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**LIVE** Oct 25 - Nov 4 NHRA/SEMA/RaptorRun

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by DeMoN2318, Oct 25, 2012.

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  1. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Monday Oct 29th

    Went to the Convention Center today to get our credentials for SEMA.

    Even the day before the event there was still tons of setup being done. They were not allowing us to go into the main halls but there were pretty of cars and booths already set up outside and in the hallways to keep up busy for a few hours. Here are a few pics of some of the cars that caught my eye while we were walking through the Convention Center.

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    We left the Convention Center and took the monorail to Imperial Palace to gamble a bit. I started out on an actual reel slot (not video slot) that had a bonus round if you got three spin icons on one of the 5 pay lines. The bonus round was simply a spin of this clock like reel above the slot and the amounts ranged from 20 to 1000 credits. I ended up hitting the spin bonus twice and doubled my money.

    I then found a 100 Lions slot that I had never seen before...it was a penny slot with 2 lines for a penny. I started out just playing min bet with max lines. I hit a $90 spin and pressed my bet to max bet max lines (5 credits per line) I then hit a $400 spin WOOT WOOT!!! I played a few more rounds and cashed out with $400...$40 into $400...good day!!

    We left Imperial Palace to head back to the hotel to get some food, but as we were walking through Margaritaville we saw a Mississippi Stud table. We had never played MSS before so we stood back to watch. The two gentlemen that were playing were nice enough to explain how to play and it seemed easy enough, so we sat down. We ended up playing for about two hours and I ended up breaking even for the game...the others were not as lucky. We cashed in our chips and went back to the hotel for dinner.

    I spent the next few hours doing some work and we all ate dinner in the room.

    After dinner we went over the PH and played some more MSS...This time I lost...

    We called it a night at about midnight to get some rest for a day at SEMA
     
  2. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Tuesday Oct 30

    Went to SEMA today...here are some pictures

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    After SEMA we grabbed dinner at Panda Express and went and gambled at a few casinos...Excalibur, NYNY, Luxor, MGM. Nothing too special happened...
     
  3. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Wednesday Oct 31

    Went to SEMA today. Here are just a few highlight pictures.

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    One of the attractions this year was allowing patrons to sit in a new Lexus and run it from 0 to 100 mph on a Dyno. This day it was the GS350 Fsport with a prototype supercharger...Tomorrow is a LFA.

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    The seats in this Lexus were the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in...I definitely want one now.

    Another attraction was the opportunity to take a hot lap around a track in a Corvette ZR1. In order to "qualify" for the hot lap you have to first drive a low performance vehicle. I drove the new Malibu...it was meh. I then jumped in the hot lap line and got in a yellow ZR1...I asked the driver if these cars were fast (trying to egg him on into going all out)...he told me "you be the judge" and gunned it...it was very fast haha...spun the tires up to 60 then slammed on the brakes and threw it into a drift around a few turns before gunning it again on the back straight...the track was small so he never get out of first. Definitely worth the 15 minute wait.

    After SEMA we went back to the hotel and let our feet rest a bit. We then took a limo downtown to watch the Fremont Halloween parade. Here are some pictures from the parade.

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    The parade was better than I was expecting. The only part I did not care for so much was the huge crowd after the parade ended. We tried to go to Tony Roma's and there was a 1.5 hour wait. Here is a picture of the crowd...I would say it was worse than NYE...since downtown is so much smaller it seemed more crowded.

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    We took a cab back to PH and went to a restaurant in the miracle mile shops...Ocean something...the burger and filet were fantastic. Everyone was super tired so they wanted to go to sleep but I wanted to go out and gamble. I walked to the casino and found a MSS table. I sat down and played alittle and was up and down.

    Eventually two guys joined the table and threw down a grand and a seven star card...they were betting the max while I was betting the minimum. I hit a flush and a few two pairs. At first the two guys were doing badly but eventually one of the guys caught on fire...I swear every three hands he got something good. At one point he was down to $200...but ended up walking away with over $8k. I should have left while I was ahead but kept playing and eventually lost everything.

    While I was playing...a friend of the two guys came over and said he had just won $20k on VP...he hit a Royal on a $5 machine. They said they had arrived a few hours prior...and made the comment "looks like its going to be a good week"

    I went back to the hotel to rest for another day at SEMA.
     
