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Aria Slot Tournament--9/5 through 9/8

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by luvstp, Sep 10, 2013.

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  1. luvstp

    luvstp High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2009
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    Location:
    Northern NV
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    My Trip Report

    This was a solo trip to Aria for me (DH had to be home to watch opening day of the Bears game) as I had a great offer for a $1000 buy in slot tournament, but you would get your $1000 buy in back in the form of $1000 in free credit. I hadn’t been to Vegas since the end of July and had the shakes so knew I needed to go. Someone asked DH if I was nervous about traveling to Vegas by myself……..he told them it was far safer than those Laredo trips I had been taking for work.

    Flights:
    Booked United out of Houston for 9/5 at 7:30 am and returning on Sunday on the 9:40 am flight. Was fortunate to get upgraded to first class both ways! And, the return flight was a 767-600 series that is primarily used for overseas travel…….this wide body jet has 39 seats in first class and you get your own entertainment screen where you can watch any of about 30 movies, play games or listen to music before the flight even leaves the jetway. I will try and fly on this plane again if it’s available…..it was awesome.

    Also, everyone flying to LAS received a Cosmo playing card pack that included free mints and cards that were for free play, 2 for 1 at Wicked spoon, etc. I already posted about this in the Misc Vegas Chat section.

    My limo driver was waiting at level 0 in Terminal 1 when I got off the plane—I know that United flies into Terminal 3, but I’m just not a fan of the new terminal. It’s so easy for the pickup and drop off to use Level 0, but you can only do this if you just pack carry on, which I do.

    Hotel
    I stayed at Aria on the Sky Suites side. I love the Sky Suites side as it’s quieter, you never wait for an elevator and it’s nice to be able to grab a cup of coffee and a bottle of water from the lounge. My room was waiting for me when I arrived at 8:30 am—that is a very nice perk and I thanked my host profusely for that. The beds were fabulous as always—my favorite rooms in Las Vegas.

    Slot Tournament:
    I love to play in slot tournaments as it can really break up the monotony of gambling and keep me from a big loss. We’ve done well in them and finished last also (and that was trying not to finish last). This was an unusual tournament format in that it was a “winner take all” tournament. Typically, slot tournaments pay for at least the top 10-25 places or even lower if it’s a token amount of free play. In this case, there were 196 entries, so the grand prize winner (with ~52K points) received the entire $196,000. Hector somebody was a very happy man.

    There were several of us in the tournament who post on this board (Kimsa70, evoni, Brensan, topdollarplayer) and so we got together at noon on Friday to cheer each other on. Aria had lunch and free drinks for all of the players on both Friday and Saturday. Except for Kimsa70, we all pretty much stunk it up after the first two rounds……which made for no pressure for the Saturday afternoon round or to do the rebuy. LOL Kimsa70 had two very good scores, so we thought she might be in the money……I’ll let her tell the story, but she wasn’t the top winner. It was fun to meet the other VMB members at the tourney.

    They also had a rebuy option, so if you had one stinky round, you could rebuy for $500 and play another round to substitute for your lowest score. My three scores were all below 14,000 points, so there was no reason to rebuy………I was thankful for that! I was given strict order from home to not come in second and there was no worry on that.

    Aria had two tournament announcements….the first at 5:30 was for the $196K winner and to give out a bunch of holiday shopping points. None of us were winners of those. The second announcement was at 10 pm and that was for 10 lucky entries that would each win $2300 in free play. Aria took the 46 rebuys at $500 each and redistributed that out as $2300 in free play for 10 people. I only had 8 tickets in the drum and there were hundreds of tickets (one ticket for every 2000 points earned) and my ticket was one of the ones selected!!!! I was in the drawing area talking to evoni and initially didn’t even hear my name as I certainly wasn’t expecting to be called. Woohooo!!! Picture below to prove it!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9716406015/

    Food:
    I ate “linner” at Serrano’s on Thursday and being a solo diner there was absolutely no problem. I didn’t get a stinky table like Royal Flusher did and actually had great service. Serrano’s now has a lunch menu and I noticed that the scallops weren’t on it. I asked the waiter about that and he said “we’ll get you the scallops, it’s no problem”. I had the scallops, chicken croquettes and the huevos estralladas with a glass of the Justin Cabernet. The food was outstanding and this is a must do restaurant for me/us every time! Total before tip was $70.

