My Farewell Tour – Chapter 5
Summer is here and it’s a little odd that I’m not doing one of my summer long journeys posting every day, but times change and I simply no longer have the energy or desire to do another one. Besides, I have a new part time job that keeps me at home every other week. However, when I think back to those years and reports such as Summer of 55; National Casino Run; and Hit ‘em All Nevada among others, I have nothing but fond memories and incredible experiences.
I will be making trips this summer to Laughlin, Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe as I wind up my final year of casino hopping. I’m asked by many that even as I’m giving up my 7 Stars status if I’m still going to strive for Diamond and the thought has crossed my mind, but I have little desire to stay with Caesars at all. They continue to whittle down their benefits and are nickel and diming their guests at almost every corner. I’ll talk a lot about this and give examples as these chapters continue.
I did spend a few days in Laughlin a couple of weeks ago. Two nights at the Tropicana Express on a three month mailer which allowed me to use three nights per week as many times as I’d like as long as there was a one week gap between uses. This is the third time I’ve used it. The rooms are nothing special, but they’re clean, roomy and have new furnishings including a flat screen TV. The next three nights I stayed at Harrah’s. There was not a tournament, but I had $175 in free play I wanted to use plus catch up on some movies at the Riverside. There’s not a lot to talk about on this trip except that when I was walking from casino to casino and playing $20 per casino, I was in the Laughlin River Lodge (previously River Palms and now owned by the Dotty’s franchise) and was playing All-American poker (also known as USA poker) as I had my WinPoker app and checked strategy on almost every hand. I held one King of hearts and up popped the other four for my first quarter Royal of the year (we call this type of hit a Louise). As a nice plus, the winnings were on the machine, so no hand pay. I hit this on my first day, so it pretty much assured a nice frame of mind for the trip. I spent most the days watching movies and playing live poker at the Colorado Belle, where I did fairly well.
Nice to catch a Louise on my first day of the trip
Fast forward a couple of weeks to June 1 and I’m here in Las Vegas on a couple of tournament offers. This first is at the Rio for a video poker tournament that comes with three nights, then a slot tournament at Bally’s for another three nights with a one day gap, Thursday, which I booked at the Suncoast. They send me one free night every month in hopes that I’ll pay for a second, though I never do. The Bally’s tournament I booked because a few years ago, I treated a couple of my drama students to a free trip to Las Vegas and the Dolly Madison show. They had a great time, but as they were only 18 at the time, they couldn’t enjoy the real Las Vegas experience, so I promised them that if they contacted me after they both turned 21, I’d treat them again. They did, and so I’ve booked the tournament and I’ll give the room to the girls and I booked myself at the Westgate on a crazy offer of three nights plus two buffets and drinks for $59…total! (well, taxes and Resort Fees of course).
Monday, June 1
I arrived in Vegas at 9AM, much too early to check in, so I made a stop at the M Resort to see what was new. After going through a lot of changes when the new owners took over (and removed all the giveaways and free nights), everything has pretty much stayed the same. It’s still a beautiful casino with the latest games. The bank of quarter 8/5 Bonus Aces are still there, so I played for awhile pretty much breaking even. I then played a few of the newer penny games and finally left as I wanted to get to the South Point Hotel and Casino to see TOMORROWLAND. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I then sat down to play some live 2/4 poker. This turned out to be one of those horrible sessions, as I got rivered on a couple of hands and was out-kicked on a few others. After dropping $60 without taking even one pot, I hoisted the white flag and left. I sat down at a 9/6 Bonus Deluxe machine and shortly caught quad Kings for a $100 profit…it’s all good.
Check in at the Rio went without a hitch and was given a nice room on the 14th floor with an okay view. I went down and signed up for the tournament, which begins tomorrow. In years past this usually came with a small logo gift or some free-play; no more. I went up to my room and noticed that the sodas in the vending machine are now $5 each. In my room is a Keurig coffee machine—but no coffee packets. There’s a sign that says coffee is available in the mini-bar for $9! Caesars was the first pull this mini-larceny for coffee a couple of years ago, and now the Rio has joined the party. I’ve outwitted them because since my last stay at Caesars, I bought a carton of Keurig coffees (a dozen packets for $9.99 at Target) and have kept them in my luggage. I love Coke Zero (to the chagrin of some friends), so I pick up a six pack as well. Fortunately, ice is still free (give them time). By the way, whereas Harrah’s Laughlin still give me a welcome basket of fruits and nuts, Las Vegas properties give NOTHING to Diamond or 7 Stars players (at least not to me). As I didn’t sleep much the night before my drive, I was in bed by 7PM and didn’t wake up until 6 the next morning…nice!
The view from my room in the Rio on the 14th floor.
Tuesday, June 2
The first day of the tournament and my time was 10:20. It’s a two day tournament with the scores combined paying the top 300 players. I asked the tournament director how many people they were expecting and she told me that 750 have registered. Whereas I tend to do well at these tournaments because I’m not only good player, but I’m a fast player. But all that doesn’t mean much if you don’t catch anything, and I didn’t catch anything. No quads and only one full house. The ten minute session ended and I had 926 points—not bad for catching nothing.
I went over to the video poker section of the casino to check the schedules. Whereas many of the Strip properties have lowered the pay schedules, the Rio has yet to do so. There is still plenty of quarter 7/5 BP and eight machines with dollar 8/5 BP. I decided to run a hundred (I really don’t want to stiff my host, which despite my abysmal play this year continues to book everything I ask of her). Shortly after starting I was dealt four-to-a-royal, which I’ve learned to no longer get very excited about, especially only playing triple play. However, on the second line, the needed Ace of Spades popped up for my second royal of the year. Very nice!
Second Royal of the year and in the last three weeks.
I walked down to the convention area where this year’s World Series of Poker is in full swing. It’s still a long ways from the main event, but there are SO many other tournaments going on. It was the first time I saw a heads-up tournament. It’s cool how they do this with so many people playing. Each table has a dealer on each end of the table and two players sit across from each other adjacent to their dealer.
The Heads-up tournament in full swing. Interesting set up.
This was the turn out for one of their tournaments. This goes on twice a day, every day.
I honestly didn’t do very much today but I did go to Target to pick up a few things and visit my step-sister for a few hours, who lives down by Boulder Station. We had a very nice chit-chat and then I simply drove around a little and came back to the Rio, picked up a turkey wrap at the deli bar next to the Racebook (excellent food here), took it up to my room and watched a pay-per-view (free for 7 Stars) and caught up on some reading and fell to sleep.
Wednesday, June 3.
The second day of the tournament and things were no better. No quads and ended up with only 800+ points. The speaker mentioned that yesterday’s tournament had four royals and one already this morning. I have no chance to be in the money. Oh well. Free entry, three free nights, free Internet and pay-per-view movies…I’ll take it.
