Back in the day......

A pretty boring post, but nothing exciting is going on these days.

Well, I finally made it through the gauntlet that is New Year's weekend! This past week has been the most I've dealt since beginning way back in February of last year. Although this past week has been busier on graveyard shift than usual, the only real unusual day was the one mentioned in the previous post. One thing I've been trying to do lately is get some experience behind the Pai Gow Poker table. I'd say I've "shadowed" about 5 or 6 times now on Pai Gow. Shadowing is basically giving up my 20 minute break and dealing a game during that time, with the veteran dealer watching over you. I'm pretty confident in setting the cards the "house" way and figuring out the 5% commissions, as well as paying out the bonus bets. However, I have VERY little experience "banking", so I need to get that down a little better before I volunteer to deal that game without supervision. Pai Gow is a slower, more laid back game when compared to blackjack. So on days when I'm not on the dice table all day, it'll be a nice change of pace dealing Pai Gow every once in a while.

It was slightly wistful yesterday morning since that was the last day I'd be dealing on graveyard. But when 11am rolled around, out the door I went with no fanfare at all. I guess it's not really a big deal since I'll still see my graveyard buddies when I roll into work before 11am.

Yep, that's right. My new shift is now day shift, which is a change from what I was told last week. Beginning next Monday, I'll be dealing 11am-7pm. Even though I really got used to the graveyard hours, I guess day shift isn't too bad. I get to sleep in if I want and I can still go out and do stuff at night without worrying about work. Unfortunately, I'll be getting off of work at 10pm EST, so it won't be the best shift for sports and such. For example, I WILL get to see the 2nd half of the national championship game Monday night, so I guess that's cool! Hopefully the Bucks will make a game of it and I'll get to catch the half that really matters.

I got caught up on some insurance errands today. One thing that really caught me off-guard was the price of auto insurance out here. I ended up going with AAA auto insurance last year, which was the best I could find at the time, but still around $900 for the year.....WAY more than what I was used to paying in Ohio. Since I really liked the insurance agent that I dealt with up in NW Vegas last year, I drove the 35 minutes back to his office, even though there are several AAA offices much closer. I'm extremely glad I did. Before heading to his office, I did a little comparison shopping online and came up with significantly lower price with a rival company. I basically thought it was too good to be true, but printed out the quote and took it with me anyway.

Here's how AWESOME of a guy this insurance agent is at AAA. He basically couldn't believe the quote, so he got on the phone with said company to verify it. Everything checked out, so he basically handed the phone over to me and I completed the transaction with this rival company right in this guy's office! I've been extremely happy with ALL of AAA's services over the years, so I did want to stay with them this time. However, I'll be saving over $200 this year by making this change, with no substantial change in coverage!

So if you just happen to be in the Las Vegas area and looking for some insurance needs (auto, life, renters, etc.), go see Steve Ririe at the AAA office located on W. Lake Mead Blvd. You'll thank me if you do. He's an absolutely terrific guy, and will obviously not try to pressure you into anything if you find a better price elsewhere!

Tonight is the "poker night" over at Chris' place, so wish me luck. I've got plenty of pocket change for some 5-cent craps mega-action!!!