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3/17-3/19 - Last QFR trip to Harrahs SoCal

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Trip Reports' started by DaiLun, Mar 17, 2017.

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  1. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    My Trip Report

    Well, I'm less than 13 hours away from my first trip to Harrahs SoCal for my last QFR (or any for that matter) trip of the quarter.

    I'm getting in really late and it's a one hour drive along treacherous (as I've been told) roads, so I don't know how much I'll play tonight. I haven't decided on 500/1000, 1000/1000, or 0/2500 (Tier credit days) could be as low as 500/500 or 0/1000 if I'm not doing well.

    I'm getting $250 cash reimbursement for travel and $200FP, so at least that's a good start for this trip.

    Don't know how much I will be eating other than the free buffet that they provide to 7* members, but I will try to include pictures for those of you considering going there.

    Wish me luck!!!
     
  2. FABismonte

    FABismonte Tell my wife I am "about even."

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    Good luck DaiLun!

    I am looking forward to another one of your great trip reports. Try to get one of the refurbished or newly built rooms. Did you also get a spa credit? I like to get messages in between thrashings at the machines. LOL.

    FAB
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2017
  3. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Good luck DaiLun!
     
  4. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Well, got into SD airport at 10:30PM, was on the road in my rental car by 11:00 PM.

    Looking at my GPS (I always pack my own), I couldn't figure out why a 40 mile trip was scheduled for 75 minutes. I was traveling freeway at freeeway speeds.

    Then, when it was time to get off the freeway, I only had another 15 miles or so to go.

    OK, I now see why. The last 11 miles is a narrow one lane road, which I imagine could be pretty slow going if there were people unfamiliar (such as me) with the roads. The "locals" ahead of me were making good time, and the raos was surprisingly empty, well, it WAS 11:45PM.

    So, I got to the casino. There is one casino about 3 miles. before Harrahs SoCAL (HSC), and afer I make my "day", I may go visit.

    Got checked in, and stopped by the TR desk to get my travel reimbursement and FP. It took awhile, since the rep I got wasn't familiar with the system, and had to call a supervisor. The supervisor had to go through all of my offers, which totaled "about 1100".

    That finally got taken care of, and I was also advised that Free Play was only available from 8AM to midnight.

    So, I went to the room. I was on the 6th floor, in a nice open room, no cramped feeling.

    harrahs_1.jpg
    harrahs_2.jpg
    harrahs_3.jpg
    harrahs_bath_1.jpg



    Decided to take care of "business first" and went downstairs to finish QFR for the buddies that I was doing it for. Decided to put in a little play and accumulate some TC, so put in a 500TC day.

    No major hits, and lost about $300 getting the 500TC + QFR. OI still have $255 of FP to use tomorrow.

    Here's some pictures of a "minor" hit from last night. This one brought me back to even.

    dragonwild_hotboost_500.jpg

    However, slots being what they are, I picked a couple of "bad" machines with which to finish the night. Down $300, but that's not at all bad considering I made about 650TC.
     

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  5. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Got up this morning at 7:30. It's amazing that I was able to "sleep in" that late. Went downstairs to start the day. Either 500, 1000, or 2500TC today.

    The meal plan is Chinese restaurant for lunch at 11AM, saving it for the free buffet (7* get 2 free buffets a day, and no, if you're single you can't use one for lunch and one for dinner, Les).

    Put in about 500TC this morning and it cost me about $100 and $150FP, so far so good. Came back to the room to work on the TR and checkin for the SWA trip back home tomorrow. A38. Yay, saved $30.00 again!!

    Only two minor hits in the morning.

    $250 on Crazy Money Sky Wheel

    crazymoney_250.jpg

    More about the casino later. I'm gonna do a walkaround. It is a big casino, with ALMOST ALL of the latest machines. They have every version of Buffalo, but no Buffalo Grand!!
     
  6. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Ok, stick a fork in me. I'm done. 1000TC day, and up about $700. My original strategy was to go back downstairs before lunch to finish my 1000TC day, then have lunch, and see where the day was going to go.

