Hit ‘em Nevada – Day 6
It’s very muggy today as it always is during this time of year in Southern Nevada with rain and thunderstorms. My choice of Sam’s Town tomorrow (my choice tend to get predicated on my free offers) and Henderson is topographically the most popular spot for these thunderstorms. A few years ago, I was stuck in my room in Boulder Station after a lightning strike for about twenty minutes.
Before I move on to today’s events, I’d like to answer a few questions that have come up on the boards. I know a lot of the times when I read the trip reports and make a comment, I don’t always go back to reports I’ve already read:
1. Do I bet more than just the $10 bet?
I’m not a table player, so the answer to that is no. I play video poker and penny slots, but for the purposes of this year’s trip, table play is easier and faster to accumulate the stats. I am, however, considering one LVA member suggestion, which is if I’m already in a casino and the tables are closed or don’t exist, playing two hands (and only two) of dollar video poker might work for me. I still plan on staying on my “no slot houses” policy, but I know that when I get to some of these places on the outskirts that table may not be open until later when I won’t or can’t be around. So, I will likely begin doing this in those circumstances. I’m a Diamond Card holder with Caesars, so I do my usual playing with them. I’ll also play at Boyd/Coast properties, the Silverton, and the Hilton as I want to keep my offers coming in. I do designate one bet to be the $10 trip bet and that what gets reported, and I don’t play tables games at all other than this one bet.
2. Are you keeping track of how many bets at each game and will you disclose this?
Yes. When I make a bet, I make two annotations in my tablet. One is the hotel, the game, and the result, the other I have the categories BJ/ROU/CRAPS. So at the end of the trip, I’ll give all the totals. I suppose I’ll now be adding VP on those rare occasions I place the bet there.
3. Are you following the Great Race Giveaway?
This is a promotion that Caesars is having this year to get people to visit more than one region. Visit three regions (swiping your card with the Reward Center) and receive 30,000 bonus Reward credits, four regions, 40,000 and so on. Had they had this last year when I visited EVERY Caesars region would have been great! However, I will be able to hit four or five “regions” depending on how they’re defined. I’ll be going through Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, Laughlin, and Rincon (San Diego, which I don’t know if they’re calling that a region). I’ve already had my card swiped at two and will be leaving for Reno and Tahoe in a week for those two.
4. When you visited Slots of Fun and Whiskey Pete’s only to discover the table games were removed, are you still counting these as casino visited?
Yes. I pretty much am calling “casinos visited” as every casino I walk into and look around. The bets balance is only those casinos where I actually can make the table bet.
5. Have you read AUGUST BLACKJACK, which is a book writing following pretty much the same formula you’re doing on this trip?
Yes. This was brought up to me when I first proposed this trip awhile ago. After I bought it and read it this past month, I realized I had read it before, no doubt when it was written and published back in 1998. The book is terrific and I only wish I could write with the flair and style of the author. He also went to every casino in Nevada; however, his quest was to only play blackjack using his counting theories. He didn’t just place one bet, he played until he won, lost, or was kicked out. The differences here are that there are A LOT more casinos now 14 years later, plus I’m not writing a book. My writings are simple daily journals, which are admittedly repetitive and I’m not trying to be cute or even very interesting. If my quest was to write a book, then my entire strategy would be different. As with all my other trip reports over the years, they only serve as personal diary and allows me to get my “writing bug” scratched from time to time. By the way, if you’re a blackjack player, this is a GREAT read.
6. What kind of camera are you using? (love/hate the big pics)
Those of you who read last year’s reports will remember the folly I went through with my then Canon camera. I end up buying an emergency camera at Fry’s in Vegas. It’s a Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot, which I paid a whopping $89. My son is the photographer in the family and if he were taking all these pics, we’d be putting them in a coffee table book. I have “technology moron syndrome,” which means that everything needs to be simple. I do good just to make sure the pictures aren’t out of focus. I’ve gone through the menu on the camera and am taking the smallest pictures it offers. So, for those of you who are having problems with the size, I apologize, and yes I could go into a program and individually make all of the smaller, but I’m already spending hours a day just writing these journals, sending the pics from my computer to photobucket an then placing them in the reports, so time here is bad guy.
