Sunday, June 2, 2019

May 2019 Trip Report - Featuring Testing my Lucky Pig, a Naked Man in the River, and Ethel M's Garden.

My usual disclaimer:

My reports concentrate on people, places and things we encounter on our trips.   Although I play a lot, especially video poker,  my view is that details of royal flush near misses (which are very common btw), ordinary four of a kinds, etc, are not noteworthy enough to be documented in a trip report.   As such I don't post much on my play and do not post pictures of hands.  If those things are important to you, it's probably best to skip reading this report.

Unlike the trend of people looking to make income off others viewing their trip reporting, I receive no financial benefit for posting this report, just like 99% of us!  My reports, however, are my property and not to be copied to other websites.

FYI - Clicking on any pic brings up a full size version which allows you to scroll through all pics.


Contents:

Ethel M's Cactus Garden

Downtown Market has Closed

Testing My Lucky Pig!

The Naked Man

Food Highlights 

Electric Daisy Carnival


Random Notes


AC Epilogue

Epilogue II



Ethel M's Cactus Garden


It has been many years since we had taken a trip to Ethel M's cactus garden at any time other than Christmas season at night.   Since the weather was mild, and we were relatively close by, we visited again.   Being Spring, it was a good time to go, as many varieties were in full bloom!


















Downtown Market has Closed


I believe I was the first to post after visiting the Downtown Market after it opened in 2014, across from El Cortez.  There was a thread or two on it how people thought it was a great idea, and that they wanted to visit and shop there.   But, I can count the actual posts where people actually mentioned visiting it for real on one hand.   After subsequent visits I reported the conditions, predicting it wouldn't last given the empty shelves and lack of customers.    September 2016 - "Prediction - Downtown market will close"  Then I reported last October when they reduced their square footage by about 2/3rds, yet still had many partially empty shelves.   Well, no surprise then that the Downtown Market has now fully closed, yet I haven't seen a single mention of this closing mentioned anywhere.  The only surprising thing is that it stayed open this long.  The closing couldn't be recent because Siam Square Thai Food opened in its place on February 20th.





Testing My Lucky Pig!





In my last trip report, I wrote about receiving a Chinese New Year Jeweled Pig in the middle of a bad, losing trip.  https://deamonlv.blogspot.com/2019/02/february-trip-report-featuring-pig-and_19.html  Subsequently, I hit two royal flushes in less than 24 hours, and then hit another one on my next short trip to Atlantic City.   Since then, I have not played until this trip.  Of course, I packed my jeweled pig for this trip, and was hoping her powers would still be working.

This was a 7 day trip, and days 1 & 2 were losers, but not outrageously bad.   I have a hate-hate relationship with NSUD video poker, as I nearly always lose despite playing it on a machine with a good payscale.  On day one I managed to hit four deuces, for the mini jackpot, yet managed to have a losing day (inducing more hatred for the game)!   On day two I faced an early decision playing Double Double Bonus, as I hit a ridiculous amount of four of a kinds in the first hour or so.   In the last trip I took my profits when this happened, and moved to play the rest of the day at much lower volatility games and protected my win.   Hindsight is 20/20, and this time my initial luck was so quick that I wanted to give this game a longer shot before switching over, but it cost me, as I ended up being down for the day.   I ended on a good note when I played the last 15 minutes of the day back at double double, and hit four 4's with a kicker to cut the losses, and called it a day.   I admit, I was starting to question my lucky pig.

On day 3, I played relatively early and was dealt a straight flush before breakfast.   This was my first straight flush of the year, despite having 3 royals!  After that, it was pretty much downhill for late morning and afternoon.  Then, just before dinner I held two to a royal, and my pig took over, giving me a royal flush!

I made sure my pig could not see the name of this establishment below.  Obviously it would be too upsetting for her!

The Smashed Pig


Day 4 was uneventful, with a small loss.   Day 5 wasn't going that well, and although I had already hit one royal flush for the week, I was a bit frustrated, as I was counting on my pig to provide another during this week long trip.  I started calling out to my lucky pig while drawing 3 or 4 to a royal, but it wasn't helping.   I was losing faith in her!

We saw this bride playing blackjack, but what was really notable is that no one from the wedding party, including the husband, was anywhere near her.   She was totally alone playing heads up in her wedding gown!



The sign on his cart says all!




My quirky "fan"


As I played on this long day 5, I encountered an interesting fellow near my machine.  Some background first.  I like to load the machine with a nice bankroll to start a long session, as it is easier to track wins/loss vs repeatedly, periodically (painfully) sliding bills into to the machine over and over.   If I get some decent hands early, my total might look to a stranger like I was way up when in fact I wasn't.   

I was playing, minding my business when I heard a voice from behind me "you got the straight flush?".   It caught me by surprise.  "What was that?", I asked, not understanding the context, as I did not hit a straight flush on this day.  "You must have hit a straight flush, eh?"   I then realized he probably saw my credit total, and had assumed that I must have hit a straight flush to get this level of credits on the machine.   I paused, turned slightly and just said "no", and turned back to play, not wanting to strike up a conversation with this potentially nosy person. 

