Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 36

Thread: Crazy Memorial Weekend Casino Trip Report

  1. #1
    Sunday evening, at about 9-PM, my wife and I finished dinner. She was tired from a full day of shopping with the girls, and since I had slept late on Sunday and took an afternoon nap, I was raring to go. So I said to her, "I'm going to play some poker."

    And she responded, "Rincon?" You see, Shelley has me figured out. When I usually say I am going to play poker it really means that instead of going to Hollywood Park Casino which is fifteen minutes from where we live, I'm really getting in the car and driving to Harrah's Rincon in San Diego which is about two hours away.

    So when she asked "Rincon?" I responded with "well it depends on traffic." So I carried out the trash, and got in the car about 9:15pm.

    The traffic was amazingly light on the freeway. Real "holiday light" traffic. And it was easy to breeze past the exit for Hollywood Park... and to breeze past the exits for The Bicycle and The Commerce (two other poker casinos) and then I was at the 5 Freeway where if I turn right I go to San Diego and Rincon, or turn left and I go to Vegas. I went to Vegas. All the way up the Freeways were wide open and with a full tank of gas I had no reason or need to stop. I set my cruise control for 72 and I think I got to the Augustus valet for 7Stars/Diamond in record time.

    I did not tell my wife I was doing this... I knew she'd kill me. My plan was to go there, get the dice craps bug out of my system, turn around and drive home before the Monday morning return-from-the-weekend traffic picked up. But just in case something terrible happened, I called my son to say "I'm driving to Vegas" and I told him I would send him an email when I arrived to let him know I was safe and sound.

    My first stop at Caesars was the rest room in the Augustus tower, and I really have to congratulate Caesars for having well kept public restrooms. Even in the middle of the night on a busy holiday weekend everything was clean and in order with fully stocked paper towel dispensers and tissue dispensers. Good job!

    Second stop was the Cage. On my previous trip to Caesars I hit a $20K royal and left with a check and when you leave with a check your credit line is suspended until your next trip -- and then you have to check-in in person at the cage to announce you are back. Caesars has this rule so that people don't take a check then keep playing taking out new markers. "You have our money," said one employee, "so we don't want to give you any more credit while you have our money in your hand." But since a few weeks had passed (actually it was more than a few weeks -- almost two months) my credit line was restored.

    So... to the craps tables. The casino was surprisingly quiet. There were five craps tables open, most had $10 minimums, no table was crowded, and I just took a spot at a table with just one other player. He was shooting and already had two points made and I didn't buy in until he 7'd out on his third point. Craps etiquette says not to buy in while another player has the dice and I followed that.

    I took out a $1,000 marker and made my passline bet of $25. My point was a 6. I bet full odds of $125 (5X odds) and bet the numbers across for $130 and then put $25 on the hard six. Usually I don't bet the hardways... but I'm living dangerously driving up to Vegas on my own with no plans, no overnight bag -- but I do have my morning transplant pills. I roll a couple of numbers and then -- hard 6 winner! The hard six pays $225, my passline bet pays $25, my odds bet pays $130. What a great start!

    My next point was the 8. I moved my $25 hard 6 to the hard 8. Again rolled a couple of numbers and then winner 8. But not a hard way, so that bet goes down.

    Next come out roll -- 5. A couple of numbers and winner 5. Then I can see lightning forming over the table... but would it strike. You see, I made a $10 fire bet. If I make four different passes I would be paid $250... five different passes and I would be paid $2500 and if I make all six different pass numbers I would be paid $10,000.

    I already have the 6, 8 and 5... so now I need a 4, 9 or 10.

    Next come out roll: 9. Now, my table is full but only two of us were there at the beginning of my roll so only two of us have fire bets. The next roll is a hard ten (5-5) and the roll after that is another hard ten, and then a four, and then a hard 4 (2-2) and then.... seven out. I stayed at the craps table for about an hour and a half total time, and left with a profit of $600. Not bad for a night's work with a crazy drive to Vegas. But it was only about 2:30-am and I still had a couple of hours before my self-imposed deadline to get out of there.

