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I had a terrible losing trip in April and since my trips are 16 days long, that is a long stretch of losing. Most of it was live poker, some video poker.
I made a few dollars on coupon runs, but even in these huge player advantage bets, the randomness seemed stacked against me.
I played the $25 MP from the Westin and from Sahara on the same Saturday. I hit the Westin in the afternoon and there were four gamblers and no craps rolling. That place is always dead. They were fine about my just using one $25 coupon as long as I had all the documentation. I needed my player's card. I needed to not only show my American Casino Guide card but take it out so they could see that it was signed. They were not unfriendly, but it felt more like crossing the Canadian border than being welcomed into gambling. I played blackjack and caught a nine to the dealer 3. My buddy and I have had long discussions about what to do here. He says I must double down, but I say that the double down bet erodes the value of the coupon. I went his route and the dealer gave me 19 and pulled out 21. Down $50.
I spent the day with friends at the Palms and did not gamble. I was tired. I had played poked until early morning and not napped well.
Still on the way home I stopped at the Sahara. There is was a fast validation of the coupon and I was on the craps table and the dice were passed to me. I set for seven and rolled it in one roll. There was my $50 back.
I do not usually rent a car. I take buses. In the past I would not have stopped at the Sahara on a Saturday night. The Deuce would have been crowded. But this new ACE bus was easy. I took it up to Bellagio from downtown, walked to the Westin, took the Flamingo bus to the Palms and back to the strip later. Grabbed the ACE in front of Paris. Hopped off at the Sahara and hopped back on after the matchplay. Easy, uncrowded. I only showed my ticket once on the ACE all day. I liked the seats in the back, very nice plush design.
For me the ACG and the bus are a perfect match. The Flamingo bus lets me play the coupons for Terribles, Hard Rock, Ellis Island, Palms, Gold Coast, Rio, Westin, Flamingo, and if I want to take a long ride it goes to the Eastside Cannery and the Longhorn.
I met one friend in Vegas who used the Max to go to the North Vegas casinos like Jerry's Nugget and the Silver Nugget. I will have to try that route on my next trip.
Now the ACE makes travel faster and simpler so more places are accessible in less time. The time between buses is just a few minutes. Nice.
I did not make all those places, but I did quite a few of them. I should have spent less time at the poker tables and more time just letting the ACG guide me from casino to casino.
I did not always do hit and run. The coupon would get me in for one game of blackjack or craps and then something else would grab me. Ellis Island VP caught me and would have taken a bunch of money from me too had I not hit a straight flush and quad kings just at the end of my money in two out of three hands. I broke even and quit.
They were nicer about the matchplay there this time. Also I used the 50% coupon for a menu item and had a fine prime rib with a pile of mashed potatoes all swimming in aujus on the side.
I stayed a couple nights at the Super 8, my new favorite place to stay in Vegas. No resort fees and these amenities: free wifi in the room , free transportation to and from the airport, a laundromat, and great TV with three HBO channels and Turner Classic Movies. Coffee maker in the room and a machine for fancy free coffee in the lobby. The rooms are smaller, but mine was clean and new looking with a brand new bed. Room 3045.
Anyway, from there I carried the ACG book over to Ellis Island. I know a lot of you like to cut the coupons ahead of time, but they just all get disorganized. Also, I go solo, so I like something to read over supper.
Last year I read about all the casinos up the Mississippi and then used the book to take a 21 day journey up that river, calling for poker room rates as I went, using the addresses in my GPS and getting great value at many of those little casinos because I was a new sign up.
Perhaps because of that the pitboss did not give me too much trouble with the coupon at Ellis Island. I had that in my wallet and could not find it and he said, "I believe you" and let me play. I lost.
I did not get the Ellis Island free drinks. I usually do, but this trip I was trying not to consume too much alcohol. With a guest I would get four red wines and carry them into the cafe to have over dinner. No one minds.
Downtown I used all the coupons for El Cortez, Vegas Club, Golden Gate, and the Plaza and did better than even.
I went in the morning and looked for the craps table that was set up and waiting. I asked if they minded if I played off just one coupon and all were very friendly. That way I was able to roll too.
I don't play craps so much anymore, so playing the coupons at craps gives me a bit of a taste of that game between the live poker and the video poker.
Carrying the entire book as often as I do and not wanting to cut each page before I go, I find it sometimes hard to cleanly rip a coupon out of the ACG. This time I broke the sharp end of a plastic throw away razor in half so that one half of one blade was exposed. Then, holding the plastic on the unexposed end like a small handle, I could make a nice clean cut from the binding out for any coupon I decided to use. This small bit of razor stored easily in the binding of the book, almost like a bookmark. Simple things like this give me pleasure.
I rented a car for one day and hiked Red Rock Canyon. On the way back I stopped at Silverton thinking I would use the coupon for half priced buffet, but the lines were long as it was senior day and everyone had a 50% deal of some sort. So later I wandered out to Eastside Cannery and tried their buffet with the 50% coupon. I liked the food and will go again. There I played a while in old fashioned coin droppers in one classic section. I played JOB 9/6. I lost but it was fun to remember how it felt years ago to play these machines.
