Just arrived at Ocean’s (formerly Revel) - went to VIP check-in at the new Ocean Resort AC -- they definitely rearranged the lobby compared to when it was the Revel but I tracked down an 'ambassador' and he walked me over to VIP and checked me inThey gave me the BIG BOY suite this trip (I did not expect this nor do I expect it in the future but WOW!!!) [wpvideo e5NouEiT]Ok - now it's time to go exploring and check out the property - stopped in at the credit office to sign for front money - took over an hour - not because there was a bank issue - but, due to their being unable to get their scanner to scan my license into the system -- they tried about 30 times before calling IT.A host came in and gave me a Premier level card and informed me my actual host has not inputted my upgrade to Black level in the system yet. I wandered the floor and ran into a few pit critters I was friendly with prior to Revel's demise - including one I avoided as she has always been bad luck to me. One of the people who remembered me helped me out by printing a Black card out for me. I then sought out the Black card lounge but, apparently it is only open on weekends but, the Premier Lounge is open for food and drink -- good thing I am sticking to my Keto diet or else I would be tempted by all the yummy looking pasta therein. Right now, relaxing in the room watching the World Cup and then will freshen myself up for an evening of gambling (plus the $630 in free slot play I have WOOHOO!!!)
So I was in the room and the England v Colombia World Cup match was on tv - England was leading 1-0 and they were in injury time - I told myself I would go play once the game was over (figuring there was only about 90 seconds left) - well, Colombia got a corner kick and headed one in to tie the game -- then, it goes into double extra time and penalty kicks - England won a great game and then I finally ventured down to the Ultra Lounge.I started my blackjack session in the UltraLounge by requesting some of my front money. This took about a half hour as the credit department created a secondary player's card number for me (despite my insistence that my host had already created one) so, it took 30 minutes for anyone to figure out that I now had two accounts and that my front money was only showing on one of those accounts -- who knows where my comps and tier points are goingSo, the shoe started without much fanfare - win some lose some until, mid-shoe, when I was still about even, I was dealt AA with 300 in the betting circle versus a dealer 7First Ace: dealt a 3 for a 14Second Ace: dealt a 6 for 17Naturally, the dealer flipped over an Ace of her own for 18Two hands later, with 300 up again, I was dealt 55 versus a dealer 3 - doubled and was dealt a 3 for 13Dealer turned over an 8 then took a 10 just to rub it in for 21A few hands later, with 200 up, I was dealt AA again, this time versus a dealer KingFirst Ace: dealt a 5 for 16Second Ace: dealt a 7 for 18Dealer flips over a 9 for 19At the end of the first shoe, I was down 1600Second shoe began rather well with two naturals in a row for meI then got stung by losing on split Aces again but, that seemed to be the low point as I recuperated (slowly) over the second and third shoes, the 1600 I was down and, on the last hand of the third shoe, had 200 up and was dealt a QQ v dealer 9 - dealer turned over a 10, bing bang boom, the trip is +200 and time for dinnerAfter a packet of beef jerky for a snack, I headed back down to the casino floor and, once again, into he Ultra Lounge, sitting at the same table I was at earlier -- a man missing most of his teeth asked if I would mind if he joined the table - naturally, I gestured for him to sit down and he turned out to be a nice guy -- he couldn't win a double or split but, a nice guy nonethelessThe first hand of the shoe, with 200 on the felt, began with a bang, 88 versus dealer 10, I split:First 8: dealt a 3, doubled and dealt a 5 for 16Second 8: dealt a 10 for 18Dealer: turns over a 10However, I was dealt three naturals in the shoe and, buy the end of the shoe, I was up another 500Trip is +700I then ventured out to find a Wheel of Fortune slot machine to use my free slot play on - as I sat down, I realized I had left my player's card in the Ultra Lounge so, I trekked back there and caught the blackjack bug againI sat down for another shoe, this time head's up - the highlights being:3 dealer blackjacksSplit AA versus dealer A and was painted on both with the dealer busting anywaySplit 66 versus dealer 5:First 6: dealt a 3, doubled and dealt a 10 for 19Second 6: dealt an Ace, doubled and dealt a Queen for 17Dealer turned over a 5, then drew a 5, then drew a 9 BUST!By the end of the shoe I had gained another 900Trip is +1600
Took a short respite before heading back downstairs -- the line for the Premier lounge was a clusterF**K - it seems to be competing with the line to check in to the hotel for longest line everThey need @julianromero559 to manage that place -- there were tons of tables open but still a line of about 20 people long -- I joined the line and, after about 10 minutes the hostess came around to ask who had a Black (highest tier) and who had a Platinum (next highest tier) card -- she then took some random people from towards the back of the line and let them in because they had Black cards - meanwhile, a few others and I also had Black cards - the hostess was utterly confused and disorganized -- she then decided to take all the Platinum people and move them to a new line - her idea was to take rotate taking in one Black and one Platinum in turn -- everyone asked how that was any different than leaving everyone on the same line other than those in the back of the line now ran over and were first in the Platinum line -- it also made having a Black card (which is supposed to be a perk and allow you first access to lounges) irrelevant -- when I asked her to explain her thinking, she screamed "I AM NOT THE ENEMY!!!" -- I then emailed my host informing him of the situationI then ventured to play some more cards as it became painfully obvious that I was never going to get into the player's loungeI sat through a shoe with a friendly dealer and a pit boss who remembered me from the Revel days -- the first half of the shoe was horrific followed by a great second halfTrip is now +2k After the last session, and still having had no dinner, I relaxed in the room and eventually made my way back down to the Ultra Lounge. I played about 4 shoes hovering around even for the buy in of 2k -- then, about ¾ of the way into the 5th shoe, I was ahead 200 for the buy-in, then proceeded to lose 6 hands, push 2 hands, then lose another 6 hands in a rowI was now only +1k for the trip so I decided to switch tablesNot a good idea -- I lost the first 5 hands at the new table then treaded water for two shoes while the dealer routinely made 20 or 21 whenever I would double down -- all the winnings from today were given back Trip is now Even and I am done for the night (still have 630 free slot play).