Whiskey Pete's Westward Ho Orleans Day 1- Whiskey Pete's Have Stayed there many times...so no real surprises. Had the 10.95 friday Prime Rib and Shrimp buffet. They had medium sized cold shrimp on the salad bar. Very small shrimp in the cooked to order station......Not Impressed. The surprise was that the prime rib was excellent. Every slice was tender!!!! Heater was a bit noisy. Found a couple of bonus VP machines with 99.17 payout...both in nickel and quarter. Great!!! Waited about an hour before the first cocktail waitress came around. Hmm. After tipping a buck she came real fast from then on. Woo Hoo! plan on staying there again. Day 2-Westward Ho Had a large room...2 queen beds and a sofa. Room looked kind of old. Got the RFB(room, food,beverage) on check-in. They give a card for all the drinks you want free, and a free lunch from noon-2pm. Had the ribs special for 6.99...half rack +potato salad and a roll. Pretty tasty.....but woke up with a case of the runs. Loved the progressive JOB 9/6 VP. Overheard the waitress complaining to the change lady that no one gives a tip. I tip a buck every beer and it still didn't speed up the service. Couldn't find a single VP machine a Circus Circus with a good payout. Lot's of 8/5 JOB. The Idea was to stay at the Ho and take the Kids to Circus Circus adventuredome. Don't plan on staying there again. I think we will stay at Circus Circus and gamble at the Ho in the future. Had the Sunday Brunch at the Gold Coast.....Pretty tasty. Eggs Benedict was real good. Day 3-Orleans Large room and excellent value for 17 bucks!!! Nothing special for VP. There was some nice paying dueces wild(not my fav). The Child care was nice for us and the Kids loved it. The wife won at slots for the second time in 2 visits. Didn't eat there. Checked out the same day and returned to Whiskey Pete's. Stopped at Nevada Landing for a Ground Sirloin and some full pay JOB. Summary....... Played VP about 7 hours per day. Mostly quarter and some nickel. Seems like the gaming aspect overrules the room quality to us. Lost less than $100 total despite not hitting a single Royal Flush or Straight Flush. For our summer trip I think we will book 5 nights at Whiskey Pete's and fill in a couple of nights in Vegas at a place with some full pay JOB VP.
Jacko, Thank you for posting your trip report. I found it both enjoyable and informative. Especially appreciated was your take on the rooms. Going with kids must be something...but I suspect that if I have any hope of going out more than once a year, I'll have to find some child-friendly places with babysitting and daycare. Also, I am mainly a table player but think I might start playing some video poker on my next trip as a nice diversion, so VP info was helpful as well. I'm still learning which are the best VP machines for overall payout, FH/flush payout, etc.. Again, thanks!....Jack21
Good report Jacko, I always want to play more VP too, but it seems the only time I catch it is at the bars where the payouts are less...
The kid issue is a tough one. They always want the all day passes at Buffalo Bill's and Circus Circus. And those aren't the places I want to gamble. I am a recent convert to Video poker also. I think it was Doctor Al who posted these 2 sites.... This one has a database of the various places with full pay machines: http://members.cox.net/vpfree/LV.htm This one has playing strategies and pay table charts so you can spot the best paying machines: http://www.wizardofodds.com/videopoker Good Luck!
If you want to get serious about VP, I highly recommend buying Bob Dancer's Winpoker software for your pc and practicing. You can change the payout schedules to mimic what you'll find in vegas and adjust your play accordingly. I found it to be a very big help!
