Stayed & played @ Silver Legacy. No Hold'em side trips, nor ventures elsewhere.
Day 1
The usual smooth travel & check-in: on-time Southwest flight, limo, corner suite on
upper floor, food comped. I'm slippin a benji into a VP machine one hour after the
plane's wheels hit the tarmac in Reno last Thurs. I got $250 bonus cash from the
casino on day 1 and day 2. Day one is 8 hrs of gamin' 8PM til 4:30AM. I show
patience for about 3 hrs, playing 25c denom. I hit a FPJW Wild Royal Flush for $125.
I accidentally hit the Max play button playing $1 BP. Dealt trips, then I realized my
"mistake", netted $100 after no improvement on the draw. Had I hit quads it might
have become the trip hi-light. My foray to the $1 DDB is rewarded with a quad Aces
hit for $800.
I'm UP, but not stickin' to the Plan as I venture to the $5 coin in high-limit area. Lost
$400 there playin $5 BP: so I retreat. This solved my urge for the high roller game,
only stopped in there once again on the trip for about ten minutes, -200, fled.
So, until about 4AM I settled into 15-30 min here and there, all over, marking my
terrritory with a trail of lost coins and $2 over-tips. 25c, 50c, $1 and some
multi-line games, hovering around even. I'm heading up the escalator to my room,
but of course there's some machines I like to visit on the way. The new 3,5,10-plays
on the Silver 2nd floor above the north (Circus side) escalator.
I'm playing the new, fast 3-play 10/6/40 DDB. The 5-cred payout for a SF is only
200 (!) Ticky-tacky house savings for such a rare hand. So I'm dealt AAA. on one line
I get the 4th A for $200. on another line I get the 4th A plus a 2 kicker for $500. Nice
deal & nicer draw. OK, that was my nightcap, puts me up $850 for Day 1 and I sleep
very well.
Day 2
I'm somehow up and gaming by noon. Weeks of sleep deprivation training I guess. I
make my normalizing start on 25c JW and DW, the Silver's flagship games for many
years. I'm sure I'm playing these and all the new GameKings more like 15 hands per
minute when I'm fully cooking. Finally, something that can keep up with My Brain. So,
nothing to note until I do a session on the triple-line where I get mini-jackpots of
$500,200, & 3X 100, but up only $300 net for the session, up $200 on the day.
Another "off-the-Plan" journey to $1 DDB-land floors me with an amazing sequence
of Quad 2s, 3s and then 4s w/2 for $400, $400 and $800 payouts. Net +$1250 for
this bank's session. (+$2100 on the trip.) 8 of these $1 DDB progs east of the center
bar/stage remain coin-droppers. 8 more former coin-droppers are now TITO. No
messy hands, no waiting 15 min+ for attendant refills. The new ones have 3
machines with experimental back-ground colors: green, red, light purple, in addition
to basic blue on the rest. I tried them all. The red background created errors for me
on 4-flush holds, maybe twice, as end red-cards get camoflaged with the
background. Green and purple were an OK change. I'm gonna fast forward this long
day past some meandering minor ups and downs. Anecdote: overheard near Sports
Book: Loudmouth guy walking thru, to his buddy, about the ponies: "The 2-4
Quinella at Hollywood.....It's a LOCK!.... <same guy, 30 sec later:> ..I'm down over
two grand already today!" (hmmm: mark notes possible credibility gap..)
5:30 Dinner at the Buffet,: Pasta & seafood. Ate too much. Tried to make up for
forgetting to eat dinner Thursday. Got 1500 trip profit in my pocket. After eats, I
dropped 300 on $1 DDB plus a sudden 600 loss on the 3-, 5-play upstairs. I drop
another 100 when I go back to the plan which is to play 25c denom when I'm UP, but
I find myself at the $1 DDB again. Got me a quad 2 with an Ace kicker for +800. Yay.
Net for the day: +$350, for the Tour +1200. It's 1AM.
