AC 08/31 to 09/06

[DaBurglar]

Well, it was back to usual with the video poker on my latest trip to AC......in short, I was clobbered on just about EVERY video poker machine/game I chose to play, and on this trip, I played a LOT of VP and I mixed it up quite a bit when it was obvious something was not working....it did not matter.   Here are the details......On the POKER front, I lost about $200 total playing $1-2  and $2-5  N/L holdem cash games....this was not a bad result, since I logged 8 hours playing time over my trip.   I played at the Golden Nugget Poker room (now my favorite poker room), and the Borgata Poker room.    I never lost any big hands, but did not win any monster pots either, so I was basically running in place the whole time.I played two tournament events though, since the Golden Nugget has what I think is one of the best tourney schedules with GUARANTEED prize pools that range from $2500 all the way up to $10K!    These do not attract the TEAMs that try and bumrush certain events, but they do attract enough players of my caliber (or lower lol) so that I have a good chance.    Anyhow, I crapped out of the first tourney at the GOLDEN nugget, but I cashed in the second tourney I played in, finishing 4th and pocketing about 600 bucks (entry was $80)....that was the best story of the trip.Video poker was horrible,,,,.as good as my last trip was, this trip was bad, far worse!Nothing was working.....I even resorted to playing some games I normally avoid, or simply just watch other players play, game slike Ultimate ACES and Super TImes Pay, and even the dreaded Ultimate X!But the real killer for me personally on this trip was when I played the multiline Ultimate Four of a kind machine at the TAJ (the ONLY machine of its kind in AC....several casinos have the single line Ultimate four of a kind, but this is the only multi line game)  Now, in the past, I have held my own on this machine, nothing too great nor too BAD, just right down the middle which is fine by me.   The best hit I have had on this machine was last trip (in early August) when I was dealt quad 8s on 5 line DDB 25 cent, and with my 5 picks won about 2600-2700 credits......This time I was clobbered.....that friggin machine just ate my credits and dealt NOTHING.   a couple people watching me were saying "STOP! STOP!" it was that bad.Enough about the gaming....The real story though for this trip, besides my broken wheelchair, was the turmoil from all the closings of casinos in AC.    I was there for Showboat's lights out on AUgust 31.....and I saw Revel making preparations for there closure.    AS I wheeled around Revel, I was awestruck by the sheer magnitude of this disaster......that place is so BIG and Overdone.....you cannot just leave a building that size to rot.....what will become of it???   and what is worse, right next door you have Showboat, which while not nearly as imposing, is still also a real challenge to have as abandoned.     It is all very sad, and frustrating.....My next trip to AC will not be until the first week of October, when I will be there from October 3 through at least October 12......October is my FAVORITE month in AC because the autumn weather suits me best and yet on weekends you still have the last vestiges of the people who flock during the summer, and sometimes even a few of the boardwalk vendors open up on October weekends.  

[olds442jetaway]

Had a nice conversation with one of the Mohegan guys who is just a couple of notches down from the chief. The gaming industry in our area will remain challenging to say the least. Another employee at the players club said this has been the slowest summer he has ever seen and he has been there since day 1. Foxwoods is having very serious financial issues though I don't know the specifics. At least I can say for Mohegan that they haven't cut back yet on their maintenance and cleaning. I play mostly overnight and see crews working all over. Also I have noticed an increase in slot repair crews. Some of the vp machines were just unusable due to the stuck buttons, etc. etc. The new IGT machines don't seem to be as strong as the really old vp machines. The Mohegan employees are very concerned about layoffs coming and of course all have heard and read the news on A/C. I won't be expecting any great surprises in the way of comps or offers for the future. I still feel that those offers return to the casino way more than the cost of giving them out. Hopefully, they will not succumb to the failing restaurant policy of raising prices and cutting portions. All that does is finish off a place faster. Even though I haven't been down to A/C in years, I feel for the employees and families. I don't know what all of these thousands of people are going to do once their insurance runs out unless they move somewhere where there is a boom, but where except maybe North Dakota or Wyoming and most of the gaming people would not be able to do most of the jobs up there. If I were younger, I would think about opening up a good Walk in Clinic up there. I am sure they can use some. I would have no idea how to go about the details, I just know it would be a good and needed business considering their boom up there.

[chattycattty]

Sorry you had a losing trip DB. Better luck next time. As to what they are going to do with Revel, I have no idea. I have never stayed there but have been up the mile high high escalator a couple of times and through the casino and it just does not feel like a casino to me. To me it kind of has a stuffy museum feel to it. Too bad they can't turn back the clock and use the taxpayers money that was wasted on Revel and either not spend it at all or use it in a more efficient manner to help give the boardwalk a badly need face lift. The two Trump properties, the one that has closed and the one that has already closed both seem to me to be dark and dank and not places where I would go out of my way to visit.

