Day 3 of 6 – Monday
Oct 6, 2014
Tier score: 24172 (Only 828 base pts to go to reach
Sapphire* at 25K pts….)
*I’m pretty sure I’ll reach
Sapphire today- Hooray- and when I do, effective immediately will be at 2x base
pts in all Boyd Properties!
Mon: Along with my $25 freeplay at ST after
noon today, there is
Orleans Cookware for
300 pts, and GC Bonus Sr day/Bingo specials…
Orleans:
Monday, October 6 - Round
Bakeware
Receive one free gift per
account when you earn 300 points.
*Points must be earned
between 11:00am until 7:00pm. Pick up your gift at the B Connected Club from 11:00am
until 7:00pm. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Quantities
are limited, while supplies last. Offer is non-transferable. Print your gift
voucher at any kiosk and present the voucher along with your B Connected card
and valid ID to the B Connected Club booth.
GOLD COAST PROMOS
Oct: 50+ Mondays 10x
slots/5x vp.
*Also : 50 pts earns free 15 min VP tourney
(Top 35 pay freeplay prizes down to $50), JB game for the tournament area (near
TGIFs), and ‘free’ Bingo Blue pack (12 extra cards).
Bingo Cashball
Jackpot Special
Two Day Special
$500 Special Ball When You Win On Anything Ending In 0 (zero).
Mondays & Thursdays in October -
11:00am, 1:00pm, 7:00pm & 9:00pm
Validation required.
After trying the buffet with
my dad for minimal pts (BTW Sapphire gets a discount, only $4.85 in pts or a
little under 3000 pts vs 5.99 for us ‘non’ Sapphire members. Still a bargain for 3600
pts
($3.60 cashback value)!). We each
take an extra banana for snacking on later (and good for preventing leg cramps
in aging legs at night!). *Sidenote: I think my legs
might get cramps from long hours of sitting at vp machines and similar casino
activities…take those ‘stretch’ breaks.
As it’s still early (9am),
my dad has a dilemma. I agree with
him to visit his local bank for a rare deposit (vs a replenishing of the
bankroll). With his wads of
Benjis, much too ‘fat’ to fit in
his wallet, and no in room safe (although we could have set up a deposit box in
ST)…just as well to bank his winnings, as he still had a healthy bankroll for
the last 4 days here. So we find
the local bank and deposit $2K of his winnings, thus making sure he’ll go home
a winner, even if he loses the bankroll he has left ~ $600-800 or $150-200 day.
After taking care of
business, he wants to stay at ST vs visiting GC/Orleans for my Bingo
adventures. I was going to show
him NSUD, but he’s happy at ST, and knows where the deuces games are to
try. So we part ways for the day.
I start out at 10am at the
Orleans, to use my bi-monthly coupon (which I have to print and take to the
B-Connected club) to activate a bonus $5 in freeplay after $5 played. I’ll be much
happier if/when they ever
decide to automate this on players cards instead. It’s minimal- I realize, but since I’m
in the area and
earning tier pts, I figure I may as well do the 300 pts for gifts whenever
they’re available. Today is a nice
casserole/bakedish in dark green – perfect fall color. I earn it and will give to my
stepmom
later as a present. I was going to
play the nickel triple plays, but they are all at nearly reset ($200-220 on all
3 royals, and even the dealt royal is ‘only’ about $1200, I figure they seed it
low now – perhaps at 1K-1100?). Usually it’s always been over 2K, but sometimes it’s not
so high. Guess it hit recently.
So I play some NSUD full pay
for .25, and win (at Orleans) for a change in the short run, and cash out +15
after 300 pts earned. I still like
the “Orleans” atmosphere as a casino, and lacking only Bingo, which is nearby
at the GC, not an issue. I stay
until 11am to print out the kiosk ticket for the gift (still need these as well
– when WILL they automate this and use computer technology…?).
On to GC for 1st of 2 planned Bingo Sessions
today. I could’ve played at 11am
as well, but I like the 1pm session games – when payouts for games are worth
Double or Triple (Hence it’s a ‘double-triple’ payout session). And the Cashballs Bonuses
again add 7
extra numbers – this month Mondays/Thursdays – if you win on “B-10, I-20 or 30,
N-40, or G-50 or 60, or O-70” you win an extra $500! And there is still the regular bonus
‘hotball’ too – random
prog amt (It could end up as one of the above, I’m not sure if they’d add an
extra $500 to the prog amt)…question to ask for next time.
