2023 Gambling Trips
BASICS
I'll kick off this thread with my first gambling trip of the year: one night in Atlantic City, NJ. For the first time, my girlfriend (GF) came on this trip. She has been to a casino before years ago (she said she went to Revel),but has never really gambled on anything and was about as green as they come.
TRANSPORTATION
Bus ride from NYC to AC was totally fine. Arrived at Tropicana at 1pm. 30 mins earlier than scheduled. Bus back was delayed by an hour. No real explanation. Thankfully no additional traffic so we got in only an hour late.
ROOM
Checked into hotel early (no early check in fee). 1 night comped. I should have researched which tower was best because I think we got the oldest tower possible--Chelsea Tower. It was a hike from the casino floor. The GF really liked the room. She liked the 70s aesthetic (it is similar to how she likes to decorate her place). Lots of quirky items, like parrot base lamps. I just thought it was old, but it was non-smoking and large and free. Shower had good pressure. Coffee maker and safe in the room. Quiet room with a view of the ocean (from the side).
LAUREL LOUNGE
After we put our things down, we walked down. I got an email that the Laurel Longue had just opened 2 days before. Sure enough, it was open for lunch. We sat down. Unlike Harrah's AC, the entree isn't served to you. Rather, there were 3 entrees on a buffet, plus salad and a few other small things. One quirky issue--they give you 2 plates and say that's all you're getting. You can only go up twice for anything that would go on those plates. So you load up the two plates and then there were some things that you could get as much as you wanted (soup, desserts). The soup was broccoli cheddar. GF loved it. I'm not a fan of heavy soups. Entrees were roast chicken, meatballs and a shrimp pasta. Meatballs were blah but the rest was good.
We ended up getting brunch at Laurel Longue the next day before checking out. They said normally it's closed on Mondays, but was open today for the holiday. Food was pretty standard--eggs, bacon, French toast, muffins, etc--but tasty. One odd thing--I asked for apple juice and they didn't have it. Got orange juice instead.
GF PLAYS VP AND LOVES IT
After Laurel Longue the first say, I signed her up for a Caesar's card. They gave her $5 freeplay for signing up. I suggested we play it through some VP since I saw some machines nearby. They had 8/5 JOB. Not a great game, but for 4 spins it was acceptable. I thought that was going to be it. We play the 4 spins at $1.25 hand she loved it ($3.75 left). She asked if we can sit down and play more. She plays through the $3.75 at $1.25/spin and loses it. She puts in $10. I knew she didn't want to gamble much, so I suggest she play 1 coin in to learn what she's doing and not burn through all $10. I've never seen anyone so happy to bet 25 cents, make a pair of Jacks and get 25 cents back. She was full on high fiving for 2 pair (50 cents). Hand clapping and cheering for a full house. It was really sweet. At first I would ask her to guess what she thinks the right hold is, and then confirm or tell her the right hold and why. She picked it up pretty quickly, but she kept having a hard time seeing small pairs. Like maybe 15% of the time she had a hand like 4QK742 she would ask if holding QK was best and then I'd tell her to look again and she'd see the 44. Over the course of 24 hours there, she probably played 25 cent 8/5 JOB for like 2-3 hours with me sitting next to her. She learned how to order drinks from the machine and loved it. At one point I showed her deuces wild. She thought it was a fun novelty, but liked JOB better. Toward the end I showed her a 10-play machine and she was amazed. I couldn't find a 100 play or else I'd have shown her that. She really got into it. In total she put $20 into VP and after all that cashed out for $20. She kept saying how fun it was and how she'd like to play it more in the future.
TILES
I sit down at a tiles table. She takes the empty seat next to me. She has no idea what's going on. But she's totally amused at watching me play. I try to explain some basic things, but she's not getting it at all. She really likes Dragon Head Phoenix Tail delivery, so I default to asking for that every time I bank. Before we sat down, I predicted that at some point an Asian man will sit down and bet huge. I have the table to myself (with her there) for about an hour and then an Asian man sits down, bets $400 and quickly ramps up to $1500 or so. He lost a few hands to start and then won a few. Maybe played 10 hands total. I think he came out even or one bet up. In total, I think I played maybe 2 hours of tiles with her and another 1.5 hours after she went to bed. She had no idea what was going on, but she said she found it funny to watch. In total, I won about $100 on tiles.
CRAPS
They had an individual bubble craps machine with a big two person seat, so we sat down. Min only $1, so I put $1 on the PL and explained the game. She pushed the button. We played together there for maybe 20 mins and I won $20. Then we walked to the real craps table and there were 2 open spots. I bought us both in and told her to put $15 on the PL. She liked throwing the dice and actually had a really good roll. She missed hitting the back wall once and the dealer told her to hit it so she rocketed the dice after that. A hard throw every time. Never went off the table. One dealer was a bit curt. At one point I wanted to show her a place bet so I told her to put down $20 and ask for an $18 8. She put it half in the Come and half touching the place bet area. Dealer was very stern in telling her where she can and can't put chips. It was literally the first time she put a bet down and it was still 50% on the Come so I thought that was a bit overkill. We played about an hour and the combined bankroll was $15 loss.
HIGH CARD FLUSH
They had $10 table. We sat down. I bought us both in and the dealer was again surly. I think he thought I was playing 2 hands so he was trying to tell me I had to bet $20 (standard if you're one person playing 2 hands). I told him she was playing her own hand and he eventually let it go but he pressed twice. I don't get why he thought I was trying to pull something--when we put the money down I put my card with money under it and her card with money under it--we were 2 people each playing a separate hand under 2 separate cards. Anyway, GF loved high card flush. She thought craps was fun but had too much going on. She liked only having to look for 1 thing, as compared to VP where she'd have to scan for pairs and straight draws and the like. Unfortunately, the table was cold. I lost a 5 card flush. Guy next to me says he's never seen anyone lose a 5 card flush. I think it was Ace high too. (dealer had a better 5 card flush). Oh well. Combined bankroll lost $190.
