Trip Report: 07/19/05 to 07/26/05
“The Rollercoaster ride”

The family is on vacation in Europe. I’ve got a stack of free room offers to use up. We’re in between the Spring and Summer baseball seasons. I’ve got to use or lose a bunch of vacation days before the end of the year.
It’s time for Vegas, baby!

Plans for this week-long trip included 2 nights at THE RIO, 3 nights at LAS VEGAS CLUB, and 2 nights at GREEN VALLEY RANCH. With ZERO gambling obligations, I “planned” on just having a nice relaxing time, taking in the sights, and spreading some action around (trolling for offers). As it turned out, I didn’t spread it around as much as I wanted to and pretty much conformed to my standard M.O.. I didn’t do anything spectacular, and I gambled more than enough to take care of some minor jones.

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jones (jŌnz) n, vt. A habit of an activity, a craving or urge to perform an act often to the point of excess. An addiction, esp. to drugs, sports, gambling, and other enjoyable actions. Borrowed from the cartoon “Fat-Albert” and the drug-ladened 60’s and early 70’s.
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TUESDAY July 19 (Day 1)

Up at 3am. Grabbed my overnight bag, bag-o-weak-ass-coupons, and beef jerky, and out the door around 4am to beat the So Cal traffic. Arrived at GREEN VALLEY RANCH at 8am for a pit stop and a brief bout on bonus deuces and FPDW (0).

Plans for the day were pretty loose. Work, JOKER’S WILD craps, HACIENDA craps, RAILROAD PASS craps, TUSCANY, check in at THE RIO, and finish up at THE PALMS. Stopped over at Panera Bread near GVR in the morning to do some work… ended up at Krispy Kreme next door. They both have free wireless internet service. This is where my lap-top died for good. Thank goodness. Now I get a new one.

Headed out to JOKER’S WILD. They now have a slot club, but there’s nothing playable for me. Played craps on their $1 10x odds 14’ table for about an hour (-60). It’s a decent table, but the dealers are really green. They still have 25c chips, so it’s still packed with a bunch of old craps derelicts dwindling away their SS checks.

Next in line was HACIENDA. Their craps table was closed, and it didn’t look like they had quarter chips anymore (need verification). The slot club was running a buffet special for a free buffet for 500 points. Sure, why not. I was getting hungry and I’ve never done this one. After playing 100.1% Loose Deuces for a while, it was time to hit the $60 buffet (-60).

HACIENDA BUFFET - Standard Lunch
(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. Penne with Alfredo sauce (6.0)
2. Macaroni salad (6.0)
3. Mashed potatoes with gravy (7.0)
4. Hush puppies (5.0)
5. Teriyaki chicken (5.5)
6. Baked chicken (6.0)
7. Fried chicken (6.5)
8. Roast pork with stuffing (6.5)
9. Sea bass (4.0)
10. Eggplant parmesan (6.5)
11. Meatloaf (6.0)
12. Chicken noodle soup (5.0)
13. Bread pudding (6.0) (dry bread pudding???)
14. Cole slaw (6.5)
15. Potato salad (6.0)
16. Cranberry juice (4.0) (can you believe they use Koolaid? What a joke)

A few notes about this buffet. The coffee shop and buffet are in the same area. The interior is similar to Gold Coast, but their “cheapness” was glaringly obvious. They use plastic plates and the cheap silverware was bent up. The service was verrry slow. The place has potential, but will never be realized. It’s a notch below Sahara, but a notch above Boardwalk.

Over to RAILROAD PASS where there is no covered parking and it’s 110F and smokin’. Since the MGM buyout, this former MBG property is probably on its last leg. Craps is now $2 with 2x odds. What’s up with that? Stay away. This place is a total dive with no playable games.

Time to start heading over towards the Rio. Came down Flamingo from the 95, so I stopped in to check out TUSCANY. They had 2x points today, so I played some 10c FPDW to stay on their mailing list (-40). Their 12’ craps table had $3 min with 5x odds ($5 on wkends). Not a bad game. This is a fairly nice casino in an undesirable location. It’s inconvenient for locals, and undesirable for strip people.

