Biloxi Trip Reports

Beau Rivage Sweetheart package

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:32:17 +0000

Me and the little lady stayed at the Beau Rivage last month. We bought one of their sweetheart packages. It was good. I recommend it. The Beau Rivage lists it as:

–Beau Rivage Sweetheart Package

Enjoy a night with your sweetheart starting at $100.

Includes:

· Oceanview Room

· Breakfast in Bed*

· Welcome Beverage

· Turndown Service

· Guaranteed 1pm Late Check-Out

It was nice. They started us out with a Hello Glass of Champagne. We had a great room. And we had a nice dinner in the steakhouse. I lost, but she got lucky on the roulette table and won us three hundred bucks. It paid for the stay, which is as we all know, is the whole point. I definitely recommend it.

Spring Break Gambling On The Gulf Coast

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:08:29 +0000

I just tried to proof this and realized how long it is. I occasionally get off the gambling path a little bit but it is hard for me to leave out stuff that was central to the story. If you have ever read one of my TRs, you already know what I mean.

Our spring break was a couple of weeks ago and I could think of no where I would rather be than down on the Coast gambling. The plan was to spend one night at The Grand Biloxi (which will become The Margaritaville Casino sometime later this century) and then move over to The Hard Rock for two more nights. The night at The Grand was mostly to let them know I was still kicking and keep me on their mailing list but I wanted to do some more serious gambling at The Hard Rock.

Check-in at The Grand was super quick and we were in the room 5 minutes after turning the keys over to the valet guy. As requested, we had a nice view of the pool directly beneath us and the Gulf across the highway. So far, they have not built enough floors over there at the Margaritaville site to block the view. In fact, I hope they limit the floors there so that the view from this side of the highway is not blocked. Back before Katrina, I thought the rooms on this side of the highway were the best ones on property and I still like them. Very comfortable.

By the time they brought our luggage up, it was still a few minutes shy of 3 O’clock. After putting a few beers on ice to cool down, I began changing for the pool. It was a bright sunny day and I could see a number of guests taking advantage of the pool from my window. One thing Katrina did not ruin was the very nice pool area that the Grand has and I was ready to get down there to enjoy it. BTW- the fence around The Margaritaville job site still proclaims an opening date in late 2010 but the people I talked to said that they would be happy if construction merely resumed by then. Right now there is absolutely no work being done on the project.

Once my beers had been chilled and I had my pool clothes on, I secured me a comfortable lounge chair between the outdoor hot tub and the pool and began scanning my spring break reading homework. It was Daniel Negrenau’s (well known poker pro) new poker book. Even for a poker book, it was pretty light reading and that is what I wanted. There are too many distractions at a casino hotel pool to have to really concentrate on serious poker concepts and strategies. The next three hours consisted of reading, drinking, and enjoying the views around the pool. I finally ran out of beer and headed up to the room to get ready for the casino action.

Once down on the casino floor, I made my way to the video poker bar in front of the stage. (actually, it is the only VP bar in the Grand now) I settled in at a dollar JOB game (machine 8189) that had been very good to me last time I was here and fed in my first C-note. Well, ole 8189 must have found out I had been running around on her in other casinos because she sure did give me the cold shoulder this time. It didn’t take me long at all to burn thru that first hundred. I fed in another and gave it another try. This time was a little better but I still struggled to get any traction and once again found my credit meter squarely on zero. At least I did hit 2 full houses on this go round. (I record straights and above for every session) I only had one lonely flush on that first hundred. After burning thru those two Benjamins without even a decent uptick in my TR totals, I decided to give VP a rest for a while.

Since I had gotten a fresh beer before leaving the bar, I took a stroll around. I checked out the new asian themed room. It looked nice but I wasn’t going to play any mini-bac tonight so it was a short visit. One thing about The Grand in it’s post Katrina configuration; it doesn’t take all that long to make the rounds. I wanted to play some blackjack but it didn’t look like that was gonna work. Every single blackjack table was either a 21+3 game (you play BJ and 3 card poker at the same time) which had limits under $25 or the two regular blackjack tables that were open with higher (one $25 & one $50) limits. I wasn’t planning on playing green here as I wanted to make sure my bankroll stayed relatively intact for when I got to The Hard Rock. Unable to find anything I particularly wanted to gamble at, I went down to the bar in the lobby of the hotel for a bite to eat.

I actually enjoy the lobby bar a great deal. It is very comfortable and you have good people watching as folks continually come and go between the hotel and casino. Another thing good is that I can pay for everything with my TR points which I always seem to have plenty of. We had made our usual stop at Rose’s Barbeque just outside Hattiesburg on the way down so I wasn’t starving or anything. Therefore, all I got was a fried crawfish tail appetizer and eventually three beers. As usual, the crawfish were tasty(crawfish were just coming into season and were super fresh) and the beer was ice cold. Nothing remarkable happened but at least it was a break from the casino and it was definitely less expensive.

