Deucekies hits Vegas: Feb 2017

Day 1:

Our plane pulled in to Vegas about 11:00am. The flight was so turbulent, I almost got airsick. After my last Vegas trip was plagued by a stomach flu, I was very afraid history was repeating itself. Thankfully, Dramamine did the trick, and I was off and running.

My friends and I arrived at the Flamingo about four and a half hours before check in, so we launched right into action. First stop, the sports book. For me, $50 down on the New York Rangers to win, Chicago Blackhawks to win, and over 5.5 on the Blackhawks game.

Time to hit the tables. $200 on Free Bet Blackjack quickly turns into $500. Over to Pai Gow, and it grows to $1300.

Wanting to take a look around, I head next door to The Cromwell. Thanks to High Card Flush and UTH, $800 evaporates in the blink of an eye. Lesson learned, it's back to the Flamingo. Free Bet Blackjack remains my friend, with the help of a few hands of Pai Gow at Harrah's. At check-in time, +800.

Time to check in. I scored a free room at the Flamingo, and the $20 trick successfully bumped me to a very comfortable room on the 27th floor with a breathtaking view of Caesar's and the Bellagio.

After dinner at In-N-Out Burger, it's over to the Bellagio. Even though my goal was to play exclusively at TR properties, I'm also playing tour guide to two friends who are in Vegas for the first time, so Bellagio is a must-see. Visiting the Baccarat Bar, I decide to throw $700 down to play with the big boys. $700 is gone before I even get my water.

I still have $100 in juice left on me, so over to Bellagio's Free Bet table I go. It's the most baffling thing I had ever seen, and I made sure to comment on it. The first base player was hitting and busting against every dealer's bust card. And every single time he did that, he *saved* me. I leave the table with $700, and take it over to Double Bonus Pai Gow to win $300 more. Because the Rangers couldn't seal the deal for my parlay, day one ends +$1,000.

Day 2:

Being the first in my group to wake up, I take a walk to the Venetian to get a player's card there. In for $500 at Pai Gow, out with $1,000. I pick up another $500 at Free Bet, which I really must salute Switch for inventing such a fantastic game! $1,000 win at Venetian.

Daily sports bet in. $50 to win $100 on Capitals/Bruins money line. $100 to win $1,200ish on Capitals/Bruins money line with under-5.0s on both games.

While showing my friends around, I turn them loose to shutterbug it up while I pop into the Cosmopolitan to pick up a player's card there. After peeking around both the high limit room and the upstairs Talon Club (where I saw a player's chip stack of over $1,000,000, by the way), I fell ass-first into a Pai Gow game. $1,000 in, $2,050 out. Thank you, Cosmo.

I catch up with my friends at New York New York, where I won another $60 playing small ball Pai Gow. We do more sightseeing, and I swear that I posed for more pictures than Heidi Freakin' Klum. Eventually we make our way to the Luxor. In for $200 at Ultimate, which is quickly lost, so in for $800 at good old Pai Gow. By this point, my black chip betting has gotten the floor's attention, and after we talked for a bit and I mentioned I might like to return for Memorial Day, he summoned a host for me. I'll give her a call tomorrow to see what we can see.

My Pai Gow luck has been really remarkable this trip, because I've actually been getting really lousy hands. They just keep winning. My King High will win against a Queen High, for example. Positive $600 after Pai Gow, but $200 of it is lost back to Ultimate. I think I'm giving up on it for the trip.

After the Bruins ruined my sports bet, I went up to the room to call it a night, but got a wild hair and went to Paris. Seeing an empty roulette table, $500 in, "targeting" 17 and 26 with $5 chips. Within about a half hour, 17 hit twice. Also hit a 20 while I had a $25 tip bet on black, so both the dealer and myself came out smelling like a rose. Up $1100 from roulette, and it's off to bed.

So far, the trip is +$4,460.

Day 3:

Day 3 got off to a lukewarm start. $1,000 in at Pai Gow, gone before I could finish my coffee. Across the way to the Linq, and $500 vanishes on Free Bet, and another $500 on Roulette. It's funny how when you win $4,500 and lose $2,000 of it, you don't feel like you're up $2,500. You feel like you're down $2,000.

Staked my friend's $300 parlay for half his winnings, and he came through. After paying for lunch, a trip on the High Roller, and a few other trinkets with cash, I'm up about $2,900 as the time comes to hit Omnia Club at Caesar's. On impulse, I decided to spring $200 on a sport coat for the club. Let's pretend I lost it gambling.

Day 3 ends +$2,700.

Day 4:

Before checking out, I met with the host at Flamingo to see about making my resort fees disappear, and to discuss the possibility of a free room for Memorial Day weekend. It turned out I had enough points to pay for the resort fee, so score there. The host said she'd email me with the best offer she could, which could possibly mean me only paying for one night. If the price is right, I'll make the trip.

Check out at 11:00, and about six hours to kill before my flight, so it's time to putz down the strip. After taking my friends to see the Cosmo Talon Club, we sat down for a little Pai Gow. +$800

Next stop, Aria. I find a seat at Free Bet Blackjack with a very salty dealer, so I didn't stay very long, but long enough to win another $200.

After walking through Monte Carlo and Excalibur, the idea of ending on the $1000 high note is sounding great. But once I got to Mandalay Bay, I decided to go for a power play on Pai Gow. Big mistake. -$1,500, and then another $700 on Free Bet.

Off to the airport now. Final tally: +$1,800. After expenses including airfare, +$1,100 or so. Sorry that it ended on a low note, but still a successful trip. Very much looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend.

(This trip report was reconstructed from memory, which is why the running tally might not add up right. I'm probably forgetting some stops.)

Wow! Not sure how your friends felt. But, I felt dizzy from your whirl-wind of high-bet action. You be'cha some casino will want you back to visit it on Memorial Day.

Whew! (And, I thought I gave casinos a ton of action when I hit town.) Many thanx for a great trip report. Good luck in May.

Quote: Deucekies

Day 3:

Day 3 got off to a lukewarm start. $1,000 in at Pai Gow, gone before I could finish my coffee. Across the way to the Linq, and $500 vanishes on Free Bet, and another $500 on Roulette. It's funny how when you win $4,500 and lose $2,000 of it, you don't feel like you're up $2,500. You feel like you're down $2,000.

Great trip report! What's your average bet? $50-$100, something like that? I don't think I have the stomach for it on -EV games, even if I had the kind of $$$ where I could drop a G before my first coffee of the day is finished.

What you said in the quote is exactly how you should feel and a great way to feel, good perspective. If you could walk away with x and you walk away with less than x, then whatever the amount less than x is would be how much you should think of yourself as losing. That's a healthy perspective and anything else is a justification.

Quote: Mission146

Great trip report! What's your average bet? $50-$100, something like that?

Usually open with $50-$100 depending on what I'm playing. Then once I get comfortable and start winning a few hands, I'll start progressive betting up to $200-500 or so. Never gone above $500 yet, but if I win enough hands, I would do it.

Quote: Mission146

I don't think I have the stomach for it on -EV games, even if I had the kind of $$$ where I could drop a G before my first coffee of the day is finished.

Believe me, I couldn't do it if it wasn't winnings. If it was my bankroll, I'd play slower.