I haven't posted in quite a while, but had to share this one, as I'm
sure it will never happen again!
I just returned from a 6-night stay at the LV Hilton, and am still
in shock. It was a dream-come-true trip in every aspect, and I
wanted to post one last trip report before my membership expires.
Having suffered a Royal drought since May, the preamble to this trip
was that I got my first dealt RF 3 days before going to Vegas. ($
JOB at Taj in AC). Frankly, that made me nervous, as I feared that
my luck was all used up.
Flew first-class from Philly (free tix, later reimbursed by LVH 
We were two hours late taking off, and this had me very upset.
Normally, I don't mind a delay, but my best friend from VA was
meeting me there - her first trip in 5 years, and her first venture
out since here husband died unexpectedly. She was to meet me at the
airport, so she could ride in my limo. My primary goal for this
trip was to make it special for her - she needed and deserved a real
treat. But she was fine, and hadn't been at all bothered by the
wait at the airport.
We went to LVH, where my mother was meeting me, and we got settled
into our oversized room for a 6-night stay. Then, off to Bally's,
where I used a 4-night comp offer and got my friend settled in there.
Back at LVH, it's 1 AM, and finally time to play! Ouch - lost $1000
in less than an hour - not a good start. Playing all the "good"
games, full pay machines where I had done well in the past. When
this wasn't working, I decided to use reverse psychology on the VP
Gods, and went to the $ Loose Deuces, which had emptied my wallet on
the previous trip. This time, I decided on a different approach.
Feed no more than $200 into any machine. If it wasn't hitting, I'd
move on.
To my surprise, I quickly caught the 4 deuces for $2500, and was
thrilled to be back in the black. It was getting very late, but I
still had to much adrenaline to sleep. Decided I'd unwind by
playing the most boring game on earth - the 8/5 JOB progressive.
That would be my sleeping pill and I'd call it a night. Imagine how
dumbounded I was to catch the RF on the first $100! It was at
$5855, and I split a pair of aces in favor of a 3-card RF hold. By
now I'm really in a state of shock, and trying to think of ways not
to lose it all back over the next 6 days. To protect me from
myself, I got a check for this jackpot.
The next day was profitable as well, with dealt deuces on a 5-
play .25 machine, and two .25 RF's on a multiplay. We all had a
lovely dinner at the steakhouse, joined by another of my favorite
people, Harry Porter.
On Friday, we were treated to box orchestra seats at the Celine Dion
show. Oversized, recliner style seats in a special section at
center stage. My friend is a major fan, so I had arranged this
mainly as a treat for her, expecting the show to be a big yawn.
Frankly, I enjoyed it more than I expected, and my friend was
totally delighted with the close, but eye-level view. And, by now,
she's getting hooked on the limo rides, as I wasn't being shy about
requesting these from LVH. This was really living the Vegas
dream. . .
Saturday, we were comped to the Leann Rimes show at Aladdin. This
was more of Hilton group thing, and they provided bus service to the
show. While waiting for the bus to load at the Sportsbar area, I
fed another Franklin into my now-favorite LD machine, and caught a
Royal!!! Got paid in time for the bus, but no checks. They have a
$5000 min, so I was now trying to hold my wallet together with a
rubber band. What a problem to have! The show was good, mainly
because Rimes has such an amazing voice. . . I never knew she was
THAT good! Had to say goodbye to my friend, as she was headed home
the next day.
Sunday, I'm still playing without losing more than $400 before I got
it back. I've never had such steady play in my life, and the
winnings are still intact. Amazingly, a two-card hold gave me
ANOTHER $ Royal, so by now I'm having to start putting money in the
cage. A couple of hours later, another set of deuces on LD, for
$2500. I was starting to feel like that guy in "Vegas Vacation",
who won a car every time he put a quarter in a machine.
Play between jackpots continued very steady, and several small wins
on Monday added another $2500 in miscellaneous profit. My mom, who
plays nickel slots, had played break-even all week, so got brave
enough to play quarters. First shot yielded a $1000 jackpot, which
was her largest ever. Then, she attempted Pick Em poker and caught
a straight flush for another $300 win. Believe me, life is much
more pleasant when Mom is happy 
We had enjoyed several lovely meals, and decided to have room
service on the last night. Ribeye steaks, lobster tails and
overpriced wine were delightful as we dined with a beautiful strip
view.
By now, my winnings had totalled over $19000, and I still had my
original $3000 stake. The trip had been perfect in every way, and
all I had to do was get the cash home. Using comp dollars at the
gift shop, I bought one of those oversized money belts, and decided
to cash the one check, since this would hold it all. The only catch
was that this huge lump was visible under through all the thin
shirts I had brought. Back to the gift shop with more comp dollars
to purchase an oversized sweatshirt. (This worked out well, but if
I should ever be so lucky again, I'll go to a bank a get a cashier's
check.)
The return flight went like clockwork, though the first class food
sux worse than those box lunches in the main cabin. It was such a
thrill to arrive home last night and start unloading "bricks" of
cash for my husband to put in the safe. I'm really going to enjoy
that trip to the bank today!!!
Perhaps this should be my last trip, because I can't imagine how
I'll ever top it! Definitely, a once in a lifetime event, which I
hope you all get to experience at least once.
Marsha