This site was set up for the 2006 Birthday Bash but makes an excellent spot to save Vegas related experiences and comments. The link collection at the right is also an excellent resource to learn about Vegas.
MOST PHOTOS WILL ENLARGE IF YOU CLICK ON THEM
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Every so often I compose a post I particularly like, and then I save it here. This is one. Ironically enough, the American Casino Guide discussion board moderator just wrote and asked me to no longer post links to this board or the Foxwoods board with my trip reports, but to cut and paste the trip reports on his site. Yeah. Like that's gonna happen the next time I compose a dozen snippets of focused information with interior photos and links. Get real ACG. They said they wanted to get people to their site, not direct them to other sites. This is short sighted (excuse the pun) thinking. Free sharing of information is better for them as long and I see no down side since my site holds no advertisement. I also have been doing it there and at a number of other discussion board sites for years without complaint. Anyone taking the time to look over my blogs know that they have no advertisement, sell nothing, and so are not spam. Even the board with the demented disquieted and perpetually perturbed moderator who wrote after I mentioned on another board that he was so tough he stooped to insult a deceased board member (on a thread mourning the fellow's loss) to tell me I was "know nothing dickhead"....even on that site they let me link to my blogged trip reports. But somehow writing for American Casino Guide this week I fell in the groove, writing on a post I started about the new resort fee and the Tuscany, and it flowed nicely, so the American Casino Guide got a long bit of work from me, cut and pasted as requested. I especially liked linking the resort fee idea to playing short pay VP. That seems a way to explain what happens that might make sense to people, especially those reading about resort fees. I had not thought of the analogy before.
To see the entire thread, click American Casino Guideand scroll up to the top. re: Resort Fee at Tuscany is now $10 for each night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotAces
What do you think about their casino? I signed up for their players club and did pretty good. I was playing very l..o..w stakes on nickel machines. I hit quad aces with kicker on one machine and then quad 4s with kicker on the next machine. Then the next machine gave me a RF1. I switched to quarters and got handed my head! So I went back to nickels and hit a RF2. So back to quarters (dumb!) and still got handed my head. Quarters ate up 2/3 of my winnings but I still made a good percentage return on my meager stake. (But the next day I signed up at Terrible's player club and cound not even get a quad.)
This may not be the way you think about gambling, but for what it's worth here is my philosophy: When we play video poker, unless we are playing full pay games, whether we win or lose in a particular session, we do more poorly than you would at a full pay game. If every time we hit a full house or a flush the casino short pays us a dollar and a quarter, then we are losing money on what we have been lucky enough to hit. Our score at the end of a session or two or twenty doesn't mean anything. What is meaningful is whether the mathematics gives us full pay or not. Tuscany does not offer full pay, so why play when we can hop a bus and in a few minutes be at the Gold Coast or Palms?
Another way to look at it is that the Tuscany, if they offer say 8/5 JOB has on a dollar machine a $5 resort fee on all full houses and flushes. Whenever those are hit, they take the fee. It is charged just for the fun of playing on their machine rather than the one at the Gold Coast that pays 9/6 JOB. Both machines work the same way by law. Add it up while you play sometime. It is much more costly than any resort fee on the hotel room.
I play live poker and have heard good things about the Tuscany, but there have never been enough players there when I went for there to be a limit cash game with a full table. If we don't play full tables in live games then we get forced to put up blinds for cards we would never pay and that costs money in the long run. We also have less chance of being at a table with a fish or two who are passed around from good player to good player. So I don't like games that are short players unless by some wonderful luck, I am at a table with five players and two of them are idiots.
I did not gamble much at Tuscany. Here is why I stayed there last August:
In August I sought the comfort and location at an affordable price as well as important amenities. They charged me $19 a night and a one time ten dollar resort fee. I got a good bit out of the resort. For one thing I planned my stay there to coincide with the point at which I would have two large loads of dirty clothes and nothing much clean left. They have a laundromat. (Try to find one at a casino in Vegas. Maybe at the Plaza.) Their common areas have free wifi, and I used that benefit to catch up on my email and these boards. Their pool area and the large comfortable living room furniture in the rooms were great places to sit and talk with some of my relatives who live in Vegas. One of them is dieting and decided that he did not want me to buy supper as I ususally do, so it was fine to have a spot just to catch up and visit that was comfortable. Not buying him supper saved me the price of the room that day. Their access to buses was just incredible. I could hit the strip or just beyond hit Gold Coast and Palms. Moving from the Tuscany to downtown for the last leg of my stay was very simple and quick even with my huge suitcase. Just a hop on the Flamingo, a hop off, and a nice ride on the 108. My Terribles, Hard Rock and Ellis Island matchplay coupon runs were easy even in August weather because the walk from Terribles to the Tuscany was easy and broke up the walk to Ellis. I bought two books last year and so I made two runs. I always have lots of coupons for Terribles for breakfast. This time I did not use any of them. They just gave me free breakfasts based on a bit of past play and did not take my points. I don't know why. Terribles can be like that. By the way there is at least one JOB 9/6 game there. The walk back to the Tuscany from Ellis Island after a 3 AM graveyard snack of the famous steak special (no waiting at 3 AM) was also very easy. The workmen and lighting in the street being renovated helped make it safer. Had I not felt safe, the bus drops right at the Tuscany, just a short scamper to the B rooms where I stayed.
And this upscale place I wanted to treat myself to this trip with my restaurant.com $10 coupon was just down the street.
Here is my review of that spot, easy to reach from the Tuscany.
I went to Himalayan Cuisine where I had a ten dollar restaurant.com coupon that cost me 80 cents. Most restaurant.com coupons require two people, but they agreed to honor it for my solo meal. It is just down the street across from the atomic museum. To get there you get off the bus one stop beyond Terrible's and walk away from the stip a block and cross the street into a small strip mall. Getting back is walking a half block away from the strip to the nearest bus stop.
It was a great treat and a change from buffets. I ordered half portions liberally in order to get a few tastes. That made the meal a bit more expensive, but I was treating myself. I did not drink any of the wonderful assortment of Belgian beer but had mandarin iced tea and it was very good. I had two. No free refills and $4 each. I did try to note the names of the beers, all unknown to me ( I can't read my own handwriting) and perhaps I'll try one on my next trip after I have to time look at them on line: Piraat Flemis IPA
Gulden Draak Urthel Vloam se Bock St Bernadus Abtis Du chessede de Brugogan Bornem Double Abben Ale Nostradamus Brown Ale Cherish CherryLambic Cherish Rosberry Lambic Troubadour Obscura
I ate: vertical vindaloo with lamb – spicy chuncks of lamb in a gravy. Very good with bites of Naan.
Organic Tantric chicken Tandoori – I suppose I should have tried dishes new to me, but this favorite was very, very good.
Chana masala – chick peas in garlic and other spices.
All was a great treat. This is more pricey than my usual Indian food at home, but I'm happy I went. The atmosphere is quiet. Other customers were for the most part native to the food. That is always a good sign.
The menu is very well written. Here is one bit I collected on a dessert I did not have room to try. Himalayan Snowball: Mango and passion fruit sorbet with raspberry sorbet core covered in white chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate stripes. Looks like a snowball on the outside but when cut open it blooms like a bright Himalayan spring flower.
One traditional dish I passed on was called Lamb Saag Dhindo and the menu joked that it was LSD but not mind altering. Lamb, spinach, corn meal.
As well as individual dishes, an assortment of sampler platters that cost about $30 were available. These seemed a good value, especially when using a $10 coupon. One was a vegetarian sampler. Much of the food was organic and vegetarian.
Spice level could be chosen. I chose hot and found the vertical vindaloo well spiced and very good.
A take out menu was also available.
***********************************************
So I loved the Tuscany for location, and I'll go again if the price meets my needs. I did not make it to the Atomic museum or take the bus to Eastside Cannery and Sam's, but I might next time. I know I just need to figure in the resort fee, put there to confuse the uninitiated, and decide based on actually what it will cost me. Not much different than my advice on the video poker. Figure the mathematics and make a decision.
While I fully appreciate Ben Jamin's desire to start a movement to boycott, and I respect his personal lobby to organize a boycott of all places that have resort fees, I am just too old for revolution. The best I can do is post so the folks looking for information see the disingenuous acts, and then they can decide to boycott or book. I would suggest that were one to really want revolution, the tactic would have to be more organized than simply railing here on the boards (although that helps) If a hundred people decided to book a week of rooms for their holiday, and then decided to cancel a week later and follow up with an e-mail to marketing explaining how disappointed they were not to be able to stay in the lovely Tuscany because they so love the gambling there, but that with the resort fee so high they just decided to go on down to Bill's where for not much more they could gamble right on the strip. That might send a message. Or if you could organize regular customers of the Tuscany who would, when the credit card bill came, fill out the paperwork and put the entire charge in dispute until the credit card company had asked the Tuscany about their "hidden" fees, that also might send a message. Perhaps the fine print would require them to pay in the long run, but it is the amount of organized quiet resistance that makes these practices more a burden than a builder of revenue for the casino. They pay more than ten dollars to the person who talks to you by phone or answers your complaints.
The annecdotal history of resort fees on discussion boards is filled with folks who on check out refused to pay the fee, but were willing to talk about it for a long, long time and the fee was often dropped just as were fees to have telephone or a locked safe a few years ago.
I only advocated myself for a mass protest from online friends once. It was when the Orleans first started to insist on a room key for a seat on the shuttle. I offered to help people compose letters, posted the ones I and others had sent, kept track of the responses and posted the names of people to contact directly with a polite explanation of why the recent shuttle decision decision was not a good choice. I don't think I got a hundred people to write and call, but I got enough action off this board and others that I found out it frustrated the person who had to handle and answer all that mail. They soon moved to priority seating for those with keys and open seating for the rest just to get the letters needing answers off their desk. Perhaps that pressure helped. Of course, in those days the Orleans had great VP and was the discussion board hotel of choice, so many of those writing had good gambling records and had stayed there over the years. I am not sure that kind of customer exists at the Tuscany. Few reading these boards would go to the Tuscany for advantage gambling.