After taking care of all the morning’s needs, I head downstairs and watch the mad exodus of all the tourists that were here for the Fourth of July festivities. My first stop is the River Palms. This is perhaps the casino in Laughlin that has fallen in the shabbiest condition. It’s in bad need of a paint job, and I was really surprised at how much they have downsized since I was last here. There were two floors. On the upper floor were all the slot machines, a poker room, the slot club, and on the bottom floor were a large sports bar, more machines, and all the table games. Now, the bottom floor is complete empty and converted to a banquet room. The poker room is gone, and there are only five blackjack tables upstairs in the corner that doesn’t open until 5 PM. Because of this, I decide to take one reader’s advice and play the $10 through a one dollar video poker machine. This means I can play only two hands. I choose a Bonus Poker machine. The first hand is a bust, but the second gives me three jacks, so my first VP bet is a plus five bucks.
It’s another very muggy day but no rain—just heat. The plan is get all of the casinos in Laughlin out of the way. Next, I drive to the Golden Nugget, Laughlin where I will leave my car for the rest of the day and walk to all the other places. I’ve stayed here at the Nugget in the past, and I find the casino charming. It has all the latest games, and still has a fun game called 5-play Multi-Strike, which is a video poker game that costs a maximum of 100 coins each hand, so I rarely get to play it; however, they not only have the game here for pennies, but also have it in full pay Bonus Poker. I play for a good hour and end up breaking even. As for the blackjack bet, it’s a winner.
Next I walk next door to the Pioneer. This casino is a dark contrast from the Nugget. It’s a casino right out of the 60s. The interior is mostly red, the ceilings are low and a cigarette smell permeates throughout the place. This doesn’t say it’s all bad. With many of its slots still coin fed and the noise of the clanging silver droppers falling into the metal hoppers, there’s an old Vegas charm that many would enjoy. The dealers here are all old timers. The few customers at the tables this morning seem to regulars as everyone appears to be on a first name basis except for me of course. I won my blackjack bet and moved on.
The Colorado Belle is the next casino. This old steamboat casino in its current state has been here since 1987 and was owned by the MGM group, which sold it to the Edgewater (next door) group in 2007. It’s a building designed to look like an old paddle wheel and has never sailed a day. Whenever I come to Laughlin I usually play a hundred through their quarter 8/5 bonus poker machines at the bar because getting room comps here are very easy and I like keeping them coming in just in case I need rooms on any given day for myself or any friends or family. They also send me free play and food comps. Today I have $25 in free play and a $10 food comp. Both of these I can use without having to check into the hotel, which used to be a requirement in the past. People (such as Martin and I) used to check in, use the comps, and never set foot in the rooms, which was a complete waste. Management finally wised up and changed the policy.
I sat down at the bar, order a diet soda, and put in my pin number for my free play, which came up fine. Then I went to bonus poker and was dismayed that the scheduled had been lowered to 6/5. I asked the bartender about this and he just shrugged his shoulders and said the changed all the schedules a couple of weeks ago. No! I still needed to play my $25 through as you have to play the free play before you can cash it out. I played the 8/5 Jacks or Better and managed to cash out $30. I walked over to the blackjack table, waited for the dealer to reshuffle (at single and two deck games, people aren’t allowed to play mid-deck). I got lucky was dealt an Ace and a black jack—plus $15. It was almost lunch time and I still hadn’t eaten anything today so I walked upstairs where there is a small restaurant called Tortillas, which sells Mexican fair in the old style. They accepted my $10 food coupon so I had a burrito and some chips and salsa. It was delicious. I headed back downstairs and just happened to check the poker schedules of the bank of video poker machines next to the poker room. Surprisingly they still have full pay schedules in nickels, dimes, and quarters—go figure. I walked out of the Colorado Belle with a full stomach and +$45 to the good.
