December 22, 2024 by Mike Madden

I’m Looking For My Wife

Viva Las Vegas

We finally made it to Vegas! After months of planning, and at least one last minute major surprise, we left Manchester Airport on 18th October, the day that Zac turned 21. Sally and myself turned left, whilst the kids were in Premium Economy where they could complain about service and food blissfully out of our earshot.

Trouble in Premium Economy

Stuck In The Middle With You

The time difference is brutal, a full eight hours, and I did not expect a late one on that first night. We jumped in a couple of cabs and got to the MGM Mandalay Bay hotel, where check-in was quick and easy. Unlike the lifts. Sally wanted to get on with things, so she jumped in the lift with Ole and Zac, and off they went up to floor 10. Unfortunately, our room was on floor 4. In many hotels that would not be a problem, but in the Mandalay Bay the lifts are activated by room cards, and they will only stop either on the ground floor, or the floor of the room card. So, Sally could not get back down to floor 4, and I could not go to collect her at floor 10. To make matters worse we had not yet connected tho the hotel wifi.

The Ups And Downs Of 30 Years

I stood with Gabi outside the lifts when a maintenance man appeared. “Are you looking for your room?” he asked. “No,” I replied “I’m looking for my wife!” He laughed and went on his way. I went down to the ground floor, and fortunately Sally had the same idea (that’s what 30 years of marriage does for you), and we were reunited. She had been asking various strangers if they were going to the fourth floor, and was quite relieved when I came along.

We met some American friends in the casino area, where the Sportsbook was magnificent. This consisted of a bar, extensive seating, and a huge bank of television screens showing almost every sporting event from around the world.

American Pie

For now, though, food was a necessity. We were all getting tired and we were all getting hungry, so we found an Italian restaurant where mountains of food were ordered. It has been a while since we visited the US, and we must have forgotten just how big portions are. There were four full boxes of takeaway boxes when we finally finished.

Breakfast In America

The following morning we were all up early, and when in Rome (or Vegas, or anywhere in the US), breakfast means Denny’s. There were two Denny’s within walking distance of our hotel, and one was “just around the corner”. There was a walkway through the Excalibur and Luxor hotels, and after that we just needed to turn right. However, another hotel had been demolished and a diversion was in place. This took us across several footbridges that spanned the main highways, and other than going through the MGM Grand there appeared to be no way to get to our destination. Of course, the good thing about Denny’s is that there is always another one. Sure enough, a few hundred yards along the street on which we found ourselves, the welcoming yellow sign could be seen.

We made our way down and ordered a selection of traditional American breakfast foods. In the next booth were a couple of strangers. One was asleep, but his friend was keen to know what we were doing in Vegas and how long we were staying. During the conversation he produced an open bottle of wine and continued to drink straight from the bottle. It was around 5am. In Las Vegas it was hard to tell whether he was just finishing a night out, or just starting another.

When in Rome…

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Zac wanted to check out the music shop a short drive from our hotel, so we booked an Uber and went down to the store. He tried keyboards, drum kits, guitars and at least one banjo, before we headed outside into the heat of the day. This was alleviated a little by a frozen yoghurt store, but although the basic ingredient was sold as being healthy, the various brightly coloured and calorie-laden toppings soon put paid to that.

   

Zac was at home in the music store

Football Mania

Saturday afternoon was a big day. In the morning, the English Premier League games were all on in the Sportsbook. I took a seat and watched United, whilst listening to Newcastle who were on the bigger screen. Sally went across to the counter to ask if they could put racing from Ascot on, and sure enough there it was.

As the day wore on many Americans were filling in little slips of paper. I discovered this was to bet on the College Football that would fill the screens later in the day. It was like going back to the 1980s in an English betting shop. Once the games started it was a proper addiction. As soon as one result looked like going against them they placed another bet. If their current bet looked like winning they placed another bet. If the action got a bit boring in one game they placed another bet. All on little slips of paper.

We decided that Sunday would be very busy so we got there early and sat in the bar area. “Minimum 2 drinks per person” a sign on the table read, but I wondered who would sit watching nine hours of American football and have less than 2 drinks.

Every NFL game was available, all at the same time. Im not sure that this actually enhanced the experience, but it was certainly a spectacle. Soon enough it was time to go for the other big event of the day, Gabi and Ciaran’s wedding!

Going To The Chapel

Most of the girls got ready in our room, which was disconcerting as I tried to have a bath in peace. When the time came we all went down to reception, where a limo waited to take us to “Vegas Weddings” downtown. It was not actually as tacky as I thought it would be, enhanced by the fact that neither Elvis nor Britney made an appearance.

A tasteful wedding

The ceremony was respectful and quick, then we headed for the bizarre area of Vegas known as Fremont Street. We had some marvellous sandwiches at Fat Sal’s an establishment that was clearly proud of being included in an episode of Diner’s Drive-Ins & Dives, as they played the episode on loop constantly. Those who ought to know better descended into tequila slammers, whilst those of us who do know better settled for beers and soft drinks. Zac sussed out the poker tournaments, but eventually decided that he could not commit to a full afternoon to fleece the American population.

