August Vegas Trip Report

I'm flying out to Vegas in the evening of 08/16 and returning midday 8/21. It'll be a little over 4 days of gambling. I'll try to update daily while I'm there but may get lazy and post a long report once I'm back home. I managed to cobble together 5 comped nights across 3 properties both on the strip and downtown, so I'll be moving around a fair amount and likely will stop at 6-7 casinos I haven't been to before, mostly downtown.

Have a great time!

Have a great time!

Bon voyage—and good luck!

Sounds like fun! I'm looking forward to your report(s)!

Day 1 in the books. Flight delayed an hour and 45 minutes. Very frustrating. TSA precheck is great though. Highly recommended.

Lyft from airport to Linq. $14. Smooth trip. Linq itself is fine. Clean and adequate but not a low roller casino and not a super high end place either. I found it odd that the interior of the elevators are a flat color; I expected some kind of ad for the casino or a music act, etc. OSheas area smells like old beer at a frat house. Front desk upgraded me to a suite (no $20 trick from me). Room is great—1.5 baths, living room area, safe and Keutig. Sort of sideways view of the strip. Craps was largely $15 tables with 1 $10 table. Couldn’t get spot on $10 so went to Harrahs. Harrahs was all 6/5 BJ except for double deck. Those seemed to be 3/2. Got on a $10 craps table for about 90 mins. Nothing too notable other than many people loved the repeater bet without knowing what it was. Lost $80. Went over to PGT. $25 min. Had the table to myself for about 3 hours from 2-5am. Got to bank 50% hands. One dealer was especially personable. He’d turn over 3 of his tiles, announce what I was hoping he had for his 4th tile and then use his fingers to read it before flipping it over. Got up when i was back to exactly where i sat down. Asked for a discretionary comp and got nowhere. Are those no longer a thing in Vegas? I used to get discretionary comps pretty easily in AC years ago. Time for bed.

>>>>>> OSheas area smells like old beer at a frat house.
Always has; always will.

>>>>>>no $20 trick from me.
Good for you!!

I like the linq, hate the elevators

Day 2A

Went to Hash Hash a Go Go at Linq. Big mistake. Service was great as was the biscuit but the rest of the food and coffee was terrible. I ordered meatloaf hash and it was nasty. The meat didn’t seem to have any beef in it. It was white and chewy. The potatoes were cold and soggy. I won’t go back.

Walked to Bellagio and Tram to Park MGM for myVEGAS matchplay. Won the $25 bet at Park MGM. The table felts don’t specify 6/5 or 3/2. Just terrible. Seemed like to get 3/2 min was $25. All lower tables were 6/5. Although I didn’t play there Bellagio had $10 craps Saturday morning.

Headed to Luxor for more matchplay. Won there as well. Each time I was one and done. For my first time doing myVEGAS it’s gotten me +$100.

Day 2B

I expected Excalibur to be a dump but it was a pretty respectable casino on the inside. The tram from Luxor was easy. Walked over to MGM Grand to get the monorail to Bally’s. Used an ACG coupon at Nathan’s for BOGO. Played about an hour of $10 craps at Bally’s. Very good crew. There was a group of 4 guys who seemed to be simultaneously blasted drunk and coked out. Eventually the incessant singing and cheering and flexing got to be too much. At one point a guy they didn’t know bought in for $6k. One of the drunk guys thought it would be hysterical to then buy in 6 $1 bills (he had chips). High roller took it well but it was awkward. Guy next to me kept adding to his pass line bet after the come out roll. He was betting heavily for the dealers as well—that’s all good but he kept check changing 1 red into 5 white so he could add a dollar to his pass line bet and add to his hardways bets. Every roll. Also for some reason he brought a pouch of booze with him to spike his drinks from the cocktail waitress. He was doing it discreetly under the table and then putting his pouch away. Now back to Linq for a bit.

