A Week in April
So I took a week for some play in Laughlin and Las Vegas. The plans are to spend a couple of days in Laughlin playing some poker, and then over to Las Vegas for five nights to meet friends, play some Pickleball, and hopefully gamble a little. Of course movies and food will play pretty dominantly as well.
Monday –
I left my place in San Diego at 3:30 AM (I prefer driving with as little traffic as possible) and arrived in Laughlin at 9:00. Of course, it was much too early to check in so I went to the Riverside to see JUNGLE BOOK. Though it was early and in Laughlin, the theater was almost half full. It was a terrific movie (A-). I’m staying at the Tropicana Express this time for a couple nights on a free offer. It’s the first time in years not staying at Harrahs. I not only did not renew my 7 Stars status, but have quit playing at any Caesars properties.
The Laughlin Tropicana on a beautiful April day.
After getting my room key, I headed over to the Colorado Belle where they have a 2/4 game with bonuses for cracked Aces, flush cards, and quads or higher. I bought in for $100 expecting to play for the next three or four hours. As it turned out, an hour later, I lost it all. It was a terrible session; I didn’t win even one hand. I was constantly drawing bad cards and when I did play, I was beaten on the river over and over again. I’ll just have to chalk it up to a rough day at the tables.
The Colorado Belle – my poker home…also has a terrific brewery.
I wasn’t about to add any more losing pain to the day, so I walked over to the Laughlin Outlet mall to see BARBERSHOP 3. The theaters there are nice and have recently changed their pricing to $6 a seat all day, every show. On this Monday afternoon, I was the only person in this showing. The movie was okay but fell flat (B-). At least the nachos were good.
Gambling wasn’t much better at the Tropicana. Lately, I’ve been watching You Tube videos where there is a community of people (very much like those of us on the Las Vegas Advisor) who post videos of their playing video penny machines. Most of these videos are just their successful plays, others show the live play. Many have thousands of subscribers (just go to You Tube and search casino jackpots). I enjoy them because I can see all of the newest games out there and learn which ones pay poorly and which ones seem to pay off better. It’s easy to get caught up in the personalities of the people as they’ve been posting these for years. My point being that I now am searching for these games. The Tropicana has a couple of the ones I wanted to try and enjoyed playing them. At the end of the day, all I could do is take a deep breath and hope for a better tomorrow. I walked across the street to pick up a Subway sandwich and took it to my room for an early night sleep.
Tuesday –
It was back to the Colorado Belle for a hopefully better day at the poker tables. I started playing at about 9:30. This time, things went better as I took my share of pots and picked up a flush card after winning a hand with a diamond flush (this bonus is if you win a hand with a flush, you’re given a card with the four symbols and they stamp the symbol. If within that day, you win three of the four, they give $50 and when you win the fourth one, they give you another $100). I played until noon when the table broke down as people were going to lunch and there wasn’t enough to make it worthwhile. I went to the brewery there in the Belle and had a Cuban sandwich and watched some baseball. Then it was back to the Outlet Center and another movie (yes, I’m a movie guy and use these getaways to catch up). This time it was the Kevin Costner CRIMINAL, which I thought was very good—much better than the reviews have given it (B+).
I went back to the Belle around 3:00 and picked up where I had left off. Again, holding steady, I picked up my second flush in clubs at 5 o’clock. Now all I needed was a win with hearts and/or clubs. Well…at 11:30 PM, with the table losing people, I had to give up never catching another flush that I needed (though I did win three or four flush hands in the suits I already had). I end up losing only $40 for the session, a total of 9 hours of playing. You are given comps for the hours you play which will be added to my card.
Wednesday –
It was moving day, but I know that I wanted to put some more play in at the Tropicana so as to keep my offers coming. I went down and played quarter triple play bonus poker. I quickly won $100. I then moved over to a Leprechaun penny machine (saw on you tube), caught a bonus and won $88 on a sixty-cent bet. Then I won another $35 a couple other machines. I was suddenly even for the trip in just a little over an hour of play. Of course, I felt a lot better as I drove out of Laughlin on my way to Las Vegas.
