Sunset Station / Red Rock - (9/23/09 - 10/1/09)

Brenda and I returned from 8 days/nights in Las Vegas on October 1st, staying at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino the first four days/nights (9/23 - 9/27) before heading to Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa the next four days/nights (9/27 - 10/1). This was our 19th trip to Vegas over the past 7+ years, our 10th time staying at Sunset Station and our 8th time staying at Red Rock. You can check out their websites at:

http://www.sunsetstation.com
http://www.redrocklasvegas.com

We called our host at Sunset Station and told her we wished to stay four nights beginning Wednesday, 9/23. She offered to comp all four nights up-front. Plus she arranged for a limo pickup at the airport. I contacted our host at Red Rock and told her we wished to stay four nights at Red Rock beginning Sunday, 9/27 and she offered to comp two of the four nights up-front with the last two nights at a casino rate of $80.00 (plus tax). I also booked a stretch limo (Presidential Limousine) for the ride from Sunset Station to Red Rock on 9/27.

After booking both hotels, we received mailings from both casinos that included xtra play cash of $50 for Brenda at Sunset Station and $125 for me at Red Rock. We plan to use this xtra play cash for our video poker.

For those of you not familiar with our gambling habits, since I've given up playing blackjack, we pretty much stick to playing full pay deuces wild video poker. We play quarter machines, max coins (5) and here's the pay schedule:

1 coin 5 coins
Natural royal flush 250 4,000
Four deuces 200 1,000
Wild royal flush 25 125
5-of-a-kind 15 75
Straight flush 9 45
4-of-a-kind 5 25
Full house 3 15
Flush 2 10
Straight 2 10
3-of-a-kind 1 5

As you can see, a Natural Royal Flush pays 4,000 coins ($1,000) and Four Deuces pays 1,000 coins ($250), and a Wild Royal Flush pays 125 coins ($31.25).

First, I'd like to mention that although I try to be as accurate as possible in this trip report, there are some things better left in Vegas. I'll leave it at that. Our primary mission is to "Beat the Casino".

Day 1 (Wednesday, 9/23)

We're up at 5am and out the door heading for the Austin-Bergstrom airport about 6:30am. We had a friend take us to the airport and I booked a shared ride with Supershuttle for the return trip home. We arrived at the airport by 7:15am and checked our luggage at curbside. We then made our way through security and then grabbed some breakfast and headed for our gate. While waiting for our 9:20am flight, Wifey is paged to the gate counter. Uh-oh - did we lose our seats on this flight? Why the heck would they be paging Wifey. It turns out that our wine luggage sprung a leak. Damn! We always bring a "wine only" suitcase where we pack four 1.5 liter bottles of Merlot. Padded with special wine bottle padding. This packing/padding material fits neatly in a couple printer boxes where I simply had to shorter the height of these boxes. Once we pack the wine and put the box covers on, it's a pretty snug fit. Well, something went wrong because at least one bottle apparently broke. We suspect this suitcase was opened for inspection but not repacked properly. Wifey was also told that they couldn't open the suitcase because we had it locked. That wasn't true, we never lock any of our suitcases. We were further told that they wrapped this suitcase in plastic. Oh well... We'll check out the damage when we get to Vegas.

Other than the problem with our wine, our nonstop flight was fine taking off at 9:20am, arriving in Las Vegas around 10:10am. We head down to grab our luggage and look for our driver. Found him. We explained the problem with our wine suitcase and proceeded to take our luggage to the waiting limo. As soon as I grabbed the handle of this suit, it broke off. What else can go wrong??? When we got outside, I unwrapped and opened this suitcase. Okay, one bottle had broke but three had survived. I removed the one surviving printer box holding two 1.5 liter bottles and put the third bottle in my backpack. I wanted to leave the suitcase right there but we were afraid someone would see it and possibly close down the airport until they checked what was inside. So we took this suitcase with broken glass still inside to Sunset Station and had one of the bell desk guys dispose of this suitcase. I tipped the driver, left the rest of our luggage with the bell desk and headed to the front desk to see if they have a room ready for us. Yes, we can check in early. We headed to our room and asked the bell desk guys to bring up our luggage. We unpacked a bit and headed for the casino.

