Great Offer Adventure, Harvey's/Sands Regency/El Dorado, 7/22-9/22, Tahoe/Reno Chapter

Tongue sandwich: As a teen I worked as a kitchen helper and short order cook in a restaurant/bar that catered to many older people who LOVED tongue sandwiches. It graced me out carving tongue and making the sandwich … until a very sweet and very old man convinced me to try it. I believe it was on rye bread with mustard and horseradish. Damn good actually, once I got past thinking what it was that I was eating.

 

Day 53, Mon 9/14, Work, Top Deck Dinner

When I checked in on Sunday there were still some letters on Harrah's west tower. By the time I finished working on Monday they were gone


I walked to Top Deck at the Cal Neva for dinner. I am a sucker for silly cheap casino food. Unfortunately the steak and lobster special is now $12.99 instead of $9.99, a 30% price increase! But still a great deal. I started with a pretty good cup of chili.


They did a good job with cooking the steak to order and not overcooking the lobster. (This isn't always the case). Your jaw gets a workout, but what kind of steak are you expecting for $13


This was my first time sitting at a table here because counter seating was closed. Unfortunately it's 100% booth seating and as a man of leisurely proportions I was not at all comfortable, but I still went back later in the week. I do miss being right across the street at Harrah's.

After dinner the plan was to run $10k through 9/6 JoB but the high-limit room video poker was 100% taken. Easy to do when half the machines are turned off. It was a real cheers vibe where everyone playing knew each other, the cocktail server, and the nearby bartender. I think there may be some kind of multiplier on Mondays. I lingered for a few minutes but there were no signs of people finishing up.

The second level of El Dorado is like being in an MC Escher drawing. So many staircases in every direction and multiple different elevations! By the end of the week I had gotten comfortable with the layout but it was confusing at first. It's an ADA nightmare.



No gambling at all this day!

Status: Up $15,000 cash on vp. Two quarter royals. Four dollar royals.
Up next: Work, Sushi Sake Dinner, Video Poker

 

Being a person of “leisurely proportions” myself (A+ phrasing btw ) I totally feel the booth issue Unless the table itself can be shifted it’s not comfy

 

Day 54, Tue 9/15, Work, Sushi Sake Dinner, Video Poker

No red meat today! Dinner was at the Sushi Sake counter on the second level of El Dorado. I couldn't decide what to get so I ended up with too much food. The sushi combo would have been plenty of food but I couldn't resist a salmon poke bowl (which probably wouldn't have been enough food on its own). Everything was prepared right in front of me and tasted fresh.


After dinner I ran $25k through 3-play $1 9/6 JoB. Two straight flushes made it a profitable session.


King-high straight flushes are a real kick in the teeth when it has been 134k hands since your last royal, but at least I came out ahead $600 this day.

Status: Up $15,600 cash on vp. Two quarter royals. Four dollar royals.
Up next: Work, Laundry, Top Deck Dinner, Video Poker

 

Day 55, Wed 9/16, Work, Laundry, Top Deck Dinner, Video Poker

After work it was laundry time again. Duds n' Suds was an upgrade over the Vegas laundromat. You could play the slots and have a beer while the machines did their work. The only snag was two doofuses doing laundry after being on the Burning Man playa. They got that fine dust everywhere. It would have been much worse if there had been an actual event this year. I've been in Reno at the end of it and the burners trash the town, as in they literally just leave trash and dirt everywhere.


Dinner was at Top Deck. This time I had a cup of chicken noodle soup and prime rib. $21 for the prime rib is a bit more than most downtown LV places. This was one of the fattier slabs of the trip but there was still plenty of protein. The only negative is that a bored waiter stared at/watched me eat. It was weird.


Back at the El Dorado my goal was to play $12.5k coin-in on the 3-play $1 9/6 JoB. An hour into the session I was dealt:


Would today be my lucky day?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Yup! The royal drought was over after 136k hands. Phew!

At El Dorado every handpay is displayed on all the TVs in the place. Kind of neat and I like the hope it gives me when I'm on a losing streak. It reminds me that it is possible to hit jackpots.


The handpay took over 15 minutes, probably because this was my first handpay there so they had to put me in the system. No worries at all. I played another profitable half hour afterward (because of dealt quads) and finished the day up $4,600.



Status: Up $20,200 cash on vp. Two quarter royals. Four dollar royals.
Up next: Work, Bars Open, Louis' Basque Corner Dinner, Video Poker, Craps

 

Yay for breaking the Royal-less streak I do wonder what the VP paytables were like at the laundromat

 

I didn't bother taking a pic. They were so bad I instantly recoiled away from the machine.

 

lol - ok I guess if I ever stop in there I’ll just limit it to $5-10 on nickels and say the laundry machines kept taking my coins if I lose

 

Live update: I'm currently in Grand Junction, CO and will be back in Vegas tomorrow. I will try to complete this trip report (and the last of the Vegas portion) this week before I get too far behind on the new trip's report.

 

Way to go breaking the Royal drought! I was so happy to read that you’re back up over $20k!!!

 

Are you getting any tier credits from your play at Eldorado?

