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Golden Gate / Rio August 14-19

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by dunebug81, Aug 26, 2013.

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  1. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    My Trip Report

    Day 0: (Aug 13)

    I get to town a day early which is usually what happens but no complaints since its better than being a day late. I make my delivery at around noon and head over to the Rio for some "lunch" and by "lunch" I mean craps. Since I was in town for my brothers birthday (who doesn't arrive til the next day so I only have a few bucks to play with as I don't want to blow my bankroll before he even gets to town. I start with $400 at the craps table and its up and down for about an hour. No complaints there as everyone at the table had a good vibe and we all were having fun. I was betting the pass and when the table went cold hit a few $200 don't pass / "no 4" to keep my bankroll in tact. Eventually the table turned to shit and I busted out.
    I took a break and had some lunch at All American Bar and Grill. I like their french dip sandwich and mashed potatoes. After lunch I hit the ATM since I forgot to go by the bank and they are now closed til tomorrow. ATM fees suck but thats the cost of being forgetful/lazy. I decide to play some slots and hit nothing of note and im now down another $500. Goddamn I didn't want to be down $900 on the first day! I wasn't going to book a room but since I had been using my card I booked 2 nights just so I could take a nap and a show. I drove in from Albuquerque and had been up and driving since 8:30 the night before. I went up stairs and took a shower and a short nap....or so i thought. Next thing I know its 6:00AM!

    Day 1: (Aug 14)

    I got up and took another shower (I only get a few showers a week so when they are free I'll take all I can get). I watch some news and then some Law And Order or something on USA/TNT til about 11. It was my moms birthday so I call her and chat for a bit. Since I didn't have any dinner I decided to hit up the buffet while, hopefully, they still have breakfast. I was staying in the Masquerade tower in one of the newly remodled rooms and it was fine. The beds are nicer then the beds in the PetStay rooms. The pillows still suck ass. I never made it to the buffet. The gravity of Mississippi stud pulled me in. I had a few 2 pair and even a 3 of a kind but eventually I was down to the felt. :( Down another $300. I walk back over to the craps table and finally have a quick decent session for +$300 to win back my Mississippi Stud money. I wonder around playing various VP and really don't have much luck. I see some empty Pai Gow Poker tables and decide to low roll for the next few hours til Michael lands around 7PM. I actually start winning so I press my bets and end up with a few hundred win. Now Im feeling good so I move to baccarat and lost 6 or 7 hands in a row...down $600. So now I'm down to my last $500 for the day and down nearly $1200 between today and yesterday. I sure am glad I got that "FREE" room! I call my bro and hes about to get on the plane from Atlanta to Charlotte for a short layover then on to Vegas. Hes picking up the rental and will go check in to the Golden Gate when he picks me up. I decide to give craps one more shot. $500 buyin and a few shooters cant hit any repeaters for anything. Then it happens...the guy before me looks like a shooter and his girlfriend has AMAZING boobs and shes drunk and showing them off to everyone. Boobs are good luck right? I'm down to my last $150 or so and I put $10 on the pass, $135 across and a whole $5 on the odds. He goes on a mini heater and hits the 4 and 10 twice each and from the 4/10 profit I pump up all my numbers and give myself full odds. I won about $500 on his roll so I'm feeling good. Its my turn. $5 on the fire, $10 on the pass, I roll a 10. $135 across and full odds. I roll and 5, and another 5, and another 5, and more 5s, a few other numbers, more 5s. I had my 5 pressed up to $450 from an initial $25! I've got my 6 and 8 up to $270 and $300 and the rest of my numbers pressed up to $150 or so but I've yet to make my point. I've even pumped my pass line up to $25 so I can have $100 behind it. A few guys on the other side of the table are throwing out $10-$25 hard 10 on the hop and not even that helps! At the beginning of my roll I told the dealer that he needs to get out a stack of purple since hes going to need them. I was about 1 or 2 more 5s away from him paying me purple but I've got a shit ton of black in front of me and Im taking up 2 full sections of rail and working on the 3rd. I finally throw the 7 with about $1000 on the table and $3300+ in my rack! All those numbers but not another 10! Next shooter comes out and again $5 fire, $10 pass, and $135 across. He doesn't hit any repeaters for me but he quickly hits 4 points and I won $125 on the firebet but lose about $100 on his roll since I've pressed up my bets rather aggressively. I then color up tip the dealers about $150 and go from being down $1200 to being up nearly $2000. Hell yeah now thats how to get the trip started. I cash out have a little snack at the deli next to the sports bar since my brother is landing soon and I'm sure he will be hungry. I play some bubble craps and some slots. Nothing really happening for me so I call it a day and go back up stairs to watch some TV. I thought about seeing a movie at the Palms but nothing was worth walking over there for especially in 100+ degree heat. Michael finally calls me and tells me hes landed and getting the rental car. 30 min he picks me up and we head downtown.