One other odd thing was the dealer refused to color up a few people. There were at least 2 instances where someone asked for a color up as they were leaving and the dealer looked at their chips and said they should just carry it to the cage. One guy had about $200 in green. Another person looked to have about $75 in red. Both times the dealer wouldn't color them up.
DINNER
We ate at Chicky's and Pete. Both got the Tuscan sandwich. It was excellent. Crab fries were solid too. Heavy meal but tasty. Came out to about $43 before tip.
TRIP TOTAL
I think I lost about $100 overall. She came out even. Beyond the gambling, it was a really fun trip. I regret that we didn't make it to another other casinos or walk the boardwalk but maybe another time.
Can you PM me the location of the VP machine that gives you six starting cards? JK
Partial Quote:
Quote:Like maybe 15% of the time she had a hand like 4QK742 she would ask if holding QK was best and then I'd tell her to look again and she'd see the 44.
(Bold Added)
Sounds like the crew hates tokes. I've never played Tables there, so I don't know if this is typical. Actually, I don't think I've ever played tables anywhere in AC, but I may have at Golden Nugget once...don't quite remember.
Down $100 for a day and a half isn't bad at all.
Oh, wait, I did make one bet at Harrah's that lost just because I'd never played the game before, so wanted to cross it off the list. Face up Pai-Gow Poker, I think it was.
Quote: Mission146Cool report!
Can you PM me the location of the VP machine that gives you six starting cards? JK
Partial Quote:Quote:Like maybe 15% of the time she had a hand like 4QK742 she would ask if holding QK was best and then I'd tell her to look again and she'd see the 44.
(Bold Added)
Sounds like the crew hates tokes. I've never played Tables there, so I don't know if this is typical. Actually, I don't think I've ever played tables anywhere in AC, but I may have at Golden Nugget once...don't quite remember.
Down $100 for a day and a half isn't bad at all.
Oh, wait, I did make one bet at Harrah's that lost just because I'd never played the game before, so wanted to cross it off the list. Face up Pai-Gow Poker, I think it was.
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Thank you!
Yeah it was odd. Some of the dealers were a bit better. At tiles, two of the dealers got into the flow of what I was doing (banking every other hand with the same delivery) and I didn’t have to request it. I was also tipping fairly regularly at tiles, as I usually do. One time at craps my GF quickly sevened out and said “I’m not good at this.” I said “there’s no skill. Just luck and math.” The base dealer looked over and nodded and said something quietly like “that’s right.” I placed $1 bets on the 6 or 8 a few times while she was there (+EV in AC for the dealers) and she said thank you each time. But yeah overall the dealers seemed a bit standoffish. A few dealers were really pushing side bets, which I ignored. One of pit bosses at tiles was really friendly and chatting us up a lot. That was nice.
$100 down is totally acceptable. I’ve had those disaster days where I lose at everything and find myself down $1000. We probably got more than $100 in value just from the Laurel lounge So glad we could take advantage of that perk.
Regarding a refused color up. It’s possible, and happens, that the table had a semi recent fill of red/green and then gamblers proceeded to lose a bunch more of them, leaving the rack over filled with red/green. In this specific circumstance it’s common for dealers to refuse color ups, but being AC probably just as likely a grumpy bitter dealer who wishes AC is still what it was 30 years ago.
Quote: DRichTinman, I love the fact that your GF enjoyed playing and gambling at low stakes. Having lived in Vegas for 30 years I still always enjoyed watching people enjoy gambling. Most Las Vegans are cynical about gamblers because they are so jaded by losing for years. I enjoy when somebody is clapping and screaming when they hit a flush or full house. I don't care how much they are playing, they are enjoying themselves. Most Las Vegans would be "Tell her to shut up she only hit a flush and is playing one coin. What a loser."
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I concur! I wish people would enjoy an evening of gambling entertainment like they do in the commercials for casinos — excited about having fun! And it's also great that she enjoys a little video poker fun so you two can spend time together playing. I'm so happy that I showed my wife how to play video poker and get comped drinks. She has mostly switched over from playing high-stress table games to relaxing with me over drinks. It makes the time spent in the casino a lot more enjoyable.
Thanks for the detailed report!
Quote: smoothgrh
*Clipped Quote in quote*
I concur! I wish people would enjoy an evening of gambling entertainment like they do in the commercials for casinos — excited about having fun! And it's also great that she enjoys a little video poker fun so you two can spend time together playing. I'm so happy that I showed my wife how to play video poker and get comped drinks. She has mostly switched over from playing high-stress table games to relaxing with me over drinks. It makes the time spent in the casino a lot more enjoyable.
Thanks for the detailed report!
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You can tell which people go to the casino for "money" vs. the ones that know they are there for entertainment by the look on their faces as they get breakeven/small win hands/payouts.
Gambling is always fun with other people to enjoy it with though!
Going to AC with my father. One night comped at Caesar’s. I was a bit surprised. The rate calendar showed a significant cost for a Saturday night. I earned 5,000 tier credits, mostly from Caesars app sports betting. They send an email every 5,000 tier credits saying you get a free night. I wasn’t expecting it to work on a Saturday night but no issues at all. Plan is to be there for the better part of Saturday and Sunday. Will post some updates.
Commute
Drive in from NY was rainy but otherwise uneventful. Driving back now and it’s also raining. I kind of like that. Makes me feel like I didn’t miss a nice weather weekend to go gamble.
Room
Used the online and kiosk system to check in. The diamond line was short but not moving at all. There’s a lot of work being done at Caesar’s and it’s affected the check in process.
