Another trip is over, this was a good one. This time it was Linda (wife) and I, Linda's sister and her husband, Joyce and Ken, our friends from California, Lolly and Bruce, and our friend from Minnesota, Linda B. It was our usual seven nights, also our first trip ever (since 2006) that we didn't stay at MSS and didn't give Boyd any play (other than MPs; and they're still sending me surveys for that). We've been fed up since they instituted their "new, improved" players club right after our summer 2018 trip; we stayed there a couple more times in 2019 (Linda insisted) but we're done (yay!). This time it was three nights at the Union Plaza (I had given them some walk-in play on our last trip while Linda was playing at MSS), two at Four Queens, two at Palace Station. Coin-in was $57.5K, we're down $275 for a 0.48% loss, which isn't bad considering that we didn't have any big hits at all (one set of 25c quad deuces and a bunch of quads; no quad aces, no SF, no RF). Coupon yield was about $200, split about even between the ACG and the MRB.
TUESDAY
I had lunch at La Lechonera, a little Puerto Rican hole in the wall in Tampa, had an alcapurria and mofongo con lechon; there was a slice of tomato and some iceberg on the plate, so I guess you could consider it a salad. Stayed at the La Quinta near the airport, had a lackluster hamburger at World of Beer.
WEDNESDAY
Easy Southwest flight (through Houston; no nonstops this time), easy Uber downtown and checked in to the Plaza. We used to stay here, have been away for a few years (there was a time when they had nothing worth playing; now there's plenty of 9/6 JoB, also lots of promos, free slot tournaments, etc.). Really crappy view from our room and the place is still in poor repair (frequent elevator outages, really bad plumbing; there was a lamp on the nightstand that wasn't plugged in because there was no outlet anywhere nearby, I guess they tried to fool us), but is dripping with history, I always try to envision what it was like when it opened in 1971, I think it was the biggest hotel in town back then. Anyway, they gave us a free keno coupon on check-in, catch 4 numbers only and win $200; I got lucky and was immediately up $200. Played some JoB, did okay, also played some KBJW for the first time, fun game. Dinner was at the Cal Noodle House with Joyce, Ken and Linda B, I had some pork belly bao and the oxtail fried rice; most of the other folks had the Hong Kong chow mein, all good. Played some more at the Omaha Bar, there was a very loud and very mediocre band playing second-tier 1980s hits, but insisted on punctuating every song with a cowbell; they would have been 10% better if I had shoved that cowbell, but I didn't want to run afoul of security.
THURSDAY
Bad start, coffee almost cost $200 but I hit two quads within a couple of minutes and cashed out ahead. Played some more KBJW as well, did okay. I decided to play some Illinois Deuces, did really well. Twice in my life I've hit natural quads on two consecutive hands, both times on deuces games (pisses me off), once at Hard Rock in Tampa and this was the second time. Wrong machine again. I can't complain much, though, it was a good session with a few WRs and some SFs, also hit the quad deuces (that was the biggest hit of the entire trip). Linda and I played a few slot tournaments as well, did okay but not in the top 5 (Linda came in 6th today, I came in 11th). Lunch was at Pop-Up Pizza, not bad at all. Played some more, went to Allegro, the casual but very good Italian place at Wynn for dinner, with Lolly. I was really impressed, I had a fantastic roasted beet salad (Linda and Lolly had equally impressive Caesar salads) and a veal chop parmigiana (fantastic!), affogato for dessert. Back to the Plaza, didn't do that well and gave back some money. Saw my first VivaVision show of the trip, the canopy has been redone, it's much brighter now and with much, much higher resolution, it's no longer cheesy. Really impressive, I think it has 2.5 trillion LED lights per square millimeter now.
FRIDAY
Coffee cost $100 this morning, but I recouped $70 of it with MPs around Fremont ST. Not a great morning; drowned my sorrows in a bento at Aloha Specialties (my favorite downtown restaurant). Some more slot tournaments; today Linda won, came in 5th, got $50 FP. I was also one of the five winners of the Friday drawing, got $25 FP, yay! The afternoon went better, mostly long break-even JoB sessions with some profit here and there. Dinner was at Oscar's with Linda B, Joyce and Ken, great service and a great view (reminds me of that scene in Casino with Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone, back when it was the Center Stage). Had French onion soup, a chopped salad, a rib cap, brussels sprouts and a free piece of cheesecake (coupon from the hotel), all good. Up and down after dinner, much better band at the Omaha Lounge tonight (disco, with Afro wigs and no cowbells).
