Edward King
2015-02-22 17:46:09 UTC
EDWARD'S SUPER BOWL TRIP REPORT!
PART THE SECOND
GAMBLING! - THE SECOND HALF!
Well, today is Super Bowl®, oops, Big Game(not®) day! So we head down
to Planet Hollywood where Tom and Grace Cribbins had very kindly
invited me to join them at P.Ho's Big Game party.
The Game was The Game - definitely as a football game the best Super
Bowl I've ever watched, as the atmosphere (and free food and beer!)
definitely add to the occasion. I'm also a Pats fan of 30 years'
standing so it helped that I had a dog in the fight, so to speak. I'm
sat next to Cameron, who like me has taken the over. We both cheer as
the score racks up and the 47.5 point mark is broken in the 4th
quarter. But we now differ as he took the 'Hawks on his parlay,
whereas I've naturally taken New England. It's now towards the end of
the 4th quarter and The Belly Catch happens. I groan; I can't believe
we're about to lose another Super Bowl to a fluke catch! But then, we
get The Dumbest Play Call In Super Bowl History, and thus The
Interception! Because Butler runs out of the endzone instead of
hitting the dirt for the touchback, Tom has to play off the 1 yard
line. This briefly keeps Cameron's hopes (and wagers) of a safety
being scored alive. Briefly. As our head coach and part-time Sith
Lord successfully sets up Seattle to draw an offside penalty so Tom
can take the knee in comfort.
So, my parlay comes in at a reasonable 13/5 payback! Seventy-two of
your American dollars!
This was one hell of an experience. Tom, Grace, I can't thank you
both enough for inviting me to share it.
Not much gambling the next day, as I'm moving hotels and visiting
various attractions with Walt. I play some modest VP at my new hotel,
the Fremont, and hit quad 5s. A couple of more modest hands in the
same session see me cash out with $70 from a $20 buy in.
Next day, I play VP again at the Fremont. I play some three-hand DB
and manage to pick up quad 8s for a small profit. Walt, Cameron and I
are going down to Bellagio for their dinner buffet, which we do. After
we leave the buffet and Walt is going to sort out his car and stuff,
Cameron and I settle in to play some DDB Super Times Pay. Cameron hits
paydirt pretty quickly and bails. I don't. $60 down the Swanee.
Cameron goes around looking for Sic Bo but doesn't find it; it's been
gone for a while according to the floor staff. So he settles on a
Wonder Woman machine where he definitely does ok, but not as good as
the lady sat at the next machine who keeps hitting the middle jackpot
at $100 or so a time!
We are now walking on to the Cosmo (discussing at length the merits of
Lynda Carter) where I'm going to play through some free play Cameron
got which he can't use as he's already used the same offer earlier. We
find a DB machine where I don't play particularly well yet still
manage to turn $20 of freeplay into $30 of cash money - over and above
the $20 I had to play through to activate the freeplay.
Next stop is the Westgate, originally the Hilton and even more
originally the International. The Hotel of Elvis, but nowadays
renowned as THE sportsbook in Vegas. Cameron lights on a Super Times
Pay machine, while I settle in at three-hand Double Bonus. It's an
epic struggle as I commit $60 to the fray. No big hands, but on
holding four to the royal I get a straight AND a flush - but,
unfortunately, not in the same hand! Ah well. Those, plus a couple
of full houses mean I emerge with a $20 profit.
Now we go to the Encore, where Cameron has determined on taking some
of Steve Wynn's money. Super Times Pay, again. It goes back and
forth but at the end, suffice it to say, Mr Wynn can light one more
cigar with a Benjamin courtesy of Mr Marvel
Back downtown, and we go through to Main Street Station and the Boar's
Head. Jose is serving on, a bartender I think many AVLV'ers will
remember. A fellow patron hails we grizzled veterans, and enquires as
to the merits of the video poker at the bar. We're able to advise him
that there's full-pay 9/6 JoB and pretty decent 9/7 DB on the bar
tables. Which reminds me I have a $30 ticket from a drive-by VP
session earlier in the week which I didn't have time to cash out, so
into the bar VP machines it goes. 9/7 DB is the game and not much
doing until Cameron decides to head back to his room here. Just as he
walks down - BOOM! 4 aces! And if you're playing VP at the Boar's
Head and you hit a quad, you get to play a scratchcard for additional
winnings! Jose summons up an attendant and I scratch away - $2. It's
almost always $2 from what I hear. But added to the $222 from the
quad aces that's $224!
After MSS I head back to my hotel. I still have my $10 freeplay with
the Fremont to play through. Also I trial here my new playing
strategy. Up to now I play $20. If I hit a big hand, or a sequence
of small ones, I'll cash out and move on, or I'll play till the $20 is
gone. Now, I'll play $20 and if I hit a big hand but still want to
play, I'll cash out, keep the ticket, and put another $20 in to play
on.
So I do this as the Fremont free play is the kind that needs you to
buy in with your own money before it'll activate. Pretty soon I hit
four nines. New strategy, cash out - the ticket's worth $88. Another
$20 in. Hit four queens. Cash out again - ticket for $70. Another
$20 in - nada. Time for bed.
