11th Trip to Vegas: Balls to the Wall!!!
March 5th, 2015 at 3:25:46 PM
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***NOTE:*** This TR is very detailed and pic heavy. To make it a little easier on readers, I've bolded important locations/events. So if you want to speed up the reading, stick to that and the many, many pictures!
For my g/f's parents' birthdays, we've gone back to Vegas! We're hunting for another one of these...
G/f's first Royal back in late January at Hollywood STL:
Day 1: Wed. Feb. 18th WAX On/WAX Off for Poker in the Burbs
We get up bright and early at 7am to get out the door by 7:30 for our half-price flights out of KC. I hate how SWA is screwing STL over. Stop in Columbia, MO, the former Southwest border of White Castle for some sliders for “breakfast”. Get to KC Airport without incident, and wait forever for a parking shuttle. Finally get to the airport, diddle around and get on the plane.
We're getting close!
Land at McCarran. I wait for her parents to arrive from Midway while she gets the rental car from Enterprise. They arrive on time, but it takes forever to get the airport wheelchair people ready. Her mom unfortunately can't walk very long distances. All this time, I had planned to jump on the WAX at about 4pm to catch a bus to the Suncoast so I could play in their 4/8 Mix game at 6pm. Time ticks away and I had to let them go for now.
Clock is about 4, and I miss a bus just leaving, but it wasn't the WAX. So I stand and wait... and wait... and wait. Yeah it's late. And about 4:20 one shows up. And ends up going to Terminal 3 and takes a 10 minute break! Dammit! I actually caught the next bus, because the one I caught apparently didn't show. Apparently my g/f was having her own issues as they checked into Mirage and they couldn't find the wheelchair we had delivered for her mom; the bell desk eventually found it.
Very crappy pic from my cell phone of the Cleveland Clinic on the way:
So, a 90 minute sit on the bus later, I get to Suncoast at 5:50pm. Because of a stupid one hour call-in policy of theirs (which typically doesn't apply to specialty games), I was barely on the list when I called at 4:58pm. When I get to the table, I re-introduce myself to Jason, the guy who organized the game. As well as showing my appreciation for him setting the game up, I wanted to thank him again for driving me from MGM back to Bally's in Dec. 2012 at 5:30am in another mix game.
As for the game, it was a dealer's choice with about 12 to 15 game options.
Hold'em
Omaha 8 or better (like hold'em but with 4 cards and you must play exactly 2 for each half. One half to the high hand, the other half to the lowest hand with five unique ranks 8 or lower)
Crazy Pineapple (discard one card on flop, play like Texas Hold 'em)
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (75432 no straights or flushes is the best hand)
A-5 Triple Draw Lowball (A2345 is the best hand, straights and flushes okay)
Badugi (lowball game where A234 of different suits is the best hand)
BaDeucey (split pot game where half the pot goes to the lowest 2-7 lowball hand and half the pot goes to the lowest badugi (where ace is high in both hands)
BadAcey (split pot game where half the pot goes to the lowest A-5 lowball hand and half the pot goes to the lowest badugi (where ace is low in both hands)
Razzdugi (half of the pot to the lowest razz hand (stud low) and half to the lowest badugi)
A-5 Triple Draw Hi/Lo 8 or better (split pot game between high hand and best low hand 8 or lower)
5 card Omaha 8 or better (Omaha hi/lo split but you get dealt one extra card)
Stud Hi/Lo Regular (one half to the high hand and one half to the low hand... a low hand always qualifies)
And a few other games...lots of split pot games if you didn't notice.
Jason wins the draw to the first button and calls “ A-5 Triple Draw Hi/Lo 8 or better”. Action was fast and furious early as two people make quads on the river in one hand, and river betting was capped at $40 each. Quad 7s beat Quad 4s, ouch. Early on, I'm mostly playing tight, but I got a few hands. Made 6432A at “A-5 Triple Draw 8/b” for half the pot. Folded 3 tens in “Razzdugi” once...(ouch wrong game), but eventually I started with 3 A24 of 2 suits in “Razzdugi”. On fourth street, I make another low card and now have 3 suits, so I keep firing, then I brick, brick, but I keep firing as my exposed hand looks better than my sole opponent. I brick on the dealt down river, but fire anyway. He reluctantly calls. I flip my hand over and tell the dealer to figure out what I have...lol I had something like a Jack Low and a Jack Badugi. But it was good enough to win the whole pot for my first scoop of the night! :D
Then I picked up a few pots here and there, holding my own before doing what I typically do once in every mix game I play... In a game that I called “BadAcey” I made an 8 with a 7532 Badugi with one draw to go 4 -handed. On the river, an older woman raised all in for $14 after someone else bet $8 into me. I knew the other guy could reraise if I called, but I reluctantly called anyway. Of course he then raises $8 more. THIS is when I stupidly decide I couldn't win either half of the pot. I definitely lost the lowball half, but I had the best Badugi!!! @&$@*@*@*&@$&$%&%$!!! That was probably an $80 fold there, and a very stupid one too looking back at it. And of course this gave me a mini bout of tilt...
Fortunately, I didn't have too many middling hands to be tempted to play while trying to deal with the steam. The best hand I saw was AA35x double suited (x=doesn't matter) in Big Omaha/8 which I raised, but the flop totally missed. Now my stack is lower than it had been all night. I was down about $100. Fortunately, my luck started to turn, with the help of a few “big blind” specials.
Jason calls “A-5 Triple Draw 8/b” again, and I get a crappy 36 suited in the big blind. No one raises before the draw however, and I get to draw 3. Now I get 8(6543) () = suited. Huge pull! Now all of a sudden I'm betting out. I decide that the 8 low is too weak in a multi-way pot and drop it. I pick up an offsuit 7 for the straight with a 76543 low. I bet out the whole way and “pat” my hand (i.e. draw no cards). I get called down by a couple and scoop the pot.
A few hands later, I wake up with A5A5x in late position, and am able to 3 bet it preflop against Jason and some others. Jason and I both draw one the whole way. Neither of us improve, I bet down until the river when I worry about low trips, and I win with the better 2 pair (no low hand qualified).
Another big blind special came when I had 67x in crazy pineapple and no one bets the flop. I discard the unimportant card to go for an inside straight. Hit it. Bet the whole way and win.
Most pots I'm involved in now I'm either winning or not losing a lot. About midnight as requested, my g/f comes in to check on me, and I went from -$100 to +$45. I'll take it!
During this whole time, I was pounding Sierra Nevadas and eventually had to take bathroom breaks. On the way to the bathroom, I watch this Deuces Wild progressive balloon from $1650 to $2050 that evening alone. As midnight approached over a dozen of people were hammering it as the game was pushing 101% return. I was going to give it a crack if the mix game ended early. But alas, someone else hit it first, and no one was playing it when the royal was at $1011.
So I reunite with the g/f and her parents, and she immediately points out that there is Ultimate X for pennies at Suncoast! Well, that's an easy sell for me...
I am all energized to play more, but I think better of it and think to myself, I have 5 more nights to go and had a long day traveling. One o'clock would be the earliest I get to bed all trip.
Day 2: Thurs. Feb. 19th Secret Garden, Terry Fator, Pissed at Caesar, and Wasting Away at TAG Lounge...
Get up at a reasonable hour, but really don't start moving until 10 or so. We go down to redeem our tickets for “Terry Fator” and “Zarkana” from myVegas as well as our Mirage Lunch Buffets. After all that, it's after 11 for a perfect time to eat the buffet. The buffet was pretty good, better than the last time I ate it to be honest. They had a Cajun roasted chicken I particularly liked. I was really not in the mood for beer at that moment, but I had a little Goose Island IPA as well since it was included with the buffet.
After lunch, the g/f and I redeem our passes to Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden while her parents gamble for awhile. Beautiful early afternoon in the mid 70s. Pictures speak a lot louder than my rambling self here...
View of dolphins from underwater:
Hello...
Getting an anti-fungal treatment
Dolphins in action:
Backflip!!!
We then move on to the Garden portion of the exhibit where quite a few lions and tigers are on display.
Plaque of the men themselves. So glad that the Cirque du Soleil my mom wanted to go to was sold out in 2001 when I went with my parents. We went to Sigfried and Roy's show instead. Excellent show; tragically ended before its time.
The ~baby lion cubs that myVegas advertises. They are 9 months old and ~160 lbs. now; not so baby anymore.
Lazily looking Leopard...
Sleepy Lion...
Tigers...
This tiger was funny. Loved this ball and was pretty defensive about it!
Ran the other two off into the trees!
Go back to the room and prepare for a dip in the hot tub.
Shot of hotel room:
View of pool from the room (9th floor):
View of CET land from room:
After our hot tub time, we reconvene with her parents about four and decide to go to the South Outlet Mall to do a little shopping and eat dinner before going to “Terry Fator”. They want Chipotle and I want Smashburger which are within 200 feet of each other in the outlet mall lot. I definitely make the right choice because my burger is near perfect. I forget to take food porn a lot, but not this time.
When the burger is cooked perfectly, this crushes In-n-Out by a mile...
Only beer I bought this trip...same as last trip...worth every penny (all 378 of them)
Go back to the room to get ready for the show and to charge my phone a bit.
Pic of the outside of the theatre:
Sketch of Fator and the puppets. They also showed a video of the artist creating this during the show.
“Winston” the turtle singing Kermit the Frog
Fator interacting with “Walter T. Airdale”:
Walter singing Garth Brooks:
Fator with Wrex: The Crash Test Dummy
“Julius” singing “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
“Duggie” and his bar's beer selections in the background. Mmmm...beer
“Hyphen” the Beatle
“Maynard Tompkins” the Elvis impersonator who knows no Elvis songs:
“Vikki The Cougar”
This show was EXCELLENT!!! Very funny and entertaining! No boring moments from start to finish! I totally get why myVegas yanked the free tickets on this one... :( We used a pair of buy one get one free awards to keep the total cost down to about $60/person. But at least he was worth the price!
So after that we decide to check out Caesars Palace since her parents have never really seen the place.
We walk them through the Forum shots as they haven't seen that either.
Pics of the fountain in the Shops:
We make a wrong turn, but we see a little bit of this show at least.
Dragon at Caesars:
Finally make it to the casino. I take a quick look at the food court and their ultra inflated prices. Smashburger is definitely a lot cheaper off strip. Then I was told that the VP bar at the food court was nice for lack of smoke. I saw Lagunitas IPA on tap (which most CET properties have now...good job!), so I was definitely willing to play a bit for that. Until I saw the best game being a ****ty 30/6/5 Bonus (96.18%) followed by 7/5 DDB (95.71%), and as low as 8/5/4 DB (94.18%). EFF YOU, CAESAR!!!
So I pass and move on to the Sports Bar...I see the same paytables...uh oh!!! Fortunately the all star II units are still there unchanged for the moment. So I settle in and play 8/5 JoB w/Double STP (97.78% w/DSTP) and ask for a Lagunitas at first he says ok, but then he comes back and says he can only comp bottles. Um ok...Sierra Nevada I guess. Well this machine sucks, and by the time I get a refill I get a bartender that looked more knowledgeable and I ask him about the policy and voice my opinion that it was crap. He said it was started 3 weeks ago, and a lot of people are feeling the same way I was.
On this unit, I did better, but still was in the hole. I do some more scanning of Caesars, and it's not a pretty sight. Somehow I did find 9/5 JoB Spin Poker with STP (98.72%) for dollars though in the high limit room.
