Hi Gang:
Hedy and I are back from a long, activity-filled stay in Vegas that included
our participation in BARGE at Binion's, and to say that the trip was an
exciting roller-coaster ride would be an understatement. We stayed at South Point
for seven nights, put through more than $220K combined during that time and
wound up with a bottom-line loss of just over $1,000.
That doesn't sound too bad, but when you consider that we had EIGHT royals,
seven in the first three days, you start to wonder. Nevertheless, we had
marvelous accommodations, ate some excellent meals, saw a terrific show and took
part in four very competitive poker tournaments at BARGE.
It all started on Tuesday, July 31, when we checked into a
beautifully-appointed three-room suite at South Point after getting picked up at McCarran in a
SP limo.
We started slowly at the machines, playing mostly 10/6 DB Super Times Pay,
but Hedy broke through at about 5:30 that night when she held the Q-J-10-A of
clubs on 10-play and drew the King on the bottom line for $1,000. About an
hour later, while playing five-play DB, I held the 10-A-K of hearts and filled
in the J-Q on the left middle hand for our second royal of the trip and
another $1,000.
We went to bed down $700 for the day, but at least were happy that our long
royal drought in Atlantic City had been broken.
The next day turned out to be our best of the trip and started in slam-bang
fashion. After breakfast, I was playing STP (triple-line 9/6 DDB) when I hit
the deal button and was startled as the machine locked up and music started
to play. I looked, saw that the "call attendant" message was plastered across
the screen and finally realized that, yes, I had been DEALT a royal in
hearts!! Woweeee!!
It was our first dealt royal on a multi-line game and the $3,000 handpay put
a very large smile on both our faces. Later that day, I hit aces with a
kicker twice for $500 each, aces on a 50-cent DB game for another $400 and threes
with a kicker for another $400.
Not to be left out, that night Hedy was dealt the Q-A-K-J of spades while
playing 5-play DDB on STP and drew the 10 on the bottom line for another $1,000
score. We went to bed ahead $3,100 for the trip, with the equivalent of six
royals under our belts, yet knowing that we had a long, long way to go before
the trip was to come to an end.
Thursday was basically a break-even day with Hedy chipping in with our
seventh royal when she drew the A-10 of spades to a three-card hold for another
$1,000. Earlier, I hit aces with a kicker again for $500.
It was also the first day of our participation in BARGE. I played in the
CHORSE team event and Hedy made her poker tourney debut in the Significant
Others Stud event. Happily, we both cashed with my team finishing fourth (each
member made a $40 profit) and Hedy finishing second, winning a plaque for her
efforts as well as $70 prize money.
Friday, we were joined by some friends who drove in from L.A. and we had a
wonderful meal at the SP steakhouse (Silverado) before seeing Tony Orlando
perform at the new SP showroom called Fever.
We didn't expect much going into the show (I anticipated seeing an
overweight, over-the-hill performer who probably should have retired years ago), but
the show was GREAT! He showed off his new body when he first came out (he lost
100 pounds on NutriSystem) and his voice never sounded better as he did all
his old standards (Candida, Tie a Yellow Ribbon etc.) as well as Beatles
tunes and some wonderful ballads. He got a standing ovation at the end of the
show and truly deserved it. We would highly recommend seeing this show.
At Barge, earlier in the day, I played in the Tournament of Champions (three
different games with the game changing every 20 minutes or so) and was a bit
surprised to see top pro Gavin Smith sitting at my table. I played well
early and found myself among the chip leaders after the second break, but finally
busted out after five and a half hours. I finished somewhere around 60th
place.
Hedy got our eighth royal of the trip that morning when she held the Q-A of
spades and filled in the other three on triple-play DDB for $1,000, but that
was our only significant hit of the day and we dropped close to $2,000 on VP.
Saturday was a truly frustrating day at the machines and tables. I played in
the no-limit Hold 'Em event and Hedy in the Significant Others HE event but
neither of us could sustain anything and we both found ourselves out of the
tourneys after about three hours. I did have one consolation, though. Both
Chris (Jesus) Ferguson and Gavin Smith got knocked out before I did.
To add insult to injury, however, Hedy had gotten me an Egyptian charm at
the Luxor for my birthday (which was Monday) and I used it as a card protector
during the tourney for luck. But, somehow, somewhere I lost it after I got up
when I busted out and we never found it, and it wasn't turned in to lost and
found. All in all, a very disappointing day.
Sunday and Monday we had a few more exciting hits (threes with a kicker
DEALT on triple-play for $600, aces and a kicker for $500 twice and aces three
other times for $400) but the gambling bottom line for the seven days was a
$2,100 loss. We picked up around $1,100 cashback at various casinos ($680 for
our play at SP) so the out-of-pocket loss was just over $1,000 for the trip.
On Sunday night we had dinner at the Range Steakhouse at Harrah's and on my
birthday we ate at Michael's at South Point, but felt that our dinners at
Silverado and Don Vito's at SP were better and more enjoyable. Michael's is a
very elegant restaurant but the prices are really over the top (Hedy's chicken
dish entree was $98 and the lamb chops were $178!). We later found out that
Michael's was NOT included in our RFB at SP, but after complaining that we
weren't informed about that we were able to get the dinner charge picked up.
So, when you consider all that we got on the trip (including a car to take
us back and forth to Binion's and Harrah's) and all that we did, it has to be
considered a successful trip.
We're back at Borgata tomorrow for a two-night stay, hoping to keep the
royal streak rolling.
Regards,
CoachVee (Tom V) and Hedy
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