This is a very long trip report and frankly I’m so tired from writing it, I’m not going to proof read it so I apologize for all the typos and missing words. I hope you enjoy it.
July 29 – Left San Diego at 3:30 AM for the drive to Sin Town. I always like to drive early in the morning as the traffic is light and time seems to go faster driving through the monotonous desert. I arrived in Las Vegas and walked in to the Stratosphere at 8:30 AM. Already there were hundreds of people at the machines. The first thing I noticed was the new coffee shop and how nice it was. Of course, in line with the “new” LV food outlets, there were no bargains here with the exception of the late night “Midnight special” of steak and eggs for $3.95.
I promptly headed for the Double Deuces machines. For months I collect change and then for my annual summer trip, separate it and spend it. I had volumes of quarters this time and was determined to make enough money off my “loose change” to earn my stake money for the entire nine days. I played for almost five hours and NEVER hit the deuces for the $500. However, I hit enough Wild royals and medium hands to actually turn a bit of a profit from this session. I then started to play the 10/6 and 9/7 JOB machines. Also the 10/7 DBs. Again, no big wins here but plenty of small ones. For whatever reason, my quads always seem to come on the JOB machines and NEVER on the DBs. While playing the Double Deuce machines, I had seven natural quads, on the DB machine…not one! Go figure!
I got pretty tired of playing VP and so took a couple of buckets and played Tower Quarters. My “system” on any reel machine is simple. Take a bucket or two of quarters and play them all through the machine until they’re gone and then cash in the credits and see how you do. To my surprise, I won about $120 on the Tower quarters. I then took the profit, put it in my pocket, got quarters again with the original stake and played the Wheel of Fortune for the 3 million dollar jackpot. Same system. I ran through the quarters and cashed out for a $32 loss. Not bad considering. (By the way, the buckets hold approximately $100 in quarters and each time I took two buckets).
The room at the Stratosphere was basic but clean. I was in the new tower just built and I was surprised that outside of the fact that all the furniture and fixtures were new, the design was exactly as the old rooms. You’d think they’d add a few new twists but no. No coffee maker but there was a hair dryer.
July 30 – I’m in Las Vegas this trip for nine days and I’m alone so I go to bed around 11:00 every night. I’ve been here far too often and I’m too old to get caught up in staying up to all hours of the morning. The bonus here is that I can get up early with a clear head and enjoy my coffee and paper (I bring my own coffee pot) in the morning after a shower and completely relax. This is my morning ritual while on vacation. I begin play again at about 11:00 AM. I play solid until 5:00 PM when I meet Martin (MM) and his friend, Carl for dinner. We are all friends from Lodestone’s group and decide we want to meet for dinner. Martin and Carl come loaded with their LVA coupons and we head out to Arizona Charlie’s East (ACE) for dinner at the Yukon Steakhouse. Martin has the pork chops, I have the seafood pasta and Carl has Orange Roughie. With soft drinks for all and using the coupon, we all spend approximately $7.00 each for a gourmet meal. It was wonderful food. Thanks LVA!
We all play Jokers Wild. Carl is simply one of those people who is naturally lucky. At the Stratosphere, he hits deuces on a one dollar machine for a grand after only about ten minutes. He hits quads like there were pairs. At Joker’s Wild on this night, the trend continues. He hits four of kinds one after another and a straight flush. We have a good time and all of us left ACE with a small profit though no one has broken the Royal Flush jinx yet.
Back the Stratosphere and the boys and I part company. They want to play more and I’m off to bed. A sure sign that you’re growing old is the ability to say “no” and go bed early. I’ve yet to figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing. All and all, I think the Stratosphere is a fantastic low-player house. Lots of good machines and an atmosphere geared to the “working stiff” but still with some frills and decent eats.
Aug 1 – I’m off the Hard Rock for the next two nights. This is unusual for me because I have NEVER had good luck at the Hard Rock. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe I have ever walked out of the place with a profit. However, I wanted to check out the rooms and that famous pool. LVRS.com had rooms $65 a night and I decided it was time. First of all, the rooms were wonderful Yes, just slightly larger than your standard but what impressed me was the design of the room. Very modern, very classy. I really enjoyed the deep aluminum washing bin and have decided that when the time comes, I’m going to have one in my bathroom. There was both a hair dryer and a coffee maker. Internet was available on the TV (a remote keyboard on the desk) for $6.00 an hour. A real bargain!
The Hard Rock casino and the employees continue to be an enigma. First of all, there are still many employees that treat oldsters like me (50 years old) with distain and aloofness. But on the hand, there are still some wonderful employees who treat you wonderfully. Of all the miracles in the world, I won money at the Hard Rock this trip. Not only did I get the six-pack coupons (the very best perk of all the coupons in Vegas in my book), but I won $70 on their free $10 coupon playing, of all things, the video Jeopardy game. I took my T-shirt, my deck of cards and the other goodies. The down side of all of this is that when playing VP, it takes $200 to get ONE point. Ouch! Of course, I enjoyed their off-the-menu steak and shrimp special in the coffee shop (the best deal anywhere).
The next morning, I grabbed my book and headed out to the pool area. You have to wear wrist bands given you a check in, which seemed silly to me. Why not just run your active key through a machine like they do at Mandalay Bay? Something disturbing about seeing all us old folks wearing bright fluorescent wrist bands around the pool. I was hoping for A LOT of eye candy and to my disappointment, nothing but the usual array of old folks and over-weight kids running all over the place. The cocktail waitress were terrific but to give a true idea of what I thought of the sights of the Hark Rock pool area is to say that I actually read four chapters of book. Enough said. The good news is that after almost two years of consistent losses playing my old favorite, craps, I finally found a shooter that actually had a nice run AND it was at the Hard Rock…I walked away with $150 profit. Not a lot, but after the crap drought I’d been in, this was fantastic.
