When I put the Total Rewards Air flight package for late October up in the Total Rewards section I didn't mention that CET had also sent me a 4 night flight/hotel package for Oct 2nd to 6th. I got back home yesterday.
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When I put the Total Rewards Air flight package for late October up in the Total Rewards section I didn't mention that CET had also sent me a 4 night flight/hotel package for Oct 2nd to 6th. I got back home yesterday.
Tuesday Oct 2, 2018. Great Falls International Airport. 37 degrees, cloudy, overcast, mixed rain and snow. Sun Country flight scheduled to leave at 3:15 PM for a stop in Bozeman, Montana then on to Laughlin, Nevada. The flight got off on time.
The flight was cramped. They had us packed in like sardines. About 170 people. Half hour flight to Bozeman. On the ground for an hour. Then the hour 40 minute flight to Laughlin. I was on my phone kindle the whole time. The flight host got everyone in a gambling mood with a money pool game. I didn't participate just observed.
Everyone wrote their seat number on a dollar bill. The host came along and deposited the bills in a garbage bag. Then they drew a bill out of the bag. One lucky winner of $167. Then they did it with five dollar bills. One lucky winner of $680. Then twenty dollar bills. One lucky winner of $1280. I wanted to yell out "Give him a W2-G!" but kept my cool. Then they did it with hundred dollar bills. Most everyone chickened out on this one. Only $1400 to the lucky winner. Again I wanted to yell out "W2-G" but kept my demeanor. I don't even know if you are supposed to get W2G's for such a gambling game.
The money pool game made the time pass by quickly and it was time to dive down to Laughlin Bullhead International Airport.
Laughlin Bullhead Airport. 88 degrees, mostly sunny. Nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
Thanks for reporting on this, mickey. One of my guys who makes the December LV trip said he wanted to do a day trip or an overnighter to Laughlin. Anything you can mention regarding video poker, sports books, or tourist type stuff ( still classic cars showroom? any coffee shop/restaurant recommendations or avoids?) would be really appreciated. I haven't been there in a good 12 years.
The money pool game was probably illegal. I never heard of such a thing on a flight over US territory and if the flight was over Utah OMG.
Only you would be concerned about that Alan. No house edge, all money paid back, no one forced to play. Somehow I don’t think anyone would take the resources to look into it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson
Glad to hear you went on the trip Mick, never say never. Not sure if you will share the plays you found but it would be cool to hear your observations on how it has changed, or hasn’t since when you were there years ago. Your original stories were great reading from your early gambling days there.
Haven’t been there in a few years but the Pioneer was like a step back in time, as were others.
Thanks Mick!
My wife and I have been getting those Laughlin offers as well. We would fly out of Medford. Haven’t been to Laughlin in years.
I was surprised on my first (and only) trip to Laughlin to see that the Colorado river was as wide, deep, and fast running as it was.
I figured it would have been petering out by then due to all the upriver drawn downs, but no, it was pretty impressive.
The Riverside casino in Laughlin also offers charter flights. It is pretty easy to earn comped flights with very little machine play.
http://www.riversideresort.com/fligh...el-and-casino/
The office pools where you buy a square for the Super Bowl also have no house/casino edge, also have all money paid back, also don't force anyone to play, and also are illegal in California and other states.
Of course this comment like my other comment above was just part of the conversation... just as if we were at a dinner party talking about mickey's trip. But only a troll would attack me for making it.
Yea they are illegal and when was the last time anyone was busted for one? Perhaps you should do an investigation jackass.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson
Yea I’m a troll, Alan. How about this Alan. I’ll give you 5-1 odds I won’t meet you in person at Red Rock later this week, you pick the day, Wednesday to Friday. You put up $2000, I’ll give you $10k if I don’t show. No troll as you call them would be willing to show their face. I’ll send Dan the 10k, you send the 2, assuming you have it. The bet stands until Monday Oct 8th Noon Eastern to be accepted. Money with Dan by 3PM Eastern,
Just because you are public figure doesn’t make you a righteous individual. And who the fuck would invite you to a dinner party, unless they wanted a deadbeat dad to make fun of?
And don’t ruin Mickeys incredible thread with your garbage loser.
Harrah's had two busses to pick us up. That meant those at the back of the line would have to wait for the first bus leaving to return. I decided to grab a seat and wait on the 2nd bus that wouldn't be packed. Took a few pics on the way to Harrah's. The last two pics are of Harrah's.
Edit: I didn't know that the last pic was blurry.
Harrah's was having our luggage delivered from the airport to the rooms. I got off the bus and received an envelope with the slot card, room keys, and instructions for the day of departure. I already knew it was going to be a video poker wasteland but confirmed it anyway. And they had only 4 vulturable games. I caught a few plays. I knew right then that I wasn't going to run much action at Harrah's.
I caught some of the Cubs/Rockies game then went up to the room to make sure my luggage had arrived and took a few pics. Big screen television with the cable limited to the news channels and ESPN channels. That's a change from 16 years ago when they had no cable channels at all. You can't see it in the pic but it was a walk-in shower. Very good.
I last stayed there maybe 12-13 years ago. Does Harrah's still have that little beach area down on the river bank?Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
When you fly into Laughlin you have four options for getting around. The taxi's, water taxi's, metro bus, or you can rent a car. The envelope I received had a coupon in it for renting a car, can't remember the details. And Avis will shuttle you to the car. The metro bus is the cheapest but you have to walk off the properties out to the bus stops on the street. I nixed that idea. I decided on the taxi's and water taxi's.
