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Two Dozen Nights in Vegas: Down Town VP and beer.

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by wasilla, Oct 20, 2019.

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  1. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    Today is more of a playing day, than a drinking day. I had some Baileys this morning, and order a single Stone during the rest of my bar top time. It wasn't a hangover or anything. It's just that after trying over 20 beers last night, another Stone IPA or Alaska Amber doesn't excite me today.

    I started playing around 9:30 am. I planned to play $7,000 coin in to maintain a $5,000 a day average over my 12 nights a GG and The D. I drew a 4th King for $42.25 at 10:29, and got 6's for $33 at 10:47. I lost my $100 at 11:07am with 141 points. Just 560 more to go. I took a breakfast break at the diner and had a ham, sausage, and cheddar omelet.

    I restarted at 11:50. The bar was practically empty. I hit Q's for $34.50 at 12:04 and 8's for $33 at 12:10. The bar is filling up and a fast, competent player sits next to me. We're chasing the same rapidly growing quad. I'm playing fast and my credits are evaporating. The quad gets hit at $47 at 12:55. We booth stop playing. Someone else has hit it. I resume my play at a slower pace. The RF an SF are still good and getting better. I lost my 2nd $100 at 1:30 with another 189 points.

    I had to leave my bar to play my FP. I turn $50 into $47.50. I returned to the bar and lost my FP winnings at 2:06. I got K's at 2:11. I was tired and quit with my $100 intact at 2:28. I took a break and returned to play at 3:55pm. The RF was $1,312 and the SF was $226. I lost the 3rd $100 at 4:25. The bar isn't crowded and few are playing BP. I hit 7's for $41.25 at 4:50, K's for $35 at 5:16, and 10's for $32.75 at 5:22. I've had a flurry of recent quads, but no premiums today. I finally got 3's for $50 at 5:34, 8's for $35.50 at 5:30, 2's for $50 at 6:06 and 9's for $34.25 at 6:07. I've been having the progressives to myself, but more people were playing now and someone else hit one at 6:25. At 6:35, I got a last quad for $31.50. At 7:00 I cashed a $125 TITO with 310 points and meeting my goal.

    I had 3 things that I wanted to do tonight, but only have time for two of them. I decided to postpone a brew pub revisit.

    I decided to have my first dinner at Top of Binion's Steakhouse. I'll share my experience, but you should read zignerly's TR for a good review. They were pretty crowded a little after 7pm on Thursday. I was told they didn't have a table at first, but then they found one. I didn't get the best table, the lighting was poor and the venalation system blasted air directly on me., but the view was still great. I think that I was the only solo diner. All the tables in my section had 4 + people. There were a few couples that I saw in another section. I had a Raspberry Salad with walnuts, cherry tomatoes, and cheese. It was really good. I also had the ribeye with couscous. It came with green beans. Since I didn't have a Hardaway IPA, I settled on a glass of Malbec. The meal was great. The tab was $75.98, but after a 25% off LVA coupon, it was $61.68

    Gotta go for that last thing.
     
  2. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    I tried Jokestars again. I'd suggest going on a weekend. The weekday audience is a bit sparse. Somehow, I saw the same headliner as 8 days ago. I was torn about whether to play more VP tonight. The RF was above $1400 and the SF over $300 before the show. After the show, the SF had been hit, so problem solved. I only remember hitting one SF in my 12 days of play a GG and The D. I would have expected more after 44,000 hands. Last Summer, I hit 3 of them in a day at the Vue Bar.

    I go to 4Q's tomorrow for a promotion. I hope to play $64,000 over the 3 day WE. This is more than I've played over the last 12 days. It's going to be busy.
     
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  3. zignerlv

    zignerlv VIP Whale

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    Glad you enjoyed. I didn't bother with the caption, but in my TR I have a pic of that Raspberry Salad, which I had, and that you enjoyed as well. Didn't realize that they got that busy, as we ate earlier to be able to see the sunset, and it was a Friday night, yet many tables were open. Opentable is a quick way to get a reservation there so you don't have to wait, and you earn points for the reservation, which add up to rewards, which can be redeemed at restaurants.

    The SF vs RF ratio is always interesting to follow. Math says it is a little over a 4 to 1 ratio, but it never seems to come that way. I've had long periods where my SFs just barely outnumbered my RFs.