It’s also ‘50+ days’ at GC
Mondays – so after 50 pts, I get a free VP tournament (JB game-15 min
session). Top 35 scores posted on
Tuesday* get $50 and higher in freeplay! *Smart marketing on their part to get players to
Return the next day to
check scores!
Also – 50+ members receive a
kiosk ticket (Must be printed out) good for a free ‘blue’ pack (6 extra bingo
cards) good at any Bingo session today!
Finally, at all B-Connected
properties, some kind of Bonusing/penny slot promo takes place 8pm – Midnight
called Skeeball Madness or some such – I’d only try it if I was winning and
playing penny slots—more below.
So I settle in to get the 50
pts first, and win another $10 (+$25 today on minimal 350 pts) after doing so,
cashout to play my vp tourney session. This doesn’t go as well as last time, few winners
(hmmm – just like my JB sessions at ST sometimes), no quads and only a few
fhs. I eke out 1505 pts (probably
won’t be in top 35, as scores were 1900 min last time). I’ll still return on Tues to
check – as
Tues they also give gift for 300 pts play (I’m becoming a sucker for these
promos!).
It’s about 12:15pm, I head
up the escalators to Bingo to reserve my station (Some reason I won on a table
with station #13, so I picked similar again – all table sections have #s on
them, probably to help the Bingo workers find the winners…). It is a large room with
around 600
seats available. I still
only see about 100-150 playing at these sessions….which bodes well for
players. Thus the Bingo promos to
draw people in…
For a quick lunch – I found
a new low-cost way to get quick food : The Bowling Alley Snack bar! Bonus – they do
accept B-connected points here, at 600 pts/$1 (not franchised
out, actually part of the casino/Boyd enterprise). Great prices, and palatable food – I
pick up a ginormous
Pizza slice for under $4, and get drinks ($1 tip only) in the Bingo room. Popcorn also
for $1 (Bingo room,
along with HD cart at Sports book area, and in Bowling Snackbar).
Bingo – 1PM : I decide to play a bonus e-pack that
has the MOST blue cards available – $52 base price (no discount this month- in
Aug, there was discount), but instead they add to the base 120 blue cards, 2
‘sm,’ rainbows (24 more blue, 6 red, 6 green) and my Sr+ 6 blue for 156 total
bingo cards. Of course – I still
try $23 worth of Dual Daub (I didn’t swear off this yet – and GC’s jackpot is a
lofty $43K in 35#s or less! That
could pay a lot of bills, including paying for my new Prius-C (Just traded in the
other car)! So I’m invested for
$75. Hotball is I-19 and it’s high
too, at $2668! Well – Long
story short, after many close calls including needing “G-50 ($500 bonus ball!)”
with 4 chances at 19#s called, winner different # called on 23rd #
(Doh! 1:56, 1:55, 1:54, 1:53 – no win), I ended up not hitting one Bingo this
time.
Close, no winner this time,
so now I’m down $50 for the day.
I plan to return by 8:15pm
for the 9pm session (Another 2x/3x
payout session), and 3 chance coveralls!
7PM only has regular
payouts, but coveralls pay more ($1K, $1K, and $500, vs only $250 on blues,
$500 red, $750 green). Some
players play for the coverall game – I’d rather have more payoffs in the
regular games… just a preference.
I arrive at ST to look for
my dad – and he’s nowhere to be found. I realize ST is a large casino, but I know where
my dad usually plays
(FPDWs, or Dbl-deuce games or sometimes the Emerald Deuces). I even check the pool area –
he
mentioned taking a swim and weather was nice for that. He’s not a movie goer, and no
longer bowls. I decide to
try looking for him later, before I return to GC tonight by 8:15pm for Bingo.
I decide to try my freeplay
on a game that had beaten me lately – Bonus Poker ACE$. It’s basically 8/5 Bonus Poker,
but if
you get 4 Aces in exactly the right order in 1 of 2 possible sequences (ACE$-
or –ACE$), pays same as a Royal! My dream someday….but first any 4 kind, preferably a
‘bonus’ quad would
be nice…
I start out ok (some Js or
better wins), and on the 5th hand, I’m DEALT a Club 6high SF for $62.50 (That makes up
for some missing
quads, like hitting 2 regular ones!). Photos hard to take here – as the screen has
‘spotlights’ from ceiling
lights nearby main aisle by B-Connected/Main elevators…sorry ‘bout that.
