My First Vegas Trip Report

Yup, been here 3 years and never filed a report. There will
be no details on how I arrived, where and what I ate, what
I drank. Does anybody really care about that stuff?

Ap 29th to May 9th
Stayed Downtown at the Plaza. Best rooms Downtown other
than GN. They've completely redone the rooms, everything
is new. Even the bathrooms are all new. For $26 a night during
the week, well worth it. 32" LG flatscreen, best pic I've ever
seen on a TV, period. Even at 6" away from the screen, it looked
like a 35mm photo. Its amazing how a little thing like a good TV
can improve the quality of a long stay.

The ongoing deterioration of Fremont St. The freakimazation, if
you will, of the Fremont St Experience. Too much overall lameness
by far. It has the feel of a cheezy boardwalk in some 1940's
tourist town. Can we see enough Kiss impersonators or Elvis's or
short people in Papa Smurf costumes? And the skinny young girls
dancing in bikinis are everywhere now, in almost every casino, or
out front up and down the street. Enough already. The bands
in the bandstands are so LOUD I have to wear earplugs just to walk
outside. If you can't be good, you can at least be loud is the old
rock and roll saying. And the homeless are back in force under the
canopy, with their crude cardboard signs that say I'm Hungry or
I Haven't Eaten Today or I'm a Feces Smeared Degenerate Can You
Spare a Dollar. I like the practiced look of dejection and pathos they
have, like they're professional actors. I was there for 10 days and you
see the same guys and the same signs and the same expressions every
day, its really quite a performance.

I was in Binions one night and a kid comes up to me with a tumbler of
vodka, at least 9oz I'd guess. In the bar biz we call that glass a 'bucket'.
He just turned 21 and says somebody bought it for him and he's too
drunk and I can have it. I say sure and take it outside to the first beggar
with a sign I find (took about 40 seconds) and offered it to him. His eyes
literally bugged and popped out of his head, I almost laughed out loud.
He took it from me like it was a Faberge Egg and drank a third of it right
down. He felt good, I felt good, the kid who gave it to me felt good. The
universe was in perfect harmony.

The roulette conditions all over town have generally deteriorated to such a
degree its not worth going anymore. I depend on games that go uninterrupted
for at least an hour, because I don't bet every spin. I also like fast games, so
it was my intent to check out the Rapid Roulette's at Paris, Rio, Flamingo, Bally's,
Luxor, Trop, etc. My conclusion is, why are they even still offering this game?
During the week it was a joke in the afternoon, nobody was playing them. In
the evening it was hit and miss. A few people buy in for $20, lose and move on.
Even on Saturday night, Sat fricking night, I couldn't find an active RR wheel.
I was forced to play mini bac at the Rio and win money that way. How embarrassing,
how beneath my station in life. The RR dealers told me its really gone downhill,
the $100 buy in's just aren't happening at RR anymore. Very sad.

The roulette action Downtown was pathetic. In my anchor hotel, the Plaza, neither
wheel has a tote board. Cheap bastards won't invest in a couple lousy electronic
marquee's. This makes playing impossible for me. No board at the Lady Luck
across the street. Golden gate had one table, always crowded, and always super
LOUD with the party pit crappola and the dancing bimbo's everywhere. No thanks.

This brings us to Binions, GN, 4 Queens, Fremont, and D. Binions was probably the
best, 3 tables and 2 going most of the time at night. GN was hit and miss, busy one
minute, 20 min later all the low buy in people had left the table. Queens has one table
now, always busy, always hard to get a seat. Fremont was OK, except the dealers
are as slow as my grandma using the bathroom at 3am. You go to sleep in between
spins. D was so fricking LOUD its insanity, how did Nick stand working there. Both
GG and D downtown are extremely loud, the people who work there are in real danger
of doing permanent hearing damage.

Bottom line, roulette Downtown now sucks. During the week during the day, its almost
impossible to find a good game for me in any of the casinos. I don't bet every spin, and
a dead table is worthless. Night isn't much better, even on weekends. GN has OK action,
but the old dealers are slow as molassas and are more interested in running their mouths
than spinning the wheel. I was sitting at a vacant table tracking numbers at GN one night
and this cute little girl of about 23 comes up and sticks out her hand and says she's
Jennifer and I look just like so and so character from Harry Potter. Her boyfriend was beside
her and she so much wanted to have her pic taken with me by her boyfriend, and who am
I to say no to my adoring public. She gets behind me as I'm sitting there and crushes her
boobs into my side as she gets in real close and he takes the pic. Ah, the things the famous
must endure to please the fans..