I would point out, however, that with the ACG 2010 coupon Tuscany will pay you ten dollars to play $40 at the live poker table.
I'm now too old, too tired for revolution. All I really want now is to get the semiconscious folks (those who won't read enough to know they are to pay a resort fee to the Tuscany) to play live poker at the live poker table where I am playing there and hope their mathematical skills at poker are equivalent to those they use when they fail to add up or recheck their hotel bills.
SO, YOU FOUND THE BLOG. WELL, GLAD TO HAVE YOU. I'D LIKE TO KNOW YOU WERE HERE SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LEAVE COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG. TO LEAVE A COMMENT AFTER ANY POST JUST GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT POST, CLICK ON "COMMENTS" AND WRITE YOUR REMARKS. NOW THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. MANY WHO WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT SEEM TO GET CAUGHT AT THIS POINT. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COMMENT BOX ARE SOME CIRCLES TO TICK UNLESS YOU HAVE A BLOG AS WELL, CHOOSE THE ANONYMOUS OPTION IN THE CHECKLIST, BUT BE SURE TO INCLUDE SOME INDICATION OF WHO YOU ARE IN THE TEXT OF THE COMMENT. THAT HELPS ME CONTROL SPAM.
THE NEXT ELEVEN OR SO POSTS ARE MY 2009 TRIP REPORT OF 23 DAYS IN NEVADA.
IF YOU ARE COMING FROM A DISCUSSION BOARD, THE ORIGINAL TRIP NOTES START ABOUT four POSTS DOWN AND ARE IN REVERSE ORDER AND RAMBLE ON ABOUT MY VEGAS TRIP THIS AUGUST. WHILE THEY ARE NOT POLISHED, THEY ARE ORGANIZED WITH TOPIC HEADINGS LIKE FOOD, HOTEL, POOL, ETC. SO YOU CAN SKIM HEADINGS FOR INFORMATION OF INTEREST. BASICALLY, I WILL USE THESE DAILY BLOG ENTRIES AS NOTES FOR SOME FOCUSED POSTS ON THE DISCUSSION BOARDS. I HAVE ALREADY STARTED THAT PROCESS IN DEVELOPING THE POOL AND BUS SUMMARIES. SINCE I WILL EVENTUALLY POST THESE ON A NUMBER OF VEGAS BOARDS, I FIND THAT HAVING THEM HERE, IN ONE SPOT, AND PUTTING A LINK ON THE BOARDS TO THAT PARTICULAR POST IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN TRYING TO POST ON BOARDS BECAUSE I CAN EDIT IN JUST THIS ONE PLACE AND COVER ALL THE BOARDS WHERE THE POST MIGHT APPEAR. ALSO, WHEN COPYING LINKS ONTO A DISCUSSION BOARD, EACH BOARD IS DIFFERENT AND GENERALLY IT TAKES A LONG WHILE TO POLISH THE POST SO THAT THE LINKS WORK.
I'LL CALL POSTS POLISHED SNIPPETS TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM THE LONG AND RAMBLING TRIP REPORT NOTES THAT FOLLOW THEM.
Since I always keep to Central time when I'm in NV, I'm usually playing in the quiet, mostly smoke free casino by 6:00am. By 9:30 I'm ready for lunch. I almost always ordered a BLT for that meal. It was loaded with 5 or 6 slices of that heavenly bacon, lots of sliced red, ripe tomatos and fresh green leaves of lettuce. Served on thick slices of white bread, with good mayo, this sandwich was um, umm GOOD!
I was dining with a friend one day, when I ordered this sandwich. She asked why I was having that for "breakfast". I explained that bacon and toast were breakfast staples, tomatos are fruit, replacing an orange, and that I included lettuce because I was trying to "go green" and save the planet. Obviously, she could not refute the logic of that statement 18. Golden Nugget Buffet 19. Green Valley Ranch buffet - poster here: http://www.whatbrianthinksaboutlasvegas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=189040#189040 argues that this is the cheapest: "For breakfasts in Vegas I usually go to buffets, and the best one so far has been Green Valley Ranch for the fall apart crispiness of the buffet bacon. With the card there its only around 8 bucks, by far the best cheaply priced bacon recommendation I can give. "
THE DETAILS OF THE SEARCH
The Original Call: Okay, we've collected lists and details on mundane issues like where to sleep, eat, use coupons,gamble, get free wifi, bus....... let's get to down to some important issues.
Where in Vegas can you find crispy bacon as part of an inexpensive breakfast?
We are not talking about those pieces of bacon that limply bend when retrieved from the buffet mounds and chew with a texture somewhere between venison jerky and cheap penny candy bacon.
"Plastic BaconOh, baby nowYou're such a drag!"
No..... we are talking about bacon that, when touched by tooth, snaps and crumbles in oral orgasms of crunchy bits of pork fat. Bacon that delivers the onomatopoeic Truth in "CRISP." Bacon worth the bother.
In my last trip of 23 days I had but one successful hit. Using my $5 poker comp breakfast at the El Cortez Cafe cost 58 cents. I asked for crisp bacon and the cook, Careless Kitty, must have heard me because I received a generous portion, all brown and barely able to withstand the movement from kitchen to table without cracking and crumbling. ******************************** SELECTED BITS OF DISCUSSION AND BANTER
It seems that the problem is places that do bacon in volume prepare it ahead of time and then keep it hot on steam tables. It cannot stay crisp.
One poster suggested the superiority of meat called "bacon" that is cut from the back of the pig, especially the Danish variety popular in England and other spots is Europe. He went so far as to suggest that the "bookmark garnish" I was craving was not really "bacon" at all and that I should move on to real bacon.
My joking response: Now, how does one "move on" with back bacon? Seems that would be a move back. Look, back bacon is just bacon trying to "ham" it up. Furthermore, it is probably brined in saltpeter, and we all know what that does to any chance for true orgasmic pleasure. And these pieces in the photo don't even have a bit of pea meal packed along fatty edges, so at least there is some hint of decadent fat, something that tastes like a party. NO!! BACK BACON JUST WON'T DO!! The hunt for bacon here is for good ole American "streaky" bacon, son. Bacon at it's best is Bacon from the belly. Folks don't go to Vegas to eat back bacon, drink tea, and talk about the weather in the shipping channel. They go to Vegas to live wild and free and crisp!!! Next you'll be telling me that for real eggs you need to go to Granny's in Laughlin where for breakfast they serve the only true eggs, small black bits from the sturgeon, swiped on tiny crackers in the hope of giving them some flavor other than salt, and in achieving what every palate secretly yearns to savor: Crisp.
His response:
Belly bacon has its place Dewey – but back bacon is always better. Better texture – especially when compared to the belly bookmarks that you are looking for.
Cleary such an erudite man as yourself can make clear what he wants from life and you have done that but don’t let that scholarly prose and thought eliminate the possibility of opening yourself up to new pleasures. Back bacon is a wondrous thing – lightly cooked being the best way to eat it (in my opinion) which retains most of the flavor and a fantastic texture.
Anyway I have no doubt you’ll remain unswayed by my opinion. So – as the Danes know bacon better than most, being one of their main exports, I shall leave this with a few words and quotes.
Response to being told that belly bacon is better: “there is something Rotten in the State of Denmark” and “More matter with less art”
And remember this when dismissing Back Bacon as inferior.
"Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business, as the day Would quake to look on."
This is not a subject to be trifled with Sir.. make acquaintance with Danish back Bacon and understand what you have been missing and dismissing.
So it was a fun search. Now I'll have to try out some of the places mentioned or at least get some other reports. Hash a go go seems to be served by restaurant.com coupons. I am most leery of the Orleans and Gold Coast reports, so if anyone reading this goes there, check the crisp of the bacon and report back. Thanks to all contributing.
BUS SNIPPET: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT RIDING THE BUS
MY INTENTION HERE IS TO KEEP THIS AND UPDATE IT AS I LEARN MORE FROM POSTING IT ON DISCUSSION BOARDS AND TALKING WITH VEGAS VISITING FRIENDS, SO REVISITING WILL FIND IT REVISED.
(to skim read this site look for orange headings)
Just a bit of intro: I thought I should rewrite my bus boilerplate post and update both the facts and my own reflections. I hope those of you who know buses will be kind enough to correct any errors or add to what I've collected. Also, my strategies are based on getting from off strip or downtown to other Vegas locations. Others can perhaps give some advice on going from one strip hotel to another. I tend to dread the Deuce on the strip bus travel and avoid it with good planning, but then I don't stay on the strip either. The changes coming into effect are if part supposed to make the Deuce less crowded by taking off those folks heading downtown and moving them to the ACE system.
(For easy return access to the newest information on changes, I've moved this section to the top and used green for the text.)
CHANGES COMING
Beginning on January 10, 2010, the new fare structure will be as follows: Fare Type Regular 1Reduced: Seniors/Students Residential One-Way Fare: $2.00 $1.00 Strip One-Way Fare: $3.00 $1.50 One-Trip Ridecard (same as Red. One-Way Fare): $2.00 $1.00 Residential 1-Day Pass: $5.001 $2.001 Strip 1-Day Pass: $7.00 $7.00 Strip 3-Day Pass: $20.00 $10.00 30-Day Pass: $65.00 $30.00
1 To use this pass on the DEUCE, you must pay an additional $1.50 EACH TIME you board.
I wish these were the only changes. The entire convenient DTC is changing location and moving to Centennial Park
SEPT 2009 NOTE: I think the extra money added to the basic residential 24 hour pass when it is used on the Deuce is called an "up charge." If so, it may be that in the spring that fee will be $2 but need only be paid once in the 24 hour time period.
Some beginning notes on the changes in routes are at this site. NOTE THAT THE 108 SEEMS DRASTICALLY ALTERED. AS I READ THIS IT WILL MAKE GETTING TO DOWNTOWN FROM THE AIRPORT FASTER, BUT LEAVING DOWNTOWN AND GETTING DROPPED AT TERRIBLE'S MIGHT BE ELIMINIATED.
No more easy walks to the DTC for any route desired.
