We just got back from our longest Vegas trip to date, 7 nights. It was a financial disaster but a really fun time; you can't live on the better tail of the bell curve forever, I guess. I play mostly dollar JoB (got maybe three quads all week, no better hit than those; maybe twenty 4-to-a-royals, though; they don't pay much at all), also some quarter DB and some blackjack; Linda (wife) plays JoB, blackjack and some slots. Total coin-in was about $44K, we're down about $1600 (yow!), for a 3.7% loss, most of which (about $1400) was mine. I did run the numbers; assuming that all of my action was on JoB (assuming that the higher variance of DB is offset by the lower variance of the blackjack), I could expect a loss like that or worse about 25% of the time. Hell of an eye-opener. I guess reckoning day ultimately comes for every man; I can live with that. Linda did a lot better, in spite of all the slot play, she wound up with less than a $200 loss. Go figure.
Anyway, we spent three nights at MSS, two at the Las Vegas Club and two at Four Queens. We also met our friend from LVA, Linda (linda2244), her daughter and son-in-law out there. It really was a fun trip (would have been more fun with a big win, but it was still at least as much fun as a barrel of monkeys).
WEDNESDAY
We had an uneventful flight from Tampa, via Denver, and took the new WAX (Westcliff Airport Express) bus downtown; took about 30 minutes. Checked in to MSS, lost a bunch on JoB but was about even on DB. Went to the buffet for dinner; good variety, but I think the quality has gone downhill since last year. Played some more, got some ESI (early shut-eye).
THURSDAY
Stopped by at the Gold Spike this morning, to get my $10 freeplay for signing up for the new players club (best game there is 9/6 DDB). Made a few bucks; unfortunately, their TITO system isn't working yet, so everything (yes, EVERYTHING) is a hand-pay. Pain in the ass for me and for them (you don't tip on a $10 hand-pay, do you?). Played some more at MSS, went over to Binion's for a hamburger (I do think they make a good hamburger there, very honest and basic). There was some award thing over at the Golden Nugget, and we got to meet Ozzy Osborne, really nice guy.
He was mixed in with a bunch of other celebrities that I'm too old to recognize, a phony Johnny Depp and a few other mixed primates. I sure hope it was the real Ozzy. Anyway, played some Pick-em at the Fremont afterward (tough game), back to MSS, then we took the bus up to Dona Maria's Tamales, had some good Mexican food (queso fundido, great pork tamal, great chili relleno, mediocre enchilada de mariscos). Got back downtown and caught up with linda2244, who had just flown in from Minnesota. Caught up a little, played some more, took a break from the VP for a while and played some Goldfish (I'm really addicted to the music, and am still trying to learn that fish food dance).
FRIDAY
Usual $200 cup of coffee in the morning. Linda2244 was in a slots tournament at the LV Club, so I ran over to cheer (she unfortunately didn't finish in the money). More play at MSS, then we went over to the Golden Gate and had lunch at Du-Par's (linda2244 has lots of comps there), had some very good chicken-fried steak, probably better than when it was the Bay City Diner. We all went to the El Cortez after lunch, played a little multistrike JoB and a lot of blackjack, won a bunch on the double-deck game but lost on the single-deck (the penetration always sucks). Linda (wife) stuck with DD and did well. Had dinner at Roberta's (multiple coupons as always; they're good about that, and often pay you to eat there if you have enough coupons), I thought it was a little uneven compared to last time. Good clam chowder, excellent walleye pike and king crab, but the garbage salad wasn't quite it (not enough greens and a very overpowering vinaigrette) and the prime rib was merely okay. Might stick to seafood next time (walleye pike is a rare treat for us Floridians).
SATURDAY
Linda (wife) and I moved over to the Las Vegas Club today (linda2244 was already there). Nice room in the north tower, really huge, clean and in fairly good shape. Very friendly people over there. Played some JoB and a little Lucky Larry's Lobstermania (linda2244 has me hooked on that one; it's worth a low EV to hear Larry say, “That's a keepah for sure” and “Some of these lobsters look like crabs”), had the classic Downtown Lunch (a 99 cent shrimp cocktail [with the downtown coupon sheet] at GG and a 99 cent batter-fried Twinkie at Mermaid's). Played some more, wandered around downtown a bit between sessions. Walked over to the Golden Nugget, where I never play. They had a swell blackjack game over by the sports book: $10 minimum, 8 deck shoe, 6:5 (some black chip players, too!). Also saw their ATM that dispenses gold bars (not really big ones, of course).
