--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, misscraps@... wrote:
>
> Recently we went to Reno's Atlantis Hotel for one night. Whether we
> lucked out because we arrived midweek, or my host took pity on me (because on
> the previous trip I lost a lot of $ and also had my purse stolen...long story
> but I got it and most of contents back after a day when it was dumped
> outside somewhere).... but somehow they put us into a H U G E, and I mean G I
> G A N T I C suite. It was probably the square footage of my house (2600
> sq ft or something like that), with an extremely long living room area that
> contained a pool table, chess table, pocket billiards table, huge sofa,
> bar, a bed, poker table, bathroom, etc. Also a separate bedroom with a big
> bed, another couch, and a HUGE jacuzzi (big enough for maybe 8 people), and
> bathroom. Two refrigerators (one in each room), stocked with V8, soda,
> water, etc - help yourself. A host told me it was the largest suite in the
> hotel. Wow. It was the largest suite we've ever been given.
>
> Then they treated us to a winemakers dinner event in Bistro Napa. This
> was a real bargain for those who had to pay ($125 pp), but even more of a
> bargain for us with a comp. The food was excellent (5 courses), and each
> course paired with a different delicious wine. The winemaker (Justin
> Vineyards)appeared and spoke a little with information on the wines. The Atlantis
> holds these dinners every month, and I recommend them (the next is a Bacardi
> Rum dinner on May 31, $85 pp, phone 775-824-4411 for details).
>
> We were impressed with the large size of the Atlantis, and all the
> machines. Most, if not all, the VP machines, seemed to be of the 10 coin variety.
> It took me awhile to adjust to this. If you normally play $1 machines,
> you should play 50 cent, and so on. There were many many machines of
> different types all around, and some were progressives. I didn't check all that
> many machines, but I didn't notice any 9/6 JB or other FP machines, though
> they may have existed. The club also has a special "swipe" machine, where
> you should swipe daily to see if there is a point multiplier or other
> promotion. Since we were there on March 31, I just missed getting $300 free
> play for my monthly offer.
>
> I wandered around, playing a bit, trying to avoid the machines where I'd
> lost $ on a previous visit, and noticed a single line progressive with over
> $9800 on the meter. I sat down and realized it was a $1 progressive, with
> the $9800 for the 10 coin in. I felt "drawn to" the machine (ESP feeling
> which usually doesn't work by the way...) so decided to try it on DDB (9/6)
> for awhile. I quickly got a quad ($500 instead of the usual $250), so now
> had enough profit to keep playing awhile. Kept playing, more quads,
> enough to keep me going, and then, holding 3 to a royal, wham -- beautiful
> hearts and one of the biggest royals I've ever had! I'm so happy....but
> happiness can be fleeting for a gambler.....
>
>
> For a change I decided to leave the machine quickly, rather than putting
> back $ as I usually do, and wandered around, plunking money in and out of a
> few machines (I'm usually a sit-and-stay-for-4-hours person....), eventually
> I found the "high roller" lounge area, which had some nice snacks set out
> (now getting a little peckish hours after the huge winemakers
> dinner...hardly any wine for me, by the way, since I was planning to gamble, but my
> husband had tottled off to bed after the dinner feeling no pain). I noticed a
> $5 Top Dollar, one of my favorite slots, and played a few hands. Next to
> it was a multigame machine I'd never seen before with some sort of a Hot
> Roll bonus where you "threw" "dice" for a bonus. I switched over and started
> to play, and play and play. The bonuses kept rolling in every few minutes,
> giving me $ to keep me going. It was really fun, and I managed to win a
> little.
>
> The Atlantis has many restaurants and a big spa, as well as an indoor
> pool. Very nice place.
>
> But the next day (we only had 1 night there), we headed to Lake Tahoe's
> Harrah's/Harvey's for a special "play up" promotion. Play 5600 points, get
> $800 in free play (but it turned out you had to play twice as much for VP -
> argh!). Play higher levels, get more free play - enticing -- and you keep
> your points for comps. And they had already sent along a $400 coupon to
> insert in a machine for free play.
> I arrive at Tahoe with most of my $9800 win intact, raring to go!
