Day 1 Saturday
Uneventful flight
and limo from Reno airport.
Check in to Silver
Legacy to my near top floor fave suite with 180 degree view of the Reno
plateau. Eight windows.
Day 1 Saturday
Uneventful flight
and limo from Reno airport.
Check in to Silver
Legacy to my near top floor fave suite with 180 degree view of the Reno
plateau. Eight windows.
Unpack, head to the
casino floor, head to the NW quadrant on the first floor.
I went thru a cycle of
50c one-line, Joker/Deuces/DDB+ and White Hot Aces twice and lost $1000. not bad
for 3 hrs.
over to the center
bank area, playing $1 coin, $200 for 4444 on BP and $400 for AAAA on
ACE$BP. Down 300.
9:00PM - I’m
starving, haven’t eaten all day, head to Sterling, my first class food
mecca. Enjoy a big RibEye steak.
Feeling
woozy, it’s the mile-high elevation, I’m used to 500 ft at home. So I head to
my pyramid suite, (another 350 ft in elevation) and muck around with the wifi, head hits pillow- then it’s 2:30AM and I wake up, refreshed.
I putz around with
wifi again and it’s 4:20AM, so I am going out back for some VIDEO POKER,
people!
Because THIS is what
I DO. I PLAY Video Poker.
It’s my CORE
COMPETENCY. As is WRITING about it.
Enjoyed the near
empty casino for 3 hrs of peaceful gaming.
Hit one tax form on
a triple line $1, crappy 7/5 BP betting 6 creds per hand on Wheel Poker. Got a dealt 9999,
worth 3 x $125 + my 3 spins totaled $1050 for a $1425 payoff.
- $200 for the wee
hours gaming.
Down $1100 on the
day. Feeling good, but time to recoup my lost sleep.
Day 2
Sunday- got to sleep
about 8:15AM. sorta woke around noon, then went back to sleep until 3:30PM.
don’t worry about
housekeeping, I’d canceled it for the day. watched a little football on the tv,
commenced to gaming at 4:15
early on I got dealt
2222 playing single line 50c deuces wild for $500.
getting my fair
number of bonus quads on the day. casino ain’t so crowded today - surprisingly.
chatted up host for
15 min.
burger at the cafe
about 10PM.
discovered that the
old multi-lines we’ve played for about a decade have been reconfigured and now
offer 10-play DDB (9/6) in all the denoms (25c/50c/$1). those are two only
machines in the no smoking area. I played them for 50c x ten line and hit AAAA
for $400 and 2 bonus quads for 200, but Down $700 -snap- seemed like way too
quick.
11:PM room break,
Down $1100 so far today.
Hit 44442 on $1 DDB+
for $800. A +500 session.
Dropped that 500 on
$1 ACE$Bonus, which is supposed to be a low volatility game. Went down 200
post-break on $2 ACE$BP.
Then I went on a $5
ACE$BP jag. Hit a 4-part Royal for $0, the 5th card to the Royal would
have paid me $20,000. Along the session I got dealt 5555 for $625. dunno
how I piddled that away, but “I shoulda quit right then & there”
as they say. Dropped $1600 in my frenzy. not good. back to The Plan
tomorrow, meaning I’ll stick to $1 denom games.
2:30 AM down 2900 on
the day with 8 hrs play.
Day 3
Monday.
Up at 11:30 and
gaming at 12:30. casino is almost
‘dead’.
Played $1
single line Joker wild, deuces then DDB+
the plus in
DDB+ is a little twist whereas if you score an Ace kicker with regular quads,
the payout is 400 creds instead of 250. Turns a 99% return game into a 99.4%
return.
I don’t think I got
one regular quad ever, yet, with an ace kicker.
But, this afternoon
I did hold AAA and drew A3 for $2000 and hand pay/tax form.
The attendant who
paid me off is a pal of over 10 yrs. He
told me mine was the only handpay he’d made on his shift, 4 hrs long. THAT’s
how slow it is today. He clued me in to a bank of $1 games that have suited RF
progressives, where the Diamond RF is over $9700. I typically scout the
progressives early in my stay- on this bank, my cursory glance missed the digit
“9” I think I saw it as a “4”. Easy mistake. The other 3 suits are
in the $4xxx range.
