Summer of Cal/Nev – Day 28
It was time to pack up and leave the Silverton. I’m going to miss that mattress. I took all my things to the car and then came back to the casino to put in enough play for another pull-tab. Though I was burned yesterday by the 100-play 8/5 bonus machine, I was now buoyed with yesterday’s poker win to start out at 25 games at a time. The video poker gods were nice to me as I caught a Royal (in hearts no less) holding three for a $200 win.
A $200 nickel royal on the 100-play 8/5 BP
I played just long enough to gather the 500 needed points and headed to the booth to get my new 2013 Mustang convertible—alas, that didn’t happen. I did, however, get a $20 food credit. This was good timing as I was about to go to breakfast anyway, so I walked right over to the café and enjoyed a nice veggie omelet, on the house. Along with a tight $200 profit, the morning is beginning to look good.
Thanks to one of the LVA readers, I made another stop at the TA truck stop across the street. I was told that this has a name (though I could see no signage of it at all from the outside) and it’s called the Alamo. Evidently the TA truck stops must have a chain of these because I distinctly remember stopping at an Alamo casino at a TA truck stop in Reno during my Hit ‘em Nevada trip. I was also informed that they offer a $10 free play with new sign ups, so I got a new card from
boothling/bartender/cashier/waitress/dealer Stephanie and then I headed over to the recommended John Wayne machine along the back wall. There was only one player at a machine in the place and she was playing at the machine next to the John Wayne. I felt odd picking the machine right next to her and told her that I’m here on a recommendation and she said that was fine. My $10 free play was down to its last turn when I did hit a bonus which resulted in an $11 win. I decided to parlay that on another machine (some fire spin Prince thing) and got the win up to $17, then moved over to another Princess machine (I really should check the names, but let’s face it, they’re all the same) and hit a very nice bonus for a $55 win. So, I got out of there recouping my losses from yesterday and a couple bucks to spare—thank you! Oh yes, and next time, I’ll use the $10 free play coupon from my LVA booklet.
I next drove down Dean Martin Drive (it runs parallel to the I-15, I try to avoid the I-15 whenever possible) and as I was driving glanced up as I passed a billboard. Something was odd so I made a U-turn. Something caught my eye and took me a moment to see just what it was.
Okay...this deserved a second look
I drove back to the Palms because I had some time to kill before checking into the Coast Hotel and Casino. Once again, I wanted to play the 9/6 50-plays—I have always been hooked on these machines. I put in a hundred and was having a tough time catching anything. I understand that changing machines is simply a superstitious thing, because there’s mechanically no such thing as a “cold” or “hot” machine at video poker. But I do succumb to superstition (I’m not proud of that) and after not catching one dealt three-of-a-kind or two pair in more than 50 dealt hands, it was time to move as I was already down to just $30. It turned out to be a good move as things began to turn around with a dealt full house. I never really did catch fire on these today and decided to cash out $75, which could have been much worse. When I was here before, I had a lunch from the newly opened Earl of Sandwich in the Palms’ food court. LVA had reported that the food here was excellent, so I had one of their chicken salads—though a tad pricey, an excellent salad.
The Earl of Sandwich at the Palms food court
It was time now to check into the Gold Coast. This is one of my one-night-fillers as I’m due back in Laughlin on Friday for a slot tournament at Harrahs. As a Sapphire tier member (only the second tier), I was offered a room for $20 (plus the silly $3 resort fee). I had not stayed here for years—and I mean like 20 years, back in the day when there were two old-school movie theaters and the popcorn was free. I was a bit nervous about the room considering I didn’t like it last time I was here, but I was happy to see that they have been remodeled, and considering the room size they had to deal with, they did a very nice job. The walk-in shower was a great idea (no tub) and they designed it in a modern IKEA sort of way.
The room at the Gold Coast
My view this time. I counted 14 large and small satellite dishes just on this portion of the roof
I put my bag in the room and decided to walk across the street to the Rio for another look at the WSOP. My timing wasn’t the best as it started to rain (yes, temps are down to 93 and there was cloud cover all day). I walked back to the convention center and stopped to pick up a cup of Starbucks. It’s safe to say that price-gauging is alive and well at these events. A single Grande cup of coffee with no additives set me back a cool $4.50. Poker Pro star-gazing was in full bloom as I watched the play of Phil Helmuth, Doyle Brunson (still in it), Phil Ivey, Jonny Chan, and others.
Yellow cap is Johnny Chan who is very short-stacked at the moment
Last year's Main Even Champion Greg Merson, still in it and scaring the bejesus of everyone around him
Phil Ivey at the ESPN feature table
For most people, watching others play poker can be like watching paint dry, but for whatever reason, I enjoy it. The ESPN feature table was now in use and I sat in the gallery for a while. Every so often after folding a hand, a couple players would walk back to the gallery to talk to friends. One player came back and talked to his wife, who I was sitting next to, and he talked about his hand, but talked more about how he can’t believe he’s at a feature table playing against arguably the best poker player in the world, Phil Ivey. After he went back, I talked to her and she said her husband is really just a regular guy who won his spot on the main event by winning a satellite tournament last February in St. Louis. They were both shocked when he was sent to the feature table after only the third day of play. He told her that if he has to lose at the WSOP, he wants to lose to Phil Ivey; the story alone was worth the time and effort.