Taxi service is 24 hours a day and they are very prompt most of the time. It's in the afternoon to early evening they can get bogged down but it's still not that bad. I payed from $8 to $10 each way, which included the tip, depending on the distance. The water taxi's are $5 one way or $20 for an all day pass. They run from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. If you don't like walking uphill to get in a casino then don't take the water taxi's to anyplace but the Golden Nugget and the Riverside.
With nothing to do in Harrah's but fiddle fart around I went down and took the water taxi to the Belle. They had 12 vulturables and I picked up a few plays. It was Tuesday night and slow so I didn't figure to get any more plays. The video poker sucked. Best games I seen were Ugly Ducks (98.91%) and 9/5 Jacks (98.45%). Wasn't going to run any action on that.
Then I went over to the Edgewater. Same thing with the video poker games. And only 6 vulturables. Slow there too.
So then I went over to the Trop. Best video poker was 9/7 Double Bonus (99.1%). They had 8 vulturables and I caught some plays.
I was getting hungry so stopped into Carnegie's in the Trop and ordered the steak burger with fries and iced tea. The burger was great and the fries were good. Not all fries are good. I hate bad fries. $15 with the tip. Forgot to get pics.
That was enough work for the day so I cabbed it back to Harrah's, picked up another couple plays on their vulturables, then went to the room. I was surfing the cable news channels trying to get updated on the Kavanaugh mess but fell asleep somewhere in the middle of it.
The plan for the next day was to hit Golden Nugget and Pioneer first.
Yes, its still there.Quote:
Originally Posted by redietzI last stayed there maybe 12-13 years ago. Does Harrah's still have that little beach area down on the river bank?Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
MP, thanks for putting this link up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Player
Nice job MC. Very enjoyable pics.
They play the very same money pool game on my charter flights to Wendover. I never play, but it does make the time go by faster. Also on the charter flights to Wendover they will have a few drawings for free buffets and free play. They must have at least 10 drawings so you odds are pretty good as there is only around 150 folks on the plane. And unlucky me out of all the trips I made to Wendover, I only won $25 in free play in the airplane drawing just once.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
There are also charter flights to Wendover from various parts of the country. Again it is fairly easy to qualify for free or half price after your first flight. Notice there are charter flights from Montana to Wendover. https://wendoverfun.com/flights/
The best video poker in Laughlin is at the Aquarius and Riverside. The Riverside has only four $1 9/6 JOB machines. I had a very hard time trying to find them, but on my second trip there I did. I think I earned about 500 points on video poker and with my blackjack play was enough to qualify for free flight. vpfree is a good source of information. https://www.vpfree2.com/casinos/by-region/laughlin
Aquarius has no equal in Laughlin. I doubt mickey walked up the hill to get there, plus their best games for strong winning players are on the $1/$2/$5/$10/$25 machines in the high limit area. (JoB in any paytable format is nothing but a loser's game who likes points more than money.) It's also the only non-mega resort I've run across in Nevada where you can be ahead of them six figures and they still invite you in to play.
You aren't ahead of them 1 figure let alone 6. And you're a strong, losing ploppy. A simple background check on you confirms this.
My first stop after Harrah's was the water taxi to the Belle. Quite the uphill walk to get into the casino. No problem. I have no idea how old or what shape people who read this forum are in. I was advising them about the uphill walks from the water taxi's. Do you think blackhole would want to make those walks? Of course, you have to construe it to something that you think will make someone look bad. Very childish. You only make yourself look bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob.Singer
I'm not even close to being finished with the trip report and every casino on the river is covered.
Would you care to name those games for "strong winning players?"Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob.Singer
Thanks again for taking the time to publish all this info. I know you don’t drink but the brewpub at the Belle, “Pints”, makes a great burger. They have a build your own option for less than $10.
On day 2 I took the water taxi from Harrah's to the Golden Nugget. Harrah's is at the end of the line for the water taxi's so you can spend some time waiting. You don't have to go down to the dock. You can see up river from the casino. Harrah's has a no wake policy for the water taxi's because they don't want waves washing up on their beaches so the water taxi's have to slow way down approaching Harrah's. When you see one coming down river you have plenty of time to make it down to the dock
As we approached the Golden Nugget I seen the sign on the facade that said Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. It look like an interesting place to eat. It's located downstairs where the old buffet used to be. So I made a lap around the casino floor. The video poker sucked.....and only one vulturable. So much for that place. I went back down to Bubba Gump for lunch. Had the shrimp po' boy with fries and ice tea. $15 with the tip. The menu looked interesting. Pics from Bubba Gumb:
After lunch I walked over to the Pioneer where I finally got to do some work. The Pioneer was closed for a few months this year. It was bought by Intrepid Gaming which owns the Nugget and Red Garter in Wendover. The place still looks the same though.
They've got a holdover game that's been there for 20 years that I know of. It's a linked bank 9/7 Double Bonus with five meters. The meters are on the quads, straight flush and royal flush. They run at .1% except the royal meter which runs at .3%. That's .7% worth of meters which puts the game up to 99.8%. Plus the slot card runs comp and freeplay. This is a pretty good value for recreational gamblers. The comp meter appeared to be around .5%. The points for freeplay kept showing zero so I ask a boothlng about it. She said they were still working the bugs out of their system but from her computer she could see I had 72 points on the card. And 1000 points was worth $5 freeplay.