  4. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Thursday Nov 1

    SEMA Pics

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    After SEMA we took the Monorail to Flamingo and played some MSS and 3-card poker. I did really well in MSS but then gave it all back in 3-card.

    We ate dinner back in our room and then went to PH to play some more. I got killed in MSS...lost $400 in 20 minutes.

    Worst gambling night I have had in a long time
     
  5. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Friday Nov 2

    More SEMA pics

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    After SEMA we again went to Flamingo and played MSS. I was up and down but my bud hit a four of a kind for $2k. I eventually lost and went and played some slots. I was playing a three reel slot that had 10x and 2x symbols...I hit a 7 - 2x - 10x for $250. I cashed out and went and played the Hangover slot...it was fun and had several bonus rounds. I was up to about $450...and stupid me kept playing on and bumped my bet to max thinking I would keep hitting bonus rounds and make more...and everntually lost it all. 'facepalm'

    We started walking back toward the hotel and stopped at Bill's and played some 3-card poker. I hit a few flushes and straights and made $200. We played some slots at Paris and we all did pretty bad. Went back to the hotel and ate dinner then hit PH for our last night of gambling. Out in 30 minutes I was...played some 3-card and did not get a single win. Was able to play some VP on my last $40 for about a hour and got a few drinks which was nice.

    So overall for the trip I lost $2,400 and I found MSS (not sure if thats a good thing though haha). I also learned a lot...I'm young and a pretty new gambler...so I am still trying to find my game and learn the signs of when to walk and when to push.

    Tomorrow is our last day here...we will be doing the SEMA Raptor Run from Primm to Barstow...then drive back to AZ on Sunday.
     
  6. jfn111

    jfn111 Low-Roller

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    Good trip report but is it just me that can't see any pictures?
     
  7. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

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    cant see them here also
     
  8. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    None of the pictures? Even in earlier posts!?!
     
  9. BTSyndrome

    BTSyndrome Low-Roller

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    Nope. No pictures are showing up. Not even links to where they are hosted.
     
  10. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

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    Pics are showing now
     
  11. DeMoN2318

    DeMoN2318 The DERS

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    Saturday Nov. 3

    So today we went on the SEMA Raptor Run. It was setup by Raptor Performance Group and Raptoraddicts.com. We were running from Jean, NV to Barstow, CA.

    We all met up at a gas station in Jean to air down the tires (to about 28psi).

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    We left the gas station around 10:30 am... 20 minutes later... flat tire.

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    We all stopped and changed the tire. It was like a NASCAR pit crew...one guy grabbed the jack another lowered the spare, another used an electric impact wrench to take the flat off then they slapped the spare on and we were off again.

    The first part of the run was mid speed (about 40 - 50 mph) we were slidding around corners and dodging ruts and bushes. The second part of the run was the high speed section (80+ mph)...the trail was smoother than the first part but still really rough. There were plenty of dips and bumps that kept the driver on his toes. We went up a hill at 70mph not knowing it dropped off the other side so we went fully airbourne and nose dived into the ground (later to find out we broke the front skid plate). There were a few more airbourne moments but these had smooth landings. The last jump we hit was right after a turn...so we came in slightly angled and hit the jump with the driver side first...this caused us to start to roll in the air. Thankfully we landed soon after lift off and leveled out so we didnt roll over.

    We stopped on the dried lake bed to take some pictures and deposit our rocks in the rock pile

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    The last part of the run was the slow speed part...it was mainly rock crawling and down through a few washes. We ended up doing this part in the dark because we lost a lot of time trying to find one of the trucks that made a wrong turn during the high speed section.

    We got down into a canyon and got radioed that one of the rear trucks had a flat and they had to stop to fix it.

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    They fixed the flat and we finished up the run. It took us 8 hours to go 133 miles and our truck got 5.5 mpg. After the run we jumped on the freeway and drove to a near by station to reair the tires.

    I am absolutely amazed at how well this truck performed!! A stock truck that you can buy directly from Ford and then go out and beat the hell out of it for hours and then drive it back home in the comfort of full leather interior, nav, heated and cooled seats, entertainment center...amazing!! Ford killed it with this one...I'm a Chevy guy and I will even admit it.
     
  12. Jinx

    Jinx VIP Whale

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    Nice report, we refer to MSS as Misssissippi Madness, as it's hard to walk away from unless you get one nice win, and it's easy to buy back in for, since you 'control' your bets. Good luck with the madness, and here's hoping you hit a big hand sometime.
     
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