Room itself was fine. Forum tower. View of the street. Bathroom was dated and old. Bedroom area clean and up to date. Felt like 2 different rooms at times. Coffee machine in room but didn’t use it.
Craps
Played a few short craps sessions. Generally $15 with $20/$25 odds. Didn’t go well. All told down about $200 at craps. Nothing really notable other than 2 odd interactions with other players. One older guy to my right. Like 80. He’s at the end of the table. I’m in the hook. Die goes off the table and lands resting between the edge of the table and his stomach. He sees the die puts his hands to the side and tells me the get it. It was odd. I told him I wasn’t going to touch him. It’s literally resting on his stomach. He was old but his hands worked fine. Eventually someone else reached in and grabbed it. It was especially odd because it was like the second roll I was at the table for.
Another odd interaction later. Guy walks up to the table with 4 direct bet vouchers. Puts one on the line and tells me to put another Down. It’s his voucher with his name. I have no idea if I’d get in trouble for betting his voucher so I say no. He whines several times. Like 6-7 times. I tell him if he wants it down he should put it down. It was odd because he could have just used it for the next come out roll. He eventually puts it down and the PL wins. He gets paid and put notices two vouchers used at the same time but didn’t say anything to the guy. It was such an odd interaction.
Tiles
Dealers were efficient but not especially friendly. The table was supposed to be open at noon. I’m there at like 12:15 and dealer is at table with the dice but no tiles. The cover is on the chips. They were in the process of setting up. I say ok, I’ll sit and wait for the game to start. Dealer yells “you can’t sit here!”. I’ve sat at tables that were opening and it was never an issue. The cover was on the chips too. I don’t get it. Overall at tiles I think I won maybe $75 or so. Probably played 4 hours or so overall.
VP
Caesars has rearranged their VP area. I had to scout for the 96 JOB. Took some time. I should have realized it would be in the section all the way in the back. Far back. VP Free said 2 machines but there were 6. Twice had 4 to a Royal but missed. Drink service is through the machine. I like that very much.
Overall I think I lost maybe $75.
Father
He likes 3CP and 4CP with all the side bets. I try to tell him the side bets are bad and he says things like “But when you get 3 of a kind you get $700” or whatever it was. Saturday he lost his bankroll and called it a night very early. Sunday we only played a little bit before leaving. He recouped $100
Diamond Lounge
Only about 2 months old. I asked a guard where it was and he said it didn’t exist. I asked someone else and they pointed us in the right direction. Food on Saturday was ravioli, sliced steak, chicken, rice and clams. It was very good. I’d say it was better than Trop and not as good as Harrahs. No soup.
Misc
Temperature on the floor varied widely. May be a function of proximity to the boardwalk doors. In VP area so hot. Elsewhere pretty cold.
Lots of work being done at Caesar’s.
Walked over to ballys. Wild Wild West had no table games. Ballys only had maybe 25% table games open on a Saturday. Overall seemed quiet for a Saturday.
I had 2 $10 free plays. One won and one lost.
Overall, I think I’m Down about $250. Maybe $300. Not bad considering I gambled maybe 9 hours Saturday and 2 hours today. Plus free room and meals so can’t complain.
Quote: TinManTrip Report
Craps
Played a few short craps sessions. Generally $15 with $20/$25 odds. Didn’t go well. All told down about $200 at craps. Nothing really notable other than 2 odd interactions with other players. One older guy to my right. Like 80. He’s at the end of the table. I’m in the hook. Die goes off the table and lands resting between the edge of the table and his stomach. He sees the die puts his hands to the side and tells me the get it. It was odd. I told him I wasn’t going to touch him. It’s literally resting on his stomach. He was old but his hands worked fine. Eventually someone else reached in and grabbed it. It was especially odd because it was like the second roll I was at the table for.
Another odd interaction later. Guy walks up to the table with 4 direct bet vouchers. Puts one on the line and tells me to put another Down. It’s his voucher with his name. I have no idea if I’d get in trouble for betting his voucher so I say no. He whines several times. Like 6-7 times. I tell him if he wants it down he should put it down. It was odd because he could have just used it for the next come out roll. He eventually puts it down and the PL wins. He gets paid and put notices two vouchers used at the same time but didn’t say anything to the guy. It was such an odd interaction.
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As a group, craps players are the most superstitious bunch in the casino. Not sure where that started, but whatever. Sadly, quite a few are too lazy to help find/retrieve a die that has landed somewhere off the table. In both instances, the end result is slowing down the game and everything that often entails.
You did the smart thing and declined to bet the voucher for the other player. Sounds like you had a good time overall. Better luck on your next trip to the casino.
Flights were booked with miles. Total hotel cost is $113. I could get that down to about $80 or so but it would require staying at a property where I don’t like the gambling.
Plan is to work NY hours most of the days and only take1-2 vacation days. We have some summer half days so will only need to be online 4 hours some days.
With Caesars significantly reducing tier credits for online sports betting, it’s now a little dicey on whether I’ll hit diamond this year. I’m at a little over 9k tier credits currently. Hopefully this trip will add 1-2k tier credits by the end of it. I’ll be low rolling at Caesar’s properties for 5 days.
Booked one cheap show so far (magician at planet Hollywood). Will look into the Palms buffet. And maybe wicked spoon as well.
Have the LVA book for coupons and some MyVEGAS. Plan is to play UTH for the first time. Plus lots of craps, VP and PGT. Probably a little BJ and High Card Flush. Linq usually has $5 games midweek.
Will post trip updates. I know it’s far off but if anyone knows of anything notable going on at that time, I’m all ears.
2023 Vegas trip started today. This will be my longest trip--9 nights. Day started with some uncertainty. Due to Hurricane Hillary, a ton of flights were cancelled into LAS. JetBlue cancelled an earlier flight. I kept expecting mine to be cancelled as well, but it went off more or less on time.