The muggy heat is bearing as I walk along the riverwalk to the Edgewater Casino. I look out over the river where there are countless water jet skis flying over the crests. Summer in Laughlin is a great place for people who love the outdoors. Along the river, there are plenty of camp sites, water sports of every kind, and plenty of restaurants and bars. The Edgewater used to be where I would play live poker. Unfortunately, that poker room is also gone with a smoke-free slot area in its place. Blackjack is going well for me today as I won here as well.
Out onto the riverwalk once again as I continue my trek along the river heading north. Next was the Regency Casino. This is the smallest of all the casinos in Laughlin and there is not hotel here. It’s basically a slot house with a café and bar. There are no table games, so I played the $1 video poker machine, and came up a blank.
Next door is the Aquarius. This place has gone through many name changes in the past, and was previously the Flamingo, Laughlin. The new owners, who also own the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, have remodeled the place and have done an outstanding job. It now not only has the best and most modern casino in Laughlin, but I understand the rooms are beautifully done, though I wouldn’t know because I just can’t get on their mailing list for offers though I try to run a few hundred through the machines each time I’m here. If I didn’t get my free rooms from Harrahs, this would be my choice to stay. Unfortunately, it’s also the first place today with a blackjack loss. I played hundred through their 8/5 Bonus Poker and was doing poorly when I caught my first quad Aces of trip and was able to cash out a $30 profit.
Back on the riverwalk and over to the Riverside Hotel and Casino. This is the original built my Don Laughlin in 1966. For many (my parents included), this is their favorite spot in Laughlin. Personally, I find it hard to navigate (the room after room additions over the years give it labyrinth feel that is easy to get lost in), the machines are jammed to close together, and there are just too many cheap trinket hawkers along the side selling everything from watches (the famous Watch Man), sunglasses, to jewelry and real estate. However, they do have a GREAT prime rib room that overlooks the river and is a buffet style room but the prime rib is cut at your table any way you like it.
The Riverside also has a favorite game of mine called Quick Quads in nickels. I have had a few nice hits on this game over the years and enjoy playing it. They’re getting more and more difficult to find. I put in a hundred, and though today cost me $50 (just couldn’t catch anything), I still like playing it. I chose to play roulette this time for my $10 bet and chose black again, and this time it fell on Black 26. It’s only 2 PM and I only have one more hotel to go to, so I decide to beat the heat and watch another movie. The Riverside used to be the only place within 50 miles with two small movie theaters hidden away upstairs. Since then, they’ve expected and updated their equipment and now boast eight theaters. I chose Tom Hanks’ Larry Crowne. This is completely predictable romantic comedy (with an underlining serious message about the recession) with Julie Roberts. However, I really enjoyed it. Tom Hanks simply can’t do wrong in my book.
I walked across the street and down to the final casino in Laughlin, the Tropicana Express, which has no connection with its namesake in Las Vegas. This the was first hotel I ever stayed at in Laughlin about twenty-five years ago when it was called the Ramada Express. For the past couple of years, the Tropicana had the nicest poker room and was where Martin (mmoy) would play each morning. Unfortunately, the poker room here has also closed. Also gone is the famous train that used to take tourists around the property. It was a silly ride, but it was free and was something for the kids to enjoy—gone. Also gone was $10 when I busted out in my blackjack hand.
I walked back to the Golden Nugget where I left my car and drove back to Harrahs. I played a little bit, lost a little bit, and ordered a sandwich to take to my room and call it a day. On these trips, eating is a bit of an afterthought. When you’re alone, there’s really no need to sit in a restaurant. I enjoy just picking something up and taking it up to my room so I can watch some TV. I do this so often on these long trips that I always carry a bag that has a two-liter bottle of diet Coke, mustard, ketchup (I hate trying to open up those little packets), a little salt and pepper dispenser, and a container with my vitamins. It’s one more thing to carry back and forth from my car to each hotel, but it’s worth it.
It was a profitable day in good ol’ Laughlin. I’m scheduled to come back here during this trip because of a tournament (and I needed to get a free weekend out of the way), so you can be sure the journals on those days will be pretty skimpy. I was a hot a muggy day in Laughlin, but I had an enjoyable time. Now it’s back to Las Vegas and all of the Henderson casinos.
Trip Totals: Casinos visited: 63 Bets balance: +$19
More tomorrow.
