2026 Gambling Trip Reports

On my way to Vegas. First gambling trip in about 6 months. I believe CES just ended and it seems to be a quiet week. I was able to get 7 nights comped at Harrah’s. No resort fees with a diamond card. 16,000 airline miles round trip, non-stop. Will have to do a little work but mostly a vacation trip. Have tickets to two shows—Mad Apple and Zombie Burlesque. Expecting this trip to be mostly craps, crapless, UTH, and some PGP and VP. If Paris has tiles for $50 or less I’ll play it. But last two trips it was $100 min. I’ll post periodic updates.

Have fun, safe travels, and be sure let us know if you see any interesting games, side bets, or video poker varieties ;)

Day 1

Trip from NY went well. It started raining about two hours before departure so I thought it might get delayed but no issues. Flight was maybe 75% full. Arrived 45 mins before schedule.

Uber to Harrahs was $21. No cars on the road. Roads were empty all the way to the strip. Checked into Harrah’s. Room is fine. Clean and fairly newly renovated. Advertised as an “attraction room”. I can see about 15% of the sphere.

Walked to Linq. Played $5 UTH. Played with several Canadians and one guy who was the “you gotta bet on Trips” guy. At one point down close to $100 but came back and left up $75. Made one bad fold when I had a 10 high but only 16 cards or so to lose. Would have won too. Frozen Baileys was great as ever.

Back to harrahs. $15 craps. I did not see any craps above $15. Surprising for a Saturday night. There were some drunk guys who didn’t really know what to do (lot of $25 and $50 6/8 place bets and couldn’t follow what 3/4/5 odds meant). But they did know they loved betting hard ways. At one point two guys hit a hard 8: about $1100 for one guy and about $1600 for the other guy. They would start with $25 hard ways and after every roll randomly throw in from $5 to $100 more. One guy got up to over $300 on a hard 8 but didn’t hit it. I left up $300.

Wanted something relaxing so went to $15 PGP. Nothing notable. Lost $60.

Foot court pizza and burgers are more expensive than last time. Got a basic burger from Bobby flay. It was fine but $15 with tax.

Running total: up $310 or so.

Day 2A

Woke up early. 10x multiplier doesn’t start til tomorrow so wanted to go someplace different. Uber to Palace Station. $9. Open tiles table for $50 but didn’t sit down yet. Played 9/6 JOB for quarters. 4 times I had 3 to a RF and drew 1 of the 2 cards for a RF. So close. But still a very good session. Had 4 or 5 FOAK. 2 dealt boats and several dealt flushes. Cashed out up $100.

Day 2B

Went to the diner place in Palace Station. $15 breakfast plate was good but took longer than expected for the food to come out. It wasn’t all that busy.

Played UTH. Nothing especially notable but won $75. Found 10/7 DB. I was down $100 quickly but then hit AAAA for $200. Left up $80. By this time a new tiles table opened for $25. I played for a few hours and lost $175. At one point an older Asian guy sits down and lights up a cigarette. I take 25 seconds to set my hand (first one he’s there for) and he says “the dealer can help if you need it.” I assume he’s being snarky to the white guy (me). Within a few minutes I realize he was being sincere. He was asking the dealer questions about setting his hand. At some point we start talking and he was a really nice guy. Told me about his life and his kids and family. We co-banked several times and did well. It was very nice and a fun time. The dealers themselves didn’t really speak much but they were proficient and fast.

Quote: TinMan

We co-banked several times and did well. It was very nice and a fun time. The dealers themselves didn’t really speak much but they were proficient and fast.
link to original post

I’d like to learn more about co-banking. I’ve never done that.

Sounds like a good time so far!

I saw both of your planned shows.

Really enjoyed Mad Apple. If you’re OK with old-timey blue humor and have low expectations, you’ll enjoy Zombie Burlesque. They have some Mad Apple-like acts as well!