After that little break, I was ready to try some more gambling. During the break, I had remembered the good run I had experienced shooting craps here last summer. They only had one table open with 6-8 players. I bought in for $500 and hoped for a repeat of that last happy event. The dice didn’t take long to come around to me as none of the other shooters seemed able to make even a single point. My first roll was sort of a good news/bad news deal. The good news is that my roll was better than any of theirs had been but the bad news was that it was still relatively sucky. I collected one place bet on the 6 and then made my point of 9. That was it for this first roll as I soon seven’d out. As the dice made their way around the table, things didn’t improve to any degree. I would collect a few place bets and an occasional point would be made but it was a steady downhill slide that my bankroll was taking. My second time to roll came and it was even worse than the first. I won exactly zero before losing the dice.

Having had memorable comebacks on cold dice tables before (anyone who read an earlier Beau Rivage TR in which I “carried” a dice table on my back knows what I am talking about) and that made me reluctant to give up on this table despite it being cold as ice. By now, most of the players still at the table were just passing the dice and that left it up to me and 2 guys on the other end to try and get something going. I eventually had three more rolls but only one showed a decent profit. Finally putting some chips back into my rack instead of constantly taking them out lulled me into thinking that things might have turned around. I was wrong. That one little positive roll (up about $100 on it) was the only winning roll the entire time I was on this table. I finally lost my entire buy-in and gave up. What was really aggravating was how short a time it took to lose that $500. All this took place in less than 90 minutes and was probably just over an hour.

That quick bankroll deplenishment left me in a funk. I get that way sometimes when there is no back and forth with regard to wins/losses while gambling. Most of my gambling sessions are win some/lose some and even the ones that wind up being a losing session don’t bug me because I enjoyed playing for a while. A session like this where not only do you lose, lose, lose but you also seem to be setting speed records for doing so just seems to drain both my enthusiasim and my money clip. So there I was, ticked off at my gambling ineffectiveness but not yet ready to call it a night. Times like this make the shortcomings of The Grand most evident. If you want to do something other than gamble, there are very few options if the pool is not an alternative. Their lack of space just doesn’t allow them to include nightclubs or other non-gambling alternatives. Usually at a time like this, I would go to the poker room where I am pretty confident I could recoup some of my losses and pass a few hours. Unfortunately, The Grand doesn’t have enough room to offer poker.

Remembering that I still had $40 worth of free play that I had not yet used helped me reach a decision. I went back to the VP stage bar and fed in another hundred plus my $40 coupon. While this machine did not kill my credit balance with a quick death similar to the French guillotine as the earlier machines had done, it nevertheless caused it’s demise with a slower, more painful process similar to the Chinese “Death of a thousand cuts”. Never enough to cash out and always on a slow downward spiral. At least I had time to drink more than one beer (or two) on this machine.

Finally recognizing that this just wasn’t my night to win, I switched over to the .25 machines on the other end of the bar with a plan of playing slow and just chilling out with my last couple of beers before bedtime. Oh by the way, all of this wonderful gambling was taking place on St. Patrick’s Day. Even though the genealogists say we came from France, my looks and love of ale lead me to believe that there might be a sneaky Irishman somewhere in my past. If so, I sure had no “Luck of the Irish” despite the big green and pearl beads I was wearing that even had a lepraucan hanging off of it. You can bet (and win) that if I find myself gambling on a future St. Paddy’s day, I sure as hell won’t have those “lucky” beads on. Anyway, I piddled around for about an hour on a .25 JOB machine while I drank those last two beers before taking off for the much needed rest I craved. I still managed to drop another $40 on the quarter machine. I was definitely north pole cold on this night.

The next morning broke bright and sunny. I only wish my mood had been similar. I had a feeling of dread when I did my usual post-gambling inspection of my bankroll. Well, the dread was justified. I had managed to deplete my bankroll to the tune of almost $900. I had wanted to be well stocked when I hit the Hard Rock but now I had blown thru more than my allocated .33% of bankroll and would be entering the Hard Rock a little more short stacked than I had anticipated.

We checked out a little early and had plenty of time before we planned to check into the Hard Rock so we drove across the new bridge over to Ocean Springs. We had seen a big gift shop with a large concrete yard when we took this route to I-10 on an earlier trip and wanted to take a closer look. The name of this place turned out to be Dino’s and I was super impressed with all the stuff that they had. They had one really large outdoor display area with all sorts of concrete statues, fountains, and outdoor decorations. They also had a huge variety of metal-work outdoor decorations such as big saltwater sized fish painted in a rainbow of colors, crawling lizards up to six feet long, and many, many metal sun and moon faces. There was an extensive collection of Mexican made pottery and chimmenera type things. They had another outdoor display area on the other side of their building that had smaller items such as stepping stones and smaller statuary and metal-work. Indoors they had more things than I feel like describing or you feel like reading about. They had sections of the store devoted to nautical stuff, native american stuff, tropical island stuff, cowboy stuff, pirate stuff, and fishing stuff(not lures/bait but decorative items with a fishing theme). Probably the coolest thing I saw was a life sized (7 ft long-about a foot or so tall) Kimoda Dragon carved out of a cocunut tree trunk. It had a burnt orange tint to the wood and looked very lifelike due to the incredible detail in the scales of the lizard. It only cost $900 so it is still there. Many times you will run across stuff in tourist area gift shops that seems of very shoddy construction. Dino’s was not that type gift shop. Most everything we saw was of very good quality but had pretty reasonable prices on most things. (Kimoda Dragon aside) If you like shopping for these type items, The Baboo and I both highly recommend this spot.