I ended up playing as much bac on the Strip as I did roulette Downtown. I'm very good at
bac, but better at roulette. I get tired of all the drama at the bac tables, it wears me down.
I only have maybe 5 hours a day to play where I'm at my best, I don't want to waste it on
players who can't decide where to place a bet.

So did I have a good time in Vegas? Not really. Too much walking, too much driving looking
for good conditions. The dealers said it best, the medium players are gone for the most part,
in roulette. The dependable $100 buy in people who would keep digging out the Benjamins.
Now its one $100 loss and they're gone. Its all $20 and $40 buy in people now, and they never
dig for more. I was glad when it was time to go home.

And yes, I know I can advance the wheel on an empty table by placing a cancellation bet. Like
betting red and black at the same time. Except they won't let you do that, the pit will say 'sorry,
no free spins'. How its free is a mystery, I still lose when the zero shows up. So I can bet
$12 on 19-36, and $4 each on the low double streets, and a dollar on the zero split on a $10 min table.
This means I lose a dollar on every spin, and $7 when the zero hits. They won't let you do this
for long either. The never-to-be-fooled-for-long pit will notice you get payed on every single
spin and their rusty little brains will start churning, and they will eventually figure out that betting
the low streets is exactly the opposite of betting the high numbers and they'll put a stop to it.
No making their $10 table into a $1 table, no sir.

Quote: EvenBob

In the bar biz we call that glass a 'bucket'.
He just turned 21 and says somebody bought it for him and he's too
drunk and I can have it. I say sure and take it outside to the first beggar
with a sign I find (took about 40 seconds) and offered it to him. His eyes
literally bugged and popped out of his head, I almost laughed out loud.
He took it from me like it was a Faberge Egg and drank a third of it right
down. He felt good, I felt good, the kid who gave it to me felt good. The
universe was in perfect harmony.

Step 7 in the AA program ?

Step 13, waste not, want not. I wasn't about to allow
9oz of straight vodka to go down the drain. I don't
drink when I play, so I did the Christian thing. I found
somebody who was wanting.

Quote: EvenBob

...There will
be no details on how I arrived, where and what I ate, what
I drank. Does anybody really care about that stuff?...

I was in Binions one night and a kid comes up to me with a tumbler of
vodka, at least 9oz I'd guess. In the bar biz we call that glass a 'bucket'.
He just turned 21 and says somebody bought it for him and he's too
drunk and I can have it. I say sure and take it outside to the first beggar
with a sign I find (took about 40 seconds) and offered it to him. His eyes
literally bugged and popped out of his head, I almost laughed out loud.
He took it from me like it was a Faberge Egg and drank a third of it right
down. He felt good, I felt good, the kid who gave it to me felt good. The
universe was in perfect harmony...

But apparently we do care about what a homeless person drinks??? LOL

Quote: EvenBob

Step 13, waste not, want not. I wasn't about to allow
9oz of straight vodka to go down the drain. I don't
drink when I play, so I did the Christian thing. I found
somebody who was wanting.

My post was just an attempt at a little humor. I don't think a glass of vodka is going to help or hurt that guy's situation much either way, and if it helped pass the day, then it is a good thing.

I do not understand why you require an active roulette game for you to play. Are you not aware of fallacy of the maturity of chances for games with independent trials? Should be basic stuff for a WoV poster with 1 billion posts.

It pains me to read that you actually drove around to find wheels where you could "track" the prior winning numbers... adding traffic and carbon emissions and wasting precious life all for, what, exactly?

Seems to me that if you must play roulette, the very best conditions would be a totally dead game where you had the luxury of having the table to yourself.

Quote: sodawater

Seems to me that if you must play roulette, the very best conditions would be a totally dead game where you had the luxury of having the table to yourself.

You're right, to you it would. Please hold that thought..

Quote: EvenBob

The roulette action Downtown was pathetic. In my anchor hotel, the Plaza, neither
wheel has a tote board. Cheap bastards won't invest in a couple lousy electronic
marquee's. This makes playing impossible for me. No board at the Lady Luck
across the street.

They are missing a lot more than a tote board at the Lady Luck. But otherwise a great report thanks for sharing.

Dammit EvenBob, your blowing my mind with comments like..."I'm very good at Bac, but better at Roulette" Does that mean your very, very good at Roulette? Is that possible? "Neither wheel had a tote board......This makes playing impossible for me"..........what's happened to you? Are you just trying to draw out suckers like me? Enjoyed your trip report.

