Visitreno

[Mammothgambler]

Hi, hope everybody is doing well! It's finally getting a little chilly outside around these parts…

Not much new and exciting since the last report, except for a few more wins. Definitely anxious to start working full time, but in the meantime, Lady Luck is doing her thing again! Here's a few random hits since the last trip report:















































Halloween week was quite interesting. I unfortunately encountered a few very tight Blazing 7s machines at the Silver Legacy and played through about $600 during the week. I found out on Halloween morning that I had $50 in resort credit there for the entire month of October, and that I didn't need to be staying in the hotel to utilize it, as some other properties are doing. Better late than never, so I was able to grab a breakfast buffet, dinner buffet, and a whole cheesecake from the bake shop, all by midnight, with about 20 cents to spare. Good thing I checked my account at the kiosk - these random offers seem to be popping up outta the woodwork.

I received my tax form in the mail from my last jackpot at Harrah's a few weeks back (the $1507 one). Jackpots are fun, but this is always the downside:



Right now, I'm up to 13 handpays since March of this year, and 9 of them are going to be taxable. IRS, I'm apologizing in advance. Between these and taxes on unemployment insurance, 2013's gonna be a doozie. The up side is, I have exactly 9 tax forms which will fit neatly in 3 different 8x10 picture frames for my wall (whenever I get a permanent wall!) That makes a total of 12 since I became a gambler 12 years ago, here's hoping for many, many more…

I was hoping my luck would change upon my arrival at Harrah's last Friday. Did it ever. Great news, I finally did it…I'M FINALLY A DIAMOND PLAYER!



Now, I finally get to stand in "that other line." Now, I get to check out the Diamond Lounge. Now, I get free bottles of water upon each checkin. Now, I get to call the VIP line. Now, I get more multiplier days. Now, I don't have to hear that "we don't have your requested room type because a Diamond Player stayed over" line. And whatever else they offer. Jeez, it took 8 years to achieve this status. I'm almost as stoked as finally getting bumped up to Bronze at the Pep last year! A big thank you to Harrah's Reno…you've not only been my temporary apartment these past few months, but all these perks too! On that same visit, I mysteriously got awarded $30 in Visa Gift Cards and a Cuisinart Blender. Between that, the toaster oven, and the desk planners I've gotten this year from the Total Rewards club, my new pad sure is gonna be stylin' someday...

Harrah's sends free play coupons whenever a top jackpot is hit. I got $15 of free play each week this month from the last jackpot, so upon arrival, I decided to try my luck. What happened over the next hour was unbelievable. Off that express play coupon, I got a $300 hit on a $1 Blazing 7s the third spin in. I think this was my first, as I only seem to recall getting a few $200 mixed hits with them in the past. First time for everything, I guess.



Checked the machines at the Silver Legacy again, as many jackpot meters seemed to be running unusually high between there and the Eldorado (which is what got me in trouble earlier in the week to begin with!) I selected a random machine at the Eldo, about 10 spins in, and got another $200 hit.



Back to Harrah's, I'd been keeping my eyes glued to a super-tight machine directly next to the one I'd hit a couple of weeks back - incidentally, the same one I hit back in March. The jackpot meter was up to $1687, which is almost unheard of for the $1 Blazing 7s at Harrah's. Someone was playing it when I got back, so I decided to jump back on the machine I'd hit during the last visit.

Not sure if there's a pattern emerging with hitting the same machine twice, but it can keep right on coming. It happened with the same Blazing 7s machine twice at the Peppermill in October, and here, about $100 in, another one came…this time around, for $1524.72!





I apologize for the slightly twisted video clip. As the case was with the last jackpot, an attendant rushed over within about 30 seconds and I couldn't quite get my bearings on. That's awesome customer service, almost too quick!



(Click here to view the video clip.)

Went back up to the room for a bit to see a certain German Shepherd working on her poker face and calling housekeeping for more organic dog biscuits and another turndown service. I'm hoping Tessa won't be too mad when and if we ever find an apartment!



Another bacon mashed potato burger from the Hash House will never hurt you…unless you decide to go there for breakfast the next morning too, but I'll get to that in a bit.



After paying off a few bills, I took $200 back downstairs and decided to try my luck again. Enter the lady with the troll.

I noticed an elderly Asian woman with one of those wheely roller walker things that seem to be so popular here slowly traipsing from machine to machine. Before she would begin playing, she would stop and rub her lucky troll statue's head. Then, she would drop it on the floor.