    We get checked in to our room and head over to DuPars for some dinner. I have the prime rib and he gets the spaghetti. Both of which are fine but not quite as good as it could have been. Half way through we switch plates and I finish off his spaghetti. I get my players card printed and hit the craps table. Its pretty damn busy in there for a Thursday. Not having any luck and feeling full from dinner we decide to call it a day.
     

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  2. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Day 2 (Aug 15):

    Michael has purchased some property in Henderson down near M Resort and it finally was done being built and we were going to get the keys and take a look around. We are up at 9 and take quick showers in order to meet the real estate person at 10. We get there no later then 5 min after 10 and this dope has already left. No call..no text..nothing. What a bitch! The keys are in the lock box and we go in and take a look around...looks just like the models we looked at over New Years. After that I suggest that we go see Ralphie May who is playing at South Point that night. We head over there and quickly lose $200 on a 5 play quick quads machine. Great, another awesome way to start the day. I said "lets go over to the box office and get our tickets, I doubt it will sell out but lets get them now." As we are walking over to the box office I spot the new Willy Wonka machine and play it. $4 a spin! That gets expensive quick. I hit a few Oompa Lumpa bonuses but nothing picture worthy. Im down to my last 4 or 5 spins and I finally get the bonus! i get the free spins and win about $270 bucks most of it from one spin that gives me a whole ton of 5 of a kinds. I cash out and take my $80 profit and buy our tickets for the show with it. Now thats how a casino should work! We now had about 7 hours to kill before the show so we go eat at Steak N Shake which is crazy busy but damn they got our food out fast. After that we saw 2 movies. The first was the horrible horrible piece of shit that Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford star in called Paranoid. Man was it terrible! We walked out about 15 min before the movie ended. It was so predictable. Save your money on that piece of crap. As we are walking out I notice that Kick Ass 2 is about to start so we walk into that one and while it wasn't great it was a hell of a lot better then the other movie. Its now about 6:00 and have about an hour til show time. We play what I like to call "3 and down" craps. We give the shooter 3 rolls to hit some numbers and once hes hit 3 we take our money down. We do this for a few shooters and manage to avoid the 7 to win a few hundred bucks. I notice that the Pai Gow table has some open seats and we play some PGP. Im playing $75+5 on the bonus. I win 6 out of 7 hands and push the 7th and lose the 8th. Hitting 5 bonuses; 3 straights, 1 flush, and a full house! After a nice $300+ win for me and about $100 for my brother we head to the show room. My wife and some friend saw Ralphie last May and almost wet our pants we were laughing so hard. This time he was funny but the crowd wasn't laughing so he was mostly making fun of people who were not laughing and being dicks. No "stoned like a biblical whore" or finger banging jokes! I think he may have even cut his set short since it was going so bad. The 2 other people at our table didn't laugh once....wtf this guy is great. Oh well, we had a good time and at only $40 a ticket and a nice couple of wins at various games I call the night a success. We left the South Point and headed back to the Golden Gate. I've got 4 nights comped in a suite I gotta play a little more then $100 in a slot and less then 30 min of craps. Now that its friday night the place is just packed. Music is kickin and the boobie dealers are out in force! We play more craps but its so damn loud in there that its almost im possible to tell the dealer anything. After an hour of that and losing about $700 I call it a night. I'm not even sure if we had dinner that night since we had such a big lunch.
     
  3. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Day 3 (Aug 16)