Today is Wednesday and every Wednesday is "Senior 50 Plus Wednesday" at Station Casinos. For all the "under 50s" out there, see what you have to look forward to. On these special Wednesdays, there's 5X points all day on Slots, Video Poker, and Bingo, ½ points dining at all restaurants 6am-6pm, as well as monthly specials. During the month of September, for us '50 plus seniors", there's a drawing every Wednesday afternoon at 4pm. For every 10 points earned (while gambling), you have 1 entry in the drawing. You have to "activate" your earned entries between 2pm and 3:45pm on the day of the drawing. In these drawings, there's a $1000 winner, a $750 winner, two $500 winners, and a $250 winner. On the last Wednesday of the month of September, in addition to the 4pm drawing, there's a grand prize drawing at 5pm with 1 lucky winner (includes entries from all station casinos) gets his and hers Cadillac Sedans, plus five $250 cash winners at each station casino.

At 11:30am, we're sitting at the video poker machines near Hooters to begin our gambling. They moved these machines but they're still near Hooters. We play the "optimum" video poker machines. With these machines, for every $4 cycled through, you get 1 point added to your account. Okay, where's the drink lady? I started with a Corona Light with lime while Wifey had a Miller Light with a glass. Today, we had a couple grilled chicken chop salads from Quiznos and eat at our machines. Sometime after lunch, it's Merlot time!

Wifey had some trouble accessing her $50 xtra play cash that came with a mailing. When she finally got that straightened out (they had to reboot her machine), she ended up get $60 in xtra play cash. Cool!

At 4pm, there's the drawing but we didn't win anything. We played until 5:10pm and headed to Capri Italian Ristorante for dinner. We each chose something we hadn't ordered before. Dinner was very good. Back to our machines at 6:15pm.

At 6:50pm, Wifey hits 'four deuces'. Yippee!

Our first of many (we hope) for the trip. Wifey played until 7:15pm while I played on until 8:55pm.

Day 1 Gambling Summary (Sunset Station):

Me
- down $250.00 (9 'wild royals')
- down $250.00 for the trip
Wifey
- up $225.00 (8 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces')
- up $225.00 for the trip

Day 2 (Thursday, 9/24): 'Wifey' Day

We sleep in and don't get up until 5am. I left $5 on the pillow and asked housekeeping if she could please leave extra towels, soap, shampoo, and lotion which she did after making up the room. I did this every morning on this trip at Sunset Station. We're out the door by 5:30am. While Wifey headed to the machines, I stopped at the Sunset Cafe for takeout - oatmeal, fruit cup, and large tomato juice for Wifey and yogurt, fruit cup, and large orange juice for me (aka Hubby) I brought along a "Thirsty, Please send Drink Lady" sign for emergencies. I figured if we had to wait too long for a drink lady to stop by, I'd simply hold up our sign to the camera in the sky. We also brought alone several party animals to help us with the top two winning hands - Four Deuces and the Royal Flush. Today, Wifey started playing by 5:40am while I didn't get started until 5:50am.

At 8:02am, Hubby hits his first 'four deuces' of the trip. Yippee!

At 10:52am, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

For lunch, we grab a couple more grilled chicken chop salads from Quiznos and eat at our machines.

At 1:45pm, Hubby hits his second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 1:52pm, Hubby hits his first 'Royal Flush' of the trip. Yip Yip Yippee! I was dealt Ace, King, Queen, Jack of diamonds and then drew the 10 of diamonds. Sent a cell phone video to our daughter to show our granddaughter (17 months).

At 2:05pm, Wifey hits her second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

Time to switch to Merlot.

At 3:22pm, Hubby hits his third 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 4:50pm, Hubby hits his fourth 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

We stopped playing at 5pm and headed to Sonoma Cellar for dinner. We started out sharing a Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, followed by a salad for Wifey and the Tomato Bisque for me. Next, we ordered the Prime Bone-In New York for myself and the Filet Mignon for Wifey. We shared the steaks as well as a Colossal Baked Potato and brought some zip lock bags from home so we could put the left overs on ice. We ended up having leftover steak later this evening and the next evening as well, Yum!

Wifey was back at her machine at 6:35pm while I headed to he front desk to sign out a safety deposit box. Too many funds ($$$) to carry around with me. I'm back at my machine at 7pm. Wifey plays until 7:45pm while I play until 8:45pm.

