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Remember some and forget the rest Trip Report 11/27 to 12/4/12

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Electroguy563, Dec 6, 2012.

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  1. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    My Trip Report

    My remember some and forget the rest Trip Report….

    My Wife and I ventured to Vegas this past Nov.27th thru Dec. 5th. It was a wonderful trip; relaxing, fun, and great just being with your significant other. However, there were some aspects (the gambling) lol, that made some of the trip something to forget.

    We stayed at the Orleans for three days on a two nite comp offer. I always wanted to stay at the Orleans and they did not disappoint. I love the casino and the crap games (which I love to play) are always lively and full of fun dealers and players.

    Our room was on the 10th floor number 1099 at the end of the long hallway. The hallway window had a fabulous view of the strip. You can see the strip from city center all the way past Mandalay Bay. Our room view however only showed the mountains to the south. So everyday before leaving and entering our room we would take a second and enjoy the view of the Strip.
    The room itself was clean and comfortable. And big. I liked that; lots of room to throw things around and not feel cramped. The bathroom was also very big, lots of closet room to hang your clothes, and store your toiletries. Our sliding door to the bathroom however, was broken at the latch and would not close properly. When you close the door it slowly slid open again. Instead of calling down and risk moving to another room, we opted to use a magazine to prop the door shut. No big deal. It’s just me and my wife and she’s welcome to open the door and watch me take a dump any time she wants, lol! Oh yeah, and the T.V. was a flatscreen. The room did look kinda renovated. The safe was big enough to store our valuables and my wife’s Ipad but the hilarious part was that it was only secured to the bed’s lamp table. An industrious thief can just carry the safe and table out. Tha is, if you can get past the armed guard at the bottom of the elevator lobby lol! (You have to show your room key to get past him)

    One of the negative things about the room was the paper thin walls and the ac can get loud at times. The controls to the ac wouldn’t work, like there was a control by-pass or something. And we can hear the sliding door of the bathroom of our neighbors opening and closing.

    Gambling at the Orleans was horrible. We played slots and VP with no significant wins. The machines just slowly ground out our money. We played dollar slots, with Red White and Blue being one of our favorites. We also played DDB VP at the quarter level. My wife’s spirits rose for a while when she won a hundred dollars or so at a quarter triple diamond slot. And I got pretty stoked when I hit a four of a kind and cleared a hundy and some change at VP.
    But at craps? ARRRGH!!! It was pure hell. Player after player would make a point and seven-out shortly after. Even the dealers told us “Take a break boys, the table is cold as ice!” The don’t players were doing slightly better but not by much. The tables were choppy enough to keep them just barely profitable.
    There was this fellow who would buy-in for a couple thousand and play mostly the dark side. He would use those baccarat scorecards and track the dice play. He seldom bet right and always passed the dice. Some nights I would play from 10 to about 2 am. After going up to the room I would come down about 7 am or so to see how the tables were doing. He was still there, taking score on his scorecard. Then he would disappear about 10 or so and then I would see him again that night.

    It just so happened that we played on the same table that night. He was doing his usual, keeping score and passing the dice and playing the dark side. The trend continued with the dice not passing well at all. There was one segment in time when the shooter would make a point and immediately seven-out and this happened 11 times in a row! Me, being the degenerate gambler and a few others hung out like die-hards, hoping for the table to turn. But nobody wanted to roll. The dark side player and a fellow next to him that was also playing the darkside had bets on the don’t pass. Since no-one wanted to roll the dealer asked the dark players who had bets on the don’t pass if they wanted to roll. One fellow decided to roll. Me and the other diehards placed pass line bets. He rolled a seven and lost. We won. He placed another don’t pass bet. We placed pass line bets, myself parlaying my bet. He rolled a seven and lost. We won. And this, amazingly, went on for about 5 more rolls if I remember right. He rolled sevens and a couple of yo’s in that 5 roll mix. A very strange space in time at the Orleans crap tables.

    After a while I had enough and took a break. I was standing near the tables watching the on-going misery at the tables when the dark side fellow came up and struck up a friendly conversation. We laughed and joked about the strange trends at the tables and I mentioned that he probably was doing a little better than the right players. He promptly showed me his score cards and pointed out the trends that baffled both of us. Then he said he has to go back to work. I mentioned what his line of work is. He replied that he works here. I asked “Are you a shill that plays and gets paid by the casino?” I was excited about having met one since I heard that casinos will employ shills as a way to get patrons to play their table games. Turns out he is a self-proclaimed professional gambler. He goes from casino to casino and makes a living grinding out wins. His goal is to win enough for the day like an average wage-earner does with an every-day job. He aims for at least 2 to 3 hundred a day. He claims that’s why he plays the dark side and goes for modest wins instead of gamblers like me who visits once a year and goes for the big win. He said if he did that he would be penniless in short order. He said he simply loves what he’s doing and would’nt want to do anything else. When I mentioned that it must be hard with the daily anxiety, and unsteady nature of gambling, he smiled and said he is retired military with pay and his wife gave him the ok to do what he does. That’s awesome. We shook hands and I wished him luck. Two days later when my wife and I packed up to spend the rest of our vacation downtown I saw him busy as ever at the tables, doing what he loves to do. We saw each other and we waved to each other goodbye.

