Reaching for the Stars – Chapter 12
My time at Ballys is over this time around. The Seven Stars advantages were the free Internet and Pay-for-View movies in the room, the line pass during the video poker tournament registration as well as the cashier who also has a dedicated line for us. I was just a little surprised that I didn’t get any kind of a turn down service nor did I get a gift basket or even night chocolates, which many other Caesars properties do provide. There was no call from a host or anyone else welcoming you to the property—something else other properties do. I will mention these if I’m given a review survey later online. There not really important to me, but it’s another example of how different properties do things differently for their guests. A part of me thinks that they should be consistent, but again, it’s no big deal.
I packed up and headed over to Hooters to see the remodeling I heard they had done and have my breakfast while there. There really isn’t much to report except there’s new carpeting and paint, they’ve removed about half of their machines and put in double the tables. This makes sense to me because in the past when I’ve stayed here, the table games seem to always be crowded with few people playing machines. Everything was clean and shiny since the remodel when everything was getting tattered and soiled. I enjoyed a simple breakfast of eggs and read the paper. Of course, I wanted to keep my card active and on the books, so I sat down at a new Price Is Right machine. I guess I did something right because I had a nice win and walked away with a tidy $30 profit.
I had a few hours to kill before I would check into the Silverton, so I drove over to South Point to play some live 2/4 poker. South Point is putting in all new carpeting and a portion of the casino was roped off as they were installing it. The new carpet is extra padded and honestly, quite nice. I bought in for $60 and for the next three hours had a very enjoyable time playing. Most players were locals and they were talkative and nice. I end up with a good day’s worth of play and cashed out for $100. I now have $19 in comps from the poker room and $40 from the casino (they are separate accounts), and will have to use it sometime. I did play 9/6 Deluxe Poker for a hundred and just couldn’t snag a quad. So, now I’m down for the day. Of course, I stopped at the sportsbook for a $.75 quarter pound hot dog ($7.95 at Ballys). South Point continues to be a favorite casino of mine.
I drove on to the Silverton to check in. I asked for a room on the top floor (there are only four) because I know how to walk softly when there are guests below…I can’t say that for others. I had $25 in free play coming (I get that same amount every much. For as little as I play, I’m surprised I continue to get this along with the off-night room offers). I went to the high limit area where the two 100-play machines have 8/5 bonus poker for nickels. I snagged a royal on one of these my last trip. I clicked in my free play and began playing 20 games at a time. I was aiming to make 500 points because on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 500 hundred points gets you a $20 food comp at any of the restaurants. It’s great promotion. I hit some nice cards along the way and when I was dealt three Aces and caught the fourth on three of the games, I cashed out $138 plus I had way over the 500 points needed.
Tonight I decided to do something a little different. The Las Vegas Little Theater is a small community theater located, strangely enough, in the heart of a commercial building on the corner of Spring Water and Valley View, which is known as Chinatown. The theater is surrounded with Jujitsu/Karate studios, Vietnamese and Cantonese restaurants, tailors, and tattoo shops. It seats about 250 people and the cast and crew consists of local volunteers and local actors. Tonight is the opening performance of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park.” I had directed this play myself at my high school a few years ago and I was curious to compare and contrast their show with mine.
The Las Vegas Little Theater
Surprisingly, our sets were similarly designed though they had a lot more detail. The actors did a great job and I enjoyed the show thoroughly. The one thing that was distressing to me was that aside from about five or six younger adults, the audience members were all in their 70s and 80s. There was not one person under 30. It worries me that theater will one day be left behind by an apathetic youth more involved with electronics and limited attention spans. I certainly hope not.
I came back to the Silverton and thought I would pop a hundred into a hybrid machine they have which is a combination quad real and quick quads. You have to pay an extra two coins per hand and I was playing five-play of 7/5 Bonus Poker. Things started out badly and I was losing most of money when the quads began hitting. My biggest hit was a quad on the big wheel that fell on the 2000 coin slot. I walked away with a couple hundred. That would close out Thursday.
The drive to Laughlin was uneventful, a little less than an hour and a half of straight highway at the posted 75 MPH limit having to slow through Searchlight at 25 listening to Mad Dog Radio on my Sirius satellite radio. I’m anxious for baseball season to begin. It was far too early to check into Harrah’s, so I stopped at the Riverside to play their Quick Quads five-play for nickels. Things started off great and I was up $32 but soon went into a deep freeze and finally quit down $50. I went upstairs to see the cop buddy flick, RIDE ALONG. It was a little silly and predictable, but a fun popcorn flick.