Anyway, went back to the LV Club, played some more, had dinner at Tinoco's Kitchen. I liked the place, it's kind of different. Very friendly service, lots of Filipino staff and probably some Filipino influence on the food. I had some very good rack of lamb; Linda (wife) had forgettable lobster ravioli and linda2244 had a linguini dish with scallops and beef tenderloin.
Played some more; Linda (wife) played a lot of $2 video blackjack, had a lot of fun and made a few bucks (and a lot of points). I played a little, met some nice folks and one blonde bimbo who kept criticizing my play (maybe I should have doubled some 16s like her). She went to the bathroom one time and told her friend to make sure that I don't slip her a mickey; I told her that I assumed that someone already had, so she left in a huff. Anyway. Went over to Lappert's at the Cal (the place is always packed), had some ice cream (I had chocolate macadamia, linda2244 had mango), played some more and went to bed. Boulder Highway tomorrow.
SUNDAY
First free coffee of the trip this morning! Anyway, linda2244's slots tournament awards ceremony was this morning, over in the Rat Pack theatre at the Plaza (nice room, for the Plaza). No donut for linda2244. Played some more at the LV Club, ran over to Aloha Specialties at the Cal (my favorite restaurant downtown), wasn't too hungry, just had a beef bowl.
We all took the shuttle over to Sam's Town in the afternoon, had a lot of fun there. Played a bunch of FPDW; there was also a bank of 9/6 JoB machines with a $1480 progressive on the royal (which I didn't get). We all used the LVA coupons for the free buffet with 200 points. Not sure why people speak so well of the Firelight buffet at Sam's, I thought it was really crappy. Small selection, nothing very fresh or very good. Anyway, we played some more after dinner, did okay. I ran over to the E-Can, played some on the ancient JoB coindroppers in their Classic Slots area. Some interesting characters over there.
Back to Sam's, back to the LV Club, played some more, saw a dead lobster in the claw machine, considered the advisability of eating any of the other lobsters, went to bed.
MONDAY
We all moved over to the Four Queens today. We got a nice north tower room, fairly small (not as small as the Fremont rooms, though), but nice furniture and fairly clean. Played a lot of JoB over there, also the 10/7 DB over by Hugo's with the progressive royal. Had lunch over at Du-Par's again (thanks, linda2244!), had a reasonably good reuben. Played some more at Four Queens and we all decided to go down to the El Cortez again for a few hours. I had a very good blackjack session, kind of a 20-minute hit-and-run (DD game); Linda (wife) did pretty well on blackjack as well. I took a break, wandered down to the Western (which ain't no place for dames). Seems like the clientele is a little seedier than last year, if that's possible; I think I was the only person in the joint that bathed so far this year. Anyway, played my $5 matchplay from the ACG; tough game with desperate characters at the table. $2 double-deck (I was the high roller), about 45 card penetration, naturals payed even money. No mid-shoe entry (gotta protect the game, right?). REALLY nervous dealer. Anyway, I got a king and queen of hearts, which really pissed everyone off badly; turns out that they were all dyed-in-the-wool Royal Match players, and I didn't even know that that was a good hand. Guess they figured that I came from a different planet. Anyway, I scoped out the place a bit for vpFree2 (the FPDW machine is gone, what a shame) and headed back to the El (watched someone getting arrested on the way back, he was telling the cops something about not knowing how that got in his pocket). Back to the Four Queens, had the prime rib special at Magnolia's (I think this is the best cheapo prime rib deal downtown), some house-brewed root beer (tasted just like root beer), a deep-dish pizza (okay, not great), played some more, bedtime.
TUESDAY
This was our last full day in Vegas (linda2244 will be staying until Friday, up on the Strip near Mike and Amber [daughter and son-in-law, but not in that order]; they're at PH and she'll stay at Bally's). I spent a little time at Fitzgerald's, not enough to get on their radar but I wanted to take advantage of the birthday promo (500 points) and to try for the free ribeye steak (they still have one 8/5 BP machine; the rest are short-pay DDB). I did okay, but no steak; the woman next to me won two, though, in about three minutes. She said that she won twelve on her last trip. Hell, you could sew that many together and make a rib roast. Anyway, we went up to the Wynn for the lunch buffet and met Mike and Amber and a few of their friends there. The Wynn is a hell of a lot nicer than the downtown properties, and you can buy a $61,000 watch there if you win too much cash to fit in your suitcase. Which we didn't. Nice plumbing, too. The buffet was very good, everything good quality and well prepared, and a few interesting touches, like a variety of ceviche, some (unfortunately very watered-down) Indian food, excellent desserts. The one really annoying thing was that they wanted to add an 18% gratuity if all seven of us sat together (which seems pretty steep for a buffet), so we had two tables near each other. Guess it's a Strip thing. After lunch, Linda (wife) went back downtown and did pretty well (she filled in a 356s for a straight flush); linda2244 and I decided to go out to Terrrible's for the $100 loss rebate promo. Stopped at Bill's on the way out there, and Big Elvis was playing in the casino lounge. I didn't think he was still around (or alive); I think it's kind of like Lassie, there have been a bunch of them because they don't live that long. Anyway, this one wasn't that big, probably no more than 400 lbs; I hear that the old one (in the Barbary Coast days) was about 800#, and that they had to bring him out with a forklift. This one even stood up one time, which seems unheard of.