Rest of day 2 and start of day 3

Ate dinner at the Panda Express. It was good but I realized that Beijing beef is not the same as beef and broccoli.

Played some 96 JOB. Won $60. I was feeling tired so uber back to harrahs. Went up to room to rest. Expected to be back down quickly but I was tired. Went to bed and woke up at 3am.

Walked to Linq. $5 UTH went very well. Won $250. Nothing too notable. I asked about Truly and waitress said they have something called Surfside. It was not all that good.

Craps was $10. I bet PL and $10-$30 odds. Lost $240 in about 20 minutes. Had the table to myself. Just one of those sessions. Colored up and left. Still up about $10 for the day.

Day 3B

Walked over to Paris. Lost $14 in 9/5 VP. Activated 10x multiplier. $10 craps. One odd moment—guy with an accent I couldn’t place. Bought in for $20. Had a tiny dog he was holding like a baby. Didn’t know what was going on. Made a few PL bets because dealer suggested it. At one point, picked up his PL bet while puck on. Dealer didn’t see it. He asked me if that’s ok. I told him to put it back. Bet won and he walked away. Another player was seven stars. When he rolled, he would practice the rolling motion after each roll. Like when the dice were in the middle.

Played some $25 3/2 BJ at Horseshoe. Surrender allowed. Won $160.

Guy Fieri for $20 brunch. Cesar salad (pretty good); chili (not spicy at all); French toast (very good) and two house salads (very good).

Rest of day 3

Lots more gambling. Played crapless for the first time this trip. 2/3/11/12 only. At one point I was down $400 or so but came back to even, I believe.

Played some PGP. Overall I think I lost $100 or so over 2 sessions. One odd thing happened. As the dealer went to collect a players cards she somehow managed to also grab one of the cards in her 2 card hand. The player said something after 1 second. The dealer didn’t realize what happened until he said so.

Ate at earl or sandwich. I do like that place. Got a sandwich with roast beel, turkey, cheese and a few other ingredients. It was good for $10.

Lost $30 at VP.

At Linq (osheas area) gave my players card. Dealer puts it to the side for the pit. Pit doesn’t come for 10 minutes. I can see him talking to a not particularly attractive woman. I’m kind of annoyed by this so I say I won’t bet til I get swiped in. He continued to talk to the woman for at least another 10 mins. The game was on so I had something to watch but it was annoying. He literally did not leave that woman’s side for over 20 minutes. There were about 8 full tables going at the time. He looked at zero of them. Finally I asked for my card back and I walked away. He was still talking to the woman. For all I know he still is.

I love suits for $5. Won $70. I had one 5 card flush and dealt gave me a hard time for not betting the side bet. Others were betting the side bets religiously. One woman hit a few big hands but the others lost it all.

Hamburger at in n out. Extra patty, with onion. I can’t believe I came to Vegas so many times in the past without eating there.

Walked over to harrahs for $15 craps. Lost $100. A very talkative guy and his friend joined the table and the talkative guy stood next to me. I was tired and he just kept talking so I left and came up to the room.

I got an email saying that Zombie Burlesque show was cancelled. I guess they didn’t get enough sales for a midweek show. Coincidentally I got an offer for a comp ticket to a show at Caesar’s. David Spade and Nikki Glaser. I think I’ll go to that.

Overall I think I lost like $20 today. Churned about 750 tier credits (7,500 after promotion). It was a good day.

Day 4A

Started the day with some 8am $5 UTH. Won $160. People are way too passive. So many checking K7 or J10. People play that game terribly. At one point the dealer scooped up the cards and started shuffling before realizing she hadn’t adjudicated one guy’s hand. Went to the cameras. Took about 10 mins to sort out.

Walked to Horseshoe. Back to guy fieri brunch. 3 salads, chili, French toast and biscuit. All pretty good. Talked to an attractive and very outgoing mid woman seated next to me from MN. She was in town with her son and wanted to tell me all about her life. She was nice, personable and very attractive so I was game to chat. That was a pleasant surprise.