After an hour or so, I headed back to casino and watched a very boisterous group at a crap table. There was one man there (wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and quite honestly, in need of a shower) that was playing with 1K and 5K chips. I peeked at the rack in front of him and it was full of rows of these chips. He was betting an average of 3K per bet and he had about six or seven bets on the felt at one time. Why do I mention this? Perhaps a little jealously, but really just the thought that on a single row of the dice, this guy can afford to win or lose what it takes others a year or more to earn. I just find that fascinating (and a little disturbing). I really wanted to grab a pic of this for you, but needless to say, there was an army of suits behind the table watching the action.
I was hungry having not eaten since breakfast and it was already 4PM, so I took a little hike up to the Diamond Lounge. I can’t believe I’ve been in Vegas for two weeks and I’ve yet to go into a Diamond Lounge—well, not that hard because I don’t really drink much anymore and the last thing I need is to fill up on chicken wings and chips.
Veggie and chip offerings at the Diamond Lounge at the Rio
The Diamond Lounge is on the second floor at the Rio and has a private elevator (chic). They are also one of the few DLs that have a printer along with the Internet. I checked out the food spread and today there was the usual sweet cart along with the always-present chicken wings with some egg rolls and an assortment of veggies. I spent a half hour here watching the Boston game, which was in extra innings sipping a tonic.
I finally made my way back to the Gold Coast where there is a Subway outlet in the hotel. I wasn’t all that hungry, so I just bought a bowl of soup to take up to my room. They don’t push it like they do their sandwiches, but Subway puts out some very good soups. I did make a quick stop and walk upstairs to take a pic of the bowling alley (yes, another bowling alley). This one has been here a really long time and many years ago, sponsored some major United States Championship tournaments, but today, it’s just one of the many here in Las Vegas. Though I don’t bowl (it’s a big event if I break a 100), my dad loves the game and plays on some teams every year. As a matter of fact, the folks are coming out here in a week for a tournament at the Orleans. I’m looking forward to seeing them again.
The Gold Coast Bowling alley...there's a lane or two available
Overall, it was another winning day at gambling, though I didn’t gamble a lot and thanks to the nickel royal. It’s nice to see the pendulum swinging the other way for a change.
More tomorrow.
It was time to pack up and leave the Silverton. I’m going to miss that mattress. I took all my things to the car and then came back to the casino to put in enough play for another pull-tab. Though I was burned yesterday by the 100-play 8/5 bonus machine, I was now buoyed with yesterday’s poker win to start out at 25 games at a time. The video poker gods were nice to me as I caught a Royal (in hearts no less) holding three for a $200 win.
A $200 nickel royal on the 100-play 8/5 BP
I played just long enough to gather the 500 needed points and headed to the booth to get my new 2013 Mustang convertible—alas, that didn’t happen. I did, however, get a $20 food credit. This was good timing as I was about to go to breakfast anyway, so I walked right over to the café and enjoyed a nice veggie omelet, on the house. Along with a tight $200 profit, the morning is beginning to look good.
Thanks to one of the LVA readers, I made another stop at the TA truck stop across the street. I was told that this has a name (though I could see no signage of it at all from the outside) and it’s called the Alamo. Evidently the TA truck stops must have a chain of these because I distinctly remember stopping at an Alamo casino at a TA truck stop in Reno during my Hit ‘em Nevada trip. I was also informed that they offer a $10 free play with new sign ups, so I got a new card from
boothling/bartender/cashier/waitress/dealer Stephanie and then I headed over to the recommended John Wayne machine along the back wall. There was only one player at a machine in the place and she was playing at the machine next to the John Wayne. I felt odd picking the machine right next to her and told her that I’m here on a recommendation and she said that was fine. My $10 free play was down to its last turn when I did hit a bonus which resulted in an $11 win. I decided to parlay that on another machine (some fire spin Prince thing) and got the win up to $17, then moved over to another Princess machine (I really should check the names, but let’s face it, they’re all the same) and hit a very nice bonus for a $55 win. So, I got out of there recouping my losses from yesterday and a couple bucks to spare—thank you! Oh yes, and next time, I’ll use the $10 free play coupon from my LVA booklet.
I next drove down Dean Martin Drive (it runs parallel to the I-15, I try to avoid the I-15 whenever possible) and as I was driving glanced up as I passed a billboard. Something was odd so I made a U-turn. Something caught my eye and took me a moment to see just what it was.