About 20 hands later, I sensed someone nearby behind me.   This same guy was now sitting at a slot machine seat in the row behind me, intently watching my every hand.   I don't mind someone pausing and watching a few hands, but when someone parks and my play becomes a stranger's entertainment, I draw the line.   Just then, the player next to me left his seat.  The "watcher" pounced in, plopped down in the seat next to me, slid a bill into the machine , and played a couple of quick hands, with one or two credits a hand. At times he made impulsive quirky noises and quick, nervous hand motions as he played.  Then, just as quickly, he got up from the machine and returned to the seat behind me to watch me.   This upped the creepy factor, so I stood up and cashed out, figuring this would give him no more reason to stay, and he would move on.   Surprisingly, he then sat down at the machine I was playing and continued to play a credit or two on each hand, for about 20 minutes.   I left the area for a while.

A bit later, when I returned to the machine that I had been playing, another customer was playing in that seat, so I instead sat at a machine in the next row, and continued to play.   I was losing, but not badly.  But, if the rest of the week kept going like this I'd likely be down at the end of the week despite a royal flush.  About 10 minutes later, holding 2 to a royal (again) my pig came through for me again, with yet another royal, the 5th royal flush since I obtained my lucky pig in February!   Ironically, by giving me reason to take a break from play, which then led me to play at a different machine, the creepy guy was indirectly "responsible" for me hitting this royal!   I started apologizing to my lucky pig for doubting that her luck had worn off!

Day 6 and 7 both started off good and ended badly.   Usually on a week long trip, I have a least one and sometimes two days of wins without a royal flush.  On this trip the only winning days were on days were I had royal flushes.   I guess that is a good "problem" to have?

My 2019 Lucky Pig Royal Flush scorecard is:
- 0 Royals holding 4 cards
- 1 Royal holding 3 cards
- 3 Royals holding 2 cards
- 1 Royal holding 1 card
- 0 Royals dealt



The Naked Man


We spent one early afternoon relaxing on the beach at Harrah's Laughlin.  It was the most busy we'd had seen it for a non summer weekday.   


About an hour into our visit, we noticed a Police boat speeding around.   We just assumed they were doing rounds, looking for drunken operators, etc.    Then we noticed that some of the jet ski rental staff were standing at the shore with binoculars, watching the police activity for quite a while.   Some of the other guests near us went over to inquire about what was going on.   I heard the word "naked" spoken as part of the explanation.  In a few minutes, a more full explanation was overheard.  The word was a very drunken man took off all his clothing and had jumped into the river in a non swimming area, and refused to come out!

Police and Fire boats


Now there was a Fire Dept boat as well as a Police boat in the area.   I guess the "negotiations" were going on for a long time, and going nowhere.   Now the entire beach had heard the story and was looking in the direction of the boats wanting to see how this would get resolved.

Next was a big surprise.   The police sent a message to the Harrah's Laughlin staff that they demanded that the beach be evacuated on this beautiful beach day!  The staff walked the beach until everyone left the area.   The police felt that this man was unpredictable and dangerous, which seemed like overkill, (a naked man "armed and dangerous"? Insert your own joke here.) but we all complied.   We watched for a while from the upper patios above the beach, and saw that the naked man was now attempting to board the fire dept boat, to end the standoff.   What was odd is that none of rescue squad attempted to help the man board.   No rope ladder or float was extended for him.   It would be difficult for anyone to board a boat from the water with having to pull himself up onto the boat from the water below, especially someone very drunk.


Naked man attempting to board the Fire department boat.


After about 10 minutes of attempts, he managed to board the boat.   Now what was odd was that aside from throwing him a towel, no one attempted to handcuff him, or restrain him in any way.   Just as it looked like this might be over, he had a change of heart, tossed the towel, and jumped back into the river, drawing "oh no's" from the assembled crowd!   This whole incident was over a hour long at this point, so we left.  I had to get some more play in.

This didn't make any of the local media reports.  You can only read about it here!

Ex-naked man wearing a towel on boat for 5 minutes.



Food highlights 


Bellagio buffet breakfast/lunch


Time and time again I've read in reports and reviews about the Bellagio buffet being no longer a premium buffet, for reasons including supposedly now having self served beverages and no servers.   Well my experience was that while all buffets have changes over time, this one is still near the top.

The ironic part is that on this occasion, I can say that we received the BEST service ever at any buffet, at any time, by our server at the Bellagio!   Ironic, because others have mentioned in reviews that there was no longer any beverage service!   We found while there are self serve beverages available, the servers were still coming by each table to take orders for drinks, making this the best of both worlds, immediate self service, and waiter service.

Forgive the focus issue, but I built a nice dish with smoked salmon, tomato, guacamole on a half mini bagel with a dab of creme cheese, which I came up with on the spot, and was my favorite bite.   The picture doesn't do it justice.