    EDIT... Just saw that this was my 1,000th post!
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2019
  4. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    Zignerly,nice tip for Binion's reservations. I found it both different and similar to Hugo's Cellar. The green bean dish prepared with red bell pepper was EXACTLY the same. The Ribeye was comparable to the one I had at Hugo's in October and a little better than the one in November. The main difference in the plating is that Hugo's adds sautéed mushrooms to their dish. I much preferred the Binion's salad, but as you said, it's a $10 add on. I way prefer Hugo's bread basket. It's probably the view that I found to be Binion's biggest advantage. It makes for such a nice dining room. I thought the price was very reasonable, but it did take a big bite out of my Binion's comps. I'll have to plan ahead next time in order to use 4Q's. I did miss walking in with a great IPA w/o a reservation, talking to staff that I know, and them finding me a table within a couple of hours. It's like everyone is a VIP at Hugo's.
     
  5. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    I enjoyed following this TR. Going to be at 4Q tomorrow night through Monday. Hope to meet up with you to play and talk VP and downtown comps!
     
  6. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    I checkout Monday. I'm the guy keeping notes in a notebook. I'm playing a lot because of a promotion they have. I'm generally found at Chicago Brewing or Mikes Bar winning or losing tons of money, or at the 9/6 JOB trying to grind. Hope to see you!
     
  7. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    11/8/19, Friday at 4Q's.

    If you read my Summer trip report, you may remember that I have an affinity for 4Q's. I also can go a little crazy there. When I'm there I gamble more volatile games and higher stakes than I'm use to. Plenty of good and bad things ensue. Every stay is different. Lets start this stay's story.

    I have a 6am wake up at the D. The 4Q's has a good promotion that maxes out at $64,000 coin in for the 3 day WE. I made that last Summer, but it wasn't easy. I'm getting an early start. I mostly either play .50c 9/6 JOB or .50c 10/6 DDB, the first for safety and the 2nd for profit potential. As I leave my room, I'm still not sure what I'll play. The argument for JOB is that it will give me a better chance to stay in the game and pick up the back end $500 FP, but JOB is not a long term winner and usually requires FP to subsidize the losses. DDB, however, is break even straight up and the points and FP are gravy long term. My stay isn't long term though. I generally win or lose hundreds and thousands at this game. I don't doubt that some people break even, but it's not me.

    I leave the D and go next door to 4Q's. I decide to "start" at Mikes' Bar, but I have no clue about what a "start" entails. I'm just winging it until I'm not. Sometimes the .25c progressive 9/6 DDB is good and I actually plan to ease into things by playing that first. I don't though. I put in $100 and go for .50c DDB. I'm always a little scared when I start playing this game. My last TR gives a hint as to why. I've won or lost my monthly pension check more than once. This game is my definition of volatility. When including points, it is also the most +EV game the casino has.

    I start playing a 7am. 15 minutes is often more than enough time to lose my first hundred. This time I am dealt four 2's at 2:15. I hold them and draw the 4 of clubs kicker for $400. My anxiety subsides. I also draw all the 4's at 7:28 for $200. at 7:28. I draw 5's 7 minutes later. It's been a good 1/2 hour and I'm up over $600. There is a reason that people get addicted to this game. I start losing some credits. I don't really notice, because I have so many of them, but I see that I've lost over $200 and cash out a $500 TITO. I could play it safer and hit JOB. I put in another $100. At 8:35 I draw7's and my credits grow to 315.

    The guy next to me is lightning fast and playing dollars. I leave him alone, but he stands up and has a "call attendant" on the screen. He says that he hit aces earlier, but this is a paper jam. I tell him that I thought he was winning thousands. His reply: "I wish, I'm putting thousands in." reminds me that I'm not out of the woods yet.

    At 8:46 I lost my $100. I'm dealt J's at 9:16 and draw 9's at 9:41. I'm dealt my 3rd 4 card RF. Then I lost $100 at 10:09 and another at 10:26. I quit with 675 points. After a great start, I'm only up $100 today. This is neither ideal nor unexpected. It's not my first rodeo. I find out my room is ready, eat a quesadilla for breakfast, and move. I had hoped for a suite, but my 4Q's stock must have fallen. I have a 10th floor south tower room overlooking the stage.

    I head to Chicago Brewing for a beer, playing 9/6.25c DDB at 1:20. I lost another $100 at 1:42. I downloaded the $10 LVA FP and lost that two with 53 pts. I ordered another IPA and headed downstairs. There was one 9/6 JOB for .50c open and I took it. I started at 2:04 and lost $100 at 2:15. I hit Q's at 2:18, 7's at 3:04, and lost another $100 at 4:17. I was now down for the day. I hit aces complete with kicker at 4:51. I had mixed emotions, but I needed the $62.50. I lost another $100 at 5:35 and took a break with 719 pts.

