to spend a huge amount of money to get a top quality deck of playing cards. To keep things in balance after some of the more exotic decks available, it's good to know that there's a solid range of low-cost decks that are under $5, and yet are high quality playing cards. Here's a few fine examples of great decks from this budget price range, that offer something cheap without sacrificing quality. These make the ideal stuffing stocker, and there's a whole lot more available - see a complete list in the under $5 range.
● Stargazer Playing Cards (2017) - For this price, this deck can't be beat. Not only do you get a tuck box with shiny silver accents, but the cards have a stunning borderless design that creates amazing fans and spreads. The cards have an inky black background, while the artwork features bursts of light touched with purple and pink, inspired by a classical design transported to a colourful starry night sky.
● House Blend Playing Cards (2018) - Need some more caffeine in your life? The House Blend is a play on the classic Bicycle rider-back deck, with alternate coffee-inspired art on the card backs. The tuck box has novelty embossing reminiscent of a coffee filter, while the courts cards and pips have adjusted colours in shades of brown to fit the coffee theme.
● Wild West Playing Cards (2017) - At a bargain price, you can travel back in time to the Wild West, where all the familiar names are represented among the court cards, including famous names like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Jessie James, Belle Starr, and more. This is a fully custom deck with a real wild west feel.

Best-selling decks

If a deck is very popular, it's often a strong indication of quality. After all, there must be something special about it that draws people in, whatever that magnetic quality might be. These decks have proven to be best-sellers in the past year, and it shouldn't be difficult to see why!
● Cherry Casino (Tahoe Blue) Playing Cards (2018) - The popular Cherry Casino series has a retro casino feel, and this versatile and practical deck has an immediate touch of style and class courtesy of the bold metallic ink that is used for the signature "tahoe blue" colour on the tuck case. Inspired by the clear colours of Lake Tahoe, this inviting pearlescent blue is also found on the card backs in a metallic ink, while the card faces are standard enough to make them ideal for card games or card magic. Also don't miss the newest addition to the family, Cherry Casino (Reno Red) Playing Cards.
● Memento Mori Blue Playing Cards (2018) - Created with the involvement of popular magician and youtuber Chris Ramsay, this best-selling deck has an elegant tuck box with a wrap-around design featuring the shape of Ramsay's own skull. The card backs return to this design, which gives interesting possibilities for card flourishing, and the courts are designed in a similar style. The blue version of this deck was released in 2018 and is like the original, but has a more subdued and cooler colour palette.
● Monarchs Blue Playing Cards (2012) - One of the all time most popular decks from Theory11, and even featured in the film Now You See It, this best-selling deck has a stylish navy blue tuck box laced with royal gold foil that exudes class and sophistication. The card backs and faces have a classy design that is not too complicated or distracting, and gold metallic ink emphasizes the regal feel of the court cards.
Happy shopping, and happy holidays!
Promotions for Black Friday weekend at PlayingCardDecks.com as posted by Will Roya: [source] ● Nov 22/23 - Black Friday - promo code: black18 - 25% off entire purchase plus 3 free random decks on all purchases over $100. Nov 22 5:00pm - Nov 23 11:59pm. ● Nov 24 - Small Business Saturday - Starting at 9am, over 100 items will be added to the clearance section for 24 hours only, with savings of up to 50% off. ● Nov 26 - Cyber Monday - promo code: cyber18 - 20% off entire purchase plus 1 free random deck (no minimum purchase required). Promo codes are good for one use per account and not valid on Pip Box Club or gift cards. Promo codes can not be combined with any other codes or offers. All times are in pacific coast time.
Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDecks.com here.
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what is the best casino in lake tahoe video

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