We stayed until the lunch items were brought out, and I snapped two pics of something you won't see at lower end buffets.  Sure, Bellagio is no longer a premium buffet, I'm sure they have a similar area at Palace Station's buffet, right?  (heavy sarcasm)  


Poke bar is staffed behind glass and will make your dish to order







Special limited time "lit cigar" exhibit at Bellagio



Aquarius Laughlin Brunch


There was a recent trip report posted by someone that mentioned that they heard great things in advance about Aquarius' weekend seafood brunch crab legs.   I had advised that they were going to be disappointed.  However, in that trip report it they reported that the crab legs were excellent during the visit.   I made sure to note them in this trip's visit and snapped the following picture which I think says all!   I have never seen such skinny low quality crab legs before.   These are small even for snow crab legs!   While the shrimp at the brunch are actually very plump and tasty, the crab legs have more weight in their shells than meat inside, and are very salty.   I will maintain my negative review on these!





Emeril's New Orleans Fish House


This was the first time we've eaten here, and part of the attraction is that like Bobby Flay's Mesa in Caesars, the pricing is relatively reasonable.   For appetizers, we went with his classic BBQ shrimp and a bowl of gumbo, both excellent!






For me, the entree highlight of the week was the lobster pot pie that we had there, but again, the picture will not do it justice.   It was a deconstructed take.   The server brings over a pot with the contents, and pours it over a puffy pastry shell which then deflates with the weight and moisture.  The sauce/broth in particular was light and delicious, and nothing like the gluey contents you'd find in a chicken pot pie.   Mini onions and mushrooms, and other assorted veggies were part of the lobster mix as well. 


Our other entree was his famous pecan crusted redfish over grits.


Finally, we split the legendary Banana Creme Pie, which is a must try dessert, and easily an all time top dessert for me, which we first tasted many years ago in New Orleans.




Second Street Grill - Last of the Boyd value restaurants

We had dinner at one of our favorite long time restaurants, and really one of the last of the Boyd value restaurants,  Second Street Grill.   One by one Boyd has redone most of the restaurants at each property, and when they re-open the good values are gone, the prices are up, and the menus are ala carte.   So far the Fremont restaurants are untouched.   The dinners include the most amazing sour dough bread with butter or garlic eggplant spread they make, which is amazing.   The entrees come complete with a salad, starch and veggies, and the pricing is old school.  My go to there is the Ahi Tuna, which is $30, and in these days, sounds insane.

Crab cakes appetizer

Blackened Tuna

Rack of Lamb



In lieu of dessert we each had a cappuccino, and it was the best one I've ever had.  I don't think you could even compare theirs to Starbucks version in the same breath.   



Boars Head Bar - Main St Station


I played a while at the Main Street Station Boars Head bar.  I managed to be entertained by the two men, each travelling solo and meeting each other for the first time.   One had a LOT to say.   He resembled a younger, slightly slimmer version of Wilford Brimley, including his voice! I just bore down at the machine and played while listening to some gems.    I learned (true?) that if flying back to the US from London, you are better off flying to Amsterdam, and then to the US to save on airfare.   He liked Amsterdam, did not partake in the red light district, but would go there to "research" how the girls marketed themselves to the men!  

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when the big talker discussed his current international travel philosophy.  He doesn't travel much anymore in part because he found that when you travel, you find that people in the other countries are just like "you and me", so that travel really wasn't very interesting or worthwhile!   Oh, I said to myself, this was going to be a fun session!   He talked about how he traveled to Las Vegas from the Midwest two 4-5 day trips a month with his wife remaining home alone! 

The other gentleman told a story about how he was in Australia for a period of time, and met a woman who was at the time naked on the beach.   They had a long-ish term relationship until one of her friends told her, when he goes back to the US, your relationship will end, so why are you in it?   She must have agreed, as she ended the relationship right there.

I know I am next to alone on this thinking, but please, how would seeing pictures of 4 four of a kinds be more interesting than this conversation?   In 2 years, will anyone remember that they got X four of kinds on the X day of their trip in 2019?   However, in 2 years, I will still be entertained thinking back to this conversation!

Having said that, I had a run of four of a kinds at the bar, requiring waits for scratch cards, including about 3 in 15 minutes (and 10 of those minutes was time waiting for the attendant to bring the scratch cards).  I figured I'd get some comments from the bar mates, but they just went on with their stories seemingly without noticing, which was fine by me!

Another funny moment was when a man approached the bar and bought a drink for him and his friend.   The bartender told him the price and the man said "for both?", thinking that the price quoted was too low for two drinks.   The bartender said, "Yes, for two.   You're in downtown Las Vegas!".   It was as if I was watching a commercial for downtown being filmed.



Seeding the Golden Gate


I was surprised that my 35 or so minutes of play in October resulted in some low level comped room offers from the Golden Gate.   It's been a long time since I seeded a new place to start getting offers.   I wanted to double book a room there mainly just to see it and have the experience of being able to say I sort of "stayed there".   That will have to wait because my room offer wasn't good on Fridays.  But, my $10 Free Play and $15 Food credit could be used even without booking a room, so I figured I'd stop by again.  This time, I played for about an hour.

My idea is that when Circa is finished, players from Golden Gate and the D will get comp room offers at Circa, and I wouldn't mind getting in on that.   I'm going to ramp up my GG play each trip and see where that gets me.