I can see how that will benefit folks who need to park and ride. And perhaps this new ACE bus will take advantage of highways and be much quicker a ride to some of my strip locations. But I'll have to learn it all over again. This is the hardest part of Vegas for me. I just get accustomed to something and it all changes. It is wearing me out. Thank goodness for these boards or how would we ever keep up? Also the 116 is probably going away. I like that route and I'll miss it. Well, the details are not in yet. Before my next trip, which may easily be as far away as next August, I hope all of you will keep your ears open and post what you learn.
UNTIL THE CHANGES, I THINK MOST OF THE FOLLOWING ADVICE HOLDS TRUE:
To get a senior rate you used to have to be 62, but I see now that the age is 60. Also you used to have to wait in the mail after being photographed, but they now do all of that in ten minutes at the DTC or the SST and then hand you an identity card good for 5 years. With that card seniors basically ride the bus for half price.
Here is a followup from the famous Turtleman posted on Vegasmessageboard.com : I visited the Downtown Transportation Center on Tuesday just to see about getting a Reduced Fare I.D. and found the process as fast and painless as getting a player's card. I merely had to show my driver's license, have a headshot photo taken in less than a minute, and had a 5-year ID a minute later. I only used it once during this last trip, but paying half fare for merely showing the card is really cool. Thanks a lot Dewey for pointing this out!
A NOTE FOR NON USA CITIZENS
We bought 3 day seniors pass from SST. Being Canadian citizens, we had to show our passports .... after showing our passports, we were issued with PHOTO ID cards good for five years! Next time we go to Vegas, we just insert the id.cards into the vending machines to purchase the seniors 3 day pass[$7.00]our best deal in Vegas.we really got our money's worth. This from a poster on the Open Vegas board by Croftonbill.
A NOTE ON 24 HOUR PASSES:
There are two 24 hour passes. One is the Deuce pass. One is the residential pass. The residential is cheaper, meant for people who are not going to ride the Deuce. This is not a change. It has always been like that. So suppose someone gets a residential pass and decides to take one Deuce leg. The pass is still good, but there is a bit more money added to that leg. Now it is a dollar. In January that goes up to a dollar and a half.
I still buy the residential pass because I will probably at most take the Deuce just once. So if you rode like I do, at full price, you'd pay $4 for 24 hour residential pass and $1 for my one Deuce ride and that would be a bit cheaper than $7 for the Deuce 24 hour pass (also good for nothing extra on any residential bus)
Of course, I pay half that with the senior citizen pass.
And anyone who gets a pass for 3 days or more sees increased economic advantage.
For so many people the Deuce is the only Vegas bus experience, and many are so turned off by overcrowding, they don't bother to ride a Vegas bus again.
If I do take the Deuce back to downtown, it is at the end of my gambling, say 2 AM and I try to be down at the Riviera when I board to head downtown as by then, there will usually be seats. At least I will board at the Venetian where there are the delightful nighttime views of European Cathedrals, the gentle rock of the gondolas in the calm water, and soft classical music pumped out to the street.
However, I am getting older and I can't seem to stay out as late as I once could, so at times I am boarding going North at midnight.
If large crowds have gathered to board at the Venetian, I pay attention to where the bus actually stops. Usually I have found it is beyond the stop itself, so positioning myself a bit North of the Venetian stop works to put me at the head of the pack for boarding and may save me having to wait for the second bus.
If you board the Deuce to downtown and there are no seats, squeeze through the crowds and go upstairs even if those seats are full as well. Folks will be getting off and then, having already negotiated the stairway, you can get first bid on the seats that they abandon. Generally, I get a spot upfront as the view at night is quiet wonderful.
Especially in the daytime, I take what are called "residential" routes. These are less crowded because there are fewer tourists, and the fare is less, but one must have correct change:
Carry dollar bills and quarters. The buses do not give change. However, you can buy passes in vending machines with your credit card. I don't know where all of the machines are located, but I know there are some at the DTC downtown and just around the corner from where the Deuce picks up at the end of Freemont outside Neonopolis. I have been told that at these vending machines I can first insert my senior reduced fare identity card and the machine will give me the reduced are menu.
Usually I just buy 24 hour passes on the bus and the drivers sell these for correct change, giving senior discounts as well.
Here might be a good place to get you thinking in terms of the flexibility of 24 hour day passes. Often they can cover your bus needs for two days. Example: Last trip I am visiting with my nephew at Tuscany. It is hot in the late afternoon, and I don't want to walk to the strip. I could take the bus, but he drops me there on his way home, I play poker until 3AM and buy the 24 hour pass on the way back. The entire next day I can ride the bus on that same pass. If you are going to ride the bus and then not ride it for many hours, it is best to go out on the last day's 24 hour pass and get the new day's pass on your way back to the room.
If you are going to ride the Deuce more than three times in the same 24 hours, than buy the Deuce 24 hour pass rather than the residential.
The woman at the DTC advised me to get a three day pass for half of $15 using my senior citizens discount card. That includes Deuce rides as well for no additional charge so it is the best value. However, my August trip I found the 24 hour passes to be best as some days I did not want to walk or bus anywhere, and just played where I stayed.
Board friends I know do not want to walk to the DTC so they stand at that stop that drops off at Walgreen's and take the first bus they meet to the DTC station in order to select their route for the day. Because they can take any bus and end up at the DTC, it does not take long for them to cathc the ride they want and they don't have to negotiate the blocks in between.
This may end up being the perfect strategy for the new DTC as well. My guess ( and it is only a guess) is that the buses will continue to drop there by Walgreen's as that is very convenient to the Freemont Experience.
BUYING FROM TICKET VENDING MACHINES
If you are going to ride the Deuce and don't have the $7 exact change (drivers don't give change) you can purchase your tickets ahead of time.
2. Ticket vending machines (TVM) at the following locations:
A. Every MAX passenger station (North Las Vegas route). B. Downtown Transportation Terminal (DTC). C. South Strip Transfer Terminal (SSTT). D. RTC Administration Building (600 S. Grand Central Pkwy. Ste. 350 Las Vegas, NV 89106). E. Two Las Vegas Strip locations (Showcase Mall (near MGM) and Slots-A-Fun Casino). F. Santa Fe Station stop on North Rancho Drive.
The most convenient places for tourists to purchase these passes are the two strip locations or downtown.
Ticket vending machines (TVM) are a convenient way to purchase one way and day passes. 30-day passes are also available at TVMs. Machines are located at every MAX passenger station, the Downtown Transportation Terminal (DTC), the South Strip Transfer Terminal (SSTT), at two Las Vegas Strip locations (MGM Grand and Circus Circus) and at the Santa Fe Station stop on North Rancho Drive. There is also a vending machine on Freemont in front of Neonopolis just around the corner from where the Deuce picks up. Jimbo338 reports a machine on the paradise side of the LV Convention Center
Ticket vending machines sell and validate full-fare, reduced-fare, one-day and one-ride passes. Please note that one day passes and one-trip ride cards are validated and become active upon issue.
How to use TVMs 1 Select the pass you want to purchase by pressing one of the buttons adjacent to the video screen. 2 The screen will display the correct amount to pay. Select the payment type: cash, credit card or debit card. 3 Insert bills, coins or a Visa/Mastercard credit/debit card. The TVM will accept $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. The machine will dispense $20 maximum in change (coins only). 4 Validate your 30-day pass by inserting it in the slot marked "Validate Card." One-day passes and one-trip ridecards are validated upon issue.
NOTE FOR SENIORS HOLDING REDUCED FARE IDENTY CARDS. I have not done this, but at some point in the above process, inserting your identity card will prompt the machine to display the senior reduced fares and let you make reduced fare decisions. I'd try it first, before step 1 above.
With any address in Vegas you can chart a route and print it out detail for detail by using this Trip Planner at the RTC site. Sometimes you can just put in a casino name and it will change it to the right terminology and then search your routes. go to this site and look at the bottom right for trip planner
From downtown using the DTC you can find most of the routes and you can talk to people who will help you plan your route right there at the information windows as well. There also, and sometimes from the driver, you can buy the latest book of bus routes and schedules. However, I find it a better bet to plan a few itineraries from the transit planner page above, and print them out before I go and only use the book as a backup. It is large to carry.
FROM THE AIRPORT
Go to ground level zero by taking the elevator that is oversized and has glass for a view of the terminal as you ride. When you exit at ground zero, turn to the right and go all the way down. There is a bus stop and the 108 or 109 will get you downtown from there in 45 minutes. You can also change buses and ride the Flamingo or Tropicana buses to a casino along that route. If you want to do that, you want to wait for the 108 at the airport. You can't ride the Deuce with large luggage. From the airport I have taken the 109 twice and the 108 twice and found both easy, but my buddy took the 109, and he says he ended up going in the wrong direction, so ask the driver if it goes North to downtown and not South to the South Strip Transfer Terminal or you will have to ride there and then wait for it to come back. I think they come about every 12 minutes. The least crowded day from the airport is Sunday. Since that is a fine day to start a frugal Vegas adventure, and avoid the high priced weekend, it is convenient. The 108 will also drop you downtown at that same spot you may have experienced on the Deuce. This is very safe for walking to all the downtown casinos. The 109 will get you a bit closer to the El Cortez but in a less tourist neighborhood. Walking from the DTC is only a good idea if your casino is close to that area. California is right across the street from the DTC. Main Street Station is close too.
This past August trip I walked to the Plaza once from the DTC and once from that stop near Freemont at Walgreen's. It was hot. The most comfortable walk was the walk under the canopy. Note also that you may be arriving and need snacks for the room or some favoite tolietry the airport securty confiscated. Walgreen's is right there where the 108 drops.
I have always thought of the 108 as a way to get downtown, but it goes right by the Hilton (although the walk to that casino from the street to the casino is a hike.) There is a fine stop right across the street from where folks enter to check in to the Sahara. I may put the Sahara in my itinerary next trip followed with some days downtown. It would be simple using the 108 from the airport to hop off there, spend a few nights, and then hop on for the ride downtown. The monorail also stops right there, steps from the bus stop behind Sahara.
