QFTS – Fall Edition and my dad the duck hunter…
Day 4 of 6 – Tuesday Oct 7, 2014
Technically, the quest is over, but moving up in keeping Sapphire (above 25K rolling 12 months) was now the goal…
Today was my ‘Cashgrab Event’, in addition to having 7x pts since Monday and continuing thru Midnight Wednesday; I was also to meet up with a vp-couple retirees from Phoenix, AZ – Dennis and Sandy. I had met them a long time ago at a Skip Hughes meet, and they said they remember me from at least 2 or 3 of those events (similar to some random LVA gatherings, but specifically vp players meets!).
A trip down memory lane: Some of those highlight meets are 1-At the Hard Rock Hotel, catered with some sandwich/finger foods as I recall and 2-at the Venetian (1 free night was given to us as well – around the time they had opened in 1999, wow over 14 yrs ago now! Time sure went by fast. They were able to make some other vp-meets I couldn’t attend, but that shows how long we’ve kept in touch (by e-mail). They also were regular Laughlin/River Palms vp’ers – back when they had FPDW. My dad (again) did quite well there, with 2-3 royals and multiple sets of ducks….oh the memories. We’ll see if Dotty’s (new owners) make the new “River Lodge (Landing) Resort-Casino” worth a visit. Laughlin needs some kind of new infusion, M-Resorts or owners of EW-CB have spent A LOT of money on adding/upgrading restaurants, rooms, and such…not sure if it will payoff. In the meantime, though EW-CB have downgraded most of their vp. If it didn’t have good live Poker promos, I wouldn’t be visiting there much anymore (unlike JMAN – who still has Harrah’s Laughlin offers as a 7* man)…. Check out https://laughlinriverlodge.com/ for more details.
After hitting the low-comp/cost bkfst buffet again (my dad has taken a liking to it), and I got to pay for it at a DISCOUNT with Sapphire – my first perk! $4.85 in pts (vs $5.99). May not seem like much, but 20% makes this truly a bargain at < $5 (3000) pts off your comps, even at regular price of 3600 pts- quite a bargain ($3.60 or $3 in cb pts).
After bkfst, we discussed since he doesn’t like ice cream socials (my event at 2:15 pm this afternoon), we parted ways. First, though, I did show him the different Double-Deuce pay tables (Sam’s has a few variations scattered in different multigame machines, and only a few of the 16-11 fullpay 99.6% games per vpFree). He found the slants by elevators (same slants with 9/6 JB, but they are 15-10, and listed at 98.86% per vpFree – minor lower payoff, but still, if you have better payoff game, why not play those…).
Then I informed him also to check the Bonus freeplay after noon (actually, ST is generous, and it activated on the card reader at around 11:30am!). I’d check with him later to show him how to download that from the card reader. My dad had $45, when I saw him later so obviously, he earned 4500 tier base on non-FPDW, probably on that Blazing 7s quarter game, and the Dbl-deuces. He told me he had NOT hit the ducks yet in dbl-deuces, but did hit them 3-4 more times on FPDW, so he was holding his own still. I told him later that I would also introduce him to my AZ retiree vp players, after the event, possibly have him join us for dinner.
The 9/6 JB prog kept hitting (will have hit 3-4 times today), and I saw the same players constantly playing it. Would be tough to get on that game today, so I tried the basic non-prog games by main elevators. Bad vp luck has returned, and I didn’t hit any quads and quit after only 600 pts or so (-80 ouch!).
I made a quick run out to the GC – 1. To check my vp tourney results from Monday. I was not in top 35, but 3 players ‘tied’ for $17 each in 35th-36th-37th place…that was funny. Instead of $50 freeplay, I guess the tied scores meant $17 each. The min score was 1800+, so I was out of the prize pool. Still worthwhile, if you are 50+ and playing on a Monday at GC.,..
GOLD COAST PROMO: Tuesdays in October from 2:00pm - 9:00pm come in and win
October 7 - Set of (2) Eco Friendly Mugs.
Then I played 300 pts thru the NSUDs, but gave back winnings here, a minor -$40 loss (-$120 day). At least I got 2x pts (Sapphire), and picked up my ‘free gift’ (Ceramic reusable coffee mug set- great for my work). Probably about a $10 gift value, ok for 300 pts (except for the loss this time). I drove back to ST, and it was just after 11:30pm.
