After a brief hiatus from Atlantic City and therefore, blackjack, I'm back!Arrived in Vegas earlier this afternoon...been relaxing after the stress of my chosen profession lately...Just watching some tv...going to shower and tidy myself up and eventually hit the tables this evening...I am sure I will be somewhat rusty but, should be just like riding a bike - Wish me luck!
Heading to the GN
A summary of the first day as I am jet lagged and heading to bed.......So I wired some front money to the casino cage and signed for it before playing ... All was supposedly good so I walked over to the high limit and asked for a black chip game, with which they happily obliged me - I told them I wanted some chips from my front money and the pit boss stated that there was no money on file for me...I looked quizzically at the floor person and she asked me to "stand-by" - I waited about 5 minutes before I was informed there was an "issue" and someone from the cage would be over to talk with me - After another 5 minutes the cage manager came over and asked for the cage receipt she had given me - Upon closer inspection, they had multiplied my actual cage deposit by ten and therefore had voided the transaction - Wow talk about a short-lived windfall!!! After the mixup, I took 1k in chips and began playing
The highlights from my one hour of play were as follows:
2D, DAS, DOA, H17 - I Played the promo chips on double downs and won the first three of those - Over the first 5 shuffles the dealer had an Ace up 5 times and nary a blackjack to be found - As such, I was able to press on a few occasions, the worst among them being (A) 200 up dealt a 6-5 v dealer 10 -- double and get dealt a 5 for a 16 -- dealer only had a 17; (B) 200 up dealt a 5,5 v dealer 4 -- double and get a king -- dealer has 4, turns over 7, draws a 2, draws a 2, draws a 6After that I got on a couple of nice runs but became too tired to keep playing - Trip is +2000 as I head to take a walk on Fremont before bed - Sweet dreams
I'm just getting up and getting ready for the day - I needed a long night's sleep
Played 2D game again - Had a nice few shuffles and picked up another 1200 - Trip is +3200
More interesting though was the guy leaving the table as I sat down
A dealer recognized me and said "Hey the divorce attorney is back" - so the guy leaving the table began asking me what different Latin phrases meant - I tried to be accommodating then the floor person rolled his eyes and laughed--
It turned out the guy has been buying in for $5k CASH
playing until he is +200 then coloring in
Then, within 10 minutes, coming back and buying in for $5k cash again
Having just come from the Mob Museum I jokingly asked the floor person if he was laundering money
He replied that security had already checked that angle out and that it seemed that they guy merely liked coming in with the same $5k cash
I wonder how many CTR's he will get
Is there any valid reason for doing this on his part? Higher cash buy-in for more comps?
I am enjoying a hot tea while I play since the air conditioning seems to be on overdrive - Played for about 20 mins had a real bad run at first (A) 9-2 v dealer 6 double for a 17 dealer turns over Ace and draws another 18(B) 8,3 v dealer 6 double for 20 dealer turns over 5 and draws a QueenThen the doubles got better; (B) Ace, 5 v dealer 4 double for 16 dealer turns over a 3 then draws a 7 then a 10 BUST: (C) Ace, 3 v dealer 5 double for 20 dealer turns over Jack then draws a Jack BUSTGot on a nice run and climbed back to my buy-in and then a few extraTaking a break to get a snack - Trip is +3500
Sat down for a post-snack session - Things started off horrifically - it seemed as if the dealer made 21 at will - Meanwhile, at the next table, in the span of a half-hour, the 5k guy came and went three times (I wonder what he is up too?) - My host stopped by and we BS'd for a little bit while I was playing when, lo and behold, I had climbed back to my buy-in - Trip is still +3500
Time to visit the Mob Museum - This was well done - they incorporated excellent technology (the way they used four screens during the courtroom presentation was excellent - gave it a 3D effect during certain portions
Ok had a nice dinner consisting of rigatoni with meat sauce then decided to play a bit
The talk of the high limit room was still Mr. 5k who was still buying in and coloring up then coming back after cashing at cage and buying back in again (must be some new system)
