Trip report from a chip collector

Today is day one of my 11 day chip collecting trip. I drove 205 miles from Winnipeg, MB to Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, MN. I have been here 3 or 4 times before so no chip collecting here but good offers to take advantage of. I got my hotel free, $30 FP and $5 food credit.

After checking in to the hotel and picking up powerball tickets for a friend I headed to the casino. I turned the $30 FP into $30.25 playing 7/5 JoB. No good VP here. I then attempted to take advantage of a promotion where if you earn 50 points ($350 coin in) you can exchange $100 Canadian into American at par. About a $30 value as $100 Cdn will get you $70 Usd. Variance went the wrong way and I ended up losing $60 to use the promotion so I lost $30 on the promotion. Oh well. I then played some -EV games for about a hour and came out ahead $10.

I used the dining credit for dinner in the cafe because the buffet here is not for the faint of heart. I found that out a couple years ago the hard way. Had a turkey wrap and chicken soup which came to under $3 after the credit. Not sure if I will gamble again tonight, got a headache from the smoking in the casino. I don't understand how in 2016 there are casinos that allow smoking.

Tomorrow I drive to Chicago, no casino plans but I do plan on eating at Smoque which is an amazing BBQ joint I found by watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. I have eaten there every time I am in the area.

Chips collected - 0 (chips collected will be roughly 4 per casino as I grab for 3 friends as long as they haven't been to the casino)
Gas - $11.00
Hotel - $0
Food - $5
Gambling - +10.25

Maybe you can have a Meet and Greet with EvenBob

+1 for m&g

We loves dem trip reports.
Can't wait till you update tomorrow.
Drive carefully, bet big.

Quote: GWAE

+1 for m&g

Haha I can't say I have ever had a conversation with EB, does he live in Chicago?

I decided to go back to the casino and after losing $300 playing VP in the high stakes room I thought maybe I should have just gone to bed. One upside to my VP play was that I had enough points to use the exchange at par promotion 2 more times which netted me a $60 rebate.

At that point I wanted to try and get my money back so I sat down at a $25 BJ table and in one shoe won $425. End of the shoe came and I used that as a reason to call it a night. I grabbed 2 $1 chips for friends that don't have Shooting Star chips yet.

Since I am leaving in the morning I went to empty any FP off my card, I had $8 which netted me $9, yay! Overall won $192. Grabbed some late night snacks and a drink for $6 and hoping to fall asleep now.

Chips collected - 2
Gas - $11
Hotel - $0
Food - $11
Gambling - +202.25

Couldn't sleep made another return trip to casino, played $5 BJ. First shoe won every double and 70% of hands 3/4 of way into shoe, dealer change they burn a card and I don't win a hand for the rest of the shoe lol. Still up a bit, next shoe was back and forth still making doubles amazingly when needed finish the shoe up 135. 3rd shoe lost 6 of first 7 hands including a double so I ran away up $100.

Gambling - +302.25

If I would have know a fellow WoV poster was coming in to eat at Smoque, I would have bought you lunch. I work like 6 blocks from that place, although I was displeased that about a year to year and a half ago, they wouldn't allow me to count the Peach Cobbler as one of my sides anymore, I have to now get that as a dessert

Phenomenal trip report thus far PG! Lots of action and good reporting =). How many times would they have let you do the exchange promotion?

Keep the trip a comin! =p

Quote: PokerGrinder

Haha I can't say I have ever had a conversation with EB, does he live in Chicago?

I decided to go back to the casino and after losing $300 playing VP in the high stakes room I thought maybe I should have just gone to bed. One upside to my VP play was that I had enough points to use the exchange at par promotion 2 more times which netted me a $60 rebate.

At that point I wanted to try and get my money back so I sat down at a $25 BJ table and in one shoe won $425. End of the shoe came and I used that as a reason to call it a night. I grabbed 2 $1 chips for friends that don't have Shooting Star chips yet.

Since I am leaving in the morning I went to empty any FP off my card, I had $8 which netted me $9, yay! Overall won $192. Grabbed some late night snacks and a drink for $6 and hoping to fall asleep now.

Chips collected - 2
Gas - $11
Hotel - $0
Food - $11
Gambling - +202.25

The myth the legend lives in Michigan or Minnesota or something like that.

We should get a map and start putting pins in it.

Great report PG! I am glad to hear that you are up on your gaming BR. Hopefully, the trend continues...

Any pictures?

Quote: Gabes22

If I would have know a fellow WoV poster was coming in to eat at Smoque, I would have bought you lunch. I work like 6 blocks from that place, although I was displeased that about a year to year and a half ago, they wouldn't allow me to count the Peach Cobbler as one of my sides anymore, I have to now get that as a dessert

Well I would be more than happy to have company at Smoque, although you don't need to buy lol. I am hoping to be there around 6:30 tonight if you want to join.