This was a nice kickstart
(wiping out earlier losses), putting me slightly ahead for the day (back to
maybe +15). I play on, trying for
minimal 500 pt increments (for next days freeplay bonus play)….. I’m holding my own, then
I had a great
heart-stopper dealt 3 Aces, with the last 3 in the RIGHT POSITION: X, X, Ace of Hearts
–“C”, Ace of Diamonds – “E”, and Ace of Clubs – “$”; Wow – I thought. I only need the
Ace of Spades –“A”, and
to land in spot 2 from the right. I take a deep breath, and draw, and …..the …..Ten of
Spades (Right Suit, wrong rank) lands in that
spot! Another close
call! I
neglected to add that I missed a few 1 cd draws for the prog RF yesterday,
also. I am getting closer at ST,
but can’t seem to connect. That’s ok, though, because about 10 hands later, I did manage
4 Aces for
$100 (400) holding 2, but out of order – see picture below.
I cash out my 2nd winning ticket for a +150 or so win on $25 freeplay, up +100 for the
day, now,
on about 1200 hands played and 1500+ tier pts earned (x7 on my offer towards bonus comp
pts!). Guess we
missed each other (3-7pm), as finally, when I went back to the room to freshen
up after a quick bite at McD (felt like small meal – pizza/popcorn filled me up
earlier). He is in a deep nap
around 6:30pm, and I can’t even get him to budge to ask if he’d play his earned
Freeplay for today. It’s now
almost 8pm, so I let him rest, and return to the GC for my final play today.
Arriving early – I was able
to reserve my Bingo monitor, and I checked my pts. I forgot – I made SAPPHIRE! With
earlier Bingo pts, 350+1500, put me past 25K. So I went to the slot club to pick up
my ‘official’ new Blue Sapphire card- Yay!
This session – no coupons, I
decided to invest a little less ($43 pack + $7 dual daubs for $50 total). I bought the
“G” bonus e-pack, which I
won on earlier in August – a Small Rainbow special that has about 72 cards and
extra 12 blue (for B-connected member), total of 84 cards, about 40% on
red/green for bigger payoffs. Dual
Daub still hadn’t hit (and I wouldn’t witness that this trip). This time “B-8” was the
Hotball for
$1155. I should mention, that with
11-12 games possible to hit on the bonus balls (8 of 75), at least 1 game per
session should hit. Sometimes I
witnessed (like in Aug when I won) multiple $500 bonus wins (4-5), other times
only a few or even none. This was
one of those days. At the 1pm
there were no Bonus ball winners. At this session was 1 (wasn’t me). Just luck of the
draw, but still worth trying, vs a game w/o extra bonus
balls payouts…. Well this session,
I did have a chance for B-10 a few times, but it didn’t show up. I did complete a
coverall on 56th number called (2nd chance, as 1st winners had in 55#s),
and I split the prize of $250. Weird, too in that it was on “O-68”. That won for me $125
less $5 tip, so I was technically
‘even’ in Bingo for the day (or -5 if you count the tip).
Bingo weirdness: My Bingo wins have all been on a number
ending in ‘8’ (Chinese is lucky number?): G-58 in August for $800 win ($300 + $500), G-48
at ST Sunday night w/ my
dad for $25 + $626 win, and tonight O-68 for 2nd chance coverall win
of $125. I still like Bingo,
but must be careful not to ‘overpay’ for various games – just like table games,
some extras may not be worth paying for vs. the ‘odds’ of amt you can win. (e.g. – Dual
Daub games have their own
separate cashball/hotball, and the promo and regular cashball doesn’t count for
THAT game). There are extra Paper
only cards you can buy for Game 1 and the last Coverall games – with separate
jackpots/bonuses….. all ways to SPEND more money, but some people like all
these options. Realistically,
coveralls rarely happen in <#52 (My local Indian casino had a big bonus
cashwheel for $52 or less, so it seems to be a rare event). Most of the Coverall
Jackpots I
saw always had to be in $50 or less for jackpot prizes, so I don’t usually
purchase those. Dual Daubs rare to
cover in 40#s or less. They have
$2 cards (vs $1) that pay extra between #35-#40s or less (i.e. – some players
figure, they missed the Big jackpot by one more # called, so these would be
higher consolation prizes)…. I think it’s just too much $$ spent, but everyone
is different. Spending more may
make your Bingo funds more volatile. Any comments from Bingo regulars welcome here.