Day 2 Gambling Summary (Sunset Station):

Me
- up $1,600.00 (14 'wild royals', 4 'four deuces', 1 'royal flush')
- up $1,350.00 for the trip
Wifey
- up $375.00 (13 'wild royals', 2 'four deuces')
- up $600.00 for the trip

Day 3 (Friday, 9/25): 'Hubby' Day

We're up at 4:00am to start the day. Out the door by 4:25am. Once again, I stopped at the Sunset Cafe for takeout while Wifey headed to our machines. We had $3 off coupons (which I forgot to use yesterday morning). I ordered the same takeout as I did yesterday. Whenever we could, we charge out food to our room. By 4:40am, Wifey is playing at her machine and I start at my machine at 4:50am.

At 5:10am, Hubby hits his first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 5:30am, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 9:13am, Wifey hits her second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

For lunch today, I grabbed takeout at the Oyster Clam Bar - New England Clam Chowder. It was delicious!

At 11:30am (right after I left for the Oyster Clam Bar), Wifey hits her third 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 11:56am, Hubby hits his second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

While enjoying my Merlot today, I ordered another (of many) sometime in the afternoon and got a small wine glass while Wifey received the 'grown up' glass of wine. Hey, I want a grown up glass too! A couple years ago, whoever order wine glasses at Sunset Station order the wrong size and rather than not use them, they mixed these glasses with the "grown up" wine glasses. Most of the time, we do get served the normal "grown up" glasses but this time I got the smaller glass. Bummer. My next wine glass was a ..... small glass again. Hey, what gives??? Lucky for me, that was the last time today that I was given a small glass.

For dinner today, we had pizza at our machine. At least that's what I think we had for dinner. Wifey played until 5:25pm today while I played deuces wild until about 7:30pm.

There's a drawing tonight at 8:15 and again Saturday night at 8:15pm. Since I had some time to kill until tonight's drawing, I decided it's time to head to the Roulette table. Hey, it's not my money I'm risking. Someone at work requested that I place some bets for him. Since I don't want to use his real name, I'll call him Sockman. Here's his brilliant betting scheme for Plan A:

1. Bet $10 on red.
2. If it should win, let it ride on black.
3. If it should win again, let it all ride on black.

If Plan A delivers (winning all three spins), go to another table and bet the entire winnings on red. I wasn't sure what night I would head to the Roulette table but I figured it would be on my way back to the room one evening. For some reason, I decided tonight's the night for Plan A.

So... I bet $10 on red. There's several other people playing at this table besides me. No more bets and the wheel goes around and around and stops on ................ black. Sorry, Sockman - you lose. Plan B will be put into motion some other night. Time to head over to where the drawing will take place. While waiting for the drawing, I sit down at a $5 blackjack table to pass the time. I'm not a winner for tonight's drawing but I do cash out up $100 at blackjack after 45 minutes. Time to head back to the room and call it a night.

Day 3 Gambling Summary (Sunset Station):

Me
- up $120.00 (video poker) (16 'wild royals', 2 'four deuces')
- up $100.00 (blackjack)
- up $1,570.00 for the trip
Wifey
- up $150.00 (14 'wild royals', 3 'four deuces')
- up $750.00 for the trip

Day 4 (Saturday, 9/26): Little 'ORC' Day

Wifey is up at 3:40am to start the day. I'm moving a bit slower and don't manage to crawl out of bed until 4am. Wifey's out the door at 4:20am while I'm 5 minutes behind her. Once again, I stopped at the Sunset Cafe for takeout. Same takeout as before. Wifey is playing deuces wild by 4:25am while I begin my day's gambling at 4:45am.

At 5:14am, Hubby hits his first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 6:04am, Hubby hits his second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 7:40am, Hubby hits his third 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 9:39am, Hubby hits his fourth 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

For lunch, we each had a chopped salad from Quiznos and for dinner, we shared a chicken sub also from Quiznos. As usual, we ate at our machines. Today, I've been hitting the Merlot pretty hard. Wifey played until 6pm while I played until 7pm. I grabbed a slice of pizza and then headed to the blackjack table until the 8:15 drawing. I kept ordering Merlots until I realized (oh, crap!) I may have drank too much today. I vaguely remember that I didn't win anything at the drawing and then left the black jack table with some chips. I staggered back to my room which was a bit scary. I couldn't remember until the next morning how I did for that hour at the blackjack table. When I woke up the next morning I was trying to remember what happened and how I did. Did I stop at the cashier and cash in my chips. I don't remember doing that. That's when I realized some of the chips fell out of my pocket. I guess when I got back to the room I just plopped down on the bed and fell asleep.