What do you do when you’re at a stop light? Roll the window down and take a pic of New York Hotel and Casino
Another stoplight, another pic. Cosmopolitan and Aria signage.
The hour and a half drive to Vegas from Laughlin went fine and I arrived at 9:30 AM, three hours before I was to pick up Terry, my friend from Denver, at the airport. I drove over to the South Point Casino as Martin last week gave me his slot card and asked if I’d put a point on it for him as it’s his birthday month and they give you 2500 slot points extra after putting on one point. I sat down at a video poker machine to play 9/6 Bonus Deluxe where any quad pays $100. I got Martin’s point, put in my own card and after a few hands was dealt four queens. I continued to play and eventually cashed out a $50 profit. I walked around the casino to see what, if anything was new as I munched on a hotdog ($1.25 hotdogs at the sportsbook). I went upstairs and sat down at a dime Keno machine, put in a twenty, and walked away with thirty. It seems this day is going to be a good one.
The Tuscany located on Flamingo a couple blocks east of Ballys. A hidden gem.
I still hand an hour, so I drove to the Tuscany Hotel and Casino. I have a tradition of putting a twenty into a progressive dime Joker’s Wild bank, which I have never hit, but I keep trying. It was going to be a double or nothing after putting in a twenty. Again, it’s a winning kind of day and I doubled up and headed to the airport to pick up Terry. His plane was on time and we drove to Sam’s Town, my home for the next two nights, so I could check in and leave my bags. We drove downtown and I parked at the Freemont valet; we checked Terry into the Golden Gate. He gets free offers from them by just playing $5 blackjack. We checked in, left his bag in the room and walked over to Main Street Station to sit at the bar to their craft beer and 9/6 Jacks or Better. We played for almost three hours. Terry had caught eight quads and a straight flush; I managed four quads. He ended the session breaking even, and I was down $40. We had run over $3K in the machines.
It was dinner time, and a trip downtown wouldn’t be complete without Binion’s Ribs. We each had a half rack (delicious) and were stuffed. I wanted to get back to Sam’s Town as it was Senior Day and I wanted to get some play in. We said our goodnights and I drove back to my hotel. I swiped my card at the kiosk and was given 20X/10X points for the rest of the day (the lowest option). I went to a favorite machine called Hercules. I put in a $20 and after a few spins caught bonus (they’re hard to come by on this machine, but when you do, they tend to pay well). My bonus was good for $60. I cashed out and a Buffalo Grand game was next. Again, I played until I hit a bonus and cashed out another $40 up. I didn’t play much more as I was pretty tired and wanted the day to end up being a winning one. So, as bad as Monday and Tuesday was for gambling, Wednesday made up for it all and I’m ahead for the trip.
Sam’s Town – home away from home now. Always offers me free off-night rooms.
Thursday –
I was going to be playing Pickleball with Terry this morning intending on picking him up at 8AM downtown; however, he sent me text that he wasn’t feeling well and needed to sleep some more, so I went down to the casino. I played the same machines I had so much luck on before, but couldn’t catch a bonus on any of them. Then at one of the bars, the royal progressive was almost 2K, so I played Ugly Deuces on them hoping catch it or at least quad deuces. I didn’t catch either and lost again. Was this going to be a terrible day for me in the casino? Again, some days you can seem to do no wrong, other days everything turns to the dark side.
I decided to play in Sam’s morning poker tournament. It’s only a $23 buy-in and always a good, inexpensive play in the casino. Here things turned around a bit and by noon, I was sitting at the final table. That sounds exciting except today only 30 people signed up, but it’s always nice to be sitting at a “final table.” When we got down to five people, we decided to chop the pot, giving the massive chip leader a bonus. We all got $80 and he took $125. Not earth shattering, but a win is a win.