>
> We prefer to stay in Harvey's, because the rooms have the better view of
> the Lake. A Harrah's limo picked us up from the Atlantis and took us
> there. Both my husband and I are 7* members, so we had asked our host for a
> suite overlooking the lake, and got a beautiful room with a balcony in
> Harvey's. My husband LOVES the Lake, and spent hours sitting and standing and
> watching the Lake. The view was great on the first night, but suddenly (as
> often happens) a storm blew in, along with snow, it was like a blizzard!
> Fortunately there is a tunnel connecting Harvey's to Harrah's, so you never
> have to go outside. Thankfully the storm ended in time for us to return to
> the Reno airport.
>
> The host also arranged to send some soda to the room, which was good, and
> sent a basket with a few goodies and a bottle of California wine. Nice.
>
> While hubby watched the Lake, naturally I headed to Harrah's, where I knew
> they had 3/5 play $1 machines with 9/6 DDB and JB. The ones in the high
> roller area were extremely popular, and people often locked them up for hours
> at a time. I found an empty one near the bar, and started to play $1 5-
> play DDB. Of course after the big win in Reno, I had no fear -- at first --
> but as I plunked in my $400 free play voucher and then about $2000-2500
> more -- and got NO QUADS -- fear started! The guy sitting next to me, who
> was losing at 9/6 JB, left, so I switched machines. Normally I stubbornly
> keep playing, even a bad machine, figuring "it will change" - but machine #1
> had to be the worst ever! So I switch to machine #2, playing 9/6 DDB, and
> it too started sucking and sucking and sucking -- finally boom - a royal
> flush ($4000), but I was still down over $3000 for the two machines. Argh!
> I slunk off to bed at last.
>
> The next day the onslaught of bad machines continued. I figured the "play
> up" promotion was a good one to get me to 7* status for 2012, and I still
> had Reno money in my pocket, so I played on and on, passing the $800 in free
> money point and heading to the $1000 then the $1500 etc. But I kept
> losing and losing. I got Aces with the kicker ($2000) somewhere in there, but
> quads overall were just lacking. It was hard to find a machine if you
> left, because 2 of the machines were constantly busy or locked up. I tried a
> bit on $5 progressive (this was the progressive where on my last trip to
> Tahoe I had hit for 2 royal flushes - my biggest win ever for a trip), but this
> time, nothing - no deuces playing deuces (75/45 version), not even a wild
> royal, no quads playing DDB. Back to 3/5 $1 play - losing. I took a
> respite and played "penny" machine The Hangover, and managed not to lose
> anything on it, then back to VP - losing.
>
> Well you guessed it, by the time we left Tahoe after 3 days, my $9800 win
> from Reno was gone, and so was another $5000 -- this despite having various
> free play coupons and the playup freeplay of $3000. One of my worst losing
> trips ever if you counted all the Reno money that disappeared as well as
> free play. But I had earned enough for 7* status....woopie....(not)....
>
> Well, another play-up offer has just appeared for Tahoe for May 1 -- nope,
> don't think we will go. VP must be the most volatile game ever!
>
> A few notes on food in Tahoe -- strangely there are 3 very similar
> steakhouses to choose from. Kitchen 19 in Harvey's has a great view of the Lake,
> but unless you are there in summer, the sun will go down too soon to do
> you much good. Harrah's has a similar steakhouse on its top floor. Harvey's
> also has The Sage, which features some old-fashioned table side cooking of
> some salads and entrees and deserts, and is thus probably the best one of
> the three. Harrah's also has a Chinese restaurant (not open all nights),
> but we had a bad experience on the last trip with Peking Duck, so didn't try
> it this time. Harrah's comp points are not usable at the Hard Rock
> restaurant in Harvey's. There is a good deli there though. The buffet at
> Harrah's is also on the top floor, and is quite good (though sometimes not open
> for breakfast). Their coffee shop is quite good (down in the basement).
> Harrah's also has a mini food court, but comps cannot be used.
>
> While it may be that theoretically VP is a better game than slots or most
> table games for the player, the truth is that the volatility can be a
> killer, and it does seem like I (and friends too) are getting fewer quads than we
> used to get.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