At least Caesar's and Bally's since it has been remodeled have a good feel to them. As does Borgata and Harrah's at the Marina. Have never been in the Golden Nugget or Resorts so can't say much about either of them. I did read an article recently where Resorts is showing a profit.

I do not know if any effort will ever be made to make the proper modifications at the local airport to make it easier for people to get there from other parts of the country but maybe the first thing they need to do it build up and stop the bleeding in regards to keeping the local clientele. Until recently the people in the Philadelphia and New York and in between metropolitan area did not have many other choices within driving distance at which to gamble. That has all changed with even more new casinos to open soon.

The same thing happened to Tahoe when they opened the Indian casinos in California. We go to Tahoe at least 3 to 4 times a year. I remember one year right after all the new Indian casinos had been built, how empty it was at both Harrah's and Harvey's. It was even worse next door at Montbleu and at Horizon, which later closed but is scheduled to reopen as a Hard Rock casino in the nexr couple of months.

Slowly but surely as the new wore off of the Indian casinos the people started coming back to Tahoe. When we were there in both June and July it was packed. I think the same thing will happen at AC. It will probably take a good 10 hears for them to overcome all of the issues that they face and for the local clientele to again make AC their gambling destination of choice.

[pokerforme]

I totally agree about the native casinos impact on Tahoe and Reno. They are very tight and some in my area are nothing but drug hangouts...we do not go to them at all in our area. We have been to a few in the Sacramento area that are clean but they have some of the same clientele. We prefer going to Reno or Tahoe ANY day and save our money and do that

[olds442jetaway]

DB, I rarely play STP but I have noticed that for the most part when a 10 multiplier appears, you don't even get any cards worth holding. Other people who play the gameregularly have commented about the same thing. Also I have noticed when the 2 multiplier comes up, one gets the best cards to hold. Isn't this supposed to be random. Based on what I have seen watching other people play the game ( many times the game I play is right next to a STP machine ), I don't see how the cards are dealt randomly when the multiplier comes up. Likewise, on a 50 or 100 play machine, I have never been dealt quads on the bottom line that I can remember. If I play an 9 hour session which is about average, I am usually dealt quads once on a single line game. Sometimes I can be dealt quads 3 times in a session, but that is uncommon. I would guess that I have played at least 100 hours on a 50 or 100 line game and never as best as I can remember been dealt the quads. Too bad you don't have the Double Down Stud machines where you play. I think you would like the game. You can play up to 1200 hands an hour (no cards to hold) whith a choice of at least 6 games within the system. I think the probability of being dealt Deuces quads on the Deuces wild game is roughly the same as getting a Royal in Draw poker. It pays you after doubling your single quarter 200 bucks which means you get paid just as if you hit a Royal on Draw poker. There are very few of these left at Mohegan with the Deuces Wild game. My favorite one is just across from the entrance to the mall. It is in a cube of 2 machines. The other machine is an Ultimate x machine which gets action mostly from trolls. The machine has great wheelchair access since it is in a cube of 2 and open on both sides.

[DaBurglar]

excellent replies so far, thanks for all your input.catty, your point about the Revel is SPOT on and I agree 100%, and have been saying essentially what you said for a long time.   Revel was literally the Straw that broke the back......when Revel was poised to open in early 2012, people who really knew AC at that point in time (people like me, but MANY others as well) were saying "WHERE ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE REVEL needs supposed to come from???  They do not exist anymore!  Revel was originally conceived way back in 2003 when things were totally different!"All Revel did.....I mean ALL it did, was cannabalize the slim, tenuous balance AC was holding onto in early 2012 to keep all 11 of the other casinos alive.    Once Revel sucked away (even for a short while) enough of the total business going to the other 11 casinos, it was enough to put pressure on several of them (AC club, Trump Plaza and next door neighbor Showboat) that it caused the whole scene to implode.   And all the while, REVEL never even came CLOSE to earning even a fraction of what it needed JUST to break even!It is the stupidest, most egregiously inept decision I ever saw.....they (AC Politicians, Governor Christie and many others) should have just had the courage to leave the half baked/built REVEL alone, or tear it down, and be done with it.......if they had done so, I am pretty certain we would still have at least Showboat and AC club....Trump Plaza was doomed, ever since it went on the market for a buyer in 2011 (a year BEFORE Revel) and over the next 3 years never received a serious offer! The major problem now is containing the fallout and damage that closing these four casinos might have on the existing healthy casinos.     Plus, a number of Boardwalk vendors who depend on foot traffic will be hurt when Trump Plaza shuts down since that property is in the choicest prime spot on the boardwalk, and now will be a BIG empty hole which will cause people to NOT want to walk by it!And the whole Airport Idea for AC is great, except now with all this damage, the NEGATIVE publicity and momentum from closing 25% of the casinos may be enough to discourage people from "trying" AC as a possible FLIGHT destination.After October, which is my favorite time to be in AC and its beach/boardwalk environs, I will be DRASTICALLY cutting off my time in AC.    I will wait and see what happens over the winter and come springtime 2015, whichever casinos are still standing and prospering, I will give another shot.In the meantime I plan on trying to go to Vegas in Late October, and again perhaps around Superbowl time in late january 2015......I will plan LONG extended stays in Vegas to make it worth the trouble for me to travel that far.