So anyway, we got on the bus out to Terrible's; talked to some local guy who had lots of stories about what the pathologist took out of the real Elvis at the autopsy. I won't shock you with details, but he said that it weighed 50 lbs (I think a real pathologist would have reported it in kilograms). Terrible's was just that, Terrible. Linda2244 and I both went for high-denom machines; I played $2 8/5 BP and she played some high-denom slots. We both lost our $100 within five or ten minutes; she got about $125 on the freeplay rebate, and I got about $80 (you can't use it on the 9/6 JoB machines, nor on most of the 8/5 BP machines; I found a BP bartop that took it, though). We left, got stuck on the Deuce for a little while (more crowded than a New York subway that day), switched to the SDX and got downtown in time to catch up with Mike and Amber again. We had a great time with them, got some more 99 cent shrimp cocktails, ate at Magnolia's again (had some pretty good baby back ribs), played some VP, smoked some cigars (unfortunately, Bad Habits was closed early).
Not enough time with them, unfortunately. Later on, Linda (wife) and I got stuck playing VP next to some guy who was drunk, incontinent, playing nickel keno, and telling us about how he's Sam Boyd's nephew and how he owns 8 acres about ½ mile off the Strip and how he's building the next megaresort. I actually bought 2 shares (they were only a nickel each), so I guess I don't have to worry about my retirement anymore.
WEDNESDAY
Time to leave; I had one more difficult DB session, checked out with the host at Four Queens, ran up to Aloha Specialties for a spam musubi (my standard last-day-in-Vegas breakfast now), and we took the WAX back to the airport. Had to get rerouted on the way back (Vegas-Denver-Dulles-Tampa), got home by 2am, and that was that.
I wonder how linda2244 is doing right now.
Anyway, it was a really fun trip, in spite of the losses. I don't like this tail of the bell curve at all; hopefully we'll spend some time on the uptown tail this summer.
Thanks for reading!
Anyway, we spent three nights at MSS, two at the Las Vegas Club and two at Four Queens. We also met our friend from LVA, Linda (linda2244), her daughter and son-in-law out there. It really was a fun trip (would have been more fun with a big win, but it was still at least as much fun as a barrel of monkeys).
WEDNESDAY
We had an uneventful flight from Tampa, via Denver, and took the new WAX (Westcliff Airport Express) bus downtown; took about 30 minutes. Checked in to MSS, lost a bunch on JoB but was about even on DB. Went to the buffet for dinner; good variety, but I think the quality has gone downhill since last year. Played some more, got some ESI (early shut-eye).
THURSDAY
Stopped by at the Gold Spike this morning, to get my $10 freeplay for signing up for the new players club (best game there is 9/6 DDB). Made a few bucks; unfortunately, their TITO system isn't working yet, so everything (yes, EVERYTHING) is a hand-pay. Pain in the ass for me and for them (you don't tip on a $10 hand-pay, do you?). Played some more at MSS, went over to Binion's for a hamburger (I do think they make a good hamburger there, very honest and basic). There was some award thing over at the Golden Nugget, and we got to meet Ozzy Osborne, really nice guy.
He was mixed in with a bunch of other celebrities that I'm too old to recognize, a phony Johnny Depp and a few other mixed primates. I sure hope it was the real Ozzy. Anyway, played some Pick-em at the Fremont afterward (tough game), back to MSS, then we took the bus up to Dona Maria's Tamales, had some good Mexican food (queso fundido, great pork tamal, great chili relleno, mediocre enchilada de mariscos). Got back downtown and caught up with linda2244, who had just flown in from Minnesota. Caught up a little, played some more, took a break from the VP for a while and played some Goldfish (I'm really addicted to the music, and am still trying to learn that fish food dance).