I finally drove downtown to meet Terry at the Four Queens where he was at the 9/6 Jacks machine. I sat next to him and put in a $100. It was a session of huge swings and I cashed out even. We then sat at an Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em table. I don’t play table games often, but had promised Terry I’d join him as he really likes this game. We played for about two hours. The table was fun with a lively group and we both cashed out a small profit as Terry, who is staying at the Golden Gate thought it would be wise to play over there so he could keep his offers coming in. That turned out to be a HUGE mistake. We sat at the only UTH table and the dealer there could not lose a hand. Her first four hands against us? Full house, straight, three of a kind, three of a kind. She killed us.
We hadn’t got our 10,000 steps in today, so we decided to walk down to Charleston to the Wells Fargo and back. It was close to a three mile trek but it was nice to get some walking in.
For the next couple hours we played some 9/6 Jacks at Main Street Station. I caught four quads (all $2 scratch cards) and won a modest $35. I have a lot of points on my slot card, so we had dinner at the Triple 7s in Main Street Station. As always, the food was terrific. We called it a night and I headed back to Sam’s Town, watched a little TV, and night-night time.
Friday –
I picked Terry at 8AM downtown. We both checked out of our respected hotels. We drove to Summerlin to the YMCA on Durango to play Pickleball. After signing in at the desk and gave our $5 visitor fee, we met up with the players there. It was a slow day as only 9 others showed up, but with two courts that gave lots of playing time (foursome for each court). For the next two hours, changing partners throughout, we had a terrific time playing. Everyone there was welcoming and appreciated our playing. It was great exercise and a fun way to fill in a couple hours.
We headed over to the Westgate where we’re both staying. I have a great deal ($29 for three nights) and Terry has a comp that includes a slot tournament. They checked us in at noon (very nice) and we left our things in our different rooms. As is my habit, I asked for the North Tower as close to the glass elevator as possible. I was given a room just two down from the elevator and Terry had a room a few more down. The reason I ask for this is that there is a glass elevator pretty much hidden most people don’t know about and I park in the north parking structure. Well, we got our bags from the car and wouldn’t you know it? The glass elevator has been closed. Damn! On a positive note, the parking meters have been taken off line, so once again parking is free. As I understand it, they’re only going to have paid parking during special events and conventions—though hotel guests don’t have to pay anyway.
After settling in for a while, I met Terry and we went downstairs to get a couple of slot cards. I hadn’t eaten all day and Terry had a really small breakfast, so we settled in Sid’s Café which is located in the old high limits area of the casino. We each had a sandwich and both were excellent! I was able to use my slot points to pay for it.
We then hit my favorite Spin Poker machines. My last trip in February resulted in dealt quad deuces and two royals for a $1600 win (nickel machines playing Ugly Deuces) and I was hoping for the magic to return. I put in a hundred and Terry eighty. We played for almost three hours. I caught 7 sets deuces and walked with a $200 win after all was said and done. It was time for Terry to check into his tournament. It’s a $25,000 slot tournament with the top 50 players winning something and a top prize of $10,000. He’s supposed to play at 10AM and again at 2PM. While he registered I put a $20 into one of the new Game of Thrones video games. The graphics and sound are great, but I didn’t catch a bonus and that was that.
The Registration area of the Palazzo
Our friends, Dave a Julie, are in town and we’ve decided to meet at Gramaldis Italian restaurant, which is in the Palazzo Hotel and Casino. Today is David’s birthday and they have birthday coupon for a free large pizza. We ordered a round of drinks and enjoyed a terrific meal on the cheap.
Dave and Julie with some of his birthday pizza at Gramaldis in the Palazzo
After dinner we walked over to the Venetian because today also happens to be my son’s 16 year wedding anniversary. He and his wife Libby were married at the Venetian on one of the bridges and we had the reception in a restaurant, so I took a couple of pictures of these spots for them. The bridge now turned into a gift shop has a bit of it left.
Julie took this picture of Dave, Terry, and I with what’s left of the bridge in the foreground where my son and his wife were married 16 years ago.
When the four of us get together in Las Vegas, we like to play blackjack, so we all went downtown to play at the Golden Gate, a lively fun place for blackjack. The Freemont Experience was jumping on this Friday night. It was hard to even walk from one casino to another there were so many people. I took a picture of the fabled Mermaids slot house as it along with a couple slots only casinos here on Freemont have been purchased by the guy who owns the D and is closing all of them in 60 days. Last chance for those deep fried Twinkies, Oreos, and questionable hot dogs. All those “showgirls” handing out beads will have to look for another job.