The $15 Food Credit was usable at the Project BBQ food truck next to Circa.   We split a brisket sandwich there, which was disappointingly the least satisfying food item of the entire trip.



The side gate to the Circa construction site was open for a few minutes, so I snapped a quick one of the ramp leading down to the basement of the construction.





Electric Daisy Carnival


I realized that the end of our trip coincided with the beginning of the EDC festival in Las Vegas.   I thought that maybe by staying at the south end of the strip for the last two days it would minimize the impact, but I was wrong, as some of the hotels there had pre festival events, drawing many EDC customers.

Raider Stadium under construction



The subject of the festival came up at bars at the Golden Nugget.  The bartenders discussed how it was very popular time for bartenders to take vacation.  The reason is that the EDC customers fill the hotels, displacing regular customers.   Even more of a factor is that according to the bartenders, many of the EDC customers don't have money to spend on gambling and drinks, but instead sit or walk up to the bars asking and expecting to be served complimentary water as they recovered from the prior long night out.  Even if they were to be served a glass, they usually don't tip.   The result is the worst tipping income weekend of the year for bartenders!  One of the bartenders was teasing the other because he had the wrong date for the festival, and took the wrong weekend off.   So, he had to unexpectedly work EDC weekend.

Another disappointing EDC story was the negative impact on local businesses.   The local TV news station interviewed a couple of business owners, including one a diner owner, who said that they would close for the EDC weekend!   This because the EDC customers in prior years filled his business, filling up tables, sleeping in the booths, and ordering next to no food.   He had trouble asking them to leave as they would stay for hours, some without having hotel rooms for the festival.   Since there was so little revenue that weekend, and he still had to pay his staff, it made more sense to just close the business during the festival days than to deal with all the headaches!



Random Notes:


- I've always been fascinated by these dust devils that stir up on the dry lake on the road to Laughlin. We missed taking a photo when it was at its peak, but got this one before it died out.



- Can you imagine having the need for this sign in a hotel room?   Almost certainly the signs were made up due to a prior incident(s).  "Hey Dad, time to turn the steaks?"   "Gee Son, I can't really tell with all the smoke in the room!"



- I defy anyone to spend a day of play at the Four Queens without hearing "Bette Davis Eyes" playing on the casino's sound system.  I further defy you to hear the song in any other casino!

- I've really thought about creating a blog recording history of casino's nickle and dime savings efforts.   My latest "favorites" are how casino hotels are stocking smaller and smaller soaps.  A special shout out award goes to the Aquarius in Laughlin, which gives you one small bar of soap that you are to use both at the sink, AND in the shower.   So if someone wants to wash their hands while someone else is taking a shower, they won't have soap!  Well done Aquarius!




AC Epilogue


In my last LV trip report, I added an epilogue about my short Atlantic City trip, a week later, in which my pig came through with another royal flush.

Well, once again, about a week after this LV trip, we had a short AC stop, and we packed my pig.   

About 20 minutes after beginning on a Double Bonus machine, I held two 8's and drew a four of a kind.   Then, the VERY next hand, I was dealt two 8's and drew a four of a kind!   I may have had consecutive four of a kinds once or two before in my years of play, but never the same rank, twice holding 2.  About 20 minutes later, I held three Aces and pulled the fourth, and amazingly, 2 minutes later, I held three Aces, and pulled the fourth again!   By far the quickest second quad Aces in Double Bonus ever for me!

I was now faced with that decision again.   Do I continue at Double Bonus, or move to Jacks or Better with my winnings where my nice bankroll of credits would typically set me up for coming close to breaking even?   I moved, and while I lost at a rate greater than I expected/wanted, it wasn't a disaster, ending with a small loss.  Yes, my Aces bankroll vanished in time.

In the afternoon of the second day, we were planning to head out to the beach for a few hours, and then to an early dinner.   But as we talked about it, we ended up not heading to the beach, and I don't know the exact reason why.    They were running a weekend of drawings, throughout the day, in which you had to be present to win.   But it seemed ridiculous to hang around for hours, just for the one in a couple of thousand or so chance of winning one of the drawings.   We rolled our eyes when the next winner, Mary Casino's name was called!   I said to one of the attendants, "Mary Casino?  Is that for real"?   He joined in the humor, by replying, "yeah, they can do better than that, can't they?"

Blowing off the beach, we went our separate ways to play a bit more before an early dinner, when shortly after, as I held a dealt straight, my phone rang with some news.  I didn't hear the announcement, but they announced that in the latest drawing round that we had won $4,000!   If we had gone to the beach, we wouldn't have been able to claim the win, and probably wouldn't even had known we had potentially won!   I have to think, this was my Lucky Pig again, coming through with a win for us, in a totally different way, by subliminally telling us to skip the beach, so she could bring us another win!  She is obviously quite sly!

So, we are closing the book on this trip report with a score of two royals and a drawing win for my lucky pig in the month of May!




EPILOGUE II



Last week I found that I needed to take a trip up to Foxwoods in CT because I had not been there in a year, and the comps on my account were going to expire.    Of course, my pig was packed for the trip.

