Seems the GST and PST combo is better managed than HST alone.

ooo....squirrel killing. Now you are talking.

We kept in it’s original paper wrapping, so when heated in the microwave, and flipping halfway, it came out pretty decent.

Jersey Mike’s is my favorite sub place in our area. In college, in ‘84, I loved Subway, but it just seems subpar for quite a few years. I just picked up some Black Friday gift cards for JM.

Roast chicken thighs atop carrots & bok choy
baked potatoes

It's all over the place. Government made a mess out of it and everyone applies it differently. They really need to simplify the process. That said, I just assume everything is +13% and if I get it for cheaper, great. If I don't, then it was expected. On the bright side, I know if I buy six bao, it does come tax free. :D

Broiled chicken leg quarters and Spanish rice.

Reminds me of the time a few years back when I was on a fishing boat heading out to sea. I was sitting in the cabin next to an older gentleman. He pulls out a plastic bag and begins to eat what appeared to be lamb. Not traditional boat fare, but ok.

He offers me some, and I decline. He then tells me that it was squirrel 🐿, and he had to chase him up a tree to kill him.

Sometimes, a polite declination is not a bad thing!!!

:D So, you are rooting for me to be trapped somewhere?

Seems still no flying this Advent , travelling via meals
More Chalkfarm cakes for cheering up , ice cream too

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Indonesian - ayam & udang goreng ( fried chicken and prawns ) and sayur lodeh
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ABC soup

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Dark chocolate olive oil cake
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Pulot hitam ( black rice ) cake

You could be trapped on my front porch and have access to some good squirrel hunting.

LOL, but your state has strict firearms laws that make hunting challenging.

We could shoot them from my garden if there weren’t so many houses around. But of course here in Florida we could always invoke the stand your ground principle. My garden is under attack and they aren’t following my orders. I just picked another pound of green beans and we could probably fry up some green tomatoes.

LOL, you think squirrels follow orders? :D

So... didn't have time to make much as I had a late meeting and am setting up a server right now so dinner was store bought pork/shrimp dumplings in soup. (and some Corn Flakes..... KIDDING!)

And finishing it off with some frozen durian.

No, but I do yell at them and tell them they’re naughty.

Bagels with cream cheese & lox
latkes with applesauce & sour cream

Commercial Dungeness crab season opened yesterday on the north coast, so today we went down to the dock and bought 2 live right off the boat. Straight home and into boiling water. Along with some crusty bread, dinner was served.

I use a bit stronger language...really disgusting & foul language. They deserve it.

Last night at Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio. Bottle of Veuve Cliquot Rose, golden Ossetra caviar, pepper crusted foie gras, dry aged ribeye, 6 oz A5 Wagyu and glass of Louis XIII Cognac.

All with compliments of the Bellagio Casino Marketing Dept.

wow...you must be a whale!

No, just a person who is used to losing in life! This is the Bellagio, and I can't even count the times the person next to me was betting $10K per hand in the high limit Baccarat room. I'm just a peon whose had a pretty long and good relationship with my host.

Wait, were you yelling at squirrels or birds? Do squirrels understand fowl language?

:D fixed it. But for the record, I yell at the crows sometimes.

Amazing how many folks don’t realize how important that relationship is. Congratulations on the great meal. I’m sitting on some MGM freebies. I really need to make it out there. It’s been too long.

Yeah, I would have been happy with the pink Veuve. :D

Thanks!

And, while I understand and appreciate that it's purely business to them with our "comps" basically being a loan where they expect to be repaid via the ADT (average theoretical loss), the relationship nonetheless matters. I'm not really sharing anything earth shattering here, but while their job is to separate us from our money, they nonetheless appreciate it when their clients treat them with respect & dignity, adhere to gambling etiquette (making an effort to gamble the hours per the comps requested), and are polite even when some requests are refused.

I'm under no delusions that I'm anything more than part of her meal ticket, but a long mutually beneficial relationship is often underappreciated in this day and age, IMHO.

For the steakhouse meal, isn’t that required risk of 100-200k? My friend probably had 50k at risk and only got in-suite dining.

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They will never tell you the exact amount needed to gamble. The number seems to be variable. I’ve been comped when not gambling much…and I’ve lost a decent amount (for me) and not seen a thing.
Keep in mind, Vegas is still rebounding. Thus, they really want your business.
A pizza as a comped meal? Was your friend staying at Excalibur? (Although the steak and lobster tail helps)!

As phillygold observed, it's not something they'll ever disclose.

But, I’ve been using the same formula since the early 2000s whenever fulfilling my end of the gentleman’s agreement on comps granted and received--average $500 - $1,000 per hand of, say, blackjack for at least 4 hours per day. Assuming the average of around 60 hands per hour, that’s anywhere from the equivalent of $150K - $200K coin in/out? While it’s an unspoken rule, some pit bosses will rate you higher if you have a rapport with them, make the occasional dealers’ bet, and/or having a particularly brutal session.