Romes they max it out at $500/day so I could have done it 2 more times if I had reached enough points. But I only brought $300 Canadian cause that was the limit last time I was at Shooting Star.

GWAE that's a large possible area lol, would've been tough to find him somewhere in two large states.

Ayecarumba with the ground I'm going to cover a map would be amusing. Thanks hopefully variance is in my favour for awhile. I will be taking pictures but I didn't bring my laptop on this trip so I am posting from my phone. I will load all pictures when I get home, I don't take many but there will be a couple.

Well I woke up early today after a rough 5 hour sleep, so I got started on my drive early. Before leaving the casino I saw that I had $1 in FP so I spun it on a slot machine and lost, oh well. The first 30 minutes of driving was in the dark with blowing snow. Not horrible as I am an extremely experienced highway driver. I think most people would have waited it out, I didn't want to waste the time. I stopped about a hour into the drive and stopped at Mcdonalds to grab a bacon and egg biscuit and a couple diet mountain dews at the gas station ($7). Breakfast of champions!

After that I continued driving until I reached St. Paul and decided it was lunch time. I had been excited to find a Chipotle for lunch. I basically lived at Chipotle when I was living in Vegas during the WSOP this year. Decent priced and quite healthy. Even cheaper outside of Vegas, only $7 compared to $11 in Vegas, bonus! Grabbed a six pack of diet mountainn dew bottles at the grocery store ($3) and then I was on my way again. I basically live on diet mountain dew on the road, I am not into coffee very much but I need the caffeine to drive the long hours.

About 3.5 hours from Chicago I passed Ho Chunk Gaming Black River Falls and decided to stop and stretch my legs. I had been to this casino 6 months ago and collected my chip and one for 2 friends. My plan was to sign up for a club card, get whatever FP they would give me and then grab a chip for the one buddy I hadn't grabbed one last time for. I played through $20 FP and won $12 problem was I then proceeded to lose that plus $40 more. I then went and played $5 BJ. I lost 13 of the first 17 hands and didn't win two in a row. After that I went on a tear for the rest of the shoe that had me almost back at even. New shoe I win about 6 of the first 7 hands I think which put me up $50 and $10 overall at the casino with the souvenir chip for my friend already in my pocket so I decided to cash out and get back on the road.

Drove into Chicago to go to Smoque as planned for dinner. Amazing as always, seriously if you are ever in Chicago you have to go. For $22 I had 1/2 rack St louis ribs, chopped pork, corn muffin, beans and mac and cheese. All great, I tried to order a sausage but they were out, the chef/owner remembered me from last year (I talk to everyone a lot, I am a scmoozer lol) and when the sausages were ready he brought me one for free. All was great but I ate way too much. Found the hotel easily, I book all my rooms that are not Caesar properties on Expedia which saves a lot of money. Pretty much anything 2 star or better is good with me. This hotel is seriously stretching that 2 star rating but I have stayed in worse. One night won't kill me. I got hit with $6.40 in tolls and I missed another one by accident. I never purposely miss a toll but every time I am in Chicago I seem to miss at least one. Luckily they aren't going to chase me back to Canada for a toll. I checked lol.

Overall I drive 673 miles today.

Chips collected - 3
Total miles - 878
Gas - $40
Hotel - $35.43
Food - $50
Gambling - +312.25
FP - $59 turned into $51.25
Tolls - $6.40

Tomorrow the insanity starts, bunch of casinos. Lunch at a favourite restaurant of mine in Cleveland than hotel in Pittsburgh.

For anyone who is interested my end of day stops for the rest of the trip go as follows:
Thursday 14th Chicago
Friday 15th Pittsburgh
Saturday 16th Cincinnati
Sunday 17th Metropolis, IL
Monday 18th Biloxi
Tuesday 19th New Orleans
Wednesday 20th Baton Rouge
Thursday 21st Tunica
Friday 22nd Iowa City
Then home, without looking at my itinerary I think this is right.

Speaking of chips, what happened to Doc?

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Speaking of chips, what happened to Doc?

He seems to have disappeared. Hasn't commented on anything since early December. His thread has come to a stand still so maybe he is bored with the forum?

Quote: PokerGrinder

Tomorrow the insanity starts, bunch of casinos. Lunch at a favourite restaurant of mine in Cleveland than hotel in Pittsburgh.

For anyone who is interested my end of day stops for the rest of the trip go as follows:
Thursday 14th Chicago
Friday 15th Pittsburgh
Saturday 16th Cincinnati
Sunday 17th Metropolis, IL
Monday 18th Biloxi
Tuesday 19th New Orleans
Wednesday 20th Baton Rouge
Thursday 21st Tunica
Friday 22nd Iowa City
Then home, without looking at my itinerary I think this is right.