[chattycattty]

excellent replies so far, thanks for all your input.catty, your point about the Revel is SPOT on and I agree 100%, and have been saying essentially what you said for a long time.   Revel was literally the Straw that broke the back......when Revel was poised to open in early 2012, people who really knew AC at that point in time (people like me, but MANY others as well) were saying "WHERE ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE REVEL needs supposed to come from???  They do not exist anymore!  Revel was originally conceived way back in 2003 when things were totally different!"All Revel did.....I mean ALL it did, was cannabalize the slim, tenuous balance AC was holding onto in early 2012 to keep all 11 of the other casinos alive.    Once Revel sucked away (even for a short while) enough of the total business going to the other 11 casinos, it was enough to put pressure on several of them (AC club, Trump Plaza and next door neighbor Showboat) that it caused the whole scene to implode.   And all the while, REVEL never even came CLOSE to earning even a fraction of what it needed JUST to break even!It is the stupidest, most egregiously inept decision I ever saw.....they (AC Politicians, Governor Christie and many others) should have just had the courage to leave the half baked/built REVEL alone, or tear it down, and be done with it.......if they had done so, I am pretty certain we would still have at least Showboat and AC club....Trump Plaza was doomed, ever since it went on the market for a buyer in 2011 (a year BEFORE Revel) and over the next 3 years never received a serious offer! The major problem now is containing the fallout and damage that closing these four casinos might have on the existing healthy casinos.     Plus, a number of Boardwalk vendors who depend on foot traffic will be hurt when Trump Plaza shuts down since that property is in the choicest prime spot on the boardwalk, and now will be a BIG empty hole which will cause people to NOT want to walk by it!And the whole Airport Idea for AC is great, except now with all this damage, the NEGATIVE publicity and momentum from closing 25% of the casinos may be enough to discourage people from "trying" AC as a possible FLIGHT destination.After October, which is my favorite time to be in AC and its beach/boardwalk environs, I will be DRASTICALLY cutting off my time in AC.    I will wait and see what happens over the winter and come springtime 2015, whichever casinos are still standing and prospering, I will give another shot.In the meantime I plan on trying to go to Vegas in Late October, and again perhaps around Superbowl time in late january 2015......I will plan LONG extended stays in Vegas to make it worth the trouble for me to travel that far.


Why would you want to go to Vegas when you could go to Reno / Tahoe? I am telling you Harrah's and Harvey's in Tahoe have some of the best VP left on this planet.

[DaBurglar]

 Why would you want to go to Vegas when you could go to Reno / Tahoe? I am telling you Harrah's and Harvey's in Tahoe have some of the best VP left on this planet.Actually, you will GET NO ARGUMENT from me when it comes to singing the praises of RENO and Tahoe!   I have said in the past that I also like very much these two Northern Nevada locations, and in actuality, back when I lived in California during the period 2003 thru 2007, I spent FAR more time in and around Reno than I did Vegas or anywhere else for that matter!I love Reno, with its cleaner, more mild environment and climate, compared to the monstrosity that is now Las Vegas!   And you are correct, the gambling all around in Reno is more friendly than Vegas, and Video Poker is a prime example.My problem right now is where I currently live (western Massachusetts).....to fly, I need to make my way down to Hartford Connecticut (35 minutes away) and board a cross country flight.....Flying into Reno instead of Vegas is both costlier and more inconvenient (I can definitely find NON-stop deals from Hartford to Vegas, but not so much Hartford to Reno....and given my physical circumstances, I'd rather not have to board and rebaord planes in multiple airports unless I have to....)But I will promise you this....before booking my Trip in the early part of next year (2015) I will definitely scour the internet for deals going to Reno.....even though I'd rather not simply go from one snowy climate to another ..... perhaps next Spring (April 2015) would be a better time to hit Reno.

[chattycattty]

Winters in Reno/Tahoe are pretty but Spring/Summer are preferable to us as well. In Texas it is so friggin hot and humid that we get away to Tahoe as often as we can. It is nice waking up in the middle of Summer to mid 40 temperatures and no humidity and having high temperatures seldom more than 80 degrees.