Trip report from a chip collector round 2

Tomorrow I am heading on a chip collecting trip through Oklahoma, Lousiana, MIssissippi and parts of Kansas and Arkansas, It will be a mixture of good food, lot's of collecting and gambling and hopefully if I have planned properly this time a few poker sessions so I can at least make some money to pay for the trip. Pictures will come at the end of the trip as imgur doesn't allow me to upload pics from my phone. If anyone is interested in meeting up here is a list of where I plan on tentatively sleeping each night.

17th and 18th Kansas City, MO
19th Tulsa, OK
20th Shreveport, LA
21st and 22nd Biloxi, MS
23rd KInder, LA
24th McAlester, OK
25th Gainseville, TX
26th Clinton, OK
27th Wichita, KS
28th and 29th Council Bluffs, IA
30th Home

Quote: PokerGrinder

17th and 18th Kansas City, MO
19th Tulsa, OK
20th Shreveport, LA
21st and 22nd Biloxi, MS
23rd KInder, LA
24th McAlester, OK
25th Gainseville, TX
26th Clinton, OK
27th Wichita, KS
28th and 29th Council Bluffs, IA
30th Home

Some of your routing doesn't make sense to me. The McAlester leg of the trip really stands out as unnecessary unless you have to be there on that specific date for a promotion.

My routing is mapped out around collecting chips from casinos. That just happened to be a decent stopping point for the night as far as a cheap room and having driven quite a bit that day already.

There is a strong chance ill be in council bluffs on the 28th- you stsying at harrahs ?

McAlester is 90 minutes due south of Tulsa and would be on a possible route to Shreveport. It is a fairly small casino so I'm not sure why you would want to waste an entire day doubling back to visit after staying in Kinder.

Will the flooding in Louisiana affect your plans?

Quote: Ayecarumba

Will the flooding in Louisiana affect your plans?

I thought so but I called harrahs gulf coast tonight and they said there is no flooding issue in Biloxi.

Well yesterday was mostly a boring driving day. I drove from Winnipeg, MB to Kansas City with a few stops that covered 813 miles. It was a long freaking day!

One of the pit stops was at Dakota Magic where I stopped to check on my free play, apparently I don't get any from them anymore lol. I then AP'ed the Cleopatra machine. The trick to APing it is put money in and hit the bonus really quickly. That's how APing works right? Left up $46.

Finally got to KC and checked into my free room at Harrah's. I played through $10FP winning a whopping $2.90 and then played some VP. That's when I hit this:


Apparently I can now upload pictures from my phone to imgur. Ended up winning $60 all together on VP.
Chips collected 0 (0 for my collection)
Total miles - 813
Gas - $58
Hotel - $12
Food - $30
Gambling - +108.90
FP - $10 turned into $2.90

Quote: PokerGrinder

Well yesterday was mostly a boring driving day. I drove from Winnipeg, MB to Kansas City with a few stops that covered 813 miles. It was a long freaking day!

One of the pit stops was at Dakota Magic where I stopped to check on my free play, apparently I don't get any from them anymore lol. I then AP'ed the Cleopatra machine. The trick to APing it is put money in and hit the bonus really quickly. That's how APing works right? Left up $46.

Thank you for the advice on Cleopatra machines. I'll be able to pay my mortgage now.

Quote: bobbartop

Thank you for the advice on Cleopatra machines. I'll be able to pay my mortgage now.

I'm here to help my fellow gamblers 😅

I like the TR "Break Down" list.
Why no Chips collected yet? Do you only collect if you work a table game?

Quote: HornHighYo11

I like the TR "Break Down" list.
Why no Chips collected yet? Do you only collect if you work a table game?

No chips collected yet because I have collected from all central states north of Oklahoma previously. I'm glad you like the breakdown.

Get them UX multipliers at Harrah's!

Today I went to a BBQ place in Kansas City that I really enjoy. I found it from watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. The place is called Smokin' Guns BBQ. I controlled myself this time and didn't get the massive platter. I had the brisket sandwich with beans and fried mac and cheese.


I then drove to Hollywood casino at Kansas Speedway. One problem, my GPS took me to the Kansas City Speedway which doesn't exist and it is nowhere near the casino. I finally get there and the 2/5 game isn't running because the normal players are playing 50/100 mix games and that is way out of my comfort zone lol. Instead I played 1/3 and sat at a very juicy game and proceeded to come up with second best over and over. I couldn't fade a draw all day but that's poker. Only lost $165 which shows how soft the game was.