The 108 will not get you directly to Terribles from the airport (you'd have to walk back from Swenson or take the Flamingo bus). However, if you are staying at Terribles, a free shuttle will pick you up for free at Ground Zero in their shuttle. I use Terribles not for much gambling, but as a good, cheap location to access the strip at Flamingo or the Palms and Gold Coast as well as the cheapest egg and fruit breakfast available because their 2 for 1 coupons are good for 50% for solo travelers and half the time they give me a funbook with some free buffets. Ground Zero is also where the Laughlin bus picks up and drops off at the airport. Is is just steps from the 108/109 stop.
Remember to consider the 24 hour pass when coming into downtown from the airport. Ask yourself if you are going to use the bus again while the pass is good. Often the pass I buy at the airport gets me out to the strip the next day, and then I buy a new pass at 2AM after long strip poker sessions. That second pass then gets me out to the strip and perhaps even back on the next day if I come home a bit earlier.
Going back to the airport you can catch the 108 right there between Main Street Station and the Plaza. It will take a bit of time to go from Ground zero to the check in section. Check which way your airline is from the elevator so you don't walk too far in the wrong direction.
USING THE BUS WHEN STAYING DOWNTOWN
The two most common CAT routes from downtown to the strip used to avoid the Deuce are the 108 and the 116 (which was once the 105 and may soon be gone)
From downtown the 108 will take you to Terribles where you can take the Flamingo bus to the strip. If you don't mind a walk down Flamingo to the strip, you can stop at Tuscany, or at Ellis Island to use up matchplays or grab some lunch (cheap steak and garlic beans) Staying on the 108 beyond Flamingo will take you to the Hard Rock. I often go there, use up matchplays, check out all the guitars, and then walk the short distance back to Terribles for a cheap breakfast. You can also take the 202 Flamingo bus to the strip or stay on to the Palms or the Gold Coast or Rio.
TRIPS ALONG THE 202 AND 201
This last trip I took the 202 away from the strip to just across the street from the Atomic Testing Museum http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/ and treated myself to supper at the much praised Himilayan Restaurant before heading to the strip. I did a little review of this restaurant here:
Sometimes I go on the 202 Flamingo bus from Terribles to the Gold Coast. Then it will be possib le to catch the Gold Coast shuttle ( sometimes you need a room key--usually not) to the Tropicana casino.(change in route expected any day now - Bill's no longer in the circuit)
While much of the good gambling is gone from the Orleans, I think the gift shop still sells great playing cards for 50 cents and dice for a quarter and of course a visit to McMullan's for a pint of Smithwick's and some of those homemade potato chips is always a treat. http://www.mcmullansirishpub.com/
So it was always worth a stop along the way, but now you will be able to go directly from the Gold Coast to Tropicana and from there the free shuttle from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay really opens up the South strip.
But remember now, don't use up all your quarters playing those machines. Keep a couple bus quarters in your pocket. But perhaps the new rates are not so quarter dependent for those who are under 60. This museum is moving closer to the Liberace Museum so keep track of where they are before you plan a trip.
There are two options from Downtown to get out to the Boulder Strip. You can catch the free shuttle to Sam's Town or the 107 that goes along the Boulder Highway. Here is a friend's comments on those two routes:
"We have ridden the 107 many times. They now have double deckers so it's more comfortable. We took it to Eastside Cannery several times. I really like that casino. The bus continues on to Henderson. One time we had coupons for Terribles in Henderson, so we took the 107 there. I'm not sure how much farther it goes.
The Sam's Town bus is much more comfortable and faster than the CAT bus. The CAT probably takes about 40 minutes to Eastside Cannery."
That also means that the small Joker's Wild casino is accessible by bus from downtown. There they offer craps at the lowest limits in Vegas. A bet on the pass line for 50 cents can be backed by 10X odds. They use quarter chips to make accurate pays on small 6/8 place bets. Sometimes they also have food deals. Call before you go to see if there is a game that day.
While there are thoughts of eliminating this route, as far as I know it is still going strong. The 116 is convenient from downtown and drops you off at / near various strip casinos as follows:
Direct dropoff: Fashion Mall, Trump, Wynn / Encore, Palazzo / Venetian, Treasure Island, Luxor, Mandalay Bay. The 116 also offers direct off strip service to Ellis Island and Westin hotel / casinos.
1 - 3 block walk: Circus Circus, Riviera, Mirage and the entire east side of the strip (the back portions of the IP, Harrahs, Bills, Ballys through Hooters).
The 116 in its winding route will drop you at Fashion Mall which is on the strip across from the Wynn. I used it to go play poker at the Wynn and it is very convenient. Remember that this links to the Palms by free shuttle. Planning itineraries that link to free shuttles is a great way to get easy transportation around Vegas. See here for information on free shuttle
The new M casino has a shuttle from somewhere around the Fashion Show Mall so it is possible without a car to see this place from downtown, using the buses and free shuttle.
Note by the way that the Gold Coast turns out to be a really fine spot for positioning you for central shuttle and bus travel. The Coast shuttle, the Palms shuttles, the Rio Shuttles and the 202 CAT give you some really great access to so many areas. You can even go out to the Boulder strip and see the Eastside Cannery.
The 116 coming from Downtown will also drop you right at Ellis Island for one of those steak specials and a much easier walk to the strip than from Terribles.
Because of the one way streets, if you decide to ride the 108 or the 116 back to downtown from an area around the strip, you have to pick them up in places different from where they dropped you off. It can get confusing, so check the routes in the book. Also just asking the driver on your way out, can orient you better for finding the same route on your way back. I don't like catching the residentials late at night back to downtown, so I opt for the Deuce. You do have to add a dollar to a residential 24 hour pass, but on this past trip for some reason they issued me a Deuce pass for the reduced residential $2 fee and so I did not have to add anything.
The confusion in getting from Strip area to downtown is perfectly understandable. The stop for going North to downtown on 116 is at Koval and Rochelle
116 - Koval/Industrial - Direction: Route 116 Koval/Industrial - NorthboundService run by Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada - 702-676-1500 6:07pmDepart Koval @ Rochelle 31 mins6:38pmArrive DTC
I have not caught the 116 there yet.
Another easy thing if you are dropped at the DTC and uncomfortable would be just to duck into the California casino after dark and navigate to Freemont from there. Or get on the 108 at the DTC and just ride one block to the area between the Plaza and Main Street Station in front of the train station. I would not be worried, just cautious. There is always a safe way to go.
In December of 2007 I used the 108 to see Cowboy Christmas. It took me right there. I walked across the street and saw all the vendors and exhibits. I pretended to be a cowboy for an afternoon. Then I hopped back on the 108 and continued to Ellis for a dinner.
GREEN VALLEY RANCH
The 111 is the Pecos bus. One of the buses goes out as far as Green Valley Ranch, if you can believe it. It estimates it takes an hour to get there from Bill's with one transfer. Friends report it is a long, long ride.
I have ridden the bus to get to the Pinball Hall of Fame when I was already on Flamingo. Pecos cuts into Tropicana right at the plaza that has that fun place.
GOING TO TEXAS STATION OR FIESTA RANCHO or SANTE FE ON 106 I just read this week that one poster would not even think of these casinos from downtown because they were too far to go.
I think 106 is a fine and easy route that goes out to Texas Station or Fiesta Rancho. On the way back it also has stops right downtown, so you don't have to wait for the DTC end of the road drop off.
I have used it with some light baggage just to take advantage of a free night at Fiesta Rancho leaving my main luggage in a free room somewhere else downtown.
Also, remember that the 24 hour pass is good for the full 24 hours. This will happen to me: Day one - head to the strip at 5 PM and return. Day two - Head to the strip at 4PM on the same pass. play poker until early in the morning.Day three(2 AM) - Buy a second pass to return to downtown. Use it again that day, and if I return to downtown earlier than 2AM on Day Four, I have managed to buy 2 passes and done three days of travel.
Also, at Terribles is the only place you can take a shuttle to Laughlin other than those one day almost free trips. River City Shuttle is the name of the company. I wrote of details in this post:
This past trip I returned from Laughlin to Terribles and then rolled my bags down to the Tuscany where I had found $20 nights with wi fi in common areas and a laundromat. No car, but I'm staying in Laughlin and off strip without cab fare.
Friends also report on going out to Sante Fe station using the 106
"We really liked the Santa Fe buffet. We went about 10:30 which made breakfast and lunch available at the breakfast price. We didn't do that every day, but we did go 4 or 5 times during our visit. It actually takes only about 35 minutes. The ride was fine, but it always had the usual assortment of characters. I believe that bus continues on beyond Santa Fe to a Walmart store."
I can't tell you how many interesting discussions I have had with people on the bus. But you do have to be tolerant of all sorts of folks. Poor folks ride these buses, so if you think cabbing is a step down from your limo, you may feel uncomfortable.
For low rollers, the CAT opens ups Vegas. Even with the coming rise in fares, the bus remains a really great deal.
__________________
LUGGAGE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Luggage on the 108 may get easier to carry. The notes on this route say it will have room for luggage.
I can't tell you how many interesting discussions I have had with people on the bus. Just ask questions and you will get entire life stories. But you do have to be tolerant of all sorts of folks. Poor folks ride these buses, so if you think cabbing is a step down from your limo, you may feel uncomfortable. If you are already staying downtown I expect you are confident and at ease at lower economic levels. It is not any different than a bus or subway in larger cities around the world. It certainly is more entertaining than being isolated in a cab and the cost is equal to the cab tip.
Buses really change what you thought was possible in terms of Vegas mobility, especially if you pack light so you don't have huge luggage to cart in and out of the bus. They make it very easy for a low roller to stay a long while and patch together free room offers without those huge cab expenses added for moving from place to place.