Won $20 in Paris VP. Walked to Caesars but nothing playable. The crapless had a VIP with $100 min so I kept walking.

Over to Flamingo for crapless. Game was bad. Lost $350. Lots of point 7 out.

These reports are nice to read, thanks.

If you'd like to play traditional double deck at a reasonable betting level, you'll find that at Treasure Island across the street.

Rest of Day 4

Walked back to harrahs. $15 craps game. I didn’t know it until later but I joined in the middle of a 55 min roll (dealers timed it based on their rotation). Guy must have made 6 points while I was there and more before then. Hit 5 to the fire. At one point dealers had $25 or more on every box number plus other bets. One guy at the other end of the table had $100 on the ALL and I think $50 each on the small and tall. Shooter was stick left and was setting the dice and throwing carefully. At one point the floor sternly told the stick he had to physically hold the stick on the felt (not on the ledge) with his left hand (not right) so that the shooter had to throw around the stick. When the stick rotated the new stick had to do the same. The guy eventually hits the ATS. Briefly stopped the game and eventually paid out the big ATS bets in yellows. I don’t think the winner tipped the shooter but I saw his friend (who was also betting a lot but not that big) walk over later and give the shooter something. I only had a PL and odds (eventually maxing out the odds but still). After the 7 out, almost everyone colored up. I stayed for one more shooter (which was me since the other people left) and I had a bad roll. In total, I won $450. Could have been more but I’m happy with $450.

Walked to casino royale and had a hot dog. It was fine but I probably won’t get it again. Walked to Venetian. They had upgraded their system that day and it caused chaos. I felt bad for the employees. They had such a hard time trying to do basic things because the system was glitchy. I asked to reprint a card and they said the new system didn’t have my info (to be fair I was last there like 10 years ago) so they gave me a new card and account and I was able to get $20 free play (in a roundabout way. They couldn’t figure out how to give me the free play that comes with the new player promo but they had authority to give $20 for any “inconvenience” so they did that). I played $1 JOB full pay. Drinks were excellent and the room was very comfortable. Looked like I was going to lose $300 but I hit a FOAK and left down $50.

Walked over to craps. Really nice environment, especially coming from a day at flamingo and harrahs. $25 table. No one hit a single point. Ice cold. $25 PL and $25-$30 odds and lost it all. Lost $300 at craps for a total loss of $350 at Venetian.

Got some food at the food court and walked back to harrahs. Called it a night. I think overall I lost maybe $200 today.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Trip reports seem pretty scarce around these parts these days.

TinMan,

I second Joeman's comments: I, too, enjoy reading these trip reports.

Dog Hand

Quote: DogHand

I second Joeman's comments: I, too, enjoy reading these trip reports.
link to original post

Same with me.

Quote: TinMan

Won $20 in Paris VP. Walked to Caesars but nothing playable.
link to original post

What VP is playable at Paris? Okay, maybe I'm spoiled, because I'm a 10-minute drive away from 9/6 quarter Jacks or Better at THEM (with free parking, no less) - okay, it's actually "M Resort", but as long as the website's URL says "themresort," I'm sticking with THEM.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

Quote: DogHand

I second Joeman's comments: I, too, enjoy reading these trip reports.
link to original post

Same with me.

Quote: TinMan

Won $20 in Paris VP. Walked to Caesars but nothing playable.
link to original post

What VP is playable at Paris? Okay, maybe I'm spoiled, because I'm a 10-minute drive away from 9/6 quarter Jacks or Better at THEM (with free parking, no less) - okay, it's actually "M Resort", but as long as the website's URL says "themresort," I'm sticking with THEM.
link to original post

One of these trips to Vegas, I'm going to hit the Alphabet Resort Trifecta and stay at The D, The M, and The W all in one visit! ;)

For those who’ve visited Vegas recently, how’s the table minimums situation been at Paris or other casinos, and any tips for making the most of a mostly craps-focused trip?

