Reaching for the Stars – Chapter 14
I’m barely back home after the wonderful trip to New Orleans before I’m on the road again two days later heading to Las Vegas. There are a couple of reasons for the this trip: There is a $25,000 slot tournament offer at the Flamingo that comes with $40 freeplay and three comped nights at either the Flamingo, Ballys, Harrahs, Paris, Rio, or the Quad. Notably absent from this list is Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace. I’ve never had a good experience at the Flamingo; Harrahs is okay, but a little old; Ballys is a favorite but I’m staying there later this week; the Quad, which has done a sparkling job of remodeling the casino, hasn’t touched their rooms that are really no better the motel quality; and finally the Paris, which a lot of people seem to like, but I don’t really care for it. The rooms need to be upgraded and the place is always so busy, you’re constantly dodging gawkers. So I stayed once again at the Rio. Getting in and out of the place is a snap. I really enjoyed my last stay here in 2003, which is on the 7 Stars floor and though not a suite, it’s very well anointed with everything I need—and the view is spectacular with a view of the Strip and the new Observation Wheel, which is now lit up at night with rotating colors and motion schemes.
I arrived at 9AM in Las Vegas and made my usual first stop at the M to collect any free play for the month. I was a little surprised that there was none. Hmm, I suppose they caught on that I’ve only been playing enough there each month to take advantage of the freebie. I did want to play something, so I sat down at a Bier Haus penny machine with a $20. I had almost lost it when I caught a bonus, which retriggered and walked with $56. I then played some nickel Super Aces video poker because the progressive suited royals were high. I caught a couple of quads and walked with another $60 profit. As I was walking back to my car, I found a different Bier Haus machine and though I didn’t catch a bonus, I hit a blackout of beer steins for another $45 win. Geez! Is this my day?
The M Resort. Continues to be a favorite. Hash House A-Go-Go is gone but a new Asian themed restaurant called Jayed is up and is beautifully designed.
I next drove down to the South Point where I wanted to have some breakfast and possibly play some live poker to kill a few hours before needing to check in. I used my slot points for breakfast at the buffet, which was really crowded. It was President’s Day, so a lot people were here enjoying the 3-day weekend. After breakfast, I found a couple of the same Bier Haus machines. As the gambling gods felt I had won enough this morning, they began taking back my earlier winnings. It was 10X points day here, so I kept trying but nothing seemed to work, and it wasn’t long before I pretty much gave back my winnings from the M. I take from one casino, and simply give it back to another one—not the plan.
They were just opening up a 2/4 game in the poker room and I bought in for $60. I’ve mentioned this many times before but it bears repeating, if you’re simply a competent player at Texas Hold ‘em, live poker is truly the cheapest game you can play in a casino. You can play for hours and not win or lose a hundred bucks. Try that with any machine in the place. Plus you get to take advantage of drinks for the cost of a tip and usually some good chit-chat with dealers and players. I’ve been on a bit of a winning streak in live poker (not tournaments, which I’ve sucked at) with wins the past five or six visits. Today was no exception. I played for about three hours and walked away with a small $30 profit (figuring dealer tips and drinks, it was more like $50). No one is going to make a living at a 2/4 game, but occasionally you hit a nice bonus hand, which I did last year when I caught a Royal for $1500. You just never know.
The Rio is a favorite place to stay. Caesars needs to put a coat of paint on the old gal.
The view from my room. Wish my camera would take a good night picture, but it’s a no-go.
When I arrived at the Rio, I was pleased to see that they had the room ready for me. There was a small problem after I unpacked and that was the curtain was stuck at the half way position. It’s electronic and I think it was off the track. I called housekeeping and then headed over to Harrahs to register for the slot tournament. I valet parked at the Quad because it’s far less crowded than Harrahs or the Flamingo. Registration went without a hitch with me being given a 1:40 time slot for both days. I went over to the Quad hoping to catch one of their $30 tournaments, but realized I was pretty tired. I had left at 3AM and it was catching up with me. I drove back to the Rio and stopped in the Diamond Lounge for a Lemon Drop martini and a couple of chicken wings and rolled tacos (not the most nutritious dinner, but it will do). I was a little disappointed that there was no welcome snack pack waiting for me, nor was there any turndown service (though it was still a little early). However, the curtains were fixed and my view was terrific. I watched some of the Olympics and finally was asleep.
I had a good night’s sleep and went down to the casino to begin today’s play. One of the nice things about this 7 Stars floor is array of bathroom toiletries that are in your room. Not just extra large shampoos, hand creams, and conditioners; but also mouth wash, hair net, vanity bag, shaving kit, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste. On all of my travels throughout the year, I collect all of these things and after the summer, leave them with a teaching colleague who opened an orphanage/school in the Guatemala rain forest that she ships down there to the kids. My strategy is to leave the maid her tip on my first day, and I end up getting a new supply of everything each day of my stay.
I’ve decided to take a shot at 2500 tier points today using the $40 freeplay to get things started. I sat down at one of the machines that have 8/5 Bonus Poker for dollars and began play. I hung in there for a while and stopped at 335 points because I needed to get over to the Flamingo for the tournament. I have had really bad luck over the years in slot tournaments. I’ve done well in video poker (there’s a skill factor there) and taken home some prize money, but slots is just ten minutes of pushing a button and hoping some good hits come your way. Today’s session didn’t go too badly for me. I had 8,885 points, which appears to be in the top 30% or so judging by my row. They pay to top 500 scores after the two sessions, so if I can at least duplicate this tomorrow, I very well might be in the money. The top 5 scores not only win big bucks, but are sent to New Orleans in November to compete for a million dollars. I’m not holding my breath.
After the tournament session, I went over to the Quad and signed up for one of their daily $30 poker tournaments. I suppose I’m just a glutton for punishment because I’ve now played in about seven or eight of these and have yet to come in the money. However, it’s cheap enough to keep trying and I always seem to have a good time regardless. This session only had 22 participants and I came finally lost in 7th place—once again out of the money. I’ll keep trying. Just when I thought it might just not be my day, I was heading toward the valet when another Bier Haus machine caught my eye. I slipped in a $20 and played the minimum. I soon had a bonus round of 53 spins. Not only did I hit a couple big payouts, when my spins were up, I also received the minor progressive for an extra $45. Sweet!
A nice hit for a 40-cent bet. Occasionally these penny games pay off.
It was already 4PM and I headed back to the Rio to continue my quest for a 2500 tier point day. I sat down at a triple play 7/5 Bonus (the best schedule they have in multi-play games—I know, it’s not full pay you purists out there, but I’ve done well on these). I began playing at the 50-cent level and was doing well. I occasionally moved it up do dollars when I was ahead and would switch to quarter 5-play when I was down. I had finally gone over the 2500 tier point mark at 9PM. My toolbox took a small hit but not serious. I was deal four-to-the-royal THREE times, and didn’t connect any of them (but it sure is exciting each time it happens). I picked up a sandwich for dinner and went up to my room. With the bonus, I am now over the 50,000 tier point mark—a third of the way to my goal and I have another ten months to get her done.
Sleep was not so as good as last night and with only about four hours of it, I gave in and watched Sportscenter and worked on this report. I decided that since I was already and the Rio and wanted to use my two free February tickets, I’d see Penn and Teller. I’ve seen them before but I enjoy their show and they make changes every night. I went to the Rewards center to get the voucher, but the box office didn’t open until 11 AM, so I went over to the buffet to have breakfast using my reward points. This is the very last week that the Carnival Buffet will be open for breakfast. Hash House-A-Go-Go opened up where the café used to be and are open only during breakfast and lunch. This will be the only place to get breakfast aside from the sportsbook deli.