    I tried the Five50 restaurant this trip as I had lunch with my host there on Friday. This will be a new “must eat there” restaurant for me. I had the white bean soup and she had the heirloom tomato salad which came with the largest tomatoes I have ever seen on that salad. My soup was excellent. We then shared the blanca pizza (without the garlic—they actually were willing to do that special order) and I added meatballs to my side as she is a vegetarian. Great food and excellent service.

    I also had dinner at Todd’s English Pub on Saturday night and had the usual chicken pot pie which is always delicious.

    My host sent up a wonderful bottle of 2007 Silver Oak Cabernet. The red wine in the Aria casino leaves something to be desired…..I wondered if she saw my post and sent up the bottle. LOL. I did have a wonderful cocktail server on Thursday morning, Carolyn, who introduced me to the Martini cabernet that is available on the floor if you ask for it explicitly. That was much better than the regular cab on the floor. Thanks, Carolyn for those extra big glasses of Baileys in the mornings! LOL

    Gambling:
    And now the important part of the trip……..I had been having my first winning year ever and was well up for the year until a disastrous end of July trip to Wynn. I didn’t write about that as who wants to hear about dozens and dozens of trips that never connect into quads or slot machines that never go to the bonus. Before heading out on this trip, I was still ahead for the year, but it was by the slimmest of margins……just over $1000, excluding any comps. If I didn’t lose my ass on this trip (like I had done on two prior trips to Aria this year), then I would be going to their October slot tournament. Lose my butt, and we would just go to the Wynn slot tourney in October. Well…….no foreshadowing here, we will be going to both tournaments now.

    I am primarily a single line $ TDB or DDB video poker player with some slots thrown in when I need to let my weary eyes rest or have been drinking a bit too much. I like to play over by SPIN or by the Players Club as you can mix it up between single line and triple play and super times pay and double super times pay. My favorite game is on the All Star Poker machine where you can play single line STP or DSTP in DDB or TDB……well, that used to be my favorite game. Last year I hit quad aces with a 10X multiplier on that machine for $8K…..I think I’ve given it all back and then some in subsequent trips and that machine was a hoover to me again this trip. Although, it did eke out one set of quad aces but no multiplier.

    I have a love/hate relationship with Cleopatra 2……it didn’t matter what denomination I played this trip (nickels, dimes, quarters), I could only get 2 of those sphinxes. I finally hit a bonus round on quarters and got 9 spins which resulted in a whopping 108 credits on the final spin. I’m back to hating Cleo 2 again…..I gave her one last try on Sunday morning and no bonus again. That b**** and I are done playing again for awhile!

    I had a good trip playing video poker as I was never down more than $1500 this trip. I hit quad aces 5 times for $800 each time (never with a kicker though) and one of them is shown before. I got too lazy and didn’t take any photos of the others.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9719640722/

    I had a very nice hit of 2’s with a kicker on Triple Double Bonus for $2000 on Friday.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9719639320/

    I had a miracle slot hit on the $ wheel of fortune. I was playing over by the players club and got the spin bonus for $2000! I fully admit that I didn’t “act like I’ve been in the end zone before” (words DH tells me when he thinks I’ll go off the rails after a jackpot) as when I hit this I had been drinking too much and was in total amazement at getting the top spin. Continued to play the machine, but it went ice cold after that, so no $2 mln jackpot for me. Still, a nice photo and only my second time to hit that $2K on the spin.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9719644082/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9719642474/

    I had some decent luck on triple play also as I was dealt quad 4’s and pulled one kicker for a $1600 jackpot. :beer:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9716413655/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12661268@N02/9719646876/

    I tipped the attendant $20 and took my jackpot in the form of a ticket. Wish I had been playing TDB, but the swings on triple play when you only get 10 for trips can be pretty hard to stomach.