None of our group is doing too well here, and want to go. Now we get a little confused where we want to go. I eventually want to go to the Linq, but my tone of voice says I want to go “right now”. So we all seem to go there to appease me. But none of them really like the slots there, so now I am wondering why did we come here? I could have went to Flamingo for awhile (I played a good amount at Bugsy's anyway this trip). But anyway I seemed to anger my g/f by repeatedly asking her “what would you like to do?” and she basically snaps at me to stay at the Linq and she storms off. Ugh.
So now, I debate if I stay, or try to follow them to where they would likely go. I end up staying at Linq for better or worse. Soon after, I see for the first time, someone actively trying to hustle someone out of Ultimate X multipliers by misleading them on how the game works. What's even crazier, security busted him before I could even tell them what was going on!
I take a look at the new “3535” lounge (the loser of the name battle with “The Quad”). Looked nice, and more importantly, paytables looked “old”.
Eventually I make it to my desired place, TAG Lounge, and open up with Squatters “Hop Rising” Double IPA. Paytables also looked “old”, thank God.
Once I get settled I hit my first quad of the trip fairly quickly around 12:20am only 13 hands in with my game of choice here 7/5 Triple Bonus Plus (97.67%).
But after that, it was a slow bleed afterward. But I was playing quite slow and enjoying the beer.
I moved to some Red IPAs after this:
Oskar Blues G'Knight (poor refill of the last 4 oz of the can 16oz vs 12 oz glass):
Green Flash Hop Head Red (forgot to take a pic of this...image from: http://www.nonsnobbeer.com/2012/10/green-flash-hop-head-red.html)
Then moved on to this, a Brooklyn Blast:
The beer in the background is a Magic Hat “Circus Boy”, a hefeweizen. It was the beer of choice by the guy next to me who I had a chat with because he was a poker grinder normally. Mostly played 2/5 NL. But he was at the bar trying to finish out diamond for the year with VP and bartop BJ. Nice guy, but he was having a rough go at it, probably dropped over $500 for the 1000 tier points needed for the 1000 tier bonus.
That beer in the background was at about 2...then the beers and memory are starting to fade. I may have had one more, but who the hell knows what it was. And it's getting about 4am, and it looks like they are closing up TAG. I was drunk enough to not ask for another one though. At this point I am somehow still up with my slow play, but only about $20.
I stumble over to Flamingo and start slamming down some waters while playing 8/5 JoB w/DSTP at Bugsy's. No pic worthy hits, but I was up about $10 from it. Then I stumble back to Mirage.
Yeah, time kept wasting away...sun is coming up now...I am terrible. 6:06am
Start working my way back to the room and see an “Ellen” slot machine. Being drunk, I say “screw it, why not”
25c extra a spin for a multiplier award for bonuses? “screw it, why not”
Put in $10, and at $0.75/spin, it was going fast. But with a few bucks left. BAM! Get the bonus!
4X multiplier in the corner, not bad
$6 spin before multiplier...needed that:
Glad I paid for that multiplier (49X bet):
Get up to the room at about 6:30. Up roughly another $50. Up about $100 for the trip so far. To my knowledge everyone else isn't doing that great.
Day 3: Fri. Feb. 20th Earl's, North Strip, M Resort, and Bombed at Bugsy's
Get up about 10, have to as we need to check out. Still drunk from the night before...weeee I put on my “lucky” Flamingo shirt on, as it was the 3-year anniversary of when I bought the shirt for $4, about one hour after I hit my only royal in Vegas (dealt).
Unfortunately, the car we rented (Nissan Altima) doesn't have that big of a trunk, so I was assigned to wheel her mom's wheelchair from Mirage to Bally's. I make good time and beat them there by quite a bit. Why did I beat them so bad? Mirage screwed up and charged one of the comped myVegas nights. They waived one of the resort fees for the inconvenience at least. So with a little time to kill I settle in on the 25-play penny unit that has 7/5 Bonus w/STP (98.29% w/STP) and pick up my first quad of the day.
We get settled into the Jubilee room, not bad looks wise. But unfortunately that was the best of it. We got tossed into a lower floor than we were booked for, and get an adjoining door which we also didn't want. The person at the front desk, named Nana, could care less about rectifying this situation. We later would learn of even bigger issues. Elevators that rival the old IP (only 1 of 3 was usually functioning) and that Bally's windows still suck...hard.
Room after a night's sleep...g/f didn't take many pics today:
Go to Miracle Mile to redeem some free Earl's as it is both of her parents birthday months. Pretty good stuff, but since they no longer premix their salads, that seems not as good. Also quickly check the sportsbar, and they still had 9/6 TDB (98.15%) for the moment. Who knows what a bankrupt Loveman will do. We also look at some souvenir stores and the tervis store, which the g/f gets suckered into buying some things.
After that we we head out to the north outlet mall for a bit. Now I am starting to feel hungover...doh. A little snack of Auntie Anne's and some lemonade helps a little, but not a lot. It's getting about 5pm, and we make it to SLS. Obligatory pic of wacky mascot:
Look around the place for the 99.9%+ games for quarters and lower. Nope, they're gone. Dammit. Decide to belly up to the bar for one of these. (Image from: https://malvernbeerexchange.wordpress.com/history/firestone-walker-brewing-co-union-jack-ipa/)
Now most of the quarter bartop games are barely above strip standards, but for some odd reason they have 7/5 Super Aces (98.85%) for all denominations so I play that. No pics, so obviously I didn't hit any Aces. :(
I also play some nickel 7/5 Bonus w/DSTP (98.51% w/DSTP). Again no pics. :(
Obviously I didn't do well, but her dad hit $100 on his very last spin, so he fortunately came out a bit ahead.
Now we run to Circus Circus because I had a weird itch to go, and this was the very first place her parents stayed at in Vegas, so I'd figure they should check the place out. Supposedly there is a national high school cheerleading competition going on. We also found a new drink cup for our mix drinks there. We check out the midway, and it's pretty dang busy for a Friday night and easily half the people playing in the Midway are adults! :)
We eventually get back down to the gaming floor and I scope bartops. For dollars, they have a great one, 8/5 Super DDB w/prog. (99.69%+prog.). Of course I'm poor and play the 6/5 quarter version (97.69%+prog.). The Royal was about $1290 until I hear...doo-doo-doo-doo-dee-dee-do-do-dee-dee-dee-doo. Okay that was terrible. Anyway the lady about 4 units down from me hit the Royal. Burning a bit inside, I offer congratulations and give her a high five. She was very happy about it, which I like to see.
Since I'm at CC, I decide I should play the only machine that's always positive on the strip. The 8/5 Aces and Eights machine (100.25%+prog.) for $2.50 a whack. Let me play awhile, but this is the closest I get to a big win before losing $20.
Now we run off to M Resort for dinner. We both have comps from Hollywood Casino thanks to their takeover of Harrah's St. Louis. Unfortunately, M must have bad IT people. You still can't access your comps from Hollywood Casinos directly at M. You have to ask for a handwritten comp from a host. Fortunately this seemed a lot less painful than before, and my g/f got a $35 comp to the “Vig Deli” for us in minutes.
I go up to the bar so I can get one of my new favorites, Sculpin IPA (from:
http://www.spokeandbrew.com/ballast-point-sculpin-ipa/)
Unfortunately this one tastes off. Tastes peppery. When I got home, I learned there is a habanero Sculpin version now. I wonder if I got that instead. Go eat. Food is alright, nothing special. They got rid of the thing I really wanted. They made one hell of a BBQ chicken sandwich last trip. One of the best BBQ chicken sandwiches I've had in years! Dumbfounded why they got rid of it.
I'm sure I got another craft beer, but since I didn't take a pic, I forgot what it was...D'Oh!
Go out onto the floor for the bit, and notice they have 8/6 Bonus Deluxe w/DSTP (98.99% w/DSTP) just like they do at Aria. Well, that machine treated me like crap and I'm down thirty in a matter of minutes. Check some other bars. See that 98.91% deuces are at the main casino bar, as well as the 32 degree bar. A couple of straight flushes and this help me get back into the game.
Now we leave the M Resort a little after 11, and head back to Bally's for the rest of the night. Apparently, the g/f and her parents are all beat, and don't feel like going out. As for me, I'm thinking “This is Friday night and unacceptable!” So after getting them settled, I go back down to go play.
I first hit these on the penny units:
Quad 6s with 3X
Decent and clearer 10X hit:
All the while having a couple of these. I'm glad CET added this at most casinos. (img: http://houseofbrewsoc.com/bar/premium-beers/)
I decide to make a quick visit to Cromwell (nothing exciting other than people better dressed than me), and then move on to Bugsy's at Flamingo. Start hitting the All Star II unit with 8/5 JoB w/DSTP and start playing away.
End up chatting with this couple and this other guy that is friendly but also a bit creepy for awhile. I trudge along with some reasonable hits. I was only in for $40 at this machine at the time. This was the most pic worthy one at about 3:13am.
At this point, I'm getting more drunk, that couple left, so now I'm just talking to that creepy guy...meh. I can't remember what all was discussed, just remember it was weird. Then this guy with his buddies clearly had one too many and fell off the bar toward me...spilling some of his drink on my jacket and my pants. Bartender apologizes and says this beer is on me. How could I say no, even though I was planning to quit myself...lol Now some chick that the creepy guy says is a hooker comes by. He chats her up, but he isn't going to pay for anything he says. They go back and forth, and she flat out admits she is an alcoholic and basically just wants to drink. Weird. She wasn't bad looking, if I was single...well...lol
Now I need to go to the bathroom. And when I was about ready to go, I decide to use a stall and take my jacket off first. Possibly a bad idea. I drop part it into a flushed toilet. At the time, I think nothing of it, and go to the bathroom, but that might have been a mistake.
Eventually, I realize I need to go back to Bally's and I take a terrible way home after the Cromwell, I walk way too far to the East, and at point I decide “F it”, and walk into Stage Door. Yeah, I didn't belong there at ~5am. Note that their VP is “meh” and go back to Bally's. Not ready for the room yet...hit this on the way out. First “premium” quad of the trip! Damn pennies though...
Bed around 6 am. Shirt was definitely NOT lucky. Lose roughly what I won in the first two days (~$100).
For my g/f's parents' birthdays, we've gone back to Vegas! We're hunting for another one of these...
G/f's first Royal back in late January at Hollywood STL:
Day 1: Wed. Feb. 18th WAX On/WAX Off for Poker in the Burbs
We get up bright and early at 7am to get out the door by 7:30 for our half-price flights out of KC. I hate how SWA is screwing STL over. Stop in Columbia, MO, the former Southwest border of White Castle for some sliders for “breakfast”. Get to KC Airport without incident, and wait forever for a parking shuttle. Finally get to the airport, diddle around and get on the plane.
We're getting close!
Land at McCarran. I wait for her parents to arrive from Midway while she gets the rental car from Enterprise. They arrive on time, but it takes forever to get the airport wheelchair people ready. Her mom unfortunately can't walk very long distances. All this time, I had planned to jump on the WAX at about 4pm to catch a bus to the Suncoast so I could play in their 4/8 Mix game at 6pm. Time ticks away and I had to let them go for now.
Clock is about 4, and I miss a bus just leaving, but it wasn't the WAX. So I stand and wait... and wait... and wait. Yeah it's late. And about 4:20 one shows up. And ends up going to Terminal 3 and takes a 10 minute break! Dammit! I actually caught the next bus, because the one I caught apparently didn't show. Apparently my g/f was having her own issues as they checked into Mirage and they couldn't find the wheelchair we had delivered for her mom; the bell desk eventually found it.