Checked in at THE RIO (Masquerade diamond suite, south view). Rested for a bit and then walked over to THE PALMS. Played FPDW progressives and 10/6DDB for a few hours and lost my ass again (-300). Headed back over to THE RIO to rest up a bit. Grabbed some BK grub and called it an evening (-4).

DAILY TOTALS
VP: -$400
Craps: -$60
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): -$5

WEDNESDAY, July 20 (Day 2)

Today’s original plan of casino hopping was scrubbed. I decided to stay around the Rio/GC/Palms area for the day.
I also decided not to stiff the Rio.

Started off at the 9/5 DDB progressives, which was at $1150 (still below 99%) (-200). After blowing through a couple of bills, I hit the craps table for a while (+20). During the evenings, all the tables are at $10 min; mornings are at $5.

Time to waste some time with an early 2 hour lunch (-2).

RIO CARNIVAL WORLD BUFFET – Standard lunch (used points)

(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. Roast Duck (8.0)
2. Shrimp moogoo seafood kung pao with squid (7.5)
3. Salmon sushi (7.0)
4. California roll sushi (7.5)
5. Crab sushi (7.5)
6. Shrimp sushi (7.0)
7. BBQ pork ribs (7.5)
8. Shuchow pork dumplings (7.5)
9. Siew mei pork, steamed in won ton wrapper (7.5)
10. Siew mei beef (5.0)
11. Pork egg roll (8.5)
12. Standard pork wonton (8.0)
13. Vegetable spring roll (5.5)
14. Vegetable chow mein (6.0
15. Mongolian beef (4.0) (way too tough)
16. Egg noodle soup (7.0) (bad noodles, good broth)
17. Angus roast beef (6.5) (a little tough)
18. BBQ beef ribs (3.0) (not edible)
19. BBQ pork ribs (8.0) (good job)
20. Breaded scallops (7.0)
21. Breaded shrimp (7.0) (where’s that darn shrimp?)
22. Marinated artichoke (7.5)
23. Sirimi crab & celery salad (5.0) (nasty)
24. Ham, sweet glazed (7.5)
25. Kielbasa (7.5)
26. Egg drop soup (6) (bland)
27. Pasta primavera (7.5)
28. Fried Chicken (7.0)
29. Pot roast with au jus (7.0)
30. Sauteed Rappini (5.0) (that’s one tough piece of fiber)
31. Lasagna (6.5) (noodles were overcooked)
32. Bread pudding (8)
33. Cranberry juice (8.5)

Service = 9.0
Variety = 9.0
Quality = 8.0
Value = 7.0
Overall experience = 8.0 (I didn’t do the live Teppanyaki, but it looked pretty good)

Time for some more craps action (+160). Finally, a winning session at the Rio. OK, let’s take those winnings and dump it back into the 9/5 DDB crack cocaine machine (-200).

After a brief rest at the pool, I headed over to GOLD COAST for some DW Multi-strike action (-40). I was getting slaughtered until I hit 5 of a kind on the top row. Escaped with a minor loss. Man, is it hot!!!

Over to THE PALMS for some FPDW progressives (-200) and 10/6 DDB (+200). Hit aces on DDB. It was starting to get late, so I decided to use up some Palms points for the dinner buffet (-2).

PALMS FANTASY MARKET BUFFET – Wednesday “Italian” night

(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. California roll (5.0) (dry rice, poor presentation)
2. Tuna roll (5.0) (ditto)
3. Vegetable chow mein (6.0)
4. Shrimp chow mein (6.5)
5. Kung Pao chicken (7.0)
6. Beef & Broccoli (6.5) (tough beef)
7. Oso Bucco (5.5) (nasty)
8. Steamed clams (5.0) (way over-steamed)
9. Lasagna (7.0)
10. Prime rib (7.5)
11. Grilled Polenta (6.0)
12. Sausage & green peppers (5.5)
13. Shrimp Scampi (8.0)
14. Sweet & sour pork (7.5)
15. Chinese BBQ chicken (7.5)
16. Stuffed cabbage (7.5)
17. Baked pork chops with Swiss chard (4) (pork jerky)
18. Chicken cacciatore (6.0)
19. Linguini with clams (6.5)
20. Baked chicken pesto (6.0)
21. Tortellini primavera (6.0) (undercooked)
22. Wonton soup (5.5) (not flavored correctly)
23. Clam chowder (8.0)
24. Baklava (7.0)
25. Strawberries with real whipped cream (7.5)
26. Bread pudding (8.0)
27. Latte from the new machine in the corner (7.5)
28. Cranberry juice (5.0) (totally diluted)