After all that shopping and walking around in the concrete yard, we were both ready for something to eat. McElroy’s Seafood was just about our favorite place on the coast to eat pre-Katrina. We had not had a chance to try the new place yet. This was a perfect opportunity. We were already in Ocean Springs and McElroys was the last building before we went back across the bridge to Biloxi. They have a beautiful new building located on the back bay side of the highway that gives them even more room than they had before the storm. The back of the restaurant features large windows that allows you to look out over a marshy habitat with the back bay waterway a little further away in the background. It was quite entertaining to watch the pelicans and occasional heron (Baboo loves herons) going about the business of gathering their own lunch as we enjoyed our own. Being the big eater, I went with the Fish & Shrimp Platter while The Baboo got a local’s favorite, Biloxi Bacon. (fried mullet). Both were delicious. The draft beer I was drinking came in big frosty goblets with ice dripping off the side. Man, this was still a great place. Service was outstanding which made this a meal without fault. McElroy’s has a wooden deck that leads down to a pier to accomodate the customers that arrive by boat. After we ate, we walked down there to get a closer look at what was going on doen in the marsh. It was very calming down there and we got several nice photos of pelicans including one who landed on one of the pier posts about 10 feet from us. I just re-read this and realized I said down 3 times. The deck is a series of steps & platforms leading down to the pier which is probably 30 feet lower in elevation than the restaurant. After our little bout of nature communing we were ready for the excitement of the Hard Rock.

Even though it was only about 1:30, check in was a breeze and even fun. We were fortunate enough to get the same desk clerk that checked us in a few weeks earlier. We both remembered him (he had been real helpful that time too) and he claimed to remember us so it was old-home week. He was able to fulfill our pool view request and put us directly over that magnificent HR pool. He did warn us that we were on the same floor as their nightclub, Rise. BTW- we were in room 1215. The room next to us was room 1211 so I guess the HR has no #13 rooms. Once in the room, we again had to discuss how much we liked what the Hard Rock had done with the room. 90% of our vacations are spent in casino rooms so we have seen a lot of them. We have gotten spoiled by that and pretty much just expect to have great beds and expansive bathrooms. Now, it seems that the small touches that reveal an attention to detail are what we really notice. The room had a “Lucky Thai” plant that The Baboo was familiar with. That perked her up. Hey, anything that is supposed to bring luck is a good thing in a casino. What I noticed this trip that I really liked was that whenever you turned on the TV the first thing that came up was “Welcome to The Hard Rock Mr. *****! ROCK ON! I guess that flashes me back to the 70’s or something but it made me smile every time I saw it. This room was very similar to the one we stayed in a few weeks ago. Double sinks, mirrored glass semi-partition between the bath area and the bed area,faux hardwood floor in the foyer, cool decorative scheme and very comfortable king bed. The main difference in this one and the earlier one was that this room did not have the huge shower with 3 shower heads. Instead, this one had a regular shower but also had an oversized tub with jaquzzi jets. Wow, that thing was comfortable to relax in. I am pretty sure it would hold two people but we didn’t try that this trip.

Since we had gotten checked in so early, there was plenty of time for sunning by the pool. As soon as we got in the room I had iced down a few (6) beers. I put them all in their own individual huggers and loaded them into my beach bag. There were considerably more people here at the Hard Rock pool than there had been at The Grand the day before. The median age had also dipped a decade or more. It was a bright sunny day with 80 degree temps. Soon I had me a nice comfortable lounge chair overlooking the Gulf and a cold beer in my hand. One thing of note was that there were several groups that had coolers with them. The HR had not started cocktail service out at the pool yet so I doubt that will be allowed when they do. But until then, it looks like it is allowed for now. I spent the next two hours just soaking up Daniel Negraunu’s poker wisdom, sipping a few Miller Lites and enjoying the views at the pool. About an hour after I got down there, a group of about 10-12 LSU girls arrived and they seemed to be in the mood to party. The decible level picked up for sure. They were pretty entertaining and had made their headquarters around the hot tub about 30 feet to my left. The Hard Rock has these really cool round hammocks that are about 8-10 feet across. They have 3 but only one was actually hooked up this day. It never stayed empty for long. Once it did empty, the LSU girls filled it up. The hammock was directly in front of my chair about 15-20 feet away. I watched in amazement as they climbed in and eventually got 9 of them in there at one time. The Baboo didn’t join me until later because she prefers the late afternoon sun. Once she arrived, we both remarked on how pleasant this pool area was with the constant Gulf breezes and beautiful landscaping. One other thing of note is that you can access the Hard Rock Cafe from the pool if you want a drink. They have a second floor deck that adjoins the HRC. Just go up the stairs. Eventually, the round hammock opened up again and we decided to try it out. It was like floating on a cloud with the breeze blowing all around you. We both enjoyed that and recommend it for you. We just enjoyed the pool time until it got close to 5 PM. Registration for the HR blackjack tournament began at 5 and I wanted to play in it. The first round started at 6. The Baboo decided to stay and get a little more sun so I went up to the room to change and hit the casino floor.