I digress. On the way out – I spot some
penny games (and its still 10x pts for me tonight!). I decide to give this Quick Hits
progressive a whirl with my
winnings (now I’m +$200 or more, and +$400 for the trip). This game is expensive
($1.50/spin),
and it’s also available in .90c configuration or $3/spin (too rich for me)
configurations. Avi has a rarer
$1.20/spin linked bank by their poker room.
I like it – bec. Ballys has
created a Bonus Penny progressive with ‘bonus within a bonus’ games. Besides the
straight-forward
progressives (won with scatterpay Quick Hits Symbols), you can get Free Games
symbols in center 3 columns, for various amts of Free Spins (50 is max usually, at 3x
pay, or fewer free
spins at 2x pay). This particular
bank also had 3-4 different TYPES of Free Games, making it more interesting for
the Slot Player.
5 Scatter Quick Hits start
at $15, usually hit by $20-25. This bank had bottom prog at $40++. 6 scatters start at
$75, hits by $90 or
so, this one was over $102. Anything higher is quite a large jackpot (pics below).
I start out pretty well – getting
15 free spins at 2x pay for $83 win, then another for $39.75 (pic above).
Later, in a different Free
Spins game with extra ‘Stacked QHitz Symbols’ - $42+more. All this kept me going, and at
some point I took out the 6-Symbol progressive for $105++
It was getting late (past
10pm), but I noticed this SkeeBall penny slots bonus scrollbar activated….I had
to ‘keep playing’ to reach the evening SkeeBall bonus event. This was a B-Connected promo
only,
avail at each property. I ‘m not
sure how often you can earn it, but I was over half-way towards it, so since I
was ahead, I decided to try some other games to reach it. I first had to make sure the
bonus game
showed up in the card reader/ not every penny game was eligible! Sneaky, but not really
deceptive, as
the Penny Lane games are pretty well marked at GC, Orleans, ST – look for the
‘Abe Lincoln’ character printed on the outside of the banks and/or PennyLane
games signs…. Or just check your card reader/slot game – it should show up
there if you are on an eligible game. I also calculated correctly that ‘300 pts’ (The
magic
# Boyd seems to like to use for most promotions) would qualify. I probably could have
read the fine
print on the promo at the B-Club booth – who has time to read all the
details? (shame on me – a good
frugal LVAer would do that, to make sure it was a good promo for the
player-edge factor). Anyhow- -I
was ahead and having fun. I try
some new games I hadn’t seen before, get some minor bonus wins to keep me
break-even and ahead on my winnings for the night.
At 300 pts, the Skeeball
promo begins. I had to use the
touchscreen to play Skeeball (just like in the children’s arcade). All the rules on the
screen. It was like the Bowling Slot game, or
wireless wi-bowling. I didn’t get
that many high score shots, but enough to pick 1 of 9 bonus symbols at the
end. Prizes ranged from bonus slot
pts (500-10000), small $5-20 food discounts good at casino outlet restaurants,
and freeplay (up to $40). Lo
and Behold, I got the highest prize, I think, of $40 in Freeplay! (That’s like $40 rebate
on $300 played,
or over 10%), on top of 10x pts earned already (extra 3000 pts already worth $5
in food). I quickly
ran this thru a vp NSUD machine, cashed out $36.25, and quit.
This was a great day, as I
broke even in Bingo, won $175+ in vp incl. the freeplay, and $125 on penny
slots, putting me over +$400 for the trip, while also achieving my goal of
Sapphire!
Ending tier score (incl. 6x
Bingo pts): 27, 446. I even passed my next goal of 26,600
(1600 pts earned last December set to expire by Jan 2015).
So now, I’m guaranteed
Sapphire thru next August!
I spent about $10 in
food/tips, so $55 real expenses. Another comp’d room night and small (Bkfst buffet, GC
snack bar) meals
today.
Looks like it’s going to be
a ‘positive’ win trip! (or a good
return on previous losses to get those first 18K tier…) lol!
