Vegas May 2010 Final

Vegas May 2010 Part 2


First, let me say, I did try to edit and add to the original but there is no edit button to be found. I must be doing something wrong. Oh well!

Tuesday

After resting for a whole 5 hours, I rose, showered, dress and rushed out the front door. Just incase they decided to close all the casinos I wanted to be sure I had some quality time gambling before this happened. It was a beautiful day out. Sunny, warm and breezy. Perfect for sitting inside a casino! I went to South Point casino and played various progressive machines. Deuces Wild, Deuces Bonus and some Double Double Poker machines where in the morning hit list. I got plenty of action and tried to pace myself. I stopped to have lunch in the buffet. The food was alright, but nothing to brag about. After eating I played a little more and my friend came to join me. She was on fire. She could not stop winning. She played machines that she says she never plays and was winning on them. Mostly poker machines. She called her husband, Ron to join us. When he arrived, she gave him $500 to play with. We played for hours, 13 to be exact. I hit deuces twice for $250 each time. I managed to play all that back and some of my own money. We decided to sit and play some Pai Gow Poker. Sat at the $10 table and had a great time. We had a friendly table and lots of laughs. I was up around $40 and then they switched dealers. Say good bye to my profit at Pai Gow. I did walk away even from the tables so I was happy. Finally, I headed home. Patti came home a little later up almost $3500 for the day. Ron managed to hold onto some of his money too. All in all it was a fun day but I do have a daily budget that I need to adhere to and this was not it. So, I had a stern talk with myself and promised to do better.

Wednesday

When I woke this morning, I did things at a more leisurely pace. I sat around, had a couple of cups of tea, watched the news and then headed out to gamble. I decided to go to the Palms again. I played the usual poker machines without much success. I decided to check out the buffet. It did not look appealing so I went to the Café instead. I had a nice breakfast, paid with my points and they headed back to the house. I rested for part of the afternoon and then my friends and I went to the M for supper. We were comped the buffet. It was very good. We tried some of the poker machines there but they were not friendly to any of us. I think they heard how much we ate at the buffet and wanted their money back. Since we were not having fun gambling at the M we decided to head over to the Eastside Cannery to play a couple of sessions of Bingo. I am not a big bingo fan but I was not doing well at anything else so I decided I would play bingo. There were 3 of us and we decided to go partners. Glad we did. I hit bingo 3 times for a total of $300. Ron hit for $150 and Patti, poor Patti, not her day. We went downstairs between bingo sessions but the machines were nasty. Headed back up to the 10 PM session of bingo. I hit for another $150. After bingo we went downstairs and tried our luck at the $5 Pai Gow Poker tables. We did not do well from the start. The Eastside Cannery’s bingo was good to us but we were losers in the machines and table games. I did see the area where they had installed the old style machines. There were a few people in there. I watched as they played using coins and cashed out to get the coins to put into the machines again. It did not hold the magic that it once did, for me anyway. I don’t miss waiting for fills, filthy hands and having hand pays on small payouts. I will stick to the TITO machines.
Today was a plus day for me. I came home with more than I left with. Maybe not much, but it was still a winning day.

Thursday

Today I did not leave the house until around 1 PM. I decided to go to Red Rock. While it is far out, I enjoy the casino and I have even had some great luck there. Got a great parking spot in the garage right next to the entrance door. Good start! I tried a few different poker machines but they did not seem to friendly. I wandered around for a while and decided to eat at the buffet. Buffet was great. I would recommend it to anyone. It amazes me how the buffet from one Station Casino to another can vary so much. Some of the Stations have excellent buffets for the money and others, like the Feast at Palace Station need help. (I did not eat there on this trip but have in the past. I would not waste my money unless someone could tell me they had made massive changes.)
After eating to much I walked around for a while. I tried a few more areas to play poker machines but had no luck. I decided to move on.
Arizona Charlie’s was next on my list. They have an enclosed no smoking area. It was very nice. I played the Deuces Bonus Deluxe machines in there. I hit the 5 aces a couple of times. I went out to the progress Deuces Bonus Deluxe machines near the cashier and hit the deuces, no kicker. I played for quite a while and left to head home. I was a winner for the day again. No major hits but I had made back all the money I lost at Red Rock plus some. Good day all around. I was home by 8 PM and stayed there. Watched TV for a while then went to bed.