I had never played this particular tournament and had no idea of it’s format. I got to the registration table about 5:40 and was told that the 6 PM round was already full. I could still get in the 7 PM round and that is what I did. I found out that they have 3 preliminary rounds at 6,7,and 8 followed by the semifinals at 9 and the finals immediately after the semis. There seemed to be a lot of interest in this tourny. Lots of people watching the full tables. Having over an hour before my round, I made my way up to the Center Bar. I really enjoy playing VP here. I usually sit on the end close to the servers station and get great service from the bartenders. They were actually getting me a fresh beer before I was even through with the one I was drinking. I quickly fed in a Benjamin and got started on a little JOB. Right off the bat, I hit a flush. I was sure hoping this was a sign of good things to come. I played for a while and decided to watch the end of the 6 PM round in the tournament. I was able to cash with a $50 profit. That doesn’t sound like much but it was the first winning session I had enjoyed at anything since getting to the coast. It definitely raised my spirits. As I walked around the tournament area, I saw several familiar faces from the tournament trail. At least I didn’t see any of the real sharks from the coast that play a lot of BJ tournaments.

I spent the few minutes between the 6 PM round and my round going back over the rules again. Now it was time to play. I wasn’t too happy to see one of the folks I knew to be a tournament regular sit down at my table. I have talked with and played against him a number of times up at the Silver Star so we made a little small talk before our round began. I wish I could remember exactly what happened in the round but it has been a while and I have no notes on that. The important thing is that I was somehow able to win my table and advance to the semi-finals. Yeehaa. Now I had a full hour to spend until the semis. Back to the Center Bar I went. Once again, the VP Gods smiled on me. I hit a succession of straights and flushes that kept my credit meter comfortably above what I had started with. Then I saw my first 4OAK (8’s) of the trip. By the time I had to play the semifinals of the tournament, I had done well enough to take a $120 profit from this machine. Things were definitely looking up here.

My semi-final round wasn’t much to talk about. This tournament only played 15 hands per round. After the 7th hand I had 3 people at least $200 ahead of me so I had to make a move. I had been betting small the first 7 hands and had actually increased my stack a little bit. Unfortunately, once I went to big bets in an effort to catch the leaders, I lost 4 straight hands and was eliminated. At least I now had a little time before the wild card drawings. The way things had been going, you have to know where I went. Yeah, you are right. I was right back at the Center Bar. I didn’t have a real long time to play but I managed to walk with a $25 profit. Hey, I can enjoy a nibble as well as a big chomp when I am trying to claw out of a deficit.

As usual, I didn’t luck into a wild card so back to the Center Bar. Getting a beer and settling in, I was ready for action. I hadn’t been playing long when The Baboo found me. I was happy to share the news that my dismal streak at The Grand seemed to have been broken. She grabbed the seat next to me and pulled up one of the bonus games that she likes. Our ever attentive bartender quickly took her order and soon delivered her a Cuba Libra Lite. (Rum & diet coke) She had already been active on the slot machines but had not had much luck. A few decent hits here and there but not enough to generate a profit. We just played our way thru another round of drinks enjoying each other’s company. Often times I am on some table while she is out in the slot jungle and we don’t get to spend that much gambling time together. That is one good thing about VP bars. We both enjoy playing VP and we can do it together. I think she likes the ease of getting a drink more than the VP but that has changed a little since she had her first big jackpot a while back.

After that second round of drinks, she decided to go hit the slots a little more and then call it a night. Her sister was going to drive over the next day and when she gets in a casino, the gambling gets a lot more frenzied. The Baboo was going to need a little rest if she was going to keep up. Not long after she left, I hit my second 4OAK (J’s) of the trip. That allowed me to cash with another $50 in profits. So far, the Center Bar had been pretty good to me. Still, I felt the tables calling me so up I got.

The Hard Rock had a much better selection of blackjack games and I was able to find a nice double deck pitch game with at $25 limits. The table had 3 other guys on it and every one was pleasant company. Fortunately, it seemed like the entire table was winning a little. We would have occasional guests drop in and play on our table for a while but that core group of us four played together for almost 3 hours. I had won my first hand and I don’t think I ever got over $50 behind the whole night. I wasn’t going on big runs and getting way ahead (then I would have cashed out) but there were never any long losing streaks either. Just a lot of back and forth. Hey, I am OK with that because I like playing and we had a fun table. Eventually, I came to the realization that I probably needed some sleep too and bid those three amigos adios. My good fortune continued as I took away just over $200 in profit from this table. Once I got to the room, I pretty much crashed out and wandered around sleepy town for the rest of the night. Boy that big ole pillow top bed sure did sleep good.

