So I just got to the airport and the flight is delayed by one hour - time to grab some food and take a nap Wandering around the duty free shop
Landed in VEGAS and started with a win as my bag was first on the conveyer
In limo heading downtown to the Golden Nugget!
Obligatory free snacks by the elevator photo (let the over/under on bacteria betting begin):
Host sent me a fruit and nut basket and plenty of FIJI water - Got my comped bottle of Grey Goose
So I went to the cage to collect my $90 in free chips and the lady stated they do not have $5 denomination fake chips so they rounded up to $100 (4x25) WooHoo!
an aside...Got into the elevator and a middle-aged guy therein was all smiles - he asked how I was doing - I said I had not yet played - He replied that he was up 8k - I said "great" and he then said the key word was "was" - I said "uhoh" - He replied he was now "only up 1500" but he was ok with it because he ran into a lucky streak and really didn't "deserve to be up 8k" - I wished him good luck and vice-versa Why don't people believe they deserve to be up?
and then: I was just out on Fremont and some drunk lady approached me and asked if she could borrow myphone--I replied "sorry but I'm going to say no"--she then gave me a nasty look and raised her hand as if she was about to slap me in the face--I tilted my head and said "I strongly advise against you doing that"--she then told me to "go fuck" myself and walked away - Got to love downtown LV
Time to play some cards: Ok played 2 shuffles of 2D and won the first two hands then pressed up to 200 and was dealt 8,2 v dealer 9 - Doubled and drew an Ace woohoo! Next hand kept 200 up -Dealt 7,4 doubled and drew a 2 - Lost wah wah wah
I then Won a couple more hands then the shuffle came - Started out with the elevator guy walking by fist bumping me - which seemed to do the trick since I won a couple of double - sTaking a break to get some caffeine - Trip is +1k
In the "it's a small world" department - just ran into a cocktail waitress friend from back in my Revel Ultra Lounge days. I guess some Revelers made it out to LV
Just got brutalized! Session started out up and down for about 45 mins -- remained up 1k Then I had the following split with 200 up: 3,3 v dealer 7- First 3 dealt an 8 -- doubled and drew a 6 for 17; Second 3 drew another 8 -- doubled and drew a 5 - Dealer flipped over an Ace for 18
Just to clear my head I switched tables - The first three hands were all doubles -Hand 1: 8,3 v 6I drew a 9....dealer had 5 under then drew a Q; Hand 2: 7,2 v 5I was dealt a 4...dealer had a 7 under then drew a 5; Hand 3 (pressed to 200): I was dealt 9,2 v King and I drew an 8...dealer flipped a Jack - Trip is -2300
Got 1700 back and it all went on one hand: Pressed to 400 Split 8,8 v dealer 8 -First 8 dealt 2 doubled drew a 4; Second 8 dealt 3 doubled drew a 5 - Of course the dealer turned over a 10 - I then lost the next 8 hands - Trip is down 3k
I almost went on TILT! But decided to grab some food and call it a night Have a whole new day tomorrow to start fresh -Sweet dreams
Morning session: Just had 6 6 6 6 split out v dealer 3 and was dealt another 6 (couldn't split beyond that) The first 6 I was dealt a 4, doubled and drew a 5; Second 6 drew a 10; Third 6 drew a King; Fourth 6th drew a King - Dealer turns over a 10 for 13 then draws a 3 then another 3 for 19 - Ok a few shuffles later things turned around - Had pressed to 200 and dealt 7,7 v dealer 7 - Split and drew and Ace on both - Dealer flipped over a Jack - Finally a "routine" hand -A little more back and forth and eventually made some money back - Trip is down 2k
That sinking feeling when you are dealt 4,5 against dealer 4 - you double and take the card face down and the dealer turns over a Queen then draws a 7
Continued playing a bit and got back another 500 -- nothing to write home about - Trip down 1500
Just lost or pushed 18 of 23 hands - Trip -3k
Just lost every F#%^*+g hand in 3 shuffles of double deck with 2 other players at the table - Trip is -5k -Approaching
TILT!
