Trip 17: A Taste of More Extreme Experiences

For the cliff notes version, read bolded text for locations, major activities.

Day 1: Tues. 9/5/17 And Now For Something Completely Different...

Once again, it's my girlfriend's M's birthday, and once again, we are off to Vegas!!! This has been a tradition since our first Vegas trip together. We have went over her birthday nearly every year since! It's doesn't hurt that post Labor Day seems to be CHEAP in Vegas. And to expand on the cheapness, while in the car way back from Tunica for our anniversary, we booked $20 Frontier flights for this trip!

Unfortunately, that reduced the scope of our usual trip down to about 80 hours (similar to our Feb. '16 trip), and a dreaded “red eye” home, but we thought it was worth the gamble. Also at the last minute found a $68 rental from Payless, so took that gamble too. I also gambled by leaving two $50 bills in my wallet! Will it pay off? Read on to find out!

The flight to McCarran was pretty uneventful. We did well in the “Frontier Lottery” as they gave us the two-seat row in front of emergency so we had no seat mate! Touch down. Aaaaah, I'm back!!!

We'll be seeing you later!


We got a decent amount of upgrade push back from the Payless employee, but at least no hidden upcharges. And away we go for one night at the “Dirty Bird”!



Thanks to a “clerical error” at a Chicagoland casino, I was able to tier match to Diamond this summer. So I was excited to skip the disastrous standard Flamingo check-in line. I was sorta sad it was the shortest I've ever seen! Nevertheless, check in. Get a FAB room with a decent view...but one problem. Bathroom smells like smoke. Ugh. I was on the fence about immediately switching, but to help keep M happy, decided to. So go back down. They apologize, and end up bumping us up to a Go room for the inconvenience. FAB rooms are okay, but Go's are defintely better!








Now run off to Ellis Island for a BBQ dinner. To save money once again, play for my dinner drink at the bar. A “Summer Shandy” (?? ABV; 3 sips).



An ominous start to my trip...quad 4s on “Airport Deuces” (98.91%).



I send a quick message to @jenblase and @Wanker751 bitching about it with the quote, “How I end my quad drought. Fuck me.” Jen said I was “just warming up”. I didn't really believe her at the time...

Go to the restaurant. They hint it will be a 15 min. wait, so they take M's cell number. Go back to bar. It was really a 5 min. wait, so run to restaurant. I hit the cashout button but left the ticket in. Dumbass! But a nice neighbor informs me of it. Graciously say thank you and go off to dinner.

Dinner was solid as always. M had one of their classic root beers. It's seriously better than their beer!!! (N/A; 4 sips) And their BBQ...Nom nom nom. Great as always!



After dinner, I decided to grab one of those root beers myself! And we donk around on the “full pay” nickel units. Nothing doing, but still a good time.

A quick 52.5X bonus on “Dam Lumberjack Beavers” though.


Now go back to the Strip and plan on meeting @MsBHavin. So we drive back to Flamingo valet, and park the car for the night. Pop into the Flamingo gift shop along the way and find this.



Now hit up my 2nd home, TAG Lounge, “en route” to Venetian. Now tonight was going to be a significant moment in my “beer tracking career”. I planned to have my 777th “unique” check-in on Untappd (SN: Vman96). So I have had over 777 different beers in about 2.25 years...please judge me silently...lol And due to a rave review from @Jpw711, I knew which beer too. “Citrus Mistress”. So after a friendly hello, I ask Kaliq the bartender if they have that beer, he says, “No man, we switched that out a few days ago.” Shit. So after some hemming and hawing, I settle on a Joseph James Busker Brown. Great for the style, but I'm not huge on brown ales. (5%; 4 sips)



Unlucky for me too, ate a $20 quick. It wasn't unlucky for everyone though. M hit this betting 1 quarter.



She gave me a good amount of shit too because I suggested that game for her, 7/5 Triple Bonus Plus (96.42% - 1 coin). On HER game, 8/5 DDB (95.55% - 1 coin), it would have been $100 instead of $60! While in my head, I'm thinking, If I hit it, it would have been $300!!! But nevertheless, if she is winning, it makes my trip better too. See my favorite bartender, Stan, on the way out. But hint we will be back later.