Once again the day was bright and sunny. Thankfully, my spirits were brighter today also. I knew I had won last night but would not have an exact count until I examined my bankroll. Multiple beers throughout the day make an accurate accounting slightly difficult. My wins the night before had rebuilt my bankroll back to $1,500. Now I was no longer short stacked and could play any way I wanted to.

The Baboo’s sister called and they got on the phone for a while. (calls between The Baboo and either of her sister’s often stretch into 3 hour marathons) Since I had finished off the last of my stash of Miller Lite yesterday at the pool, I decided to make a run to the store. I also wanted to drop by Treasure Bay and give them a little play. I always thought they had some of the best customer service of any casino on the coast pre-Katrina and that is one thing that they did not lose in the storm. They are the only casino that let me put “Mr. Lucky” as the name on my players card. I want to do my part to keep them in business even if I know I probably won’t ever stay there.

Once I got resupplied, I quickly made my way to Treasure Bay. My favorite spot here is the VP located on the second floor by the table games area. This was the first day of March Madness and I was soon as happy as could be with a decent 9/5 JOB game, plenty of cold beer, and meaningful sports on the multiple TVs. I was only playing .50 because I wanted to stay here and enjoy the atmosphere for a while without putting a great deal of money at risk. The beers they were giving me actually had slivers of ice in it which made me even happier. Over the course of the 90 minutes I stayed here, I caught plenty of flushes (7) and straights (3) to keep my credit meter healthy but never a big enough hit to cash out. I played for an hour and a half before finally cashing out with $25 loss. I considered it time well spent.

Once back at the Hard Rock, The Baboo told me her sister would be here in an hour and they were to meet up in the room. The sister had not eaten so the play was for them to do a little gambling and then we would all eat. I didn’t see how to work in some meaningful pool time before we ate so I headed downstairs with instructions to Baboo to stop by the Center Bar when they came downstairs. I found a machine in my same general area but a little closer to the middle than before. You can’t see the TVs very well from down by the server’s station and I wanted to watch some of the basketball games. Luckily, these Center Bar bartenders can be as attentive when you are in the middle as they can when you are right next to them. It was an hour or so later when I saw the sisters making there way around the bar. They were running their faces a mile a minute. I was glad to see it because I know how much they enjoy getting to see one another. They sat down in the two seats to my left and The Baboo threw a twenty in her machine to play a little. She got her usual Cuba Libra Lite and her sister ordered a screwdriver. The bartender didn’t blink an eye when he placed all three drinks (I got a fresh beer) down on the bar even though only two of us were actually playing. We chit-chatted for a while as we tried to coax a Royal out of these machines. We decided to meet and eat the buffet in an hour. Once our plans were made, they cut out for their favorite kind of gambling – the mighty slots.

Since I was still treading water on this machine, I stuck it out here until it was time to meet them at the buffet. I eventually zeroed out my credit meter about the time I was supposed to meet them so off I went. We had some combination of comps that allowed us to eat free but at this time I cannot remember whose account actually paid for it. I think The Baboo’s sister has one of the higher level tiers in their player’s club which allowed us to sit in some sort of special little section. (I know it wasn’t because of me or The Baboo) It wasn’t much different from anything else but we enjoyed it. I really like the Hard Rock buffet. This was only my third time to eat there but it has been very good all three times. My only problem is trying to show some restraint and not eat so much that I am miserable for three hours. This was a pretty good while ago and the only thing I can remember any of us getting was the crab legs that sister got. She loves them and before long we had a huge pile of crab remains on our table. I do remember that I made 2 trips to the dessert area but I can’t remember what I selected.

After that repaste, we were ready for some more gambling. They took off for their favorite slots and I went back to the Center Bar for some video poker, basketball, and beer. I played for maybe an hour without much happening one way or the other. When I hit a full house that put my credit meter back over $100, I decided to take a break to see what they were up to. I found them seated back to back playing identical $ Top Dollar machines. Not facing each other did not hinder their conversation one bit. They were still steady talking. I took a seat next to Baboo and got caught up on their activities. The Baboo immediately gave me the bad news that she had been forced to write a check. Fortunately, things had improved some since then and now she was getting a little of it back. A cocktail waitress came by and took their orders. Even though I was obviously not playing, she asked me what I would like to drink. Gotta love the Hard Rock. They don’t seem to sweat the little things like some places do. I sat around watching them thru 2 beers. It was fun watching these two go at it. Whenever either of them would hit the bonus round, they would both get involved in the decision of what offer to take. The Baboo is notorious for wanting to hold out for the big bonus and not take mediocre offers. Today, she seemed a little more amenable to taking those mid-range offers. It must have been the check she had to write. Anyway, they both were doing OK so I decided to go back to the Center Bar.