FRIDAY
Usual $200 cup of coffee in the morning. Linda2244 was in a slots tournament at the LV Club, so I ran over to cheer (she unfortunately didn't finish in the money). More play at MSS, then we went over to the Golden Gate and had lunch at Du-Par's (linda2244 has lots of comps there), had some very good chicken-fried steak, probably better than when it was the Bay City Diner. We all went to the El Cortez after lunch, played a little multistrike JoB and a lot of blackjack, won a bunch on the double-deck game but lost on the single-deck (the penetration always sucks). Linda (wife) stuck with DD and did well. Had dinner at Roberta's (multiple coupons as always; they're good about that, and often pay you to eat there if you have enough coupons), I thought it was a little uneven compared to last time. Good clam chowder, excellent walleye pike and king crab, but the garbage salad wasn't quite it (not enough greens and a very overpowering vinaigrette) and the prime rib was merely okay. Might stick to seafood next time (walleye pike is a rare treat for us Floridians).
SATURDAY
Linda (wife) and I moved over to the Las Vegas Club today (linda2244 was already there). Nice room in the north tower, really huge, clean and in fairly good shape. Very friendly people over there. Played some JoB and a little Lucky Larry's Lobstermania (linda2244 has me hooked on that one; it's worth a low EV to hear Larry say, “That's a keepah for sure” and “Some of these lobsters look like crabs”), had the classic Downtown Lunch (a 99 cent shrimp cocktail [with the downtown coupon sheet] at GG and a 99 cent batter-fried Twinkie at Mermaid's). Played some more, wandered around downtown a bit between sessions. Walked over to the Golden Nugget, where I never play. They had a swell blackjack game over by the sports book: $10 minimum, 8 deck shoe, 6:5 (some black chip players, too!). Also saw their ATM that dispenses gold bars (not really big ones, of course).
Anyway, went back to the LV Club, played some more, had dinner at Tinoco's Kitchen. I liked the place, it's kind of different. Very friendly service, lots of Filipino staff and probably some Filipino influence on the food. I had some very good rack of lamb; Linda (wife) had forgettable lobster ravioli and linda2244 had a linguini dish with scallops and beef tenderloin.
Played some more; Linda (wife) played a lot of $2 video blackjack, had a lot of fun and made a few bucks (and a lot of points). I played a little, met some nice folks and one blonde bimbo who kept criticizing my play (maybe I should have doubled some 16s like her). She went to the bathroom one time and told her friend to make sure that I don't slip her a mickey; I told her that I assumed that someone already had, so she left in a huff. Anyway. Went over to Lappert's at the Cal (the place is always packed), had some ice cream (I had chocolate macadamia, linda2244 had mango), played some more and went to bed. Boulder Highway tomorrow.
SUNDAY
First free coffee of the trip this morning! Anyway, linda2244's slots tournament awards ceremony was this morning, over in the Rat Pack theatre at the Plaza (nice room, for the Plaza). No donut for linda2244. Played some more at the LV Club, ran over to Aloha Specialties at the Cal (my favorite restaurant downtown), wasn't too hungry, just had a beef bowl.
We all took the shuttle over to Sam's Town in the afternoon, had a lot of fun there. Played a bunch of FPDW; there was also a bank of 9/6 JoB machines with a $1480 progressive on the royal (which I didn't get). We all used the LVA coupons for the free buffet with 200 points. Not sure why people speak so well of the Firelight buffet at Sam's, I thought it was really crappy. Small selection, nothing very fresh or very good. Anyway, we played some more after dinner, did okay. I ran over to the E-Can, played some on the ancient JoB coindroppers in their Classic Slots area. Some interesting characters over there.
Back to Sam's, back to the LV Club, played some more, saw a dead lobster in the claw machine, considered the advisability of eating any of the other lobsters, went to bed.