SATURDAY
Moving day, to the Four Queens (after wasting a little time getting my bill corrected). Had a good start at 4Q, with a very good full house-laden session; also turned my $200 FP into $180 on the dollar DB machine (always exciting). We had lunch at the Claim Jumper at GN, with Joyce and Ken, had a chicken pot pie (thanks, Joyce!). Did well all afternoon, lots of good sessions, one with two quads and a bunch more FHs, made $300 on that one. Decided to play some more dollar DB with my own money, that cost $200, though. Dinner was at Magnolia's, had a cup of gumbo (not all that authentic, but plenty tasty) and the raspberry salad. Up and down all evening.
SUNDAY
Did mediocre all morning; played some 50c Illinois deuces at the bar for a while, the RF progressive was up to around $3K, but if I had hit it you'd have heard about it already. Lunch was the Sterling Brunch at Bally's, with Linda B. The price has gone up, it's $125 now, but it's still top-notch. Mumm Cordon Rouge champagne; highlights include nice American sturgeon caviar, lobster tails, king crab legs, rack of lamb, filet mignon, great oysters, memorable desserts. Back downtown, fought the urge to take a nap (would have been until Monday morning), mostly did poorly all afternoon but had one serious roller-coaster session, down from $200 to $5, then clawed my way back to $195, up and down between $195 and $150 or so, trying to get my damned money back. Hit a quad, cashed out $300. Serves them right. Quick dinner with Linda B at American Coney, played some more. Also showed Linda how to play quarter DB, she liked it fine, got two quads (who wouldn't like that?) and experienced the pleasures of 10, 7 and 5.
MONDAY
Moving day to PS. I went down to the El Cortez before checking out at 4Q, they have a promo from Southwest, show your boarding pass and get $10 FP, a $25 MP and a free drink. Hit the MP, had some folding money in my pocket again. Took Lyft (Linda had a coupon) to PS, but the driver got lost on the way, so we got a bit of a tour. Room wasn't ready, so we left our bags at the bell stand, played some, mostly JoB and triple-play BP, did mediocre. I went across the street to Culichi Town, a Mexican seafood place, generally highly-rated but forgettable (had a good fish taco and forgettable aguachile). I'm badly addicted to Multi-Strike, and PS has a couple fo 8/5 BP machines, had my usual wild ride and cashed out $1.25 ahead. Played mostly JoB and NSUD all afternoon, didn't do great but had a few quads here and there. One session was between a woman who had about five different ways to hit the buttons (mostly with a flourish and with some meaningless tapping) and the annoying habit of cashing out and putting the voucher right back in every few hands, and a woman with a vicious cough who kept spitting on the floor and didn't like what she saw when she did. I did okay and plan on getting tested for TB when I get back to work. Anyway, dinner was the AYCE sushi deal at the Boathouse, it was slow (pretty busy night) but tasty, service was good. The food here has always been good but somewhat inauthentic, seems like the chef is a very good cook who's read a lot about Asian food but never eaten it. Anyway, I was happy enough (the $10 MRB coupon helped) but I do miss Food Express, the Chinese place that used to be at PS.
TUESDAY
Last day, sigh. Did poorly all morning, up and down but mostly down. We got lucky, the line at the Oyster Bar was only about 20min, so that was lunch. I love that place. Had a dozen oysters (really good ones, from New Orleans) and had to try the bouillabaisse. It's not really bouillabaisse, but it's tasty, lots of shrimp, lobster, mussels, clams, crab legs. Very happy with that lunch. Linda had a bowl of really top-notch New England clam chowder. The afternoon went well, lots of positive sessions, made $100 on the Multi-Strike machine, had a good triple-play BP session with lots of quads (made two on a set of dealt trips), turned $100 into $340, had a few other positive sessions. Dinner was at the PS buffet, Luau night, with Linda B, who had dropped by for the afternoon. Fun buffet, good roast pig, pork belly, lomilomi salmon, etc. Last session was hair-raising, dollar JoB, bled from $100 down to $5, hung there, then once again clawed my way back up to $100, cashed out even.
WEDNESDAY
Early flight, got my senior coffee at Starbucks, took the 8am shuttle to the airport, uneventful Southwest flight home. Got in around 7:30pm, which was nice, we usually land around midnight.
Great trip overall, lots of fun, lots of good time with family and friends, we did pretty well given that the biggest hit of the trip was those $250 quad deuces. No more Boyd, that was good. Next trip in the summer, can't wait.