After lunch, I headed over to the box office. I gave the clerk my 7 Stars card and my voucher and told him to give the very best seats still available as I wanted to impress my date (no I don’t have a date, but thought it might encourage him to try a little harder). He picked up the phone and talked to someone and gave my name and card number. He then handed me two tickers down center five rows from the stage. I put out a Facebook notice that if any of my friends happen to be Vegas and would like a free ticket to let me know. No luck there, so I suppose there will be an empty seat next to me.
I went to my car and drove down Flamingo to the Target store to pick up some undershirts and small things and finally over to the valet at the Quad. I played some games at the Quad as I had an hour before my tournament time. I played some game on a bank of machines that had Caesars progressives on them I’ve never seen before. I played for awhile and was surprised when my machine went into a game that showed “x” number of Caesars logos. The more logos they higher the prize and I end with the Platinum progressive good for $75. For as long as I’ve gambled, I’ve never won a penny game progressive and now I’ve won two in as many days. Go figure!
Yes Martha, there are flamingos at the Flamingo.
I headed over to the Flamingo to play my last session in the tournament. Having had a decent round yesterday, I was hoping to at least match that. I heard from the man next to who said he was told by the manager that the highest score yesterday was 14K. I had 8K and though it’s not all that close, I’m pretty sure I’d be in the top couple of hundred. We began our ten minute session and within the first minute I hit a triple diamond (the top prize). However, that was the only one. I still end up with 8400 (higher than anyone in my row). So I have a total 17,200 points for the two sessions. To make things even better, the manager announced they decided to pay the top 700 players, so I’m sure to win something. I’m hoping for a couple hundred, which would match my video poker tournament here last week. We won’t know until tonight after 8 PM.
I have nothing really planned today other than the show tonight, so I thought I might venture downtown to the Fremont to play some Pick ‘em. As I turned on Flamingo, I saw the Tuscany on my right and pulled in. Some people call it tenacity, others call it stubbornness. I’m not sure which category I fit but the Tuscany has a bank of 10-coin nickel Joker’s Wild Progressives that I’ve been trying to hit ever since this place opened over ten years ago. Every time I’m in town, I dedicate a $20 to this mission of hitting that Royal. I’ve never done it. (There’s one other similar game I play at the Vegas Club—same game—same reason—same results). But I am determined to hit it one day, maybe today is that day.
The Tuscany on Flamingo—a good place to stay as well. Rooms are converted apartments.
To give you an idea how long I’ve been at this, I only play the $20 and leave. I checked with the booth today and I have earned $38 in comps and $16 in cash, which I’ve yet to use. I sat down at the machine and began playing. It’s only a 20/5/4 game (poor), but I go for it anyway. There’s something to say about tradition. Once again, I didn’t hit a Royal; however, for the second time, I managed a five-of-kind for a nice $100 win. I cashed out and headed for downtown.
A nice little hit on a 10-coin nickel machine.
I parked in the Fremont valet and went directly to the Pick ‘em machine (there are four of them at the keno lounge). These are full pay machines and last week, I hit a quad on them for a sweet $150 win. I played for a good hour and though I had some nice hits along the way and ran over 2K through the machine, my hundred was finally gone (once again, take from one casino—give it another casino). I enjoyed of the café’s jumbo hot dogs and took a walk down the Fremont experience. The usual costumed panhandlers and beggars with their cardboard signs were everywhere (something really does need to be done). I took a couple of pictures for this report and headed back to the Rio.
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The D (formerly Fitzgerald’s) has become the “cool” place to be seen by the younger crowd.
Slotzilla zip line is ready to go!
Usually when I come downtown, I bring all the slot club cards and play in each of the casinos down here; however, I wasn’t up for it today and I’ll be back in Las Vegas this Monday and I have no doubt I’ll be back down here again. I drove back to the Rio and landed myself once again in the Diamond Lounge. It was full and so I invited myself to a table where two folks were sitting and they were fine with it. I ordered my usual lemon drop and went to the buffet where the hot food item was (drum roll please) chicken wings.
I struck up a nice conversation with the couple who where here staying with a brother who lives in Henderson. They’re from New York. Her name was Christine and his name was Vinnie (that’s right, Vinnie from New York). The drove here just before all the winter storms hit the east coast. They say they make this drive often taking different routes each time. We chatted about everything from Sandy (their house was spared) to the many different Caesars properties. They were very interested in me and inquired about the Las Vegas Advisor. I gave the site address (Hey Anthony…how about a little commission…I’m your biggest promoter over the years).
I came up to the room as I have a couple hours before the Penn and Teller show and thought I’d play a little online poker for a bit. When Nevada made it legal, Stations casinos soon began Ultimate Poker and I joined. It’s very convenient because you can make deposits and withdrawals at any Stations casino. I don’t get a chance to play very much simply because I have to be in Nevada (or New Jersey) and so often when I am here, I rarely spend my time sitting at my computer. But I do enjoy it. So, I played a little while sneaking in some time for this report.
I was it almost time for the show and the results were being posted for the slot tournament. I got into line and was a little disappointed as I came in place 331 (I don’t know how many people played, but I believe it was around 1200) and won a $100—glad to have won something, but I think I was hoping for a little more. Rather than pick up the freeplay here at the Rio, I’ll go to Ballys tomorrow and get the vouchers there because I return to Las Vegas after my three nights in Laughlin to Ballys for a birthday offer, which includes $150 plus $65 in rewards credits.
The Penn and Teller show, which I’ve seen before, was excellent. They’re smart because they don’t do the same show every night. They mix up their bits and add new ones all the time. About half the bits last night I’ve seen before (and that’s okay, they still amaze me) but the new ones were really fun. Teller talks through the entire show and keeps the audience laughing. I had a great seat but never did find anyone to come along with me, so I told the lady on the other end of me that she was welcome to put her jacket on the $125 seat as my “date” couldn’t make it. This whole two free show tickets per month is a great perk for Diamond and 7 Stars card holders.
It’s Thursday and it’s time to check out of the Rio and head over to the Silverton for my free one night before I head to Laughlin for the weekend. I checked at 11AM and had some time to kill before I could check in so I thought I might run out to Red Rock to see the Lego movie. I hadn’t intended to see this but it’s gotten so many great reviews, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
(Serendipity: When something good comes out of an accident.) I first drove over to Ballys to pick up my $100 freeplay ticket (where ever you pick up a voucher, you have to do it at the casino you’re going to play it as each casino has their own tickets) so I could play it when I check in next Monday. I then drove back onto Flamingo and saw the Palms. They have a theater too so I checked my iphone and they were also showing the Lego movie but not for an hour. I thought I could play some 9/6 Jacks 50-play while waiting for the show. I went to the players club and saw a sign the Thursdays were Senior Advantage. All movies were $4 and 50% all restaurants. I got a voucher for my movie (I still have $80 in old points I’m slowly using up). I went over the 50-plays and put in a hundred. To get the full pay schedule, the highest amount you can play is $.02 ($5.00 per deal). Things were going fine when I was dealt quad 6s ($125 win). Then a few hands later, I was dealt three-to-a-royal and I caught one on one of the lines. The very nest hand, I was again dealt three-to-royal, and I picked up another one! At only two cents, a royal is only worth $80. I’ve now had five of these so far this year; however, I don’t really count these smaller royals in my yearly tally simply because they’re not “cash out” wins, rather I just keep playing. It was almost time for my movie and I cashed out $350. What a nice surprising win.