I then went walking around the casino and lo and behold....there sat two Dealer's Angel's blackjack consoles. There is no more live blackjack at the Pioneer. To compensate for it they put in the two blackjack consoles. I've seen this in smaller casinos all around the country. Instead of a live pit they put in Bubble Craps, Electronic Roulette, and the Blackjack Consoles. They get action and it looks like a huge saver in labor costs to the casinos.
Dealer's Angel's has animated dealers on the screen. With most BJ consoles the dealers are on film. So if you see an animated dealer, congratulations, you found a DA blackjack game. While most BJ consoles are first hand off the top every time, DA is not. It's 4 decks with 80 card penetration. That's 38.5%. Not that swift but better than nothing. You can see the shuffle point. It's a 99.43% game without counting.
The first think I wanted to do was establish how much the comp meter was worth. I wrote down how much comp I already had on the card and I knew I already had 72 points. Then I bet $25 a hand and counted the number of bets to get to $500 action. I racked up $2.72 in comp. That equates to .544%. My card still wasn't showing points but the boothling said I had 162 points. I thought that would put the freeplay at around .1% but I wanted to be sure. Since I knew that 1000 points was worth $5 and the comp meter ran at .544 I could run a bunch of action and use the comp meter to tell me how much action I ran. I could then ask them how many points I had then figure out what the freeplay meter was worth.This free'd me up so I could count the game. I use the Wizard of Odds multi-deck basic strategy. I think you can apply the Illustrious 18 to this game also. You can bet from $1 to $100. I've played the game around the country and the best I ever seen was a running count of +12 with 3 decks left.
The DA game moves slow. Once you finish a hand it's at least 25 seconds before you get another one. It doesn't matter if other people sit down on the game because you can see their cards in your screen. So I wrote down how many points I already had on the card and the amount of comp. I played for a awhile then stopped to see how much comp I had put on the card in the session, $15.02.
1 divided by .00544 = 182.83
182.83 X 15.02 = 2761.
So I had run $2761 in action. I went to the booth and asked them how many points I had, 648. I subtracted the 162. That means I had put on 486 points in the session. Since 1000 points is worth $5 the 486 points was worth $2.43.
2.43/2761 means the freeplay meter runs at .088%. No much but better than nothing. I played until I had run 4K in action then went and got a $20 meal comp to Bumbleberry Flats.
No vulturables in the Pioneer.
Thanks for the report and pics, Mickey.
Very interesting.
I've been to Laughlin many times, but never went on one of those Caesars chartered planes. I'm close enough to where it's not worth doing that.
The river is interesting, and it's kind of cool taking a water taxi in between casinos, but overall the town is small and boring.
It's also not particularly easy to rent watercraft for the river. There's like 1 or 2 places that do it, I think on the Arizona side.
Dining options are pretty lousy. Don't expect the high-end food available in Vegas.
One interesting thing I noticed about Laughlin is that there's just about zero young, hot chicks walking around there without boyfriends. It's not like Vegas where groups of single girls take trips there. In Laughlin, the only attractive women you'll see around are there with their boyfriends or husbands. Probably the worst vacation destination to be a single guy.
Did you stay in the "adult tower" at Harrah's? That's preferable if you have no young children with you.
Laughlin is about 95 miles southeast of Las Vegas, and is basically in the middle of nowhere. It's in the area I call "three corners" -- where Nevada, Arizona, and California meet.
The Laughlin area is defined by one city in each of those states -- Needles (CA), Laughlin (NV), and Bullhead City (AZ). Most Laughlin employees live in either Needles or Bullhead, being one of the rare locations in the country where most employees live in a different state than where they work.
It's also brutally hot in the summer, sometimes reaching 120 (hotter than Vegas).
Laughlin is also a way you can kind of experience "old Vegas". If you want to see what Vegas was like in the '70s and '80s, or you want to experience it again, you should go to Laughlin. It still has many old Vegas elements to it (though without the "name" entertainment).
It mainly appeals to blue collar people who like to gamble, but find Vegas too expensive and too touristy.
Harrah's Laughlin is considered to be in a different market than the Las Vegas Caesars properties, meaning you can make simultaneous comp reservations at both, and nobody will say anything. I've done that before in order to redeem offers.
Also, Seven Stars members get two free round trip water taxi tickets per day. You have to go to the Total Rewards desk to get it.
I don't think Harrh's is going to give me anything anymore. For the free 4 day flight/hotel package I ran a paltry $800 wager on their property. All I played were the few vulturables when they were in advantage mode. So long, suckers. LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
The comp dollars can only be used for meals at the Pioneer. For the hotel we'll have to wait to see what the mail brings. At Bumbleberry Flats I ordered a bowl of the chicken & dumpling soup along with the blackened catfish with corn fritters and unsweetened iced tea. I'm a country boy from the Mississippi piney woods. I'm a sucker for catfish. I think there was a $1 overage on the $20 meal comp.
Laughlin is definitely the olds folks. One thing I learned there 20 years ago, for a single guy, you have to pick on the cocktail waitresses. At my age now I'm more into sexy grandmothers anyway. Give it a few more years and I'll be into sexy great-grandmothers.