I also enjoy the trip reports!

It’s a pleasing counter to all those “Vegas is finished” videos.

The hotel reviews in the early days of this website were basically trip reports!

I too like reading a ‘low roller’ trip report like this! I can relate…. I do miss Vegas, but not enough to get on a plane from warmer Florida! Nor enough to get on a plane from cooler (summer) Buffalo.

Thank you all for the kind words.

It’s not ideal but 9/5 JOB for quarters at Paris, PH and Horseshoe is the best available to me. Caesars used to have 9/6 for $5 denom but that’s gone now. And many years ago Cromwell had 9/6 for quarters but they killed that.

As far as limits, $15 craps is pretty easily available. Occasionally $10 at Linq. Paris is quick to raise craps to $25.

Day 5A

Woke up early. $5 UTH. Woman sitting next to me was seven stars. We chatted for quite a while. She wanted to know what my reasoning was for raising hands like K9 and A2. I mentioned basic strategy is much more aggressive than people assume. One brand new guy sat down at the other end of the table. Guy next to him was genuinely trying to be helpful but gave awful advice. He was checking middle pair on the flop. That’s even worse than the usual bad advice. I was down $200 but then came back and cashed up $20. The progressive had been hit the night before so the top payout was only $95k. Had been $600k last night. Even at $600k it’s a bad bet. at $95k it’s awful. Everyone commented on the $95k but kept playing.

Crapless. $25 2/12 only. Opposite scenario of UTH. Went up $250 quickly and then lost it all back. Left down $300. Dealers quickly got what I was doing and would set up my bets without asking every time. And quickly knew I was passing the dice.

Linq had $10 PGP. Played for about 45 mins and won $10.

Quote: Joeman

<snip>
One of these trips to Vegas, I'm going to hit the Alphabet Resort Trifecta and stay at The D, The M, and The W all in one visit! ;)
link to original post

Joeman,

Just be careful of the order: remember all the trouble President Bush got into looking for the WMD 😉

Dog Hand

Quote: DogHand

[
Joeman,

Just be careful of the order: remember all the trouble President Bush got into looking for the WMD 😉

Dog Hand

I almost made a political response, fortunately I refrained.

Quote: DRich

Quote: DogHand

[
Joeman,

Just be careful of the order: remember all the trouble President Bush got into looking for the WMD 😉

Dog Hand

I almost made a political response, fortunately I refrained.
link to original post

Reminded me of a joke! Posted in the Jokes thread.

Rest of Day 5

Caesars gave me a comp entry to a slot tournament. I’ve never participated in one before. $10k total prize pool. I was concerned that it might take forever but it was pretty quick, even with a sizable line. I did not win anything though.

Walked to Caesar’s for the Peter Luger lunch special. It was the same price as last year ($50) BUT they no longer give you a bread basket. The bread was very good so that was disappointing. Oh well. I sat at the bar. I had the bacon, salmon, creamed spinach and dessert. All very good although the bacon came out warm rather than “sizzling”. Guy next to me was pretty tipsy and made some awkward comments. #1: Another patron was settling up and talking to the bartender. Basically, he had to use his celebration dinner at this meal (or lose it) and for some reason still had $60 to spend even after paying for his meal. Bartender asks if he wants to order more food or get a drink to go (he said no). Then tipsy guy says “hey you could buy drinks for us at the bar.” Tipsy guy realizes he overstepped and apologized. #2: 5 mins later someone says something about “the holiday weekend.” Tipsy guy asks which holiday and is told MLK Jr day. Tipsy guy says “there are so many holidays I lose track. MLK day. Presidents’ Day. The diversity day one.” (Presumably he meant Juneteenth). Then tipsy guy, I think, felt uncomfortable because the person who said it was MLK Jr weekend was black. So tipsy guy says. “You know I love them all. I just can’t remember the dates but they’re all so good.”