Nice report. It's a shame about downtown. There's always been something about downtown that makes it feel much more like authentic Las Vegas than the Strip does. Too bad they can't make Fremont Street a nice, non-deafening experience for everyone. The wife loves penny video slots and they are definitely much looser downtown than they are on the Strip. Looks like I'll save my $40 in cab fare and not bother venturing down there when I'm out later this year.

Quote: silversonic2006

Looks like I'll save my $40 in cab fare and not bother venturing down there when I'm out later this year.

You can catch the WAX bus at the Trop and ride
Downtown for $2. Or from the airport for the same
price.

Quote: treetopbuddy

Dammit EvenBob, your blowing my mind with comments like..."I'm very good at Bac, but better at Roulette" Does that mean your very, very good at Roulette? Is that possible?

Nope, not possible. Ask anybody.

Quote: EvenBob

.... No board at the Lady Luck
across the street.

Wait a sec.... Did the Lady Luck open up while I wasn't looking? I understand that the Downtown Grand is supposed to open in that space sometime this year, but I didn't think it was open quite yet. If it is, I'll have to pick up a chip when I'm out there for WoVCon ]I[.

What's the real story there, Bob?

Advantage Roulette? Advantage Baccarat? I think I might want to hear more about this! Maybe you can teach GBV a thing or two!

deleted

Quote: Doc

What's the real story there, Bob?

The casino right on the corner of Main and Fremont, thats
the Lady Luck, across from Golden Gate. Just
the casino is open.

Quote: DeMango

Advantage Roulette? Advantage Baccarat? I think I might want to hear more about this! Maybe you can teach GBV a thing or two!

My wising up days are long behind me. Now I'm
just an old eccentric crank and thats fine by me.

Quote: EvenBob

The casino right on the corner of Main and Fremont, thats
the Lady Luck, across from Golden Gate. Just
the casino is open.

OK, now you've got my interest piqued. I thought that was the Las Vegas Club, known for a couple of years as just the Vegas Club. Or is there a casino on the same side of Main Street as the Plaza?

deleted

Quote: Doc

Or is there a casino on the same side of Main Street as the Plaza?

Dang, I knew I had it wrong. Its Las Vegas Club, Lady Luck
is gone. I had that on my mind for some reason. Neither
are casinos I ever went to much.

Quote: EvenBob

Dang, I knew I had it wrong. Its Las Vegas Club, Lady Luck
is gone.

OK. Same kind of slip I often make. I missed out on collecting a chip from the Lady Luck -- it was still operating when I first started going to Las Vegas. I thought that if someone was operating a casino by that name now, then I should grab one while I could. I'll pick up one from the Downtown Grand when it opens.

In fact, I'm fed up with the Strip. I always rent a car and
go to specific Strip casinos. Forget the car. For the $200 a
week the car costs me, I can rent a red electric cart Downtown
for a week and hit the casinos there. I'm in my early 60's
and get real tired of all the walking, a cart will keep me sharp
and get me there quicker. The Strip offers nothing Downtown
doesn't, except impossible traffic.

Quote: EvenBob

. The Strip offers nothing Downtown doesn't, except impossible traffic.

Let's not forget all those porn slappers.

And ho's: lots of them plying their wares in the strip casinos.

I took the rental car back a week ago today. Took the
car shuttle to the airport and for $2 the WAX bus that
goes Downtown. Not having ridden a bus for 40 years,
I pleasantly nodded off and missed my stop. I had to
ride all the way to the hinterlands and back to get it
again.

I never realized what a truly butt ugly city Vegas is. Complex
after development after strip mall of cookie cutter stucco
buildings, all in a different shade of brown. In the background
are brown topped brown mountains surrounded by brown
desert. It went on and on, the same tree's, the same
landscaping, the exact same strip malls and condo's and
two story duplexes in brown stucco. I know a bunch of people
on this forum live there and my hats off to you, I would have
moved or killed myself years ago. Its like a futuristic city out
of a science fiction novel, where uniqueness has been replaced
by the mundane. No, its more like the cement block sameness
of the apartment buildings in the old Soviet Union. No imagination,
just block after block of maddening repetition.

deleted

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I can't even imagine NY City then. All the same except its grey concrete.

NYC is not like that at all. It was built over a long period
of time, different styles are everywhere. Most of Vegas
was built in the last 30 years, its all the same style.

I am not from nor live in NYC, but comparing NYC to Vegas is like comparing the Yankees to a little league team.

Quote: EvenBob

I took the rental car back a week ago today. Took the
car shuttle to the airport and for $2 the WAX bus that
goes Downtown. Not having ridden a bus for 40 years,
I pleasantly nodded off and missed my stop. I had to
ride all the way to the hinterlands and back to get it
again.

