Vacation in Nassau, Part 4....then we wait!

Thursday morning we woke up, got ready, and grabbed breakfast.  With the ocean still being closed for safety reasons, we didn't have a lot of options at the resort.  We headed to Atlantis, with my winning sports bet tickets in hand.  We checked around some of the shops they have, but most places were a little higher priced than we were looking for.  I cashed in my tickets for a $200 profit, gave $100 to my wife to play some slots, and I went to the blackjack table.  I bought in for $200, and played for awhile.  After an hour or so, I was up a little.  Every time there was a good shoe, it was followed by a bad shoe.  I decided to play one last hand (actually 2, since I was playing 2 hands at a time).  I bet $50 per hand.  I was dealt QQ and 66 against a dealer 5.  Ok, a bust card.  I stayed on the 20, and split the 66.  First card out on the split was a 5.  Ok, double down time.  The dealer put the card face down, which I enjoy.  With the other card, I got a face card and stayed.  The dealer ended up busting, and my down card on my double was a 10, giving me a 21, which was nice even though I ended up not needing it.  I left the table up about $275 overall.  For the 2 trips, I won approximately $600 between blackjack and sports betting.  My wife ended up winning $60 at the slot machines that day, cutting her losses to only $40 overall.  We headed back to downtown Nassau to look around the shops again, mainly a specific place that she wanted to revisit and browse their shirts.  As we got to the door, they announced they were closing to prepare for the hurricane that was potentially going to hit that night.

We headed back to the resort, a little more concerned about the storm.  The resort actually moved everyone off of the ground floor in case of flooding.  They pulled all of the chairs off of the beach so the potential winds didn't blow them around.  We had some lunch, enjoyed the pool and hot tub for a bit, and then had some dinner.  We checked out the band and the "Toga Party" for a bit before going to bed, planning on leaving the next morning.

Friday morning, we woke up, and checked our flight.  The weather had held off and the flight status was on time, so we grabbed some breakfast, checked out, and got a taxi to the airport.  (Side note--There is a set fee from place to place, no time or distance charge, so there's no possibility of long-hauling!)  Upon arrival at the airport, we found out they were closing at 2pm, all flights were cancelled, and we were ultimately re-booked for Sunday at the same time.  On the plus side, we got 2 extra days at the beach, and the hurricane had turned and was slowly heading out into the ocean.  On the down side, I had to pay for 2 extra nights at the resort, and we both had to work early Monday morning.  We headed back to the resort, got checked back in, and tried to relax a little at the pool.  One other positive - the theme for Friday night was Casino Night!  Ok, I can handle that.  They played poker and blackjack with non-valued chips.  I started out well at the poker table, felting 3 people in short order.  Everyone who lost all their chips was given more to play again, but no one was really playing crazy or reckless.  For the last hand of the night, they put all the chips in the middle, dealt the cards face up, and it was winner take all!  I of course was dealt 10-4 offsuit, and did not win.  It was a lot of fun for everyone it seemed!

I had heard some rumors that at around 11pm, when casino night ended, there was a chance of a real money game starting.  They did not disappoint.  It was a small game, 1/2 NLHE with a $20 buy-in.  We started with 5 players.  I ran well at first, felting a couple and running my initial $20 up to $75.  I went card dead, and we lost a couple of players.  3 handed, I finally busted and bought back in.  We played a little while longer, and I cashed out down $17.  For the experience tho, it was well worth it!  Only 1 of the guys was a decent player, the others were rather loose and played any 2, especially preferring suited cards.  I would definitely play in that game again if given the chance.  I was disappointed to hear that the previous Friday they had 7 players, and at the high point, there was over $600 in chips in the game!!  Too bad I hadn't been there for that one!

Saturday we went back to downtown Nassau, made a few more purchases, and I got back into the ocean.  It was still rough, and there were no fish or wildlife of any kind to be seen in the water.  We packed up again Saturday night, and Sunday morning headed back to the airport.  We made it through with no problems, and we bought a few more items at the airport, including 4 1-liter bottles of authentic rum made in Nassau.  Flying from Nassau to Charlotte, NC, we were a little concerned due to the flooding they were experiencing.  However, the flights in and out made it with no problems.  From Charlotte we flew to Chicago, and then to Peoria, IL, arriving around 11pm.  By the time we grabbed our bags and got home, it was midnight.  I did a few things and was in bed around 1am, with a 5am alarm clock set to go off....

All in all, it was a great trip, and lots of fun.  It was not Vegas by any means, but a different type of fun and excitement.  Beach, pools, drinks, food, scenery, people, all was great and enjoyable.  I would definitely make a third trip to this resort if time and money allow it sometime in the future!!