It’s very muggy today as it always is during this time of year in Southern Nevada with rain and thunderstorms. My choice of Sam’s Town tomorrow (my choice tend to get predicated on my free offers) and Henderson is topographically the most popular spot for these thunderstorms. A few years ago, I was stuck in my room in Boulder Station after a lightning strike for about twenty minutes.
Before I move on to today’s events, I’d like to answer a few questions that have come up on the boards. I know a lot of the times when I read the trip reports and make a comment, I don’t always go back to reports I’ve already read:
1. Do I bet more than just the $10 bet?
I’m not a table player, so the answer to that is no. I play video poker and penny slots, but for the purposes of this year’s trip, table play is easier and faster to accumulate the stats. I am, however, considering one LVA member suggestion, which is if I’m already in a casino and the tables are closed or don’t exist, playing two hands (and only two) of dollar video poker might work for me. I still plan on staying on my “no slot houses” policy, but I know that when I get to some of these places on the outskirts that table may not be open until later when I won’t or can’t be around. So, I will likely begin doing this in those circumstances. I’m a Diamond Card holder with Caesars, so I do my usual playing with them. I’ll also play at Boyd/Coast properties, the Silverton, and the Hilton as I want to keep my offers coming in. I do designate one bet to be the $10 trip bet and that what gets reported, and I don’t play tables games at all other than this one bet.
2. Are you keeping track of how many bets at each game and will you disclose this?
Yes. When I make a bet, I make two annotations in my tablet. One is the hotel, the game, and the result, the other I have the categories BJ/ROU/CRAPS. So at the end of the trip, I’ll give all the totals. I suppose I’ll now be adding VP on those rare occasions I place the bet there.
3. Are you following the Great Race Giveaway?
This is a promotion that Caesars is having this year to get people to visit more than one region. Visit three regions (swiping your card with the Reward Center) and receive 30,000 bonus Reward credits, four regions, 40,000 and so on. Had they had this last year when I visited EVERY Caesars region would have been great! However, I will be able to hit four or five “regions” depending on how they’re defined. I’ll be going through Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, Laughlin, and Rincon (San Diego, which I don’t know if they’re calling that a region). I’ve already had my card swiped at two and will be leaving for Reno and Tahoe in a week for those two.
4. When you visited Slots of Fun and Whiskey Pete’s only to discover the table games were removed, are you still counting these as casino visited?
Yes. I pretty much am calling “casinos visited” as every casino I walk into and look around. The bets balance is only those casinos where I actually can make the table bet.
5. Have you read AUGUST BLACKJACK, which is a book writing following pretty much the same formula you’re doing on this trip?
Yes. This was brought up to me when I first proposed this trip awhile ago. After I bought it and read it this past month, I realized I had read it before, no doubt when it was written and published back in 1998. The book is terrific and I only wish I could write with the flair and style of the author. He also went to every casino in Nevada; however, his quest was to only play blackjack using his counting theories. He didn’t just place one bet, he played until he won, lost, or was kicked out. The differences here are that there are A LOT more casinos now 14 years later, plus I’m not writing a book. My writings are simple daily journals, which are admittedly repetitive and I’m not trying to be cute or even very interesting. If my quest was to write a book, then my entire strategy would be different. As with all my other trip reports over the years, they only serve as personal diary and allows me to get my “writing bug” scratched from time to time. By the way, if you’re a blackjack player, this is a GREAT read.
6. What kind of camera are you using? (love/hate the big pics)
Those of you who read last year’s reports will remember the folly I went through with my then Canon camera. I end up buying an emergency camera at Fry’s in Vegas. It’s a Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot, which I paid a whopping $89. My son is the photographer in the family and if he were taking all these pics, we’d be putting them in a coffee table book. I have “technology moron syndrome,” which means that everything needs to be simple. I do good just to make sure the pictures aren’t out of focus. I’ve gone through the menu on the camera and am taking the smallest pictures it offers. So, for those of you who are having problems with the size, I apologize, and yes I could go into a program and individually make all of the smaller, but I’m already spending hours a day just writing these journals, sending the pics from my computer to photobucket an then placing them in the reports, so time here is bad guy.
