Welcome to the summer trip of 2025. This trip will actually span over 5 weeks and be split into 3 parts because I will be taking 2 side trips during this time. One of those being a cruise to Alaska and another being a weekend in Los Angeles. There will also be the usual visiting with friends, gambling and eating. As I've done for the last few reports, we're just going with the Cliff Notes version of the report to save time. It's been 6 months since I've been out to Las Vegas and it's time to go.
Day 1
Saturday June 14, 2025
Picked up a rental car from the local airport on Thursday after work. This was my last day of work there as I retired June 12, 2025. Booked a full size for $88 base/$117 all in with a discount through work. Got a Honda with just 6,000 miles on it. Manager here knows me and knows I'm not picky as I only need this car for the ride to Newark.
This flight is out of Newark. Originally booked for an 11:05am departure and a 1:33pm. This flight was canceled due to the air traffic issues and I was rescheduled for 9:00am and an 11:33am arrival. That worked out well as this was the flight I originally wanted but it was too expensive. I booked first class for $629.
Checked in online and dropped the suitcase at premier. Security was simple with CLEAR and TSA precheck but as always, even with frequent travelers there's always an asshole or two.
Boarded and took my seat 1F. Originally I had my usual seat 1A but the flight changed screwed that up. Not a big deal as it's still front row. This is flight 279, non stop to Las Vegas with a scheduled flight time of 5 hours and 28 minutes. According to the Captain the actual time would be closer to 4:50.
Pre ordered and got the peach crepes as my meal. It also came with fruit and yogurt. Food was pretty good. After I ate I watched TV and took a nap. Flight was bumpy with the flight attendants being told to take their seats for a while.
Landed at 11:11am, 22 minutes early.
Luggage took it's time getting there and I was off to the rental car facility. I've never seen a line so long to get onto the bus. Zig zagged through the usual area and then down past the terminal. About 45 minutes later I was finally on a bus.
Booked a full sized car with Avis using a discount through work and a $15 off coupon. 20 day rental $495 base and $788 all in. Later on I booked with Hertz using an AMEX discount and prepay and it was substantially cheaper at $641 all in.
Name was on the scoreboard and I was off to spot 556, and a Kia Seltos with 6,900 miles on it.
Went to lunch at Jack in the Box and grabbed two tacos and a junior bacon cheeseburger.
Back to the airport to pick up Jimbo & Katy. Didn't want them to deal with the rental car shuttle lines.
Next up I was off to Green Valley Ranch. I have a mail offer for 3 nights, $100 free play and $50 food. I booked all 3 nights even though I'm only staying for 2. Will be nice not to be homeless between hotels though as I can stay late enough so I can check right in at the next place.
I was given room 8434 in the East tower. The rooms here are beat to shit. The West Tower is undergoing renovations now.
Met Jimbo & Katy for dinner at Lucky Penny. Got the turkey dinner. Good as usual. Jimbo & Katy covered the bill as this was dubbed my retirement dinner. Thanks for dinner guys.
Video poker was next. Was doing quite well with a load of quads and 3 straight flushes. Was up $200 and the next thing I knew I was down almost $500 on just $7800 in action.
Long day so came to the room to relax and then bed.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $492
Total Comps For The Day = $299
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Day 2
Sunday June 15, 2025
Up early and decided to get some play in. Got crushed, down $500 on 6k in action.
Left Green Valley Ranch and went over to Durango to meet Anne and Evelyn for lunch. Lunch was at Irv's Burgers. Good burger. Fries, tots and onion rings had potential but I think the oil in the fryer needed to be changed. Afterwards we got custard at Nielsen's Frozen Custard. Evelyn paid for both with her points. Thanks Evelyn.
Came back to GVR and had dinner at Pizza Rock with Jimbo & Katy. Pepperoni Pizza was the choice tonight.
More video poker after dinner. Decided to switch it up and play deuces. On the first hand landed a royal with no deuces on line 10 on a 2 card hold. A few hands later hit 4 deuces. Cashed out up $500 on the session and even for the day.
Took a shot with some carnival games for fun. Cleared $200 doing this and took the win for the day.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $206
Total Comps For The Day = $279
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Day 3
Monday June 16, 2025
Had $100 free play. Ran it through dollar single line. Turned it into $115. Played a bit more and hit a straight flush and a quad. Ran 3k in action and won a total of $300.
Left GVR and went up to Summerlin and the Suncoast. Booked this on an e-mail offer of 3 nights, $10 food and $10 free play (can they spare it?). Was able to check in when I arrived and was given room 827.King room with a golf course view.
Played some video poker and dropped the $300 I won at GVR earlier on about 3k in action so not good.