We visited their new remodeled buffet that opened within the last two weeks.   We were not impressed!

I started with a so-so session, highlighted relatively early with a straight flush!   Midway through the day, not winning but not having too bad of a day, I held three hearts to the royal, and of course, I landed another Royal Flush!    This meant that I played for "the cycle" on this machine, as I hit all the paylines on this Jacks or Better machine in my session!   Most times people hit a royal flush but do not get a straight flush in the same session.

Just before we left, we sat and played another 20 minutes to finish out the day when I held a 3,5,7 of hearts, and said out loud, "miracle", and then had a big laugh as the 4 and 6 of hearts filled in the second straight flush of the day.

This streak is becoming so ridiculous that I am almost numb to this point!   There is no other explanation to this streak except for attributing it to my lucky pig!

So now I am updating my 2019 scorecard:

- 0 Royals holding 4 cards

- 2 Royals holding 3 cards

- 3 Royals holding 2 cards

- 1 Royal holding 1 card

- 0 Royals dealt

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

February Trip Report - Featuring the Pig and the Strawman (M, 4Q, Jerry's, Laughlin)


Disclosure: I will receive no income from views of this trip report, even if read on my trip report blog.  Further, I think that encouraging donations from readers, is against everything that the whole LV message board community is about!

My trip reports do not have gambling pics.  What is most important and memorable to me in a trip is not individual hands of play, but the places, people, and situations that I encounter.  I'll discuss my play only if I think there it is something noteworthy.  If pics of winning hands is something you need to see in a trip report, then this one isn't for you!


THE GENESIS 


For February, the Chinese New Year month, each year, the Four Queens sends me an offer for a jeweled New Year's figure, after earning a level of slot points.   This is the year of the pig.   The idea of earning a "collectible jeweled pig" was probably enough to warrant a trip to Las Vegas just for that alone!   When I found a decent airfare, I booked a 3+ day solo mini trip.


THE FLIGHT


As I waited for my connection flight to board, I was entertained by the prior flight deplaning.  One woman was carrying a full sized, round, lighted make-up mirror, complete with dangling power cord.   Not in a box, not in a bag, but just holding it loose against her chest as she exited the jetway.

I had a middle seat for the second segment of my flight, and at one point I needed to get something out of my bag under the seat in front of me.  It was awkward trying to lean forward and a bit to the side at the same time, while reaching down, and suddenly I felt  a muscle in my rib cage cramp badly.  I've never had anything like this happen before.  I was doing everything in trying not to groan, nor grab at my ribs, as I figured those around me would see me in pain, grabbing at my chest and think that I was having a heart attack, and call for help.   After a few minutes and many breaths, and while holding completely still, it finally calmed down without anyone noticing.

Head winds were so bad that the pilot announced that we'd be flying the whole way at only 26,000 feet to avoid the strongest winds.



M SUITE DEJA VU


In my last trip report, I discussed after years, finally getting a suite upgrade at the M Resort, and not only did I get  a suite, but a huge ~1200 sq ft corner end suite.   Well on this occasion, when checking in, I was told that there is a convention that took all the available rooms.   Due to that, they upgraded me to a suite.   Not just any suite, and not one like the one I had last trip, but the top of the line, 2 level end suite!  Ridiculous since I was staying alone.   This was the first time I had a room in any hotel that had stairs inside the room!   There was an elevator in the room, but it was locked.  I assume they unlock it for handicapped customers.  The tiny nit was that it was a handicapped suite, so the bath and shower area were a bit different than the other rooms.



2nd Floor is the bedroom/master bath area.  Stairs in back.

Foot of bed, looking out
Lower level.  Stairs way in back.


View from bedroom, down.









More suite pics at the M's website:  https://www.themresort.com/hotel/loft-suite




DOWNTOWN


My downtown day was cold and windy.  Not just Vegas cold, genuinely cold, if you considered the 30-40 mph winds.   Each time the corner doors of the Four Queens opened, a gust of cold air blew through that entire side of the casino, blowing around any napkins and papers.   If you played at any of the machines nearby, it was as if you were playing outside.   That whole area pretty much emptied out of playing customers.   So, management closed that entrance, putting signs like the one below on all the doors in that corner






I noted this sign at the Four Queens, asking customers who play the Silver Strikes to please give up their seat to anyone waiting once they hit a Silver Strike payout.   I know the Four Queens is different that many other casinos, but doesn't it seem odd that if the machines are so popular, they wouldn't just put more machines on the floor, instead of encouraging customers to leave the machine after receiving a single Strike?






FINDING THE STRAWMAN


I had a dinner at Hugo's at the Four Queens.  They've "updated" their menu, changing many of the dishes, and, just to help us out, raised their prices about 10-15% again.

I tried wanted to try something different this time here, so I had the duck.  I was very disappointed.  I was expecting that rich decadent taste of duck, yet here, this was almost like eating turkey!