I found my dad, and showed him when the “Dollar Sign ($)” on the card reader lit up with a green light, the freeplay was ready for download during this promotion. As stated, he had $45, and I downloaded it for him to play. ST and Boyd properties only do not give you points during the play of the freeplay, but any winnings you earn are loaded onto your credits on the machine. After that, you can either cash out, or continue playing…. My dad continued his play at the Double Deuces for the day (still earning towards 5000 max base for $50 freeplay on Wed). He said he probably would also try that quarter Blazing 7s sometime later.
As for me - there were still some other playable progs worth trying for, but I should’ve stayed away from the lone upright bank against a wall in FPDW/Penny Lane area. This weird 100-coin penny prog ($1/hand) game is shortpay 20-5-4 JW only, but 40-1 on SF. Prog RF was climbing (had been at $1200 when I first saw it on Sunday). Now was over $1400. That temptation cost me, though. I hit a few quads on it, but then the game just drained away the winnings, esp with shortpay on FL/FHs. I again had a 4cd RF, drawing one, and didn’t get the needed 10 of Hearts nor the Joker for a win. Well at least I crunched more pts thru (still on 7x pts AND every 500 base earned $5 freeplay on Wed)…. I quit at -150 for the day, though, and only about 1700 tier, so still at -12%. Still ahead for the trip, but -12% drain is a downer in vp (5-10% more reasonable). I decided to take a break before meeting up with Dennis and Sandy.
Normally Sandy plays the ‘dimes’ (or 10-coin) nickel FPDWs and Dennis the Dbl-deuces or JW85 – I’ll explain later. They were nowhere to be found. I took a lunch break with a smaller $5 deli special (Wrap sandwich and chips/drink) to eat in the room.
ST Event at 2:15PM “Cash Grab”, Time with Dennis/Sandy ….
It was around 1:55pm, and I went back down to the 2nd floor, just past the 9/6 prog and hallway to the garage, where the event was to take place in the “Ponderosa Room” – doors were open and a line of people were already waiting. Apparently each of the 75 invites could bring ‘up to 4’ guests to the event, and many did. There may have been over 200-300 people total – all joining this (free) ice-cream social and cash giveaway event. Dennis recognized me first, and we got in line. Later, we found out, guests could go inside to begin building their desserts, while invited guests had to register to be assigned their number (order in which you picked your prize). His wife Sandy went inside to get us some seats together – where we could eat the desserts and participate in the event. Finally we got into the room by 2:15 pm or so. Lots of dessert toppings (sprinkles, crumbled cookies, hot fudge, chocolate, whipped cream, etc), sugar free and regular ice creams in 5-6 flavors, brownies, cookies, and water/coffee to go with. More than sufficient (and I really didn’t need all those extra sweets).
As I caught up with Sandy and Dennis, it turns out he and Sandy had taken the Boyd Shuttle to the Strip to sightsee Bellagio this am (which explains why I didn’t find them playing vp). They had intended to play after the event. I like the Bellagio too, and would visit later today, as my vp losses were piling up.
Dennis pointed out to me that more people filled the room than last time, and also the PRIZES (a deck of cards) was less than the T-shirts given away. However, as cash prizes were announced (on the back of your deck of cards that you randomly chose), the CASH prizes seemed bigger. There were maybe 10 $25 winners, lots more $50-75 winners, about 10-15 $100 winners, and perhaps a few $200, and one each of $300-400-500 winners. The caller began immediately at 2:30pm after some brief announcements about the event/casino marketing stuff, and then called us up in groups of 10 at a time. Rapid fire announcement of the winners: “Twenty-five dollar winner, Fifty-dollar winner, Two-hundred dollar winner, etc, etc”. If I had paid attention, I suppose I could have written down the distribution, but I was catching up with conversation with Sandy, Dennis and others at my table. Dennis got a low number , was in the 2nd group and picked $50. I was number 23, and in the 3rd group.
I got pretty lucky – on the back of my souvenir deck of cards was a $100 winner! After proceeding to the prize table (verified your slot card/id and you had to sign for the prize), then we finished up our social hour. It went by fast – they actually had a 2nd event that began at 4pm later we noticed (similar setup without the ice-cream) for another group.
Dennis and I played this JW85 game he showed me for .25c. Only 5 uprights in Bingo/YAH area (quiet up there) had this semi-full pay joker game on it, it did pay 4700 for the RF, but was 17-7-5 on the 4k –FH-Fl. OK game, esp with 7x pts and 1% ($5 freeplay/500 pts promo) at this time. He had much luck in the past.
