We just got back from our semi-annual trip, big group this time, including Linda (wife), our son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Arielle from Denver, Linda's brother, sister and brother-in-law (Jerry, Joyce, Kenny) from Pittsburgh, our friends Glen and Jennifer from here in St. Pete, Linda B from Minnesota, Lolly and her son and daughter-in-law Scott and Michelle from California, Ray and Rhonda from Hawaii. A bit like herding cats, but it all worked out well, great group. It was a good trip overall, bigger swings than usual but we wound up ahead about $90 on $57K of action, for a net win of 0.16%. That comes out to about a dollar per hour, might make a good second job. So,
WEDNESDAY
We had stayed at the La Quinta near the airport in Tampa the night before, had some lackluster fish tacos from Rubio's. Easy Southwest flight Wednesday morning, easy Uber to MSS. I've been pretty fed up with Boyd since their new, improved players club program, I'm permanent Ruby now and permanently shafted (it would take about $90K per year to make Sapphire and get that generous 0.05% CB), so I'll never get any CB or perks again. Bastards. Linda has been grandfathered into Sapphire, but that won't last. We do like the hotel and the staff, but these changes are a clear deal-breaker for me; not sure about Linda, but I'd be very happy to never stay or play with Boyd again. And of course, nobody at the Players Club knows anything about anything, big surprise there. The bartenders say that everyone is pissed and that business is clearly down (aside from the keno players at the bar, of course). Anyway, I ran pretty good at MSS (serves them right), played mostly NSUD and 3-play BP, also a bunch of DB (because I can't get points anyway), really gave them minimal play overall. Got a dealt quad on the 3-play, also aces, so I wound up ahead.
[url=https://postimg.cc/DW8LCx98][img]https://i.postimg.cc/DW8LCx98/dealt-quad.jpg[/img][/url]
Dinner was at Aloha Specialties, one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas, had the Korean chicken (highly recommended, and one of the crispiest things that I've ever had that wasn't out of a deep-fryer) and a spam musubi.
[url=https://postimg.cc/7bm7k8qf][img]https://i.postimg.cc/7bm7k8qf/aloha-specialties-korean-chicken.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://postimg.cc/R6NZw8nZ][img]https://i.postimg.cc/R6NZw8nZ/aloha-specialties-musubi.jpg[/img][/url]
THURSDAY
Nasty weather, cold and very rainy. There was a lot of snow later in the week, but we never saw it; it was all over the news, though, and all the locals were talking about it. Aaron and Arielle got in late Wednesday night, so we caught up. I played a lot of MPs downtown, ran a little better than 50%. Serves Boyd right. Anyway, had an okay start, got another set of quad aces on the 3-play BP, also quad 3s. Quick lunch at El Buen Pastor on Fremont ST. I like this place. It's not great, but it's fairly authentic, a nice change from the usual tourist-oriented food. Had a variety of tacos and a sope.
[url=https://postimg.cc/xJsdWQLQ][img]https://i.postimg.cc/xJsdWQLQ/el-buen-pastor-sope.jpg[/img][/url]
I spent the afternoon at the Union Plaza, gave them about $2500 coin-in, we'll see if we can get back on their radar; we used to stay there (and at the poor old LV Club), I always liked it there. You can still see the history here and there. Anyway, I did okay there. Back to MSS, was up and down on the 3-play again, then got a royal, yay!
[url=https://postimg.cc/WF9MSQ3F][img]https://i.postimg.cc/WF9MSQ3F/royal.jpg[/img][/url]
That kept me ahead for the rest of the trip. Dinner was with most of our group, at the Cal Noodle House. Not the best Asian food, but pretty solid overall. I had the chicken in lettuce wraps for an appetizer and the wonton saimin, which was okay. Linda had the Cantonese chow mein, always great, Aaron had the stewed oxtail (pretty good), Arielle had the Singapore chow mei fun (also good). Back to the Union Plaza after dinner, had a roller coaster session on dollar JoB, dropped from $200 to $15 and then back to $200, took the money and ran.
FRIDAY
Moving day. Gave back some of my winnings over coffee, also took my usual shot at the TDW machine, didn't hit anything. Linda got her CB, the 11x points on Wednesday helped, but it was only $34. I got 11x zero; get out your slide rule if you don't know what that is. We moved over to Four Queens, played my usual dollar JoB with some quarter DB mixed in, did really poorly for the next two days. The kids and I went over to Shinya Maru, the ramen joint next door to the El Cortez, but they were closed for remodeling, so we tried Turmeric, the relatively new Indian place on the other side of the El. Good decision, it was very good. Classic Indian, but fairly innovative. Had some sort of fried beet thing (not really a pakhora), a masala dosa. Aaron got rogan josh and Arielle had a panir dish. I'll be back here.
