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MAN'S GOTTA DO WHAT HE'S GOTTA DO

 
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: Jan Thu 01, 2009 11:59 am    Post subject: MAN'S GOTTA DO WHAT HE'S GOTTA DO Reply with quote

After reading Sharon's report, I hesitated to write anything. Good job Gary and Sharon. Wish we could have a successful trip like that. Seems that, even on the extremely rare occasion that we get a Royal, it does not come near to covering the losses.

I really can't believe how "tight" all the machines are. We love both VP and pennies but neither gives much back. Just can't play long on the money.

We left OR for a four night stay to take advantage of functions at THREE casinos. All comped!. Slot tourneys at Siena and Eldo (really big money here) and drawings at the Pep. Did lousy in all three. Very frustrating.
The running back and forth to balance all this out was incredible as functions were occurring almost hourly. Some conflicts, but since we were losers, it didn't matter.

Rooms were great at all places. Good champagne brunch on Sun at Eldo was included as well.

The good and the bad.
High point, as always, was quality time spent with our moderator. Even the "bird time" was good. And one of my favorite waitresses from the Fitz served us at the Far Side Lunge.
Low Point: We were "stuck in Reno" for 19 nights. (see above. We left for a FOUR night stay)
The weather in the mountains was record-breaking. Never have I seen a time when there was not a weather break every few days where one could easily drive the roads back to OR. Roads were either closed or "Chain-lawed". I DON'T PUT ON CHAINS!!!!!!!

We tried the new steakhouse. Had a small meal to use the new Passport at the Pep. (good deal on the passport) The small meal at $17-20 was, well, SMALL...... I had a crab cake about the size of a golf ball. Nothing else on the plate or with it except a lemon piece to squeeze over the crab cake. They did serve bread so we had refills on that. Whatever my wife ordered turned out to be, what I would call, SUSHI.. Not marketed as such for certain or else she would not have ordered it.
Service was nice and the new fish tank is lovely.

Ate at Biscotti's and didn't really like it much. They have a strange menu for our tastes. Now eaten there about five times.
Had a beer in the Terrace Bar. Next time I'll take my own glass. It contained about 6 ozs of beer in a Bud Vase.

Pep did bump up my free play from $50 to $150 on the offer, as compared to the original offer. But the machines just "sucked up" the money like a sieve.
Most people here still seem to have their jobs and are getting their hours, unlike southern NV, like LV and Laughlin. but the town is not very busy.
As I said in another post, without the Asians they could have better shut down the entire town over the holidays.

I played a newer penny machine at the Pep (nowhere else) that I liked a lot. It was Night Sky.
My wife got one Royal for $62.50 as she only plays one quarter when she does not have access to a nickle poker machine.

We went to parking garage to drive to Siena for a big Christmas dinner. Inside the garage, we had ice all over the car, front and sides. Looked at the ice-filled streets and cancelled plans. Retired to Tivoli Gardens and ate Mexican food for C. dinner. It was nasty for a few days for travel.

Tired of writing. Lost start of this when we blew a fuse. Also lost my bowl games and my space heater. Downers all!!!

Happy New Year to All!!! We finally got burned out in Reno -- too much losing, lousy weather, and played a lot of cards in the room with the "cards we won" at the Eldo drawing.
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remano



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 717

PostPosted: Jan Thu 01, 2009 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the TR. I enjoyed it. As for a couple comments:

"I really can't believe how "tight" all the machines are. We love both VP and pennies but neither gives much back. "

There is no way to tell how "tight" slot machines are set. Two machines that look totally equal in every way, from number of reels to game theme to graphics, can still be set totally differently. The same can't be said for (legal) VP machines. The machine MUST pay back according to the posted schedule. A 9/6/4000 JoB machine, for example, must pay back 99.5% in the long run. If you have a bad session, it's not because the machine is "tight." It's because random results in the short run don't necessarily match up with long term expectations.

With respect to Reno, I see a much greater availability of full pay VP than any other gambling venue I'm familiar with (even full pay nickels some places). That doen't guarantee you will win, only that your money will <probably> go farther.

***
"Roads were either closed or "Chain-lawed". I DON'T PUT ON CHAINS!!!!!!! "

This is a pet peeve of mine. Where and when I grew up (N. WI and NE MN in '50's - '60's) chains and tire studs were common, but they were eventually outlawed because of the excessive wear on the roads. The result was that drivers learned how to handle winter conditions and the states saved millions on road repairs. True, there weren't mountains but there were still steep downgrades and very slippery to impassable flat stretches. But drivers learned how to handle these situations without chains or studs.

Not the same in CA. They impose chain requirements at the first sign of a heavy frost. I've gone over the pass when chain requirements were in effect and it's been a total waste of effort in my experience. I've never encountered anything where having chains made any difference. Instead, being a bit cautious, going slowly but maintaining momentum, allowing enough distance between yourself and the next car and USING A LITTLE COMMON SENSE, helped a lot more than chains. But I guess that doesn't count for our legislators. They would rather pass laws, pay for highway patrols to put in overtime to tell us how we should drive, and pay for unnecessary road repairs than to let us decide for ourselves how we want to drive.

DISCLAIMER: I am generally a political liberal and am not philosophically opposed to regulation when there is a need for it. In this case, however, based on my own experience and observations I see a huge and unjustified over reaction to natural weather conditions vis-a-vis the individual's decision on how to respond.
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CaSwede



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 866

PostPosted: Jan Thu 01, 2009 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow- you went for a 4 night stay in Reno and ended up spending 19? And you had bad luck gambling too? No wonder you are burned out. At least you found some cheap lodging for the additional nights. Very Happy That is just too long.

