I made the 110 mile drive to my casino, The Downstream casino, outside of Joplin on Saturday. I had $650 in freeplay plus I converted $400 in points into freeplay. There was $20,000 in cash drawings for VIP members Saturday night. I was not chosen out of the 12 names drawn, no surprise there.
Things started well. I played minimally for Saturday and Sunday, preserving my bankroll for Monday, a Point multiplyer day. Through Monday morning I was up $1,900. I played my card and my wife's card to get 85 points to receive two home tool kits. I like to play VGT machines, referred to as "red screens" by the local gambling venacular. My slots of choice are the quarter Red Ruby 5 lines, $6.25 max bet and Neptunes which ranges from 20 cents to $50 max bet. I play $10 max bet. You really have to be aware of what denomination is on the screen. I have in the past played $50 a pull by mistake. You can change the denomination on the machines.
I also played some penny100 play VP at $5 a pull, and some 10 play ultimate X dueces wild. One of the things to accumulate points is play community electronic roulette, where several players can play roulette. I play when no one else is playing, thinking that the jackpot feature will hit, which it did Sunday morning. I invest $52 a spin each for my card and my wife's for $104. I get 10 points per spin. It costs me $14 per spin unless I hit the green zeros, that I bet as a hedge or the jackpot. To many of you, not sound strategy, but I ended up a net winner, and accumulated a good amount of points.
Of course my main game is Pai Gow. Playing two hands with a basic wager of $100 in center with $20 on insurance and $10 on bonus. Betting progressively I have gotten up to $300 max bet on streaks, increasing my bet by $50 with each win. The best hand I had was a straight flush.
Monday, Received 5X points and 9X entries for a cash drawing. It applies to table games as well. I charged at them with guns ablazing. Bad mistake. I returned the $1,900 winnings from the previous two days play plus $2,500 of my own. I was hell bent on accumulating points at first then descended to chasing my losses.
I had lost $3,100 on Pai Gow and $1,200 in my trusted Neptunes. I'll be returning Saturday.