I really thought that I needed to downsize my luggage in order to ride buses, but then I planned this 23 day trip. I travel with a computer and a sleep apnea machine. I wanted enough clothes for at least half my days and I wanted room to take things home. So I took the same large suitcase I've been taking and hoped for the best. In that suitcase I could pack everything except the apnea machine and the wide wheel base made for easier rolling because there was none of that wrist twist of small bags. Also I packed a soft bag so that when I came home I could dump all the playing cards I buy, all the heavy things and so get under Southwest's weight of 50 pounds. On the bus all of that was in the big suitcase. My computer was not visible to anyone seeing me rolling along the Vegas roads. In my last bus there was a woman in a motorized chair, so I had to position myself so that when it was time for her to exit (before me) by bag would not be in her way. Otherwise, I did not even have to think too much about it, nor did I feel awkward or a bother to my fellow travelers. Some had more cumbersome luggage than I did. In the airport I quickly repacked before check it. By the way, if you are just a bit assertive you can use the scales outside the terminal without waiting in any lines to see if your bag is too heavy. Of course, it is better to pack light. Hand washing is easy in Vegas because everything dries overnight and is ready to go again. I'll reduce my clothing again next trip. I especially enjoyed these white golf shirts that I bought on sale in Florida. I don't golf, but these were great for the hot Vegas weather.
And buses are comfortable, generally air conditioned well, and they have automatic taped recordings of the upcoming stops with the points of interest. It is so much easier than when I first came to Vegas.
coming from the airport I wrote "The doors are very wide, the step up and down is very small. Even my large suitcase, when I sat in the side seats, did not obstruct anyone passing. The 108 I caught was a single bus with a trailer that doubled the size. We left with a dozen people and lost many of them before we got to Main St. Even then it was not at all crowded. Plenty of seats and room to maneuver."
Staying at Terribles or at the Tuscany and using the bus to access the strip is very safe and easy. On the return trip the bus stops right in front of each casino so there is no worry of being on Flamingo late at night and having to walk through any dark shadows.
At the Tuscany, if you get a room in building B, you will have just a few steps from the stop to your door. The bus is as close as the casino.
The notes on the 108 for 2010 include some mention of room for luggage. It is possible that 108 buses have been redesigned to more easily accomodate travelers with luggage from McCarren.
MY PERSONAL CONCLUSIONS
My favorite bus routes are the 201 and the 202, and they may change me from a sleep downtown person to a sleep at Terribles, the Tuscany, The Gold Coast, or on the Boulder Strip person. This will certainly be what I do for the August trips or at other times when hotel prices are low. I'll take the Tuscany at $20 any time, and the Eastside Cannery at the standard $30 is well worth the value as well, although any bus to the strip would be a longer ride. Usually those 201/202 routes have the two deck buses as well and are regular and uncrowded. The elimination of the DTC close to the downtown area will change one huge advantage downtown has for me, the opportunity to go just about anywhere from the DTC on one bus. I may not think in terms of buses once I am downtown, but just go for a few days, play a bit of cards with Jackie Gaughn and finish my trip by catching that nice, free El Cortez shuttle to the airport on my last day. I tip that free shuttle driver $5, so it is more expensive than the bus, but it is only a half hour, dependable, and it means I can leave my bags with the El Cortez bellhop and play poker right up to the last minute of my trip.
****************************************************************** September 2009 This from the Las Vegas Advisor site
Q:
The last time I was in Vegas, I heard someone ask the driver on the Deuce about buying a three-day pass. The driver said you can't buy one on the bus but you can at other locations. Where can you buy one? We normally buy two or three 24-hour passes during our stay and could take advantage of a three-day pass.
A:
Like the 30-Day All Access Pass ($55), the Three-Day Pass ($15) has been available since the launch of the Deuce bus (and before, we think). Your driver was correct in informing you that you can't purchase this pass on the bus; it's available at ticket vending machines (TVM) located at the Downtown Transportation Center, the South Strip Transfer Terminal, in person at the RTC Administration Building, at ticket vending machines around the valley, and online at the RTC website. Tickets purchased online are delivered via USPS mail, so you should allow a few days for delivery. The 3-day period begins on the date of first use. Since the 24-hour pass runs at $7, you can save substantially over a three-day period if you think you'll use your pass on a daily basis.
A reduced-fare ($7.50) version of this pass is available to those aged 6-17 years, senior citizens 60+ years, and those with disabilities or who are Medicare eligible. These are available on the bus (valid ID must be presented) or from ticket vending machines around the valley. Click the link above for more information about all the other fares available.
While checking with the RTC, we asked about the soon-to-debut ACE Rapid Transit bus. A companion to the Deuce, it sounds as if it's basically designed to "fill in the gaps" on the current Deuce route and connect passengers with downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Strip, Henderson, and North Las Vegas. The bullet-shaped vehicles will travel in dedicated lanes where possible, with less frequent stops than fixed-route transit, and the service will be able to change routes based on traffic patterns and, hence, move passengers longer distances in a shorter time period than the fixed-route bus service. Cool! The launch date's been moved a couple times already, but they're currently shooting for January 2010.
routes to try out on the next trip if they still exist:
******Try taking the 116 to Mandalay Bay and then take the free shuttle to the Excalibur after playing at Mandalay for a while and checking out the casino. Look for the 4 Seasons and the bus stop back from Mandalay Bay.
This route might be a way to bipass the Deuce and get back downtown or to catch the Flamingo bus
********Three locations of this Mexican place voted the best in Vegas They do send a limo to the strip, but for one person it seems too much. The bus seems easy enough but I don't know exactly where to catch it 213 eastbound northbound Lindo Michoacan - Desert Inn 702.735.6828 2655 E. Desert Inn Road This is the closest to the strip and the easiest to get to by bus. Take the 213 along Desert Inn Road Go to Topaz and Desert Inn. If it seems hard to get there from the strip, Try from Eastside Cannery. Take 107 at Harmon North to Lamb about ten minutes Take 213 southbound westbound to Topaz. About 5 minutes
Another way to go is to take the Pecos bus from the Pinball Hall of Fame directly to Desert Inn Road and walk the short distance toward the strip to the Mexican restaurant. Depart Pecos and Tropicana on bus 111A and travel northbound ride to McLeod at Desert Inn- takes 7 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes down Desert Inn Road toward the strip to the restaurant.
******** BUS RIDE TO SUNSET STATION Choose bus 402 from the DTC ********
I am just back a week or so and stayed at the Plaza for four days at the end of July and another four mid August. I used the pool every morning and generally it was quite nice. My last morning it was very, very cold. Perhaps they changed the water recently. It felt like the California pool always feels.
I found the cold water to be an advantage as there were fewer adults to negotiate around in my continual move from pool to pool. A few children were brave enough to crack the icy cold and play a bit, but few adults lasted very long.
I found it generally uncrowded and very adequate. I particulary like having that Binions clock keeping me updated on how long I have been swimming as well as the temperature. Also entertaining on my first visit was a huge crane moving things in a next door building. I was happy to have booked at the Plaza for the pool rather than at the El Cortez.
I liked having a water fountain and bathroom close and easy to use.
All beer was $2 including Corona and the beer tenders were very friendly.
Adjacent are these tennis courts and in one was set up a horse shoe pitching pit. However, no horse shoes were available. They lost them over the winter and while they had been reordered, they had not arrived. Apparently they wre of some aluminum that would not damage the cement of the court. The pits were surrounded with wooden ties, had a dense black material around the stake and rubber mats spread out for short shots. I could imagine some fun playing horse shoes and then going for a dip to cool off. I could imagine that better than playing tennis in that sun, but that was available as well.
Some of the days the pool seemed to collect some feathers which were annoying, but I think the skimmer is available for use and a couple minutes with that might have saved me pushing them to the edge and splasing them up on the cement although that seemed to entertain me a bit as well.
I don't seem to have the hours in my trip report. A call to the Plaza would confirm those. I remember it was open into the evening.
Towels go quickly. Take one as you enter the pool area so you have one. If you need one and none are on the counter, they are packaged behind the counter in bundles in a large rolling cart. Just reach over and grab a bundle and open it yourself.
It does seem to me that shade was a premium, but I did not look for shade. I just did my hour (or almost hour) of breast stroke swimming without touching bottom, and then went off to find breakfast. I generally swim with my head above water in a shirt, cap and sunglasses and recommend it for comfort in all that sunlight as well as for some protection as long as you don't mind the strange looks of sunbathers.
Actually, a woman there showed me why she was moving more quickly when swimming on her back than I was and now I have a new swimming stretch to try. She swam with a cap and goggles. I am thinking of trying that.
The advantage of the large sun glasses is I can be entertained by the antics of others and yet not seem to be rudely staring.
If you expect to sneak in from another hotel, that is more difficult than in past years. The gate is key operated, so unless you wait for someone or have a very long, thin hand and arm that can reach in the small hole in mesh of the gate and reach down far enough to open the gate, you will need to be a hotel guest to swim. I assume that if you are a guest at the Vegas Club, you can arrange for pool privileges at the main desk. That is the way it works if you stay at Main Street Station and want to use the California pool or stay at the Four Queens and want to use Binions.
There has been much speculation about the origin of the expression:
"Vegas, baby, Vegas"
Here are two of the most popular answers to how that expression came about.
"The expression came from an old TV commercial for an now defunct discount organization called "Players Club". In the commercial, a popular TV personality, Telly Savalis (he played a tough detective named "Kojak" on a TV show by the same name) and part of his pitch was to explain where the Players Club card could be used. He said, "Its Vegas, Baby". It was a play on an expression he always used as detective Kojak. He would often say, "Who loves ya, Baby?"
So, a lot of people started saying it then and still say it today but few remember the origin of it."
I lost $1877, huge for my trips. It will change the way I gamble. I am not going to play VP with a bankroll big enough for comped rooms again. It just gets me overbetting. Also I am not going back to the weekday games in Laughlin as that is too tough competition.
11.20 per day food
$12 per day rooms
$81.61 per day gambling losses
$5 per day TRANSPORTATION
Bus to Laughlin $109
Bus to and from Plaza $1.50
two day passes $4
total $114.50 or $5 per day
Total daily cost of trip $110 per day.
I expect that in a regular tourist trip I can get by on $80 a day, so I gambled away more than the difference this trip. Also, going in ahead $1500 from home game wins made this loss a bit of a downer. All that is gone, and a bit more as well.