It was now 2:30 and time to check in. There’s a bit of a story here. A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a host here at Harrahs. He said that he had read my review from my previous stay. Sometimes, Caesars sends out online reviews after you stay at one of their properties saying that if you’ll take the time to fill it out, you’d be eligible to receive up to $5000 in free play. I’ve never received anything and didn’t this time, but have to admit surprise that mine actually got read. He said he was sorry for my dissatisfaction with the North Tower. (I’ve filled these things out so often; I couldn’t remember what I said on this particular one though I’m never happy with the North Tower. I make sure when I do say negative things that I’m fair making sure I’m not ranting too much and always make a point of saying good things as well. Harrah’s Laughlin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the customer service here is as good as you’ll find anywhere). The host said that when book a room next time, to give him a call and he’d see to it that I was given an upgrade in the Central Tower. So, when I set up this trip’s itinerary and needing a weekend stay, I called him. I was secretly hoping for the Babbitt Suite, but was given a room on the top floor two doors down from it. It was one of their usual suites, which is perfectly fine.
There were two windows like this. If you wanted to see the river below, you would need to hop up on the cushion. I suppose it would also make a nice little bed for kids.
View from my room’s window. It’s 3 PM, notice nothing is on the river. Take this same picture in July, you’ll see a completely different scene.
After putting my things away, I had determined that today I’d start my 7 Stars renewal and go after 2500 tier points. I’m going to need 20 days of 2500 points in order to reach that goal. Of course, there will be some minor play on other days, which will help as well, but my thinking is 20 days at this level. I chose the nickel/dime 50 plays which have both 8/5 Super Double Bonus and Bonus Deuces. Both these games are just over 98% return games with perfect play so I should expect to lose $500 with close to perfect play of $25,000 coin in (over the course of the entire renewal process, that would be a loss of $10,000). Of course, I would need some luck along the way as did last year when I was way ahead of the curve with Royals. The 7 Stars status and perks are NOT worth $10K a year. (If you’re a new reader, playing video poker at $10 per point, making 7 Stars requires coin in of $1.5 million dollars, but this get cut by a third if you reach the $25K per day because they give you 5K bonus tier points each time you reach that level within a 24 hour period—regardless, that’s a shitload of money either way for a guy on a retired school teacher’s salary).
I put in my first hundred and things went very well in the beginning. The new flat screen high definition machines that have been installed are much faster and after I reached my goal (playing $12.50 per hand) in a little more than three hours, I had hit three Royals ($200 per Royal); however, I was dealt very few pat hands and no dealt quads, so I end up losing $850 for the session. That’s okay. My toolbox can certainly handle this but I’ll need a little better luck down the road if I’m to make this goal. My next attempt at the 25K will be after I check into the Rio on the next and final leg of this trip as they have two 8/5 bonus poker single line machines for dollars. I prefer multi-line machines to single line but it’s the only known full pay video poker game in all of Las Vegas. If I can manage two 25K days per month, I’ll reach my goal. If things begin to get out of hand, I’ll be perfectly happy with Diamond status in 2015.
For those of you on the East Coast who are having the worst winter in decades, Southern Nevada and most of California are going through the worst drought in decades. The weather here is beautiful, however the wind is pretty strong this weekend and so taking the water taxi is out. On Saturday, knowing that I wasn’t going to be playing the machines; I thought I might just stay at Harrah’s and play some live poker. As many times as I’ve stayed here over the years, I’ve never played poker here simply because their take is a little high plus the only game they offer that I can afford is a 3/6 Kill limit. The Colorado Belle has a 2/4 game I prefer, but today I was in the mood to give it a shot here. The only bonuses offered here is Aces cracked ($25 for mixed suited Aces and $100 for suited Aces) and $599 Royals. I figure a $100 win or lose would be okay with me. I didn’t win my first hand for 45 minutes, but then went on a bit of a roll. After more than four hours of play, I left with a $25 profit (more if you consider the dollar tip to the dealer after each winning hand), so it was a good day at the tables.
I also had a $25 food coupon so I used it a Baja Blue, their Mexican restaurant and had the enchilada trio plate. It was good, but the food here isn’t anything special and I wouldn’t choose to eat here if I had to pay for it. The only other thing worth noting about today was that I was watching an elderly lady playing the newer Buffalo machine. She was playing $1.50 per spin and was doing okay when after one non-winning hand, a buffalo charged the center of the machine and a winning box appeared saying she had just won the minor jackpot for $906.00. I suppose this is just a random award, but it so surprised her, she began to cry. It was really sweet. I can’t imagine what she would have done had it been the major award, which is currently $19,550.
I came up to the room to update this report and watch some TV. In room movies are free, but there simply wasn’t anything that I hadn’t already seen or was interested in, so I got hooked into a series of Anthony Bourdain shows on CNN. It might a good time to update what happened over the Thanksgiving weekend. I wrote about having been insulted at the Planet Hollywood Diamond Lounge where I tried to bring in an extra guest and was told no and referred to a host who told me “I’ll let you do it this time, but don’t ask again.” It embarrassed me and my guests and was completely unprofessional. The next day, I got the names and address of the Planet Hollywood’s President, Food and Beverage Manager, and Host Supervisor. When I returned home, I wrote a letter to all of them explaining how I was treated. About a week later, I received a phone call from the secretary of the Food and Beverage manager (he was in a “meeting”) and apologized for the incident saying the host in would be talked to and that to please call her when I booked a room at Planet Hollywood the next time and she’d see to it that I’d get an upgrade. Well, first of all, as a 7 Star holder, I’m supposed to get an upgrade anyway. Also, Planet Hollywood allows only one guest per 7 Stars card members, Caesars Palace and Paris (the only ones I’ve inquired) allow three guests. So, though I appreciate the call, I certainly don’t feel satisfied with the results but I’m going to simply turn the page and move on. I have no intention of staying at Planet Hollywood anyway as it’s about fourth or fifth of my choices to stay in Las Vegas.