More later,
Martin.
Oct 6, 2014
Tier score: 24172 (Only 828 base pts to go to reach
Sapphire* at 25K pts….)
*I’m pretty sure I’ll reach
Sapphire today- Hooray- and when I do, effective immediately will be at 2x base
pts in all Boyd Properties!
Mon: Along with my $25 freeplay at ST after
noon today, there is
Orleans Cookware for
300 pts, and GC Bonus Sr day/Bingo specials…
Orleans:
Monday, October 6 - Round
Bakeware
Receive one free gift per
account when you earn 300 points.
*Points must be earned
between 11:00am until 7:00pm. Pick up your gift at the B Connected Club from 11:00am
until 7:00pm. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Quantities
are limited, while supplies last. Offer is non-transferable. Print your gift
voucher at any kiosk and present the voucher along with your B Connected card
and valid ID to the B Connected Club booth.
GOLD COAST PROMOS
Oct: 50+ Mondays 10x
slots/5x vp.
*Also : 50 pts earns free 15 min VP tourney
(Top 35 pay freeplay prizes down to $50), JB game for the tournament area (near
TGIFs), and ‘free’ Bingo Blue pack (12 extra cards).
Bingo Cashball
Jackpot Special
Two Day Special
$500 Special Ball When You Win On Anything Ending In 0 (zero).
Mondays & Thursdays in October -
11:00am, 1:00pm, 7:00pm & 9:00pm
Validation required.
After trying the buffet with
my dad for minimal pts (BTW Sapphire gets a discount, only $4.85 in pts or a
little under 3000 pts vs 5.99 for us ‘non’ Sapphire members. Still a bargain for 3600
pts
($3.60 cashback value)!). We each
take an extra banana for snacking on later (and good for preventing leg cramps
in aging legs at night!). *Sidenote: I think my legs
might get cramps from long hours of sitting at vp machines and similar casino
activities…take those ‘stretch’ breaks.
As it’s still early (9am),
my dad has a dilemma. I agree with
him to visit his local bank for a rare deposit (vs a replenishing of the
bankroll). With his wads of
Benjis, much too ‘fat’ to fit in
his wallet, and no in room safe (although we could have set up a deposit box in
ST)…just as well to bank his winnings, as he still had a healthy bankroll for
the last 4 days here. So we find
the local bank and deposit $2K of his winnings, thus making sure he’ll go home
a winner, even if he loses the bankroll he has left ~ $600-800 or $150-200 day.
After taking care of
business, he wants to stay at ST vs visiting GC/Orleans for my Bingo
adventures. I was going to show
him NSUD, but he’s happy at ST, and knows where the deuces games are to
try. So we part ways for the day.
I start out at 10am at the
Orleans, to use my bi-monthly coupon (which I have to print and take to the
B-Connected club) to activate a bonus $5 in freeplay after $5 played. I’ll be much
happier if/when they ever
decide to automate this on players cards instead. It’s minimal- I realize, but since I’m
in the area and
earning tier pts, I figure I may as well do the 300 pts for gifts whenever
they’re available. Today is a nice
casserole/bakedish in dark green – perfect fall color. I earn it and will give to my
stepmom
later as a present. I was going to
play the nickel triple plays, but they are all at nearly reset ($200-220 on all
3 royals, and even the dealt royal is ‘only’ about $1200, I figure they seed it
low now – perhaps at 1K-1100?). Usually it’s always been over 2K, but sometimes it’s not
so high. Guess it hit recently.
So I play some NSUD full pay
for .25, and win (at Orleans) for a change in the short run, and cash out +15
after 300 pts earned. I still like
the “Orleans” atmosphere as a casino, and lacking only Bingo, which is nearby
at the GC, not an issue. I stay
until 11am to print out the kiosk ticket for the gift (still need these as well
– when WILL they automate this and use computer technology…?).
On to GC for 1st of 2 planned Bingo Sessions
today. I could’ve played at 11am
as well, but I like the 1pm session games – when payouts for games are worth
Double or Triple (Hence it’s a ‘double-triple’ payout session). And the Cashballs Bonuses
again add 7
extra numbers – this month Mondays/Thursdays – if you win on “B-10, I-20 or 30,
N-40, or G-50 or 60, or O-70” you win an extra $500! And there is still the regular bonus
‘hotball’ too – random
prog amt (It could end up as one of the above, I’m not sure if they’d add an
extra $500 to the prog amt)…question to ask for next time.