I never realized what a truly butt ugly city Vegas is. Complex
after development after strip mall of cookie cutter stucco
buildings, all in a different shade of brown. In the background
are brown topped brown mountains surrounded by brown
desert. It went on and on, the same tree's, the same
landscaping, the exact same strip malls and condo's and
two story duplexes in brown stucco. I know a bunch of people
on this forum live there and my hats off to you, I would have
moved or killed myself years ago. Its like a futuristic city out
of a science fiction novel, where uniqueness has been replaced
by the mundane. No, its more like the cement block sameness
of the apartment buildings in the old Soviet Union. No imagination,
just block after block of maddening repetition.

Once again, EvenBob nails it.......the Mojave Desert is nasty. The Sonoran Desert (Phoenix) has more plant life.....tolerable, barely. Phoenix gets 2X the rainfall that the hellhole Vegas gets. Phoenix and Vegas are essentially for the newlyweds and the nearlydeads.

Quote: treetopbuddy

Once again, EvenBob nails it.......the Mojave Desert is nasty. .

Quote: EvenBob

Stunning.....must be a Chamber of Commerce promotional photo

Hey, that’s my view from The M. Best view in Vegas!

Off topic, but what’s the deal with all that land? Is it parceled out and privately owned? Is it the state’s? If I were to rent a Silverado and just take off hell for leather for the mountains, would the 5-0 want to talk to me?

P.S. great report EB

Quote: treetopbuddy

Quote: EvenBob

Stunning.....must be a Chamber of Commerce promotional photo

I was there 10 days and by the 9th day I couldn't
wait to leave. It didn't used to be that way, but the
older I get the more impatient I am with my surroundings
if I don't like them.

Quote: hook3670

I am not from nor live in NYC, but comparing NYC to Vegas is like comparing the Yankees to a little league team.

The difference being?

:P

Great report. I love downtown. I've been to a lot of cities, yes, besides the strip and downtown, its a very ugly city. I live in Tampa, lots of beautiful bike trails to ride, lots of cheap and nice golf courses, lots of rivers to go kayaking, and of course, many beaches to pick from. Vegas, except the strip and downtown, not really anything else.

Nasty though it may be, there are mysterious forces at work out in the desert ...

Sailing Stones ... Racetrack Playa

Enjoying this thread. Our curmudgeon in prime form.

Quote: MrV

Nasty though it may be, there are mysterious forces at work out in the desert ...

Sailing Stones ... Racetrack Playa

Just wondering, could it be that the rocks are stationary and the wind blowing by and around them cause ripples in the water that cause the mud to be deposited in a track-like fashion? The reason I might think this is that it doesn't appear that dirt is pushed up (glacier like) in front of the rocks. It would definitely be interesting to get a closer look. Where is this place in relation to Vegas?

IT rains and a mud forms on top of the sun baked desert floor that's as slick as ice. Then the high winds come and push the rocks across the floor.

Downtown casino with the nicest dealers
and nicest pit, still the GN without a doubt.
Everybody else at the other casinos is either
bored or has been there so long they look
like they should have retired last week. Fremont
is the worst, the pit is always cranky. I have
to admit, the D is so loud I wasn't there long
enough to even see a dealer, let alone the pit.
Just to talk you have to put your mouth right
next to the persons ear, no thanks.

4Q has the oldest and ugliest dealers. Binions
cowgirl dealers up front are really stunning
young girls, for the most part, some were just
gorgeous. GG party pit girls can't match them
in looks, no way. Do any of the Plaza dealers
speak English? English you can understand?

Vegas is the only place I go where dealers lecture about what a waste of time roulette is.
I got at least three this time on how the wheel has no memory. I never get this at indian joints.
So many vegas dealers have to act superior in their knowledge about a game, when it usually
Consists of things they heard along the way rather than what they investigated themselves.

Quote: EvenBob

Vegas is the only place I go where dealers lecture about what a waste of time roulette is...So many vegas dealers have to act superior in their knowledge about a game...

Put it in perspective.

Dealing at a major Las Vegas casino is reputed to be the "best" job a casino dealer can have, period.

This makes them feel special, elite.

But they have to balance this against the reality of being treated, if not like sh*t then like diseased meat by the casinos.

Look at the failed attempts to unionize and the forced sharing of tips as an example of anti-dealer casino antipathy.

Trouble in Paradise (pun intended).

