PokerrNutt
High-Roller
Well, I'm back after another fun trip to Vegas - actually, Laughlin and Vegas. I spent the first night in Henderson, the next four in Laughlin, and the final two nights in Vegas...
I'm going to copy some others and categorize this trip...
Air and car -
I flew out on Airtran on Tuesday (11/4) - great flight. Comfortable, but long, flight from WPB. I arrived around midnight and went directly to the rental car site. On the good advice of one of the board members (sorry, I forgot who), I paid for my rental online and went directly to the garage to pick up my economy car. Oh, oh - no more economy cars - the lady tells me to pick up the Chevrolet - nice, shiny red PT cruiser looking car - brand new, with only 1100 miles clocked on it! First win!
Hotels -
First night - Railroad Pass in Henderson. Oh my gosh! It took me forever to find this little gem in the rough! LOL! I only stopped at about three gas stations and one bar to finally get the right directions! The room was nice and clean - the casino was small and a little smoky, but generally alright. When I woke up in the morning - I not only saw mountains in a distance, but mountains right outside my window.
Second to fifth nights - Colorado Belle in Laughlin. Nice hotel among a strip of about 10 casinos. The room was nice, clean, comfortable. Nothing incredibly special, but very livable.
Sixth and seventh night - Binion's. Oh my gosh - it was too funny! I thought I was not getting a DEAL, but a STEAL on the internet! I mean - I've stayed at Binion's many times, and I was used to a simple, but clean room with two queen size beds. Ok, so this time, I find a Binion's room on Hotels.com for $13.50 per night - that's a whopping $6.75 a night charge when you split it! Well, the clerk taps some of her keys and hands us the room keys in the little envelope which says "325." Hmmmmm - I know the new tower doesn't have those low numbers in it....She says, "No, this is The Mint tower." Ok...so, off we go....We go up the back elevator and we're both feeling like we're in a Norman Bates movie. We slowly walk down the narrow, dimly lit hallway when we reach Room 325. We slide the key in, open the narrow door and Voila! one small queen size bed. Now, my friend Pat and I are good friends - but, not THAT good!! LOL!! We call down to the desk and tell them of our plight - and they tell us that they're booked solid - no other rooms! So, we order up a rollaway bed.
I must admit, the room was not smoky, very clean, but small, cramped, and antiquated! Besides the bed, there was an oak dresser, night stand, and armoire. Oak molding (even the chair rail) throughout the room. The room was cute, but it sure made you wonder about the past sidebets that were made in it!
Food -
My friend and I didn't pay over $12 for any meal throughout the entire trip! And did we eat!!! WOW!! In Laughlin, we tried out Harrah's and Aquarius buffets with our 2-for-1 coupons, as well as Colorado Belle (comp dollars). The Harrah's buffet was excellent - so much, that we ended up there twice. The icing on the top of that cake was the chocolate covered strawberries! Mmmmmmmm!
Downtown, we ate at the Mainstreet Station - always good stuff on that one.
Our final night, as tradition speaks, we ate at Ellis Island. Besides that great steak dinner - the homemade cheesecake was delicious!
Gambling -
Poker -
Colorado Belle has a great $2/6 limit game with a full kill. This game is fun, but with the variation of bets - it really makes it interesting. Colorado Belle has a lot of promotions too - progressive jackpots on straight flushes, Aces cracked, and oaks. I got to witness two straight flushes - one to the 10 which won the guy $710 and the other to the Jack, which won the guy $2200!!! I got my Aces cracked one day and won $100 rack! A few times, I walked away with a nice profit of $150 plus and only had one losing session.
I also played a couple of NL tourneys, but didn't fair so well at those...
