Lucky Tunica Anniversary Trip!

[Vman96]

We headed down to Tunica this past weekend to meet up with a friend and celebrate our anniversary!

We didn't do anything too exciting or new for the weekend, but the video poker hits were particularly kind to me.

Started off with a big case of the "wrong game" though...I would have better off playing DDB the whole trip.

My favorite bartops in Tunica (Sam's Town), but Jacks and not DDB is the best there by a long shot...


And quad 6s aren't the best either at Resorts double deuces...


But getting back to home base (Gold Strike) and me trying to hit and run a beer. That'll work!


Girlfriend gets a "pity flush"... :(


Was up a bit for Day 1.

Tomorrow daytime, none of us really got anything going. :( And Sam's Town buffet was way more disappointing than normal.

Cram onto another bar at Gold Strike to grab another beer. A dealt straight flush?? WTF??


The only IPA I drank while in Tunica. Their craft selection is mostly non-existent. Juke Joint IPA (7%;3.75 sips). It was definitely better colder.



And my g/f gets into the VP act with Aces!



After the g/f went upstairs I was lingering around the machines, and I made a last minute decision to play Barnyard Poker a bit. Glad I did!!!

From another thread on "How many Royals have you hit in real life?"

Six. Hoping it will be seven or more in Tunica this weekend!


Mission accomplished!!


That lead to a celebratory Budweiser or two afterward...

My punishment for that was to go shopping with her the next afternoon during "tax-free weekend" Outlet mall and Walmart were a huge mess. Also ate at Chili's for lunch...there was a wait at 2pm...yikes!

Had a delayed anniversary dinner at Sonic in Tunica. Yes, we actually met for the first time at a Sonic.

Then went to Fitz and had a $5 "VP challenge" as per tradition (longest survivor wins or 20 min., whichever comes first). We actually busted on the same hand this time...lol And while waiting for a drink, our swamped waitress apparently gave our drinks away! What???

Hit up the Tunica Roadhouse and couldn't get too much going there with Double STP. G/f couldn't hit there either. She moves back to gold strike, and I take a chance at two royals in one trip (never done that), by going after the 100%+ 9/6 JoB progressive. Nope, this is the best I could do.



Tell the g/f I would meet her back at Gold Strike, but before I do, I walk by those Double STP games again. This time one is locked up. Another guy got 10X Aces at quarter DDB on Double STP for $5,000! I think that actually may be the biggest single win I have walked by at the Roadhouse...lol

But I was able to stay afloat the rest of the night finishing off the trip with a premium quad!
   

On the way back home, we decided to try something new this time. On a recommendation of some guys we met at the hotel pool, we went to Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ. It was pretty good and not too expensive! I really enjoyed the sauce! Maybe next trip I'll buy some to go...damn, I wish I thought of that earlier.

Dumb me didn't take food pics though.
Wall of family pics though.


Overall a great trip results-wise for me, and we all had a great time! It's a good sign when she is already talking about going back or going to Vegas next month and she didn't come home a winner!   

[Come Back Kid]

Nice pictures! Happy Anniversary!!!

[alpax]

Outstanding report! Quite a nice run on VP. That call you made about your 7th royal flush was money. Took me a while to get over the "Should have played DDB" feeling. Hopefully you are winning enough to eventually buy that special ring ...

Tunica has been good to you and M in general. Sounds like you guys had a blast despite the punishment for winning. Hopefully it carries over in Vegas (I cannot break the hex there...).

Edit: Did you consider using myVegas LPs for hotel stay or a buffet at Gold Strike?

Thanks for sharing!

[Vman96]

Outstanding report! Quite a nice run on VP. That call you made about your 7th royal flush was money. Took me a while to get over the "Should have played DDB" feeling. Hopefully you are winning enough to eventually buy that special ring ...

Tunica has been good to you and M in general. Sounds like you guys had a blast despite the punishment for winning. Hopefully it carries over in Vegas (I cannot break the hex there...).

Edit: Did you consider using myVegas LPs for hotel stay or a buffet at Gold Strike?

Thanks for sharing!

As for the "DDB feeling"...it wasn't too bad. I am pretty used to it by now too. I play a pretty balanced rotation of variants since we casino hop a lot. Each casino we go to, I have certain VP games I tend focus on. But I understand why people get quite attracted to DDB...as what kind of quad tends to feel like a big disappointment on that game??