Dinner tonight was with Norm, Jimbo & Katy over at Tivoli Village at Al Solito Posto Italian. I had lasagna. Food was very good. For dessert I ordered a Cannoli which I wouldn't have if I knew they were going to bring me cake to celebrate my retirement.
More video poker when we got back. Was getting some play in but slowly bleeding. Switched to DDB in a Hail Mary attempt and popped aces w/ kicker. Got me back to even for the day at Suncoast so I cashed out.
Wandered around and played a few slots and won a whopping $6
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $326
Total Comps For The Day = $438
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Day 4
Tuesday June 17, 2025
Today is 50+ day at Boyd and one of the perks is 10x points. The plan is to pound away here all day and build up the points. A morning session of video poker was not good. No big hits, few dealt winners and a lot of losing.
Lunch today was at Taste of Asia, the Asian restaurant here at Suncoast. I got Wor Wonton soup with noodles. Huge bowl of noodles, wontons, chicken, pork, shrimp and veggies.
Video poker after lunch was similar to the morning. Just bad, bleeding money and not even getting to play.
Dinner was at 90 Ninety. We were there for happy hour. Got a giant pretzel to share. I also ordered the BBQ Bacon cheeseburger. Food was good.
Evening session of video poker was turning out the same as the previous sessions. Took a hail Mary with double-double and popped aces and later on aces w/ kicker to get out of this session up $1.25.
Ran my $10 free play through two cent 10 play and cashed at $9.60
Came up to the room to lick my wounds and call it a day.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1179
Total Comps For The Day = $154
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Day 5
Wednesday June 18, 2025
Today is Dee's birthday. She would have been 57 today if she was still with us.
Met Jimbo & Katy for breakfast at Du-par's. Had pancakes and bacon.
I left Suncoast and went to Silverton for two reasons. One to play as I've fallen off their mailing list and two, because it was one of Dee's favorite places.
At Silverton I played Spin Poker. Got destroyed. Only hit 3 quads the whole time. Few dealt winners and lots of hands with zero payouts.
For dinner went to 90 Ninety. Had the Cajun Chicken Pasta. Quite tasty, I'd get it again.
After dinner played triple play video poker. Got to play for a while but still got beat up at the end.
These ass kickings need to stop. Can't continue to have days like the last two have been.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1283
Total Comps For The Day = $144
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Day 6
Thursday June 19, 2025
Left Suncoast after 3 days. Loaded up the car and headed out for the 110 mile drive to Laughlin. I booked 5 nights here through my host and have a mail offer for $470 free play. This offer expires while I'm here and the new one should be available before I check out on June 23rd. I'm expecting it to be similar. I also have $15 free play and $5 food at Edgewater with the same expiration so another one of those should be available too.
Checked in and got my usual room 18071. Got everything up to the room.
Next up was a late lunch, early dinner at Cafe Aquarius. Got my usual pot roast.
Time to play. Took a shot with some dollar triple play. Hit 4 aces and a few other quads. Got some decent play in before the bleed started. Switched to quarter 10 play. Lost everything I was up and cashed out even.
Took a break from VP and played some slots. Had some rough luck but then hit a bonus round that got me out of the hole.
Played a little more video poker and dropped $295 on a decent amount of play.
Decided to just pack it in and ran my $470 free play through single line dollars. Not a single hand better than 2 pair and turned the $470 into $350.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $99
Total Comps For The Day = $544
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Day 7
Friday June 20, 2025
Today would be my 15th anniversary if Dee was still here. Good day to be in Laughlin. It was one of her favorite places.
Started the day with McDonald's. Not exactly a great meal but it was free fry Friday through the app and I couldn't resist. Had a chicken sandwich with it. Lunch for $3 works.
Today is a multiplier day with 8x slots and 4x video poker for my card level (Legit). The plan is to pound away and make up for short playing yesterday. Pound away I did and got pounded doing so. Had countless dealt trips but couldn't pull a quad on most of them. Also had 4 to a royal dealt 3x and whiffed each time. Played for 3 hours and dropped over $900 on only 18k in action.
Took a break up in the room where I can't lose!
After the break went to dinner at Cafe Aquarius. I got the 8oz steak and eggs special that also comes with toast and hash browns for $13.99. Not a bad deal at all.
Decided to change things up a bit and played a game I never play because it's volatile. Dream card poker. All I can say is if the dream cards aren't coming up, this game is a bleeder. If they are coming up, it's a winner. I experienced both sides.
Initially I had a few but then they disappeared. On what was going to be my last hand I got dealt trip threes with a dream card for the dealt quad. From there it was all fun.
A few hands later I got dealt RF3 with a dream card for RF4 and popped 1 on line 5. This was soon followed by SF4 with a dream card for the dealt straight flush. Then I got dealt quad jacks.