Now move over to Venetian. I'm playing beer catchup, so get to the Sportsbook bar, and ask for my strip go-to, Scuplin (7%; 4.25 sips). Try some 6/5 Super Double Bonus (96.87%) and again fall flat on my face for a $20. Hoping this isn't a trend. M finds a slot she wants to play, and gets a strawberry daiquiri while I steal most of her initial Sculpin. I pass on ordering another, figure I would get more later at TAG. Watching her while hoping my luck will turn.

Some divine intervention?


Get back to TAG. I want to speed up. Joseph James Hop Box (9%; 4.25 sips).



Great as always but another $20 sucker. But not before this tease! 8 Royals overall, but nothing above dimes or Spades! Another “pity straight”...sigh.



At this point, M bids adieu as travel has got to her. But I never like to quit when running bad so I press on. Another TAG favorite, Pizza Port Kook Double IPA (8.5%; 4.5 sips).



About 20 minutes later, I just moved machines I get four to a Royal again. I give it an agonizing pause, and wonder if I should call Stan over. But Stan was busy and not around. Eventually I just point it out to my neighbor, so he could watch the inevitable failure as happened to me on bartops dozens of times before...



Wait...WHAT?!?!?! HOLY SHIT!!! FINALLY!!! We give each other a high five and he gives me a heartfelt congratulations. I can't believe it! Such a great moment! First quarter Royal!!! First bartop Royal!!! Eventually Stan returns, congratulates me, and I give $20 for the bartenders. Something that I long planned to do before hitting that Royal. Hitting it at TAG with Stan working. It just seems right. WOW! Moments like that is why people crave Vegas!!!



Some “celebration beers” are definitely in order!!! First, a Petrus aged pale. A sour pale ale, but I still liked it a lot. (7.3%; 4.25 sips)



Next, I confer with the overnight bartender if he can comp me a Chimay. He's like, “oh, your diamond? Yeah, I can do that.” $12.50 retail for “free”. I flat out admit I've never tried one, and he steers me toward “Bleue”. What I planned to pick anyway. Well, I'm glad a got it for “free”... Seemed “chewy” and “raisin-like”. Not my thing. (9%; 3.5 sips)



At this point it's just me and him. I love TAG, but 24 hours is questionable to be brutally honest. And then “beverage manager” comes in. She notices I'm diamond and starts kissing my ass a bit. If she only knew my ADT...lol

Before going toward Flamingo though, I was able to sneak in a quad switching it up with 6/5 Bonus w/STP (97.14%).



Now I stumble back to Flamingo to “wrap up the night”. Walk into Margaritaville and see this...



Well I can't let a “good thing go to waste”. So I turned that into this.



Then I hit up the Margaritaville bar because I know they can comp frozen margaritas. So I'm willing to deal with 30/6/5 Bonus (96.18%) for one of those. And a water of course, as I'm “wrapping up”.



That was an expensive margarita with nothing doing, so now I really start planning to “wrap it up”. But before I do, I think to myself. Well let me check the high limit room, just in case if I found something like I did earlier. Well, sure enough I did. But what happened next, I did not expect...



A quad from a pair on the key line!!! First dollar quad!!! Nearly a $750 total win!!! BEST GAMBLING NIGHT EVER!!!!!! To be honest, I was a bit more shocked from this than the Royal!!!

Of course this means another “celebratory drink”. Lol So I have a Sculpin with water. Near me there are two women from New Zealand having a debate about politics, including US politics. I know we can't discuss that in detail here, but I couldn't help tossing in my opinion (I was getting a VP beating at the bar anyway), and my opinion was mostly in line with theirs. We had a nice chat session for well over an hour. And eventually, they ask if I wanted to get breakfast with them. If I was single...HELL YES. But I had to decline as I “should have” been in bed with the woman I came with hours ago. I'm a bad boyfriend, but not evil.

