downtown fun (w/ pictures)

Great Vegas action!

Real nice style with the report.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that is in fact a real bear in that old Black & White photo. I'm older than you and I know about such things.

Thanks for taking the time to post the tale and the pictures.

Glad to read a trip featuring Downtown. We always stay on the strip but do plan to visit Freemont Street on our next visit. Made some notes on places to eat (or not eat) and places to play. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the kind words, the Cat. I do like old-school, getting harder to find all the time, but still out there. Almost like being an archaeologist sometimes, finding the old stuff. A time machine would make it easier.

For example, this was at 3rd and Ogden two years ago; it's gone now:


I think bears were nicer in the Olden Days, Tommy. Thanks.

Orchid, glad you liked the TR and the taste of downtown. You could always try a night or two and see how you like living down there (and playing there). Just a thought, of course.

Thanks, all!

Good read.Thanks for writing.And as always,love the pictures.

You're welcome, Jon!

I wonder if your dream means that the Royal doesn't want you to go after it. Maybe it wants to be free to go where it wants to!

As for the 5X points day, I do try to do that each trip although (as I said before) I won't necessarily play $2k a day there to get a room comp when I can get them for less elsewhere (Plaza/LVC and Four Queens).

I'm happy that you were able to use your Slot Points separately from your Comp Dollars and so end up with more money. It's too bad that you didn't know that before, so I'm happy that I could help to enlighten you about that!

I do know that some Comp Dollars do come from Blackjack play. I tend to bet vastly between $5 and $15 per hand.

That's too bad about Las Vegas Club since I've liked that place for many years (actually since I think about 1990 or so). They used to have a lot of Video Poker that I used to like and play. It killed me as they removed them one by one!

And if Plaza now is down to two machines, that is bad! Hopefully they will still be there in time for my next hopeful trip at possibly middle to late October.

That's too bad about Sigma Derby. I had thought about possibly giving it a shot if it would have accepted the Slot Club card.

As for the Slot Tournaments, I say that you never know with them and so I will never give up on them.

RecVPPlayer

Hi, Rec. Yeah, the 5x points thing at the El is really nice, it adds up to 1% cashback, which makes the BP and the Multistrike JoB positive games. Same for the 2x points coupons at the Four Queens, makes JoB positive. I like positive.

Yeah, the changes at LV Club are worrisome; I should have asked our host about it. Not sure if their rooms are still open; I think I heard something about one, or maybe both, towers being closed. Still some okay VP there; if they close, there will be just those two JoB machines at the Plaza, and I'm guessing that they're not long for this world if the place is trying to "upgrade," i.e., adding a resort fee. With just two machines, there's always the risk that both will be in use by hardcore keno players, too. Also, with the remodel at the Plaza, I'm guessing that they won't be a cheaper room comp than the El for very long.

Hard to rack up many points with Sigma Derby, you have maybe 70 or 80 races per hour, although I guess you could throw a few dollars in per race. The house edge is probably pretty high, Shackleford lists it as between 10 and 20% from his observations (https://wizardofodds.com/games/derby/). The machine at The D is the old one from the Frontier, which he lists as having the highest edge, 20.14% (although I can't see him having sat there clocking the game long enough to figure out the edge to two decimal places).

Thanks Jon for the nice detailed report. 1st downtown stay coming up 6/8-6/10 and I will be using your road map..... especially, I hope, the winning ways.

Jon, That was a great trip report. So glad you had such a fun and profitable trip. Love the variety of experiences and the C-Note Fan. I want a couple of those fans while in Vegas as well! I'm just a couple of weeks behind you and will be wrapping up my stay at the El Co so thanks for the head's up about your experience there. I've stayed at El Co before but haven't fully explored the property there, e.g., have yet to play Blackjack there but will definitely be playing this coming trip.

Thanks for the kind words, FFlowers; this was our first El Cortez stay, and I actually remember getting a lot of ideas from one of your previous posts about staying there.

You'll definitely like the blackjack. Fun VP there, too, I really enjoyed playing Multistrike for a change, and Downtown Deuces is always a cool machine. First time I ever got quad deuces was on a DTD machine at the LV Club.

Wishing you many fans o' c-notes!

Hey FFlowers,

I wish you a very safe, enjoyable and profitable trip. I'll be back hopefully in about 2 months (hopefully at some point in October).

RecVPPlayer