I posted highlight hand photos (3) as the first uploaded photos for 2014 on vpFree.
don’t look until you read the report (spoiler alert).
Day 1 Flew in Mon, Dec 30, limo to Peppermill for 3 nights. comped tuscany tower suite. These suites are very nice, but I always feel a bit crowded with the big furniture. I prefer the main tower suites, where I often get a corner suite with more open space and a shorter walk to the main casino floor ( taking the back elevator short-cut to avoid the lobby area) and for less comp dollars.
First surprise: no free play! just missed the end of the Dec period and the Jan period begins Jan 3. At $750, this kind of hurt. Made a 9PM reso at Oceano and I got to gaming a bit after 4:30PM.
Started with a stogie and a long session of 5 line 25c and 50c NSUD & DDB. I hit a regular string of quads and Wild RFs, but found myself down 500 after 2 hrs. Went to $1 17/7 Joker wild with a prog over 5000 near poker room. down 300. $1 NSUD w/4 wild RFs, one dealt, but down 200. Up 300 on $1 BP thanks to quad A for 400. Then I made a lap of the casino trying to find my girlfriend in case she was game to eat earlier. She likes to play certain slots and a bit of deuces VP. I didn’t see her, so I settled on a “silent” Gamemaker near Oceano. After a few dozen hands of $1 Super DDB with a crappy 7/5 paytable, I held 3 and the machine froze up, call atttendant, what? Oh yeah- that’s what a ROYAL looks like. Oh yeah, it’s ME! Jackpot! $4000. Yeee Haaaa. See photo #1.
Fun to show my photo to BGFE (Best GirlFriend Ever) at dinner. Tried to finish the crab-stuffed giant prawns entree again and again unsuccessful. I always blame my Yoshi roll sushi appetizer.
Dropped 400 to NSUD after dinner, but still up 2700. I tried to pay for a couple cigars with my comp balance at the gift shop, but the fellow working the cash register informed me, politely, “Sir, you have zero comp balance.” That was deflating. I learned from a boothling at the promo desk the next day I had a balance of about $200, so no conspiracy to shut off my comps was unveiled…
I make a $1 denom run thru DDB (with suited progs in high limit: RF spades at 6580), NSUD, ACE$BP, JW and a new fave alternate to DDB: $1 DDAces & Faces. I see that, at 9/6 paytables, the A&F version returns almost 1/2 % more. (99.46 vs 98.98%) I end the run even money.
I flit around on all sorts of games until maybe 1AM and drop 1800, mostly due to my insisting on playing $1 multi-line DDB & NSUD. But I finish UP 1400 on day 1.
Day 2: Start the day with a taxi run to the mall to pickup a rental tux for the big VIP new years eve party. It wasn’t there yet, but I get my tux in time later on. I’m gaming around noon, starting again w/50c x 5 lines near cube bar. One interesting NSUD hand: dealt 88222. I know holding 222 has a lower ER than holding all five, but I cavalierly hold wrong, 222 only (shock! dismay! I know) and I hit the 4th deuce on one line for an actual return of $540 rather than the safe $200 return on a bet of $12.50. I thought there was a train of thought that since the 88 are NOT WRF (penalty) cards that they are better to toss, but I think that’s super advanced full-pay only - where 5 of a kind pays 15-1, not 16-1 like in NSUD.
I dipped down 2100 after a while, so I tried an old fave stand alone machine next to the high limit bar. It has a prog on the $5 denom games, I like to play BP, so when I went up 600 after hitting quad 7s, I quit it straightaway. down 1500 on the day, down 100 for the trip. Another quicker tour of the same games I’ve been playing has me down 1900 before it’s time to dress up, get fine food and entertainment at the VIP party in the big ballroom. Lookin swank in my tux, BGFE looks slinky in her nice dress and we meet up with my married couple friends from seattle and have a fine time. But neither of us has earned enough Tier points to be entered in the car giveaway, so we all duck out early (11-ish) to go gamble in our nice duds. BGFE & I are on slot machines in high limit when the ball drops (-400). Smooches, I head out to smoke my big stogie near the open door, well-ventilated area near oceano. I find BGFE at her fave slot machine and finish up my new years eve even on my bankroll.
DOWN 2300 on the day.
Day 3 is new years day. I taxi over & back to the mall to return my tux. I find out I had the correct color card that matched last nite’s car winner at the dinner, so I had $100 freeplay to download. I sat a long time near Oceano playing $1 DD A&F. three quads for $250, one for 400 and AAAA for 800, but even steven I quit the session. Got a dealt WRF on $1 JW to end up 300. dropped 700 on $2 x 3 line BP in high limit. Photo #2 was a sweet redraw tossing all five cards as 22228 appeared on the bottom line of 50c NSUD x 5. Only up 200 for this session. Down another 500 playing $1 DDB & DDA&F and $2 DDA&F and BP. Highlights: Quad Q for 250 and Quad 9 for 500. Down 700 before Dinner with friends at BIMINI, where my friend picked up the tab (and I the tip) including a $150 bottle of Duckhorn Cab Sauv. I had rack of Lamb for the first time in a long time, if ever.
After dinner til the wee hours it looks like general downness for most machine sessions. I see a highlight quad run on 50c x 5 DDB , including 9 x 125 (quads & SFs) and 1 x 200 for a Plus 800 session, and then again an 800 quad A on $2 ACE$BP. But down 3200 on the day , Down 4100 at Peppermill. ouch.