I checked out of Harrahs and was ready to head back to Las Vegas, but I remembered that I needed to put in my change of address to the other casinos here. My first stop was at Royal Palms. This place has really gone down the tubes the past three or four years. They’ve closed down almost two thirds of their casino, clubs, and restaurants. It was recently purchased by a new owner so I’m hoping things will turn around for them with some remodeling and rebranding. Next was the Laughlin Golden Nugget. They finished work on their atrium display, but I really can’t see much of a difference.
The atrium at the Golden Nugget in Laughlin.
I put in my address change and played a twenty in the reel version of Lord of the Rings and picked up a little $10 profit. There is a new video version of LOTR and the jury is still out on whether I like it or not. Like most new penny games, a bonus round can take forever; whereas, the reels version you can count on bonus round every thirty or so spins. Also, there are only two bonuses of the seven available on the new penny version. When will WMS get the message that people LIKE bonuses! Give us a few more, even if you water down the winnings. When we run twenty or forty dollars and don’t get even one bonus, the chances of playing that game again are close to none.
It was then on to the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater. This are sister properties next door to each other. For years you used to have to get from one to the other by walking along the river walk across a patio that would be used every holiday season for decorating and also for booths when they have chili cook offs and such. They have been constructing some shops now but I’ll be curious to see what this will look like when it’s done because at the top, they’ve installed a rotating light as you’d see on a lighthouse.
The top of the construction project between the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater
They each have their own slot club, and the boothling tells me there are no plans to merge them, so I had to make my address change at both places, but it was all good because I won $15 on a My Carrumba penny game at the Belle and $30 on a Spartacus at the Edgewater.
Gone at the Edgewater is the Pizza joint and the Nathan’s hot dogs, now there’s this sandwich shop as the remodeling continues
The newly remodeled Sportsbook at the Edgewater
Finally, it was over to the Riverside. I’ve been here twice already this trip and it never occurred to me to put in the address change, but it did give me the excuse to play a final session of Quick Quads. I sat down at the corner machine and as I was playing. As a perfect example as to never play a machine you don’t understand, an elderly man (yes, that’s redundant—it is Laughlin) was dealt three 10s, a 6 and a 4. The machine yells out “Quick Quad!” To my horror, I watch him hold the three 10s and hit the re-deal button, thus losing all five quads (he was playing Five Play). It happened so fast and he was a few machines away from me, so I couldn’t say anything in time. All I could do was shake my head and continue playing. Unfortunately, I lost $50, which was my profit from the other casinos, and I got back in my car and headed to Las Vegas.
Though the poker tournament is at Harrahs, I’m staying at the Rio. I like the Rio mostly because getting in and out of the casino is so convenient and finding a parking place is rarely a problem. I went to the Diamond registration and for the first time I felt being a 7 Stars player actually meant something. I was given a room on the top floor of the Ipanema Tower, which required a card to get on the floor. I was told a Grand Suite would be available in a few hours, but that a Jacuzzi suite was ready now. Being alone, I don’t need a grand suite, so I took the latter. This floor is very nice. There’s a reception desk at the elevators entrance, the ice machine is located in a lounge where there’s a couch, a bar, table with chairs, and a book cabinet.
A portion of the lounge where the ice machine is located on the 20th floor of the Ipanema Tower.
All the doors were mahogany. The room was decorated lavishly and even the Keurig coffee maker was free. The toiletries were supersize and included mouthwash, a toothbrush and tooth paste. The Jacuzzi was a two seater and shower had overhead and side sprayers. The view I had was perfect looking directly at the Strip. The one downside? The windows were filthy, so my picture doesn’t do the view justice.
The room (not showing is a chair and sofa, a large flat screen TV and mini-bar)
This two person Jacuzzi faces the bathroom mirror that has a TV embedding in it.
View from my room on the 20th floor of the Ipanema Tower at the Rio
Interesting is their welcome gift pack. This folds up in a cool little box.
I dropped my things off and headed to Harrahs to sign up for the Poker Tournament. There was very long line, but no one was waiting in the 7 Stars line (I could get used to this). I was signed up for the 10 AM session of the four available. I walked next door to the Quad and played in their tournament while watching the pro bowl. Usually there are only two tables for these mini-tournaments, but tonight there were four making the prize pool over $900. That didn’t help me because I made my fastest exit yet at one of these having at least made the final table each time. I was out on the last hand before the break.