Thanks for the reports, PG, but wholly crap, that's a lot of driving! Hope you have a safe, fun, & profitable rest of your trip!

When you say Iowa City, I'm presuming you mean Riverside Casino in Riverside Iowa? There are three casinos 70 miles away in the Quad Cities. Jumers in Rock Island (nice joint), Rhythm City in Davenport (a dump but they are opening a new location next year), and Isle of Capri (typical Isle).

aw damn, too bad you are visiting Pittsburgh this evening. I would offer to meet up but we are busy tonight getting ready to leave tomorrow. Hope your stay is enjoyable.

Quote: PokerGrinder

He seems to have disappeared. Hasn't commented on anything since early December. His thread has come to a stand still so maybe he is bored with the forum?

I believe he was mad about the unable to edit thing since he always edits his list.

Quote: Joeman

Thanks for the reports, PG, but wholly crap, that's a lot of driving! Hope you have a safe, fun, & profitable rest of your trip!

It is a lot of driving but I have XM radio so I have sports talk shows all day plus lots of music. Thanks Joeman

MidwestAP I do mean Iowa City. I have all Iowa chips already. That's just where I decided to stop on my way home, last chip of this trip will be Mark Twain Casino in MO.

No worries GWAE I only slept 1 hour last night so I am going to try and sleep early. Enjoy your trip. The edit issue isn't why Doc has disappeared. The mods gave him the ability to edit the chip thread.

I will post today's trip report tomorrow in Cincinnati, I am so tired I can't see my phone properly anymore lol. Good night everybody.

Ok let's get this thread updated!

Yesterday started early after only sleeping for 1 hour in Chicago. I covered 549 miles. I drove from Chicago to Hollywood casino Toledo and just kept paying tolls. I guess you could say it started to take its toll on me... Yes I made that horrible joke, live with it.

Hollywood Toledo is big and looks like every other Hollywood I have visited. The craps table was full and they were opening a new one. I played $15 BJ for a shoe (lowest limit open) and lost $100. Went to craps and lost $200 more before I even knew what happened. A little irked now I went to a $25 BJ table, bought in for $200 and that too was gone as quick as possible. I don't mind losing but I like to at least get some play out of it. Bought in for 500 more and went up and down for a while. Lost a $100 bet doubled into a 6, I make 20 guess what dealer makes. Yup that was a sad 400 swing. Walked away from that table with 500 and sat back at the $15 table. Made a little bit not much, dealer shuffled and the new shoe was golden. Win 4 in a row, lose and then win next 7 (I add a unit to bet with every win) with a double mixed in. After dealer tips I was somehow up $30!

Got the pit boss to comp me a buffet, pretty good food. Was nice to get some veggies in my body after the last couple days. One problem I forgot that I wanted to go to Melt Bar and Grilled in Cleveland two hours later. Whoops next time in Cleveland. Maybe when they rename the place in a few months and I have to go back.

Horseshoe Cleveland is very nice but the limits are really high. This was the same with all Ohio casinos. More on that later. Anyway I played $10 6-5 BJ, I know I hate myself for it. I lost $70, collected my parking validation and left. Would have been cheaper to just pay $6 for parking.

Next up was my first WV chip at the Mountaineer casino. Another large and very nice casino, although they weren't nice to me. I lost $125 playing BJ and craps in about 15 minutes, no fun. I played $5 in FP and won $6.50, woot. Also won $40 on VP so only down $78.50 for session.

Last stop of the night was Rivers in Pittsburgh. Another ginormous casino, why are they all huge out here? I had some better luck here and won just over $100 bucks but could have been so much more. I lost my 4th huge double of the day. Seems like every time I have a big bet and get action I lose yesterday and sadly it continued today. With how bad I ran on doubles it feels like a win to lose less than $40 but I keep thinking "what if".

Grabbed food and crashed for the night finally getting a decent sleep.

Chips collected - 19 (4 for my collection)
Total miles - 1427
Gas - $91
Hotel - $92.42
Food - $68
Gambling - +297.50
FP - $64 turned into $57.75
Tolls - $33.35

I woke up at 6 am rested and started my day early. Started at near by Meadows casino, I played $5 BJ and was up $65 before you guessed it, losing another double. I think I should just surrender if I get a favourable double lol. Anyways booked a $20 win. Waited until 8 am to sign up for club card. Got it, $5FP=$4 and they gave me a muffin and bottle water for breakfast for having a club card. Bonus!

