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Mid-December misbehavior...

Discussion in 'Vegas After Dark' started by G Mack, Jan 1, 2016.

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  1. G Mack

    G Mack Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    201
    Location:
    Illinois
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    37
    I've been a longtime VMB member, and do post every once in a great while -- though I'm more typically just a lurker who enjoys reading the threads now and then to get a little Vegas fix in between trips. I'm submitting a trip report in this particular category since the primary impetus for my recent trip was to enjoy a date with a fine Vegas professional woman whom I've seen on a few occasions before. Along the lines of the activities that PayTriple regularly enjoys... :wink2: Not that I'm going to dwell on that event in the report, but hey, I've gotta mention the main motivation for my trip, right?

    Now, understand that this isn't going to be anywhere near the ride that PayTriple, et al. take us on in their reports. In part since due to my current life situation, I've gone from being a fairly low roller to being a VERY low roller...even a modest 3-day Vegas jaunt like this is an extravagance for me these days. But, I'm also a pretty damn low-key guy in many ways. I had created a new profile & started writing this report there for the sake of extra anonymity, but it wouldn't let me add a few photos (there must be a waiting period before a new member can do that??). But, hey...nobody here knows me anyway, so what the hell. (FWIW, I'm no longer married or currently in any way attached...but I do have valid reasons for wanting the anonymity, again connected to the aforementioned "current life situation." I didn't tell ANYONE in my real life that I was taking this trip...not good policy in general I suppose, but I pulled it off successfully.)

    I had thought about posting a report as soon as I got home, but didn't...so after a few weeks, some details are going to be fuzzy. I'm doing it now since I am going a little stir crazy for things to do, as my company shuts down between Christmas & New Year's. Anyway! Enough with the exposition.

    Originally I had booked a 3-night stay at a well-known off-strip property. (I know it's a bit stupid, but I don't even want to mention the name of the property since that's where my date occurred.) But, since I wound up making the date for the very last night of the trip, I decided to shift downtown for the first two nights since that's primarily where I like to hang out & gamble. Being a solo trip (and with price being a factor), I was not very picky about the room...I almost chose the Fremont, but the day that I went to book it, their rates had gone up substantially for some reason. So, I went with a Golden Gate standard room.

    I flew to Vegas on a Saturday afternoon after a long, tiring work week. A bit of a turbulent ride, but at least it arrived a bit early. A few days before the trip, I had downloaded Lyft to get some of their sign-up discounts...I considered using them from the airport, but did not feel like figuring out where/how to meet them, etc. So I just went with one of the shuttle services. It was funny when I told the attendant that I was going to Golden Gate...she gave me a look as if she'd never heard that before, and said "we don't go there!" I just smiled and told her that GN would be fine. What's 50 or so extra steps, anyway?

    I had stayed at the Gate once a number of years ago, before the renovations. I was expecting the remodel of the tiny, old rooms to be a little nicer than it was, but again, as a solo guy just needing a room to crash in for a couple nights, I hardly cared. The miniature bathroom with the old-school separate hot & cold faucets for the sink and shower just adds character, right? I had every intention of napping for a couple hours upon arrival since I was tired...but the old "I'm in Vegas" feeling crept in, and after a quick freshening up, decided I'd go have a beer or two & play some VP, THEN come back up for my nap. (Famous last words.... :evillaugh )

    So, down to the GG bar, jam some money into a bartop, order a beer, and start playing DB poker at the quarter level. I've more or less settled on that as my game of choice, as it's not as boring as JOB, but still the variance feels reasonable. Not long in -- second or third beer, probably (I do like to get my drink on while in LV) -- I hit my first quad:

    20151212_163018_HDR.jpg

    3's, to boot! So now there's a small jolt of adrenaline going...what about that nap again?? I killed a few more beers there, and cashed out of my initial session up about 95 bucks (I did keep good notes on my phone this trip about my gambling results), and decided it was time to move. As soon as I stepped outside, I realized that I haven't eaten in awhile and I'm hungry. My mood says that I'm not going to bother with a sit-down dinner...I just want to get some chow. I wander across the street to the Plaza food court to see what their options are, and choose the Mexican place. Order the three carnitas tacos, and a Negra Modelo. It's pretty damn good, and generous in size. Could not quite finish all three. Recommended for a quick bite.