That night, I was burned BIG TIME at video poker. I broke the unwritten rule and I was caught red-handed. Let me explain: I went into their small sports lounge in order to watch my Padres play. I sat at the bar and the game was just beginning. The only play available was triple play Ugly Deuces. Now I know that I’m going to be here for about two hours and I know I CAN’T sustain playing this game for that long a $3.25 a pop. So I look at the pay schedule and the only disparity between single coin and full coin is the Royal Flush. Everything is the same, even the deuces. So, because I want to keep the free drinks coming, I decided to the three hands at a quarter each. Yep, you guessed it. I hit a royal on the top hand during the fourth inning for a grand total of $50. This is even worse then hitting a royal on a nickel machine, which is $200. I figure the Padres and my stupid judgment have just cost me $950.00!!!! The bartender was very sympathetic and even offered my a free cigar that was given him the night before (he doesn’t smoke them) by the lead actor in the Sopranos (I’ve never seen the show). He was very nice to me but I fumed for the rest of the entire game. To add salt to the wound, the Padres lost!
I went to bed telling myself…”Get over it!” and move on. These kinds of things tend to fester in me, mostly because of my own stupidity. Royals come SO rarely, especially when playing quarters, that I know this might be my only one for the whole and I’ve blown it.
Aug 2 – I went to the Aladdin to use a $10 coupon they sent me in the mail. I walked around the shopping center for awhile and re-affirmed that I do really like it and the shops. I really hope they get through their financial troubles. There’s small print on the coupons that say you have to be staying in the hotel to use them, but I was armed with the story that I didn’t read it if they asked. The lady at the Slot club asked me if I was staying and I mumbled something unintelligent and she put the $10 credit on my card, which can only be used on reel machines, no VP. I went to a Wild Cherry machine and got three cherries for $30, cashed out and ran to the Buffet.
Now I will be the first to admit that I’m a very skeptical and even a little cynical when it comes to great reports about buffets. Since the Rio’s Carnival, all the new buffets have copied it in some way or the other with their array national food stations. How can the Aladdin be any different? I had heard many wonderful things about it, but strangely enough, I’d also heard a few negative comments too. Well, opinions are like….you know the rest of the phrase. But mine is this: The Aladdin Buffet is the absolute best in town. Leaps and bounds better than the Rio, better than the Reserve (which I like), and even better then the Bellagio. I had the lunch buffet and they too had all of the requisite food stations so what makes this place so different? The quality of food. You can REALLY tastes the difference. The vegetables were prepared like vegetables in the gourmet restaurants. The pizza is baked in wood ovens and is as good as the any gourmet pizzeria. The fish station has jumbo shrimp and barbecued salmon as good as if you ordered it as its own plate in a fine fish house. The deserts are the quality and presentation like the deserts you’ll pay up to ten dollars and a fancy restaurant. There is a Greed station that makes made-to-order sis kabobs and Gyros. The shrimp scampi is to die for, I kid you not. I felt like Scrooge on Christmas morning with my eyes finally open. The secret to eating at this buffet is small portions because you’re cheating yourself to not try almost everything, which of course, you can’t. I only hope that the immanent change in ownership does not stray from this winning formula because I intend to make this buffet a trip requirement every time I go.
I wish I could give other glowing reports about the Aladdin. Unfortunately, a trip to the London Club proved what everyone has reported. Not only is the 9/6 JOB removed from the machines, it’s been removed completely so that in the dollar machines you will only find 7/5 Bonus Poker. There was one 9/6 JOB VP machine in the place, but it was on the $100.00 machine…I don’t think so! The Aladdin continues to have terrific lounge entertainment in the afternoons upstairs and is still a nice place to wonder around, but everything else is a big minus.
From the Aladdin I walked down a block or two to the Internet Café between the MGM and the Aladdin. It was WAY over-priced at $11.00 an hour but I had a coupon. Otherwise, it’s simply too much money to check email. Unless it’s an emergency, I won’t be back.
It was back to the Hard Rock and a little more playing. I couldn’t do anything on the 10/7 Game Kings and switched to 9/6 JOB and sure enough, two quads. I see a pattern for this trip! Went to bed after Letterman. Again, kudos to Hard Rock for their rooms.
The next day before checking into Boulder Station, I drove over to the Suncoast to try to break through on their FP Deuces. I have been shut out there for the past four trips neglecting to not only get any kind of a royal but no full ducks even though I’ve play over 26,000 hands there. To make a long story short, I played for four hours of Deuces only and STILL walked away without a hit. I just don’t get it. I play 98 to 99 percent perfect strategy and I do know what I’m doing, but simply can’t break the Suncoast. They simply have my number. Big loss here as even though I was able to hold my own with minor wins, I still walked out down over $300. I REFUSE to let this house get and promise myself to return. I’ve a feeling that when I break the jinx, it will be in a big way.
Drove to Boulder Station in Henderson for a one night stay. Check in was a breeze but unfortunately, for those of you who know, Henderson is the thunderstorm capital of Nevada and with 115 temperature almost every day, today was no different and electricity was knocked out of the hotel rooms for over an hour. Amazingly, though all the machines in the casino would flick off, they all came back on. Not so lucky for the rooms. I sat down at their bank of quarter full pay deuces to play and next to me while I was playing, an Asian lady was playing on a bank of dollar double diamond machines that had a sign on it declaring 99% guaranteed return. This lady was hitting it almost every other spin. I kid you not, I’ve never seen a machine pay off so much and so often. I made a mental note to check this machine out tomorrow before I left. I don’t play reel machines, and especially for a dollar but if this machine is going to pay off like this, I’m going for it.
Boulder Station is a very nice casino both for locals and tourists. It not only has every kind of fast food outlet you could ever want, it does have a few banks of good paying Video Poker for the knowledgeable and the others that are short pay for the non-knowing players. The staff is friendly, there’s a nice movie house, a good size sports bar and low minimum tables. I won a few rounds at FPDW but still no full ducks for the trip. What gives?
