I have to say that PCGS does put on a nice show - it's a great little intimate relaxed show where you can spend time not being rushed looking through boxes and boxes of coins. Wednesday: My 1pm flight was cancelled so Southwest booked me on the next flight an hour later which meant I had about 2 ½ hours to kill at the airport. Well, luckily for me, they just opened a new wine tasting bar at the airport right across from the gates so, of course, I ended up hanging out there. What a great little place! They had some wonderful out-of-the ordinary wine, so I bought three nice bottles and then I even joined their wine club. Surprisingly, it turns out, the OC airport is now allowing people who buy wine at the airport to actually carry the bottles on board, so I took one bottle with me to have in Las Vegas and left the other two bottles at the wine bar to hold for me when I returned. I think I'm going to need to get to the OC airport a little extra early each time I fly! Here are the two bottles I brought home. When I arrived in Vegas, I went straight to the show at the Venician. In case you haven't been there, the Venitian is a beautiful casino with gorgeous paintings, lots of marble, colorful murals, and interesting sculptures. I couldn't resist taking some pictures around the casino.... This is actually inside the shops area – the clouds and sky are painted on the ceiling! This is a mural painted on the ceiling as well The Venitian hosts several major shows – The Phantom of the Opera, Jersey Boys, and of course The Blue Man Group! The Madam Tussaud’s wax museum is pretty cool too! Whoopi Harrison Ford The dealers at the show were still setting up, so I browsed around trying not to get in their way, bought a couple coins, then went over to my hotel to check in, change, and meets some friends to play poker! I was doing pretty well until I switched to the table my friend was at. I was still quite a bit ahead until I got pocket Kings, and after some raises and heavy betting (this was a 4/8 limit game), my friend turns over pocket Aces! Argggghhhh! Then a couple hands later, I get a nice straight on the turn, and this same “friend” had two pair and rivers a full house! Another arggghhhh! Oh well, easy come, easy go..... Thursday: When I got back to the show, there was quite a crowd. Here is the line to get into the show I wondered around some more, chatted with more dealers, and found some more great coins PCGS sets out a nice spread for breakfast and lunch each day Here are some of the folks I ran into at the show…. Of course, the wonderful PCGS gals! David Hall Rebecca and Don Willis Mark Feld being Mark Feld! Walt Ankerman and Danny Mike Byers Spectrum Larry Shapiro and John Ruiz A couple very nice collector guys The Heritage folks wanted to remain “incognito” And me! Thursday after the show I ended up playing the Texas Hold-um Bonus out by the Black Jack tables and did really well. I also tried a new game called Black-Jack Switch where you play two hands and you get to switch the top two cards. However, the dealer gets to push on 22 and they only pay even money for a Black Jack. It added a very interesting twist to the game. This was a hilarious statue that was a my hotel This lady was standing so still and she looked so perfect that I thought she was a mannequin when I first walked by so I just had to take her picture Friday: Went back to check on my submission, chatted with a few more people, then it was time to catch my flight home. Had my usual preflight beverage, my flight was only 50 minutes, and I made sure I didn't forget to pick up my wine when I got back to the OC airport! Overall, for me it was a great show since I picked up some fabulous coins, including a 1922 No D in PCGS AU55, and a stunning 1864 CN PCGS PF65 CAM – two coins that are hard to find so nice! Now it’s Saturday and I’m set up at the Buena Park show – no rest for the weary!