I was hoping he'd list games for "weak winning players" or "distance-running winning players" or something that would apply to me. No luck.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimmWould you care to name those games for "strong winning players?"Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob.Singer
Sorry, mickey. Great thread; will use insights on December excursion. Thanks for sharing. We'll drive down from Las Vegas.
You have that right, it’s certainly a dog pound walking around there....I think it’s a mandatory law that all men and women have multiple tattoos to get into the casinos....good thread MickeyQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Terrific thread Mickey. Bubba Gump is a chain as you may already know. I ate at the one in San Francisco once and the one in Monterey,CA once (went to the aquarium there about 25 years ago and ate there afterwards). I enjoyed the food. Anyhow, it sounds like this is a no go zone for the LID and Barney since it will be difficult to arrange suitable casino dates in this neck of the woods.
We get the Wendover offers from Peppermill as well, but have never been to that part of the state. Is Wendover preferable to Laughlin?Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest PlayerThey play the very same money pool game on my charter flights to Wendover. I never play, but it does make the time go by faster. Also on the charter flights to Wendover they will have a few drawings for free buffets and free play. They must have at least 10 drawings so you odds are pretty good as there is only around 150 folks on the plane. And unlucky me out of all the trips I made to Wendover, I only won $25 in free play in the airplane drawing just once.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
There are also charter flights to Wendover from various parts of the country. Again it is fairly easy to qualify for free or half price after your first flight. Notice there are charter flights from Montana to Wendover. https://wendoverfun.com/flights/
I didn't realize that Needles, Cal. was so close: this could provide a reason to visit Laughlin again: to watch the flatbottom v-drive boats playing on the Colorado River.
As a former Donzi owner I enjoy a quick boat but have never been in a flatbottom v-drive: watching as opposed to owning seems the ideal solution.
see the kids at play:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4hAe0g5tHw
They're part of Landry's along with McCormick & Schmidt, Morton's, Rainforest Cafe, Claim Jumper, quite a few others. The Landry's Select card is a pretty good deal - one time $25 payment gets you $25 welcome certificate and $25 a year on your birthday plus $25 every time you spend $250. Bubba Gump's is the only one I actively search out, but the others I've tried haven't been very good also. I usually go to the one on the LV Strip at least once a trip even when I have comps to burn elsewhere, that's how much I like it. Yes it's mostly simple shrimp things but it's always good.Quote:
Originally Posted by tableplay
Landry's is owned by the Fertita family. That may or may not keep you from going there depending how you feel about them. The Mortons chain was a long time classic family owned steakhouse here in Chicago (later expanding to other markets). When it was bought by Fertita, ALLEGEDLY they stopped using the finest steaks from a local supplier and switched to a basic Sysco product. Since they are worth billions, they are probably not bothered by my refusal to patronize.
I seem to recall Landry's owns the Golden Nuggets in Las Vegas and Laughlin. But I could be wrong.
There is much better blackjack in Wendover than Laughlin.Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyj
I'm going to post an old trip report I made from about 3 years ago that mentions some comparisons of Laughlin to Wendover. This was originally posted on BJ21.
My Maiden Voyage to Laughlin with Comparisons to Wendover (long)
I have been to Wendover many times before. I also have posted on BJ21 many of my trip reports on Wendover. However, this fall saw my first ever trip to Laughlin and I wanted to share a few things as very little has been posted on BJ21 about Laughlin.
Both Laughlin and Wendover are similar in many ways. They both don’t have any commercial air service, but both are served by charter flight programs. They are both located not too far from large cities. Laughlin is located about 100 miles south of Las Vegas and Wendover is located about 120 miles west of Salt Lake City. The short drive from these small town airports to the casinos is just about a mile or two in both casino towns.
If you are located in the upper Midwest there are many flight cities to choose from for a charter flight to either Laughlin or Wendover. Sun Country flies to Laughlin and Allegiant (now Swiftair) flies to Wendover. Both these airlines have flight cities in both WI and MN with Sun Country having a few flights out of MI and even an occasional flight out of the U.P. of MI. I do like flying on Sun Country better than Allegiant, but if you fly out of the upper Midwest flight time is about a half hour longer if you fly to Laughlin instead of Wendover. Also the flight fare is slightly higher to fly to Laughlin, but it’s still a great bargain.
Okay, let’s get right to the Laughlin trip. On this trip I took the Riverside Casino flight charter and just like Wendover’s charter your hotel stay is included in the charter price. There were almost no comps included in the package you receive upon arrival which was handed out at the airport along with your hotel key. There was no notice it would be done this way and I actually got on the bus without my package. I had to ask someone where they got them. Fortunately, I was heads up in this situation and managed to go back and get my package before the bus left. The best comp I found in my package was a coupon for a half price buffet at the Riverside buffet. Wendover on the other hand has at least a couple of decent comps.
I did not like the Riverside casino. My room in the Riverside was good, but the casino itself seemed old, cluttered and dirty. The blackjack playing area seemed dark. The table games main area seemed to be tucked away in a corner and not in the center like most casinos. In fact every nook and cranny had some little shop tucked away in it.
These are the Laughlin casinos I played on this trip listed in order of largest win to smallest win or loss.