Day 4 Gambling Summary (Sunset Station):

Me
- up $580.00 (video poker) (15 'wild royals', 4 'four deuces')
- down $125.00 (blackjack)
- up $2,025.00 for the trip
Wifey
- down $450.00 (18 'wild royals')
- up $300.00 for the trip

Day 5 (Sunday, 9/27): 'Moving up' Day (heading to Red Rock)

Wifey's up at 2:45am but I'm in no shape to get up yet. I'm hurting from too much Merlot the night before. Wifey's out the door at 3:20am and will call me at 5:00am.

At 3:45am, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

I can't really fall back to sleep (feel like crap) so when Wifey calls me at 5am, we decide she will bring back some breakfast at 6am. I drag my sorry butt out of bed around 5:30 and by the time Wifey comes back with breakfast, I'm pretty much all packed up and ready to go. We need to check out by 6:45am today. Wifey decides to head back to the casino at 6:20am while I'm still eating my breakfast - very slowly. Wifey's back at 6:40am and we grab our bags and head to the front desk. I check us out and ask the front desk to have our host review our charges and that I would touch base with her upon returning home. I also remembered to empty the safety deposit box.

After checkout, we walked outside with our luggage to our waiting limo, red rose for Wifey, and a bottle of champagne. We had a nice 25 minute ride to Red Rock. Unfortunately, I was in no shape to drink anything at that time. When we arrived at Red Rock, the driver let us take the champagne with us. Perhaps, we'll have a glass before we leave Red Rock.

After tipping the driver, we leave our luggage with the bell desk guys, and head to the front desk. Too early (7:30am) to get a room so we ask for a room by the elevator. They will call my cell phone when our room is ready. Time to head to our machines. We're playing again by 7:35am.
I am play super slowly. As soon as our room is ready, I'll need to lay down a couple hours. We thought that a shake from fat burger might help my stomach but that was a mistake. I took a couple sips of my chocolate shake and that was all I could manage.

The room is ready at 11am so we both head to the front desk and grab the room keys and notify the bell desk folks to bring up our luggage. I decide to crawl into bed at 11:30am and I'm not sure if I'm done gambling for the day or not. I just need some sleep. Wifey heads back to the casino and is playing again by 11:35am.

I got up at 3:00pm and headed to the food court for a slice of pizza (Wifey had a salad for lunch). I meet up with Wifey at the video poker machines at 3:45pm. This afternoon, my xtra play cash ($125) shows up and I turned that into $182.50. We split a turkey sandwich from Capriotti's Sandwich Shop for dinner and Wifey called it a night at 6pm while I played until 6:45pm. No alcohol for Hubby today.

Day 5 Gambling Summary (Sunset Station - morning, before checkout)):

Wifey
- up $185.00 (2 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces')
- up $485.00 for the trip

Day 5 Gambling Summary (Red Rock):

Me
- up $50.00 (8 'wild royals')
- up $2,075.00 for the trip
Wifey
- down $185.00 (11 'wild royals')
- up $300.00 for the trip

Day 6 (Monday, 9/28): 'Wifey Royal' Day

Wifey's up at 3:45am and I finally crawl out of bed at 4am. We're out the door by 4:30am. I left $5 on the pillow and asked housekeeping if she could please leave extra towels, soap, shampoo, and lotion which she did after making up the room. I did this every morning at Red Rock. For some reason, Red Rock no longer leaves Sea Salts. This morning we decided against takeout for breakfast and opted to have a sit down breakfast at the Grand Cafe. A ham & cheese omelet for me and a garden omelet for Wifey. Wifey ordered a decaf and I stayed with a large orange juice. Breakfast was very good. We're both playing at our machines by 5:15am.

At 6:33am, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

Today, we had a couple chef salads from Tropical Smoothie for lunch. And yes, we eat them at our machines. For dinner, we each had a chicken sandwich and fries. Wifey played until 6pm and I played until 6:45pm.

