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Brief report on October 12-17

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by bubbakitty, Oct 19, 2016.

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  1. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    My Trip Report

    No big hits this trip but no big loss sessions. Stayed at Orleans room 419 which was the only room (?) available at the early time of check in. Room was good as usual with all the usual amenities--good water pressure, drainage from tub; fairly quiet hallway traffic; speedy elevators, etc. Played vp at bar near sportsbook horserace area with 8/5 bonus(no JoB that I saw) but with Goose on tap and in the bottle. Arrived on a Wednesday so took advantage of the Young at Heart which granted 7x vp (choose a balloon on log-in to kiosk) and also received a 15 $ food comp when playing after 7:00 p.m.. Thanks to those trip reports on this board for this discount as I was unaware and seldom checked my account at that time of day. Went to Prime Rib Loft (nice remodel) and had the French onion soup and prime rib. Played craps 3x and had a profit 2 of the 3 times. Great table players and always a good crew.
    Stayed two nights and nothing much of note can be passed on. Hopped on the 9:00 a.m. bus to the Linq and walked to the Harrah's lot for shuttles and cabs to head over to Sam's Town for the ride downtown. Arrived about 10:20 or so at the Fremont and checked in to MSS shortly thereafter to room 502. Lower numbered rooms are closer to the California and further from the train tracks. Even numbers face the freeway. It was a smoking room which was not my norm and I asked the lady if I could check in to the room and return for a different room if the odor was too much. No problem. It was acceptable (ash trays were great for leftover change to store within) with no obvious smoke smell (for me). Turned on a/c, unpacked and made my way to the Boar's Head bar.
    Played for awhile with no big ups or downs and eventually Joe's wife made an appearance and Joe was not far behind. Had a great visit over the next four days (their anniversary trip) and played craps 2x with a small profit each time (not usual).
    Came home Tuesday with only a brief delay in scheduled arrival time (10 minutes). Eventually got the price of the ticket to around (just under) 12,000 points. You just have to keep rechecking those offers.
    Final thoughts:
    Boar's Head Bar is still the best. Cal sports book is efficient but small. VP there is weak (7/5). Not sure how the smallness of the room effects the rush on betting between NFL games on Sunday or at the half. Watched all games at the BH bar while playing vp.
    Earned 51,289 points *for level purposes) over the trip at both Orleans and MSS. I netted 159.877 poins (comp dollars) although dome was earned at 7x (Wednesday at Orleans) and the rest at MSS. I also used points at the Orleans for food on two occasions.
    Went to the MSS buffet for breakfast 4x and Eat once. Ate with Joe + at Redwood 1x.
    Redwood is now ala carte (sp)? and has no special for the previously excellent (and large) steak special. Prices went up a bit as well. Still good food and service however. And the company wasn't bad either.
    Final thoughts:
    There is nothing much to attract the strip player / vacationer to downtown anymore. Prices have gone crazy and it is crowded to boot. No resort fees on my stay at either hotel. So none of those great amenities you get on the strip. The area is becoming more and more like the strip so again, stay away if you are a stripper usually.
    All of the Boyd employees I ran into were VERY courteous. Eye contact and greetings seemed genuine and I think were. Saw two "trainees" this time and even they were polite and outgoing. I am not sure about the interview process but it seemed like it had to be a prerequisite for employment from housekeeping to casino pit boss.
    This trip (thanks to a tip from a board member after my last trip report) I cashed in 700,000 points for 700 $'s CASH. I had understood earlier it could only be used for slot play (loaded at the machine) or for food at 600 to the $). That money came in handy in supplimenting my bankroll.
    Ended up 654 $ to the good compared to what I left home with for my balance. This covers tips and out of pocket expenses as well. I used to keep BR and other funds separate to gauge my gambling vs. cost of extras but it got too clouded for accuracy (damn alcohol). IF I count my 700 $'s as "hard money" then I lost 46 $.
    I will post some mundane pictures when I have access to them and wifi @ the golf course later this day.
    Thanks for reading and I hope (if you are a stripper at present) you heed my warnings above about what a wasted trip it would be to head to Fremont Street. No kidding, it is just as crowded and getting ridiculously high priced for the clientel. (Notice I have given up on conversion)
    I am sure Joe will have more detail in his report. Thjanks again for including me in the dinner Sunday Joe. And again, congrats on the long lasting union..
     
  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Very enjoyable seeing you again. I enjoyed our Redwood dinner, but I'm not sure what clientele there are now aiming to attract. It's getting pricey and now ala carte. Even my wife, who isn't the biggest fan, said maybe next trip we give Second Street Grill another try.
     
  3. elaine.mcgrew

    elaine.mcgrew Low-Roller

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    You can turn your points into cash? How do you do that? Do you get more or less if you take the cash versus slot credit?
     
  4. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    A few pics from the trip
     

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  5. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    Points /free play are the same 1000 points to the $. News to me but good news too.
     
  6. mrstealth

    mrstealth VIP Whale

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    Thanks bubba for the good report - I truly believe that Boyd is the only gaming company left that understands and caters to the "average gambler". (Even though I'm still pissed they tore down the stardust).

    Always nice to return home with more money then you left with.
     
  7. Ty

    Ty ?

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    Good read bubba. I'm very disappointed to hear the steak special is gone at RedWood. Was this another solo trip?
    Nice pile of scratch-cards, and a Fiver.
     
  8. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    I think ONLY MSS does that...I haven't tried it anywhere else..but I converted 100k "slot points" to $100 cash a couple years ago...I actually ran numbers on it and if you did it that way, you'd have an edge (earn the points at 7x points, get a gold card at Sam's Town, and then cash ALL yours points in at MSS, you'd be MAKING like 1% on the entire deal)
     
  9. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    you r probably correct. I had over a million points (3x emerald for the last year and all those promos of 5x-6x-7x) added up over the last 7 or so years. Just figured I could always cash for free play but giving away the food...yikes....until I realize how much food that is and now have about 700 $ in food rather than 2000 $....I like to eat free but think I still can reasonably well. Generally can get a comp of some kind or all total (very frugal most times) the points are kind of a back up to the comps on site. You can never go hungry in Vegas with a little forthought. It really IS a game.....
     
  10. nfajgmbr03

    nfajgmbr03 MIA

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    That's good to know about the cash. I'm curious as I've heard that people play in the morning and get a breakfast buffet comp at MSS. Any idea how many points to play on vp to ask for one?
     
  11. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report! And sucks to hear about the sports book bar at Cal, but not shocked. Does it look like it matches the notes I wrote up for the Holo Holo bar in the post linked below?

    https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?threads/a-video-poker-primer-with-bartop-listings-and-better-nickel-options.111193/page-18#post-1359751

    I ended up running out of time to check the sports book in September, but I wouldn't be surprised if the paytables matched. And sadly 7/5 JoB was actually the worst game at Holo Holo.

    And good to know about the cash conversion!
     
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