Binion's - played $2/4 limit a couple of times in their new room. Unfortunately, my luck was running thin in these sessions. The new room is nice - comfortable seats, interesting pictures, and plenty of TV screens - they did a great job, but left out a few vital parts. First, the room is off to the side (replacing the sportsbook/bar) and sunken. It definitely gives you a feeling of seclusion. This secluded feeling is also a missed opportunity for any railbirds or onlookers that may want to test their skills. If you didn't know there was a poker room in Binion's, you still wouldn't know it when you walked through the casino. It's that hidden. Second, there's no bathroom close by. Any bathroom is a little walk aways from the room. Did they forget that there's real people playing here that really have to go??? Another missing item is an electronic board displaying the games. I was told by one of the managers that the board is en route and will be up in the next week.
Video Poker -
I played everywhere - and lost count of the OAKS after about 13 or 14. At one session in Railroad Pass, I got three OAKS in a matter of 30 minutes!! Unreal! Everytime I sat down, I would not wonder if I would get one, but when would I get the next one! A few sessions, I switched from dimes to quaters - and it stopped spitting out the good hands. Stupid me - I only played nickels and dimes (was playing max bet), so, I didn't make a ton of money! But, it was fun!
One crazy session - Tropicana in Laughlin - I found a long line of VP machines and started playing my DDB VP. My first session here was unbelievably good, so, I returned. The line was empty, except for a lady playing KENO a couple of machines down. Well, the KENO lady was slightly KENO crazy! She was patting and banging on the machine, yelling at it "Come on now, you can do it...that's it, there you go (pat, pat, pat) do it for me now, come on!" In her own little world playing her own little KENO game! LOL!! At one point, she looked over at me (did she notice me staring?) and said, bearing her toothless grin, "This is the only way I win...I gotta do it this way!!" (Pat, pat, pat followed by hit, hit, hit)!!! I'm thinking - you keep talking to the machine lady, but, please, please - don't forget your daily dose of Haldol!
Slots -
Why do I play these things? I do alright at VP and poker - why do these goofy machines get me everytime? I had one "big" win at Golden Nugget in Laughlin - won $170! Woohoo! The rest of the time, I fed them twenty after twenty.
I did notice that my twenty dollars lasted much longer in Laughlin than Vegas. And, I saw more than one winner in Laughlin too. When I was playing poker, one lady came up to show her husband a ticket for $5000. And he said earlier that day, she won $2400!!! And on one of those Mr. Cashman penny machines, no less!
Side trip -
This was soooooooo much fun - we went to Oatman, AZ on Saturday. Beautiful scenery on the way there. Our last turn to Oatman landed us on old Route 66 - real neat! A few more miles, and we were in the little ghost town of Oatman. Oatman, known for Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooning there, consists of one long city block of leather and bead shops, with other tattered and worn mobile homes scattered in the foothills.
While this is considered a ghost town, there are still about 150 residents and 15 burros. Most of the people own their homes, but pay land rent to the man that owns most of the land and mining rights to the town. Most of the burros own the visitors who are feeding them a steady diet of carrots!
The pack of burros consisted of about 10 females and 5 babies. The one male burro (that leads the packs) stays up in the mountains. The females and their young come down from the mountains everyday to feed off the tourists. These are wild burros - but very tame...except when you have a bag in your hand!
There's one restaurant and one bar/restaurant. The bar/restaurant - I think called Mission Inn - was interesting. Every wall, ceiling, and door was covered with one dollar bills! COVERED!! Sometimes, two to three dollar bills thick! It was amazing!
For anyone that wants to take a neat little sidetrip - I highly recommend this one - fun and interesting, along with some fun shopping.
FINAL TALLY -
Airfare - Airtran - $220 RT from WPB to LAS.
Car rental - Alamo - $141 including taxes - split with friend $70.50 each.
Hotels - Railroad Pass (1 night) - $42.
Colorado Belle (4 nights) - $142.00 - split with friend $71 each.
Binion's (2 nights) - $30.50 - split with friend $15.25 each.
Gambling/Meals (7 days/7 nights) - $450
Entire trip - $868.75
Where else can you go for that amount of money for a week????