The center bar at the Palms
The movie turned out to be really good, in an odd sort of way. I finally drove over to the Silverton and asked for a room on the 4th floor. Unfortunately the dinner promotion is over, but there’s a 10X points on Fridays, so I’ll not play today and wait until tomorrow. I have $25 free play I start things off with.
The Silverton has two 100-plays in the high limit area that have .5/.10/.25 full pay bonus poker. I first took out my $25 free play and added a hundred. The 10X points only apply to reels (big surprise). I just couldn’t get anything going and eventually lost. I went over to the spin poker machines and played some Ugly Deuces, but again, there was no luck for me. So, my free room at the Silverton ends up costing me $200. I’ve had some good luck here in the past, so I’ll just have to chalk it up and move on.
After filling up at the Henderson Costco ($3.31 per), I drove on Laughlin where I’ll be staying for the next three days. I have three nights comped and am going to meet Martin and my parents who are also driving in from San Diego. I arrived at 10AM and it was too early to check in so I decided to watch the movie 3 DAYS TO KILL with Kevin Costner. There was an hour to kill before the movie started, so I sat down at the Quick Quads. Things were going really bad until I was dealt a Quick Quad (I play five play for nickels), which allowed me to play longer, but the bottom line was that I lost $50 when it was time for the move it begin. I believe this is not going to be my day for gambling, so I think I’ll quit for the day. The movie, which has gotten very good reviews, was good, I thought—at least it fit my criteria—lost of action, some comedy, so romance—all the goodies.
I drove to Harrah’s and checked in being given a suite in the North Tower. The suite is nice and, as always now, comes with free in-room movies and Internet. As usual, I unpacked and set up my laptop and turned it on—disaster! My hard drive failed. I tried restarting it, again no good. This is just great! I’ve never had problems with my laptop before. I’ve been writing this chapter as the days go on and I’ve already writing seven pages—and now there’s a chance it’s going to be lost.
I got a call from my dad who had just arrived at the Riverside. I went down and picked up a couple of water taxi tickets (free for 7 Stars holders) and took it to the Riverside where I met my parents. Soon Martin called and we agreed to meet half way at the Aquarius. I told my parents that I’m going spring for dinner tomorrow at the Range using my reward points and we agreed to meet at 5:30. I met up with Martin and we walked over to the Colorado Belle to have dinner at their brewery; however, the line was nuts to get in so we took the water taxi to Harrah’s and had a meal there in the café. Martin had the salmon and I had chicken parmesan, both meals were good. We went up to my suite to see if by some miracle my computer would start up. No such luck. My gift basket was left in my room with the usual goodies of cookies, candy, waters, nuts, pretzels, apples, and this time oranges instead of bananas.
I couldn’t sleep right away, so I put on the movie THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. It was just okay. Not bad, but I can see why it didn’t do too well at the box office.
Saturday morning I got an early start because today was going to be a long one. I want to earn my 2500 tier points today, then dinner with the family, and then a LeAnn Rimes concert, which Martin had scored a couple tickets with his free room at the Colorado Belle. I was on the machines by 7AM and sat down at the 2-cent 50-play machine and began with 8/5 Super Double Bonus. It wasn’t long before I was dealt a straight flush, good for $400.
A nice start to the game
Things moved along. At $5 per deal, to reach $25,000 in play is going to take a while and it did. I was dealt four-to-the-royal once and caught only one. It would be the last time I was dealt four-to-the-royal again all day. After about an hour, I had lost what I had and switched games to Bonus Deuces Wild which on this game pays 15 for a straight flush. I was soon dealt quad 3s with a deuce which in this game is good for $200. It was sad because had I been playing Super Double, it would have been good for $400 or Double Double when had been $800. But that’s how it goes.
An excellent draw—wrong game.
Things just never got cooking anymore. I eventually thought it might be time to move off the 50-plays and go back to the 3/5-plays for quarters. It took until just before noon (5 hours of play) when I finally reached the 2500 tier points. Aside from the two cent royal, I had no others all day despite many, many close calls. Despite the winning hands I noted above, I also caught a total of three quad Aces playing .50-cent bonus poker good for a total of $600. Even with the $1200 in good hands, there were just too many bad ones to go along with it and I was down $700 for the day. So the toolbox takes a little hit today. That’s all right. It goes with the game. I’ll be making one more 2500 tier point run this trip when I return to Las Vegas on Monday.
Our reservation at the Range Steakhouse was at 5:30. Recently, Harrahs’ properties have been closing their steakhouses and contracting out to Ruth Chris and other national brands. However, Laughlin is holding out and it’s easy to see why. After finishing our salads, the place was already full. I have dinner at my mother’s house every Monday night that I’m in town (started 25 years ago when I was still finishing my college degree we called Starving Student Night), so I was really glad to treat my family to some fine dining. With all this play, I continue to build reward points and I’m always trying to do most of my playing on multiple point days. Because Caesars comps me more rooms and food I need, I find that it’s almost hard to spend the points. It’s nice to be in a position to do this. The six of us had a range of dishes: I had the special of the night, steak stallions and spicy shrimp; Martin the lamp chops; Rick had the chicken and pasta; Pam the shrimp fettuccini; Pop had prime rib; and my mom—the lobster. All the meals were great and the service excellent.
From left: Martin, Papa, Mom, Pam, and Rick (in a failed attempt to escape the picture)
We said our goodnights and Martin and I went up to my room to hang out as we had an hour before the LeAnn Rimes concert. I took the water taxi to the Edgewater Hotel and Casino where the concert was inside one of the huge white tents. They somehow managed to load 2500 people and our seats, though pretty far from the stage, were fine as the sound was terrific and the two large screens on each side of the stage showed her singing and emotions just fine. I’ve been to many of these kinds of concerts over the years. LeAnn’s voice seemed a little hoarse, probably due to many shows, but it also added a nice throaty gravel to the songs. The thing that I appreciated was that LeAnn tells the crowd right off the top that while she used to do shows from a set list, she now comes with nothing prepared and simply takes all her song choices from the crowd. Of course, all of her hits were in there, but some hard-core fans in the front were calling B-side songs that she hadn’t done in years and many times her manager had to come running out with lyrics as she forgotten them. It gave a real honest and raw feel to the show. She talked to the audience a lot and made the show feel intimate—to say nothing of her amazing voice.
LeAnn Rimes in concert. Bad picture, but all of them were. Flash photo wasn’t allowed and lights played havoc with my camera.
Sunday is a day I plan to do very little other than a little live poker. I took my time in my room and finally headed into Bullhead to fill up the tank ($3.09 per) and then a quick stop at Target. I decided to check out an Antique flea market being held in the convention area of the Avi Hotel and Casino. The exhibition had a lot antique furniture, jewelry, clothes, and knick-knacks. (Mari—you’re mother would have been in heaven!) After walking around a bit, I played and lost a twenty in the Keno machines.
The Avi Hotel and Casino (the only Indian casino in the state of Nevada)
The Antique Flea Market at the Avi Hotel and Casino
I drove next to the Riverside to buy a couple of sunglasses. They have bifocal reading sunglasses for only $15 each and I try to keep my stock up whenever I’m here. I next drove over to the Colorado Belle and met up with Martin for some 2/4 live poker. Today every hour or so, Aces cracked were worth triple though that makes no difference to me because I NEVER get dealt pocket Aces. I did, however, have a good day. Though things started out badly down $60, I soon made a nice recovery and even caught a $25 bonus when I had quad Aces. After four hours or so, I left up $75. Martin, however, was having a real bad time of it. It was nice, relaxing day.
