Summer of Tournaments – Day 22
Rough night last night as I couldn’t get warm, couldn’t cool down, tossing and turning, weird dreams—you know the drill. Today I make a stop at Target and pick up some Night Quill. I didn’t have Internet in my room at the Silverton, so after checking out, I headed to a McDonald’s down the street for some breakfast (the one thing I like there) and use their free Wi-Fi to get the trip report written and delivered.
It’s already Friday and I was due to check into the Rio later but I had a few hours, so I drove out to the Suncoast to take advantage of their 7X video poker coupled with the four-of-a-kind bonuses—only good at any bar. If you catch a quad of 5s through 9s you get $25 free play and if you catch a Royal, you’re given a $100 free-play added to your card. The only full pay game at the bar is the 8/5 Bonus Poker, so I stuck with that. I put in a hundred, ordered a Nevada Pale and began to play. I had a lot of good hands, but managed only one quad of 6s (good for the $25 bonus) and no royals. Though I did eventually lose the hundred, I did manage to put 1500 points on my card (almost two hours of play), which after the multiplier will add some good comps to my card.
For those of you who have been following my summer reports over the years, you might remember that a few years ago, an LVA member, Sue, had contacted me and asked if I’d like to see Elton John with her as she had an extra ticket. We met in the Diamond lounge and then enjoyed the Red Piano concert. Well, I got a PM from her saying that she had two free buffets for the Rio and being that I’m staying there, would I like to meet up and enjoy a lunch/dinner at 3:30. We had a nice buffet and caught up the last few years. Sue, from Florida, retired here to Las Vegas in 2007 and has been keeping up with her LVA membership for the coupons and the occasional message board reading. We had a very nice visit.
My final hotel, the Rio, for this first part of the trip
I ran into a bit of a snag with my reservation. I arrived and 1:30 and was told my room wasn’t ready, which I understood and was told that they’d call me as soon as it was ready. I waited for the call, had the dinner with Sue, and still no call. At almost 5:00 PM, I walked into the registration and found it was ready. I asked why I didn’t get a call and the only reason I was given was they were really busy today—sorry—that doesn’t cut it. I’ll be making a bad mark in my review survey. I was given a nice room, though nothing really special but with a terrific view. There was not welcome gift, no turn-down service, and no robes in the room. Personally, these are not major things to me; however, as a 7-Star cardholder, I expect the consideration, so this will be mentioned as well.
The view from my room
Another view from a different angle
The zip line between the Masquerade and Ipanema towers is up and running
The Rio has three pools—all very nice
I’m here on a poker tournament offer that includes 3 nights, the poker tournament and $40 in free play. Why I am constantly getting such small amounts of freeplay continues to be a mystery to me. It’s the same, if not less, than I used to receive as a Diamond member. I hear of other 7 Star members receiving $300 to $1000 in free play. What the heck? I took the shuttle over to Bally’s and made the trek over to Planet Hollywood to register for tomorrow’s event. There is going to over 2000 people playing in this thing…I’m not expecting much. I was given a 1PM starting time—table 62, seat 2.
I was going to meet LVA member Jeff from New Mexico who Martin and I had bowled with a few years ago and he almost rolled a 300 finally missing a strike in the 9th frame. It was a hell of a run. We were going to meet in the Planet Hollywood Diamond Lounge at 5:30, but he was running late. I snagged a couple of plates of hot food for him, because they only serve it from 4PM to 6PM here—and yes—chicken wings! After arriving, we had a wonderful time catching up. He’s been having the trip of his life with many royals and quad Aces—I’m jealous. He’s staying on an offer at Caesar’s Palace with a $300 free play. He’s a platinum member—what the?
He invited me to the show at the Hilton, but I didn’t want to stay up that late especially as I’m trying to keep this cold under control. It’s really not all that bad—just nagging. I went back to the hotel via the shuttle and called it a night.
More tomorrow.