Rest of day 2

Went to the Cromwell. Really nice place. Although I didn’t play I was surprised to see single zero roulette at a $25 min. That table was empty as the $15 double zero was packed. It also has some of the only playable low limit VP on the strip. Played 96 JOB for quarters. Up $3 and a few beers after an hour. Played EZ Bacc at a $15 table. Two white guys were really into tracking the results of prior hands and being incredibly superstitious. Won $120 after an hour. Played PGP. Fun table and great dealer. She and the floor had some good stories about the grasshopper infestation a few months back. Apparently they were flocking to the Luxor light and getting fried. Caused Luxor to turn off the light. Then went to see Zumanity at NY NY. It was free from MyVEGAS so def worth it but I wouldn’t be thrilled if I paid retail. Half of the acts were variants of the same aerial performance and most of them were mediocre. Then Tram pack to Linq. Wanted to kill time at a game to get drinks. Ended up winning $30 at 3CP. Had never played before but strategy is trivial and they had a $5 table.

Quote: TinMan

Then went to see Zumanity at NY NY. It was free from MyVEGAS so def worth it but I wouldn’t be thrilled if I paid retail.

That about sums up my opinon as well of Zumanity as well. One and Done for that show for me.

We do try to get enough myVegas points to go back and see KA and BEATLES LOVE as often as we can, probably every other trip.

Quote: TinMan

I was surprised to see single zero roulette at a $25 min. That table was empty as the $15 double zero was packed.

It will always be that way.

A five dollar table and you not only got your free drinks but also thirty dollars. Great.

Day 3A

Dropped $80 on quarter 96 JOB at Cromwell. Despite the loss, it is definitely a place I’d like to return to. Checked out of Linq and heading downtown. Decided to take the tram to SLS since it’s on the way. Signed up for a card and got $10 slot play. Lost it all. Saw a completely empty $5 craps table. Bought in and was the only shooter for a good 25 minutes. Nice to have an empty table. 4/10 buy bet vig on win only. Asian dealer tried to be friendly but kept butchering my name. I tried to correct it but no luck. Guy eventually comes up with $2k in black. Betting $100-$200 DC, no odds plus props. Eventually drops his $2k and asks for a marker. Pit boss says system shows he’s maxed out. I dropped $180 and grabbed Uber to Downtown. With the setback this morning, I think I’m down $100 or so. Hopefully better luck downtown. Have one night there.

Day 3B

Ubered downtown. Spent the afternoon going through ACG coupons. Two memorable stories: the D had a “push on 22” coupon. Took me 90 mins before I busted with a 22. Wound up winning over $300 just trying to use that coupon. Walked to El C and played some SD BJ. Fun game. I went from $5 to $10 once and didn’t get back roomed so I felt left out of the fun. It was a nicer casino than I expected. There was a $5 Bacc game—never seen that before. Walked to Plaza. They were really trying to push bingo. I got 2 separate $25 bingo matchplays. I’ve never gambled on bingo and don’t really know what to do. Went to the bingo hall and they didn’t have any games for a few hours so I just left. I hate to leave match play behind but didn’t want to return. Checked into MSS. I really like it. Buffett was better than expected for $14. Most of the hot food was pretty cold but otherwise really impressive. Played a bunch of full play 10/7 double bonus. After a cold start, picked up 2 4OAK in 5 hands at $1 denom and I was back in action. Played a bunch of craps too. Tried 20x odds once and lost. Came out about even on craps, up appx $200 on VP and appx $80 on BJ. Played with some very friendly Hawaiians. I can definitely understand the stories of this being a place for Hawaiians. Saw the Berlin Wall segment in the bathroom. It’s built into the wall behind thebutinals. Slightly disappointed it’s behind plexiglass so I put can’t actualky pee on the Berlin Wall.

Quote: TinMan

...She and the floor had some good stories about the grasshopper infestation a few months back. Apparently they were flocking to the Luxor light and getting fried. Caused Luxor to turn off the light...

I didn't think about that... I wonder what it was like to see it from a guest room. I imagine rivers of fried hoppers sliding down the glass sides of the pyramid, with an occasional pile blocking the view entirely.

I am enjoying your report TinMan. Thanks for posting.