Tropicana - Net Win
Aquarius - Net Win
Edgewater - Net Win
Co Belle - Net Win
Harrah’s - Net Win
Nugget - Net Loss
Riverside - Net Loss
Total Laughlin blackjack win before expenses was $1,300. I managed to get 28 hours of playing time in with no back offs. My maiden voyage to Wendover many years ago yielded a blackjack win of $1,755 before expenses with only 22 hours of play.
Here are a few things that pissed me off on this trip.
At the Riverside casino I only played their single deck game which is 3:2. As I have posted before I’m not very good at single deck, but what they do at the Riverside can really piss you off. If you jump your bet 3 times they will shuffle up on you. I was aware of this from a post made by LVBear and always tried to make my bet less than 3 times the previous bet. However, on one occasion I was playing heads up and the dealer pulled about a 7 card bust with all little cards on the first hand. I had a great opportunity and was very careful not to raise my bet more than 3 times but the dealer still shuffled up. This dealer was doing this quite often to me and I finally asked how much can I bet without a shuffle up. The dealer said he couldn’t discuss it and to talk to the pit boss. Oh sure. This dealer had the gall to pay part of one of my winning bets in dollar tokens. This pissed me off big time. Also at the Riverside they have a side bet only at the beginning of each shuffle. The dealer goes through a little chant describing it not just once, but every time he shuffles. It drives one crazy. Oh, by the way. I witnessed a player using the jump your bet 3 times rule in reverse. If he didn’t like what he saw he would jump his bet and they would shuffle. I witnessed it at least a couple of times.
Another thing that pissed me off was the free buffet I was suppose to get at Harrah’s. They said with a new card I could get a couple of free buffets after earning 50 points or one after something like 30 points. I played blackjack for several hours and they finally said I enough points for a buffet. I was as hungry as hell and when I went to get my slip for a free buffet they mentioned I had a card from another property from about ten years ago. At the time, I don’t think the property was even a Harrah’s property. No free buffet. I left hungry.
Speaking of food, I ate at several different places in Laughlin. The first night I stopped at “In and Out Burger.” The food was real cheap and fast, but I sure don’t rate it the number one restaurant in Laughlin as listed by Trip Adviser. I thought their fries had a bad taste to them. The worst food was definitely the Riverside buffet. The only reason I ate there was because I had a half price buffet coupon and enough comps to pay for the other half. Of the places I played rated I think Riverside gave the best dollar value comps. I did eat a buffet at the Tropicana and think this was the best place of anyplace I ate. I did see a guy who looked like LVBear there, but not as heavy. This guy was with his wife.
I played rated for several hours at Aquarius and when I asked how much I had in comps they said a number that was less than 40 cents. Then the player card lady said if you use it on food its double. I figured I might as well use it when I went to eat at their restaurant as there was a good chance I won’t ever be going back soon. When I tried to use the little bit I had I was told it had to be at least a dollar before you could use it. It was another piss off.
Another piss off was getting caught in a flash flood. One night it was raining very hard and after it stopped, I set off for a walk to the casinos on the southern end of casino drive. I got as far as the Edgewater only to come to a huge water puddle that was covering the sidewalk and road. I crossed to the other side where the sidewalk wasn’t completely under water only to find the water flowing down Edgewater Drive so fast and deep I could not get across. I had to head back and ended up wasting about 40 minutes.
Another interesting thing happened at Tropicana. I was playing heads up at the time and some how a conversation started with the dealer about blackjack. Out of the blue this dealer mentioned that the Tropicana was “sweaty.” Then the dealer added “real sweaty. “ I asked if this was the sweatiest place in town and the dealer answered that the Edgewater and Colorado Belle were probably worse. I did get a couple of shuffle ups at the Colorado Belle. I asked what the hell is going on. It was the only place besides the Riverside where this happened.
Overall my expenses were quite low for this trip. They only came to $107 excluding the cost of the charter and that is pretty good for not having any comp balance built up. This includes $25 for the airport parking fee and $15 for the Laughlin water taxi which was for a day pass. It would have been better for me if I only paid for each time I used it. I did not use any bus at all. I walked everywhere except for my one trip to Harrah’s which was really a waste. In the Harrah’s main pit they had a 6:5 single deck and a 6:5 six deck and only one normal 2 deck game which was full must of the time I played there. I didn’t check out the non smoking pit as they said there was no double deck there. Harrah’s on their double deck game burns 20 cards off the bottom and one card off the top.
One note before I end this long post. The best way to get around Laughlin is probably walking. There are not any shuttle buses like Wendover has and the buses drop off at the main drag. You still have to walk to the casino. I didn’t use any buses at all. You basically have two walking choices. You can take the River Walk which is a sidewalk along the river or walk out to the main drag and walk there. If the Tropicana is a planned stop you are probably better off walking on the main drag. You can walk faster on the main drag as most folks take the river walk. I found the river walk kind of congested at times. You cannot walk through the casino parking lots which is a shame since each casino has their property fenced or walled off. Just one more piss off. Harrah’s is probably too far to walk to as it is a mile down the road from the Golden Nugget. I used the river taxi which I enjoyed for Harrah’s but a taxi would also work fine. There are a lot of taxis that hang out at the Golden Nugget and most are Lucky Cab.