Well – I struggled to make 3k (3000 pts), but it simply wasn’t going to be a winning day. Without the $100 cash bonus, I’d be down about $275 or more. I managed a (-210 loss) on 3010 pts at ST, 300 at GC for the gift.
We decided to meet up for dinner at Billy Bob’s tonight – around 6pm. He was treating (He had a ‘boost’ last trip on a 30x multiplier on YAH Wednesday), and said he was over 450K in bonus pts for food! Wow. Similar to how JMAN had built up – easy to do if you choose to play on Multipts days and/or get a good multiplier on YAH Wednesday! I introduced him to my dad, still at the double deuces.
I left for the Bellagio around 3pm to visit and here are the pics of this relaxing Fall colors, complete with live violin music aired during my visit:
Bellagio Registration Desk
Floral archway to the Bellagio Conservatory Atrium
After returning to ST, my dad really wasn’t up for the fancy dinner, so Dennis, Sandy and I headed to Billy Bob’s (my 2nd meal here).
It was nice of Dennis and Sandy to share Dennis’s comp pts – Sandy and I each tried the Halibut ($30) dinners, while Dennis had the more traditional Steak Filet for $35 along with a decent sized brew (served in a 22 oz glass mug). He said he had donated back some of his wins from previous trips too, but would try his luck at Boulder Stn tomorrow (I found out Sandy prefers vp play for ‘dimes’, and only Fiestas/Boulder Stns and some other casinos have full pay games in those denoms). He would swipe his YAH (7am Wed), but if low multiplier, no need to play this trip. Besides, he and Sandy still earned 7x on this offer, and he said to check – if I got less than 7x, then still would earn 7x. If more than that, you get the higher of the bonus (since our offer was 7x). Explained tomorrow.
This was not so great a gaming day. That cash grab win salvaged the day at -210 (vs -310). Pretty much lost on every vp session, so not much else to report as positive in gaming today. At least I had +30 freeplay tomorrow (Wed – Young at Heart day!), and 7x rebate in comp pts (21000 equate to $21 cb/food at TGIF or fast-food outlets, $35 if used at ST outlets).
More tomorrow, nearing the end of this adventure,
Martin.
Day 4 of 6 – Tuesday Oct 7, 2014
Technically, the quest is over, but moving up in keeping Sapphire (above 25K rolling 12 months) was now the goal…
Today was my ‘Cashgrab Event’, in addition to having 7x pts since Monday and continuing thru Midnight Wednesday; I was also to meet up with a vp-couple retirees from Phoenix, AZ – Dennis and Sandy. I had met them a long time ago at a Skip Hughes meet, and they said they remember me from at least 2 or 3 of those events (similar to some random LVA gatherings, but specifically vp players meets!).
A trip down memory lane: Some of those highlight meets are 1-At the Hard Rock Hotel, catered with some sandwich/finger foods as I recall and 2-at the Venetian (1 free night was given to us as well – around the time they had opened in 1999, wow over 14 yrs ago now! Time sure went by fast. They were able to make some other vp-meets I couldn’t attend, but that shows how long we’ve kept in touch (by e-mail). They also were regular Laughlin/River Palms vp’ers – back when they had FPDW. My dad (again) did quite well there, with 2-3 royals and multiple sets of ducks….oh the memories. We’ll see if Dotty’s (new owners) make the new “River Lodge (Landing) Resort-Casino” worth a visit. Laughlin needs some kind of new infusion, M-Resorts or owners of EW-CB have spent A LOT of money on adding/upgrading restaurants, rooms, and such…not sure if it will payoff. In the meantime, though EW-CB have downgraded most of their vp. If it didn’t have good live Poker promos, I wouldn’t be visiting there much anymore (unlike JMAN – who still has Harrah’s Laughlin offers as a 7* man)…. Check out https://laughlinriverlodge.com/ for more details.
After hitting the low-comp/cost bkfst buffet again (my dad has taken a liking to it), and I got to pay for it at a DISCOUNT with Sapphire – my first perk! $4.85 in pts (vs $5.99). May not seem like much, but 20% makes this truly a bargain at < $5 (3000) pts off your comps, even at regular price of 3600 pts- quite a bargain ($3.60 or $3 in cb pts).