Day 4A

Played some double bonus. Hit 2 4OAK at 50 cent denim and still lost $100 overall. Headed to craps. Lost $200 betting only $5 pass and $50 odds. Most notable thing is a guy and woman bought in for 10k. Both early 60s maybe. Dressed casually. This is at like 11am. Several staff came to watch the count. They were only playing with the second lowest tier card (based on the color). First shooter they had about $4k placed. Immediate seven out. Similar for the second shooter. I was the third shooter. Saw the wife buy in $200 more. Again placed about $2k. I was hoping to have a good roll as always but also hoping they might throw me a chip if I had a long roll. No luck. I think I hit 2 craps numbers after establishing the point and then 7. They were done in 3 shooters and left. To their credit, not a word of complaining. They also waited to buy in until the previous shooter 7d out. Great etiquette but didn’t work out for them today. Headed to the buffet. ACG coupon for 50% off. Great meal for the price. Time to check out.

Quote: TinMan

...a guy and woman bought in for 10k...

What denominations in chips did they give them? $8k in purple and $2k in black?

Good guess. Pit asked if they wanted “all brown” which is their $500 chip. Couple asked for $2k black and $8k brown.

Quote: TinMan

They were done in 3 shooters and left. To their credit, not a word of complaining. They also waited to buy in until the previous shooter 7d out. Great etiquette but didn’t work out for them today.

It has never done much good to bemoan your fate and wail about what might have been.

Day 4B

Checked into final hotel of the trip. Played poker for a few hours and won a little over $100. There was a freeplay promotion drawing at table games so sat down for some $10 PGP. It was really fun until the last 2 minutes. I had been banking every time it was my turn. The players were fine with it, although one woman who spent over an hour with non-stop stories about her bad luck with the side-bet made grumbled about it. Most people didn’t know why you’d ever want to bank and we’re just confused by it. I thought that was odd since i had won multiple copies as banker but they didn’t get it. Anyway, dealers were fine with it and honestly did a very good job until the final dealer. She tapped in just as it was my turn to bank. Outgoing dealer told her I like to bank and this seemed to set off the incoming dealer. Every motion that she did was unnecessarily aggressive. She was slamming chips and cards down and generally seemed pissed off. When it came time to compare hands, she did so very quickly. At one point I thought I won a hand but she mucked the cards immediately. When I asked she loudly said it was a push. I had had 3 drinks in the past 3 hours so it’s very possible I missed something but it was still an aggressive response. I played one more hand and then colored up. I was careful to give her a round amount with no “excess” that couldn’t be colored up (that is, $300 instead of something like $268 where those 3 white chips can’t be colored up). She assumed that I had miscounted and pushed 5 dollar chips and a red to the side. Eventually she realized it was a round number being colored up and pulled all the chips together but it was very sloppy and just angry. Getting some food new and then back to something other than PGP.

Nice TR so far!

Quote:

Outgoing dealer told her I like to bank and this seemed to set off the incoming dealer. Every motion that she did was unnecessarily aggressive. She was slamming chips and cards down and generally seemed pissed off. When it came time to compare hands, she did so very quickly. At one point I thought I won a hand but she mucked the cards immediately. When I asked she loudly said it was a push. I had had 3 drinks in the past 3 hours so it’s very possible I missed something but it was still an aggressive response..

I would have called the floor over. 3 drinks in 3 hours is not all that much and you are entitled to clarity. You are not paying for doubt or rudeness.

Quote: TinMan

Day 4B

Checked into final hotel of the trip. Played poker for a few hours and won a little over $100. There was a freeplay promotion drawing at table games so sat down for some $10 PGP. It was really fun until the last 2 minutes. I had been banking every time it was my turn. The players were fine with it, although one woman who spent over an hour with non-stop stories about her bad luck with the side-bet made grumbled about it. Most people didn’t know why you’d ever want to bank and we’re just confused by it. I thought that was odd since i had won multiple copies as banker but they didn’t get it. Anyway, dealers were fine with it and honestly did a very good job until the final dealer. She tapped in just as it was my turn to bank. Outgoing dealer told her I like to bank and this seemed to set off the incoming dealer. Every motion that she did was unnecessarily aggressive. She was slamming chips and cards down and generally seemed pissed off. When it came time to compare hands, she did so very quickly. At one point I thought I won a hand but she mucked the cards immediately. When I asked she loudly said it was a push. I had had 3 drinks in the past 3 hours so it’s very possible I missed something but it was still an aggressive response. I played one more hand and then colored up. I was careful to give her a round amount with no “excess” that couldn’t be colored up (that is, $300 instead of something like $268 where those 3 white chips can’t be colored up). She assumed that I had miscounted and pushed 5 dollar chips and a red to the side. Eventually she realized it was a round number being colored up and pulled all the chips together but it was very sloppy and just angry. Getting some food new and then back to something other than PGP.