Hit THE PALMS craps table for a real brief session (-160). This is probably the last time I play craps at the Palms. Dealers were very arrogant and had bad attitudes (probably rubbed off from young arrogant tourists, but that’s no excuse).

While near the craps table, this young 20 something gal steps on my foot by accident and said “My bad!” and just walks away. WTF??? My bad? What happened to the good old fashion “excuse me” or the classic “I’m sorry”? I should have dressed her down right there, but I was stunned with “my bad”.

Back over to THE RIO where I couldn’t resist another hit on that 9/5 DDB crack pipe (-300). That’s it for the Rio/Palms/GC area. By now, I’m realizing that I’m having my ass handed to me on this trip. Crap, six more days to go. Maybe I should have gone tuna fishing instead.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: -$740
CRAPS: +$20
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): -$4

THURSDAY, July 21 (Day 3)

Slept in until 7am. Today’s plan was to hit the Cannery (5x points and gift cards), play a little at Binions (4x), and just cruise around downtown.

Over to THE CANNERY… the parking garage is very nice and drops you right into the new section of the casino (to the right of the coffee shop). Right as I entered, I see a nice bank of 9/6 DDB slant-tops (+300). I didn’t hit the card of the day, but I did hit aces with a kicker. Gave some back on the 8/5 bonus triple play (-100), but racked up enough points for 2 Walmart gift cards and $20 cash (+40). I love this casino.

Time to check in at LAS VEGAS CLUB on the MVP promo. This is one of the easiest promos for free rooms. Just cycle 4k over 3 days and get 3 free anytime nights. With their good VP, this is a no brainer. Got a fairly nice north tower room with a view of Cal’s swimming rectangle. Not nearly as nice as the Rio, but very acceptable. One thing that bothers me about downtown is the clientele. I’m a big downtown fan, but let’s face the facts. Downtown is often strewn with more than its share of less sophisticated people… good people, but just less sophisticated.

On my very first session on the 100.9% Downtown Deuces, I hit the quad (+300). Things are looking up.
Over to Binion’s to sign up for a new slot club card and to cycle a few bucks through NSUD. I didn’t get much action, but I’m simply trolling for mailers here.

Over to FITZGERALDS. They have this pretty good (and little known) free dinner promo. You get a free Steak or Prime Rib dinner when you hit ANY 4 of a kind on 8/5 bonus, which is low in volatility. After about 15 minutes, I got my quad dinner, and cash out (+40). This is how promos are supposed to work.

Dinner at the Shamrock Café at Fitz was very good (-2). The steak dinner comes with and 8 or 10 oz NY strip, soup or salad, rolls, fries and veggies. The cream of chicken soup was killer.

Over to THE PLAZA to visit some friends in the pit and to play some FPDW (-60). Got a lot of play out of the bill, but didn’t hit anything significant.

Back over to LVC for some more downtown deuce action (+40). This was my first positive day, so I decided to quite while the quitting was good.

VP: +$520
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, cash back, gift cards, etc): +$38

FRIDAY, July 21 (Day 4)

The MVP pass includes a free breakfast each morning at the Upper Deck (-1). Good standard fare, which includes bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, and coffee.

Today’s plan was to hit The Cannery, Fiesta Rancho, and just hang around downtown. Over at THE CANNERY, the promo of the day was a free stadium chair for earning 300 points. After quickly getting the chair on FPDW (+70), I headed over to FIESTA RANCHO for some 10/6 DDB action (+105) and the $25 MP. I placed the MP on the don’ts and won (+50). This was a nice little side trip.