Today I decided to check out the southern part of the Strip. I haven’t really spent any time there in perhaps a year or so and thought it would be nice to see what, if anything has changed. Besides, I plan on using the MYVegas gold coins to see Zumanity at New York, New York, which I have seen before, but the first year it opened and I’m sure things have changed a bit since then. I pulled into the parking lot of NYNY and called the number on the web site, which sets up your booking confirmation. There are two numbers, an 858 and a 702. I called the 858 number and was put on hold…I waited for just over an hour listening to music and hearing that obnoxious message “Thank you for your call, all our representatives are currently with other customers, please hold as your call is very important to us.” Right…I became really frustrated after the hour mark and finally hung up figuring I just won’t go to the show. I’m here at NYNY because once you confirm your reservation; you have to pick up your tickets at the box office before 4PM. While waiting in the parking lot, I walked to the back where they are building a sports arena. I was here just a couple of months ago and there was nothing to be seen here and now, the entire outer building is almost up as you can see in the picture.
The new Sports Arena under construction behind New York, New York
I walked over to the MGM and noticed that the entrance has changed again. When it first opened there was a scene of the characters from Wizard of Oz, but that was taken out and has been replaced with other ideas a dozen times. Now there’s a new sports bar and the poker pit has been moved further back in the casino.
The new sports bar just to the right of the entrance to the MGM
I trudged on through this massive casino. I had my slot card with me as I wanted to keep it active so I put in a penny four-play machine. I hit a $50 win on Wicked Witch II and later another $50 on Panda. While playing, I thought I might as well try the MYVegas phone line again, but the 702 number this time and simply leave it on speaker as I played. After about 20 minutes, I finally got an operator. She took my information and finally I was ready to go to the box office to pick up the ticket.
I had a few hours to kill before the show would begin, so I found a bank of machines in NYNY that had full pay Jacks and full pay Bonus as well as 9/6 DDB on them. The only down side was that these machines did not accept slot cards. That wasn’t a big deal to me, I was just glad to see that an MGM property had full pay video poker right on the Strip. The bank of machines is located about 20 feet east of the registration desk marked 99% video poker above it. I played there for the next couple of hours, though I didn’t do well. It seems this trip is an anti-quad trip for me.
Zumanity is an adult’s only show and with good reason: lots of bare breasts and dirty jokes throughout. However, I found the show much slicker and face-paced then the original and the comedy team that popped up throughout the show was excellent. Again, like most Cirque shows, it’s just one acrobatic set after another and some of the best live musicians you’ll find anywhere. I enjoyed the show a lot—and free made it all the better. I just wish they’d fix their system getting your tickets. It was then back to the Rio and to bed.
Thursday, June 4
This morning is pack up time and after doing some work on this report; I headed out around 11 AM. I drove across the street to the Palms to see what movies were showing and they weren’t open yet, so I went over to the three remaining 9/6 Jacks or Better 50-plays. There was one spot open in the middle, so I settled in and put in a hundred playing at the 2-cent level ($5.00 per bet). Things started off slow but I was soon dealt a flush in diamonds but with four-to-the-royal, so I dumped the 5 and hit the button. Unfortunately, I only hit one ($80 at the 2-cent level), but that brought me up. I later was dealt some good pat hands and once I was up to $200, I cashed out—a tidy little profit this morning. Changes at the Palms included the slot club has been moved across the way to the old poker room spot and the restaurant across from the café is being turned into a Hooters.
It was already 1 PM, so I headed over to the Suncoast, which is far west of the Strip and just a few miles from the Red Rock mountains. I was checked in on the 8th floor, which has recently been remodeled. The rooms here have always been nice but were starting to show their wear. The new carpet, furniture, and TV are nice. All rooms still have coffee makers and refrigerators. The casino has a bowling alley, a movie theater complex and eight restaurants—a mini-city all to itself. TGIF Friday’s is out replaced by a sports bar. Mike’s Deli is also gone. In place of the deli are a bagel company and a Subway. Also gone—the hot dog stand and the new deli only sell dogs for $3.99. That’s a bummer.
The remodeled room at the Suncoast
My view from the Suncoast room. It seems I always get a golf course view.
I’m only here for one night (a comp) so after unpacking, I went down to the casino to play some games. Today is 12X points on penny games and 6X on VP. I sat down at some Buffalo games and quickly dropped $40 (I don’t know why I still play these, I always do terrible). I then played some nickel four card Keno and hit a six-spot for a $150 win. Sweet! I next went to a Hesling Vampire machine and caught a bonus and retrigger walking away with another $75 profit. A spot opened up at the 5-play nickel bank progressives where the dealt royal is over $11K. This bank is always full of players even though all the games are short pay because of the crazy progressive jackpot. I put in a hundred and played 6/5 Super Aces (any quad aces pays $100). Even though I was dealt three Aces three times, I never caught them. I did manage a few quads along the way and played for almost two hours, but the machine finally beat me.
The first game of the NBA finals was beginning, so I grabbed a spot at the bar and put in a hundred. All the games here have been downgraded a little bit. Bonus Deluxe went from 9/6 to 8/6; Jacks or Better were completely removed and everything else was lowered except Bonus Poker, which is still full pay at 8/5. That’s the game I picked. The game started and was moving along holding my own when I held two Aces and the other two popped for a $100 win. I continued to play hovering around and I finally cashed out $200. So, even though there were a few losses, today wound up being a nice one for me with almost a $300 profit. As a little bonus, because I put in over 300 points (I end up putting in 2500), I was given both a free dinner and a breakfast buffet. It was a good day.
Friday, June 5
Though I swore off buffets this trip, I took advantage of the freebie and had breakfast. The buffet at the Suncoast is very nice. I had an egg-white vegetable omelet and some melon. I’m only mentioning breakfast at all because I discovered something. I saw cucumber salad was available. I’ve never had it before. I took a small portion to see what it was like. It turns out that I love it! How have I lived almost 65 years and have never had cucumber salad? I went back for a second portion and was thrilled to have discovered a new “good-for-you” option.
I packed up my things and checked out of the hotel at 11 PM. As I was taking my luggage to the car in the covered parking in the back, I noticed a sign reading that with 300 points today, you received a free four pack of gourmet tea. I didn’t give it another thought, but as I made my way to the car, there were couples leaving with their tea packs and I knew I had to go back and give it a shot. I put my luggage away and went back to the five-play progressives where the $11K progressive still has not been hit. The individual Royal progressives were all over $250 as well. I’m thinking to myself, this might be a $100 tea pack. Again, I went with the Bonus Aces. Things were going poorly with no quads when I was dealt three Aces. I crossed my fingers and the fourth Ace came up on the first hand. I’m now at $185. I decided that I’m either going to stop when I reach the 300 points, are at $150. Fortunately, I made the points needed and had $150.50. I got my tea and a $50 profit. Here’s hoping the rest of the day brings me as much luck.
Today is a big day because my two ex-students are arriving. I’ll need to check in both at Ballys and then the Westgate and then meet them when they arrive. I’ve already done a little groundwork. I’m treating them to Million Dollar Quartet tonight, so I’ve picked up the tickets. Caesars actually did something good in that you no longer have to go the box office of the show you’re going to see to pick up the actual tickets. They will print them up at any property box office. The girls also wanted to see Chippendales at the Rio on Saturday but I told them that the weekends always sell out, so it might be wise for me to buy their tickets for them and they can reimburse me. Besides, if I buy them flashing my 7 Stars card, I might get better seats. That turned out to be a good idea as I secured seats for them at the second table from the center stage.