Next up more tolls! After paying over and over I got to Lady Luck Nemacolin, paid my $10 "entry fee" and used the gift card from the "entry fee" for a sandwich and drink. Played $5 BJ and proceeded to lose 10/11 doubles. Very bad variance the last two days. Oh well what can you do? I ended up losing $160 but turned $5FP=$4 so I felt like a winner... Not lol.

Wheeling island was more kind to me. First off they gave me $25FP which I got full value for cashing out exactly $25. I played craps, 5 straight bad shooters cleared the table. I came back later to play alone. Back and forth for a while until I hit a good run. Threw about 20 numbers plus two points then pulled all my bets to book a $74 win after tips. I timed it well too as I sevened out two rolls later.

I am a huge Boston sports fan. I was raised by a father who loved all Boston sports teams. With this in mind I had to be at a tv at 4:30 est. Got to Hollywood Columbus (looks like all Hollywoods) and watched the Patriots play a great game and move on. Couldn't find a table with an open spot or a decent low limit so I bought chips at a craps table and played VP winning $5 for a $1 profit at the casino. Yay!

Last stop was Horseshoe Cincinnati. These were the highest minimum bets I have ever seen. All 100 or so tables were $25 min including 3cp, PGP and Mississippi Stud and were all jam packed. I guess there is a lot of money in Cincinnati. Who knew? I walked around the beautiful casino and found a guy betting about 10k across on a craps table. His lady friend just kept rolling and rolling and rolling. He was upping bets and eventually spread around 20k across. After she finally sevened out he had won more than 100k on the one shooter. Good to be rich I guess.

I eventually gave in and played that stupid spinning wheel thing cause it was the only bet under $25 in the house. I won $2 and the 4 chips I took.

I found a Waffle House near my hotel which is great because that means I am far enough south for the yummy simple food of the Waffle House. Filled my tank at 158.9, lowest I have ever seen and now I am writing this. Tomorrow I get the rest of the Indiana chips. Stopping in supermans town of metropolis.

Chips collected - 39 (9 for my collection)
Total miles - 1844
Gas - $116
Hotel - $138.98
Food - $112
Gambling - +267.50
FP - $94 turned into $86.75
Tolls - $42.70

Quote: PokerGrinder

Got the pit boss to comp me a buffet, pretty good food. Was nice to get some veggies in my body after the last couple days.

You should've went to Scene. The food is 10 times better and the waitresses are HOTTTTTTTT!!!! :-)

Thx for posting PokerGrinder.
At close to 700 views people are reading.
Only 148,000 reads short of the 2016 Election thread but you are closing the gap.
I'm not a fan of toll roads, but what can you do.
Drive safe.
Let IBYA know where you'll be in advance and he can point you to the Hot Waitresses, and good food.

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

Thx for posting PokerGrinder.
At close to 700 views people are reading.
Only 148,000 reads short of the 2016 Election thread but you are closing the gap.
I'm not a fan of toll roads, but what can you do.
Drive safe.
Let IBYA know where you'll be in advance and he can point you to the Hot Waitresses, and good food.

Haha that's what you think, I'm 650 of those views jk. I am actually really surprised so many people have read it. Ya tolls are just part of the trip expenses, can't avoid them.

Lmao I will be sure to run my itinerary by IBYA.

Today I drove 473 miles. My day started with a short 20 minute drive to Hollywood casino in Lawrenceburg, IN. I played craps and lost $75 and then played BJ for a while going up and down until I finally called it down $72.50 for the session. Couldn't get anything going, doesn't help that my doubling luck seems to have followed me to a new day. Crazy the rate to which I am losing my doubles and splits but thus is variance. I normally keep a $1 chip unless the casino uses tokens then I take a token and a $5 chip as I hate the tokens. Hollywood Lawrenceburg uses chips that say Indiana gaming company on them with no mention of Hollywood at all. I found this weird so along with my $1 chip I took a commemorative grand opening &5 chip as it is the only chip in the trays that show the casino name. Just weird!

Next stop was Rising Star casino just a short drive away. I grabbed a club card and won $4 off $5FP. I then proceeded to lose my first 9 hands playing $5 BJ, won a couple hands but ended up losing my $60 buy in very quick. Took the $56 loss and left.

Belterra casino sticks out like a sore thumb. It is a mega resort in a place where you wouldn't expect a mega resort. Actually I found that with all 6 Indiana casinos I visited today. I went in and finally won a little back. Between BJ and craps over about 20 minutes I won $56 which offset my loss from Rising Star.

I parked at Horseshoe Southern Indiana and then proceeded to walk about a mile to the boat. I couldn't believe how far the parking was from the casino. I played about 10 hands of PG, winning $10. I saw my first ever natural 9-high no flushes/straights or pairs which is the worst hand possible. Luckily the dealer had it not me. The pit boss offered me a $15 comp on my way out which surprised me based on my play but free is free. Grabbed a chefs salad which I ate about 20 minutes ago and a couple of chocolate milks which didn't last anywhere near as long the salad.

