The many comments on my last blog entry prove that everyone likes to remember their first royal. And if I had run a contest to see who had the most unusual way to spend that first royal money, it would have been easy to pick a winner. I had to giggle at the husband who spilled the beans in spite of his wife’s protest: they bought two burial niches! How’s that for a positive EV investment!
At first I kept very detailed records of our royals since we didn’t have that many, being in Vegas only on short trips from our home in Indianapolis. In 1992, we had only two royals, with Brad hitting one at the Riviera and I hitting my first at the Stardust. We had five in 1993, noted for us each hitting one an hour apart at O’Sheas, and I getting one at the Hilton by drawing to a lone Ace – almost making me miss a tournament session while I waited for the handpay.
As we started making longer trips, we played more and the royals came more often, ten in 1994 and fourteen in 1995. Up until this time most of our royals were on quarter machines, $1000, but occasionally we played a progressive or there was a bonus, i.e. the wonderful double-royal promotion at the Sahara. However, in July of 1995 the 4 Queens was running a lucrative bingo-card promotion and Bob Dancer persuaded us that it would be a big money-maker if we played the $1 machines. We hesitated. To be perfectly honest I was “scared” to go up in denomination although we had been winning consistently at quarters. However, we looked at the math and the promotion had a great EV. We stepped into the deep water – and I got two $4000 royals within the first 45 minutes!
Of course, we were thrilled with the jump this gave our bankroll, but we remained careful and conservative, still playing quarters a lot of the time but venturing into 50-cent and $1 machines when a good play appeared. In December I repeated my two-$4000-royals-in-a-short-time despite everyone around me saying I should change machines after the first one. I didn’t take their advice and a second one was dealt to me within 90 minutes after the first. 1995 was a very good royal year!
1996 and 1997 continued with good royal success, 30 in those two years, now playing mostly $1 machines. We also played quite a few progressives, with jackpots up to $8000.
Starting in 1998 I quit keeping track of the details of each royal although I did note every time we got one. Perhaps the reason was that we were now playing multi-line machines – I’m not sure just when this option appeared in the casinos, but when it did, of course the royal numbers skyrocketed. There will be multiple royals on one hand when you play Triple Play, Five Play, Ten Play and even more lines. And Brad really knows how to skew the totals – one time he gets dealt a royal on 100-play!
So that a brief description of our royal history. When we got 5 royals on a Spin Poker game last week, that’s how we are now at royal #785, looking for #786.
Someone asked if we still get excited when we hit a royal. They said they would want to quit playing VP if a royal ever became just a routine event. Well let me tell you, even after 22 years, seeing that royal family appear on our VP screen still gives us a jolt of extra happiness – whether the royal jackpot is $1000 like that first one or up to $20,000 as it has been in later years. Whatever the amount, it represents the achievement of an ultimate goal.
That you hit a royal from one ace at the Hilton made me smile. My first was just the same way in the same place. I held the ace of hearts and it turned into something beautiful 🙂 Loving these stories.
VP is a game of skill and lots of LUCK . I’ve had a few Royals holding just one card . Obviously there was no skill involved when the Royal hit . It also helped that Jean and Brad played as a team . Often when I’m down or just plain have one of those bad streaks and my husband plays well or the other way around , I play well and he doesn’t , our bankroll does not suffer as it would if we played alone .I believe that certainly adds a lot to Jean and Brad’s success .
the amount of royals you’ve hit are unreal…even taking out the 100 play one that brad hit. actually, you were and continue to be very lucky!
Amen Kevin!!
People think I’m lying when I tell them I’ve won over 70 royals!
So what!
I’m still so far left on the bell curve I can’t hear it ringing!
They say these casinos can’t “adjust” these machines, but I’m beginning to wonder if that’s true.
Funny thing–I know a lot of players, myself included, who in the mid-90s, when great opportunities abounded, stepped up in denomination–and got their bankrolls blasted out of existence as a result. Doesn’t matter if the game returns 104% if you ain’t got the money to play it. I wonder if you would have stuck with it if you had lost that first $3000 bankroll–or three or four such bankrolls. Bob D wasn’t doing you any favors talking you into that dollar play unless your bankroll was $20K or more. Your early VP years appear to have been a successful stroll through a minefield; many, many others weren’t so successful. The bottom line is that of all the skilled VP players I knew in the mid-90s, regardless of how well they played, they survived if they hit royals and busted out if they didn’t. Finish two or three royals short of expectation in a month, or two consecutive months, and you’re back to working at WalMart.
I agree about the thrill of hitting royals but for me, I’m usually stuck so far when the damn things finally show up that the primary feeling I experience is one of relief (whee! I’m not minus $800 any more!). It’s not even, strictly speaking, a matter of bankroll: do you have enough faith in the process to continue bashing away when you’ve lost, say, 60% of that bankroll? When you’re down not one royal, but three? Or five?
great read on your royal history!