Downtown trip Report

I drove from Southern California to Vegas on Sept. 27th. Arrived around 2:00
PM at the beautiful El Cortez. I'm a downtown kind of guy, and have gambled
a little at the "El Co" before, so I figured I'd rest my weary head there. I
like the atmosphere, if not the smell.

I requested a room on a high floor with a view of the strip (I was staying
in the tower), and it wasn't ready when I arrived. I decided to get a slot
card, and do a little low limit gambling while I waited. The room still
wasn't ready at 3:00, and I was a little peeved, but I played a little more,
and got a good start on the drunkenness I was looking for. I checked in
around 4:00, and was pleased with the room. Double beds, good view,
relatively clean. I later used one bed for when I stunk, and the other for
after I showered.

After dropping off my stuff, I proceeded to get down to business. As I was
downing Heinekens all trip, the rest of the report may be a little vague;
but suffice it to say I had a good time. I played some VP and craps, but my
main game was Blackjack. I started off pretty small at 5-10 dollars a hand,
and didn't have much luck early. Went to the Horseshoe, Fremont, Fitz,
Golden Gate, and lost around 200. I was really taking advantage of the
"free" beers, and had a pretty good buzz going when I went into the Golden
Nugget around 10:00. Pretty soon I got hot.

I've never had much luck at the Nugget before, but soon my 10 dollar wagers
became green, then black, then black on two hands. I a firm believer (if not
a regular practitioner) of the rule that you should only increase your bet
while winning; and that's exactly what I did. I asked for and received a
small comp for dinner, but I never used it. I left the Nugget around 3,000
ahead for the trip. YES!

- Brief Background - I've done some serious (for me) winning and losing in
the past. I turned 200 into 12,000 at the Orleans one night, and I've lost
3,500 on one hand at the Horseshoe, so I guess I'm kind of a gambler. For
this trip, I brought 500, which is a lot for me now (I've just bought my
first house), and I did not want to lose any more than that. - Note - I'm
single with no kids, so if I end up in the gutter, I'm only hurting myself.

After leaving the Nugget, I went to the Horseshoe again. On the 27th,
everything looked normal, but all of the table games on the West side of the
casino were closed. I didn't think anything of it at the time (referring to
the events of the following Wednesday). I sat my drunken ass down at the 25
minimum table, and to summarize, won another 3,200. Yes, it was a good
night. I cashed out, and very cautiously walked back to the El Co.

The next morning, I slept in, as I was pretty hung over. I had received a
comp for the Horseshoe coffee shop the previous night, so I went in for some
breakfast after I woke. Nothing special, but I needed it. I had "found" a
500 dollar chip in my pocket that I forgot to cash the night before, so I
figured I'd see if my luck was still holding out. It wasn't. I lost 10 hands
in a row at the 25 dollar table (not counting a blackjack push- argh!), and
said to myself "today's not my day", and cashed out the remaining 250.

I spent the rest of the day kind of nickel and diming around downtown, just
wasting time and getting drunk. Played a little craps, poker, VP, but always
for low stakes. Later that night, I found myself back at the "Shoe", playing
blackjack at a 10 dollar table. I bought in for 100, played for about 45
minutes, and eventually found myself down to 7.50 . As that wasn't enough
for a bet, and I didn't want to pull anymore money out of my pocket, I got
up. Since I didn't feel like going to the cage for 7.50, I pulled another
half dollar out of my pocket, planning to make a crazy bet on roulette (can
you see where this is going?). I walked up and put my 8 dollars on my
number, "24", and the dealer said to me "that'll pay 240". I didn't think
anything of it, as I was pretty drunk by now, and of course - it hit. 24.
The ONLY spin of roulette I played all trip, I nailed. He proceeded to give
me 240 dollars, which I immediately cashed out; giving the dealer my 8
dollar bet as a tip, and walked down Freemont Street giggling at my good
fortune.

As I got about half way back to the Cortez, my brain cells slowly came back
to life. 240 divided by 8 equals 30. Now I'm no roulette expert, but I know
a single number pays more than 30 to 1. I debated whether or not I should go
back, as I knew they'd say "You should have complained when you were paid".
Well, since I was pretty drunk by now, I figured I'd take my chances. Upon
my return to the roulette table, one of the people who had been sitting
there asked "Haven't had enough?". My response was a serious "Yes, but I've
learned how to multiply". I called for the floorman, and asked him, "How
much does 8 dollars on a single number pay?" With very little hesitation he
replied "280 dollars". I told him that I had just been paid only 240 for
that bet, and he asked when. I told him, "10 minutes ago on this table", and
the dealer overheard me. He pointed to me and said "Yes sir that's right!
I'm very sorry". The floorman told me to step around to the side of the
table, and get my 40 dollars. I was happy and relieved.

After that, I went back to the room to shower and change, and proceeded to
Glitter Gulch. You'd think being single and 6,000 ahead I'd have gone crazy,
but not me. I did give away quite a few singles, but no lap dances. After
leaving the Gulch, I have some vague recollection of winning about 50
dollars at the Plaza playing blackjack, but it was late and I was very
tired, so I limped back to the El Cortez for some well needed rest.

Woke the next morning, and headed back to So. Cal., very pleased with
myself.

I'm coming back this weekend. Wish me luck!

Dave P

 

great report Dave... I like the way you go to Vegas. good read.. thanks for posting!

 

Interesting story about the roulette bet... wonder if that dealer got into trouble? (He should have!)

Thanks for writing about my favorite place... downtown LV!

 

Hey Dave--

Great Report...

It had all my favorite stuff, gambling, drinking, and strippers...

Sounds like a perfect trip!!

Mikey

 

Excellent Report Dave! Another El Cortez
survivor SPEEKS!!(I LOVE that place for some
reason)Hope you have MORE good luck on the next
trip.Congrats on the house!

Booger

[ October 11, 2002, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Booger ]

 

Sounds great! Just got another comped room offer from El Cortez and, thanks to you and Booger, finally think I'm gonna take them up on it. I spend a lotta time there gambling anyhow and with Binions closing down so much (how was it crowdwise?) I'll probably spend more.