Second Timer's First TR: 12/28-1/1 (Live?)

So it's 7:21am Vegas time. Unfortunately, it's 9:21 Cellardoor time. Compounded by the fact one of my friends called me at 7am, I'm now up.

I love reading this board and had resolved to do a TR, but I was planning to work on it when I got home. Now, since the girlfriend is fast asleep and I'm awake, I figure why not start now.

As is stated in the title, it's my second time, the GF's too, in Vegas. The first time we were going completely budget and stayed at Imperial with a couple friends. This time, I gambled enough to get two free nights and two $60 nights due to the holiday at Harrah's.

There was a flight, and a taxi ride, but who really cares about that stuff. We arrived at Harrah's and were presented with the option of a one queen, two queen, or one king upgraded, but on a pet floor. We took the pet floor. If it were 40 degrees warmer, this would be a terrific room. The pool is literally right outside our balcony.

We got checked in and decided to try out KGB Burgers (note, my eating choices are somewhat restricted due to the GF being a vegetarian and my not liking chinese/japanese food). I had their turkey burger with smoked gouda and mac n cheese sticks while she, of course, did the veggie burger. The food was very good. The service...pretty awful. Thanks to reading this forum, I learned to post my charges to my room whenever possible, so hopefully that's a free meal instead of a $15 meal after our FB comp.

Gambling starting in next post...

 

A little about my gambling habits: I'm what I think is considered a low roller, playing with a loss limit of $500 per day and $2000 for four days. I love video poker and blackjack, and I'm getting fond of Craps and Roulette, but the betting strategies are a little beyond me still, so i'll likely stay away from too heavy of play there. I also enjoy, while in Vegas, some less popular card games like Casino War and Mississippi Stud. The only reason I'll play slots at all this trip is for a "free" drink occasionally, on a whim with small amounts, or because my friend has me convinced machines are looser near New Years for casinos to make it under tax brackets.

So I sit down last night with a $250 loss limit, but it's already 1am local, 3am CD time. I decide to buy in for $100 at a BJ table, but play $20 at a time and try to get lucky, press a bit, and maybe double or triple that in short order. I won my first hand (17 on a dealer bust), lost three, pushed one, lost three. So yeah, inauspicious.

My girlfriend stays away from table games, preferring random slots or JOB/Deuces VP. She's sitting at VP, so I throw forty at what I've come to know as a Boner Deluxe Game thanks to this site. I lose the forty with only a couple full houses to show for it. Damnit.

So I'm now down $140 in about 20 minutes. The girl is taking her $10 loss and going upstairs, so I walk with her to cash out. Next to the ticket machine is a slot machine (of course), and I've got a 5 in my pocket. It's a $0.25 machine that plays a max of 3 credits, so $0.75 bets. I play this down to a dollar, get a win back to $6.50 and play it down to about $2 again. Then I hit a 7, 2x, 7 spin and win $40. Immediately hit the cash out button.

Ok, now my juices are flowing, so I glance around at some other slots, and I see a Wicked Winnings machine. We have these at my home Casino in Illinois, so I figure I'll throw $20 of my winnings in at $5 a spin. First three spins, nothing. Fourth spin, boom. I got some sort of Raven, six aces, some 10s, some jacks, and some women. I don't know what it all means, other than an 8300 credit win. I cash that $88 out. Now I'm down like $15 too. But I'm feeling it. I find some random slot that says something about free spins (i'm a sucker for free spins) and play it. Hit literally nothing through the entire twenty. Luckily, I know when to quit when you're not ahead, but you're not as far behind as you should be.

Final total for the first night in Vegas (1hr): BJ: (100), VP (40), Slots +89.

Hopefully my skill games hit a streak and slots continue to not completely undo me. Today's plan is to hit the Orlean since I have about $240 food credit to Boyd properties, then come back strip way and meet up with some friends who happen to be here too.

I may continue to post to this during the trip, or it may be 1/1 or 1/2 late before I update. Hope I'm doing it right

 

You are Learning the lingo

Too funny. Is your girlfriend impressed that you have learned so much from the site?

Triple boner deluxe. Not sure who coined it, but I know royalflusher uses it a lot.

Yes, if you have a host, charge to your room so they can do some magic for you in the end.

Any report is better than no report.

Good luck. Drink a lot. Have fun.

 

Seven drinks in now. My girlfriend is finally up and around.

I was playing $0.25 boner deluxe and got quad 6s. My dumb ass didn't take a picture. I have to get into that habit. Anyways, up 80 there.
I went to a bartop with shit odds so I could get quicker drinks and played in $0.25 increments rather than max bets. I drew KQJA of Hearts. I was almost hopeful I wouldn't hit the royal so I wouldn't be "that guy" who wasn't betting max credits and had to explain that. Needless to say, I didn't hit it. I lost $5, but got five drinks. Decent tradeoff for Crown and Coke, I think.