    20151212_164945.jpg

    I took a lap through the Plaza casino. I think that the infamous scent has in fact been dialed down at least somewhat, so that was nice. And the place did feel a *little* more lively than it has in recent years. So, maybe there's hope for it, but it's still not quite on my radar as a potential home base for future trips. Anyway, being the degenerate that I am, I decide that I have to play SOMETHING while I'm there. I'm not much of a slots guy, but I will waste a little dough at them now and again. I sat down at a wild horses themed penny machine, throw in a 20, and bet a buck at a time. One of the things that's frustrating about slots (besides the fact that there is zero skill or decision-making required) is that I usually have NO idea what the fuck is going on with these crazy newer machines. But, it's all good, because a few spins in, I hit one of these scatter bonus deals... all sorts of mayhem ensues, and I cash out with 62 bucks more than my original 20 investment. I must be a financial genius.

    My intended nap now officially off the table, I start wandering Fremont St. This was a VP kind of trip, and my notes tell me that I hit MSS, the Cal, the D, ElCo, the Fremont, 4 Queens, and a final session back at the Gate that night. Almost all were positive sessions, with the Fremont and 4 Queens being the best, but I don't have any more photos from that night. For the day, I wound up +240 from gambling. Not bad. I'd also had who knows how many beers at that point. I went to bed crazy early -- maybe 11:30 or midnight? -- thinking that maybe this would be my long-awaited nap, but also being okay with the idea of just crashing for the night if that's how it happened, since I was pretty exhausted.

    The latter is exactly what happened. I woke up at 7 or 7:30. I had read here about the exercise room at the D, and that GG guests had access to it...so I decided to be a good boy and take advantage of it. I bought a Baileys & coffee to go from the GG bar (can you think of a better pre-workout drink?), and headed down the street in my running shorts & a sweatshirt...it was a little chilly out, but not a major deal for a life-long midwesterner. I walked by one of the sign-carrying beggars right before entering the D...instead of asking me for money, he asked me where my pants were. Got a good laugh out of that! The D's exercise room is new and nice. Treadmills, ellipticals, dumbbells, a bench or two, towels, water cooler, and windows on one wall. I sweated my slow ass off for around 45 minutes on a treadmill there. (Yes, I was thinking to myself what many of you are thinking right now...if you're in an exercise room at 8:30 am in Las Vegas, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!! But, I gave myself a pass, having arrived in town dog-tired already, and not being a 30 year old man any more.)

    Headed back to the room and got cleaned up for another day of wandering, gambling, and beer drinking. The gambling didn't go as well that day. After lots of negative VP sessions, I headed back to the Gate for a break. Things were pretty quiet there...I decided to throw 100 down on an empty $5 blackjack table. I have had some insane losing streaks at BJ in my last few trips, but being a not-superstitious guy, I know that things have to turn around at some point...why not now? Unfortunately, this wasn't the time or place! I won an alarmingly small percentage of hands, despite being a very good basic strategy player. Against my usual nature, I pushed in the last 30 or 35 bucks worth of chips in for a hail Mary, and drew a 20. Naturally, the dealer pulled a 21 out of his anal cavity, and so ended the session. I picked up my shitty light beer that just cost me a hundo, and went back to the room in a sour mood. :bang: That would be the extent of my table gaming for the trip.

