July, 2010 - Reno TR - Part Two:
Saturday:
After calling EH and checking in at the office, I determined that everyone was doing just fine without my presence, and decided to to start my own workday, doing the thing that I love best.
Downstairs, the Local's Prog. Bank which had been hit on the previous afternoon at $1380, was back to $1097, after re-set. I selected my fave end machine and began to pound away at .25c NSUD. I played at that machine for three hours (before nature called me to take a very brief hiatus). I called for help from a slot attendant who was happy to oblige me by watching "my" machine for a few minutes. Of course, I rewarded her with small gratuity.
The play results on that particular machine that morning, could be likened to a wild roller coaster rider. I started with $100 and managed to stretch it out over all the hours of play. The credits would build up to $275 +, and then plummet to $1.25, before hitting several hands in a row, usually including a WRF. Finally, after more than three hours had passed, the credits dipped to $1.25 for the final time, and no miracle hand appeared to save me once again.
I then decided to tackle the 50c NSUD in the N/S area. Playing 10 coins at a time, I too quickly burned through too much bankroll. Mericifully, it was time to meet my friend for lunch at the Purple Parrot Coffee Shop.
Though I usually prefer the Deli for lunch, the PP also has very good food and service.
Regarding the service, both the hostess and two servers welcomed me back with both a verbal greeting and a big smile. It's always nice to be recognized. I hadn't been there since February!
Both my friend and I requested a sandwich which neither of us had ordered on any at our many previous PP visits. It is called a "Monte Cristo" sandwich ($9.95) . This delicacy was composed of cheese and ham on sour dough bread, which had been dipped into an egg batter and sauted in butter. When done to perfect a golden brown, the two very large sandwich halves were sprinkled with powder sugar, and served with a bowl of hot raspberry sauce. Absolutely delicious if one has a bit of a sweet tooth! This dish also comes with soup or a salad. I had very good New England clam chowder. With an extra soup or salad, one sandwich is enough for two people to share. Purple Parrot 3 1/2 Stars Of Five.
The waitress, who knew both of us by name, was astounded that we had never ordered the MC before. She said that it was far and away the most popular item on the menu, and that diners drove from considerable distances in order to be able to eat this sandwich.
After lunch, having had no luck whatever in coaxing all four deuces on to my screen at the same time, I decided to take another shot at the 10 coin quarter A&F prog. at the Sport's Bar. I noted that the royal had been hit since the last time that I played, and was now at $2,056. This did not dissuade me from playing.
I didn't last long at that location however. Though the game was not unfriendly, the denizons seated at the crowded bar, were all smoking. The smell and the smoke were more than I was willing to tolerate.
I interpreted this as a private sign from my good friend, the All Seeing-All Knowing-VP-Goddess, that it was time to chase the deuces again.
Unfortunately, my psychic antenna malfunctioned.
I spent the remainder of the day hoping for four deuces. After various sessions of .25c/50c/$1.00 NSUD, I admitted defeat and slunk back to the quiet of my room, to watch some TV and then to sleep.
Sunday:
Since I had fallen asleep a bit before 9:00pm (11:00pm in the Heartland) I was in action downstairs even earlier than usual. After attempting to invoke good luck wishes from the loved ones who had proceeded me to Heaven, I attacked the Local's Bank once again.
On my favorite end machine, on which a single Bennie had lasted for three hours, the day before, I once again accessed the .25c NSUD prog. game. The prog. meter was now at $1049, having been reset twice on Saturday.
The first thing I noticed, upon inserting my Club Paradise card, was a message stating: "The host is not connected". Alarmed that points were not being recorded, I called for slot assistance, and was informed by a supervisor, that it was a minor computer system problem, and that as long as the "green light" was lit, my points were accruing. Just to be sure, I checked my current points, then played for awhile and checked again. The point count had appreciated, so I was reassured.
Again the machine was kind to me, and kept me playing from 5:45 am until 8:00am, when I finally hit the quarter deuces for $250. Hallelujah!
Since I wasn't ready to leave my "good" machine, I was about to request a doughnut from the daily morning "Doughnut Lady" as she began to make her rounds.
The same DL has been a fixture at the Atlantis for as long as I've been playing there. She is even older, shorter and less fit than I am, and uses the rolling doughnut cart as a "walker", as she covers the casino floor, while in a croaky, but quite loud voice she calls out, "Dougnuts anyone?" Though, I have never asked for one of her treats, due to the abundance of good sweet rolls in the CL, I noted that she had an excellent variety of all types of the confection. I am pleased to say that I have never seen anyone give this hard working old gal less than a $1.00 tip, so I suppose this is a good supplement to her retirement benefits.
As I was about to "purchase" my doughnut, a gaggle of players arrived taking all the additional seats at the prog. bank, which adjoined mine. Three of the five were smoking cigarettes. I decided it was time to
leave after all.
I cashed out my ticket, prior to going to the CL for breakfast, and attempted to turn it into cash at a nearby kiosk. It spit the ticket back with the terse message, "See the cashier". When I arrived at the cashier, there was a double-line waiting for service, all impatiently waving tickets around. Uh, oh, I thought, this is not good.
Eventually, after about 20 minutes, my ticket was cashed by a harried cashier. I asked her what the problem was and she said that it was a computer error that was being corrected, and that it should be back to normal within "20 minutes". Sure......
I had my breakfast, and went back to my regular duck chasing pursuit,
this time in the N/S section. I had no problem inserting a $100 bill, But, when I tried to cash out a ticket, after winning a bit, the computer flashed a sign, HAND PAY! CALL ATTENDANT!" What the heck? More computer problems? Yep. The machines would ACCEPT (money only, NO tickets) but would not permit the player to cash out a ticket! Really this was TOO much hassle!