It’s also ‘50+ days’ at GC
Mondays – so after 50 pts, I get a free VP tournament (JB game-15 min
session). Top 35 scores posted on
Tuesday* get $50 and higher in freeplay! *Smart marketing on their part to get players to
Return the next day to
check scores!
Also – 50+ members receive a
kiosk ticket (Must be printed out) good for a free ‘blue’ pack (6 extra bingo
cards) good at any Bingo session today!
Finally, at all B-Connected
properties, some kind of Bonusing/penny slot promo takes place 8pm – Midnight
called Skeeball Madness or some such – I’d only try it if I was winning and
playing penny slots—more below.
So I settle in to get the 50
pts first, and win another $10 (+$25 today on minimal 350 pts) after doing so,
cashout to play my vp tourney session. This doesn’t go as well as last time, few winners
(hmmm – just like my JB sessions at ST sometimes), no quads and only a few
fhs. I eke out 1505 pts (probably
won’t be in top 35, as scores were 1900 min last time). I’ll still return on Tues to
check – as
Tues they also give gift for 300 pts play (I’m becoming a sucker for these
promos!).
It’s about 12:15pm, I head
up the escalators to Bingo to reserve my station (Some reason I won on a table
with station #13, so I picked similar again – all table sections have #s on
them, probably to help the Bingo workers find the winners…). It is a large room with
around 600
seats available. I still
only see about 100-150 playing at these sessions….which bodes well for
players. Thus the Bingo promos to
draw people in…
For a quick lunch – I found
a new low-cost way to get quick food : The Bowling Alley Snack bar! Bonus – they do
accept B-connected points here, at 600 pts/$1 (not franchised
out, actually part of the casino/Boyd enterprise). Great prices, and palatable food – I
pick up a ginormous
Pizza slice for under $4, and get drinks ($1 tip only) in the Bingo room. Popcorn also
for $1 (Bingo room,
along with HD cart at Sports book area, and in Bowling Snackbar).
Bingo – 1PM : I decide to play a bonus e-pack that
has the MOST blue cards available – $52 base price (no discount this month- in
Aug, there was discount), but instead they add to the base 120 blue cards, 2
‘sm,’ rainbows (24 more blue, 6 red, 6 green) and my Sr+ 6 blue for 156 total
bingo cards. Of course – I still
try $23 worth of Dual Daub (I didn’t swear off this yet – and GC’s jackpot is a
lofty $43K in 35#s or less! That
could pay a lot of bills, including paying for my new Prius-C (Just traded in the
other car)! So I’m invested for
$75. Hotball is I-19 and it’s high
too, at $2668! Well – Long
story short, after many close calls including needing “G-50 ($500 bonus ball!)”
with 4 chances at 19#s called, winner different # called on 23rd #
(Doh! 1:56, 1:55, 1:54, 1:53 – no win), I ended up not hitting one Bingo this
time.
Close, no winner this time,
so now I’m down $50 for the day.
I plan to return by 8:15pm
for the 9pm session (Another 2x/3x
payout session), and 3 chance coveralls!
7PM only has regular
payouts, but coveralls pay more ($1K, $1K, and $500, vs only $250 on blues,
$500 red, $750 green). Some
players play for the coverall game – I’d rather have more payoffs in the
regular games… just a preference.
I arrive at ST to look for
my dad – and he’s nowhere to be found. I realize ST is a large casino, but I know where
my dad usually plays
(FPDWs, or Dbl-deuce games or sometimes the Emerald Deuces). I even check the pool area –
he
mentioned taking a swim and weather was nice for that. He’s not a movie goer, and no
longer bowls. I decide to
try looking for him later, before I return to GC tonight by 8:15pm for Bingo.
I decide to try my freeplay
on a game that had beaten me lately – Bonus Poker ACE$. It’s basically 8/5 Bonus Poker,
but if
you get 4 Aces in exactly the right order in 1 of 2 possible sequences (ACE$-
or –ACE$), pays same as a Royal! My dream someday….but first any 4 kind, preferably a
‘bonus’ quad would
be nice…
I start out ok (some Js or
better wins), and on the 5th hand, I’m DEALT a Club 6high SF for $62.50 (That makes up
for some missing
quads, like hitting 2 regular ones!). Photos hard to take here – as the screen has
‘spotlights’ from ceiling
lights nearby main aisle by B-Connected/Main elevators…sorry ‘bout that.