I decided to finally try this 20 ounce porterhouse at this little casino on Boulder highway called the Skyline. It’s a totally local place that you could cut the smoke in the air with a knife and the restaurant is really just a very busy coffee shop but I took a seat at the counter. The steak was good with fries, but it sure didn’t seem like 20 ounces to me, but for $3.95, you think I’m complaining? It was just fine. On the way out, there was a ten coin nickel Ugly deuces with a progressive at almost $700. I took a shot at it for twenty bucks but didn’t connect and headed back to Boulder Station.
I would be remiss to note that the Stratosphere, the Hard Rock, and now Boulder Station ALL charged the $3.00 surcharge for electricity. I was not pleased. AND Boulder Station had a surcharge of a dollar a day for the phone saying I could make free local calls all day. I said I don’t want to call anyone and they could simply disconnect to phone, but they refused saying the charge would be made anyway. What’s next? A surcharge for toilet flushing? Went to bed with no major hits again on the machines. This trip is going to be costly if things don’t pick up.
August 3 – Before checking into the Lake Hyatt Hotel, I head back over to the Suncoast. Three hours later, I leave the Suncoast down another $200. STILL no ducks, no royals. I simply am amazed! I’m now headed to one of my favorite spots when I visit Las Vegas, Lake Hyatt, which is located off Lake Meade Rd about fifteen minutes past the Reserve. This is where they filmed “American Sweethearts” and believe me you can’t miss it as there are posters everywhere in the lobby, the restaurants, and the check in counter. I always visit here and bring my friends here as I consider it one of the nicest places to come and relax and enjoy gaming while overlooking the lake. It’s a small casino but never crowded and the service is always attentive and fast. I knew I could never afford to stay there but to my shock a couple of months ago, I received an invitation to a comped stay for two nights, even on the weekends. Being just a quarter player, I was very pleasantly surprised at this invitation and didn’t hesitate to take them up on it.
At check in, she had my reservations and asked if I’d like a room with a lake view for an extra $25.00. I asked if it was bigger than the other rooms and she said no, so I declined. My room had a view of the entrance parking lot. Oh well, it’s free! When I go to my room I found that all rooms are given a “Resort” surcharge of $10.00 per day. WHAT??? Of course, this included a casino book which included half off of the spa, a free ace, a double blackjack payoff, a $15 for $10 coupon, and a free “American Sweetheart” drink at the bar. After checking, I found out that my comped room included the resort charge. So the coupons were a nice little extra.
I will say this for the Hyatt. The rooms are very standard in size, but the luxury and taste in each room can only be compared to the Bellagio. Everything in the room was first class, from the free terrycloth robes, to the coffee maker with GORMET coffee in each room. The bathroom was very large with hair dryer and doubled as a night light (very cool as I have a tendency to make a trip in the middle of the night. The mattress was first class and the desk and comfort chair the absolute luxury. The TV included 90 channels and had a 32” screen. Yes, the rooms are small, but you cannot find fault anywhere else. Just a terrific place.
There are two very large pools and three Jacuzzis. There’s a terrific winding water slide and the attendants are there for anything you want. One of the pools has a basketball set up for those that want a watery pick up game. Below the pools is a little man made beach complete with crystal white sand and plenty of paddle boats for two for those that want to take a trip out to the lake. Surprisingly, there was not extra charge for the boats. The little pseudo-beach was set up for kids to go swimming with safety buoys so they can’t wander out too far. On this particular weekend that I was there, the place was teeming with families. I was quite amazed at just how many people were here and even with the extreme heat how everyone was outside enjoying the water.
The casino, as I said, is quite small but they do have about seven blackjack tables, a craps table and now a roulette table. I played craps for a bit with my $40 buy in standing next to a guy who was betting $1000 chips exclusively. One of the fun things about craps is that it’s the great leveler of a class system. Whether you’re playing five bucks on the pass line or seven thousand, you’re both rooting for each other. I lost my forty bucks but had a great time even though I watched my rich friend next to me walk away with a tidy $25,000 profit after paying off his marker of five grand. He slapped me on the back and said to “get ‘em next time kid” (I’m fifty years old and still being called ‘kid’).
The VP at the casino has quarter and dollar 9/6 JOB and the best double bonus is 9/7, but there is a quarter 9/7 DB and 9/6 DDB progressive against the back wall that goes over $2000 regularly according to a changer person because most people that play here are not knowledgeable video poker players. I clamped myself down at the five play nickel Ugly Deuces machine by the opening door (the ones by the lake view windows are all short pay), and played for about three hours. I hit a royal and two full deuces. Though I seem to be doing very well on nickel machines, I can’t hit squat on quarters.
I get tired of playing video poker and put in twenty in the nine-line video World of Fortune game. A nice diversion that turned into a $300 profit. I could do no wrong here and had a hand pay four times. Have I been playing the wrong machines all these years? Nah!!! Went to bed after Letterman up $430 for the day. Very nice. It’s amazing how better you sleep after a winning day versus a losing one.
The next day I hung out at the pools and read my book. I played some more and held my own at both the 9/6 JOB quarters and the nickel five play deuces. I cashed in 10,000 of my points for their seafood buffet. It was good, but not great though the service was excellent. I had some great conversations with the bartenders and the free American Sweetheart drink, which had about six different liqueurs it almost, knocked off the stool and played a few more video nine play games and move video poker for most the night. Ups and downs, wins and loses. Almost six hours of playing and breaking about even. Sometimes, you can’t help but wonder, “Why the heck am I doing this?” But it’s still fun, though it would sure be a lot more fun if I could hit SOMETHING worthwhile.
Sunday and I have to check out. I wait until the very last moment of check out time as I want to enjoy the room as much as possible. But, all good things must come to and end and I’m off to Sunset Station, my last hotel stay that will be three nights. I make a note to write a thank you note to the casino director at the Hyatt and thank him for the comp and hope another one will be in the mail soon.