Very crappy pic from my cell phone of the Cleveland Clinic on the way:
So, a 90 minute sit on the bus later, I get to Suncoast at 5:50pm. Because of a stupid one hour call-in policy of theirs (which typically doesn't apply to specialty games), I was barely on the list when I called at 4:58pm. When I get to the table, I re-introduce myself to Jason, the guy who organized the game. As well as showing my appreciation for him setting the game up, I wanted to thank him again for driving me from MGM back to Bally's in Dec. 2012 at 5:30am in another mix game.
As for the game, it was a dealer's choice with about 12 to 15 game options.
Hold'em
Omaha 8 or better (like hold'em but with 4 cards and you must play exactly 2 for each half. One half to the high hand, the other half to the lowest hand with five unique ranks 8 or lower)
Crazy Pineapple (discard one card on flop, play like Texas Hold 'em)
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (75432 no straights or flushes is the best hand)
A-5 Triple Draw Lowball (A2345 is the best hand, straights and flushes okay)
Badugi (lowball game where A234 of different suits is the best hand)
BaDeucey (split pot game where half the pot goes to the lowest 2-7 lowball hand and half the pot goes to the lowest badugi (where ace is high in both hands)
BadAcey (split pot game where half the pot goes to the lowest A-5 lowball hand and half the pot goes to the lowest badugi (where ace is low in both hands)
Razzdugi (half of the pot to the lowest razz hand (stud low) and half to the lowest badugi)
A-5 Triple Draw Hi/Lo 8 or better (split pot game between high hand and best low hand 8 or lower)
5 card Omaha 8 or better (Omaha hi/lo split but you get dealt one extra card)
Stud Hi/Lo Regular (one half to the high hand and one half to the low hand... a low hand always qualifies)
And a few other games...lots of split pot games if you didn't notice.
Jason wins the draw to the first button and calls “ A-5 Triple Draw Hi/Lo 8 or better”. Action was fast and furious early as two people make quads on the river in one hand, and river betting was capped at $40 each. Quad 7s beat Quad 4s, ouch. Early on, I'm mostly playing tight, but I got a few hands. Made 6432A at “A-5 Triple Draw 8/b” for half the pot. Folded 3 tens in “Razzdugi” once...(ouch wrong game), but eventually I started with 3 A24 of 2 suits in “Razzdugi”. On fourth street, I make another low card and now have 3 suits, so I keep firing, then I brick, brick, but I keep firing as my exposed hand looks better than my sole opponent. I brick on the dealt down river, but fire anyway. He reluctantly calls. I flip my hand over and tell the dealer to figure out what I have...lol I had something like a Jack Low and a Jack Badugi. But it was good enough to win the whole pot for my first scoop of the night! :D
Then I picked up a few pots here and there, holding my own before doing what I typically do once in every mix game I play... In a game that I called “BadAcey” I made an 8 with a 7532 Badugi with one draw to go 4 -handed. On the river, an older woman raised all in for $14 after someone else bet $8 into me. I knew the other guy could reraise if I called, but I reluctantly called anyway. Of course he then raises $8 more. THIS is when I stupidly decide I couldn't win either half of the pot. I definitely lost the lowball half, but I had the best Badugi!!! @&$@*@*@*&@$&$%&%$!!! That was probably an $80 fold there, and a very stupid one too looking back at it. And of course this gave me a mini bout of tilt...
Fortunately, I didn't have too many middling hands to be tempted to play while trying to deal with the steam. The best hand I saw was AA35x double suited (x=doesn't matter) in Big Omaha/8 which I raised, but the flop totally missed. Now my stack is lower than it had been all night. I was down about $100. Fortunately, my luck started to turn, with the help of a few “big blind” specials.
Jason calls “A-5 Triple Draw 8/b” again, and I get a crappy 36 suited in the big blind. No one raises before the draw however, and I get to draw 3. Now I get 8(6543) () = suited. Huge pull! Now all of a sudden I'm betting out. I decide that the 8 low is too weak in a multi-way pot and drop it. I pick up an offsuit 7 for the straight with a 76543 low. I bet out the whole way and “pat” my hand (i.e. draw no cards). I get called down by a couple and scoop the pot.
A few hands later, I wake up with A5A5x in late position, and am able to 3 bet it preflop against Jason and some others. Jason and I both draw one the whole way. Neither of us improve, I bet down until the river when I worry about low trips, and I win with the better 2 pair (no low hand qualified).
Another big blind special came when I had 67x in crazy pineapple and no one bets the flop. I discard the unimportant card to go for an inside straight. Hit it. Bet the whole way and win.
Most pots I'm involved in now I'm either winning or not losing a lot. About midnight as requested, my g/f comes in to check on me, and I went from -$100 to +$45. I'll take it!
During this whole time, I was pounding Sierra Nevadas and eventually had to take bathroom breaks. On the way to the bathroom, I watch this Deuces Wild progressive balloon from $1650 to $2050 that evening alone. As midnight approached over a dozen of people were hammering it as the game was pushing 101% return. I was going to give it a crack if the mix game ended early. But alas, someone else hit it first, and no one was playing it when the royal was at $1011.
So I reunite with the g/f and her parents, and she immediately points out that there is Ultimate X for pennies at Suncoast! Well, that's an easy sell for me...
I am all energized to play more, but I think better of it and think to myself, I have 5 more nights to go and had a long day traveling. One o'clock would be the earliest I get to bed all trip.
Day 2: Thurs. Feb. 19th Secret Garden, Terry Fator, Pissed at Caesar, and Wasting Away at TAG Lounge...
Get up at a reasonable hour, but really don't start moving until 10 or so. We go down to redeem our tickets for “Terry Fator” and “Zarkana” from myVegas as well as our Mirage Lunch Buffets. After all that, it's after 11 for a perfect time to eat the buffet. The buffet was pretty good, better than the last time I ate it to be honest. They had a Cajun roasted chicken I particularly liked. I was really not in the mood for beer at that moment, but I had a little Goose Island IPA as well since it was included with the buffet.
After lunch, the g/f and I redeem our passes to Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden while her parents gamble for awhile. Beautiful early afternoon in the mid 70s. Pictures speak a lot louder than my rambling self here...
View of dolphins from underwater:
Hello...
Getting an anti-fungal treatment
Dolphins in action:
Backflip!!!
We then move on to the Garden portion of the exhibit where quite a few lions and tigers are on display.
Plaque of the men themselves. So glad that the Cirque du Soleil my mom wanted to go to was sold out in 2001 when I went with my parents. We went to Sigfried and Roy's show instead. Excellent show; tragically ended before its time.
The ~baby lion cubs that myVegas advertises. They are 9 months old and ~160 lbs. now; not so baby anymore.
Lazily looking Leopard...
Sleepy Lion...
Tigers...
This tiger was funny. Loved this ball and was pretty defensive about it!
Ran the other two off into the trees!
Go back to the room and prepare for a dip in the hot tub.
Shot of hotel room:
View of pool from the room (9th floor):
View of CET land from room:
After our hot tub time, we reconvene with her parents about four and decide to go to the South Outlet Mall to do a little shopping and eat dinner before going to “Terry Fator”. They want Chipotle and I want Smashburger which are within 200 feet of each other in the outlet mall lot. I definitely make the right choice because my burger is near perfect. I forget to take food porn a lot, but not this time.
When the burger is cooked perfectly, this crushes In-n-Out by a mile...
Only beer I bought this trip...same as last trip...worth every penny (all 378 of them)
Go back to the room to get ready for the show and to charge my phone a bit.
Pic of the outside of the theatre:
Sketch of Fator and the puppets. They also showed a video of the artist creating this during the show.
“Winston” the turtle singing Kermit the Frog
Fator interacting with “Walter T. Airdale”:
Walter singing Garth Brooks:
Fator with Wrex: The Crash Test Dummy
“Julius” singing “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
“Duggie” and his bar's beer selections in the background. Mmmm...beer
“Hyphen” the Beatle
“Maynard Tompkins” the Elvis impersonator who knows no Elvis songs:
“Vikki The Cougar”
This show was EXCELLENT!!! Very funny and entertaining! No boring moments from start to finish! I totally get why myVegas yanked the free tickets on this one... :( We used a pair of buy one get one free awards to keep the total cost down to about $60/person. But at least he was worth the price!
So after that we decide to check out Caesars Palace since her parents have never really seen the place.
We walk them through the Forum shots as they haven't seen that either.
Pics of the fountain in the Shops:
We make a wrong turn, but we see a little bit of this show at least.
Dragon at Caesars:
Finally make it to the casino. I take a quick look at the food court and their ultra inflated prices. Smashburger is definitely a lot cheaper off strip. Then I was told that the VP bar at the food court was nice for lack of smoke. I saw Lagunitas IPA on tap (which most CET properties have now...good job!), so I was definitely willing to play a bit for that. Until I saw the best game being a ****ty 30/6/5 Bonus (96.18%) followed by 7/5 DDB (95.71%), and as low as 8/5/4 DB (94.18%). EFF YOU, CAESAR!!!
So I pass and move on to the Sports Bar...I see the same paytables...uh oh!!! Fortunately the all star II units are still there unchanged for the moment. So I settle in and play 8/5 JoB w/Double STP (97.78% w/DSTP) and ask for a Lagunitas at first he says ok, but then he comes back and says he can only comp bottles. Um ok...Sierra Nevada I guess. Well this machine sucks, and by the time I get a refill I get a bartender that looked more knowledgeable and I ask him about the policy and voice my opinion that it was crap. He said it was started 3 weeks ago, and a lot of people are feeling the same way I was.
On this unit, I did better, but still was in the hole. I do some more scanning of Caesars, and it's not a pretty sight. Somehow I did find 9/5 JoB Spin Poker with STP (98.72%) for dollars though in the high limit room.
None of our group is doing too well here, and want to go. Now we get a little confused where we want to go. I eventually want to go to the Linq, but my tone of voice says I want to go “right now”. So we all seem to go there to appease me. But none of them really like the slots there, so now I am wondering why did we come here? I could have went to Flamingo for awhile (I played a good amount at Bugsy's anyway this trip). But anyway I seemed to anger my g/f by repeatedly asking her “what would you like to do?” and she basically snaps at me to stay at the Linq and she storms off. Ugh.
So now, I debate if I stay, or try to follow them to where they would likely go. I end up staying at Linq for better or worse. Soon after, I see for the first time, someone actively trying to hustle someone out of Ultimate X multipliers by misleading them on how the game works. What's even crazier, security busted him before I could even tell them what was going on!
I take a look at the new “3535” lounge (the loser of the name battle with “The Quad”). Looked nice, and more importantly, paytables looked “old”.
Eventually I make it to my desired place, TAG Lounge, and open up with Squatters “Hop Rising” Double IPA. Paytables also looked “old”, thank God.
Once I get settled I hit my first quad of the trip fairly quickly around 12:20am only 13 hands in with my game of choice here 7/5 Triple Bonus Plus (97.67%).
But after that, it was a slow bleed afterward. But I was playing quite slow and enjoying the beer.