This was a nice kickstart
(wiping out earlier losses), putting me slightly ahead for the day (back to
maybe +15). I play on, trying for
minimal 500 pt increments (for next days freeplay bonus play)….. I’m holding my own, then
I had a great
heart-stopper dealt 3 Aces, with the last 3 in the RIGHT POSITION: X, X, Ace of Hearts
–“C”, Ace of Diamonds – “E”, and Ace of Clubs – “$”; Wow – I thought. I only need the
Ace of Spades –“A”, and
to land in spot 2 from the right. I take a deep breath, and draw, and …..the …..Ten of
Spades (Right Suit, wrong rank) lands in that
spot! Another close
call! I
neglected to add that I missed a few 1 cd draws for the prog RF yesterday,
also. I am getting closer at ST,
but can’t seem to connect. That’s ok, though, because about 10 hands later, I did manage
4 Aces for
$100 (400) holding 2, but out of order – see picture below.
I cash out my 2nd winning ticket for a +150 or so win on $25 freeplay, up +100 for the
day, now,
on about 1200 hands played and 1500+ tier pts earned (x7 on my offer towards bonus comp
pts!). Guess we
missed each other (3-7pm), as finally, when I went back to the room to freshen
up after a quick bite at McD (felt like small meal – pizza/popcorn filled me up
earlier). He is in a deep nap
around 6:30pm, and I can’t even get him to budge to ask if he’d play his earned
Freeplay for today. It’s now
almost 8pm, so I let him rest, and return to the GC for my final play today.
Arriving early – I was able
to reserve my Bingo monitor, and I checked my pts. I forgot – I made SAPPHIRE! With
earlier Bingo pts, 350+1500, put me past 25K. So I went to the slot club to pick up
my ‘official’ new Blue Sapphire card- Yay!
This session – no coupons, I
decided to invest a little less ($43 pack + $7 dual daubs for $50 total). I bought the
“G” bonus e-pack, which I
won on earlier in August – a Small Rainbow special that has about 72 cards and
extra 12 blue (for B-connected member), total of 84 cards, about 40% on
red/green for bigger payoffs. Dual
Daub still hadn’t hit (and I wouldn’t witness that this trip). This time “B-8” was the
Hotball for
$1155. I should mention, that with
11-12 games possible to hit on the bonus balls (8 of 75), at least 1 game per
session should hit. Sometimes I
witnessed (like in Aug when I won) multiple $500 bonus wins (4-5), other times
only a few or even none. This was
one of those days. At the 1pm
there were no Bonus ball winners. At this session was 1 (wasn’t me). Just luck of the
draw, but still worth trying, vs a game w/o extra bonus
balls payouts…. Well this session,
I did have a chance for B-10 a few times, but it didn’t show up. I did complete a
coverall on 56th number called (2nd chance, as 1st winners had in 55#s),
and I split the prize of $250. Weird, too in that it was on “O-68”. That won for me $125
less $5 tip, so I was technically
‘even’ in Bingo for the day (or -5 if you count the tip).
Bingo weirdness: My Bingo wins have all been on a number
ending in ‘8’ (Chinese is lucky number?): G-58 in August for $800 win ($300 + $500), G-48
at ST Sunday night w/ my
dad for $25 + $626 win, and tonight O-68 for 2nd chance coverall win
of $125. I still like Bingo,
but must be careful not to ‘overpay’ for various games – just like table games,
some extras may not be worth paying for vs. the ‘odds’ of amt you can win. (e.g. – Dual
Daub games have their own
separate cashball/hotball, and the promo and regular cashball doesn’t count for
THAT game). There are extra Paper
only cards you can buy for Game 1 and the last Coverall games – with separate
jackpots/bonuses….. all ways to SPEND more money, but some people like all
these options. Realistically,
coveralls rarely happen in <#52 (My local Indian casino had a big bonus
cashwheel for $52 or less, so it seems to be a rare event). Most of the Coverall
Jackpots I
saw always had to be in $50 or less for jackpot prizes, so I don’t usually
purchase those. Dual Daubs rare to
cover in 40#s or less. They have
$2 cards (vs $1) that pay extra between #35-#40s or less (i.e. – some players
figure, they missed the Big jackpot by one more # called, so these would be
higher consolation prizes)…. I think it’s just too much $$ spent, but everyone
is different. Spending more may
make your Bingo funds more volatile. Any comments from Bingo regulars welcome here.