Good to know. I've never been to a Morton's and now I know to avoid. I am not that big on expensive steakhouses. I mostly go to the seafood places - Landry's once, McCormick & Schmidt, Bubba Gumps, once to some dinosaur restaurant at Disney I took my kids to, and Rainforest Cafe if I have a birthday reward to burn and no better option. Every place I've tried has been decent (if overpriced in the case of the gimmicky dinosaur/rainforest places), except Mitchell's Fish Market which was kind of bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by regnis
Yes there's some Golden Nugget places the card is good at but I haven't used at any. IIRC on one Vegas trip I had planned to go to Claim Jumper at the Golden Nugget for a meal but ended up doing something else.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
Landry's is solely owned by Tilman Fertitta of Houston, Texas.Quote:
Originally Posted by regnis
He is a 3rd cousin of the Las Vegas Fertittas.
Landry's owns the Golden Nugget Casinos, including locations in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Ah, the Fertitta clan: ahem.
http://global-mma.forumotion.com/t85...-not-just-ties
Dunno if it's true or not, don't much care so long as the casinos are run well.
There is a 2 Hour boat ride each way from Laughlin to Havasu down the Colorado. Nice ride that shows some Indian writings on the cliff walls down the river. Other than the original London Bridge, not much to see in Havasu other than a few good breweries including Mudshark. But it wastes a few hours and does go past the Avi Indian casino.
Any chance you made it out there Mick? Wiz did a write up on it a few years ago including being able to count there.
I didn't make it to Avi. Maybe next time if I have my car with me.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Boz
I could tell you things, and tried to, but it says you cant get PMsQuote:
Originally Posted by MisterV
And can forget this great moment in Laughlin history
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12MF_aX8U7s
Lesson for everyone, avoid River Run week.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Run_Riot
Yes, I tried the Claim Jumper once, and it was just OK. I haven't tried the others but I saw a Rainforest Cafe.Quote:
Originally Posted by pkspinsThey're part of Landry's along with McCormick & Schmidt, Morton's, Rainforest Cafe, Claim Jumper, quite a few others. The Landry's Select card is a pretty good deal - one time $25 payment gets you $25 welcome certificate and $25 a year on your birthday plus $25 every time you spend $250. Bubba Gump's is the only one I actively search out, but the others I've tried haven't been very good also. I usually go to the one on the LV Strip at least once a trip even when I have comps to burn elsewhere, that's how much I like it. Yes it's mostly simple shrimp things but it's always good.Quote:
Originally Posted by tableplay
The River Run that year, 2002, coincided with the Pioneer installing the Double Time system (also a player tracking system). It was originally scheduled to start installation on April 1st. But it kept getting delayed. Hustlers were interested in it because it was made by the same company that put in the Lucky Coin Bonus System in Mandalay Bay when they opened in 1998. I think the company was called Anchor Gaming but not sure now.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Boz
The River Run is the watershed event in Laughlin every year. It's always in the last week of April. By then the weather is getting hot and the snowbirders with the RV's have cleared out. Then in come the bikers. After that Laughlin goes into the summer slowdown as the weather is just to hot for many to handle.
I had gotten back into Laughlin by the 1st of April because I caught a news snippet in Gaming Today about the double time system going into the Pioneer. Other hustlers had the same idea as me so there was a bunch of us waiting around for it to be installed. The days kept rolling by with no movement by the Pioneer on the installation. The River Run was getting close and the room rates shoot skyhigh for that weekend. That is, if you can find an available room. I couldn't. So I was hoping they wouldn't start putting the system in until after the River Run. But dammit to hell they started putting it in on the Tuesday before the River Run weekend.
As a matter of fact, that 9/7 DB five way meter progressive I described earlier in this thread was in the first batch of machines they installed the system. New card readers went on the machines. When you played a hand the border of the card reader turned green and stayed that way for about ten seconds then it would turn back red. You had to play a hand at least every ten seconds to keep the machine qualified for the double time.
They hung a sign on the bank that said any pays between 25 and 50 coins would pay double during double time. That meant the straight, flush and full house would pay double. And that would put the game at about 130% during double time. The first thing we figured out was you only had to bet one coin to keep the machine qualified.
The double times were coming about every four minutes. The card reader would start flashing "DOUBLE TIME." You had one minute of double time and could get out about 20 hands. That made each double time worth about $7.50. So it was about a $90 an hour play with the downside between slim and none.
Then we got to figuring on what was creating the double times. The progressive bank was part of about 30 machines that were linked together. Since we weren't creating much action between the double times we figured it was the ploppies on the other machines that were driving the action. Once so much action was created it triggered the double time. This was confirmed that night when the action on the other machines slowed down. The frequency of the double times slowed down with it. So we stuck to the busy times.
Then it gets on to Thursday and I can't get a room for Thursday, Friday or Saturday. I took the bus up to Las Vegas, checked into the Golden Gate and played 10-20 holdem at the Horseshoe through Saturday night. I had the TV on Sunday morning and had just showered, was shaving and planning on taking the bus back down to Laughlin. But dammit, the TV station starting blasting about the biker shootout and all roads in and out of Laughlin were closed. I went back to the Horseshoe poker room. It was Wednesday before I got back down to Laughlin. By then the double time system had been installed on other sections of machines. It took them a couple of weeks to get the systems tweaked down where the hustlers didn't make so much money.