I stopped in the Flamingo Diamond Lounge for snack and had a Lemon Drop cocktail and made it back to the Rio. Sleep simply wasn’t in the cards for me this night. I go through these occasionally tossing and turning and finally simply giving up. I watch a little TV, goof around with computer (have you seen the You Tube clips of the NFL lip syncing? They’re hilarious). I worked some on this chapter and finally headed over to Harrahs for my tournament but not before picking up a small breakfast at the Flamingo’s new food court.
There were approximately 360 players per session and there are four sessions, so a little shy of 1500 players total with the top 250 being in the money. The tournament was run in the usual Harrah’s format. The two final players at each table come back tomorrow for the final session and then play to the final table. All I had to do was beat eight other players at my table of ten. I took two pots early only because I had A/Q suited and Q/Q. I don’t like to get involved early in the game without quality cards. The strategy at these kinds of tournaments is to let the aggressive players run each other out of the game. This works in theory, but unfortunately for me, I soon went completely card dead. After almost an hour and with three players already eliminated, the blinds and antes dwindled down my stack to only three big blinds. I had to make a move. I was dealt K/Q of hearts. If either of those came on the flop or even two hearts, I’d go all in. The flop was 7, 10, Q of clubs. Everyone except the big blind had folded. I went all in. The big blind was holding a K and 2 of clubs. Damn it!
I drove back to the Rio. Today would be the day that I go for another 2500 tier points. There is a bank of four machines in the video poker area of the casino close to the Diamond entrance to the buffet that all have 8/5 Bonus Poker, but only in the dollar denomination. This would be my work place for the next four hours. I slipped in a hundred. It was soon gone and I only hand 73 tier points—not a good beginning. The next hundred went in. This time the full houses and flushes were beginning to strike. Soon, I hit some quad kings. The musical sounds of a Royal started going off in the machine that was on the other side of the bank. Some guy had just caught a $4K royal—it wasn’t me. Why didn’t I take that machine? (Actually, that’s a silly thought. The machine absolutely makes no difference in what cards come up on any given hand—it’s all about when you press the deal button and the cards you hold). I’m still only on my second hundred and things are going along fine. I hold three Aces and the fourth appears for a $400 win and now my total is $675. That’s as high as I would go but I kept well within the range of $300 and $400 as I played. After almost three hours, my back was beginning to ache even after getting up and stretching a few times. I went into a nose dive and finally decided I needed a break and when I reached $200 (my investment so far), I cashed out for a much needed time off. I had 1576 tier points—just short of a thousand more needed to reach my goal. I felt great that I was this far along and my bank roll was even.
It was 4:00 PM so the Diamond Lounge had just opened. I walked over showing my card and I.D. to the clerk and then took the elevator up to the lounge. At the 4 PM opening time at the Paris, Harrahs, and Flamingo there is a long line to get into the lounge. I was the only guy in the lounge aside from a couple in the back corner. I grabbed some wings (what else?) and had a couple of drinks watching Duke take on Pittsburg in college basketball for a while. The lounge eventually filled up.
I headed back downstairs for the final 1000 tier points needed. This feels like a job, not “playing” games. I have friends that LOVE to sit and play for hours on end, but this simply isn’t in my makeup. Sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end isn’t my cup of tea (ironically as I sit in front of a computer screen for hours typing these chapters). I didn’t feel up to single line video poker again, so I opted this time for the three/five play machines for quarters. Yes, I know…it’s a 7/5 game versus the single line 8/5 game of bonus poker. I’m taking a hit here, but I needed some variety for a little while. My plan was to try a hundred at quarter five-play and then a hundred at 50-cent three-play. After that, it would be back to the single line for dollars.
After only 80 tier credits, my hundred was gone from the five-play. I switched to three-play for fifty cents. After about a half hour with things going well, I held three clubs and the other two appeared on the bottom line. This time that familiar music of a Royal was coming from my machine—that’s a good feeling. There’s nothing like a $2000 jackpot to lift your spirits.
My Royal at the Rio good for $2K.
This makes my second major Royal this trip (I don’t count the three nickel royals I got on the 50-play machines as these tend to keep me playing, not to cash out). I waited for a moment to be paid and signing the dreaded IRS W2-G form. I gave the attendant a $20 tip after she counted out my 20 hundreds—all is good in the world.
I finished off my thousand points and had celebratory gourmet hamburger at the Burger King Specialty store on the second floor. It was bourbon burger and at $7.95 it was good, but certainly wouldn’t buy it again. With my healthy dinner finished, I headed up to the room. Today’s sort of luck is what’s going to be needed I’m to reach 7 Stars status again for next year. I now only have 2 of the 20 sessions needed. Fortunately, the toolbox is reloaded and I’ll now continue the quest at Rincon where I’ll wait for the multiple point days and where my favorite 8/5 Bonus Poker multiline machines are located. In my room when I returned was the turndown service with three chocolates on the pillow along with a deck of cards (funny).
I have one more day here in Las Vegas before I head back home; however, I don’t have any plans to gamble anymore and I really have no idea what I’m going to do. So, I’m going to go ahead a post this chapter. If there’s anything new to report, I’ll report it in the next chapter.