What casino was this? As mainly a PGP player, I would not have put up with that final dealer. You must have more patience than me.

Orleans. I like the poker room and low limits and free rooms. The casino itself is run down and below average compared to other off strip properties I’ve seen on this trip

Quote: TinMan

Orleans. I like the poker room and low limits and free rooms. The casino itself is run down and below average compared to other off strip properties I’ve seen on this trip

Interesting. I played Pai Gow there quite a bit in April and the dealers were fine (not particularly friendly, but competent). They seem to have quite a bit of PGP business there so I’d expect the dealers to be able to handle players banking without getting an attitude.

Maybe they sent her in as a Cooler. TinMan did mention that he was winning.

So great idea with Vegas diary there!

End of Day 4

After a brief nap in the room after PGP, headed to poker room. Got into 8/16 Omaha game. A few minutes in a guy sits down with 4 racks. He didn’t seem drunk just very very talkative. Proceeds to raise/cap most hands preflop and generally pump money into the pot post flop. He was toking the dealers very well too. He burned through 4 racks in about 2 hours. I was hoping to get some of that but the cards didn’t treat me well. Dropped $80.

Went to blackjack. Guy next to me had one of the higher level players cards. He couldn’t get enough of one of the side bets. He asked if he could play on my spot. It was a bet based on the initial 2 cards so there wouldn’t be any potential for conflict on strategy. I let him play on my spot. The side bet hit a few times on my spot but not all that often. He tosses me a red to play on my main bet. Did that a few times. He wound up busting. His BJ play was poor/ scared. He’d put out $65 get dealt an 11 vs 4 and then double for less at $50. Eventually I colored up up $60 or so.

Walked over to craps. By this point it was late and I was tired. Lost a few bets and wanted to call it a night. No reason to play if not fun. Dropped $80 or so. Bed time.

Day 5A

Woke up late. Had my favorite type of buffet, a comped one. Hit up the poker room. 8/16 Holdem. Played for about 4 hours and won close to $400. No really memorable hands. Just got KK once and JJ once and picked up decent pots. Then some smaller hands along the way. Saw a guy get kicked out. I didn’t catch the reason but saw him arguing at the podium and security was there. He kept asking “I just wanna play poker. You’re not going to let me play poker?” They answered his question. Security guards were big guys. I’ve seen other casinos where the guards look to be 90lb 23 year old kids. He left without too much trouble. Back in the room to figure out a plan for tonight. I have one more myVEGAS reward I could redeem but would need to hop in an Uber.

The Big Burlies are often summoned when a guest has ignored all polite suggestions. In addition to size they have all the equipment at their belts. They are more forceful than diplomatic.

Day 5B

I had a myVEGAS reward for a buffet at Mandalay Bay. I had already used 3 this week so it wasn’t clear if I’d be able to redeem it. Took a chance a ubered over. Desk clerk noted I’d redeemed 3 rewards but allowed me to redeem the buffet too. That was a pleasant surprise. Buffet itself is small. Shockingly small. There was no line at 7pm to get in. I enjoyed it but I’d be disappointed if I paid retail for it ($35 or so). I went to Bellagio buffet last year—it was slightly more but significantly bigger and better food.