Well, that troll didn't do her any justice, because she kept repeatedly losing her ass. However, just about each and every machine I played behind her produced a hit:

































Thanks, little troll statue! Maybe I should go down to the Dollar Tree and score one? Still deciding.

Woke up the next morning to the first real snow I've seen since we got here. Kinda different waking up to a view of downtown Reno instead of Mammoth Mountain, but no complaints here!



Don't ask why, but I was hungry for the Hash House again. Yup, not even 6 hours later, and still stuffed from that bacon mashed potato burger. Must've been the screwdrivers. I decided to go with the Coconut Mango Pancakes, a side of bacon and a honey butter biscuit. What they failed to tell me, though, was that the pancakeS were actually just one pancakE…and it was over a foot in diameter! Oops…



And speaking of food, although I forgot to snap a picture, I finally got a chance to check out the Phat Philly Special at the Casino Grill over at the Cal Neva the next evening. Kudos to them for providing 2 forks and 2 knives. And real Cheez Whiz on a Philly is kind of hard to come by these days. Next thing in the lineup to try is the grilled cheese sandwich. Another to-go customer and I were eyeing each other's sandwiches and were seriously thinking about doing a half-trade!

A few more random hits:















Later on, it was time to jump on the horn to register for the American Heroes Veteran's Day Slot Tournament at the Peppermill. Registration started right at 11 am, so I figured I'd walk down and register and it would be a piece of cake. BIG mistake. Picture the Naples Welcome Center on the second floor of the Peppermill being completely packed to the hilt, with rows and rows of people snaking around it. Almost two hours later, I was finally at the registration desk, where one of the staff members mentioned that this had been the biggest turnout in years - almost 850 registered entries. Yow!

This was my first slot tournament at the Pep, and their tournament area is set up quite well. The machines are some type of generic Red White and Blue model that I had never seen before. Game on! The free t-shirt and free donuts alone were worth it…





Not sure if it's a new feature on the Pep's website, but you can now sign into your Passport account to check tournament results. I tried checking the results at the tournament area, but it was so packed I couldn't even get a glimpse of the flat panel displays, so I checked my account online. To my surprise, I came in 305th out of about 850, with $30 of free play. Got $10 whole dollars off of it on my $2 Double Ten Times Pay.



Walked around to check the kiosk of $1 Blazing 7s, and I bumped into a familiar face. It was Nicholas, the older man from France I spoke of in one of my earlier trip reports. Yup, not even one full month later, he was back for more - or maybe he just didn't leave? He's managed to hit a few more top jackpots over the past few days. I guess that Double he hit last trip really worked in his favor.

No luck that evening, and actually down about $500.

This morning, I walked downtown to see where this week's $15 free play coupon would take me. The only machine available was the one I had my two jackpots on. Third spin in and I got another $200. I think this is the lucky machine this month.



Finally checked out the Siena and got a Diamond card in exchange for my Platinum card at the GSR. I only played through about $30 on a $1 Blazing 7s and was compensated with $30 of free play the next day. One thing that could be better there is that like the Atlantis, the free play at the Siena requires placing a bet with your own money - not totally free, but oh well...

Regarding offers and status, it seems like most of the casinos have "caught on" that I'm now a local, despite the fact I haven't updated my addresses anywhere yet - it must be those yellow tags from the PO on the coupons. I wasn't quite sure if the offers would increase or decrease, but so far, it's going quite well. The Peppermill gives locals a 20% discount on everything at any time and is also adding 10 tier credits and $10 in freeplay to my account each Tuesday, not to mention extra Big Spin Tickets and other miscellaneous stuff. The Atlantis is offering about $5 of freeplay each week. Harrah's now has a Locals Club, with discounts of about 20% property-wide. I'll take it!

Another amazing discovery yesterday was the HUGE Virginia Lake Park behind the Peppermill. Nicest, cleanest, biggest park we've ever been in, very pet-friendly, and best of all, the jogging paths are butter-smooth for skateboarding! Surprisingly, Tessa didn't start a scrap with the water fowl and remained calm as a horseback rider rode by. I don't think she'd ever seen a horse until yesterday.