Walked to Paris. $25 crapless. 2/12 only. Bad run and I lost $450. Nothing too notable except I think one dealer was annoyed I passed the dice. I’m pretty sure I heard him say “if you’re coming to gamble, then gamble .” There were always 3-4 other people betting the PL so I didn’t see the issue. If it was one other person I get it but there were always multiple other PL betters even when they weren’t shooting. Paris dealers are technically competent but I’ve seen several who were gruff or rude or just not friendly at all.

Won back $15 at VP and walked to NY NY. Got a Chicago hot dog in the food court area. It was good. Def better than the one at Casino Royale. More expensive too ($9 plus tax) but good.

I had a ticket to Mad Apple ($50). Show was overall entertaining but felt like the performers were not as good as those at other Cirque shows. Almost every act had at least one thing fail. There was one part with guys jumping on a trampoline and dunking a basketball. Compared to other acts that should have been flawless but they missed a dunk. I’d say I noticed clear errors in like 75% of the acts. One guy had an act of tumbling and jumping through a standing hoop. He knocked the hoop down twice. Maybe 60% of seats sold. Could be less. The entire upper level was closed and the bottom level had lots of empty seats. It is a Wednesday on a quiet week, to be fair. My advice is to see Ka before seeing Mad Apple. I really enjoyed Ka and everything about it is bigger and felt flawless.

This happed a day or two again but I remembered it today. It bothered me. Outside Linq there are people dressed up like cartoon characters. I see one guy say hello to a kid in a stroller and try to get them to take a photo. Mom keeps walking. I guess the kid looked sad and Costume guy yells at the kid “blame your mom.” That was just a jerk thing to say (insert more emphatic word of your choice).

Walked back to my room. I did a comprehensive count to see where I am. After backing out all incidentals and tips, I’m down $275 in gambling. I thought it was worse than that after a bad loss today (about $700 overall) but I checked twice.

Deleted

Deleted

Day 6

Had to work today so logged on to my work email from 6am-2pm. Surprisingly busy day.

After the $700 or so loss yesterday I wanted to take it easy today on gambling. Also I’ve accumulated enough tier credits with the multiplier to have Diamond next year.

Uber to Orleans. Registered for $150 tournament (triple draw, Omaha 8, stud 8). I hung around starting stack for a few hours and then missed 2 triple draw draws and was out after about 4.5 hours.

Played some 8/5 bonus poker VP. In total, I won about $65. The big hand was a dealt AAAA.

Uber to Linq. Went to in n out. I had seen someone say you can ask for the burger to be mustard fried so I requested that. It was great. 2 patties, raw onion, mustard fried. Delicious.

Then made the in retrospect bad decision to stop at osheas. $15 craps game. Only made PL and 1x odds. There was one come out roll 7 winner and seven outs. Literally no one made a point. I lost $200 and called it a night.

Total gambling loss now looks to be around $565. Not ideal but In the grand scheme of things, not that bad for 4+ days of gambling.

Isn’t it great that you can be in Vegas and work?!?

I’m sure I would have been there more often if I didn’t need to use vacation days to do so!

Day 7A

Worked a half day from my hotel room. Tried the guy fieiri brunch at Linq. It’s $5 more than the Paris brunch and the food isn’t as good. BBQ salad was ok. Caesar salad was bland. Chilaquiles were ok but needed something like jalapeños. Pulled pork was just ok. Fries were good though.

Played from $5 UTH. In the end lost $200. There was a guy teaching his wife how to play. He had some good advice (don’t bet the side bets) but also was telling her to check middle pairs and fold bottom pairs on the River. He was drinking a lot too and got loud at times and very excited over unimportant things.

Walked to high limit at Linq. $25 3/2 game. Lost $100 and walked.

Not sure if this is a new roulette side bet. At first I thought it was 000 but there’s only 0 and 00 on the wheel.

Day 7B

Walked to Cromwell. $15 craps. Went down $200 early but then hit 4 points when I had the dice. Left up $115.