The harried staff were busy hand paying as little as a few nickles, and, of course, not only not being tipped for this service, but taking an abundance of abuse from players, who did not appreciate the frequently lengthy waiting time.
A slot supervisor told me that more than a dozen IGT employees were on the premises, trying to figure out what was causing the problem. But, it was obviously a tough one to solve.
I believe that a lot of the local patrons left as this fiasco contimued for hours. I went up to my room and read a book for an hour or so. Eventually, convinced that I was missing the deuces or even a royal, I went back downstairs, and plopped down at a machine, intending to stay put until I either busted or hit a biggie. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong machine for this experiment! A couple of hours of play netted me
another loss.
I'm sure that this serious computer glitch cost the Atlantis BIG bucks in revenue, on a usually crowded Sunday in which a series of juicy drawings were scheduled!
I decided that a late lunch was in order, and went to the Deli. There I enjoyed a delicious, juicy, half brisket sandwich, garnished with a knish, cole slaw and French Fries. ($9.00) I washed the food down with a classic New York City beverage, "Dr. Brown's Cream Soda" (Diet version, of course.) Very good eating, and, again, much more than I could finish.
Finally, when I had finished my good lunch/dinner, at about 3:30 in the afternoon, the IGT Geek Squad had solved the computer problem, and the system went to "semi-normal" status; that is, tickets could be cashed out of all the machines, and then turned into cash money at the kiosks. What did not change, for the rest of that day (OR THE NEXT!) was the scary message that "The host is not connected". However, I accessed my point (comp) total after each session, and determined that my points were acrusing normally. So, I tried to ignore the annoying message.
I had a light supper in the CL, chicken wings, crudites' with dip, garlic butter rolls, fruit and pastry, with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio.
After that I banged away a couple of hours on the 50c NSUD, without getting even a sniff of the four deuces.
I did not not get called in any of the drawings, though I had about 10,000 electronic entries at the time of the 6:00pm drawing. I suspect that regular local players had 100,000 entries or more.
It was an early evening, by choice.
Monday:
As always, on my last full day in NV, I had some mixed feelings. I didn't want the trip to end just yet, but I knew that I needed a bit of rest from the constant physical and mental toll which can result from playing eight to ten hours a day, for several days in a row.
I decided that this would surely be the day in which I would see a few nice hands. And I did. No royal, ducks or aces appeared, but I did find a few cooperative BP machines which produced a sufficiency of quads to allow me to make a slight come-back. It wasn't really exciting play, but it was soothing in it's smoothness.
I was meeting an old non-VP friend for dinner. Since I had almost lots of comp dollars, and the Atlantis offers no FP or CB in exchange for points, I decided to splurge a bit for our dinner. I selected "Bistro Napa" for our meal, one of more recent additions to the Atlantis family of restaurants.
We shared two appetisers, butternut squash and pumpkin ravioli in a creamy butter and parmesan sauce ($9.00) and carmelized onion, tomato and bacon flatbread $12.00. For my entree I selected pistacho crusted lamb chops ($39.00) and my dining companion opted for braised short ribs with mashed potatos. ($29.00) We each enjoyed a glass of Firestone Cabernet ($8.00) with our delicious meal. We were both much too full to be tempted by dessert, though the offerings looked sufficiently luscious.
Bistro Napa 4 1/2 Stars
After my friend left, I played for a couple of hours, winning back a bit more.
After an early bedtime, my records indicated that my bankroll was down by
more than I would like, but not by a totally unacceptable amount vs. my bankroll.
Tuesday:
My first thought, upon awakening on the last morning, was that perhaps I would be able find that elusive royal or a couple of $500 deuces, making some additional progress towards bankroll recovery. It was not to be. Though I played for a few hours after an early breakfast, nothing really great presented on my screens. The best that can be said for the morning session, was that I only lost a few bucks.
I saw my host at check-out. As usual, she comped my room with discretationary comps, and charged the food purchases to my comp account. I have been told by my host, and others, that for VP players, there are
no more discretationary food comps. These are onloy available for high roller table or slot players. Since there is not much else to do with the comps, in which I'm interested, this does not bother me.
I am not a gourmet diner when I'm alone, nor a spa/massage person. So this is satisfactory to me. I am able to play an excellent inventory of some of the best VP in the world, and still have all my expenses, save gambling losses, at the the casino's expense.
My plane left and arrived on time. When I landed at O'Hare, EH my chauffeur, was waiting for me. And so ended another gambling adventure......Perhaps not financially rewarding, but quite satisfying in other ways.
~Addendun~:
As long as my two part TR was, I still forgot to mention a few things that may be of interest to some of you.
1.) Two of the days (of the five) that I stayed at Atlantis, were double point days for slot and VP players. There were no triple or quadruple points that week. In order to accumulate points on 2 X basis, your Club Paradise card had to be swiped in a kiosk, prior to playing. Unlike some other casinos (the Fiestas of a few years ago come to mind) you cannot swipe after the fact and receive the 2 X accrual for coin-in was played prior to swiping.
2.) If you are a Platinum Tier Player, or higher, you can request a customized player's card, which contains your picture, in upper right corner. It is like an ID card, but you can also use it in the machine when playing. With that card, when you need to show your player's card together with your ID, it is convenient to have it all on one card.
3.) The "Money Maker Jackpot", which is similar to jackpots that Station's have (had?) hit Friday morning at about 8:00am. The winner took home a check for a cool $29,000 +. I received $25.00 in FP, which was immediately added to my card, as I was playing at the time.
Until the next time.....
~Babe~