Day 2
I wake up at 6am and head downstairs to grab coffee and play. We're planning on meeting up at the buffet at 8am.
I pull up to my usual machine and there's some donk playing on the next one over. I call him a donk for... well, you'll see. I stuff 1k in and lose most of it pretty quickly. Meanwhile, the donk insists on starting a conversation- the usual pleasantries, where are you from, etc etc. I'm polite but really don't feel like talking, esp while losing. Meanwhile I'm watching him play and he's making really bad holds, like 3 to a royal when he's also been dealt a pair of aces on TDB, stuff like that.
At some point the guy decides he's done so he calls over the slot attendants to lock the machine up. I've never seen someone lock "my" machines down before. He tells them to lock it for TWELVE HOURS. Twelve hours that it's going to be out of circulation, and then if it opens it's bc he's going to be playing on it. I go from being a little to pretty frickin' upset. It's going to be a busy weekend and he just reduced my options by basically 50%.
While the slot attendants go to get the paperwork for him, he proceeds to hit 4 2's w/kicker on triple play from a pair. Meanwhile I'm getting killed and have lost almost 1.5k. So they come back to lock the machine for the donk and instead first have to pay him. He says he's going to sleep for "a bit", but then he's going to come back. I can feel the tilt rising so I ask the attendants to lock mine up for me. I expect to be playing after breakfast, and I'm not sure if they'll do it for me, but it can't hurt to try...
The slot attendants check with management for me, and they semi-reluctantly agree. I think it's most bc of my dad and my association with him- as a "Chairman's Club" member he has the ability to lock machines down, but theoretically I don't. In any case, they agree to lock it for me for 4 hrs which is more than enough time.
I head up to the room with coffee for my wife, stuck 6.5k for the trip. We head to the buffet and I try to keep a positive attitude.
The entrance to the buffet.
The buffet is solid as usual. No pics of the food, but it was a 7/10 overall. The kids eat way too much sugar which is unusual for us in general but we tend to be lax on vacation. After, the plan is the kids are going to go swim with my wife and nanny, while my dad and I are going to go play, of course.
I head on to hi limit with my dad and we partner up for 1k each again on the ultimate X machine. The run-bad continues and we don't hit anything. I still have not made quads once, nor even been dealt 3 aces. I've been dealt trip 3s twice but obv nothing has come in. I go back to my locked machine and try again. Obnoxiously, I make my first quads of trip soon after in the following fashion-
Hold a jack, plus an offsuit high card. Catch three more jacks. Can this happen with an ace? Of course not.
That hit lasts all of 5 min. I survive until about 11:30am when I decide to head to the room to nap. I'm down 9k, have 1k left and we have lunch at the Country Club at 1pm. We're supposed to see Love at the Mirage at 7pm, and still have the rest of Fri, Sat and most of Sun. I'm thoroughly tilted, tired, and at this point assume I'm going to be felted.
I head to the room. At least the elevator lobby is beautiful.
I try to sleep, but I can't get over how terrible the machines have been and can't fall asleep. Soon enough, the kids come back from the pool and it's time to get ready for lunch. We head over to the Country Club.
The lunch food options are thoroughly unremarkable. Basically salads, and some sandwiches. I've been here before, I thought for lunch as well as dinner and I can't remember their menu being so limited. I think half the table gets the steak salad and I can't be bothered to take pics of the food- overall it was a 5/10, but the food literally took an hour to get to us so the experience gets a 2/10 overall. I think they forgot our order. My kids were incredibly patient- much more so than me. I think I was openly swearing towards the end. The service this trip has been pretty poor.
View of the golf course from the country club.
I definitely have no intention of coming back here for lunch. Post lunch plans- kids are going to nap, then potentially the pool afterwards before we have to head to the Mirage. My wife wants to get a bit of work done, then she's going to play. I plan on firing my last 1k bullet with my dad. It's now or never!
We lose the last bullet in 30 min. I can't believe I'm felted to the tune of 10k less than 24 hrs into the trip.
My mom hears of all of this and gives me 5k. I don't know what to say, but of course I accept, feeling grateful, humbled, and embarrassed all at the same time. I set 1k aside for craps with my wife and keep going. At some point, I switch to double super times pay, double double bonus (they don't have TDB). I played a bit of DSP at my local casino and had a decent result, and I'm sick of giving money to TDB. Plus it's full pay DDB and my hope is I'll last a bit longer this way.
I think I lost another 1k when I FINALLY make a score.