Monday and it’s moving day again. It’s back to Bally’s where I’m taking advantage of a Birthday offer (must be used within the month) of $150 freeplay and $65 in comps along with three nights. I stayed in Laughlin until 11AM and finally hit the road. By the time I was in Las Vegas, it was still too early to check in, so I made a stop at South Point to play some 2/4 live poker.
Yesterday playing I had a very good day catching more than my fair share of hands; however, like video poker, the cards can go bad and today that’s exactly what happened. I played for an hour and forty-five minutes and did not win ONE hand. Even being dealt A/K; A/Q; pocket Jacks, and pocket 3s—all became losers to river wins and poor flops. It was just one of those days. I don’t remember the last time I played an entire session without tipping the dealer at least one dollar (following a win). Sigh!
I checked into Ballys and was given a “grand suite.” Bally’s interpretation of a grand suite and mine differ vastly. Once again in the Jubilee Tower, but this time facing the north end of the strip, the room is an exact copy of the one I had here at Ballys a week ago. This is one room (hence, shouldn’t be called a suite) with a Jacuzzi flanked by two vanities and a small toilet room. It’s a nice room to be sure—just mislabeled. I went online to see what this room goes for on the off-nights and it rents out at $225 per night—honestly—too much. Of course, I’m very happy with it being comped all three nights along with free movies and Internet service. I didn’t do much today as tomorrow was going to be my designated gambling day. I did pick up my free play ticket and was told the bonus reward credits would be added in a few days.
The view from my room in the Jubilee Tower this time around
Picture taken from my room of the current state of work on the new Bally’s Shops.
The latest look of the Cromwell (former Bill’s Gambling Hall, former Barbary Coast)
The Flamingo side of the Cromwell in progress—a maze of scaffolding. Construction workers must need a map.
I walked over to the Paris and waited for Diamond Lounge to open. Standing in line were the same older couple I’ve seen her every time I’ve come to this lounge. They must come almost every day. When they opened I walked up to the bar and sat down and before I could say anything the bartender put a lemon drop martini in front of me along with a bottle of water and glass of ice. I was last here about two weeks and was amazed he remembered my drink. He asked if that was right and I said yes. He told me that he read my article about him. It turns out that the couple I was talking with back then had looked up Chapter 13 where I spoke how good a bartender he was and they should him the article. He thanked me for the nice words.
I remained in the lounge for a couple of hours or so, and after too many drinks, headed back to my room. I now get all these in-room movies for free and I’m a little surprised how little I take advantage of it. I’ve either seen most the movies in the theater, or I’m just not up to watching two hours of TV. I worked a little on this report and finally went to sleep.
Tuesday morning I took care of the usual morning duties and headed right down to the casino. After have an egg sandwich at their little deli for breakfast I went to the 3/5 plays and as is my practice alternated between $.25 5-play 7/5 Bonus Poker and $.50 3-play bonus poker. Things were going along fairly well. My freeplay netted me about 400 tier points before I had to start putting in the hundreds. I was dealt four-to-the-royal only once and didn’t strike. I did manage a few quads and Aces twice; but throughout the entire session, I simply couldn’t get that elusive Royal. My best hand of the day was being dealt quad 5s. After the dust had settled and five hours later I had make my 2500 tier points, but took a good blow to the toolbox. So it goes…
I had the entire afternoon free so I thought I might do a little exercise and walk over to the Bellagio in order to get pictures for this report and see if there is anything new going on over on that side of the Strip. It must be the Year of the Horse because horses were the Bellagio atrium theme as well as in the Aria registration area.
The Bellagio Atrium decorated for the Year of the Horse
The Aria lobby area also sucking up to the Chinese Year of the Horse theme
They’ve remodeled the registration are of the Aria a bit having taken out the long row of flowers and added some seats. The rest of the place looked pretty much the same. I went upstairs to check out the menus. The buffet, which I don’t hear much about, is priced about the same as the Bellagio and the items looked pretty good. Of course the steakhouse and Italian Eatery had big name celebrity chefs (who are never on property) and prices to match. A rib eye steak was selling for $69.00. Ouch!
Crystals continues to be the most empty premium shopping center anywhere. I have no idea how any of these places stay in business.
It’s anyone’s guess how this place stays in business
I took the tram back to the Bellagio and then walked over to Caesars Palace. It was almost 4PM and so I walked over to the Diamond Lounge and had a drink and some wings (of course) and rice. I haven’t really eaten much this trip aside from the really nice dinner in Laughlin. I hung out there watching the Florida/Vanderbilt basketball game and finally headed back to Ballys. As I was about to go back to my room, the announcer said it was last call for anyone wishing to play in the evening’s poker tournament. It was a $65 buy-in and a $1000 guarantee. Though it’s a little higher stake than I’m used to, I had some time to kill and signed in. There were a total of 26 players.
I managed to hang in there through the break and came back to the final table of ten. It pays to the last three players. We had been at it for about an hour and a half and were down to six players. One of the players suggested we chop the prize money, which would have been $175 each and would leave the dealer tip at the remaining $150. Personally, I thought the tip was a little high, but everyone was in agreement, so I accepted it. Finally! I managed to cash in a poker tournament.
I headed back to my room to watch some TV and call it a night. My laptop decided to come back on and I’ve been careful not to shut it off and just leave it in sleep mode when I wasn’t using it. At least I’m able to write this chapter and save it to my Amazon cloud while in progress.
I am booked here until Thursday; however, I’ve decided to head back home Wednesday night after rush hour. My gambling is pretty much finished and I’ve seen pretty much everything I had set out to do, and of course, there will be more trips later. This morning I thought I might make one more Quad poker tournament. I like the tourney, but I’ve yet to cash in any of them. It was too early for the first 11:30 AM start time, so I went to the buffet at the Flamingo. I’ve been here once before and my review was not a good one; however, it was breakfast—pretty hard to screw up breakfast. Using my 7 Stars card I was able to go to the front of the line and was seating facing the flamingos outside, also having their breakfast. This go-around was different. I had some eggs to order and the usual breakfast fare and I will say everything was excellent. Their bacon was extra crispy, just the way I like.
After breakfast I took a walk over to the Venetian and the Palazzo to get some pics of their displays for this time of year.
The town square at the Venetian was beautiful as always and it being early, I had it most to myself.
The walkway between the Venetian and the Palazzo with its beautiful waterfall.
The Palazzo lobby area
The beautiful display area as you walk into the Palazzo.
I headed back to the Quad as my tournament was about to begin. This morning there were 25 players. I made it to the final table and was the first one out when I was short stacked and my pocket 7s where crushed by pocket Kings. So—I’m still waiting for my first cash at the Quad. I’ll keep trying—as I said, I like the tournament and it’s certainly cheap enough for two hours of play. I took one more picture on my way out of the Quad. Earlier in this trip, I had mentioned that I had won a progressive on a penny machine and that the progressive was set up with Caesars. This is the only place I know that has this.
The Caesars Progressives on an assortment of penny machines.
So, this brings Chapter 14 to its long, overdue conclusion. I won’t be coming back to Las Vegas in March (I feel I might a responsibility to sub for a while at my school district considering I took the entire month of February off). I will probably run up to Rincon to continue to make my run for renewing 7 Stars. I’m currently at 64,000 tier points, so not quite to the half way mark. If anything noteworthy happens in the month, I’ll begin Chapter 15.
