QOD-What is the maximum number of days you can occupy a hotel room by law in Las Vegas?
This question got me to thinking about all the comp days I did in Nevada from Jan. 1997 through Nov 2007, almost eleven years. I estimate it to be somewhere between 1300 and 1400 comp days, with the bulk of it, about 900 days, being in Laughlin.
I stumbled onto advantage machine play quite by accident in Oct. 1996. But it wasn't until Jan. 1997 that I got my first comped room-If you want to call it comped. I met Bill Hartman, a casino hustler and compulsive gambler, sometime that winter in Laughlin. I was a drifter without a mailing address at the time-except for fictional ones. He convinced me to get a P.O. box at the Riverside, explaining to my ignorant ass that I was missing out on all kinds casino offers through the mail.
Hartman introduced me to his casino host at the Riverside. He had already schooled me on how to handle the situation. We were sitting in the North Tower Bar.
"How many days you want?" he asked.
"I don't know, how 'bout seven?" I responded.
"Okay, when she gets here I'm gonna introduce you to her. Put $70 in the palm of your hand and shake hands with her when I introduce you."
When "Jane" showed up, Hartman introduced me saying "Jane, this is Mickey Crimm, he needs a room for a week." She and I shook hands. She palmed the money, took my particulars and told me she would be back with a voucher in a few minutes.
As she walked off Hartman said
"Now, you pay her $70 a week for a few weeks, then get her down to $40. Tell her the gambling ain't workiin' out. Make up any kind of excuse."
"Okay" I said, but I never made the move. She and I would meet every week in the North Tower Bar with a $70 handshake and she would punch me in for another week. But every few weeks she made me check out, then check back in.
At the time I was working the linked bank Flush Attacks, House a Rockin', and the Piggy Bankin' slots at the Riverside. The money was good but you don't run much of a wager on those games-to get room comp-so the $10 a day was well worth it to me. Don Laughlin's joint was the only one on the river with 40 channels on the TV. And it was great to be just an elevator ride away from my work.
I had stumbled into a very unique situation. The Riverside hosts were allowed to take tips. It became a racket. All the casino hosts were on the take. And they mostly worked the bottomfeeding casino hustlers on the river. Except for a one month trip, where I hit Las Vegas, Reno, Tahoe, Elko, Wendover, and Blackhawk, Colorado, I spent practically all of 1997 living in the Riverside.
It was a kick in the pants for a guy who had spent years living out of a sleeping bag and day pack. But all good things must end. It all came crashing down in Nov 1997. Luckily for me, I had learned enough about comp systems by then to put together what I called the Laughlin RFB 362 strategy.
More later on why it came crashing down, and what my next move was. Got to go make some money today....
| Reply via web post | Reply to sender | Reply to group | Start a New Topic | Messages in this topic (1) |