The only reason I am not playing right now is I am heading to a host birthday party
(I could win a share of 10k in free play)--Seems Vegas treats me like this more often than not - we will see what happens after dinner - I hope to be in a better mood and mount a, in the words of legendary television dad Mike Brady, "calm, cool and collected" comeback--I was not a winner at the bday party
Lost my downtown trip bankroll by losing or pushing all but 2 hands in 3 shuffles of double deck (including 6 doubles) - Holy sh$&I have no idea what to do now - Heading to the Strip tomorrow--sweet dreams
Checked out of downtown and arrived at Aria and checking in:
I Just lost 500 on 3 hands - Guy refused to hit 12 v 2; 15 v 10 and refused to split 8,8 - If he plays basic strategy, we both win all three hands
Switched tables lost first 8 handsTrip is -9kJust switched tables got 700 backTrip -8300Lost 500 backI pushed on 21 five times - Trip -8800
Got a little more back - Trip is -7400
Post-dinner mini-session: Got another 1600 in one shuffle of double deck won almost every hand - Trip is -5900
Played another mini-session of double deck - Played 2 shuffles picked up 1100 - Trip is -4800
Just played one 6D shoe had a good mini-run and capitalized on it - Trip is -3700
Sat down at a double deck game and was quickly down 1200--Switched tables and rode the roller coaster--Eventually some positive variance in the form of 4 double downs came my way--Trip is still -3700
Sat down for a one shoe 6 deck session - Nothing much to write home about but by the end of the shoe I had gained 4 black chips - Trip is -3300
Just had some Five50 pizza - relaxing watching "Insane Pools" - Bedtime soon then continue mounting the comeback and beyond tomorrow!
Sat down at a 6D game and started getting destroyed immediately--Had no stand pat hands - just hitting and busting and was quickly down 1100 - I superstitiously asked for a shuffle and got it all back by the end of the new shoe--Trip is still -3300
Ok sat down to a double deck game - 8 hands into it I was up 1k - Walked away - Taking a break - Trip is -2300
Sat down for a double deck game and about 6 hands in was up 800Trip is -1500Just lost every hand in 3 shoes of double deck save for 3 pushes and 3 wins -Trip is -3300
Switched tables and was riding the roller coaster for the past hourGot my buy-in back so the trip is now -1500 again
Taking a dinner break - waiting for my cousin - he is coming from the airport. So my cousin finally arrived and I got him checked in then we had dinner and I played for a couple of hours
Sat down and bought in for 1500 - That was gone in no time - Bought in for another 1k which proceeded to last me about two hours until I finally got 2300 of it back - Highlights/lowlights: Lady at my table refused to hit 14, 15, or 16 EVER - I pushed a hand of 21 on 4 occasions - I pushed 3 Blackjacks - I was dealt 3 Blackjacks in a row at one point and By the end of the session I had gotten 2300 of the 2500 back
I took a break to watch my cousin play--he was losing at a 25min. Table - I went to use the restroom and he went on a run and was up about 100
I then played a mini-session wherein I Won 5 of 6 hands at a double deck game Trip is -1200 - G'nite.
Well this morning started off badly -- losing or pushing the first 18 hands combined over three tables - Switched tables again my first hand was a blackjack then dealers next 5 hands he made 21 Trip is -3300 (it was only -1200 about 15 minutes ago)
So...I switched tables again and got 2500 of the 2800 buy-in back in less than 5 minutes - Trip is -1500
Sat down with a dealer I love to play with as he is super-fast and always has good stories--6deck shoe game--I Started with a blackjack and never looked backTrip is -800
Walking through "Crystals" and a guy was taking a photo so I stopped so as not to get in his shot - he waived me off saying - "oh, it's ok - I'm just taking a selfie"--Is that "selfie-awareness"? Lol
Finally..............EVEN !Taking a break - then dinner - then onwards and upwards
Just had some dinner at the Shake Shack after braving the rain - Going to digest and then hit the tables
Post-dinner session of double deck - Dealt 20 on the first three hands and the dealer made 21 each hand - Switched tables and the first three hands were doubles: 7,3 v dealer 9 (drew a 9 dealer turned over an Ace)5,5 v dealer 5 (drew a 6 dealer turned over 9 and drew a 4); 6,3 v dealer 4 (drew a King dealer turned over a 7 then drew a Queen) - The roller coaster kicked in and after another shuffle was down 1k - Dealer change and a shuffle and within 2 shuffles got it back - Trip is still even
Just lost 2k in half a shoe dealer had 20 for a vast majority of her hands - Over the course of the last hour I did not get my first 20 until 55 minutes in - I was down 4k and made a last minute run to get 3k back in one shoe - Trip is -1k
