Returned home from a five day family reunion and had no power due to a horrific storm that had toppled 15 utility poles in our part of town. Woke up the next morning and still no power. The power company estimated that it could be another 6 to 12 hours before it was restored, so we checked into a hotel for a day of rest, air conditioning, laundry, and an alarm clock since we had to be at the airport the next morning at 5 am for our trip to Las Vegas.
Wednesday morning, the airport was packed and the plane was full. Flight was on time, we picked up our luggage, and, surprisingly, we were the only ones in the cab line. Twenty minutes later we were at the Orleans. Even though it was early morning, we checked with the front desk to see if our room was ready. YES – we were in our room and unpacked before 8 am.
First things first – breakfast and coffee at the Courtyard Café. Then off to the business at hand – gambling. I should note here that our gambling bankroll isn’t large, so we are primarily slot players, and mostly the penny slots. We are suckers for the bonuses that some games have. Our philosophy is to just have fun and see how long we can make our money last.
I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that no matter what machine I tried, I wasn’t hitting anything, wasn’t having fun, and the money definitely was not going to last long. Fortunately my husband was having better luck. Between his minor wins and my losses, we were able to stay even for awhile. We earned enough points on our players cards for the promotion that day – two 6-packs of beer that we promptly took up to our room and put on ice.
After a couple of beers and a nap, we went back down to the casino. We were getting hungry since we hadn’t had anything since breakfast. It was too late for the hot dog cart, so we went to TGIF’s for a couple of drinks and some appetizers. We had a gift card that we wanted to use this trip since the TGIF’s at home had closed a few months earlier.
Since it had been about a year since our last visit, we decided to take the time to walk around and see what machines were new and what machines had been moved. Feeling refreshed and re-motivated, it was time to try the slots again. Nothing had changed. We played various machines with the same result – he’s up $20 and I’m down $20. He gives me money – I lose it. After a couple of hours, we decided to call it a day and go up to our room for the night.
Thursday – the Fourth of July – we wake up ready to hit the casino again. My husband says he has a feeling that my streak of bad luck had to change for the better and this was going to be my morning.
After breakfast our first machine to attack is The Mummy. This is built around the recent movies featuring Brendan Fraser. This machine has everything we like – sound effects, random wild cards, and bonus features. There are two machines side-by-side. We are each holding our own, getting into some of the bonus features. All of a sudden it’s my turn to spin the wheel and it stops at “Progressive.” I get five bullets to shoot at scarabs, and each bullet determines how many steps I move towards the mini, minor, or major progressive jackpots. My first two bullets get me to the mini-progressive (approximately $67). I earn five more bullets and make it to the minor jackpot and win $129. Yes, my luck has changed and I’m having fun again. I cashed out my ticket to preserve my winnings. A few minutes later I look at my husband, who is still playing and it’s his turn to spin the wheel and it stops at the progressive. Nine bullets later, he wins the minor progressive of $125. Yes – we are both winners!!
After that it didn’t seem to matter what machine we tried. I was staying even, doubling, and a couple of times, tripled my money. Hey, this is fun! Played for several hours until we went back to the room for a rest. Couple more cold beers and another mid-afternoon nap.
After our break, we decided to have dinner at Canal Street – the Orleans’ top-of-the-line restaurant. They are currently running a special - $75 for a 3-course dinner (soup or salad, entrée, and dessert) for two with a choice of 20 ounce Chateaubriand or two lobster tails. We went for the lobster tails. Everything was delicious; however, it was too much food. By the time they brought our dessert, we were stuffed so they boxed it up for us to take back to our room. We left the restaurant intending to do some more gambling, but as time went on we realized that not only did we eat too much, but it was so incredibly rich that we were almost sick. So back to the room we go, where we stayed until morning.
Friday morning, we wake up and eat the dessert from last night (chocolate cake) and call it breakfast. Hey – we’re on vacation – we can eat anything we want! Took our showers and decided to make one last run on the machines before we check out and return home. We have moderate success – a little here and a little there. Then my husband sees a 50-cent machine that he just has to try. After a couple of pulls he has a nice $50 hit. I’m feeling a little flush myself so I sit down on the machine next to him and put in $20. I’m down to my last $5 when these symbols line up 2X-3X-7. Yippee – I just won 300 credits, but have trouble figuring out just how much that really is. First I think it’s $30, then, no, it’s only $15, but then the credits keep adding up and I remember that this is a 50-cent machine and I just hit it for $150. I quickly cash out before I can do any damage.
We’re ready to get to the room, pack up, check out, and leave for the airport. On the way, however, my husband sees a penny machine that is calling his name. He puts $10 in, plays a couple of rounds when all of a sudden coins start flying out of the display and “BIG WIN” starts flashing. When all is said and done, he won $60. Now we really are ready to leave.
Get to the airport with plenty of time to people watch. Plane is on time, and we have a quiet and uneventful flight home.
We had a great time at the Orleans, our hotel of choice in Las Vegas. Yes, it was crowded, but we never had a problem playing any machine we wanted when we wanted to play it.
