Just back from Lake Tahoe. We had an invitation for a very nice slot
tournament, guaranteed $50,000 top prize (plus other places and a few bonus
prizes and 5 drawings for $1000 each) - kicker was that there were guaranteed
only 100 players. Between my husband and myself that was a 1 in 50 shot at
the big bucks. But we are generally unlucky in tournaments and drawings,
but still, we figured it was worth a shot.
Nope, didn't win the tournament $. But as I walked into the high roller
room at Harrah's Tahoe, thinking I might play the 3/5 play $1 machines (my
usual poison), etc., I noticed the $5 progressive was over $27,000. This
seemed high to me (usual payout for $5 royal is $20,000). Later someone told
me that this progressive often is high, sometimes even $40,000! But it
seemed high to me, so I decided to give it a short shot. For a change, instead
of plopping into the nearest seat, I decided to circle the bank and let
whatever tiny amount of ESP I have lead me to a seat. (Mind you, I don't
believe in ESP, but, it couldn't hurt). One seat "drew me" more than the
others. So I sat down. Now for the hard part, there were several different
VP games to choose from. Again, I felt a slight draw toward Deuces Wild -
Bad Harrah's Deuces Wild.
Now, I normally don't play $5 VP -- too rich for my blood. Usually I
stick to 3/5 play or single line $1 VP. But once in a blue moon I'll take a
flyer for $500 or $1000 or so and try one, usually opting for Deuces Wild,
since it seems it bit less volatile than DDB, more interesting than JB, and
you have a decent shot at maybe 4 Deuces and a big payoff of $5000. Even a
wild royal isn't too bad, landing you $625, and keeping you going for
awhile.
So I start playing, and am getting a few decent hands - four of a kinds, a
wild royal, and within about 15 minutes, up comes 4 to the Heart Royal.
For a change, instead of just hitting the draw, I sit for a second strongly
visualizing the Ace of Hearts, and BAM!!! It comes up!!! $27,000 - my
biggest win ever!!!
And it seems even more unbelievable to me because during the last month or
two I'd been playing hours and hours and hours of 5 play $1 DB and Deuces
at the Palms, and never even had 4 to the Royal dealt to me on the bottom
line, let alone a Royal. And I'd played for maybe 8-10 hours at the Gold
Coast on Single Line $2 (and a little $5) with 4 to the royal annoyingly
being the final result over and over, but no royal. Now in about 10-15 minutes,
up comes a royal! Finally! It had been a couple of months with no royals
at all, despite a lot of play. (Which is the beginning of why volitility
comes into the story - more on this later...)
Well, the story doesn't end there. I took a check for some of the
winnings, and played with some, switching over to 5 play DDB. And now the losing
began - a lot of nothing and hours and hours of play. Argh! But I was
determined to go home with at least $20,000. The tournament ended, and we did
nothing, but at the Awards Banquet my husband won the second chance
drawing for $1000. Well, being a gambler (and addict, I'll admit), I thought,
hmmm, I'll just gamble a little more with the grand, but nothing else. To be
conservative, and just for fun in the last couple hours, I played a little
penny Lord of the Rings. Oh well, I'm even, but nothing is happening, so
I head toward the high roller area, again thinking of trying that darn 5
play DDB.
But I spot that $5 Progressive -- now up to about $20900 (it had been hit
after me, on the same machine I'd hit, and was a pretty fast progressive, so
it was up a bit again). Hmmm, maybe a few hundred through it, I think,
(got to go to bed in an hour to get up early for the plane ride home...). So
I circle the machines, and sit down at a different one than before that
"calls me." I start to play DDB (my favorite game, though often a loser). I
get quad sixes, I'm up a little. Hmmm, maybe Deuces Wild (bad Harrah's
Deuces Wild, mind you, I think), just a little. So I start to play, and up
comes a wild royal or two, and quickly I'm ahead $1000. Not bad. I'm
visualizing 4 Deuces with all my might, but not even 3 of them show --- when up
come 3 to the Club Royal, and I'm thinking about wild royals, and then --
BAM - 2 more Royal Cards - ANOTHER ROYAL!!!
Thankfully I'm tired, because I take my check, play another ten minutes,
and leave. Unbelievable to me I've had my biggest single win ever and my
biggest trip/session win ever!
So you never know! But it does make me wonder about just how "random"
those 5 plays are. I've noticed before that they don't seem as "random" as
single line (or even 3 play on the same machine). I've noticed some oddities
such as higher frequencies of hands dealt (before the draw) that have AQ
of hearts than KQ hearts, both of which are way more frequent than JQ or JA
of hearts. Or is it just volatility in gambling that I am seeing? Maybe
we really don't realize just how much volatility there really is. I think
of Royals as coming every 40,000 hands or so - but that is on the average,
and in reality you could have hundreds of thousands, or maybe even a million
hands (or more), and no royals, and then get two back to back, or three in
1000 hands, or whatever. All I can say is that it did seem odd to play
perhaps 50 hours of 5 play (or more) without a royal, and in a total of about
1-2 hours of single line get 2 royals. Maybe I'm better off to risk $25
on a single line $5 machine rather than a total of $25 on a 5 line $1
machine in the first place? Although I'd thought somehow there would be less
volatility with a multi-line game than a single line. I don't know. I just
know I'm confused, but very very very happy about my big winning weekend.
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Now a few words about Lake Tahoe. One thing to remember, if you go, is
that snow can come at any time there, it even snowed once in July! One
Harrah's worker welcomed me to "our never ending winter." Yes, it was snowing
on our trip. But the Lake is always beautiful, even in the foggy snow. We
like to stay at Harvey's, rather than Harrah's, because it has some
terrific suites with fantastic lake views, better than the touted "7 Star" Summit
floor of Harrah's. Fortunately there is a tunnel between the two
properties, so you don't have to brave the weather. Each property has a Diamond
Lounge, and some very good restaurants, including a high-end restaurant at the
top of the tower with a great lake view. The Harrah's buffet and coffee
shop are excellent.
Also I must commend the Harrah's employees at Tahoe, who are the best I've
run into. If you don't find a cocktail waitress, the slot personnel will
come over and get you a cocktail if need be. The service in the high
roller lounge was swift, friendly, and excellent. They even offered to take a
photo of me with the jackpot. They reset your machine while you wait for
your W2G so you can keep playing. Everywhere the service was fantastic. The
VIP services call you when you check in to see if you need anything, the
host checks in with you, (and calls you back if you phone them prior to
arrival!), the limos to the airport are excellent (most equipped with small
bottles of booze and soda and snacks for your 1 1/2 hour ride to or from Reno,
NV), and the mailed offers are quite good (such as this very good limited
invite tournament, even though our play there hasn't been very big in the
past). There was even some sort of hospitality person who comes by to ask
how you are doing and is everything okay (that's their whole job - checking
to see if players are getting great service). Nothing can beat the view
of Lake Tahoe (summer or winter), but the Harrah's service was truly a
delight.
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So that's the story of my big win and winning weekend. It sure made up
for a lot of losing! Here's wishing all of you the big turnaround jackpot!
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