More later.
I’m barely back home after the wonderful trip to New Orleans before I’m on the road again two days later heading to Las Vegas. There are a couple of reasons for the this trip: There is a $25,000 slot tournament offer at the Flamingo that comes with $40 freeplay and three comped nights at either the Flamingo, Ballys, Harrahs, Paris, Rio, or the Quad. Notably absent from this list is Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace. I’ve never had a good experience at the Flamingo; Harrahs is okay, but a little old; Ballys is a favorite but I’m staying there later this week; the Quad, which has done a sparkling job of remodeling the casino, hasn’t touched their rooms that are really no better the motel quality; and finally the Paris, which a lot of people seem to like, but I don’t really care for it. The rooms need to be upgraded and the place is always so busy, you’re constantly dodging gawkers. So I stayed once again at the Rio. Getting in and out of the place is a snap. I really enjoyed my last stay here in 2003, which is on the 7 Stars floor and though not a suite, it’s very well anointed with everything I need—and the view is spectacular with a view of the Strip and the new Observation Wheel, which is now lit up at night with rotating colors and motion schemes.
I arrived at 9AM in Las Vegas and made my usual first stop at the M to collect any free play for the month. I was a little surprised that there was none. Hmm, I suppose they caught on that I’ve only been playing enough there each month to take advantage of the freebie. I did want to play something, so I sat down at a Bier Haus penny machine with a $20. I had almost lost it when I caught a bonus, which retriggered and walked with $56. I then played some nickel Super Aces video poker because the progressive suited royals were high. I caught a couple of quads and walked with another $60 profit. As I was walking back to my car, I found a different Bier Haus machine and though I didn’t catch a bonus, I hit a blackout of beer steins for another $45 win. Geez! Is this my day?
The M Resort. Continues to be a favorite. Hash House A-Go-Go is gone but a new Asian themed restaurant called Jayed is up and is beautifully designed.
I next drove down to the South Point where I wanted to have some breakfast and possibly play some live poker to kill a few hours before needing to check in. I used my slot points for breakfast at the buffet, which was really crowded. It was President’s Day, so a lot people were here enjoying the 3-day weekend. After breakfast, I found a couple of the same Bier Haus machines. As the gambling gods felt I had won enough this morning, they began taking back my earlier winnings. It was 10X points day here, so I kept trying but nothing seemed to work, and it wasn’t long before I pretty much gave back my winnings from the M. I take from one casino, and simply give it back to another one—not the plan.
They were just opening up a 2/4 game in the poker room and I bought in for $60. I’ve mentioned this many times before but it bears repeating, if you’re simply a competent player at Texas Hold ‘em, live poker is truly the cheapest game you can play in a casino. You can play for hours and not win or lose a hundred bucks. Try that with any machine in the place. Plus you get to take advantage of drinks for the cost of a tip and usually some good chit-chat with dealers and players. I’ve been on a bit of a winning streak in live poker (not tournaments, which I’ve sucked at) with wins the past five or six visits. Today was no exception. I played for about three hours and walked away with a small $30 profit (figuring dealer tips and drinks, it was more like $50). No one is going to make a living at a 2/4 game, but occasionally you hit a nice bonus hand, which I did last year when I caught a Royal for $1500. You just never know.
The Rio is a favorite place to stay. Caesars needs to put a coat of paint on the old gal.
The view from my room. Wish my camera would take a good night picture, but it’s a no-go.
When I arrived at the Rio, I was pleased to see that they had the room ready for me. There was a small problem after I unpacked and that was the curtain was stuck at the half way position. It’s electronic and I think it was off the track. I called housekeeping and then headed over to Harrahs to register for the slot tournament. I valet parked at the Quad because it’s far less crowded than Harrahs or the Flamingo. Registration went without a hitch with me being given a 1:40 time slot for both days. I went over to the Quad hoping to catch one of their $30 tournaments, but realized I was pretty tired. I had left at 3AM and it was catching up with me. I drove back to the Rio and stopped in the Diamond Lounge for a Lemon Drop martini and a couple of chicken wings and rolled tacos (not the most nutritious dinner, but it will do). I was a little disappointed that there was no welcome snack pack waiting for me, nor was there any turndown service (though it was still a little early). However, the curtains were fixed and my view was terrific. I watched some of the Olympics and finally was asleep.
I had a good night’s sleep and went down to the casino to begin today’s play. One of the nice things about this 7 Stars floor is array of bathroom toiletries that are in your room. Not just extra large shampoos, hand creams, and conditioners; but also mouth wash, hair net, vanity bag, shaving kit, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste. On all of my travels throughout the year, I collect all of these things and after the summer, leave them with a teaching colleague who opened an orphanage/school in the Guatemala rain forest that she ships down there to the kids. My strategy is to leave the maid her tip on my first day, and I end up getting a new supply of everything each day of my stay.
I’ve decided to take a shot at 2500 tier points today using the $40 freeplay to get things started. I sat down at one of the machines that have 8/5 Bonus Poker for dollars and began play. I hung in there for a while and stopped at 335 points because I needed to get over to the Flamingo for the tournament. I have had really bad luck over the years in slot tournaments. I’ve done well in video poker (there’s a skill factor there) and taken home some prize money, but slots is just ten minutes of pushing a button and hoping some good hits come your way. Today’s session didn’t go too badly for me. I had 8,885 points, which appears to be in the top 30% or so judging by my row. They pay to top 500 scores after the two sessions, so if I can at least duplicate this tomorrow, I very well might be in the money. The top 5 scores not only win big bucks, but are sent to New Orleans in November to compete for a million dollars. I’m not holding my breath.
After the tournament session, I went over to the Quad and signed up for one of their daily $30 poker tournaments. I suppose I’m just a glutton for punishment because I’ve now played in about seven or eight of these and have yet to come in the money. However, it’s cheap enough to keep trying and I always seem to have a good time regardless. This session only had 22 participants and I came finally lost in 7th place—once again out of the money. I’ll keep trying. Just when I thought it might just not be my day, I was heading toward the valet when another Bier Haus machine caught my eye. I slipped in a $20 and played the minimum. I soon had a bonus round of 53 spins. Not only did I hit a couple big payouts, when my spins were up, I also received the minor progressive for an extra $45. Sweet!
A nice hit for a 40-cent bet. Occasionally these penny games pay off.
It was already 4PM and I headed back to the Rio to continue my quest for a 2500 tier point day. I sat down at a triple play 7/5 Bonus (the best schedule they have in multi-play games—I know, it’s not full pay you purists out there, but I’ve done well on these). I began playing at the 50-cent level and was doing well. I occasionally moved it up do dollars when I was ahead and would switch to quarter 5-play when I was down. I had finally gone over the 2500 tier point mark at 9PM. My toolbox took a small hit but not serious. I was deal four-to-the-royal THREE times, and didn’t connect any of them (but it sure is exciting each time it happens). I picked up a sandwich for dinner and went up to my room. With the bonus, I am now over the 50,000 tier point mark—a third of the way to my goal and I have another ten months to get her done.
Sleep was not so as good as last night and with only about four hours of it, I gave in and watched Sportscenter and worked on this report. I decided that since I was already and the Rio and wanted to use my two free February tickets, I’d see Penn and Teller. I’ve seen them before but I enjoy their show and they make changes every night. I went to the Rewards center to get the voucher, but the box office didn’t open until 11 AM, so I went over to the buffet to have breakfast using my reward points. This is the very last week that the Carnival Buffet will be open for breakfast. Hash House-A-Go-Go opened up where the café used to be and are open only during breakfast and lunch. This will be the only place to get breakfast aside from the sportsbook deli.