Totals:
Tournaments: 12 Cost: $153 Won: $1100 Balance: $947
Rough night last night as I couldn’t get warm, couldn’t cool down, tossing and turning, weird dreams—you know the drill. Today I make a stop at Target and pick up some Night Quill. I didn’t have Internet in my room at the Silverton, so after checking out, I headed to a McDonald’s down the street for some breakfast (the one thing I like there) and use their free Wi-Fi to get the trip report written and delivered.
It’s already Friday and I was due to check into the Rio later but I had a few hours, so I drove out to the Suncoast to take advantage of their 7X video poker coupled with the four-of-a-kind bonuses—only good at any bar. If you catch a quad of 5s through 9s you get $25 free play and if you catch a Royal, you’re given a $100 free-play added to your card. The only full pay game at the bar is the 8/5 Bonus Poker, so I stuck with that. I put in a hundred, ordered a Nevada Pale and began to play. I had a lot of good hands, but managed only one quad of 6s (good for the $25 bonus) and no royals. Though I did eventually lose the hundred, I did manage to put 1500 points on my card (almost two hours of play), which after the multiplier will add some good comps to my card.
For those of you who have been following my summer reports over the years, you might remember that a few years ago, an LVA member, Sue, had contacted me and asked if I’d like to see Elton John with her as she had an extra ticket. We met in the Diamond lounge and then enjoyed the Red Piano concert. Well, I got a PM from her saying that she had two free buffets for the Rio and being that I’m staying there, would I like to meet up and enjoy a lunch/dinner at 3:30. We had a nice buffet and caught up the last few years. Sue, from Florida, retired here to Las Vegas in 2007 and has been keeping up with her LVA membership for the coupons and the occasional message board reading. We had a very nice visit.
My final hotel, the Rio, for this first part of the trip
I ran into a bit of a snag with my reservation. I arrived and 1:30 and was told my room wasn’t ready, which I understood and was told that they’d call me as soon as it was ready. I waited for the call, had the dinner with Sue, and still no call. At almost 5:00 PM, I walked into the registration and found it was ready. I asked why I didn’t get a call and the only reason I was given was they were really busy today—sorry—that doesn’t cut it. I’ll be making a bad mark in my review survey. I was given a nice room, though nothing really special but with a terrific view. There was not welcome gift, no turn-down service, and no robes in the room. Personally, these are not major things to me; however, as a 7-Star cardholder, I expect the consideration, so this will be mentioned as well.
The view from my room
Another view from a different angle
The zip line between the Masquerade and Ipanema towers is up and running
The Rio has three pools—all very nice
I’m here on a poker tournament offer that includes 3 nights, the poker tournament and $40 in free play. Why I am constantly getting such small amounts of freeplay continues to be a mystery to me. It’s the same, if not less, than I used to receive as a Diamond member. I hear of other 7 Star members receiving $300 to $1000 in free play. What the heck? I took the shuttle over to Bally’s and made the trek over to Planet Hollywood to register for tomorrow’s event. There is going to over 2000 people playing in this thing…I’m not expecting much. I was given a 1PM starting time—table 62, seat 2.
I was going to meet LVA member Jeff from New Mexico who Martin and I had bowled with a few years ago and he almost rolled a 300 finally missing a strike in the 9th frame. It was a hell of a run. We were going to meet in the Planet Hollywood Diamond Lounge at 5:30, but he was running late. I snagged a couple of plates of hot food for him, because they only serve it from 4PM to 6PM here—and yes—chicken wings! After arriving, we had a wonderful time catching up. He’s been having the trip of his life with many royals and quad Aces—I’m jealous. He’s staying on an offer at Caesar’s Palace with a $300 free play. He’s a platinum member—what the?
He invited me to the show at the Hilton, but I didn’t want to stay up that late especially as I’m trying to keep this cold under control. It’s really not all that bad—just nagging. I went back to the hotel via the shuttle and called it a night.
More tomorrow.
Totals:
Tournaments: 12 Cost: $153 Won: $1100 Balance: $947