Back over to LVC where I hit quad ducks again on the DD in less than 20 hands (+420). I checked my wallet and realize that I’m exactly even for the trip. What a relief. Now I can play some more craps (-100) (bad idea). I just couldn’t get a good roll going. After that lousy craps session, I dumped a bill chasing deuces again (-100).

For dinner, I planned on using a 2/1 coupon at the FREMONT buffet and using points to cover the expense. They can’t ring up 50% off, so I found another solo person in line and we both saved money. This guy was an Italian immigrant living in Toronto. Nice guy. He was here for poker tournaments. Poker is pretty big nowadays.

FREMONT PARADISE BUFFET – Friday night “seafood” night (-2)

(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. Unagi sushi (6.5) (all sushi’s contained dry rice, but presentation was ok)
2. Maguro sushi (6.5)
3. Futomaki sushi (6.5)
4. California roll (7.0)
5. Ebi sushi (7.5)
6. Parrot crab claws (6.0) (like the one’s at MSS)
7. Shrimp, peel & eat (8.0)
8. Trout (7.0)
9. Clams (6.0) (overdone)
10. Fried Calamari (7.0)
11. Lasagna (8.0)
12. Shrimp scampi in cream sauce (7.0)
13. Italian sausage (6.0)
14. Roast beef (7.5)
15. Spaghetti with white clam sauce (7.5)
16. Mahi Mahi (5.0)
17. Salmon, baked (7.5)
18. Tuna, baked (5.0) (way overcooked)
19. Seafood Luisa (7.5)
20. Crawfish linguini (7.5)
21. Seafood enchilada (6.0) (very bland)
22. Seafood/crab salad (7.0) (salty, but good)
23. Coconut cream pie (mistake, wanted banana cream pie)
24. Cream puffs with vanilla ice cream (8.0)

Back over to LVC for some more craps (-100). I’m starting to hate this game. Maybe I should become a permanent dark side player. To preserve the bankroll and to kill some time, I hit the 9/5 DDB nickel game (-10). This is a fun game with a bunch of locals clamoring for seats. Back over to deposit another bill at the craps table (-100). That’s it. I quit craps.

After cruising around downtown for a little longer, I called it an early evening.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: +485
CRAPS: -250
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): -3

SATURDAY, July 22 (Day 5)

Today’s agenda was very simple. Meet some folks at Suncoast for lunch and hang around downtown for the rest of the day.

Woke up early for the free Upper Deck breakfast and some more 9/5 DDB to kill some time (-10). Walked over to The EL CORTEZ to see if I could get Jackie Gaughan’s autograph. He wasn’t around this morning, but plays Pan poker every Sunday morning with the same gang. I don’t think I’ll be back for a quite a while.

Met up with LV Norm & Andrea and Tom & Susan Sims for free lunch buffets at SUNCOAST. It was nice to see these two couples who get along so well with each other. Each of them is good spirited, mild mannered, and enjoys playing VP together. I wish my wife and I could find this sort of happy medium, but as you might know, this is not the case, and will never be the case. Pretty sad. In order to have a fulfilling marriage, I think it’s mandatory that both enjoy something (anything) in common. Anyhow, the Suncoast has become a VP wasteland for the low roller, and craps will always be a paltry 2x. It’s a case of “location, location, location”. Wait until Red Rock Station is completed. I’ll bet they’ll make some changes.

