TR SNIPPET - BANKROLL

When I say I go to Vegas for 24 nights, folks are amazed.

One of the questions they ask is whether I have enough funds to gamble that long.

Well, I don't gamble all the time. I try to get some nights when I don't gamble at all. I had five nights on the strip and just played Monte Carlo 2-6 spread for very low losses.

I spent most of the time in MyVegas rooms swimming with no tube in the lazy river. It was the best workout.

However, my 8 nights downtown, going between the 4 Queens and the D did require gambling if I was to continue to get the good mailers.

I did fine for the first part of the trip, being just about even when I hit downtown. The wonderful but volatile 10/7 at the Four Queens just killed me. NO Aces, Deuces, Threes, Twos and very few quads. One time I went through $100 in just 15 minutes while waiting for the WAX.

I'm hoping I played enough to cover my next mailing, especially since they seem to be rolling back the deals. If they go from 3 to just 2 nights, I'll be sorry, but perhaps just staying two nights is more sustainable in my bankroll on a losing streak.

I pushed hard one night when the Royal was high.

I did the same at the 8/5 bonus at Veu Bar in the D when the royal and the straight flush were high. The fellow next to me hit the straight flush which paid well over $200.

I did the same when one of the nickle royals was $430 at the Orleans. I quit when it was hit as two were at the bottom.

My son came in and played on my card at the Four Queens, the D, and seeded the Plaza. He also played at the Boars Head at Main Street Station. While he played, I just watched and coached him on strategy.

That helped. I could watch him and have a good bit of fun while checking his play. He also played a while on the Deuce machine, a coin, dropper at the D. It was a new game for him, so we brought the sheet, checked the right plays, and had a good time bantering.

He lost.

When I played my money one early morning I hit for $125, getting the Four Deuces. So that helped reduce the drain on funds.

I think I pushed through enough play at the D for the 2 for 1 mailings because I got $10 cashback and have gotten mailings after a trip where I had to play more just to get above $5 cashback.

I am going to think about how many nights I want to be comped when that includes the obligation to play. My nightly expense for this trip was on average $9.25 a night, but perhaps the play required is just too much for my bankroll if I go on a losing streak.

I had four nights at the Orleans with enough bankroll to seed it for next year. But I have lost offers after low play trips there.

My November stay was back to back with three nights at the Gold Coast. I paid $42 for one night which was my most expensive hotel bill. The other two were free, and that included a $10 fee to upgrade me to the premium room.

The ease of taking the free shuttle between coast properties makes this a tempting choice for next year. I could pay for three nights at the Gold Coast and not gamble. Then the nickle triple play at the Orleans do not take a great deal of bankroll even when I lose.

I am thinking about Palace Station. I hate the resort fee being so high, sometimes almost 50% higher than the roomrate, but I could play dime VP there all day long and not go over my bankroll. I wonder if after a trip of constate dime play I could get them to drop the resort fee.

I liked the poker room as well. They had a 2-4-6 game and a 2-6 spread limit, both my favorites. The 2-4-6 only had one $2 blind. This makes for less small blind specials and means that I would only have to be in one hand for each button go-around.

Where the Palace Station is positioned makes it accessible from on the bus. I liked that Sahara Express bus. There seemed plenty of room there for my luggage. I could easily go from downtown to the Palace Station and back. And the 104 that runs by the Orleans is not too far West on the Sahara route and would make fine transfer either way. So, perhaps if I decide to pay for nongambling section of my next trip, I'll stay there. I certainly missed a good many of the things on my list that were not gambling.

I used to think that I could lose $2000 on any trip and it would be no real loss. The math supports that because I save that much on rooms and food, on cheap and free food. However, I think now about being more comfortable in a losing trip by being down just $1000 and perhaps I need to look where I buy cheap rooms and don't have the gambling obligation.