I drop $150 ea on .25 JW, .50 BP, 3-play .25 DDB and $1 DDB prog.
Now the place gets to be kinda crowded from after dinner until 1AM or so, Fri and
Sat. It's already a zoo, but the youths have had too much to drink by 1AM, so they let
everybody in the casino know how uninhibited they've become. "Look at me, I'm
plowed." "Wooooo- wooo!!" Gee. How amusing. First time? Seems like. But around
2AM, the drunks have stumbled to their room , or the street or both, and the casino
gets so quiet. This is my quality time. I decide to play some "coin-droppers", made
famous by my brother, who played this 25c DDB , 8 machine circular bank, in the SW
corner for over 8 hrs his first outing at Silver Legacy. (2 years ago) I played alongside
the first 2-3 hrs, but he was still there after I woke up the next morning, lookin'
droopy and pockets a leetle lighter. So, back to this trip, I hit a quad Aces on one, no
kckr for $200, and got all 800 coins from that machine when I cashed out, without a
refill, amazing. (I learn they stock 2000 quarters per refill) But, time is money, so
while waiting for all 800 coins to come out, I play the next machine over, hit a
smaller $60 quad, and of course this machine decides to run dry after about $20
spits out. So I patiently play every machine in the circle, hitting 4 more
quads, awaiting the attendant to come visit my empty machine for a refill. They have
belt beepers of some sort that buzz and tell them what machine needs attention
(unless they turn them off !?). I plead with the almost-asleep Keno counter-lady to
call someone to help me (twice), and I even have a security guard call a manager. To
no avail. This machine is near doors to the street, a favorite spot of bums to dart in
and out. I swear I got hit up 4 times, busfare, guy with a cane, guys tryin' out every
schtick in the book. I tell them NO, that's why I'm not outside on the street, so I
don't have to deal with Panhandlers. I tell them each that story. They didn't expect a
lecture. I have waited 45 dang minutes, really steamin' now as I run out of 20's &
lower, finally the attendant drifts over, comes back with coins (and the obligatory
manager to witness the load-up). I have a hard time being genuinely ANGRY. But
they finally say the machine is ready, I say LOUDLY: "45 MINUTES - Longest ever".
Only THEN do they apologize for the delay.
So I'm on those until 4AM, up $140. One more hilight: 25c JW dealt A-5 SF (250
creds). I only note $100 or more Jackpots, but this is a cool hand to get, dealt
especially. At 5:30AM --> to room, as I walk in the room I got a dizzying vertigo
sensation, maybe left over from the elevator ride, but I'd had this happen before,
usually after a long day sittin' on the machines. Cured by sleep.
down $150 on the Day, (still up $700 for the Tour).
Day 3
I stuck a post-it note to my door the night before, asking housekeeping to come
AFTER 12:00. At 1:30PM, Conzuela finally knocks, waking me out a nice dream. I ask
her for one more hour. Day 2 I always cancel housekeeping, but I don't want to miss
another night & morning without a cleaned room.
So, I stop by the alcove upstairs, closest place from my room to play VP, morning
ritual first game. I play DW on fast machine. I switch to 25c DDB, as this game has a
nice little progressive on them, and they're faster than the coin-dropper 25c DDB
Progs downstairs. less than 5 min into it, I'm dealt T___K spade and the 3 more just
fall into place on the draw for the Royal. A muted song plays, but I'm surprised it says
"Call Attendant". My theory it's hand-pay on even TITO Progs. Less than 5 min. and
the morning attendant crew has had their coffee, or maybe they just respond quicker
to tip-probable situations. $1122 is the progressive Royal I get. With a Ricky Ricardo
accent, the attendant chats, "Ees a good one, you don' have to pay taxes on it." I
correct him, "you mean you don't get a Tax form on it, you DO have to pay taxes on
all gambling profits..." He don' get it. He replies, "On $1200 you have to pay $400
taxes, on this you pay zero...." Man, these guys are dangerous, some folks might
believe him. I decline to 'splain it to him... SO! First blood! A Royal to start Day 3.
