Paris & Mirage and the trip that got away

Its just easier to post my Trip Report on my travel blog so I dont have to cut and paste it on a few sites I visit.

Paris & Mirage. Finally did Gold & Silver pawn. And went belly up

https://sites.google.com/site/lvgrid/journal-blog/t-paris-mirage-and-the-trip-that-got-away

Enjoy!

 

enjoyed your TR - thanks for posting. I"m thinking of going to the secret garden in October - I'm gold with mgm so maybe I'll get a discount. $17.99 does seem a little steep if there is not much to look at.

 

Thanks for the report...my last trip I pissed away my "take home money" chasing too...so don't feel bad. I am usually much better with my bankroll, but would hit it then lose it..made for a cpl rough days.
Still would go back though!

 

Good report! More people should add pictures like you do. Thanks for sharing

 

Nice report. I'm a huge fan of trip reports with pictures.

 

Sounds like a rough trip with the gambling. Thanks for another entertaining report and photos.

The long hauling thing is just out of control. Tunnel to Paris at midnight, WTF! I think I am sticking with the walk up sedan service in future, unless the hotel is sending a limo.

Can I pin you down on some of those gambling figures? $4000 coin-in at CET, $7000 at MGM and smaller amounts elsewhere (say $1000?). So around $12000 coin-in total. $4000 down between you and Mrs Grid? That would mean 67% return on stakes. I know slots can be tough but is that really correct?

 

Enjoyed your TR, thanks for sharing, great pics too!

 

Thanks for the TR - really enjoyed it. Yes, we couldn't win at MGM properties when we were there last week either.

Cab - got in going to the Excalibur and said surface streets only. That started him going. I told him it was nothing personal and basically just let him ramble on. Fare was like $14 - we gave him a $20.

 

Thanks for trip report

 

Great TR

Also being from Chicago and having taken a recent trip where the cabbies were out of control, your TR really hit home. Nice work!

 

Loved the report - although sorry to hear the slots were not giving out the good this trip.

little misters.

 

Grid,
So your bankroll is $500 for both of you per day? And you put some of your winnings aside to take home? The way you describe your play, it must be hard to last with $250 in your pocket, especially if you are getting beat up. 250 might last me a half hour on dollar slots, then I'm screwed for the rest of the day. Do you guys share winnings to keep playing longer? What happens when one of you are busted for the day?


Thanks

 

At least this was my 1st long haul ever after 2 dozen trips. But my 1st few years going I didnt know what the tunnel trip looked like so who knows.

And yeah that 67% seems about right. I have zero problem losing my bankroll as long as I get some play out of it. Normally I'm in the high 80's! But this trip I crashed and burned.

It was the type of trip where you almost wish you were gambling, lose, lose, lose its old really fast! I can stomach the loses but this trip it started to get to me after the 1st couple of days. If I didnt hit that 4 hundo I dont know what I would have done!

 

Yup we double up. Me $300 and her $200 and no we dont share wins. But if one of us is getting kicked in the face while the other is winning we always pass some of our money around. We play CET & MGM on the same card so we look like 1 big player. Thats my card. At TI, Wynn & Venetian we play on her card.

The dollar slots I play are mostly a safe bet. Like Top Dollar, or King of cash. With bonus games popping up relatively easy on a $2.00 or $3.00 bet. No huge progressive to feed the payback into so they are usually slow and steady. The problem is this trip, when I'd bonus on them, instead of hitting for $100-$200 I was hitting for $20-$40.00 and thats what stung!

 

I've heard the "Why would you say that, you think I'm a criminal" speech from a cabby before when I'd give my sweson directions. And the one time I dont say it...

As for MGM, its good to see I have a partner in pain with you Josie. Maybe with all the tightening of their comps, the dump off in MLife, they are messing with the slots? I know its a pain in the ass for them to do it. But when I was in MGM they had a bank off line and people farting around on them. Switching the boards? Naw I though, just part of the renovation. 2 hours later we were in Monte Carlo and yup more machine off line and a pair of workers farting around on them. Over at Mandalay they had a bunch of machines with signs on them saying they would be off line at a certain time, and the same signs were up at Luxor on a few machines.

Not to start a conspiracy here but that didnt look or feel right to me!

 

Loved the trip report and pics. I play a lot of the same machines as you. Top Dollar is my favorite as long as it is not that stupid five reel variety. Most of the casinos have really cut back on the TD and WOF 3 reel slots compared to what there was a few years ago.

I know the pain of unsuccessfully chasing losses on the last day. On a trip last year I actually borrowed $300.00 of my dad because I was through my entire trip bankroll. It was just brutal.

 

Enjoyed your report! I am a fan of the 5 line reel slots also, get a lot of push spins.

 

Thats why I play them, rarely do you get rich, since you are really just betting 1 credit per line. But lots of play.


There was a 5 line game called red 7's or something with a bonus gamer at Aria. A few months back I sat on that for hours on a hundo playing it at $2.50 per spin. I racked up a ton of points. When I went to play it again last week they switched it to a 5 lines X 2 credit max bet, I still played and got jack from it. No play at all.

 

If $500 a day covers both of you, then it's not as bad as I thought. $2000 down on $12000 coin-in means 83% return so not as desperate as I thought, but still not great.