Yes Tunica has been pretty good to us. It's how M got hooked to DDB (dealt Aces w/kicker redraw a few years back). And particularly me lately. But I have had some brow beatings in Tunica in the past before I wrote up more reports.

My first trip to Tunica in 2004 went like this: Play many hands of "Airport Deuces" (98.91%) next to my mother who has always like Deuces. Begin to manually feed in quarters because I could still and I was losing. Money sure is dirty though. Move to the blackjack table and go 0-8-2 to lose $40 more. Play some craps, roll a lot of field numbers. I didn't win much personally, but I got a $10 tip from a guy playing the field regularly...lol

We were watching TV in the room by 7pm to take a "break", we didn't get there til like 1pm or so. We went back down to gamble later, but it wasn't good. When it was all said and done for the next morning, I dropped about $250 because no deuces or royals. Still in the Top 10 of daily losses for me. Yes, I'm a major flea. I also took another $200 beating one night over a birthday trip at Roadhouse when they still had "Almost Positive Deuces Wild" (99.96%).

Ironically, I ate at the former location of the Harrah's buffet this last trip too as I forgot to mention we also ate Resorts buffet (who took over the old Harrah's Tunica in 2006) on that Thursday too. Bit pricey ($20 retail) for "steak night", but the food quality was much better than expected.     

Vegas surprisingly is the exact opposite, and my swings have been a LOT lower, even with longer trips. Half of my trips at least have been +/- $100, which I have no big problem with.

As for myVegas...nah...we have used those already. :( We did some comp and beer trading with the friend we met up with. He was also with us during my huge win on our September Tunica trip, so he looks to be a good luck charm for me so far!! Unfortunately, no real big wins to report from him from mostly slot play. I did get him to play a little VP next to me though and he got a couple of cheap quads on "Extra Draw Frenzy".   

[FAA]

Vegas swings have been a LOT
lower, even with longer trips. Half of my trips at least have been +/-
$100, which I have no big problem with.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That is incredibly good. Don't win or lose much and have a great time at the casinos. I don't know what your coin in is, since there is penny and nickel play mixed in. But you seem to get a lot of entertainment mileage out of your bankroll with those results!

[Vman96]

Vegas swings have been a LOT
lower, even with longer trips. Half of my trips at least have been +/-
$100, which I have no big problem with.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That is incredibly good. Don't win or lose much and have a great time at the casinos. I don't know what your coin in is, since there is penny and nickel play mixed in. But you seem to get a lot of entertainment mileage out of your bankroll with those results!



Per trip? typically not tons...maybe a couple of thousand? We do a lot of non-gambling things in Vegas during the day too. We definitely don't get comps there.

[Galeygoo]

I always enjoy your reports/pics, Vman.  Happy Anniversary to you and g/f.  Thanks again for the fun, lighthearted story.Hmmmm, wonder why I have a taste for bbq, now 

[alpax]

As for the "DDB feeling"...it wasn't too bad. I am pretty used to it by now too. I play a pretty balanced rotation of variants since we casino hop a lot. Each casino we go to, I have certain VP games I tend focus on. But I understand why people get quite attracted to DDB...as what kind of quad tends to feel like a big disappointment on that game??

Yes Tunica has been pretty good to us. It's how M got hooked to DDB (dealt Aces w/kicker redraw a few years back). And particularly me lately. But I have had some brow beatings in Tunica in the past before I wrote up more reports.

My first trip to Tunica in 2004 went like this: Play many hands of "Airport Deuces" (98.91%) next to my mother who has always like Deuces. Begin to manually feed in quarters because I could still and I was losing. Money sure is dirty though. Move to the blackjack table and go 0-8-2 to lose $40 more. Play some craps, roll a lot of field numbers. I didn't win much personally, but I got a $10 tip from a guy playing the field regularly...lol

We were watching TV in the room by 7pm to take a "break", we didn't get there til like 1pm or so. We went back down to gamble later, but it wasn't good. When it was all said and done for the next morning, I dropped about $250 because no deuces or royals. Still in the Top 10 of daily losses for me. Yes, I'm a major flea. I also took another $200 beating one night over a birthday trip at Roadhouse when they still had "Almost Positive Deuces Wild" (99.96%).

Ironically, I ate at the former location of the Harrah's buffet this last trip too as I forgot to mention we also ate Resorts buffet (who took over the old Harrah's Tunica in 2006) on that Thursday too. Bit pricey ($20 retail) for "steak night", but the food quality was much better than expected.     

Vegas surprisingly is the exact opposite, and my swings have been a LOT lower, even with longer trips. Half of my trips at least have been +/- $100, which I have no big problem with.

As for myVegas...nah...we have used those already. :( We did some comp and beer trading with the friend we met up with. He was also with us during my huge win on our September Tunica trip, so he looks to be a good luck charm for me so far!! Unfortunately, no real big wins to report from him from mostly slot play. I did get him to play a little VP next to me though and he got a couple of cheap quads on "Extra Draw Frenzy".   


I appreciate the additional details from the trip.

For DDB, at least for the 9/6 paytable, to stay even keel, a player has to average 750 to 800 credits worth of quads every 1000 rounds (2 hours to most people). Anything short will put a hurt on a bankroll. I've definitely seen the good feeling where the player gets 5 or 6 quads in a 1000 hand stretch, gives them a reason to keep playing DDB. In one of the other nearby Indian casinos, DDB is the best game, but it was getting tougher to financially come up the bankroll needed to play DDB which is about 4 folds more than JoB or Bonus.

Besides Phil, I have yet to see DDB players here ever admit to feeling miserable after a down day, all that is mentioned is the good reason to play DDB.

As for Deuces Wild, I know the feeling of not hitting royals (natural or wilds) or quad deuces all too well. It is not surprising to experience losses like that, so no need to feel ashamed. The maximum value you can get playing at a casino is within the first 2 or 3 hours, where you can earn the comp for a future hotel stay (which is normally the greatest benefit a casino can give to its players). Then the cost of casino gaming just exponentially explodes after that, it would be wise to play at the next casino to keep maximizing value.

I appreciate the TITO system that now most casino employ in more ways than one despite the downside being that there is an expiration date. It is convienient to carry around. I've been asked for help by senior women to carry the bucket because it was just too heavy for them to hold and walk at the same time. Before there was technology to rapidly sort out coins of different type (introduced by CoinStar), you would have to bring the coins in a bucket to the cashier and they would weigh them on the scale. I still distinctly remember getting 3 Double Diamond symbols on a slot for 2500 quarter payouts (back when 97% payback on slots were more believable). But instead of getting the proper $625, their scale stated it was only worth $614, so instead of getting cheated I had to get bags from the gift shop and asked random people on the floor if they wanted change for their bills to get rid of some. I took most of it home to use for the laundromat. There is always a stentch left behind on the hands which does not go away until washing it off with soap.

myVegas just came to mind since Gold Strike was part of MGM and also Playstudios recently released another slot game called Pop! Slots to earn LPs. The prizes have been scaled back, no more free admissions to all Cirque du Soliel shows. At least now Stations is participating to help reduce their buffet costs by offering 2 for 1s for a few thousand LP.

Meals in Vegas generally costs more than what I am used to, so I generally try to capitalize on casino promotions or mail vouchers to cover the meals. Good to hear that the buffet you had was good. Not many people can consume enough at the top end buffets in Vegas to justify the cost.

Last but not least, I've failed to mention the most important thing as others have, Happy Anniversary to you and M!"

[pokerpokerpoker]

Great trip - looks like that critter was on the verge of busting too.

Looking at all your TR over the years has encouraged me to try something besides Miller Lite. Right now in the fridge I have Lagunitas IPA and BP Sculpin (haven't tried that one yet). What are your favorite IPAs?

The pity flush...   I had a huge one the other day. After a big day at the Game King TB+ I tried the $1 UX 5 star. Got dealt 4 to the royal with 12X needing the 10 of hearts. 10xof diamonds came up. Wrong red 10 from a 48k hit.

[FAA]

The maximum value you can get playing at a casino is within the first 2
or 3 hours, where you can earn the comp for a future hotel stay (the greatest benefit a casino can give). Then
the cost of casino gaming just exponentially explodes after that.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Precisely. You stay, you pay. Unfortunately, I lost $120 in my first two hours on Saturday. Hell bent on getting it back. Did another two hour session and somehow managed to get over half back. If you are not completely addicted, leave after the first two hours. It probably won't get any better. You want to lose another hundred and consider it good entertainment value? Hey, it's your money.