Walked to Caesar’s. $25 crapless. 2/12 only. At one point 3 kids who may have been 21 or 22 come up. Clearly never played craps before. Dealers were surprisingly patient with them. At one point one of them picks up the dice with two hands, shakes them off the table and then monopoly rolls to the middle of the table. It was the point. They paid the point. Dealer says to her “you did everything wrong but you hit the point. Next time just touch the dice with one hand, don’t take them off the table and hit the back wall.” At another point one of them makes a 4 buy bet when the puck is off. Dealer asks if it’s worrying or off. Kid has no idea what’s going on but gives an answer that suggests on. 5 mins later there another come out roll. 4 is hit. The dealer hadnt asked him if he was working or not but he paid it out.

Another guy (not one of the 21 year olds) was betting heavily. At any time he must have had $50-$100 in bets for the dealers. He would start a roll with $30-40 in action for the dealers and anytime he hit a number he would take a portion of it and place/add to a bet for the dealers. Really something.

I started out up after two early 2s. But then died a slow death. Eventually lost $400 and walked. Down $600 for the day.

Quote: TinMan

Not sure if this is a new roulette side bet. At first I thought it was 000 but there’s only 0 and 00 on the wheel.
link to original post

TinMan,

If they had this on a 000 wheel, I'd play it! Probability = (3/39)² = 1/169, so true odds is 169-to-1. At 280-to-1, EV is (280-168)/169 = 0.6627..., or +66.3%.

For a 00 wheel, probability = (2/38)² = 1/361, so true odds is 361-to-1. At 280-to-1, EV is (280-360)/361 = -0.1468..., or -14.7%.

I see the felt says, "Roulette's Best Bet", but does NOT say Best for the Player. On the bright side, at least it isn't on a 0 wheel 😉

Dog Hand

Rest of day 7

Walked to the Caesar’s food court. Never eaten there before. There was a Korean food stall that sold ramen. It was excellent, with lots of pork and a great broth for $18. I believe it was listed as “classic ramen” on the menu. Highly recommend.

Walked to Horsehoe. Played some 9/5 JOB for quarters. Was down early but hit some 4OAK and came back. Won $25. Couple sitting next to me hit a Royal and a AAAA on a game where that pays a lot with multipliers. Multi line game but still looked like a meaningful hit for them.

Walked back to harrahs and called it a day.

I think my running total is down about $1200 or so.

Quote: DogHand

Quote: TinMan

Not sure if this is a new roulette side bet. At first I thought it was 000 but there’s only 0 and 00 on the wheel.
link to original post

TinMan,

If they had this on a 000 wheel, I'd play it! Probability = (3/39)² = 1/169, so true odds is 169-to-1. At 280-to-1, EV is (280-168)/169 = 0.6627..., or +66.3%.

For a 00 wheel, probability = (2/38)² = 1/361, so true odds is 361-to-1. At 280-to-1, EV is (280-360)/361 = -0.1468..., or -14.7%.

I see the felt says, "Roulette's Best Bet", but does NOT say Best for the Player. On the bright side, at least it isn't on a 0 wheel 😉

Dog Hand
link to original post

I just saw the same bet on a triple zero table but the payout was reduced to 130 to 1. (Both of these were at Cromwell but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the bet at other Caesar’s properties as well)

Day 8 (final day)

I picked up $45 from UTH at Linq. One guy didn’t seem drunk but was playing wildly. 2x with 27 on A55 board with no flush possibilities. Every gutshot was a bet.

Grabbed a burger at in n out. Third for the trip. Maybe not the best choice for 10:30am or so but it was an excellent.

Back to harrahs to check out of hotel. Left bags with bell hop.

Walked to Cromwell. I didn’t want to play an open $25 game. They were setting up a $15 table. Played some bubble craps to kill time and lost $15. Finally $15 table open. Bought in for $200 at craps. Literally first 6 shooters didn’t make a point. Was down to crumbs with a guy hit 4 points. Soon after I hit 3 points. Got me back up to about a $30 win. Walked to Paris.