After taking care of all the morning’s needs, I head downstairs and watch the mad exodus of all the tourists that were here for the Fourth of July festivities. My first stop is the River Palms. This is perhaps the casino in Laughlin that has fallen in the shabbiest condition. It’s in bad need of a paint job, and I was really surprised at how much they have downsized since I was last here. There were two floors. On the upper floor were all the slot machines, a poker room, the slot club, and on the bottom floor were a large sports bar, more machines, and all the table games. Now, the bottom floor is complete empty and converted to a banquet room. The poker room is gone, and there are only five blackjack tables upstairs in the corner that doesn’t open until 5 PM. Because of this, I decide to take one reader’s advice and play the $10 through a one dollar video poker machine. This means I can play only two hands. I choose a Bonus Poker machine. The first hand is a bust, but the second gives me three jacks, so my first VP bet is a plus five bucks.
It’s another very muggy day but no rain—just heat. The plan is get all of the casinos in Laughlin out of the way. Next, I drive to the Golden Nugget, Laughlin where I will leave my car for the rest of the day and walk to all the other places. I’ve stayed here at the Nugget in the past, and I find the casino charming. It has all the latest games, and still has a fun game called 5-play Multi-Strike, which is a video poker game that costs a maximum of 100 coins each hand, so I rarely get to play it; however, they not only have the game here for pennies, but also have it in full pay Bonus Poker. I play for a good hour and end up breaking even. As for the blackjack bet, it’s a winner.
Next I walk next door to the Pioneer. This casino is a dark contrast from the Nugget. It’s a casino right out of the 60s. The interior is mostly red, the ceilings are low and a cigarette smell permeates throughout the place. This doesn’t say it’s all bad. With many of its slots still coin fed and the noise of the clanging silver droppers falling into the metal hoppers, there’s an old Vegas charm that many would enjoy. The dealers here are all old timers. The few customers at the tables this morning seem to regulars as everyone appears to be on a first name basis except for me of course. I won my blackjack bet and moved on.
The Colorado Belle is the next casino. This old steamboat casino in its current state has been here since 1987 and was owned by the MGM group, which sold it to the Edgewater (next door) group in 2007. It’s a building designed to look like an old paddle wheel and has never sailed a day. Whenever I come to Laughlin I usually play a hundred through their quarter 8/5 bonus poker machines at the bar because getting room comps here are very easy and I like keeping them coming in just in case I need rooms on any given day for myself or any friends or family. They also send me free play and food comps. Today I have $25 in free play and a $10 food comp. Both of these I can use without having to check into the hotel, which used to be a requirement in the past. People (such as Martin and I) used to check in, use the comps, and never set foot in the rooms, which was a complete waste. Management finally wised up and changed the policy.
I sat down at the bar, order a diet soda, and put in my pin number for my free play, which came up fine. Then I went to bonus poker and was dismayed that the scheduled had been lowered to 6/5. I asked the bartender about this and he just shrugged his shoulders and said the changed all the schedules a couple of weeks ago. No! I still needed to play my $25 through as you have to play the free play before you can cash it out. I played the 8/5 Jacks or Better and managed to cash out $30. I walked over to the blackjack table, waited for the dealer to reshuffle (at single and two deck games, people aren’t allowed to play mid-deck). I got lucky was dealt an Ace and a black jack—plus $15. It was almost lunch time and I still hadn’t eaten anything today so I walked upstairs where there is a small restaurant called Tortillas, which sells Mexican fair in the old style. They accepted my $10 food coupon so I had a burrito and some chips and salsa. It was delicious. I headed back downstairs and just happened to check the poker schedules of the bank of video poker machines next to the poker room. Surprisingly they still have full pay schedules in nickels, dimes, and quarters—go figure. I walked out of the Colorado Belle with a full stomach and +$45 to the good.
The muggy heat is bearing as I walk along the riverwalk to the Edgewater Casino. I look out over the river where there are countless water jet skis flying over the crests. Summer in Laughlin is a great place for people who love the outdoors. Along the river, there are plenty of camp sites, water sports of every kind, and plenty of restaurants and bars. The Edgewater used to be where I would play live poker. Unfortunately, that poker room is also gone with a smoke-free slot area in its place. Blackjack is going well for me today as I won here as well.
