OK - today is the last day of the trip -- going home on the redeye tonight...I started the day at -6500 for the trip - however, that was to change rapidly before I would even have a cold brew iced coffee. I sat down at a black chip table, confident that today would be the day I turned it around. My goal on the day was to get back to even but, would be happy to settle for getting halfway back from the 9500 I was originally down. It was not to be, at least in the a.m. as I lost 3 double downs and the following split:
A,A versus dealer 5
First Ace: dealt another Ace and re-split -- dealt yet another Ace and re-split -- now I had four Aces on the table --- finally being dealt a 2 on the first Ace for 13; Second Ace: dealt a 6 for 17; Third Ace: dealt a 6 for 17; Fourth Ace: dealt a King for 21 - the Dealer, however, turned over a 9 for 14 then a 6 for 20 - Out of four Aces, I won only one of them - By the end of the shoe, I was, once again, down 8k for the trip
Time for an iced cold brew coffee and a mental break while my friend (who I grew up with and is now a Vegas resident, dropped by after a job interview at Momofuku) to catch up and say hello. He was not going to play but decided to watch me play in the high limit pit at Aria...Things took a turn for the better and I decided I would try to play catch up by playing mini hit-and-run sessions (with each goal of the mini-session to be +500 for the session).
First session: goal accomplished
Second session: goal accomplished
Third session: goal accomplished
Ok, at that point I was back again where I began this morning. my attention then turned to a strange lady-- I will call her "hippie lady" as she was about 35 years old and dressed as if she thought she was at Coachella. She was downing water after water and hopping from table to table -- however, she was not playing at all. Rather, She was telling the dealers how she was going to get a tattoo on her wrist to always remember the time she shared with her (the dealer) -- all the while attempting to touch the dealer until security informed her that if she attempted to touch the dealer again she would be removed from the property. She wised up but sat with Michale Jordan's son at the Double Deck game telling him, prior to each hand, that he was "due to win" - I do not think he won a hand the entire shuffle and quickly left the table. As the lady eyed me from the double deck table, I could sense she was going to attempt to sit at my table and "cheer" me on -- as such, I ended the prior session (third session above). I concluded that, her behavior, coupled with the copious amounts of water she kept downing, she was on Ecstasy or, as the "kids" call it these days - "Molly"
I took a break for some pizza at Five50 and said goodbye to my friend as he was heading home. I resumed with a nice session wherein the following hand happened:
9,9 versus dealer 9
First 9: dealt another 9 and then dealt a 2 -- doubled and dealt a 10 for 21
Second 9: dealt another 9 and then dealt an 8 for 17
Third 9: dealt a Queen for 19
Fourth 9: dealt a 7 for 16
Dealer flipped over a 6 for 15...then an Ace for 16....WTF come on...and then, Hallelujah, a 6 for 22 BUST!!!
By the end of the session, I had regained 1k - trip -5500
I had only 2 hours to go before I needed to head to the airport and I Was tired - my eyes actually started to close as I did not have an afternoon nap (awwww poor Epic lol) - I had a sugar free Red Bull and pressed on, playing three more mini sessions and ending up, finally (as I had to leave for the airport), down 3900 for the trip.
I was very happy with the comeback (even though I did not get all the way back to even) as it was a long week to be there, basically losing non-stop the whole trip until the last day. Playing from behind is tough and begins to make the vacation feel more like work. I want to thank you all for joining me on yet another Vegas vacation and welcome your comments.