Archives for Brad Stories category
This week we were reminded once again why we left Indiana to move to Las Vegas. On Monday when we left town the temperature in Las Vegas had been close to 90 for several days. During the 3 days we stayed in Hammond, Indiana, the wind chill factor got very close to zero a couple of nights. Now that’s a shock to one’s system we had tried to avoid by scheduling a Harrah’s 7 Star trip just before the April 1 deadline. We had kind of forgotten that Mother Nature has a way of playing tricks during March in Indiana!
Anyway, we didn’t suffer too much because the Hammond Horseshoe casino was nice and warm and the video poker machines were HOT! Read more… »
Posted on Jan 20, 2013 under Brad Stories, It's Personal |
Brad sends a big “Thank You” for all the birthday wishes. He had a great day, with lots of phone calls, Facebook messages, and in-person greetings as we made our usual Friday casino rounds. We cashed checks and did our free Megabucks pulls at the Palms. We collected bounce-back cash or free play at four casinos Read more… »
Posted on Nov 12, 2012 under Brad Stories |
In the well-it-finally-happened department: Brad has some very strong dislikes in a casino, including long lines, loud music, salmon, crowds, prime rib. Whenever I show him a coupon for a free offer or tell him about a free invitation that might involve one of these, he will say, “Free doesn’t hack it – they would have to PAY ME to do this.” Read more… »
Posted on Feb 18, 2012 under Brad Stories, Comments |
Yes, it is true Brad entered a new decade of his life. He turned 80 on January 18 while we were at the Horseshoe in Hammond, Indiana. It was a great time to use up a Harrah’s Seven Star Celebration Dinner at their fine steakhouse. Read more… »
Posted on Aug 25, 2011 under Brad Stories, Comps, Harrah's, Q+A |
Thanks to everyone who has said good things about the recent series on Brad’s gambling experiences down through the years. To answer your queries about whether I will now start writing about my own early gaming history, that is a possibility I am mulling over in my head. I had “sworn” that I would never ever write another book. But last night when I had a four-hour bout of insomnia, one started sketching itself in my head: Read more… »
Posted on Aug 22, 2011 under Brad Stories |
After 30 years of marriage, Brad and his wife divorced. Brad always jokes, “I got out on good behavior.” He rented a small bachelor pad close to Naval Avionics and continued to go to the various horse tracks on the weekends when he wasn’t working overtime.
In 1982, a Naval Avionics co-worker who knew how much Brad liked gambling told him about the Moose Lodge just a few blocks away from his apartment. She said they ran Monte Carlo nights there a couple of Wednesdays a month and there was one that night. Read more… »
Posted on Aug 09, 2011 under Brad Stories, Comments |
I hate working on strange computers!!
Anyway to finish the thought of the last entry:
After Brad and I met and started casino gambling, he has kept busy with advantage plays. We rarely play “just for fun” because we have about all the fun we can stand looking for and taking advantage of “good” plays!
Posted on Aug 09, 2011 under Brad Stories, Travel |
Writing from Albuquerque – just two days from home-sweet-home!
To respond to a recent comment:
Brad has always had a gambling advantage in his adult life when he was playing Tonk and poker since both are games of skill and he had innate “card sense” plus extensive experience. He studied horseracing and says he was more knowledgeable than the average player, but it probably wasn’t a positive-expectation bet for him. However, it was inexpensive entertainment that he loved. And as far as all the “games” at his workplace, that just made his job a great social experience instead of a boring routine. He was considered the great instigator of fun and was beloved by co-workers all over the plant.
Posted on Aug 05, 2011 under Brad Stories |
After Brad got out of the Air Force in 1952, he settled down back in his parents’ home in Connersville, IN, with a job at Philco, a major refrigerator manufacturing plant in town. Then came marriage and four children. There wasn’t a lot of money during this time for gambling activities, but there were always low-stakes Tonk games when relatives and friends got together in their homes. There were also poker games at the American Legion. And Tonk games were still going strong at the cigar stores where Brad had played when he was a young teenager. If Brad had any extra money on Friday paydays, Read more… »
Posted on Jul 31, 2011 under Brad Stories |
Despite 95-degree and very humid weather today, we tromped through the Fayette County Free Fair today. This was the first free county fair in the country, established in 1903. And if you read one of the early chapters in the series here about Brad’s Gambling Life, you might remember that this fair in his hometown of Connersville, IN, was a high point in Brad’s summers for many of his childhood and youth years. Read more… »