The bleed started so I decided to switch it up and try the last $200 I was willing to drop to Double-double bonus and got dealt quad eights.
I switched back to bonus and got dealt quad fours. This was followed up with a good paying but disappointing hand. I was dealt RF4 yet again and drew the 9 twice for the dreaded king high straight flush.
I switched to double-double again but nothing hit. Walked away from the machine with a $2500 win.
Decided to walk over to Edgewater and then over to Tropicana Laughlin. I had $100 free play there, some food that I didn't need and they were running 7x tier credits. I decided to play some 10 play deuces wild for quarters. Roller coaster session and even though I hit deuces I dropped 5 bills on 12k in action. That's enough for them.
Ran my $100 free play through single line dollars and cashed out at $100 bringing the loss to $400.
Came back to Aquarius and played a few slots with no luck but only lost around $20 doing so.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $1101
Total Comps For The Day = $238
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Day 8
Saturday June 21, 2025
Started off with a $2 breakfast sandwich at McDonald's through the app. Then it was time to hit the machines.
Today is another 8x/4x day for points.
Had a good run as far as play goes but ended up down 5 bills.
Took a break and then tried some dime Dream card. Got dealt 6 quads including aces. But as is typical with this game if the dream cards aren't coming up, it's death. Got 5 different hands with RF4 and hit a total of one. With all of these dealt quads and a royal I finished the session even.
Had dinner at Cafe Aquarius. Got the pot roast again. Good as usual.
More video poker after dinner. Tried dollar single line and it was another ass kicking. I did get a lot of play out of it but still dropped another $500.
Gave up for the day after yet another loss.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1000
Total Comps For The Day = $180
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Day 9
Sunday June 22, 2025
Started off the day getting caught up on e-mails in the room. Then decided just to get out of the building to take a ride over to Bullhead City.
Gassed up the car for the ride back on Tuesday and grabbed 2 tacos for lunch at Jack in the Box.
Came back to the Aquarius and hit the machines. Not a terrible session. Dropped $495 of almost 15k in action.
Took a break for a while and then went over to Edgewater to use my food voucher and collect my $15 free play.
Had the cheeseburger special and a slice of pizza at PT's Express. Again, like last time I was here it took 27 minutes for them to make a burger and fries.
Ran my $15 free play through a short pay video poker machine and thanks to a full house and a straight turned it into $25.
Came back to Aquarius and played a few slots for a small win.
I was going to play more video poker but the tracking system was down (they did an upgrade earlier this week – that sure went well) so I opted not to play and because every cash out was a hand pay. People playing slots were getting hand pays for small change.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $432
Total Comps For The Day = $83
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Day 10
Monday June 23, 2025
New mailer became available today and was for $525 free play. Quite an increase from the previous mailer. My Edgewater mailer is once again $15 free play and $5 food.
Once I was ready I went over to Bullhead City to drop off my laundry for wash and fold service. I will pick that up tomorrow before I head back to Las Vegas.
Decided to go over to the Golden Nugget and run some action. I've fallen off the mailing list because I haven't played there in two years. Had some decent luck and finished up $52. Hopefully I ran enough to start getting mailers again.
Got back to the Aquarius and played some more video poker. Not bad for a change and cashed out even on a few thousand in action.
Had a late lunch/early dinner at Cafe Aquarius. Got the pot roast one last time because no one else has it.
Took a break and then went over to the Edgewater to collect $15 free play. Turned it into $11.
Came back to the Aquarius for one more session of video poker. Roller coaster ride like most days have been. Dropped $300 in an up and down session.
Cashed in my points from the last 5 days of play for $400 free play that I ran through dollar single line. Really bad run through turning it into only $200. Nothing better than 2 pair and low paired to death. Ran the $525 free through dollar single line as well and turned it into just $425 and that was after hitting a quad.
Played some slots for a little fun and won $20.
Wrapped it up for the day and trip to Laughlin.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $403
Total Comps For The Day = $1029
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Day 11
Tuesday June 24, 2025
Left the Aquarius picked up my laundry in Bullhead City and took the long drive back to Las Vegas. Decided to take the Arizona Route because the normal 95 route was full of construction on the way down. Takes a little longer but at least I wasn't slowed down to 40mph.
Arrived at Wynn around 3pm. I'm staying here on an offer of 3 nights and $500 resort credit. I was also upgraded to a suite for staying during the week. Checked in at the Tower Suites area and was given room 2006. What a difference from Aquarius!
Had dinner at Allegro. Had the Rolled Beef Carpaccio and the broccoli mascarpone ravioli. Everything was really good.