    I decided to stick to JOB and resumed at 7:37. I hit 3's at 7:37, 7's at 8:04, dealt 5's at 8:06,drew 5's at 8:24, and 10's at 8:29. I quit with my hundred intact at 9:10pm with 475 pts. I had intended to eat at Magnolias, but figured that I missed the last seating, so I headed upstairs to Chicago brewing. I was only down a few hundred today, but this was over an $900 swing from this morning.

    I was going to drop down to quarters DDB, but didn't. I started at 9:15pm and was hitting everything below 4 OAKs. I didn't lose this hundred till 10:04. During this time the person on my right was playing single quarters. The guy on my left was playing fast. He was playing dollars and had around 2,400 credits. I saw him hit at least 5 quads including 2's and aces with a kicker. He had close to 5 grand before he bled around $500 off and quit. It was an amazing run which he absolutely refused to talk about with me. Doesn't he know that I have a TR to write? When I had sat down, his partner had almost lost as much as he had won. I thought this was poetic, but this guy's run blew poetry off the bar stool. Her losses are also now covered for tomorrow.

    While this winner won't do much talking, a guy a met her last Summer at the beginning of a few day run did show up. He remembered me and we caught up.

    My favorite Hugo's waiter shows up. His crew usually play at the bar and get comped drinks. Between the promotion and the holiday weekend they are stuck at a table. I discover that I can use my comp dollars to buy them a drink

    I lost the next $100 at 10:39 and another after that at 11:10. You can ask me how I wound up playing this, when I was planning to play JOB and eat at Hugo's. I could make something up, but I'm just going with the flow, for better or worse. I'm dealt three 3's at 11:16 and draw a 4th. I'm relieved. The bleeding has stopped.. Three minutes later the same thing happens. I'm up to 1,926 credits. I might break $1,000. I hit J's at 12:08,. At 12:15 I am again dealt the three 3's. Third time's a charm. The 4th three is accompanied by a kicker.

    At this point I'm feeling pretty good and am becoming more extroverted. My comp dollars also cover my new New Mexico neighbor's meals. The bar tender is amused at this point. I'll call them when I go to Sant Fe next year.

    I hit JK at 12:19, and dealt 10's at 12:42. I have 2,050 credits at this point. I lose $125 of that before I finally quit at 1:14. I was glad I skipped Hugo's tonight. Did I say quit? As I cashed out my ticket, I eyed the JOB, gave it another shot and lost $100.

    It feels like I played a lot, but I will have to pick it up to meet my goal.
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2019
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  8. AyDee

    AyDee is getting too old for this

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    Love those generous memories, and excited for your DDB run.. That's all I trained the GF to play, so she's stuck there, I'm feeling like the 4oak droughts need me to shift to BP sometimes, but JOB, as has been said, can be like watching paint dry. Your great grinding reports validate my thoughts that I'd generally prefer to be drunkish/extroverted at tables.. But definitely appreciate all the beer reports..

    Other trip reports seem to indicate royals flying around all over, hope you get yours before you're done! :beer:
     
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  9. zignerlv

    zignerlv VIP Whale

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    Count me in that "scared" crowd. Last trip, I had one day I was planning to play it "safe" with JoB, but found a DDB progressive that made the game 100.5%. I sighed, knowing I had to abandon the JoB idea, shrugging my shoulders, as in "well, here goes", and took it on the chin. But, I'd do it again if it got that positive again, of course.

    My favorite server there retired a few years ago (Discussed as "The man who met Elvis" in an old TR of mine). Yet to find anyone as good. Do you mind naming him here or PMing me with his name?
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2019
  10. zoey11

    zoey11 Mid roller and Vegas fanatic

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    Awesome trip report!

    Would you do another trip this long?
     
  11. mdm4sfest

    mdm4sfest VIP Whale

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    As I’m headed to LV tomorrow, I’ve been wanting devote more time to VP. With the help of others on here, I plan on doing a bulk of that downtown. As I know you can’t predict the future (maybe you’re a swami in real life), what’s a good time to hit up the Vue bar, let’s say on an early evening during a MNF game which will be on around 5PM?
     