After lunch, I headed over to the box office. I gave the clerk my 7 Stars card and my voucher and told him to give the very best seats still available as I wanted to impress my date (no I don’t have a date, but thought it might encourage him to try a little harder). He picked up the phone and talked to someone and gave my name and card number. He then handed me two tickers down center five rows from the stage. I put out a Facebook notice that if any of my friends happen to be Vegas and would like a free ticket to let me know. No luck there, so I suppose there will be an empty seat next to me.
I went to my car and drove down Flamingo to the Target store to pick up some undershirts and small things and finally over to the valet at the Quad. I played some games at the Quad as I had an hour before my tournament time. I played some game on a bank of machines that had Caesars progressives on them I’ve never seen before. I played for awhile and was surprised when my machine went into a game that showed “x” number of Caesars logos. The more logos they higher the prize and I end with the Platinum progressive good for $75. For as long as I’ve gambled, I’ve never won a penny game progressive and now I’ve won two in as many days. Go figure!
Yes Martha, there are flamingos at the Flamingo.
I headed over to the Flamingo to play my last session in the tournament. Having had a decent round yesterday, I was hoping to at least match that. I heard from the man next to who said he was told by the manager that the highest score yesterday was 14K. I had 8K and though it’s not all that close, I’m pretty sure I’d be in the top couple of hundred. We began our ten minute session and within the first minute I hit a triple diamond (the top prize). However, that was the only one. I still end up with 8400 (higher than anyone in my row). So I have a total 17,200 points for the two sessions. To make things even better, the manager announced they decided to pay the top 700 players, so I’m sure to win something. I’m hoping for a couple hundred, which would match my video poker tournament here last week. We won’t know until tonight after 8 PM.
I have nothing really planned today other than the show tonight, so I thought I might venture downtown to the Fremont to play some Pick ‘em. As I turned on Flamingo, I saw the Tuscany on my right and pulled in. Some people call it tenacity, others call it stubbornness. I’m not sure which category I fit but the Tuscany has a bank of 10-coin nickel Joker’s Wild Progressives that I’ve been trying to hit ever since this place opened over ten years ago. Every time I’m in town, I dedicate a $20 to this mission of hitting that Royal. I’ve never done it. (There’s one other similar game I play at the Vegas Club—same game—same reason—same results). But I am determined to hit it one day, maybe today is that day.
The Tuscany on Flamingo—a good place to stay as well. Rooms are converted apartments.
To give you an idea how long I’ve been at this, I only play the $20 and leave. I checked with the booth today and I have earned $38 in comps and $16 in cash, which I’ve yet to use. I sat down at the machine and began playing. It’s only a 20/5/4 game (poor), but I go for it anyway. There’s something to say about tradition. Once again, I didn’t hit a Royal; however, for the second time, I managed a five-of-kind for a nice $100 win. I cashed out and headed for downtown.
A nice little hit on a 10-coin nickel machine.
I parked in the Fremont valet and went directly to the Pick ‘em machine (there are four of them at the keno lounge). These are full pay machines and last week, I hit a quad on them for a sweet $150 win. I played for a good hour and though I had some nice hits along the way and ran over 2K through the machine, my hundred was finally gone (once again, take from one casino—give it another casino). I enjoyed of the café’s jumbo hot dogs and took a walk down the Fremont experience. The usual costumed panhandlers and beggars with their cardboard signs were everywhere (something really does need to be done). I took a couple of pictures for this report and headed back to the Rio.
’The D (formerly Fitzgerald’s) has become the “cool” place to be seen by the younger crowd.
Slotzilla zip line is ready to go!
Usually when I come downtown, I bring all the slot club cards and play in each of the casinos down here; however, I wasn’t up for it today and I’ll be back in Las Vegas this Monday and I have no doubt I’ll be back down here again. I drove back to the Rio and landed myself once again in the Diamond Lounge. It was full and so I invited myself to a table where two folks were sitting and they were fine with it. I ordered my usual lemon drop and went to the buffet where the hot food item was (drum roll please) chicken wings.
I struck up a nice conversation with the couple who where here staying with a brother who lives in Henderson. They’re from New York. Her name was Christine and his name was Vinnie (that’s right, Vinnie from New York). The drove here just before all the winter storms hit the east coast. They say they make this drive often taking different routes each time. We chatted about everything from Sandy (their house was spared) to the many different Caesars properties. They were very interested in me and inquired about the Las Vegas Advisor. I gave the site address (Hey Anthony…how about a little commission…I’m your biggest promoter over the years).
I came up to the room as I have a couple hours before the Penn and Teller show and thought I’d play a little online poker for a bit. When Nevada made it legal, Stations casinos soon began Ultimate Poker and I joined. It’s very convenient because you can make deposits and withdrawals at any Stations casino. I don’t get a chance to play very much simply because I have to be in Nevada (or New Jersey) and so often when I am here, I rarely spend my time sitting at my computer. But I do enjoy it. So, I played a little while sneaking in some time for this report.
I was it almost time for the show and the results were being posted for the slot tournament. I got into line and was a little disappointed as I came in place 331 (I don’t know how many people played, but I believe it was around 1200) and won a $100—glad to have won something, but I think I was hoping for a little more. Rather than pick up the freeplay here at the Rio, I’ll go to Ballys tomorrow and get the vouchers there because I return to Las Vegas after my three nights in Laughlin to Ballys for a birthday offer, which includes $150 plus $65 in rewards credits.
The Penn and Teller show, which I’ve seen before, was excellent. They’re smart because they don’t do the same show every night. They mix up their bits and add new ones all the time. About half the bits last night I’ve seen before (and that’s okay, they still amaze me) but the new ones were really fun. Teller talks through the entire show and keeps the audience laughing. I had a great seat but never did find anyone to come along with me, so I told the lady on the other end of me that she was welcome to put her jacket on the $125 seat as my “date” couldn’t make it. This whole two free show tickets per month is a great perk for Diamond and 7 Stars card holders.
It’s Thursday and it’s time to check out of the Rio and head over to the Silverton for my free one night before I head to Laughlin for the weekend. I checked at 11AM and had some time to kill before I could check in so I thought I might run out to Red Rock to see the Lego movie. I hadn’t intended to see this but it’s gotten so many great reviews, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
(Serendipity: When something good comes out of an accident.) I first drove over to Ballys to pick up my $100 freeplay ticket (where ever you pick up a voucher, you have to do it at the casino you’re going to play it as each casino has their own tickets) so I could play it when I check in next Monday. I then drove back onto Flamingo and saw the Palms. They have a theater too so I checked my iphone and they were also showing the Lego movie but not for an hour. I thought I could play some 9/6 Jacks 50-play while waiting for the show. I went to the players club and saw a sign the Thursdays were Senior Advantage. All movies were $4 and 50% all restaurants. I got a voucher for my movie (I still have $80 in old points I’m slowly using up). I went over the 50-plays and put in a hundred. To get the full pay schedule, the highest amount you can play is $.02 ($5.00 per deal). Things were going fine when I was dealt quad 6s ($125 win). Then a few hands later, I was dealt three-to-a-royal and I caught one on one of the lines. The very nest hand, I was again dealt three-to-royal, and I picked up another one! At only two cents, a royal is only worth $80. I’ve now had five of these so far this year; however, I don’t really count these smaller royals in my yearly tally simply because they’re not “cash out” wins, rather I just keep playing. It was almost time for my movie and I cashed out $350. What a nice surprising win.
