September 8 – September 12

LONG READ ALERT

Saturday, September 8

Arrive in Las Vegas approximately 1:30PM via my hometown, Philadelphia, PA
Take shuttle to car rental hub but end up not renting a car because the agency wanted to place a $300 hold on my credit card. I was on a limited budget this trip and did not want to depart with $300. Maybe a cheap move, but I made the decision. Ended up taking a cab to our hotel – Sam’s Town (they had a shuttle at one point – no longer; the public casino hotel shuttles to do not run to Sam’s Town). Cab fare including tip was $28 bucks which was fine by me.

Arrive at Sam’s Town and check in. I love Sam’s Town. I don’t know why, but at the same time, I know why. Hard to explain. I like the fact that my rooms are comped and there is something about the “locals casino” environment that I enjoy. I guess it is because deep down I long to be a Las Vegas local (one day). Or maybe it’s because I am secretly an old man in disguise who rather stay at Sam’s Town versus some strip properties. Strange dude.

Saturday is a bit of a blur considering I take Xanax while flying but I will try to recall the main events. I remember at one point drinking a few grey goose drinks (and by a few I mean something less than 5) and then signing up for the $100 7PM poker tournament. I continued to order drinks – fast service kept bringing vodka and orange drinks. Was very tanked while playing the tournament but was running very hot early. Booze caught up with me and I sort of remember losing my last hand but I had fun, and an angry liver.

I then took my last budgeted $100 for the day and went to the craps table where I doubled my money. Drunken craps with 20x odds at Sam’s Town is boss! I then took the $200 and bought into a $1/$2 NL game that was running. At one point, I rivered quad 2s and got paid a bonus of about $110! Went up and down from there and left the table with $400. Lost about $50 playing random slots (hey – slots are cool to me at Sam’s Town….hit $4000 on a $1 machine in Sept 2011). Finally grabbed some McDonalds at 2AM (that prevents a hangover, right?) and went to bed.

Sunday, September 9

Breakfast buffet at Sam’s Town which was EXCELLENT and free thanks to my Food Gold Card that allowed me to eat 3x per day for free at any restaurant (more on that later). After breakfast my wife and I watched the Eagles barely beat the Browns (my stupid Eagles are a turnover machine). Following the game we hitch a cab to The D Casino (also free rooms) to start our downtown visit. It’s unfortunate that the cab ride was memorable, that is never good. You know you are in bad shape when the taxi driver says, “Oh yeah, the D Casino, formerly the Fitzgerald’s, do you know how to get there”. Not sure why he asked me since he didn’t listen anyway. At one point he had to make a U-turn on Charlestown and when we finally arrived the fare was the same as my cost from the airport to Sam’s Town. The driver was nice enough/friendly, but I could not give an exceptional tip. Wow.

My wife and I played our free slot play at The D and a few other dollars but did not have much luck. We decided to walk Fremont Street and play slots at other casinos and enjoyed our time. Especially when I decided to put $20 into a $5 wheel of fortune machine and on our first pull, hit for $300 at the Las Vegas Club Casino. Instant cash out! My wife headed back to The D to try their slots again while I went to the Golden Nugget for a cash game. I bought in for $400 and played bad (made a bad decision when I really thought I was beat – you ever do that?) and left the table with about $150. My wife and I met up for dinner and went to the Golden Nugget Seafood and More Buffet where I ate crab legs and prime rib until I was ready to bust. It was a wild display of gluttony but I found it to be quite delicious. Highly recommend.

Monday, September 10

We woke up and went to The D restaurant for breakfast which was just ok. I think this needs to be the new owner’s next move – revamping this restaurant. If it was me, I would cut it in half and make one section for sushi and the other end for a greasy spoon cheap eat spot. I know the new owners are quoted as wanting to attract the Asian players/business as they will be putting in a high limit pit and I figure a high-end sushi eatery would go over well. I don’t like sushi so the greasy spoon cheap steak and eggs would attract me. Like I originally said, the food was OK but the restaurant needs a facelift. Please remove the fake plants. I hate fake plants!

After breakfast we roam around Fremont Street and play some slots again and eventually say hello to my buddy Eric Barney at the Fremont Casino Hotel. Eric is a great guy who is a gaming manager and always treated me well when he was at Sam’s Town. Special shout-out to Eric who knows how to treat customers, both high and low limit gamblers, and is an asset to Boyd Gaming I am sure.

