A Royal Day

I had a $100 bounce back voucher that I earned at Yorky's yesterday so I decided to go out after dinner to cash it in and hopefully win another one.

I went to the Villiage Pub by my house, same owners as Yorky's, and cashed in my $100 and bgan playing with the hope of hitting any jackpot $1200 or more to get another bounce back certificate. After playing about $600 it dealt me four to the royal in Hearts, and in popped the Jack I needed. It took about an hour for them to process and pay the jackpot, all the while I continue to feed $100 bills into the machine next to it. After losing about $1,500 they were all finished and I escaped with a win of $47,600.

A great way to conclude the first month of my tracking of my play. Hopefully every month will show this type of profit. Of course I really don't expect that because I don't play enough to warrant winning this much every month even though most of my big gambling is on positive expectation games.

I also got another $100 bounce back certificate for this win. Hopefully I will be able to repeat this tomorrow.

Daily Result: +$47,600
Year to Date: +$46,650

Downtown and Yorky's

I got called downtown last night to go to the El Cortez to help resolve a problem they were having. It took about fifteen minutes to identify and resolve the problem. When finished I decided to take a little stroll around downtown Las Vegas.

After wandering around the Fremont Street Experience and watching some acrobats perform I had had enough and decided to head back to the car. But First, I had to stop off at Mermaids for the 99 cent Deep Fried Twinkie. Hopefully you know me well enough by now to know I wouldn't actually eat one of these, but they sure make for a disgusting picture. Upon enter Mermaids I see a guy half sprawled on the floor and half between two slot machines with a couple of attendents holding him. Of course my first thought was just another downtown druken bum being held until the police arrive, but fortunately it was even better. Apparently this guy was having a seizure and the attendants were holding him so he wouldn't hurt himself (very commendable for someone that makes minimum wage). Then the thought hits me, I will give 10 to 1 odds that this guy just ate the 99 cent Deep Fried Twinkie. Here is a picture of that culinary delight:

After leaving downtown I decided to stop at Yorky's becuase I recently heard that they have some of the video poker games I like. This brief stop cost me $2,000 but I did get one wild royal jackpot (pictured below). It turns out they are doing a promotion that any jackpot gives a three day bounceback voucher that is suppossed to average $200. This is a fantastic player promotion even though it is limited to one per player per day.

I have one more day to improve my first months results, hopefully tomorrow will bring some luck.

Daily Result: -$2,000

Year to Date: -$950

Palazzo or Bust

I decided to go back to the Palazzo and upgrade to their Gold Player's card. I presented my Diamond card from Harrah's and they immediately gave me their Gold level card.
Now that I am Royalty at Palazzo I decided to throw my money out to the peasants. Actually the security guards frowned upon this idea because it might cause to much of a commotion, so they convinced me the best thing to do would be to run my $25,000 through the five play $1 JOB game. After about 90 minutes of constant losing I decided to bid the peasants a fond farewell while allowing Mr. Adelson the opportunity to dispense of my $1,400 donation any way he sees fit.

A couple of the Four of a kinds I hit while playing:

Daily total: -$1,400

Year to Date: +$1,050

I Love Hooter's

Well, at least last night I did.

I decided to visit the Palazzo yesterday afternoon and check out the sites. I thought the hotel and casino were very nicely done. Sheldon Adelson has always done a great job with his hotels. Most of the shops in the promenade were still closed and a lot of them had signs up saying they should be open around March.

I gave the 9/6 jacks or better triple play games (99.5%) a play at the $1 level for about an hour. True to form, not much varaiance here. I was playing $15 a game and I was never down more than $200. After about an hour I quit with a $60 victory. I was with a friend that didn't want to try the Blackjack tables so we left.

Next stop was Hooter's to visit a friend that works at Dan Marino's restaurant. What a joke that restaurant has become. It used to be a nice mid-level steak house that I would enjoy a couple of times a year. It has been turned into their 24 hour coffee shop with very little of the original menu remaining. They still have the $16.99 all you can eat Baby Back ribs and the beef tips over garlic mashed potatos, but the rest of the menu looks like any other coffee shop on the strip.

I played the Double Deck Blackjack game for a total of about an hour, mainly jumping in when the count was good and jumping out when it went negative. I was only spreadin $50 and $100 and ended up with a $550 win. By the way, this isn't a very good double deck game becuase they cut a full deck out so you will never get a big count advantage.

Daily total: +$610
Year to Date: +$2,450

Been sick. I haven't been exploring very far from home.

I haven't been feeling to well lately so I haven't been out visiting the casinos very much. I hope to go check out the Palazzo tomorrow and give their $1 9/6 Jacks or Better games a test.

Yesterday (Wednesday):

Stopped after work at Putter's to see some friends with the intention of going back to Village Pub later in the evening. I got busy talking with my friends and before I knew it it was 10:00pm and time for me to go home.

I lost $40 on the $1 DBL DBL progressive but cashed out $450 on the video Blackjack.