    After taking a break for maybe an hour, things improved. I hit again on the wild horse slot at Plaza, and my notes tell me that later, I was up over a hundred bucks on a slot at the Fremont... though for the life of me I can't remember what machine that was. And +50 on a VP session at the D, which is where I'm betting that this photo of another quad 3's came from based on when it was taken:

    20151213_211038.jpg

    More wandering and some small VP & slots ups and downs ensued. (Somewhere in there, I had another upscale dinner... a Nathan's chili dog. Meh.) I wound up back at the Gate, where the first of my two random hooker approaches during the trip happened. As a solo bartop VP player, I know that I'm a prime target, and I always just roll with it & try to be conversational and kind. There were actually two of them together, which was a first for me. But before they could even make their pitch, two cowboy-ish dudes (there to watch the NFR, I presume...they were not young and studly types) started hitting on them, as if that was necessary...I'd have to think that they understood the score, but from how they were acting, I wasn't entirely sure. Anyway, it solved my immediate situation, and I was ready to crash anyway. I can't remember exactly what time it was, but it was a slightly more sensible hour like 1:30 or 2 am, compared to the total embarrassment of the night before. Down $207 for the day with gambling. So, still up for the trip, but barely.

    When I woke up, I called for a late checkout, as this was my day to transfer to the off-strip joint for my date than night. They gave me I think a 1 pm checkout for no charge. Fine, I'll take it. After getting packed up, it was time to get some food...basic breakfast stuff at the counter at Du-Par's. Solid in quality, and generous in portion. I had around a couple hours or so left for some final downtown wandering...realized that I hadn't yet hit the DTG this time around, so I headed there. As many have reported, it was way dead...fingers are crossed that they can turn it around, but boy, I just don't know. Anyway, of course I headed for bartop VP. I had not been familiar with Ultimate X, but decided to try it for something different. At first I played the dime level...but at three hands and double-bet per round, the money can go away pretty damn fast for us low-rollers. I was down a hundred almost before I knew it. Still, that game has a pull to it...I put in 60 more bucks, and went down to the nickel level. A couple minutes later, and....

    20151214_110645_HDR.jpg

    WHAMMO!! This was my first royal ever, after YEARS of playing. Nickel level, but notice the 4X multiplier...nice! Cashed out with this from my $160 investment...

    20151214_111855.jpg

    Then I wandered back toward the Gate, with very minor ups and downs at VP along the way. Got my shit out of the room, wandered back to the Nugget, and ordered my Lyft (really, there's no good place for a pickup at the Gate anyway). Ten seconds later, there he was... awesome. Arrived at the unnamed off-strip property early, and asked nicely if they might perhaps have any rooms available for check-in? "Yes sir, there are, but you'll have to pay an early check-in fee." Grrr...I chose to pay the corporate rat bastards for that privilege, and made a mental note about that policy for use in future decisions about where to stay and gamble.

    I first wandered across the street to another joint for beers & VP. Milked that for a good long time and several beers. For awhile, there was a presumably local dude sitting next to me...he seemed to be miserable as hell, just pounding the buttons angrily/futilely at keno while he complained to the bartenders about life. Man, I'll take the stupidity of slot machines over keno any day! Down 40 bucks there and sick of the miserable dude, I went back to my new home base. Very dead in there, as all of the rodeo people were leaving town. Up 100 at VP for a short session...no photos, so I can't remember what the hell I did! Then, I decided to try another penny slot, betting $1 per spin....Rolling Stones. I again hit some bonus thing very quickly, and my 20 dollar investment turned into 96. Always a good time to walk, and it was time for a pre-date nap anyway. :headbang:

    After a good snooze, I got cleaned up for my date. I prefer age-appropriate ladies, myself. (Let's just say that there is about a 99% chance that I've already lived more than half of my life...) Guys -- do yourselves a favor and don't bother with the casino girls. I'm sure that a decent percentage of them are all right, but for reliability and safety, find a solidly reviewed lady. My preference is TER (PM me if you need more info)...it's not perfect, and it's not the only source out there for good information, but it's among the best available. As I said, I had seen my date for the evening on a few occasions before. She's an intelligent, thoughtful, soulful woman, in addition to being sexy as hell... all great enhancements to the experience in this guy's view. This was booked as a dinner date, with playtime before and after. We ate at an ethnic restaurant within the property that we enjoyed very much...nice ambiance, nice service, very nice food. All in all, a very fun/comfortable/hot evening that I greatly enjoyed.