That's about it for now. Good thing I had some luck these past couple of weeks, because my unemployment compensation payment is running a full 6 days late getting here now due to the holiday. Gotta stay up however I can, I guess. This whole unemployment thing is starting to get really old!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. The only good deal I've seen so far is that the Carvings Buffet at Harrah's is offering a full spread all day until 9 pm for $20.99. Not sure if it's a local or by-invitation-only type of thing, but it appears the Peppermill is giving away free Pumpkin Pies at the Naples Welcome Center on Thanksgiving Day while supplies last. The Atlantis is too, but you have to earn 20 tier credits the day before. A $100 Pumpkin Pie? No thanks. I'll take the free one!

Mammothgambler

[stan_allen]

As usual, a level of detail that can only be described as "Loving" - great job, as usual!

Too bad about the Grand Sierra - I really hate to see any local hotel-casino operation go down, but crummy operations are crummy operations, and no chandelier can correct that.

I remember taking the back way to downtown awhile back after one of those work sessions in the days when the job was located down in that business park adjacent to the mall - I went 'round back of the Peppermill, and found myself driving around that big lake/park you documented - it is indeed a beautiful, natural respite from the very indoorsy nature of our forays into the area - it's almost enough to make one say, "Gee, I should get outdoors more" before rushing back into the casinos for another extended electronic session.

Keep it up!

[BC Dave]

Thanks Mammoth. Glad to see the luck is still running. A progressive win thrown in is always nice too! Really like your new Harrah's card.

[Mammothgambler]

Thanks!

Stan - thanks for the kudos. Awesome having a little down time to be detailed with the adventures...this has been quite an experience so far! I was telling some friends of mine the other day that it reminds me of being on Dead Tour again, only this time around, we're in 4 star casinos instead of sleeping under picnic tables and trees! haha. And yes, we're blown away with that park. I think the mall you were referring to might be Parklane? It's now a big huge empty parking lot, with the exception of the new Century movie theatre. We got down here a week ago and it's been so awesome being away from downtown for a bit. Tessa is still on the lookout for that horse. I've also seen several very nice (not to mention super cheap!) apartments on some of these back streets, so if things work out down the road, this might be the part of town to find a place.

BC Dave - yeah, at this point, I'm thinking about my consolidating all my past and present handles on the board here. Just plain "Renogambler" sounds too generic/problematic, but hey, I gotta be me!

Oh, just wanted to give everybody an update on that Pumpkin Pie Giveaway at the Peppermill. It apparently is open to anyone that's got a Passport Card. You will need to slide it at the Super Kiosk any time on Thanksgiving Day, and pickup of the pies is at the Naples Welcome Center on the second floor between noon and 8 pm, while supplies last. I was at the Café Milano earlier and it looks like they're offering a full spread for $17.99 until 8 pm. It also appears it's 4x multiplier day on Thanksgiving, so if you're in the area, looks like it might be a fun day at the Pep. I'm intentionally going there to see if I can relive my Thanksgiving Day jackpot back in 2007, the $2000 hit on the $1 Double Ten Times Pay - followed by Harrah's to see if I can relive the $1002 hit on the Double Blazing 7s back in 2009. Just call me superstitious. Lightning's already struck thrice over the past month, you just never know!

Mammothgambler

[stan_allen]

Dead tours?? Wow, no kidding...that helps to illustrate your inherently freewheeling nature....You've really got to get started on those memoirs, which should include every single trip report from this board, as well as a detailed accounting of how you became a gambler!

Let's get you started with some suggestions for a title; how about:
"Chronicles of a Mammoth Gambler", or
"From Florida to Reno: the gambling life"

Eh, kind of dry. We need something more incisive...how about:
"Snowboarding and casinos - together at last!"

Feh. I know I should have a job in the advertising industry, but this isn't going to cut it. Your trip report titles are better than anything I could come up with!

[Mammothgambler]

right on! I'm actually thinking of going all out and combining my experiences here with my experiences at my former job in Mammoth (which was truly a book in itself).

The one title that's really stood out?

WHACK JOB CENTRAL!

Mammothgambler

[CaSwede]

Wow, that is a lot of 7's !! My index finger is now sore due to the scrolling down through all the nice hits. Congratulations on the diamond status. Heading to the diamond lounge for free food can be tailored made for you.

Sorry to hear about the GSR. I put a ton of coin through ($12,000+) in one day and earned 38 cents in comps. My first offer came in the mail with one free weekday night and $10 in free play. That is it?? Come on guys!!

It looks like you are surviving your professional gambler status....so far, but I am sure you would prefer a more stable existence.

Yea- a book would be great. Would I buy a book??? Probably not.