Why yes, yes I did...


I left this out on the bathroom counter over two hours after the dollar quad (6:40am!!!) in hopes of a more effective forgiveness less than four hours later...

 

Day 2: Wed. 9/6/17 An Orgy of Bacchus and a Celebrity Chef's Disappointment

About ten o'clock, M internally decides, “Fuck you, asshole, you're getting up!” I didn't feel too terrible yet, as I was still drunk. M wanted to check out Flamingo's pool for a bit before going. Since it was a bit late, I was going to verify a late checkout. We only wanted Noon, but they were willing to offer 2pm since I was Diamond now. Lol Run off to the pool (don't forget your ID!), but was generally disappointed. The pool slides in the family pool were closed, and the Go pool's hottubs were also closed.

Took a few pics of the pool and habitat and GTFO.









Time to move to the Mirage for our last two nights.



Check-in



View of Room #1





We start hearing noise from our room. Ugh. Apparently there was construction down the hall. One of the things we really want is a quiet room. But we seem to not get that request at first a lot.

So even though our initial check-in agent (who wanted us to upgrade for a fee), didn't say there was a king available higher than the 4th floor. There definitely was when we switched rooms...





Now the plan was to head to Caesars Palace and try Bacchanal for the first time.









The price tag is a bit steep at $40 for a weekday brunch, but thought we should try it while I was diamond because even 1:45pm we cut a line that easily looked like 30 minutes! And diamond gets free champagne!


I suck at food porn.



M has to have meat cooked dead otherwise her body regrets it. This becomes notable later.


Everyone loves dessert! Nutella crèpe and crème bruleé.




Overall the food was great! And the selection was very vast. Food stations snaked all across the buffet. Will we drop $40 each on it again? Probably not, but like most buffets, it's worth half price.

Since the buffet was right by the pool, we decided to make a quick visit to the pool area.


Now, at this point, I decide to do what I hope everyone in Vegas is able to do on their trips. Go to the bank for a deposit! It's not like I didn't trust myself with gambling. More like I don't trust other fuckers, and don't feel comfortable having almost $2000 in my wallet. So I shoved $1520 into the ATM and will guarantee going home a significant winner!

The bank we chose was near the Orleans, so we stopped by there because we had ACG coupons to use there plus they give you something for your birthday.



For the 3rd or 4th time in a row, she got $1 worth of slot points...lol


Took over 5 minutes at the bar, but got a Four Peaks Hop Knot (6.8%; 3.5 sips) which I forgot to take a pic of...doh. Eventually redeem our slot and match plays. I won on a double down, while M lost. As for the freeplay. M and I play “Outback Jack” together. Well, I get some bonus where he tosses a boomerrang. M says I'll probably get a few bucks off my 30c bet...well...



“Dream Result?” More like Dream Trip so far!!! A 335X bonus??? 2nd biggest slot hit relative to bet in my life!!!

Then I wanted to screw around with VP for a bit.

First messed with 5 line penny Hot Roll with 6/5 Super Aces (97.78%), and then I decided to try a newer game, “Magic Deal Poker”. It's similar to “Dream Card” except that the magic card(s) will turn into whatever you need to make the highest valued hand after the draw. And you can get up to 3 of these cards (making a guaranteed quad). More often though, you'll get none or one. But I got one fairly quick, and worked out well!





Now we want to run over to MGM for a little pool time.

Sorry Lady Liberty and Trashy Castle, maybe next time!












Overall the pool was a bust again though because apparently the lazy river closed at 5 while the rest of the pool area stayed open til 7! And in the hot tub area, there was this loud, drunk British guy and I internally pondered how much it cost at the pool to get him sounding that loud and drunk...

Afterward, M wanted to play some Sigma Derby. We did pretty well on long shots and won about $13 at ~$1 total bet a race!



I took a quick check of the new Superstar Poker bartops at Whiskey Down and got an Union Jack IPA (7%; 4.25 sips). The bartops weren't kind though, it ate $20 fairly quick. Played some nickel Quick Quads, and didn't do any better, another $15 in the hole. M did a little better with “Ellen”.