 

I'm all caught up! Sorry about the bad luck with the truck. But hey, you're still up 20k which is awesome! Not sure why I'm not getting notifications but hopefully that isn't an issue since your report is epic. Keep it going

 

Day 56, Thu 9/17, Work, Bars Open, Louis' Basque Corner Dinner, Video Poker, Craps

Woke up early enough to catch the Thank You lights on the west tower of what was formerly Harrah's. Later in the day I noticed they managed to remove the sign from the east tower without me noticing the process



I had been meaning to try Louis' Basque Corner for ages. I had planned to go earlier in the week but when it was announced bars were re-opening I decided to wait until I could eat at the bar. The restaurant has communal seating which isn't convenient for a solo diner in the best of times and definitely not in COVID times. I found myself at the bar with a picon punch in front of me at 3:30. I opted for the "Dry Jack Cheese" plate which ended up being bread and butter and some pretty dry slices of cheese. And no, I did not play the awful paytable VP to score free drinks.



It was too early to order restaurant dinner items so I had the Lamb Dip with beans off of the bar menu. Same thing as a French Dip but with lamb instead of beef. Quite tasty.


Here is Reno's other downtown ball. The Silver Legacy was built by MGM and El Dorado in the mid-90s when themes were in style. Inside the ball is a giant mining contraption that still puts on a little show throughout the day. It's silly and not all that entertaining IMO.



After dinner I got to play video poker at a bar! 9/6 JoB at that. And there was football on (well sort of...it was Cin-Cle). I was so happy that I played for four hours. Ended up losing $500 but didn't really care after the royal the day before.



I made some of it back at $10 craps at Silver Legacy.

Status: Up $19,700 cash on vp. Two quarter royals. Four dollar royals.
Up next: Work, Top Deck Breakfast, Louis' Basque Corner Dinner, Video Poker, Pai Gow Poker

 

Yes, but since they didn't post until after the trip I haven't worked through the math yet. I will do that in a couple days when I finish up the Reno portion of the report.

 

wow, I was wondering if that place was still there,
loved the craps tables there a long, long time ago,
any other pictures or color commentary of what it's like there now?

 

Day 57, Fri 9/18, Work, Top Deck Breakfast, Louis' Basque Corner Dinner, Video Poker, Pai Gow Poker

I was out of turkey wrap supplies so in the middle of work day I headed to elevators to go downstairs for lunch, There was someone already on the elevator so I went to the farthest corner away from her. She proceeded to turn and face away from me into the opposite corner. I was masked up and six feet away. No worries, but I thought to myself that if you are going to stress out over sharing an elevator with one other person maybe you're not ready to be out in public. When we got to the ground floor she almost fell down squeezing through the doors before they were fully open. And then shot me a glance over he shoulder like I had done something wrong. Weird.

"Lunch" was at Top Deck. It was my lunch time but only 9am PDT so I had one of my favorites, a Chorizo Scramble. Underneath all that cheese are eggs scrambled with chorizo, hash browns, and refried beans. And watch out for the jalapenos...they're always extra spicy here.


Back in the room to finish up the work day I saw blue skies for the first time in three weeks. Vegas had gotten smoky the last week there, Tahoe was even worse, and Reno had been the worst. I could feel it in my lungs.


Dinner was back at Louis' Basque Corner. This time I waited until 5:00 so that I could order off of their restaurant dinner menu. The only catch is at the bar you get the entree and nothing else. At the communal tables entrees come with soup, bread, beans, salad, dessert, and a glass of wine. There is no discount at the bar

I started with picon punch again. Not sure that I'm a fan.


Having never had sweetbreads that's what I ordered along with garlic fries. The sweetbreads were quite good and had a texture similar to the mushrooms that were also in the gravy. I would order them again.


After dinner it was back to the bar at El Dorado for video poker and drinks. The thought popped in my head that a nice glass of port would help to cleanse the palate after having such a rich dinner. El Dorado serves Graham's. I liked it, but I'm definitely not a connoisseur. Tasted even better since I came out ahead $300


The craps table limits were too high so I played $25 Pai Gow Poker for an hour to relax. After tipping the dealer/cocktail server I came out ahead $1. Fun fact: at El Dorado the dealers keep their on tips. No pooling. I do not think that applies to Silver Legacy.

Status: Up $20,000 cash on vp. Two quarter royals. Five dollar royals.
Up next: Work, Millie's Breakfast, El Dorado Comp Summary, Whitney Peak, Louis' Basque Corner Dinner, Cal-Neva Craps, Mexican Independence Day Car Parade

 

I'm so glad you are continuing on with this - I'm still loving it. Thanks for keeping up with the reporting.

 

You mention in a live update you are in Grand Junction CO, are you driving back to Vegas for the east coast for a second time?

 

Well, not anymore. I arrived on Sunday. Drove again because I've got two promotions this week and another the first weekend of November.

I have pared down my work setup so I could have gotten everything onto a plane and bought a cooler out here, but it was easier to just chuck everything in the truck and go.

No one has ever accused me of being normal and sane.

 

The road trip I did in June was enough for a generation.