Arrived in LAS. Uber was asking $40. Lyft claimed $20. I booked Lyft and 15 mins later said no drivers available. Try again. I tried a more expensive option at $27 and that was filled immediately. Slight rip off, but oh well. It wasn't raining when I arrived, but several of the streets on the drive over had a few inches of water.
Checked in Harrahs on kiosk. All comped. Ok partial view of Mirage and TI. Room is fine. Smells a bit off. Like wet carpet, but very slight. Does have safe and coffee maker. Shower has one of those awful half walls. I hate those.
Went down. Worst news of the day--Harrah's took out their tiles table. I was here in December and it was around then. Oh well. That sucked. Last I saw, Paris had tiles too, but I believe only on weekends and holidays. I'll check it out tomorrow and see if it's open. I'd prefer to play tiles at Caesar's properties for tier credits, but may need to head to bellagio or MGM grand or palace station.
Went to Crapless table. Bought in for $200. Made one $18 place on 8. That lost. I asked dealer about buying 2/12. She said auto buy at $20 and vig on win only. I started with a $20 2. That hit for $119. I then took the 12 as well for $20. Kept betting both for about an hour. I'm pretty sure that's the best standalone bet in the house. One woman kept tossing the dice off the table, but she rolled for a while each time. Hit a really good streak for me. After an hour, I was up about $515 minus some tips along the way. Nice change to have a big win on short playing time. I think tomorrow I'll see how far I can push it for $1 vig. I'm guessing at least $30, maybe $35.
Running total: UP $515.
A coffee maker in Vegas ! ! ! So you got a deluxe room ? ? ? Woot woot.Quote: TinMan.....Does have safe and coffee maker.
Worked from 6am-2pm. Got a bacon crunch burger from Bobby flay, no sauce. It was good. Walked to O’Sheas. Played UTH for the first time. $5 table. Friendly table. Dealers were very slow. Up $55 after 90 mins. Walked to Cromwell. They had a $10 craps table. I lost $100. Went to a $5 UTH table there. One dealer was absurdly fast. If you motioned toward your chips she started flipping cards. I lost $100 there and left. Even when it was just me playing she rocketed through the hands.
Walked to Paris. I knew tiles wouldn’t be open and it wasn’t. There was a guy making a huge fuss over baccarat. I didn’t catch what happened but he kept asking for them to Check the tapes. He was betting black and purple chips.
Walked to bellagio and pit said tiles might open at 8. It was about 7 and I didn’t wait to wait. Walked to harrahs. Had Singapore noodles from noodle bar. It was great but a bit small. Back to crapless. Bought in for $200 and did $20 2/12. Nothing was hit. I was out after 5 shooters.
Back in the room now. Tired. Not sure if I’ll go back down. Time change is hitting me.
Day total: down $350 or so.
Trip total: up $165 or so.
Quote: TinManI decided to make one thread for all of my 2023 gambling trips.
BASICS
I'll kick off this thread with my first gambling trip of the year: one night in Atlantic City, NJ. For the first time, my girlfriend (GF) came on this trip. She has been to a casino before years ago (she said she went to Revel),but has never really gambled on anything and was about as green as they come.
TRANSPORTATION
Bus ride from NYC to AC was totally fine. Arrived at Tropicana at 1pm. 30 mins earlier than scheduled. Bus back was delayed by an hour. No real explanation. Thankfully no additional traffic so we got in only an hour late.
ROOM
Checked into hotel early (no early check in fee). 1 night comped. I should have researched which tower was best because I think we got the oldest tower possible--Chelsea Tower. It was a hike from the casino floor. The GF really liked the room. She liked the 70s aesthetic (it is similar to how she likes to decorate her place). Lots of quirky items, like parrot base lamps. I just thought it was old, but it was non-smoking and large and free. Shower had good pressure. Coffee maker and safe in the room. Quiet room with a view of the ocean (from the side).
LAUREL LOUNGE
After we put our things down, we walked down. I got an email that the Laurel Longue had just opened 2 days before. Sure enough, it was open for lunch. We sat down. Unlike Harrah's AC, the entree isn't served to you. Rather, there were 3 entrees on a buffet, plus salad and a few other small things. One quirky issue--they give you 2 plates and say that's all you're getting. You can only go up twice for anything that would go on those plates. So you load up the two plates and then there were some things that you could get as much as you wanted (soup, desserts). The soup was broccoli cheddar. GF loved it. I'm not a fan of heavy soups. Entrees were roast chicken, meatballs and a shrimp pasta. Meatballs were blah but the rest was good.
We ended up getting brunch at Laurel Longue the next day before checking out. They said normally it's closed on Mondays, but was open today for the holiday. Food was pretty standard--eggs, bacon, French toast, muffins, etc--but tasty. One odd thing--I asked for apple juice and they didn't have it. Got orange juice instead.
GF PLAYS VP AND LOVES IT
After Laurel Longue the first say, I signed her up for a Caesar's card. They gave her $5 freeplay for signing up. I suggested we play it through some VP since I saw some machines nearby. They had 8/5 JOB. Not a great game, but for 4 spins it was acceptable. I thought that was going to be it. We play the 4 spins at $1.25 hand she loved it ($3.75 left). She asked if we can sit down and play more. She plays through the $3.75 at $1.25/spin and loses it. She puts in $10. I knew she didn't want to gamble much, so I suggest she play 1 coin in to learn what she's doing and not burn through all $10. I've never seen anyone so happy to bet 25 cents, make a pair of Jacks and get 25 cents back. She was full on high fiving for 2 pair (50 cents). Hand clapping and cheering for a full house. It was really sweet. At first I would ask her to guess what she thinks the right hold is, and then confirm or tell her the right hold and why. She picked it up pretty quickly, but she kept having a hard time seeing small pairs. Like maybe 15% of the time she had a hand like 4QK742 she would ask if holding QK was best and then I'd tell her to look again and she'd see the 44. Over the course of 24 hours there, she probably played 25 cent 8/5 JOB for like 2-3 hours with me sitting next to her. She learned how to order drinks from the machine and loved it. At one point I showed her deuces wild. She thought it was a fun novelty, but liked JOB better. Toward the end I showed her a 10-play machine and she was amazed. I couldn't find a 100 play or else I'd have shown her that. She really got into it. In total she put $20 into VP and after all that cashed out for $20. She kept saying how fun it was and how she'd like to play it more in the future.