Enjoying the post-wedding drinks

We returned to our hotel in a scary ride in what was almost certainly an unlicensed vehicle, but we did not really care. We were back safely! The kids kept on eating and drinking, we prepared for the remaining two days.

The Gambler

Zac had discovered a system on the “Buffalo” machines. Unfortunately there were several different kinds of Buffalo machines, all featuring different versions of buffalo stampeding, and the system seemed to be unsuccessful on all of them. Sally and myself nostalgically looked for machines with cherries and other fruity symbols. We did find some, but when we tried to play them the following night they were nowhere to be seen, almost certainly because we were either looking in the wrong part of the casino, or the wrong casino!

Twisting By The Pool

Monday was quieter, with breakfast at an Irish bar that included real sausages, fried eggs, black and white pudding and an optional pint of Guinness. We spent some time by the pool where drinks were extortionate. We worked out that a pina colada cost about $35, but of course Sally had a plan. She got some plastic cups, similar to those at the pool, and filled them with vodka purchased at a local supermarket. It was not permitted to take your own drinks into the pool area, but when you have a confident air it is easy to let the security staff assume that the drinks had actually been purchased poolside earlier in the day.

Poolside shenanigans

A Little Bit Country

Tuesday was our last day. It was also our wedding anniversary, and I had suggested Ole Red, a country and western restaurant opposite the Bellagio. Our Uber driver dropped us somewhere near, he could not get closer as there was a lot of building and scaffolding in the way. Ole Red does not take bookings, but we were fortunate to get a table within a few minutes of arriving.

The setting was magnificent. A three tiered open restaurant, with tables on all three tiers looking down on the stage. The live music included several renditions of Johnny Cash hits

Nachos filled everyone up before the mains arrived, but we did a good job of demolishing the rest of the food before taking a long and tortuous journey back via Caesar’s Palace and several other hotels.

Heads Or Tails?

Back at our hotel Sally retired for the night, but Ole and Zac had a plan. They wanted to gamble $100 each on red or black. Sally suggested we should bet on 22 as that is our anniversary, but it could easily have been 30 as that was the number of years! In the end I did not bet.

On the way to the “big bet”

Our hotel was busy and the boys were nervous, so we walked next door to the Luxor. They found a table with just one other player, but it had triple zeroes, significantly reducing the red or black odds. So they decided to hedge, with $180 on their chosen colour and $20 on any zero. But which colour?

They went through several permutations, and eventually settled on black. Zac tried to hand their cash to the croupier, but he is not allowed to take it. They have to place it on the table. Once they figured this out they then got id’ed. This took a short while as they had to wait for a pit boss, but finally it was time. Abbie sat at the table, and there was a further delay as she got id’ed. The croupier thought that she looked about 10!

You Spin Me Right Round

Ok – next spin it was. They opted for black and moved $180 to the black strip, with another $20 on green. The other player was impressed and wished them luck. The croupier called “no more bets”. He spun the wheel. He spun it rather quickly and it went round and round for an age. Zac could not look as the tension mounted. Even when the ball started to tumble towards the numbers it was still travelling too fast. It rattled and bounced, bounced and rattled. The wheel slowed, and the rattling stopped.

And there it was, nestled into Black 22! (Sorry Sally!) They had won $180, and they considered letting it ride. I convinced them otherwise and they walked away. Later in the evening they continued gambling, with Ole managing to overturn a croupier trying to cheat him out of a significant win. They lost some later on, but they had great fun and came away several hundred dollars up each. They even had time to indulge in some late night rollercoaster action at New York New York.

Happy anniversary – look what you could have won!

I fear we may have created two more customers for Gamblers Anonymous!

Double Denny’s

Our final morning began with everyone twisting my arm to head to Denny’s again. Another Irish breakfast would have to wait. We went poolside again and had a last hurrah on the slot machines to no avail. Eventually we headed to the airport, with the kids trying to think up any excuse for a return visit.

“Queen” in Las Vegas

Medical Matters

We have had a couple of medical emergencies recently, and the first of these was quite serious. Zac contracted a viral infection, and this triggered his asthma. He awoke in the middle of the night struggling to breathe, and despite Sally’s remedies he was not improving. She got him in the car and raced to Stepping Hill where he was seen quite quickly. He was given antibiotics, a nebuliser, and oxygen, and this seemed to settle him down. His cousin’s fiance Aimee was working that evening, and when he ended up on her ward rather than ICU he was quite pleased. It was chilled out, he got plenty of attention, and he was ready to settle in for the night.

I offered to let Tesco know that he would not be in, and I asked if he could contact university. He was a little concerned about losing ground on his degree course, but he said that Tesco would not be bothered!

Food Of The Gods

Unfortunately he was transferred to a respiratory ward. Here, there were too many ill people for his liking, and none of them of his age. There was a bright spot though, when Aimee contacted him to say that the staff were getting a Chinese and would he like anything? Of course he would!