I wandered over to the cage to get my $30 free play and then find a WOF machine. Disclaimer: I'm obsessed with spinning the wheel. It goes back to when I was younger and my late mother and I watching it religiously. I threw my thirty into there and played through. Got one spin for 50 credits (12.50), and cashed out up 10. Next I played a lord of the rings slot briefly and lost $15. Then I decided it was time to try my hand at blackjack (lame pun totally intended). I found a $15 table with 3/2 odds and sat down. Ran pretty hot up 80 from my original $100. I wanted to double my money, so I laid down $25 for myself and $5 for the dealer. Drew a 19 to the dealers 3. The other guy at my table had 12 to the dealers 3 and hit (which you're supposed to do) and got a 9 for 21. The dealer turns over their 13 and draws an 7 for 20. Ouch. I'm always happy to see people with the balls to make those tough calls though.

Anyways, I dropped back down to my $100, cashed back out and came upstairs to get the gf. There's talk of seeing Ka tonight with our coworkers in town, but not sure. Still planning cosmo free play, seeing PH since I missed it the first time, and Orleans today.

Oh, and yes, she's pretty impressed with my Vegas Knowledge, but also a little concerned at my degenerateness. I blame BeeJay and Royal Flusher.

 

BackIn, at your level of play I would consider you to be a low mid-high-low roller, or maybe a medium mid-high-low roller. It sounds like you are having fun and taking some chances which is always a savvy move (when they pay off).

When you grow tired of the wall-to-wall sack-tingling excitement that the strip has to offer day and night, just remember that your $500/day loss budget, used on full-pay quarter video poker, will get you free rooms and probably food too on Fremont Street. Why not give up that Glittering Boulevard Bitch for a while and go visit the 'just happy someone will dance with her' gap-toothed muffin topped but disgustingly eager second cousin that is Downtown Las Vegas?

Okay, okay, I'll ask again in another 8-10 trips, once you have incredible degenerate fun out of your system.

One more thing... <ahem>

 

You are spot on Flusher. I play about the same ($500 per day loss limit) downtown and I get free room and food all the time.

 

While you will be hitting Orleans, you may want to enjoy a Complete Steak & Lobster Dinner at the Courtyard Café from 7pm–11pm every night through December for only $7.11* with your B Connected card.

Sweet Maine Lobster Tail and a tender Choice Angus Fillet cooked to perfection, fluffy baked potato, buttered green beans, fresh lemon and drawn butter, fresh rolls and butter.

Dinner includes:

3½ ounce Maine Lobster Tail
5 ounce Choice Angus Fillet
Baked Potato with Whipped Butter and Sour Cream
Green Beans
Fresh Rolls and Butter

The information is posted to your account. You can view it when you log on to Bconnectedonline. Note that the $7.11 great deal is not posted at Orleans regular website and not shown on Courtyard Cafe's menu.

When you order, please tell the waiter or waitress about $7.11 steak & lobster special. Your bill still prints the regular price ($12.99 or $13.99). However, you will get the adjusted price of $7.11 when you pay the cashier. Please make sure that you, your girl friend, and whoever may join you for dinner are bringing his/her Bconnected club card. It's only club member only.

Good luck, have fun and win BIG $$$$$!

 

Triple boner deluxe? Hmmmm...... ????????

According to the dictionary, the definition of "boner" is:
(a) A stupid mistake
(b) vulgar. An erection of the penis.

Bonus Deluxe (Bdlx) is the correct name. Right? Bdlx has higher variation than JOB. Unless you have the deep pocket and won't mind losing big dollars, it may be risky of playing the Triple Bdlx. JMHO.

 

I think he meant Boner Deluxe.

It's in the dicktionary.

 

Boner Deluxe is the nickname of Erected RF. :evillaugh

 

Shiny's right about the variance of Triple Boner... plain old Boner Deluxe probably has a little higher variance than Jacks are Better - but if you can find the full pay (9/6) version it actually pays back better than Jacks by a hair. 99.69% or something if I recall.

Now when you get in to Triple Boner Poker or Triple Boner Plus Poker, you are talking a world of hurt in the variance department.

She's right that you have to have deep pockets to last very long at those two games.

Now that I think about it, that's how I lost about $300 at the bar at T.I. last trip... Triple Boner Poker Plus.


I'm really looking forward to more posts from your trip!

 

The Quad Queen is going to have to treat me with more respect now.

 

Everyone's got a hard on for boner deluxe!