I moved to some Red IPAs after this:
Oskar Blues G'Knight (poor refill of the last 4 oz of the can 16oz vs 12 oz glass):
Green Flash Hop Head Red (forgot to take a pic of this...image from: http://www.nonsnobbeer.com/2012/10/green-flash-hop-head-red.html)
Then moved on to this, a Brooklyn Blast:
The beer in the background is a Magic Hat “Circus Boy”, a hefeweizen. It was the beer of choice by the guy next to me who I had a chat with because he was a poker grinder normally. Mostly played 2/5 NL. But he was at the bar trying to finish out diamond for the year with VP and bartop BJ. Nice guy, but he was having a rough go at it, probably dropped over $500 for the 1000 tier points needed for the 1000 tier bonus.
That beer in the background was at about 2...then the beers and memory are starting to fade. I may have had one more, but who the hell knows what it was. And it's getting about 4am, and it looks like they are closing up TAG. I was drunk enough to not ask for another one though. At this point I am somehow still up with my slow play, but only about $20.
I stumble over to Flamingo and start slamming down some waters while playing 8/5 JoB w/DSTP at Bugsy's. No pic worthy hits, but I was up about $10 from it. Then I stumble back to Mirage.
Yeah, time kept wasting away...sun is coming up now...I am terrible. 6:06am
Start working my way back to the room and see an “Ellen” slot machine. Being drunk, I say “screw it, why not”
25c extra a spin for a multiplier award for bonuses? “screw it, why not”
Put in $10, and at $0.75/spin, it was going fast. But with a few bucks left. BAM! Get the bonus!
4X multiplier in the corner, not bad
$6 spin before multiplier...needed that:
Glad I paid for that multiplier (49X bet):
Get up to the room at about 6:30. Up roughly another $50. Up about $100 for the trip so far. To my knowledge everyone else isn't doing that great.
Day 3: Fri. Feb. 20th Earl's, North Strip, M Resort, and Bombed at Bugsy's
Get up about 10, have to as we need to check out. Still drunk from the night before...weeee I put on my “lucky” Flamingo shirt on, as it was the 3-year anniversary of when I bought the shirt for $4, about one hour after I hit my only royal in Vegas (dealt).
Unfortunately, the car we rented (Nissan Altima) doesn't have that big of a trunk, so I was assigned to wheel her mom's wheelchair from Mirage to Bally's. I make good time and beat them there by quite a bit. Why did I beat them so bad? Mirage screwed up and charged one of the comped myVegas nights. They waived one of the resort fees for the inconvenience at least. So with a little time to kill I settle in on the 25-play penny unit that has 7/5 Bonus w/STP (98.29% w/STP) and pick up my first quad of the day.
We get settled into the Jubilee room, not bad looks wise. But unfortunately that was the best of it. We got tossed into a lower floor than we were booked for, and get an adjoining door which we also didn't want. The person at the front desk, named Nana, could care less about rectifying this situation. We later would learn of even bigger issues. Elevators that rival the old IP (only 1 of 3 was usually functioning) and that Bally's windows still suck...hard.
Room after a night's sleep...g/f didn't take many pics today:
Go to Miracle Mile to redeem some free Earl's as it is both of her parents birthday months. Pretty good stuff, but since they no longer premix their salads, that seems not as good. Also quickly check the sportsbar, and they still had 9/6 TDB (98.15%) for the moment. Who knows what a bankrupt Loveman will do. We also look at some souvenir stores and the tervis store, which the g/f gets suckered into buying some things.
After that we we head out to the north outlet mall for a bit. Now I am starting to feel hungover...doh. A little snack of Auntie Anne's and some lemonade helps a little, but not a lot. It's getting about 5pm, and we make it to SLS. Obligatory pic of wacky mascot:
Look around the place for the 99.9%+ games for quarters and lower. Nope, they're gone. Dammit. Decide to belly up to the bar for one of these. (Image from: https://malvernbeerexchange.wordpress.com/history/firestone-walker-brewing-co-union-jack-ipa/)
Now most of the quarter bartop games are barely above strip standards, but for some odd reason they have 7/5 Super Aces (98.85%) for all denominations so I play that. No pics, so obviously I didn't hit any Aces. :(
I also play some nickel 7/5 Bonus w/DSTP (98.51% w/DSTP). Again no pics. :(
Obviously I didn't do well, but her dad hit $100 on his very last spin, so he fortunately came out a bit ahead.
Now we run to Circus Circus because I had a weird itch to go, and this was the very first place her parents stayed at in Vegas, so I'd figure they should check the place out. Supposedly there is a national high school cheerleading competition going on. We also found a new drink cup for our mix drinks there. We check out the midway, and it's pretty dang busy for a Friday night and easily half the people playing in the Midway are adults! :)
We eventually get back down to the gaming floor and I scope bartops. For dollars, they have a great one, 8/5 Super DDB w/prog. (99.69%+prog.). Of course I'm poor and play the 6/5 quarter version (97.69%+prog.). The Royal was about $1290 until I hear...doo-doo-doo-doo-dee-dee-do-do-dee-dee-dee-doo. Okay that was terrible. Anyway the lady about 4 units down from me hit the Royal. Burning a bit inside, I offer congratulations and give her a high five. She was very happy about it, which I like to see.
Since I'm at CC, I decide I should play the only machine that's always positive on the strip. The 8/5 Aces and Eights machine (100.25%+prog.) for $2.50 a whack. Let me play awhile, but this is the closest I get to a big win before losing $20.
Now we run off to M Resort for dinner. We both have comps from Hollywood Casino thanks to their takeover of Harrah's St. Louis. Unfortunately, M must have bad IT people. You still can't access your comps from Hollywood Casinos directly at M. You have to ask for a handwritten comp from a host. Fortunately this seemed a lot less painful than before, and my g/f got a $35 comp to the “Vig Deli” for us in minutes.
I go up to the bar so I can get one of my new favorites, Sculpin IPA (from:
http://www.spokeandbrew.com/ballast-point-sculpin-ipa/)
Unfortunately this one tastes off. Tastes peppery. When I got home, I learned there is a habanero Sculpin version now. I wonder if I got that instead. Go eat. Food is alright, nothing special. They got rid of the thing I really wanted. They made one hell of a BBQ chicken sandwich last trip. One of the best BBQ chicken sandwiches I've had in years! Dumbfounded why they got rid of it.
I'm sure I got another craft beer, but since I didn't take a pic, I forgot what it was...D'Oh!
Go out onto the floor for the bit, and notice they have 8/6 Bonus Deluxe w/DSTP (98.99% w/DSTP) just like they do at Aria. Well, that machine treated me like crap and I'm down thirty in a matter of minutes. Check some other bars. See that 98.91% deuces are at the main casino bar, as well as the 32 degree bar. A couple of straight flushes and this help me get back into the game.
Now we leave the M Resort a little after 11, and head back to Bally's for the rest of the night. Apparently, the g/f and her parents are all beat, and don't feel like going out. As for me, I'm thinking “This is Friday night and unacceptable!” So after getting them settled, I go back down to go play.
I first hit these on the penny units:
Quad 6s with 3X
Decent and clearer 10X hit:
All the while having a couple of these. I'm glad CET added this at most casinos. (img: http://houseofbrewsoc.com/bar/premium-beers/)
I decide to make a quick visit to Cromwell (nothing exciting other than people better dressed than me), and then move on to Bugsy's at Flamingo. Start hitting the All Star II unit with 8/5 JoB w/DSTP and start playing away.
End up chatting with this couple and this other guy that is friendly but also a bit creepy for awhile. I trudge along with some reasonable hits. I was only in for $40 at this machine at the time. This was the most pic worthy one at about 3:13am.
At this point, I'm getting more drunk, that couple left, so now I'm just talking to that creepy guy...meh. I can't remember what all was discussed, just remember it was weird. Then this guy with his buddies clearly had one too many and fell off the bar toward me...spilling some of his drink on my jacket and my pants. Bartender apologizes and says this beer is on me. How could I say no, even though I was planning to quit myself...lol Now some chick that the creepy guy says is a hooker comes by. He chats her up, but he isn't going to pay for anything he says. They go back and forth, and she flat out admits she is an alcoholic and basically just wants to drink. Weird. She wasn't bad looking, if I was single...well...lol
Now I need to go to the bathroom. And when I was about ready to go, I decide to use a stall and take my jacket off first. Possibly a bad idea. I drop part it into a flushed toilet. At the time, I think nothing of it, and go to the bathroom, but that might have been a mistake.
Eventually, I realize I need to go back to Bally's and I take a terrible way home after the Cromwell, I walk way too far to the East, and at point I decide “F it”, and walk into Stage Door. Yeah, I didn't belong there at ~5am. Note that their VP is “meh” and go back to Bally's. Not ready for the room yet...hit this on the way out. First “premium” quad of the trip! Damn pennies though...
Bed around 6 am. Shirt was definitely NOT lucky. Lose roughly what I won in the first two days (~$100).
March 5th, 2015 at 3:28:11 PM
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Day 4: Sat. Feb. 21st Green Valley Yum, Lucky SOB at Sam's Town, Zarkana, Cosmo is Busy at Hell at Midnight
Another 4-ish hours of sleep for me as we have four free lunch buffets at Green Valley Ranch via myVegas. But when we get up, my Mizzou jacket is discolored in spots! CRAP! At the time, I thought it was the drink that was spilled on it. But g/f's mom says it looks like bleach got on it... Now thinking that way...it could have been that accidental drop in the toilet...ugh Either way it's ruined, but fortunately have a backup.
Get to Green Valley Ranch, have some people sign up for “Boarding Passes”, and go eat the buffet. It was great! Most things I tried were just about perfect! Would definitely pay full price ($9.99 for lunch) for this buffet. I rarely say that for casino buffets.
Now full, I run off to do various things. Like Red Rock, GVR looks to offer full pay Bonus with Ultimate X for dollars (~99.3%). Bartops decent for some, particularly bonus. I play a bit of 8/5 Bonus (99.17% + prog.) but nothing doing. Also play a little nickel Triple Deuces Wild (99.92%), but this is the best I can do.
Stumble across “The Flintstones”, 40c min bet, or 60c min bet for double the chance of the bonus. Of course, I pick the latter because I play slots for bonuses basically. With in a few spins...”Yabba Dabba Doo!!!”
22X bet win:
Now we move on to Sam's Town because there was a 11X slot point multiplier and a 7X VP multiplier. I pretty much start playing the best VP machine that gets full points. A 9/7 DB with a minimum $1500 prog. Royal (100.14%+prog.). The Royal was about $1540, and I'm doing alright, hitting a few full houses and flushes, and almost $40 ahead, when I hear the jackpot music again. The guy 3 units down hit it. I congratulate him and he pretty much ignores it. Like this meant nothing to him...Jerk. Eventually he leaves as does everyone else. And it looks like the meter might be 0.8% (a penny per max bet). That's not bad at all!
Eventually I take a break to scan bartops. It's nearly six, and I see a “Pay the Aces” machine. I never played the game, so I thought I would give it a try. So old that it would only take my singles...lol Probably a good thing since it's a coin-dropper. My goal is to play long enough to “Pay the Aces”. When you get dealt an Ace (or more) without any faces, you get a bonus pay. Unfortunately, they don't add it to the credit bank. So when I got this, I got a clank, clank, clank of 20 nickels (the max bet).
Now it's a little after 6. Bump into the g/f and we both see the guy I saw hit the royal earlier hit another progressive Royal!!! And this time it was with Ace-Ten suited!!! WTF??? With internet help, I have seen about one half dozen royals on various forums with AT suited since my last....grrrr. This time, it probably was appropriate as he was getting another progressive tax form. Lucky SOB!!!
Now I really want to go back to the machine I was playing initially. I start to burn money. Dammit. But then I hit this:
Escape Sam's $30 up with a couple “free” Budweisers.