Out onto the riverwalk once again as I continue my trek along the river heading north. Next was the Regency Casino. This is the smallest of all the casinos in Laughlin and there is not hotel here. It’s basically a slot house with a café and bar. There are no table games, so I played the $1 video poker machine, and came up a blank.
Next door is the Aquarius. This place has gone through many name changes in the past, and was previously the Flamingo, Laughlin. The new owners, who also own the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, have remodeled the place and have done an outstanding job. It now not only has the best and most modern casino in Laughlin, but I understand the rooms are beautifully done, though I wouldn’t know because I just can’t get on their mailing list for offers though I try to run a few hundred through the machines each time I’m here. If I didn’t get my free rooms from Harrahs, this would be my choice to stay. Unfortunately, it’s also the first place today with a blackjack loss. I played hundred through their 8/5 Bonus Poker and was doing poorly when I caught my first quad Aces of trip and was able to cash out a $30 profit.
Back on the riverwalk and over to the Riverside Hotel and Casino. This is the original built my Don Laughlin in 1966. For many (my parents included), this is their favorite spot in Laughlin. Personally, I find it hard to navigate (the room after room additions over the years give it labyrinth feel that is easy to get lost in), the machines are jammed to close together, and there are just too many cheap trinket hawkers along the side selling everything from watches (the famous Watch Man), sunglasses, to jewelry and real estate. However, they do have a GREAT prime rib room that overlooks the river and is a buffet style room but the prime rib is cut at your table any way you like it.
The Riverside also has a favorite game of mine called Quick Quads in nickels. I have had a few nice hits on this game over the years and enjoy playing it. They’re getting more and more difficult to find. I put in a hundred, and though today cost me $50 (just couldn’t catch anything), I still like playing it. I chose to play roulette this time for my $10 bet and chose black again, and this time it fell on Black 26. It’s only 2 PM and I only have one more hotel to go to, so I decide to beat the heat and watch another movie. The Riverside used to be the only place within 50 miles with two small movie theaters hidden away upstairs. Since then, they’ve expected and updated their equipment and now boast eight theaters. I chose Tom Hanks’ Larry Crowne. This is completely predictable romantic comedy (with an underlining serious message about the recession) with Julie Roberts. However, I really enjoyed it. Tom Hanks simply can’t do wrong in my book.
I walked across the street and down to the final casino in Laughlin, the Tropicana Express, which has no connection with its namesake in Las Vegas. This the was first hotel I ever stayed at in Laughlin about twenty-five years ago when it was called the Ramada Express. For the past couple of years, the Tropicana had the nicest poker room and was where Martin (mmoy) would play each morning. Unfortunately, the poker room here has also closed. Also gone is the famous train that used to take tourists around the property. It was a silly ride, but it was free and was something for the kids to enjoy—gone. Also gone was $10 when I busted out in my blackjack hand.
I walked back to the Golden Nugget where I left my car and drove back to Harrahs. I played a little bit, lost a little bit, and ordered a sandwich to take to my room and call it a day. On these trips, eating is a bit of an afterthought. When you’re alone, there’s really no need to sit in a restaurant. I enjoy just picking something up and taking it up to my room so I can watch some TV. I do this so often on these long trips that I always carry a bag that has a two-liter bottle of diet Coke, mustard, ketchup (I hate trying to open up those little packets), a little salt and pepper dispenser, and a container with my vitamins. It’s one more thing to carry back and forth from my car to each hotel, but it’s worth it.
It was a profitable day in good ol’ Laughlin. I’m scheduled to come back here during this trip because of a tournament (and I needed to get a free weekend out of the way), so you can be sure the journals on those days will be pretty skimpy. I was a hot a muggy day in Laughlin, but I had an enjoyable time. Now it’s back to Las Vegas and all of the Henderson casinos.
Trip Totals: Casinos visited: 63 Bets balance: +$19
More tomorrow.