Day 6 Gambling Summary (Red Rock):

Me
- down $350.00 (21 'wild royals')
- up $1,725.00 for the trip
Wifey
- down $300.00 (15 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces')
- even for the trip

Day 7 (Tuesday, 9/29): 'Hubby Royal' Day

We get up at 4:45am today and out the door by 5:20am. I stop for breakfast takeout at the Grand Cafe. Wifey starts playing at 5:30am while I start playing at 5:45am.

At 8:45am, Hubby hits his first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

At 9am, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

About 10:15am, we grab a couple salads for lunch. We eat at our machines. About 10:25am, Wifey cashes out at $400. She then stick a $20 bill in the machine.

At 10:28am, Wifey hits her second 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

A couple hands later, she's staring at her machine display. I look over trying to figure out what she's doing. That's when I notice, she's got a lot more $$$ showing than she should have. Remember she had cashed out and then put a $20 bit in and she hit 'four deuces' for $250. She should have had about $278.50 showing at that point but what Wifey was staring at was this machine was showing that she was up to something like $653.50. What the heck? That's when we realized she wasn't playing 'Deuces Wild' as she thought. When she put that $20 bill in the machine, the machine switched to 'Loose Deuces' which pays $625 for 'four deuces'. Wow! That's where the extra $375 came from. She then switched the machine back to 'Deuces Wild'.

At 12:33pm (right after beer & pizza), Hubby hits his second 'Royal Flush' of the trip. Yip Yip Yippee! I was dealt Ace, Queen, Jack, Ten of spades and then drew the King of spades. Sent another cell phone video to our daughter.

At 10:28am, Wifey hits her third 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

For dinner, we split another turkey sandwich. Late this afternoon, I was finally able to drink a Merlot again. But only one. And it took well over an hour to finish it. Wifey plays until 5:45pm and I play until 6:45pm. I decided it's time to head to the Roulette table. Time to try out Plan B. Here's Sockman's brilliant betting scheme for Plan B:

1. Bet $10 on black.
2. If it should win, let it ride on red.
3. If it should win again, let it all ride on red.

If Plan B delivers (winning all three spins), go to another table and put entire winnings on black. I wasn't sure what night I would head to the Roulette table but I figured it would be on my way back to the room one evening. For some reason, I decided tonight's the night for Plan B.

So... I bet $10 on black. There's one other person playing at this table. He had just put $20 on red before I placed my bet. No more bets and the wheel goes around and around and stops on ................ black. Winner!!! Okay, let it ride on red. Someone else stops by and places $100 worth of bets on the board. No more bets and the wheel goes around and around and stops on ................ black. Sorry, Sockman - you lose.

Time to call it a night.

Day 7 Gambling Summary (Red Rock):

Me
- up $1200.00 (23 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces', 1 'royal flush')
- up $2,925.00 for the trip
Wifey
- up $700.00 (14 'wild royals', 3 'four deuces')
- up $700.00 for the trip

Day 8 (Wednesday, 9/27): Little 'ORC' Day

Last full day in Vegas. We're up at 4:10am and out the door at 4:45am. I stopped at the Grand Cafe for our usual takeout. Wifey is back at her machine at 4:50am and I start playing at 5:05am.
This is another 5X points day for us "seniors" over 50.

At 8am, Hubby hits his first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

Today for lunch, we each had a salad at our machines. Today, for the first time this trip, Wifey started calling her machine stupid. Honey, that might not be a good idea calling your machine stupid. 'Challenged' is more like it. Wifey is still looking for her 'Royal Flush'.

At 1:13pm, Wifey hits her 'Royal Flush'!!! Yip Yip Yippee! Wifey then sent a cell phone video to our daughter to show our granddaughter. Between us, that's three 'Royals' this trip. This has been a very good trip ($$$ wise) for both of us.

On Wednesdays this month, Seniors over 50, can play in 1-3 five minute slot tournaments. I remembered this about 1:30pm. Wifey went to check it out and came back signed up for the 2:15pm, 2:30pm, and 2:45 time slots. Then I went and signed up for the 2:30pm, 2:45pm, and 3:00 time slots. The 3:00pm time slot would play immediately after the 2:45pm session.
Wifey left her video poker machine at just after 2pm to head over to where the slot tournaments were taking place. I played video poker until about 2:20pm and headed to the slot tournament area. Wifey's best score was 2494 and my best score was 2310. There were 40 (I believe) cash prizes starting at $25 and going up. Not sure what the top prize would be. Later, Wifey found out she was about 200 points short of cashing in these slot tournaments.