TILES
I sit down at a tiles table. She takes the empty seat next to me. She has no idea what's going on. But she's totally amused at watching me play. I try to explain some basic things, but she's not getting it at all. She really likes Dragon Head Phoenix Tail delivery, so I default to asking for that every time I bank. Before we sat down, I predicted that at some point an Asian man will sit down and bet huge. I have the table to myself (with her there) for about an hour and then an Asian man sits down, bets $400 and quickly ramps up to $1500 or so. He lost a few hands to start and then won a few. Maybe played 10 hands total. I think he came out even or one bet up. In total, I think I played maybe 2 hours of tiles with her and another 1.5 hours after she went to bed. She had no idea what was going on, but she said she found it funny to watch. In total, I won about $100 on tiles.
CRAPS
They had an individual bubble craps machine with a big two person seat, so we sat down. Min only $1, so I put $1 on the PL and explained the game. She pushed the button. We played together there for maybe 20 mins and I won $20. Then we walked to the real craps table and there were 2 open spots. I bought us both in and told her to put $15 on the PL. She liked throwing the dice and actually had a really good roll. She missed hitting the back wall once and the dealer told her to hit it so she rocketed the dice after that. A hard throw every time. Never went off the table. One dealer was a bit curt. At one point I wanted to show her a place bet so I told her to put down $20 and ask for an $18 8. She put it half in the Come and half touching the place bet area. Dealer was very stern in telling her where she can and can't put chips. It was literally the first time she put a bet down and it was still 50% on the Come so I thought that was a bit overkill. We played about an hour and the combined bankroll was $15 loss.
HIGH CARD FLUSH
They had $10 table. We sat down. I bought us both in and the dealer was again surly. I think he thought I was playing 2 hands so he was trying to tell me I had to bet $20 (standard if you're one person playing 2 hands). I told him she was playing her own hand and he eventually let it go but he pressed twice. I don't get why he thought I was trying to pull something--when we put the money down I put my card with money under it and her card with money under it--we were 2 people each playing a separate hand under 2 separate cards. Anyway, GF loved high card flush. She thought craps was fun but had too much going on. She liked only having to look for 1 thing, as compared to VP where she'd have to scan for pairs and straight draws and the like. Unfortunately, the table was cold. I lost a 5 card flush. Guy next to me says he's never seen anyone lose a 5 card flush. I think it was Ace high too. (dealer had a better 5 card flush). Oh well. Combined bankroll lost $190.
One other odd thing was the dealer refused to color up a few people. There were at least 2 instances where someone asked for a color up as they were leaving and the dealer looked at their chips and said they should just carry it to the cage. One guy had about $200 in green. Another person looked to have about $75 in red. Both times the dealer wouldn't color them up.
DINNER
We ate at Chicky's and Pete. Both got the Tuscan sandwich. It was excellent. Crab fries were solid too. Heavy meal but tasty. Came out to about $43 before tip.
TRIP TOTAL
I think I lost about $100 overall. She came out even. Beyond the gambling, it was a really fun trip. I regret that we didn't make it to another other casinos or walk the boardwalk but maybe another time.
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Was thought this is a "Gambling Tips"🤣🤣🤣
anyway, I have read through your trip, I wish I could replicate your trip but I am lacking of a girlfriend LOL!
Didn't make it back down to the casino last night. Went to sleep and woke up early. Feeling better adjusted to the time zone change today. Headed down to casino. Empty. Sat at $5 UTH. Server came by twice and I got coffee quickly each time. Big cup, pretty decent coffee. By myself for over an hour. One dealer kept coughing. Another dealer was better. Friendly. Eventually woman sits down and first takes out a fistful of assorted bills from $50s down to $10s. She looks at the money several times before handing it over. Dealer counts out $340 and then she realizes it was the wrong stack of money. Apologies and takes it back and buys in for $1000 with 8 hundreds and 4 fifties. Seemed like a weird mistake to make, especially since she looked at the money several times first.
Anyway, she was playing quarters. On one hand, both she and the dealer had a full house. Board was something like 33477. She has Q3 and dealer has 35. Dealer announces that they both have a boat, but her Q kicker beats him. Pays her off on a chop. No one says anything and the game moved on. About a $150 mistake. Dealer was otherwise pretty good, although twice he didn't read my hand correctly. I played for about 90 mins and won $15.
Today total so far: up $15
Running trip total: Up $180 or so
Rough afternoon. Had to take a call in my room. Then back to UTH. $5 table. Was down more than $200 at one point but clawed back to Down $85.
Walked to Ellis Island. One surprise—VPFree2 is incomplete. I found 9/6 spin poker JOB in “high limit”. Pleasant surprise. First lost $20, then won $35 from LVA free play and later won $30 more. So up $45 in real money at VP.
Went to cafe. Half off LVA coupon. Got salmon. It was tasty but tiny. Really small portion. At half off, not worth it. Left still hungry. Total came to about $11.50 with tax and half off, plus tip on top. Not recommended. Wish I got the steak instead even though can’t use LVA coupon for that.
