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.