The next morning I got up as early as usual and headed out. I really like walking Fremont Street early in the morning after the street is cleaned. The air is fresh, there’s hardly anyone out there; something about it just appeals to me. After a short trek back and forth I went into the Fremont Casino and played quarter Super Times Pay like I have so many times before. Sure enough all I had to do was tell the wife the night before I had never hit that straight flush, and I hit one the next morning. After a couple coffees and a Dunkin doughnut I cashed out with a couple hundred profit. Feeling a little upbeat I headed over to Main Street Station. With a small profit for the morning I decided to step up to $1 single line VP. I lost the couple hundred, then another hun, and then moved onto triple play half buck and still got killed. I tried a few others, hit dollars again, then back to halves chasing the loss. For years I have heard how good a place MSS was to play, but I’ve yet to see it first hand. I mean I’ve never won anything there in the half dozen times I’ve played there through the years. I had hoped that this day would different, instead I dropped about a west coast’s worth of house payment in a decent neighborhood. Not a good start for the day.
I headed to Golden Nugget with my tail between my legs, muttering under my breath. The wife was up and was ready for breakfast. We talked of various places and ended up going to the California for breakfast as I was sure I had plenty of points to use on my Boyd card. Sure enough we could have bought a good number of breakfasts after my morning’s play such as it was. The food was good and then we wandered around a bit and then played for an hour or so loosing about a hun. Then we headed back to the Nugget and I played craps hoping to change things up. Wrong again. Dropped my buy-in in about twenty minutes never seeing a positive trend.
It was time for a change, so I met up with the wife and we went to the pool to get some sun. After the sun moved out range I regrouped and played another round of craps loosing again! This was not a good trend and I was really bleeding for the day. Maybe that will teach me to gamble on Sunday. I doubt it. After a while it was getting near lunch time so we tired the bar next to the Brew Pup place by the Zip Line departure platform. We had tacos, I had beef and the wife had fish. They seemed good enough, but came with some sort of Tex-Mex beans and rice that though seemed like a good idea at the time, I believe likely gave me indigestion as the night wore on. From there we wandered out onto Fremont. I considered Binions, but deferred, and ended up in the Four Queens, which we seldom visit for no particular reason. I won a couple hundred on quarter DDBP and while there I noticed the signs for the Comedy Club. I went and talked to the ticket seller and asked about shows. Found out no magician for the late show, good, but perhaps a bit pricy for comedians that I had never heard. So I pressed the guy, “how do I get the deal,” he hesitated and then offered, “go out to the free pull slot by doorway and get a coupon.” It cracked me up that he seemed to be playing this that close to his vest, but all the same, I would have never known about the coupon as I never pay attention to those free pull things, as I believe the only sure thing, is that they will waste your time. I walked back out to the street and found the door with the attendant at the free pull machine. I walked up and she was holding flyers in her hand and offered a free pull. I said I really didn’t want a free pull, just the flyer with coupons. She was perplexed and evidently had never had someone say that. All the same she gave me a flyer, but I could tell she was genuinely disappointed I didn’t take the spin. I wasn’t in a hurry, so despite my belief that there was no chance in hell I would win anything; I took the spin just for the attendant. Sure enough, no win, but the attendant seemed happier.
Armed with my coupon sheet I headed back to the GN to find the wife. I found her on the way back to the Rush Tower playing Rockin Olives. I could tell she was happy and she informed me she had won some dough. She was up almost $400. A good win, especially for her at the level she usually plays. I suggested we go to the Queen’s Comedy Club which had a show in about a couple hours and she was game. I decided this was as good as anytime to use my $100 Golden Nugget free play. I tried to find a VP machine with a decent payout and ended up on one of those 4oak extra bonus machines and played DB. I don’t usually play DB, but I believe this particular machine didn’t DDB. I played $1 level and counted spins. I had couple 3oaks and then a full house and was up to about $130 when I was near the number of spins I needed to play through the $100 free play. I played it down to an even $100 and cashed out. Then I went back to the Olives machine where the wife was and we went back to the room and rested a bit and then headed over to Four Queens about an hour before the show. The hard won flyer not only had half off show tickets, but many other wondrous offers that I felt we should partake. Free deck of cards, discount meals, and a free shirt if so many points were earned within 24 hours of getting an initial player’s card. Too good to be true. Only trouble was we had to wait in a long line at the player’s club, and then once we got there the attendants were about my parents age, that is if dad wasn’t already long dead, and mom wasn’t so old that she retired years ago, remembered WWII well and when streetcars were common. A little slow and tedious getting signed up as we had to sign numerous vouchers and listen to the rules of the club, but we got our cards and that free deck of cards. After signing up we went to Comedy Club, offered our coupon, paid and got in line for the show.
After about fifteen minutes we were shown in to an intimate showroom with a full bar off one side of the stage. Before the show started, I went up to the bar and turned in our drink coupons and a few bucks tip up front to get our drinks included in our “package.” The bartender was a good guy and made a nice Margarita for the wife and rum Coke for me. We like comedy, and have been to many shows at the Riviera over the last few decades, though I don’t think we ever paid to see a show at the Riv as we were always comped. As I understand, the Riv closed their club a while back, but this one at the Four Queens looks like a good alternative for the future. The Queen’s show was typical, an MC and two headliners. A good show, though I think the MC was the funniest of the three. After the show we hit the Subway inside the Queens and split a foot long for dinner, probably the lightest dinner of the trip for me, which was a good change. Then we played because we wanted to, and so that we could get that “free” shirt. I think we both came out a push from the play, and were able to get our shirts. They gave us pretty good dark colored tee shirts with a modest embroidered Queen’s logo. Nice shirts, the kind of thing I like to wear when I’m doing chores back home. After the Queen’s adventure we headed back to the Nugget for bed.