I went back to Harrah's and won $40 on VP. Maybe I should play -EV games instead of juicy poker games lol. Btw don't eat at the Asian place inside the casino, it is not very good at all. I guess that's what you get when you are using up food comps. Tomorrow I head to Tulsa.
Chips collected 0 (0 for my collection)
Total miles - 813
Gas - $58
Hotel - $24
Food - $50
Gambling - +148.90
Poker -$165
FP - $10 turned into $2.90

Nice report thus far PG; keep 'em coming!

Yeah, when you have a "rough" day at 1/3 and you're only down ~$140, that says something indeed =P. I wanna hear about you crushing tables!

I like how you separate Gambling and Poker, as you should =).

Quote: PokerGrinder

I then drove to Hollywood casino at Kansas Speedway. One problem, my GPS took me to the Kansas City Speedway which doesn't exist and it is nowhere near the casino.

I reported on my sole visit to that casino as part of this post, where I said:

Quote: Doc

Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS. Another GPS misadventure. Again, the app has this place in its map directory, but again it has the wrong address. Somehow they think that the casino is located on the campus of a community college several miles away in Kansas City. Fortunately, this time (which actually occurred earlier in the trip than the big GPS fiasco at Rising Star) I noticed that problem the night before the drive and made appropriate adjustments. The more annoying navigation problem in this instance was due to the fact that the casino is on the grounds of a NASCAR speedway, and many of the roads are blocked, either by gates or security personnel. Anyway, I eventually made it to the casino and managed to win $50 at $5 craps.

I eventually gave up on that GPS app. Went to GoogleMaps, and now folks seem to be saying that I should be using Waze.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Chips collected 0 (0 for my collection)
Total miles - 813
Gas - $58
Hotel - $24
Food - $50
Gambling - +148.90
Poker -$165
FP - $10 turned into $2.90

Maybe I'm alone, but I was confusing dashes with minus signs here.

Pg after the Reno disaster how did you not switch to waze

The reason that I still use my gps is because I don't have data on my phone cause it's a Canadian contract. I would use google maps if I could but it would cost me a ton so instead I get lost a couple times a trip. Btw I got lost ish again today lol.

Romes I obviously have to separate the negative and positive EV gambling. I got two outed for 500 in one pot so being down only $165 seemed pretty good to me.

Doc I think that is exactly what happened when my gps took me to the wrong raceway. Sadly I have been to Hollywood many times and still didn't notice I was going the wrong way. Whoops.

Other than free play, comp room, ap op why go to casino where you don't need a chip. You could save time and add some more collector places.

Quote: PokerGrinder

...I would use google maps if I could but it would cost me a ton so instead I get lost a couple times a trip....

On my recent trip to the northern side of the border, I established that you don't need a phone plan (data or voice) to use Google maps on your phone without it costing you anything. You could even try it out on your current trip.

I'll assume that at the hotel tonight you will have wi-fi internet service, hopefully for free. Connect your phone to that service and load Google Maps. Plan your route for tomorrow. Tell the app to store the map on your phone -- it will be good for a month but will then need to be updated.

Tomorrow, make sure you have data roaming turned off. Then start Google Maps again and plot the route again using the stored map data. The navigation should work just fine, except it won't tell you about traffic problems or update the expected trip duration.

Tonight, you can even use wi-fi service to plot and save the expected routes for each day of the trip then use those for data-free navigation until you get back to Canada. Give it a try!

Att and go phone- any old smart phone and 2 dollars a day for data - presto- you have waze lol

Quote: GWAE

Other than free play, comp room, ap op why go to casino where you don't need a chip. You could save time and add some more collector places.

Other than free rooms I'm not going anywhere I don't need a chip from?!?

Last night I couldn't sleep so I went downstairs to the casino to vulture UX but sadly someone had hit all 20 machines. Instead I played some VP and played through $10 more of FP and ended up winning about $67. Good thing I couldn't sleep.

This morning I drove to Tulsa with a couple of chip collecting stops on the way. In total I drove 396 miles today. I got lost trying to find the Osage casino Bartlesville but some nice people at the gas station helped me out. Within minutes of being in the casino I remembered why I hate Oklahoma casinos so much. They are so loud with the constant ringing the machines make, they are so smokey and the ante to play table games irks me so much. I played my FP and a couple hands of BJ walking away up $11.