Friday

Today I headed back to Arizona Charlie’s West. I had lunch at the café and enjoyed my meal. Spent most of the afternoon playing Deuces Bonus Deluxe, my new favorite machines, without much luck. I should know better. If the place is good to me one day, it is usually cold the next. At least it is for me.
I decided to head over to Palace Station. I played poker machines, various types, from one end of palace station to the other but had very little luck. Headed home to rest.
Later in the evening I went to Red Rock to play some live poker. I played $2 - $4 Texas Holdem. I was seated at a fun table with friendly people. We had a good time, which made losing $40 less painful. Before leaving Red Rock, I gave the Deuces Bonus Deluxe another try. I hit the Deuces with an Ace Kicker for $500. Good time to leave. Headed home for the night, or so I thought.
After arriving home, around midnight, my friend asked me to come to the Aria (she deals poker there) and see the place. She started work at 1 AM and thought they might have a poker game going that I would enjoy. Patti said to enter City Center off the strip, follow the signs to the Aria. Go left when the roadway splits and head to the Aria and not Crystal. Park on the second level of the garage and take the bridge across. I followed her instructions and found a great spot right near the walkway. I could see the waterfall in front of the building as I walked across the bridge. Very nice. Once I entered the building I found that I was right near the poker room. Nice! I did not sit for poker. No $2 - $4 games going. They did have $4 - $8 available but I do not play at that level. As you can tell, I am a low roller and not much of a Strip person.
I checked out the casino, which was an easy walk from the poker room. The crowed appeared to be young 20’s to late 30’s. The dance club, forgot the name, was going strong. There was a lot of yelling and cheering in the casino area. All and all a real fun atmosphere. Tried my luck at the machines but it was not happening. Stayed for a couple of hours and then headed home. Now, I am exhausted.

Saturday

Today I went downtown. Parked in the garage at Main St. Station. Went into the casino and tried my luck. No luck on the deuces machines but I went to the Double Double machines and hit the 4 Aces with a kicker. I hit a few four of kinds but most of the time I forgot to get the free scratch card. I did get a couple of the cards but only won a total of $4 on them but it is still exiting. REMEMBER, if you hit any natural 4 of kinds on the poker machines, turn on your light and have the change person bring you a scratch card.
Played a little more but was not getting much so I took my winnings and walked away.
I headed up the escalator and walked across the fly bridge to the Cal. Continued thru the Cal and went across to the Horseshoe . From the Horseshoe I went outside to the main street and walked each of the casinos. Dropped a little coin in each casino but got nothing in return. I walked all the way down to El Cortez. I did not go in. I saw where the City is restoring the vintage signs and posting them along the way. I was sorry it was not night time. I bet the signs would really have looked great. I will say that the area, once you leave the dome covered area goes downhill fast. I asked myself what I was doing walking in such a depress area by myself. I turned around and headed back to the bustling area of the Freemont Street Experience. I hope they find a way to revive the lower part of Freemont Street. It really does need help.
I went into one of the many gift stores along the way and got some postcards and a few trinkets to bring home.
There was a lot going on downtown. Stages were set up and people were hurrying about. I guess the entertainment was for later in the day. By the time I got back to MSS, I was hungry. I went to the Triple 7 restaurant to eat. I had the rack of ribs. Very tender and tasty. By now I was tired and full so I decided to head back to the house. I could have kicked myself when I realized (on the highway) that I did not go see the Golden Spike. I really did want to see how it came out. I had been to the Spike years ago and the memory of that visit has not dimmed over the years. A friend and I walked there and saw a couple of street people out front, rolling empty beer bottles against the wall for pennies. We went inside and the smell was the first thing we noticed. We decided to play Black Jack.
The dealer had difficulty counting and my friend was less than polite when she pointed this out. The pit boss had to come over and assist the dealer with his counting. When we left, she was still ranting about the dealer. She said it was bad enough that the white shirt he was wearing had a dirty collar, frayed cuffs and was less than white, but the fact that he could not add more than two cards together was ridiculous. I must say that was a memorable trip to the Spike. My one and only! Oh well, there is always next trip.
I went home and stayed in for the evening. I was up for the day and since it was 9 PM already I did not need to go out again.

Sunday

Headed out to the Palms again. My friend said to stay away from the progressives! I know that she is right. Most of the time, the progressives are only up one to two hundred more than the regular poker machines. The pays are less and they are much more difficult to win on. The odds are much better on the regular machines. This time, I did listen. I went in and played the non progressive machines. I started with Double Double. I hit a few four of a kinds, like deuce, three, and fours, some with kickers, some without. I moved on to my new favorite machine, Deuces Bonus Deluxe, and hit a few five of a kinds.
Went to the Café and had breakfast. It was good but there is not much you could do to screw up eggs and sausage. After a very late breakfast, I headed back to the house to take a break and rest up for the night.

South Point was the casino of the evening. It did not start off very well but then it changed. The Deuces Bonus Deluxe were good to me. I hit several 5 of a kinds and would cash out each time my $20 investment turned into $100.
I then moved on to the Double Double Bonus machines where I hit a few cheap four of a kinds and then I hit 3 with a kicker and 2 with a kicker. Cashed out and headed back home.

Monday

My how time flies. I will be going home tomorrow night and I feel like I just arrived.