However, the rest of it was fine. I saw two free shows and had lots of good food and I learned a good bit as well. And while it was hot, it was not like this humidity here which leaves me so sticky and uncomfortable.
I went up to El Cortez to pick up my high hand award. It was amazing that those four tens held up and it paid $225. On the way I stopped for a couple orders of Vue potato chips at the Fitz. I did not play. Draft beer is a dollar so two orders with tip were $5.
Albert was not to be working until evening so I could not give him his tip on that hand.
I stayed to play and except for my nemisis, John, I broke even, but as soon as that old Asian fellow joined the table, I was losing. It is like playing against Greg on a good day. It does not matter how I cut it, he wins.
He plays very low cards too; he as likely to come out on the river with a low straight. It is impossible to figure out why he bets. I lost $63 and then I just left. I was too frustrated. On the way back I used my coupon at the Golden Nugget in a 2-4 but quickly realized that it was not the game I wanted to play and left ahead a few dollars of my extra $10.
I was tired. I hated going to sleep at 6 on a Saturday, but I did.
I woke up at 2 AM and went back to the El Cortez figuring that that old fellow would not be there that late and I was right.
I had a good time playing until about 8 when Ram It Ron showed up and just bet or raised every hand no matter what he had. When I saw him win with a 2-9, after plenty of betting, I knew this was not the game for me.
Generally, folks play real poker at the El Cortez. This kind of maniac destroys the game. He can do it because there are quite a few rocks who sit and only play a few kinds of hands. But even blind stealing here makes little sense. He gets a dollar if everyone folds.
So the last hand I am going to play is 4-6 suited and I am on the button. Only Ram It Ron raises, so I call and catch an open ended straight which by the turn is a straight in a pot full of money because Ram It has bet on who knows what, any ace is staying with him.
There is one Ace on the board and by the river nothing pairs, so my little straight is the nut hand. Jimmy calls my six dollars. What else can he do? There is too much money in the pot not to.
So I collect my chips and head to breakfast. I am up $19 and I have a free breakfast. Or nearly free. It costs me 55 cents.
I had a good bit of fun at this late Saturday night table. I drank three cognacs and joked with the players who were awake. A couple rocks slept between hands and often had to be woken up at the deal. Jimmy is fine to play. I pretended he was the guy who could take all my money, but actually he is too loose, so I like having good cards against him.
Also, I am in with another high hand. I got four eights. I don't think it will hold up. Yesterday even the little straight flush a woman at our table caught was topped by higher straight flushes. But it is fun to wait and see.
Melanie and Gayle both decided that they could not make a meet up. Of course, they decided at the last minute after numerous phone attempts. It is so frustrating. Then Gayle started here, “If you only gave us some warning ahead of time....".speech and I just wasn't having it. I told her that she had had eight days to work with. I don't know what she is thinking, but it is not clear. Is it ever?
ALBERT THE DEALER
I found Albert playing a bit when I got to the game at 2 AM. I tipped him the twenty dollars which he said was not necessary as he always says.
We talked a bit of our Laughlin experience and this time we have e-mail contact, so I can send him the story I wrote with him in it. I gave him mine, and it came through fine.
Action Jackson is up in Chicago visiting his new grandchild. That is a fine thing for him. He was so in the dumps the last I saw him and not at all his legendary self. Still I missed him at the games and did not get to buy him supper and listen to his stories.
I don't see as many of the colorful characters at the El Cortez as I once did. Many have been 86'd. I did see young Joe and found out he was raised in Cheektowaga. I played a fellow from Pasadena, another from Houston, and one young fellow named Derrick who got smacked so hard he will probably not return to this game.
I took him out one time when he kept raising his three queens into my nut house, queen full of tens. He came back again, but was surprised when his single pair of kings did not win. He left and so he saved himself some money as he could not play.
I made another regular fellow mad when on a whim I stayed in preflop with 4-8 offsuit. Derrick was raising this one too. The other fellow was calling with pocket aces. The flop gave me two pair and those held up.
I told him I rarely play such hands, but he said he had seen me play them and he was angry like some of our group at home when they lose to trash cards.
Then two hands later I limped in with 5-9 of hearts and they flopped a pair of fives, and on the river a heart flush so they came to win against the same fellow again.
I don't really play these cards often, but I was glad it looked like I did. It was a fluke that they came so soon together and I just gave them a dollar bet and then got sucked in with some hope and caught to win. But I sure like the others seeing me play them.
The rocks could not get callers, so they may have won the few hands they bet, but they did not win much. It was funny to see them fall asleep between their playable hands. After that regular guy had lost to two of my trash hands, he picked up his chips and steamed off.
PLAZA POKER
I left the El Cortez the following afternoon tired and down a hundred. I pushed it too long. The opponents were skilled and difficult. Against my common sense I took a seat at the Plaza 2-4 game, thinking that there was not much thinking required in this soft and loose game.
Well, the cards came my way in a wave like I have never seen. I was unbeatable, and I left after my $60 buy in with over $300, making the day positive.
BUS INFO
There are machines along the Freemont Experience near the Deuce bus stop and Neonopolis that will let me insert my bus senior citizen card and give me the rates and choices for passes, even for a three day all inclusive. This is great news as I will not have to go to the DTC to buy my passes next trip.
FOOD
The El Cortez cafe's simple $5.50 breakfast is very good. Eggs anyway with a bit of potato, two slices of toast and a good portion of bacon. I asked for the bacon to be crisp, and it was the best I have had in Vegas and a good portion too. I asked for Cholua, and they had it as well as the Tabasco, so the potato was good too. I skipped coffee, hoping to sleep. That costs extra anyway.
I still had an unused food comp for the Plaza so I used it for the steak night supper which let me down. I have never seen such small pieces of steak, thin and fairly tough. The fish was tasty, but I can't see paying the price they get. It was only good because I had a comp for most of the price, and I was too tired to want to go anywhere else.
I had breakfast at Main Street Station. I really wanted another taste of kalua pork, but I decided not to wait for lunch. I probably could have. Good tasty food, however. I had some over easy eggs to order and right along side the ordering station was hot mushroom and onions to put on top. With a Frosty shake at Wendy's at the airport this held me until I was home.
ELVIS
I just lost energy and yet I am not ready to sleep. So my last day I watched Elvis movies on TCM. Funny, corny, but fun.
I stayed too long this trip. I am aging and I just get tired out so I can't do the all night poker anymore.
OTHER ENTERTAINMENT
I enjoyed the Summer of 69 Theme on Freemont. At times it really took me emotionally back to my youth. The simple flower collage, blending in and out of colorful flowers to Blood, Sweat, and Tears music reminded me of being young and of how wonderfully optimistic I was in those years.
I enjoyed the hippie bus music as well and the pretty girls in these rubber like suits that hugged their fine bodies very tightly, trying to represent the body painting of the 60's. They were lifted above out heads and did acrobatics on large rings to the music of the 60's.
I marveled at all the dealer's in tye dyed shirts. Early in the morning in the near deserted Plaza, it looked like a small Grateful Dead Concert.
I liked it that Freemont joined together in representing this common theme. That made good sense. I encountered 60's music in a number of venues. I began to see that the 60's was the new Rat Pack and maybe the new Elvis. As the population ages, the nostalgic focus ages as well.
Some of the dealers told me they hated the tye dyes and I suppose in one sense the worst way to celebrate the individual, creative feedom of the 60's is to regiment a uniform dress code. But Vegas is not real anyway, all illusion, so I'm willing to pretend, just as I am more than willing, even if only for a few minutes, to pretend to be twenty three again.
POOL
The Plaza pool was very cold for some reason. I guess they had just filled it. It is a contrast with our lake water here at home. As soon as I got home I jumped in for a swim, and the lake water was warm as bath water.
I spent the last of my Tuscany time playing at the cheap O'Shea's game more for the Guinness than the winnings. I had a good bit of fun, and I realize that I am still much more of a limit player than a no limit player. I'm more comfortable and can drink a Guinness and joke around.
I don't win much more than a few dollars at these games, but I don't add to my losses either. It is not as volatile as either VP or no limit games.
Yesterday I would have won more at OShea's if I had not started off so aggressively. I lost $100 in the first hour and spent the rest of the night grinding it back in spite of long sessions with unplayable cards.
There were two players from Florida who were the most aggressive and I finally figured out that they did not bet premium hands. I got a seat with one of them to my right. It was perfect as after an hour the other gave me lots of respect. So preflop I could reraise the aggressive guy and usually get down to just him and I.
The guy was in love with middle cards. He raised three on every pair of middles. I think he hoped to push out other middle cards and then bet if the flop had not high cards.
So if I reraised with high cards, rather than see $10 more to see the flop, the rest of the table would fold. It worked for quite a few hands before middle card guy tightened up. Then I could again see the flop for just a dollar. That is the way I like to play this single dollar blind game. I like to see the flop cheaply. At the flop I would generally let others bet into me because they would.
His system cost him a good bit of money, but it did make some sense were I not there often to mess up his pattern. His $3 bet would get all the folks holding his middle cards out, and then the high card folks would either catch the flop and he would fold, or they would miss and his cards would look good for straights. This was an easy game to draw to straights because the betting was the same for every round. Chasing was not so bad as long as solid high cards did not come.
I did not have too many good hands, but letting others bet into me worked. It is risky to give them cards, but if they had good enough cards to bet, they would not fold in this game anyway, at least until the river when it was clear they did not catch. So I flopped the nut diamond flush and just let the pocket kings bet into me, which she did even on the river when the board paired. And I did the same with pocket threes that flopped a set. Others could be out and get called more easily, but if I bet after the flop, folks got scared out. Also, in both cases I had high hand draws so it gave me a chance for a bonus pay as well.
The rest of the time I just threw cards away and watched the entertaining people walking the strip. Lots of fun folks at the table as well, including pretty girls. So I need to stop getting so serious about gambling and get back to just enjoying the party that is Vegas as that will give me a cushion even if I lose money.