More later.
My time at Ballys is over this time around. The Seven Stars advantages were the free Internet and Pay-for-View movies in the room, the line pass during the video poker tournament registration as well as the cashier who also has a dedicated line for us. I was just a little surprised that I didn’t get any kind of a turn down service nor did I get a gift basket or even night chocolates, which many other Caesars properties do provide. There was no call from a host or anyone else welcoming you to the property—something else other properties do. I will mention these if I’m given a review survey later online. There not really important to me, but it’s another example of how different properties do things differently for their guests. A part of me thinks that they should be consistent, but again, it’s no big deal.
I packed up and headed over to Hooters to see the remodeling I heard they had done and have my breakfast while there. There really isn’t much to report except there’s new carpeting and paint, they’ve removed about half of their machines and put in double the tables. This makes sense to me because in the past when I’ve stayed here, the table games seem to always be crowded with few people playing machines. Everything was clean and shiny since the remodel when everything was getting tattered and soiled. I enjoyed a simple breakfast of eggs and read the paper. Of course, I wanted to keep my card active and on the books, so I sat down at a new Price Is Right machine. I guess I did something right because I had a nice win and walked away with a tidy $30 profit.
I had a few hours to kill before I would check into the Silverton, so I drove over to South Point to play some live 2/4 poker. South Point is putting in all new carpeting and a portion of the casino was roped off as they were installing it. The new carpet is extra padded and honestly, quite nice. I bought in for $60 and for the next three hours had a very enjoyable time playing. Most players were locals and they were talkative and nice. I end up with a good day’s worth of play and cashed out for $100. I now have $19 in comps from the poker room and $40 from the casino (they are separate accounts), and will have to use it sometime. I did play 9/6 Deluxe Poker for a hundred and just couldn’t snag a quad. So, now I’m down for the day. Of course, I stopped at the sportsbook for a $.75 quarter pound hot dog ($7.95 at Ballys). South Point continues to be a favorite casino of mine.
I drove on to the Silverton to check in. I asked for a room on the top floor (there are only four) because I know how to walk softly when there are guests below…I can’t say that for others. I had $25 in free play coming (I get that same amount every much. For as little as I play, I’m surprised I continue to get this along with the off-night room offers). I went to the high limit area where the two 100-play machines have 8/5 bonus poker for nickels. I snagged a royal on one of these my last trip. I clicked in my free play and began playing 20 games at a time. I was aiming to make 500 points because on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 500 hundred points gets you a $20 food comp at any of the restaurants. It’s great promotion. I hit some nice cards along the way and when I was dealt three Aces and caught the fourth on three of the games, I cashed out $138 plus I had way over the 500 points needed.
Tonight I decided to do something a little different. The Las Vegas Little Theater is a small community theater located, strangely enough, in the heart of a commercial building on the corner of Spring Water and Valley View, which is known as Chinatown. The theater is surrounded with Jujitsu/Karate studios, Vietnamese and Cantonese restaurants, tailors, and tattoo shops. It seats about 250 people and the cast and crew consists of local volunteers and local actors. Tonight is the opening performance of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park.” I had directed this play myself at my high school a few years ago and I was curious to compare and contrast their show with mine.
The Las Vegas Little Theater
Surprisingly, our sets were similarly designed though they had a lot more detail. The actors did a great job and I enjoyed the show thoroughly. The one thing that was distressing to me was that aside from about five or six younger adults, the audience members were all in their 70s and 80s. There was not one person under 30. It worries me that theater will one day be left behind by an apathetic youth more involved with electronics and limited attention spans. I certainly hope not.
I came back to the Silverton and thought I would pop a hundred into a hybrid machine they have which is a combination quad real and quick quads. You have to pay an extra two coins per hand and I was playing five-play of 7/5 Bonus Poker. Things started out badly and I was losing most of money when the quads began hitting. My biggest hit was a quad on the big wheel that fell on the 2000 coin slot. I walked away with a couple hundred. That would close out Thursday.
The drive to Laughlin was uneventful, a little less than an hour and a half of straight highway at the posted 75 MPH limit having to slow through Searchlight at 25 listening to Mad Dog Radio on my Sirius satellite radio. I’m anxious for baseball season to begin. It was far too early to check into Harrah’s, so I stopped at the Riverside to play their Quick Quads five-play for nickels. Things started off great and I was up $32 but soon went into a deep freeze and finally quit down $50. I went upstairs to see the cop buddy flick, RIDE ALONG. It was a little silly and predictable, but a fun popcorn flick.