Since there was a free slot tournament being played today, we all agreed that we should play it. I told them to pick me up when they were ready. I guess they got antsy because they came in got me about 30 minutes later. That was good because I had already lost $50. We went over to the tournament area and got in line. That is one good thing about this free tournament. You don’t have to be there for a specific round or time. You just get in line and play. The line moves pretty fast and you can actually wait until you see that it is pretty short to join it.

When it was our turn to play, we were assigned the last two machines on a row and the one on the opposite side. I changed places so I could get the single machine and they could sit next to each other. I could still see their machines but was unable to talk with them. Even though I got the best score I have gotten in this tournament (over 50K), neither I nor the sisters even placed in the money.

Still it was a lot of fun and it was free entertainment.

We had pooled our money and played roulette together the last time we got together at Harrah’s New Orleans. It had been a huge, huge amount of fun so we decided to give it a whirl again. We each put up $50 and bought in at an open roulette table. The table had a $10 minimum but that was OK. We pretty much played all inside bets (the numbers) and won a few/lost a few. Of course, it was a lot of fun to call for our numbers and celebrate together anytime we won. We actually played for a pretty good while before we finally went on a cold streak that tapped us out. I was partly to blame for our demise. The wheel had landed on black 5 times and I put $10 of our money on red. It came black. Now I put $15 on red and it again came black. We put everything we had left (maybe $20) on numbers but even with us covering a bunch of numbers, that wheel found one without any brown chips on it and we were done. Except for ole stupido me. That last spin where we put all of our remaining money on number bets had also come up black. That made 8 black in a row. BTW- I am fully aware that previous events have no influence on future events and that a thousand blacks in a row doesn’t make the next spin any more likely to come up red than any other spin. Even with that knowledge, I am drawn like a moth to a flame to try a 3 step martingale anytime I see a pattern over 6 consecutive. So, here is ole stupido throwing a hundy down asking for four quarters. I place my $50 on red and get ready for the spin. Of course it is black. Down goes the next two green chips. (now I am going to be happy just to get a win and my money back) The spin comes up black again. I told you I do this with a 3 step martingale so I pull out another hundred and request a black chip. This hundred dollar bet does no better than the two previous $50 bets as black comes up for the 11th consecutive time. At least I have the discipline to limit these larks to a 3 step. So now I am done at this table but I still have to see how long it will go. A young girl walks by and sees the results board. She immediately reaches in her purse and pulls out a couple of twenties. Of course it goes on red. I silently wish her luck. Too bad, black again. She quits. Finally, on the 13th spin the streak is broken and red appears. Well, that sucked but I have hit enough of those initial $50 bets over the years that I will probably continue this wayward habit. This was the first time in 4-5 years that it actually went all 3 spins and bit me in the butt.

By now it was after dark and The Baboo’s sister was needing to go home. I said my goodbye’s and they left to go up to the room before she left. I made my way back to the Center Bar to see if I could get my mojo back after that disaster at the roulette wheel. I played for a couple of hours on a hundred before finally zeroing out. As hard as this is to believe, I was also about tired of playing video poker. I decided to take a swing at a WOF jackpot. A local guy had hit for over 14 million here at the Hard Rock about 2 weeks before we got here so maybe this was the lucky spot. I put 3 twenties in the machine and fired it up. I did manage to hit one 60 credit lick but certainly not anything close to a jackpot. At least I got to play for a little while. The last three times I have took a crack at WOF, I have not earned even a single credit. Those were only $30 tries but you would think I would have won something off of 30 spins.

I found myself at a crossroads. I was down to $700. I could either cut my losses and go to either my room or the poker room. Neither particularly appealed to me. I wasn’t ready for bed and I was not at all impressed with the Hard Rock poker room when I played there on an earlier trip. My other option was to get back on a table and try to get my money back. I am a gambler so of course I chose to take option B. Finding a nice $25 pitch blackjack table I settled in and bought in for $500. I would still have $200 for any expenses on the trip home tomorrow plus the always handy plastic. It turned out to be a wise choice. Once again, we had a table that stayed together for a long time. There were two buddies that were sitting in the first two spots when I sat down and an older guy (even compared to me) about half-way between us. The two guys were still there when I left 3 hours later and the older guy hung in there with us for at least 2 hours. All three of them were at least holding their own or winning a little. I, on the other hand, was absolutley killing the dealer. Actually, Instead of killing them, I was showing them the love as I toked them after every blackjack & successful double down. I would venture to guess that I hit over 15 blackjacks in that 3 hour period. (you could statistically expect 9) My double-downs were mostly winning and life seemed good. Even my table-mates were remarking on my good fortune. It certainly wasn’t that I was any better player than them. They were all solid players who were strict adherants to basic strategy. It was just that I was getting tremendous cards. By the time I colored up, I got 2 barneys (purple $500 chips), 4 blacks ($100) and a green pushed over to me. Counting the $300 I had squirreled away into my pockets over the course of the night, I had won twelve hundred dollars on this table. Hooray. Hooray. This was my best hit on a single table in quite a while. That made me sleep great that night.

