Hi Gang:
Hedy and I had some business to attend to Wednesday night in Rocky Hill,
Conn., so we decided to take a little side trip to Mohegan Sun. Thanks to a member
of the VP Internet family, we got the name of a host there, contacted her and
were given two nights (Wednesday and Thursday) comped up front plus access to
the three VIP lounges on property.
We arrived at about 7:30 Wednesday night (navigation is a wonderful thing,
by the way) and checked in. We were impressed by the entrance and lobby of the
hotel as well as the beautiful waterfall just above the restaurant/bar near
the escalators that take you to the casinos below (Earth & Sky). Our room was
very nice, roomy and comfortable, and we loved the well-lit, wide hallways that
led to the rooms.
We unpacked and headed for the $1 Pick Em machines in the Casino of the
Earth. We found the bank of slant-tops and began playing at about 8 p.m. Two things
happened that we didn't like. First, we couldn't hit a damn thing (six or
seven hundreds got sucked up rather quickly) and, second, it seemed as if every
cigarette and cigar smoker found us and sat down right next to us. We tried
moving a couple of times, but the Pick Em banks were very busy and it seemed as
if 90% of the people playing the slant-tops were smokers. It also felt as if
the smoke just lingered in the air. The ventilation system definitely wasn't
doing its job very well.
Anyway, we played there for about two hours then decided to get something to
eat in one of the lounges. We were directed to the one behind the high-limit
slot area and found it to be well-stocked with loads of good food. I had some
shrimp and we both had delicious chicken noodle soup as well as other assorted
sandwiches and goodies.
Once refueled, we decided to give the other gaming area (The Casino of the
Sky) a try and were directed to the one bank of dollar Pick Em machines there.
These were old-style Game Maker uprights and, surprisingly, were coin-droppers.
Our bad luck held out as we again couldn't get anything going and were once
again bombarded by the smoking crew, including two guys who were chomping on
the foulest-smelling cigars you could imagine. We dropped another three or four
hundred there, gave up and were heading back to the room down $1,200.
It was after midnight and we were both tired, but Hedy, God bless her, didn't
want to give up.
"Let's give it one more shot," she said. "I hate to go to bed a loser."
We trudged back to the slant-tops in the Earth casino and started playing $1
Pick Em again. I went through about $60 without getting a paying pair so I
decided to switch to 9/6 double bonus. After about five hands, I held two sevens
and, bingo, up popped the other two for a $250 payout. Hallelujah!!
Hedy looked over to my machine and said, "What are you playing?" I explained
that I was getting disgusted with Pick Em so I switched to DB. So ..... she
switched as well. She had only played a couple of hands when I heard her let out
a screech! "Four aces DEALT!" she cried. "$800!!"
Wowie!!
Just like that we had gotten back $1,000 of our losses, so we cashed out
after she got her hand pay (everything above $600 is a handpay on these machines)
and went to bed feeling a lot better about our visit.
The next morning we had breakfast in Fidelia's (their coffee shop) and
decided to play a little before we left to go home. We decided to cut our visit
short one day because the weather report was calling for snow Thursday night into
Friday and we had a three-hour drive ahead of us.
We went back to the slant-tops and began to play Pick Em on the quarter
machines. Nothing was happening there so we decided to try the dollars again. We
both started playing Pick Em and I had a pretty good run of flushes and full
houses. My original $100 investment was up to close to $300 when Hedy was dealt
three nines. "C'mon Nina," we both said, and, sure enough, up popped the fourth
nine for a $600 handpay. A quick calculation showed that were now ahead $580
for the trip, so we cashed out and went to the players' card booth to see what
we had earned in comps. We were mildly surprised to find out that our play
had earned $250 in comp dollars and they could be used in any of the shops in
the walkway leading to the hotel. So, we went shopping, bought some nice
clothing apparel and electronic gadgets, and checked out. Before we left, we touched
base with our host there and she said to give her a call when we wanted to
come back and she would handle all the arrangements.
So, except for the smoking issue, it turned out to be a very nice (and
lucrative) visit to the Great Northland!
We'll be taking a break from the casinos this weekend and gearing up for a
seven-night cruise out of Puerto Rico starting a week from Saturday.
Hopefully, we can find some playable VP in San Juan!!!
Regards,
CoachVee (Tom V) & Hedy
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