Time to quit rambling and “teaching” and finish up this New Orleans/Biloxi trip report by telling about the non-video-poker things that contributed to the fun factor.
Being a Caesar’s 7 Star player does add pleasurable perks:
- A large corner suite at both hotels, with the one in Biloxi equipped with a spacious 2-person Jacuzzi overlooking the Gulf. Such luxury certainly encourages “fun in the room”!!!
- Free in-room movies – being movie buffs, we watched six.
- A welcoming goodie basket at both places.
- The free once-a-month spa treatment in Biloxi provided Brad a facial, me a pedicure.
- No waiting around for shuttles or rental car battles with traffic – limos to and from the airport and between Biloxi and New Orleans.
In New Orleans, we played one of our favorite VP games, Not-So-Ugly-Ducks, in $1 Triple Play and Ten Play. No royals, but frequent 4-deuce hands kept our losses low. We couldn’t use our free play on those machines so instead of choosing a lower-EV video poker game, we decided on a just-for-fun option for a change, slot machines! It’s interesting to try new games, especially the new community ones where it is fun to join the whole bank of players routing for a big bonus. And much to our surprise – I am always surprised to get lucky on slots – we were able to turn almost all the free play amount into cash.
In Biloxi the best game was not up to our usual EV standards but we played a minimum amount so as not to look like a piker who picks up free play without giving any action. We were able to use our free play on these machines.
Remember I said in Part 1 of this series that our primary goal for this trip was for fun and relaxation. And we certainly achieved that goal. But as you all know, I try to be as frugal as possible at all times. So, if by careful planning and diligent searching for casino extras I can reduce the cost of a just-for-fun vacation – well, that is also a good goal. Free transportation, free lodging, and free meals helped us achieve that objective.
And here is the best part of a casino just-for-fun vacation. With a careful choice of games and lots of free play, you have a good chance of reducing your losses or breaking even. And many times you can, as we did this trip, have all the fun and pull out a profit too!!
I guess you might say we have mixed goals! However, if gambling ever ceases to be fun for us, profit alone will certainly never motivate us.