Daily Outcome: +$160
Year to date: +$1,790




Tuesday:

On Tuesday I went to Rae's Bar and Grill to play the $5 Bonus Deuces game. I only had $1000 on me which didn't give me much hope of playing very long (these are ten coin games so it is $50 a hand).

I was fortunate enought to play for about an hour while only hitting one hand pay (Wild Royal for $1250). I will put a picture up later. I am trying to remember to take a picture of any jackpot that is $1200 or higher.

Daily outcome: -$850
Year to date: +$1,630

Watching Football

I didn't have any bets on the two championship games yesterday, but I was please to see the New York Giants win their game.

I watched the games at my neighborhood bar Putter's and played the $1 Double Double Bonus Poker progressive machine that was at $10,200. This game is very volatile but has a payback of 99.36%. I ended up losing $420 while never even hitting a four of a kind.

Daily Outcome: -$420
Year to Date: +$2,480

A little blackjack

I visited the MGM Grand for the first time in probably three months to play some Blackjack.

I had about $800 in my pocket so I began playing for $50 a hand. The table I was at was a full table and played rather slowly but was pretty entertaining. A couple of the guys were in from Maine and telling horror stories about the snow.

I played for abou 90 minutes spreading my bet from $25 to $100 depending on the deck composition. I was ahead $400 until my last hand where I bet $50 and was dealt two sevens against a dealer four. I split the sevens getting a two on one hand and a four on the other hand. I doubled down on both hands resulting in a 19 and an 18. The dealer flips over a ten for a total of 14 and pulls a six for a 20. I lose both hands and decide it is about time to leave.

Daily Result: +$200

Year to Date: +$2,900

Lucky Free Play

Today I stopped at one of the Village Pub bars by my house because I wanted to play some of the Bonus Deuces games. When I logged in it showed I had $100 in free play. That is two hands on the $5 ten coin game I play. I redeemed my points for $100 on the machine and hit this on my second hand:




That gave me some seed money to play with. After putting back in about $600 it dealt me the following hand. If I would have pulled the Ace kicker it would have been $20,000.



I was very fortunate today because it gave me a lot more 5 of a kinds than would be statistically probable. Throw in a bunch of wild royals and I had a great day. This day actually put me back ahead for the year.

You either love or hate these high denom volatile games, but they have been pretty good to me over the years.

A few random pictures I took:

The best thing about my session today was that I never even had to pull any money out of my wallet.

Daily result: +$15,010

Year to date: +$2,700

Another losing day

On Saturday a made a $550 bet on the Seattle Seahawks +7.5 points against the Green Bay Packers. This was the only game of the weekend that I had a strong feeling about. AFter 6 minutes of the game I was up by 21.5 points and feeling pretty good. All of a sudden the Packers get motivated and completely dominate the game. I was clearly on the wrong side of this game.

Fortunately, I played a little video poker after making my bet at Barley's Casino and I had a positive outcome. I won $450 playing $1DBL DBL progressive.

Daily Result: -$100

Year to Date: -$12,310

WoW, What a sportsbook

I am still stuck in Ely, Nevada for one more day. I decide that tonight I might go over to the sportsbook and watch a few games. Now this is Ely, so I wasn't expecting to have a skybox like they have at MGM Grand. Instead I found that their sportsbook is a little small. Yes, this is the sportsbook:

Did I mention this is the only sportsbook in Ely, Nevada.




Today I visited the most colorfull casino in Ely:

Yes, that is the famous Jailhouse casino. I decided to play a little video poker at the bar. I start by playing a Deuces wild game at $.25 so I could get a free beer. Now at the Jailhouse casino bar they don't seem to have a bartender. At first I thought maybe it was closed, but no, eventually "the" casino employee came over and gave me a beer. That beer ended up costing a hundred dollars so I do what any brilliant gambler does while playing terrible video poker games. I lose $200 more playing a bad $1 Deuces Bonus game. Once again it is not the $300 loss that bothers me. I just am having a real bad streak now where I can't hit a hand better that 4 of a kind on Deuces. I believe I am now the number one high roller at the Jailhouse casino.

Today: -$300
Year to date: -$12,210

Ely Nevada

I am travelling for business today to the metropolis of Ely, Nv. I am staying at the oldest hotel/casino in the state of Nevada.

I easily Won my Tulsa football bet last night for $200 but lost $100 tonight on a moneyline bet for Ohio State.

Year to date: -$11,910

A very light gambling day

Yesterday was a light gambling day for me. I bet $220 on Seattle and $120 on Pittsburgh +3 (-120). So for my football bets I won both for a $300 profit.

I watched the ball games at Putter's. I played $80 on video blackjack and cashed $220 after about 15 minutes of play.

Today the only football game I have bet is Tulsa -5.5 for $220. They are currently up 21-0 so it looks good so far. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I think I will be betting Ohio State in tomorrows game. I just need to decide if I want to bet the side or moneyline. I am leaning to moneyline.

Played a little video blackjack today at Putter's. Put in $20 cashed out $50. Put in $20 cashed out $40. Put in $20 lost. Put in $20 lost. Put in $100 lost. Put in $100 cashed $320.

Won $130 total today on video blackjack.

