TR 8/31-9/3: Achieving the Mythical "Diamond in a Day" as a low roller

+1 to what KingBB said.

 

Sometimes life, work and family can get a little hectic. Didn't know there was a time limit on these things.

 

I think people need to realise that it is not compulsory to write a trip report and we should be grateful when people do type them. It can take a while and surprisingly some people's lives do not revolve around Internet forums.

Thanks for the TR Nsiseirish, made a great read!

 

Please don't pay too much attention to that. We're all very interested in reading the rest of it but most of us understand that you can only do it when you can. A lot of us appreciate the effort it takes to write one up as we all know what goes into having written our own.

 

Don't let the haters get to you. But don't slack too much... this is a good one and there is a bunch of us waiting for the conclusion.

PS. Go Irish!

 

yes, do finish!

would love to hear the rest of your report!!
Thanks,
cause we all go to Vegas4fun!

 

I will finish this up later tonight.

 

Good TR so far nsideirish,
Maybe not "punch you in the throat" because you didn't finish good,but keep it up.

 

Planet Hollywood casino floor was loud and crowded—as usual. Went to the HL room to play some baccarat and all the $100 and $200 tables were packed. Only spots open were at the $500 table…yeah, not doing that. Went to the bar by the sportsbook and used our tickets to get a few drinks. Service kind of sucked…very snotty. I am guessing it was because we were all using tickets but we all tipped well so it isn’t like our use of tickets has any bearing on them. Oh well.

The entire group was together which was rare for the trip…and it didn’t last long. A few went to go play craps, a few got comfortable at the bar and I was off to play some baccarat on the main floor. Found a table with a cute dealer and a friendly group. Cocktail service was excellent. I just don’t like gambling at Planet Hollywood. It is just too crowded and too loud. I sound like an old man. I am actually their target demographic but it just isn’t the vibe I am looking for when gambling. If out to party and drink only, sure, it is great. But a little too much for gambling.

We played there for a few hours and all did decent. I was up a couple hundred and got quite a few drinks out of it. We were somehow able to round up the troops and head across to Caesars. We hadn’t done much gambling there and all wanted to check it out. I decided to head to the HL room and this is where things got a bit interesting. I settled in at a baccarat table by myself with a friendly dealer from Australian. I was doing pretty decently when all of a sudden, I hear a bunch of Spanish speakers all around me. I turn around and see 3 absolutely drop-dead gorgeous South American women. Seriously, these women could have been on Ms. Universe. And the one guy with them is a man in his mid-50s. He has jet black hair slicked back and more gold chains/rings on him than you could imagine.

He sits down at my table (of course he sits next to me and his girls are all blocked off from me…damn!). He gives each girl $5000 and he throws in $5000 as well. The usual delay ensues to count the money and hand out the chips. They are each betting $500 and are all betting different things. One girl is putting $500 on Tie every time. He begins speaking in broken English to the dealer and explains that he is from Columbia and is in the….get this…”export/import” business. He said it with a smirk on his face. They were all sipping on Patron. I was just a kid in awe. I tried (in a sad, drunken attempt) to talk to the women, but after a few looks from the dealer (the baccarat dealer…), I decided my neck might be at risk.

 

We all played for hours. They were all really friendly and we were all doing pretty well. I was making side bets for the house and I really think this is the way to get points faster. The floor supervisor (I think that is who it is) saw me betting green chips for the house and would occasionally give me a wink and then enter my information into the system. I can almost guarantee he was entering in that I was betting much more than I was and this ultimately paid off.

After a few hours, I decided it was craps time. I cashed in up another $1000 total and bid my farewell. It was tough pulling myself away from this table and the ‘scenery’ but it was like a delicious carrot hanging in front of me that I knew I could never reach. I saw a couple other guys in my group right where I left them and we all started playing together. Table was $15 but I was betting greens with bets on the side for the house. We all did pretty decent here as one shooter just was hitting everything. We all colored up and it was around 2 am at this point. They went back to Paris and I headed back to the HL room to play some blackjack.

Blackjack is not my game but it was the first game I really played in Vegas and I just felt I had to play it a bit. I proceeded with my strategy of making bets for the house and the same floor supervisor was there and continued entering my information. Nearly every hand, I would show my cards to the dealer to get the best advice. I was a little too drunk to remember basic strategy. I was the only one at the table so I didn’t mind taking my time. Played for another 2 hours and lost a few hundred but it felt nice to play some blackjack.

