Frankly, LV is not necessarily the mecca it once was.
Let me give you some of my reactions. They will be somewhat
scattered.....
And at times sound negative. I am just trying to be honest. We like it
here but not necessarily because of VP.
Being a local changes everything. Many of the offers and benefits
(rooms,
promotions, etc. ) are not available. Or they have limited value.
The food is certainly better. I gained 30 pounds since May. I am now
on a
diet and the restaurants are not such a big attraction.
There are definitely more places to play. There are some 100%+ games and
you can work the promotions. However you still have to be alert and LOOK
for the good stuff. Sometimes getting a seat at the good games is a
problem and I watch games being eliminated every week. Since most people
are "not discerning" and will play anything I think the casinos are
accomodating them and getting rid of more of the better games.... At
first
I tried to educate people and show them paytables. I have given that up
because most don't get it. Or don't care.
What really surprises me is that there are many people (some who are
even
in this group) who choose to play the garbage when there is better stuff
available (and when there is no difference in comp or bounceback
value). I
realize the affect is probably minimal (or it is too late) but if I
was a
casino owner I wouldn't worry about good pay-tables, I would just do
a ton
of promotions and give away a bunch of "neat" but relatively low cost
gifts. Actually this is what many do. I already have a pile of stuff to
give to family members when they come.
Many times the best plays are NOT the games over 100%. For many reasons
sometimes there are good reasons to play less than 100% games (THis is
different than what I said in paragraph above). Bounceback is just as
important here as it was back in the Midwest. I will not go into
details.
FPJW is my favorite game BUT sometimes I have to play something else
if I
want to maximize my return. I like the ten play Jokers at Santa Fe
and it
is right near my house. However, it takes long hours to get the
amount of
coin in necessary to reach the higher level of card. In my opinion it is
NOT worth it.
There are more machines with more progressives BUT manytimes the
base game
is NOT positive.... just like in Indiana. In fact, sometimes the
base game
is better in Indiana.
That's bound to happen due to sheer numbers, but you always have some
choices which are superior.
I realize MS and TRump and Resorts are not perfect BUT you have some of
the best multiline games in the nation right there at MS. And easy
comps.
And pretty decent bounce-back.
No, not anymore.
Certainly these places are far from the
ultimate BUT the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side.
Soemtimes the best opportunities look just like the ones at MS. I would
die for those 100 play .05 NSUD or .01 BD or event he triple play .25
Super Aces..... I would NOT recommend moving to LV just to play VP.
It is
marginally better here but not exceedingly so. It is obviously a better
vacation destination!!!!
Since you mention MS 100 play .05 I should point out a major benefit
of playing in Nevada - a more visible and dilligent gaming board. I've
played a lot of VP in Nevada and always enjoyed peace of mind. There
have been only a few times where I sensed something wasn't quite right
and because of the choices simply opted to play elsewhere, a solution
not available to midwestern players.
I really hate smoke and some of the best games are in the smokiest
places.
Even worse than in the riverboats!!!! And I find that often the best
games
are on the machines with KENO. Remember when we had to fight the Keno
players at MS to get the machines with the good VP? Well it is just the
smae here. And I fidn most Keno players are chain smokers.
I completely agree. Some of the major casinos are smoke pits, Palms in
particular. The smaller places like Terribles tend to be especially bad.
My job out here fell through and I am trying to figure out what I
want to
do. In the meantime, I am making the best of the VP opportunites but
it is
not what many people think. I will probably do some more formal
writing on
this in the future.
I have about 7 casinos I frequent on a scheduled weekly basis. There
are a
few others that are fillins when the promotion is right. And what
happens
is that some of my best plays three months ago don't even exist
today. For
example, we loved the 101% JOkers at Stardust. Even though low in
denomination we could play two of them and get decent coin-in. It
was fun
adn we made money. Now they are gone. We don't get too attached to
anyplace. We take whatever we get or earn but there is little
loyalty. (I
was more loyal to MS.)
I could go on but I think this is enough.....
Oh P.S. I play Texas Hold-em too. ON THE INTERNET. I have yet to find a
reason to play live.
Trust me, after a few more months you probably will. Having your
winning hand folded before your time to act is up is pretty difficult
to simulate in a B&M game! 
I played on PartyPoker, PokerStars, and UltimateBet and found all to
be rife with cheating.
Since I'm an IT consultant and Vegas has no work of this type (unless
I want to earn 1/10 of customary wages), Vegas will remain a vacation
destination for me. I may be forced to take a stab at being a poker
pro at some point since IT work seems to be drying up everywhere in
the US and my Hindi and Mandarin aren't very good.
And I'm definitely a better player than many of the dufuses seen on cable.
Thanks for the report and best of luck to you and Ginny. Maybe I'll
see you at the Santa Fe on my next trip.
···
--- In vpFREE_Chicago@yahoogroups.com, "Ednar" <ednar@k...> wrote:
*********************************************************
> Ednar - what are your favorite Vegas VP casinos so far? Santa Fe
> Station is one of my favorites as it has good games (Joker Wild KB is
> my favorite game), reasonable comps, and good playing conditions (not
> crowded, good air and lighting). Their steakhouse is also one of the
> best.
On Mon, September 26, 2005 4:47 pm, vp_nbi wrote:
>
> Ednar - what are your favorite Vegas VP casinos so far? Santa Fe
> Station is one of my favorites as it has good games (Joker Wild KB is
> my favorite game), reasonable comps, and good playing conditions (not
> crowded, good air and lighting). Their steakhouse is also one of the
> best.
>