So that’s it – my first trip report ever. And it’s also the first time we ever brought back more money than we brought. Thanks for reading, and hope it wasn’t too boring for you
Wednesday morning, the airport was packed and the plane was full. Flight was on time, we picked up our luggage, and, surprisingly, we were the only ones in the cab line. Twenty minutes later we were at the Orleans. Even though it was early morning, we checked with the front desk to see if our room was ready. YES – we were in our room and unpacked before 8 am.
First things first – breakfast and coffee at the Courtyard Café. Then off to the business at hand – gambling. I should note here that our gambling bankroll isn’t large, so we are primarily slot players, and mostly the penny slots. We are suckers for the bonuses that some games have. Our philosophy is to just have fun and see how long we can make our money last.
I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that no matter what machine I tried, I wasn’t hitting anything, wasn’t having fun, and the money definitely was not going to last long. Fortunately my husband was having better luck. Between his minor wins and my losses, we were able to stay even for awhile. We earned enough points on our players cards for the promotion that day – two 6-packs of beer that we promptly took up to our room and put on ice.
After a couple of beers and a nap, we went back down to the casino. We were getting hungry since we hadn’t had anything since breakfast. It was too late for the hot dog cart, so we went to TGIF’s for a couple of drinks and some appetizers. We had a gift card that we wanted to use this trip since the TGIF’s at home had closed a few months earlier.
Since it had been about a year since our last visit, we decided to take the time to walk around and see what machines were new and what machines had been moved. Feeling refreshed and re-motivated, it was time to try the slots again. Nothing had changed. We played various machines with the same result – he’s up $20 and I’m down $20. He gives me money – I lose it. After a couple of hours, we decided to call it a day and go up to our room for the night.
Thursday – the Fourth of July – we wake up ready to hit the casino again. My husband says he has a feeling that my streak of bad luck had to change for the better and this was going to be my morning.
After breakfast our first machine to attack is The Mummy. This is built around the recent movies featuring Brendan Fraser. This machine has everything we like – sound effects, random wild cards, and bonus features. There are two machines side-by-side. We are each holding our own, getting into some of the bonus features. All of a sudden it’s my turn to spin the wheel and it stops at “Progressive.” I get five bullets to shoot at scarabs, and each bullet determines how many steps I move towards the mini, minor, or major progressive jackpots. My first two bullets get me to the mini-progressive (approximately $67). I earn five more bullets and make it to the minor jackpot and win $129. Yes, my luck has changed and I’m having fun again. I cashed out my ticket to preserve my winnings. A few minutes later I look at my husband, who is still playing and it’s his turn to spin the wheel and it stops at the progressive. Nine bullets later, he wins the minor progressive of $125. Yes – we are both winners!!
After that it didn’t seem to matter what machine we tried. I was staying even, doubling, and a couple of times, tripled my money. Hey, this is fun! Played for several hours until we went back to the room for a rest. Couple more cold beers and another mid-afternoon nap.
After our break, we decided to have dinner at Canal Street – the Orleans’ top-of-the-line restaurant. They are currently running a special - $75 for a 3-course dinner (soup or salad, entrée, and dessert) for two with a choice of 20 ounce Chateaubriand or two lobster tails. We went for the lobster tails. Everything was delicious; however, it was too much food. By the time they brought our dessert, we were stuffed so they boxed it up for us to take back to our room. We left the restaurant intending to do some more gambling, but as time went on we realized that not only did we eat too much, but it was so incredibly rich that we were almost sick. So back to the room we go, where we stayed until morning.
Friday morning, we wake up and eat the dessert from last night (chocolate cake) and call it breakfast. Hey – we’re on vacation – we can eat anything we want! Took our showers and decided to make one last run on the machines before we check out and return home. We have moderate success – a little here and a little there. Then my husband sees a 50-cent machine that he just has to try. After a couple of pulls he has a nice $50 hit. I’m feeling a little flush myself so I sit down on the machine next to him and put in $20. I’m down to my last $5 when these symbols line up 2X-3X-7. Yippee – I just won 300 credits, but have trouble figuring out just how much that really is. First I think it’s $30, then, no, it’s only $15, but then the credits keep adding up and I remember that this is a 50-cent machine and I just hit it for $150. I quickly cash out before I can do any damage.
We’re ready to get to the room, pack up, check out, and leave for the airport. On the way, however, my husband sees a penny machine that is calling his name. He puts $10 in, plays a couple of rounds when all of a sudden coins start flying out of the display and “BIG WIN” starts flashing. When all is said and done, he won $60. Now we really are ready to leave.
Get to the airport with plenty of time to people watch. Plane is on time, and we have a quiet and uneventful flight home.
We had a great time at the Orleans, our hotel of choice in Las Vegas. Yes, it was crowded, but we never had a problem playing any machine we wanted when we wanted to play it.
So that’s it – my first trip report ever. And it’s also the first time we ever brought back more money than we brought. Thanks for reading, and hope it wasn’t too boring for you