SUNCOAST SAN TROPEZ BUFFET – Standard Saturday afternoon lunch

(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. Swordfish with lemon butter sauce (5)
2. Salmon (7.5)
3. Peel & eat shrimp (7)
4. Vegetable egg roll (7.5)
5. Sweet & sour chicken (7.5)
6. Chinese greens (7.0)
7. Singapore noodles (7.0)
8. Mongolian beef (8.0)
9. Carved pastrami (8.5)
10. BBQ pork ribs (7.5)
11. Pork chile verde (7.0)
12. Beef fajitas (5.0)
13. Fried chicken (7.5)
14. Steak Pizzaiola (6.0)
15. Meat lasagna (7.5)
16. Polynesian style pork ribs (4.0) (totally dried out)
17. Carved turkey (5.0) (very dry)
18. Hot & sour soup (6.0) (not right)
19. Honey dew/Crenshaw melon (Tom rates the fruits very high here)

After lunch, Norm, Andrea and I went to play a little VP (-80). Andrea hit a few quad deuces on spin poker. I hit quad aces and 4’s on deuces, so I switched over to nickel 6/5 DDB… yes, I said 6/5. I just ran the sim. That’s a 94.66% game, but for nickels, it’s only entertainment I guess.

Back over to LVC for a quick nap. With bankroll preservation in mind, I decided to hit the 8/5 bonus slant-top in the new section (+90). Good move. I finished my 4k to qualify for another MVP pass. That was easy. Time to kill some time again with low-stakes 9/5 DDB game (+20). Believe it or not, LVC plays some pretty good early 80’s music (Haircut 100, ABC, Joe Jackson, etc).

Time for dinner at the Upper Deck on a comp slip for hitting quad deuces on the DD (-3). I had the BBQ baby back ribs (7.5), chicken noodle soup (8.0), and a Chicken Croissant sandwich (8.5). Excellent fare.

Walked around downtown for the rest of the evening killing time by using up a bunch of leftover $5 MP’s (+20)

DAILY TOTALS
VP: +20
BJ: +20
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): -3

SUNDAY, July 23 (Day 6)

Woke up to a typical winter-looking day. The entire valley was grey. It was a nice break from the heat, but in the afternoon, it was like a sauna. The free breakfast at The Upper Deck was delicious, as usual (-3). I had one more $15 comp to use up, so in addition to breakfast, I got a couple of orders of chicken tenders, to go. I’ll keep them on ice.

Today is moving day. GVR, here I come. According to the itinerary, Terribles has 5x with 2x cash back. I think I’ll pass. Stopped over at SUNSET STATION to take a look around. The buffet was closed and the casino was very quiet. Headed over to FIESTA HENDERSON for some peaceful VP (-100). Bad choice. I should have left after cashing in on the free play money.

Headed over to GVR to check in. Got a nice room in the new tower near the pool. Man, these rooms are nice. Not a speck of debris on the floor. Not a single thing out of place. They have big mini bottles of Gilchrist & Soames in the bathroom (not the tiny bottles). They have big disks of oatmeal and sea kelp soaps. They turn your bed down and bring you complimentary water and ice. Nice, nice, nice.

Time to get in the groove. After cruising the entire property, I settled in on an optimum upright and had a decent swing of -300 and back to even (0). That was a relief. I think I’ll take advantage of the down bed. It’s as comfortable as my bed at home.

Time for the buffet. Since I ate the dinner buffet twice, I’m just going to combine it into one rating (-4).

GREEN VALLEY RANCH FEAST AROUND THE WORLD BUFFET – Standard dinner

(10/10 is perfecto, 7 = good, 5 = edible, 3 = not fit for human consumption)

1. Mongolian beef (8.0)
2. Sesame Chicken (7.5)
3. Pork egg roll (8.0) (this place makes pretty good egg rolls)
4. Hoisin glazed chicken (7.5)
5. BBQ pork (8.0)
6. Country style ribs (6.5) (dry, twice)
7. Apple sausage stuffing (6.5) (not my taste)
8. Dungeness crab (9.0) (superior to opilio)
9. Roast turkey (8.5) (tasty, nice & moist)
10. Red snapper (7.0)
11. Prime Rib (8.0)
12. Mashed potatoes with turkey gravy (8.0)
13. Chicken fajitas (6.5)
14. Rotisserie Chicken (6.5)
15. Pork Chops (8.5)
16. Salmon (8.5) (seasoned w/ juniper berry, at the carving station)
17. Spaghetti squash (8.5)
18. Red snapper (7.0)
19. Calamari w/ mixed veggies (6.5)
20. Salmon w/ black bean sauce (8.5)
21. Sauteed bok choy (7.5)
22. Shrimp scampi (8.5) (made to order, butter, garlic, chives, sun dried tomatoes)
23. Penne w/ white clam sauce (8.0)
24. Bowtie w/ pesto sauce (8.0)
25. Bowtie w/ alfredo sauce (8.5)
26. Meatball (7.0)
27. Cherry stone clams (8.5)
28. Pad Thai (7.0)
29. Penne w/ Vodka tomato sauce (7.0)
30. Penne w/ Marinara sauce(7.0)
31. Penne w/ Bolognese sauce (6.5)
32. French onion soup (8.0)
33. Chicken noodle soup (6.0)
34. Tortellini w/ chicken (6.0)
35. Chicken w/ hunter sauce (7.0)
36. Bread pudding (8.5) (w/ white raisins)
37. Apple cobbler (7.0)
38. Ice cream, strawberry (10) (hand scooped)

