Heidi showed up a little after 3p and we headed over to the Bellagio meet up with Men The Master who was playing in a Seniors tourney that’s part of the Bellagio’s annual Five Diamond Classic. When we got there he was still in the tourney and wouldn’t be breaking for several hours, so Heidi and I decided to kill some time at the blackjack tables. Since I was in time-killing mode instead of really gambling mode, I kept my bet variations low and ended up finishing up about $300 by the time Men came to fetch us. He had been bad beaten to get knocked out just out of the money; bummer. He had a meal comp for the Chinese restaurant there so he treated us to a nice dinner with classic banquet style lobster, exceptional sauteed spinach with garlic, some pretty good oxtail soup and a whole bunch of sake.

After dinner he took us over to the part of Vegas with all these Asian restaurants and bars and we went to some KOrean karaoke place for some more drinks, a very respectable fruit plate, and of course singing. We were joined by Young, one of Men’s students and the four of us had a fun time just chillin. Aferwards, Men was gonna take us back to the Bellagio for a round of drinks, but as we were leaving the parking lot from the karaoke joint, he spotted a Vietnamese karaoke joint across the street that he thought had been closed, so he drove by and said “ok, we go for one beer here first”. Walking into this joint was what I pictured walking into a lounge in Vietnam would be like. An open dance floor space with tables and chairs around it, a bar along the right hand side and the color scheme was mainly black, white, and the pale green color I associate with public school cafeterias. Kind of a basement feel even though it was on the ground floor, but modernized with a sleek bar, flat screen tv’s everywhere for karaoke, and a very friendly young attractive crowd and staff. Overall a very cool vibe. We ordered a couple of beers and Young got some food which turned out to be the same style of filet mignon chunks that I always used to get at Mekong back in NY. It was every bit as good as Mekong’s version, but served up in a styrofoam takeout container with plastic Dixie plates which added to the whole modern Vietnamese basement aesthetic. We hung out there for a while and I am now convinced all Vietnamese people in Vegas are born entertainers or something. Everybody who sang karaoke, even Men and Young, were all exceptionally good singers, and the people cutting it up ballroom style on the dance floor had great moves as well. I really enjoyed the scene there. Who would have ever thought that I of all people would end up hitting two karaoke joints in one night while on vacaction in Vegas??

Afterwards we headed back to the Bellagio for one drink and then Men took us back to The Wynn. Heidi and I stayed up for a few hours playing blackjack and I won another $300. Just a teeny drop in the bucket considering how much I’m still down, but hey, I still have a day to go so I didn’t want to blow thru my whole allotted bankroll for this trip yet. Heidi insisted on getting some food in our systems as a way to avoid feeling like shit in the morning so we hit the Terrace Cafe and ordered breakfast food. I had the corned beef hash with two eggs over easy and hash browned potatoes. The hash was not as greasy as I normally expect, but still plenty tasty. The eggs were perfectly over easy and the potatoes were good and crispy but I wasn’t hungry enough to eat it. Service was horrendously slow considering it was 5am and the place wasn’t exactly busy, but hey, it’s all getting comped anyway, so I guess you get what you pay for…