As for players, I have to chuckle at how I sometimes hear players in tribal joints try to pump themselves up by saying "That's not how they do it in Vegas," or "Last time I was in Vegas ..."

Nothing quite like evoking that old Las Vegas Mystique to give oneself an undeserved, effortless prop.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: treetopbuddy

Quote: EvenBob

Stunning.....must be a Chamber of Commerce promotional photo

I was there 10 days and by the 9th day I couldn't
wait to leave. It didn't used to be that way, but the
older I get the more impatient I am with my surroundings
if I don't like them.

From all us Vegas-ites...Ouch, Bob! lol

Sure you can post the blah pictures of nothing-ness as you have done, although some find even that picturesque. (I think I see the Wiz, rock climbing way in the background). Or you could go even further and post some scenes from some of the 'rougher' areas of Vegas or North Las Vegas depicting some of the troubled folks of the region. I could respond with a few spectacular photos from the region, the strip at night, Red Red canyon, etc. Every area has its good and bad, beautiful and ugly.

I can tell you that I am currently 9 days out of Vegas and even though I am enjoying a sucessful trip business-wise, and have re-connected with some friends and visited some old stomping grounds, I am counting down the days and hours until my plane clears the Rockies and I once again spot those beautiful bright lights of Paradise. lol But, I have been accused of having neon runs through my veins. I can appreciate that it's not for everyone though. lol

Bob, you're dancing around the topic, but from your responses, I gather that you think you are finding biased wheels and betting on them?

Do you understand, though, how many spins you need to record before you can have a statistically significant idea of what bias it may have?

Hunting for biased wheels is not something you can do on a weeklong trip. You have to spend hours every day, for weeks, recording spins and then analyzing them. And if you are lucky, you might find one uneven wheel out of a hundred.

So -- is your roulette "system" based on finding a biased wheel?

Quote: sodawater

Bob, you're dancing around the topic, but from your responses, I gather that you think you are finding biased wheels and betting on them?

Do you understand, though, how many spins you need to record before you can have a statistically significant idea of what bias it may have?

Hunting for biased wheels is not something you can do on a weeklong trip. You have to spend hours every day, for weeks, recording spins and then analyzing them. And if you are lucky, you might find one uneven wheel out of a hundred.

So -- is your roulette "system" based on finding a biased wheel?

You'll not get a straight answer, and nor should you expect one, cos Bob don't care if you believe he wins or not. But he has said multiple times before the wheel has to be random.

Quote: thecesspit

You'll not get a straight answer, and nor should you expect one

I will say I don't look for biased wheels, thats not
my thing. Those days are over IMO, and most
of the bias guys are doing VB now anyway. I had
a pit dope back me off at Fremont because I was
recording numbers right next to the wheel. Their
board was not getting every number so I had to
get close and read them manually. He waved his
hand at me and said don't I know I can only record
numbers at a distance, like by the slots. I'm sure
he thought I was a VB player.

Quote: kewlj

I am counting down the days and hours until my plane clears the Rockies and I once again spot those beautiful bright lights of Paradise. lol But, I have been accused of having neon runs through my veins. I can appreciate that it's not for everyone though. lol

You're what, 29? When I was 29 and 39 and even
45, Vegas was still a pretty exciting place to me.
Its been the last 10 years or so that the bloom is
off the rose so to speak. I tend to see the warts
of Vegas now, rather than the glamour. Oh well,
familiarity always breeds contempt eventually.

Quote: EvenBob

I'm sure
he thought I was a VB player.

Volleyball ? Why would they care ?

Quote: Face

Hey, that’s my view from The M. Best view in Vegas!

Off topic, but what’s the deal with all that land? Is it parceled out and privately owned? Is it the state’s? If I were to rent a Silverado and just take off hell for leather for the mountains, would the 5-0 want to talk to me?

P.S. great report EB

Nevada has the highest percentage of government owned land of any state:
So chances are you would be tresspassing on Uncle Sam's backyard. Unfortunately, he hasn't been the best caretaker. Some of his property is contaminated by nuclear radiation, and large areas are regularly used for live fire exercises by the Air Force.

The parts that are privately owned may also have surprises, like shallow graves, or vaults full of precious metal and coins, that the owners might not be so happy about you four-wheeling over. On the other hand, how would they know?

Quote: JohnnyQ

Volleyball ? Why would they care ?

Yes, VB stands for volleyball. DJ is working on Volleyball
for Roulette to go alongside his Poker for Roulette
offering.

Quote: EvenBob

I will say I don't look for biased wheels, thats not
my thing.

By the way, I did enjoy the trip report. Just sayin' for my own edification, though.