    I’ll end for now. Next I’ll report on the Orleans shuttle, Baccanal Buffet, and Jubillee! At Ballys.:wave:
     
  2. btodd

    btodd High-Roller

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    Great start!! Looking forward to the rest. What a great story about the "professional gambler"........don't think I would ever have the patience or the discipline to do that......
     
  3. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    Not "pleased" with your report on the craps play but somewhat comforted that periods at the table DO happen as you describe. I too love the Orleans for the dealers and players attracted to the casino. But yee ghads what do you do when the waters are choppier than the Atlantic? Going back in February hoping for better weather. Good trip report so far, thanks.
     
  4. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
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    Part 2 of our Trip:



    On our stay at the Orleans we made extensive use of their shuttle service to the Strip. It ces every 20 minutes or so and are those shuttle type buses that can carry about twenty or so people. It leaves the Orleans then stops at Bill’s and moves on to Gold Coast and then back to Orleans. The drivers are friendly and nice. During the mornings and afternoons the shuttle is never full so for us it was great to use. However, as evening came the shuttle would get more full and there were times my wife and I just barely made it with two seats left, and the driver had to tell the other people that they have to wait for the next shuttle. I don’t mind if we miss the shuttle due to it being full but at Bill’s there is no established line to wait for the next shuttle. The sidewalk next to the shuttle stop needs to be free for walking traffic so therefore there is no organized line to wait in. When the shuttle arrives its to each their own so to speak. Bill’s needs to try and fix this problem but I guess it would be hard since Bills is not a Boyd property like Gold Coast and Orleans. Aside from that it’s a great travel alternative to the Strip and I always tip nicely for every shuttle trip, which the drivers really appreciate.


    We wanted to eat at the Baccanal buffet at Caesars on wed. so we caught the shuttle early morning and just walked around the strip. We strolled thru the Paris casino and dodged the ever present time share people that occupied the casino and the connecting mall between Paris and Bally’s. My wife and I realize that these people are just doing their jobs but after a while it can get annoying when they cannot take no for an answer. I can understand they being sales people and sales people usually will not take the first no for an answer. They usually will try to entice you with what they have to offer after the 1st rejection. But some of them will follow you and continue their sales pitch regardless of your polite rejections. This makes me angry so I reply with sarcastic comments that my wife does not like. Sorry but they deserved it. I’m on vacation and I don’t want to be bothered. One or two polite “no thank you’s” should be enough. So all day we played dodge ball with the time share people and walked the pedestrian bridge gauntlet that were ringed with homeless with worn, tattered cardboard signs saying they were homeless and need money.



    There was a posting on this board about the guy with the “Kick me in the balls for 20 dollars” sign. We saw him on the pedestrian bridge between Bill’s and Balley’s. There was this muscular dude that was going to take him on to it and I wanted to watch but my wife said “NO!”. Hope the guy’s balls are o.k. I would have told him that 20 dollars is too little. Should add 5 more dollars to the price to cover the health insurance for his balls…lol!


    Also saw Batman do a cape rustling on an unsuspecting tourist that was walking in front of us. He startled her and she was not amused. Her husband was angry and she flipped him the finger. It was hilariously funny and I laughed out loud while I walked past Batman. You deserved that, Bat-idiot, you’re lucky her husband didn’t punch you in your batmouth.


    We played slots and vp at Paris and had nada luck. Contemplated jumping on a craps table that had a few openings for players but decided not to. I usually play craps if my wife is ready to go to bed or if she is occupied at a machine that is worthwhile to play. Otherwise I will stay with her and do things together. So we braved the gauntlet of homeless and timeshare and ventured back to play at Balleys, Flamingo, and IP. Nothing to brag about at all the properties but gotta admit the Flamingo has the worst concentration of timeshare hawkers. IP was a construction mess. Hard hat workers trying to push huge loads of contruction materials past dozens of mindless sheep (us tourists, lol!) and I find it funny that they are wearing hard hats and we aren’t. As far as I’m concerned it looked like the walking area was just as hazardous as their working area. Oh well, it was a mess. The IP was kinda stifling and warm in there. We played some slots and my wife and I jumped on the Texas Tea machine. We hit a few bonuses and then played it down to nothing. There was this dealertainer thing going where she sang a Donna Summer song that was pretty good. We had planned to have an early dinner at Bachcanal so we decided to head over to Caesars. Over the pedestrian bridge to Caesars and encountered more homeless people with more torn cardboard signs saying everything from God Bless to Hungry with no pride... credit cards and personal checks accepted, sign holder carries no change. O.K., I made that last part up.


    It’s always been a navigation nightmare when we visit Caesars. So naturally we got lost trying to find the buffet. Seems like following the signs only make us go the long way, lol! Wonder if they plan it that way so you stop by a slot or two.


    This board mostly praised this Buffet as THE BUFFET to go nowadays. And I took that to heart. My wife’s sister and her husband ate there on their Oct. trip and said it was awesome. They praised the lamb chops and sufflee (sooflay?) I don’t know how to spell it but it’s that fluffly air filled whatever that the French make. Brother and Sister-in law especially liked that they were charged lunch price and were allowed to stay for the change-over to dinner. They paid thirty something dollars each. My wife and I arrived at 5 pm and the price for two was 98 dollars and some change. Wow. This better be good I told myself.