Say good bye to Mermaids as in 60 days, it is no more.
At the Golden Gate, we found an empty table in an otherwise jammed packed casino and the four us bought in and settled in for the next three hours. We were having a terrific run but a little before 11PM, the table started running cold and we decided to quit after three hours of fun. All four of us walked away with a profit. We kept a sheet of the blackjacks dealt to us in those three hours: Julie had 2; Dave and Terry each had 9, and I had 10. We finally made it back to the valet to pick up the car and dropped Dave and Julie off at their hotel, The Gold Coast, and then Terry and I headed back to the Westgate where we called it a night.
Saturday –
We were hoping to possibly play some Pickleball today but it was just too windy. Terry and I enjoyed breakfast in the concierge lounge. It was excellent. Terry’s first slot tournament session was at 10AM, so he went on to do that and I sat down at my favorite Spin Poker machine to again play ugly deuces for nickels. Terry soon returned and sat down at the machine next to mine. After a couple hours, we both managed one line of deuces, but it turned out to be a zero in the end. We then played Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em. I didn’t last very long, playing 45 minutes or so. The dealer was just catching too many good cards, and I was losing too much money and decided to go into the sports book and play some quarter 8/5 Bonus at the bar while watching baseball and the basketball playoffs on their gigantic screens.
Terry came and joined me and we played until his 2PM session. He didn’t score well in either session and we agreed there would be no purpose to go to the awards ceremony that night. Though he didn’t do well in the tournament, he still got two nights comped, so it was great deal.
I needed some new shoes so we went to the Outlet Center downtown. The place was jam packed with people. We were lucky to catch a parking place on the very top of the parking structure. I bought a nice pair of nice shoes and we next drove over to the Orleans to have an early dinner at the Oyster Bar. The Jambalaya pasta was really good. This is a great place to eat, but beware, the portions are huge. Neither of could finish our meal. I played a twenty (double or lose it) on the triple play nickel progressive bank. That didn’t work out. It seems today is simply not my day.
We drove back to the Westgate and decided to call in an early night. Hopefully, the gaming goes a little better tomorrow.
Sunday –
We picked up Dave and Julie at the Gold Coast and drove to Summerlin to play Pickleball. The courts were open and it was Julie’s first time. We played for a couple hours, switching partners back and forth, and it turns out Julie is a natural and got a lot of great shots in. We had a great time. They have a $60 food comp at the Gold Coast they needed to use up so we had lunch at the Noodle restaurant: again, excellent food but just too much of it. We walked up to see their suite (very nice—I didn’t know all the rooms on the 10th floor were suites.
Main Street Station where they have the best brews and 9/6 Jacks at the bar.
Though the owner of the D is buying up all the other properties, the 4 Queens holds it own.
They needed to check out as did Terry as all of them were going to stay their final night downtown. I had one more night at the Westgate. Terry checked in at the Golden Gate again, and Dave and Julie would check into the 4 Queens. After checking in, Terry and went back to Main Street Station to play some more 9/6 Jacks at the bar. It was a horrible experience for me. Playing 1200 hands, I never caught even one quad. Terry final hit quad Aces at the end. We walked over to the Chicago Brewing Company in the 4 Queens to meet Dave. I decided to head back to the Westgate to get one more session in and said my goodbyes.
My final session at the Westgate on my favored Spin Poker machine was a bad one and after a couple hundred, I quit. I did play a few other games before calling it a night and a trip. Game of Thrones this time was very nice to me as I played for a good while and hit quite a few bonuses (they don’t pay much) and I end up breaking even.
This wraps up this trip in April. Some good hits along the way. It seemed to come down to good days and bad days. And though this trip will be logged in as a loser, it wasn’t a bad one. I’ll dust myself off and get back on horse next month or in June and be back with a new plan.
Until next time…