Paris $25 crapless table. This time only bought 12. Never hit. Guy next to me was there with some friends and all being somewhat to moderately annoying. His friends lost their money with field bets and walked. He ordered 3 beers, didn’t tip the waitress and then walked. I lost $200. The tiles table was open but empty. $100 min. I asked pit boss if it ever goes down to $50 and he said not. I should have directly asked if I could play for $50 but was on the fence about it anyway.

Walked to Cosmo. I wanted to try the happy hour menu. 7 items for $7 each. My review: (1) there was a chimi filet on skewers. That was tasty but very small. I would not order again. (2) burger and fries were good but in retrospect not the best choice after eating a burger for breakfast. (3) salmon slider was very good. (4) best thing I ate was the ceviche. Couple next to me got the beet and burrata salad. That looked excellent but I was too full. For $28 a great lunch.

VP free 2 says that there is a multi line 96 JOB for 50 cent denom but $25 min bet. I couldn’t find that game but did find a regular $5 denom $25 total bet game. I shouldn’t have sat down since it’s more volatile than the 50 cent denom multi line game I was there for. Lost $200 and walked.

Slowly made my way back to harrahs. On the way played some 95 JOB at horseshoe. Lost $60 over about an hour. Maybe more. Never hit a 4 of a kind.

Walked to Venetian. I really like their 96 $1 JOB in the high limit room. Great quality drinks. I tipped $3 for the first drink and $2 for the second drink and the servers (2 different) seemed put off by that. I assume they expect more like $5 per drink. Oh well. Ended up winning $15 after hitting 4 of a kind. Walked to the food court and got some food.

Back to harrahs. Bought into crapless. I had 30 mins before heading to the airport (I had red eye flight back). 2/12 only. Hit a 2 early. Some guys came up to the table asking a lot of questions. Then started treating craps like roulette by placing their own place bets. Dealer and pit were polite the first time and then got progressively more upset the 2nd and 3rd time they reached in to place bets themselves. I didn’t want be around that and I was up $50 so decided to call it a day.

Uber to airport was wonderfully uneventful. Gate agent switched my middle seat to an aisle. There were some reports about possible flight cancellations to NY because of weather but no issues for me.

Trip Summary

I started out winning but then the last 4 days or so were all losers. Total gambling loss of about $1550. Drink tips: $82. Received $29 in comp dollars. Churned 3,600 tier credits. With the 10x l, I should be comfortably Diamond Plus.

Not a winning trip but a good trip. I typically aim to lose no more than $250 per day on average so by that measure I was within budget. I rationalize it as a wash with a free room.

Highlights:

(1) Palace Station. I’d like to stay there sometime. They did send me an email saying my 1 day of play got me up to their second tier status, for whatever that means.

(2) Cosmo happy hour menu. I’d definitely eat there again.

(3) In n out. Excellent. Ordering the meat mustard fried was perfect.

(4) It wasn’t crowded. I know it was an off week but I really appreciated how not crowded it was the whole time.

(5) JetBlue. Originally put in middle seats and each time I was moved to an aisle. Flights took off on time and no issues.

Low lights

(1) The character who told a sad kid “blame your mom” when the mom didn’t let her kid take a picture with the character.

(2) I think my gambling outcome came in a bit below expectation. I probably had a theo loss closer to $900-$1000 than $1500. The last 3 days I probably lost $750 in crapless alone with very few 2/12 hits on bets that in theory cost me 28 cents to make combined. Several 4 to a royals but didn’t hit any. Still within budget so I can’t complain too much.

(3) I saw one UTH dealer mistake in a players favorite but every other mistake was against the player. I had to correct a dealer at least 4 times on missing blind bet payouts or incorrect payouts. If you’re not watching for that you’ll be shorted. I don’t think it was intentional but it was frequent.

