- The presentation was just about ok. There were very few customers to attend and their response was fairly lukewarm. Better than having things thrown at me of course, but I would have liked them to show a bit more interest.
- Gambled and lost $45 at the Vegas casinos.
, hope you are happy - My credit card refused to work when I came back to the hotel in Dallas. Luckily managed to get hold of a co-worker (an ex-boss really) who pulled out his card and saved the day.
Vegas was exactly how I imagined it would be, after hearing about it from many people. Its basically a bunch of casinos in the middle of a desert. The cab driver who picked me up at the airport mentioned that farming is the number one industry in Vegas. "Have you heard of cash crops ? Well, thats what we farm - cash".
Each of the big casinos/hotels have a central theme. Ceasar's Palace looks Roman, the Venetian (where I stayed) imitates the look of Venice and has a lot of Michaelangelo-like paintings, Treasure Island looks very pirate-y, etc. I walked down Las Vegas boulevard in the night - they all looked great lit up.
I tried the slot machines at The Venetian. Won a bit initially, which of course spurred me on. Lost about $40 when I called it quits. Lost an additional $5 at the airport in a last ditch attempt to at least break even. Oh, well. Was fun, though.
My hotel in Dallas first didn't give me a room as they said they were full. This in spite of me confirming with them that I would be back by today. Finally they gave in, but I got stalled again when my credit card stopped working. Had to run to office and pull out Rick, who used his personal card. Phew ! Had a scare. Still worried really. What if someone at the hotel had used the card (they had the number) and overshot the credit limit ? !!
Two more days at the Dallas office and I fly back on Saturday. Yesss !
Gambled and lost $45 at the Vegas casinos.
ReplyDeleteI'm yet to hear of anyone that actually made any money at the casinos in vegas. Really.
My credit card refused to work when I came back to the hotel in Dallas.
If your banker sees suddenly "weird" (read: foreign) transactions happening from all over the planet, they revoke the card. This happened to my bro too, when he was flying from where he normally lives to madras => [...] => brussels => switzerland => [...] => foo/bar => home. They basically think the card's stolen and the number is flying on the internet that people all over the world are beginning to use it, and so they shut it off, unless you call and warn them at your local home branch, BEFORE you fly, not to panic if they see transactions from all over the planet. With sufficient id, you should be able to do it at an overseas branch, as well.
Still worried really.
Gimme a call at (514) 486-4578 if you land up in trouble with no possible reprieve. Its possible for me to authorize payments on my cards, etc. and you can just pay off the equivalent INR to my parents, etc. and I think I have sufficient credit to cover one or two days/nights etc. for you quite easily.
What if someone at the hotel had used the card
Dont you have insurance? I mean, can't you call your bank and refuse payment etc, and ask for valid proof/signatures etc. for transactions you deem invalid? If not, woah, gotta be careful with them blasted desi cards. Too powerful, and too little protection, me thinks ... If you're looking at making more frequent trips etc. and want an add-on on mine (I have credit theft protection etc.) ping me, and I can work something out maybe ...
fly back on Saturday. Yesss !
Have a good flight, though I'm sure you'd find the time at some airport to make more LJ updates, given esp. that most major american airports have free WiFi ... ;/
If your banker sees suddenly "weird" (read: foreign) transactions
ReplyDeleteOh, what I meant was: Its fully automated. There's no human beings involved in the process, and if the software thinks your card has been compromised, its frozen, and you get (Attempted to) contacted at your local phone on the bank's database ... so I suspect if you had bought a coke at some airport in Paris, and somewhere else in Vegas, and again in Dallas, with bangalore being base, and without warning the bank, ...
Gotta love them "smart" machines, aye ;/
Running out of money in a faraway, unforgiving land is one of my biggest fears. Since it happened, sort of, during the South India tour, it's all too real. Even worse would be running of friends to borrow money from . . .
ReplyDelete:-))
Thanks a bunch for offering to help out. Actually the card is working fine, as per citibank. They claim that the problem was due to a faulty network connection.
ReplyDeleteI'm yet to hear of anyone that actually made any money at the casinos in vegas. Really.
ReplyDeleteI actually did. not much , but $8 :)
Warez the treat0r? ;/
ReplyDeleteWhen's the treat? ;/
ReplyDelete