Year to date: -$12,010

The worst day I remember

Wow, Yesterday is the worst day I ever remember having gambling. Not only did I lose a lot of money but I really didn't get much play.
My morning started at Putter's where I decided to take a small shot at the $10,208 progressive on the $1 DBL DBL game. While having my coffee I proceeded to lose $60 very quickly.
In the afternoon I had to go to a doctors appointment. On the way home I passed Rae's and decided to stop in and get back some of the money I lostthere earler in the week. I played the $5 Bonus Deuces game again and it ate $900 in about 10 minutes. Walked accross the street to the bank and took out $5000. I proceeded to give all $5000 to Rae's while not moving from the same machine. For some reason Rae's was having a problem with their check verification system and they couldn't give me any more money.
This is where I probably made my biggest mistake. Instead of going home with a $5960 loss I proceeded to one of the Villiage Pub bars to continue gambling. The Villiage Pub bars are owned by Gary Elis, the owner of Elis Island casino. They offer the best pay schedules for any bars in town. I plopped down on a machine, ordered a Black Sambucca, and proceeded to lose $4000 more on the same Bonus deuces game I was playing at Rae's.
On a side note, I had a wonderful filet and some shrimp scampi that cost me $4000. I am definitely on the bad side of the volatility curve right now. I think I ended up with around $75,000 coin in for the day and my biggest hit was a bonus five of a kind (which I forgot to take a picture of. It paid $2000). Other than that I hit a few wild royals for $1250 and not much else.
No more big gambling this weekend for me. I will probably make a couple of football bets and play a few dollars in the $1 Progressive at Putter's while I watch some football. Hopefully things will turn around next week.
Daily Total: -$9,960
Year To Date: -$12,580

January 3rd

No gambling yesterday, hence no blog update yesterday.

Today started out good. I went out for my morning coffee at Putter's Bar and Grill, pushed a $20 into the $1 Double Double game with a progressive jackpot at $10,018. On the second hand I hit four 7's for $250. Play for a few more minutes and cash out $240.

After work I stopped for a cold one and visited friends at another Putter's. Played a few hands of video Blackjack. This is a terrible blackjack game where the Blackjack pays even money (2.27% house advanage). I fed a few twenty's into the machine and lost playing $10 a hand. Put a $100 bill in and played $20 a hand. Had a little luck and cashed out $250 for a $50 profit. After a few more beers I put another $20 and played $10 a hand. I do this about every time I go into this bar. My goal is just to turn that $20 into $50 and cash out. Ended up putting $60 in and cashed out for $90.

Decided to go to Green Valley Ranch to cash my two winning sports bets from Jan. 1st. I collected $420 and headed straight over to the $1 10/6 Double Double video poker games. These games return just over 100% with proper play. I fed in $100 bill after $100 bill until my four $100 bills I just collected were gone. Not a single four of a kind and very few Full Houses or Flushes. I am a very stubborn and competetive person so I couldn't walk away from a 100% game without hitting anything. I went to the ATM to get some more money and proceeded to chase my losses until I was in $1300. Fortunately it dealt me Four 2's with an Ace four a $800 win. With this hit my credi meter read $905 so I played one more hand and lost. I cashed out a ticket for $900 and called it a night.

Day's results were +$300 at Putter's and -$400 at Green Valley Ranch for a net loss of $100.

Year to date: -$2620

I hope the whole year doesn't go like this.

I ended up 2-2 on my bowl bets today for a net loss of $20. In my infinite wisdom I decided to go to Rae's, a neighborhood bar, to watch the first half of the Sugar Bowl. Poor decision. They have Bonus Deuces wild games that pay back 100.35% + 0.10% in cash back. These are great games that can be found in a few bars in Las Vegas.

Some people would be happy playing a video poker game with a small edge, but I absolutely hate playing video poker because it bores the hell out of me. So why did I play? These particular games are available in a $5 denomination where you can play ten coins per play. At $50 a hand these games become a little more interesting because hitting four deuces pays $10,000 and a Royal Flush pays $50,000. It is very rare to find 100%+ video poker in high denominations, so I like to take a stab a couple of times a week.

Today was a quick disaster. I lost $2500 in 45 minutes with coin in of only $12,000 and not a single win larger than a straight flush.

Hence, I decided to come home to watch the second half of the football game.

Year to date: -$2520

January 1st, 2008

Today I begin documenting my wagers for 2008. I will try and record my wins, losses, and any highlights from my gambling.

My first wagers for 2008 are four sports wagers I made on the above football games. I fought the New Year's Eve crowds at Green Vally Ranch casino (http://www.greenvalleyranchresort.com/) and purchased these four tickets for $110 each. Being a Big Ten fan I have chosen to bet on Michigan and Illinois while betting against Wisconsin. The Hawaii bet is probably a bad bet considering Hawaii was getting 11.5 points a few weeks ago.

Later today I will probably go to Putter's Bar and Grill to watch the Rose Bowl and take a shot at their $1 Double Double Bonus Poker progressive that starts at $10,000. I will update my results tomorrow.