That was my last gig in Laughlin as I went north and got involved in the advantage play scene in northern Nevada which was good for about five years. From there, in 2007, I found the Montana plays. I stuck with Montana for ten years before I started snooping around outside the state. The few hustlers that have worked Montana don't think it's good here anymore but I know different. I'm glad they think that way. But I've cut back on the time I work it here. It's currently very good out of state too.
This is a blogspot I found when in Laughlin. The interesting item I found in it was the resort fee's in Laughlin.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...VrOUUejaGv6-oN
After the meal at Bumbleberry I cabbed it back to my room at Harrah's for a nap. I woke up late that night and took a cab to Aquarius. Luckily the slot club booth was still open. I went looking for the optimum play bank, screenshot below. It's located close to the buffet. All single line quarter games. Ten machines in the bank. Here are the games available:
10/7 Double Bonus 100.1725%
9/6/90 Jacks or Better 99.9962%
10/6/40 Double Double Bonus Poker 99.9577%
Joker Wild Two Pair 99.9205%
Triple Bonus Poker Plus 99.8730%
Not So Ugly Deuces 99.7283%
8/5/35 Bonus Poker 99.6613%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 99.6417%
Definitely the best quarter video poker on the River.
I also found this game for those that like to take a walk on the wild side. 10/6/40 Double Double Bonus with the meters running at .15%. That puts the game at 100.2577%.
First, I forgot to mention that there are 50 cent and $1 9/6 Jacks scattered around the Aquarius.
2nd, I also forgot to calculate the wager it takes to progress through the card levels. This is important information as it affects how much action you have to run for the card benefits. You start out with the blue card, then progress through orange, green, and the top card is red. Their advertising says most people make it to orange on the first day.
With the blue card it takes:
$8 in action to get 1 point on the optimum bank.
$5 in action to get 1 point on the 9/6 Jacks.
$4 in action to get 1 point on the 10/6/40 DDB progressive.
$2 in action to get 1 point on games lower than 99.44%.
This is information I've taken off of vpFREE2. You have options with what you can do with the points:
600 points = $1 cash
500 points = $1 freeplay
300 points = $1 comps
In addition vpFREE2 says they send bounceback freeplay and room offers through the mail.
When you reach the orange card level you get a 2X multiplier on the points. So it takes half the action to get the cashback/freeplay/comp. When you reach the green card level you get a 3X multiplier on the points, red card level 4X multplier on the points. So there are benefits to advancing through the card levels.
Any card level gets 10% off at their owned restaurants. Orange or higher gets 25% off their buffet. They also have fast food with Panda Express, Subway and McDonald's. McDonald's is open 24 hours. But you can't use comp or get a discount off them. One thing I've noticed at the fast food places in Laughlin is the meals are a buck or two higher than regular places.
At the Aquarius I chose to run 10K in action on the quarter Ugly Ducks Spin Poker, 98.81%. At $11.25 per deal it wouldn't take me long to run the action and it's a relatively low variance game. But I had another reason for playing it. I wanted to create a sucker's profile and see what they send me in the mail. This is an old AP trick that has worked well in the past when you are a new sign up. The theoretical loss is just $120 on 10K in action. Sometimes, the freeplay through the mail can well out run that. However, this trick has been worn out over the years and a lot of casinos are hip to it. We'll see what happens.
Mickey, please keep us posted on the results of this experiment, if you would. I'm going to follow your lead and put in some play at Aquarius in December. I'll probably just play NSUD or the 9/6, unless you'd recommend otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
I'll follow up with what all the places send me in the mail.Quote:
Originally Posted by redietzMickey, please keep us posted on the results of this experiment, if you would. I'm going to follow your lead and put in some play at Aquarius in December. I'll probably just play NSUD or the 9/6, unless you'd recommend otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
Also, I didn't spend any time in the sportsbooks but I think you will most likely like the Riverside and Aquarius sportsbooks best. They are the biggest in Laughlin. Harrah's would come in third for size but not likely you will score any comp there. The rest on the river are just small affairs.
I failed to mention that there are 10 vulturables in the Aquarius.
Hardly. I've driven my bike there for three runs, and it's a great time. You meet many other enthusiasts from all walks of life. This incident was like any other one-off. And it was at Harrahs, away from the main action in that town. Nobody goes there but California Flakes and a few other clueless people.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Boz
Since you appear to be a rookie when it comes to real casinos in Nevada, here's a teachable moment for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by mickeycrimm
It doesn't take lots of play on ANY machines in the Aquarius for the marketing computers to generate decent offers. And, the nonsense about "theoretical loss" or even actual loss has no bearing on what you get, just as how much you actually win doesn't affect their offers. I just stopped there on our way back from Peppermill for an overnight break yesterday. I played maybe 30 minutes, won $705, and I even forgot to run my $100 free play thru. I'm ahead of the place heavily since they took over from the Flamingo/Hilton. And the offers never end.
Next time go to Avi. That's more your speed. You seem to like getting scalped at out-of-the-way Indian casinos.
As a matter of fact I'm at an Indian casino today. Rob, if you download the pic, right click on it, click properties, click details, you'll see the numbers:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob.Singer
WP_20181011_12_38
First 4 numbers are the year, next two numbers are the month, two numbers after that is the day of the month. The 12_38 means 12:38 PM. So I took this must hit off at an indian casino on 11 Oct 2018 at 12:38 PM. That just happens to be today's date. I hit it on the 7th spin. Dirty cheatin' indian casinos!!
