Vegas bound. Any ideas?

Thanks. It's been a fun two weeks and I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

 

I am in my room at The Monte Carlo right now while my 3 buddies are still out. The casinos have kicked the shit out of me after a good start on Thursday / Friday morning I am down about 500. I have had an absolute blast though.

Hi- lites include: talking shit with firendly dealers. I gamble for the social aspect with friends and I have not laughed this hard in years. We started at 1100 this morning and my jaw hurts from howling almost as much as my feet from walking.

We say Jerry Seinfeld on Friday night with the guy from The Marriage Ref opening. Really funny show and glad we went. I chatted up an usher in to letting us sit in a VIP box so that was cool as well.

My chief complaint is the fucking touts on the street. GET OFF THE CURB when I am crossing the street. I accidentally ran one over and kept going.

The sensory overload is a bit much and on the offchance Koh from the Monte Carlo is an aspiring journalist and reads this...go fuck your hat uou unsmiling douche.

 

Chet, I walked through the MC yesterday afternoon, on my way to the Aria / Bellagio shuttle....

Obviously, also in Vegas at the moment. Three days down, 3 to go. Have spent the first three nights at the South Point (LOVE this place), moving in a couple hours into a "double check in" at Mandalay Bay & Main Street Station. Paying for Mandalay, since my wife & sister-in-law (along for the trip) love the pool. However, MSS sent me a 3 night comp, so we're also checking in there, so we have a downtown "base of operation".

Gambling has been pretty good, so far. Have put quite a few hours in at the South Point's BJ tables ($5-$10), up about a hundred. Haven't had a big win session, just ground it out, 25 bucks up at at time. Have won four out of 5 on baseball bets. Did get knocked out of a couple small poker tourneys...so it's all basically a wash, so far. No complaints. I have a nice bet on Montoya in the Brickyard today, got him at 10-1.....now he's dropped to 4-1.

Nothing spectacular with food, although we did hit the M Resort buffet, which was outstanding. Need to have a car to get there, though. Once we move to the strip, we'll improve on this part of the trip. Hitting In & Out during the "transfer" to Mandalay. We'll probably grab dinner at the new Todd English P.U.B. (Aria) tonight.

Saw John Caparulo's stand up set at the South Point last night. I like the guy a lot, was pretty disappointed, though. Didn't seem "on his game."

No real negatives. LOTS of kiddies & families at South Point, seems to be a host hotel for some youth hoopsapalooza. You'll get that at "locals" hotels...but the positives way outweigh that.

Anyone have anything they want me to check out, over the next few days??

 

You have sent an incomplete trip report

 

Oh, sorry.

Didn't find a sports game I wanted to bet on.

 

Crap....I came d*mned close to winning that Montoya bet. Kind of like the rest of the day, gambling has gone to sh*t. The answer?? Keep playing!! Off to Main Street Station....

 

One of my co-workers is going to the Monte Carlo on Monday. Tell him HI for me.

 

Yeah, there are two large tournaments going on right now. The elite teams seem to be all staying in the tourist hotels, but a ton of teams with mesh jerseys and a rental cargo van from Cali.

 

Just throwing something out here, wondering what people think:

I am a pretty good blackjack player. I know how to play, when to hit or stand, when to double and split. I can play third base but prefer not to because I don't want to make a mistake that screws the table. I prefer the seat next to third base so I can see the hits coming around before my turn. I'm not a card counter or anything, just play to have fun and relax.

I have been a consistent winner, a few hundred bucks on my visits, nothing extraordinary. Even when I'm losing, I usually have a brief hot streak where I might recover a hundred or so, making my losses not as severe. I use a 1-2-3-5 betting system that allows for smaller bets if losing and larger bets if winning.
But I have been to Vegas about 7-8 times in the past three years ... or when the economy started to tank. And I have had my ass kicked EVERY visit during that time. I mean, consistent losing from the minute I sit down. The "hot" streaks recover only $30 or $40.
I'm wondering if there is any correlation to my skid and the economy dump, i.e., can the casinos tighten the screws on blackjack payoffs like I'm sure they can do with slot machines?
I mean, if I get stuck with a 16 or if I bust, I expect to lose. But it seems to me there have been an inordinate amount of dealers hitting to 21, negating my 19s and 20s. I was playing recently at a single-deck table and the dealer got three blackjacks in a row.
Am I just being paranoid or has anybody else noticed having a tougher time winning since the economy went sour???

 

Translation of Socal

"I play a game in which mathematically I'm supposed to lose, and after winning for a while I'm now losing. Can you explain that?"

Seriously, you will always lose at BJ in the long run unless you can count and do it perfectly.

 

BB is right. You cannot beat blackjack in the long run unless the casino has a flawed game or you are counting cards.

If you were winning before, it was partially luck.