    So why not try a little video poker, Alan? Okay, I think I will.

    I cashed out the $1600 in chips but did not pay off my marker. I decided to take all of the money to video poker. My loss limit for the quickie trip was $1,000 and I had $1600 to play.

    I went to the Palace Court slot room which is the high limit slot room that has only one $5 Bonus Poker machine. This is the same room with the $100 VP machines... and somehow there is one and only one $5 machine stuck in the corner. I love this machine. I've always had good luck on it. One time I put $300 in and cashed out over $5K. Another time I put $100 in and on the first hand I got quad queens for $625. It's just a lucky machine for me. So this time I decided to put in just $400 to start... which would leave me a $200 profit plus the $1000 to pay off the marker.

    The machine started with small hits... two pair, paying pair, and then quad 3s for $1,000. I raised my stop loss to $500 meaning that if the $1100 now showing on the machine dropped to $500 I would leave because that would be a $700 profit and the marker would be paid off.

    But a few hands later: quad 8s and then quad queens and quad kings. And then I am dealt a straight flush.

    Name:  20130527_030047.jpg
Views: 839
Size:  86.6 KB

    And a little while later I am dealt four to a straight flush. See the photo below:

    Name:  20130527_053912.jpg
Views: 937
Size:  84.7 KB

    And then I hit a rough patch. I had two handpays of $1250 each (less $10 tips on each one) and resolved that I wanted to go home with a profit of $3400 which would be $3,000 for me and I would offer my wife $400 as part of a plea not to yell at me for doing something so stupid as driving up to Vegas on my own without telling her or even packing a bag and not taking at least two days worth of transplant pills in case I got stuck.

    At one point I was showing a profit of $3825 but when the meter hit the level that combined with what was in my pocket was $3400... I hit the cash out button.

    I was determined not to blow this. Having a $3400 profit would go a long way in proving two things:

    1. I could stick to a decision about a win goal
    2. I would have enough of a win to defend my crazy drive to Vegas in case my wife was going to hit me when I got home.

    Oh there was a third thing too... I had the $400 of "plea deal money" to give her hoping she would not make me sleep in my car for the next week.

    I didn't even get anything to eat in the casino. I knew if I stopped to have breakfast that I would be tempted with one more "try" at either craps or VP. No... I was going home with the cash. And that's what I did. But I did stop at the cage and paid off my $1,000 marker and walked out with the $3,400 profit.

    Who says I can't keep to a win goal?

    When I am at the valet my phone beeps announcing a text message. It was my wife. "Where are you? Rincon?"

    I texted back. "No, Vegas."

    She texted back. "You're at Rincon. I knew you were going there."

    So I quickly sent her the photos of the straight flushes.

    I am in the car and ready to pull out when the text bell sounds again.

    "Half is mine," she texted. So I called her and negotiated $400 -- just as I had planned.

    Before I walked out of the casino, I dropped off my business card at the Host Office for my host, with a note that says "I dropped in."

    My host came in at 10am and we just got off the phone. "Where did you stay last night?" she asked me.

    I told her the story, and she said, "thanks for dropping in" but I knew she was thinking "what a nut job." Which is what my wife also thinks.

    But it was a good thing that I spoke to her because I wanted to see how I was "rated" for the drop-in visit. Yes, I was rated for an hour and a half of craps play... but my average bet was down for only $39. That's a problem and I asked her to check into it. When I left the craps the table, the floorman was talking to guests away from the table and I couldn't get his attention. Normally I always check out with the floorman to confirm how I am rated for the session. You should always do this to be sure you are properly rated for future comps, offers, etc. This time I didn't and I got screwed.

    I was accurately rated for video poker play. Maybe it's a good thing that the system doesn't show my $600 profit at craps. In the end I was outta there with my $3400 profit.

