A friend and I arrived in Laughlin on an early Sunday morningthe
last day of the River Run. Having never attended the big event we
weren't sure what we'd find in the aftermath. Most of the bikers
were still in town and beginning to pack up and leave, so we got to
visit with a bunch of them. This is easily the most interesting and
diverse group I've ever been around.
Our first stop was Harrah's since it was the one casino we'd never
been to in Laughlin. They had signs on the doors that said "No
Colors" (what, we're supposed to wear black and white?) "No Chemical
Agents" (does anti-perspirant count?) and "No Weapons" (appreciate
that one!). The casino was busy and we considered for a
second "going Diamond in a day" but decided we would continue to
ignore Harrah's for as long as we could. That is, before they own
EVERY casino, which, we know, is happening.
We were on to our destination, the mighty Edgewater. We'd never
stayed there before, but it was really great. Our room in the Sedona
Tower was available at 11:00 a.m., and it was clean, comfortable, and
quiet. Our room rate was $11.00 per night based on our past play, so
we immediately got to work to get that charge removed.
We played for a few hours on the Deuces slants. I always get a
feeling while playing FPDW how sad it would be if this game
disappeared altogether. I worry about the full pay multi-games at EW
because they are old and don't seem easily convertible to TITO. Then
again, I'm not an engineer, so hopefully the machines won't vanish.
I was up and down with no big swings either way, but no ducks and no
royals. My buddy tired of VP and headed for the Fortune Pai Gow
table. I kept plugging away until it was time for dinner.
Edgewater has the weirdest and most complicated points for food
program I've ever participated in. Fortunately, I did get the most
knowledgeable boothling to explain it to me. For all I know, this
has already changed, but it was an interesting exercise in how to
make something complicated that should be easy.
For a discount on the buffet or on specific entrees in the café, you
must earn and redeem 10 points ($100 coin in) on that day. If you
want, you can get a comp for the buffet or a comp for (again) a
specific café entrée for additional points earned anytime. There are
pictures of the food everywhere, so it's not hard to choose. You can
also get a comp for breakfast the next day if it's after 9:00 p.m.
(she gave it to us even though it was 8:44 p.m.). We picked our
dinner entrees and opted for the buffet breakfast. The dinner cost
us 40 total points apiece and the buffet was 20 points apiece. At
the café, the entrees were comped but we had to pay for our drinks,
which is mildly annoying. I call it the "Almost Comp."
Fortunately, the food is pretty good. The café has good choices,
and the buffet is okay. We learned it's best to get a comp to the
buffet at night when they're busy because they seat comps immediately
through a separate line.
The next day was a Loyalty Cash day where you could earn extra
cashback that didn't affect your points or comps. The minimum for
the bonus was 400 points ($4K cash in) for $40 and the maximum was
1000 points for $100. I've never put more than 6K through in a day
anywhere, so I figured I'd hit the minimum or maybe the next level at
600 points. This is where it got interesting, and I went into
planning mode.
I'm now a firm believer that game choice is as important to our
success as playing skill. I wanted to put the minimum points on to
get the bonus. Knowing it would take me a long time by playing
quarters I decided to move up in denomination. I had the bankroll to
sustain $.50 play for one day. EW has NSUD, 9/6 JoB, and 9/7 DB at
the $.50 and $1 level. They also have three Triple Play $.25
progressives with NSUD and JoB on them, but my experience is that
these machines are occupied all day and usually by the same people
(probably folks on this board right now). As much as I love my
deuces, I decided that for a specific point goal on a short bankroll
I should stick with a less volatile game, so I chose JoB.
It turned out to be a good choice. I am now over my "Quad Withdrawal
and Paranoia" which was leading me to believe that somehow the quads
have been programmed out of all non-wild machines (yes, I know!). I
was fortunate to hit five sets of quads in my morning session to
sustain my bankroll. When it was time for me to recharge, I had put
450 points on and was slightly ahead.
The afternoon session was even better because I was able to snag a
Triple Play progressive machine for the whole afternoon. This
increased my coin in per play and allowed me to chase the royals, two
of which were over $1,400. I stuck to JoB and had great, if
frustrating fun. Twice I had the SF: KQJT9, getting the 9 in the
draw. More often I had a straight AKQJT with one card off suit. By
the end of the session, I was shocked to find I'd put on over 1000
points for the day. I was down, but no more than I would have been
in a normal $.25 losing session. I went through the thankfully short
One Club line and retrieved my voucher for $100 and decided I'd
played enough VP for the day.
I was ready for some 21 but every table open in the early evening was
hand tossed and 6-5 BJ. I'll keep saying it: STOP PLAYING THIS
GAME! IT IS HORRIBLE!
At midnight that night, MGM Mirage took ownership of EW and the
Colorado Belle. I imagined that my room rate jumped to $79, all full
pay VP was downgraded, and they began construction on the Mansion at
Edgewater between EW and the Regency. It was all just a bad dream.
I'm hoping the new management ignores Laughlin and continues to let
them do their thing.
A quick trip to VIP the next day took care of all charges (damn, I
shouldn't have wasted the points on the food the first day).
Overall, a nice stay. I'll be back.
Drew