Arcimedes, and redietz, I admit it. I LIED. I went back to Rincon Sunday afternoon because I decided to "take a shot" with my recent profits and see what I could do with that Visa gift card promotion. I was offered a $200 card just for showing up. (Please see the other thread I started -- the promotion was changed at the last minute and Rincon gave cash instead of Visa cards).

I LIED because I said I would not be going back because I wouldn't be getting any significant offers during the rest of November. Anyway, here's what happened:

I showed up and instead of going to get my Visa $200 card I decided to play $2000 in $5 Aces and Faces (8/5 with a payback of about 99.2%) and I had a pretty good run for my money getting several quads but after scoring about 4000+ tier points I was busted. So I went to the Total Rewards Visa Card pickup where I discovered the Visa promotion was changed and they were giving cash instead.

I got $360 in cash. Then I went to the gift shop where you can redeem "reward points" for gas cards and I picked up $300 worth of Shell gas cards (cost was 600 comp dollars). And I headed for the door and my car.

But wouldn't you know it, temptation got the better of me and my favorite 8/5 Bonus game was wide open in the Video Poker section and I decided to put $200 in and play at the $2 level. Yes, as I put the $200 into the bill acceptor I could visualize Rob shaking his finger at me and saying I lacked discipline and I am addicted. I also visualized, at the same time, Arcimede$ saying that the next play at that machine was no different than saving that $200 for a future visit.

So I started pushing buttons. And I got lucky. Or as Rob would say, I caught a hot cycle. Or as Arc would say, I was hot because the RNG's temperature never changes.

Before I knew it my $200 had grown to $630 and I said to myself, "self, cash out at $600." And on that hand I was dealt three to the royal in spades. And yes, on the draw, the royal filled in for $8,000.

I was paid cash, played two more hands, and cashed out the remaining $600. I put $6,000 into my zippered jacket pocket and took $2,600 back to the $5 Aces and Faces for one more round of play. Well, as fate would have it during that next session the player on my immediate right hit a $20,000 royal in spades playing Bonus. And a few minutes later the player on my immediate left who was playing the 8/5 Double Double Bonus progressive also got a royal in spades -- but that paid a bit more than $28,000.

And me? I just went through the $2600 but not before putting on another 4500 or so in tier points, which got me some more "take home money" at the promotion desk. Net win on the day was $6,000 plus a few hundred dollars in promotion money (gas cards came from my comp dollars so they don't count), plus I "earned" myself some more free play and comps for next month. And that was my second royal in two weekends.

Oh, there was another lie tonight. My wife called and asked me where I was? I told her I was playing poker at a local card room. "How are you doing?" "I'm up 800," I told her in a big fat lie.

She does not read this forum. Otherwise I would have to pay the "wife tax."