It was now 2:30 and time to check in. There’s a bit of a story here. A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a host here at Harrahs. He said that he had read my review from my previous stay. Sometimes, Caesars sends out online reviews after you stay at one of their properties saying that if you’ll take the time to fill it out, you’d be eligible to receive up to $5000 in free play. I’ve never received anything and didn’t this time, but have to admit surprise that mine actually got read. He said he was sorry for my dissatisfaction with the North Tower. (I’ve filled these things out so often; I couldn’t remember what I said on this particular one though I’m never happy with the North Tower. I make sure when I do say negative things that I’m fair making sure I’m not ranting too much and always make a point of saying good things as well. Harrah’s Laughlin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the customer service here is as good as you’ll find anywhere). The host said that when book a room next time, to give him a call and he’d see to it that I was given an upgrade in the Central Tower. So, when I set up this trip’s itinerary and needing a weekend stay, I called him. I was secretly hoping for the Babbitt Suite, but was given a room on the top floor two doors down from it. It was one of their usual suites, which is perfectly fine.
There were two windows like this. If you wanted to see the river below, you would need to hop up on the cushion. I suppose it would also make a nice little bed for kids.
View from my room’s window. It’s 3 PM, notice nothing is on the river. Take this same picture in July, you’ll see a completely different scene.
After putting my things away, I had determined that today I’d start my 7 Stars renewal and go after 2500 tier points. I’m going to need 20 days of 2500 points in order to reach that goal. Of course, there will be some minor play on other days, which will help as well, but my thinking is 20 days at this level. I chose the nickel/dime 50 plays which have both 8/5 Super Double Bonus and Bonus Deuces. Both these games are just over 98% return games with perfect play so I should expect to lose $500 with close to perfect play of $25,000 coin in (over the course of the entire renewal process, that would be a loss of $10,000). Of course, I would need some luck along the way as did last year when I was way ahead of the curve with Royals. The 7 Stars status and perks are NOT worth $10K a year. (If you’re a new reader, playing video poker at $10 per point, making 7 Stars requires coin in of $1.5 million dollars, but this get cut by a third if you reach the $25K per day because they give you 5K bonus tier points each time you reach that level within a 24 hour period—regardless, that’s a shitload of money either way for a guy on a retired school teacher’s salary).
I put in my first hundred and things went very well in the beginning. The new flat screen high definition machines that have been installed are much faster and after I reached my goal (playing $12.50 per hand) in a little more than three hours, I had hit three Royals ($200 per Royal); however, I was dealt very few pat hands and no dealt quads, so I end up losing $850 for the session. That’s okay. My toolbox can certainly handle this but I’ll need a little better luck down the road if I’m to make this goal. My next attempt at the 25K will be after I check into the Rio on the next and final leg of this trip as they have two 8/5 bonus poker single line machines for dollars. I prefer multi-line machines to single line but it’s the only known full pay video poker game in all of Las Vegas. If I can manage two 25K days per month, I’ll reach my goal. If things begin to get out of hand, I’ll be perfectly happy with Diamond status in 2015.
For those of you on the East Coast who are having the worst winter in decades, Southern Nevada and most of California are going through the worst drought in decades. The weather here is beautiful, however the wind is pretty strong this weekend and so taking the water taxi is out. On Saturday, knowing that I wasn’t going to be playing the machines; I thought I might just stay at Harrah’s and play some live poker. As many times as I’ve stayed here over the years, I’ve never played poker here simply because their take is a little high plus the only game they offer that I can afford is a 3/6 Kill limit. The Colorado Belle has a 2/4 game I prefer, but today I was in the mood to give it a shot here. The only bonuses offered here is Aces cracked ($25 for mixed suited Aces and $100 for suited Aces) and $599 Royals. I figure a $100 win or lose would be okay with me. I didn’t win my first hand for 45 minutes, but then went on a bit of a roll. After more than four hours of play, I left with a $25 profit (more if you consider the dollar tip to the dealer after each winning hand), so it was a good day at the tables.
I also had a $25 food coupon so I used it a Baja Blue, their Mexican restaurant and had the enchilada trio plate. It was good, but the food here isn’t anything special and I wouldn’t choose to eat here if I had to pay for it. The only other thing worth noting about today was that I was watching an elderly lady playing the newer Buffalo machine. She was playing $1.50 per spin and was doing okay when after one non-winning hand, a buffalo charged the center of the machine and a winning box appeared saying she had just won the minor jackpot for $906.00. I suppose this is just a random award, but it so surprised her, she began to cry. It was really sweet. I can’t imagine what she would have done had it been the major award, which is currently $19,550.
I came up to the room to update this report and watch some TV. In room movies are free, but there simply wasn’t anything that I hadn’t already seen or was interested in, so I got hooked into a series of Anthony Bourdain shows on CNN. It might a good time to update what happened over the Thanksgiving weekend. I wrote about having been insulted at the Planet Hollywood Diamond Lounge where I tried to bring in an extra guest and was told no and referred to a host who told me “I’ll let you do it this time, but don’t ask again.” It embarrassed me and my guests and was completely unprofessional. The next day, I got the names and address of the Planet Hollywood’s President, Food and Beverage Manager, and Host Supervisor. When I returned home, I wrote a letter to all of them explaining how I was treated. About a week later, I received a phone call from the secretary of the Food and Beverage manager (he was in a “meeting”) and apologized for the incident saying the host in would be talked to and that to please call her when I booked a room at Planet Hollywood the next time and she’d see to it that I’d get an upgrade. Well, first of all, as a 7 Star holder, I’m supposed to get an upgrade anyway. Also, Planet Hollywood allows only one guest per 7 Stars card members, Caesars Palace and Paris (the only ones I’ve inquired) allow three guests. So, though I appreciate the call, I certainly don’t feel satisfied with the results but I’m going to simply turn the page and move on. I have no intention of staying at Planet Hollywood anyway as it’s about fourth or fifth of my choices to stay in Las Vegas.