P.S. Thanks for the boardmember that mailed me the 2-for-1 coupons, as well as the member who suggested the Railroad Pass! Both worked out well!
I'm going to copy some others and categorize this trip...
Air and car -
I flew out on Airtran on Tuesday (11/4) - great flight. Comfortable, but long, flight from WPB. I arrived around midnight and went directly to the rental car site. On the good advice of one of the board members (sorry, I forgot who), I paid for my rental online and went directly to the garage to pick up my economy car. Oh, oh - no more economy cars - the lady tells me to pick up the Chevrolet - nice, shiny red PT cruiser looking car - brand new, with only 1100 miles clocked on it! First win!
Hotels -
First night - Railroad Pass in Henderson. Oh my gosh! It took me forever to find this little gem in the rough! LOL! I only stopped at about three gas stations and one bar to finally get the right directions! The room was nice and clean - the casino was small and a little smoky, but generally alright. When I woke up in the morning - I not only saw mountains in a distance, but mountains right outside my window.
Second to fifth nights - Colorado Belle in Laughlin. Nice hotel among a strip of about 10 casinos. The room was nice, clean, comfortable. Nothing incredibly special, but very livable.
Sixth and seventh night - Binion's. Oh my gosh - it was too funny! I thought I was not getting a DEAL, but a STEAL on the internet! I mean - I've stayed at Binion's many times, and I was used to a simple, but clean room with two queen size beds. Ok, so this time, I find a Binion's room on Hotels.com for $13.50 per night - that's a whopping $6.75 a night charge when you split it! Well, the clerk taps some of her keys and hands us the room keys in the little envelope which says "325." Hmmmmm - I know the new tower doesn't have those low numbers in it....She says, "No, this is The Mint tower." Ok...so, off we go....We go up the back elevator and we're both feeling like we're in a Norman Bates movie. We slowly walk down the narrow, dimly lit hallway when we reach Room 325. We slide the key in, open the narrow door and Voila! one small queen size bed. Now, my friend Pat and I are good friends - but, not THAT good!! LOL!! We call down to the desk and tell them of our plight - and they tell us that they're booked solid - no other rooms! So, we order up a rollaway bed.
I must admit, the room was not smoky, very clean, but small, cramped, and antiquated! Besides the bed, there was an oak dresser, night stand, and armoire. Oak molding (even the chair rail) throughout the room. The room was cute, but it sure made you wonder about the past sidebets that were made in it!
Food -
My friend and I didn't pay over $12 for any meal throughout the entire trip! And did we eat!!! WOW!! In Laughlin, we tried out Harrah's and Aquarius buffets with our 2-for-1 coupons, as well as Colorado Belle (comp dollars). The Harrah's buffet was excellent - so much, that we ended up there twice. The icing on the top of that cake was the chocolate covered strawberries! Mmmmmmmm!
Downtown, we ate at the Mainstreet Station - always good stuff on that one.
Our final night, as tradition speaks, we ate at Ellis Island. Besides that great steak dinner - the homemade cheesecake was delicious!
Gambling -
Poker -
Colorado Belle has a great $2/6 limit game with a full kill. This game is fun, but with the variation of bets - it really makes it interesting. Colorado Belle has a lot of promotions too - progressive jackpots on straight flushes, Aces cracked, and oaks. I got to witness two straight flushes - one to the 10 which won the guy $710 and the other to the Jack, which won the guy $2200!!! I got my Aces cracked one day and won $100 rack! A few times, I walked away with a nice profit of $150 plus and only had one losing session.
I also played a couple of NL tourneys, but didn't fair so well at those...
