In case anyone was wondering, that giant sucking sound you heard in 2004 was the Las Vegas monoliths whooshing my bankroll into their vaults. But now we have a new year, so I ventured back to the sites of my recent tortures to give it another whirl.
Since my normal game is 6D, I decided to play all shoe games. And since I was babysitting a couple of LV first timers, I stuck to the strip so that they could see all the things they'd been seeing on TV.
We broke the ice at Mandalay Bay, with a couple of wong ins. Win, lose, win for a half hour of table time. Then treated the guys to lunch at HOB. Tasty. Result: +4 units.
After they checked out Luxor and NYNY, we ended up at Monte Carlo where they could play $5 tables with a decent game. I let them drink to their hearts content for 2 hours while the pit boss and I creatively coached their play. One interesting play of note: One of my friends split 4s four times and drew two 4s on each hand except the last. That's six 4s in a row. The nice dealer proceeded to bust prompting the player wave. The pit boss commented that we should press our bets while the cards were running good. With his blessing and the count now high, I slid out a max bet and...blackjack! I gave the pit boss a high-five for that one. When the shoe ended, we adjourned to the brewpub for some celebrating on our good fortune. Result: +22 units.
After getting cleaned up, we headed to AJ's at the Hard Rock for dinner. The filet mignon was superb, the lobster bisque had quite a bite and the informal anything goes atmosphere made for a very enjoyable evening. Afterwards, we headed to a local friend's place for a little home poker action.
The next morning found me overruled and the three of us back at Monte Carlo. The cards were not quite as friendly this time and I was fortunate for the last third of the last shoe that caught me back up for the session. Result: 0 units.
The guys headed for the craps table at NYNY and I headed across the street to MGM. Settling in at a S17 game, I lost big early, only to once again catch back up right before I was commandeered to spring for lunch. I'd recommend washing down the Fire Roasted pork at Gonzales inside NYNY with a couple of cranberry margaritas. Result: +4 units.
The rest of the day was spent sightseeing, talking smack then climbing the indoor rock wall at GameWorks (it's harder than it looks to ring that damn bell) and playing poker. Dinner at Portofino's was excellent and finished off by a round of Louis XIII. A little clubbing turned into a foray to Cheetahs. At least one of my friends left minus his mortgage but with a huge smile on his face. Oh well, you only live once.
The next day was a golfing outing for my buddies and blackjack time for me. I began at Bellagio. It's amazing how different the penetrations can be, even with the shoe notch for the cut card. The dealer was friendly and I had the table to myself for an hour. Result: +12 units.
Back to MGM where the dealer was not as friendly and the pit personnel seemed to be all business, practically giving me the third degree every time I raised my bet. After a half hour of this and having bagged a win, I headed out again. Result: +10 units.
I stopped back at Monte Carlo to cash in some chips and was waved down by the pit boss from two days before. We struck up a conversation and I ended up sitting down at an empty table. I played four or five shoes never seeing a high count and never increasing my bet. But I won and won. The pit boss seemed to watch me pretty closely, and then offered comp after comp. He wanted to make sure that my friends and I would stay there on our next trip. Maybe we will. Result: +28 units.
Headed down the strip stopping here and there to check conditions. Things looked good at Caesar's but every S17 table $50 or less was full. I'm wondering what Ceasar's/Harrahs will look like six months from now. Played a couple of coupons at IP. Games were bad, but the place was full and there seemed to be a younger, more energetic crowd than I've seen before. Stopped by Harrah's (I know, I know). I found a few playable games at Mirage with only one or two players and parked there for a while. It was the same all business attitude just like MGM. Up and down, but again finished positive. Result: +3 units.
I met up with another friend who had driven in from CA and we checked out the Palms and then headed downtown to Binion's for a little poker. The day turned to night and I got out of there in time to catch up with our original group for a farewell lunch at the Pink Taco at Hard Rock on our way to the airport.
This particular trip was more about a vacation and less about grinding away the hours at the tables. Even so, having no losing sessions was great and only makes me want to go back in a couple of months to get more of my money back. Hopefully, the variance gods will continue their little dance and the chips will keep flowing in the right direction.