That morning I run over to Sam’s to meet up with my Internet Group buddies at the Sunday brunch. I’m late but we do meet up. Simply a GREAT group of people and it was super spending some time with them. One of the members, Tuillio, comes all the way from Italy. He’s been in our group now for the past three or four years and makes this special trip and stays for a month at a time. He too, was staying at the Sunset for a couple of days and we’d meet up for another lunch.
When I get to Sunset Station and check in, I’m again greeted with the electricity and phone surcharge. The rooms at the Sunset are basic but clean. It, too comes with hair dryer and coffee maker. The Sunset, like Boulder Station, has mostly short pay video poker machines; however, they do have a bank of full pay deuces (which they advertise on the top of every machine) and a bank of 10/7 DB with the same “over 100% payback with perfect play” sign. I wonder that if they think they’re doing us such a big favor with these machines, why aren’t there more of them? Anyway, the full deuces were always seemingly packed but I was able to grab a machine and play. STILL no deuces, and no Royals in quarters. This is becoming down right frustrating. However, I’m hitting an unusual amount of Wild Royals and am leaving up most of the time.
I spent a lot of time at the Sunset playing Joker’s Wild at their nickel progressives. It’s a simple inexpensive way to enjoy yourself if you know this game. Though I didn’t hit a royal or five of a kind, I did hit a Joker Royal for a thousand coins which was fun. I also tried out some of the new nine-line video games for fun. The One Million Dollar Pyramid, Let’s Make a Deal, and The Price Is Right. All these games are almost exactly the same. Play and play and play until you hit a bonus round where they’re all a little different, but all really just the same. I did win at two of these so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I do know, however, that this is just a fleeting anomaly, and I walked with my profit rather than assume I can ever win at these things consistently. How I wish all the casinos would go to a cashless system. I simply have no tolerance anymore for the non-stop hopper fills and hand pays on most all the nickel games if you have the nerve to want to cash out with anything over twenty dollars. PLEASE, casinos, take the Suncoast lead and get rid of the coins!
August 6 – On this day, I do my Tropicana and Las Vegas Strip romp. I park at New York New York and hit all the casinos. I played pick-em at NYNY for a tidy little profit and then lost it to the 9/6 JOB. I went into the ESPNZone and had their fantastic Barbecue chicken wings and a beer while watching the Padres win a game. The zone is very well done with excellent food, copious TVs, and upstairs state-of-the-art games for kids and adults alike. I really liked this place and will return time and time again. I walked over to the MGM and played a little 8/5 JOB progressives (quarter) because it was about $2200. Tried my luck for forty bucks, but like the rest of this trip, I’m no allowed and big wins with quarters.
I take the monorail to Ballys to look for these 3/5 play nickel machines everyone’s been telling me about which have full pay schedules on them. I find them right below the slot card desks and sit down and play. For the next three and a half hours, I have my best video poker session of the trip. I first play 9/5 Super Double Bonus resulting in a hand pay. I then play NSUD and pick up a couple of full ducks for another hand pay. I then play more of the deuces and catch a royal flush for another hand pay. All total, I leave up almost $500, which is really saying something when you consider these are nickel machines. Thanks to everyone at Skip Hughs group for steering me over to the location and existence of these machines. For a guy who has been playing no-win quarter poker for seven days now, my nickel victories have brought me back into even status for the trip.
I head back to the Sunset that night with a good attitude and am ready to go for the quarters again. STILL NOTHING after three hours of hard work at both the 10/7 DB and FPDW. What gives here? Off to bed.
August 7 – I drop my car off at a Pontiac Dealer in Henderson which is within walking distance of the Sunset. I figure I can get a radiator flush and some new brakes while I’m hanging at the hotel. I walk back, have lunch with my friend and try my hand at this video game of checkers. I think this is a really stupid game. There is NO strategy to it really and you end up with whatever the games deals you and you CAN’T really makes mistakes because there are red arrows telling you where to play each time. I won’t be playing this one any time again soon.
Most this day I simply relax at the pool a bit and read. Eat at the buffet, see a movie, and play video poker. I try a little 10-play with Ugly Deuces and manage a slight profit and then a two-cent 50-play that had Ugly deuces and fortunately break about even. That night I watch Louie Louie, which used to be quite a great lounge act, but this time, he’s jumped on the hip-hop band wagon, turned his suit in for baggy shorts and a backwards baseball cap and hired four guys to dance in the background imitating MTV videos. I know I’m getting old but where is the originality? Just another lounge act following whatever trend comes around and Louie Louie – you look absolutely ridiculous. But what do I know? The place was packed! I shook my head, played some more nickel progressive Joker’s wild and went to bed after Letterman.
August 8 – Problems getting the car finished. The guy who signed my car up ends up getting fired that night and my car hasn’t even been worked on yet. Great! I’m in Vegas and stuck at the hotel again for the day. The manager apologizes and gives me ten percent of the whole job (about forty bucks). My last night in Vegas and yes, I have to go back to the Suncoast ONE MORE TIME. I refuse to be superstitious and go to try and get this monkey off my back. I play for almost four hours – no quad deuces; no royal!!!
With my tail between my legs, and another $300 down, I leave the Suncoast determined to come back again (this time with a rabbits foot) and break this place apart. I have far exceeded the math at this place. I should have had my share of deuces and royals. I’m a studied, knowledgeable player of this game. They have great quarter player machines. I LIKE everything about the place. Even the 75 cent hotdogs at the sports bar are great! Why can’t I win here? Oh well. I will be back!!!!!
August 9 – Heading home. Altogether, not a great trip, not a bad trip. Lost about $300 total. Very good considering I stayed at five hotels, ate and drank like gluttonous king, played my favorite for hours and hours, tipped generously, and saw some good movies, beautiful cocktail waitresses, and overall simply had a good, relaxing time. And after it’s all said and done….isn’t that what it’s all about?