The center bar at the Palms
The movie turned out to be really good, in an odd sort of way. I finally drove over to the Silverton and asked for a room on the 4th floor. Unfortunately the dinner promotion is over, but there’s a 10X points on Fridays, so I’ll not play today and wait until tomorrow. I have $25 free play I start things off with.
The Silverton has two 100-plays in the high limit area that have .5/.10/.25 full pay bonus poker. I first took out my $25 free play and added a hundred. The 10X points only apply to reels (big surprise). I just couldn’t get anything going and eventually lost. I went over to the spin poker machines and played some Ugly Deuces, but again, there was no luck for me. So, my free room at the Silverton ends up costing me $200. I’ve had some good luck here in the past, so I’ll just have to chalk it up and move on.
After filling up at the Henderson Costco ($3.31 per), I drove on Laughlin where I’ll be staying for the next three days. I have three nights comped and am going to meet Martin and my parents who are also driving in from San Diego. I arrived at 10AM and it was too early to check in so I decided to watch the movie 3 DAYS TO KILL with Kevin Costner. There was an hour to kill before the movie started, so I sat down at the Quick Quads. Things were going really bad until I was dealt a Quick Quad (I play five play for nickels), which allowed me to play longer, but the bottom line was that I lost $50 when it was time for the move it begin. I believe this is not going to be my day for gambling, so I think I’ll quit for the day. The movie, which has gotten very good reviews, was good, I thought—at least it fit my criteria—lost of action, some comedy, so romance—all the goodies.
I drove to Harrah’s and checked in being given a suite in the North Tower. The suite is nice and, as always now, comes with free in-room movies and Internet. As usual, I unpacked and set up my laptop and turned it on—disaster! My hard drive failed. I tried restarting it, again no good. This is just great! I’ve never had problems with my laptop before. I’ve been writing this chapter as the days go on and I’ve already writing seven pages—and now there’s a chance it’s going to be lost.
I got a call from my dad who had just arrived at the Riverside. I went down and picked up a couple of water taxi tickets (free for 7 Stars holders) and took it to the Riverside where I met my parents. Soon Martin called and we agreed to meet half way at the Aquarius. I told my parents that I’m going spring for dinner tomorrow at the Range using my reward points and we agreed to meet at 5:30. I met up with Martin and we walked over to the Colorado Belle to have dinner at their brewery; however, the line was nuts to get in so we took the water taxi to Harrah’s and had a meal there in the café. Martin had the salmon and I had chicken parmesan, both meals were good. We went up to my suite to see if by some miracle my computer would start up. No such luck. My gift basket was left in my room with the usual goodies of cookies, candy, waters, nuts, pretzels, apples, and this time oranges instead of bananas.
I couldn’t sleep right away, so I put on the movie THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY. It was just okay. Not bad, but I can see why it didn’t do too well at the box office.
Saturday morning I got an early start because today was going to be a long one. I want to earn my 2500 tier points today, then dinner with the family, and then a LeAnn Rimes concert, which Martin had scored a couple tickets with his free room at the Colorado Belle. I was on the machines by 7AM and sat down at the 2-cent 50-play machine and began with 8/5 Super Double Bonus. It wasn’t long before I was dealt a straight flush, good for $400.
A nice start to the game
Things moved along. At $5 per deal, to reach $25,000 in play is going to take a while and it did. I was dealt four-to-the-royal once and caught only one. It would be the last time I was dealt four-to-the-royal again all day. After about an hour, I had lost what I had and switched games to Bonus Deuces Wild which on this game pays 15 for a straight flush. I was soon dealt quad 3s with a deuce which in this game is good for $200. It was sad because had I been playing Super Double, it would have been good for $400 or Double Double when had been $800. But that’s how it goes.
An excellent draw—wrong game.
Things just never got cooking anymore. I eventually thought it might be time to move off the 50-plays and go back to the 3/5-plays for quarters. It took until just before noon (5 hours of play) when I finally reached the 2500 tier points. Aside from the two cent royal, I had no others all day despite many, many close calls. Despite the winning hands I noted above, I also caught a total of three quad Aces playing .50-cent bonus poker good for a total of $600. Even with the $1200 in good hands, there were just too many bad ones to go along with it and I was down $700 for the day. So the toolbox takes a little hit today. That’s all right. It goes with the game. I’ll be making one more 2500 tier point run this trip when I return to Las Vegas on Monday.
Our reservation at the Range Steakhouse was at 5:30. Recently, Harrahs’ properties have been closing their steakhouses and contracting out to Ruth Chris and other national brands. However, Laughlin is holding out and it’s easy to see why. After finishing our salads, the place was already full. I have dinner at my mother’s house every Monday night that I’m in town (started 25 years ago when I was still finishing my college degree we called Starving Student Night), so I was really glad to treat my family to some fine dining. With all this play, I continue to build reward points and I’m always trying to do most of my playing on multiple point days. Because Caesars comps me more rooms and food I need, I find that it’s almost hard to spend the points. It’s nice to be in a position to do this. The six of us had a range of dishes: I had the special of the night, steak stallions and spicy shrimp; Martin the lamp chops; Rick had the chicken and pasta; Pam the shrimp fettuccini; Pop had prime rib; and my mom—the lobster. All the meals were great and the service excellent.
From left: Martin, Papa, Mom, Pam, and Rick (in a failed attempt to escape the picture)
We said our goodnights and Martin and I went up to my room to hang out as we had an hour before the LeAnn Rimes concert. I took the water taxi to the Edgewater Hotel and Casino where the concert was inside one of the huge white tents. They somehow managed to load 2500 people and our seats, though pretty far from the stage, were fine as the sound was terrific and the two large screens on each side of the stage showed her singing and emotions just fine. I’ve been to many of these kinds of concerts over the years. LeAnn’s voice seemed a little hoarse, probably due to many shows, but it also added a nice throaty gravel to the songs. The thing that I appreciated was that LeAnn tells the crowd right off the top that while she used to do shows from a set list, she now comes with nothing prepared and simply takes all her song choices from the crowd. Of course, all of her hits were in there, but some hard-core fans in the front were calling B-side songs that she hadn’t done in years and many times her manager had to come running out with lyrics as she forgotten them. It gave a real honest and raw feel to the show. She talked to the audience a lot and made the show feel intimate—to say nothing of her amazing voice.
LeAnn Rimes in concert. Bad picture, but all of them were. Flash photo wasn’t allowed and lights played havoc with my camera.
Sunday is a day I plan to do very little other than a little live poker. I took my time in my room and finally headed into Bullhead to fill up the tank ($3.09 per) and then a quick stop at Target. I decided to check out an Antique flea market being held in the convention area of the Avi Hotel and Casino. The exhibition had a lot antique furniture, jewelry, clothes, and knick-knacks. (Mari—you’re mother would have been in heaven!) After walking around a bit, I played and lost a twenty in the Keno machines.
The Avi Hotel and Casino (the only Indian casino in the state of Nevada)
The Antique Flea Market at the Avi Hotel and Casino
I drove next to the Riverside to buy a couple of sunglasses. They have bifocal reading sunglasses for only $15 each and I try to keep my stock up whenever I’m here. I next drove over to the Colorado Belle and met up with Martin for some 2/4 live poker. Today every hour or so, Aces cracked were worth triple though that makes no difference to me because I NEVER get dealt pocket Aces. I did, however, have a good day. Though things started out badly down $60, I soon made a nice recovery and even caught a $25 bonus when I had quad Aces. After four hours or so, I left up $75. Martin, however, was having a real bad time of it. It was nice, relaxing day.