Checkout in the morning, we taxi over to Silver Legacy, but we grab two big NY style deli sandwiches to go from the deli shop between the sports book & the bell desk.
Day 4 - Arrived at Silver Legacy about 2:45 and checked in at VIP. Walked into room #3600 (there’s 38 floors) and figured from the door that it’s a corner suite. But, this is no ordinary corner suite. It’s HUGE. It’s got an entry foyer with beautiful furniture and bronze sculptures. There’s a bar and a fridge stocked with juices and mixers and sodas. the bed is a california king on an ornate wooden sleigh. there’s two rooms in the bath, three sinks. There’s 8 windows making a 180 degree view. jacuzzi along the windows at the foot of the bed. And there are ashtrays with a black matchbook in each WITH MY NAME inscribed on them. Yeow- what a touch!
What did I do to deserve this? (Answer - lose big last trip no doubt - but host is also being generous) BGFE & I are stunned at the opulence and we keep expecting a tap on the shoulder from someone telling us there’s been a mistake…
I hit the machines and lose $200 on each of five sessions of $1 bp, 5C X50 JoB & BP, $1 X 3 DDB, $1 NSUD and $1 BP with a 4080 prog near cashier cage. Meet iwth BGFE for a fine dinner at Sterling. Play some $1 DDB+ (400 for Quad 5-K with Ace kicker) on the south mezzanine and hit a nice quad 2 w/4 kicker for 800. Piss the profits away on the same game.
lose on $1 and $2 ACE$BP and link up with BGFE for some wizard of OZ slot that has fun bonuses, but I drop $200. On a flyer I head over to the “Mill” bank and play Super DDB. In comes quad Aces with a 2 kicker for 2000 and a tax form. See photo #3. The attendant waves off my drivers license saying “I know who you are.” What? I ask if I’m famous. It puts me on the tweak for a bit. Host explains the next day that staff gets a list of who is coming in that day. That could explain it - short list in a not very full casino the weekend after new years.
back to $1 x 3 line BP down 300. $1 WH Aces down 200. $1 DDB down 200 and that’s enough for the nite, gotta go enjoy the super suite.
Down 300 on the day.
Day 5. I join BGFE in the limo as she’s heading home today. Her flight is late, so we stop by Pepps on the way to grab freeplay. It’s not loaded on our cards, so I bid her adieu and happy trails and I stick around to try to activate it at the promo booth. I think they are supposed to check that I’m checked in to a room, but the booth person must not have read the date carefully because he activates it without a blink. I play it thru and cash 600 playing $1 BP. Stop by a shop and get a nice gift for BGFE on my comp balance. Taxi back to Silver about 11:30.
Even on $1 DDB despite, or thanks to, Quad 2 for 400. Drop 500 on $1 x 3 BP with a quad 2 for 200. down 200 on $2 ACE$BP. UP 100 ON 25c DDB after hitting quad 3 w/Ace kicker for 200 on one of my first hands. Up 400 on $1 DDB with quad 2 for 400.
Even, +/- 100 for a long while dabbling on slots and DDB and BP. Nice scoop of +500 on $1 DDB (prog at 4122) thanks to quad 3 for 400 and a dealt quad 6 for 250. Up 900 on the day about 3:30pm.
I’ve got my iPod & Bose headphone buds playing Red Hot Chili Peppers loudly and when a waitress breaks thru my zone-out and brings me a bottle of Anchor Steam, I am feeling like this is heaven. But my bankroll heads south of profitland for the rest of the day. I decide to play Pai Gow- it’s relaxing and it’s the only table game I play unless there’s a poker room. There’s a 294,000 jackpot for a 7-card straight flush which the players and dealers say is the highest in memory. A guy at my table has a Royal flush with an 8-6 in the same suit-spades. We all get $50 for our $5 envy chip and he scores $750 and leaves. I’m playing two hands, at $20 or $40 each, depending on my chip pile.
I stay many hours and lose $200, despite a straight flush and many full houses. I finish the night with a heady series of free spins on Davinci’s diamonds slots for $300 profit.
Down 2900 on the day.
Day 6 - Saturday - gaming at 3PM - I drop 1000 on $1 DDB and ACE$BP despite Quad 7 for 250 and a rare SF for 250. I head to Pai gow with my dwindling bankroll. Lose 300 in a long session. I try a new wheel poker game for 25c on the mezzanine, BP, down 300 when no quads hit and I never spin the wheel.
I walk over to McDonalds for dinner to go as all the restaurants are packed. Room break as I watch the end of the NO-Philly playoff football game. After losing 600 more playing video poker, I’m drawn again to the pai gow table. I have some heady runs and leave UP 400. I play $1 X 3 BP and hit AAAA for 400. drop 500 on $1 DDB and I go back to Pai gow, where I stay until 4AM and tap out my bankroll.
I convert 150 comp balance to freeplay, and milk it for at least 30 minutes playing $1 ACE$BP.
Down 2700 on the day. no more money, no more ‘fun’.
Sunday- after 3 hours sleep, I catch my limo, always carry enough for a good tip, but also use a $5 red chip from the pai gow table ;-). Flight home is uneventful and I’ll be living frugal this month.
~Mark