Harrah's
Laughlin River Lodge (former River Palms)
Golden Nugget
Colorado Belle
Tropicana
Edgewater
Aquarius
Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort & Casino
Looking south from the skywalk between the Riverside and the parking garage.
Quick Fact-Check: in terms of American destinations, Laughlin, NV does not even make the top 10 in terms of gambling revenue. So a good many people probably benefit from seeing the pics and reading descriptions provided by mickey crimm.
Anecdotally, I appreciate the update, as I visited Laughlin quite frequently decades past, but I haven't been there in 12 years or thereabouts. In fact, in my youth, when confronted with onerous LV hotel rates on certain weekends (like Labor Day), I would hop a bus and spend the occasional weekend in Laughlin.
In addition, I find it "a tad bit on the odd side" that someone who gets about as much as Argentino would himself provide no real updates on gambling venues and specific results as he ventures around. The lack of gambling reports, with details of place and specifics, and the lack of physical evidence, are striking. We have 6,500 Argentino posts, and almost no gambling details. Very odd.
I was surprised to find this old sign above the $1 7/5 Bonus Poker Triple Meter Progressive in the Pioneer. It had to have been put up sometime after I left Laughlin in 2002. It's hard for you to read but says "Are you strong enough to survive the WALL OF PAIN! There was a guy from North Dakota that started out as a blackjack dealer in Laughlin. I think he was also a substitute teacher. He picked up on AP'ing and built up a pretty good bankroll. He worked a lot of the video poker progressives on the river and employed others to play.
One time the royal on this bank of machines along the wall near the men's room got high. He threw his team on it. They were on it for a long time. The damn royal just wouldn't hit. He got buried for more than the royal was going to pay but the cheapest way out of a spot like that is to continue to play until you hit it. He started calling it the WALL OF PAIN.
They finally got the royal but he took a huge loss. He was well known by management and I guess the name stuck. They actually put up a sign calling it the WALL OF PAIN.
PS: Axel knows the guy. His initials are R.M.
The Riverside is a good spot for a dollar NSUD player. It's a relatively low variance game and can be found in the North Tower bartops and there is a bank of four next to the gift shop. The slot card is worth .2% cashback/freeplay.
$5 action = 1 point
100 points = $1 cashback/freeplay.
You have the option of just cashing your points out on any of the cashout kiosks instead of using it for freeplay. Limited to $100 per day. You also get .16% meal comp. So you pretty much know what you are getting at the Riverside. The NSUD with the cashback comes to 99.93%.
I ran a 30K wager to get to the Emerald level on the card. You can see in the screenshot it takes 6000 points to reach Emerald. At $5 a point it's a 30K wager. I ran most of the action on $5 9/6 Jacks at the Riverview Bar. I didn't want to spend all day on the NSUD. But when I return I'll stick with the NSUD. You can also find $1 9/6 Jacks just off the pit. Just four machines not next to each other.
The drawing ticket multipliers might come in handy someday.
Idk about now a days, but when I played at the Riverside in the past, those drawings are packed. When I did it, you got limited on the # of entries per day, they were physical (meaning you have to write your name and/or card # on each one), and seemed like every damn person in town showed up to the drawing. Granted, it wouldn't be too terrible of a play if you were retired and lived in Laughlin and just wanted to play something between break even and slightly +EV, especially if you enjoy gambling. Plus, you'd probably get some mailers which would bump up your return a bit.
I like how one of the benefits of being "platinum" is 2 complementary large water bottles per stay. That's kinda wonky.
mickey, by your own admission, you are hardly knowledgeable about Laughlin's good plays anymore, and one quick trip doesn't cut it by any stretch. The truth is, there are "AP plays" in that town that would make someone like you wet your pants. Many of them require playing, returning to play again, then returning on the offers--and Laughlin offers are FAR more lucrative than most or all of those that come from LV casinos for low to mid-range players. Also, if you're interested in WINNING MONEY instead of which card level you are, there's a $2 FPDW machine at one of the little bars on Casino Drive. I've talked to the owner about it several times although I don't play DW, and he says there has not been anyone in particular that comes in to play it regularly. I'm sure most people don't even know what it is they're playing. Great going, ap's. And did you put any play in at Tropicana Express? GN? Edgewater? Colorado Belle? THOSE are the places the most overall value can be found for people like you, in addition of course to Aq. And after having been banned from playing vp at the Trop, I've got a good beat on how to get around their and likely the other Laughlin casinos' concerns.
Well what do you know? Unbelievable. Rob has finally coughed up some good information. That would be the $2 FPDW. That's a straight up $75 an hour play. How long has it been there? How long have you been sitting on that information? How many machines are there? Any card benefits? Any promotions?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob.Singer
Since you are not a pro I'm sure you didn't think to check all that out. But you can bet your ass that people are going to be checking it out soon. Now that you've spilled the beans. How long have you been sitting on that information?
And you can bet your ass the next time I'm in Laughlin I'll be looking for it. The dude that owns the joint will get plenty of action from me. As a matter of fact the play is not going to last that long now that it has been exposed. You did what no pro would do. You posted it up in a gambling forum. A real pro would keep that little gem to himself.