Quote: TinMan

Day 5B

I had a myVEGAS reward for a buffet at Mandalay Bay. I had already used 3 this week so it wasn’t clear if I’d be able to redeem it. Took a chance a ubered over. Desk clerk noted I’d redeemed 3 rewards but allowed me to redeem the buffet too. That was a pleasant surprise. Buffet itself is small. Shockingly small. There was no line at 7pm to get in. I enjoyed it but I’d be disappointed if I paid retail for it ($35 or so). I went to Bellagio buffet last year—it was slightly more but significantly bigger and better food.

My experience is that Wynn and Bellagio buffets are both very good and about equal. In my opinion only the Caesar's buffet is better.

Day 5C

Ubered to Palace Station. Wanted to play some cheap tiles and saw they had full pay double bonus up to dollars and FPDW for nickels. Tile game was fun. I walked up and one Asian guy looked shocked I sat down. It was like a spaceship landed and Spongebob Squrepants got out. I can’t do justice to how surprised he was. Another Asian guy was very friendly and talkative. One thing I’d never seen before is “group banking”. When it was a players turn to bank, dealer asks every player how much they want to bet as banker. One hand is dealt to the lead guy, who sets the hand for all of the co-bankers. Typically he’d pass a tile or two to another person at the table. They’d each read the tiles with their fingers and apparently discuss what they had. It was different and since I was betting $10 It wasn’t a big deal if he set the tiles differently than I would. Oddly enough, never lost a group bank hand (maybe one at most?). Sat there for maybe 2.5 hours and group banked maybe 20 times. Mostly pushes. Ultimately left up about $30.

Went to play FPDW just to do it. Nickels are boring but I like deuces. Played for 30 mins and switched to 10/7 double bonus. Started at 50 cents denom and moved up and down depending on how I was doing. At one point at dollar denom got AAKQJ 4 to a royal in clubs. 1/47 shot at $4k. Ditched the off suit ace and held my breath. Never had a royal and have played mostly 25 cent level so this was a significant sweat. Push the button...5. No royal. Oh well. Still ended up up $90 for VP. Hopped in uber back to orleans at about 2:30am.

The group banking is good, particularly for any relative neophytes who come along and know the math involved but also now have an opportunity to "hire" the skills of more experienced players.

As to buffets, we all have different standards. I like to avoid long lines, judge by the foods I select, not by what they display. I think most of them are all "sticker prices" these days.

Quote: TinMan

Day 5A

I didn’t catch the reason but saw him arguing at the podium and security was there. He kept asking “I just wanna play poker. You’re not going to let me play poker?”

Sounds like you met Axelwolf.

Quote: TinMan

Day 5C

One thing I’d never seen before is “group banking”. When it was a players turn to bank, dealer asks every player how much they want to bet as banker. One hand is dealt to the lead guy, who sets the hand for all of the co-bankers. Typically he’d pass a tile or two to another person at the table. They’d each read the tiles with their fingers and apparently discuss what they had

Thanks for explaining this! I tried to describe it in the trip report I'm writing, but really didn't know what was going on.

We didn't do the "read the tiles with our fingers" part, though.

One interesting note about group banking: the dealer asks each person how much they want to bet. It’s not automatically your last bet. I didn’t confirm with the dealer but it appears that the collective max is the collective amount bet on the previous hands. That means that if someone else co-banks for less than they bet the prior hand, I believe you can take up the balance, which would reduce the overall house edge. That said, the dealers weren’t chatty in English so this is a little bit of trying to figure out what the rules were. I was able to co-bank 20 after betting 10 but when I asked to co-bank 25 another time, dealer said no.

Day 6

Early flight. Woke up early and played craps for 45 mins. Won $30. Grabbed a quick breakfast and Uber to airport. One great thing about Boyd casinos is a comped room also comps the resort fee. I always ask for a receipt just in case of any issue later. Receipt the desk clerk gave me made me laugh—had a few lines at the top with my info and then 98% of the page is blank. Overall trip looks to have been up 700 or so with a total hotel cost of 80 for Linq resort fees

Quote: TinMan

Overall trip looks to have been up 700 or so with a total hotel cost of 80 for Linq resort fees

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your adventure with us. good luck with future Co-Banking adventures.