    And really, it was. Sorta. In my mind it’s not worth 98 bucks for two. But the food was good. There was no lamb chops and I couldn’t care less about the sooooflay or what-ever that is. They offer to heat the crab legs for you but I just went over to the hot butter container and got myself some in a bowl and dipped it in. It warmed the meat enough for me. When I went up for seconds on the crab legs the guy that was getting his legs heated was still there. And it wasn’t busy. Just imagine when there are a million people trying to get their frickin legs heated. I love sushi and they offered a relatively small plate of assorted nigiri sushi that had ahi tuna and salmon on it. I took some salmon and ahi tuna sushi and when I went back for seconds the chef kinda “hid” it in the corner between 2 salad offerings. No problem, I repositioned it for ease of anyone who wants sushi. Don’t be chicken-shit, dude, we’re paying 49 bucks and some change each to eat at this buffet. Don’t hide anything, dammit!


    There were a huge variety of food offerings and all of them were nicely displayed and looked fresh and inviting. So why am I not raving about this buffet? Part of it is the price compared to other buffets I’ve eaten at, primarily the Wynn and Bellagio. But what really bothered me about this buffet was the music. Yes, the music. It was a hip-hop/rap type of music that was a few decibals too loud. I felt I was in a nightclub for chrissakes. Really, it was honestly quite annoying. I mentioned to my wife about this and she agreed. It was loud and does not put you at ease. I like buffets that are relaxing where you are able to carry on casual conversation. This music makes you uneasy and makes you want to just eat and get the hell out of there. It definitely isn’t dinner music in any sense whatsoever. Great buffet? Yes, I would agree it is. Good Value? Nah. Worth trying at least once? Yes. Would I go again? Nope. (Unless you’re paying, lol!) Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a cheapskate and got no problem with paying the price. I just feel the value (ambiance, atmosphere, warmth, service) and oh yes, the music, is not there.


    On thurs. my wife and I went to Jubilee! At Ballys. We used a 2 for one coupon found in the Las Vegas magazine the Orleans placed in the room. Came out to 97 dollars and some change for two. We went to the 7:30 show and I understood this as the show that is not topless. The 10:30 showing was supposed to be topless. But the early show was topless (To my delight!):) and my wife seemed o.k. with this. The showgirls were beautiful and the costumes were spectacular. I wanted to see an “Old Vegas” type of show and Jubilee! Does not disappoint. It was, lol!, really, really, cheesy! I think the Titanic scene was drab but the Samson and Delilah scene was awesome. Good special effects.


    We sat in the middle of the beginning of the upper rows N 12 and 13. Great seats because toward the ending of the show a catwalk lowers from the ceiling and the showgirls parades across and do a dance scene. You get to see really beautiful “assets” since we were right in front of them. Needless to say it was wonderful.:wink2: (For me anyway, I don’t know what my wife was thinking at that time, lol!) Later after the show I asked my wife if she felt uncomfortable during the show and she said not at all. And I really believe her. The topless performances were done tactfully, with emphasis on the natural beauty of a woman. None of the performances are done in an erotic or suggestive way as the shows like Fantasy and such. And it’s a great credit to the producers of this show because even though it was topless it was done in a positive and clean manner. Everyone should see this show before it becomes history. Show value? 9 out of 10 stars. Cheesy factor? 10 out of 10 stars, lol!


    Oh by the way, there are 3 between scene acts in the show. A strongman duo, a juggler, and an aerialist. All of them were great with extraordinary displays of skill and strength. If you can, go see Jubilee!


    I will end for now. Next I’ll report about our experiences while staying at the Cal Downtown with some crazy dining and the continuing downward spiral on out gambling adventures.:wave:
     
  5. RodneyK

    RodneyK Tourist

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    Restaurants use music to control pace of eating, turn tables faster, etc.
     
  6. gguerra

    gguerra High-Roller

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    Dont mean to hijack, but if the the Buffet at Ceasars is $49 PP, why not just get the Buffet of Buffets (for around the same $) and it includes several other buffets for 24 hours? Just a thought...
     
  7. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    Part 3

    I’d like to add a few comments on our stay at Orleans. It really was a very nice place to stay and play. The shuttle makes it easier to access the Strip since the Orleans is sort of by itself out there. The workers and dealers were great. There also is a ton of various eateries there and when you add the theatres, bowling, arcade, etc. it makes the place very appealing. Despite having great places to dine like Big Al’s Oyster Bar and Prime Rib Loft just to mention a few, we ended up eating at their 24 hr. café and at the French Quarter Buffet. We certainly wanted to try all the great eateries there but we would come back from the Strip late with no reservations and such so we’ll just have to visit those places next time. The 24 hr. café has fine, typical café offerings and the service and staff were wonderful. Nothing fancy, just fresh, good standard fare. The Buffet offers great value. With your Bconnected card you get a discount depending on your tier level off the already low buffet price. If I remember right B’fast was around 7.99 and lunch around 9.99. Add the card discount and you have a pretty good value meal. Nothing fancy is offered but there are lots of variety. One dish that stood out was the BBQ beef ribs offered at lunch. Each rib is huge and are tender and tasty. Not bad stuff for standard fare.