    I vaguely recall making some stupid bets along the way……like $200 in the $5 Double Top Dollar without a single spin……some more $ STP without any decent hits…..only cashing in my $1000 in free credit for about $500 in hard cash thanks to some stupid carnival games. Oh well.

    I played lots of other nickel/dime video slot machines and I think I should win some sort of award for most times any individual has only hit 2 of 3 of the symbols necessary for the bonus round. Grrrrrr I played a new to me game called Crown of Egypt (1024 ways to win) and had pretty good luck on that cashing out with $400 more than I started with. Another fun new game was Carnival in Rio by Multi Media Gaming—the graphics and music were outstanding.

    Rather than stay up late on Saturday night playing my $2300 in free play, I decided I would take a more disciplined approach (who knew?) and play it Sunday morning without any wine influence. Also, the casino on Saturday night was rocking and I couldn’t hear myself think.

    On Sunday morning at 6:45 am, I hit the $2 DDB single line VP to play the $2300 in free play. Thanks to quad 6’s, lots of full houses and straights/flushes, I turned the $2300 into $2400 in cash. I did play some of the free play in the $ single line double super times pay (with absolutely nothing to show for it)…sigh….My big hit on this game last year and then at Wynn this year has made me think I’m invincible here…..but more time on the machines is telling me just how lucky that hit was.

    I didn’t hit any straight flushes this trip and no royals. I’ve hit only one royal so far this year in 7 trips.

    Finished the trip up $1100 after paying off my marker! Not a big win, but a win is a win. I told myself if I had a win, I would go back for the SPIN slot tournament in October…..so, we are now booked for that and the Wynn Free Play Frenzy the weekend before. :licklips:

    Miscellaneous
    I think that Aria has finally fixed their computer systems. I was able to jump around from machine to machine on a busy Saturday without having to wait 10-15 mins for the free play to be available as in past trips. What a nice change!

    I also noticed that customer service is much improved and they don’t seem to “sweat the money” as much as they used to. I no longer need to carry my drivers license around to get paid on a jackpot. And, I can just get a ticket rather than cash without any question or concern. In another instance, I had put money into a slot and the screen was dead so I couldn’t choose the denomination or cash out or anything. A slot attendant came right away and after ascertaining the problem, paid me in cash immediately and then called a slot tech.

    To the young lady leaving the Sky Suites at 7:30 am on Sunday morning who made a point of bending over much too far (while wearing an orange-ish colored short short dress and 6” stilettos) in front of the door man, I ask you……Really? :eek: Of course, the door man had a smile a mile wide after enjoying that view…….. I guess that’s just Vegas! LOL
     
  2. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Oops sorry, just wanted to see if I could touch still touch my toes while wearing stilettos.....several body parts beat my hands to my toes lol. Congrats on a winning trip!!!

    Oh young lady....my mistake, that wasn't me :)
     
  3. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Near Houston, TX
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    Hahahahahahahaha!!! Breanna - you so funny!!!! thanks for the laugh!!

    Luvstp - thanks for writing up this report - I enjoyed reading about it - but didn't fair near as well as you that weekend. I do agree with you about the service at Aria - it has changed dramatically in the last year - to the better! It was very nice meeting you and the others - but don't think I'm gonna make it to the October tournament. It will take me longer to recharge and re-load!! Good Luck!!
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2013
  4. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

    Joined:
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    Good stuff, luvstp. Congrats on the wins and the 23 hundred in fp - not too shabby!

    I had no idea Aria was so anal about jackpots! Glad I was just a table player back when I used to frequent Aria. Oh well, good to hear they're getting their act together.

    Thanks for the report and pics. :thumbsup:
     
  5. luvstp

    luvstp High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Northern NV
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    Breanna:
    I should have you write my trip reports! LMAO :wave:
     
  6. luvstp

    luvstp High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Northern NV
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    I enjoyed meeting you and Lisa also...although I can't do the graveyard shift on gambling like you guys can. And what luck for her to hit a jackpot at her first ever time slotting. A new slot slut is born! LOL

    Let me know if you change your mind........maybe the October trip would be your lucky slot time! :thumbsup:
     
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