I checked out of Harrahs and was ready to head back to Las Vegas, but I remembered that I needed to put in my change of address to the other casinos here. My first stop was at Royal Palms. This place has really gone down the tubes the past three or four years. They’ve closed down almost two thirds of their casino, clubs, and restaurants. It was recently purchased by a new owner so I’m hoping things will turn around for them with some remodeling and rebranding. Next was the Laughlin Golden Nugget. They finished work on their atrium display, but I really can’t see much of a difference.
The atrium at the Golden Nugget in Laughlin.
I put in my address change and played a twenty in the reel version of Lord of the Rings and picked up a little $10 profit. There is a new video version of LOTR and the jury is still out on whether I like it or not. Like most new penny games, a bonus round can take forever; whereas, the reels version you can count on bonus round every thirty or so spins. Also, there are only two bonuses of the seven available on the new penny version. When will WMS get the message that people LIKE bonuses! Give us a few more, even if you water down the winnings. When we run twenty or forty dollars and don’t get even one bonus, the chances of playing that game again are close to none.
It was then on to the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater. This are sister properties next door to each other. For years you used to have to get from one to the other by walking along the river walk across a patio that would be used every holiday season for decorating and also for booths when they have chili cook offs and such. They have been constructing some shops now but I’ll be curious to see what this will look like when it’s done because at the top, they’ve installed a rotating light as you’d see on a lighthouse.
The top of the construction project between the Colorado Belle and the Edgewater
They each have their own slot club, and the boothling tells me there are no plans to merge them, so I had to make my address change at both places, but it was all good because I won $15 on a My Carrumba penny game at the Belle and $30 on a Spartacus at the Edgewater.
Gone at the Edgewater is the Pizza joint and the Nathan’s hot dogs, now there’s this sandwich shop as the remodeling continues
The newly remodeled Sportsbook at the Edgewater
Finally, it was over to the Riverside. I’ve been here twice already this trip and it never occurred to me to put in the address change, but it did give me the excuse to play a final session of Quick Quads. I sat down at the corner machine and as I was playing. As a perfect example as to never play a machine you don’t understand, an elderly man (yes, that’s redundant—it is Laughlin) was dealt three 10s, a 6 and a 4. The machine yells out “Quick Quad!” To my horror, I watch him hold the three 10s and hit the re-deal button, thus losing all five quads (he was playing Five Play). It happened so fast and he was a few machines away from me, so I couldn’t say anything in time. All I could do was shake my head and continue playing. Unfortunately, I lost $50, which was my profit from the other casinos, and I got back in my car and headed to Las Vegas.
Though the poker tournament is at Harrahs, I’m staying at the Rio. I like the Rio mostly because getting in and out of the casino is so convenient and finding a parking place is rarely a problem. I went to the Diamond registration and for the first time I felt being a 7 Stars player actually meant something. I was given a room on the top floor of the Ipanema Tower, which required a card to get on the floor. I was told a Grand Suite would be available in a few hours, but that a Jacuzzi suite was ready now. Being alone, I don’t need a grand suite, so I took the latter. This floor is very nice. There’s a reception desk at the elevators entrance, the ice machine is located in a lounge where there’s a couch, a bar, table with chairs, and a book cabinet.
A portion of the lounge where the ice machine is located on the 20th floor of the Ipanema Tower.
All the doors were mahogany. The room was decorated lavishly and even the Keurig coffee maker was free. The toiletries were supersize and included mouthwash, a toothbrush and tooth paste. The Jacuzzi was a two seater and shower had overhead and side sprayers. The view I had was perfect looking directly at the Strip. The one downside? The windows were filthy, so my picture doesn’t do the view justice.
The room (not showing is a chair and sofa, a large flat screen TV and mini-bar)
This two person Jacuzzi faces the bathroom mirror that has a TV embedding in it.
View from my room on the 20th floor of the Ipanema Tower at the Rio
Interesting is their welcome gift pack. This folds up in a cool little box.
I dropped my things off and headed to Harrahs to sign up for the Poker Tournament. There was very long line, but no one was waiting in the 7 Stars line (I could get used to this). I was signed up for the 10 AM session of the four available. I walked next door to the Quad and played in their tournament while watching the pro bowl. Usually there are only two tables for these mini-tournaments, but tonight there were four making the prize pool over $900. That didn’t help me because I made my fastest exit yet at one of these having at least made the final table each time. I was out on the last hand before the break.