So, I been chasing
that lone RF even tho the Bonus poker is 7/5 and the DDB is 9/5. A bit of work holding only the diamond high cards and diamond 2RFs. from dealt hands with mixed high cards and no other holds like 3SF or 4str8/4fl.
Dropped $1400 on it
today, but a very long session.
got two SFs on $1 JW
for 250 each, but nothin else much to crow about.
8:30PM UP $500 til
here —> room break after caesar salad & great blackened salmon dinner
at Pearl Oyster bar.
Lotta changes on the
property due to merger with ElD and Circus. They closed the downstairs shop: The carriage house, where I used to
buy my booze.
9:00 back to casino.
playing 10 x 25c Super Aces bonus, hit the AAAA twice for $500 each
time. and UP 800 session on the mezzanine.
Down on the main
floor, a punkish grrrrl was loitering with her friend nearby. Johnny B. Goode
was playing and she broke out in dance- a beautiful cut loose boogie right
there in the walkway, I smiled and almost joined in.
Chased the $9700
prog diamond RF playing 7/5 Bonus poker for down 600
and dropped 600 on 3
line $1 Bonus poker. not enough 4-of-a-kinds I guess.
Played pai gow for 2
hrs and dropped 700. Only hit one quad for a $250 score.
I put a dollar bonus
bet for the dealer on each of my two hands almost every hand. Dealers were up about $125. I was the only pai
gow player on the floor 1:30-3:30AM.
11 hrs video poker +
2 hrs pai gow, net on the day DOWN 500.
Day 4
Tuesday. gaming at
1PM
steady quads fed my
RF hunt until about 3:15 when my buddy rambled by the lounge where we’d planned
to meet. I had just hit 2222 on $1 SDDB for $400 and up 400 for the day.
we sat around
chatting it up for a while, then headed over to a bar for beers and chat and
casual bartop video poker.
Took in the Reno
Philharmonic with a guest pianist. Comped tickets. Limo ride.
After that we got in
a few hours of vp, buddy hit a couple nice 2222’s on bonus poker, I scored $400
on 4444, no kicker $1 DDB+.
we split up around
12:30, I got in an hour on the 7/5 Bonus with suited progs (diamonds still over
$9750) for +$300. If I’d have quit I was up $400 on the day. Then I sat
& played 1.5 hrs of PaiGow, dropped $600. So DOWN 200 for the
day with 6 hrs vp.
Day 5, Wednesday.
every morning no matter what hour I get
shuteye, I peek awake around sunrise and soak in the beautiful orange glow from
the sun hitting the mountains surrounding the Reno plateau; without the
sunshine one range is still purple-blue.
got actually UP-up
at 11:30. My pal came by my room as I was putzing and packing - today we’re
moving over to Peppermill. No gaming at Silver today for me. We checked
out, minor room charges paid via my bloated comp balance. Took my pal’s SUV up
Virginia street a few miles, went for self parking in the Peppermill garage -
I’ve never traveled between casinos other than in a limo or taxi, so I got a
glimpse of the way the locals enter the property. Checked in smoovely via VIP.
Buddy went for a nap
in his room and I headed to the casino.
I sweated turning
250 of my $750 freeplay into a $100 cash-out on $1 DDB single line at Fireside.
I headed out to the
WMS multi’s for some 25c x 10 line BP-NSUDeuces and DDB - my usual cycle.
loaded the remaining 500 freeplay and cashed out $500. Up $600. gave it
all back on the DDB leg and on 50c x 10 Bonus.
Bimini dinner. Great
to take our time and catch up on haps. A nice slow pace, different from my
usual “just get the food intake over with so I can get to gaming”.
Afterwards, we
headed out for some multi-line. My pal wanted to warm up to the new format, so
he started out with 5c x 3 line. Not long into the session, he’s dealt
AQT diamonds and HITS the ROYAL on the top line for 4000 creds. It’s one of
those magic moments - his first Royal ever. $200 is a thrill to novices.
