Just got back from another quick trip to Biloxi, a three-night Beau Rivage air package out of St. Pete/Clearwater. Our friends, Glen and Jennifer came this time; we were originally all wait-listed, but got in about two weeks ago. Lots of fun, and as always, we mostly played elsewhere. We all had a few good hits, I wound up down about $150 and Linda (wife) was down about $60.
SUNDAY
Easy charter flight out of St. Pete/Clearwater, about an hour late because of some storms in Mississippi (which never affected us, it was cloudy while we were there, but we never got any significant rain). Seamless transfers, and we had room 9071, a Gulf view room, always nice.
There's not much to play at the Beau, we usually give them just a little play on the quarter 8/5 JoB progressives at the bar (I also did a little sniping on a few Ultimate X machines). There are two progressives, one on either side of the bar; one was $1050 and the other was $1500 (finally got hit for about $1700 Tuesday evening, not by us); as usual, the crowd wasn't favoring the $1500 side. Hell, most were slow-playing DDB or Caveman Keno for one coin, to get free drinks. We did meet one high-roller (we saw on his machine that he had about $2600 in comps), he was playing dollar ten-play short-pay DDB, said that he never uses any particular strategy because it's all luck anyway. Saw him dealt 777A3, and yup, he held the three sevens and the ace kicker. Anyway, we all played a little bit and then took a cab to IP, had a very good (but crowded) buffet, played some Illinois Deuces for a while (got a dealt WR on my last $1.25, that saved me for a while). One thing, IP used to give all Sapphire players $20 in food comps every week; we went to the players club and were told that it was only available the day after you play. So, we paid for the buffets and, after playing after dinner, found the $20 vouchers on the kiosk. Should have played a little before dinner and figured it out for ourselves.
MONDAY
We hit the Beau Rivage buffet for breakfast, had some MyVegas rewards (which are mostly useless in Vegas these days). The Beau buffet isn't what it used to be, but breakfast is probably the best bet, it was very nice. Took the Boomtown shuttle, spent most of the afternoon at Boomtown, had a good time there. They have some good VP for dollars on the second floor, I threw $100 into a 9/6 Bonus Deluxe machine, got beaten up, then threw in another hundred, did better, then hit quad 8s for $400.
Would have stayed ahead, if it weren't for a nightmare blackjack session, quickest $100 I ever lost ($10 DD table), in spite of some nice decks. Played around some more, enjoyed our Senior Day FP, then went back over to the IP, played some more Illinois Deuces, also some 9/6 JoB (they have a few 25-50-$1 machines upstairs, but they don't give a lot of points). Decided to take the Casino Hopper back to the Beau, but one of the buses was out of service and there were NO taxis at the IP, so we waited about an hour. Finally got back, Linda stayed at the Beau to watch a hockey game, and Glen, Jennifer and I went to Mary Mahoney's for dinner. Really a great dinner, I love this place, it's a little pricey but classic Gulf Coast seafood, done really well. Great waitress, Miranda, says that she's been there for 13 years (looks to be about 20, though, but I'm old and it's hard to tell). Had some good gumbo, really memorable flounder imperial, stuffed snapper, bread pudding.
TUESDAY
Treasure Bay Day. We went out there (easy trip on the Beach Comber bus) for the first time last trip, really liked it, and have been getting lots of mailers from just a little bit of play. I'm starting to like Treasure Bay Day like I like El Cortez Day in Vegas. Anyway, we played a little bit at the bar at the Beau (progressive was up to $1660), failed to hit the progressive. Glen and Jen had chicken and waffles at the coffee shop and raved about it; Linda and I split a surprisingly adequate muffaletta at the snack bar.
Took the Beach Comber to Treasure Bay and we all had a great time. I did fairly well on the 50 cent BP machines, got one premium quad.
Also found a bank of quarter 8/5 JoB machines with a $2400 progressive, held my own but obviously didn't hit that progressive, either, or it would have been obvious by now.
Had to guess at a lot of the strategy; I have a strategy for a $1500 RF, but who the hell has a $2400 strategy. We all got lots of FP, some from mailers, some from Senior Day, some completely unexpected. I'm not complaining. They also have a promo, if you refer a new players club sign-up, you get that person's points as well for the first day; thanks, Glen and Jen! Anyway, we hit the buffet for dinner, it's not a great looking room (looks a little like a lunch room in an East German factory), but they have good, solid local food, also Dungeness crab legs.
After dinner, we planned to catch the Beach Comber back, but it never came; I called the CTA office, they said that one of the buses was, again, out of service. We called a cab and got back to the Beau. It's a shame, the local buses have always run like clockwork, and now we had two no-shows in two days. Anyway, a little more play (progressive was $1006; sigh...) and bedtime
WEDNESDAY
Early departure for the airport, 7am. I had one last session over a cup of coffee, cashed out even, and it was an easy trip home.
All in all, a quick and fun trip. I wish we weren't stuck with the Beau air packages, there used to be other options (the old Gulfport Grand; the IP; I think Isle of Capri), and air from the Tampa Bay area costs about as much as the entire package (not to mention transfers from an airport about 15 miles away). Still, this is an easy trip compared to Vegas and there's still more than enough to play. Thanks for reading!