[url=https://postimg.cc/RWvjnHjP][img]https://i.postimg.cc/RWvjnHjP/turmeric-beets.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://postimg.cc/8FJwFkPK][img]https://i.postimg.cc/8FJwFkPK/turmeric-masala-dosa.jpg[/img][/url]
We stopped by at the El (still has that signature El Cortez fragrance), the kids wanted to play some BJ but couldn't get on a table. There's very little playable VP there now, all the BP has been downgraded to 7/5, there are just a few coindroppers that are playable now (and the Downtown Deuces have been gone for a few months). They also have CSMs on a lot of the BJ tables. Goodbye, El Cortez, I guess. It's a pity. Anyway, back to the 4Q, did lousy all afternoon. Dinner was at Magnolia's, had a passable prime rib. Played some more, Linda got her jeweled New Years pig.
SATURDAY
Did a little better today. Turned my $200 FP into $160 on the dollar DB machine (exciting fun), then up and down all morning. Lunch was over at GN with the in-laws, at Claim Jumper. I really don't like the place, I guess the food is competent but it reminds me of overprocessed Denny's food. Anyway, I had a fair chicken fried steak but enjoyed the company. Played some more dollar DB with my own money, got beaten up on that and on the JoB, but did get my own jeweled pig. Also did some walking around and cashed in some more MPs. You know, even the trash on the streets is cooler in Vegas.
[url=https://postimg.cc/dkQfhPpL][img]https://i.postimg.cc/dkQfhPpL/garbage.jpg[/img][/url]
Dinner was at Andiamo with most of the group, and was excellent as always. I think this is the best restaurant downtown, certainly the best steakhouse. Had a really nice kale salad and an excellent ribeye, with that strange but surprisingly complementary "zip sauce." Also some roasted potatoes. Nice dinner.
[url=https://postimg.cc/5jnPkRGm][img]https://i.postimg.cc/5jnPkRGm/andaimo-ribeye.jpg[/img][/url]
Some more losing, then bedtime.
SUNDAY
Moving day again. I did see someone hit on that free pull machine outside the casino, for $25 FP; first time I've ever seen anyone hit. Anyway, quick Uber over to Palace Station. The remodel is almost done, the casino is nice, lots of new restaurants. The coffee shop and the quick Mexican place aren't done yet, but that's about all that still needs to be completed. Still lots of good VP, the only downside is that the machines with 9/6 JoB are right next to a few Willy Wonka machines. Think about how much you'd like to hear some insipid child actor singing "I want it now." Then think about how much you'd like to hear it 170 times. Other than that, it's a swell place. Anyway. The kids and I ate lunch at the Boathouse (we walked across the street to Maui Rose, a favorite little Hawaiian joint, but they're closed on Sundays), the new Asian restaurant. Nice place, kind of pan-Asian and fairly competent. Excellent sushi (memorable chu-toro), and a pretty good lunch bento. Arielle had some sushi, Aaron had an okay poke bowl.
[url=https://postimg.cc/2bBzXWjQ][img]https://i.postimg.cc/2bBzXWjQ/boathouse-sushi.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://postimg.cc/4mGJBnDc][img]https://i.postimg.cc/4mGJBnDc/boathouse-bento.jpg[/img][/url]
I liked the old Chinese place (Food Express) better. Honestly, I don't think the Boathouse will appeal much to their Asian clientele, it's a bit too watered down. Anyway, we played all afternoon, did fairly well, and Arielle finally got the quad deuces that she's been chasing for about five years (on quarter NSUD). I wound up pretty strung out on Multistrike at PS, I've always liked it, and it's pretty addictive (VP has been called the crack cocaine of gambling, and MS is certainly the heroin of VP), they have 8/5 BP for quarters. My first session was a monster, with a top-line FH and a top-line quad, turned $100 into $560.
[url=https://postimg.cc/zbPx3LTc][img]https://i.postimg.cc/zbPx3LTc/multistrike.jpg[/img][/url]
Said goodbye to the kids, they had a late flight back to Denver. Linda and I had dinner at Little Tony's, they really do a good job with pizza (it's all about the dough, you know), had a Stations Pie, very good.
[url=https://postimg.cc/Q9LtDmy4][img]https://i.postimg.cc/Q9LtDmy4/little-tonys-stations-pie.jpg[/img][/url]
Did well for the rest of the evening.
MONDAY
Morning trip up to Cosmo and the Wicked Spoon, with Glen and Jen, Linda B, Ray and Rhonda. I do like the Cosmo, aside from the gambling. This was a really great buffet, lots of interesting selections and everything really nicely prepared; nice outing. Back to PS, did mediocre for most of the afternoon, especially on those damned MS machines. I did play around a bit with the FPDW machine, only available for nickels, but got the quad deuces for $50 (would have been nicer on quarters).