I was very entertained by a guest seated at a nearby table.  As I was seated, the sommelier had just left this person's table.   I did a double take as I glanced at his table.  That couldn't be straw in the wine glass, could it?   It must have been a water glass.   No, it was his wine glass, and here he was eating in this gourmet restaurant where the entire staff wears tuxedos, and having just had a sommelier assist him in selecting a wine.   Too bad I missed the moment when he probably requested the straw from the sommelier.  Seeing him attempting to hide his shock would have been priceless.   The Strawman then proceeded to nearly cough up a lung every few minutes.   All diners receive a table-side made salad.  When it was his turn to select the salad toppings, he opted to skip over many of those "healthy veggie things", as I expected.  The server proudly listed the 3 selections of in-house made dressings available, but Strawman would have nothing of those.  "Got any oil and vinegar?", he asked.  The server paused, and then said.  "we can get you some". and had that brought to his table.   



Then, after salad time, as is the custom at Hugo's, they brought a very small amount of sorbet in a mini cone as an intermezzo.   Strawman immediately looked at it, and had a request.  "Got a spoon for that?", he asked.  Hey, I guess he figured, if he was being served "ice cream", then why not a spoon for it?   At this point, I am looking for cameras, and thinking there is some kind of joke put on me to see how I react to all this!   This can't be for real!

When it came time for the entree to be served, I desperately wanted to make a bet, with odds, with anyone, that he had ordered prime rib for dinner.  Yes, I suppose a steak would be possible, but in watching and hearing him, and seeing that stupid straw sitting in the wine glass, it screamed out prime rib!   (As I side note, I have nothing against prime rib or prime rib eaters, and I am sure most prime rib lovers drink wine without a straw)  Just then the waiter appeared with, an order of prime rib, of course.

As the waiter came over to serve the entree, Strawman inquired as to whether the dish came with "juice for the beef".   The waiter replied "yes, it comes with au jus".   Not surprising, but the customer had no idea what was meant by "au jus".  Finally the waiter cleared up the misunderstanding and assured him that the au jus that he was about to serve was in fact the "juice" that he was requesting.

Later on, the sommelier came by to top off the glass.  The Strawman encouraged him.  "No, fill it high".  And so, he kept pouring even though it was customary to pour to level an inch or so in the four inch deep wine glass.   It was up to 3 inches, and the cries continued, "no, higher"    The pour stopped at about a half inch from the rim, as if this were a tall cup of Coca-Cola at a McDonald's.  "Now" the Strawman exclaimed, "you won't have to come back to fill it again,see"!

I regret that I didn't arrive a bit earlier as I am sure the wine selection discussion would have been entertaining as well.  Something like, "oh you have more than one color of wine here"?

I desperately wanted to chat with the waiter and sommelier about what went on at that table, but Mr Strawman ended up seated longer than I was, so I couldn't have that conversation with him still seated nearby.



THE PIG!!!


At night, I redeemed the jeweled pig offer at the Four Queens.  There were two pigs to choose from.   I earned the points required, and choose the more popular fat round pig.  The attendant handed me a receipt and told me that I needed to sign for the pig.  I told her that I was pretty sure that this was the first time in my life that someone requested that I sign for a pig.   Here she is:











CASINO PLAY


Now I'm about 2 days into the trip at this point, and it is not pretty.   I was shaking my head when I calculated midway through the second day that my return playing mostly video poker was about 90% of my coin in, even though I was playing games that had expected returns in the upper 90% range.   That's even a bit extreme on the down side even for my all too common bad days.  I even hit Aces in Double Bonus once.  Of course that helped, but that's not enough big wins for almost 2 days of play.  On the other hand, a 90% return would be just a bit under the 92% or so typical slot machine hold.  So, if I were playing slots, this loss would be almost the expected results of play without a large hit.



JERRY'S NUGGET "SIDE TRIP"


I thought I'd make my first visit to Jerry's Nugget in North Las Vegas, in part, in order to use a matchplay and freeplay coupons, which in the past have gone to waste.   This place is like taking a step back in time.  The "ambiance"  reminded me of entering the El Cortez 10-15 years ago.   I immediately noticed that I had more teeth than any of the other patrons!  It was interesting to see that the gift shop doubles as the slot club desk!   I signed up, and played, drawing two 2's with my blackjack matchplay, splitting, and watched the dealer bust to win both hands.   I ended up netting almost $30 in just a couple of minutes.

The place is one big room, and even the coffee shop, which for a long time was the LVA's pick for best prime rib deal, opens right into the casino.  You can see all the coffee shop's tables right from the casino floor, as there is no front wall in the restaurant.   Inside, the casino is dark-ish, a bit dirty, lots of old dated red carpet in need of replacement years ago, and of course smokey.  This is pretty much what I had expected.

I love how the older coffee shops have the tradition of glass cases of their desserts.  In the cases here, the eclairs were huge, and the strawberry ring looked delicious.  I didn't do much pre research here, and I am regretting it, as the desserts are indeed legendary and are an attraction here in addition to the prime rib.   Also, there are several first day slot club incentive/promos which I was unaware of until sign-up, and simply had no time to take advantage of.  Maybe on a future trip we will stop for a dessert.   Assuming that my walk back to my car in the parking lot would be uneventful, I stopped back in the gift shop to ask if I could purchase a "I Survived Jerry's Nugget" t-shirt, but they didn't seem to have any in stock.