Hit the craps table after dinner. The craps table hit back. Had a few decent shooters but most sucked. As always as soon as I loaded up the board with bets the 7 would show up.
Had enough of that so packed it in early for the night.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1248
Total Comps For The Day = $1189
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Day 12
Wednesday June 25, 2025
Today is spa day here at Wynn. Had a 10am appointment for a 90 minute deep tissue massage.
Spent the rest of the morning using the wet areas.
Had lunch at Terrace Point Cafe. Tried the Turkey BLT. Probably one of the tastiest sandwiches I ever had. Then again for $27 it better be!
Tried out the craps tables again hoping they'd be better than last night. Started out strong getting ahead. Not much luck after that and decided to take a break after a small loss.
Played more craps in the evening. Actually got to play quite a bit, the swing weren't too bad and after almost 5 hours walked with a small $225 win. If I had quit 10 minutes soon it would have been 3x that. Oh well.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $225
Total Comps For The Day = $1127
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Day 13
Thursday June 26, 2025
Went downtown to the Four Queens. They have a promo going for every 400 points you get $40 free play up to 4x. I also have a mailer with $40 free play.
Played bonus deuces and started off strong. Hit a royal on my 3rd hand followed up by a bunch of dealt quads. Then things got nasty. Went from being up over $400 to being down over $600. As always the last 100 points cost me over $100.
Met with Jim for lunch at Magnolia's. I got the gumbo and an order of rye toast. Always good! Jim covered the tab with some of his many comp dollars. Thanks for lunch Jim!
Got my free play loaded and ran it through 9/6 jacks for halves. Turned the $200 into $240 to help offset the earlier losses.
For dinner I went to a dinner gathering at Binion's Steakhouse. Attending this dinner were myself, AP, Wayne, Jim, Lolly, and Bruce. This has been something we've been trying to do for years and are finally doing it. There are a few people in our group missing tonight and they will be missed.
I ordered a filet mignon with risotto and that also came with asparagus. The meal was excellent as were the views from up there.
Lolly covered the tab with some of her comps and an LVA coupon for 25% off. Just a note there is now a sign there that says the LVA coupon will max out at a $100 discount.
We all left downtown, I took AP back to Silverton and then came back to Wynn.
I took one more shot with the dice. Pretty smooth session with some ups and downs. Got to play for close to 3 hours and had a range of down around $1000 to up around $1000. Gave up with a small win of about $400 and wrapped up play here at Wynn for the trip.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $240
Total Comps For The Day = $1300
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Day 14
Friday June 27, 2025
Checked out of Wynn and headed back out to Summerlin. This time to Rampart and the JW Marriott where I will be for the next week. This was booked through my host using both the Q2 and Q3 offers. Both are good for $900 free play so I will have $1800 in total. They've also renovated the hotel here so everything is pretty new.
I was able to check right in and was given room 4100. Big giant suite with a view of Suncoast.
Got settled into the room and hit the casino. Ran into Lolly and Bruce and hung out with them for a bit. They went to eat and I hit the machines. It was up and down. Held trip fours and pulled 4 quads! Four, four of a kinds, in fours.
Still cashed out down $200 because I had to leave to go to dinner.
Met Anne, Evelyn and Gavin (just arrived from Ireland) at Juan's Flaming Fajitas. Had the usual queso and tacos.
On the way out Evelyn's battery was dead so waited with her until AAA arrived. If it was earlier I would have done it but everything was closed at this point.
Got back to Rampart much later than anticipated so just came to the room and wrapped up a day. I'll run the free play through tomorrow. Combined with tomorrow's I'll have $600.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $200
Total Comps For The Day = $275
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Day 15
Saturday June 28, 2025
Got a late start but hit the machines. Found Lolly so played next to her for a while. Had a few quads but not much else. Dropped $300
Went to lunch at the Deli. Had a crispy chicken sandwich. Chicken, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard sauces on grilled Texas Toast. Really tasty.
More play after this and it was rough. Dropped another $700 on little play.
Went to Summerlin Room for snacks with Bruce and Lolly.
Returned to the machines and was on a roller coaster. This was mainly due to playing spin poker deluxe. Got down to my last bet a few times and hit something and had a few come backs. Had a hand where I hit not one but two royals and a pair of jacks for the $2002 (they round up) jackpot.
For dinner I drove down to Tuscany to meet AP. He's staying there and has a ton of food credit so we went to the Italian restaurant Bistecca. I got the beef carpaccio and the pasta bolognese. Meal was good. Thanks for dinner AP!
Came back to Rampart for a little more VP action. Dropped a few hundred on 10 play with just a few quads and little play.