A great result obv, but given how things have been going I NEED that kicker. A 16k hit would have gotten me positive; instead, I'm ONLY stuck 5k or so now.
It's amazing how a hit can rejuvenate you. I was basically falling asleep before this, and now I feel wide-awake again. I think I put back 2k into the machine before I come to my senses and take a break. I'm down 7k total, have 8k on me but owe 5k to my mom which I'd really like to pay back. Luckily my wife is done working and wants to play. We head to Walking Dead.
I peel off 500$ and give it to her. Both machines are occupied, so we play Sons of Anarchy instead. She stuffs 200$ in and we don't get ****. Finally, a spot opens up and we move over. Next to us, the other person is min betting (75c a spin) and thus has no shot at the grand jackpot (1.2 million), but if that's what you can afford... and of course, we probably have basically zero shot at the grand either anyways.
My wife feeds in another 200$. The person next to us is getting bonus after bonus, winning anywhere from 50-80$ at a time which is decent for the min bet, while we can't get anything. Then, my wife gets one of the features to trigger, where some symbols are pre filled in.
For those unfamiliar with the game or the show, "Rick" is the main character and is worth the most money in the game. We get dealt dual symbols- Rick and his foil Shane (so each can go either way). Reel one. Reel two. Reel three. Reel four. Good start. Here comes the rest of the symbols...
All I know is I saw some Ricks land on the first reel. Then the second. Then the third and fourth. OK, we need Ricks on the 5th and 6th symbols to really make this big. Reel five BINGO! Reel six...
Result-
DAMN. First time ever hitting a hand pay on penny slots. For the unit, it's just such a monster hit and so fun to look at. It doesn't get me unstuck, but it was great to experience and I'm glad my wife was involved. Can confirm, Walking Dead handpay music is really irritating.
Because we're in a section of the floor that doesn't usually get handpays, it takes forever for them to unlock/pay us. When they finally make it over the slot attendants are joking with me, saying "so you come all the way over here to get paid, huh?" to which I reply I have just been completely raped by VP so far this trip- of COURSE I'm going to hit on penny slots!
My wife and I split the jackpot and she pays me back my 500$. We play a bit more and don't get anything, and I decide to give VP one more shot before the show.
We take the limo to the Mirage. In retrospect we could have walked, but the host set it up for us. The ride literally took 30 sec and I felt kind of like a jackass.
Coming in the North Valet entrance.
To this day, I still love walking into this casino. The Mirage was still the "center of the poker universe" when I was really learning how to play, and I have so many memories of playing 20/40, 40/80, huge stacks of chips, some monster winners (and of course some losers too...). It still makes me sad to see the current state of poker affairs here.
Always loved this touch too.
We've got about an hr before the show, and I know we won't get out until about 9pm. We'd better grab some food beforehand. We head to the burger place near California Pizza Kitchen. The burgers were decent, I'd say 6/10. I know this place is known for its shakes, but my wife and I definitely don't want the kids to have any more sugar. No pics, sorry. For the show, our host has set us up with what should be some quality seats based on the price-
As I mentioned, this will be the first show ever for my kids and I'm excited to see their reaction. Our nanny has also never seen this one and he's looking forward to it. I've been three times, my wife twice and it's one of our favorites.
Yep, best seats I've ever had.
The show was a ton of fun. They've changed it up a bit since the last time I saw it and it's better than before. It was also great to see my kids' reactions- my youngest was bobbing his head and pretending to play the drums for most of the songs, while both were amazed by the acrobatics etc. Definitely glad we went.
It's after 9pm by the time we get back to the Wynn. My wife decides to stay in the room, and I don't plan on playing too much, given how exhausted and stuck I am.
I try again at my usual machine. Meanwhile, the other machine is still locked up by that donk. I've taken my foot off the gas in terms of taking pics of good draws, most bc I haven't had many but also because I'm demoralized at this point. I decide I'm going to get back at taking pics for this TR, and pretty soon am dealt-
And proceed to blank every spot.
Still have not made one premium hand on this machine. Still no handpay here. Still not even three aces dealt.
I keep going, and FINALLY get dealt three aces. My phone is now out of batteries, so I can't take a pic. Result-
Of course. I lose 2k and decide enough is enough. I'm stuck 10k again. I'm up in the room by 10:30pm. My kids aren't even asleep yet. I crash into bed and have dreams/nightmares of big draws and misses- the sleep is not restful, obv.
Day 2 result- -5k. Overall- -10k.
To be continued...