Next was a stop at Osage Skiatook. I had lunch here at their grille which was a solid chicken sandwich. I then played my FP and lost almost $20 waiting for the BJ to open. I broke even on BJ after commission and tips.

I hit a third Osage casino today in Tulsa where I was in and out in less than ten minutes cause the smoke was so thick. I won $7 between FP and BJ and ran away never to return. Next was River Spirit which was very kind and gave me $15 in FP which I turned into $16 on VP. I won a whole dollar playing BJ. All told BJ commissions cost me $14.50 today which drives me up the wall paying money to play a -EV game.

Tonight I went to the Hard Rock casino to play poker. I was given $10 in FP and then went and played for about three hours. All told the game was pretty good. I never did get my seat for the 2/5 game so I again played 1/2. I won $304 so I am now up on the trip on both gambling and poker.

Tomorrow I am stopping at five more casinos before arriving at Shreveport for the night.

Chips collected 20 (5 for my collection)
Total miles - 1209
Gas - $84.50
Hotel - $40
Food - $68.50
Gambling - +245.60
Poker +$135
FP - $60 turned into $55.50

If there is a chance you may end up back at any of those casinos- I would stay away from
Signing up for a players card for such a small reward

Quote: Wizardofnothing

If there is a chance you may end up back at any of those casinos- I would stay away from
Signing up for a players card for such a small reward

95% chance I will never be at most of them again.

Well I made it to Oaklawn in Arkansas. Is this where I am supposed to make a joke about doing your sister or something like that?

Quote: PokerGrinder

Well I made it to Oaklawn in Arkansas. Is this where I am supposed to make a joke about doing your sister or something like that?

Apparently there is a lot of history to Hot Springs. I've never been there but I know Oaklawn is a premier track. Bill Clinton's mother was a huge race fan and there was always a story or picture of her in the Daily Racing Form. She died in early '94 and there was a huge funeral. She was a very popular and well-liked woman in Hot Springs.

In terms of Class-II and Class-III gaming, what did you run across mostly in Oklahoma? Did any video poker catch your eye, I mean other than something secret you would not want to write about?

Oklahoma has both- Choctaw is a mix of both

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Oklahoma has both- Choctaw is a mix of both

Thank you. But is that a mix of slots and vp? Is there actually class-II video poker?

That reminds me, one of the local Indian joints here in Northern California just put in some new machines recently, in the back where the Starbucks is. There was no vp but I went and looked at them anyway. I was surprised to see the little "bingo thingie" on them. I didn't think they did that in California. But now I know better.

I didn't look that close but they had ultimate x which to the best of my knowledge is not available in the bingo version

Quote: Wizardofnothing

I didn't look that close but they had ultimate x which to the best of my knowledge is not available in the bingo version

Thanks again, WizardofNothing. That's one good sign. Does that mean that IGT DOES make Class-II machines? I'm going to guess yes.

I'm just itching to check out Oklahoma. So many casinos, seems like it would be like a kid in a candy store.

New York has igt machines to answer your question

Quote: Wizardofnothing

New York has igt machines to answer your question

Yes, I get the drift. lol

Well yesterday turned into a crazy long 16 hour day because I messed up with what time some of the table games opened up and had to wait at two places.

At Cherokee West Siloam Springs I won on FP but lost playing BJ for a loss of $8.50. Next up was Creek Nation Muscogee. I had a hour to kill before the tables were opening so I played my FP and the cheapest slots possible to kill time. I ate a pretty terrible chicken and avocado wrap from their grille. Finally I was able to play BJ and get chips and I was thrilled to learn that they weren't charging an ante to play. Go Creek Nation!

I broke even at Roland and right now I can't even remember the casino, that's how memorable it was one day later. Next up was a stop at Choctaw Pocola. FP plus BJ netted me $15. At this point in the trip I have paid $23.50 in antes, makes me so angry paying to play a negative expectation game. Oh well what can I do if I want the chips. (Not actually looking for suggestions lol)

I then got to Oaklawn Gaming in Arkansas. Beautiful facility which reminded me of Southland Park which is on the other side of the state. I had planned a quick visit but ended up playing a slot for almost 30 minutes. I got distracted by the flashing lights I think. Ended up winning about $40 between the slot and BJ.

At this point in the night I drove the 3 hours to Shreveport while already exhausted from the long day. I got to Shreveport and figured I could hit and run all 6 casinos in just over a hour... Wrong!!! Pai how at Eldorado, craps at Sam's and margaritaville, roulette at Horseshoe, and BJ at Boomtown and DiamondJacks. All this netted me a win of 25.50 from the six casinos after tips and collecting chips.