I stopped in the Flamingo Diamond Lounge for snack and had a Lemon Drop cocktail and made it back to the Rio. Sleep simply wasn’t in the cards for me this night. I go through these occasionally tossing and turning and finally simply giving up. I watch a little TV, goof around with computer (have you seen the You Tube clips of the NFL lip syncing? They’re hilarious). I worked some on this chapter and finally headed over to Harrahs for my tournament but not before picking up a small breakfast at the Flamingo’s new food court.
There were approximately 360 players per session and there are four sessions, so a little shy of 1500 players total with the top 250 being in the money. The tournament was run in the usual Harrah’s format. The two final players at each table come back tomorrow for the final session and then play to the final table. All I had to do was beat eight other players at my table of ten. I took two pots early only because I had A/Q suited and Q/Q. I don’t like to get involved early in the game without quality cards. The strategy at these kinds of tournaments is to let the aggressive players run each other out of the game. This works in theory, but unfortunately for me, I soon went completely card dead. After almost an hour and with three players already eliminated, the blinds and antes dwindled down my stack to only three big blinds. I had to make a move. I was dealt K/Q of hearts. If either of those came on the flop or even two hearts, I’d go all in. The flop was 7, 10, Q of clubs. Everyone except the big blind had folded. I went all in. The big blind was holding a K and 2 of clubs. Damn it!
I drove back to the Rio. Today would be the day that I go for another 2500 tier points. There is a bank of four machines in the video poker area of the casino close to the Diamond entrance to the buffet that all have 8/5 Bonus Poker, but only in the dollar denomination. This would be my work place for the next four hours. I slipped in a hundred. It was soon gone and I only hand 73 tier points—not a good beginning. The next hundred went in. This time the full houses and flushes were beginning to strike. Soon, I hit some quad kings. The musical sounds of a Royal started going off in the machine that was on the other side of the bank. Some guy had just caught a $4K royal—it wasn’t me. Why didn’t I take that machine? (Actually, that’s a silly thought. The machine absolutely makes no difference in what cards come up on any given hand—it’s all about when you press the deal button and the cards you hold). I’m still only on my second hundred and things are going along fine. I hold three Aces and the fourth appears for a $400 win and now my total is $675. That’s as high as I would go but I kept well within the range of $300 and $400 as I played. After almost three hours, my back was beginning to ache even after getting up and stretching a few times. I went into a nose dive and finally decided I needed a break and when I reached $200 (my investment so far), I cashed out for a much needed time off. I had 1576 tier points—just short of a thousand more needed to reach my goal. I felt great that I was this far along and my bank roll was even.
It was 4:00 PM so the Diamond Lounge had just opened. I walked over showing my card and I.D. to the clerk and then took the elevator up to the lounge. At the 4 PM opening time at the Paris, Harrahs, and Flamingo there is a long line to get into the lounge. I was the only guy in the lounge aside from a couple in the back corner. I grabbed some wings (what else?) and had a couple of drinks watching Duke take on Pittsburg in college basketball for a while. The lounge eventually filled up.
I headed back downstairs for the final 1000 tier points needed. This feels like a job, not “playing” games. I have friends that LOVE to sit and play for hours on end, but this simply isn’t in my makeup. Sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end isn’t my cup of tea (ironically as I sit in front of a computer screen for hours typing these chapters). I didn’t feel up to single line video poker again, so I opted this time for the three/five play machines for quarters. Yes, I know…it’s a 7/5 game versus the single line 8/5 game of bonus poker. I’m taking a hit here, but I needed some variety for a little while. My plan was to try a hundred at quarter five-play and then a hundred at 50-cent three-play. After that, it would be back to the single line for dollars.
After only 80 tier credits, my hundred was gone from the five-play. I switched to three-play for fifty cents. After about a half hour with things going well, I held three clubs and the other two appeared on the bottom line. This time that familiar music of a Royal was coming from my machine—that’s a good feeling. There’s nothing like a $2000 jackpot to lift your spirits.
My Royal at the Rio good for $2K.
This makes my second major Royal this trip (I don’t count the three nickel royals I got on the 50-play machines as these tend to keep me playing, not to cash out). I waited for a moment to be paid and signing the dreaded IRS W2-G form. I gave the attendant a $20 tip after she counted out my 20 hundreds—all is good in the world.
I finished off my thousand points and had celebratory gourmet hamburger at the Burger King Specialty store on the second floor. It was bourbon burger and at $7.95 it was good, but certainly wouldn’t buy it again. With my healthy dinner finished, I headed up to the room. Today’s sort of luck is what’s going to be needed I’m to reach 7 Stars status again for next year. I now only have 2 of the 20 sessions needed. Fortunately, the toolbox is reloaded and I’ll now continue the quest at Rincon where I’ll wait for the multiple point days and where my favorite 8/5 Bonus Poker multiline machines are located. In my room when I returned was the turndown service with three chocolates on the pillow along with a deck of cards (funny).
I have one more day here in Las Vegas before I head back home; however, I don’t have any plans to gamble anymore and I really have no idea what I’m going to do. So, I’m going to go ahead a post this chapter. If there’s anything new to report, I’ll report it in the next chapter.
More later.