    Friday morning was moving time so we said good-bye to Orleans and took a cab Downtown to the Cal. Our cab driver was a friendly fellow from Seattle that only had 3 months on the job as a cab driver. He actually came to Vegas and had a job offer as a systems anaylist. Didn’t work out for him so he is temporarily working as a cabbie until he can move his family back to Seattle. Funny part was he did not know where the California Hotel was Downtown. I told him it was on Ogden St. and he had to look at a map. Everything turned out o.k. and the fare was 28 dollars or so. I gave him 35 dollars which he was very grateful. Hope everything turns out o.k. with him and his family.


    We had a 4 nite comp at the Cal and 1 nite at 31 dollars for Sapphire members. We ended up at the older West tower room 918 all the way at the end of the hall. No big deal, the Cal is not a big hotel and the hike to the elevators is minimal. The room is a typical, standard room, king size bed, small bathroom and a view of Ogden St. The room is dated but clean and the bathroom, although small, is clean, functionable, and looks like they installed new floor tile. It will do. However, coming from the Orleans the room is small in comparison. We’ve always stayed at the Cal on our Vegas trips except one time we stayed at MSS and the two hotels have rooms that are quite similar. The Cal is famous for hosting visitors from Hawaii and since my wife and I are from Hawaii we feel comfortable and at home here. Anytime of the day and night you can see a bunch of Hawaiians coming in from either a Vacations Hawaii gambling junket or from a flight from Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiians love to gamble, and the 50th state does not allow us to do so legally. So we consider Vegas our “9th island” and our favorite gambling destination.


    First thing we did was drop off our luggage, unpacked, then went to MSS via the bridge that connects the two hotels. I rented a car from Advantage and it is ready to pick up. Sapphire members get a 7% discount. I reserved a Rav4 since we have one at home and I’d rather drive a car that I am familiar with. Ended up with a Jeep Eagle or something, but it was easy to drive so it worked out fine. We drove over to the Premium Outlets on the outskirts of downtown and my wife did some shopping. There is a Makino Chaya all you can eat sushi buffet there. We’ve eaten there in the past and it is good standard sushi fare if you like to eat a lot of sushi. They also have hot dishes like shrimp tempura, pork sukiyaki, and a variety of other asian hot dishes. There is a huge variety of sushi offered and at 22.95 it’s not a bad deal. We had lunch there and then walked off the meal shopping at the outlets.


    We arrived back at the hotel at 5 or so and we walked by the MSS buffet. That’s when my wife exclaimed, “Weren’t we supposed to eat the seafood buffet tonite?” So much for trying to stick to our itinerary, lol! I mentioned since we ate at Makino’s earlier I didn’t feel like eating seafood again. She felt the same. In fact we were so full from lunch we didn’t feel like eating period!


    We stopped by the Host desk and thanked the Host that comped the 4 nites for us. We also had a small gift consisting of some gourmet kona coffees from the Big Island of Hawaii and a Visa gift card for her. She thanked us and gave us a food comp at the Cals Market ST. Café for tonite. After some small talk we excused ourselves and went to try out some machines. Ugghh!! The downward spiral continued on. We played a variety of machines together, reel slots, DDB VP, penny slots like Village people Jackpot Party, Top Dollar, and goldfish. On some machines we would be able to play for some time and we would hit bonuses periodically, but in the end we finished down for the count. We decided to have a late dinner with the comp the host gave us so my wife decided to retire for a while up at the room and she told me go ahead and play craps.


    So I did.


    And it wasn’t pretty. I bought in for 500 dollars and proceeded small with a passline bet, double odds, and 27 or 26 across depending on the point. Table was 5 dollar minimum. The cold trend followed me from the Orleans as shooter after shooter would make a point and then 7 out shortly after. I would collect any place bet win once then press one unit after that. The 7 would show every time I’d press any bet I had out there. The choppiness was so unpredictable that it was hard to get anything going. All the players were moaning and groaning, but being the die-hards that we are, each of us tried to be the one to turn the table around. I have a stop-loss limit of half my buy in so when I reached that point I took a break. “I’ll be back” I told the dealers and they thanked me for the 2-way hardway bets that I put out for them that didn’t win by the way…grrr!:grrr:


    I checked on my dear wife and found her in our room playing games on her ipad. She jokingly told me she is having better luck on her ipad than at the machines, lol. We decided to walk down Fremont under the canopy for a while. We visited the Golden Nugget and played their Texas Tea game there. Last year that game was very good to my wife but alas, it was not friendly this time. I told my wife let me try. I slipped a twenty in and after a few bonuses I eeked out a 15 dollar win. Yay. Woop dee doo. (smirk).:rolleyes: We wandered in and out of the casinos under the canopy then went to the Fremont Hotel to see if we can make reservations at the 2nd St. Grill there for Sunday. We managed a 6 pm reservation. Heard a lot of good things about this place on this board so we were eagerly looking forward to eating there.


    We found ourselves back at the Cal and decided to eat at the Market St. Café using the comp that our Host gave us earlier. My wife had the Miso encrusted Butterfish and I had the Porter house special. Both meals were very good. My porterhouse was prepared perfectly at medium rare and was a pretty good size of beef. Meat was tender and juicy and the baked potato and side vegetables were fresh and tasty. My wifes dish was succulent and moist. I ended up finishing hers as she’s a light eater.