Till next time!
Jman of San Diego
July 29 – Left San Diego at 3:30 AM for the drive to Sin Town. I always like to drive early in the morning as the traffic is light and time seems to go faster driving through the monotonous desert. I arrived in Las Vegas and walked in to the Stratosphere at 8:30 AM. Already there were hundreds of people at the machines. The first thing I noticed was the new coffee shop and how nice it was. Of course, in line with the “new” LV food outlets, there were no bargains here with the exception of the late night “Midnight special” of steak and eggs for $3.95.
I promptly headed for the Double Deuces machines. For months I collect change and then for my annual summer trip, separate it and spend it. I had volumes of quarters this time and was determined to make enough money off my “loose change” to earn my stake money for the entire nine days. I played for almost five hours and NEVER hit the deuces for the $500. However, I hit enough Wild royals and medium hands to actually turn a bit of a profit from this session. I then started to play the 10/6 and 9/7 JOB machines. Also the 10/7 DBs. Again, no big wins here but plenty of small ones. For whatever reason, my quads always seem to come on the JOB machines and NEVER on the DBs. While playing the Double Deuce machines, I had seven natural quads, on the DB machine…not one! Go figure!
I got pretty tired of playing VP and so took a couple of buckets and played Tower Quarters. My “system” on any reel machine is simple. Take a bucket or two of quarters and play them all through the machine until they’re gone and then cash in the credits and see how you do. To my surprise, I won about $120 on the Tower quarters. I then took the profit, put it in my pocket, got quarters again with the original stake and played the Wheel of Fortune for the 3 million dollar jackpot. Same system. I ran through the quarters and cashed out for a $32 loss. Not bad considering. (By the way, the buckets hold approximately $100 in quarters and each time I took two buckets).
The room at the Stratosphere was basic but clean. I was in the new tower just built and I was surprised that outside of the fact that all the furniture and fixtures were new, the design was exactly as the old rooms. You’d think they’d add a few new twists but no. No coffee maker but there was a hair dryer.
July 30 – I’m in Las Vegas this trip for nine days and I’m alone so I go to bed around 11:00 every night. I’ve been here far too often and I’m too old to get caught up in staying up to all hours of the morning. The bonus here is that I can get up early with a clear head and enjoy my coffee and paper (I bring my own coffee pot) in the morning after a shower and completely relax. This is my morning ritual while on vacation. I begin play again at about 11:00 AM. I play solid until 5:00 PM when I meet Martin (MM) and his friend, Carl for dinner. We are all friends from Lodestone’s group and decide we want to meet for dinner. Martin and Carl come loaded with their LVA coupons and we head out to Arizona Charlie’s East (ACE) for dinner at the Yukon Steakhouse. Martin has the pork chops, I have the seafood pasta and Carl has Orange Roughie. With soft drinks for all and using the coupon, we all spend approximately $7.00 each for a gourmet meal. It was wonderful food. Thanks LVA!
We all play Jokers Wild. Carl is simply one of those people who is naturally lucky. At the Stratosphere, he hits deuces on a one dollar machine for a grand after only about ten minutes. He hits quads like there were pairs. At Joker’s Wild on this night, the trend continues. He hits four of kinds one after another and a straight flush. We have a good time and all of us left ACE with a small profit though no one has broken the Royal Flush jinx yet.
Back the Stratosphere and the boys and I part company. They want to play more and I’m off to bed. A sure sign that you’re growing old is the ability to say “no” and go bed early. I’ve yet to figure out if this is a good thing or a bad thing. All and all, I think the Stratosphere is a fantastic low-player house. Lots of good machines and an atmosphere geared to the “working stiff” but still with some frills and decent eats.
Aug 1 – I’m off the Hard Rock for the next two nights. This is unusual for me because I have NEVER had good luck at the Hard Rock. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe I have ever walked out of the place with a profit. However, I wanted to check out the rooms and that famous pool. LVRS.com had rooms $65 a night and I decided it was time. First of all, the rooms were wonderful Yes, just slightly larger than your standard but what impressed me was the design of the room. Very modern, very classy. I really enjoyed the deep aluminum washing bin and have decided that when the time comes, I’m going to have one in my bathroom. There was both a hair dryer and a coffee maker. Internet was available on the TV (a remote keyboard on the desk) for $6.00 an hour. A real bargain!
The Hard Rock casino and the employees continue to be an enigma. First of all, there are still many employees that treat oldsters like me (50 years old) with distain and aloofness. But on the hand, there are still some wonderful employees who treat you wonderfully. Of all the miracles in the world, I won money at the Hard Rock this trip. Not only did I get the six-pack coupons (the very best perk of all the coupons in Vegas in my book), but I won $70 on their free $10 coupon playing, of all things, the video Jeopardy game. I took my T-shirt, my deck of cards and the other goodies. The down side of all of this is that when playing VP, it takes $200 to get ONE point. Ouch! Of course, I enjoyed their off-the-menu steak and shrimp special in the coffee shop (the best deal anywhere).
The next morning, I grabbed my book and headed out to the pool area. You have to wear wrist bands given you a check in, which seemed silly to me. Why not just run your active key through a machine like they do at Mandalay Bay? Something disturbing about seeing all us old folks wearing bright fluorescent wrist bands around the pool. I was hoping for A LOT of eye candy and to my disappointment, nothing but the usual array of old folks and over-weight kids running all over the place. The cocktail waitress were terrific but to give a true idea of what I thought of the sights of the Hark Rock pool area is to say that I actually read four chapters of book. Enough said. The good news is that after almost two years of consistent losses playing my old favorite, craps, I finally found a shooter that actually had a nice run AND it was at the Hard Rock…I walked away with $150 profit. Not a lot, but after the crap drought I’d been in, this was fantastic.