Now we go to the Monte Carlo parking garage (great garage for south strip), and eat “The Original Chicken Tender” for dinner. We had buy one get one coupons from the American Casino Guide, and it's definitely worth half-price. Now we have about an hour to burn. I hint that I want to go to NYNY for a bar check, and to check out Hershey World, which I missed last trip. Her parents stay at MC.
A beautiful Sat. night in Vegas:
View of the Strip from the Hershey World glass:
Overall I was not impressed with Hershey World. M&M blows it away by a mile, even though both are overpriced BS. And the NYNY vibe eludes me. Bartops are typical, meh crap. The weird thing, the Center bar has both Bally's and IGT bartops. Only the Bally's bartops have full pay 9/6 JoB at $5.
My g/f went with me and questioned why she did. She played nothing there either. So we go back to MC. I find a Jetsons machine and quickly toss away $5. I did make Judys in 3 columns on one spin, and that earned me a cartoon clip at least.
Joe Namath look-alike near NYNY Sportbook:
Walk back to MC:
Now its about 45 minutes to showtime and we go to Aria.
It took us a lot less time to get to Aria than I thought as you are spit out near the Zarkana theatre if you take the Monte Carlo “Street of Dreams”. So I look around for some things, and find another 8/6 Bonus Deluxe w/DSTP near the Mlife desk. Toss away another twenty dollars in 3 minutes.
Now meet up with my g/f and her parents for the show. We get an aisle seat for her mom to stretch out her right leg. The map looks like this is the case, but no. The right hand access is blocked by a wall. On our side the only aisle access is on the left. This is good enough for her and the usher finds us an empty row a few rows further up.
Cirque's policy for Zarkana has recently changed. Pics are allowed as long as they aren't flash and do not disturb others.
Therefore, here are some highlights of “Zarkana”:
Opening Act:
Climbing the ladder:
Flag Throwing:
High flying acrobatics:
High Wire Act...These guys sucked the worst. One had a near fall. His recovery might have been the most impressive part of the “Act”
Scene with the “Eyeball Men”/Hoop Rotation:
Sand Painting...this chick was probably the most talented, and got one of the bigger rounds of applause at the end:
Trapeze Act:
Electric Chair Skit:
Finale Build...sorta weak:
Success!
Encore! Encore!
Overall, the show was alright, but at one point, my g/f whispered to me, they must have brought in the “B crew”, and I tended to agree. This performance was much less impressive then what we saw last February. But I still enjoyed it overall.
More pics from Aria:
Year of the Ram/Goat/etc. Sign with people of likely Chinese decent in the background...haha
Here we take the car back to Bally's and her parents call it a night once again. Here my g/f and I have to make a decision. Go to Cosmo? Or Go toward Linq? I choose Cosmo because I haven't been there yet. It's a little after midnight on a Saturday night.
Walk toward Cosmo:
Pho from Cosmo side:
I almost immediately regret the call. Cosmo is busy as hell, and it means all the bartops are occupied by playing or non-playing people. Takes me 20 or 25 minutes to get my beer of choice there “comped”. I get it comped by playing 6/5 Bonus (96.87%) standing up at the bar for 3 or so minutes.
At Cosmo, I tend to drink Lagunitas Maximus (from: http://www.legalbeer.com/2008/11/the-session-21-lagunitas-ipa-maximus):
I had a few Maximii? that night from hit and running the bar. I ran like crap at the bars too, so that was no good. After getting my first, I struggled to find my g/f, but I found the penny 100-play with no minimum, so I needed to give it a try. It didn't treat me well at 98.91% deuces. Wasted “premium” quad for 20 cents:
Then I reunite with the g/f, and play some nickel 6/5 Bonus with DSTP (97.36% w/DSTP). A rare dealt quad for me. Picture taken at exactly 2:00:00 PST on my phone...wow.
Soon after this g/f wants to call it, and of course, I'm on adrenaline, and I want to keep going. So we walk back to Bally's and part ways. I hoof it over to Linq to have a couple more craft beers. I didn't do so hot. The biggest highlight was this tease at about 3am...
Meanwhile, my g/f took some nighttime pics from the room:
The new annoying Bazaar:
High Roller:
And what would keep her up that night...Drai's
Our DND tag...lol
About 4:30 I was going to call it and walk back...
Cool pic in the Flamingo portion of the Linq...
While in Flamingo, I hear a song I like... and my SOP when that happens is to find a machine to play. Worked well for me this time...(29X bet on Buffaloooooooooo)
Now walking back to Bally's. Evil smile on my face as I notice the line at Drai's at 4:48am.
Get back to Bally's and finish off at pennies. Why can't I hit this at quarters?? 5X quad at 5:00am:
Nice hit with 5X:
This is what happens when you hit the “bet one credit” button...watch out!
Soon after this I finally call it.
Day: 5 Sun. Feb. 22nd KGB Burger, Hooters, Orleans, Ellis Island, and Rain Banishes Me to Bally's...
Of course I am slow going again with another late night. Her parents are already out the door, and she has already taken a shower too. She says she is going to follow them to Paris while I get going for the day. I hint I will stay at Bally's for a bit. Mainly for the better paytables... I go up to the bar and order a Sierra Mist as I am not looking to drink for the entire day I get carded for said Sierra Mist as a 34-year old.
Bally's punishment for carding for said Sierra Mist...First hand:
Would have been nice if those spades were clubs, but I digress. Eventually, the g/f texts me on my whereabouts. She talks me into going over to Paris, and this time I get a virgin strawberry daiquiri and get carded again! This time Paris profits...I suck away $20 in barely $25 coin-in. Yeah it was that bad.
G/f's daiquiri was more profitable. 4 8's with a Ten on two different games!
Pic of Eiffel Tower:
French Pic of Eiffel Tower:
Pic of Caesars from across the street:
Now it's getting closer to 2 and we need to use the Groupons we bought for KGB burger. Get settled and and eat there, everyone else seemed to like it, but for the 2nd visit in a row, I felt my burger was overdone, especially since I ordered it medium-well. Meh.
Now not entirely thinking this through, we go back to the room for a bit instead of bringing the car there. Also make some quick sports bets at Linq. We go to Hooters and Orleans for a coupon run. Nothing doing there. I drop at least another $30 or so. G/f's dad earned enough points for a Hooters calendar though! And Hooters has decent VP for a dump filled with big boobed women...lol
We do stop by the Vegas sign though...
Pic of Orleans:
At the Orleans, it looks like my NBA bets are going to split (grizzlies spread and over). G/f's dad's bet on Illinois (where g/f and I met) lost. Pic of the losers:
After Orleans, we go to Ellis Island for their famous off the menu steak special. The American Casino Guide also offers a free dinner if you earn 200 points ($200 coin-in on slots or VP) in a day. That was my goal. The game of choice...9/6 DDB with Quick Quads (99.65% w/QQ).
I get off to a hot start...
Then the big hits come out...glad I didn't play the 9/6 JoB version...
BAM!
Then less than 5 minutes later... again?!?!?! This time breaking 2 pair, about a 3 in 53,750 occurrence here.
And less than 5 minutes later, can I switch the last card between the top two hands??
Unfortunately, I tailed off after that and dropped about $30 of my winnings in that swingy game earning the rest of the points. And I didn't get to hear some of the sweetest words in poker...”Quick Quad!” Nevertheless, I was still up $65 at EI and slightly up for the day. They also had Ultimate X for pennies just like Suncoast.
So after earning the required points for a free dinner, we go eat dinner. Dinner was good, my steak was better than I've had there in the past. They undercooked one of the steaks though, so it took us a while to eat.
View of the strip from Ellis Island:
We don't get back to Bally's til about a quarter til midnight. Part of me wants to go to the Linq area again, but with the rain, I decide against it. The rest of them go to Paris again.
Pic of a Bally's “Jubilee” mannequin:
The only pic I think was worth taking for VP...meh.
All my Ellis Island winnings were eaten elsewhere on this day. Ugh. May have even been down a few bucks. :(
G/f isn't happy that night because the music is still bopping well after bedtime! Not from Drai's, but the unopened Bazaar Shops! She complained that “Viva Las Vegas” woke her up a few times from the stupid piped music from the unoccupied shops. :(
Day: 6 Mon. Feb. 23rd Red Rock, Feeling Gassed, Royale Freebies, and Suck It Sheldon!
Today we had free buffets for Red Rock from myVegas. For a Monday, it was very busy! Military members also get a discount on Mondays so that might be a factor. Food was good, but a little more exotic and a little less tasty than Green Valley Ranch. Definitely still worth free though.
Now we go play, and I notice an old game called “Ring Quest”, which I have a play money copy of on my PC. In the main bonus, you have to make choices to avoid traps and try to fight a dragon in the end. You have to make 15 steps before you run out of “rings” to fight the dragon. I've never made it to the dragon even playing at home. This day I was one step short...(35X bet) :'(
Next I find a new IGT multigame unit called “Game Star”. These machines offer some interesting new games.
One of these was “Look Ahead Poker” where you paid two extra credits to see the next card off the deck. Here I held QQQ8 because the game showed me the next card in the deck was going to be another 8 (signified by the “Look Ahead Poker” symbol) There is also a “Super Look Ahead” version that lets you burn the next card if you don't like it (for an extra 3 credits):
Here is another interesting game where half of your bet is based on deuces wild, and half on non-wild poker.
After that I play a little 8/5 Bonus w/DC (99.27% w/DC) and full-pay deuces (100.76%), win a bit but get nothing exciting. Then I try another slot machine I like “The Love Boat”... and low and behold, another bonus!
Only 5X this time though... :(
Snow covered mountains from Red Rock parking lot:
View of Palazzo:
I make a last minute bet on the Anaheim Ducks at the Linq because screw the Red Wings, that's why. We then go to eat dinner at the convenient food court between Harrah's and Casino Royale. At dinner my body is clearly yelling at me...why don't you go to sleep!!!! I have been balls to the wall most of the trip, and it's catching up to me. It's also catching up to my g/f's mom. And my g/f's dad has done so badly in Vegas, he doesn't have much more to lose. We thought he brought $800... and has lost about that. :( So after dinner, they basically said they are going to go back up to the room and cut us loose at the early time of 8pm. Sadly a part of me wanted to go with them. But my g/f and I haven't spent too much “alone time” this trip, so I pressed on.
First thing since we were right there, we signed up as Casino Royale members. Why? Because they offer a mini version of the old Cosmo rebate. The first $20 you lose, you will get $20 of freeplay instantly. And then every $100 lost thereafter will also get $20 of freeplay. Definitely not a bad deal. Unfortunately, their VP isn't super hot.
Casino Royale White Castle:
I blow my $20 on 9/5 DDB (97.87%) and this tease was the highlight:
Grinded $16 of the freeplay back with nickel 35/6/5 Bonus (97.36%) meh.
Walking out of Casino Royale, caught this:
Walk into the Venetian Walgreens. My body is really yelling at me at this point, “Go to Bed!”. I also look at my phone and Ducks are down 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. Dammit. G/f finds some souvenirs and is happy.
Walk back toward Venetian with a frozen drink in hand and check out some things.
Overpriced bakery:
View from the shops:
Mario Batali's Burger place:
G/f owns these shoes:
We get to the Venetian sportsbook just in time to watch the Ducks win in a shootout! I'm up on sports for once this trip! We belly up to the Sportsbook bar, and I thought CET was bad with some of their cutbacks...lol VP paytables are a joke at the Sportsbook bar now. 6/5 JoB (95.00%), 6/5 DDB (94.66%), 8/5 DB (94.18%) to name a few. But they left one semi-decent game in comparison...6/5 Super Double Bonus (96.87%) as that's the worst paytable that game offers.