 

Flusher, my plan is to eventually migrate off strip for most of my trips. I'm not a huge crowd person, I want my full pays, and I want better drink service; however, since last time I only played at CET properties, and my Boyd's Casino in East Peoria doesn't extend me offers to their Vegas properties despite pretty fair levels of play, I went where the rooms were cheapest. I'm hoping my play tomorrow, plus my impending Sapphire status at Boyd's gives me some offers from places like Orlean's, MSS, Fremont, etc. One thing to keep in mind is that the female is a tad picky, so I have to scout out decent hotels while we're here this time for future trips she's involved in.

Oh believe me, that special is half the reason I'm making the trip to Orleans.

Anyways, my girl tried to drink with me for about a half hour, and her four drinks caught up to her more quickly than my 15 or 17 now, so she's napping. I find myself back in front of the laptop.

We went to Orlean's and tried to do the buffet, but my card had somehow become deactivated. I went over and got two new ones so the girl could play on it too, and got some food. Their buffet wasn't bad. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad, and for free using my credits, it worked out.

After that we sat down at some VP doing our normal thing: the girl playing her single credits or a nearby $0.05 machine and my max $0.25. I put my hundred in and lost it impressively quickly on Boner Deluxe.

I got up, decided I wanted to try my luck with bj again. I found a double deck 3-2 game, which is reason number 254646876986 to stay off strip, and I sat down. Pretty quickly turned my $100 there into $200. Nothing major there other than a $20 bet turned double down against a dealer 10. My 11 turned into a 13, which held up. We got up from there and were planning to stay at Orlean's until we wanted dinner so I could do the Lobster/Steak special so we played some more VP. I found a $0.05 machine with double bonus deuces wild, which seemed interesting. I played it for a bit up and down and cashed out even while the girl was up a few dollars. She went to the bathroom, then texted me to cash her out and she'd be a while. Once she got out, I decided to go back and see what I could do with their single deck blackjack game. Bad idea. Lost the $100 I won along with another $100. I lost two 11/doubles against dealer 6s, and lost another set of three split 3s against a deal 5.

Now I'm a little annoyed, and the woman's headache is setting in. We take the shuttle back (runs til 12:30. I WILL return for my steak and lobster, damnit). Back at Harrah's, I'm not ready to hit the room yet, so I throw $100 in .25 Boner Deluxe once more. I play for a while, but at my home casino pace, which is frenetic. All the sudden I notice my credits went from in the 300s to the 600s. Apparently I got quads, no idea what of. I start slowing down to smell the roses and came up with another quad that I did get a picture of finally. Unfortunately, it was Quad Aces. Another reason for BeeJay to stay off the Deluxe game and get his ass back into Macker's mom's -- too soon, probably -- and get his ass back into DDB. I'm now up about $105. I play that for quite some time back down to $25 total, switch to $ denoms and play for five more minutes before busting out. Annnnnd here I am.

After counting my money, I've determined I'm down $360 on the trip, but that's including $20 for airport taxi and various tips. I've got my losses today at roughly 300,000,000; however, I think that's the alcohol blurring my vision. $200 left for after the girl's nap back at Orlean's and on the strip. If I don't post again tonight, I'm probably making better use of the shower than it's intended use, and I'll update you about tonight and my first time on Freemont tomorrow.

PS, thanks for the warm receptions guys. It makes this a lot easier.

 

PS: Is it MSS that has the scratch cards for 4OAKs? And if so, is it gimmicky or somewhat worthwhile? Anyone got time for a rundown I can read via phone before we arrive tomorrow?

 

MSS gives a scratch card (well, 99.999999% of the card is just $2 reward), when you hit 4OAK with max bet (5 credits). Please hold your 4OAK screen and hit the "attendant" button at your machine. The slot attendant needs to verify it and then hand you a scratch card (well, a pathetic "hand pay" process!) Good luck!

 

Thanks Shiny.

In other news, I just checked my bconnectedonline account as I received an email my offers for January were in. I've been bumped from 2 $5 free plays a month to four $10 a month, and free deli value meals to buffets. Apparently I'm moving up in the world.

 

Just stop by player club at Orleans and hope you can use those free plays and other freebies at Orleans during this trip. Good luck!

 

The free plays are valid for January, not December . Unless I stopped in on Tuesday before the flight, using it wouldn't seem possible.

 

Yes, if you get a natural 4oak at MSS then page a slot attendant for a free scratch card. Most of them are good for 2 bucks, but theoretically you can win up to 500 iirc. The best deal is to sit at. The boars head bar and play the 9/6 jacks. When you get a 4oak, stop playing and let the bartender know. They will get a slot attendant for you. While you're there, enjoy the great beers that they brew on premesis. My favorite (of those available at the boars head bar) is the Black Chip Porter. Quite tasty!

Good luck! Enjoying your TR.