That night, I was burned BIG TIME at video poker. I broke the unwritten rule and I was caught red-handed. Let me explain: I went into their small sports lounge in order to watch my Padres play. I sat at the bar and the game was just beginning. The only play available was triple play Ugly Deuces. Now I know that I’m going to be here for about two hours and I know I CAN’T sustain playing this game for that long a $3.25 a pop. So I look at the pay schedule and the only disparity between single coin and full coin is the Royal Flush. Everything is the same, even the deuces. So, because I want to keep the free drinks coming, I decided to the three hands at a quarter each. Yep, you guessed it. I hit a royal on the top hand during the fourth inning for a grand total of $50. This is even worse then hitting a royal on a nickel machine, which is $200. I figure the Padres and my stupid judgment have just cost me $950.00!!!! The bartender was very sympathetic and even offered my a free cigar that was given him the night before (he doesn’t smoke them) by the lead actor in the Sopranos (I’ve never seen the show). He was very nice to me but I fumed for the rest of the entire game. To add salt to the wound, the Padres lost!
I went to bed telling myself…”Get over it!” and move on. These kinds of things tend to fester in me, mostly because of my own stupidity. Royals come SO rarely, especially when playing quarters, that I know this might be my only one for the whole and I’ve blown it.
Aug 2 – I went to the Aladdin to use a $10 coupon they sent me in the mail. I walked around the shopping center for awhile and re-affirmed that I do really like it and the shops. I really hope they get through their financial troubles. There’s small print on the coupons that say you have to be staying in the hotel to use them, but I was armed with the story that I didn’t read it if they asked. The lady at the Slot club asked me if I was staying and I mumbled something unintelligent and she put the $10 credit on my card, which can only be used on reel machines, no VP. I went to a Wild Cherry machine and got three cherries for $30, cashed out and ran to the Buffet.
Now I will be the first to admit that I’m a very skeptical and even a little cynical when it comes to great reports about buffets. Since the Rio’s Carnival, all the new buffets have copied it in some way or the other with their array national food stations. How can the Aladdin be any different? I had heard many wonderful things about it, but strangely enough, I’d also heard a few negative comments too. Well, opinions are like….you know the rest of the phrase. But mine is this: The Aladdin Buffet is the absolute best in town. Leaps and bounds better than the Rio, better than the Reserve (which I like), and even better then the Bellagio. I had the lunch buffet and they too had all of the requisite food stations so what makes this place so different? The quality of food. You can REALLY tastes the difference. The vegetables were prepared like vegetables in the gourmet restaurants. The pizza is baked in wood ovens and is as good as the any gourmet pizzeria. The fish station has jumbo shrimp and barbecued salmon as good as if you ordered it as its own plate in a fine fish house. The deserts are the quality and presentation like the deserts you’ll pay up to ten dollars and a fancy restaurant. There is a Greed station that makes made-to-order sis kabobs and Gyros. The shrimp scampi is to die for, I kid you not. I felt like Scrooge on Christmas morning with my eyes finally open. The secret to eating at this buffet is small portions because you’re cheating yourself to not try almost everything, which of course, you can’t. I only hope that the immanent change in ownership does not stray from this winning formula because I intend to make this buffet a trip requirement every time I go.
I wish I could give other glowing reports about the Aladdin. Unfortunately, a trip to the London Club proved what everyone has reported. Not only is the 9/6 JOB removed from the machines, it’s been removed completely so that in the dollar machines you will only find 7/5 Bonus Poker. There was one 9/6 JOB VP machine in the place, but it was on the $100.00 machine…I don’t think so! The Aladdin continues to have terrific lounge entertainment in the afternoons upstairs and is still a nice place to wonder around, but everything else is a big minus.
From the Aladdin I walked down a block or two to the Internet Café between the MGM and the Aladdin. It was WAY over-priced at $11.00 an hour but I had a coupon. Otherwise, it’s simply too much money to check email. Unless it’s an emergency, I won’t be back.
It was back to the Hard Rock and a little more playing. I couldn’t do anything on the 10/7 Game Kings and switched to 9/6 JOB and sure enough, two quads. I see a pattern for this trip! Went to bed after Letterman. Again, kudos to Hard Rock for their rooms.
The next day before checking into Boulder Station, I drove over to the Suncoast to try to break through on their FP Deuces. I have been shut out there for the past four trips neglecting to not only get any kind of a royal but no full ducks even though I’ve play over 26,000 hands there. To make a long story short, I played for four hours of Deuces only and STILL walked away without a hit. I just don’t get it. I play 98 to 99 percent perfect strategy and I do know what I’m doing, but simply can’t break the Suncoast. They simply have my number. Big loss here as even though I was able to hold my own with minor wins, I still walked out down over $300. I REFUSE to let this house get and promise myself to return. I’ve a feeling that when I break the jinx, it will be in a big way.
Drove to Boulder Station in Henderson for a one night stay. Check in was a breeze but unfortunately, for those of you who know, Henderson is the thunderstorm capital of Nevada and with 115 temperature almost every day, today was no different and electricity was knocked out of the hotel rooms for over an hour. Amazingly, though all the machines in the casino would flick off, they all came back on. Not so lucky for the rooms. I sat down at their bank of quarter full pay deuces to play and next to me while I was playing, an Asian lady was playing on a bank of dollar double diamond machines that had a sign on it declaring 99% guaranteed return. This lady was hitting it almost every other spin. I kid you not, I’ve never seen a machine pay off so much and so often. I made a mental note to check this machine out tomorrow before I left. I don’t play reel machines, and especially for a dollar but if this machine is going to pay off like this, I’m going for it.
Boulder Station is a very nice casino both for locals and tourists. It not only has every kind of fast food outlet you could ever want, it does have a few banks of good paying Video Poker for the knowledgeable and the others that are short pay for the non-knowing players. The staff is friendly, there’s a nice movie house, a good size sports bar and low minimum tables. I won a few rounds at FPDW but still no full ducks for the trip. What gives?
