When guys like me go to Vegas everything is paid for: my flight, room and meals are all
covered by whatever casino I'm visiting. I'm no high roller though, just a technical
consultant for theatrical productions. I just got back from five days at one of the big
theme casinos working on a new show. I always enjoy reading Vegas trip reports, and I'm
hoping my perspective might make for interesting reading. I'm a VP beginner and a total
cheapskate, so If you're looking for tales of big money action you might as well skip this
post.
For years my work has taken me into various casinos in Atlantic City, Connecticut and
Vegas. Prior to discovering VP and this list my experience with gambling was probably
not much different from all those tourist slot players. If I had a break from work I'd find
an interesting looking slot machine, enjoy the lights and sound effects and after a few
minutes hit a small jackpot and get excited, certain that I would soon double my money.
Within half an hour I'd have no credits left and several 20 dollar bills would have
mysteriously vanished from my wallet.
I didn't have much time for gambling on this trip, but I was armed with Linda Boyd's
fabulous book and lots of 9/6 Jacks or Better practice with the trainer from freeslots.com.
(as a Macintosh user I haven't been able to use most of the VP training software that's
available.) I was determined to find a nickel or quarter machine with a 9/6 paytable and
have at it. Thanks to the VPFree database I knew that I wasn't going to find any decent
paytables for my meager bankroll at the big South strip casinos. WIth the paytables
these places have I would rather just play slots so at least I wouldn't know how quickly I'd
lose my money.
My first excursion was a brisk 20 minute walk down Flamingo Road to Terrible's. No fake
Eiffel Towers or Egyptian statues here, just the smell of stale smoke and lots of VP
machines. I quickly found a multi denomination, multi game machine that offered 9/6
JOB for nickels. I had about 45 minutes before I had to get back to work. I put in a
twenty and bet five coins at a time, or 25 cents per bet. Thanks to JOB's low variance I
found myself swinging between 15 and 22 dollars. After 45 minutes of play I had $17.00
in the machine and cashed out. I didn't feel any compulsion to "win back" those last three
dollars like I used to when playing slots. My time was up, and I figured I could continue
playing later. Although I've long understood the importance of a good paytable, this first
session reinforced it for me. What kept me from losing all of my 20 dollars was six or
seven Full Houses along with numerous 2 Pairs. If I had been playing on a machine that
only paid back 7 for a Full House or 1 for two pair my 20 would have evaporated within
half an hour.
My big discovery on this trip was that for $5.00 I could buy a 24 hour pass for "The
Duece", a double decker bus that goes from the big strip hotels to Downtown. I had a
fine time taking pictures of the restored antique neon signs of the outdoor "Neonopolis"
museum downtown. The "Fremont Street Experience" is also well worth catching. How
often do you see an LCD TV that's three blocks long? The Downtown casinos have a gritty
old time feel that I much prefer to the silly Disneylandish South Strip mega joints.
I had a interesting chat with a wardrobe person from one of the casinos about the local
scene. Here's some entertainment gossip I picked up. (I don't vouch for the accuracy of
any of it!) The Hilton is annoyed that Barry Manilow only wants to do 110 or so shows a
year, and they're looking to replace him. What casinos want from an entertainer is lots of
shows every week, so lots of potential gamblers come through the door. Rita Rudner has
left NY NY and is now appearing at a much larger theater at Harrah's, which she's not
coming close to filling. Mandalay Bay is trying to get Michael Jackson to come in when
Mamma Mia closes next year. Since Mamma Mia hasn't been cut to 90 minutes like the
other "Broadway Vegas" shows it can't do 10 performances a week. (The thinking had
been that Mamma Mia's die hard fans wouldn't stand for even one ABBA song being left
out.) Even though Mamma Mia sells well Mandalay Bay thinks Jackson could bring more
people in. The Palms is trying to get Britney Spears to be a regular. There's also talk of
Kenny Rogers sitting down at one of the casinos. "Jersey Boys" is the next Broadway show
slated to hit Vegas. There's also talk of "The Lion King" going up at one of the new mega
complexes being built on the strip. In the past Disney has been reluctant to have one of
their shows sit down in Vegas, since they don't like the idea of their audiences having to
walk past banks of slot machines on the way to a performance. Casino owners won't have
it any other way. Somehow this has been resolved.
The one show I fit into my schedule on this trip was "Phantom, the Las Vegas Experience".
Although I've heard reports of slow sales, the theater was packed for the Thursday 10pm
performance. I love this production, it's the best sounding, best looking and most
exciting production of Phantom I've seen. (And yes, I did do a little work on it...)
It's interesting to see what an international city Las Vegas has become. My hotel room TV
had numerous Chinese and Japanese TV channels, well worth watching for the hilarious
commercials. At the Hawaiian marketplace just South of the Alladin I found a Phillipine
fast food restaurant. It was sort of a cross between Chinese and Indian cuisine and not
overly spicy. For about $7.00 I got a filling platter with white rice, chicken curry and an
interesting combination of green beens, sweet potatoes and beef. I hope the
corporations now running the strip will take seriously the growing competition from Macao
and keep offering enough amenities and decent odds to attract Asian players.
I was curious to see some of the older strip casinos, so I took the Duece heading north on
Friday afternoon. My first stop was the deconstruction of the old "Stardust". It looks like
the place is being torn apart one window at a time. I've read that the plan is to remove
everything but the steel and concrete from the structure to minimize the debris after the
planned mid March implosion. As a fan of the movie "Casino" I just had to get a few
photos of this place before it's gone forever. I stopped by Circus Circus in time to see
some bored looking acrobats swinging around on the top level. The only interesting VP I
could find was a 25 cent multiplay with a mediocre paytable. (8/5 JOB I think.) I decided
to risk $10.00, since my work schedule wouldn't permit time to find a decent play that
day. I suppose I had a hot streak, because after half an hour I still had $10.00 in the
machine. It was time to go so I cashed out. No "entertainment tax" this time!
My last day in town I once again hopped the bus to the Fremont Street area. I decided to
have a look at El Cortez. It's amazing how even two blocks from the enclosed "Fremont
Street Experience" things seem much seedier and less safe. The Cortez was hopping.
After much searching I found a 25 cent JOB bartop machine. I only wanted to risk $20
here and only had 40 minutes, so I decided to only play one credit at a time. I know it's
not a sound long term strategy, but I decided to accept the risk that I might hit a Royal
and lose out on 75% of my winnings. I lucked out, no Royal Flush (!!!) but I once again got
several Full Houses and after 40 minutes still had exactly $20 in the machine. I cashed
out, once again having enjoyed some free entertainment. I know that experienced VP
players see more action in their first hand than I did on my entire trip, but I as a novice it
was great fun being able to play some VP and keep most of my money. My thanks to
everyone on this list who so generously shared the information that made it possible for a
small fish like me to have a great time playing and only lose $3.00.
Jim H.