One of the head food coordinators who oversee all of the Stations buffets saw me taking notes. He thought I was with the newspaper or something so he introduced himself and sat with me for a while. His name was Bob. Nice east coast guy. He gave me a lot of insight on how they prepare their foods. Pretty interesting stuff.

Time for post-dinner VP, which turned out to be the best few sessions for the trip (+800). Started off with the 10/6 DDB slant-tops right in front of the buffet. After hitting aces and a few other quads, I moved over to the optimum uprights and hit aces again. Switched over to FPDW and hit deuces. Phuc N A. At this point, I’m realizing that this puts me just about even or a little bit ahead for the trip, so I lock up the gains and called it a night. Oh, during this session, I was dealt 4 to a royal 4 times and hit one straight flush. During this whole trip, I must have had at least 40 “4 to a royal” near misses.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: +700
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): -7

MONDAY, July 24 (Day 7)

Plans for today was to preserve the bankroll, lay low, and just hang out by the pool. Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

Started off with a brief trip to FIESTA HENDERSON for some early morning gaming. Started off on 10/6 DDB (-200) and ended up at the craps table (-200). Son of frickin b&@(%!. Just couldn’t get it going. So much for preserving the bankroll.

Headed back to GVR to hang out by the pool. Ran into Wayne Shad and Dave D (of American Casino) and spoke to them for a bit. I told Dave “…nice attempt on the JC2k”. He’s not going to do that again. The new show will be coming out in October. Also crossed paths with Joe Hason (GM) in the new tower hall way.

By now, I was ready for a quick nap, I couldn’t help my self and went back down for some more beating at the craps table (-200). Forget it. I’m canceling next month’s Crapsfest. Obviously, I have no idea of how to play this damn game.

Back over to the optimums for the rest of the afternoon (-200). After the dinner buffet, I hit the 10/6 DDB slant-tops for the last time (+200). I’m out. Time to stop on a good note.

Had to be up early so I called it a real early evening, ~8pm.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: -200
CRAPS: -400
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, etc): 0

TUESDAY, July 25 (Day

After a quick SSS, I was on the road by 5:30am. Arrived back in Carlsbad in 4 hours, exactly.

GRAND TOTALS

VP: +$385
CRAPS: -$690
BJ: +20
MISC (Food, accommodations, transportation, tips, gift cards, etc): +16

NET LOSS: -$269

SUMMARY and FINAL THOUGHTS

- I ended up playing more than I should have and it could have cost me a good time.

- Craps killed me again on this trip. I may need to rethink my gaming strategy. Losing isn’t fun.

- GVR and J.W. Marriott are comparable properties; the edge to JWM because of the pool.

- Even though this was a losing trip, I ate well and slept well.

- Generation Y kids need to learn some manners and quit trying to act so cool. What a joke.

- All three properties (Rio, LVC, and GVR) use the same type of air conditioning system… nice and quiet.

- Believe it or not, it’s good to be back home (to 247 emails & 24 messages).

- What a deal. A total cost of $300 for a full week in Vegas.

Thanks for reading.
God Bless America.

Mike

Posted by YahtzeeinCA on LVTalk