After sleeping in until 11am, I vegged out and watched some television and finally got up the will to get ready and hit the Strip. I made my way down to The Cromwell in hopes that the "reserved" tables that had kept me from playing in the High Limit room were finally open. Alas, it was not to be as they were still "reserved". I headed over to a $25min. double-deck game and was quickly dismissed therefrom, along with my $250 buy-in, when, over the course of 2 shuffles, I managed to only win 1 hand, bringing me from +$150 for the trip to -$100.
Time to ingest some caffeine in the form of a Venti Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew and regroup.
I decided to head over to Caesars to check out the Forum Shops - a favorite of mine for the beautiful statues and people-watching. The usual cast of characters was contained therein: redneck guy wearing a too tight tank-top tucked into his shorts; Jersey Shore guy wearing a too tight tank-top tucked into his shorts; large-and-in-charge ladies berating their men; kids talking about how they were going to sneak into the casino and gamble; middle-aged married men rolling their eyes at having to be there; kids throwing tantrums while their parents drank 3' tall glasses worth of frozen margaritas; and the damned salespeople trying to rub some type of lotion on you.
Thereafter I once again headed to The Cromwell and, once again ran into a buzzsaw of a dealer at the $25min. double deck game, dropping another $200 -- thus bringing the trip to -$300.I decided to see if the High Limit room was open or whether they had decided to not reserve every game therein for one guy. Nope - still not open for anyone but whoever Mr. Reserved was.I then recorded a podcast interview with Chris from @faceandaceslv about the #Oceans14XL experience - with @JoeQ_sd joining in towards the end of my interview. From there, I did some people-watching and walked over to the Flamingo for some Pan-Asian Express (basically a Panda Express).
I watched some of the World Series game while enjoying my low-rent orange chicken and chow mein and, by the time I finished eating, the score was 7-7.After dinner I headed, once again, to The Cromwell and did not even attempt to enter the hallowed ground of the High Limit room, instead opting to go directly to the $25min. double deck game. What is it about this game at The Cromwell that causes me to lose every buy-in within 3 shuffles. The trip was now -$550.On a whim, I ventured into the High Limit room and observed that the tables were all still "reserved". The pit boss however, asked if I was looking to play one of the 6D shoe games - I replied in the affirmative and he asked me to hold on while he made a phone call -- he informed me they would open one of the tables to me but if Mr. Reserved showed up, I would be asked to leave the table. Fine by me.I sat down and basically played the roller coaster for about an hour, the highlights being:Getting dealt an 8,8 versus a dealer KingI split the 8,8 and was dealt another 8, split again;First 8: dealt a 4 then a King to BUST;Second 8: dealt a 7, then dealt a 3 for 18;Third 8: dealt another 8 and split, then dealt a 6 then a 9 to BUST;Fourth 8: dealt an Ace for 20The dealer promptly turned over an 8 so, on the hand, I pushed 1, won 1 and lost 2 (this must be a record for the number of 8's dealt on a single hand)Being dealt 3 blackjacks in a row;Pushing a hand of 21 three times in the hour of play.However, I was able to press on some good runs and ended the session, and the trip, in the positive, having gained back the $500 I was down plus another $1200. As such, the #Oceans14XL trip ended +$1200.As I was cashing in, I heard cheers from the sports book area and made my way over to see what was happening -- apparently, the World Series game was still going -- I could not resist and sat down to watch. I could NOT believe what I Was watching -- although I am not a fan of either team - this game mesmerized me - it was basically a Home Run Derby in the guise of a World Series game and I did not dare get up out of my seat until the game was over -- a true Fall Classic. I then made my way back to my room, eventually stopping at Off the Strip for a burger and slice of cheesecake.
Well, I am now back in my room and just relaxing, remembering the #Oceans14XL trip and all the new friends I made - Vegas is not only the ultimate vacation - it brings people together from all over, strangers beforehand but friends forever thereafter