Next casino stop was French Lick. Only thing I know about the town is what I assume most know about it, that French Lick is where Larry Bird is from. I won $5 off $5FP and then proceeded to lose $45 playing BJ after losing 2 more big doubles. On the trip if I won even 1/3 of my action hands I would be up so much money lol. I have been on the good side of extreme variance, I know it all evens out but still tough to deal with during tough runs. It's funny I never have an issue with bad variance in my poker day to day but on sides it bugs me a bit more.

At Trop in Evansville I hit and run the craps table. I won $60 in about 6 minutes and decided to book the win. No free play here for signing up just a tshirt. Shirt was a L so I gave it away as I haven't worn a large in about 10 years.

Last stop of the night was Harrahs Metropolis. Before the casino I visited the superman statue and took some pictures. At the casino I played BJ and VP losing 20 bucks. As I was headed to the cage I decided to bet a hand of baccarat. I won $25 which put me up $5 at Harrahs.

Overall another losing day but not horrible losing less than $40.

Chips collected - 68 (16 for my collection)
Total miles - 2317
Gas - $136
Hotel - $183.37
Food - $127
Gambling - +230
FP - $104 turned into $95.75
Tolls - $42.70

Why aren't you grinding at poker, PokerGrinder?

Quote: teddys

Why aren't you grinding at poker, PokerGrinder?

I almost asked the same question yesterday, then changed my mind. teddys, you Might be a rascal...
Grinder, another nice installment, thx a bunch!

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Speaking of chips, what happened to Doc?

Quote: PokerGrinder

He seems to have disappeared. Hasn't commented on anything since early December. His thread has come to a stand still so maybe he is bored with the forum?

Quote: GWAE

I believe he was mad about the unable to edit thing since he always edits his list.

Nothing nearly so complex -- sorry to be so inattentive. No, not bored -- more as if I seemed to be posting while having nothing to say. And no, not a problem about being unable to edit; it appears that I can edit an old post just as always. I would be happy to demonstrate that in the index for the Casino Chip of the Day thread if someone would just post a new chip! Perhaps PokerGrinder will have some new additions to that thread when he completes his trip.

My negligence in posting in this forum, and that some folks had apparently taken notice, was brought to my attention by a friend using a route outside the forum. And I've even been negligent in responding to that.

We haven't even been traveling, but we do plan to take off on a little jaunt by the end of this week. Driving to Miami to hop a ship for a short cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. I expect I'll pick up a chip from the ship and maybe one from another spot during the drive home, but I don't expect to get to any casinos on the islands.

BTW, PokerGrinder, if you are interested in a chip from a casino you haven't been to yourself (Remember how I have those "gift chips" on the perimeter of my collection display?), then I have a chip for you from a casino that you appear to be skipping on this trip. The catch is that in order to receive this gift, you have to attend some WoV event that I am present for. Face-to-face is the only delivery mechanism permitted!

Which brings to mind -- has anyone started discussing a 2016 WoV Spring Fling? I have some non-forum friends who noted in their Christmas card that they will be in Las Vegas in April and suggested we should meet them. Who's up for a Spring Fling in April so that I only have to buy one set of airline tickets?

Welcome back, Doc! Yes, you were missed.

April sounds good to me. I think the previous May scheduling was for 2 factors; the Wizard's birthday, and I think Nareed has to request leave months in advance or something, and she was the one doing the planning. I could be wrong.

Perhaps if the weather stays mild a WoV East meetup could take place as well, before that?

Great report keep it going! =)

I will say that you're in quite a span of states/places. At one point on your trip we were in the same casino at the same time =P... (probably 2 of the same casinos from your timeline). I wish I would have looked at the thread, I would have sent you a PM! Given the scenario, which I won't say and would be hard to guess, I'd bet you walked up to one of my tables while I was playing too.

I hope your doubles get back on the right side of things. Frustrating, but all you can do is keep doubling in good situations. Is your "Gambling" total reflective of your Free Play? Or are they totally separate so you're actually up both?

Quote: teddys

Why aren't you grinding at poker, PokerGrinder?

No time really. 12 hour days, every night when I get to final city with hotel I gamble for 15-30 mins then go crash at hotel lol. Playing tomorrow but wasn't planning on grinding much this trip. Trip was chip collecting oriented.

Doc glad to see you back. Missed you on the thread and no I'm not blowing smoke up your ass lol. I think I only have one new chip for the thread. I visited Scarlet Pearl tonight. I will do a write up tomorrow of today and I will talk about Scarlet Pearl. Which casino did I skip? I was planning on coming to WoV spring get together.