Binion's - played $2/4 limit a couple of times in their new room. Unfortunately, my luck was running thin in these sessions. The new room is nice - comfortable seats, interesting pictures, and plenty of TV screens - they did a great job, but left out a few vital parts. First, the room is off to the side (replacing the sportsbook/bar) and sunken. It definitely gives you a feeling of seclusion. This secluded feeling is also a missed opportunity for any railbirds or onlookers that may want to test their skills. If you didn't know there was a poker room in Binion's, you still wouldn't know it when you walked through the casino. It's that hidden. Second, there's no bathroom close by. Any bathroom is a little walk aways from the room. Did they forget that there's real people playing here that really have to go??? Another missing item is an electronic board displaying the games. I was told by one of the managers that the board is en route and will be up in the next week.
Video Poker -
I played everywhere - and lost count of the OAKS after about 13 or 14. At one session in Railroad Pass, I got three OAKS in a matter of 30 minutes!! Unreal! Everytime I sat down, I would not wonder if I would get one, but when would I get the next one! A few sessions, I switched from dimes to quaters - and it stopped spitting out the good hands. Stupid me - I only played nickels and dimes (was playing max bet), so, I didn't make a ton of money! But, it was fun!
One crazy session - Tropicana in Laughlin - I found a long line of VP machines and started playing my DDB VP. My first session here was unbelievably good, so, I returned. The line was empty, except for a lady playing KENO a couple of machines down. Well, the KENO lady was slightly KENO crazy! She was patting and banging on the machine, yelling at it "Come on now, you can do it...that's it, there you go (pat, pat, pat) do it for me now, come on!" In her own little world playing her own little KENO game! LOL!! At one point, she looked over at me (did she notice me staring?) and said, bearing her toothless grin, "This is the only way I win...I gotta do it this way!!" (Pat, pat, pat followed by hit, hit, hit)!!! I'm thinking - you keep talking to the machine lady, but, please, please - don't forget your daily dose of Haldol!
Slots -
Why do I play these things? I do alright at VP and poker - why do these goofy machines get me everytime? I had one "big" win at Golden Nugget in Laughlin - won $170! Woohoo! The rest of the time, I fed them twenty after twenty.
I did notice that my twenty dollars lasted much longer in Laughlin than Vegas. And, I saw more than one winner in Laughlin too. When I was playing poker, one lady came up to show her husband a ticket for $5000. And he said earlier that day, she won $2400!!! And on one of those Mr. Cashman penny machines, no less!
Side trip -
This was soooooooo much fun - we went to Oatman, AZ on Saturday. Beautiful scenery on the way there. Our last turn to Oatman landed us on old Route 66 - real neat! A few more miles, and we were in the little ghost town of Oatman. Oatman, known for Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooning there, consists of one long city block of leather and bead shops, with other tattered and worn mobile homes scattered in the foothills.
While this is considered a ghost town, there are still about 150 residents and 15 burros. Most of the people own their homes, but pay land rent to the man that owns most of the land and mining rights to the town. Most of the burros own the visitors who are feeding them a steady diet of carrots!
The pack of burros consisted of about 10 females and 5 babies. The one male burro (that leads the packs) stays up in the mountains. The females and their young come down from the mountains everyday to feed off the tourists. These are wild burros - but very tame...except when you have a bag in your hand!
There's one restaurant and one bar/restaurant. The bar/restaurant - I think called Mission Inn - was interesting. Every wall, ceiling, and door was covered with one dollar bills! COVERED!! Sometimes, two to three dollar bills thick! It was amazing!
For anyone that wants to take a neat little sidetrip - I highly recommend this one - fun and interesting, along with some fun shopping.
FINAL TALLY -
Airfare - Airtran - $220 RT from WPB to LAS.
Car rental - Alamo - $141 including taxes - split with friend $70.50 each.
Hotels - Railroad Pass (1 night) - $42.
Colorado Belle (4 nights) - $142.00 - split with friend $71 each.
Binion's (2 nights) - $30.50 - split with friend $15.25 each.
Gambling/Meals (7 days/7 nights) - $450
Entire trip - $868.75
Where else can you go for that amount of money for a week????
P.S. Thanks for the boardmember that mailed me the 2-for-1 coupons, as well as the member who suggested the Railroad Pass! Both worked out well!