The next day after we checked out, we decided to stop at that monument that is just across a short parking lot from the Hard Rock parking garage exit. We had seen this place a jillion times but never actually stopped at it. The most striking aspect is the upper part (including crow’s nest) of a ship’s mast. Once we got over there, we discovered that it was the mast from the U.S.S. Biloxi, a destroyer commissioned in WWII. After the war, they decommisioned her and the city was somehow able to procur the mast. There was a plaque that detailed the Biloxi’s war record. In addition to the mast, there were also a couple of naval anti-aircraft guns and 5 ancient cannon barrels that had been salvaged from a wreck on the bottom of the Gulf and were hundreds of years old. The most moving part of this monument was a collage of etched photographs depicting Mississippians who had made the greatest sacrifice while serving their country. The newest entry was of a young marine killed in Iraq who lived about 10 miles below Meridian, my hometown. We were both glad that we had finally made the stop.

After that we loaded up and made a quick run thru Beau Rivage to let The Baboo play her freeplay. We were at the Breeze Bar when she was playing either bonus or double bonus and hit quad aces for a pretty nice hit. I, on the other hand, didn’t hit squat and lost $140. At least the basketball was entertaining. I didn’t see the bartender who was working the day I hit that Royal here a few weeks ago. Maybe I should only play when he is working. The Baboo did take her freeplay and the money she won off the aces to go play for a pretty good while. Once we left the Beau, we went back to Ocean Springs and the Dinos gift shop to actually load up all the stuff we had picked out earlier. Finally, it was time to head north for home.

Biloxi TR March 26 to 29

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:42:16 +0000

Wife and I just returned from a 4 day, three night trip in Biloxi. I felt good looking forward to this trip. My horoscope in Jackpot magazine said I will “come into money on the 26th”. WOW, that will be my first day in Biloxi!

Left Tampa on a 8:30AM Southwest flight to New Orleans on Thursday, March 26th. Landed at 9am (Central time). Skies were overcast and when we landed, the area just had 10 to 12″ of rain the day before. There were some serious flooding in the lower parrishes. Picked up my Toyota Avalon for $10 per day! Car was full power, leather and rode great. My car rental bill for the four days came to $76 with all the taxes and stuff.

Left NO at about 9:40 and traffic was moderate with some rain. There were many troopers in both LA & MS, normally do not see any. We have our three nights comped at the IP through their mailer. Arriving in Biloxi, we decided to go to the Hard Rock for lunch. My birthday is in March so one buffet was free. The buffet was OK, not as near good as the Beau and about par with the IP’s lunch.

Played for about 2 hours, nothing major. The HR was almost empty this Thursday afternoon.. It started to pick up when we left at 2:30 for their free Thursday slot tourament. My Corona was calling, so we decided to head to the IP. I do not drink at casinos which I am not staying, maybe 1, but that’s it. Arrive at the IP, easy check-in up to the 27 floor. The microfrige is now locked. I used it in Jan. to keep water and soda cold. They are going to fill it with various beverages.

Things which are important to us low rollers. The IP has quietly changed some of the point program. I noticed on this trip, it’s $10 a point, up from the $9. The Player’s Club will now provide you with all your point and property comp balances. In Jan, they would not except in “code”. “You can only spend $100 a day and you have two day’s worth.” Now when you ask, they will provide everything. Good move IP!

Yes, it is now $2 comp vs $1 in the gift shops, but not in the restaurants. Hint, do not buy a soda with your comps in the gift shop. You will buy it at “2 to 1″. Buy it from the coffee bar in the lobby where it is “1 to 1″. Do you know when you buy that nice hot cup of Joe, if you save your receipt, you get a free refill. My wife is addicted to the stuff, so it’a a good deal. Just remember to ask for the receipt, they have a habit of trashing it.

IP is constantly changing games. They just put in the new Survivor game. If you get a winning line the game keeps shinning until no new winnings are made. The bonus round was only picking some emblems for a credit score. No free games. It was different, the game can go into some real bad cold streaks with no hits. Playing the rest of the day was uneventful. Played my regular games such has Cleo, Extreme 7s and .25 & .50, 3 reels. The 26th came and went with a negative bankroll and only a couple of hits over $30. So much for my horoscope!

When I drink, I do not eat much. Wife picked up a green salad with chicken and I had an Italian Panni from the coffee bar and eat up in the room. I do not like using $50 in food comps at the buffet and eat like two birds.

After eating, back down to the playing field. This Thursday, the casino was not very busy. Most good machines where open everywhere. It was raining real hard outside.