Romes sadly the doubles and splits continued to not be good today which will be in tomorrow's right up. Gambling total includes FP just thought I would show it separately as well.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Which casino did I skip? I was planning on coming to WoV spring get together.

Best I can determine from your previous posts and from your description of the current trip, you have not (yet) collected a souvenir from this casino.

For some reason, I picked up two chips from there when I visited almost six years ago. If we both make it to the 2016 Spring Fling, the extra one is for you, and you'll just have to figure out how it relates to "your" collection.

Yesterday was interesting. Extremely long day, I drove 621 miles and after all the gambling was awake for 22 hours. I woke up in Metropolis, IL around 4 am wide awake and sadly couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to just leave early.

Got to Lady Luck Carithersville to find out that it didn't open for two more hours (9am). So because I will be passing through on my way back north I decided to not wait. I kept going to Southland Gaming in Arkansas. On my way I stopped for gas and saw the oldest slot machines I've ever seen and couldn't resist playing. These machines had to be 30-40 years old. The machine was amusing and paid me $10. Anyway at Southland I turned $20FP into $20 and managed to win $20 on their computer BJ. Real dealer, real cards dealt to screen, odd!

My next stop was Silver Star and Golden Moon casinos in Philadelphia. I make a thorough itinerary before trips and had Southland to Philadelphia as 6.5 hours, my GPS informed me it was half that. Score! Nice properties, although I dislike when sister properties have a mix and match of each other's chips in play. I won $80 at Silver Star and then walked through the skywalk to Golden Moon. I wish I hadn't lol. I lost 14 of 15 hands including a double and left down $75. Oh well I guess they don't build these mega resorts to give away money. The Golden Moon has what looks like a giant golf ball on the top of it, kinda reminded me of Revel.

I visited Scarlet Pearl when I got to Biloxi. The parking was annoying but apparently they are building a garage. The casino is beautiful, reminds me of a cross between Cosmo and Wynn. I played shoe BJ and lost about $100 and then got lucky and got it back plus $30 at single deck. Dealers and pit bosses are very friendly. The pit boss comped a buffet on my limited play. The buffet was mediocre. Selection was tiny and the food was not hot, more room temperature which shouldn't happen during the dinner rush. I would again there only if it was free.

I managed to win about $65 between the Nugget and Palace. Sadly the FP had to be used on reel games and I only won $4.65 off $20FP definitely under EV. At the Nugget there was some fun in the parking lot. A drunk guy drove his SUV into the Nuggets 18 wheeler and then fled the scene, parked in the Nugget garage and tried to run... He was caught lol. Police were dealing with him when I got there.

The next few casinos didn't treat me well at all. Hard rock got me for $150, Beau Rivage got me for $100 in less than 10 minutes and Boomtown got me for $200. At least I helped with their renovation costs! I managed to recover by winning $390 playing DD at IP and then won $47 at Treasure Bay. All in all I won about $140 yesterday.

Today I'm headed to New Orleans, very short drive which will be nice. I'm headed to Mother's restaurant because it was so good last time, hopefully variance likes me today.

Chips collected - 116 (28 for my collection)
Total miles - 2938
Gas - $174
Hotel - $238.24
Food - $154.50
Gambling - +366.65
FP - $149 turned into $123.40
Tolls - $42.70

Wow!
You can't keep us updated hand by hand . (Joke)
Keep writing, I'm riding alongside you....

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

Wow!
You can't keep us updated hand by hand . (Joke)
Keep writing, I'm riding alongside you....

Well first hand today I had a 4/5 and the dealer had a 7 showing so I hit...

First off this is the first time in about 5 days that I am making my post from a real computer. I didn't bring my laptop on this trip so I have been using my little Iphone to make all my posts. I haven't even been editing them because it is just too hard.

Anyway yesterday was a short driving day only going 145 miles from Biloxi to New Orleans. I was staying at Harrah's Gulf Coast so when I woke up I went downstairs and played BJ, won $20 and my chips. I checked out of the hotel and proceeded to find lunch. I stopped at a big souvenir to grab some snow globes for my little cousins which I do everywhere I go. I then found the lunch spot that I was looking for, went in and didn't understand why I had been told to go here. It wasn't anything special so instead I drove down the street and had the lb of boiled shrimp with sausage and corn instead. Great choice! The shrimp were huge and so tasty.

My next stop was Island View Casino where I lost a little playing BJ and then got lucky to win it back on craps up two whole dollars. Sadly the club card system was down so I couldn't sign up and get FP, oh well. I then took the huge Bay St. Louis bridge on Us route 90. I might be wrong but this is the biggest/longest bridge I have ever seen. At Hollywood Bay St. Louis I was not lucky on side games, lost $99 and cashed out my $101 in chips. I headed for the door and saw a VP machine, threw a $100 in and ten minutes later I hit 4 Aces! Yay $99 loss meet your new friend $1 win!

