Sunday March 31, 2002
I got up around 12:30am this morning ready to hit the casino for the double points promotion. I started with quarter bonus poker. This didn’t work out too well costing me $100 in no time at all. It seems like I’m in a serious drought when it comes to hitting quads. I moved over to a half-dollar machine and again had no luck here. My next move was quarter 10 play. I haven’t played this in a long time and thought I’d give it a shot. I got quite a bit of play considering the fact I wasn’t hitting any quads. Even when I was dealt 3 of a kind I wasn’t able to pull even 1 quad in 10 chances. I dropped another $200 playing this and decided it was time to go back upstairs for another nap. Between the smoke and staring at VP screens for hours at a time my eyes were burning. So far I’ve racked up over 14,000 points today and plan on getting a bunch more later on. It’s now 6:30am and I’m off to bed for a few hours.
I woke up around 11:30 and sat around for a while before heading back to the casino. I made the mistake of trying to play the quarter 10-plays again. The first $100 I put in disappeared in just a few minutes. I moved to another machine and played for a while before losing. It was a lack of dealt winners and very few quads. Those are 2 things you just need to have if you’re going to win on multi line video poker.
After getting beat on video poker I took a shot with some blackjack. This wasn’t a bad table but not the greatest either. I was up and down for most of the session. I eventually got up a few hundred and a new dealer came to the table and wiped out all that profit. I lost 5 hands in a row at this point. I was still up 1 chip and was going to walk away even if I lost this hand. As luck would have it I got blackjack. I played for about another hour and cashed out ahead by $250. It was time for a short break after this so I headed up to the room for a while.
While I was resting I got a phone cal from Anne. Her and her mother were going to go to the Las Vegas Hilton to Benihana and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I agreed and we were to meet down there at 7pm.
In the mean time I went back downstairs to the casino and played some more of the 10 play video poker. Things were tough here again with a lack of dealt hands and quads. I was into the game for $300 when I was dealt 3 aces and picked up the quad on 2 lines bringing me even. I cashed out while I had the chance! During the 2X points promo here at the Suncoast I racked up almost 33,000 points. ($16,500 coin in). Those 10 plays are really good for running money through the machines.
It was getting late so I headed out to the Hilton to meet up with everyone. We had reservations for 7:30 and got right in. I had never been to Benihana before so this was going to be something new to me. This is the place where they cook the meal right at your table, exhibition style. It was pretty neat and the chef threw in a little humor while he cooked. They start you off with an onion soup. It’s really nothing more than beef broth with a few onions and mushrooms thrown in. This is followed by a salad with some type of ginger dressing. At this point the chef comes out and starts cooking. He makes everyone a shrimp appetizer while preparing the main dish. All meals come with stir-fry veggies too. I ordered the chicken. After dinner the hostess came to the table and asked who was having a birthday and looked at me. I said no, it’s not my birthday but Anne and Terry insisted that it was. (It really wasn’t my birthday) These 2 set me up and had everyone singing happy birthday to me. They brought me a scoop of sherbet with a candle in too. Overall it was a good experience and although a bit pricey I would recommend trying the place once. (I’m not sure if they still exist, but there used to be coupons all over town for $5 off per person here). The only thing I didn’t like about eating here is if you’re in a smaller party they seat you with total strangers and you have to dine with them.
After dinner we went to the casino. I tried some double deck blackjack and things started off ok until a new dealer took over. Then it got ugly and I was losing again with 20’s and 19’s. This is how blackjack has been to me for last bunch of sessions I’ve had. I really don’t remember the last time I had a great win at the tables. I may have to make a stop to what was formerly known as my personal ATM (Binion’s Horseshoe) and try to win at this game for a change.
After all of us lost down at the Hilton we gave up on gambling for the night. Anne and Terry went home and I came back here to the Suncoast. I started packing up my stuff for tomorrow’s move and then called it a night.
Total win/loss for the day -$850
Total comps for the day $59