Now almost 8pm and we wanted to coupon run Hooters. First off, we were cut off by a woman at the front entrance. Then while in line for a player's card, another woman lines up parallel to us and acts like she wanted to cut in front of us. Sure enough, she said she just had a quick question and she asked us. We let her because basically M thought, “she was going to cut in front of us anyway”. But the drunk woman behind us took serious offense to this and “wished bad karma on her and good karma on us”. And I hoped that for M...I already hit my karma limit for this trip...lol But even beyond that...she called the other lady out. UGH. We had to diffuse ourselves away from the situation.

Overall this was a bust too. “Simpsons” was unkind. Pro Tip: Let it sit idle for more entertainment. Also no “Family Guy” to be found.

Now before you know it, it's 8:40. Time just seemed to slip away today. Move on to Planet Hollywood. Meet up with @newmans and had a great time. She has a really great sense of humor and is fun to be around. I will have to see her and @rycelover in action sometime! I missed out on seeing “her box” in person though! Haha

After that, we wanted to catch a late dinner at GR Burger, a restaurant that we have considered eating at for years, but the line always changed our mind. But the line was a non-issue now!







Well, the beer that I hoped yesterday would be my 777th check-in was there apparently. “Citrus Mistress”. It came out of the tap pretty warm though, and I thought it tasted a bit off as it warmed. (6.5%; 3.5 sips)



M's Ultimate Cheeseburger


Our burgers themselves tasted pretty good, but the fries and what he considers “ketchup”...um no. The ketchup tasted more like marinara sauce to us. But we did point out our dissatisfaction with them and they took them off the bill. Other than that though, our server was pretty worthless. Unfortunately, we were a bit hungry after we left. I figure I would fill up on beer though. Lol

We go across the street to Cosmo to play a bit and maybe meet up with @Texas Steph.

Walk over to Cosmo.




Unfortunately, M feels crappy when we get there and has “tummy trouble”. Even I feel a bit queasy. We wonder if it was what we just ate. I am able to press on, so I decide to try “Space Invaders” because there is 19 of 50 shots on the machine. Fuck that was a huge mistake. I burn like $35 getting the last 31 shots. When I get to the bonus, I blow my ship up before all the shots were fired and earn about $4.50. I would have been better off just buying the bonus for $20! Line pays are generally pathetic, my biggest hit was this. At least I got a “free” Sculpin I guess...*rolls eyes* Also after I got up, I watched a guy clean off all the progressives with a perfect game on my machine. Fuck me...I have been had. Don't play the bonus unless you are actually good at the game!!!



Eventually M starts feeling a bit better and we decide to check out Bellagio as per tradition. They took out the people movers next to Cosmo! Doh! But it leads to easier pictures I guess.







M wanted me to take a pic of her as well, and at the time a stranger was near by and offered to take a shot of both of us. It was one of better shots of us in awhile and since a good chunk of you guys have seen me by now, why the hell not...lol



Now the obligatory Conservatory pictures. But of all the times we have done this, this was the biggest disappointment ever! Did PGP get involved here?!?!?!







They look like boobs...”Butt-Head laugh”




Standard Lobby picture


We didn't even play at Bellagio!

Now it was getting late and thought about moving the car from PHo back to the Linq. Yes we parked there to avoid a fee at Mirage/Cosmo/etc. Right when we get in the car, Texas Steph got back to me, doh! But fortunately we'd catch up later.

Before going though, I found this...people, if you're gonna pay a God damn $9.99 fee, please, please withdraw more than this!!!



And speaking of catch up. Start off with another “Kook” and move over to a Squatters Hop Rising (9%; 3.75 sips). Now available in Missouri! Meh. Better “free”.



M calls it a night and takes a couple of pics.





Two Royals in one trip?!? Not yet.




As 2:30am rolls around, on a bathroom break, I notice Aussie Rules on in the Sportsbook. I try to get TAG to turn it on. They say they can't. This is odd because apparently the Catalyst bar can! So I had a couple more Sculpins on them!