While I suspect my host’s comps vary greatly with her clientele, I haven’t had a “hard” limit on my comps for the past decade. I assume it’s probably because I’ve always probably exceeded the $200K per diem coin in/out over the years during my gambling sprees, usually with a combination of BJ, Craps, Baccarat and video poker.

Once I hit the appx $500 per hand BJ for the requisite 4 hours, I’m no longer under any obligation to gamble further, regardless of the comps received and granted. Sometimes, the comps are relatively minor, and during others, especially when I have guests, they can add up to quite a large number--it all evens out in the end.

I’ll be making stew in the crockpot for tomorrow night. In addition to carrots, onions, pork, beef, garlic and potatoes, I will be including green beans and turnips from the garden. I cooked the turnip greens to go with jambalaya tonight. This is my first turnip harvest although I’ve cooked greens a few weeks ago when I thinned out a row.


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Freni bakery, Sf - one rare iraqi / Afghan bakery in Sf. Delivery because the location just isn’t nice.
jelly donuts - sufgayot. Filling is yellow cream.

my friend chose pizza as part of his supper.

thank you! Greatly appreciated :-)

No problem! Oh, I’ll apologize in advance if this is already self-evident to you, but $100K coin in/out when playing BJ isn’t really that large an amount.

Here’s what I mean. Usually, at the Bellagio they have a 2-deck game with very generous rules where if one applied perfect basic strategy, the house edge is reduced to approximately 20bps – 30 bps. Not even card counting, but assuming one had any sense of awareness, it isn't that hard to notice when a 2-deck game is heavy with face cards; increase the wager during these times, and you'll probably break even, or even come out ahead slightly. Moreover, these days, you can literally buy one of those BJ strategy cheat cards, and then sit down and play with the card right in front of you, if one were inclined to do so. While in the short term, there can be quite a bit of variance, if you play, say, an infinite amount of hands perfectly, you’d expect to lose about $200 - $300 per $100K wagered (coin in/out) with just basic strategy.

At least before the Mlife rewards overhaul, earning about 500 – 1,000 points from slots (not video poker) would net you a free room, and probably a buffet, out of courtesy. That’s about $5K - $10K coin in/out. If you were to hit, say, $20K slots coin in/out, you’d probably get the proverbial RFB—free room & $350 per diem on food & drinks. Above that, and the hard limits will likely be lifted.

sufgayot (jelly donuts with cream filling due to service error)
latkes with applesauce & sour cream
red Wine

i might have a salad or some toast

although I know that 6 figures of buyin is normal for some, I just wouldn’t be able to play and I haven’t been to Vegas in decades. For my rare poker game with friends, we’re playing 10/25cent blinds and I’m buying in for $368 to juice action as my friends are risking $40 max before their rebuy.
when you see people playing 10k a hand in baccarat, are they using chips of 5k denomination or is there a 10k chip? On poker tv shows in Vegas, I’m seeing 5k/25k chips and not 10k.

Having salmon and risotto tonight.

Ah, poker has a "buy in," but that's generally not a term I'd use for the other table games. It's more of a bankroll. You can rack up $100K coin in/out with only an initial $10K in chips, assuming lady luck is with you. For slots or video poker, you can start with, say, $500 - $1,000, and easily rack up $5,000 - $10,000 coin in/out, if you're lucky.

Generally, when in the high limit sections, I prefer chips in the $500, $1,000 and $5,000 denominations. $25Ks exist, but it’s pretty rare since there really isn’t a lot of reason to have them, unless you’re one of those mega whales.

I suspect most gamblers use markers rather than carrying cash, and just settle when finished--coloring up to cash out generally isn’t something that’s done in the high limit rooms. Even when playing higher stakes video poker, I’m not going to sit there and pump in cash, but use a marker where the casino clerk will load up the credits for me.

Have you tried this place? It's probably within walking distance for you.

I have not been there in years despite working almost directly across the street from them for several years! thanks for the reminder....they are a bit tucked away and just not on my radar. I think the only times I have been there I have gone for their gelato. I am going to make it a point to try to get there one day next week. Another place that just opened and looks promising is Sweet Wheat. https://sweetwheatbakery.com/

Looks good. I've got to try both places the next time that I am in the South Bay.

Braised short ribs over pappardelle with ricotta.
Bourbon barrel aged Cabernet Sauvignon
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Brisket
latkes with applesauce & sour cream
cooked vegetables
sweet potato pancakes

sufgayot (raspberry jelly)
cream-filled sufgayot


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BBQ chicken with potato salad.

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