    After dinner my wife and I went to MSS and played some slots there. We slipped a hundy in a 5 dollar machine and marveled how it ate the hundy so fast. We played some VP and just squandered in limbo before finally busting out. We finished up at the Cal with no noticeable wins at anything. Sigh. My wife decided to call it a nite so I escorted her back to the room and when she was settled in I told her I will go down to continue the good fight. She laughed and wished me luck.


    One of the tables at the Cal was full with no openings while the other had about 4 people on it. I decided to take a position on this table and ride it out until something positive happens. So I bought in for 500 dollars and played conservatively , looking and noting any trends that would develop. About 5 minutes later a lady took a spot next to me and asked how the table was doing. I pointed out several old Hawaiian men that managed to roll pretty good but told her overall the table is still choppy. So we played and then I managed to roll for at least ten minutes, managing to make 3 points in the process. The lady next to me was really getting lucky with the hardway bets and was doing fine on those. The old Hawaiian men opposite us managed to make a couple of points and pretty soon I found myself a couple hundred up for the night. When the dice came to me I went on a short heater that had everyone hollering and yelling, especially the lady next to me who was racking up her hardway bets. I was now approximately up about 4 hundred dollars when I sevened out. The dice was offered to the lady next to me and she promptly laid her chips on the felt and said she’s coloring out. I laughed and told her that’s probably the wisest decision tonite. She came to the table with 75 dollars and colored up 350 dollars. Not bad for someone who didn’t roll once during her stay. Turns out I wasn’t wrong. The table reverted back to it’s old ways and started to get so choppy that my chips in my rack started to dwindle dangerously low. I eventually colored out up a hundred dollars for the nite. My first winning session since I arrived. Hopefully it won’t be my last one!


    I’ll stop for now. More to come later. Thanks for reading!:wave:
     
  8. Sam in Ut

    Sam in Ut High-Roller

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    I thought there is an additional charge to dine at the Bach.....with the Buffet of Buffets, I may be wrong although..
     
  9. booker

    booker VIP Whale

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    Good stuff. Thanks!
     
  10. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    Part 4


    Saturday morning saw me up and early while I let my wife sleep in. Naturally I jumped on the craps table and needless to say the same choppy trend prevailed. Couldn’t get nothing going but I enjoy this game so much. Lost about a hundred and tried to battle back but knew that to linger longer would be disaster. So I quit and played a bit of VP. At about 9 I went and bought some coffee and brought it up to the room. By this time my wife was getting ready for another day.


    Our plan today is to visit Sam’s Town then head over to the Galleria at Sunset to do some shopping. Then head across the street to visit Sunset Station. Then we’ll just play it by ear since I don’t like to drive after dark. My eyes aren’t what they used to be, lol!


    Sam’s Town was really nice since they decorated their atrium with Christmas décor. We walked around the area and admired the scenery. We played various VP machines with nothing to brag about as far as hits go, then played a bunch of reel slots. Wanted to jump on their craps tables but they only had 1 open and it was full. We then headed over to the Galleria at Sunset and spent the better part of the day shopping. This place is one of the better shopping venues we’ve visited. My wife loves to shop here. After shopping we went across the street to Sunset Station. This is a nice, bright, friendly casino with a south-western motif. We wandered around and my wife settled on this particular VP machine where you play a hand and if you win you progress up to another with multiple pay options. Good time to hit the craps table so off I went.


    There were only 2 other players at the craps table when I bought in for 300 dollars. They were’nt doing very well and I certainly did not bring any good luck to the table. The dealers were friendly and really got into the game when I would throw some 2-way hardways for them. What got me cracking up was when the dreaded 7 would show up. The stickman, hoping the 2-way hardways would hit, would get so upset that he would slam his stick hard on the table and yell “shit!”. You would hear the loud “Whap!” as he slammed the stick hard down on the table. The boxman, who sat there all bored and sleepy would jump in his seat and stare at the stickman and say, “Hey, take it easy…” It was hilarious! Nobody could get anything going so all of us players colored out. I left a green chip for the dealers and they thanked me and apologized for the cold table conditions. I told them it’s like that for me all over and they hoped my luck would change.


    My wife and I played several other games here and there then decided to head back Downtown. Tonight I made reservations at Pasta Pirate at the Cal. The Pasta Pirate is a nice, quaint, little place that serves pasta dishes and seafood fare. The kitchen is open so you can see the chefs preparing the food. Our waiter was a nice, friendly fellow but he mumbles and I couldn’t for the life of me understand what the hell he was saying, lol! After some repeating, pointing, and drawing pictures, we managed to order a seafood pasta for my wife and I settled for their Alaskan King Crab platter.


    My wife enjoyed her dish and mine was awesome. Lots of huge crab legs and soft, moist meat. It was sweet and delicious. Dish comes with hot drawn butter and fresh steamed broccoli and choice of baked potato or rice. I didn’t want to waste food so I ate it all. I was so full I felt a bit uncomfortable and guilty for being such a glutton. But it’s Vegas and I’m on vacation. I don’t normally do these kind of things, lol!


    After dinner we played some slots and VP and amazingly, we decided to call it a night. We retired up to our room and just took it easy for a change. I was averaging 3 hrs of sleep a night so fatique finally caught up with me. I was out and sleeping like a log by 11 p.m.


