Flushing It Out of Vegas - In Search of the Elusive Royal
Day Nine - Tue Nov 14th, 2006
Our final day in Vegas, and as mentioned, it would be a long one. When
talking to a host at the MSS slot club we were reminded that comps are
based on your daily average coin-in. Ours was surprisingly low,
probably due to previous trips where we just dropped in for an hour or
so. We decided that we would concentrate our play all day at MSS to
see how much coin in we could do, and to up our average, as this is
one of the key properties we want to be established at for free room
offers.
So we trundled off and I decided to see how my luck was, firing up
Bonus Deluxe. Hit 2(22)Q(2) on my 20th hand for $100. A great start.
We switched over to JoB and went at it. My notes contain just a string
of quads for the long session we put in. Mrs. Flusher hit , (K 8 10) 7
(9) for a nice straight flush, and the following quads: 10 Q Q (QQ),
AAAA, Unknown quad, Unknown quad. I hit a second quad on Bonus Deluxe
(4 4 4) 4 and (8)878(8), (A) 10 (AAA), (5)5(5) 5 and J Q Q (Q Q) all
on JoB.
We just pounded those machines, hand after hand after hand for maybe
three hours. We weren't signifiantly ahead. Yeah there were quads but
when you are pounding out 600 or 800 hands an hour, you had *better*
be getting them
Finally it was time for a stretch so we had some breakfast at the
Golden Gate and headed over to Binions for one more crack at those
full pay quarter deuces. I still had that one small itch that hadn't
gotten scratched yet. I managed a wild royal but the four deuces
eluded me. We both made a modest profit and decided to make a
pilgrimage to the site of my birthday Royal, Fitzgeralds.
We played the slanttop BP machines upstairs and Mrs. F grabbed (AA)AA
for $100. I nailed (J)J(J)AJ for good measure.
It was time to get packed up at the Plaza and check out. On a whim we
stopped by the front desk to see if early checkout would be possible.
We could have the room until 6:00pm for $20. Considering the all-night
flight we were facing, this was a bargain.
For some stupid reason, we had lunch at McDonalds in the Plaza. It was
foul. The worst meal of the trip. We stepped outside just in time to
witness security rousing a gaunt looking man from one of the benches
just outside the porte cochere. As we approached we could see he was
totally whacked out on something. We walked by and Mrs. F. saw track
marks up his arm from drug use. We suddenly felt very, very lucky. The
darker side of city life is in evidence downtown, and maybe this is
why people shy away from it.
Back to MSS to hit the machines some more. Mrs. F decided to play some
higher stakes double double bonus at the fifty cent level. I played
alongside on quarters. Wouldn't you know it I'd be the one to hit the
quad? (K)K(K)8(K) for 250 quarters. And then just five hands later, I
held one queen and pulled up Q 8 (Q) Q Q for 250 more. $125 just like
that. Meanwhile Mrs. F's credits drained. Such is gambling.
I nailed 3 (3) 3 (3) at Bonus Poker at the bar and then was dealt quad
10s shortly thereafter. This session although long was not a winning
one and we were both down on the day. But man, what a lot of video
poker we'd played.
We went back to the room for a quick nap, and got our stuff together
to check out. At the desk we found out that our room had been comped.
The fellow that checked us in had put us in a room that was 'out of
service' - i.e. had torrents of water running down its walls. To make
up for it, he comped the room. With the coupon, our accomodation cost
at the Plaza was $20 - the late checkout charge.
Luggage went to the bell desk and back at MSS we had no problem
getting a $30 comp for the brew pub for dinner. And more t-shirts.
I had a 16oz t-bone which was excellent. Mrs. Flusher had the prime
rib, also very good indeed.
We were now on the final stretch of the trip. We'd played over $8000
coin-in at MSS which would surely be good for our average.
Unfortunately we did a lot of losing after dinner.
A quick visit to the Golden Nugget yielded 2 2 2 2s for Mrs. F. and I
got dealt a wild royal on deuces - yes I went back at those damn
deuces again, but still couldn't connect with that quacking quad.
All too soon it was the last stand at... our beloved Golden Gate. I
pray this place never ever changes. Mrs. Flusher graced the BP
progressive slanttops and I paid my respects to the $3 craps table. I
couldn't get anything going, and lost my buy in of $50. It was my
first losing craps session in the last six attempts. I joined Mrs. F
at the beat up scratched up busted buttons nicotine stained BP
progressives. Wouldn't it be nice to get a royal here? But it was not
to be. Our time was running out and we agreed on our last hands. My
last hand of the trip was a dealt straight. And, I'd eked out a $40
win on the session. I dumped the coins into the hopper and started
scooping.
After cashing in the quarters I had one more thing to take care of. I
strolled over to the craps table where I'd had sooo much fun and
success (and Jack Daniels!) and slapped five bucks onto the felt.
"This is for the crew, you guys are a great crew, thank you so much,
it's been a blast all week long, money plays, hard eight for the
dealers. And now I'm off to the airport and back to Canada!" I got a
cheer from the guys and off we went, out of the casino and into the
cool night air.
We did a final accounting and after over 4000 hands of video poker
each... I was up five dollars. Mrs. Flusher was up $65. A win is a win
and they all count, and how could you have a better day than that
(minus the McDonalds) and still make five bucks?
Cab. Airport. Security. Duty free. Plane. Glimpse the strip out the
window for the last time. Sleep. I was actually seeing video poker
cards with my eyes closed.
I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
Vegas is a place where you use your courage, smarts, senses and
resources to put your dreams to the test. When dreams come true and
you are with the love of your life... dammit, you want to do it all
over again. VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!
The Score
···
=========
Quads: ninety six
Straights Flush: six
Aces on BP: three
Deuces: One!
T-shirts: fourteen
Other shirts and jackets: three
Plaza hats taken in lieu of cashback: one
Pounds of beef consumed in one go: two
Clumping Royals Flush: Three
Hands of video poker played: forty eight thousand
The most amazing, best trip ever to Vegas: One.
The End.