Yee haaaa. Tip $20, and I give him no tax advice about the $20.
So, in my next sequence, I see many notes on my index cardd about "dealt xxx" -
very exciting part of the game, much multiplied thrill playing multi-play. I get dealt
quad 8s playing DDB 3-line +187. Then on single line $1 Bonus, two dealt quads for
125 ea. and in 25c JW, dealt natch quad 9s, which "only" pays $25, but that one-card
draw is for 5oaK & 1000 creds, rare and exciting. Didn't get it here. Also got a dealt
SF in the $1 coin for $250.
Skippin' ahead, looks like I piddled away that Royal money by 7PM.Then I drop into
the red for the Day, -250 on $1 DDB. Time to eat. Sat is very crowded, they got
Olivia Newton-John and a slot tournament and a contingent of 9-ball sharks. Long
line upstairs at Buffet, at 24-hr cafe, no openings at Sterling Steakhouse (I was lazy
about makin' resos) and the cafeteria-style food court on the first floor is 6-deep at
the oriental counter. Overload, even the aisles are crowded. But I gotta pit in me
tummy, so I go Outside, into the Real World, across the street to McDonalds. There a
line there too, but I try out 2 Big N Tasty's, Large fry and a water, paying not much
more than the tip I usually leave for my "Free meals" in the casino/hotel.
So, a leisure walk back to the games, where it takes me 3 hours to reach a Zen-like
state of nothingness. I'm back to even for the whole trip. Did it happen
at all? The index cards tell me something happened. I been reading too many Phil
Dick Sci-Fi books. The rest of the night, I see one dealt quad 6 on 5-line JoB 25c,
+$156. 50c bonus, quad As for $200 and I head to room-ville at 1AM. Short day, but
I is tired. Down 600 on the day, Up 100 total for the trip.
Day 4
Leapt outta bed at 9AM. Made coffee in the room, watched some Rugrats in Spanish
on TV. Leisurely packed, shaved, showered,and "got organized" No interaction w/
housekeeping. 11AM The hallway sure is crowded with housekeepers and carts of
bedding when people leave their room in the AM hours. Hmmm a world I rarely see. I
drop bags at the bell desk, drop my room key in an envelope in the handy Express
check-out box, and I'm off... I look over this index card play notes, I see Patience. I
don't wanna get into negative $$ territory, so I play mostly 25c, like starting over with
my game plan. I'm seeing entries like -10, +20, -40. I'm enjoyin' the VP today, as I
do most times, but I'm winnin' steady, and getting long sessions even when losing a
little on them.
Hilights: .25 10/7 DB near Keno - Quad A for $200. $1 DDB - about a ten min.
session: Quad 4s +400, quad J +250.
3PM, I'm up $500 for the Tour. They have a drawing, where you earn tickets based on
your Play (one ticket per $250 "coin-in" I'm estimating). I stuff my 70 tickets into the
drum and watch the drawing like a few hundred other dreamers and prepare my
speech for when I win the $10,000. Not today. Cut into my last-day gaming time for
20 minutes or so, but it was worth it to watch how unfulfilled expectations change
people's faces. Like watching the losers on Oscar night start to rise, then sit back
down.
OK, back to it, hovering at the +$500 level. A ten-hand venture to the $1 DDB, I hit
quad 3s w/a 2 kicker for $800. After this hit, I give 200 back, but I'm up over 1000
for the Tour. 5:30PM: Sterling Steakhouse has just opened for dinner, after the
Sunday brunch closed up at 2PM; no queue-up, so I head IN and have a tasty big
RibEye Steak, with shoestring fries that are much better than McDonalds (!!), Spinach
Salad and a glass of Ferrari-Carano Merlot. So I get some hurried play in after
dinner, catch my limo at 7PM for a scheduled 8:15PM return flight to seattle. Once
past security, my airport routine is to park at a GameMaker and play 50c ACE$ Bonus
poker, a game that has a paytable fairly close to the normal casino version, with these
changes: 9/6, a PLUS (!) over the usual 8/5, and it only pays 2-1 for trips, <usually
3-1>. Just looked it up: 94.21% EV. yeow.