Played $5 craps. Got Down $100 and put out $50 odds twice. Lost both. Down $200 at craps.
Walked to Park MGM. MyVEGAS $25 and $15 match play. First lost 17 vs 20 for $15. Then had 8/2 vs 7 for $25. Doubled for $50 more (they let me double on the matchplay). Pulled a 10 for 20. Dealer turns over 7/7/7. Ugh. Down $90 for BJ.
Tram to Bellagio. Walked to planet Hollywood. Lost $50 more at $5 high card flush.
Trip overall: down $200 or so maybe?
This is At Ellis island in “high limit”. Unless I’m misreading something this is full pay job and vpfree2 is incomplete (I will say vpfree2 is excellent and free so I’m not criticizing at all).
(I don’t know why photos show up upside down sometimes.)
I bought a ticket to see Nathan Burton magic show in Planet Hollywood. Only $20. He's not Penn and Teller. But for $20 it was fine. The show was pretty run of the mill. Roughly 75% of the illusions boiled down to thin people appearing and disappearing out of a box with suspiciously thick walls.
Tried to get lunch at food court in Horeshoe and Flamingo. I have comp dollars to use, but neither place would allow me to charge to my room. Came back to Harrah's and Noodle place let me charge general tso's chicken to the room. $20 meal, but at least there was a good amount of chicken.
Played some crapless. $20/$25 on the 12 only. Didn't hit it once. Lost $170.
Walked to Linq. $5 UTH. Friendly table. Everyone else betting the progressive. On a flop of KKK, guy next to me turns over K2. He won the minor. About $1370 or so. Took a few minutes to verify and then they paid him out. He tipped about $30. Dealer seemed a little disappointed. A lot of the play I've seen at UTH is poor. People checking down Ace hands, etc. Dealers looked surprised whenever I'd call with 10/3 on a QQAK9 board. I'm pretty sure that's right--15 cards beat me < 21. Anyway, won $55 at UTH.
Back to Harrah's. $15 craps. One guy was really friendly and told the dealers every bet was 50/50. Lots of two way hard ways and bets for the dealers. I was betting $15 PL and $20-30 odds. Some really good rolls. I ended up winning $530.
Two interesting things at the table. Dealers were talking about a guy who hit $2.2M at something. I assume a slot. But he had no ID. They said he looked well over 21 (about 45), but without ID they wouldn't pay him. Everyone said he'll definitely come back with an ID soon, but today is Tuesday and apparently he hasn't come back yet.
Also, someone got kicked out. No one knew what he did but there were 4 security guards and suit around him as he cashed out. When they pointed him to the door, he didn't move. They put handcuffs on him and pushed him out. He had a conference thing on his neck. He wasn't outwardly belligerent at that point, but maybe he was earlier.
Running Trip total: Up $220 or so.
Quote: TinMan<snip>Dealers looked surprised whenever I'd call with 10/3 on a QQAK9 board. I'm pretty sure that's right--15 cards beat me < 21. Anyway, won $55 at UTH.<snip>link to original post
TinMan,
I don't play UTH, so perhaps I'm missing something about counting the cards that would beat you. I see 3 each of A's, K's, and 9's; 2 Q's; and 4 J's: a total of 15 cards... But wouldn't you also lose to any pocket pairs of 2's through 8's plus 10's?
At any rate, I have been enjoying this thread, but since this is only your third gambling trip, you still have 2020 more to go to reach your goal of "2023 Gambling Trips" mentioned in the thread's title ;-)
Dog Hand
Quote: DogHandQuote: TinMan<snip>Dealers looked surprised whenever I'd call with 10/3 on a QQAK9 board. I'm pretty sure that's right--15 cards beat me < 21. Anyway, won $55 at UTH.<snip>link to original post
TinMan,
I don't play UTH, so perhaps I'm missing something about counting the cards that would beat you. I see 3 each of A's, K's, and 9's; 2 Q's; and 4 J's: a total of 15 cards... But wouldn't you also lose to any pocket pairs of 2's through 8's plus 10's?
Dog Hand
link to original post
Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is for purposes of counting outs, to only count single cards that can beat you. Ignore all 2 card combinations, like pocket pairs or suited card combos.
Separately, my understanding is you often call for a push, even if you're playing the board, so long as there are fewer than 21 cards that beat you. So, if the board is AAKQ10 you're supposed to call with anything, even 2/3 because only 15 cards beat you, the rest are pushes. (If this is wrong, please correct me as I did this a few times and got some looks).
Quote: TinManQuote: DogHandQuote: TinMan<snip>Dealers looked surprised whenever I'd call with 10/3 on a QQAK9 board. I'm pretty sure that's right--15 cards beat me < 21. Anyway, won $55 at UTH.<snip>link to original post
TinMan,
I don't play UTH, so perhaps I'm missing something about counting the cards that would beat you. I see 3 each of A's, K's, and 9's; 2 Q's; and 4 J's: a total of 15 cards... But wouldn't you also lose to any pocket pairs of 2's through 8's plus 10's?
Dog Hand
link to original post
Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is for purposes of counting outs, to only count single cards that can beat you. Ignore all 2 card combinations, like pocket pairs or suited card combos.
Separately, my understanding is you often call for a push, even if you're playing the board, so long as there are fewer than 21 cards that beat you. So, if the board is AAKQ10 you're supposed to call with anything, even 2/3 because only 15 cards beat you, the rest are pushes. (If this is wrong, please correct me as I did this a few times and got some looks).
link to original post
Correct
A few interesting and surprising things today.
Worked from 6am to 2pm. Had a slice of pizza from the food court. Not great, but reasonably fine for $10. Vegetarian slice.