[url=https://postimg.cc/3W8yxSwV][img]https://i.postimg.cc/3W8yxSwV/quad-deuces.jpg[/img][/url]
Also found a Scarab machine with a bunch of potential wilds, turned $4 into about $54 in ten seconds (thanks to Mickey Crimm for this brave new world).
[url=https://postimg.cc/sBzj0xQq][img]https://i.postimg.cc/sBzj0xQq/scarab.jpg[/img][/url]
Also got a SF, yay!
[url=https://postimg.cc/4Yksmy5y][img]https://i.postimg.cc/4Yksmy5y/jon-sf.jpg[/img][/url]
Dinner was at bBd, their new upscale hamburger place. I really wanted to like this place, they have a glassed-in meat cutting room on the way in with nice subprimals swinging on meat hooks, and who doesn't like to look at that? The concept is really good, but the food was just ordinary. We had some confit chicken wings (nice and crispy but nothing memorable), I had their signature steakhouse burger (good but forgettable), Linda had a griddled burger (good fast-food quality, but again, nothing to dream about).
[url=https://postimg.cc/QH6YyyB3][img]https://i.postimg.cc/QH6YyyB3/bbd-cutting-room2.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://postimg.cc/75ft8n7T][img]https://i.postimg.cc/75ft8n7T/bbd-signature-burger.jpg[/img][/url]
Up and down all evening, Linda was playing BP on the bartops (nice progressive, finally hit the next day at about $1350, but not by her), got a ton of quads, including some premiums and set of aces. I had a very long NSUD session, came out dead even, aside from nightmares about that little bastard in the Willy Wonka machine.
TUESDAY
Last full day. Slow start over coffee at the bar, I didn't hit that progressive, either. We had lunch at the Oyster Bar, around 11am, one of those rare times with a minimal line. I love this place, it's always excellent. We had a dozen oysters (from New Orleans; I like the Pacific oysters that are plentiful in town, but those NOLA ones are wonderful), and I had a bowl of their Alaskan chowder, New England-style with crabmeat, shrimp, lots of lobster and a few garnishing clams. Fantastic.
[url=https://postimg.cc/Fk5D0Mny][img]https://i.postimg.cc/Fk5D0Mny/oyster-bar-oysters.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://postimg.cc/nj71VdcC][img]https://i.postimg.cc/nj71VdcC/oyster-bar-alaskan-chowder.jpg[/img][/url]
Glen and Jen had been staying at Cosmo for a few days and moved down to PS today; they had a hell of a ride all week. Glen had hit some premium quads on something at Cosmo for $2K, and he hit another set at the bar at PS for $2K more within a half hour of sitting down. Nice fistful of cash. Some guy told him that he should tip the change person $200 and the bartender $200, but we found out later that he was psychotic (probably manic; a schizophrenic would have suggested that he leave one of his adrenal glands as a tip). I ran good all afternoon, had two dealt quads on the dollar JoB machine, broke even on a long MS session. Also finally got my first wild royal of the week on NSUD, that was a long drought. Dinner was at the new PS buffet, cheap as hell with the coupon. This was a fairly nice basic buffet overall, a lot better than the old buffet, some interesting selections, better Asian food than on the average buffet and most things prepared fairly well. Played a bit more after dinner, did well. Linda also got a SF on the JoB machine, I was watching and she held QJs, I reminded her to hold the 8s as well, and she drew the 9 and 10.
[url=https://postimg.cc/qzgxzM7P][img]https://i.postimg.cc/qzgxzM7P/linda-sf.jpg[/img][/url]
WEDNESDAY
Last day. Decent start, up a bit, then had another non-catastrophic MS session, finished up about $40 (not as nice as up $460, but nicer than the modal zero), also did well on some triple-play BP machines. Finally got over to Maui Rose for lunch, I really like this place, and they deliver, but not to here in Florida. Had a combo plate and a spam musubi for that classic Vegas dessert.
[url=https://postimg.cc/XXYwz79r][img]https://i.postimg.cc/XXYwz79r/maui-rose-lunch.jpg[/img][/url]
Played a bit more, cashed out our CB, took the shuttle to the airport. Southwest flight was delayed for about an hour, and someone did something horrible in the bathroom (not sure what, but it took the flight attendants a long time to make right, and they didn't look happy), but it was an easy flight overall.
This was a really good trip. Next trip will be in July, probably less cats to herd, probably different adventures. Hopefully no more Boyd in our future. Thanks for reading!