I drove to the Westgate, and though it was only 11:30, it’s such a large hotel that they tend to let guests check in early. I parked in the back at the Sportsbook and walked to the registration desk where, sure enough, there was a line of about 25 people waiting to check in. I got a very nice receptionist who found me an available room, but would two queens be okay? I’m in the north tower on lucky floor 13. I have a view of the southern Strip, which as many times as I’ve stayed here, this is the first time I’ve been in the North Tower with a Strip view. Very nice. The warm feeling of getting the three weekend nights for only $59 was squashed a bit when I was informed of the $24 Resort Fee per night. The resort fee total is more than my room. It gives me Internet service (that’s good), admission to the Fitness Training facilities, and free 800 and local calls (c’mon…does anyone NOT have their own cell phone anymore?) The room is very nice with a huge 50 inch flat screen TV and a refrigerator. They also have a Keurig coffee maker but they only want $3.50 for the coffee. I, of course, have my own Starbucks French Roast packs.
My room at the Westgate. Not pictured is a desk facing the view of the Strip
My view from the 13th floor of the North Tower of the Westgate (formerly Hilton/formerly International)
After unpacking, I headed down to the casino floor and stopped by the slot club to get a new card and the boothling told me I had $20 in free play available. I sat down at my favorite machines here, Spin Poker, for nickels that they have relocated from the Sportsbook to right across from the cashier in the main casino. They have 7/5 BP and Ugly Deuces. On Spin Poker I like to play the deuces. At nine lines this is $2.50 per spin. I lost the $20 pretty fast and slipped in a hundred. After about thirty minutes, I caught quad deuces on one line but that was the only tine, but did manage a few other nice hits and finally cashed out with a $100 profit.
It was time to go over the Ballys and check in. I parked in Valet and was given a room in the Jubilee Tower. A host had called a few days earlier telling me I was all set for my arrival and that a suite had been prepared. I’m sure the girls would not want to sleep together, so I asked him if it had two queens and he said that at Ballys all the suites only had single kings. So, I had him change the suite to a room with two queens. He did give me a room with a great view of the Paris and southern Strip.
I walked over to Harrahs where I signed up for the slot tournament. This was a two-day tourney and the winner gets $25K and pays all the way down to player 500. However, 1500 people are playing, so we’ll just hope that I catch two machines that will be nice to me as I can push down a button with the best of them. This tournament also included $40 free play (yea!) and I chose to use mine at the Linq because they have a promotion where with just 10 points on any machine, you get one spin on their Million Dollar Tournament machine. I went through the $40 pretty fast but when I spun the promotion machine I won $5 more free play. So, it was back to the cashier to the token slip and sat down at a Hercules machine. One hit after another and I was catching some nice wins. I switched to eighty cents a spin, and caught some very nice streaks of wins and before I knew it I had over a $100. Then I hit a bonus round (pictured) that netted me the spin win but also the minor progressive for $172 giving me almost $325 from my little $5 free play. One of my best penny game wins ever.
A very nice session and win from my $5 free play on this Hercules machine at the Linq.
I got the call from the girls that they were on Flamingo, so I hurried back to Ballys to meet them at the valet. I took them to their room and went down to play some in the casino while they unpacked and relaxed for a bit. We headed over to Harrahs and had dinner at Harrahs in their deli/pizza/sushi/yogurt/salad joint (in place where the café used to be). I then took them up for their first Diamond Lounge experience and had Lemon Drops (a DL first timer tradition). When it was showtime, I walked them up to the theater of the Million Dollar Quartet and wished them well before heading back to pick up my car and drive back to the Westgate. For the first time in a long time, I had some neighbors that were playing their music loud but I could tell by the hip hop and other tunes they were playing that they were most likely young teens stuck in the room, so I didn’t make much of it and managed to fall asleep nonetheless.
Saturday, June 6
I was up in time to enjoy one of my free breakfast buffets and then it was off to Harrah’s for the first day of the slot tournament. It was the old-school triple seven machines and the ten minute session went without me making one top pay line and end up with 7800 points, just about the lowest in my row. I played some penny games for a while and finally got a text from the girls. Even though I told them that I was going to leave them alone to enjoy their vacation, they wanted me to act as their guide today, so I picked them up as the wanted to go to a different Diamond Lounge. It was after noon, so we walked over to Caesars. They hadn’t eaten yet today and I suggested the new food court in Caesars at the Forum Shoppes entrance. I recommended Earl of Sandwich and Brianna agreed saying it was one of the best sandwiches she’d ever had. We then hung out at the Caesars Diamond lounge for an hour or so before heading back. They mentioned that after they went back to Ballys after the show, they were approached by a guy in the hotel that gave them two front seat tickets to a show in the main theater which was an audition/preview show called Mo5aic. They said they really loved it.
Katrinna (on the left) and Brianna enjoying lunch at the Caesars food court
They’re going to see Chippendales tonight at 10:30 so I wanted to drive them over to the Rio to show them how to get to the eastern parking lot, which leads directly into the theater. I then dropped them off at Ballys and headed back to the Westgate. I told them I’d pick them up around 7 PM and take them downtown as they wanted to experience the Fremont Street craziness and perhaps have some dinner before they would be off for the show. The place was absolutely jammed on this Saturday night, and though it was early for a lot of the really weird characters to have come out, there were plenty to see. I suggested we eat at Binion’s at the BBQ joint in the back. We each had the ½ slap of ribs and the sides. Excellent food and a bargain to boot.
The three of us at the bar in Binion’s just as our BBQ ribs arrived
We headed back and I dropped them off at Ballys where they dressed and then headed for Chippendales and went back to the Westgate where I played some Spin Poker for an hour or so before calling it a night.
Sunday, June 7
Once again I was up and ready for my second and final slot tournament session. The announcer told everyone that though they expected 1500 people to be entered only 875 actually did, so the prize pool was shortened with the last place prizes of $100 free play would now only be $40. This session went better then yesterday as I hit one jackpot and ended up with just fewer than 10K points. I know I’m going to be right on the bubble so I’ll have to wait until 7PM tonight to find out.
I had some time to kill before I was to meet the girls for dinner. I had promised them a supper at Guy Fieri’s Vegas at the Linq. There’s been a change this year (one that is ACTUALLY better for the 7 Star card holders) in that in years past, you were given a $500 celebratory dinner, but you had to use the entire $500 at one time. This year, they’re allowing you to divide it up in any amounts you want as long as it’s in the hundreds. I went to the total rewards booth and asked for $100 voucher for the restaurant, which they took care of in minutes. So, I still have another $400 waiting for me for a future trip. Considering I’m already booked for the second week of July and the second week of August, this will work.