Uber to Orleans. Plan was to play a $150 OE tournament. Bought in. Had some time to kill so went to $5 UTH. For the most part uneventful, except for the final hand. I was planning to get up soon anyway to head to the poker tournament when this hand came up. I had 10/9 and board was KKK22. I forget what the dealer had, but she was playing the board as well. One player tried to fold, which resulted in the rest of the table stopping her. I think that threw off the dealer. I was the first to have my hand exposed. I was playing the board, as was the dealer. For some reason, she paid me as if I won with a full house. It should have been a push. I didn't bet the trips. So all should have been a push. The pit was watching too. Anyway, she paid me, moved to the next hand and started to seem confused about what she did. I grabbed my chips and headed to the cage. Even with the mispay, I lost $35, but it would have been worse if she didn't pay the push.
Entered the tournament. Starting stack 20k and I was never above 50k. I kept hovering around 2-5 big bets for like 3 hours. They were only going to play 6 people. I was all in several times and kept chopping. I don't think I ever won a stud 8 hand outright. So many garbage hands with an occasional chop. I manage to last to 8 handed play. I had 16k chips with blinds at 12/24k. They were only scheduled to play 6 so 2 more people needed to bust. I was by far the short stack. Someone brought up the idea of an ICM chop. I thought there was 0% chance everyone would agree but they agreed to run the numbers. TD comes back and gives everyone numbers. I was set to get $148 for my ~1 small bet stack. I didn't think there was any chance the other 7 people would agree to a chop in that situation. I certainly wouldn't if I had a meaningful stack. But the TD comes back with the numbers and everyone agrees, except for one woman who was on the phone with someone. I could hear her say "there's someone with 1 bet left. Maybe I'll wait." She went back and forth for a solid 3-5 mins until finally agreeing to a chop. I couldn't believe they all agreed to it. I took my $148 for less than one big bet and called an Uber back to Harrah's. I was fully resigned to not cashing. It was literally 3 hours with 2-5 bets. I played for 6 hours overall and lost $2 and was very happy with the outcome.
Uber back to Harrah's. Caution tape everyone. Someone said it rained for 15 mins and caused a ton of water damage. I had no idea it rained. Whole sections of the casino closed off, including the cage. No one could cash out chips. I played some craps and crapless craps. Ended up losing ~$225 between the two.
Running trip total: down $40 or so.
Busy day and I don't exactly remember it all, but I'll do my best.
Worked from 6am to 2pm. Headed down to casino. I played several sessions of craps and crapless craps throughout the day, mostly at Harrah's but also a bit at Flamingo. Overall, I think I was up about $200 for both versions of craps, but there were several losing sessions mixed in with some winning sessions. At one crapless table, a guy kept putting place bets up and down almost every roll. Near constant "take me down, put me on 2, 5, 11 and 12. Take all my bets down. Put me on 4, 5, 10, 11. Move the 5 to a 12 and press." etc etc. I just bought the 2/12 each time. It's a very feast or famine approach, but a good bet is a good bet.
At one point, two 20-something guys come up to the crapless table. Buy in for $500 each and ask to lay the 10. They're told they can't lay on a crapless table. They ask for their money back, but it was dropped. Pit tells them to color up, so they walk with 5 black chips each. Just an unnecessary transaction.
Played some $5 UTH at Cromwell. In the course of an hour, dealer tried to take winning bets at least 5 times. Yet the guys kept tipping her $5 when she would finally pay them on a flush, even though she would have taken it if someone else didn't speak up. There was a woman who kept saying she plays Hold Em with friends at home, but this is very different and she doesn't understand what's going on because it's happening so fast. I found her genuine, but annoying. Overall, I lost $25 at UTH.
Played some high card flush at Linq. Pleasant table and good dealers. I won $75 overall.
Non-gambling
Mid-day I walked to Excalibur. I had a free My Vegas ticket to the Tournament of Kings show. It was silly, but fun for what it was. I could see that being a great idea of something to do with kids, although there were several very loud explosions that might scare young kids. The food was actually pretty decent (cornish hen, potatoes, corn, a roll and an apple pie for dessert.).
Overall, I think I'm up about $235 or so for the trip.
First big loss day of the trip.
Checked out of Harrah's. Used comps for all of my room charges, so that was nice.
Had some time to kill, so played $5 UTH. Lost $200 over about 90 minutes. Nothing too notable.
Walked to Paris with my luggage to hopefully play tiles. I got there at about 11:55. Table opened at 12. No one else was there to play. Sign said $50. I told the pit boss I was leaving in a few hours (not entirely true, but I was leaving the strip) and asked if I could play for $25. He said "No, it's a $50 game." I mentioned the table was closed during the week and asked if I could play for $25 for an hour, and he said no. At that point, the dealer starting saying "Everywhere this is a $100 game. No more $25 anywhere in town. No $25 games anywhere." She seemed really bugged that I asked. A dealer at the next table over ($15 BJ) said in a very friendly way I could play at her table for $15, but I declined. Anyway, I sat down at tiles, bought in for $200 and bet $50 and the first hand, I won. I didn't have any change, so she gave me $22.50. She starts to shuffle for the next hand and I realize that I have $222.50. She didn't pay the whole bet, just $25 (taking vig for a $50 bet). I showed her my chips and since it was the first hand, she gave me the other $25 quickly. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just confusion on the first hand, but I wasn't thrilled with Paris tiles. Harrah's dealers and pit bosses were always much nicer, but they took the game out. There was one more pleasant dealer, but otherwise, they were all pretty blah/grumpy. I played for a little less than 2 hours, most of the time hovering around $100-250. I only bought in for 4 hands, so I was prepared to lose it. In the end, I did lose all $200 and took an Uber to 4 Queens.