I played with a nice guy and the table chemistry was good (I enjoy the social aspect)Got run down about 1200 before I blinked my eyes including my always favorite hand--doubling down on a 9I had 5,4 v dealer 6 with 300 upI doubled and drew a 10Dealer turns over a 5 and drew a 9 for 2The next twenty minutes or so were back and forth gaining maybe 100 each shuffle - The last two SHUFFLES of the session worked out nicely and I scored another 900 - Trip is +5100
Just lost every hand but a push on 17 in my first 2D shuffle - the Last hand was a 6-5 v dealer 3 - I double and got dealt a 9 for 20 - Dealer turns over a 10 then draws an 8 - Next shuffle had a blackjack first hand then lost all the rest but for two pushes on 20
Oooooo an uptick of 400 that shuffle - Pushed a 21 double down with 200 up - Split 7 7 7 v dealer 2 with 200 up: (A) 7, Ace; (B) 7, Q; (C ) 7, 6 - Dealer has 2 turns over Ten draws an 8 - a 1200 swing ughhhhh — Got on a mini run and went from being down 2100 for the session to only losing 800 - Trip is +4300
Just had doubles on three straight hands lost each onePushed 3 BJ in past 2 ShufflesLost every hand but one in last shuffleSwitching tablesJust finished playing through a shuffle and I asked the guy playing with me at the table to wait for me while I ran to the bathroom. I was gone 2 minutes and, upon my return, the dealer gave me an "I'm sorry" look as the guy wanted to start without me--no class
Ok caught an excellent run - Started with a blackjack followed by 200 bet 2,2 v dealer 7 - Split for another 2: (A) 2 dealt 9 double draw 10 for 21; (B) 2 dealt 7 draw 9 for 18; (C ) 2 dealt 8 double draw Ace for 21 - A nice 2k swing- thereAfter it went back and forth and I chipped away - Trip is once again +5100 - Time for bed
Good morning - took a walk through the Container Park
I Was up another 700 then a guy at the table started playing 2 hands then 1 hand then switching back and forth - I lost 9 hands in a row - Just lost every hand in a 2d game except for two - pushed Last hand I had 20 dealer pulled 21 - Just lost every hand in a 2 deck shoe - No pushes - HOWEVER, right before dinner I got into a nice rhythm and was able to recapture some of what I had lost - The trip is +3500
post dinner session went back on the downswing againBegan with a rough 2D game barely staying alive as I continued to be plagued by lack of winning double downs and splits - An illustrative example was being dealt Ace-Ace v dealer 6: First Ace got dealt a 2; Second Ace got dealt a 3 - Dealer turns over a 5 then draws a 6 for 17
After about 30minutes of this, I switched tables now only +2300 for the trip - Switching tables proved to be a bad idea as the female dealer I nicknamed Mizz No Personality was in perfect form, ignoring all attempts at conversation and beating me the first 5 hands
I switched to a 6D game with one of my favorite dealers and was rewarded with anamazing shoe - I was able to press and finally began winning doubles and splits - By the time all was said and done in the shoe I was once again +4k
I met up with the Wizard of Vegas himself and some Wizard of Vegas forum members for an impromptu mini meet 'n greet playing mini-craps (I watched) - Great guys and a lot of fun---After walking around and soaking in some atmosphere I sat down to play a little more BJ - I played through 3 shuffles of 2D and got a nice run - By the end of the 3rd shuffle I had climbed back to +5100 - Calling it a night on playing but going to check out Fremont Street before heading up to Aria for the next few days
Good morning - just arrived at Aria - checking into the SkySuites and my cousin came in today so we did some sightseeing
I am now on the strip and played two sessions today
Session 1: 2DH17DASDOAOk
things started out nicely...two blackjacks to start the session on my first two hands - Almost immediately, another player sat down and took a 10k marker - He began playing 100/hand and began losing - He then ramped it up to 1k/hand and continued losing - For some reason he remarked, to the floor person, that he thought the casino was too crowded and asked for the table minimum be raised to 500 - They initially said no then raised it to 300 and grandfathered me in - He made a beautiful comeback from being down about 6k all the way back to even - With his courage now up, he began betting 500/hand and proceeded to lose 8k within 10 minutes - He then began demanding the cut card and stating that "nobody knows how to cut" - Perhaps he knew best as he began getting back his 10k marker - he had finally reached the 10k mark and his friends joined him asking whether he wanted to grab some dinner - Unfortunately for him, He replied that he was "on a roll" and proceeded to play 1k/hand - again, within 5 minutes he had busted out and was not to be seen again - At the end of this session for me, I was up another 2k
