Orleans, Southpoint (with a break): August 10-18

We both enjoyed our meals. The chips and side condiments were good and both dinners were very tasty. There was more than enough food, almost so much that we could have split one meal - but we're not necessarily big eaters.

 

I'm pretty sure you can contact housekeeping (good luck trying via phone, might be best to use the front desk) to get your room cleaned/refreshed. You'll also need to request coffee and any other amenities that housekeeping would normally supply (shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.).

 

Per request, here are pics of 5 NFL prop sheets I found at South Point.

 

Thanks for posting your very informative TR.

 

Great info. Thanks!

 

Summary for 8/16:

No pictures from gaming or food for 8/16 (nothing was notable !) - here's a few comments:
* played craps 3 different times at South Point in the AM; once at $5 min, twice at $10 min- finished the 3 sessions up $220
* played multiple BJ sessions in the AM- all at $10 min, had some really big swings - finished up $60
* moved to Orleans, found 2 craps tables with both at $15 min (one was empty, one had 4-5 players); the few BJ tables open were all $15 min. Did not play craps or BJ at that time at Orleans
* went to Gold Coast, they had 2 craps tables open at $10 min - lost $90. The few BJ tables they had open were all $15 min, plenty of seating available
* went back out to South Point and played craps ($10 min) and BJ ($10 min) - lost $340 combined at both, but had a good time
* VP was up and down all day - finished up $100 for the day
* we both played poker at Orleans and finished down $15 for our efforts - the poker room was pretty full
* I did play one craps session at Orleans as one of the craps tables came down to $10 min around 10PM - won $90
* I continue to be baffled by the table min strategy by Boyd casinos. They have fewer tables open and higher table mins than a casino like South Point. The tables at Boyd casinos are not anywhere near fully occupied, my guess would be 65% at best (usually much lower). The table crews at the empty tables are still getting paid, but no revenue is coming in. By comparison, South Point has probably twice as many BJ and craps tables open (conservative estimate) and lower table mins as Boyd casinos currently have. The tables games at South Point are jammed, the "vibe" in the pit area was great ! I only asked for 1 comp night at South Point for this trip (which was granted) and we met our host and discussed our October trip - we'll have comped rooms there in October. Maybe the Boyd genius's currently running Boyd strategy should take a field trip to South Point and see if they want to change their table min strategy. The profitability equation is "Earnings=Revenue-Expenses"; Boyd has cut the "Expenses" portion of the equation, but I think they have also reduced the "Revenue" portion (at least vs South Point). The earnings report for Boyd may have looked okay, but I think it could have been much better and in the long run, Boyd will start losing players to casinos that offer lower table mins - but maybe that's what they want. Stepping off the soap box now .......

 

So, walking thru the pit at Orleans just before 10AM this morning and what do I see ? One $15 craps table with 1 player, five BJ tables at $15 min or higher with less than 10 players total. The casino has no vibe this morning! On our way to South Point - I’ll bet there are at least 15 BJ tables at $10 or under with at least 50 players and at least 2 craps tables at $10 or under with at least 10 players. Just can’t stay off the soap box

 

South Point had two craps tables open ($5 and $10) - both had at least 6 players. On the BJ front, 10 tables open (both $5 and $10) and all had at least 4 players. I played craps at the $5 table - lost $120. Mrs Z played VP and won $100, so net “family” loss of $20. Now having lunch at their buffet.

 

Thanks for posting all of the different odds sheets! Best of luck on the remainder of your trip.

 

8/17 Summary

This was Mrs Z's last mostly full day and my last full day in Vegas. Mrs Z flew out in the early evening (then will be driving home with our son) and I fly out early morning on 8/18. We spent most of the day at South Point as the craps and BJ mins were at our comfort level.. Here's a brief summary with a full summary coming tomorrow after I get home:
* I took some pics of the Orleans pit area and South Point pit area for a comparison of players - drastically different and there is minimal energy/vibe in the Orleans pit
* although the lower table mins at South Point didn't result in gaming wins - we enjoyed our gaming time
* got my In N Out burger fix after dropping Mrs Z off at the airport - always like their fries and burger
* when I returned to Orleans in the early evening, I meandered over to the pit area. The BJ tables were still at least $15 min, but two of the craps tables had dropped to $10 min with one $15 min table - there were a total of 3 craps players at the 3 tables ! I played craps by myself for ~35 minutes at a $10 table and lost - just no vibe around the craps tables
* after the craps session, I played in the Poker room (losing session), then headed back to the pit area. They still had two $10 min tables that were both about half full


Walking from room elevators to casino at Orleans at ~10 AM - never seen it this empty



Orleans pit area at ~10 AM - not many BJ tables open, few players, one player at the craps tables (only 1 open)



Pit area at South Point at ~11AM, BJ tables packed, one $10 carps table and one $5 craps table - both fully packed (another $10 craps table was opened shortly after I took this picture, it was full in less than 5 minutes) - totally different vibe at South Point !

 

Thanks for all the info! I've never played or even been in the Orleans. I might check it out next time. However I'm going to play where the minimums are the cheapest. Glad to see SP has some $5 tables again, albeit early in the morning.

 

Trip Summary:

* we had another enjoyable, fun trip to Vegas - next trip is currently scheduled for Oct. 19-26
* we played a lot at South Point and will be staying/playing there for part of our October trip - what's not to like about SP ?
* after a mostly losing last full day on Tuesday, I managed to hit four A' s playing DDB VP on the old Paddewheel progressive quarter bank, a nice way to end Tuesday night
* played BJ at a $10 min table at Orleans early Wednesday morning before departing for airport and it was going well - I was up $50. However, had to switch tables when a player bought in for $100, started playing two hands, requested permission to use 2 hands to pick up the cards (granted) after multiple warnings to use only 1 hand and then started splitting face cards. After ~8 splits (once she ended up with 4 hands from her initial split, got a fifth face card and was upset she couldn't split again) - I had to switch tables as I was now down $50. I managed to recapture most of those losses and decided to leave that second table when I was up $40. That certainly made it a memorable last BJ session for this trip!
* we ended the trip up $900 in our gaming endeavors. This result adds to our recent gaming wins of being up in 7 of our last 8 trips in the last 2 years (up 10 of 13 trips over the last 3 years). We don't know much this trend will continue, but it's been a fun ride !
* Mrs Z departed on Tuesday and is driving back with family, so I was on my own for the return portion of the trip. The first leg on Southwest went OK, but the plane out of Denver was delayed 30 minutes. Then it was cancelled and they moved us to a new gate. After the plane at that gate deplaned and was prepped for boarding, we lined up only to find that there was a further delay due to a maintenance issue on this plane. So, apparently it takes 30 minutes to change a light bulb on the instrument panel (or so they said). Fortunately they made up some time and we got in just over 1 hour behind schedule (but at 12:40 AM!), so again, it could have been much worse. That means we had delays on the way to Vegas and on my return trip. It seems you need to be patient and flexible when travelling these days, count your blessings if your trip goes off without some type of issues.

Thanks for following along - looking forward to the October trip.


Pictures of parting memories from this trip

Ended the last VP session on Tuesday night with this hand


View of the south end of the strip late Tuesday night from my room at The Orleans

 

Nice report! Congrats on the win!