I digress. On the way out – I spot some
penny games (and its still 10x pts for me tonight!). I decide to give this Quick Hits
progressive a whirl with my
winnings (now I’m +$200 or more, and +$400 for the trip). This game is expensive
($1.50/spin),
and it’s also available in .90c configuration or $3/spin (too rich for me)
configurations. Avi has a rarer
$1.20/spin linked bank by their poker room.
I like it – bec. Ballys has
created a Bonus Penny progressive with ‘bonus within a bonus’ games. Besides the
straight-forward
progressives (won with scatterpay Quick Hits Symbols), you can get Free Games
symbols in center 3 columns, for various amts of Free Spins (50 is max usually, at 3x
pay, or fewer free
spins at 2x pay). This particular
bank also had 3-4 different TYPES of Free Games, making it more interesting for
the Slot Player.
5 Scatter Quick Hits start
at $15, usually hit by $20-25. This bank had bottom prog at $40++. 6 scatters start at
$75, hits by $90 or
so, this one was over $102. Anything higher is quite a large jackpot (pics below).
I start out pretty well – getting
15 free spins at 2x pay for $83 win, then another for $39.75 (pic above).
Later, in a different Free
Spins game with extra ‘Stacked QHitz Symbols’ - $42+more. All this kept me going, and at
some point I took out the 6-Symbol progressive for $105++
It was getting late (past
10pm), but I noticed this SkeeBall penny slots bonus scrollbar activated….I had
to ‘keep playing’ to reach the evening SkeeBall bonus event. This was a B-Connected promo
only,
avail at each property. I ‘m not
sure how often you can earn it, but I was over half-way towards it, so since I
was ahead, I decided to try some other games to reach it. I first had to make sure the
bonus game
showed up in the card reader/ not every penny game was eligible! Sneaky, but not really
deceptive, as
the Penny Lane games are pretty well marked at GC, Orleans, ST – look for the
‘Abe Lincoln’ character printed on the outside of the banks and/or PennyLane
games signs…. Or just check your card reader/slot game – it should show up
there if you are on an eligible game. I also calculated correctly that ‘300 pts’ (The
magic
# Boyd seems to like to use for most promotions) would qualify. I probably could have
read the fine
print on the promo at the B-Club booth – who has time to read all the
details? (shame on me – a good
frugal LVAer would do that, to make sure it was a good promo for the
player-edge factor). Anyhow- -I
was ahead and having fun. I try
some new games I hadn’t seen before, get some minor bonus wins to keep me
break-even and ahead on my winnings for the night.
At 300 pts, the Skeeball
promo begins. I had to use the
touchscreen to play Skeeball (just like in the children’s arcade). All the rules on the
screen. It was like the Bowling Slot game, or
wireless wi-bowling. I didn’t get
that many high score shots, but enough to pick 1 of 9 bonus symbols at the
end. Prizes ranged from bonus slot
pts (500-10000), small $5-20 food discounts good at casino outlet restaurants,
and freeplay (up to $40). Lo
and Behold, I got the highest prize, I think, of $40 in Freeplay! (That’s like $40 rebate
on $300 played,
or over 10%), on top of 10x pts earned already (extra 3000 pts already worth $5
in food). I quickly
ran this thru a vp NSUD machine, cashed out $36.25, and quit.
This was a great day, as I
broke even in Bingo, won $175+ in vp incl. the freeplay, and $125 on penny
slots, putting me over +$400 for the trip, while also achieving my goal of
Sapphire!
Ending tier score (incl. 6x
Bingo pts): 27, 446. I even passed my next goal of 26,600
(1600 pts earned last December set to expire by Jan 2015).
So now, I’m guaranteed
Sapphire thru next August!
I spent about $10 in
food/tips, so $55 real expenses. Another comp’d room night and small (Bkfst buffet, GC
snack bar) meals
today.
Looks like it’s going to be
a ‘positive’ win trip! (or a good
return on previous losses to get those first 18K tier…) lol!
More later,
Martin.