    Once again, I hit minor jackpots, a few $500. I played a Wolf's Run machine @ $8.00 a pull and hit the bonus right off the bat.

    wolfRun_200.jpg

    Just a note here. This casino has their machines set that you can bet much more than Las Vegas. Many of the machine that in LV are $4.00 limit are $6 or $8 max bet here. Be careful.

    Hit another minor jackpot on a Konami machine, but what brought me back up was a $650 hit on a 5 reel triple double strike machine, playing $9.00 a pull

    Konami

    FOBmachine_400.jpg

    Triple Double bar 5 reel

    tripledouble5reel.jpg


    $.02, 9 lines, 50 per line

    So after that, I'm about $400 up for the trip, with 350TC to go, and you know how that can go . . . .

    So, I sat at a Jackpot Inferno machine with my $400 up ticket in the machine, and sure enough, it whittled me down to about $150 up. I stopped to have lunch at KJ Chinese restaurant. Very good Cantonese food (at casino prices, though). Paid $20 for a bowl of Wor Wonton that would have been $10 in any Chinatown.

    After lunch, I decided to finish off my 1000TC day and go back to the room. Up and down, up and down, until I had just made 1000TC and on my way back to the room, about even for mthe trip. I saw a Gtech Legends of Fire and Water, and sat down. I got the bonus game and that's what put me way up.

    LOFAW_700.jpg

    Oh, and as a side note, I sat down at a Wonder 4 machine and was playing Wicked Winnings II max bet, when I hit the tower bonus. I mentioned to the lady next to me that I hit a hand pay last month in LV. She said "at Harrahs?" I said "Yes". She said, I think I saw that one. And you left immediately? I said "Yes" once again. What a small world. She mentioned that Harrahs SoCal was her and her husbands home casino, and he made 7* playing craps.

    I went up to the room and was going to pick a snack out of the machine, but they wanted $2.00 for a small bag of cheetos, so i decided to go back downstairs to the gift shop and pick up 2 bags of chips and a small bottle of Sinfire (cinnamon whiskey). This is my "break in case of emergency" bottle if I want to prevent myself from any more gambling. Drink that, and I won't even feel like going downstairs. Just a last resort.

    OK, so now it's 1PM and all of my objectives are done.

    1)QFR - complete
    2)500TC and 1000TC days - complete
    3)visited the pool area - pending
    4)watch a movie - pending
    5)eat free buffet dinner - pending

    So far, a successful trip. The only optional thing that I might consider it doing at 2500TC day, but that is kinda out of the question. I may wander over to Valley View later today or after dinner. It's not even 1:30PM, and right now, I'm gonna sit down and watch a movie or continue the first season of Luke Cage.

    I have to leave here at 6AM to make sure I get to SD airport to catch my flight.

    So, I'm still up for the year. On to Las Vegas in April.
     
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  7. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    You should stop by Valley View and signup for the free lobster buffet for new members.
     
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  8. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Thank you for the suggestion . . . I think I will stop over there and check it out, but I don't want to skip the free buffet at Harrahs tonight . . . . . .
     
  9. mrstealth

    mrstealth VIP Whale

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    Nice little trip and report! the buffet used to be very good so will be anxious to hear how it turned out. Also, pool has been remodeled and upgraded since I have been there and it's supposed to be very nice with lazy river.

    really wish the casino wasn't so remote though - as you say, it's not that far (distance wise), but that last 15 miles is a real killer.
     
  10. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Decided to go over to Valley View to check it out. What a madhouse!!! Very crowded, and the machines are placed very close together. They do have a buffet promotion, but I opted out after dropping about $400. No level match, but I did get $75 in cash back for $800 in play.

    Mad at myself, since I'm now less "up" than I had been, I returned to Harrahs and played Sky Riders (Asian girl version), and made back $220 on two bonus sessions.

    Went back to the room. I'm now up about $450-$500 and plan to keep that because tonight it'll be free buffet dinner and back to the room for a movie.
     