  12. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    It tends to get busy during popular televised games and when there is huge RF progressive. All the good DT VP bars also get an after work local crowd. I would get their early.
    You didn't ask about what to play. Their 7/5 JOB is terrible. A lot of people like the .25c DDB, but the progressives don't get high enough to make up for the huge house edge. The .25c 8/5 BP progressive is the game to play there. There are coupons in ACG and LVA that will add 1% FP to your play. I have an extra, if you, or someone else DT wants it.
    If my crystal ball was still intact, I would have left Mikes' bar $600 richer yesterday morning.
    Have fun. Every VMB member but me seems to be hitting Royals there.
     
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  13. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    Thank you for your compliment Zoey. My TR last summer was of a trip of comparable length. I've done several before that, and plan to make several more in the future.
     
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  14. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    I lol’ed !
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
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  15. mdm4sfest

    mdm4sfest VIP Whale

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    Thank you for the facts... always appreciated. I booked my trip so last minute I couldn’t get an ACG via Amazon that quickly so I’ll have to do without this trip. They sell them in Vegas?
     
  16. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    I get mine at Hunnington Press when I also pick up my LVA. I have a picked through LVA and ACG if you want them. I'm at 4Q's Sunday and DTG Monday and Tuesday.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2019
  17. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    The royals flying all over is mostly due to some posters just posting the giant wins.

    Im personally ok with random quad pics, but pretty common with high volume k players
     
  18. wasilla

    wasilla High-Roller

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    11/9/19 Saturday at 4 Q's.

    There is a movie about Seattle homeless teens called Where the Day Takes You. That's my theme for 4Q's.

    I started playing .50c JOB at 11:20. I figured I could cycle through coin to build up points. I hit K's at 11:34 and lost a $100 at 11:52.I lost another $100 at 12:15. I hit 6's at 12:19, 5"s at 1:56 and quit at 2:14 with my 3rd hundred still intact. I had been dealt three 3's with a kicker and didn't know what to hold. Since I didn't get the quad it didn't matter. Yesterday, I saw 2 RF's, talked to someone who got a 3rd, and witnessed a $2,000 aces with a kicker. Today I sat down and the guy to my left had $1,800 in credits and was playing $1 JOB. How do you get so much money on JOB? The guy to my right held 3 and drew a $4,000 RF after a few minutes, he followed it up with a SF of the same suite. I might be out of my league here. They were replaced by a guy whose machine dealt a RF yesterday, but lost #100 today, and a guy that blew through $400. Good luck trying to win by your machine pick.

    I needed a break and then food. I moved to Chicago Brewing and started playing at 3:21. The 2 thru 4s'swith kicker was $327. I decided to play it. I lost $100 and that progressive was hit. I had some credits left and switched to .50c 10/6 DDB. at 4:50, I hit 5' at 4:53. I lost $100 at 5:35 and again at 5:55. A couple sat beside me. He hit a RF within minutes. They left before they could place a drink order. I played on. I hit 9's at 5:57 and lost another $100 at 6:25. I was losing. I wasn't happy about that in particular, but I was happy, and a little drunk. The day was taking me places. I hit 10's at 6:44. At 7:10 I switched to dollars because..., I don't have a fucking clue. I hit 7's a minute later, followed by trips , FH's and straights. Perhaps I will write a Singer companion piece, but I'm passing this off as dumb ass luck for now. I dropped back down to .50c when my TITO dropped to $300. That's $250 more than I had before the denomination bump.

    I was drunk but winning, so I continued to play. I was inhaling IPA's today. I hit 7's. At 7:35, I held 2 royal spades and drew the other 3. I was more surprised than usual. It was a $2,000 hand pay. I gave the slot attendant $10 and put $20 in the tip glass. I figured I would get a B52 to celebrate. I finally got one 50 minutes later. A twenty does not guarantee quick service. They were really busy. The drink was delicious and I ordered 2 more. Philonous showed while I was waiting for the drink and turned into great company and knew how to increase a $100 buy in.

    I hit 4's at 8:46 and finally drew a SF at 8:45. It's short pay, but I'll live. I was drunker still and doing way more talking than playing. I lost all track of time. I apparently spent 10 hours there. I did hit 6's before closing but my note taking has gone to shit. I'll count money tomorrow.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2019
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  19. kkinwi

    kkinwi VIP Whale

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    Nice comeback! When I see your early morning posts, I assume you are heading to bed while I am starting my day.....hope today is another winner!
     
  20. AyDee

    AyDee is getting too old for this

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    One down.

    (Casey Kasem voice): and this one is going out to our intrepid VP reporter hero,


    there's also a saying that comes to mind about witnessing them all around you,
    "Don't hate, participate."
     
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