Best...
ZOD
Since my normal game is 6D, I decided to play all shoe games. And since I was babysitting a couple of LV first timers, I stuck to the strip so that they could see all the things they'd been seeing on TV.
We broke the ice at Mandalay Bay, with a couple of wong ins. Win, lose, win for a half hour of table time. Then treated the guys to lunch at HOB. Tasty. Result: +4 units.
After they checked out Luxor and NYNY, we ended up at Monte Carlo where they could play $5 tables with a decent game. I let them drink to their hearts content for 2 hours while the pit boss and I creatively coached their play. One interesting play of note: One of my friends split 4s four times and drew two 4s on each hand except the last. That's six 4s in a row. The nice dealer proceeded to bust prompting the player wave. The pit boss commented that we should press our bets while the cards were running good. With his blessing and the count now high, I slid out a max bet and...blackjack! I gave the pit boss a high-five for that one. When the shoe ended, we adjourned to the brewpub for some celebrating on our good fortune. Result: +22 units.
After getting cleaned up, we headed to AJ's at the Hard Rock for dinner. The filet mignon was superb, the lobster bisque had quite a bite and the informal anything goes atmosphere made for a very enjoyable evening. Afterwards, we headed to a local friend's place for a little home poker action.
The next morning found me overruled and the three of us back at Monte Carlo. The cards were not quite as friendly this time and I was fortunate for the last third of the last shoe that caught me back up for the session. Result: 0 units.
The guys headed for the craps table at NYNY and I headed across the street to MGM. Settling in at a S17 game, I lost big early, only to once again catch back up right before I was commandeered to spring for lunch. I'd recommend washing down the Fire Roasted pork at Gonzales inside NYNY with a couple of cranberry margaritas. Result: +4 units.
The rest of the day was spent sightseeing, talking smack then climbing the indoor rock wall at GameWorks (it's harder than it looks to ring that damn bell) and playing poker. Dinner at Portofino's was excellent and finished off by a round of Louis XIII. A little clubbing turned into a foray to Cheetahs. At least one of my friends left minus his mortgage but with a huge smile on his face. Oh well, you only live once.
The next day was a golfing outing for my buddies and blackjack time for me. I began at Bellagio. It's amazing how different the penetrations can be, even with the shoe notch for the cut card. The dealer was friendly and I had the table to myself for an hour. Result: +12 units.
Back to MGM where the dealer was not as friendly and the pit personnel seemed to be all business, practically giving me the third degree every time I raised my bet. After a half hour of this and having bagged a win, I headed out again. Result: +10 units.
I stopped back at Monte Carlo to cash in some chips and was waved down by the pit boss from two days before. We struck up a conversation and I ended up sitting down at an empty table. I played four or five shoes never seeing a high count and never increasing my bet. But I won and won. The pit boss seemed to watch me pretty closely, and then offered comp after comp. He wanted to make sure that my friends and I would stay there on our next trip. Maybe we will. Result: +28 units.
Headed down the strip stopping here and there to check conditions. Things looked good at Caesar's but every S17 table $50 or less was full. I'm wondering what Ceasar's/Harrahs will look like six months from now. Played a couple of coupons at IP. Games were bad, but the place was full and there seemed to be a younger, more energetic crowd than I've seen before. Stopped by Harrah's (I know, I know). I found a few playable games at Mirage with only one or two players and parked there for a while. It was the same all business attitude just like MGM. Up and down, but again finished positive. Result: +3 units.
I met up with another friend who had driven in from CA and we checked out the Palms and then headed downtown to Binion's for a little poker. The day turned to night and I got out of there in time to catch up with our original group for a farewell lunch at the Pink Taco at Hard Rock on our way to the airport.
This particular trip was more about a vacation and less about grinding away the hours at the tables. Even so, having no losing sessions was great and only makes me want to go back in a couple of months to get more of my money back. Hopefully, the variance gods will continue their little dance and the chips will keep flowing in the right direction.
Best...
ZOD