Monday and it’s moving day again. It’s back to Bally’s where I’m taking advantage of a Birthday offer (must be used within the month) of $150 freeplay and $65 in comps along with three nights. I stayed in Laughlin until 11AM and finally hit the road. By the time I was in Las Vegas, it was still too early to check in, so I made a stop at South Point to play some 2/4 live poker.
Yesterday playing I had a very good day catching more than my fair share of hands; however, like video poker, the cards can go bad and today that’s exactly what happened. I played for an hour and forty-five minutes and did not win ONE hand. Even being dealt A/K; A/Q; pocket Jacks, and pocket 3s—all became losers to river wins and poor flops. It was just one of those days. I don’t remember the last time I played an entire session without tipping the dealer at least one dollar (following a win). Sigh!
I checked into Ballys and was given a “grand suite.” Bally’s interpretation of a grand suite and mine differ vastly. Once again in the Jubilee Tower, but this time facing the north end of the strip, the room is an exact copy of the one I had here at Ballys a week ago. This is one room (hence, shouldn’t be called a suite) with a Jacuzzi flanked by two vanities and a small toilet room. It’s a nice room to be sure—just mislabeled. I went online to see what this room goes for on the off-nights and it rents out at $225 per night—honestly—too much. Of course, I’m very happy with it being comped all three nights along with free movies and Internet service. I didn’t do much today as tomorrow was going to be my designated gambling day. I did pick up my free play ticket and was told the bonus reward credits would be added in a few days.
The view from my room in the Jubilee Tower this time around
Picture taken from my room of the current state of work on the new Bally’s Shops.
The latest look of the Cromwell (former Bill’s Gambling Hall, former Barbary Coast)
The Flamingo side of the Cromwell in progress—a maze of scaffolding. Construction workers must need a map.
I walked over to the Paris and waited for Diamond Lounge to open. Standing in line were the same older couple I’ve seen her every time I’ve come to this lounge. They must come almost every day. When they opened I walked up to the bar and sat down and before I could say anything the bartender put a lemon drop martini in front of me along with a bottle of water and glass of ice. I was last here about two weeks and was amazed he remembered my drink. He asked if that was right and I said yes. He told me that he read my article about him. It turns out that the couple I was talking with back then had looked up Chapter 13 where I spoke how good a bartender he was and they should him the article. He thanked me for the nice words.
I remained in the lounge for a couple of hours or so, and after too many drinks, headed back to my room. I now get all these in-room movies for free and I’m a little surprised how little I take advantage of it. I’ve either seen most the movies in the theater, or I’m just not up to watching two hours of TV. I worked a little on this report and finally went to sleep.
Tuesday morning I took care of the usual morning duties and headed right down to the casino. After have an egg sandwich at their little deli for breakfast I went to the 3/5 plays and as is my practice alternated between $.25 5-play 7/5 Bonus Poker and $.50 3-play bonus poker. Things were going along fairly well. My freeplay netted me about 400 tier points before I had to start putting in the hundreds. I was dealt four-to-the-royal only once and didn’t strike. I did manage a few quads and Aces twice; but throughout the entire session, I simply couldn’t get that elusive Royal. My best hand of the day was being dealt quad 5s. After the dust had settled and five hours later I had make my 2500 tier points, but took a good blow to the toolbox. So it goes…
I had the entire afternoon free so I thought I might do a little exercise and walk over to the Bellagio in order to get pictures for this report and see if there is anything new going on over on that side of the Strip. It must be the Year of the Horse because horses were the Bellagio atrium theme as well as in the Aria registration area.
The Bellagio Atrium decorated for the Year of the Horse
The Aria lobby area also sucking up to the Chinese Year of the Horse theme
They’ve remodeled the registration are of the Aria a bit having taken out the long row of flowers and added some seats. The rest of the place looked pretty much the same. I went upstairs to check out the menus. The buffet, which I don’t hear much about, is priced about the same as the Bellagio and the items looked pretty good. Of course the steakhouse and Italian Eatery had big name celebrity chefs (who are never on property) and prices to match. A rib eye steak was selling for $69.00. Ouch!
Crystals continues to be the most empty premium shopping center anywhere. I have no idea how any of these places stay in business.
It’s anyone’s guess how this place stays in business
I took the tram back to the Bellagio and then walked over to Caesars Palace. It was almost 4PM and so I walked over to the Diamond Lounge and had a drink and some wings (of course) and rice. I haven’t really eaten much this trip aside from the really nice dinner in Laughlin. I hung out there watching the Florida/Vanderbilt basketball game and finally headed back to Ballys. As I was about to go back to my room, the announcer said it was last call for anyone wishing to play in the evening’s poker tournament. It was a $65 buy-in and a $1000 guarantee. Though it’s a little higher stake than I’m used to, I had some time to kill and signed in. There were a total of 26 players.
I managed to hang in there through the break and came back to the final table of ten. It pays to the last three players. We had been at it for about an hour and a half and were down to six players. One of the players suggested we chop the prize money, which would have been $175 each and would leave the dealer tip at the remaining $150. Personally, I thought the tip was a little high, but everyone was in agreement, so I accepted it. Finally! I managed to cash in a poker tournament.
I headed back to my room to watch some TV and call it a night. My laptop decided to come back on and I’ve been careful not to shut it off and just leave it in sleep mode when I wasn’t using it. At least I’m able to write this chapter and save it to my Amazon cloud while in progress.
I am booked here until Thursday; however, I’ve decided to head back home Wednesday night after rush hour. My gambling is pretty much finished and I’ve seen pretty much everything I had set out to do, and of course, there will be more trips later. This morning I thought I might make one more Quad poker tournament. I like the tourney, but I’ve yet to cash in any of them. It was too early for the first 11:30 AM start time, so I went to the buffet at the Flamingo. I’ve been here once before and my review was not a good one; however, it was breakfast—pretty hard to screw up breakfast. Using my 7 Stars card I was able to go to the front of the line and was seating facing the flamingos outside, also having their breakfast. This go-around was different. I had some eggs to order and the usual breakfast fare and I will say everything was excellent. Their bacon was extra crispy, just the way I like.
After breakfast I took a walk over to the Venetian and the Palazzo to get some pics of their displays for this time of year.
The town square at the Venetian was beautiful as always and it being early, I had it most to myself.
The walkway between the Venetian and the Palazzo with its beautiful waterfall.
The Palazzo lobby area
The beautiful display area as you walk into the Palazzo.
I headed back to the Quad as my tournament was about to begin. This morning there were 25 players. I made it to the final table and was the first one out when I was short stacked and my pocket 7s where crushed by pocket Kings. So—I’m still waiting for my first cash at the Quad. I’ll keep trying—as I said, I like the tournament and it’s certainly cheap enough for two hours of play. I took one more picture on my way out of the Quad. Earlier in this trip, I had mentioned that I had won a progressive on a penny machine and that the progressive was set up with Caesars. This is the only place I know that has this.
The Caesars Progressives on an assortment of penny machines.
So, this brings Chapter 14 to its long, overdue conclusion. I won’t be coming back to Las Vegas in March (I feel I might a responsibility to sub for a while at my school district considering I took the entire month of February off). I will probably run up to Rincon to continue to make my run for renewing 7 Stars. I’m currently at 64,000 tier points, so not quite to the half way mark. If anything noteworthy happens in the month, I’ll begin Chapter 15.
More later.