    I get up before Michael and head down to breakfast. Its early...maybe 8:00. I have the French Toast at DuPars and as usual its amazing. After breakfast I hit the tables. PGP isnt open this early so back to the craps table. No monster rolls but I do manage to win a little bit. I go back up to the room and Michael is gone. I call him and he walked down to Fremont/Binions? to the Dunkin Donuts for some muffins and bagels. I have a few bites of each but just having eaten 14 lbs of bread at DuPars I wasn't even close to hungry. We play some more craps and after having no luck we walk down Fremont. We stop in the Golden Nugget, 4 Queens, and The D. We play a the Silver Strike machine long enough to win a token. Play some bubble craps and win there only to lose it in a Wheel of fortune machine. We make it to the D and play some Ultimate Texas Holdem. For some reason I can win nearly all my $10-$15 hands but as soon as I jump to table max of $50 dealer beats me. At one point I was up about $400 and went all in on a $50 hand with pocket queens. So thats $25 on the trips + $50 on the Ante + $50 on the Blind + $200 on the play and I've got pocket queens! Hell yeah. Flop comes out rag - rag - queen. excellent I've got trips! Turn and the River are no help. No pairs on the board but there is a straight possibility....and of course the damn dealer made his straight! I won $75 on the bonus bet only to lose $300 on my hand. Awesome. We move over to roulette. Why do I play this game? Im horrible at picking numbers. After 5 spins I'm down $400 with not even a single win. Michael breaks even on roulette but actually won something at poker so lunch is on him. Next to the roulette is some Deuces wild game. We play that for a bit. Its a pretty shitty game. I busted out fairly quickly and michael is holding his own. I sit and watch him get deuce after deuce in his hand. He actually wins like $150. I should have just given him my money. We head over to craps and I do a few "3 and downs" and quickly double up my $300 buy in. I color up and go over to the other table which is full and they seem to be having a better time then the people at our table. I walk up, point is 6. I throw out 5 black and say $400 outside and $9 on the 8. Going big on hopefully a hot shooter. Shooter passes the dice....they roll...and its a goddamn 7. Awesome. Thats one way to lose $500. i buy in for a few more hundy and its more of the same....7, 7, and more 7s! I ask for a comp to the diner up stairs for some lunch and the pitboss tells me I have $12 on my card. I said, ok can you issue us a comp for $40 for lunch? He said he cant he'll have to get a host. Seriously? A host for a $40 comp when you just saw me drop nearly a grand. After waiting for 15 min for the host that never shows I remember they have the hot dog place. i get chili cheese fries and a coke and michael gets some ground beef hot dog something. None of it was worth eating....i wouldn't feed my dog they food they are serving. Since I used my card to pay for our $12 lunch the host came and found us and apologized for taking so long and give me his card an told me to come back anytime. He thanked me for my play and tells me that he owes us lunch. So that was pretty good service and I tell him we'll be back tomorrow and want to try out the steakhouse. He said no problem he can issue us a comp for that too.

    After losing about $1500 at the D we head back to the Golden Gate. I find a multi-denom 5 line 3x-4x-5x machine. I change it to $1 and just cant hit anything. I decide to kick it down to $.50 and I can't lose. I'm hitting 7s with multipliers and nearly every spin im winning something. On my $200 buy in I run nearly $1200 thru the machine...most of it at $2.50 a spin. I never get up more then about $40 but damn this machine is letting me get some spins. Once I'm down to just $100 I cash out and move over to a 4 game $.25 wheel of fortune. I'm getting a spin on the wheel about every 4-5 spins and hitting other stuff. My $100 lasts a pretty good while and I get it up to $150 on a 400 credit wheel spin. I cash out of that and we move to the new $5 Wheel Of Fortune machine that is next to the craps table. 1st spin...nothing. 2nd spin...nothing. 3rd spin...nothing. 4th spin...spin! We say a little pray to Flying Spaghetti Monster and hit the spin button and BOOM $800! its not the top prize but damn that gives me about half of my money back from the super awesome time we had at the D! I cash out and mention to micahel that I think the crapless table is open across the street at Vegas Club. We walk over and sure enough it was. its super packed so I let michael take the only open spot and I just give him direction on what I want to bet. All we bet on these tables are 2,3,11, and 12. We hope to hit a few craps and take our money down. This dude was on a pretty nice run. We did $100 on the extremes and he hit 3 twice and 12 twice. Our system for this is when the 2 or 12 hit we press each number up $10 and when the 3 or 11 hit they all go up $5. Dude was hitting points and numbers and just doing well. After that 2nd 12 I did $160 across so now I've got all the numbers. he continues to roll and i won about $600 and michael won about $300. I'm almost back to even for the day!! By this time its getting late and we call it a day. I'm not sure what, or if, we had dinner this night.
     