Not to be outdone,
1/2 hour later I hit a RF on one line of 25c x 10 line BP for $1000. 1st RF of
this Tour and this year for me, so Royal Boy is still my nickname.
I slog thru long sessions of 25c x 10, 50c x 5, 50c x 10 and a little $1 x 3 on
this same multi line bank of six machines, same three games in my cycle,
blowing the RF 1000 plus another 2000 for down $2000 for the day at my low
point.
Last session of the
night I’m playing 50c x 10 DDB, I’m dealt AAA and I hit the 4th Ace plus a
kicker on one line for a $1000 jackpot.
I take my $1200
ticket to the cashier cage at 2:00AM, stuff the cash in my pocket and I’m down
$1200 on the day for 8 hrs play at Peppermill.
Day 6
Thurs Jan 18
My buddy took off
for his long drive home in the wee hours. Me: sleeping.
I got up 11:45 and
headed for the multi’s at 1:00. Hit a quad wild 2222 for $500 playing 5 x
50c deuces.
I shifted around
playing $1 coin stuff, losing sessions until I hit the 10 line 50c Super Aces
Bonus near the cube bar. Scored a dealt quad 6666 for $125 per
line. 10 lines = $1250 which is a tax form/handpay. +$700 session.
Dealt quads or higher is my favorite hand I think.
3 x $1 BP down 500
3 x $1 deuces hit a
quad 2222 for 1000, UP 600 session.
more down stuff, I
play one of the bank of four new WMS mutli-lines. They offer 25-line, 50 and
100-line. But you gotta play 25c denom or they short you on the paytable. I
play an even session of 25-line x 25c Bonus poker. 1st time playing
25-line ever.
time for dinner at
Oceano, nothing fancy, the usual.
I go thru not much
fun after dinner. Start with 1/2 hour of pai gow, playing two hands. Dealer got all the good
hands and I dropped $100.
Then six losing v-p
sessions. not enuf quads. One of those is -$500 on 25 x 25c DDB.
Finally I hit AAAA2
on 10 x 50c DDB for $1000. +800 net.
Two small plus
sessions, but $500 goes back into 25 x 25c, deuces this time.
Next a 3 x $1 BP
scores me a dealt 3333 for 3 x $200. +800 session.
down 400 on another
run at 25 line x 25c, DDB. One stinking quad 33334 for $200 is all.
I don’t like
25-line, officially, from four solid sessions today. Nightcap 3 x $1 deuces,
-300.
Quit at 12:45AM, 9
hrs total vp, 1/2 hr paigow, total LOSS 3300 on the day. Ugh.
Stake is bumping
bottom. ATM visit tomorrow. Time to put out the Bat-Signal for the return
of Royal Boy.
Day 7
Friday. I show up
for my ‘job’ at 1:30PM.
Once again, I skip
breakfast so I’m only getting one good meal at dinner. Noted for action.
Lots of 5 line and
3-line today: BP, Deuces, DDB and a new one- on the new WMS bank of 4 - Joker
Wild. Full pay JW pays 20-1 for 4-of-a-kind - ER over 100% (!). I
play 18-1 for the quads typically (99.3%). These new multi’s it’s only offered at
17-1 (98.5%). ALL of the versions I play have a RF payout of 4700 creds, or
else there’s a progressive RF meter that starts at 4700. SO, eh, I won’t
make a living at it on the long haul, but I quite enjoy playing this fun game I
hadn’t seen on a multi before.
Today I hit:
quadAAAA on DDB for
800
two quads for 500 on
$2 DDA&F
down 2000 at 6PM,
when I took a room break, then, on my way to Biminis, I ran into a huge line
full of sheep hunters/outfitters: big guys with camo & stetsons. an
international conference going on and I had trouble getting around the
herded line-up for a special dinner they had going in the tuscany ball
room. I found my way trying to move against the herd, funny noticing the
herd like sheep, plus I’ve been noticing a spate of ‘comfort dogs’ in the
casino, except they are big and just plain as annoying as children when the
owners bring them thru the aisles of the maze in the gaming areas. Could
used a few sheep dogs to herd these sheep conventioneers tho.