Wifey is back at her video poker machine at 2:50pm and I'm back playing at my machine by 3pm. Where's the drink lady. Merlot please. At the 4pm drawing, we didn't win a thing.

At 5pm, Wifey hits her first 'four deuces' of the day. Yippee!

Just after 5pm, the grand drawing took place. No, neither of us won the his and hers Cadillacs. We shared a turkey sandwich for dinner. Wifey calls it a night at 5:30pm and I play on until 7:15pm.

Day 8 Gambling Summary (Red Rock):

Me
- down $200.00 (19 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces')
- up $2,725.00 for the trip
Wifey
- up $850.00 (20 'wild royals', 1 'four deuces', 1 'royal flush')
- up $1,550.00 for the trip

Day 9 (Thursday, 10/01):

We're up at 3:20am and pack up for the last time. We head out at 4:10am. We both start playing at 4:15am and decide we can play until 6:35am before heading back for our luggage. We decided we'll eat breakfast at the airport. As soon as the drink lady shows up I start ordering Merlots for myself. Wifey started with a decaf and Kahlua. I had lots of Merlots this morning since we're running out of time at Red Rock. We stopped playing at 6:35am, cashed out for the last time.

Day 9 Gambling Summary (Red Rock):

Me
- down $100.00 (3 'wild royals')
- up $2,625.00 for the trip
Wifey
- down $140.00 (2 'wild royals')
- up $1,410.00 for the trip

We head back to the room, grab our luggage and head to front desk to check out. I asked the front desk to have our host review our charges and I would contact her upon returning home. We pick up the 7am shuttle to the airport. We had breakfast at a new restaurant at the airport and headed for our gate for a 9:15 takeoff. We arrived in Austin 20 minutes early, grabbed our luggage and headed over to the supershuttle counter. When I got to the counter, the guy checked the reservation and then went into the back. A few minutes passed and then another guy came over and said our driver has been looking for us. Huh??? He told us where to wait and our driver would come to us. Hmmm... This guy shows up and he's not dressed like the shuttle van drivers and he had a sign with our name on it. Uh oh, did I screw up when I made the reservations? I keep quiet for the moment and we follow the driver to a town car. Oh, boy. I tell Wifey, maybe I screwed up when I made the reservation. After we took off I checked a hard copy of my reservation and sure enough, it looks like I booked a shared ride with the shuttle. I then mentioned this to the driver and he explained that they're starting up this new service in Austin and are upgrading various folks to see how they like the town car service. Wow! I have no idea what this would have cost us if we had booked the town car ourselves, but I added an extra tip at the end of the trip home.

I sent an e-mail to our host at Sunset Station letting her know that we had another wonderful but exhausting trip to Las Vegas. We managed to cycle $75,596.00 through the video poker machines over 4 days at Sunset Station. Our host had already comped us up front for those four nights and sent a limo for us. I assumed because we had won a combined $2,510 while at Sunset Station, that she wouldn't be able to comp any food charges off our final bill. In my e-mail, I asked that she use our accumulated points to take the food charges off our final bill. I was quite surprised when I received an e-mail from our host saying she had had comped ($177.00) us all our food charges + tax (less tips) without touching any of our points. That's wonderful!

I also sent an e-mail to our host at Red Rock. We managed to cycle $79,016.00 through the video poker machines over 4 days at Red Rock. I received an e-mail from our host at Red Rock. She was not able to comp the third and fourth night there but we were able to cash in 160,200 points from our account to remove the $267 from our Red Rock bill. That left nothing on our Red Rock bill.

We will definitely return to Red Rock sometime in 2010. We're also thinking of going somewhere other than Sunset Station on our next trip.

Total Gambling this Trip:
Wifey/Hubby combined for $154,612 ($19,326 per day average) cycled through the machines over 8 days/nights
Total combined number of hands played = 123,690 @ $1.25 per hand
Total hours played - ~196 hours (~24.5 hours per day @ ~ 631 hands per hour)
Royal Flush (3) - average of 1 every 41,230 hands
Four Deuces (24) - average of 1 every 5,153 hands
Wild Royal (245) - average of 1 every 504 hands

Total Winnings/Losses this Trip:
Wifey: +$1,410.00 in casino gambling
Hubby: +$2,625.00 in casino gambling
Combined: +$4,035.00 after 8 days/nights

Comps this Trip:
- Sunset Station - all 4 nights comped, limo pickup at airport, plus $177 in food charges comped.
- Red Rock - 2 of 4 nights comped, last two nights at casino rate ($80 + tax). Remaining ~$267 in room/food charges taken off the bill using 160,200 points from our account. .