Sadly the next casino wasn't as nice to me. I got to Silver Slipper casino and managed to lose $147.50 in less than 30 minutes. The casino is beautiful, right on the water. I also enjoyed that inside of the casino before you go up the escalators there is a wall of the history of gaming and Las Vegas as it pertains to the Silver Slipper. I love gambling history so that was very enjoyable.

I got to New Orleans, I messed up the times and arrived in the middle of rush hour. Nothing was moving so I decided to take side streets and go to Mother's restaurant for an early dinner. Last time I was here I had trouble finding it and then there was no parking. This time like a seasoned veteran I found it no problem and there was an open spot waiting for me 3 feet from the front door. I had the jambalaya and sausage again ordering too much, I did that last time too. Everything was great, only thing that was sad was that the spice level on the jambalaya was tame because they cater to tourists. It definitely had kick but I like really spicy so authentic New Orleans Jambalaya would have been better.

I then scooted over to Harrah's, I played poker for 3 hours. Game was decent although it is smaller than I usually play, not much going on in the game and I lost $38. My last stop before my hotel was Boomtown in Harvey. Every table was full so I bummed around the casino for a while. I won $30 on VP, got a spot at craps and lost $60. I left the table after 3 7 outs and won $40 on BJ. Net +10

Today I am doing a little loop of some of the LA casinos on my way to Baton Rouge where I will be staying for the night. First I am going to Cajuns Seafood to get some crawfish. I love crawfish and I love southern spices what could be bad?

Chips collected - 138 (34 for my collection)
Total miles - 3083
Gas - $174
Hotel - $286.04
Food - $181.50
Gambling - +214.15
FP - $149 turned into $123.40
Tolls - $42.70

Way to go PG! This is turning out quite nicely considering the multiple shots at your BR you are giving the casinos.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Way to go PG! This is turning out quite nicely considering the multiple shots at your BR you are giving the casinos.

Spoke too soon lol. Won at all but one casino today but the loss was big.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Spoke too soon lol. Won at all but one casino today but the loss was big.

Ouch! Sorry.

All good Aye, not a big loss for the day.

Drove 261 miles today. Went to Treasure Chest casino yesterday. Couldn't believe how far their parking lot was from the boat, it was about a 10 minute walk. I played 1 shoe of BJ and won $150. One of my favourite dealers of the trip, fast and good personality. I played until he tapped off.

Next was Amelia Belle where I hit and run the game for $50. I might have stayed longer but I made a joke to an old guy that I think didn't make him happy so I left.

Next was Cypress Bayou where I lost
$100 playing craps but one player went on a crazy roll and I ended up $6.

Belle of Baton Rouge every table was full except baccarat so I played 3 hands and left with 4 chips and a $4 profit. Hollywood casino I played 2 shoes of DD, won $40 and then turned $10FP into $7.50.

Last casino of the night was I think my worst loss of the trip. I lost $400, I couldn't win a hand to save my life. I kept chasing and couldn't win. It was bound to happen.

Today I finish up the Mississippi casinos on my way to Tunica.

Chips collected - 166 (41for my collection)
Total miles - 3344
Gas - $188
Hotel - $288.00
Food - $1213.50
Gambling - +67.65
FP - $159 turned into $129.65
Tolls - $42.70

Sounds like an awesome trip. Damn that last place biting you hard for 400! Did you just play 1 game that you lost $400 on? What was it, if you don't mind me asking?

Unless you spent over a grand on food today (possible) then you might have added a "1" in front of your Food total =P.

Keep the trip goin! Better luck coming soon I hope!

Quote: Romes

Sounds like an awesome trip. Damn that last place biting you hard for 400! Did you just play 1 game that you lost $400 on? What was it, if you don't mind me asking?

Unless you spent over a grand on food today (possible) then you might have added a "1" in front of your Food total =P.

Keep the trip goin! Better luck coming soon I hope!

That better have been one nice dinner. Or that $1000 dessert in vegas.

This has turned into my go-to thread, PG. Really enjoying the ride-along!

I've been away for a few days on my own trip (no new chips, though). I'm sorry to have missed this thread in real time! Just caught up and that was a great read.

My thoughts:

This schedule is insane. Even by my standards. Holy wow. Especially the return trip. Half of Iowa, all of MN, and part of MB all in one day?

Poker takes longer than people think, especially when chip collection is the goal. gotta get through the list, play a full blind rotation or two, etc. It's much faster to just play through a shooter at craps or a shoe of BJ.

The exchange rate is down to 1USD:1.45CAD. So losses in USD would really hurt our Canadian hero.