The nice thing about not caring how many points I put on my card anymore, it’s freed me up to play games for fun, and hopefully profit. For penny games, my new motis of operendi is to find machines that have the two progressives at the top, one a minor and one a major. The minor has to be distributed by $50 and the major by $500. So, I walk around looking for these kinds of machines in search of the progressives within $7 or $8 within that level. I then play hoping for a bonus round big enough to kick in the progressive. It’s worked this trip three times. Of course, there were many when it didn’t, but it’s fun to have a goal. All three hits were the minor progressives, as I’ve yet to find a major that was close to the $500 mark. If I did find one, I’d go after it more aggressively.
This was a nice hit at Harrah’s on a Bier Fest machine. Add $47 to this total as that kicked in right after this amount was added to my bank.
It was only 1 PM and I wasn’t meeting the girls for dinner until 5, so I went to the Flamingo to play some 2/4 Hold ‘em. On my walk from the Paris out front, the Bellagio fountains were doing their thing, I glanced over at a particularly high display and my foot caught a rise in the side walk and I went down. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to roll as I knew cement and flesh don’t mix. I end up only scraping my elbow and knee, but what was nice was all the people around me suddenly came to my rescue and asked if I was okay. I laughed it off saying old fat men don’t fall gracefully and thanked them for the concern.
When I arrived at Flamingo’s poker room, there was a long waiting list for the 2/4 tables, but I showed them my Seven Stars card, and I was put at the top of the list. Within three minutes, I was called—nice. I bought for $60 and for the next four hours I won some pots, lost some pots and just kept fluctuating the whole time. When the girls arrived to go to dinner, I cashed out $37, so the entire session cost me $23 ($10 or more to tips to the dealer after wins). It was a great way to while away some hours.
Dinner at Guy’s Vegas was very good, though pricey. The girl’s had the signature mac ‘n cheese hamburgers (about 10 inches tall) and I had the BBQ brisket. Though we thought the service was slow, the food was good. I would likely not eat here if I was paying. It’s simply over priced, which is not surprising. The comp covered everything, and as I was parked at the Linq valet, I said my goodbyes to the girls as I was leaving early the next morning for Laughlin and they were going back to San Diego. I went to the cashier at the Linq to see if I had won anything from the slot tournament. It paid the top 500 people. I came in 544. Shit!
I went back to the Westgate, hung out in the Sportsbook for while, played some more Spin Poker (lost) and finally went to bed.
Monday, June 8
After the usual morning routines, but this time included packing everything, I went down to the buffet to use my final free buffet coupon. Some final words on the Westgate: I had some doubts when the newest owner (third once since it was the Hilton) took over. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised on how nice the rooms have been maintained and the rest of the hotel being spruced up. One of the wings is being turned into time-share units, but there are still enough rooms to fill that I believe the incredible room rates will continue for the foreseeable future. Even though the $24 resort fee is excessive, I do like the Internet and the Fitness Center is one of the finest in the city. The three day stay (over the weekend no less) that came with two buffets and bar drink coupons for $59 made the average night still made it less than $45 per night. I’d take that deal any day. Their sportsbook is still the largest in the city and they still have many full pay video poker machines. I’ll be back.
The drive to Laughlin was uneventful. I did, as requested, get a text from the girls saying they were home safe and sound (the father in me never goes away). I was a little early to check in so I went to the Riverside and saw Melissa McCarthy’s SPY. I was a little skeptical about this one, but it turned out to be hilarious. Jason Stratham steals the show. I loved it. I sat down at a crowded back of Quick Quads and put in a hundred. On the end of the man was an old man you’d think was right out the Beverly Hillbillies. He was playing quarter five play DDB and I have NEVER seen such a run as this guy was having. He was dealt three quick quads (one of them 4s) and caught others seemingly every other hand. When I sat down, he had $350, when I left after losing my hundred in about 40 minutes, he was over $2,800. I couldn’t take it. I had to get out of there.
My room at Harrahs is a suite on the 15th floor with a view of the river. I’d take pictures but they’d look exactly the same as the countless others I’ve had in previous trips. I had $40 in free play, so I took a spot at the 2-cent 50 play ($5.00 per hand) and tried my luck at Super Double Bonus. Things started out encouraging, my $40 was soon gone, but I put in a hundred of my own and that was soon almost $185. I was then dealt four-to-the-royal. To my disappointment, I didn’t catch even one. From that point, I started losing, losing, and losing. Within ten minutes I had lost it all. How a machine can be so hot one minute and turn ice cold the next is very disillusioning. I tried a couple $20s in some penny machines with the same results. So, seeing that today was not going to be my day, I quit. The gambling swings are something I am not going to miss when I’m done after this year. The highs this trip of catching the Royal and then a few great penny machines wins and then the lows when day after day, nothing seems to come in and you’re close to giving it all back.
When I returned to my room after a drink in the Diamond Lounge, the gift basket was there. Some different things this time along with the usual fruit and waters: some brownie packages, mixed nuts and trail mix. About 6 PM, the door knocked and I was given the turn down service fresh brownies. Yep, Laughlin does it right. Las Vegas Caesar properties do nothing like this anymore. I also know that there will be a USA TODAY at my door in the morning. It’s nice to feel appreciated.
Tuesday, June 9
Surprisingly, I overslept this morning sleeping nine hours (not good for me as it makes me lethargic whenever I sleep too much). After a brief breakfast, I went over to the Colorado Belle to play poker. There weren’t any spots open so after the clerk telling me that it shouldn’t be long. I went to play some nickel keno and video poker while waiting. After an hour and a half I decided to take my name off the list. As I was approaching, the clerk got on the intercom and called my name. I bought in for $60 and played 2/4 Hold ‘em for the next four hours. I eventually lost the money, but this was one of those fun sessions as the table was full of people having fun, constantly talking with deprecating humor and laughs all around. It would have been nice to win or at least break even, but I certainly had one of my better times at the poker table.
Not much to report today as all I did was play poker most of the day. I did walk over to the Pioneer to put $20 into a nickel keno machine (lost), then on to the Golden Nugget to grab my bi-weekly $5 free play. I added $20 and playing Spartacus, I cashed out $30—my only win of the day. I picked up a sandwich and headed back to the room after a quick stop at the Diamond Lounge. They were only serving ham and tuna salad sandwiches and soup. I grabbed a drink and took it up to my room and called it a night.
It was an overall good trip. I did come home with more money than I arrived with, but nearly as much as I could have had I not played the final four days. But all told; a fun trip. I really enjoyed spending some time with the girls and enjoyed listening to their stories of how their nights went. They texted me to again say thanks and to say how much of a great time they had. I’ve been to Las Vegas SO much over the years, that I get such a better kick out helping others enjoy themselves and experience new things. I’ll be back in July for a week and August for a week. Then on the final week of August, I will be flying to Lake Tahoe for the annual 7 Star Signature trip for four nights.
If you’re interested in past trip reports, copy and paste this link to a page set up by LVA’s Madd Dog with all of my reports since 2001.