Almost three hours later I finally got to the hotel exhausted and starving because somehow I missed dinner. There wasn't any fast food around so I raided the vending machine for lays and peanut M&Ms and went to bed.

Chips collected 64 (16 for my collection)
Total miles - 1752
Gas - $111.75
Hotel - $64.50
Food - $89
Tolls - $6.50
Gambling - +336.45
Poker +$135
FP - $95 turned into $89.50

I will do a write up of today when I wake up tomorrow, I'm in lazy mode and don't feel like doing it right now lol.

I need to get to.shreveport. been to LA 6 times now and haven't been able to make it to that part yet.

You haven't had to rent a boat yet?

Quote: PokerGrinder

Chips collected 64 (16 for my collection)

Somewhere/how I missed what this is all about -- collecting chips that are not for your collection? Whassup?

2F I haven't come across any flooding at this point.

Quote: Doc

Somewhere/how I missed what this is all about -- collecting chips that are not for your collection? Whassup?

I have three friends who collect chips and asked me years ago to grab a chip for them whenever I get a new one. They don't have the same rules about their collection as you and I do.

Yesterday was a lighter gambling day but because of how bad my hotel room in Shreveport was I was more tired than the previous day. My luck went the wrong way as I knew it would given how well I had been doing on -EV games.

My first stop was the new WaterView Casino in Vicksburg. It was formerly DiamondJacks when I visited five months ago. They have redone the outside with a new paint job but the inside looks the exact same. I won last time I was there, I definitely didn't yesterday. I lost on VP and then lost some more playing BJ. I lost $80 betting $5 a hand in about 20 hands lol. Overall I donated $150 to help cover the new paint job.

My next stop was at Bok Homa Casino which also got some of my money. I played $10 DD. I won the first three hands and then didn't win another hand before I left. All told I lost $75 there. I have to say I really hate that they use chips that don't say the casino name on them. This should be against gaming regulations in my opinion.

I arrived in Biloxi at a good hour around 4 PM. Checked into my hotel room, got them at BJ for $60 and then headed to Beau Rivage for a poker session. Poker was beyond boring, game was decent but a presidential conversation broke out and the poker game took a back seat at which point I called it a night. I got hurt pretty bad at the poker game... Lost $2... I'm still hurting from that one.
:)

Edit: I almost forgot I won $37 vulturing while waiting for my dinner. Great feeling lol.

Chips collected 72 (18 for my collection)
Total miles - 2191
Gas - $137
Hotel - $87
Food - $115.50
Tolls - $6.50
Arcade (which is like a toll) - $6.75
Gambling - +208.45
Poker +$133
FP - $95 turned into $89.50

I just ate at a place called Tasty Tails. Oh my G-D that was amazing! I would definitely suggest checking it out if for anyone that is here. It's about a 3 minute drive from the Beau Rivage.

Which way? On the strip? How did you find it?
There is an awesome snow cone place a few blocks down from beau also- going towards treasure bay

Quote: Wizardofnothing

Which way? On the strip? How did you find it?
There is an awesome snow cone place a few blocks down from beau also- going towards treasure bay

I found it online. It is one street over from beau not on the main road. It's on a side street

Quote: PokerGrinder

I just ate at a place called Tasty Tails. Oh my G-D that was amazing! I would definitely suggest checking it out if for anyone that is here. It's about a 3 minute drive from the Beau Rivage.

Biloxi is an old-time fishing town, so you have to be damn good to be "amazing" compared to the competition.

What did you order? What made it special? Curious appetites want to know.

Quote: LuckyPhow

Biloxi is an old-time fishing town, so you have to be damn good to be "amazing" compared to the competition.

What did you order? What made it special? Curious appetites want to know.

I ordered the boiled shrimp with potatoes and sausage. I've had that other places in Biloxi but what made it stand out was the sauce. The owner makes his own sauce which nobody else knows the recipe to, not even his cooks. You can get the sauce in different levels of spice but no matter how hot or mild you get it the flavours of the sauce stand out. Just amazing.

I slept in today and had a lazyish day. As I previously said I went to a place called Tasty Tails for lunch and it was amazing. The house made sauce on the shrimp, potatoes and sausage was so tasty.