I did the VP frugal betting pattern too at Ellis Island and Main Street Station and came out even or ahead a few dollars while maintaining my points and having a free black chip porter. Main Street Station is now part of Boyd Gaming and that may explain why my free room offers dried up.
My score is still terrible, but basically in my budget. I usually think of losing now more than $1000. This trip I came with that and with the $1500 I won at home over the last month. I was disappointed to leave it here, but it teaches me things.
COUPONS
Going through my coupon books this morning, I also realize that I have not used very many. I won't go chasing these last few days, but I'll get back to having more coupon runs next trip. This weekend I'm just staying downtown and playing here and relaxing until my flight. I may be moving away from coupons. I get more free food than I can use in general just from the poker. And I have points built up over the years that I need to use up. I lost or had lifted from my back pocket in a Freemont Experience crowd my POV coupon book.
BUS
I was smart not to get the month pass as I have not been riding the bus much this trip. When I did, I got good value. My nephews left me at Bill's two nights in a row and each meant I did not have to start my 24 hour pass on the way to the games. One night I walked back to the Tuscany. So when I changed hotels, I bought a 24 hour pass that also gave me a free trip for my last night playing at O'Shea's and back.
News is that perhaps by January the new DTC will be build. I saw the site. I am not very pleased. I won't be walking to it while staying downtown. Also, all the routes will change. There will be a new as yet unestablished route called the ACE bus. I guess it could make bus riding better, but I don't trust that it will. I expect that the 108 will still loop downtown. I hope the 116 will too. Certainly there will be places to catch those routes, but will they be in areas where I feel safe walking? Will I have to go the the new DTC by bus in order to pick a route from there? I'm pretty depressed about it. It took me a long time to get a good sense of these routes, and on my next trip I will have to start all over again.
Moving from the Tuscany to the Plaza was very easy. I had to run for the bus with my large rolling suitcase, but I made it and then I had only a short wait at Swenson for the 108 to downtown. That stop confused me because I remembered the stop at Swenson and Tropicana. I liked this Swenson and Flamingo better. This is making me more and more sure that I want to plan my future stays with plenty of time on Flamingo and the rest downtown as long as I can get out again if I want. Poker playing is much better on the strip as there are more tourists, even people who have never played before at least in these cheap limit games.
Of course, it will be a long while before I go to Vegas again, probably a year. We are booked now all the way through March. And by then I suppose, like the bus, everything will have changed again. I guess it gives me something to do on the discussion boards, but I am tired of change and thankful for the recession slowing things down so at least everything is not imploded and rebuilt every month.
I sure like catching the Deuce at Venetian. There is all that architecture, water, and lights. Soft classical music is pumped out to the bus stop. I think I'll walk to there in the future when I want the Deuce to take me back downtown.
I don't quite understand it, but the 24 hour access pass I got for $2 on my senior citizen card worked on the Deuce with no extra money required. So for $2 I rode from the Tuscany to the Plaza, then later to Ellis Island and finally back downtown.
PLAZA
I got the North Tower again and a fine room. 1121 near the elevator. The bathrooom sink sings to me a bit when I turn on the water unless I give it a good twist. Everything else is fine. I was not able to check in at ten o'clock, but was in by one. I was pretty tired as I had played until almost three AM, then grabbed the Ellis Island steak special before walking back to the Tuscany.
FLAMINGO CONSTRUCTION
The work along Flamingo may be very annoying, but I have to say it did not hold me up in traffic at all. And it changed the nature of the walk from the strip back to the Tuscany. Now in the center of the road were plenty of hard hat workmen (this is at 3 AM) so I did not have to be so street savy as there would be help right there for any trouble. On the way from Ellis Island two young and cute girls with flowers in their hair tried to ask me for bus fare, but otherwise it was an uneventful walk. Prostitutes are all over town, winking, smiling. I guess the economy has affected them as well. I am solicited at every hour of the day wherever I go. Of course, I have to say that I probably invite it as I always like watching women. Just a smile and a shake of my head is enough to lose the eye contact.
One fine new improvement is a place for crossing Flamingo midway between Koval and the strip. It will be very convenient for walkers.
FOOD
I was happy to renew my points at Main Street Station with a bit of video poker play and a fine Black Chip Porter. I had enough points from other trips for three buffets as long as I stay with the lunch hours. The buffet is just as good as always. I thought the batch of Kalua pork was not as spiced as I like, but it still was good. Some poster complained about the cabbage. I realize that I never eat the cabbage because I mix the pork with the wonderful collard greens in another section, and top it with Chinese crunchy noodles.
They also had a tasty pulled pork barbecue, the fine sweet potatoes, nice brocolli, and tasty corn bread. I finished with a bit of ice cream, and they have my favorite butterfinger toppings. Delicious.
The only downside was there was a child who liked to bark like a dog and parents who did not or could not discourage this. It annoyed me.
It probably annoyed me because I was overtired from little sleep and the bus ride. I was hoping for a bit of time just sitting in that nice spot and waiting for my room to be available. I did spend some time in the lobby sitting with my favorite wooden statue holding a clock. As I age I really seem to connect more and more with this piece, having the sense that time is passing quickly and already has passed well beyond my youthful years. It is interesting, however, that some cute young girls flirt with me. At the poker table two nights ago I sat between two Grand Rapids sisters, Sarah and Melissa, and they were so sweet to me. They knew poker but not what to watch for on this game. I helped them with some strategy and in return got hugged and back rubbed and enjoyed. I had a good time with them, as did everyone on that table except one old, serious, fellow who did not like the frivolity and probably resented me teaching them how to keep their money a bit longer. This guy was way too serious for a 1-5 spread game.
In the MSS lobby I also spent some time looking at the old slot machines and just enjoying the ornate wood and décor. I sat looking at the wooden Tempus Fugit statue and so I had some time with the painting Monte Carlo by Louis Collisz which I have always enjoyed but seldom studied. The slow moving ceiling fans added some patterns of light to the woodwork and the music was fine too.
I wished I had brought my computer as there are a few tables set up now in the Player's Club area to accommodate those seeking free WI Fi. If this is posted before I get home, I'm managed to include those in my journey.
RELATIVES
My nephew Chris spent a fine few hours visiting with me at the Tuscany. We did not go to dinner as he is dieting. I had hoped to take him to the Spice Market buffet using the Destination coupons, so I did not get there this trip. I'm happy to have enjoyed Granny's in Laughlin for one of my fancy feeds.
Chris has some struggles in his life, but he meets them with energy and a good sense of humor. Since my last visit he has managed to find a job at a Plumbing Supply house and feels it will be very secure. He left school early, but he is smart and very hard working. He moves fast and multitasks. He does not miss much. I am happy to see him working again after the Plumbing firm went bankrupt and happy too that in a couple months he will have health care again.
So, it was a good time with the young grand nieces and grand nephews, each getting a bit of time with me alone. I think that is a good system as they talk better to me without their siblings listening.
ENTERTAINMENT
I have not taken time for another show. I did catch Big Elvis twice. It was great as always. I also watched the Dueling Pianos at Harrah's. I may catch some music at the Golden Nugget and I hope to see the Filipino band again here at the Plaza over the weekend. I did not make my usual Gold Coast Jazz Band afternoon. Laughlin really took out a good block of time away from my Vegas favorites as well as pressuring me to play VP on hosted nights and putting me in those 2-6 games with good, regular, rocks.
Well, I left off yesterday thinking I'd make it to the WiFi and I never did. That changed the events of the day and because of those changes, I made money.
I went out to mail Lucky Pete the coupons because he is going soon to Vegas. I was anxious to get them out on Friday because I did not know the hours of the post office. I had a rough idea of where it was, but the bellman here at the Plaza seemed to send me in a different direction, so that what I thought was a short walk took me well up to the El Cortez, and in the heat I decided not to eat on my points at Main Street Station, but to buy a nice meal at Mamacita's Mexican Cuban place near the El Cortez and then get in the poker game there.
The game was tough at all tables. I switched tables once and landed in a seat right next to Jackie Gaughn. This is a fine seat in which to play because the old fellow plays very loose and calls right to the river, paying off good cards. He might even call with a busted straight that he does not read right. The rest of the players were all difficult to beat, especially one who manages his seat right next to me. So it is difficult poker. And I am losing.
Particularly I am losing to Jackie who catches the river when I have the winning hand. One particular pot was huge with my pocket kings flopping trips and looking very good against my opponent to my left who held A=K and had two pair. Jackie chases these high cards with his 5-8 of diamonds and catches on the river. The entire table erupted in laughter, including me. But the hand cost me over $100.
When Jackie leaves, I ask for a seat change and manage to get to a third table that has opened with some young tourists who are no limit players. They play fine poker, but I can beat them at this game, and I almost get even when most leave and the rest of us are put back on the first table. Here the poker is hard and gradually the tourists are eliminated, so I am thinking of leaving when I have a ten and the flop comes with two more. I slow play and the turn gives me quads which are big enough to be the second highest hand of the day. However, I have to get ten dollars in the pot to qualify and I don't have that amount. Also I have to go to the river. There are four in the hand and I check again. No one bets. Finally the river comes. I count chips and bet two, get only one caller, and luckily he raises two and that is just enough. I can't reraise and chance pushing him out, so I call and get on the board.
Now these high hand awards are for the entire day and the contest goes until two A.M. Generally, on a weekend, straight flushes win. Players only need to have one card in their hand so it is pretty easy to qualify. I expect to lose, but when I call the room after two A.M. I find out my hand has held up, so I get $225. Their awards are simply the raked money for that day divided between two high hands.
I leave and head back. I am tired, but mostly I know I can't beat these players. I play jack-eight as my last hand just on a lark, and it catches the jack for a pair and the eight on the river to beat my jack-nine opponent. So I win a few dollars and leave down fifty three dollars.