Reckoning up wins and losses, I'm around $400 up today. That'll do
nicely
It's the second to last day in Vegas for me, and I head out to do some
gambling before breakfast at Du-Pars. Big. Mistake. I stagger from
casino to casino and today, every casino on Fremont has scuff marks on
their shoe from where they kicked my arse. Video Poker? LOSE. Wheel
of Fortune? LOSE. Wolf Run? LOSE. Batman? LOSE. Willy Wonka? You
LOSE! You get NOTHING! GOOD DAY sir! $150 goes away. I settle in
for a beer session at the Chicago Brewing Co and someone playing the
bar VP goes and hits a royal. Insult to injury.
Next as I'm flying out tomorrow I try to check in online but have
major issues - I have to postpone my planned dinner with Cameron at
the Cal while I try to find one of those pay Internet kiosks that'll
let me print a boarding card. Finally get one at the Plaza lobby.
So, now I head to the Cal to meet Cameron, and for some reason think
the meeting place is the snack bar at the south east end where of
course he meant the Market Street café at the opposite end of the
casino. I play some Buffalo slots and though I have no idea what's
going on, this nets me $40 from $20 in.
Next I wander over to the video poker. The full-pay DB machines are
all occupied so I have to take a pew at a DDB machine at 9/5. Well,
not much but then, what do you know but I hold two aces and their
chums come to play. Unfortunately they bring a 9 with them, but
still. Another $200 is nothing to sneeze at.
The following morning, and it is early morning as I trundle my case
out of the Fremont at 3am through a remarkably well-occupied casino,
headed to the D to pick up my shuttle bus to the airport. Once in the
airport I have to scratch my last gambling itch and play some Wheel of
Fortune after picking up a breakfast sandwich at Auntie Anne's. Not
much happening, I have $32 on a $20 buy-in when I cash out - but
there's no slot attendant to be seen. So I walk through to my gate,
where there is a slot attendant. But I instead choose to play through
my ticket on a DDB machine. And, what do you know, it comes through
for me when I hold a pair of aces and am dealt A A 3 for the quad aces
with the kicker! *smug grin on* as I walk up to the slot attendant
with my ticket for $512
Strangely enough, on leaving Vegas, McCarran has always paid me.
Though it did it bigtime this time!
All in all, reckoning back and making allowances for losses that just
slipped my memory I seem to be around $900 up this trip. That's my
second-best gambling result in Vegas over five trips, and puts me $5k
in the black overall vs the casinos.
But I'm a fair man. I'll give them a chance to win some of it back
next time
PART THE SECOND
GAMBLING! - THE SECOND HALF!
Well, today is Super Bowl®, oops, Big Game(not®) day! So we head down
to Planet Hollywood where Tom and Grace Cribbins had very kindly
invited me to join them at P.Ho's Big Game party.
The Game was The Game - definitely as a football game the best Super
Bowl I've ever watched, as the atmosphere (and free food and beer!)
definitely add to the occasion. I'm also a Pats fan of 30 years'
standing so it helped that I had a dog in the fight, so to speak. I'm
sat next to Cameron, who like me has taken the over. We both cheer as
the score racks up and the 47.5 point mark is broken in the 4th
quarter. But we now differ as he took the 'Hawks on his parlay,
whereas I've naturally taken New England. It's now towards the end of
the 4th quarter and The Belly Catch happens. I groan; I can't believe
we're about to lose another Super Bowl to a fluke catch! But then, we
get The Dumbest Play Call In Super Bowl History, and thus The
Interception! Because Butler runs out of the endzone instead of
hitting the dirt for the touchback, Tom has to play off the 1 yard
line. This briefly keeps Cameron's hopes (and wagers) of a safety
being scored alive. Briefly. As our head coach and part-time Sith
Lord successfully sets up Seattle to draw an offside penalty so Tom
can take the knee in comfort.
So, my parlay comes in at a reasonable 13/5 payback! Seventy-two of
your American dollars!
This was one hell of an experience. Tom, Grace, I can't thank you
both enough for inviting me to share it.
Not much gambling the next day, as I'm moving hotels and visiting
various attractions with Walt. I play some modest VP at my new hotel,
the Fremont, and hit quad 5s. A couple of more modest hands in the
same session see me cash out with $70 from a $20 buy in.
Next day, I play VP again at the Fremont. I play some three-hand DB
and manage to pick up quad 8s for a small profit. Walt, Cameron and I
are going down to Bellagio for their dinner buffet, which we do. After
we leave the buffet and Walt is going to sort out his car and stuff,
Cameron and I settle in to play some DDB Super Times Pay. Cameron hits
paydirt pretty quickly and bails. I don't. $60 down the Swanee.
Cameron goes around looking for Sic Bo but doesn't find it; it's been
gone for a while according to the floor staff. So he settles on a
Wonder Woman machine where he definitely does ok, but not as good as
the lady sat at the next machine who keeps hitting the middle jackpot
at $100 or so a time!