    I took the "back way" home which is Pearblossom highway which is a better drive during the day than during the evening, and I stopped at the Bank of America branch in Victorville to deposit MY SHARE of the profit ($3,000) in the ATM. This branch has the ATM enclosed in a locked booth that you enter by swiping your ATM card. it's really a very safe design and that's why I stopped there to make the deposit.

    When I got home about 12:30pm my wife was out with her girlfriend to see a movie (she said it sucked) and to have lunch, and I put the four $100 bills on her nightstand under a paperweight that has the word LOVE on it.

    That was a lot of fun.

  2. #2
    Good story. And any profit is always better than losing anything. But here's a few comments:

    1. I don't understand this "wife tax". Is it something serious or just a joke? Whenever I've gambled heavy in the past, Cindy didn't much care how it went. She only cared that I made it home OK (I always told her exactly where I'd be ). And since we shared the main checking account, there was no need for a "tax" when big wins hit.

    2. I don't see why you like to stay so clearly in the casino's radar by having conversations about your play with some casino host. It may make you feel good or special in some way, but it has a much higher chance of working against you than helping you. Remember, these people are responsible for separating you from as much of your money as possible. And without the "buddy" thing, you will still get your offers and still get your points. But start winning regularly and you may lose some or all of that.

    3. From the $10 tips, I suspect you left that much for every handpay? So tell me this: you say you lose something every year. But I also see you hitting a ton of handpays. Do you ever NOT tip for those things? Do you yet see how overall ridiculous--and wasteful--tipping handpays is? And it is not your job to care about or be concerned with what these floor people get for wages. If that were true you'd be a well-known philanthropist.

    4. I think I've figured out the reason behind why you continually reset your leave limits or whatever you call them. You simply cannot stand the thought of having to stop the action. Is this supposition close?
    Last edited by Rob.Singer; 05-27-2013 at 07:05 PM.

  3. #3
    1. The wife tax... it's a joke. But we do share. She's a player, too. And I still "owe" her $4,000 from the last $20K royal. (It's coming, dear.)

    2. It's important that my play at craps is properly rated, because it does affect offers. I just went through a big battle with Caesars because my offers were downgraded from $2500 per visit to $850 (when there are offers) and I recently got an upgrade to $1,000 for some Macy's gift card offers in the third quarter. So yes, Rob, I want to be on the casino's radar.

    3. Yes I tip. And you're not going to talk me out it, Rob.

  4. #4
    I stuck in #4 on edit. It's a real question and I'm just trying to understand your driver. We should all embrace win & loss goals for our own good. It's just a different animal for me to hear about moving targets.

    I talk LOTS of players out of tipping for handpays. In fact, I'll bet by not tipping over the years, it's paid for the new Elantra we bought and haul behind the RV. I maintain, players tip out of feeling intimidated into doing so. Most people just can't bear the expected dirty looks or even words that may come their way from the stiffed "recipient".

    Never played table games so its relationship to offers etc. is foreign to me.
    Last edited by Rob.Singer; 05-27-2013 at 07:14 PM.

  5. #5
    Regarding #4 it's called raising your "stop loss." If the wins are coming, go with the trend.

    It surprises me that you don't follow this concept, Rob. It's a basic Wall Street strategy that you can easily use in gambling. Since you believe in hot streaks you should be embracing the idea of raising your win goals and raising your "stop loss."

  6. #6
    I'm not much of a "Wall Streeter" but I understand what you're saying, and why. The concept actually never occurred to me when putting my strategy together. It might have been an interesting option. I know arci would scream that "nothing changes expectation". Try telling that to your wife when she collects that "wife tax". The only expectation that never changes I've ever known in gambling is that, ever since I developed SPS, I always EXPECT to win.

  7. #7
    Let me explain the "rising stop loss" in terms of last night/this morning.

    At the craps table I had a $600+ net win. While I took out a thousand dollar marker I had only put on the table the following:
    Fire bet $10
    Passline $25
    Passline odds $125
    Numbers across $130
    Hard 6 $25
    Horn nigh ace deuce on the come out $5
    Horn high yo on the first roll after the point $5

    Total outlay was $325.

