"Hold on to your butts." - Jurassic Park
That statement summarizes the goings on of my day in Vegas as the halfway mark is upon us. Woke up and had a nice bowl of oatmeal for breakfast mixed with honey and brown sugar - delicious.
After playing some slots (lost $11), I headed to the high limit room at Paris to play some blackjack up 2100 for the trip.
Sat down to play with an Asian gentleman from Maryland who was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, talking with him was the only fun I would have at the table.For the first 7 hands, I could not win then, on the 8th hand I actually won with a natural 20 - I did not think that was possible anymore. However, the elation experienced from that solitary win did not last long. By the end of the shoe I had lost 1100 of the 2100 back.
I took a phone call and headed back to play some more, with the hopes that the next shoe would be better - it was not to be.
This shoe, the final 1k I was up disappeared .The trip was now EVEN.
Now in an irritated mood, I pressed on and, for the next hour or so, rode the blackjack roller coaster until I was down 400 for the trip. The next hand though, would push me to the edge: I had 200 up and was dealt a 6,6 V dealer 3 - I split the 6's and was dealt another 6: First 6: dealt a 4, doubled and dealt a 9 for 19; Second 6: dealt a 3, doubled and dealt an Ace for 20; Third 6: dealt a Queen and stayed at 16 - Dealer: 3 flips over an 8, draws a 5, then draws another 5 for 21 - It was a 2k swing and I slammed my fist onto the padded rail and let out an F-bomb - The pit boss came over and informed me that if I made another outburst she would call security and have me escorted out
At that point, I was down about 2k for the trip and decided to leave the high limit pit. I headed across the street to Aria. There, I bought in for another 2k and quickly won 500. That is when random passersby thought it would be fun to jump in and out of the 2D shuffle. I know, I know it has no long term effect on the cards but, in the short term, anything and everything is possible, especially when it comes to negatively affecting me. The 500 was gone plus another 1k. I was now down 3k for the trip overall
I switched to a 6D game and quickly regained 900 of the 1k I was losing at Aria. Thinking I was on the upswing was incorrect as I then lost or pushed the next 14 hands. I switched tables again, now down 2900 for the trip
Finally, a table switch proved fruitful and I regained 900, now only down 2k for the trip. I took a quick dinner break to try the new Burger Lounge at Aria - not too shabby but nothing to write home about, especially after last night's dinner at CARBONE.
After dinner, I headed back to the tables and, within 2 shuffles of double deck, I had regained another 1k. I called it a night for blackjack with the knowledge I still had 6 more days and a blackjack tournament to play.