Session 2: After watching my cousin play at Planet Hollywood ($15 1D, 6:5 game which was not clearly marked as such until he made a BJ---but, in the end, he made a few hundred), I sat down again to a 2D game at Aria and fell behind quickly, losing about 800 in the first shuffle - For the next two hours it was back and forth but by that time I had lost another 700 - The dealer asked if I would mind if he cut the cards - I said "go for it" and told him I'd tip him a black chip if he got me back to the 2k level - Within 3 shuffles I was back!!! Trip is +7k (after tipping the dealer the black chip as promised)
I Just played a shuffle - dealer had a 10 up every hand and I was continually dealt 13 14 15 16 and busting
Ok things started to turn around winning split 8's on two hands in a row followed in the next shuffle by winning three double downs - A few nicely timed blackjacks when pressing and I had not only recovered the 1k I had lost but picked up another 700 - Trip is +7700
I went shopping, had dinner then saw ZARKANA with my cousin - always a good show
I just played about an hour and it went from bad to good to bad - Highlights/lowlights: Pushed 2 blackjacks - Had 3 doubles with an 11 where I was dealt an Ace - Was only able to press on 5 occasions and luckily won 4 of them - Trip is still +7700Ok
sat down for a 2D game - I had played with this dealer before but forgot how fast he dealt--not a problem keeping up but for some reason it was making me dizzy. As such, I only played three shuffles and left with what I brought in
I then took a break to watch a guy playing at a table betting 200, then 300 then, eventually, up to 3k/hand - There was also a woman at the table playing (with her husband watching) -- she would hit 14 v 4, 12 v 6, double a 9 v ten or Ace---the guy betting big tried to dissuade her but she did not listen - However, it really helped the guy as he was soon up about 15k
I took a lap around the casino with my cousin and about 15 minutes later came back and the guy only had 3k left in front of him - The woman was still all over the place with both her strategy and number of hands she would play at a time...The guy was even starting to bet on her hand but when she won she would only give the guy back his bet and not the commensurate winnings - this happened on three occasions and each time the guy had to demand to be paid the bet plus the win thereon (he eventually stopped betting on her hand) - However, by this time he was down to 1k in chips
At that point I looked for a game of my own and settled in for a 6D shoe game - The first hand started nicely with a blackjack but then I proceeded to lose quite a few doubles which dropped me to the +6900 mark - A dealer change then occurred (only putting this in there to give detail on the story) - Things got a lot better as the following three hand sequence occurred: (A) 8-8 v dealer 7...split dealt a K then Q and dealer turned over a J; (B) 9-2 v dealer 10...double dealt a 9...dealer turned over an 8; (C ) 8-8 v dealer Ace...split dealt a 7 hit and drew a 2...second 8 drew a ten...dealer turned over a 6By the end of the shoe I had hit a nice runTrip is +9100
I was about to play and wanted a 100 min. game and that guy from last night that was chastising the woman and playing on her hand sat down right before the deal and he said he wanted to leave it at 50
So I got up to leave and he starts yelling "hey buddy I play 100 thousand a hand...I mean a thousand a hand" lol
Just sat down to play a 2D game with a dealer I like - There was a nice couple at the table as well and, although the cards were bad, the socializing was good - Right about the time the dealer change occurred, I felt a tap on my shoulder UH- OH LOL But, small world that it is I ran into some people I know from AC - We chatted as I played and as they bid me adieu, I had realized a nice run - Trip plus a dime piece
Played a mini session moments ago that was highly volatileWin 2 lose 3 win 4 lose 6Lose double downs win three-way splits After the storm subsided, I was even for my buy-in - Time for a snack and Judge Judy before bed :-)
Heading home tomorrowNow heading to the airport:
As I was leaving, Michael Jordan was arriving - guess they traded one high roller for another LOLOL
Trip ended plus "10"Until next time LV!!!