Yo!!!!
This weekend has been the coolest Vegas trip to date. Let me first start with the LEGEND.
So back in November I gave Vince the pointers on Craps. Part of my sales pitch was the fact that it is the most rambunctious game in the house when things are hot. It would appear that the learner has now become the master. On our last day, we checked out at about 1 PM. The three hours that followed were spent at a single craps table. Now some people can stand a single table for much longer periods, but usually I stay for about an hour and then move on to something else. The dice started off kind of teasing around. I went down a couple hundred, then back up, then down. This continued at a half-full table for maybe an hour. Then things started to heat up a bit. Shooters started making two or three points before sevening-out, so the bankroll started increasing. Some more people joined the table, and so by the time it was Vince's turn to shoot again, we had pretty close to a full table. By this time I was up a couple hundred, so I think I was at $15 on the pass line. Vince hits the point. Woot! Next round. Vince hits the point. Woot! More people come to the table. It's getting pretty crowded, but to my surprise, the pit boss tells a couple of people trying to squeeze in next to me to move to the other end "to not crowd the shooter." Now as far as I could tell there was just as much room there than there was next to me. I thought this was kind of interesting. Then the stickman goes on break. I quote an earlier stickman, "every time you get a new stickman, everybody wins!" I up the bet to $20. Vince makes 7 on the come out. Woot! Vince makes 11 on the come out. "Yo!!!!!!!!" erupts from the players on the other end of the table. This is clearly a happy table. Vince makes point. Vince makes point. Vince hits some hardways, field bets, come, points... it goes on and on. I have to pee really bad. But I am not going anywhere. I mean by this time I was up to $25 on the pass, I was putting $25 on the hardways, $24 on the place 6 and 8... Vince was throwing black chips down on the field... The dealers were taking a while to pay off all the bets after each roll... and everyone was yelling and screaming and cheering. "6 the hard way! Shooter makes point, pay the line!" "YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" "Yo! Eleven Yo!" "YYYOOOOOO!" Earlier in the trip Ben had told us a story about a lady he saw peeing at a slot machine because she didn't want to leave the machine to relieve herself. I laughed at the time, but I began to worry about how this might come to pass. "Shooter makes the point!" "YEEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!" By this time I was up so high I was loosing count, and bets were being paid off in multiple black chips. The stickman who went on break comes back. "Same shooter?!" It was the first time I saw any semblance of surprise from a dealer in Vegas. I mean, they've seen it all, right?
Anyhow, after a good hour or so, Vince finally hits seven. I had never seen that much action at a Craps table. One guy we later ran into said he made ten grand during the run. Vince and I both tripled our bankrolls. People were coming up to him later and thanking him. I mean we must have tipped the dealers a hundred bucks all told. I finally make it to the restroom. We are quite happy.
Earlier in the trip, we were at a 6-deck Blackjack table and were losing when this guy comes up with a yellow and says he'd like just one hand. Blackjack. He walks off into the crowd. Okaaaaay, then. Also earlier, I made a couple of sucker bets on Craps, which is something I almost never do. This guy had trouble setting the point, so after he rolled a 3, I suddenly get this overwhelming feeling to put five bucks on 3. "3! Ace-deuce!" Woot! Then, later, when I was shooting, I hit a 2. Same feeling comes over me so I put five bucks on snake eyes. "2! Aces!" Four or five people got paid on that one. Must've all had the same feeling.
Also, we'd like to thank the MGM Mirage corporation for the complimentary room and board. Plus the free The Macallan 25 at Petrossian in Bellagio. And a bottle of Stag's Leap courtesy of a forgetful sommelier at a restaurant which will remain unnamed to protect the guilty. As Vince put it, we're like mid-rollers...
Other notes from this trip...
Got to check out Hard Rock for the first time. I wasn't all that impressed by the casino, where we only played Craps. But the scenery in the Casino is pretty fine. The other thing is I had a hard time telling the difference between the $5 and $25 chips there. It's probably some weird color scheme set up to get people confused into betting more than they intend.
Saw the pirate battle at Treasure Island and the volcano at the Mirage for the first time. Being that it was rather cold and the shows involved pyrotechnics, this was a good thing. And hey... free!
"Two words: mini bar." Enjoyed $3.75 soft drinks from the mini-bar (later comped, thankfully).
In Vegas, there's a set of rules, and then there's exceptions to the rules you can buy with money. Dry cleaning must be in by 9am to be returned by 7pm. Unless you have $20. Then, it's whenever you want it. The great thing is that this isn't some off the record thing... there's actually a form they have for "special services" like doing dry cleaning in the middle of the night.
Didn't win $35 million at the Megabucks progressive slots. I guess what do you expect on one spin? Too bad. I could use $35 mil.
The red-eye coming back is definitely the way to go.
Anyhow. Now it's back to reality for a while. Viva Las Vegas!
(This entry was edited and re-signed after the original posting to correct a couple of typos. The original PGP signed entry is here.)