Misc/Other

(1) there were more fake monks this trip than I’ve ever seen. I did see one person take the bracket and just walk away. The monk tried a few times to get money from the guy but didn’t really protest too much.

(2) There was one guy who was incredulous when he saw that the UTH dealer had 4 to a RF. Of course 4 to a RF is nothing but he took this as an absolute sign that the dealer would hit a RF immediately. The next hand guy hits a full house on a board where a RF is technically possible. (He had AJ on a board of AAJ104 with 3 spades or so). The guy announces multiple times that he has lost and the dealer definitely has a RF. He seems pretty sincere about it. Dealer turns over something like a pair but because of how animated the guy was takes his bets and puts his cards in the shuffler. A few seconds later guy says “hey wait I had a full house”. Dealer pulls his cards back out of the shuffler and sees it. Dealer asks him how much he bet and guy just kept saying “check the cameras, check the cameras” and ran to the bathroom. Dealer and pit reconstruct his hand and pay him. It was weird. He was there with his wife who just kept saying “I’m sorry. He talks loudly when he’s excited.” He also had their quirk where he would poke his wife all the time to punctuate a point. Just a finger poke in the shoulder. “See what I mean?!” Type shoulder pokes. That kind of thing would drive me crazy but she seemed ok with it. Said they had been together for many years.

(3) I tried to see if any UTH dealers were flashing cards. I was able to clearly see one card once and a few other times thought I could distinguish paint vs no paint. Overall dealers are much better at protecting their UTH hands than I remember a few years ago when I saw a lot of flashing.

I went to terre haute casino Saturday. Got there about 5pm. They really didn't have many tables open which surprised me. They had one pit which wasn't open but one of the dealers said it would open later. Some of the BJ tables which weren't open I noticed on the felt said BJ paid 6:5 so not really BJ.they had free bet BJ and a game I think called DJs wild. One three card poker table. I almost played $10 minimum crazy 4 poker. I asked dealer if I could play 5 on play and 5 on super bonus. She said no it had to be 10 and 10. I walked back to high limits and they had double deck blackjack and mini baccarat. Mini was $25 minimum. Double deck was $100 minimum hit soft 17 but BJ paid 3:2 no mid shoe entry. They did have some stadium type gaming 3 different screens for BJ roulette and craps. Not really my cup of tea. I seen one cocktail waitress the whole time in high limits no other waitress. My opinion they should have had more tables open on a Saturday. First time I had been there since they opened last March. Everyone was friendly and cordial. I asked about a coat check and they kept it for me near hotel front desk.It was 25 degrees outside. Probably be a while before I go back.

Quote: TinMan

Trip Summary

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(1) Palace Station. I’d like to stay there sometime. They did send me an email saying my 1 day of play got me up to their second tier status, for whatever that means.

Not a bad choice, but I've stayed there a couple of times recently due to technical reasons and the rooms are unimpressive. Can be noisy if you are by the elevator but not because of the elevator, because of the herds of water buffalo coming off it screaming drunk all night.

How did you like the smell of garlic all through the casino? That's the Oyster Bar, people lined up there 24 hours a day. One of the hidden gems of old Vegas that remains.

Quote: TinMan

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(5) JetBlue. Originally put in middle seats and each time I was moved to an aisle. Flights took off on time and no issues.

Also a good choice.

Quote: TinMan

(3) I saw one UTH dealer mistake in a players favorite but every other mistake was against the player. I had to correct a dealer at least 4 times on missing blind bet payouts or incorrect payouts. If you’re not watching for that you’ll be shorted. I don’t think it was intentional but it was frequent.
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It's intentional. Some of these dealers are in a racket where they overpay someone they are working with and stiff tourists to make up for it. To the eye it looks like they are just error prone rather than outright crooks. I also see a ratio of around 4:1 for errors that favor me and those that don't. Second error I tell them right out "Do it to somebody else. Don't take shots at me, you won't get even one over on me" and they get the message.

Glad you enjoyed your trip!