Nice trip report

Finally back home and wanted to inventory the casinos I visited and give my final quick impressions on each. Before I started I estimated i'd see 6-7 casinos I hadn't seen before. Turned out to be more like 15. Most I was only in for 15-60 minutes. Any place with an asterisk below I stayed at for more than 2 hours.

*Linq: Never been there before. It grew on me. Wonderful hotel room. Great location. Love the tram stop. Cover band each night was above average. No playable VP but reasonable limits for table games. Pit did feel a little cramped. Hash House A Go Go was awful.

*Harrah's: Never played there before. Reasonable $10 limit on craps. Great PGT game. Dealers were friendly and I was able to play for a solid 3 hours alone during graveyard. Decor isn't special at all.

*Cromwell: Great place. Playable VP--full pay JOB. 100x odds, beautiful to look at, single 0 roulette for $25. I'd really like to stay there.

Flamingo: Why would anyone play here? Cromwell is next door and much nicer. I walked through quickly because it was on the way to/from Cromwell. I will say that their choice of headliner (Donny and Marie) is the most perfect fit between a casino and a performer that I ever seen. An over the hill act that was semi relevant 40 years ago at a casino that was semi relevant 50 years ago.

Bellagio: Quick stop at Mlife desk and picked up tram. Saw $10 craps and $25 PGT. Beautiful as always. I think the conservatory is nice, but I don't understand all of the "oohs" and "aahs" about it. The awkwardly moving elements reminds me of a fancy version of the band at a Chuck E Cheese.

Park MGM: Weird painting color. Casino did feel open, which I like. Didn't like how they disguised 6/5 BJ payouts (other places did this too, but I noticed it here first).

*Luxor: Nicer than I expected. I enjoyed the design from the inside. Didn't get to ride the diagonal elevators, unfortunately. Camped out a a penny slot (and played for a penny a spin) for a bit to relax after a lot of walking around, order a drink and formulate a plan for the rest of the day.

Excalibur: Much nicer than I expected. I expected a worse version of Circus Circus.

MGM Grand: Eh. Takes forever to walk anywhere. Nothing special I could see from the inside. Asked a question at the bell desk and the person was very nice.

*New York, NY: Felt very different from the other casinos. I like the design of restaurants built into a city street design. Very open and airy. Didn't gamble there, but seems like a place I'd enjoy. Design felt like what Paris is going for, but better executed. Ate a crepe and it was great--$10 and packed full of sliced steak and mushrooms, freshly made. Was forced to check a backpack with the bell desk before entering the Cirque show. Luckily I got there early and someone told me, otherwise it's a good 10 minute walk each way and that could cause an issue if you got to the show right before it opened.

*Bally's: Fine. The good BJ game was $50 min (S17, LS, 4 decks?). Last time I was there it was $25, which I would have played. $50 was too much. No real character to it. My only positive associations to it are because my father used to play and stay there a lot.

Paris: Pretty casino. I've been there several times before so it didn't really stand out.

*Mandalay Bay: Buffet was surprisingly small. Casino itself was very pretty. Wide walkways. Mlife desk is in a weird spot in the middle of the casino. Felt like it should have been along a wall. Tables full on a Tuesday night. I thought the shark reef was free, but now realizing that may be another casino.

*The D: Friendly dealers and a nicer casino experience for downtown. I won over $300 there, so I may be a bit biased, but I'd go back.

Freemont: Pretty interchangeable with most Boyd Casinos. Ate some greasy Chinese food. Craps only 2x odds. Good location though. I had originally booked a room here before moving to MSS. Glad I made the change.

Golden Gate: Stopped by to use ACG coupon. Cramped. Noticed no bacc (this seemed to be a theme for downtown casinos based on a quick walk through).

Downtown Grand: Did not like this casino. Out of the way, the rules to get free slot play were unnecessarily complicated, seemed to have very few table games. Felt like a sad version of a kid's arcade.

Plaza: I found the jerky store endearing. They really pushed bingo.

*Main Street Station: If they had a poker room, this could easily be my "go to" place to stay in Vegas. Great VP, great craps, great BJ rules, connection to California. Cheap and acceptable buffet. I had 2 brewery beers and enjoyed both (should have had more). I enjoyed the history and woodwork and stained glass.