But I play it. So, my one friend saw me do this about 16 months ago - I hit the quad
Aces on it. 50c bet, 400 creds, +$200. nice. So I cash it out, and I ALMOST get the
1000 coins out of it I had coming. I get 900. A long-ish wait, but the flight is
announced to be a late departure, so, I move over one machine. No rush. Soon I'm
dealt 4-to the Royal. this is normally exciting, but I've had the "4RF" dealt to me
about a dozen times this trip, once at the airport already. so, no big deal, kinda
prepared for disappointment, I hit the draw button: Boop! it comes in. In spades.
"JACKPOT Call attendant" it reads and the muted song ditty plays over and over. So I
non-chalantly tell this younger guy sittin' at a machine in the bank of 4, waiting, not
playin', "Hey, good thing the flight is delayed, gotta tax form comin' for this one."
+$2000. This guy does not know VP, so he didn't know what I won, looks at my
screen a few more times and says (too loudly) "You Won $2000.00 ??" I say
"Shhhhush, keep it quiet (conspiratorially)" which makes him laugh. So, he's askin'
me all sorts of questions, lobbing me softballs, I'm talkin' up the VP, I'm really
enjoyin braggin a bit. It takes the airport machine attendants a looonnng time to get
to my 2 machines, get the forms, get my money, etc. Schweet finish. Up $3250 for
the trip. Big ol' wad o' Benjies in my pocket. I even pay Cash for my airport parking
($45) and a gas tank fill-up for my truck Big Red ($50) once I get home.
General: supposedly, SLbell desk can print you out a boarding pass for your e-
tickets for your return flight. I found this out from the limo driver on the way TO the
airport at trips end. An hour early <sigh>.
New comp yourself IS easy. Many kiosks spread around the hotel and casino. Again,
I discovered this trying to comp my last day meal at Sterling. Remember to activate a
4-digit PIN for yourself during your next visit to the promo desk. I gathered over
$200 in my comp account this 3-day trip.
No changes to vpFree database for SL. I'd hoped to add in some Triple bonus games,
but none were full-pay. For the sub-full-pay enthusiasts, all the 25c 9/6 DDB prog
coin-dropper banks are intact: slant-tops near South-escalator men's room, the SW
corner circular uprights bank (I nursed it up over the dreaded $1200 myself one
night), and the uprights bank along the west wall, south of the bar outside the
comedy club. Also, 25c Bonus Progs are unchanged: uprights near SW corner and
slants just east of the north escalator. I played them all at least a half hour, as a
change of pace to the lightning-fast new GameKings.
STATS:
Day Hrs +/-
···
----------------
1 8 +850
2 16 -150
3 9 -600
4 7 +3150
----------------
total 40 +3250
Denom Hrs +/- Hands/hr coin-in est.
----- ---- ---- -------- -----------
25c 20 +300 700 17,500
50c 5 +1400 800 10,000
25x3 6 +500 500 11,200
25x5 1 +100 500 3,300
$1 7 +1050 700 24,500
.05X50+ 1/2 +200 400 2,500
$5 1/2 -600 400 5,000
tips/misc -250
etc (bonus) +500
-----------------------------------
total 40 +3200 $74,000 coin-in
73 hrs on the ground in Reno
Hands est.: 23,000 Single line
+ 22,000 Multi-line (from about 4000 dealt hands)
Jackpots:
6 x 100
6 x 125
1 x 150
14 x 200
6 x 250
4 x 400
2 x 500
4 x 800
1 x 1122
1 x 2000
Enough for now?
Cheers,
~MARK