I decide I'll play long enough for a beer. Good choice.
Big tease though...highest possible draw without the Royal... And screw you Sheldon!
But with that hit I was up $12.50 and quit, and three minutes later, my g/f hits this. I wish I could have switched hands with her...
4 Aces from just holding one!! She was running terrible this trip for her level of play (very minimal and cheap), down almost $200 before that $40 hit.
So now I'm all jacked up, and we work our way back to the Linq. G/f stops by White Castle to buy one, yes, one cheeseburger. Lines are no more. Price, $1.59+tax...ugh.
Hang at the Linq for a bit so I can have more beers. But now I have tried most of the ones I wanted to. I did add a good old standby for good measure. Dogfish Head 90 min. IPA. (img: http://www.theperfectlyhappyman.com/dogfish-head-90-minute-ipa/)
And drank this again, to hopefully help me have a “G'Knight”. On the drive back home to St. Louis I bought a 4 pack of these for $12.48+tax...craft beer is expensive... :(
Unfortunately we didn't anything of note playing so I lost at least $20.
Checked out the starbucks and purple zebra they were prepping to open in the Linq casino.
Drai's parodying “Caddyshack”
Quickly run over to Bellagio to see if there are any changes to the Conservatory for Chinese New Year. There were a few of course, but g/f did notice they kept the generic scenes similar to last year.
Year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram, etc.
Sparkly horse in the lobby:
Views from Bellagio/Bally's overpass:
Well at this point, it's about 2:30, and the g/f obviously wanted to go to bed. But now I fought through the tiredness and want to have one last crack at Bally's. Was able to end a nine-month drought of one of these at least...but it was only on pennies again...meh
G/f complains about hearing “Viva Las Vegas” from the Bazaar shops' audio again. If they don't change this, the Jubilee tower facing Flamingo will suck for noise.
Day: 7 Tues. Feb. 24th Total Rewards Hell, South Point, High Roller, KC stopover
Unfortunately, our trip is coming to an end. Also unfortunately, we kept pushing off trying to redeem one of the benefits her dad got from signing up for the TR credit card. The day before, we read the fine print saying a ride up the high roller had to be between noon and 6. It was too late by then. But we go down to the linq the night before and ask anyway. They told us we had to redeem the voucher at a TR desk, preferably the linq. But by the time we figured that out, he wasn't with us.
So we try to cram it in to redeem it in the morning at the Bally's TR desk. But before this, her Dad was generally mad about the Bally's experience and expressed this at checkout. Mainly not getting the room class we booked, only one functioning elevator for ~14 floors most of the time, and the ridiculousness of music playing all hours of the night from a shopping complex that isn't even open yet! The checkout lady didn't put up much of a fight, and neither did the manager. Resort fees waived. Honestly, the least they could do.
Now they get in line for the TR desk to open, because that doesn't open til ten. TR desk then gives them another voucher to redeem the tickets at the box office. Lol Fortunately he is Platinum, so that only takes another ten minutes as the box office also just opening. We finally get the tickets, and it sounds like they could have been either day or night...dammit. We take the day though, because we leave at 4:20 and they now leave in less than 2 hours. So we run them to the airport and drop them off.
Go to Southpoint for a bit. G/f wins, and I don't. The Island Bar has full pay STP and Ultimate X though...WOW! Play a bit of the STP, get nowhere. Then I try 8/5 Bonus w/DSTP (99.67%) on the floor. Lose $20 w/o a multiplier. Guy next to me gets four 3s dealt... also see a lady at the bar do the exact thing g/f did at Venetian...four Aces from one...jeez.
Park at Harrah's and go up the High Roller. Definitely overpriced and probably cooler at night, but still pretty neat regardless. The designed line is gigantic...maybe 1000 feet long. We waited about 2 minutes. We had one other woman in the pod with us. They have to be bleeding money on this thing... Also this thing moves faster than you think. I almost stumbled getting on it. It's definitely faster than one of those continuous slow rides at Disney World which was my expectation.
Here we go!
View of mountains:
Linq casino, Caesars, Mountains:
Flamingo, Paris, Cosmo:
Caesars, Rio:
Harrah's, Mirage:
Venetian, Wynn, Trump (who actually would stay there?)
Caesars, Orleans:
South Strip:
McCarran:
Near the Top:
Bellagio and company:
High Roller Video
Linq shopping district and pool construction:
Eat and go to McCarran. Uneventful flight home. G/f sleeps nearly the whole way. I can't sleep on a plane. So in KC, really tired again. But we had an offer at Harrah's NKC and give them a tiny amount of play. And I make another mistake, I drink caffeine.
Nice, remodeled room, but they need to drown those sheets in fabric softener. I struggled to go to bed in the end.
G/f wins a few bucks with a $20 hit on Willy Wonka and these:
I held my own...but no deuces at all this trip, meh.
A tired drive home the next morning, wallet almost $200 lighter after everything, and we miss Vegas already!
Another 4-ish hours of sleep for me as we have four free lunch buffets at Green Valley Ranch via myVegas. But when we get up, my Mizzou jacket is discolored in spots! CRAP! At the time, I thought it was the drink that was spilled on it. But g/f's mom says it looks like bleach got on it... Now thinking that way...it could have been that accidental drop in the toilet...ugh Either way it's ruined, but fortunately have a backup.
Get to Green Valley Ranch, have some people sign up for “Boarding Passes”, and go eat the buffet. It was great! Most things I tried were just about perfect! Would definitely pay full price ($9.99 for lunch) for this buffet. I rarely say that for casino buffets.
Now full, I run off to do various things. Like Red Rock, GVR looks to offer full pay Bonus with Ultimate X for dollars (~99.3%). Bartops decent for some, particularly bonus. I play a bit of 8/5 Bonus (99.17% + prog.) but nothing doing. Also play a little nickel Triple Deuces Wild (99.92%), but this is the best I can do.
Stumble across “The Flintstones”, 40c min bet, or 60c min bet for double the chance of the bonus. Of course, I pick the latter because I play slots for bonuses basically. With in a few spins...”Yabba Dabba Doo!!!”
22X bet win:
Now we move on to Sam's Town because there was a 11X slot point multiplier and a 7X VP multiplier. I pretty much start playing the best VP machine that gets full points. A 9/7 DB with a minimum $1500 prog. Royal (100.14%+prog.). The Royal was about $1540, and I'm doing alright, hitting a few full houses and flushes, and almost $40 ahead, when I hear the jackpot music again. The guy 3 units down hit it. I congratulate him and he pretty much ignores it. Like this meant nothing to him...Jerk. Eventually he leaves as does everyone else. And it looks like the meter might be 0.8% (a penny per max bet). That's not bad at all!
Eventually I take a break to scan bartops. It's nearly six, and I see a “Pay the Aces” machine. I never played the game, so I thought I would give it a try. So old that it would only take my singles...lol Probably a good thing since it's a coin-dropper. My goal is to play long enough to “Pay the Aces”. When you get dealt an Ace (or more) without any faces, you get a bonus pay. Unfortunately, they don't add it to the credit bank. So when I got this, I got a clank, clank, clank of 20 nickels (the max bet).
Now it's a little after 6. Bump into the g/f and we both see the guy I saw hit the royal earlier hit another progressive Royal!!! And this time it was with Ace-Ten suited!!! WTF??? With internet help, I have seen about one half dozen royals on various forums with AT suited since my last....grrrr. This time, it probably was appropriate as he was getting another progressive tax form. Lucky SOB!!!
Now I really want to go back to the machine I was playing initially. I start to burn money. Dammit. But then I hit this:
Escape Sam's $30 up with a couple “free” Budweisers.
Now we go to the Monte Carlo parking garage (great garage for south strip), and eat “The Original Chicken Tender” for dinner. We had buy one get one coupons from the American Casino Guide, and it's definitely worth half-price. Now we have about an hour to burn. I hint that I want to go to NYNY for a bar check, and to check out Hershey World, which I missed last trip. Her parents stay at MC.
A beautiful Sat. night in Vegas:
View of the Strip from the Hershey World glass:
Overall I was not impressed with Hershey World. M&M blows it away by a mile, even though both are overpriced BS. And the NYNY vibe eludes me. Bartops are typical, meh crap. The weird thing, the Center bar has both Bally's and IGT bartops. Only the Bally's bartops have full pay 9/6 JoB at $5.
My g/f went with me and questioned why she did. She played nothing there either. So we go back to MC. I find a Jetsons machine and quickly toss away $5. I did make Judys in 3 columns on one spin, and that earned me a cartoon clip at least.
Joe Namath look-alike near NYNY Sportbook:
Walk back to MC:
Now its about 45 minutes to showtime and we go to Aria.
It took us a lot less time to get to Aria than I thought as you are spit out near the Zarkana theatre if you take the Monte Carlo “Street of Dreams”. So I look around for some things, and find another 8/6 Bonus Deluxe w/DSTP near the Mlife desk. Toss away another twenty dollars in 3 minutes.
Now meet up with my g/f and her parents for the show. We get an aisle seat for her mom to stretch out her right leg. The map looks like this is the case, but no. The right hand access is blocked by a wall. On our side the only aisle access is on the left. This is good enough for her and the usher finds us an empty row a few rows further up.
Cirque's policy for Zarkana has recently changed. Pics are allowed as long as they aren't flash and do not disturb others.
Therefore, here are some highlights of “Zarkana”:
Opening Act:
Climbing the ladder:
Flag Throwing:
High flying acrobatics:
High Wire Act...These guys sucked the worst. One had a near fall. His recovery might have been the most impressive part of the “Act”
Scene with the “Eyeball Men”/Hoop Rotation:
Sand Painting...this chick was probably the most talented, and got one of the bigger rounds of applause at the end:
Trapeze Act:
Electric Chair Skit:
Finale Build...sorta weak:
Success!
Encore! Encore!
Overall, the show was alright, but at one point, my g/f whispered to me, they must have brought in the “B crew”, and I tended to agree. This performance was much less impressive then what we saw last February. But I still enjoyed it overall.
More pics from Aria:
Year of the Ram/Goat/etc. Sign with people of likely Chinese decent in the background...haha
Here we take the car back to Bally's and her parents call it a night once again. Here my g/f and I have to make a decision. Go to Cosmo? Or Go toward Linq? I choose Cosmo because I haven't been there yet. It's a little after midnight on a Saturday night.
Walk toward Cosmo:
Pho from Cosmo side:
I almost immediately regret the call. Cosmo is busy as hell, and it means all the bartops are occupied by playing or non-playing people. Takes me 20 or 25 minutes to get my beer of choice there “comped”. I get it comped by playing 6/5 Bonus (96.87%) standing up at the bar for 3 or so minutes.
At Cosmo, I tend to drink Lagunitas Maximus (from: http://www.legalbeer.com/2008/11/the-session-21-lagunitas-ipa-maximus):
I had a few Maximii? that night from hit and running the bar. I ran like crap at the bars too, so that was no good. After getting my first, I struggled to find my g/f, but I found the penny 100-play with no minimum, so I needed to give it a try. It didn't treat me well at 98.91% deuces. Wasted “premium” quad for 20 cents:
Then I reunite with the g/f, and play some nickel 6/5 Bonus with DSTP (97.36% w/DSTP). A rare dealt quad for me. Picture taken at exactly 2:00:00 PST on my phone...wow.