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  4. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Day 4 (Aug 17):

    Breakfast again at DuPars. I have french toast and michael has pancakes. More craps, PGP, and Poker at the Golden Gate. Nothing special I play that 5 line machine again at the $.50 level and I get about $600 of coin in on my $100 and cash out dead even. We walk down to the D at around 5PM for the steak house. I call the host and leave him a msg saying we are headed over to the steakhouse for dinner. Michael grabs a seat while I go to the bathroom to wash my hands. Hes been seated for 5 min and no water, no "Ill be right with you", nothing. Another 5 min goes by and I said "Ok time to get the timer out. 3 more min and we're leaving" I set my phone on the table and start the timer. 5 min goes by and nothing. We get up and leave and no one says a word to us. After Tim and Michelle raved about this joint on their podcast I was really looking forward to eating here. So much for that. We walked down to the Plaza and ate at Oscars. Since I'm diamond at CET they tier matched me to Ace which is their highest tier. That gives me 30% off all the restaurants including Oscars. We are seated right away and with in seconds our server is there offering us cocktails and apps. Now thats some service. We order some steaks and sides and as I'm sorta watching the rain run down the glass I notice a familiar face sitting at the table in the center of the restaurant...its Carrot Top! We make eye contact and give each other a manly head nod. I tell michael that Carrot Top is sitting at the table behind him. it looks like he was with some friends and family celebrating a birthday. He and his wife (girlfriend?) got up just before our food came out and walked by us and I asked him how he liked this place and he said the food was always good. I didn't want to hold him up as he probably had a show that night. I said to him "its good to know we eat where the celebrities eat and to have a good night" he thanked us and went on his way. Im sure hes used to being stopped but it was cool of him to chat with us for a second. Dinner was in fact quite excellent! With the 30% off and some comps from the previous nights craps our bill was only $75. We left $30 tip and headed down stairs to play some PGP. They wouldn't let me play 2 hands so I gave michael some cash to play. 4 hands in I hit 4 Aces...then the very next hand michael hits a straight flush!! Between the bonuses and everything I won about $1000. We played afew more hands and went back over to the crapless table at Vegas Club. It wasnt as full and we were'nt having any luck tonight. I lost my $300 with a quickness and decided to play some of the $.50 Wheel of Fortune while michael was playing craps. I get the spin and BOOM! 1000 credits!!! Another $500 win on a slot this weekend. it seemed that whatever I lost at craps i would win back on some machine. After michael called it quits at the craps table we headed off to bed.
     

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  5. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Day 5 (Aug 18):

    Michael was up before me this morning and walked back down to Dunkin Donuts to get us some donuts and muffins. Today was the day we headed down to MGM to get in on some Lion Share. We get down to MGM and it looks like its going to pour down rain any moment. I find the Lion Share machine and put in $300. I get a ton of spins but never get higher then about $350 or so but I'm racking up points and increasing that jackpot for myself. I had planned on giving this thing $1500 but I was getting bored and when this machine went cold it went real cold. Michael went off and came back with a $500+ slot ticket and a pic of quad kings on a $2 DDB VP machine. Well done sir. This is when things got shitty. We went into the high limit room and played all manor of machine from $5 Red Hottie to $300 hands of DDB Quick Quad VP. None of which was working out for us. Michael did hit the bonus on a $10 top dollar machine but he pussed out and took the first offer for 40 credits. What a wimp! I proceeded to lost nearly $2000 in the span of about 30 min. OUCH! I wanted to play some baccarat but only had $200 left I had about $2000 in the room but wasn't going to drive back to get it so michael gave me $700 and we headed over to the Mansion. I got in on the middle of the shoe and it turned out pretty good for me. I was winning more than losing and everytime Id win a $200+ hand I've give michael a black chip. I had a few $250-$300 wins and paid him back his $700 pretty quick. I had $600 in front of my and its the last hand of the shoe and I go all in on player. Everyone else goes against me for some reason. We were all pretty much playing the same side. Cards come out and I ask for the dealer to flip over the bank...Q4. Ok thats not bad. I look at my hand JJ. Shit. I get my 3rd card....oh damn 4 sides. For the non baccarat players thats either a 9 (for a win) or 10 (for not a win) There will be no draw for the bank regardless. I blow on this card as hard as I can and BOOM 9 of spades! $600 win! I color up with my $1200 and drop a $20 on the table for the dealer...I won half of my money back from our adventure in the high limit room. Thats good enough for me.

    We then head over to Mandalay for dinner at Citizens. Its a new place that opened recently and is excellent. I have prime rib and its outstanding. Michael had something but I can't remember. We also had this giant meatball as an app. No shit this thing was the size of a baseball. The marinara sauce there is so good. I cant believe they don't offer a pasta dish with that sauce and meatballs. After dinner we screw around on craps, PGP, and more high limit slots. I play a few spins on a $100 WoF machine but come up with nothing. Move over to a $5 double gold machine and win $600. Michael hits something for $300 on his first spin on the machine next to me. We play some more and actually come out ahead just a bit after $4,000 or so worth of play. I then find the baccarat table in the high limit and people are playing. There was no one there earlier. I won 6 or 8 hands for another $1200 or so and take off at the end of that shoe. I won all my money back then then some. We head back to golden gate for more craps and a little blackjack. We cant stay up all night cause michael has to catch a flight around 1 but we also have to return the rental car. We decide ill just drop him off and Ill return the car and take a cab back to the rio where my truck is parked. That way I can run some errands since the car isn't due back til 8PM.
     