I am tired, but I decide to try the Plaza 2-4. Playing that will be mostly luck. I'll play tight and hope the best cards hold up. Then I'll get paid. Otherwise I'll give up money to trash hands. The players are terrible, but not too loose, but I don't catch too much. I loose sixty almost immediately and then stay down from twenty to forty for the rest of the night. The table gets down to five and in this game that is a great thing because I have a better chance of winning with fewer people. They will pay me, but there won't be so many calling all sorts of things. Two of the players will pay A-K to the river and act surprised when it does not win. Someone taught them it is a great hand so they keep calling with it. They don't need a pair. Once they pay my pocket threes that flop trips. Often I win when I think I must be beat, but they are playing fourth best hands.
Then I get confused. My pocket jacks flops quads on the turn. There is a guy betting into me (without a full house by the way) but I think that I have to take these quads to the river, so I just call. At the Plaza high hands do not need to go to the river. This cost me eight dollars or maybe sixteen. My pocket jacks are one the top high hand awards and get me $250 and the money in the pot.
So before collecting the El Cortez payout I am $131 ahead in a day of bad poker results. The bonus hands have paid me. Luck, no skill. On a trip that has been one loss after another, this is very easy to take.
And once again I am amazed at the turns of causal relationships in life that make poker so fascinating. Had I not mailed the coupons to Lucky Pete may day would have changed and none of this would have happened. So many results in life hinge on small decisions. We struggle to do the best we can with what we know, to play the hands we are dealt, but randomness withholds or delivers benefits even against the odds.
I did not expect to get back much of my losses this weekend because I am playing such low stakes games with swings of perhaps a hundred dollars in a day. I thought myself pretty unlucky to be at the bottom of that curve in the poker itself and then the high hands took me back.
PLAZA
I got a fine room here at the Plaza again on the eleventh floor. I did hear some trains this time. Still it does not seem to bother me as it once did. Perhaps the white noise of my apnea machine while I am sleeping takes care of the train or it just is a different sound here at the Plaza than at Main Street Station.
The pool was very, very cold today. This does not discourage me because I swim in cold water at home, but it did seem odd. They must have just changed the water.
In the tennis courts are these odd horse shoe pits. Wooden three sided barriers enclose a pit with some sort of stone and rubber mats. I asked about horse shoes and it seems that they had some aluminum horse shoes last year, but they got lost. They have reordered, but the reorder has not arrived. So no horse shoes this trip. Normal iron horse shoes would not be good for this pit as on missed throws they would chew up the cement. So this was a good idea, but they did not follow through and get the equipment.
EL CORTEZ CABANA AND GOLD SPIKE
I could have had Gold Spike rooms this trip for $9 a night, so I wanted to see what it would be like to walk from the El Cortez to the Spike after playing poker. With the new Cabana rooms also not far from there, the area seemed lighted and safe. I stopped in to the Cabana rooms and talked with the security guard and he said other than pan handlers and the regular sort of downtown characters, they had not had any problems in that one short block. He said that he was there watching as was the security at the Spike. So I have put it on my list of frugal possibilities. I walked past it at midnight and then walked to Freemont. There were folks in the streets walking, and it did not seem to be a problem. The security guy said that between the El Cortez and the Western, and in that direction, things were still a bit risky.
So I did not see the Cabana rooms, but I did see the foyer. Wow! Very nifty. They keep little red candies and a plate of fruit available for guests also. This is a small thing, but it makes a difference to me as I would make a meal of an apple or two just as down here at the Plaza I make a meal of the shrimp at the Golden Gate.
As I readjust my focus to making my Vegas trips truly frugal again, these two casinos are in my sights again.
MAMACITA's
I had a fine meal as always, but there was for a while one strange character. He was one of these fellows who talks loud and engages everyone. He wants to be the center of attention. So he came in loud and talking about coming to the casino with $20 and leaving with $900. This might be true or not. Then he insisted that the staff was going to pick what he ate, bothered some family eating soup to get their opinions, finally decided on something. They gave him takeout and he said he wanted to eat there. I think they wanted their money up front. He ate the soup, was quiet, and suddenly he was gone. I wondered if he had paid.
PS I was to see him over the next couple days acting out on Freemont. Is he a street person?
The videos were great as always. Spanish music videos with sexy girls and some soft tones. I wish I had brought my pad as one song in particular I would have liked to find later.
I tried the Havana plate this time. Sorry not to have the names of the foods, but it was very good and very much off my diet. Two deep fried concoctions with corn and meat, black beans, rice, crispy toast. The horchata is never ending there. They just keep filling it. And the meal starts with Mexican chips (the good kind) and some fine salsas. It was delightful for about $16 plus tip.
Well, the downward spiral of poker continues in spite of finding good games and playing extremely tight. I played more at the O'Shea's but the game was very different with almost all experienced players this time. I lost a bit there. There were still some loose players and had I caught cards, my kickers would have reaped some benefits, but flops matched nothing and I threw away junk until I just gave it up.
I tried no limit at Oshea's and at Bill's. Bill's was the best game, but again I lost. My losing hands were:
Limped in pocket sixes flop a set, and beat by a set of jacks that draws two spades for a flush. (first and last hand played at Oshea's )
Pocket aces bet strong enough to only keep two opponents, each all in. Both the pocket sevens and the queen seven draw straights.
Ace queen lost to pocket kings that flopped a set. I'd have folded early, but again my opponent had very little money left.
I can't remember the little ones that may have cost me a bet preflop. The rest of the losses were small folded hands. Few of my cards made anything on the flop.
My wins were small as well. One was good. Ace eight caught two pair and a weak opponent stayed with me with queen eight. An eight came on the river and my opponent paid me my solid value bet. I did not go all in as I thought I'd scare him. I think he was tempted to come over the top, but he played it safe.
I liked the games and I liked my play. No regrets. At the low limit game I did try two $5 push out river bets against good players, and then gave that up as I was called out.
Bill's at night was easy to play with $100 replenished as the small bets drained it to $80. That put me well within reach of almost all the bets even from those who were stacked heavier. Bill's this morning was as Slink described it. A bunch of regulars get together to hit the busted aces and kings bonus hands. They buy in small so when they lose, they don't lose much. They rarely bet and hands are very small so I could not get paid. I also made some mistake judging because the pockets that pay bonuses are basically invisible. Also, the guys stay so that pocket kings stayed while I bet my jacks full and caught a king on the river to beat me. In any other game he would have been pressured by my large bets to fold.
So I won cracked aces and cracked kings, but still did not win money. I left just nine dollars up.
I also chose this scenario to play some borderline hands. That is a mistake. If the pots can't get very big, then what good is calling the dollar blind and hoping to connect? I should do as the others do and just buy in for $20 at a time, hoping to get aces or kings cracked without spending much on the hand.
So, I am confused about all the poker in Vegas and ready to play downtown where I know the games.
I expect I'll just play that really small game at the El Cortez for the rest of my trip. No matter what now this will have been the worst trip for losses of my life and the stats are huge, approaching $3000. I have generally held a lifetime loss of about $5000 so this is incredibly volatile with just nothing winning anything much at all.
FOOD
I went to Himalayan Cuisine where I had a ten dollar restaurant.com coupon that cost me 80 cents. Most restaurant.com coupons require two people, but they agreed to honor it. It is just down the street across from the atomic museum. To get there you get off the bus one stop beyond Terrible's and walk away from the stip a block and cross the street into a small strip mall. Getting back is walking a half block away from the strip to the nearest bus stop.
It was a great treat and a change from buffets. I ordered half portions liberally in order to get a few tastes. That made the meal a bit more expensive, but I was treating myself. I did not drink any of the wonderful assortment of Belgian beer but had mandarin iced tea and it was very good. I had two. No free refills and $4 each.
I did try to note the names of the beers, all unknown to me ( I can't read my own handwriting) and perhaps I'll try one on my next trip after I have to time look at them on line:
Piraat Flemis IPA
Gulden Draak
Urthel Vloam se Bock
St Bernadus Abtis
Du chessede de Brugogan
Bornem Double Abben Ale
Nostradamus Brown Ale
Cherish CherryLambic
Cherish Rosberry Lambic
Troubadour Obscura
I ate:
vertical vindaloo with lamb – spicy chuncks of lamb in a gravy. Very good with bites of Naan.
Organic Tantric chicken Tandoori – I suppose I should have tried dishes new to me, but this favorite was very, very good.
Chana masala – chick peas in garlic and other spices.
All was a great treat. This is more pricey than my usual Indian food at home, but I'm happy I went. The atmosphere is quiet. Other customers were for the most part native to the food. That is always a good sign.
The menu is very well written. Here is one bit I collected on a dessert I did not have room to try.
Himalayan Snowball: Mango and passion fruit sorbet with raspberry sorbet core covered in white chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate stripes. Looks like a snowball on the outside but when cut open it blooms like a bright Himalayan spring flower.
One traditional dish I passed on was called Lamb Saag Dhindo and the menu joked that it was LSD but not mind altering. Lamb, spinach, corn meal.
As well as individual dishes, an assortment of sampler platters that cost about $30 were available. These seemed a good value, especially when using a $10 coupon. One was a vegetarian sampler. Much of the food was organic and vegetarian.
Spice level could be chosen. I chose hot and found the vertical vindaloo well spiced and very good.
A take out menu was also available.
LAST TUSCANY DAY
I don't know if I will get on line again. This is my last full day here. Tomorrow I will go to the Plaza taking the 202 Flamingo bus to Swenson and then the 108 to downtown.
I have enjoyed the quiet and the comfort of these large Tuscany rooms and will come here again if I can get a good price. They were a good substitute for Eastside Cannery rooms as the trip to and from the strip takes just minutes. My thinking for future trips is to continue to concentrate on staying on Flamingo and collecting possibilities along this route. Even with all the construction and the one lane of traffic, the ride on the bus was not long either way.
RELATIVES
The Tuscany also gave my relatives fairly easy access to me with a room for chat as well as poolside. I'll see Chris tonight for supper and hear all his stories. Gayle is still thinking of when it might be comfortable for her. She has not been feeling well again.
I am a retired old guy playing poker, fishing, going out for breakfast whenever I can, and discussing Vegas with someone somewhere every day. I eat more vegetables and whole grain foods these days. Not much white stuff. I am addicted to buying books in cheap stores or online. I buy more than I read, but I read a bit everyday.
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