MONDAY
We all moved over to the Four Queens today. We got a nice north tower room, fairly small (not as small as the Fremont rooms, though), but nice furniture and fairly clean. Played a lot of JoB over there, also the 10/7 DB over by Hugo's with the progressive royal. Had lunch over at Du-Par's again (thanks, linda2244!), had a reasonably good reuben. Played some more at Four Queens and we all decided to go down to the El Cortez again for a few hours. I had a very good blackjack session, kind of a 20-minute hit-and-run (DD game); Linda (wife) did pretty well on blackjack as well. I took a break, wandered down to the Western (which ain't no place for dames). Seems like the clientele is a little seedier than last year, if that's possible; I think I was the only person in the joint that bathed so far this year. Anyway, played my $5 matchplay from the ACG; tough game with desperate characters at the table. $2 double-deck (I was the high roller), about 45 card penetration, naturals payed even money. No mid-shoe entry (gotta protect the game, right?). REALLY nervous dealer. Anyway, I got a king and queen of hearts, which really pissed everyone off badly; turns out that they were all dyed-in-the-wool Royal Match players, and I didn't even know that that was a good hand. Guess they figured that I came from a different planet. Anyway, I scoped out the place a bit for vpFree2 (the FPDW machine is gone, what a shame) and headed back to the El (watched someone getting arrested on the way back, he was telling the cops something about not knowing how that got in his pocket). Back to the Four Queens, had the prime rib special at Magnolia's (I think this is the best cheapo prime rib deal downtown), some house-brewed root beer (tasted just like root beer), a deep-dish pizza (okay, not great), played some more, bedtime.
TUESDAY
This was our last full day in Vegas (linda2244 will be staying until Friday, up on the Strip near Mike and Amber [daughter and son-in-law, but not in that order]; they're at PH and she'll stay at Bally's). I spent a little time at Fitzgerald's, not enough to get on their radar but I wanted to take advantage of the birthday promo (500 points) and to try for the free ribeye steak (they still have one 8/5 BP machine; the rest are short-pay DDB). I did okay, but no steak; the woman next to me won two, though, in about three minutes. She said that she won twelve on her last trip. Hell, you could sew that many together and make a rib roast. Anyway, we went up to the Wynn for the lunch buffet and met Mike and Amber and a few of their friends there. The Wynn is a hell of a lot nicer than the downtown properties, and you can buy a $61,000 watch there if you win too much cash to fit in your suitcase. Which we didn't. Nice plumbing, too. The buffet was very good, everything good quality and well prepared, and a few interesting touches, like a variety of ceviche, some (unfortunately very watered-down) Indian food, excellent desserts. The one really annoying thing was that they wanted to add an 18% gratuity if all seven of us sat together (which seems pretty steep for a buffet), so we had two tables near each other. Guess it's a Strip thing. After lunch, Linda (wife) went back downtown and did pretty well (she filled in a 356s for a straight flush); linda2244 and I decided to go out to Terrrible's for the $100 loss rebate promo. Stopped at Bill's on the way out there, and Big Elvis was playing in the casino lounge. I didn't think he was still around (or alive); I think it's kind of like Lassie, there have been a bunch of them because they don't live that long. Anyway, this one wasn't that big, probably no more than 400 lbs; I hear that the old one (in the Barbary Coast days) was about 800#, and that they had to bring him out with a forklift. This one even stood up one time, which seems unheard of.
So anyway, we got on the bus out to Terrible's; talked to some local guy who had lots of stories about what the pathologist took out of the real Elvis at the autopsy. I won't shock you with details, but he said that it weighed 50 lbs (I think a real pathologist would have reported it in kilograms). Terrible's was just that, Terrible. Linda2244 and I both went for high-denom machines; I played $2 8/5 BP and she played some high-denom slots. We both lost our $100 within five or ten minutes; she got about $125 on the freeplay rebate, and I got about $80 (you can't use it on the 9/6 JoB machines, nor on most of the 8/5 BP machines; I found a BP bartop that took it, though). We left, got stuck on the Deuce for a little while (more crowded than a New York subway that day), switched to the SDX and got downtown in time to catch up with Mike and Amber again. We had a great time with them, got some more 99 cent shrimp cocktails, ate at Magnolia's again (had some pretty good baby back ribs), played some VP, smoked some cigars (unfortunately, Bad Habits was closed early).
Not enough time with them, unfortunately. Later on, Linda (wife) and I got stuck playing VP next to some guy who was drunk, incontinent, playing nickel keno, and telling us about how he's Sam Boyd's nephew and how he owns 8 acres about ½ mile off the Strip and how he's building the next megaresort. I actually bought 2 shares (they were only a nickel each), so I guess I don't have to worry about my retirement anymore.
WEDNESDAY
Time to leave; I had one more difficult DB session, checked out with the host at Four Queens, ran up to Aloha Specialties for a spam musubi (my standard last-day-in-Vegas breakfast now), and we took the WAX back to the airport. Had to get rerouted on the way back (Vegas-Denver-Dulles-Tampa), got home by 2am, and that was that.
I wonder how linda2244 is doing right now.
Anyway, it was a really fun trip, in spite of the losses. I don't like this tail of the bell curve at all; hopefully we'll spend some time on the uptown tail this summer.
Thanks for reading!
