Day 1 Continued

Okay, sorry - got side tracked with wedding stuff!
So, we head to the MGM Friday night. As usual, the blonkeys congregate to common tables.
Check out this donkalicious display of hotties:

And, the TRUE Vegas Hotties:

Vegas Day 1: Friday

Okay, so we get up Friday morning, drop the baby donkey off, and head to Vegas.

The traffic was really light, and it only took us a little over 4 hours to get there.

I got excited along the way:

Whiskey Pete's and Buffalo Bills are about 40 minutes outside of Vegas.

So we get to the hotel (Stratosphere), and get checked in. The rooms are OK. Nothing special. A good price for a clean place to stay. The bathroom was nice enough - a big tub for my luxuriation! The casino was just big enough, and not too busy. The poker room is TINY. And the female poker director is very outspoken and funny - she cracked me up! The only thing that I really did not like about the Strat is the fact that it's sooooooooooo far down the strip that it's kind of a pain in the ass to get to and from. Luckily, we had Ray's car there so that we did not have to burn a ton of $$$ on cabs.

We get to the room, and take a nap. Yes - a nap. Grandpa Smokkee was sleepy. I finally gave in, deciding that a nap would allow me to stay up really late that night. Zzzzzzzzzzzz

So, after the nap, we get beautified and head over to the Rio to see who we could see. I see a few Pros:

Phil -

Jesus:

Doyle:

And Fuel55!!! Not a pro, but just as good in my book! Plus, he had Jesus at his table.

Smokkee gets a call from Hoy, and we are directed to donkey table 161, where Iak, Hoy, Don and Weak have settled down for some WSOP cash game action. We chat a while and my girl Carmen heads over. I get the fashion update and the gameplan for the night: MGM cash games (aka donkeyland). A while later, Smokkee signs up for a satellite, where he ends up splitting the money with 2 other guys. Nice Job Honey!

After that, we head to MGM.

VeGaS bAbY!!!

Well, we are heading to Vegas tomorrow.
Ray says we have to get up at the ass crack of dawn, drop the little donkey off at the Pet Hotel, and be on our way promptly. Uggggggggg

I'm really excited to see everyone, including my girl Carmen, who I have not chatted with in AGES! I'm looking forward to hearing all the WSOP gossip and catching up with her.

I'm also looking forward to seeing Miami Don, Iak, Waffles, Fuel, Hoy, Blinders and all you other Donks out there right now - and meeting some new Donks like bayne. Missing from the scene will be Lucko, Peaker, Al, Poison and Kat. Boooooo! Maybe next time!

I really want to check out the Pussy Cat Dolls Casino at Caesar's. It's supposed to be burlesque. Should be kewl. I'm sure I'll have some pics to post latah. Not sure how much poker I'll play though. Maybe some blackjack. Hmmm.....may be a game time decision.

We are staying at the Stratosphere. I've never stayed there before, but have always wanted to. I'll give a report on the rooms and pool area. I plan to spend a good amount of time @ the pool. I'm soooo white right now!

Also, I wanted to give all you wine lovers a tip about Vegas that most peeps don't know: there is a wine cellar @ the Rio. It's kind of hard to find, but VERY worth the search! It's over by the Tilted Kilt. You have to walk down an iron staircase, and into the cellar. They have at least 25-30 different flights to choose from - HIGHLY recommended!

That's all for now. Viva Las Vegas, Beeeeeeeches.

Sweet Baby Jaiden

Ray and I traveled to my "Homeland (Cleveland)", as he calls it, this past weekend.

My nephew and Godson, Jaiden, was being christened, and most of the family was in attendance. So, we boarded the red eye from LAX to Cleveland Friday night.

Here are some pictures. Call me bias, but isn't he just the cutest baby?!?!?

And yes, this is me in the House of the Lord. I'm such a little angle, huh?

My mom, sister, me and Grandma with baby Jaiden after church.

And the winner is....JASLENE

The road Jaslene Gonzalez traveled to become America's Next Top Model's eighth season winner was apparently a long one, as she had to overcome an abusive relationship prior to conquering the catwalk.

"Before I got into that relationship, I had a good head on my shoulders and walked with my head up high," said Gonzalez in the July issue of Seventeen, People reported Monday. "But during that relationship, things went down little by little. It was such a dark moment in my life. It was horrible!" The 21-year-old online college admissions advisor from Chicago, IL said the relationship could have completely set her back from achieving her dream of winning Top Model, but she wouldn't let it.

"I wasn't having my rest or eating the food I wanted to eat. So I mentally gave up, but I still did what I had to do," she told Seventeen, according to People. "I think perseverance is the key to success. There were so many roadblocks for me, but I overcame them all."

In addition to receiving a management deal with Elite Model Management, a $100,000 contract with cosmetics company CoverGirl, and the six-page fashion and beauty layout in July's Seventeen magazine for winning Top Model 8, Gonzalez now finds herself in a situation to help others in abusive relationships. "I can give so much advice, but it starts within yourself," she told Seventeen, according to People. "You need to get help. Talk to somebody, because once you talk about it, you hear it, and then you understand what you're going through. That's what it took for me to let go."

Gonzalez is living proof that the strength gained from overcoming past difficulties can help you achieve your goal in life, as she had always aspired to become a model. "I couldn't believe how mature, strong, and confident I've grown," Gonzalez told Seventeen, adding her journey was not an easy one even once she made it as a finalist on Top Model 8. "I definitely broke down along the way though."

Jaslene Gonzalez (born 1986 in Puerto Rico, raised in Bolingbrook, Illinois) is an American model, the winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 8, and the series' first full Latina winner. She is the third winner of Latin descent in the series, following Yoanna House (Cycle 2) and Naima Mora (Cycle 4). She won the title of America's Next Top Model on May 16, 2007, after having been a finalist along with 21 year-old Natasha Galkina from Dallas, Texas.

America's Next Top ModelBefore the show, Gonzalez was an online college admissions advisor. After failing to get past the semifinal round of Cycle 7, she was devastated but assured show host and supermodel Tyra Banks that she would be back for the next cycle's auditions. She did return, and was cast for Cycle 8. Gonzalez became a front runner early in the season, garnering high praise for her photos and being called first two times consecutively at the start - a Top Model first. While her consistency wavered in the middle of the competition (at one point leading to a warning from Banks that she was "falling and falling"), Gonzalez improved towards the end. The judges were also impressed by her drive to win. However, Banks was also concerned about the intensity of Gonzalez's passion for Top Model. In the penultimate judging session, she expressed concern to the other judges over how Gonzalez might react to an elimination from the show, fearing that Top Model "is her life".

At 5'7", she is the second shortest winner, ahead of Cycle 3's Eva Pigford, who is 5'6.5". She is the second winner from Illinois; the first was Adrianne Curry from Cycle 1. Jaslene is the only winner to have never made an appearance in the bottom two during the entire course of the competition - thus beating the record previously held by Cycle 6 runner-up, Joanie Dodds. In her on-camera commentary in the final episode, Gonzalez said, "I'm the Latin spice here. I'm not your girl next door but I'm your girl down the block in your hood." As part of her prize, Gonzalez wins representation by Elite Model Management, a $100,000 (USD) contract with CoverGirl cosmetics and a photoshoot for the cover of and a six page spread within Seventeen magazine.