This bartender was dangerous though. He liked to refill you up without asking. I like that service unless I am thinking of quitting...haha Also the “beverage manager” came in again and said hello to me. I took the opportunity to talk that bartender up. He was good.

And fortunately had a couple of hits to stop the evening's bleeding.







And at the stroke of six...did I say six??? I had this bit of a tease.


Bad boy again!!!

 

Day 3: Thurs. 9/7/17 A Birthday Full of LOVE and Steak!

Of course, another rough morning for me due to my late night drinking/gambling tendencies. M wanted to check out the Mirage pool before we began to run around for the day.





Get a hold of @broncofn and learn that he and @rycelover both plan to spend some time at the Aria pool and welcomed us to join them. Tell him I'll message him when I get there. Well, that seemed to take forever. First wanted to make sports bets for tonight. I had Patriots -9 (L), Royals (L), and CoCo Vanderweghe (L). That was stupid. Lol Also because I degened at Linq last night, I was eligible for a spin for a million dollars. What did I actually get? $5 FP.

When all that was said and done, it was nearly an hour to get to Aria.






Had a great time hanging out. Two funny guys with a ton of good stories! Sorry we didn't get to catch up again afterward! We were definitely running around for the rest of the trip. We never seem to stop! haha

Then have the Aria buffet for an early dinner via myVegas. I was surprising not as hungry as I thought. Also I felt like the selection today wasn't as good as usual. Oh well, my late dinner would make up for it. Also failed on food porn. Just got this!



An artist's rendition of an RNG...lol


Then walk through MC...yeah, that place is pretty much walled off. You can definitely still gamble there, but definitely no atmosphere. We'd stay there for the right price though! We have no alliance in playing where we stay. One advantage about being a flea!

Then work our way to Planet Hollywood to see the only Diamond Lounge that we found time for the entire trip! This was a mistake too because Thursday Night football was starting and it was packed! If you were in there @rycelover, sorry we didn't notice you! We basically walked around the lounge and eventually walked out. Play off Linq FP. And before you know it, only have time to shower and it will be 7pm for our LOVE show.

And I was really looking forward to this. We both got tickets via myVegas. That award is one of the rarest available. I'm shocked we got it. The biggest brag is I wasn't even really trying to look for it. Just stumbled into it. We were able to get seats in the center of the back row of Sect. 209. They were perfect! Thanks to @jenblase on her advice about seats with the restrictive ticket requirements. The revamped show was a lot better than the first time I saw it (May 2013)! A lot more energy in the beginning and I wasn't wishing I was high until about 50 minutes in this time...haha And there were noticeable video board improvements and things seemed much more bright and cheery.

No pics of the theatre area now though, our phones were dead and we let them charge in the room, meh. After the show ended, we redeemed our $25 of free play each from myVegas, get the phones from the room and hoof it to Paris for our 9:30 GR Steak reservation with the $100 Diamond Dinner voucher in hand. We make decent time and get there at 9:20.







Bread plate


As I mentioned earlier, M's body only tends to tolerate things “well-done”. Well, when our 8 oz. filets came out, hers wasn't. It looked good though.

M's Steak (#1)


Now mine was pretty good, I ordered medium-well. But in reality, it was pretty close to well-done. I didn't think about it at the time, but I wonder if they gave us the wrong steaks. If I would have thought about it, I would have just switched her. Instead they took hers back, and cooked it more. But they really fucked up now as they over cooked it! The steak edges were burned way too much now. M initially accepted the steak but wasn't happy. And I took a bite...yeah way overdone. And gave her a bite of mine, her heart sunk, mine was perfect for her. She felt guilty about saying anything more. I'm like, “No, you are here to enjoy your food. Let's get you a better one.” And the staff agreed. And although it took awhile, the 2nd came out a LOT better than the recook and she was much happier!