    But naturally I woke up early and was out the door at 5 am. I plan to hit the craps tables then buy my wife coffee around 9ish. There was only one table at the Cal open early in the morning and there were 2 older gentlemen playing. So I strode up and bought in for 300 dollars. My usual play is passline 10 dollars and after the point back it with double odds. For some reason the Cal only allows double odds. I guess they never got over that famous roll back when Stanley Fujitake rolled for more than 3 hrs. and became the golden arm legend. Anyway, I also place the inside numbers for 10 or 12 dollars each, depending on the point. I then collect on the first hit and press every hit one unit after that. How far I take the press depends on the current trends and the performance of the shooter. Well, the cold trends continued to haunt me and the table as one by one all shooters sevened-out after shortly making their point. It was truly frustrating and soon the other gentlemen had enough and left the table. I was down to a hundred dollars in chips and I was alone at the table.


    And a miracle happened.


    I told myself, “Self, it’s still early and I still want to play, so f#!@k it, I’m going for it” I changed my strategy and because I didn’t want to buy in for more I decided to play out my last 100 dollars. I bet 10 dollars on the passline and backed it with the usual double odds. But this time I made a continuous string of come bets until I had all numbers covered with double odds. And I rolled and rolled. The off and on’s on the come bets were coming in left and right. My chip rail was a mess of reds, whites, and a sprinkling of greens. I rolled as fast as the stickman would give me the dice. I threw out 2 way hardways and parlayed the ones that hit, always replacing the dealers bets that went down. My parlayed hardways began to hit and I started getting paid in green chips. The dealers and myself were squealing in delight and even the boxman began to smile. It seemed everyone was happy that for at least a little while the table had turned for the good. And I still was the only one playing. I continued to roll and roll, and the dealers and myself started laughing and commenting on if the people who left earlier would’ve just hung around a little longer, they would have shared in my good fortune.


    It was only a matter of time when the action got noticed. My chip rails were a disorganized mess of greens, reds, and whites, and my section was FULL! Several people pounced on the table and feverishly threw their buy-ins into the pit. I continued to roll and when I finally sevened-out I estimated my roll at about 20 minutes. Nothing spectacular but considering how the tables were these past nights, I consider it a small miracle. The table continued to show promise and after a few go arounds, the table reverted back to its old ways. It was a sign to color out. Fifteen Black chips, 2 Greens, 1 Red and 3 Whites were pushed to me. I grabbed the fifteen black chips and gave the rest to the dealers. The dealers thanked me profusely and the boxman smiled at me and said “Good job!”


    I was in heaven. I cashed in my chips, bought coffee, and went up to the room.


    It took a while for the excitement and happiness to wind down a bit and for the record I knew that this win still did not dig me out of the hole as far as gambling losses but it sure was damn needed as far as uplifting the spirits. I figure at this point the win has lessened my losses to about 800 dollars down so far for the trip.


    Feeling like a million bucks, my wife and I strolled over to the Golden Nugget to have breakfast at their Carson St. Café. We enjoy having breakfast here. We always make a point to visit every time we are in Vegas. The staff are friendly and attentive and the service is stellar. My wife orders her favorite, eggs benedict while I always order their pancake platter. Except this time I wanted to try their ox-tail soup that they have on their breakfast menu. Something different. And it was great. Steaming hot beef broth with meaty ox-tails that were fall off the bone tender. My adrenaline still high from the win, I gobbled, slurped and smacked my way through that dish in short order. My wife enjoyed her eggs benedict as usual.


    On this Sunday we planned to just stay Downtown and not go anywhere with the car. I’ll end the report here for now and will resume this long-winded saga shortly. Thanks for reading!:wave:
     
  11. Boosty16

    Boosty16 Low-Roller

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    Awesome report. It's getting me ready for my trip next week. We are planning on partying in downtown Saturday night. We too love the Orleans. Big rooms, big casino with pretty much every game/slot there is! We even had our wedding reception there at an Italian place called Sazios, but they replaced it with Big Al's comedy show.
     
  12. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Great report! It's probably been ten years since I had a roll like that on the craps table:cry: Nice going!!
     
  13. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    Part 5

    Gee, if any of you even managed to reach this part I apologize for the report being so long. I didn’t mean to ramble but I do tend to do that. I’ve been known to make mountains out of molehills…..

    Sunday my wife and I decided to just stay downtown. Mostly because of the Vegas Marathon where they plan to close the Strip at 12 noon. I didn’t want to venture out with the car when all the side streets probably will be gridlocked. They also started setting up barriers for the runners as they run under the Fremont Canopy. I thought that was a neat idea. The better part of the day involved my wife and I visiting every casino within the Fremont Canopy area. The Plaza’s casino looks nice and newly renovated but to me it still has that weird smell, like stale disinfectant. The Golden Gate is neat and classy and the Vegas Club is just plain sad and hopeless. The Golden Nugget is forever the gem of downtown and Binions, 4 queens, and Fremont were hoppin with happy gamblers. The new D is interesting with downstairs looking and feeling like a Strip casino. The music is a little too loud and could be toned down a bit, I really don’t know how they can hear anything at the craps and card tables, I know I wouldn’t.

    We went upstairs of the D and in my opinion, it was kinda meh… The people playing the Sigma Derby were having a blast and a jolly good time. We played a little here and there, with nothing even close to showing promise. We ended up at home base and retired to the room to rest. Around 4 in the afternoon my wife looked out our window overlooking Ogden St. and exclaimed “How are we going to cross the street?” I looked out and a solid wall of runners were running down Ogden with pedestrians on the side looking on in dismay. There was little chance of them crossing the street for a while.