Soon after this g/f wants to call it, and of course, I'm on adrenaline, and I want to keep going. So we walk back to Bally's and part ways. I hoof it over to Linq to have a couple more craft beers. I didn't do so hot. The biggest highlight was this tease at about 3am...
Meanwhile, my g/f took some nighttime pics from the room:
The new annoying Bazaar:
High Roller:
And what would keep her up that night...Drai's
Our DND tag...lol
About 4:30 I was going to call it and walk back...
Cool pic in the Flamingo portion of the Linq...
While in Flamingo, I hear a song I like... and my SOP when that happens is to find a machine to play. Worked well for me this time...(29X bet on Buffaloooooooooo)
Now walking back to Bally's. Evil smile on my face as I notice the line at Drai's at 4:48am.
Get back to Bally's and finish off at pennies. Why can't I hit this at quarters?? 5X quad at 5:00am:
Nice hit with 5X:
This is what happens when you hit the “bet one credit” button...watch out!
Soon after this I finally call it.
Day: 5 Sun. Feb. 22nd KGB Burger, Hooters, Orleans, Ellis Island, and Rain Banishes Me to Bally's...
Of course I am slow going again with another late night. Her parents are already out the door, and she has already taken a shower too. She says she is going to follow them to Paris while I get going for the day. I hint I will stay at Bally's for a bit. Mainly for the better paytables... I go up to the bar and order a Sierra Mist as I am not looking to drink for the entire day I get carded for said Sierra Mist as a 34-year old.
Bally's punishment for carding for said Sierra Mist...First hand:
Would have been nice if those spades were clubs, but I digress. Eventually, the g/f texts me on my whereabouts. She talks me into going over to Paris, and this time I get a virgin strawberry daiquiri and get carded again! This time Paris profits...I suck away $20 in barely $25 coin-in. Yeah it was that bad.
G/f's daiquiri was more profitable. 4 8's with a Ten on two different games!
Pic of Eiffel Tower:
French Pic of Eiffel Tower:
Pic of Caesars from across the street:
Now it's getting closer to 2 and we need to use the Groupons we bought for KGB burger. Get settled and and eat there, everyone else seemed to like it, but for the 2nd visit in a row, I felt my burger was overdone, especially since I ordered it medium-well. Meh.
Now not entirely thinking this through, we go back to the room for a bit instead of bringing the car there. Also make some quick sports bets at Linq. We go to Hooters and Orleans for a coupon run. Nothing doing there. I drop at least another $30 or so. G/f's dad earned enough points for a Hooters calendar though! And Hooters has decent VP for a dump filled with big boobed women...lol
We do stop by the Vegas sign though...
Pic of Orleans:
At the Orleans, it looks like my NBA bets are going to split (grizzlies spread and over). G/f's dad's bet on Illinois (where g/f and I met) lost. Pic of the losers:
After Orleans, we go to Ellis Island for their famous off the menu steak special. The American Casino Guide also offers a free dinner if you earn 200 points ($200 coin-in on slots or VP) in a day. That was my goal. The game of choice...9/6 DDB with Quick Quads (99.65% w/QQ).
I get off to a hot start...
Then the big hits come out...glad I didn't play the 9/6 JoB version...
BAM!
Then less than 5 minutes later... again?!?!?! This time breaking 2 pair, about a 3 in 53,750 occurrence here.
And less than 5 minutes later, can I switch the last card between the top two hands??
Unfortunately, I tailed off after that and dropped about $30 of my winnings in that swingy game earning the rest of the points. And I didn't get to hear some of the sweetest words in poker...”Quick Quad!” Nevertheless, I was still up $65 at EI and slightly up for the day. They also had Ultimate X for pennies just like Suncoast.
So after earning the required points for a free dinner, we go eat dinner. Dinner was good, my steak was better than I've had there in the past. They undercooked one of the steaks though, so it took us a while to eat.
View of the strip from Ellis Island:
We don't get back to Bally's til about a quarter til midnight. Part of me wants to go to the Linq area again, but with the rain, I decide against it. The rest of them go to Paris again.
Pic of a Bally's “Jubilee” mannequin:
The only pic I think was worth taking for VP...meh.
All my Ellis Island winnings were eaten elsewhere on this day. Ugh. May have even been down a few bucks. :(
G/f isn't happy that night because the music is still bopping well after bedtime! Not from Drai's, but the unopened Bazaar Shops! She complained that “Viva Las Vegas” woke her up a few times from the stupid piped music from the unoccupied shops. :(
Day: 6 Mon. Feb. 23rd Red Rock, Feeling Gassed, Royale Freebies, and Suck It Sheldon!
Today we had free buffets for Red Rock from myVegas. For a Monday, it was very busy! Military members also get a discount on Mondays so that might be a factor. Food was good, but a little more exotic and a little less tasty than Green Valley Ranch. Definitely still worth free though.
Now we go play, and I notice an old game called “Ring Quest”, which I have a play money copy of on my PC. In the main bonus, you have to make choices to avoid traps and try to fight a dragon in the end. You have to make 15 steps before you run out of “rings” to fight the dragon. I've never made it to the dragon even playing at home. This day I was one step short...(35X bet) :'(
Next I find a new IGT multigame unit called “Game Star”. These machines offer some interesting new games.
One of these was “Look Ahead Poker” where you paid two extra credits to see the next card off the deck. Here I held QQQ8 because the game showed me the next card in the deck was going to be another 8 (signified by the “Look Ahead Poker” symbol) There is also a “Super Look Ahead” version that lets you burn the next card if you don't like it (for an extra 3 credits):
Here is another interesting game where half of your bet is based on deuces wild, and half on non-wild poker.
After that I play a little 8/5 Bonus w/DC (99.27% w/DC) and full-pay deuces (100.76%), win a bit but get nothing exciting. Then I try another slot machine I like “The Love Boat”... and low and behold, another bonus!
Only 5X this time though... :(
Snow covered mountains from Red Rock parking lot:
View of Palazzo:
I make a last minute bet on the Anaheim Ducks at the Linq because screw the Red Wings, that's why. We then go to eat dinner at the convenient food court between Harrah's and Casino Royale. At dinner my body is clearly yelling at me...why don't you go to sleep!!!! I have been balls to the wall most of the trip, and it's catching up to me. It's also catching up to my g/f's mom. And my g/f's dad has done so badly in Vegas, he doesn't have much more to lose. We thought he brought $800... and has lost about that. :( So after dinner, they basically said they are going to go back up to the room and cut us loose at the early time of 8pm. Sadly a part of me wanted to go with them. But my g/f and I haven't spent too much “alone time” this trip, so I pressed on.
First thing since we were right there, we signed up as Casino Royale members. Why? Because they offer a mini version of the old Cosmo rebate. The first $20 you lose, you will get $20 of freeplay instantly. And then every $100 lost thereafter will also get $20 of freeplay. Definitely not a bad deal. Unfortunately, their VP isn't super hot.
Casino Royale White Castle:
I blow my $20 on 9/5 DDB (97.87%) and this tease was the highlight:
Grinded $16 of the freeplay back with nickel 35/6/5 Bonus (97.36%) meh.
Walking out of Casino Royale, caught this:
Walk into the Venetian Walgreens. My body is really yelling at me at this point, “Go to Bed!”. I also look at my phone and Ducks are down 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. Dammit. G/f finds some souvenirs and is happy.
Walk back toward Venetian with a frozen drink in hand and check out some things.
Overpriced bakery:
View from the shops:
Mario Batali's Burger place:
G/f owns these shoes:
We get to the Venetian sportsbook just in time to watch the Ducks win in a shootout! I'm up on sports for once this trip! We belly up to the Sportsbook bar, and I thought CET was bad with some of their cutbacks...lol VP paytables are a joke at the Sportsbook bar now. 6/5 JoB (95.00%), 6/5 DDB (94.66%), 8/5 DB (94.18%) to name a few. But they left one semi-decent game in comparison...6/5 Super Double Bonus (96.87%) as that's the worst paytable that game offers.
I decide I'll play long enough for a beer. Good choice.
Big tease though...highest possible draw without the Royal... And screw you Sheldon!
But with that hit I was up $12.50 and quit, and three minutes later, my g/f hits this. I wish I could have switched hands with her...
4 Aces from just holding one!! She was running terrible this trip for her level of play (very minimal and cheap), down almost $200 before that $40 hit.
So now I'm all jacked up, and we work our way back to the Linq. G/f stops by White Castle to buy one, yes, one cheeseburger. Lines are no more. Price, $1.59+tax...ugh.
Hang at the Linq for a bit so I can have more beers. But now I have tried most of the ones I wanted to. I did add a good old standby for good measure. Dogfish Head 90 min. IPA. (img: http://www.theperfectlyhappyman.com/dogfish-head-90-minute-ipa/)
And drank this again, to hopefully help me have a “G'Knight”. On the drive back home to St. Louis I bought a 4 pack of these for $12.48+tax...craft beer is expensive... :(
Unfortunately we didn't anything of note playing so I lost at least $20.
Checked out the starbucks and purple zebra they were prepping to open in the Linq casino.
Drai's parodying “Caddyshack”
Quickly run over to Bellagio to see if there are any changes to the Conservatory for Chinese New Year. There were a few of course, but g/f did notice they kept the generic scenes similar to last year.
Year of the Goat/Sheep/Ram, etc.
Sparkly horse in the lobby:
Views from Bellagio/Bally's overpass:
Well at this point, it's about 2:30, and the g/f obviously wanted to go to bed. But now I fought through the tiredness and want to have one last crack at Bally's. Was able to end a nine-month drought of one of these at least...but it was only on pennies again...meh
G/f complains about hearing “Viva Las Vegas” from the Bazaar shops' audio again. If they don't change this, the Jubilee tower facing Flamingo will suck for noise.
Day: 7 Tues. Feb. 24th Total Rewards Hell, South Point, High Roller, KC stopover
Unfortunately, our trip is coming to an end. Also unfortunately, we kept pushing off trying to redeem one of the benefits her dad got from signing up for the TR credit card. The day before, we read the fine print saying a ride up the high roller had to be between noon and 6. It was too late by then. But we go down to the linq the night before and ask anyway. They told us we had to redeem the voucher at a TR desk, preferably the linq. But by the time we figured that out, he wasn't with us.
So we try to cram it in to redeem it in the morning at the Bally's TR desk. But before this, her Dad was generally mad about the Bally's experience and expressed this at checkout. Mainly not getting the room class we booked, only one functioning elevator for ~14 floors most of the time, and the ridiculousness of music playing all hours of the night from a shopping complex that isn't even open yet! The checkout lady didn't put up much of a fight, and neither did the manager. Resort fees waived. Honestly, the least they could do.
Now they get in line for the TR desk to open, because that doesn't open til ten. TR desk then gives them another voucher to redeem the tickets at the box office. Lol Fortunately he is Platinum, so that only takes another ten minutes as the box office also just opening. We finally get the tickets, and it sounds like they could have been either day or night...dammit. We take the day though, because we leave at 4:20 and they now leave in less than 2 hours. So we run them to the airport and drop them off.
Go to Southpoint for a bit. G/f wins, and I don't. The Island Bar has full pay STP and Ultimate X though...WOW! Play a bit of the STP, get nowhere. Then I try 8/5 Bonus w/DSTP (99.67%) on the floor. Lose $20 w/o a multiplier. Guy next to me gets four 3s dealt... also see a lady at the bar do the exact thing g/f did at Venetian...four Aces from one...jeez.