Well, just thought I'd share how the ACG got me around town.
I made a few dollars on coupon runs, but even in these huge player advantage bets, the randomness seemed stacked against me.
I played the $25 MP from the Westin and from Sahara on the same Saturday. I hit the Westin in the afternoon and there were four gamblers and no craps rolling. That place is always dead. They were fine about my just using one $25 coupon as long as I had all the documentation. I needed my player's card. I needed to not only show my American Casino Guide card but take it out so they could see that it was signed. They were not unfriendly, but it felt more like crossing the Canadian border than being welcomed into gambling. I played blackjack and caught a nine to the dealer 3. My buddy and I have had long discussions about what to do here. He says I must double down, but I say that the double down bet erodes the value of the coupon. I went his route and the dealer gave me 19 and pulled out 21. Down $50.
I spent the day with friends at the Palms and did not gamble. I was tired. I had played poked until early morning and not napped well.
Still on the way home I stopped at the Sahara. There is was a fast validation of the coupon and I was on the craps table and the dice were passed to me. I set for seven and rolled it in one roll. There was my $50 back.
I do not usually rent a car. I take buses. In the past I would not have stopped at the Sahara on a Saturday night. The Deuce would have been crowded. But this new ACE bus was easy. I took it up to Bellagio from downtown, walked to the Westin, took the Flamingo bus to the Palms and back to the strip later. Grabbed the ACE in front of Paris. Hopped off at the Sahara and hopped back on after the matchplay. Easy, uncrowded. I only showed my ticket once on the ACE all day. I liked the seats in the back, very nice plush design.
For me the ACG and the bus are a perfect match. The Flamingo bus lets me play the coupons for Terribles, Hard Rock, Ellis Island, Palms, Gold Coast, Rio, Westin, Flamingo, and if I want to take a long ride it goes to the Eastside Cannery and the Longhorn.
I met one friend in Vegas who used the Max to go to the North Vegas casinos like Jerry's Nugget and the Silver Nugget. I will have to try that route on my next trip.
Now the ACE makes travel faster and simpler so more places are accessible in less time. The time between buses is just a few minutes. Nice.
I did not make all those places, but I did quite a few of them. I should have spent less time at the poker tables and more time just letting the ACG guide me from casino to casino.
I did not always do hit and run. The coupon would get me in for one game of blackjack or craps and then something else would grab me. Ellis Island VP caught me and would have taken a bunch of money from me too had I not hit a straight flush and quad kings just at the end of my money in two out of three hands. I broke even and quit.
They were nicer about the matchplay there this time. Also I used the 50% coupon for a menu item and had a fine prime rib with a pile of mashed potatoes all swimming in aujus on the side.
I stayed a couple nights at the Super 8, my new favorite place to stay in Vegas. No resort fees and these amenities: free wifi in the room , free transportation to and from the airport, a laundromat, and great TV with three HBO channels and Turner Classic Movies. Coffee maker in the room and a machine for fancy free coffee in the lobby. The rooms are smaller, but mine was clean and new looking with a brand new bed. Room 3045.
Anyway, from there I carried the ACG book over to Ellis Island. I know a lot of you like to cut the coupons ahead of time, but they just all get disorganized. Also, I go solo, so I like something to read over supper.
Last year I read about all the casinos up the Mississippi and then used the book to take a 21 day journey up that river, calling for poker room rates as I went, using the addresses in my GPS and getting great value at many of those little casinos because I was a new sign up.
Perhaps because of that the pitboss did not give me too much trouble with the coupon at Ellis Island. I had that in my wallet and could not find it and he said, "I believe you" and let me play. I lost.
I did not get the Ellis Island free drinks. I usually do, but this trip I was trying not to consume too much alcohol. With a guest I would get four red wines and carry them into the cafe to have over dinner. No one minds.
Downtown I used all the coupons for El Cortez, Vegas Club, Golden Gate, and the Plaza and did better than even.
I went in the morning and looked for the craps table that was set up and waiting. I asked if they minded if I played off just one coupon and all were very friendly. That way I was able to roll too.
I don't play craps so much anymore, so playing the coupons at craps gives me a bit of a taste of that game between the live poker and the video poker.
Carrying the entire book as often as I do and not wanting to cut each page before I go, I find it sometimes hard to cleanly rip a coupon out of the ACG. This time I broke the sharp end of a plastic throw away razor in half so that one half of one blade was exposed. Then, holding the plastic on the unexposed end like a small handle, I could make a nice clean cut from the binding out for any coupon I decided to use. This small bit of razor stored easily in the binding of the book, almost like a bookmark. Simple things like this give me pleasure.
I rented a car for one day and hiked Red Rock Canyon. On the way back I stopped at Silverton thinking I would use the coupon for half priced buffet, but the lines were long as it was senior day and everyone had a 50% deal of some sort. So later I wandered out to Eastside Cannery and tried their buffet with the 50% coupon. I liked the food and will go again. There I played a while in old fashioned coin droppers in one classic section. I played JOB 9/6. I lost but it was fun to remember how it felt years ago to play these machines.
Well, just thought I'd share how the ACG got me around town.
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