Is it safe?  Well I made sure to go in the daytime.  There is a security guard stationed right at the main door, looking out to the parking lot at all times.   That, I am sure, helps.   In the last 1/2 mile of the short drive there from downtown, there were homeless on many of the corners.  But hey, it's not like Fremont St doesn't have its share of homeless as well, and some of them are just called "entertainers" there.  On my drive back there was a homeless man approaching each car at the traffic light for donations, once again, really not that much different than some of the "entertainers" and others at the FSE.

I think the ideal trip would be to go mid/late afternoon with the LVA and ACG coupons, get a new slot card, play $2,000 coin in for VP, and then have an early evening (daylight) prime rib dinner and dessert for 2, effectively comped with the first day promos.  In addition you get $100 in free play after the $2000 coin in on VP. (Yes, that's 5%!)   For $1000 coin in VP you'll get the meal comp dollars, but not the $100 free play.  The play requirements for slots is half as much as VP, but don't go in expecting to see Heidi slot machines!









FYI: License plates are optional in North Las Vegas






DAY 3


On the third morning, I played a long session of Bonus Poker. I got a special four of a kind, but it wasn't enough, and the losses continued! It's been 2+ days of putting in cash, trying to stay even for that mini bankroll, losing it, putting in more cash, trying to stay even for that mini bankroll. Rinse and repeat! Dare I say it, I began to question my idea that acquiring the Pig was going to change my luck, as this was my first day playing since I received it! At one point, I stopped and counted my cash, and got a sick feeling when I realized that even a royal flush now would not bring me back to even for the trip! That hurts! If this were a week long trip, sure that would be very possible, but here, in just over 2 days and be in this situation? Sick!

I am in total belief of the randomness of Video Poker, but, I have noticed many times when I have a session when I get say eight or so near royal flushes, that I end up hitting a royal later. As if the close calls are a sign that a royal is coming. It's happened quite a few times. Well now, on day 3, although losing, I'm getting many, many near royal flushes. I actually reported home to say that I believed I was going to hit not one, but two royal flushes. That's pretty hard to imagine given the pounding I had been taking.

Roughly 90 minutes later, while holding 2 cards, my eyes first get drawn to the words "Royal Flush", which flash on the screen above the hand. I look below and there it is, a royal flush, and machine is beeping away counting the win.

A near-by lady hears the beeping from my machine and comes by my row to take a look. After seeing my screen, she doesn't say a thing to me, and goes back to her machine 2 rows away. I took a bathroom break and saw that she was playing $10 VP. In the next hour, she had at least 3 hand pays, and the attendants were all chatting with her, being "friendly", before getting, obvious due to the attendants responses, nice tips. Note though, any four of a kind is a handpay on a $10 machine. Later, she walks by after finishing her session, and tells her friend she is taking a long break due to losses!

Of course having hit my royal, I was relieved, but I still had to deal with the concept of having this "luck", yet still having a small loss in just 2.5 days. But hey, this was a big relief, and it meant the trip wasn't going to be a disaster! Obviously, I had to give full credit that this drastic change in luck was attributable to my new Pig!




LAUGHLIN

I made a side trip down to Laughlin. First, I gassed up the rental car over the bridge in Arizona, as tradition. A slot machine business on that side of the river caught my eye that even had a few dusty/filthy slot machine cabinets out front (with electronics and reels removed). It was before the 11am opening time, but as I snapped these pics, the owner drove in quickly, in his pickup truck, kicking up dust in the parking lot. I guess he lived close by and had some web cam set up to alert him to visitors. The owner was part friendly but with a hint of almost being confrontational. I told him I didn't have much interest in buying a slot machine, but I had never seen slot machines for sale outside a store before now, so I was taking some pictures to document it.


[​IMG]


[​IMG]


[​IMG]


[​IMG]



The food court of the Laughlin Outlet Center is a tough business, as there really isn't enough foot traffic to support a food court. As such, the businesses are constantly opening and closing. Some try to save some cash by cutting corners. If you look closely at the sign below, note that the right side has a yellow painted rectangle that isn't the same color as the rest of the sign. The old business used to be "Unique Eat and Out", but the new place is called "Unique Eat". So I guess "Out" is gone, whatever that means. All the business is take out from the counter really, so it's not like they only have eat in dining.

I later read a post where someone speculated that the business name was too close to "In and Out", and they may have gotten a legal notice from In and Out threatening to take action if they didn't change the business's name.



[​IMG]



[​IMG]


I passed through Harrah's in Laughlin and shook my head when I saw this woman who pretty much set up a mini residence in the casino, with several bags, blankets, and with an area for her dog! 


[​IMG]



LAST DAY

[​IMG]

Bellagio Year of the Pig display


[​IMG]



[​IMG]
A distant cousin of my Jeweled Pig



My last day I had a flight out in the evening, so it wasn't a full day. I set out playing my least favorite "good game", double double bonus, realizing that with a day without many four of a kinds, I could easily end the trip with a significant loss.