Also for the inconvenience, the manager offered a dessert for us to share on them. The waiter suggested what @rycelover and everyone else seems to suggest, Sticky Toffee Pudding! M was hesitant because it looked “chocolate”, which she's not a fan. But it's not really. I dunno how to really describe it, other than warm and very sweet, but we both loved it! I highly recommend it. Even though we didn't order much, the extra potato from the recook and the dessert made us pretty stuffed!



The service at Steak was excellent. The waiter's assistant was easily the best we have ever had anywhere. And because I pointed out it was M's Birthday on Open Table, the entire staff wished her “Happy Birthday” several times. That would get to me, but M eats that shit up big time!



Steak took awhile though in the end (about 2 hours due to the recook and dessert), and we thought about going back to Cosmo if Steph was around. But she went at it hard last night and conked out. Still tomorrow though! So instead we decide to look for souvenirs at the Ballys Grand Bazaar. And briefly play at Ballys as I hoped the 10/6 DDB bartop still existed. Nope.

M hit this at Ballys though.


Walk back. Stop at Cromwell. Earn 1 Tier Credit at 9/7 TDB (99.58%). Cost me $21.25...lol Now it's nearly 1am in Vegas and I'm totally sober...a new record for a day. WHAT???

I really felt the need to change that. M stayed behind at Flamingo to play slots a bit.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton (10%; 4.25 sips)


About 10 minutes later...drinks are on TAG again tonight!!!


And M showed up right when I played off the hand. Whoops. Lol M was starting to get a bit tired and is bored with bartop VP (even though she's up on it this trip...lol). But of course I want to get more beer. I might have spoke a little too soon on all the beers being on TAG though. The bartender that “didn't know me” wanted me to turn the light green. Grrrr. No other bartender there has really cared. I can get it green, but keeping it green ALL the time is faster than I want to play. But he relented nevertheless and I got another Kook.

After a bit, I take the beer over to the regular VP section, so I can play some “eye chart” penny poker with M.

Flying coins make VP more fun!

10X and 8X hits respectively




I liked M's one coin quad Aces better.


I missed a clear shot of coins flying with this one. 4 Deuces. Yay! For pennies. Boo.


Waitress comes by and the only IPA they have is St. Archer. I dunno if it was a bad bottle or what, but it was bad and I couldn't finish it. (7%; 2 sips)

M is trying to be a trooper, but she is losing steam again. And of course I wanna stay...lol She's too good for me.



Kaliq gave me a Kook with no questions about play level...lol


And in less than five minutes, this beer isn't gonna cost me either.


Plus a bit of a tease.


Again the Aussie Rules Football issue came up, so eventually I slink off to Catalyst. This time switching the channel got some Aussies at the bar interested. One was rooting for my team, Geelong, and the other was rooting for Richmond. So they were clearly giving each other shit. Haha Had a good chat with the Geelong fan at half time.

Unfortunately, no pics, so this was a bit costly. But I don't think I played too fast with the game on. I'm sure my light was red, but they didn't give a shit. Hell, this bartender did what the bartender last night did. Give me a refill without asking! Now that's service! Lol

 

Day 4: Fri. 9/8/17 Pandora's Box Has Been Opened and Our Luck Has Run Out.

Off to a slow start, we ask for an extra hour at check-out.



Play off our $25 of freeplay. Both of us recover almost all of it.



Some 3 Way Action Poker...only in Nevada!!


I fell in love with “Texas Tea” at Mirage, thought I should give it some more love.


Maybe we shouldn't have used the Linq valet last night. It rained this morning...doh.


M also had to switch flip flops because the ones she typically was wearing had poor treads and she almost busted her ass a few times!

M was interested in the Red Rock buffet since we had the car. I wasn't going to argue...she's once again mostly let me do what I have wanted.



The buffet once again was a bust. They seemed to get rid of the stuff we liked again!

Had this while chasing a $1400 royal on 8/5 Bonus (100.01%). Beer cost me $25 plus tip (6.2%; 4 sips)



M did a bit better



We run over to Build-A-Bear (1 mile away) because it was National Teddy Bear Day. So she bought empty bears to fill later when we came up to Chicago for her 7-year-old cousin.