  11. zoobrew

    zoobrew VIP Whale

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    If your GPS is taking you on Lake Wohlford road, don't go that way. Stay on Valley Center Road, much of it is 4 lanes.
     
  12. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Nice trip and nice hits to make you up. Congrats!
     
  13. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    So, I did eat dinner at the buffet. A typical casino buffet, crab, prime rib, with the addition of raw oysters on the half shell.

    I then retired to the room and watched 3 episodes of Iron Fist. Now it's 10PM, and time to go to bed. My alarm is set for 5:30, as I want to leave by 6:15 AM.

    No more gambling until 4/16/2017, for another GGWU event. Still up for the year.

    Will fill in some blanks tomorrow when I get home.
     
  14. mrstealth

    mrstealth VIP Whale

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    Thanks DaiLun - safe travels home
     
  15. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    OK, so final notes for this trip.

    Woke up at 5AM went to the shower and . . . . no effin' water. I mean, none, nada. I went to the faucet and there was no water there either. I didn't know when the water was coming back on so I skipped the shower and packed my bag. When I went to check out, I found that I was charged for one day premium wi-fi service. Now, I was warned about this before I got here, but wanted to see it for myself. Not wanting to spend the time to call the front desk to get the charge taken off, I let it slide, but will mention it on the survey that I should be getting.

    If there's any significant reply I will post.

    My summary . . .

    Harrahs SoCal is a nice place to visit, but it suffers from the same issue as most Indian casino have. If you're having bad luck, there's really no place to go that's close. You're "stuck" at that casino. If you're a "camper" (a person who travels to a resort and stays put the entire trip), this is the place. Several restaurants with different cuisines and price points, a large variety of slots (no Buffalo Grand :-( ). Other negatives are: distance from the airport

    Will I return? Probably not. I would have to get another attractive offer (cash travel reimbursement and free play) Let's see if I put in enough play to merit that. (a 500TC day and a 1000TC day)

    I have been gambling for over 40 years, and I started out with places like Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Las Vegas, and to an extent Atlantic City. I enjoy variety and places where there are several casinos within walking distance of one another. That's why I like places like Las Vegas, and to a certain extent Reno and places like Atlantic City and Biloxi. I'm looking forward to visiting Tunica later this year.
     
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  16. FABismonte

    FABismonte Tell my wife I am "about even."

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    Hi DaiLun:

    Thanks for the report. Harrahs SoCal is a bit isolated, the only major non-gaming location near by is the San Diego Zoo Safari Park which is pretty interesting. Otherwise, You are stuck with other indian casinos as the main distractions. Did you get a Spa Coupon as part of the offer?

    I appreciate your discipline in walking with a profit. I too like the free movie as it gives me a reason to "cool off". I laughed at your Cinnamon Whiskey ("Break Glass in Case of Gambling Emergency"). The side roads to the casino are OK during the day, but at night it is a white knuckle ride to me.

    FAB
     
  17. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Well, thanks to TIMSPEED's suggestion, I took Valley View road to I-5 on the return and missed a lot of the curvy, swervy roads. At 5:30 AM on Sunday, the roads were pretty empty.
    I might have gotten a spa offer, but since I was solo, and spa's aren't my "thing", wouldn't have used it.

    I just finished 13 episodes of "Iron Fist" this morning, and have the last 7 episodes of "Luke Cage" on the computer if this happens again.
     
  18. zoobrew

    zoobrew VIP Whale

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    Poor zoobrew never gets any credit.:cry:
     
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  19. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    @!Zoobrew - Sorry, I apologize you did say it first.
     
  20. zoobrew

    zoobrew VIP Whale

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    I am really sad that I don't seem to get any credit from Harrah's SoCal. I go twice a year and never get any offers because I am out of state. When they sent the host survey, I gave them bad marks and said what good is a host if they have nothing to work with because you don't like out of state visitors. I visited NOLA and Reno just once and got offers for over a year.
     
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