    When I had a profit of $600+ (there were a few $1 chips) I had essentially doubled my money in less than 15 minutes. If my "win goal" was to double my money I would have been outta there. Instead I decided to play video poker and to set a $200 win goal (after $1,000 was paid back for the marker) and I quickly hit quad 3s which paid $1,000. I adjusted my "stop loss" to $700. Had I quit after hitting the quad 3s for a thousand dollars I would have missed about an additional $1500 of profit. But in the worst case I still would have had a $700 profit.

    For a guy who says he believes in luck, and says he wants to give luck the maximum chance to show itself, then Rob you should have rising win goals and rising stop losses to allow luck to do its thing.

  8. #8
    Interesting story, Alan. We had a lot of parallels this weekend.

    For one, we were both on the Pearblossom Highway returning from gambling today. I think I was there later than you were (I traveled on it around 6:30pm), but I was coming back from Laughlin, and I saw on my phone that traffic was TERRIBLE in Victorville, so it was a no-brainer going on Pearblossom. I also went on old Route 66 because there was a backup between Barstow and Victorville, which I saw in advance.

    Second, we both played at Caesar's properties. I was at Harrah's Laughlin (25 years old, and NOT aging well), and you were at Caesar's, though you didn't sleep there.

    Third, we both played $5/credit, 8-5 Bonus Video Poker.

    Fourth, we both had two handpays. Here were mine:







    Anyway, Alan, two questions for you:

    1) How on earth are you getting $2500 per trip offers? My typical offer is $300/trip. You must be playing some serious -EV games -- or at least somehow making the computer think you are -- to get that type of offer.

    2) Why are you playing 8-5 Bonus Poker at Caesar's when there is a 9-6 Jacks or Better at the same ($5/credit) limits? The 9-6 machine pays out better in the long run (99.54% for perfect play versus 99.17%).

    I played 8-5 Bonus Poker at Harrah's Laughlin because it was the best they offered. I was fortunate to be playing that, because one of my two four of a kinds was aces.

    I did brick every single royal draw, including making about 8 four-to-royals in the 2000 hands I played. I've never had a Video Poker royal in my life, though I haven't played all that much video poker lifetime.

    This is the guide I used for my 8-5 Bonus Poker strategy: http://wizardofodds.com/games/video-...nus-poker/8-5/
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  9. #9
    Also Alan, are you going to be playing any World Series of Poker events?

    My first event is the Millionaire Maker ($1500 buyin No Limit Holdem) on June 1st. It's going to be a zoo.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  10. #10
    Dan I was getting $2500 offers until last August when I was dramatically cut to $850. Playing negative games is only one factor in free play; another factor is on betting volume and I wasn't betting or visiting as much as I used to. Yet, I know others who play less frequently than I do and still are getting $2500 and $3500 offers and the only reason I can figure is that while their overall gaming budget is smaller, they are betting bigger on fewer trips.

    It seems that the free play offers are highest for people with the biggest budgets per trip, and if you have the same total budget but it is spread over numerous trips you will receive lower offers.

    While I always have wanted to play in the Senior WSOP event I am too busy with my business. I don't do well in tournaments anyway -- and never really did. I have only one local tournament win to my credit and it wasn't a big tournament. I finish in the money and sometimes make final tables on smaller tournaments here in town, but these are not significant.

    I do quite well at cash games but only at limits that I am comfortable playing such as $2/$3 or $3/$5. Put me into a big money cash game and I know I am in over my head.

    Why do I play 8/5 Bonus instead of 9/6 Jacks? Well, it's because there is nothing so frustrating as to get quad aces or quad 2s, 3s, or 4s and find out that they pay the same as quads 8s or quad 9s and so forth.

    Since I am a recreational player I want to get a little thrill when I play.
    Last edited by Alan Mendelson; 05-28-2013 at 01:06 AM.