As it was getting close to dinner time, we decide to take the shuttle from the Fremont Casino to Sam’s Town where I wanted to use my Food Gold Card. I originally planned on hitting their buffet until I read the card could be used at Billy Bob’s Steakhouse. Considering I didn’t play at Sam’s Town at all in 2012 and was not a big spender while there in 2011, I was skeptical that my Gold Card would be accepted at Billy Bobs. Long story short, the card was indeed OK to use at Billy Bobs and my wife and I enjoyed a GREAT meal – drinks, appetizers, surf and turf, dessert – signed the check for $170 and dropped the waiter $40 bucks. $40 bucks for what I ate? A win for me! In fact, I ate so much that I was too tired to catch the shuttle back to Fremont Street so we ended up staying in our room since we never officially checked out on Sunday morning.

I then played some limit poker which I did not enjoy and dropped almost $100 doing so. I then decided to play a little roulette and slots and ended up profiting over $250 bucks. Now, after winning, I wanted some no limit poker action. I hitched a cab to Boulder Station for some $1/$2 NL Cigarette Smoking Poker. At first I thought the large plume of smoke coming from the poker room meant there was a fire, but before dialing 911, I remember that at Boulder Station you can smoke at the table. I ended up staying at Boulder Station until about 4AM and left down about $20 bucks and clothes that smelled like a pack of Marlboros. Not only do these cats smoke, but they chain smoke. At one point I couldn’t take it anymore, so I started smoking! Holy sh*t! (cough cough). I hitched a cab back to Sam’s Town after waiting 30 minutes. Cab driver appeared to be hopped up on red bull or meth, I couldn’t tell. Ok, that wasn’t nice but he was wired!

Tuesday, September 11

What an interesting day! My wife and I decided to purchase an all-day pass to ride The Deuce bus from one end of the strip to the other. Our first stop was Riviera/Slots-O-Fun. The poker room at the Riviera didn’t have anything going on so we decided to get back on the Deuce. AND THEN THE RAINS CAME. I learned the meaning of FLASH FLOOD. The bus driver was unable to make some stops as the sidewalk/bus stop was UNDER WATER. We ended up getting off the bus at the Mirage and got stuck in the casino playing slots since we could not cross the street. Nothing beats rain in the desert! It was wild and I took some cool pictures. I heard it was the worst flooding in Las Vegas since 1999. Someone explained to me that when it pours in Vegas, it’s like pouring water into a bowl. Like, not only is the downfall of rain the problem, but the rain on the mountains runs down into the valley and makes it worse. It reminded me of March 4, 2005 when it poured like hell and there was massive flooding (March 4, 2005 was when my wife and I got married in Las Vegas – my first Vegas trip). We finally ended up crossing the LV Boulevard and play a bit at Harrah’s. We waited for the 3PM Big Elvis show but Big Elvis must have left the building as he was a “no show”.

We jumped on the Deuce and arrived at The Wynn. Wow is this place beautiful. And it reminded me why I play Megabucks as I wanted to purchase items from the Rolex shop and other high end stores while walking through The Wynn. We played the Wynn penny Mega Bucks machine and while we didn’t hit the jackpot, we got a few bonus spins and made $100 bucks. After playing a few more slots at The Wynn, we jump on the Deuce and head back to Fremont.

For dinner we head to the Main Street Station for the T-bone steak buffet which was very good. As you can probably already tell, I enjoy eating and also enjoy talking about it. After dinner I am dead tired but head to the Golden Nugget for more poker action. I buy in for $300 and while winning earlier, I am on a downswing and have about $200 left when the next hand happens. Guy #1 raises and I re-raise. Guy #2 calls and Guy #1 re-raises me. I call. Guy #2 goes all in. Guy # 1 goes all in. I am now not in love with Ace Jack Hearts (I never was) but I am ahead for the trip, am ready to call it a night and call my entire stack. Pot is north of $600. Long story short, my Ace Jack wins and beats Guy #1 pocket Tens and Guy #2 Ace Queen, when the flop brings a Jack. About a half hour later, I cash out and head back to The D for some sleep.

Summary: I love food, Sam’s Town, The D Casino, poker at Golden Nugget, food, heavy rain, food, and Las Vegas in general!