Ok played a mini-session of double deckNothing to write home about except that finally had some give and take rather than all giveTrip is -650Just lost 1k had 5 doubles dealer made 21 every timeTrip -1650
I then played for approximately 2 hours, over the course of which I was abused by the blackjack gods, from getting all the way back to even to once again being down 9k
annoying: a guy comes in mid shoe betting 1k a hand - wins 5 hands in a row and I lose all 5 hands
Lost another 3 then got 2 back - Trip is -1k
Just finishing dinner then going to bed--need to refresh and regroup
Got a quick 2100 back this morning - won the first 8 hands of a 6 deck shoeHad gotten 2500 but played it out and lost a 200 doubleTrip is -7900Ok sat down for two mini-sessions:First one won the first 5 hands then lost three and won threeSecond one won two doubles then lost two doubles then roller coaster for half a shoeAll in all picked up another 900Trip is -7kAlright started a shoe was a roller coaster but hit a double then a blackjack and took a break having gotten another 500Sat and chatted and about ten minutes later something told me that I should finish out the shoe - I ended up picking up another 700Trip is -5800Roller coaster time - picked up another 350Trip is -5450Just lost 14 of 15 hands - dealer had ten up every handTrip is -6950Going to bed as I leave tomorrow night and want to mount an all-day comeback mañana
Sat down for a shoe before I had a teleconference regarding settling a case--promptly lost first 6 hands Switched tables and roller coastered my back to where I was - Trip -7k
Mid-morning session: Played a double deck game with another player at the table - he would switch between one and two hands betting anywhere from 300 to 500 - We both caught a couple of runs - Trip is -5500
Started a 6 deck shoe proceeded to lose two doubles but then snagged a natural and two doubles and picked up 600 - Trip is -4900
Caught a bad run and gave 1k back when the dealer ran off a streak of having a 10 showing on every hand in double deck (save for her one blackjack when the Ace was up) - Trip is -6k
Caught a horrific run where I was once again down 10k and then, finally, a bright light:Finally won a split had 300 up split 88 v dealer 4First 8 dealt a 6Second 8 dealt a 5Dealer turns over a 7Dealer draws a 2Dealer draws a 3Dealer draws a 6 for 22 -Although the light quickly dimmed: Busted every 12 in the past hour - Got 1k back dealer changed and I lost ten hands in a row - Started shoe with 3 Blackjacks in a row and I was too scared to press so finally on the 4th hand I pressed to 300, got a 5,6 double and draw a 6 for 17 - Dealer has a 7 showing and Ace underneath
Guy at my table just refused to hit 12 v 3 of course dealer wins hand and would've busted if he hits - Ended up with a nice run got 1k - Trip is -8
kI just took a picture of an amazing hand and it didn't come out bc the pit boss was rushing me and I hit the wrong button on my iPhone - Had 200 up - Dealt 3 3 v dealer 2 Split- First 3 dealt a 5 drew a 10 for 18; Second 3 dealt another 3 and split Still second 3 dealt a king for 13; Third 3 dealt another 3 and split Still third 3 dealt another 3 but couldn't split anymore so drew a jack for 16; Fourth 3 dealt a 7 and doubled - drew a 9 for 19 - Dealer had 2 turned over a ten, drew an Ace, drew a 2 drew a king Woohoo! Trip is still -10k
Bet 100 got 888 split (my last 300) Got a 2 3 2 on each one had no money to double - Dealer busted- Trip still -10k
getting my bags together and throwing some cold water on my face and heading to the airport -Went on a nice run but ran out of time Trip ends -8k
My flight boards shortly and, Despite the loss, I had a good time and was fun hanging with my cousin - The run of cards this trip felt worse than any of my trips where I lost double - maybe because of all of the lost doubles and basically busting 95% of my 12s - Maybe because I got back to even only to let it all slip away - My cousin remarked to me that if he hadn't witnessed my run of cards in person he would've called "bull$*!+" on me - c'est la vie, I'll continue to comeback in AC
Oh boy--
Just unpacked and found that two bottles of cologne (Tom Ford Tobacco Vanile and Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi) missing from my suitcase
Add $430+tax for those to my total trip loss
Airline wants a police report before they will investigate lol I am sure the NYPD is going to investigate “The Case of the Missing Cologne”
OK so, my pre-trip MLife tier total was 80,000
My post-trip MLife tier total is 147,000
I believe the next level is Platinum at 200,000 which must be reach by october 1st in order to be valid the entire next year
Not sure I will make it by October 1st