Ran the $600 free play through dollar single line and turned it into $600 thanks to a quad.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $824
Total Comps For The Day = $898
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Day 16
Sunday June 29, 2025
Started off the day with some video poker. Was getting beaten up pretty badly, down $483 on around 2k in action when I got dealt 4 aces. Played on that for a while but eventually cashed out even after 17k in action. Normally I'd be thrilled running 17k and being even but not so much after getting dealt aces for a grand.
Took a break and got something to eat. Had Earl's Golden Delight (grilled cheese and tomato soup). Yahtzee Mike and Alex arrived while I was eating.
Hit the machines and was on a hot streak with multiple quads one after another, then things turned. Went from being up $350 to down $350. Jimbo & Katy arrived while we were playing.
Went to Summerlin room for snacks with everyone.
Back to the machines for another loss. Thankfully I had more than enough action in and it was time to head out.
For dinner went downtown to Four Queens. Similar to a few days ago at Binion's a small group of us were meeting at Hugo's Cellar. In this gathering was Wayne, AP, Jim, Pat & Mike who were missing last time. Absent tonight are Lolly and Bruce. I ordered the ribeye tonight. This of course comes with the table side salad, vegetables and potato. Never had a bad meal here. AP used some of his built up comps to cover the tab. Thanks for dinner AP and thanks to all for a great time.
Came back to Rampart and met up with everyone. Played another round of video poker and rode the roller coaster. Went from hovering to bleeding to winning (thanks to a Hail Mary on DDB and hitting quads fours with and without a kicker). Got out of the session dead even.
Ran my $300 free play through single line halves and turned it into $250 cash.
In total today I hit aces 17 times and still took a loss.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $250
Total Comps For The Day = $590
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Day 17
Monday June 30, 2025
Met up with everyone in the casino and started pounding away. In return got pounded. Blew through 5 bills in no time. Popped in another $200 and was able to play a little longer without bleeding more. Stopped round 11am for a lunch break down about $350.
Ordered lunch at the deli and we all came up to my suite to eat. I had a turkey club on ciabatta.
Back to the casino again and more video poker. Got some decent play but dropped the $350 I had left from earlier bringing the loss to $700.
Decided to take a shot at some Spin Poker Deluxe. Was hovering with some decent hits between the duds. Held just two cards and actually hit a royal on the bottom line for the $1000 hit. Went from being down $700 to being up $200.
Switched it up to dollar triple play hoping for a quad. Never hit a quad but did hit a straight flush. Also hit a bunch of “stuff” as Dee would call it. Got the meter up to $1800. Played it back down to $1500 and cashed out.
Took a break up in the room for a while. Returned to the casino and met up with everyone again. Played a little more with little luck. Just bleeding again like earlier. Dropped around $250 in about 15 minutes and stopped for dinner.
We all went to the buffet. Sure not like the old days coming in at nearly $40. It's not a bad buffet but there was a time when this was under $20 and it wasn't that long ago.
Played craps after dinner and dropped 5 bills in about 15 minutes. The dice were not friendly.
Went back to video poker. Decided to take another shot on Spin Poker Deluxe. Was getting my ass handed to me. Was down around $600. I about shit when I saw royal cards land across the screen A-K-10-Q- garbage. Son of a bitch, one card away from 20k. Held the four cards to a royal and the jack appeared in the upper right hand corner. This worked out to be seven royals. I also had another flush card as well and scored a $7032 (rounded up again) hand pay!
Played another round of craps with Yahtzee Mike and this was another loss. The dice just didn't want to cooperate tonight. Dropped another $430.
I had enough for the day so colored up and cashed out my ticket.
Yahtzee Mike and Alex are leaving first thing in the morning so we said our good byes until the December trip.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $5532
Total Comps For The Day = $336
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Day 18
Tuesday July 1, 2025
Slept in today and then took a trip to the bank! No walk of shame this time around.
Got back to Rampart and met Jimbo & Katy for lunch at the deli. I got the beef and cheddar special. Think Arby's but with real meat.
Hit the machines afterwards. First hand hit 4 aces but that's all I'd hit. Got crushed dropping 3 bills on just 5k in action.
We all took a break at the Summerlin Room for a snack.
Returning to the machines after snacks was another beating. Dropped 5 bills on 3k in action. At this rate I'm going to be going back to the bank for more cash! Reloaded and things smoothed out with some quads, dealt winners, aces and a straight flush. Finished this session down $600, $900 on the day and I'm only at 17k in action.
Took a short break up in the room and got ready for dinner. Jimbo made reservations at Hawthorne Grill. I haven't been here in a while. Tonight I got French Onion Soup and a Rib-eye. We also got asparagus and mashed potatoes to split.