    At her preference, this date occurred reasonably early in the evening...so of course, after walking her to her car, I went back to gambling! I tried the Hangover slot...seems like a tight one, and I was down 40 bucks after not too long. Then back to bartop VP...man, this place was REALLY dead now, and the bartenders seemed to be dying for people to talk to. So that extended the time a little bit. I lost 60 in an extended session. Getting a little tired now, I wandered a bit and sat down at a wolf-themed penny slot. Bang...hit another crazy ass bonus thing with wolves howling and running around, and cashed 80 vs. my 20 investment.

    At this point, I was pretty dead tired, and normal people would have gone to bed. But, back to VP I go...where I had my second random hooker approach. Chatted for a few minutes before politely demurring. She was cool about it. Slow-played while talking with the extremely bored bartender, when....

    20151214_235419.jpg

    Yep! Dealt aces! And, time to say goodnight. With this hit, the royal at the DTG, and miscellaneous other stuff, I'm up 1040 for the day on gambling. For sure my best Vegas day ever.

    Next day is getaway day. Pack up and check my bags at the bell desk. A little random VP here, and at the joint across the street...few bucks down. Back at home base and running down on time, I sit back down at the Rolling Stones machine -- one spin, and a bonus dealio has me +$32. A couple VP hands nets me 10 more. So I'm feeling good when I get my bags and order my Lyft ride to the airport. Once I get close to the gate, I do something I never, ever do -- stick ten bucks in an airport slot machine. This was some variant on Wheel Of Fortune. One spin, and I'm 13 bucks to the good. Print it out, find the dude to cash it, board the plane, glass-smooth flight home, and arrive early. Adios, Vegas....good times for this low-roller...

    :peace:
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2016
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  2. npom

    npom VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2012
    Messages:
    1,112
    Location:
    central NY
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Great report!
     
  3. PayTriple

    PayTriple VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2014
    Messages:
    4,012
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    26
    Really enjoyed your report, thanks for sharing. I agree with your advice to avoid random casino girls, since many are there to rob you. I like TER as well, and you clearly know what you are doing with respect to female companionship. Congratulations on your VP wins!
     
  4. Franken Dean

    Franken Dean Newbie

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Messages:
    318
    Location:
    Omaha, Ne area
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    14
    Nice Job!

    Great report!

    PS-I am guessing he was at the Rio, or Palms
     
  5. G Mack

    G Mack Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    201
    Location:
    Illinois
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    37
    Thanks for the feedback, guys. I just realized after all this time that the cards in my Royal were lined up in perfect order, too...nice.

    :beer:
     
  6. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2014
    Messages:
    5,373
    Location:
    Where's Ware?
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    That was my guess also.....

    good on the wins and the getting some nooky
     
  7. Porkchop

    Porkchop Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2014
    Messages:
    147
    Location:
    The OC
    Great writeup, and 'grats on the winning trip. :beer:
     
  8. Lord Suspect

    Lord Suspect High-Roller

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2010
    Messages:
    656
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Thanx for trip report
     
  9. sceej

    sceej Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
    Messages:
    128
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    13
    Thoroughly enjoyed this report. Also a fan of PayTriple's reports but nice to see they can be at least approximated on a smaller scale. Clearly anonymity means a lot to you, but if I might ask a question (and of course, "None of your damn business" is a perfectly acceptable answer), what was your approximate bankroll for this trip - meaning food, drink, gambling and companionship?
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2016
  10. Brick

    Brick Low-Roller

    Joined:
    May 28, 2015
    Messages:
    275
    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Reading your TR just made my morning a lot better. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your VP wins.
     
  11. emmas

    emmas VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2014
    Messages:
    1,696
    Really enjoyed the report. Congratulations on a winning trip.
     
    I need all the luck I can get!
  12. G Mack

    G Mack Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    201
    Location:
    Illinois
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    37
    I'm glad that folks are enjoying the report...thanks for the kind comments!

    :peace:

    I got to town with around $1500 in my pocket for those activities. Yes, it could have been a very boring trip if I hadn't been up a couple hundo on the first day...
     
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