I then went to Beau Rivage and played a session. 2/5 wasn't running yet so I played 1/3 and made 800. Nothing too interesting happened, had a guy punt off his stack when he made top pair top kicker in a spot which I think is an easy fold. Then again that is why I play this game for a living and most people don't lol.

I then went to Bozo's for dinner on a recommendation from a poker player. It was about twenty miles towards the Alabama border. I ordered the fried shrimp and breaded crab claws like I was told to. The shrimp came with fries, hush puppies and an onion ring. I couldn't finish it all, way too much food. I also had a problem with all the fried food as I haven't had anything fried in months.

After dinner I made my way back to Harrah's where I'm staying and gambled a little here and there. I lost $41. Tomorrow I am headed to central Louisiana, not a crazy drive I believe.

Chips collected 72 (18 for my collection)
Total miles - 2241
Gas - $147
Hotel - $109.50
Food - $167
Tolls - $6.50
Arcade (which is like a toll) - $7.75
Gambling - +167.45
Poker +$932
FP - $95 turned into $89.50

Quote: PokerGrinder

I also had a problem with all the fried food as I haven't had anything fried in months.

Whaaat? No recent hankerin' for some nice, deep-fried nuggets?

Quote: Doc

Whaaat? No recent hankerin' for some nice, deep-fried nuggets?

I told you all I would be very surprised if I ever ate a McNugget again :)

Edit: Sorry I forgot I am in the south, let me try that again.

I told y'all I would be very surprised if I ever ate a McNugget again :)

I just want to start off today's write up by saying something about the flooding in Louisiana. I drove through Baton Rouge today and couldn't believe my eyes. I was so saddened to see what is left of people's homes, businesses and belongings. It is truly sad and my heart goes out to those affected. I was amazed however how many people have come together to help clean up the mess and try and make things better than they currently are. It really puts everything into perspective for me. I am thankful for my health, my family and their health and the fact that I have a roof over my head. It shouldn't take a disaster to appreciate the good things in ones life but it definitely makes you think twice before complaining about something trivial. Sorry I just wanted to say that.

I started the day off by winning about $30 at Harrahs on sides while I was waiting for my breakfast to go from steak and shake. I drove 341 miles today from Biloxi to Kinder, LA. I made three stops. The first stop was at Paragon Casino. I have to say they might have the friendliest staff and patrons I have ever met. I absolutely loved my short time there. I got $25 in FP for signing up for a card and turned that into $25. I also won $10 on BJ and then I was on my way.

My second stop was at Jena Choctaw Pines Casino which is a class II casino that offers slots and poker. I played about a hour of poker winning $56. I had a funny two hands I cooler a guy AA<KK for stacks and then the very next hand I raise AQ and get two callers. Flop comes AQ4. I bet, old guy calls off half his stack and the other guy calls. Turn is a J I bet, the old guy puts the rest of his chips in and the other guy folds. Old man had K10 lol. Always nice to see poker isn't dead yet, it's profitable to call off half your stack with a gutter right? At least my money went to a really nice old guy. I had been talking to him a bunch before the hand and I guess if someone has to take the money why not him? I then played my $15 FP in the jumping jalapeños slot because they had no VP. I managed to run really good and win almost $32 off the FP. Yay for run good!

My last stop for the night was right next to my hotel which was nice to find out. Coushatta Casino in Kinder is very big! I played $15 FP on nickel VP and ran about as bad as you can I think. I only got $7.75 from the $15 that's tough to do on a game that pays at least 98% back. I then lost my $10 match play on roulette, I'm not really sure what the best way to play those are. I ended up winning $24 on sides before playing poker for a couple hours. I lost about $50 in a very swingy game. I was up a bit then down a bunch before getting basically even.

I have to say I am having so much fun on this trip. I love travelling, collecting chips and gambling so I'm a happy camper. Also the southern food is so good. I had some great chicken and sausage gumbo tonight. Love southern cooking.

Chips collected 84 (21 for my collection)
Total miles - 2582
Gas - $170
Hotel - $166
Food - $190
Tolls - $6.50
Arcade (which is like a toll) - $7.75
Gambling - +288.10
Poker +$931
FP - $150 turned into $153.80
Match play - $10 turned a big old zero

Quote: PokerGrinder

I raise AQ and get two callers. Flop comes AQ4. I bet, old guy calls off half his stack and the other guy calls. Turn is a J I bet, the old guy puts the rest of his chips in and the other guy folds. Old man had K10 lol.

nh sir :-)