After dinner it was back to the machines. I was hovering and then rode the roller coaster. No big hits but enough to keep going to get some pretty good play. Finished up the action I wanted to do and was up around $200
Since it's now July 1 my Q3 mailer is in effect. Decided not to use it today because it wasn't going to make a difference so I'll have twice as much tomorrow.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1090
Total Comps For The Day = $381
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Day 19
Wednesday July 2, 2025
Was up early and started pounding away. Dropped $300 on no play on the first machine. This was followed by $200 more on another machine with little play. Had a big turn around as I hit aces 5 times to get back to even. At the lunch break I was up $10 on the day on 8k in action. One interesting hand was getting dealt a pair of jacks and hitting a quad on three lines.
Took a lunch break at the buffet with Jimbo (Katy was having lunch with a friend). Ate way too much.
Played another round of video poker and was hovering nicely until things turned. Blew through 6 bills in like 20 minutes at that point on 6k in action.
Today was giveaway day. Got two beach towels for my troubles.
Took a break up in the room for a while.
After the break met up with Jimbo & Katy and went over to Red Rock where we had plans to meet Norm at Naxos Taverna. I did the Prix Fixe. For the appetizer was Spanakopita (cheese and spinach in puff pastry), and Lemon-Garlic Jidori Chicken. For dessert I went with the olive oil ricotta pistachio Frozen Yogurt. The foods were really good. Norm covered the bill with his points. Thanks for dinner Norm.
Came back to Rampart for some more video poker. Started out as a roller coaster. Ranged from being up $100 to down $250. Quads were coming regularly but that was all. Hit aces three times and then hit a royal on a three card hold. This put me ahead for the day.
I still had quite a bit of play to get in so continued to pound away. Dropped the profit from the royal to drop down to a $4 win.
Ran my free play from yesterday and today through single line dollars. Turned the $600 free play into $600 cash.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $604
Total Comps For The Day = $927
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Day 20
Thursday July 3, 2025
Got up early and packed up some of my stuff and started getting rid of things I didn't need.
Hit the casino for another day of video poker action. Dropped 5 bills on like 3k in action. I was not amused.
Switched to another bank of machines and was doing better with some quads including aces and dealt winners. Then out of nowhere I hit a royal on line 10 on a 2 card hold. Went from being down $700 to up $300.
Went to the deli for lunch and grabbed a crispy chicken club again. We all went up to Jimbo & Katy's suite to eat.
Took a drive to the bank. Again, this was no walk of shame. Put some more of the profits away so I didn't have to travel with them tomorrow.
When I got back I hit the machines again. Bad session with not much of anything. Dropped 5 bills on 5k. I'm surprised I got that much play.
Went to another bank and started off with triple ply dollars. Hit quad threes and then a few minutes later hit quad aces. Plugged away for a while and cashed out up $200. Switched to quarter 10 play. Was hovering on “stuff” and then got dealt quad threes for $500. Cashed out of this machine up $700. SO far for the day up $500 with a royal and dealt bonus quad.
Cashed out and came up to the room for a break.
For dinner Jimbo made reservations at the all new Ai Pazzi Italian. This replaced Spiedini Fiamma. The place officially opened tonight and had some growing pains. Nothing too bad though. We got the meatball and arancini to share and I got the chicken parm for my entree. Topped it all off with lemon ricotta cake for dessert.
Wrapped up play for this leg of the trip. Tonight a new high limit gaming room opened so we played in there for a bit. Started off like a ball of fire but then died. Dropped almost $500. So much for the royal and dealt quad.
Ran my last $300 free play through single line dollars and turned it into $300 cash.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $305
Total Comps For The Day = $593
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Day 21
Friday July 4, 2025
Met up with Jimbo and Katy to say good bye to them.
Left Rampart, gassed up the car and dropped it at the rental car center.
Next up was the airport. Today's flight is with United airlines. Was able too book a first class seat for only a little over $100 more than coach so jumped at the chance. The only drawback is there is about a 90 minute layover.
Checked in at the premier area and was on my way through security. Buzzed right through.
Went to the Centurion Lounge to get a snack and relax for a while before the flight.
When we boarded I took my usual seat 1A. This is flight 1936 non stop to San Francisco with a 1:37pm departure and an 3:18pm arrival with a flight time of 1 hour and 41 minutes. Actual flight time will be 1:31 according to the captain.
Flight was bumpy most of the way but not terrible.
I had about a 90 minute lay over so went to the Centurion Lounge to grab a snack.
It was time to board again and took my seat 1A again. This is flight 2432 non stop to Seattle with a departure of 4:45pm and arriving at 6:58 pm which is a scheduled flight time of 2 hours and 13 minutes. Actual time will be 1:50 according to the captain.