  11. #11
    I'm still jealous of the $2500.

    Hell, I'm jealous of the $850!

    I have to find creative ways to combine two or three $300 offers into a single trip to make the whole thing worth my time.

    If I was getting $2500 offers, I would be pretty much living at Caesar's.

    The Seniors' Event is stupid because it is for age 50+. 50 is not a senior. This gives an unfair advantage to the "younger" players, who can probably do a lot better with concentration and stamina than the ones who are actual seniors.

    I wasn't even old enough to gamble legally until 1993, and even I will qualify for the WSOP Seniors' Event in nine years.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  12. #12
    Well, I'm 61 now. I played the senior circuit event at Rincon about two years ago, and I was the youngest player there.

    Caesars has tightened up on offers and now tries to be very strict about not allowing offers to be combined. In fact, when I wanted to combine two of my "Seven Stars Experiences" they said no and even though the offers were on their own small, they wanted me to book separate trips a week apart.

  13. #13
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    .

    Why do I play 8/5 Bonus instead of 9/6 Jacks? Well, it's because there is nothing so frustrating as to get quad aces or quad 2s, 3s, or 4s and find out that they pay the same as quads 8s or quad 9s and so forth.

    Since I am a recreational player I want to get a little thrill when I play.
    Last week, at the Horseshoe Indiana, I was waiting for my friend to arrive. I noticed that all the banks of VP that I usually play were out of service. They have a lot of machines so there were still a lot of games to play, but the 4 banks that I mainly play were all out of service. So while waiting for my friend I sit down at a plain old $! Bonus game and get 4 aces on the 1st hand. I look at my balance and it's only $245. So I look at the pay table---they had reduced it to $150 for all quads on that bank. That bank had previously had the normal pay table.

    So now I'm thinking that they are reducing the pay tables on all the out of service games. Next time I go there, I will definitely verify the tables before playing. If they are further reduced from an already bad game, GOODBYE!!!

  14. #14
    There's another reason not to ever play 9/6 job over 8/5 or even 7/5 BP: job is a game you play for the points, while BP is a game you play to win money....IF you are able to quit when you get ahead. If you get behind early in job you have little to no chance of recovery, and see if you can figure what that .4% or so "advantage" over BP has when any extra FH or flush credits are just played thru anyway. Remember, there is no "long term" for the player, esp. when going to Harrahs for a quick "up & back". You always want to win TODAY, and your next trip is so disconnected to this one that you'll take all the fun out of it if you get caught up in the "it's all one life-long journey" nonsense.

  15. #15
    Man, That is a LOT of driving for a 24 hour period. I find the drive one way to be very taxing, let alone doing it twice in one day.

  16. #16
    Hey, congrats on your recent winnings Alan! I would like to post some more on the forums but I have to get ready for jury duty tomorrow... errr.. I mean in a couple of hours. See you all later!

  17. #17
    Do I have to teach everyone how to get out of jury duty?? Anyone gets the call let me know---you'll never serve.

  18. #18
    I would love to serve on a jury... but no lawyer wants me.

  19. #19
    Jury's are a waste of time. After convicting Jodi Arias, they asked the jury to come to a unanimous decision on life or the gallows. I have no idea why the system believes 12 random people could EVER come to a total agreement on such a hot topic, regardless of the rules, policies, etc.

  20. #20
    Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson View Post
    Well, I'm 61 now. I played the senior circuit event at Rincon about two years ago, and I was the youngest player there.

    Caesars has tightened up on offers and now tries to be very strict about not allowing offers to be combined. In fact, when I wanted to combine two of my "Seven Stars Experiences" they said no and even though the offers were on their own small, they wanted me to book separate trips a week apart.
    They won't combine the Seven Stars signature experiences (if that's what you're referring to). They are very strict about that one.

    However, I know a way to combine offers, though it's hit-and-miss if it works. I don't want to post publicly how to do it.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •