Video Poker Vacations

[FloridaPhil]

Next Sunday my wife and I will take off on our annual spring video poker vacation.  For those of you that might be interested in taking one of these trips, here's how we do this. First let me say these vacations only work if you both like VP and/or each other's company.  Spending 10 days gambling together in a casino is not for honeymooners.  It is essential that you both keep separate VP bankrolls, especially if you and your spouse have different gambling styles.On Sunday we are flying from Orlando to Denver, renting a car and driving out to Blackhawk.  The Central City Blackhawk area is about an hour west of the City.  The area is high in the mountains with beautiful scenery and about a dozen casinos.   The VP odds are not positive, but they aren't too bad.  The Monarch casino has quarter NSU deuces (99.7%) and quarter airport deuces (98.9%) are readily available around town.  The Ameristar is the place to stay.  On this trip we were able to wrangle free rooms for every night except Saturday.  After 3 days in Blackhawk we are driving north west toward Salt Lake City.  Our destination is West Wendover Nevada.  West Wendover is a little honky-tonk town in the desert with a few small casinos set in the sage brush.  We have visited there a few times in the past and we enjoy it.  On your way to Wendover you will pass the famous Bonneville Salt Flats.   One year we were lucky enough to drive by when they were holding races.    We always plan our vacations so we can play VP somewhere every day.  It's a two day drive to Salt Lake City and we drive through the mountains with one overnight stay in Green River WY.  The highway views out and back are some of the most beautiful in the country.We play two days at the Wendover Peppermill and drive south east two days back to Blackhawk.  On the way back be sure to stop by Moab, Utah.  If you have never seen this area of the country, it's worth a visit.  With one overnight stay in Grand Junction, we're back at the Ameristar where we finish our trip with more VP.   On these vacations we mix sightseeing and gambling, two things we both enjoy.  If you stick with max coin quarters the whole time, you don't need more than a $2,000 bankroll.  One or both of us commonly hits a royal some time during the week which is always exciting.   I will say that on about half of these trips we come home even or better. If you think you would like to try this yourself, we take them all over the country and would be happy to answer any particular questions you might have.

[FAA]

If you stick with max coin quarters the whole time, you don't need more than a $2,000 bankroll. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Absolutely $200 a day is plenty for JOB or DW quarters. By now you have mastered the technique. It's just rote. Never quit quarters! Hopefully control will soon become automatic and Pavlovian for me as well.

[FloridaPhil]

Some people have asked me if we ever play in Vegas.  We made a trip there last year and had a great time.  We stayed at the Red Rock Resort about 30 minutes off the Strip.  We played there and South Point.  We never go to the Strip anymore as the VP odds are terrible and the place is full of tourists just walking around.   The Red Rock has a bank of full pay quarter denomination machines.  NSU is common in quarters.  We loved South Point too.The only thing negative about Vegas is the incredibly high resort fees.   We never paid for parking, but some resorts charge for that as well.   Once you navigate through rude rental car clerks and get well off the strip, we found the trip enjoyable and would definitely go back.   Reno has an entirely different vibe.  It's much more laid back and we liked the scenery better than the desert.   The best place to stay and play VP in Reno is the Peppermill.  You could play a different NSU quarter machine all day and not play them all.  Low denomination VP in Nevada is definitely better than anywhere else in the US.   If you want to play your first full pay VP machine, it's the place to go.

[billryan]

This time of the year, the roads can still be bad., especially at higher altitudes. Nevada and the surrounding states got record snowfall this year and much of it is still intact.

[FloridaPhil]

Interesting.  We have been checking the web cams in Colorado and there isn't much snow on the ground.   I guess Vegas got it all. 

[billryan]

Are you a moron in real life or do you just play one here?

[billryan]

   As an example of road conditions out west, the Parks Department announced the North Rim of the Grand Canyon will open May 15th. As of now, the roads are impassible.
Just another example of Phil talking about stuff he is clueless of.
Northern Nevada, where he is headed, has had the worst winter in recorded history and it's not over yet. Spring flooding is predicted to disrupt many of the roads.

[billryan]

http://www.rgj.com/story/life/outdoors/ ... 304954001/

   Note the date of the article 4-11-17
A word to the wise is sufficient.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=BillRyan]Are you a moron in real life or do you just play one here?
[/quote]Here's the Black Hawk Colorado web cam.  Do you see any snow?  Maybe their snow plows work better than yours.  It's been high in the fifties for a week.  Its 68 today in Salt Lake City, 65 in West Wendover NV and 77 in Denver.  Sounds like a real blizzard.http://thelodgecasino.com/the-lodge-webcam/We actually prefer Black Hawk this time of year because we like snow.  Living in Florida, It's a treat to see it.  My wife bought a new set of snow boots and she wants to try them out.  I guess I should have sent her to Las Vegas.  Seriously, thanks for the warning.  We'll check conditions again before we depart.

[kfed]

Denver hasn't had measurable snow since February - and that was a total of 1.6 inches.Some of the surrounding counties have had some, but it's been one of the driest winters I can remember.