  6. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Day 6 (Aug 19):

    We get up and have breakfast at Einstein bagels thats on Trop about a half mile off the strip. The bagels there are always excellent! I take michael to the airport and decide to see a movie since I've not been sent a load yet. I go over to the Palm since Monday is $5 movie day. I saw Pacific Rim. Its not going to win any awards but the GCI was pretty good. After the movie I play some $.25 wheel poker deluxe game and hit the bonus....10 hands of 4 to the flush. Hitting 1,2,3,4 or 5 flushes pays 30,60,90,1000, and 4000 credits. Cards and dealt...1 flush...2 flushes...3 flushes....4 flushes....and on the final hand I get the 5th flush for 4000 credits plus 25 credits for each winning hand! BOOM $1000 win! I then play some more craps and PGP and win a few hundred at both. Im up over $1500 on the day and all I went to the palms to do was see a movie. I have the buffet for an early dinner, play a few more machines before heading out to return the car. I return the car and cab it back to the Rio. The driver is cool and I dont think he long hauls me. Doesn't matter really Im up about $2500 for the trip.

    I get to the Rio and only plan to play a little but I can't win for shit. As quickly as I won $1500 at the palms I've dropped $1800 at the Rio. I walk out to the truck to get some cash and to charge my phone a little. I grab some money and hit the craps table for the final time of the trip. Its my turn to shoot. I do $25 on the pass $10 on the fire and this time I double my usual $135 across to $270 with full odds. I hit 3 points and a few 4s which starts to pile up the black chips pretty quickly. I was pressing pretty good but not as much as I had been over the weekend. I don't have another $3000 roll but I color up $1800 which puts me exactly even for the rio. Tip the dealers $50 and head off to bed as its getting late and Im sure I'll be up early for work tomorrow.

    *END*
     

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  7. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    Great read, thanks for posting! :beer:
     
  8. sporty8705

    sporty8705 VIP Whale

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    so ya never got your food comp at the D? i would be maddddddd:nono:
     
  9. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    Nope, this host is the 2nd host I've met at this property that seems to just give out business cards yet never returns a phone call or email. Between the hosts and being ignored for 15 min after being seated I'm quite disappointed. I enjoy playing there but the service side really needs to be stepped up.
     
  10. FXT

    FXT VIP Whale

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    That place is very hit or miss it seems. The CS on my trip was pretty shoddy as well. Reading your trip report reminded me of my poker career. So swingy and glad you didnt end the trip in red.
     
  11. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    I have a pretty high volitility craps strategy and really play on a bank roll that's about 1/3rd what it should be so its either a $2000+ win or I bust out rather quickly.
     
  12. warpdrvr

    warpdrvr Low-Roller

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    Good report. Nice wins as well! I figured you for a driver when you said you only get a few showers a week and a free one is good. That's one part of driving I don't miss, haha. I also notice they have ample truck parking at Orleans if you ever need a spot.

    Stay safe out there driver!
     
  13. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    There is a surprising amount of truck parking in LV. Wynn will let hotel guests park bobtail! Rio is nice cause its easy in and out. The south lot at Mandalay is also a favorite however it's hit or miss depending on what conventions are currently happening.
     
  14. RockyBalboa

    RockyBalboa Front Line Winner

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    Excellent report. As a fellow crapsaholic I always love reading reports that have a lot of detail about the dice.

    I am also an aggressive player. I go for the big wins rather than grind it out most of the time because I don't want to be betting small and then the hot roll comes.
     
  15. sporty8705

    sporty8705 VIP Whale

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    ah, i just wondered if the host called ya back and offered somewhere else, or if she showed up there and didn't find ya.. thats too bad
     
  16. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    Great report. Don't blame you for walking out of the D's steakhouse.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  17. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    I even tagged the D in a twitter post and got no response.

    Oh I should have mentioned that Golden Gate doesn't have a host on duty in the morning to review play when checking out. I only had about $100 in room charges and had enough points to take care of it but its odd that they don't have someone there in the morning.
     
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