After bkfst, we discussed since he doesn’t like ice cream socials (my event at 2:15 pm this afternoon), we parted ways. First, though, I did show him the different Double-Deuce pay tables (Sam’s has a few variations scattered in different multigame machines, and only a few of the 16-11 fullpay 99.6% games per vpFree). He found the slants by elevators (same slants with 9/6 JB, but they are 15-10, and listed at 98.86% per vpFree – minor lower payoff, but still, if you have better payoff game, why not play those…).
Then I informed him also to check the Bonus freeplay after noon (actually, ST is generous, and it activated on the card reader at around 11:30am!). I’d check with him later to show him how to download that from the card reader. My dad had $45, when I saw him later so obviously, he earned 4500 tier base on non-FPDW, probably on that Blazing 7s quarter game, and the Dbl-deuces. He told me he had NOT hit the ducks yet in dbl-deuces, but did hit them 3-4 more times on FPDW, so he was holding his own still. I told him later that I would also introduce him to my AZ retiree vp players, after the event, possibly have him join us for dinner.
The 9/6 JB prog kept hitting (will have hit 3-4 times today), and I saw the same players constantly playing it. Would be tough to get on that game today, so I tried the basic non-prog games by main elevators. Bad vp luck has returned, and I didn’t hit any quads and quit after only 600 pts or so (-80 ouch!).
I made a quick run out to the GC – 1. To check my vp tourney results from Monday. I was not in top 35, but 3 players ‘tied’ for $17 each in 35th-36th-37th place…that was funny. Instead of $50 freeplay, I guess the tied scores meant $17 each. The min score was 1800+, so I was out of the prize pool. Still worthwhile, if you are 50+ and playing on a Monday at GC.,..
GOLD COAST PROMO: Tuesdays in October from 2:00pm - 9:00pm come in and win
October 7 - Set of (2) Eco Friendly Mugs.
Then I played 300 pts thru the NSUDs, but gave back winnings here, a minor -$40 loss (-$120 day). At least I got 2x pts (Sapphire), and picked up my ‘free gift’ (Ceramic reusable coffee mug set- great for my work). Probably about a $10 gift value, ok for 300 pts (except for the loss this time). I drove back to ST, and it was just after 11:30pm.
I found my dad, and showed him when the “Dollar Sign ($)” on the card reader lit up with a green light, the freeplay was ready for download during this promotion. As stated, he had $45, and I downloaded it for him to play. ST and Boyd properties only do not give you points during the play of the freeplay, but any winnings you earn are loaded onto your credits on the machine. After that, you can either cash out, or continue playing…. My dad continued his play at the Double Deuces for the day (still earning towards 5000 max base for $50 freeplay on Wed). He said he probably would also try that quarter Blazing 7s sometime later.
As for me - there were still some other playable progs worth trying for, but I should’ve stayed away from the lone upright bank against a wall in FPDW/Penny Lane area. This weird 100-coin penny prog ($1/hand) game is shortpay 20-5-4 JW only, but 40-1 on SF. Prog RF was climbing (had been at $1200 when I first saw it on Sunday). Now was over $1400. That temptation cost me, though. I hit a few quads on it, but then the game just drained away the winnings, esp with shortpay on FL/FHs. I again had a 4cd RF, drawing one, and didn’t get the needed 10 of Hearts nor the Joker for a win. Well at least I crunched more pts thru (still on 7x pts AND every 500 base earned $5 freeplay on Wed)…. I quit at -150 for the day, though, and only about 1700 tier, so still at -12%. Still ahead for the trip, but -12% drain is a downer in vp (5-10% more reasonable). I decided to take a break before meeting up with Dennis and Sandy.
Normally Sandy plays the ‘dimes’ (or 10-coin) nickel FPDWs and Dennis the Dbl-deuces or JW85 – I’ll explain later. They were nowhere to be found. I took a lunch break with a smaller $5 deli special (Wrap sandwich and chips/drink) to eat in the room.
ST Event at 2:15PM “Cash Grab”, Time with Dennis/Sandy ….
It was around 1:55pm, and I went back down to the 2nd floor, just past the 9/6 prog and hallway to the garage, where the event was to take place in the “Ponderosa Room” – doors were open and a line of people were already waiting. Apparently each of the 75 invites could bring ‘up to 4’ guests to the event, and many did. There may have been over 200-300 people total – all joining this (free) ice-cream social and cash giveaway event. Dennis recognized me first, and we got in line. Later, we found out, guests could go inside to begin building their desserts, while invited guests had to register to be assigned their number (order in which you picked your prize). His wife Sandy went inside to get us some seats together – where we could eat the desserts and participate in the event. Finally we got into the room by 2:15 pm or so. Lots of dessert toppings (sprinkles, crumbled cookies, hot fudge, chocolate, whipped cream, etc), sugar free and regular ice creams in 5-6 flavors, brownies, cookies, and water/coffee to go with. More than sufficient (and I really didn’t need all those extra sweets).