Final Thoughts:
- Mission accomplished - we both beat both casinos!
- Limo is nice, especially when it comped (less tip).
- Presidential Limo is really nice - comes with red rose for Wifey and bottle of champagne - this is perfect for moving from Sunset Station to Red Rock. It would have been even better if I didn't overload myself with Merlot the night before.
- Red Rock and Sunset Station serve pretty good Merlot
- Hubby beat Wifey good this trip (gambling-wise)
- 8 days/nights in Vegas is perfect for us as long as I don't have too much of a problem with Carpal Tunnel or arthritic hands. Thank goodness I brought (and used) my wrist brace and Salonpas (medicated heat patches) for my hands. These made the occasional wrist/hand pain manageable.

 

All I can say is Wow! I don't think people get that lucky in multiple trips to LV let alone 1 trip. I am soooo jealous......

Such detail too....do you write down the times you hit? You must because how could someone possibly remember. Nice job.

 

great TR nice to see all the *ups* n *downs* of the trip

 

I just can't believe how long you and wifey sit at the machines.....even eating at them - you are definitely dedicated! Congrats on the wins!

 

I got exhausted just reading this! LOL!!!

 

So if I have this in my head right............

Denomination - quarters @ max bet?

Game of Choice - Deuces Wild?

 

Nice TR!!! Congrats on both of you beating the casinos!!!

 

Awesome!! Thanks!!

 

And I thought I GET UP EARLY ! ?
Glad someone else has "Farmer's Hours" in Vegas.
.
My wife + I will be playing VP at Red Rock this
Tuesday -- 4 nite stay.
So, I gather you ate at the machines "on the floor" -
rather than the bartops ?
Would the RR bartenders allow food at the bar ?
.
I'll have to get in on the Senior Wednesday 5x points !
Thanks for the heads up.
.
Nice report.
Man......you guys hit alot of 4 dueces !

 

Once again you provide an amazing story of VP endurance. Thanks for posting. I always enjoy your reports. I just can't imagine that many hours at a machine. How do you keep up with the numbers of hands played each day? My wife and I play a lot of VP when we'er in Vegas and I have often wondered how much we cycle through the machines.

later, GVJ

 

Cruiser... I always enjoy your TR's. We play a lot of VP too....well maybe not in comparison to you but still, quite a bit

I'll have to give the DW a try on my Dancer software...seems like it might be an easier game to hang in there than the DDB I've been playing the last few trips. W/ that game (DDB) you either get lucky or get slammed.

Everytime I read your TR's it makes me think we need to try the RR....sounds and looks like a great place.

Thanks for taking the time to write it all up! - Dino

 

WOW, I'm exhausted just from reading the pace of your report. You obviously visit Vegas to get your gamble ON (not to mention your drink!)
You folks would travel extremely well with my better half, as early as you start and finish each day. Me, I kinda like more of a 7-midnight time frame. Works for us, together and apart time.
Congrats on all the wins, the biggest being beating both casinos, both of you. Way to play! LMAO about the different wine glasses. How dare they?
Thanks again for writing such a fast-moving, exciting report.

 

Loved reading your excellent trip report - especially the gambling stats and other information you have provided. I'm glad the trip was profitable. I am 11-11 during my 22 trips to Vegas but am down a few grand.

I am usually up around 3 or 4 am as well. I am rarely still up by 8 or 9 am, however.

How many full pay machines do each of these two properties have?

Do you and your wife alternate leaving to hold both machines, even during meals in order for you to have a machine all day?

Do you play another other types of full pay poker and if not, how did you select Full Pay Dueces Wild? (Highest payout? Game you enjoy which you have practiced?). I use a chart when I play Video (mostly JOB) due to the fact that I have only played on a few trips. There is less fluctuation in bankroll due to more smaller wins playing JOB vs. Dueces Wild and I am able to find more JOB, expecially near the strip (Gold Coast Bar, Palms though they have other higher % full pay machines which I also used a chart for).