SUNDAY
Easy charter flight out of St. Pete/Clearwater, about an hour late because of some storms in Mississippi (which never affected us, it was cloudy while we were there, but we never got any significant rain). Seamless transfers, and we had room 9071, a Gulf view room, always nice.
There's not much to play at the Beau, we usually give them just a little play on the quarter 8/5 JoB progressives at the bar (I also did a little sniping on a few Ultimate X machines). There are two progressives, one on either side of the bar; one was $1050 and the other was $1500 (finally got hit for about $1700 Tuesday evening, not by us); as usual, the crowd wasn't favoring the $1500 side. Hell, most were slow-playing DDB or Caveman Keno for one coin, to get free drinks. We did meet one high-roller (we saw on his machine that he had about $2600 in comps), he was playing dollar ten-play short-pay DDB, said that he never uses any particular strategy because it's all luck anyway. Saw him dealt 777A3, and yup, he held the three sevens and the ace kicker. Anyway, we all played a little bit and then took a cab to IP, had a very good (but crowded) buffet, played some Illinois Deuces for a while (got a dealt WR on my last $1.25, that saved me for a while). One thing, IP used to give all Sapphire players $20 in food comps every week; we went to the players club and were told that it was only available the day after you play. So, we paid for the buffets and, after playing after dinner, found the $20 vouchers on the kiosk. Should have played a little before dinner and figured it out for ourselves.
MONDAY
We hit the Beau Rivage buffet for breakfast, had some MyVegas rewards (which are mostly useless in Vegas these days). The Beau buffet isn't what it used to be, but breakfast is probably the best bet, it was very nice. Took the Boomtown shuttle, spent most of the afternoon at Boomtown, had a good time there. They have some good VP for dollars on the second floor, I threw $100 into a 9/6 Bonus Deluxe machine, got beaten up, then threw in another hundred, did better, then hit quad 8s for $400.
Would have stayed ahead, if it weren't for a nightmare blackjack session, quickest $100 I ever lost ($10 DD table), in spite of some nice decks. Played around some more, enjoyed our Senior Day FP, then went back over to the IP, played some more Illinois Deuces, also some 9/6 JoB (they have a few 25-50-$1 machines upstairs, but they don't give a lot of points). Decided to take the Casino Hopper back to the Beau, but one of the buses was out of service and there were NO taxis at the IP, so we waited about an hour. Finally got back, Linda stayed at the Beau to watch a hockey game, and Glen, Jennifer and I went to Mary Mahoney's for dinner. Really a great dinner, I love this place, it's a little pricey but classic Gulf Coast seafood, done really well. Great waitress, Miranda, says that she's been there for 13 years (looks to be about 20, though, but I'm old and it's hard to tell). Had some good gumbo, really memorable flounder imperial, stuffed snapper, bread pudding.
TUESDAY
Treasure Bay Day. We went out there (easy trip on the Beach Comber bus) for the first time last trip, really liked it, and have been getting lots of mailers from just a little bit of play. I'm starting to like Treasure Bay Day like I like El Cortez Day in Vegas. Anyway, we played a little bit at the bar at the Beau (progressive was up to $1660), failed to hit the progressive. Glen and Jen had chicken and waffles at the coffee shop and raved about it; Linda and I split a surprisingly adequate muffaletta at the snack bar.
Took the Beach Comber to Treasure Bay and we all had a great time. I did fairly well on the 50 cent BP machines, got one premium quad.
Also found a bank of quarter 8/5 JoB machines with a $2400 progressive, held my own but obviously didn't hit that progressive, either, or it would have been obvious by now.
Had to guess at a lot of the strategy; I have a strategy for a $1500 RF, but who the hell has a $2400 strategy. We all got lots of FP, some from mailers, some from Senior Day, some completely unexpected. I'm not complaining. They also have a promo, if you refer a new players club sign-up, you get that person's points as well for the first day; thanks, Glen and Jen! Anyway, we hit the buffet for dinner, it's not a great looking room (looks a little like a lunch room in an East German factory), but they have good, solid local food, also Dungeness crab legs.
After dinner, we planned to catch the Beach Comber back, but it never came; I called the CTA office, they said that one of the buses was, again, out of service. We called a cab and got back to the Beau. It's a shame, the local buses have always run like clockwork, and now we had two no-shows in two days. Anyway, a little more play (progressive was $1006; sigh...) and bedtime
WEDNESDAY
Early departure for the airport, 7am. I had one last session over a cup of coffee, cashed out even, and it was an easy trip home.
All in all, a quick and fun trip. I wish we weren't stuck with the Beau air packages, there used to be other options (the old Gulfport Grand; the IP; I think Isle of Capri), and air from the Tampa Bay area costs about as much as the entire package (not to mention transfers from an airport about 15 miles away). Still, this is an easy trip compared to Vegas and there's still more than enough to play. Thanks for reading!
