I must be a natural cave dweller. By the end of my third weekend
(April 29 May 1) at the Peppermill, the little cave like alcove
hiding a bank of full pay deuces wild slant tops felt comforting.
I've tried the bank out near the northern casino entrance but it
seems far too exposed to the hustle and bustle. Like a dog retreating
into his doghouse I find myself drawn back into the FPDW cave. I'll
begin to worry when I start circling three times before settling into
the chair.
The little grotto was more snug than ever last weekend. The second
bank of slots was removed and walled off. Not that I mind
in fact the
disappearance of a particular slot that would sing the first few
verses of "Jeremiah was a bull frog" every five minutes is cause for
celebration. Now if they would only get rid of that "Star Trek"
machine across the room that randomly bursts out about phasers or
photon torpedoes (all at a volume high enough to stun a rabbit at 50
yards).
Even the lurid purple neon glow of Peppermill fame doesn't penetrate
far into my favorite corner. I especially enjoy watching lost patrons
wander by in search of the Coffee Shop. The whispers and furtive
glances at the VP hermits in the hole are quite amusing. It's ok
folks, they're more harmless than they look
just don't make any
sudden movements. Occasionally an intrepid cocktail waitress will
brave the lair in search of potential tips. Just keep the coffee
coming.
The quest for the elusive royal flush hasn't lost it's luster yet.
No, there were no sightings of the cagey beast last weekend. Friday
evening I hit two quad deuces fairly early playing 10 coin quarter
DW. Following that, a steady stream of small hits kept the evening
quite entertaining. After five hours I was up $1,100, a nice way to
start the weekend. I really slept in on Saturday and didn't crawl out
of bed until 5:30 A.M. (yes, I'm a morning person). After breakfast
at the coffee shop I retreated back into the cave. My first $100 bill
was disappearing at an alarming rate until (with 10 credits left) a
dealt 4 deuces showed up. That money lasted most of the morning.
Sometime near lunch I took a break to wander the casino and look at
paytables. I also stopped by the players club booth for an amusing
round of "guess what number I'm thinking". Of course the booth
host wouldn't tell me what my comp balance was but she did hint that
I could "eat for a long time". I did hit the magic point number to
move up to gold level.
I played off and on all Saturday afternoon, still no RF but I hit
another 4 deuces. The $500 from that jackpot was mostly gone by the
time I quit for an early dinner at the Steakhouse. Dinner was baked
onion soup, a quite nice glass of Cabernet Franc, a petite filet
mignon, and for dessert fresh berries with Gran Marnier sabayon in an
almond cookie shell (yum). Free food is still very cool. I played a
few more hours after dinner and ended up the day down $150.
Sunday morning I woke up right when my alarm clock would normally
send me off to work (4:30 A.M.). Ahhh, nothing like waking up early
and realizing you don't have to get up. I slept in until a really
decadent 7:00 A.M. Once back in the casino I kept up the streak of an
early small jackpot (on about the third hand of the morning) to fund
the days play. That $500 lasted almost five hours. When I looked at
my watch it was 12:30 P.M. and I panicked for a moment. Checkout time
was 11:00! Then I remembered that my new vaunted Gold level Passport
Club had the privilege of two hours late checkout. After packing my
suit case I headed downstairs to the VIP lounge. On my previous trip
I had been told to stop by and have a casino host assigned once I
reached gold level. The gal at the front desk asked if I had any host
preferences. I couldn't remember any names from the vpFree posts so I
let her make the choice. I was assigned Doug and we had a nice twenty
minute conversation where he explained the Peppermill comp system and
even showed my balance. He set up my next trip and explained how to
use the $75 in free play that had showed up on my account. I wasn't
quite ready for the drive home so I headed back into the casino for
one last RF hunt. I gave up after dropping $250 in 90 minutes. Total
for the weekend:
$37,000 coin in, all 10 coin $.25 FPDW, up $700
$200 in room and food comps
$30 winning on coupons (1 BJ Ace in the Hole and 2 $10 match play)
- Martin