He was warned about the hazards of vaping whilst he was hospitalised with breathing difficulties. I took the opportunity to tidy his room and found more than 50 vapes and related paraphernalia. There was no direct correlation between vaping and his illness, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the vapes were more than likely a contributory factor.

A few weeks later he went back for a lung test, and his improvement pleased the medical staff. On the way home Sally took him to MacDonalds where she asked him what his order was. “Chicken nuggets,” he announced, and Sally clarified that he meant a chicken nuggets meal with 6 nuggets and fries. He was a little taken aback. “No one of my age orders 6 chicken nuggets. The standard order is 20 chicken nuggets and large fries.” As it turned out the queue was too large so he had to settle for KFC chicken strips!

The Sky’s The Limit

Meanwhile, two unrelated events somehow came together. Firstly, a guy got jailed for providing illegal streams for dodgy firesticks, at roughly the same time that Sally bought me a firestick. However, before I could download any stream, illegal or otherwise, the second event occurred. This was when Ole got a job with Sky, meaning that he got Sky, including TNT Sports and Box Office, for free. It took a while to arrange over the phone, but it eliminated most of the reasons behind getting any streaming set up. Unfortunately we still cannot get Sally’s showjumping channel.

Christmas In The Kitchen

Its Christmas and so the kitchen gets busier by the day. Its certainly the festive season, with Gingerbread, shortbread and chocolate digestives all putting in an appearance. The edible eyes certainly make a difference to the gingerbread men.

 

The traditional Creole Cake has had its final feed and will be ready to decorate two days before the big one.

Creole Cake glistening with sherry

I also made a deconstructed pizza using foccacia, because the all-in-one approach usually ends up with a soggy crust. It went down well, although the toppings have to be grilled at the last minute.

Deconstructed pizza

Thomas has also found something that he likes at Christmas!

“I’ll just have one”

Free Falling

You may recall that Sally had a fall earlier in the year, and she vowed that when she got back on her horse she would not do any more jumping. Well, she got back on her horse, did some more jumping, and had another fall. This time she was on a hunt trial, where some of the obstacles can be quite uncompromising. She may have broken a couple of ribs, but I think she is too scared to go to the doctors to get this confirmed, in case she gets a telling off!

       

It was all going so well until it wasn’t

The ending was inevitable

In The Balance

I had a trip to Wigan recently where granddaughter Nixie was competing in another prestigious gymnastics competition. She has gained so much confidence and she now comes across as the leader in her little group. While we were in Vegas she competed in Newcastle, and in both competitions she finished with one or more medals. She is ready to take the step up to the next level in the new year.

Flying Nixie

International Star

Star Of Lady M’s final outing of the season was in a Group 3 race at Dundalk in Ireland. Entries and declarations were done in the middle of the night for us as we were in Las Vegas, and although the race was draw dependent, and we got a bad draw, David was keen that we should still go for it. So, we did. The race was the day after we landed at Manchester, so it was a quick turnaround. We flew to Dublin, rented a car which is much easier in Ireland than at most other destinations, and drove an hour north. The hotel was nice, and we had a couple of drinks in the bar before our taxi arrived. The course was desolate, cold and wet, and far removed from the grandeur of York and Ayr.

Luck In Running

We met Kevin Blake who also had a runner in our race, but he was not optimistic. Our jockey, Ronan Whelan, had a reputation for riding the track well, and so tactics were left to him. Star broke well enough, and tracked the predictable leader Tees Spirit. Coming into the straight the field bunched. Star went left and right and became unbalanced, but she recovered herself to finish 6th, beaten just two and a quarter lengths.

Ronan Whelan on board at Dundalk

It was in many ways a disappointing end to her season, but she had finished 6th in a Group 3 after not getting things to go her way. The travelling was something she was not used to, and the jockey had not sat on her before. All of these factors go into her performance, and although they are not excuses, they give us confidence that she can be competitive in group races. She is now resting with her shoes off, giving her feet time to recover before heading to Newmarket in May.

Ladies In Waiting

In December we visited the O’Meara yard, taking a package of goodies. Percy’s Daydream is certainly the sweeter of our two, standing patiently whilst she was given lots of fussing. Her infection is fully cleared up, and she will be aimed at GBB maidens and novices in the early part of next season.

Star Of Lady M can be a bit of a madam, but on this occasion she was chilled out, seeking out our pockets for any treats. Unfortunately there weren’t any, but she got plenty of attention. She had a habit of losing shoes during her races, and so David put casts on her so that this would not happen. She now has no shoes on as he gives her feet time to heal. Horses can be unpredictable, and there is no guarantee that she will reach the heady heights of 2024, but she will hopefully start her 2025 campaign at Newmarket in May, contesting mainly Group races. Win or lose this will be her final season before she heads to Mount Coote in Ireland where she will become a broodmare.

Percy’s Daydream looking glamorous

Star Of Lady M looking at her grey companions

Looking very different in her winter coat

You can read the previous edition here

http://www.michael-madden.co.uk/2024/10/15/the-brightest-star/