Feb26 - Mar1 trip report

Time to get around and contribute my experiencing with the rest of the Las Vegas addicts.
Here are the highlights from the best of my rememberence.

The set-up and crew:
Actually we have planned this trip since like last October. Some friends who are NASCAR groupies had tickets to the Vegas races and wanted some old Vegas veterans along for fun. All totaled there were 8 of us that would eventually meet up in Las Vegas.

The set –up:
Some friends ask Cara and I how we can go to Vegas like 3 to 4 times a year. To answer that question you need to understand our Vegas experience which probably matches well with other Vegas addicts. Anyway, I can remember when we first went and were caught up in the complete awe of being in the neon jungle. Mega resorts were popping up left and right and each time we went there was lots to discover. Our gambling budgets at first were pretty small and our hearts would pound whenever we played anything above a quarter at a time. As we went more and more the gambling started to overwhelm the tourist and sightseeing adventures to the point were we gamble almost 12-14 hours a day when we go, almost exclusively slots as well. Doing this several times became very, very, very expensive so, now to continue feeding our habits we needed to train ourselves into becoming more educated gamblers. The past two trips we have shifted to predominately table games and video poker where there is an opportunity to at least breakeven as we did on this last trip.

The travel:
The last three times we have gone we have driven to Vegas. We live in the Phoenix area so the drive is just short of 5 hours. We met up with another couple B and K promptly at 8:10 in the morning. We both drive durangos and took turns speeding through Phoenix and on into Wickenburg for a gas fill-up. The second part of the journey from Wickenburg to Kingman has to be some of the most boring driving imaginable, roughly ~120 miles or so. For this part of the trip Cara burned a CD of the most sappy music imaginable. Neil Diamond “Coming to Americaâ€, Village People “YMCAâ€, Simon and Garfunkel … you know just that old stuff. Once we stopped in Kingman, B & K had no idea what was going on behind their vehicle but, they saw our hands flashing up in “odd†signs. They saw a Y, then an M then a C then an A!! Once we filled up my Durango in Kingman, the anticipation of being ~100 miles from Vegas and that first cold beer really started making me salivate.

The Times Begin:
Our first stop was the Fiesta Henderson which is really convenient right off the highway. We all got in and looked around at the fun fiestive atmosphere and spotted our first spot … the bar. You just can’t beat a cold one after 5 hrs of driving & to make it better how about only $1 for a Corona!! B & K signed up for the Player’s Card and we went upstairs for the buffet. The Fiesta does have a pretty good buffet, with several different stations. B used his American Casino Guide coupon for $2 off each buffet … grand total was maybe ~$12 for the four of us. After lunch we went downstairs for some action. B used the $15 promotional chips for $10, walked up to the craps table and lost it in a few minutes … I lost ~$15 as well. Cara and K managed to lose some at FPDW and then B & K left to check into their hotel for the next few days. Cara and I continued to play for an hour or so, breaking even due to a wild royal & a couple of five of kinds. We then needed to proceed to the Riviera for check-in.