Even though I've been to Vegas (and even Laughlin), I've never been to Suncoast or Red Rock. I will have a car for all 10 days and plan on hitting these two casinos as well as M, Green Valley Ranch, and some North / Northwest Las Vegas casinos. I hear the rooms are very nice at Red Rock and nice at Suncoast but I hate resort fees. I am thinking of trying full pay Dueces Wild and perhaps earn an offer for a free room at Red Rock and not worry about the resort fees.

Are the rooms better at RR vs. SC or vice versa? Do you play / stay at Green Valley Ranch? Do you ever take a day / portion of the day for sight-seeing or other Vegas activity out of your hotel? Do you play locally and if so at the same pace or do you get your full share of hard core marathon gambling in during these trips and let time build up before you have the desire to return?

I've played marathon poker, blackjack, sports / race book sessions but I do not think I can last more than a few hours at a machine. I've only started playing machines within the past year.

Thanks again for your reports and I look forward to your response.

 

Thanks to all who have posted and enjoyed our trip report. Several questions were asked which I will now answer. Yes, I take notes and write down the start/end times for each day at the VP machines and the times we each get a royal and four deuces. We also each track the number of wild royals, four deuces, and royals we get each day. We play quarter machines, max (5) coins ($1.25 per hand). Yes, we usually eat at our machines on the casino floor. We never play machines at any of the bars. Before we start playing each day, I write down the number of points we have on each of our boarding pass cards. I also do this before I head back to the room each night. This way, I can track the number of points earned each day. On 5X wednesdays, I divide the number of points we receive on Wednesdays so I know how many points we earned without the 5X multiplier. Once we know how many points we earned each day, we can easily convert that to $$$ cycled through the machines. Since we play only the Optimum machines (full pay machines), we know it takes $4 in to receive 1 point. If I started the day with 100,000 points on my boarding pass card and I end the day with 102,500 points, I know I earned 2,500 points that day. Since each point took $4 cycled through the machine, I know I cycled $10,000 through the machine that day (2,500 pts x $4 per point = $10,000). From there, I can figure out how many hands I played that day. If I cycled through $10,000 a day at $1.25 per hand, that's 8,000 hands played that day ($10,000 / $1.25 per hand = 8,000 hands played). If we decide we want to have a sit down meal (in a restaurant), we will both leave our machines and hope the machines are free for us to play after we eat. Otherwise, we usually eat at our machines. While we're both playing at our machines, if one of us has to take a walk, the other will watch watch both machines. We also usually keep sweaters on the seat backs to help show that these machines are both in use. We never both leave our machines at the same time unless Wifey has called it a night and I'm playing alone. If I have to take a walk, I cash out my ticket and put $1 back in the machine. I usually have enough other stuff lying about to let anyone walking by know this machine is in use. FPDW (Full Pay Deuces Wild) is the only VP we play.

Cruiser

 

Thats what I was gonna say....Whewwww!

 

Always look forward to reading your TR. Even without the 3 royals
(4035-3000= $1035.00) you came out a winner. Not too shabby for a whole week of nonstop VP.

 

Excellent report (And Congrat's on the nice profit!!)

Sure is fun when both Husband And Wife come home winners - doesn't happen very often.

Your results are exactly why I love going to vegas - 1 Week of excellent accommodations, Drinks, and Food - all paid for with comps (Easily worth $1,000 per person I would think) and still come home with over $4 Grand - Awesome!!

Your report did trigger a word of caution though - when your wife printed a ticked and then put in a new $20 to reset the machine. BE CAREFUL FOLKS - this happened to me on Multi Denominational machines - Some will reset to the Highest Denomination (Can be as high as $5 coins meaning $5 x 5 coins = $25) or reset to Nickels. I have both happen - no fun hitting 4 - deuces and getting paid $50 versus $250!! Also be careful on some of the new machines when you hit MAX BET - can be as many as 20 quarters!

Thanks again for a great trip report - really enjoyed it.

 

"We managed to cycle $79,016.00 through the video poker machines over 4 days at Red Rock. I received an e-mail from our host at Red Rock. She was not able to comp the third and fourth night"

All I can say is wow, that's a lot of coin to cycle to not get comped rooms without using points. Video poker or not.

Enjoyed the report.