Checked into 4 Queens for 2 comp nights. Dropped off my bags and played some 10/7 DB. Over the course of several sessions, I think I lost about $300. I hit a few 4OAKs, but needed to hit more to really stay afloat. Oddly, I think they've put in more 10/7 games. In the section I usually play, I could have sworn there used to be only 3 games with the good pay schedule, but now I think there are 2-3 more.
Lunch at Magnolias. Used coupon book BOGO. Got the salmon--excellent. Also got a grilled chicken, avocado and bacon sandwich. It was really good. Fries were blah. The waitress was exceptional good. I tipped accordingly.
Decided to try some coupons Walked to Circa for Say Hi to Matthew matchplay. $25. Craps pass line, point 7 out.
Went to Golden Gate. LVA had $25 matchplay and 2-1 BJ. I lost the matchplay. Took about 40 mins to hit a BJ. Maybe longer. Finally got it and got paid $50 on $25 bet. Cashed out exactly even.
Headed to Plaza. LVA $10 slot play turned into $20 at 96 JOB. $25 matchplay also lost at craps.
Walked around Binion's but didn't see anything I wanted to play. I would have played the $10 pai gow with the JJ rules, but it was closed.
Went to Fremont. It was packed. It looks much nicer than how I remembered it the first time I visited years ago. I think it's lost some charm as a result. Got a $2 shrimp cocktail. I've had it before and knew what I was getting myself into. It was fine for what it is.
Back to 4Q. Played some $15 pai gow poker. One interesting hand. 2 friends are playing, having a good time. One says he's going all in and places all of his red chips in the circle. The other does the same. They joke about one of them having a bigger stack. The dealer has a straight and A3. One of the friends sets his hand into two distinct groups, but then gets up from the table and steps back, walking over to his friend (they were not seated next to each other). He was maybe 2 feet from his seat. He basically walked from his 6 seat toward his friend in the 4 seat. The dealer assumes he's folding and locks up the chips. He immediately says "I won", goes back to his seat and turns over his hand. He has a boat and AJ. Dealer asks how much he bet and he said he didn't know. He says he knows it was more than his friend bet because they had been joking about it. Pit called over and he asks how much he bet, but again he didn't know. He shows an estimate of the chip height with his fingers. The dealer pulls $55 out of the tray and all agree that's about right. He could have had $5-10 more but hard to say. Overall, I won $60 at PGP.
Overall, I think I lost about $700 today, so my running trip total dropped to an overall loss of about $475 or so.
Quote: TinManDay 4
She went back and forth for a solid 3-5 mins until finally agreeing to a chop. I couldn't believe they all agreed to it. I took my $148 for less than one big bet and called an Uber back to Harrah's. I was fully resigned to not cashing. It was literally 3 hours with 2-5 bets. I played for 6 hours overall and lost $2 and was very happy with the outcome.
link to original post
Thanks for the reports! I love these kinds of poker stories! And sounds like you have a good attitude about the 6 hours of entertainment — that's healthy gambling!
Another losing day, but slightly less this time.
10/7 double bonus continued to lose. Had a few draws to a royal and AAA but nothing came through. occasional quads, but not enough to stay afloat.
Two interesting things happened today. At Binion's playing craps. They were big on telling people to hit the back way. Shooter to the right of the stick. As he goes to throw, he hits some chips or the table or something and the dice come out almost sideways. Go into the bank and knock some chips over. Neither die went past midway (one was close). One was basically mix in with the bank and the other landed in the hardways area. 2/5. Dealer calls 7 out. I ask how it's a seven out when neither die went past midway. She says angrily "7 out" and takes all the chips. I left.
At 4Q playing craps. I hit a few numbers and someone points to a guy across the table playing green and black chips. I must have rolled 40-50 times in total. Pretty quickly his $50/$100 place bets move up to $300-$400. He starts putting me up on the hardways. I hit one $5 bet for like $35 or 40 or so. I keep rolling and soon he's putting me up for $25 on some hardway numbers. Then he puts the whole table up for $10 each on the hard 8. Once had the whole table up for $10 each on the A/2. I kept rolling numbers, but never hit another hardway on a number he put me up for. Would have been nice to pocket something more, but no luck. One downside of the experience. When I was maybe 10 rolls in (I was standing next to base at the far end of the table), the stick says "hit the wall harder." I pointed out that I had hit the wall everytime. She says "hit it harder. Harder." I look at the box, and say "I'm hitting the back wall, right?" Box looks to stick and says I'm ok. Note: I was not setting the dice. I picked up and threw within 3 seconds or less each time. In the end, I only won like $20 on craps. Other than when I rolled, I just placed the 6 or 8 for $18 each. The four shooters after me had a quick 7 out.
Played some PGP at both properties. Maybe won $50 or so in total.
Played bingo at Plaza. Had a sweat a few times, but no wins.
LVA matchplay continued to lose. I haven't won a single matchplay bet.
Ate at Binion's cafe. Used BOGO coupon for cobb salad (it was giant) and the Korean chicken. Both really good. The cobb salad was a great deal for like $14. Included chicken and bacon and the plate was more than the size of a frisbee or personal pizza.
Overall, I think I lost about $300 yesterday, mostly from VP.
Trip total: Down $775 or so.
Magnolias for breakfast. Corned beef hash and eggs. Pretty good.
Played some Double bonus. Missed another Royal draw. I did get to 1000 tier credits which gave me $100 slot free play. I turned that in $170 real cash. That was a nice pickup.
Some PGP. Won $60.
Checked out of four queens and into downtown grand. Last hotel of the trip. Never stayed here before but so far so good. Really nice property and low limits. First time paying for a room all trip. Used LVA coupon. For 2 nights all in was $113. Not bad.
They give you a $50 matchplay as a hotel guest. I used that and the LVA matchplay at craps. Lost both matchplays. So frustrating. I’ve won literally zero out of like 12 matchplays. Lost $170 at craps but got back $160 at UTH.
