Hi Gang:
Once again, it has became crystal clear to Hedy and me that our video
poker careers can be summed up in one simple phrase: "When you're hot, you're
hot ... and when you're not, you're not."
And right now, we are sizzling hot!
We returned from a Valentine's weekend trip to Harrah's Rincon on Sunday
where we once again were able to line our pockets with Harrah's greenbacks
after a rousing run of good luck on some games we hardly ever play.
It all began Thursday when we flew into San Diego on an offer that
included free airfare from Newark, transportation to and from San Diego, a welcome
reception at Pink's Restaurant, three nights in a suite and a day trip to
Seaport Village in San Diego. We were traveling with two friends from AC,
Marcia and Frank, which made it even more fun for us.
Upon arrival, we availed ourselves of the hot dog/hamburger fare at Pink's
then settled into our older, but spacious, suite before locating the 25
machines in the video poker cove that offer 9/6 JOB, 8/5 BP and 9/6 DDB in
various denominations.
We began playing our game of choice, $1 DDB, and almost immediately I
found success. I hit aces (without a kicker) for $800 twice in the first 15
minutes of play and soon after nailed queens and jacks for $250 each. Hedy
couldn't get anything going on DDB and switched to one of the new Double Super
Times Pay machines that randomly provides multipliers both before and
after the draw. She hit aces a couple of times for $200 each and fours with a
kicker for $400 but that was about it. Everything seemed to go cold after
that and we found ourselves down a couple of hundred dollars after Day One.
Day Two started slowly, but just before lunch I hit treys with a kicker
for $800 and things started to take off from there. Hedy was playing her STP
machine and got dealt fours on triple play. She hit two kickers for $400
each and was holding her own playing this wildly volatile game.
I noticed two Dream Card machines against the back wall and decided to
take a shot. I was playing deuces wild (triple play quarters) and it seemed
that I was getting the Dream Card just about every hand.
After a about a half hour, I was dealt three royal cards and a deuce in
the first four spots, then the Dream Card came up, another deuce, giving me a
dealt wild royal. The wild royal only paid 100 coins, but the 300-coin
payoff kept me going for awhile. I was getting the Dream Card deuce so many
times I became used to seeing it pop up time after time. Then, suddenly, I
was dealt Q-10-J-K of spades in the first four spots and the Dream Card
symbol came up again.
"Oh, I thought, another deuce. I'll have another wild royal dealt. Cool."
I was so conditioned to seeing a deuce as the Dream Card that's what I was
expecting. Of, course, the Dream Card (the best possible card) in this
instance was the ace of spades, giving me a dealt NATURAL royal for $3,000!!!
Oh, my God. I was shocked to see it, but mighty glad it was there. Later
that night, Hedy hit aces with a kicker on $1 DDB for another hand pay
($2,000) and we were off and running. That night we had a wonderful dinner with
Mike Connerley and his wife Susan in the buffet and were excited to see him
hit a royal later that night.
Saturday, Day Three, was our day for the trip to Seaport Village (the bus
left at 10 a.m.), so we played a little after breakfast on the two Dream
Card machines. Hedy, of course, played DDB triple play and had an amazing run
with aces. She hit them four times, including once with a kicker for $500.
She also got treys dealt (getting no kickers on the draw) for another $300.
Our trip to San Diego was very nice. The weather was perfect (clear blue
skies with temperatures in the high 70's) and we spent three hours or so
exploring the quaint shops and restaurants in Seaport Village. It proved to be
a nice, relaxing afternoon. When we returned to Harrah's we ate an early
dinner and had a couple of hours to kill before going to a show that night
which featured Dick Cavett interviewing Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.
I was pretty much finished playing so I sat next to Hedy and cheered her
on as she played her DDB on the Dream Card machine. She was holding her own,
getting a bonus quad now and then, when suddenly, she was dealt A-A-A-A in
the first four spots and the Dream Card symbol came up! We knew it was
going to be a kicker and sure enough, a four of clubs popped onto her screen
and we had our third hand pay of the trip, $1,500 for the dealt aces with a
kicker!!
She added dealt fours a little later for another $300 and we called it a
night and went to see the show. Our trip resulted in another healthy,
four-figure win and kept alive our recent hot streak.
Some other random thoughts about Harrah's Rincon:
1) The buffet, which was above average, offers one free meal per day for
Seven Stars players and a guest. So, since Hedy and I are both Seven Stars,
we had two free meals a day which just about took care of our food costs
for the weekend. Diamond players get $10 off their meal. We also ate one
breakfast in the coffee shop, which was very good. We didn't get a chance to try
any of the gourmet restaurants.
2) The alcove where the good VP machines are is set in the back of the
casino and has a low ceiling, making it very smoky in that area. Hedy and I
are both non-smokers, so this was problematic.
3) The property is on an Indian Reservation and pretty much in the middle
of nowhere but there are three or four other casinos within driving
distance if you rent a car. There's no place nearby to walk to so you're pretty
much restricted to the casino area. There is a very nice outdoor pool on
property, however.
4) The bus/limo ride from San Diego takes about an hour and 10 minutes.
Not too bad, although the last part of the ride is pretty boring.
5) Seven Stars players get a $50 media credit per day, which takes into
account internet and movie charges, more than enough to cover internet and
couple of movies per day.
6) The host who was very helpful to us was named Donna Schulz.
7) The Diamond Lounge was about as bare bones as you can get. Soft drinks,
popcorn machine and some baked goodies served. Not much seating either.
8) We received zero bonus points for all our play.
Regards,
CoachVee & Hedy
PS: An added treat was a surprise visit from Tom and Jo, who are friends
from back East who now live and work in California, about an hour from
Rincon.
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