Now we head over to the pool that we love and have neglected to this point. Cosmo!

But first we drive by @Ainsworth Are you jealous @jenblase?

Get to the pool, but the sky is starting to look ominous.






I want to say “the sky is crying” because M's left wrist is bare. This is notable because she usually has a Pandora bracelet on it. SHIT. Somehow it fell off sometime this afternoon. We tried to retrace our steps and call a few places where it could have been turned in, but to no avail. We tried to enjoy our pool time at Cosmo, but this put a decent damper on things. But there is some good news though. This was actually her “secondary” bracelet, which was not totally full of charms. And there is a 25% off sale this weekend if you spend $150+...better than full price I suppose!

While at the pool, I was also playing phone tag with Texas Steph and she said she could swing by Cosmo after we hit the pool. So after we were done, we stopped by and had another great chat about anything and everything. What I like about this forum, almost everyone is fun and friendly! Hopefully next time we can get a little VP and drinks in together!

So now we run over to Monte Carlo to have some original Chicken Tender with a buy one get one coupon. Cosmo to MC takes a lot longer than I would have guessed. And skies are getting really threatening now.




We totally bone the food porn on Original Chicken Tender. A TR from @Royal Flusher has some. Haha The tenders were great as always!

Quickly try to get back to PHo in the rain.


Now we determine we have just enough time to get to M Resort before our scheduled 11:59p flight. Ugh. Which got delayed. Double Ugh. And we drove from St. Louis to Chicago the next day. Triple Ugh. $20 flight though!!

Driving to M Resort was a bit of an adventure. The rain gave poor visibility. Rain-X works pretty well people! Once we got to the parking deck, we look all over for the bracelet, just in case it luckily fell in the car. But no, we didn't see it.

I belly up to the 32 Degree Bar of course trying to hit another lifetime goal. 4 Deuces on quarter Deuces Wild! But I'm totally happy with the one I hit though!!!

First Beer Hop Nuts 18b Pale Ale (6%; 3.5 sips)


In for $40, now even.


Big Dog's Dirty Dog IPA (7%; 4 sips)


Chipping Up


Some Bonuses for M






Chipping up more


Victory Dirt Wolf (8.7%; 3.75 sips)


We both end up being mild winners there, but it became time to go... :'(
















As far as gambling goes...BEST TRIP EVER!!!!! It's not even close!!! Even M won $27! Haha As for me, hell, I lost track to be honest. I think that $1520 deposit was pure profit though. What a night that was! The rest of the trip was mostly a good time too! The only thing that was a real bummer was losing that bracelet. But I must say, I was more sad over it than M was, I was impressed that she kept as best of an attitude that she could!

Would love to get back one more time before the end of January to “take advantage” of Diamond! Hopefully more cheap flights show up! Thanks for reading!!

 

I have also thought that lately. Glad I was able to buck the trend.

Make the time! It was a great show!

If you like IPAs definitely try the beers by Pizza Port. Swami IPA and Kook DIPA. They are awesome!

Pictures. Lots of pictures. I probably threw in too many pictures...lol

Yeah, I held off texting the good stuff to others because I KNEW I was writing a TR anyway! But it was a lot of fun writing a big winning one!

Yeah, I got caught up with Gary Ablett mainly. But North Melbourne is my 2nd favorite team! I wrote their fan club when I first got into the game as a teenager and they sent me a fan package including a highlight video! But of course a PAL tape is interesting/worthless to watch in a NTSC VCR. lol But it was the thought that counted.

But I know what you and I are doing on a Friday night at Catalyst bar now! Unless TAG fixes their fucked up TV system first!

 

Well, if I want to anger M...hahaha

 

Yeah, even without a royal I would have done it. An edge is an edge! Lol I took a $50 shot at Linq on one over Spring Fling. Lost $25 on that one. But glad I finally bagged a quad at that level, esp. with the multiplier! Between UX and loss rebates, I probably have played a few hundred hands lifetime at dollars.