Flight was smoother than the first. After a taxi to the gate I was off the plane and on to baggage claim. After I got my bag Anne picked me up and took me to the hotel. The luggage took forever to come out.
This is pretty much where I will pause things for this Las Vegas trip. See you July 13 for the next leg!
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $0
Total Comps For The Day = $0
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Day 22
Sunday July 13, 2025
Woke up today in Seattle and getting ready to disembark the Discovery Princess where I spent the last week. Took our time leaving the ship because the flight back to Las Vegas isn't until later this afternoon.
Taxied to the airport. Today's fight is on Alaska Airlines. We were too early to check in but eventually were able to get checked in and drop the bags.
Got through security and had plenty of time before the flight so grabbed something to eat.
It was finally time to board and it was unusual not boarding in the first group. Found my seat, 27D. This is Alaska Airlines flight 600 non stop to Las Vegas departing at 3:42pm and arriving at 6:16pm with a 2 hour and 34 minute flight time. Actual flight time will be 2:00 according to the captain.
Landed in Las Vegas a little early
Baggage claim was quicker than usual and we were off to the rental car shuttle. I booked an SUV through Hertz. My name was not on the scoreboard. After a quick stop to the booth we we were off to spot 523 and a Hyundai Santa Fe with 18,000 miles on it.
Dropped off Anne and Jason and then dropped off Evelyn.
Next stop was Suncoast to check in for the next 5 nights. I was able to get 4 night comped through my offer with $10 food and $10 free play. I added a 5th night to avoid moving for 1 day at $42 plus resort fee.
Got checked in and was off to room 821. I had 827 blocked but clearly didn't matter. Just a few doors down.
Threw my stuff in the room and got dinner at Du-par's. Had a turkey dinner that was quite good.
Played some 10 play after dinner. Nothing special but was able to get over 10k in action and broke dead even.
Played a few lots and won $11.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $11
Total Comps For The Day = $124
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Day 23
Monday July 14, 2025
Slept in this morning getting caught up from some time changes and a long travel day yesterday
Went out to run some errands and grab a few things at the store. I also grabbed lunch at Jack in the Box. Two tacos and a Jr bacon cheeseburger.
Last night when I picked up the rental car it was kind of sluggish. I though it was just because the A/C was on. I shut it off and it was still sluggish. Today when I was running my errands it was still hesitating at start up, then bucking then taking a while to accelerate. I decided with 2 long trips through the desert this wasn't a good thing. I took it back to the rental car center and exchanged it. Of course there were no 7 passenger SUVs in stock and they didn't know when there would be. I dropped down to a 5 passenger which would still be plenty large enough. They gave me a choice of 3 vehicles. I inspected each one. First had high miles, second smelled like weed so I took the third. I Buick Envision with 14,000 miles on it. This car while smaller is way better then what I had. Lots of power and all sorts of bells and whistles.
Got back to Suncoast and got pounded on the video poker machines. Dropped a grand on barely 10k.
Had dinner at Taste of Asia. Wor Wonton Soup and popcorn chicken. Used my $10 food credit and points to cover the bill.
After dinner played a little more. Dropped another 5 bills but at least got to play for a while logging in about 18k in action.
Had enough of that and gave up for the day.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1499
Total Comps For The Day = $137
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Day 24
Tuesday July 15, 2025
Not much happening today. Slept in and then went to meet Anne for lunch at a Filipino Restaurant called Full House. We got lumpia and pork adobo. Halo-Halo for dessert.
Came back to Suncoast and hit the machines. Today is 10x points for young at heart 50+. Played some 100 play DDB. Got a lot of play and hit 1 royal for nickels. Lost $500 though. Switched to bonus 10 play. Got another good amount of play and cashed out dead even.
Ran around and played some slots. Won $40 thanks to one good hit.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $460
Total Comps For The Day = $125
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Day 25
Wednesday July 16, 2025
Started off the day by going to McDonald's for a $2 breakfast sandwich in the app.
Next stop was the west rim of the Grand Canyon. Have never seen this before. About a 2 hour drive to get there. This is the area where the Hualapai reservation and the Skywalk are. I opted not to do a full tour at $99 because everyone else would like to go next time I'm out here. No sense in doing this twice.
Was only an hour away from Laughlin so headed down there. Stopped off for lunch at Jack in the Box in Bullhead and gassed up. Amazing that Fast trip is cheaper than Sam's Club ($2.71 vs. $2.95). Kind of bullshit when you factor the membership fee at Sam's.
Decided on the Riverside. Based on a couple of friends that said they have been getting good offers from there I figured I'd give them some action. I last played there 9 ˝ years ago. Got a newsletter from them and never saw another piece of mail.