California: more modern than I expected. Nice looking sports book. Double odds only on craps. Pedestrian bridge from MSS and walk through Cal and then Binion's can reduce the amount of time you're walking outside at night if that's a concern. Decidedly nicer and more modern than other Boyd casinos.

El Cortez: far away from the rest of the casinos in that area. Far less run down than I expected. Single deck BJ is great. They had a cooler of ibeers on ice next to the tables. I'd go back.

4 Queens: walked through quickly. Nothing exceptional. I had been there once maybe 15 years ago and believe I played some $3 roulette. Crowded and small, but it is downtown.

Golden Nugget: I think I stopped in to use an ACG coupon, but can't remember anything about it.

Binion's: Walked through quickly. I don't see the appeal of taking a picture with $1MM.

*Orleans: poker room is the real selling point. Buffet is acceptable for the price. Low limits on the games and very good BJ rules. Rooms are dated but functional. I spent parts of 2 days looking for the NSUD VP listed on VPfree2. No luck. I must have checked 100 machines. The VPFree2 directions did not point me in the right direction. They may have removed those games, or it could be on a machine I didn't check, but I did look through a ton in every VP bank.

*Palace Station: Out of the way, but I'd stay here. Excellent VP and cheap tiles. Modern and clean on the inside. I believe there was a poker room as well, which is important to me.

SLS: Very nice property. Open feel. Clean and modern. Must take the tram to get there. Not reasonably walkable otherwise. I'm not sure I'd want to stay there because out of the way.

Not a casino, but the tram was great. I got the 24 hour pass and used it 5 or 6 times. Much cheaper than cabs and very frequent service. Fastest way to get up and down the strip. Made it possible to see a lot more casinos that I otherwise would have been able to see.

Nice casino summary!

Quote: TinMan

*Orleans: ... I spent parts of 2 days looking for the NSUD VP listed on VPfree2. No luck. I must have checked 100 machines. The VPFree2 directions did not point me in the right direction. They may have removed those games, or it could be on a machine I didn't check, but I did look through a ton in every VP bank.

I have seen those two banks of 25c NSUD at the Orleans recently. The machines have lesser games on them in 5c and 10c so you must first select 25c on the main menu then the game to see the paytable you are seeking. Otherwise if you just select NSUD on the main menu, it will show you the 5c game. These machines and most others revert to the lowest denomination if they have not been played for awhile. Maybe you did this but a lot of folks do not.

Quote: TinMan

El Cortez: Far less run down than I expected. I'd go back.

I felt this way too. I thought it was going to be really old, but it seemed well maintained and pleasant!

Quote: smoothgrh

I felt this way too. I thought it was going to be really old, but it seemed well maintained and pleasant!

I vaguely recall a remodel maybe 6 or 7 years ago. Old or not, I've always liked it. I liked seeing the old man walking around when he was alive. A lot of history there.

Tin Man made a good trip report. Thanks to Tin Man.

Ah, I must have missed them. Where are they? Between the poker room and the food court area?

Quote: TinMan

Ah, I must have missed them. Where are they? Between the poker room and the food court area?

Yes, one of the banks is a big bank of ten uprights, five on each side, between Subway and the poker room.

Welcome back home and many thanks for your full casinos review. It was helpful for me.

Quote: TinMan

One thing I’d never seen before is “group banking”. When it was a players turn to bank, dealer asks every player how much they want to bet as banker. One hand is dealt to the lead guy, who sets the hand for all of the co-bankers. Typically he’d pass a tile or two to another person at the table. They’d each read the tiles with their fingers and apparently discuss what they had.

This was the de rigueur method whenever I played at Harrah's. The co-banking experience is some of the most fun I've had at the tables, especially when you're playing with a bunch of drunk Asian men. One time I played and the banker wanted to spread out all four tiles to four different people. According to the rules, you're only supposed to divide the tiles between two people at most, but this guy had been betting fairly big for hours on end so the pit boss allowed it.