Headed back to Paris and the rest of the group was fading fast. We played craps for another hour or so and headed up to bed depressed that we’d be leaving the next day. Ordered room service (I know, I know) and passed out. Woke up after a nice, long sleep and started packing up. We all headed downstairs and the line for check out was INSANE. I decided, what the hell? I should just check what my status is…maybe I made Platinum and can skip this line. Went over to the TR booth…”Sir, you skipped over Platinum and made Diamond in a Day at Caesars yesterday. Congratulations. Let me print you a new card.” :confused2:

I was shocked but of course, ecstatic. I got my new card and marched back to check out. My friend who had the other room were still in line and hadn’t made a ton of progress. I got their attention and gave them a wink and marched into the Diamond check out room. Man, it was saaaweeet in there. Checked out and got all my room service taken off my bill. The room was already comped so the total was $0. Not too bad. All in all, my third trip to Vegas was my best trip. A short epilogue coming up next (Hey, BB, does writing an epilogue make me too much like J.K. Rowling?)

 

That was great and well worth the wait. Thanks for sharing and congrats.

 

Very awesome trip!
How much money did you win in total?

 

Lol, great ending! See a little prodding and we got the story about the coke dealer and DIAD.

Looking forward to the epilogue when you post it in December lol

 

Great trip report! Thanks for finishing it and congrats on the wins and DIAD. Good thing you didn't proceed with hitting on the mamacitas as I'm sure your trip would have ended a little differently.

 

Brief epilogue:

All in all a great trip. We are young, drunken degenerate gamblers so I don't have much to offer in terms of fancy restaurant reviews or show reviews but I will say, in terms of food, Wicked Spoon is a MUST. Unreal...I am still raving about it weeks later. Oh, and Earl of Sandwich, of course. Amazing sandwiches.

Another big thing I learned this trip: TIP your dealers! Always. I 100% guarantee that I did not "technically" earn enough points to attain DIAD. But, with some generous tipping and a friendly attitude, I was given it. I think, looking back, I may have earned just barely enough for Platinum in a day. But tipping some green chips here and there in the HL room really gets their attention.

Our next trip was planned for March Madness...but 2 days after returning home, I booked 3 nights over Thanksgiving weekend at Planet Hollywood and the group is all on board. My Diamond status expires on March 31, 2013 so I want to squeeze two trips in while on Diamond because I know there is no way I will be earning Diamond the normal way. I will be bumped down to Platinum on March 31.

The number one thing I learned/realized this trip: I MISS O'SHEA'S. Walking near that place and not being able to go in to see Lucky or play some $5 craps or get a frozen Bailey's...just depressing.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the report. It was my first one and I definitely appreciate much more the effort that goes into these things. Sorry it took so long for me to pump this thing out. Let me know if you have any questions.

Maybe I will meet some of you if you are out there for Thanksgiving weekend. First drink on me.

 

The temptation was there...even though they were so far out of my league, it would have been a pathetic attempt. But I am sure my head appreciates still being attached to my body.

 

Are you sure your Diamond status expires March 31 2013 and not 2014?

 

I think the point of the guy complaining was not that it took so long to write.

It was why don't you wait until you're written it all, THEN post it, instead of posting as you go.

I would kind of prefer that approach as well, to be honest. But I recognize that it doesn't bother some people, and that often you don't realize how long a report will take until you start posting.

So he probably didn't think it would be a week long cliffhanger when he started posting a bit at a time.

 

I understand that. I really thought I would be able to finish it up in a few days but I got a lot more detailed than I expected and had a lot of other things to deal with. I apologize for that.

It was my first report so now for future reports, I will know better.

 

Yes. Unfortunately, DIAD expiration is different than earning Diamond the regular way. I will expire on March 31, 2013 and then get bumped down to whatever level my total points earned for 2012 earned me (in this case, Platinum).

If I had earned Diamond the regular way (11,000 pts in a year), I would be secure in my Diamond status through March 31, 2014.

I think they do it this way to kind of "protect" (not really the best word for it) against people like me who get really lucky one trip and stumble into DIAD status. They know that those who earn Diamond the regular way are consistent gamblers and not just one lucky, high rolling day.