I decided to finally try this 20 ounce porterhouse at this little casino on Boulder highway called the Skyline. It’s a totally local place that you could cut the smoke in the air with a knife and the restaurant is really just a very busy coffee shop but I took a seat at the counter. The steak was good with fries, but it sure didn’t seem like 20 ounces to me, but for $3.95, you think I’m complaining? It was just fine. On the way out, there was a ten coin nickel Ugly deuces with a progressive at almost $700. I took a shot at it for twenty bucks but didn’t connect and headed back to Boulder Station.
I would be remiss to note that the Stratosphere, the Hard Rock, and now Boulder Station ALL charged the $3.00 surcharge for electricity. I was not pleased. AND Boulder Station had a surcharge of a dollar a day for the phone saying I could make free local calls all day. I said I don’t want to call anyone and they could simply disconnect to phone, but they refused saying the charge would be made anyway. What’s next? A surcharge for toilet flushing? Went to bed with no major hits again on the machines. This trip is going to be costly if things don’t pick up.
August 3 – Before checking into the Lake Hyatt Hotel, I head back over to the Suncoast. Three hours later, I leave the Suncoast down another $200. STILL no ducks, no royals. I simply am amazed! I’m now headed to one of my favorite spots when I visit Las Vegas, Lake Hyatt, which is located off Lake Meade Rd about fifteen minutes past the Reserve. This is where they filmed “American Sweethearts” and believe me you can’t miss it as there are posters everywhere in the lobby, the restaurants, and the check in counter. I always visit here and bring my friends here as I consider it one of the nicest places to come and relax and enjoy gaming while overlooking the lake. It’s a small casino but never crowded and the service is always attentive and fast. I knew I could never afford to stay there but to my shock a couple of months ago, I received an invitation to a comped stay for two nights, even on the weekends. Being just a quarter player, I was very pleasantly surprised at this invitation and didn’t hesitate to take them up on it.
At check in, she had my reservations and asked if I’d like a room with a lake view for an extra $25.00. I asked if it was bigger than the other rooms and she said no, so I declined. My room had a view of the entrance parking lot. Oh well, it’s free! When I go to my room I found that all rooms are given a “Resort” surcharge of $10.00 per day. WHAT??? Of course, this included a casino book which included half off of the spa, a free ace, a double blackjack payoff, a $15 for $10 coupon, and a free “American Sweetheart” drink at the bar. After checking, I found out that my comped room included the resort charge. So the coupons were a nice little extra.
I will say this for the Hyatt. The rooms are very standard in size, but the luxury and taste in each room can only be compared to the Bellagio. Everything in the room was first class, from the free terrycloth robes, to the coffee maker with GORMET coffee in each room. The bathroom was very large with hair dryer and doubled as a night light (very cool as I have a tendency to make a trip in the middle of the night. The mattress was first class and the desk and comfort chair the absolute luxury. The TV included 90 channels and had a 32” screen. Yes, the rooms are small, but you cannot find fault anywhere else. Just a terrific place.
There are two very large pools and three Jacuzzis. There’s a terrific winding water slide and the attendants are there for anything you want. One of the pools has a basketball set up for those that want a watery pick up game. Below the pools is a little man made beach complete with crystal white sand and plenty of paddle boats for two for those that want to take a trip out to the lake. Surprisingly, there was not extra charge for the boats. The little pseudo-beach was set up for kids to go swimming with safety buoys so they can’t wander out too far. On this particular weekend that I was there, the place was teeming with families. I was quite amazed at just how many people were here and even with the extreme heat how everyone was outside enjoying the water.
The casino, as I said, is quite small but they do have about seven blackjack tables, a craps table and now a roulette table. I played craps for a bit with my $40 buy in standing next to a guy who was betting $1000 chips exclusively. One of the fun things about craps is that it’s the great leveler of a class system. Whether you’re playing five bucks on the pass line or seven thousand, you’re both rooting for each other. I lost my forty bucks but had a great time even though I watched my rich friend next to me walk away with a tidy $25,000 profit after paying off his marker of five grand. He slapped me on the back and said to “get ‘em next time kid” (I’m fifty years old and still being called ‘kid’).
The VP at the casino has quarter and dollar 9/6 JOB and the best double bonus is 9/7, but there is a quarter 9/7 DB and 9/6 DDB progressive against the back wall that goes over $2000 regularly according to a changer person because most people that play here are not knowledgeable video poker players. I clamped myself down at the five play nickel Ugly Deuces machine by the opening door (the ones by the lake view windows are all short pay), and played for about three hours. I hit a royal and two full deuces. Though I seem to be doing very well on nickel machines, I can’t hit squat on quarters.
I get tired of playing video poker and put in twenty in the nine-line video World of Fortune game. A nice diversion that turned into a $300 profit. I could do no wrong here and had a hand pay four times. Have I been playing the wrong machines all these years? Nah!!! Went to bed after Letterman up $430 for the day. Very nice. It’s amazing how better you sleep after a winning day versus a losing one.
The next day I hung out at the pools and read my book. I played some more and held my own at both the 9/6 JOB quarters and the nickel five play deuces. I cashed in 10,000 of my points for their seafood buffet. It was good, but not great though the service was excellent. I had some great conversations with the bartenders and the free American Sweetheart drink, which had about six different liqueurs it almost, knocked off the stool and played a few more video nine play games and move video poker for most the night. Ups and downs, wins and loses. Almost six hours of playing and breaking about even. Sometimes, you can’t help but wonder, “Why the heck am I doing this?” But it’s still fun, though it would sure be a lot more fun if I could hit SOMETHING worthwhile.
Sunday and I have to check out. I wait until the very last moment of check out time as I want to enjoy the room as much as possible. But, all good things must come to and end and I’m off to Sunset Station, my last hotel stay that will be three nights. I make a note to write a thank you note to the casino director at the Hyatt and thank him for the comp and hope another one will be in the mail soon.