    Our concern was that we had a 6 p.m. reservation at 2nd St. Grill at the Fremont. I assured my wife that by 5:30 it would be o.k. to cross as the majority of the runners will be gone. And my guess was right. We eventually crossed the street with no problem and in no time we arrived at 2nd St. Grill and were seated promptly.

    We’ve never ate here before, but heard so much about this place from this board. When in Vegas I love to try different places for dinner and this place got my interest. One of the dishes that our members on this board rave about is the ginger-infused wok deep fry whole snapper. I intended to try this dish so I asked the waiter about the portion size. He responded that its quite a large fish but assured me I would be able to finish it. The warm spinach wok stir fry salad also got our attention so we ordered 1 order with the intention to share it. My wife ordered a stuffed pork chop for her main dish.

    When the food arrived both out jaws dropped….

    First of all the spinach salad seemed like it was made for 4 people, let alone two. It was delicious and we valiantly tried to finilsh it. Big mistake.

    The fish arrived and I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was HUGE!! The fish extended out on both sides of the large platter. I asked the waiter if this dish came with starch and vegetables and he sheepishly told me that the rice and garden vegetables were under that huge behemoth. That’s when I started to laugh because the fish was so big you can’t see anything but the fish!

    Then my wife’s Pork Chop dish made its debut. The look on her face was priceless…. I swear that pork chop looked like it was on steroids. There was no way she could even put a dent on that dish.

    But we were game and we tried. Amazingly I managed to finish about ¾ of the fish by eating only the fish and a few vegetables. My wife took a few bites of the Pork Chop and said she was full, citing the spinach salad that we tried to finish as the reason she couldn’t eat any more. Her dish looked basically untouched.

    But everything was so delicious. The spinach salad was wonderful and the dressing with it just devine. The fish was tasty and offered wonderful textures with crunchy exteriors leading to tender, moist delicious meat on the inside. The pork chop was heavenly with the meat cooked just right to maintain moisture within the chop. ( I know because I had a few bites, lol!) But like I mentioned, way too much food…

    So for those who plan to visit this place and have never been, a few pointers:
    1). The spinach salad can feed 4 people.
    2). The ginger infused whole snapper can easily feed 2 people.
    3). The pork chop dish has generous portions, just don’t try to eat all of #1, lol!!

    My wife asked for a take-out container with fork and napkin for the left-over pork chop dish and on our walk back to home base she gave it to a homeless person who we saw rummaging thru the garbage can. I’m pretty sure my wife made his day.

    Sunday evening was spent playing together. But the dark cloud of bad luck continued to hover over our precious vacation. It really didn’t matter. I was on vacation with my precious wife and as far as I’m concerned, all is good.

    I’ll stop for now. There is still 2 more days of our vacation. I’ll try not to ramble too much as I desperately try to finish this novel of a report. I’m sorry, I never imagined this report to be this long. Bless all you few die hards who managed to make it this far!:wave:
     
  14. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    For whatever reason, my wife prefers the Redwood, but I love 2nd St Grill. I've never had a bad meal there and you are correct about portions. We always take a leftover, but we do always have a frig in the room.
     
  15. nikerbokers

    nikerbokers Tourist

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    I love detailed reports like this. Thanks for sharing and sounds like a great time...!
     
  16. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
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    Final episode.

    Usually when there is only a couple of days left of my Vegas vacation I start feeling a little sad and depressed. Knowing that the vacation is almost over and I have to get back to reality is a real bummer. But I was determined to make the best of what little time we have left. Monday had us visiting the Strip again and we first visited Excaliber. My kids asked us to drop by and pick up of all things, POPCORN! There is a place called Popcornopolis upstairs by the food court. Fancy smancy varieties of popcorn all bundled up in pretty packages. Sigh. The things we do for our kids… We then played for a while here and then went over to NYNY and MGM and lost some more money there. My wife and I finally played Sigma Derby at MGM. It was kinda fun. I kept playing the long shots, hoping for a big win but of course I didn’t. My wife was doing great! We played for a long time on 10 dollars in quarters and eventually quit with a loss of…..25 cents.


    We went over to the over-rated M&M store to pick up the obligatory things like mugs, t-shirts, etc., etc. Then backtracked toward Excaliber, playing random machines here and there. Then we headed over to Trader Joe’s on Decatur to pick up some stuff that we can’t find here back home. My wife loves their Biscotti and always pick some up to take home with us.