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=58&threadid=285084&STARTPAGE=1&CFID=35304518&CFTOKEN=80785101
Until next time…
Summer is here and it’s a little odd that I’m not doing one of my summer long journeys posting every day, but times change and I simply no longer have the energy or desire to do another one. Besides, I have a new part time job that keeps me at home every other week. However, when I think back to those years and reports such as Summer of 55; National Casino Run; and Hit ‘em All Nevada among others, I have nothing but fond memories and incredible experiences.
I will be making trips this summer to Laughlin, Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe as I wind up my final year of casino hopping. I’m asked by many that even as I’m giving up my 7 Stars status if I’m still going to strive for Diamond and the thought has crossed my mind, but I have little desire to stay with Caesars at all. They continue to whittle down their benefits and are nickel and diming their guests at almost every corner. I’ll talk a lot about this and give examples as these chapters continue.
I did spend a few days in Laughlin a couple of weeks ago. Two nights at the Tropicana Express on a three month mailer which allowed me to use three nights per week as many times as I’d like as long as there was a one week gap between uses. This is the third time I’ve used it. The rooms are nothing special, but they’re clean, roomy and have new furnishings including a flat screen TV. The next three nights I stayed at Harrah’s. There was not a tournament, but I had $175 in free play I wanted to use plus catch up on some movies at the Riverside. There’s not a lot to talk about on this trip except that when I was walking from casino to casino and playing $20 per casino, I was in the Laughlin River Lodge (previously River Palms and now owned by the Dotty’s franchise) and was playing All-American poker (also known as USA poker) as I had my WinPoker app and checked strategy on almost every hand. I held one King of hearts and up popped the other four for my first quarter Royal of the year (we call this type of hit a Louise). As a nice plus, the winnings were on the machine, so no hand pay. I hit this on my first day, so it pretty much assured a nice frame of mind for the trip. I spent most the days watching movies and playing live poker at the Colorado Belle, where I did fairly well.
Nice to catch a Louise on my first day of the trip
Fast forward a couple of weeks to June 1 and I’m here in Las Vegas on a couple of tournament offers. This first is at the Rio for a video poker tournament that comes with three nights, then a slot tournament at Bally’s for another three nights with a one day gap, Thursday, which I booked at the Suncoast. They send me one free night every month in hopes that I’ll pay for a second, though I never do. The Bally’s tournament I booked because a few years ago, I treated a couple of my drama students to a free trip to Las Vegas and the Dolly Madison show. They had a great time, but as they were only 18 at the time, they couldn’t enjoy the real Las Vegas experience, so I promised them that if they contacted me after they both turned 21, I’d treat them again. They did, and so I’ve booked the tournament and I’ll give the room to the girls and I booked myself at the Westgate on a crazy offer of three nights plus two buffets and drinks for $59…total! (well, taxes and Resort Fees of course).
Monday, June 1
I arrived in Vegas at 9AM, much too early to check in, so I made a stop at the M Resort to see what was new. After going through a lot of changes when the new owners took over (and removed all the giveaways and free nights), everything has pretty much stayed the same. It’s still a beautiful casino with the latest games. The bank of quarter 8/5 Bonus Aces are still there, so I played for awhile pretty much breaking even. I then played a few of the newer penny games and finally left as I wanted to get to the South Point Hotel and Casino to see TOMORROWLAND. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I then sat down to play some live 2/4 poker. This turned out to be one of those horrible sessions, as I got rivered on a couple of hands and was out-kicked on a few others. After dropping $60 without taking even one pot, I hoisted the white flag and left. I sat down at a 9/6 Bonus Deluxe machine and shortly caught quad Kings for a $100 profit…it’s all good.
Check in at the Rio went without a hitch and was given a nice room on the 14th floor with an okay view. I went down and signed up for the tournament, which begins tomorrow. In years past this usually came with a small logo gift or some free-play; no more. I went up to my room and noticed that the sodas in the vending machine are now $5 each. In my room is a Keurig coffee machine—but no coffee packets. There’s a sign that says coffee is available in the mini-bar for $9! Caesars was the first pull this mini-larceny for coffee a couple of years ago, and now the Rio has joined the party. I’ve outwitted them because since my last stay at Caesars, I bought a carton of Keurig coffees (a dozen packets for $9.99 at Target) and have kept them in my luggage. I love Coke Zero (to the chagrin of some friends), so I pick up a six pack as well. Fortunately, ice is still free (give them time). By the way, whereas Harrah’s Laughlin still give me a welcome basket of fruits and nuts, Las Vegas properties give NOTHING to Diamond or 7 Stars players (at least not to me). As I didn’t sleep much the night before my drive, I was in bed by 7PM and didn’t wake up until 6 the next morning…nice!
The view from my room in the Rio on the 14th floor.
Tuesday, June 2
The first day of the tournament and my time was 10:20. It’s a two day tournament with the scores combined paying the top 300 players. I asked the tournament director how many people they were expecting and she told me that 750 have registered. Whereas I tend to do well at these tournaments because I’m not only good player, but I’m a fast player. But all that doesn’t mean much if you don’t catch anything, and I didn’t catch anything. No quads and only one full house. The ten minute session ended and I had 926 points—not bad for catching nothing.
I went over to the video poker section of the casino to check the schedules. Whereas many of the Strip properties have lowered the pay schedules, the Rio has yet to do so. There is still plenty of quarter 7/5 BP and eight machines with dollar 8/5 BP. I decided to run a hundred (I really don’t want to stiff my host, which despite my abysmal play this year continues to book everything I ask of her). Shortly after starting I was dealt four-to-a-royal, which I’ve learned to no longer get very excited about, especially only playing triple play. However, on the second line, the needed Ace of Spades popped up for my second royal of the year. Very nice!
Second Royal of the year and in the last three weeks.
I walked down to the convention area where this year’s World Series of Poker is in full swing. It’s still a long ways from the main event, but there are SO many other tournaments going on. It was the first time I saw a heads-up tournament. It’s cool how they do this with so many people playing. Each table has a dealer on each end of the table and two players sit across from each other adjacent to their dealer.
The Heads-up tournament in full swing. Interesting set up.
This was the turn out for one of their tournaments. This goes on twice a day, every day.
I honestly didn’t do very much today but I did go to Target to pick up a few things and visit my step-sister for a few hours, who lives down by Boulder Station. We had a very nice chit-chat and then I simply drove around a little and came back to the Rio, picked up a turkey wrap at the deli bar next to the Racebook (excellent food here), took it up to my room and watched a pay-per-view (free for 7 Stars) and caught up on some reading and fell to sleep.
Wednesday, June 3.
The second day of the tournament and things were no better. No quads and ended up with only 800+ points. The speaker mentioned that yesterday’s tournament had four royals and one already this morning. I have no chance to be in the money. Oh well. Free entry, three free nights, free Internet and pay-per-view movies…I’ll take it.