To Coast on Some Wins or Continue Double Double Bonus?

I've long thought of a "strategy" given a scenario that never seemed to come about for me. This would be that if playing double bonus or double double bonus, and if hitting several high paying 4-of-a kinds, and more than halfway through my day's play, I would consider switching to Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker, with with idea of at least keeping some of my gains, and lowering risk. This scenario is yet to happen to me.

Well, on this last day, in the first hour, I hit four 4-of-a-kinds, all the 250 variety. Obviously, this was a great start, as in an average hour of play, a fraction over one 4-of-a-kind would be expected. As "lucky" as that first hour was, just 40 minutes later, I was below break even for the session! Ridiculous! What if for the next 2 hours I didn't hit a single 4-of-a-kind? I'd still be above average in 4oKs for the session, yet be very deep in the red for the day and trip.

After enduring this early win which had turned into a small loss, in the next half hour, I had another good run. First with AAAA without a kicker, then 4444 without a kicker, then AAAA again without a kicker. A kicker in any of those would have been nice, but together, those wins added up to a HALF OF A ROYAL that I was now ahead for the day, and ahead for the trip! On the other side though was another factor, as I was only around 30% through my planned day of play. It might be too early to already switch to a lower volatility game, and "coast" through the rest of the day with an almost guaranteed profit.



Decision made - Coast

I made the decision to move from Double Double Bonus to Jacks or Better. Right from the start, I did well with a few full houses, and flushes. I played another 15 minutes and thought about taking a break for breakfast, but then decided to play another 15 minutes or so. Just 10 minutes later, holding 3 cards, I drew the second royal flush for the trip! The second in less than 18 hoursThe Pig did it again! Now of course, had I still been playing double double bonus (at a different machine) I theoretically could have hit a royal flush on that machine, but probably not, so I was immediately thrilled at my choice of switching games/machines and to defer breakfast a few more minutes.

What's more, is that even without the royal, later on, I continued to do very well at Jacks, and was up a few hundred credits even after a few hours of play! After even more play, I ended up cashing out for the same amount of credits (ignoring the royal) that I had before I made the switch to Jacks! I'll take it!

So, it "only" took two royal flushes for me to show a profit for the 3+ day trip! And, maybe even more importantly, I got to bring home a stunning jeweled pig! ;-) My new lucky pig was responsible for bringing me the two royal flushes, and sending me home a winner!

(PS) - Later, I noted that I did not have a single straight flush on this trip, yet 2 Royals!




AC EPILOGUE


Normally, I'd prefer to not head to another casino so soon, as I had enough play for a while.  But, as it worked out, we had plans to head to Atlantic City for a one night trip just days after I flew back from Las Vegas.  But then again, I'm thinking, I have the power of the Pig!   Maybe it's good to play again this soon while the magic is alive.  Number one on my packing list was, of course, my jeweled pig!   She's headed to AC with us!

In my October trip report, I mentioned that after many years of Video Poker, that I had yet to get a Royal Flush after only holding one card, until that trip.   I checked that off my list, and figured it would be many more years until it happened again, and that would be fine.  But, now I have a the power of the Pig!   After being down somewhat in the first day, I held a lone Jack and ended up pulling another Royal Flush!    That now meant 3 Royal Flushes in the 3 Days of play after receiving my Pig!   Twice in the past 6 years I have gone an entire year without a single Royal Flush, and yet now, I have 3 in 3 days of play!  Insane!

The next morning we checked out and stayed around for part of the day to play a bit more.  I think it would be too much to ask, even of a lucky pig, for a 4th Royal Flush in this now less than a day of play remaining.    I started out playing Super Double Bonus, which is like Double Bonus, except in return for reduced full house and flush payouts, the four of a kind payouts for Kings, Queens, and Jacks are 600 coins.   What is funny is in this game, when I get four 2's to 4's for 400, I'm happy, but it doesn't seem like it is a great hit, since the A,K,Q,J four of a kinds pay so much more!

I started the day early, and within about 10 minutes, I held two Kings and drew the other two KKKK, for a nice big start.  Then, five minutes later, I held two Aces, and drew the other two AAAA.  Just like that, I was up a third of a royal for the session, and had made back the pre royal losses from the prior day!

I stopped and stared at the screen showing the original buy in plus 1400 credits, wondering if I should cash out and move to Jacks or Better, just like I did just days ago.  As much as I thought about continuing, I knew that I'd feel really stupid if I didn't lock up this win, vs continuing and ending up feeding the machine with more cash later.  So, I cashed out with the Aces still on the screen and moved to a Jacks or Better machine.  FYI, Super Double Bonus has a higher volatility factor than even Double Double Bonus.   A thousand credit loss in just over an hour is more common than you would think in this game!   I did fine at Jacks, and it turned out that for the 1+ day trip, I was just slightly up even without counting the first day's royal flush!   So, while the Pig did not bring me a royal in the shorter second partial day, I did have a win on both, non full days of the trip.



You can be sure that my Pig will be coming with me on future trips!   She is worth her weight in Royals!