That morning I run over to Sam’s to meet up with my Internet Group buddies at the Sunday brunch. I’m late but we do meet up. Simply a GREAT group of people and it was super spending some time with them. One of the members, Tuillio, comes all the way from Italy. He’s been in our group now for the past three or four years and makes this special trip and stays for a month at a time. He too, was staying at the Sunset for a couple of days and we’d meet up for another lunch.
When I get to Sunset Station and check in, I’m again greeted with the electricity and phone surcharge. The rooms at the Sunset are basic but clean. It, too comes with hair dryer and coffee maker. The Sunset, like Boulder Station, has mostly short pay video poker machines; however, they do have a bank of full pay deuces (which they advertise on the top of every machine) and a bank of 10/7 DB with the same “over 100% payback with perfect play” sign. I wonder that if they think they’re doing us such a big favor with these machines, why aren’t there more of them? Anyway, the full deuces were always seemingly packed but I was able to grab a machine and play. STILL no deuces, and no Royals in quarters. This is becoming down right frustrating. However, I’m hitting an unusual amount of Wild Royals and am leaving up most of the time.
I spent a lot of time at the Sunset playing Joker’s Wild at their nickel progressives. It’s a simple inexpensive way to enjoy yourself if you know this game. Though I didn’t hit a royal or five of a kind, I did hit a Joker Royal for a thousand coins which was fun. I also tried out some of the new nine-line video games for fun. The One Million Dollar Pyramid, Let’s Make a Deal, and The Price Is Right. All these games are almost exactly the same. Play and play and play until you hit a bonus round where they’re all a little different, but all really just the same. I did win at two of these so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I do know, however, that this is just a fleeting anomaly, and I walked with my profit rather than assume I can ever win at these things consistently. How I wish all the casinos would go to a cashless system. I simply have no tolerance anymore for the non-stop hopper fills and hand pays on most all the nickel games if you have the nerve to want to cash out with anything over twenty dollars. PLEASE, casinos, take the Suncoast lead and get rid of the coins!
August 6 – On this day, I do my Tropicana and Las Vegas Strip romp. I park at New York New York and hit all the casinos. I played pick-em at NYNY for a tidy little profit and then lost it to the 9/6 JOB. I went into the ESPNZone and had their fantastic Barbecue chicken wings and a beer while watching the Padres win a game. The zone is very well done with excellent food, copious TVs, and upstairs state-of-the-art games for kids and adults alike. I really liked this place and will return time and time again. I walked over to the MGM and played a little 8/5 JOB progressives (quarter) because it was about $2200. Tried my luck for forty bucks, but like the rest of this trip, I’m no allowed and big wins with quarters.
I take the monorail to Ballys to look for these 3/5 play nickel machines everyone’s been telling me about which have full pay schedules on them. I find them right below the slot card desks and sit down and play. For the next three and a half hours, I have my best video poker session of the trip. I first play 9/5 Super Double Bonus resulting in a hand pay. I then play NSUD and pick up a couple of full ducks for another hand pay. I then play more of the deuces and catch a royal flush for another hand pay. All total, I leave up almost $500, which is really saying something when you consider these are nickel machines. Thanks to everyone at Skip Hughs group for steering me over to the location and existence of these machines. For a guy who has been playing no-win quarter poker for seven days now, my nickel victories have brought me back into even status for the trip.
I head back to the Sunset that night with a good attitude and am ready to go for the quarters again. STILL NOTHING after three hours of hard work at both the 10/7 DB and FPDW. What gives here? Off to bed.
August 7 – I drop my car off at a Pontiac Dealer in Henderson which is within walking distance of the Sunset. I figure I can get a radiator flush and some new brakes while I’m hanging at the hotel. I walk back, have lunch with my friend and try my hand at this video game of checkers. I think this is a really stupid game. There is NO strategy to it really and you end up with whatever the games deals you and you CAN’T really makes mistakes because there are red arrows telling you where to play each time. I won’t be playing this one any time again soon.
Most this day I simply relax at the pool a bit and read. Eat at the buffet, see a movie, and play video poker. I try a little 10-play with Ugly Deuces and manage a slight profit and then a two-cent 50-play that had Ugly deuces and fortunately break about even. That night I watch Louie Louie, which used to be quite a great lounge act, but this time, he’s jumped on the hip-hop band wagon, turned his suit in for baggy shorts and a backwards baseball cap and hired four guys to dance in the background imitating MTV videos. I know I’m getting old but where is the originality? Just another lounge act following whatever trend comes around and Louie Louie – you look absolutely ridiculous. But what do I know? The place was packed! I shook my head, played some more nickel progressive Joker’s wild and went to bed after Letterman.
August 8 – Problems getting the car finished. The guy who signed my car up ends up getting fired that night and my car hasn’t even been worked on yet. Great! I’m in Vegas and stuck at the hotel again for the day. The manager apologizes and gives me ten percent of the whole job (about forty bucks). My last night in Vegas and yes, I have to go back to the Suncoast ONE MORE TIME. I refuse to be superstitious and go to try and get this monkey off my back. I play for almost four hours – no quad deuces; no royal!!!
With my tail between my legs, and another $300 down, I leave the Suncoast determined to come back again (this time with a rabbits foot) and break this place apart. I have far exceeded the math at this place. I should have had my share of deuces and royals. I’m a studied, knowledgeable player of this game. They have great quarter player machines. I LIKE everything about the place. Even the 75 cent hotdogs at the sports bar are great! Why can’t I win here? Oh well. I will be back!!!!!
August 9 – Heading home. Altogether, not a great trip, not a bad trip. Lost about $300 total. Very good considering I stayed at five hotels, ate and drank like gluttonous king, played my favorite for hours and hours, tipped generously, and saw some good movies, beautiful cocktail waitresses, and overall simply had a good, relaxing time. And after it’s all said and done….isn’t that what it’s all about?
Till next time!
Jman of San Diego