Today I decided to check out the southern part of the Strip. I haven’t really spent any time there in perhaps a year or so and thought it would be nice to see what, if anything has changed. Besides, I plan on using the MYVegas gold coins to see Zumanity at New York, New York, which I have seen before, but the first year it opened and I’m sure things have changed a bit since then. I pulled into the parking lot of NYNY and called the number on the web site, which sets up your booking confirmation. There are two numbers, an 858 and a 702. I called the 858 number and was put on hold…I waited for just over an hour listening to music and hearing that obnoxious message “Thank you for your call, all our representatives are currently with other customers, please hold as your call is very important to us.” Right…I became really frustrated after the hour mark and finally hung up figuring I just won’t go to the show. I’m here at NYNY because once you confirm your reservation; you have to pick up your tickets at the box office before 4PM. While waiting in the parking lot, I walked to the back where they are building a sports arena. I was here just a couple of months ago and there was nothing to be seen here and now, the entire outer building is almost up as you can see in the picture.
The new Sports Arena under construction behind New York, New York
I walked over to the MGM and noticed that the entrance has changed again. When it first opened there was a scene of the characters from Wizard of Oz, but that was taken out and has been replaced with other ideas a dozen times. Now there’s a new sports bar and the poker pit has been moved further back in the casino.
The new sports bar just to the right of the entrance to the MGM
I trudged on through this massive casino. I had my slot card with me as I wanted to keep it active so I put in a penny four-play machine. I hit a $50 win on Wicked Witch II and later another $50 on Panda. While playing, I thought I might as well try the MYVegas phone line again, but the 702 number this time and simply leave it on speaker as I played. After about 20 minutes, I finally got an operator. She took my information and finally I was ready to go to the box office to pick up the ticket.
I had a few hours to kill before the show would begin, so I found a bank of machines in NYNY that had full pay Jacks and full pay Bonus as well as 9/6 DDB on them. The only down side was that these machines did not accept slot cards. That wasn’t a big deal to me, I was just glad to see that an MGM property had full pay video poker right on the Strip. The bank of machines is located about 20 feet east of the registration desk marked 99% video poker above it. I played there for the next couple of hours, though I didn’t do well. It seems this trip is an anti-quad trip for me.
Zumanity is an adult’s only show and with good reason: lots of bare breasts and dirty jokes throughout. However, I found the show much slicker and face-paced then the original and the comedy team that popped up throughout the show was excellent. Again, like most Cirque shows, it’s just one acrobatic set after another and some of the best live musicians you’ll find anywhere. I enjoyed the show a lot—and free made it all the better. I just wish they’d fix their system getting your tickets. It was then back to the Rio and to bed.
Thursday, June 4
This morning is pack up time and after doing some work on this report; I headed out around 11 AM. I drove across the street to the Palms to see what movies were showing and they weren’t open yet, so I went over to the three remaining 9/6 Jacks or Better 50-plays. There was one spot open in the middle, so I settled in and put in a hundred playing at the 2-cent level ($5.00 per bet). Things started off slow but I was soon dealt a flush in diamonds but with four-to-the-royal, so I dumped the 5 and hit the button. Unfortunately, I only hit one ($80 at the 2-cent level), but that brought me up. I later was dealt some good pat hands and once I was up to $200, I cashed out—a tidy little profit this morning. Changes at the Palms included the slot club has been moved across the way to the old poker room spot and the restaurant across from the café is being turned into a Hooters.
It was already 1 PM, so I headed over to the Suncoast, which is far west of the Strip and just a few miles from the Red Rock mountains. I was checked in on the 8th floor, which has recently been remodeled. The rooms here have always been nice but were starting to show their wear. The new carpet, furniture, and TV are nice. All rooms still have coffee makers and refrigerators. The casino has a bowling alley, a movie theater complex and eight restaurants—a mini-city all to itself. TGIF Friday’s is out replaced by a sports bar. Mike’s Deli is also gone. In place of the deli are a bagel company and a Subway. Also gone—the hot dog stand and the new deli only sell dogs for $3.99. That’s a bummer.
The remodeled room at the Suncoast
My view from the Suncoast room. It seems I always get a golf course view.
I’m only here for one night (a comp) so after unpacking, I went down to the casino to play some games. Today is 12X points on penny games and 6X on VP. I sat down at some Buffalo games and quickly dropped $40 (I don’t know why I still play these, I always do terrible). I then played some nickel four card Keno and hit a six-spot for a $150 win. Sweet! I next went to a Hesling Vampire machine and caught a bonus and retrigger walking away with another $75 profit. A spot opened up at the 5-play nickel bank progressives where the dealt royal is over $11K. This bank is always full of players even though all the games are short pay because of the crazy progressive jackpot. I put in a hundred and played 6/5 Super Aces (any quad aces pays $100). Even though I was dealt three Aces three times, I never caught them. I did manage a few quads along the way and played for almost two hours, but the machine finally beat me.
The first game of the NBA finals was beginning, so I grabbed a spot at the bar and put in a hundred. All the games here have been downgraded a little bit. Bonus Deluxe went from 9/6 to 8/6; Jacks or Better were completely removed and everything else was lowered except Bonus Poker, which is still full pay at 8/5. That’s the game I picked. The game started and was moving along holding my own when I held two Aces and the other two popped for a $100 win. I continued to play hovering around and I finally cashed out $200. So, even though there were a few losses, today wound up being a nice one for me with almost a $300 profit. As a little bonus, because I put in over 300 points (I end up putting in 2500), I was given both a free dinner and a breakfast buffet. It was a good day.
Friday, June 5
Though I swore off buffets this trip, I took advantage of the freebie and had breakfast. The buffet at the Suncoast is very nice. I had an egg-white vegetable omelet and some melon. I’m only mentioning breakfast at all because I discovered something. I saw cucumber salad was available. I’ve never had it before. I took a small portion to see what it was like. It turns out that I love it! How have I lived almost 65 years and have never had cucumber salad? I went back for a second portion and was thrilled to have discovered a new “good-for-you” option.
I packed up my things and checked out of the hotel at 11 PM. As I was taking my luggage to the car in the covered parking in the back, I noticed a sign reading that with 300 points today, you received a free four pack of gourmet tea. I didn’t give it another thought, but as I made my way to the car, there were couples leaving with their tea packs and I knew I had to go back and give it a shot. I put my luggage away and went back to the five-play progressives where the $11K progressive still has not been hit. The individual Royal progressives were all over $250 as well. I’m thinking to myself, this might be a $100 tea pack. Again, I went with the Bonus Aces. Things were going poorly with no quads when I was dealt three Aces. I crossed my fingers and the fourth Ace came up on the first hand. I’m now at $185. I decided that I’m either going to stop when I reach the 300 points, are at $150. Fortunately, I made the points needed and had $150.50. I got my tea and a $50 profit. Here’s hoping the rest of the day brings me as much luck.
Today is a big day because my two ex-students are arriving. I’ll need to check in both at Ballys and then the Westgate and then meet them when they arrive. I’ve already done a little groundwork. I’m treating them to Million Dollar Quartet tonight, so I’ve picked up the tickets. Caesars actually did something good in that you no longer have to go the box office of the show you’re going to see to pick up the actual tickets. They will print them up at any property box office. The girls also wanted to see Chippendales at the Rio on Saturday but I told them that the weekends always sell out, so it might be wise for me to buy their tickets for them and they can reimburse me. Besides, if I buy them flashing my 7 Stars card, I might get better seats. That turned out to be a good idea as I secured seats for them at the second table from the center stage.