[Mammothgambler]

CaSwede, yes, it's crazy how they're doing people. I didn't put nearly that much through and as you all recall I made an extra special effort not to spend too much of my own money over there - maybe about $600 in coin thru or so. I went the whole summer just utilizing the freeplay/free room offers so I was wondering if that was why everything disappeared, but from what I've seen, everybody got burned, including my friend in Mammoth who's notorious for coming over and blowing about 5 grand per visit in that Shoot to Win Virtual Craps Machine!

I went over to visit a friend last week and happened to notice they now have a huge sign in the lobby by the elevator banks: "Attention Guests! Be sure your pooch is registered with us to avoid a $150 charge while walking through this area." Oh, great. They've probably had so many mishaps with non-registered pets, it's making it hard for those who play by the rules. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they come up with a way to double or triple the pet charge.

I just looked at my online account and all of a sudden, they gave me three free nights from now until the end of December, along with anywhere from $5-$15 freeplay PER DAY in December - huh? Something new maybe? Oh well...am I going back? NOPE...

OK, got my free pumpkin pie at the Peppermill. I was expecting it to be some ratty old free thing, but was way surprised when it came in a full-blown bakery box and weighed about 6 pounds. That, along with the insanely good taco platter I found across the street at Jimboy's Tacos, made for some really good eats last night!





Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Off to see if I can relive any jackpots from Thanksgivings past.

Mammothgambler

[LilyJDragonfly]

Oh, the problems of winning too much! Seriously, though, in January, you can also request your win/loss statements from ALL of the casinos where you have a card and you may find that you broke even....

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html

Keep on spinning and keep on winning!

[Shooty]

Incredible!

[dfens]

God, those jackpot photos are amazing! I loved the video on your jackpot win!

I tell my wife to use her player card so the casino can track her losses in case she needs something to offset a huge jackpot!

Hash House has such good food at huge portions! I can't imagine living near one (and the Nugget's awful awful and the Cal Neva 1lb food specials) and not having clog arteries in a month!

The updates are amazing! Keep up the good work!

[Mammothgambler]

Thanks everyone! Unfortunately, couldn't relive anymore jackpots from Thanksgivings past, but the next week was a completely different story - check my new trip report which I'll be posting shortly!

Lily - thanks so much for this link. To be totally honest, I've only investigated reporting losses along with wins twice. Back in 2002 when I was still living in Florida, I used to play scratch and win tickets daily like a bandit (hey, it was either that or spending 8 hours a trip losing my ass on the casino cruise ship!) I remember I had about $680 in losses and zero wins, so that didn't work. Then, right after I moved to Mammoth in 2008, I remember going into the H&R Block office right down from the Pep to investigate the process, and although the place was swamped and I only had one hand pay in 2007, I got a half-assed "Oh yeah, well, it's a complicated process, and usually there's gotta be a ton of losses along with it." Basically, it sounded like a cop-out because he was so busy. Oh well, 2013's gonna be such a doozie I'm game for investigating anything.

And yes, I've been utilizing the win-loss statements from the casinos for several years now - not so much for tax purposes, but just to get a feel for exactly how bad or good I did. The results can be shocking, as I'm sure we know! I'm really liking the fact that more of the casinos are now making them downloadable as PDF files vs. having to fill out the form and mail and fax it in, and believe it or not, the ONE AND ONLY thing I'll give the GSR kudos for is the way they handle their system: it's 100% real time! Yes, you can sign into your account and it will give you an up-to-the-minute win-loss for the current year, vs. usually having to wait until tax time the next year to send for the forms or download them.

Dfens - yes, I agree, ALWAYS use that card! I can't stress it enough. It's interesting how technology has broadened over the past several years, and gone are the days of worrying about your tracked play not being accurate because it was being tracked by a human vs. a computer. I know the table games are still lagging behind a bit at certain casinos, where you're still rated by the pit bosses at some places, but I was amazed at the Pep's new tables with the little card slide kiosk thing.

And oh yes, it's been almost dangerous being four floors up from the Hash House for 18 days a month! One thing I'm quite bummed about is that last week, I went down there to apply for a server job, only to be told that they're no longer 24 hour and are closing at midnight moving forward. Oh yeah, and they completely did away with the bar - they've closed the seating are and moved all the liquor into the back room. I guess the economy's taking its toll everywhere, but this is the first time in years Harrah's Reno hasn't had a 24/7 restaurant, so I'm sure lots of people are gonna be bummed.

Mammothgambler