I'm in for Vegas in April. Later is better, but anything could probably work. And, depending on the venue, an East meeting before that also sounds good.

Quote: Romes

Sounds like an awesome trip. Damn that last place biting you hard for 400! Did you just play 1 game that you lost $400 on? What was it, if you don't mind me asking?

Unless you spent over a grand on food today (possible) then you might have added a "1" in front of your Food total =P.

Keep the trip goin! Better luck coming soon I hope!

Half and half single deck and then 6 deck. Lol no I bought this big steak dinner jk. Nope it's a typo. Thanks Romes.

Thanks for the kind words Babs I'm surprised at the following I gave gotten.

RDW yea this trip has been more crazy then even I have ever done and I've done some crazy ones. Not worried about the exchange, all my online grinding is in USD and more than half of my live grinding is as well so I'm not worried about the dollar. Most of my income comes in the good old American dollar.

I drove 413 miles yesterday, and it was a long day. I played way too much in my first few stops which made for a vet late arrival in Tunica. I stopped at a place in Baton Rouge called Ken's Seafood. Tried a crawfish boudin and fried crawfish both were great. That has been one of my favourite parts of this trip all the great food.

My first stop was Magnolia Bluffs where I played $5 BJ and got lucky early winning a split with two doubles after a BJ the previous hand which netted me a $80 win after losing a couple hands. I also netted $8.50 off of $10FP, after a little VP I was up $95.

From there I made my way to the 4 casinos in Vicksburg, MS. First stop was Lady Luck. My favourite side game to play is DD, and they had it with a $10 minimum. I played about 90 minutes here going up and down (more down) until I finally made a run at the end and only lost 36 bucks. Since I had played so long I planned on just hitting and running the next here. Riverwalk I won $22, $7 off a $5FP and $15 on BJ. Ameristar didn't go as well, I lost three straight hands with 20 but still managed to escape a $15 DD table down only $25. Finally I ended up at Diamondjacks, where there was a very steep climb of the steps to get into the casino because of the river levels. I played craps by myself and won $72. After tipping the dealers I cashed out. I was trying to ballpark how much I have tipped in the last week or so. I am a pretty good tipper, I'm not sure if I'm way off but I was thinking $200-$300 roughly. We will never know.

My next stop might have been my favourite between the variance and dinner. At Harlow's I won $52.90 off $15FP. They made me use it on a reel machine, well I obliged and hit a big bonus. I also played craps here winning $55. For dinner I checked out the buffet, I'm not usually into buffets more this looked and smelled great. It was all southern style home cooking with a shrimp theme. I had two plates, clearing my plate both times. The food was amazing and well worth the extra money from whatever dinner I might have found. Overall it was one of the best casino buffets I've had behind probably only Buchanel at Caesars LV.

Fifteen minutes down the road was my biggest loss of the day. I played BJ and quickly lost $60 then played craps with IMO one of the rudest dealers of my life and lost $80 more. Oh well can win everywhere.

I had one more stop before Tunica which was Isle of Capri in Lula. I went in and within 15 minutes won $26 on craps. Now onto Tunica.

I didn't play long at any of the Tunica casinos as I was pretty tired. Hollywood was the only one that got more than ten minutes of action. There I won $6 after being down about $100. Otherwise I played mostly craps winning at Sam's Town ($24), Resorts ($40), Gold Strike ($5), Horseshoe ($5), Roadhouse ($10) and the Fitz ($24), with my only loss being at Bally's ($30). One comment about Bally's... Eww or gross would suffice. Chips were ugly and nasty and the place had an overall dingy feel. Not sure why anyone would choose that place with so many options.

Up early today, headed back to Lady Luck Carithersville where I missed on my way to Biloxi because I got there way too early. After that I'm hitting up Isle Cape Girardeau, recollecting from Hollywood casino Maryland Heights where I previously collected in 2012 when it was Harrah's and my final stop will be Mark Twain casino.

I really can't believe how many chips I grabbed on this trip. My bag is so heavy with over 200 chips.

Chips collected 222 (55 for my collection)
Total miles - 3757
Gas - $216
Hotel - $313
Food - $265.25
Gambling - +273.55
FP - $189 turned into $198.55
Tolls - $42.70

That sounds like a long day indeed! Keep poking the little wins here and there. Hopefully they'll add up and pay for another category on your list of expenses =).

Quote: Romes

That sounds like a long day indeed! Keep poking the little wins here and there. Hopefully they'll add up and pay for another category on your list of expenses =).

Well the gambling win/loss will actually be $180 higher than it is there cause I get reimbursed for 3 of every 4 chips since they aren't for me. That is winnings since it comes from my buy ins

Rollin', rollin', rollin',
Keep those wheels a rollin'.
Pretty sweet. thx