Park at Harrah's and go up the High Roller. Definitely overpriced and probably cooler at night, but still pretty neat regardless. The designed line is gigantic...maybe 1000 feet long. We waited about 2 minutes. We had one other woman in the pod with us. They have to be bleeding money on this thing... Also this thing moves faster than you think. I almost stumbled getting on it. It's definitely faster than one of those continuous slow rides at Disney World which was my expectation.
Here we go!
View of mountains:
Linq casino, Caesars, Mountains:
Flamingo, Paris, Cosmo:
Caesars, Rio:
Harrah's, Mirage:
Venetian, Wynn, Trump (who actually would stay there?)
Caesars, Orleans:
South Strip:
McCarran:
Near the Top:
Bellagio and company:
High Roller Video
Linq shopping district and pool construction:
Eat and go to McCarran. Uneventful flight home. G/f sleeps nearly the whole way. I can't sleep on a plane. So in KC, really tired again. But we had an offer at Harrah's NKC and give them a tiny amount of play. And I make another mistake, I drink caffeine.
Nice, remodeled room, but they need to drown those sheets in fabric softener. I struggled to go to bed in the end.
G/f wins a few bucks with a $20 hit on Willy Wonka and these:
I held my own...but no deuces at all this trip, meh.
A tired drive home the next morning, wallet almost $200 lighter after everything, and we miss Vegas already!
March 5th, 2015 at 3:45:32 PM
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Quote: tringlomaneBut anyway I seemed to anger my g/f by repeatedly asking her “what would you like to do?” and she basically snaps at me to stay at the Linq and she storms off. Ugh.
This sounds like something I would do!
As always, an excellent trip report - love all the photos and details
March 5th, 2015 at 3:47:40 PM
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Very nice! I appreciate all the work you put into making a quality post.
Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth. - Mahatma Ghandi
March 5th, 2015 at 4:08:39 PM
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Quote: aceofspadesQuote: tringlomaneBut anyway I seemed to anger my g/f by repeatedly asking her “what would you like to do?” and she basically snaps at me to stay at the Linq and she storms off. Ugh.
This sounds like something I would do!
As always, an excellent trip report - love all the photos and details
Haha, yeah. This isn't the first time, and probably won't be the last...lol Fortunately, it's never bad enough for her to not want to keep going back. :)
March 5th, 2015 at 4:09:34 PM
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Do u know how often they spread that mixed game at suncoast? I live in the area and would be interested in playing it.
March 5th, 2015 at 4:15:29 PM
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Quote: rudeboyoiDo u know how often they spread that mixed game at suncoast? I live in the area and would be interested in playing it.
It's been running since late January. Wednesdays starting at 6pm. It was a pain for me as I flew in just that afternoon, but I had a good time playing it. Especially since I won a few bucks...haha
I found out about it from this Facebook group page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/330166697042669/
March 5th, 2015 at 4:18:17 PM
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That's an incredible trip report!
I'll have to read for detail and might have further commentary, but it looks like you had a great time! Did you not go DT at all? Low-Limit VP player's wet dream.
I'll have to read for detail and might have further commentary, but it looks like you had a great time! Did you not go DT at all? Low-Limit VP player's wet dream.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
March 5th, 2015 at 4:27:36 PM
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Quote: Mission146That's an incredible trip report!
I'll have to read for detail and might have further commentary, but it looks like you had a great time! Did you not go DT at all? Low-Limit VP player's wet dream.
Yeah, that's the big sacrifice I made this trip. I pretty much hit most other places I wanted to go to. I'm the only one of the group that really likes downtown...and VP is the biggest reason I like it. If it would have been just the g/f and I, we probably could have made it downtown. With her mom, we depended on a car more.
March 5th, 2015 at 4:32:07 PM
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Quote: tringlomaneIt's been running since late January. Wednesdays starting at 6pm. It was a pain for me as I flew in just that afternoon, but I had a good time playing it. Especially since I won a few bucks...haha
I found out about it from this Facebook group page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/330166697042669/
Thanks. I'll prob check it out next week.
March 6th, 2015 at 8:04:45 AM
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Thats a great trip report!
March 6th, 2015 at 10:21:25 AM
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Stunning tr! Thanks for taking the time. I don't seem to have the knack.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
March 6th, 2015 at 11:57:27 AM
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RE: Zarkana
When I saw it one guy slipped and fell into the net on stage. Someone told me that this is part of the show? To me it looked like a mistake....
Zarkana is my least favorite Cirque show I've seen so far. Still need to see Zumanity.
When I saw it one guy slipped and fell into the net on stage. Someone told me that this is part of the show? To me it looked like a mistake....
Zarkana is my least favorite Cirque show I've seen so far. Still need to see Zumanity.
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
March 6th, 2015 at 2:16:12 PM
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Brilliant trip report - thanks very much!
There are now only two more sleeps until I board the 13 hour flight to the states and I'm looking forward to VP more than most (it doesn't exist in Australia. Crown and Star: take note).
As a fellow low-limit VP player, can you please help me out with a few ignorant questions?
Do you get drinks comped at the bar? If so, do you just ask the bar staff or do you need to wait for a cocktail waitress? Whenever I have played at a bar, I ordered a drink and they charged me.
Did the Mirage have playable VP (I.e. decent rules)?
How much more attractive are the VP rules Downtown compared to Strip?
Thanks a lot
There are now only two more sleeps until I board the 13 hour flight to the states and I'm looking forward to VP more than most (it doesn't exist in Australia. Crown and Star: take note).
As a fellow low-limit VP player, can you please help me out with a few ignorant questions?
Do you get drinks comped at the bar? If so, do you just ask the bar staff or do you need to wait for a cocktail waitress? Whenever I have played at a bar, I ordered a drink and they charged me.
Did the Mirage have playable VP (I.e. decent rules)?
How much more attractive are the VP rules Downtown compared to Strip?
Thanks a lot
March 6th, 2015 at 2:28:09 PM
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tring, you had my wife looking for me. I took my phone to the pot with me and 30 minutes later she was knocking on the door.
Expect the worst and you will never be disappointed.
I AM NOT PART OF GWAE RADIO SHOW
March 6th, 2015 at 2:30:51 PM
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Very entertaining trip report! Thanks for the read.
Most places will comp you if you're playing at the bar, but it depends on what you order, and sometimes your level of play. I would ask the bartender if drinks are complimentary for players if in doubt. Don't be shy.
Mirage has $5 9/6 JoB, not exactly a low roller game as 5 coin would be a $25 bet. For lower limits on the strip I would suggest Treasure Island next door, or at MGM properties MGM Grand and Luxor have $1 9/6 JoB. But the Strip is not really the place to play VP for low stakes...
Downtown VP is much, much, much more attractive for the VP player. You will find no shortage of full pay $0.25 games of whatever you like to play, as well as games that return over 100% like 10/7 DB. Since you like comped drinks I'd recommend the Main Street Station Boar's Head bar where you get 9/6 JoB at the bar plus free beer brewed on site, plus their 4 of a kind scratch card promo. Can't beat it.
Quote:Do you get drinks comped at the bar? If so, do you just ask the bar staff or do you need to wait for a cocktail waitress? Whenever I have played at a bar, I ordered a drink and they charged me.
Most places will comp you if you're playing at the bar, but it depends on what you order, and sometimes your level of play. I would ask the bartender if drinks are complimentary for players if in doubt. Don't be shy.
Quote:Did the Mirage have playable VP (I.e. decent rules)?
Mirage has $5 9/6 JoB, not exactly a low roller game as 5 coin would be a $25 bet. For lower limits on the strip I would suggest Treasure Island next door, or at MGM properties MGM Grand and Luxor have $1 9/6 JoB. But the Strip is not really the place to play VP for low stakes...
Quote:How much more attractive are the VP rules Downtown compared to Strip?
Downtown VP is much, much, much more attractive for the VP player. You will find no shortage of full pay $0.25 games of whatever you like to play, as well as games that return over 100% like 10/7 DB. Since you like comped drinks I'd recommend the Main Street Station Boar's Head bar where you get 9/6 JoB at the bar plus free beer brewed on site, plus their 4 of a kind scratch card promo. Can't beat it.
March 6th, 2015 at 3:08:05 PM
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Quote: ams288RE: Zarkana
When I saw it one guy slipped and fell into the net on stage. Someone told me that this is part of the show? To me it looked like a mistake....
Zarkana is my least favorite Cirque show I've seen so far. Still need to see Zumanity.
Well, in the show we saw. One of the guys on the high wire looked like he fell. He then grabs the wire and is able to swing himself back onto the wire. It didn't look intentional, but I will admit the recovery looked more impressive than the rest of the act!
Zumanity is the only Cirque show I can get for free from myVegas left. G/f isn't that interested in seeing it though. I also haven't heard great things about the show either.
Quote: GWAEtring, you had my wife looking for me. I took my phone to the pot with me and 30 minutes later she was knocking on the door.
LOL Sorry! I am a bit long winded!
Quote: Uranium235Brilliant trip report - thanks very much!
There are now only two more sleeps until I board the 13 hour flight to the states and I'm looking forward to VP more than most (it doesn't exist in Australia. Crown and Star: take note).
As a fellow low-limit VP player, can you please help me out with a few ignorant questions?
Do you get drinks comped at the bar? If so, do you just ask the bar staff or do you need to wait for a cocktail waitress? Whenever I have played at a bar, I ordered a drink and they charged me.
Did the Mirage have playable VP (I.e. decent rules)?
How much more attractive are the VP rules Downtown compared to Strip?
Thanks a lot
Mirage bartop VP is terrible at the quarter denomination. I would go elsewhere for that. For bigger gamblers, the lobby bar at mirage has ~99% VP at the $2 level (9/7/5 Double Bonus (99.11%), 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%), 98.91% Deuces). They have 9/6 JoB (99.54%) and 8/5 Bonus (99.17%) at the $5 level. Of course you have to bet 5 credits per hand for those paybacks...ouch.
Yeah, I get drinks comped at the bar. It's important to show your intent to play first. Shove a $20 into a VP machine, play some hands in front of the bartender, and then order.
VP downtown or offstrip is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Strip. I would consider getting a bus pass or some other mode of transport if you plan on playing a lot of VP. Main St. Station has 9/6 JoB (99.54%) for quarters at Boar's Head bar. Four Queens has 9/6 DDB w/progressives (98.98%+prog.) at their bars as well as 98.91% Deuces for quarters. Plaza has several good bartop options for quarters at the Omaha Bar.
And everything Sigsev said too. VPFree2 is a great resource which I need to organize all my newer findings and report them...bah I did a decent amount of scouting this trip to somewhat keep my gambling amount down...lol
And thanks for the compliments everyone!
March 6th, 2015 at 3:41:01 PM
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Awesome trip report!
March 6th, 2015 at 5:53:02 PM
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Thanks a lot to Sigsev and Tring for the info - exactly what I was after.
March 6th, 2015 at 9:56:57 PM
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Quote: ams288RE: Zarkana
Zarkana is my least favorite Cirque show I've seen so far. Still need to see Zumanity.
Just got back from the hike from NYNY to Harrah's. I'll try to assemble my thoughts on Zumanity in a different post. But, bottom-line, by far and away my least favorite Cirque show in Vegas. And I have seen most of the others.
There's emptiness behind their eyes
There's dust in all their hearts
They just want to steal us all and take us all apart
