Pala Indian gaming casino/buffet review
The week before Father’s Day, my sister and I took our dad to the Pala Indian gaming casino for brunch and gambling. Located only an hour and a half a way from Los Angeles in the city of Temecula, it is a close alternative to Las Vegas. We arrived early on a Sunday morning. We left the house at 7:30 a.m. and got there a little after 9.
We had bruch at the new Pala Choices buffet. The regular price for the brunch is $17.99, but if you have a player’s club card, it was only $13.59. We signed up for one since it is free. The buffet had everything including snow crab legs, raw oysters, a steak station, a crepe station. They even had a Coldstone type ice cream station. This was just morning brunch. I can’t imagine what kind of food they have for dinner. And for only ~$14, it was better than a lot of other Las Vegas buffets. We were super full after.
Both my dad and sister faired well on the slots too. Both were up $500 each before losing a little. However I lost, but I did not bring too much money, so it really did not matter. On our way back we also stopped by the Lake Eisinore Outlets to do some shopping. So the next time you have a gambling itch, check out Pala. I highly recommend this casino and buffet.
In debt trouble?
With our economy become worse and worse everyday, more people are getting into deeper debt. A family member may have lost their job, and the bills are piling up. You have to figure out something, you do not want to lose your car or even worse lose your home. It is a stressful time. At Debt Relief LLC, they can help you. They have been in this type of business for 16 years, so you know you are getting professional help you can trust. Check out their website to learn more about their Debt Relief programs to help you and your family.
More bathroom expense
On my prior post, I wrote about changing a toilet and bathroom flooring. The total cost I had was $48, but while working on it more costs came up. I had to purchase caulk and a paint brush. I also had to purchase new molding. The old molding was getting old, and due to a miscalculation while cutting the laminate flooring, I needed extra molding to cover up my miscue. So the total extra costs I had to spend was ~$30.
Luckily my parents had a lot of the tools and other accessories I needed to complete this job. I borrowed from them: glue for the flooring, paint for the new molding, and a jigsaw saw to cut the wood.
I had a midar cut saw to cut the molding. If you do not want to invest in this type of saw, you can always purchase the midar cut box. This inexpensive plastic box will help guide you cut all the 45 degree angles you need for molding.
I was also thinking about changing the bathroom lighting. There are sites out there that sell these products like the Premier Lighting store. They have a wide choice of bathroom vanity lighting and even offer free shipping for orders over $100.
Del Amo Mall problems
Have you ever gone shopping at the Del Amo Mall? This use to be the biggest mall in the nation, but now it has fallen on hard times. If you walk around the mall, you notice half the stores are empty, and the majority of the stores are on a month to month lease. There are still some big chain stores like Macy’s, Sears, and JC Penny, but the empty stores really put a damper on the mall. Outside the mall there is also a vacated Circuit City.
They recently added a new outdoor wing with an AMC movie theater and several big name restaurants including P.F. Chang, Lazy Dog Café, B.J.’s and Jerry’s Deli. It has helped the mall some, but it seems like more and more stores are closing down every week. This past week the Hallmark, Sanrio Store, and Electronic Boutique closed down business in the mall. If you go to other malls, you do not see this problem. It is a problem the mall really has to address, whether it is lowering the rent or offering some kind of incentives for more big name businesses to open up shop. If nothing happens look for the mall the shut down in about 5 years.
How to replace a toilet
This past Father’ Day weekend, my dad and I fixed a leaking toilet. What better way to spend time together than a do it yourself project. My wife had noticed warping on our bathroom floor. At first we thought our shower was leaking, but when we removed the laminate flooring, we realized it was the toilet.
Our first step before removing the laminate flooring was removing the molding first. Then we lifted the toilet out, and we notice the was ring was worn out and nearly gone. We then pulled out the flooring. The person that previously did our flooring had put composite wood below the flooring. That was soaked, so we had to pull that out. After that we went to Lowes to purchase new plywood for the floor as well as a new wax ring. We also had to wood cut there with the precise measurements.
The next step was buying new flooring. That was done at Lowes again. They have 6×9 cuts of laminate flooring, perfect for a bathroom. We used a jigsaw to cut the plywood with the hole for the toilet. And then we just had to put everything back together.
Total cost spent: ~$6 for ring, $11 for plywood, $31 for flooring. Total: $48 for a do it yourself weekend project.
Investing in a Playstation 3
You are probably crazy for thinking I am saying a playstation 3 is an investment but hear me out first. The Playstation 3 is one of the best gaming systems out there. They have the widest choice of games out there on the market. The graphics and sounds are great. You can also play Playstation 1 or 2 games on it as well. In addition to be a great gaming system, the console also allows for you to watch DVD and Blu Ray discs. Blu Ray movies are the hottest things out there now. You can watch a movie at home with all the same qualities as a movie theater. This system use to run for $400 when it came out, but now for about $330. It is now the time to invest in one.
Making money from cell tower leases
The cellular phone craze is at its peak. With these new smart phones, people are able to send email, surf the net, update Twitter, in addition to making calls and sending text messages. More and more cell towers are needed to accommodate this demand. Here is where you come in. As landowners you can get into cell tower leases on your property. At Steel in the Air, they are your consultants on any questions you may have if you are interested in signing one of these leases. Check out their website to learn more about this program.
Can the city afford a parade?
After the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship, the question came up if the city can afford the customary Championship parade? They estimated the cost of the parade to be $1 million. The city is in a financial crisis and cannot afford this. They have asked the NBA and the Lakers to cover the bill. But after back and forth negotiations, the bill will be covered by donations from private sectors.
Now I am asking why it would cost that much to put on a parade? It is just allocation of city workers. For example, they say it is going to cost additional overtime for police officers. That is not true. What they can do is get more officers working. For the ones that are not on their regular shift, give them a day in the future. Give them an extra floating holiday that they can use anytime. Any worker will agree to that. Then they say, we need workers to clean up after. These are city worker! Just allocate them from their normal task. We are paying for them anyways, so instead of cleaning the park today, clean the parade. Or give them the future day off option, for any additional workers we need. I can see costs for the decorations and rentals, but that is no more than a $100K.
And think about all the additional money made from concessions and advertisements. The money needed for decorations and rentals can be easily recovered.
No wonder the city and state is in a billion dollar financial deficit. With running the city like that, no matter how much money they have, it will be gone in no time. Politicians are basically sales people. They have to think everything financially, as accountants in order to properly run the city efficiently.