Played 10k action on $1 Bonus Poker Deluxe. Hate pushing with 2 pair but love the $400 quads. Sadly there weren't enough of those. Hit kings early on then bled to death. Couldn't fill straight 4, flush 4, or 2 pair into a full house to save my life. I was in for $1500 late in the session and hit two quads pretty close together. As always, the last few points I wanted to earn cost me $200. After 10k in action I was down $390. Not terrible considering what it almost was. We'll see if I get any offers.
Drove back to Summerlin and grabbed a turkey sandwich at Albertson's for dinner. Was quicker and easier than eating here after driving around 400 miles.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $390
Total Comps For The Day = $105
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Day 26
Thursday July 17, 2025
Today is a “day off”. No gaming today. Nice to have a day like this once in a while.
Picked up Evelyn and then went to Sunset Station to meet up with Anne and Steve for dinner at Yardhouse. Half priced apps from 3-6pm. We ordered enough food for 12 people. Sliders, pizza, cheese curds, wings, fries and more. Evelyn covered the tab with her points. Thanks for lunch Evelyn.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $0
Total Comps For The Day = $105
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Day 27
Friday July 18, 2025
Left Suncoast and went to pick up Evelyn. From there went and picked up Anne and Steve. Then we were off to the Los Angeles area to go to a Dodger game tomorrow night.
This report will pause here for now. See you Sunday.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = $0
Total Comps For The Day = $0
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Day 28
Sunday July 20, 2025
Left the L.A. Area and headed back to Las Vegas.
The ride wasn't too bad. A few spots that bunched up but kept moving.
Got back to the Las Vegas area around 5:00. Dropped off Anne and Steve and then dropped off Evelyn.
Next stop was Rio where I'd be checking in for the final 3 nights (only needing 2). Got checked right into room 1377. Threw my stuff into the room and got something to eat.
Decided on a Tony Luke's cheesesteak.
Next up it was time to play. 10 play was the choice. A bad choice. Got killed. No dealt winners except for 2 straights. Only got dealt trips about 5-6 times. One of my worst session of video poker ever. Dropped 2k on 18k in action.
Since it was 10x for slots I took $300 and played. Got more play time out of this than I did the 2k I lost on video poker.
Finally gave up as I couldn't take it anymore.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $2300
Total Comps For The Day = $173
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Day 29
Monday July 21, 2025
Today is the final day of the trip. Got up and got things sorted out for the trip.
Went over to Durango Station to have one last meal with Anne, Steve and Evelyn.
Played some craps for a while before everyone got there. Choppy table but got a $200 win out of it.
Had some Noodles from Shang. Tasty but not my favorite dish. Next time I'd try something else. Evelyn covered the bill with her comps. Thanks Evelyn.
Said good bye to everyone until December.
Back at Rio hit the VP machines and almost identical to yesterday got my ass kicked dropping a grand on only 18k in action.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $800
Total Comps For The Day = $116
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Day 30
Tuesday July 22, 2025
Woke up in the morning to a bunch of texts from United that my flight was delayed by over 2 hours. This sucks but better to know now than when I got to the airport.
What to do? Play. Hit the video poker machines. Had some decent luck with a good amount of quads. Did 15k in action and won $325.
Gathered everything up from the room and I was on my way.
Gassed up the car and dropped it at the rental center. From there off to the airport.
Checked in at premier at the airport and off to security. No issues here and got right through.
Played a few slots when I got to the airport. Won just over $50.
Hit the Centurion Lounge for a snack before the flight.
Boarded and took my usual seat 1A. This is flight 2496 non stop to Newark scheduled to depart at 1:55pm and arrive at 9:59pm with a 5 hour and 4 minute flight time. Now a 3:45pm flight. Captain came on and said it would be 4:45. There were only about 45 people on the flight with seven empty seats in first class.
Pre ordered beef filet for lunch. It was quite good. After I ate I watched TV and slept a bit. The flight was a little bumpy at times but nothing too bad.
We landed at 11pm.
As always baggage claim sucked in Newark and took forever. I don't get why with only 45 people on about the only flight arriving this late it took 45 minutes to get my luggage.
Headed to Avis to pick up my rental car for the ride home. Of course the monorail was down yet again so had to take a bus from terminal C to terminal A. This is like a total of a mile or 2, and this ride took 45 minutes. WTF? Reserved a full size for $52 base and $85 all in with a discount from work. They gave me a Mazda SUV.
Took the 75 miles drive home. Once again of course the west spur of the turnpike was closed so had to go the longer route home. No issues as it was after midnight on a weeknight.
Pulled into my driveway at 2am as another Las Vegas trip came to an end.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $375
Total Comps For The Day = $109
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Final Thoughts
Eff Yous