I drove to the Westgate, and though it was only 11:30, it’s such a large hotel that they tend to let guests check in early. I parked in the back at the Sportsbook and walked to the registration desk where, sure enough, there was a line of about 25 people waiting to check in. I got a very nice receptionist who found me an available room, but would two queens be okay? I’m in the north tower on lucky floor 13. I have a view of the southern Strip, which as many times as I’ve stayed here, this is the first time I’ve been in the North Tower with a Strip view. Very nice. The warm feeling of getting the three weekend nights for only $59 was squashed a bit when I was informed of the $24 Resort Fee per night. The resort fee total is more than my room. It gives me Internet service (that’s good), admission to the Fitness Training facilities, and free 800 and local calls (c’mon…does anyone NOT have their own cell phone anymore?) The room is very nice with a huge 50 inch flat screen TV and a refrigerator. They also have a Keurig coffee maker but they only want $3.50 for the coffee. I, of course, have my own Starbucks French Roast packs.
My room at the Westgate. Not pictured is a desk facing the view of the Strip
My view from the 13th floor of the North Tower of the Westgate (formerly Hilton/formerly International)
After unpacking, I headed down to the casino floor and stopped by the slot club to get a new card and the boothling told me I had $20 in free play available. I sat down at my favorite machines here, Spin Poker, for nickels that they have relocated from the Sportsbook to right across from the cashier in the main casino. They have 7/5 BP and Ugly Deuces. On Spin Poker I like to play the deuces. At nine lines this is $2.50 per spin. I lost the $20 pretty fast and slipped in a hundred. After about thirty minutes, I caught quad deuces on one line but that was the only tine, but did manage a few other nice hits and finally cashed out with a $100 profit.
It was time to go over the Ballys and check in. I parked in Valet and was given a room in the Jubilee Tower. A host had called a few days earlier telling me I was all set for my arrival and that a suite had been prepared. I’m sure the girls would not want to sleep together, so I asked him if it had two queens and he said that at Ballys all the suites only had single kings. So, I had him change the suite to a room with two queens. He did give me a room with a great view of the Paris and southern Strip.
I walked over to Harrahs where I signed up for the slot tournament. This was a two-day tourney and the winner gets $25K and pays all the way down to player 500. However, 1500 people are playing, so we’ll just hope that I catch two machines that will be nice to me as I can push down a button with the best of them. This tournament also included $40 free play (yea!) and I chose to use mine at the Linq because they have a promotion where with just 10 points on any machine, you get one spin on their Million Dollar Tournament machine. I went through the $40 pretty fast but when I spun the promotion machine I won $5 more free play. So, it was back to the cashier to the token slip and sat down at a Hercules machine. One hit after another and I was catching some nice wins. I switched to eighty cents a spin, and caught some very nice streaks of wins and before I knew it I had over a $100. Then I hit a bonus round (pictured) that netted me the spin win but also the minor progressive for $172 giving me almost $325 from my little $5 free play. One of my best penny game wins ever.
A very nice session and win from my $5 free play on this Hercules machine at the Linq.
I got the call from the girls that they were on Flamingo, so I hurried back to Ballys to meet them at the valet. I took them to their room and went down to play some in the casino while they unpacked and relaxed for a bit. We headed over to Harrahs and had dinner at Harrahs in their deli/pizza/sushi/yogurt/salad joint (in place where the café used to be). I then took them up for their first Diamond Lounge experience and had Lemon Drops (a DL first timer tradition). When it was showtime, I walked them up to the theater of the Million Dollar Quartet and wished them well before heading back to pick up my car and drive back to the Westgate. For the first time in a long time, I had some neighbors that were playing their music loud but I could tell by the hip hop and other tunes they were playing that they were most likely young teens stuck in the room, so I didn’t make much of it and managed to fall asleep nonetheless.
Saturday, June 6
I was up in time to enjoy one of my free breakfast buffets and then it was off to Harrah’s for the first day of the slot tournament. It was the old-school triple seven machines and the ten minute session went without me making one top pay line and end up with 7800 points, just about the lowest in my row. I played some penny games for a while and finally got a text from the girls. Even though I told them that I was going to leave them alone to enjoy their vacation, they wanted me to act as their guide today, so I picked them up as the wanted to go to a different Diamond Lounge. It was after noon, so we walked over to Caesars. They hadn’t eaten yet today and I suggested the new food court in Caesars at the Forum Shoppes entrance. I recommended Earl of Sandwich and Brianna agreed saying it was one of the best sandwiches she’d ever had. We then hung out at the Caesars Diamond lounge for an hour or so before heading back. They mentioned that after they went back to Ballys after the show, they were approached by a guy in the hotel that gave them two front seat tickets to a show in the main theater which was an audition/preview show called Mo5aic. They said they really loved it.
Katrinna (on the left) and Brianna enjoying lunch at the Caesars food court
They’re going to see Chippendales tonight at 10:30 so I wanted to drive them over to the Rio to show them how to get to the eastern parking lot, which leads directly into the theater. I then dropped them off at Ballys and headed back to the Westgate. I told them I’d pick them up around 7 PM and take them downtown as they wanted to experience the Fremont Street craziness and perhaps have some dinner before they would be off for the show. The place was absolutely jammed on this Saturday night, and though it was early for a lot of the really weird characters to have come out, there were plenty to see. I suggested we eat at Binion’s at the BBQ joint in the back. We each had the ½ slap of ribs and the sides. Excellent food and a bargain to boot.
The three of us at the bar in Binion’s just as our BBQ ribs arrived
We headed back and I dropped them off at Ballys where they dressed and then headed for Chippendales and went back to the Westgate where I played some Spin Poker for an hour or so before calling it a night.
Sunday, June 7
Once again I was up and ready for my second and final slot tournament session. The announcer told everyone that though they expected 1500 people to be entered only 875 actually did, so the prize pool was shortened with the last place prizes of $100 free play would now only be $40. This session went better then yesterday as I hit one jackpot and ended up with just fewer than 10K points. I know I’m going to be right on the bubble so I’ll have to wait until 7PM tonight to find out.
I had some time to kill before I was to meet the girls for dinner. I had promised them a supper at Guy Fieri’s Vegas at the Linq. There’s been a change this year (one that is ACTUALLY better for the 7 Star card holders) in that in years past, you were given a $500 celebratory dinner, but you had to use the entire $500 at one time. This year, they’re allowing you to divide it up in any amounts you want as long as it’s in the hundreds. I went to the total rewards booth and asked for $100 voucher for the restaurant, which they took care of in minutes. So, I still have another $400 waiting for me for a future trip. Considering I’m already booked for the second week of July and the second week of August, this will work.