I made it to Bimini’s a bit early. Split a 40
oz "Tomhawk " Rib Eye with M&L, my hometown pals who hit Pepps as
often as I do. The handle of the axe is
a Rib that the axehead cut of steak is attached to. A monster Fred Flinstone
sized cut, but the waitress sliced it up for us on a tableside butcher block
cart.
More multis after
dinner. My 8:45-11:00 hilights:
AAAA for 400
twice, for 800 once.
wild 2222 for 1000
a dealt KKKK on
5-line $1 BP for 5 x 125: $625
I took a room break,
went back down for a 12:45 -to 2:30AM shift.
A quad AAAA for 800
on $1 DDB with suited prog RFs in Hi Limit put me EVEN for the day after a
+$800 session.
I switched to $2 x 3
line in high limit and hit a couple bonus quad 3333 and 4444 for $400 ea and a
+$600 session. Mr cocky-san, moi, moves up to 5 x $1 BP and a dealt FH
for 5 x $80 that anchors a +500 fast session.
I rediscover that Bank of
3 single line $2 DDB with progressive meters for the top 5 hands (RF
& Bonus quads) near the end of the upper ring of slots around the cabaret
bar. The ROYAL resets at $10,000 and it must’ve got hit this week as it’s
“only” at $10,030. One RF will recoup my losses for the
week. SO I hit it hard and rather than take my winnings when I hit
two $500 regular quads, I play for a long time on that stake, chasing that
Royal solution.
But, alas not this
time. These machines are often full-up during the day, I dunno why 2c and 5c keno players need to play these machines in particular.
maybe they are close to drink service from that end of the bar.
I bop around for a
while, net only one winning session vs six losers, so I’m OFF $1500 on the day,
8 hrs of play.
I haven’t had a PROFITABLE DAY in SEVEN days,
I must be bumpin’ bottom. Even if you didn’t reckon that, it would
be a good guess. My $1500 ATM per day max if often not enough if I’m at the $2
and $1 multi’s level of play. Which I am. Tis OK, my chin is up.
Day 8
Good long sleep.
Gaming at 1:45
Best hands were on
$2 DD A&F with one quad for 500 and JJJJ for 800.
Down 1600 at
Breakfast break at the cafe counter at 4:15.
5 x $1 BP AAAA for
400.
$2 DDB with the
$10,500 prog RF, 7777 for 500. but a down 800 session.
I reckon THIS is the
bank of 3 machines that will bootstrap me back to even if I hit the RF.
Dropped another 500
on it and took a room break at 6:00-7:30.
$2 DDB two
quads for 500 each and + $800 session.
A pleasant keno-playing lady next to me noted my 2nd fast quad and I sort of figured I’d play with the session profit elsewhere
rather than begin a long RF chase.
Time for a cycle of
BP-deuces-DDB on the “old” WMS bank of 6.
Casino kind of
crowded.
5 line x $1 creds, and on the deuces leg,
…RF for
$4000 ! holding 3. [ see photo
on vpFree photo album ‘soon’ ]
and 30 min
later on the DDB leg
… AAAA2 for
$2000
a long session on 25
line x 25c Joker wild for -$700
followed by -400 on
$2 x 3 line BP in high limit.
Back to $2
DDB.
I hit a progressive
jackpot
… for $1617 with
22224 .
Three handpay
jackpots & tax forms in about 2 hrs gaming. Yummy.
Piddled away half
that 1600 on the continued RF chase. Headed for my suite.
7 hrs play UP $3200.
call it a turnaround
and Royal boy has got religion back. Church of the RNG.
Going to go for a
return to normal hours and call it a night at 1AM.
Nice to have some
photos worthy of posting…
Still down over half
my bankroll with two days to go…
Day 9
Sunday.