The 1st day continues till daybreak:
We valet parked at the Riviera and check-in was extremely quick. We ended up getting one of the newer rooms in back, only downside was that it is about a ~3 minute longer walk. After freshening up we went down to the casino and of course straight to the … bar. Ordered a couple of 16oz Coors Lites for ~$3.50 each (ouch) and played about $20 each in some of there not even close to full pay VP machines. We then left for Palms where we would meet up with B & K later. The Palms being Wednesday was not busy at all, plenty of open machines everywhere. First thing we did was sign-up for their players card and use an ACG $10 free play coupon. We settled into a bank of upright FPDW machines and put $50 into each. I was kind of holding my own while Cara’s machine was a hoover just sucking it up all. About 45 minutes into playing, I got dealt to wild 2s and pulled the other two for 4 ducks … excellent for 1000 quarters. After that the machine sucked the money back and I cashed out with ~$180. By this time B, K and another couple (sorry I forgot their names) met up with us and we continued to play, unfortunately no good wins to speak of. B did manage to get a wild royal so he smiled a bit.
Since we were all hungry we went and had a great meal with several strong and tasty margs at Gardunos. This place is probably my favorite Mexican food (actually from New Mexico) so it is a bit on the hot and spicy side. I used an LVA advisor for 50% off so, the meal ended up costing each couple $20 or so … not bad. After the meal the other couples left so Cara and I played a few machines including the 1cent Beverly Hillbillies for a while … no big wins only small losses. So here it is the first day in Vegas, about midnight, I’m starting to get tired , between the two of us we are about even for the night, I was ready for bed. On the ride back Cara is giving me crap about not staying up more to do even more partying.
So, when the taxi gets to the Riv I am thinking where can we go, do some more partying and low roller gambling and not lose a whole lot of money. How about … Slots R’ Us across the street!! Heck, they had a $2 crap game going with 2X odds. The table was right on the street, with an odd if not scary mix of characters coming & going over the next 4 hours. Yep, we played for 4 hours on this table and actually closed it with some other players who we nicknamed “Denverâ€, “Texas†and “big Joeâ€. What a blast and the fun thing was after ~8 more coors lites I only was down $3 & Cara colored up $125!
So now it is 5am or so, and I am not even tired. So we walk (no make that stumble) over to Stardust. Walking back the Sportsbook, I was amazed to find about 50 people in there. They must get up pretty early to plan their bets for the day or something, but isn’t 5am a bit before the action starts. Cara and I settled down to two ELVIS machines side by side. I offered the challenge … see who could last longer on $20 each. So we are off and playing. I get a couple of ELVIS spins for really nothing … oh ELVIS just shut up! Cara gets a spin and wouldn’t you know it she gets 500 quarters. Soon after that she gets an ELVIS, double diamond and blue 7 for 720 quarters as well. While I am enjoying her fortunes, I manage to get blue 7, triple diamond, blue seven for 360 quarters. At this point I cash out as I know this NEVER continues for me. Cara proceeded to move over a couple of machines and hit again for 500 quarters … isn’t she just plain lucky! After she gets here hand pay it is now time for bed as we go out the door to the early morning sunrise to put an end to a great first day. In the sack at 7am.

Sleep, in Vegas … Never.
The phone rings at 10 am, I think or maybe I am still drunk. Yes, it rings again so I am still drunk but, not asleep anymore. B and K are wondering if we want to head down to NY/NY, I’m still beat so I decline. Trying to go back to bed, I said what the heck are we doing … time to get up. The plan today was to stay local around the RIV and then meet up with B & K for Mystere at Treasure Island at 7pm. So, we do our normal routine, go to the casino and to the … bar. Buy a couple of Coors Lites at over-inflated prices and head next door to the Westward Ho. For short, I will call this place the HO from now on.
I could tell it was going to be a good day at the HO, just by the sign outside the door. Coor Lites for 75 cents!! So, I go to the bar and buy four of them and we proceed to hit some of the different nickel slot machines. Cara continued her winning ways. I broke even to a little down on various machines. I noticed the Marg bar in the back, so I went and purchased a couple of the strawberry margs w/ the extra curvo shot … boy these were a cure for the hangover blues. After the drinks it was about lunch time so, I convinced Cara to split a world famous HO monster ¾ pound hot dog with me. We could barely finish the whole thing and we ordered a cup of soup as well … lunch for $4, what a steal. After scarfing the dog, I saw a 3 card poker game I was just itching to play. My initial buy of $50 really didn’t last very long. Fortunes did turn around after Cara and another couple joined the table. Before long the lady to my left hit a straight flush for 40X pair-plus bet. I ran out of money so I had to slip into my money belt for another $50. This brought some wise-cracks from the wonderful and funny woman dealer. She said WOW … I wished everytime I reached into my husband front pants, I could pull out $50 as well. A few hands later, I managed to get the 789in diamonds for a cool $200 on the pair plus, I was jumping up and down and Cara missed it as she went to the bathroom. I had to have the dealer verify my win with here when she got back.

More escapades to continue.

 

Hey Steve, this is a great report...Keep it comin'

Mikey