Okay...this deserved a second look
I drove back to the Palms because I had some time to kill before checking into the Coast Hotel and Casino. Once again, I wanted to play the 9/6 50-plays—I have always been hooked on these machines. I put in a hundred and was having a tough time catching anything. I understand that changing machines is simply a superstitious thing, because there’s mechanically no such thing as a “cold” or “hot” machine at video poker. But I do succumb to superstition (I’m not proud of that) and after not catching one dealt three-of-a-kind or two pair in more than 50 dealt hands, it was time to move as I was already down to just $30. It turned out to be a good move as things began to turn around with a dealt full house. I never really did catch fire on these today and decided to cash out $75, which could have been much worse. When I was here before, I had a lunch from the newly opened Earl of Sandwich in the Palms’ food court. LVA had reported that the food here was excellent, so I had one of their chicken salads—though a tad pricey, an excellent salad.
The Earl of Sandwich at the Palms food court
It was time now to check into the Gold Coast. This is one of my one-night-fillers as I’m due back in Laughlin on Friday for a slot tournament at Harrahs. As a Sapphire tier member (only the second tier), I was offered a room for $20 (plus the silly $3 resort fee). I had not stayed here for years—and I mean like 20 years, back in the day when there were two old-school movie theaters and the popcorn was free. I was a bit nervous about the room considering I didn’t like it last time I was here, but I was happy to see that they have been remodeled, and considering the room size they had to deal with, they did a very nice job. The walk-in shower was a great idea (no tub) and they designed it in a modern IKEA sort of way.
The room at the Gold Coast
My view this time. I counted 14 large and small satellite dishes just on this portion of the roof
I put my bag in the room and decided to walk across the street to the Rio for another look at the WSOP. My timing wasn’t the best as it started to rain (yes, temps are down to 93 and there was cloud cover all day). I walked back to the convention center and stopped to pick up a cup of Starbucks. It’s safe to say that price-gauging is alive and well at these events. A single Grande cup of coffee with no additives set me back a cool $4.50. Poker Pro star-gazing was in full bloom as I watched the play of Phil Helmuth, Doyle Brunson (still in it), Phil Ivey, Jonny Chan, and others.
Yellow cap is Johnny Chan who is very short-stacked at the moment
Last year's Main Even Champion Greg Merson, still in it and scaring the bejesus of everyone around him
Phil Ivey at the ESPN feature table
For most people, watching others play poker can be like watching paint dry, but for whatever reason, I enjoy it. The ESPN feature table was now in use and I sat in the gallery for a while. Every so often after folding a hand, a couple players would walk back to the gallery to talk to friends. One player came back and talked to his wife, who I was sitting next to, and he talked about his hand, but talked more about how he can’t believe he’s at a feature table playing against arguably the best poker player in the world, Phil Ivey. After he went back, I talked to her and she said her husband is really just a regular guy who won his spot on the main event by winning a satellite tournament last February in St. Louis. They were both shocked when he was sent to the feature table after only the third day of play. He told her that if he has to lose at the WSOP, he wants to lose to Phil Ivey; the story alone was worth the time and effort.
After an hour or so, I headed back to casino and watched a very boisterous group at a crap table. There was one man there (wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and quite honestly, in need of a shower) that was playing with 1K and 5K chips. I peeked at the rack in front of him and it was full of rows of these chips. He was betting an average of 3K per bet and he had about six or seven bets on the felt at one time. Why do I mention this? Perhaps a little jealously, but really just the thought that on a single row of the dice, this guy can afford to win or lose what it takes others a year or more to earn. I just find that fascinating (and a little disturbing). I really wanted to grab a pic of this for you, but needless to say, there was an army of suits behind the table watching the action.
I was hungry having not eaten since breakfast and it was already 4PM, so I took a little hike up to the Diamond Lounge. I can’t believe I’ve been in Vegas for two weeks and I’ve yet to go into a Diamond Lounge—well, not that hard because I don’t really drink much anymore and the last thing I need is to fill up on chicken wings and chips.
Veggie and chip offerings at the Diamond Lounge at the Rio
The Diamond Lounge is on the second floor at the Rio and has a private elevator (chic). They are also one of the few DLs that have a printer along with the Internet. I checked out the food spread and today there was the usual sweet cart along with the always-present chicken wings with some egg rolls and an assortment of veggies. I spent a half hour here watching the Boston game, which was in extra innings sipping a tonic.
I finally made my way back to the Gold Coast where there is a Subway outlet in the hotel. I wasn’t all that hungry, so I just bought a bowl of soup to take up to my room. They don’t push it like they do their sandwiches, but Subway puts out some very good soups. I did make a quick stop and walk upstairs to take a pic of the bowling alley (yes, another bowling alley). This one has been here a really long time and many years ago, sponsored some major United States Championship tournaments, but today, it’s just one of the many here in Las Vegas. Though I don’t bowl (it’s a big event if I break a 100), my dad loves the game and plays on some teams every year. As a matter of fact, the folks are coming out here in a week for a tournament at the Orleans. I’m looking forward to seeing them again.
The Gold Coast Bowling alley...there's a lane or two available
Overall, it was another winning day at gambling, though I didn’t gamble a lot and thanks to the nickel royal. It’s nice to see the pendulum swinging the other way for a change.
More tomorrow.