Today is shopping day. Time to put some of the money I won into things other than machines. I went to Kohl’s and JC Penny’s. I blew a couple of hundred but I had fun doing it. Great sales too!

Since I was out in that direction, I headed to Red Rock. Played for a while and won a little here and a little there. Walked out a winner.
Next, I headed over to the Sun Coast. Forgetting my mantra, not to play progressives, I sat down at a bank of Double Double machines near the escalator. The progress was up to almost $1800. I did not win the Royal but I hit the A’s with a kicker for $500 on one machine and then I went to another machine on the opposite and hit the A’s with a kicker again. One man asked if I was the one who just hit on the other side and I said yes. He did not seem to happy. I cashed out and tried to remember the real reason I was there. Oh yes, it was to bring home some muffins. These are no ordinary muffins, They are the size of small cakes. I headed toward to the deli which is near the escalator to the garage. Here they have pastries that are gigantic. There cookies are enormous, the muffins are so big you cannot fit more than one in a Styrofoam box (the size you would get an order of chicken wings and celery to go in) and the turnovers are so light and flaky and BIG. Unfortunately they did not have any apple cinnamon muffins and the turnovers looked so delicate I was afraid to take them on the plane. I should have called a few days ahead to order them. No, that would not have worked. If they did not have them, I would not have gone and I would not have won as much as I did. Glad I went! Now, back to the house and unload all my goodies and rest for the evening.

My friends and I headed back to the Cannery Eastside for more bingo. My friend ordered food from the snack bar and we took that up to bingo. I had the steak sandwich and it was very good. I don’t remember what they ate but they did say it was good. Again, I won at bingo. I won the first coverall alone and split the third coverall with a few winners. The three of us were partners and so we all shared in the win.
We tried our luck at the machines but they were still nasty. They had to go home and get ready for work. I stayed for the next session of bingo. The cash ball was over $3600. My friend, Patti, split the price of my pack so we could play partners. I won again at bingo. I left after bingo and headed back to the house. I called her on the phone to tell her we won. I had hit on single bingo with a few winners. We got a whole $9. $8 after I tipped the girl a dollar. Once I got back to the house it was time to gather most of my stuff and pack for the trip the next day. I was going home with much less than I had traveled with. Left a bunch of clothes behind, along with four suitcases for my trip back in November. I plan to stay three to four weeks then.

Tuesday

Today is the big day. I leave to return to sunny FL. I made sure before I left the house that all my things were packed and I was ready to leave. Now I just had to decide were I wanted to spend my last day in Vegas. Arizona Charlie’s sounded good for the start of my day. It was a good start. No big wins but I did hit many 5 of kinds on the Deuces Bonus Deluxe machines.
Headed back home in the afternoon to rest and put my carry on into the car. I planned to return my car at 9:30 PM and get to the airport early for my 11:30 flight.
Later in the afternoon I headed out to the Palm’s for a last push. I met my friend there and we ate at the Little Buddha. They ordered a Sushi platter, a shrimp and calamari platter and sea bass for the meal. I had the orange chicken. Food was excellent. I did not eat the Sushi but they enjoyed it. After eating we went out to the machines. I was having a great night. I hit lots of 5 of kinds and some at the 50 cent level. I had to quit playing at 8:45 PM and head for the car rental return. I got gas at the AM/PM station and pumped in premium. I had no idea what gas to choose for this Grand Marquis. I arrived at the rental place and then I asked what kind of gas I should have used. They said I could have used the cheap gas. Oh well, live and learn. I had the return person do a visual check to see that the vehicle was not damaged. He did but said it was not necessary because he gave me the return slip which said it was fine when return. He said if there were damage, I would not have gotten the slip he handed me.
Got on the bus with about 6 other people and made the short ride to the airport. Check in was a breeze and I got to the gate earlier than expected. I did not play the machines at the airport. I wanted to but I managed to control myself. (Even I was amazed that I did not play the machines) I watched as others kept feeding the machines but I did not see anyone cash out more than they put in.
Our plane was late again. It was only a few minutes but the pilot said they would make it up in the air. They had strong tail winds and they should be able to make the flight in just four hours. I settled in and tried to sleep. Turned on my Ipod and just dozed on and off for most of the flight. It was a good flight and we landed early. I returned home with almost twice as much money as I left with. I was surprised because I had not hit any Royal but all those $100, $250, and $500 hits added up.
I knew we were in FL because when I stepped off the plane the steam heat hit me. Welcome home!

 

There's nothing like coming home with more money than what you left with; it makes for a great trip. I've got to start playing Deuces wild and DDB; JOB is just kicking my a$$.

 

Where did you stay during your trip? I don't think it was mentioned in either of your posts.

 

My friends were kind enough to invite me to spend my time in Vegas at their home. We have a great time together and my pace is just a little bit slower and more relaxed.

 

Enjoyed reading your Trip Report. Thanks for posting.

later, GVJ