As I caught up with Sandy and Dennis, it turns out he and Sandy had taken the Boyd Shuttle to the Strip to sightsee Bellagio this am (which explains why I didn’t find them playing vp). They had intended to play after the event. I like the Bellagio too, and would visit later today, as my vp losses were piling up.
Dennis pointed out to me that more people filled the room than last time, and also the PRIZES (a deck of cards) was less than the T-shirts given away. However, as cash prizes were announced (on the back of your deck of cards that you randomly chose), the CASH prizes seemed bigger. There were maybe 10 $25 winners, lots more $50-75 winners, about 10-15 $100 winners, and perhaps a few $200, and one each of $300-400-500 winners. The caller began immediately at 2:30pm after some brief announcements about the event/casino marketing stuff, and then called us up in groups of 10 at a time. Rapid fire announcement of the winners: “Twenty-five dollar winner, Fifty-dollar winner, Two-hundred dollar winner, etc, etc”. If I had paid attention, I suppose I could have written down the distribution, but I was catching up with conversation with Sandy, Dennis and others at my table. Dennis got a low number , was in the 2nd group and picked $50. I was number 23, and in the 3rd group.
I got pretty lucky – on the back of my souvenir deck of cards was a $100 winner! After proceeding to the prize table (verified your slot card/id and you had to sign for the prize), then we finished up our social hour. It went by fast – they actually had a 2nd event that began at 4pm later we noticed (similar setup without the ice-cream) for another group.
Dennis and I played this JW85 game he showed me for .25c. Only 5 uprights in Bingo/YAH area (quiet up there) had this semi-full pay joker game on it, it did pay 4700 for the RF, but was 17-7-5 on the 4k –FH-Fl. OK game, esp with 7x pts and 1% ($5 freeplay/500 pts promo) at this time. He had much luck in the past.
Well – I struggled to make 3k (3000 pts), but it simply wasn’t going to be a winning day. Without the $100 cash bonus, I’d be down about $275 or more. I managed a (-210 loss) on 3010 pts at ST, 300 at GC for the gift.
We decided to meet up for dinner at Billy Bob’s tonight – around 6pm. He was treating (He had a ‘boost’ last trip on a 30x multiplier on YAH Wednesday), and said he was over 450K in bonus pts for food! Wow. Similar to how JMAN had built up – easy to do if you choose to play on Multipts days and/or get a good multiplier on YAH Wednesday! I introduced him to my dad, still at the double deuces.
I left for the Bellagio around 3pm to visit and here are the pics of this relaxing Fall colors, complete with live violin music aired during my visit:
Bellagio Registration Desk
Floral archway to the Bellagio Conservatory Atrium
After returning to ST, my dad really wasn’t up for the fancy dinner, so Dennis, Sandy and I headed to Billy Bob’s (my 2nd meal here).
It was nice of Dennis and Sandy to share Dennis’s comp pts – Sandy and I each tried the Halibut ($30) dinners, while Dennis had the more traditional Steak Filet for $35 along with a decent sized brew (served in a 22 oz glass mug). He said he had donated back some of his wins from previous trips too, but would try his luck at Boulder Stn tomorrow (I found out Sandy prefers vp play for ‘dimes’, and only Fiestas/Boulder Stns and some other casinos have full pay games in those denoms). He would swipe his YAH (7am Wed), but if low multiplier, no need to play this trip. Besides, he and Sandy still earned 7x on this offer, and he said to check – if I got less than 7x, then still would earn 7x. If more than that, you get the higher of the bonus (since our offer was 7x). Explained tomorrow.
This was not so great a gaming day. That cash grab win salvaged the day at -210 (vs -310). Pretty much lost on every vp session, so not much else to report as positive in gaming today. At least I had +30 freeplay tomorrow (Wed – Young at Heart day!), and 7x rebate in comp pts (21000 equate to $21 cb/food at TGIF or fast-food outlets, $35 if used at ST outlets).
More tomorrow, nearing the end of this adventure,
Martin.