Got down to the
floor at 11AM. Most of the fotbol chowder heads were in the sports book
or glued to a screen at one of the ten bars in the casino watching the
championship games today, so the floor wasn’t too busy.
I played $2 coin
single line and $1 coin x 5 line all day. The hunnerds were flying.
Mostly OUT of my pocket, but here’s some highlights:
1st session of $2
DDB, chasing the $10,065 RF, I got four quads for $500 each which helped me to
a very long session: for me that’s about an hour. Even money when I got up from
my chair.
methodically down
for the next six sessions. Tummy growling, so off to cafe counter for a
north beach burger. on grilled sourdough. waffle fries. yum.
down on two sessions
after food.
Then an
up-down-up-down on the multi’s. Still down 4000 at this point. yeah, scary.
Then on DDB, I held
AKQh…
And hit a $4000
Royal on the bottom line. Yay.
4:30 Even for the
moment.
Couple hours later
cycling thru all my machines and games, I got to down 4000 again. One
measly quad in 2 hrs- that’s an ugly run.
Playing 5 x $1 BP I
got dealt 4444 for 5 x $200: + $1000 cash in pocket.
Playing $2 single
line ACE$Bonus, I hit quad 2 for $400, Twice. +700 session
Played pai gow for
down 200. boorish lady dealer telling stories about dinner with her parents,
couple of women players at the table laughing at her stories which weren’t even
funny, slowed the play to a crawl, the punchlines never came and she missed my
straight with a joker and had to call her boss over. she said something
like “I missed it because they weren’t in order.” which got a
sarcastic howl from me.
Took a room break
and stopped in VIP which was still open around 8:45. The host on duty converted
$1000 of my comp balance to $500 freeplay. Nice.
Played off the
freeplay on $2 DDB and hit a bonus quad 3333 no kicker, the meter on it was up
to $837. +600 session.
on 5 x $1 DDB I hit
AAAA on one line for 800. dealt AAA. +800 session.
Hit a machine that I
always get money out of. Just type in four digits, hit some buttons, and
it spits out $1500. EVERY TIME. No music
tho- ATM, with a $4 fee.
SO that’s it for my
highlight hands and plus sessions.
11:30 and I head to
suite.
11 hrs gaming,
down on the day over 1/2 that $2 DDB prog RF jackpot. Ouchie.
I gots a stake for
tomorrow and know all the attendants are rooting for me.
Day 10
Last day… last
chance to make up for too many losses.
Monday. checked out
and checked bag at bell after checking on my limo reso.
10:45 Made a deep
run on the $2 DDB with prog meters on the top 5 jackpots. RF meter broke thru
$10,085.
Also had good
sessions, long runs trying out all the six machines & my 3 games BP,
deuces, DDB; 5 x $1, at the old WMS circle near the Buffet in the Cube Bar
zone.
No Royals today.
Four-parters…loads… dealt ones too, those are wince-able moments.
Hit a pace getting
regular quads, but I see five in a row no quad sessions on my index cards
twice. Minus, minus, etc.
Only had 2000 cash
in pocket at 1:00 breakfast at the counter.
Hit a $816 bonus
quad 4444 and a $1654 tax form quad 3 w/Ace.
Today’s action:
jackpots: qty x jackpot $ize:
1x 200, 5x 250, 2x
400, 7x 500, 1x 800, 1x 1600.
I completely tapped
out today… blew the wad, but lasted until 7:00
grabbed my limo 15
min early. Saved $25 for tip.
All that’s left in
my wallet are 5’s and ones.
···
================
Summary
============
84 hrs play
jackpot list totals
($200 and up)
38 x 200
52 x 250
19 x 400
26 x 500
1 x 625
8 x 800
5 x 1000
2 x 1600
2 x 2000
2 x 4000
0 x 8000
0 x 10,080
===========
Three RFs
Eight tax forms
let’s just say I
needed two $2 denom Royals to get close to even.
Painful last two
days, watching my bankroll disappear steadily, even with some nice hits.
thanks for your
reading this long report of my rollercoaster.
~MARK my WORDS
Aka Royal Boy