    Errands done, we headed back to home base to put away our bounty and to rest. Nothing fancy tonite for dinner, we ended up at Aloha Specialties upstairs on the mezzanine bridge separating Cal from MSS. Typical island fare is found here, if you are ever in the vicinity and looking for hang-over food, try their saimin soup noodle dish. The hot savory broth and tasty noodles hits the spot every time!:banana:


    We decided to play roulette together. We checked out the Cal but the table was full. So we walked over to MSS and found the table empty with a lonely, bored dealer. Roulette here is 50 cent chips with a 3 dollar minimum. We asked the dealer lady if we could bump it to dollar chips because for us its easier to play with. No problem. My wife and I bought in for 100 dollars each. Well, as luck would have it, my wife was squandering in limbo, going up, then down, then up…..back and forth. But yours truly was doing fantastic! My usual play is 5 dollars on black and then I would play the inside for 5 dollars playing straight up on certain numbers I call “corners”. There are 3 of them. 1st corner consists of 10, 11,13,14, 15. 2nd corner is 15, 16, 18, 19, 20. 3rd corner is 25,26,28,29,30. When a number of a corner shows up I bet the whole corner for three spins. And always play outside black for 5 dollars. Well, at least tonite, my “system” worked! It came to the point where the dealer ran out of chips of my color and had to pay me with chips! I kid you not. It was incredible! And fun! There was only the two of us at the table all this time until 2 other people came to play. And unfortunately, the luck ran out on me. Slowly my chips began to dwindle down so my wife and I decided to color out. She basically broke even while I enjoyed a 200 dollar win. Yay! The dealer jokingly lamented how sad she was that we were leaving because every time I won I would toss her a dollar chip. The other two players didn’t give her anything…..:nono:


    I played craps later on that evening and let’s just say my 200 dollar win at MSS got donated to the craps table at the Cal. And more, lol!:Þ


    Tuesday arrived. Our last full day. We slept in late then decided we were’nt hungry so we skipped breakfast. We got in the car and visited Towne Center just a bit past Mandalay Bay. Just a bunch of boring shops to me but my wife seemed to like some of them. By midday we were super hungry so we headed over to the M Resort and decided to have lunch at their buffet.


    The M lunch buffet was just great! There was a large variety of dishes offered, too numerous to mention although the mashed potatoes, Korean kal-bi BBQ short ribs,and carved tri-tip fillet are a few that were outstanding. They even had ox-tail soup, one of my favorite dishes back home. We stuffed ourselves and then attacked the desserts. Our server was such a wonderful person. So personable and efficient. Our plates were always emptied before we got back with new ones, and she would re-fill our drinks without us having to flag her down. Such a nice, friendly, lady. We gave her a monster tip.


    After lunch we played several slots and VP machines. I started to get real tired and sleepy, especially with a full tummy. My wife and I were playing VP side by side when she stopped, looked at me, and said “Did you just throw away a 3 of a kind?” I looked at her in my zombie state and said “I did? Then I guess it’s time to head back and rest, lol!”


    Headed back to the Cal where we rested for a while, as I planned to pull an all nighter as far as gambling. As far as my wife was concerned, she basically threw in the towel as far as gambling. She was done for this trip. We ended up at the Market St. Café again for dinner. I had my favorite ox-tail soup and my wife, still full from the M buffet, had a small bowl of Miso soup. After dinner we played one last try at a couple of dollar and 5 dollar slots then my wife said she’s done for the night. I escorted her to our room and saw her settled in. As I was getting ready for my last night hurrah, she told me to try not to lose all my money. I gave her a sheepish grin and she knew it was futile. I was on a mission.


    I should have aborted the mission, lol!:cry:


    I’m pretty disciplined when it comes to bankroll. My planned allotment for each day is 1000 dollars. If I’m up for that day at the end of that day it gets put away and not used again. And on a losing day I hardly ever lose everything. What-ever is left over is again put away and not used. This is cast in stone. Except….the last day. On the last day it’s balls to the walls day. The No Guts No Glory day. The day where caution is cast to the wind and come hell or high water…..


    Anyway, like I said, I should have aborted the mission. From 11 pm that last night to 6 am the next morning I fearlessly pounded the craps tables, going from MSS to the Cal, back and forth. On some sessions, I managed to eek out a small profit, only to lose it again as the tables turned. Over and over, back and forth. It was my last night in Vegas. And I love to play craps. So I continued on, oblivious to the punishment I endured, like a prized fighter, thinking of nothing but victory. When the pounding was too much to bear, I would not quit, just take a break. I would hit the slot machines, or play a round of VP, with one eye always checking out the craps tables. Then I would pounce right back in and try again…


    When the smoke finally cleared the next morning, Victory was not there. Money-wise anyway. My bankroll was damaged but still repairable, I can return to fight again. My victory is that I just ended a wonderful vacation with my wife that was full of fun, entertainment, and priceless memories. And this kind of Victory is the most precious of all. I pray that I may have more of these kinds of Victories in the future.


    We grabbed our luggage, jumped into a taxi outside the Hotel, made it to the airport in plenty of time, boarded on time and before we knew it, we were home.


    Thank you so much for allowing me to share my Trip Report. I know it was long and somewhat boring but I write it for me just as much as I wanted to share with you. It’s my way of re-living my vacation to a place that I truly love, that wonderful adult playground called Vegas.



    Amen, and The End. Lol! :wave:
     
  17. DonD

    DonD VIP Whale

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    Thank you for sharing. Well done job. :nworthy:
     
  18. Suekel

    Suekel VIP Whale

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    Not boring at all, I really enjoyed it, and thanks for taking the time to share it.
     
  19. Iu25

    Iu25 High-Roller

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    Great TR, loved it! I would rather read a long drawn out detailed report anyday than a short boring one! Thanks again!
     
  20. oldcrabtom

    oldcrabtom High-Roller

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    Really enjoyed your report, glad you and wifey had such fun. Next time you might take a peek at the southport, it's (imho) even better than the Orleans :drunk:
     
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