We are now walking on to the Cosmo (discussing at length the merits of
Lynda Carter) where I'm going to play through some free play Cameron
got which he can't use as he's already used the same offer earlier. We
find a DB machine where I don't play particularly well yet still
manage to turn $20 of freeplay into $30 of cash money - over and above
the $20 I had to play through to activate the freeplay.
Next stop is the Westgate, originally the Hilton and even more
originally the International. The Hotel of Elvis, but nowadays
renowned as THE sportsbook in Vegas. Cameron lights on a Super Times
Pay machine, while I settle in at three-hand Double Bonus. It's an
epic struggle as I commit $60 to the fray. No big hands, but on
holding four to the royal I get a straight AND a flush - but,
unfortunately, not in the same hand! Ah well. Those, plus a couple
of full houses mean I emerge with a $20 profit.
Now we go to the Encore, where Cameron has determined on taking some
of Steve Wynn's money. Super Times Pay, again. It goes back and
forth but at the end, suffice it to say, Mr Wynn can light one more
cigar with a Benjamin courtesy of Mr Marvel
Back downtown, and we go through to Main Street Station and the Boar's
Head. Jose is serving on, a bartender I think many AVLV'ers will
remember. A fellow patron hails we grizzled veterans, and enquires as
to the merits of the video poker at the bar. We're able to advise him
that there's full-pay 9/6 JoB and pretty decent 9/7 DB on the bar
tables. Which reminds me I have a $30 ticket from a drive-by VP
session earlier in the week which I didn't have time to cash out, so
into the bar VP machines it goes. 9/7 DB is the game and not much
doing until Cameron decides to head back to his room here. Just as he
walks down - BOOM! 4 aces! And if you're playing VP at the Boar's
Head and you hit a quad, you get to play a scratchcard for additional
winnings! Jose summons up an attendant and I scratch away - $2. It's
almost always $2 from what I hear. But added to the $222 from the
quad aces that's $224!
After MSS I head back to my hotel. I still have my $10 freeplay with
the Fremont to play through. Also I trial here my new playing
strategy. Up to now I play $20. If I hit a big hand, or a sequence
of small ones, I'll cash out and move on, or I'll play till the $20 is
gone. Now, I'll play $20 and if I hit a big hand but still want to
play, I'll cash out, keep the ticket, and put another $20 in to play
on.
So I do this as the Fremont free play is the kind that needs you to
buy in with your own money before it'll activate. Pretty soon I hit
four nines. New strategy, cash out - the ticket's worth $88. Another
$20 in. Hit four queens. Cash out again - ticket for $70. Another
$20 in - nada. Time for bed.
Reckoning up wins and losses, I'm around $400 up today. That'll do
nicely
It's the second to last day in Vegas for me, and I head out to do some
gambling before breakfast at Du-Pars. Big. Mistake. I stagger from
casino to casino and today, every casino on Fremont has scuff marks on
their shoe from where they kicked my arse. Video Poker? LOSE. Wheel
of Fortune? LOSE. Wolf Run? LOSE. Batman? LOSE. Willy Wonka? You
LOSE! You get NOTHING! GOOD DAY sir! $150 goes away. I settle in
for a beer session at the Chicago Brewing Co and someone playing the
bar VP goes and hits a royal. Insult to injury.
Next as I'm flying out tomorrow I try to check in online but have
major issues - I have to postpone my planned dinner with Cameron at
the Cal while I try to find one of those pay Internet kiosks that'll
let me print a boarding card. Finally get one at the Plaza lobby.
So, now I head to the Cal to meet Cameron, and for some reason think
the meeting place is the snack bar at the south east end where of
course he meant the Market Street café at the opposite end of the
casino. I play some Buffalo slots and though I have no idea what's
going on, this nets me $40 from $20 in.
Next I wander over to the video poker. The full-pay DB machines are
all occupied so I have to take a pew at a DDB machine at 9/5. Well,
not much but then, what do you know but I hold two aces and their
chums come to play. Unfortunately they bring a 9 with them, but
still. Another $200 is nothing to sneeze at.
The following morning, and it is early morning as I trundle my case
out of the Fremont at 3am through a remarkably well-occupied casino,
headed to the D to pick up my shuttle bus to the airport. Once in the
airport I have to scratch my last gambling itch and play some Wheel of
Fortune after picking up a breakfast sandwich at Auntie Anne's. Not
much happening, I have $32 on a $20 buy-in when I cash out - but
there's no slot attendant to be seen. So I walk through to my gate,
where there is a slot attendant. But I instead choose to play through
my ticket on a DDB machine. And, what do you know, it comes through
for me when I hold a pair of aces and am dealt A A 3 for the quad aces
with the kicker! *smug grin on* as I walk up to the slot attendant
with my ticket for $512
Strangely enough, on leaving Vegas, McCarran has always paid me.
Though it did it bigtime this time!
All in all, reckoning back and making allowances for losses that just
slipped my memory I seem to be around $900 up this trip. That's my
second-best gambling result in Vegas over five trips, and puts me $5k
in the black overall vs the casinos.
But I'm a fair man. I'll give them a chance to win some of it back
next time