The nice thing about not caring how many points I put on my card anymore, it’s freed me up to play games for fun, and hopefully profit. For penny games, my new motis of operendi is to find machines that have the two progressives at the top, one a minor and one a major. The minor has to be distributed by $50 and the major by $500. So, I walk around looking for these kinds of machines in search of the progressives within $7 or $8 within that level. I then play hoping for a bonus round big enough to kick in the progressive. It’s worked this trip three times. Of course, there were many when it didn’t, but it’s fun to have a goal. All three hits were the minor progressives, as I’ve yet to find a major that was close to the $500 mark. If I did find one, I’d go after it more aggressively.
This was a nice hit at Harrah’s on a Bier Fest machine. Add $47 to this total as that kicked in right after this amount was added to my bank.
It was only 1 PM and I wasn’t meeting the girls for dinner until 5, so I went to the Flamingo to play some 2/4 Hold ‘em. On my walk from the Paris out front, the Bellagio fountains were doing their thing, I glanced over at a particularly high display and my foot caught a rise in the side walk and I went down. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to roll as I knew cement and flesh don’t mix. I end up only scraping my elbow and knee, but what was nice was all the people around me suddenly came to my rescue and asked if I was okay. I laughed it off saying old fat men don’t fall gracefully and thanked them for the concern.
When I arrived at Flamingo’s poker room, there was a long waiting list for the 2/4 tables, but I showed them my Seven Stars card, and I was put at the top of the list. Within three minutes, I was called—nice. I bought for $60 and for the next four hours I won some pots, lost some pots and just kept fluctuating the whole time. When the girls arrived to go to dinner, I cashed out $37, so the entire session cost me $23 ($10 or more to tips to the dealer after wins). It was a great way to while away some hours.
Dinner at Guy’s Vegas was very good, though pricey. The girl’s had the signature mac ‘n cheese hamburgers (about 10 inches tall) and I had the BBQ brisket. Though we thought the service was slow, the food was good. I would likely not eat here if I was paying. It’s simply over priced, which is not surprising. The comp covered everything, and as I was parked at the Linq valet, I said my goodbyes to the girls as I was leaving early the next morning for Laughlin and they were going back to San Diego. I went to the cashier at the Linq to see if I had won anything from the slot tournament. It paid the top 500 people. I came in 544. Shit!
I went back to the Westgate, hung out in the Sportsbook for while, played some more Spin Poker (lost) and finally went to bed.
Monday, June 8
After the usual morning routines, but this time included packing everything, I went down to the buffet to use my final free buffet coupon. Some final words on the Westgate: I had some doubts when the newest owner (third once since it was the Hilton) took over. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised on how nice the rooms have been maintained and the rest of the hotel being spruced up. One of the wings is being turned into time-share units, but there are still enough rooms to fill that I believe the incredible room rates will continue for the foreseeable future. Even though the $24 resort fee is excessive, I do like the Internet and the Fitness Center is one of the finest in the city. The three day stay (over the weekend no less) that came with two buffets and bar drink coupons for $59 made the average night still made it less than $45 per night. I’d take that deal any day. Their sportsbook is still the largest in the city and they still have many full pay video poker machines. I’ll be back.
The drive to Laughlin was uneventful. I did, as requested, get a text from the girls saying they were home safe and sound (the father in me never goes away). I was a little early to check in so I went to the Riverside and saw Melissa McCarthy’s SPY. I was a little skeptical about this one, but it turned out to be hilarious. Jason Stratham steals the show. I loved it. I sat down at a crowded back of Quick Quads and put in a hundred. On the end of the man was an old man you’d think was right out the Beverly Hillbillies. He was playing quarter five play DDB and I have NEVER seen such a run as this guy was having. He was dealt three quick quads (one of them 4s) and caught others seemingly every other hand. When I sat down, he had $350, when I left after losing my hundred in about 40 minutes, he was over $2,800. I couldn’t take it. I had to get out of there.
My room at Harrahs is a suite on the 15th floor with a view of the river. I’d take pictures but they’d look exactly the same as the countless others I’ve had in previous trips. I had $40 in free play, so I took a spot at the 2-cent 50 play ($5.00 per hand) and tried my luck at Super Double Bonus. Things started out encouraging, my $40 was soon gone, but I put in a hundred of my own and that was soon almost $185. I was then dealt four-to-the-royal. To my disappointment, I didn’t catch even one. From that point, I started losing, losing, and losing. Within ten minutes I had lost it all. How a machine can be so hot one minute and turn ice cold the next is very disillusioning. I tried a couple $20s in some penny machines with the same results. So, seeing that today was not going to be my day, I quit. The gambling swings are something I am not going to miss when I’m done after this year. The highs this trip of catching the Royal and then a few great penny machines wins and then the lows when day after day, nothing seems to come in and you’re close to giving it all back.
When I returned to my room after a drink in the Diamond Lounge, the gift basket was there. Some different things this time along with the usual fruit and waters: some brownie packages, mixed nuts and trail mix. About 6 PM, the door knocked and I was given the turn down service fresh brownies. Yep, Laughlin does it right. Las Vegas Caesar properties do nothing like this anymore. I also know that there will be a USA TODAY at my door in the morning. It’s nice to feel appreciated.
Tuesday, June 9
Surprisingly, I overslept this morning sleeping nine hours (not good for me as it makes me lethargic whenever I sleep too much). After a brief breakfast, I went over to the Colorado Belle to play poker. There weren’t any spots open so after the clerk telling me that it shouldn’t be long. I went to play some nickel keno and video poker while waiting. After an hour and a half I decided to take my name off the list. As I was approaching, the clerk got on the intercom and called my name. I bought in for $60 and played 2/4 Hold ‘em for the next four hours. I eventually lost the money, but this was one of those fun sessions as the table was full of people having fun, constantly talking with deprecating humor and laughs all around. It would have been nice to win or at least break even, but I certainly had one of my better times at the poker table.
Not much to report today as all I did was play poker most of the day. I did walk over to the Pioneer to put $20 into a nickel keno machine (lost), then on to the Golden Nugget to grab my bi-weekly $5 free play. I added $20 and playing Spartacus, I cashed out $30—my only win of the day. I picked up a sandwich and headed back to the room after a quick stop at the Diamond Lounge. They were only serving ham and tuna salad sandwiches and soup. I grabbed a drink and took it up to my room and called it a night.
It was an overall good trip. I did come home with more money than I arrived with, but nearly as much as I could have had I not played the final four days. But all told; a fun trip. I really enjoyed spending some time with the girls and enjoyed listening to their stories of how their nights went. They texted me to again say thanks and to say how much of a great time they had. I’ve been to Las Vegas SO much over the years, that I get such a better kick out helping others enjoy themselves and experience new things. I’ll be back in July for a week and August for a week. Then on the final week of August, I will be flying to Lake Tahoe for the annual 7 Star Signature trip for four nights.
If you’re interested in past trip reports, copy and paste this link to a page set up by LVA’s Madd Dog with all of my reports since 2001.
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=58&threadid=285084&STARTPAGE=1&CFID=35304518&CFTOKEN=80785101
Until next time…