Remano- Don't you feel better about the chain deal now that you got that off your chest? Laughing Your right of course, but nothing will change.
One small correction: "The machine MUST pay back according to the posted schedule. A 9/6/4000 JoB machine, for example, must pay back 99.5% in the long run. " That game will pay back 99.5% only if every hand was played perfectly. This never happens in the long run, as few players play perfectly every hand. Add in some stupid errors, and this 9/6 game will return less than that 99.5% to the players.
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remano



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 717

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CaSwede,

Your correction is, of course, correct. Although I am sitting down, I stand corrected.

And yes, thank you. I do feel better after that rant.

Hope everybody had a happy and safe New Year. RGJ saays only a few people were out in the streets downtown at midnight because of the lack of fireworks.
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JD



Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 956

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 3:12 pm    Post subject: My E trip report Reply with quote

I stayed at home, bought a bottle of brandy and practiced my basic strategy while snowed in for two days.

I lost a theoretical $ 1,200 but got lots of practice. Screw them, I'm goin to stiff them on my markers!

My free room across the hallway from my man cave was lacking in housekeeping but no one answered the at the front desk.

And I got the same amount of comps had I driven 10 hours each way and dropped a REAL $ 1,200!!
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BC Dave
Site Admin


Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 7:39 pm    Post subject: Perfect play Reply with quote

Actually the "Hawk" does play perfectly. However, after six of seven "Flat-Tires", he's been known to hit the save and deal buttons on one machine while looking at another guy's monitor....................Yeah OK, I guess that's not "technically" perfect play.

Sorry Hawk....and it was my New years Resolution to try to be nice once in a while.

This'll make you feel better. I do carry chains. About nine years ago Janice and I were driving to Reno and hit snow in southern Oregon. We were advised that chains were mandatory so I dutifully drove off to the side of the I-5 to put them on. It was 4:00 in the morning and I had never put the chains on Janice's car before. Not fun...good mood spoiler. Turns out we only had to have them on for about 20 minutes. While removing them a huge semi truck drove thru a pile of nearby pile of dirty slush and drenched me.

Serves me right for being mean to moderators. A case of justice in advance.

Chains suck, but so does stuck.

Were you a truck driver back then?
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john
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 1181

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 8:19 pm    Post subject: Hawk Rocks! Reply with quote

I for one, enjoyed having the Hawkster stuck in Reno for almost 3 weeks. He's a good man to hang out with. He even came to the house a couple of times to check the weather for his trip back home and to feed Charlie and Higgins. They ate his buttons, rings and fingers.

Wish you had done better at the gaming, Hawk. Looking forward to your next Reno run.
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 8:41 pm    Post subject: The Hawk hawks back Reply with quote

After that many Fat Tars, I c an't even SEE the buttons. Just play by "rote". Maybe that accounts for some of the loss. I get distracted, too, always wondering why John is taking so long to retire.

I'd rather be "stuck" than chained. Hmmmm!!!

Had I been a truck driver then, I likely would have driven even closer to the idiot out on the road side relieving himself --- er, I mean relieving his CHAINS.

And, John, why don't the birdies give the HAWK a little birdie love???
Unless one is into S & M, that does not seem like love.
Come to think of it now, I guess I did like it a LITTLE...
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BC Dave
Site Admin


Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 1592

PostPosted: Jan Fri 02, 2009 10:32 pm    Post subject: Is that what happened? Reply with quote

I remember when the Hawk had a proud falconiforme as his Avatar. Charlie and Higgins wouldn't mess with him, I betcha. Now he's got this golden grasshopper with a strange pool cue.

Hawk , if you're lookin' anything like your avie these days, I'd steer clear of all birds. I'm thinkin that if John turns his back for a second or two, Higgy really would love you.
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: Jan Sat 03, 2009 10:35 am    Post subject: SO THAT EXPLAINS THAT Reply with quote

explains the nibbling on the extremities anyway.

(some of us are avatar-challenged!!)
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RenoLady



Joined: 23 Feb 2006
Posts: 316

PostPosted: Jan Wed 07, 2009 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Damn-n-n-n! 4 days into 19? Wasn't there an "underwear" crisis? R always packs more than I, so we've had times where I borrowed some of his on prolonged unexpected stays. It's where I discovered that men have it better in the nice fitting, Hanes cotton underwear department. Since then, Hanes has made that version for women (and not just a certain type of women either, the underwear are known as the "athletic" style.)
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hawk



Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 508

PostPosted: Jan Wed 07, 2009 5:06 pm    Post subject: THIS NEEDS CLARIFICATION Reply with quote

RL, appreciated your thoughts and concerns.
But, I gotta say this about that:
When my wife says she wants to get into my underwear. No, forget it. I can't go there.

But to clarify, we were doing daily laundry in the room. We generally take extra but not that much extra. I offered to go the laundromat route, but she preferred to tough it out in the room.

Coming in slightly (or more than slightly) drunk nightly (or did I say nightly?) and showering with our smoky clothes underfoot became a Slightly Nightly Ritual.

Speaking of which: Neither of us thought the air quality OVERALL (exceptions occurred of course) was as bad as it used to be.
We even had a meal at Gold Dust West. Though we refrained from staying to play, we were better able to breathe when walking through the place.
No conclusions on the above.
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