Friday morning we decided to head out to the Beau to use my $150 freeplay. We are not big breakfast eaters but the Hard Rock has a $4.99 breakfast buffet! Two eggs cooked to order, potatoes, meat, grits, coffee, juice, fruit etc. This is not the Beau but for $4.99, an egg is an egg. It wasn’t busy, no line.

After eating, off to the Beau. Found a .50 Stars and Stripes 3 reeler. No pennies here, looking for that big hit!. After 150 spins, I had $69. I think I pick the wrong darngone machine. Played Cleo for the remaining time, went over 500 points but could not get out the $5 point play. Do they up the miminium, or were the computers “slow”?

The Beau is the best property on the Coast but their players club is ten years behind. Only at the Beau do you still ask for that buffet and your comps, if you don’t use them will do a Chris Angel on you, disappear!

We did check out the IP pool. If you haven’t yet, do. It’s fantastic with a big (real big) screen TV over the pool, neat chairs and lounges, full service bar and restaurant right there. We were disappointed that it was a little cold and breezy.

After another losing session, ate dinner at the IP buffet. It’s still better good, but we always seems to eat there on Fridays and it seems it the same choices. I love shrimp and crablegs but there are times I may have a hard time peeling and breaking legs. I have found that the more Coronas I comsume, the less likey you will find a crableg on my plate. You may find some osyters, mussels, clams and maybe a strip steak.

Casino was packed Friday night, there was some power boat racing event but I think the seas were to rough and Gary Allen had a show. Hard to find any open favorite machines. I was able to try out the new Star Trek which brags abiut a feature to save your “medals” for your next visit. I got two medals only to find out, the saving function was not functioning.

Did spend some time in the 2nd floor VP bar with a very nice Capt Morgan. Did get a 4OAK. I am not a VP player but it is a nice change of pace especially in this bar. Quiet, relaxing, playing a little VP, watching a little BB tourament action on the TV, what could be better?

We were up to the room at about 2:30am. The nightclub was packed. Friday night there were some serious thunderstorms, especially up 27 floors!

On Saturday, we took a ride to the Island View to try to catch up with some people from the better half’s work. Place was packed on a Saturday afternoon. Monster line at the player’s club. There was some promo that night. Had lunch buffet which was surprising very good. Due to the crowd, staff was a little stretched to the max. Their shrimp were big and fresh. Nice choices to try. Thing to note, if you play there. I did not have enough for a lunch buffet but had a breakfast buffet. They applied the breakfast comp to the lunch and I had to pay $1.47 cash. I was going to pay for the whole thing but the cashier insisted in checking my card. Good job IV!!

Played for about an hour or two, contributed to the Gulfport Chapter of the Coast relief fund. Back to the IP and those cold Coronas. The casino was agained packed. Found a bank of penny, 3 reels, 20 lines with a free games feature. Some games had a “Free games” symbol, unless you get three kills the payline, others had a “super” with the bar or 7. Three “supers” triggers the free games but one or two “Supers” do not kill the payline. Nice feature.

Left Sunday morning after the IP buffet breakfast. It’s OK but $10.95 is a little steep. An egg is an egg. No real danish or pastries like the Beau.

This is getting long and it’s late. Biggest hit was for $200 on a “2, 3, 4, Times” quarter reel. Both of us lost, hit the ATM a couple of times. Staff at the IP were great, wish we could have used the pool, had a great time and planning our next visit.

I know I forgot something and if I remember I’ll add it in another post.

Happy Gambling!!

Thanks: BKTRIP at BiloxiOne

Little time off at the Beau Rivage

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:50:24 +0000

Myself and Wifey were off Thurs and Friday together. Miracle!

Double points at the Beau, got a coupon for 200 free play after 1200 points, so we are going to the playground.

Into the red rocket and as if we were a guest on Star Trek we are transported to the Beau Rivage Valet. Into the atrium to find the beauty that is expected. Blue daisy looking flowers are now in the display with yellow begonias. The ribbons of blue and yellow are fantastic and lovely and always appreciated.

Room comp one night, check in was a one person wait. I am one that does not want the rat track line queue. I am against that system as it seems so rigid. I know some of ya’ll like to think of the order and rigid turn taking that the rat race provides but I’m just not in that big a hurry. I pick a check-in line and just live with it. If Aunt Mary in front of me takes forever then it is just meant to be. I can always take in the beauty of the lobby and look at all the people. It just feels like a first class hotel if you pick a check-in line. Disney world uses the rat race queue.

Room 25003 and what a view to the south west over the gulf and Hwy 90 to the lighthouse. Weather is beautiful and clear.

We forget to bring our players club cards and must endure the rat race queue to get a players club card. They have laid off some folks and put set hours on the Club, eight to ten, so the line can be awful.

Card in hand we set side by side at the wolf run flattop slots near the Players club and we both proceed to hit. Wild cards aplenty I cash out threehundy and leave sweetie playing.

Drink service was hard to come by so I float looking for a place to play and a waitress.

Knob Creek Manhattans please! Drinks were excellent.

That was the end of being up for me. I go and play some dollar slots and just eat coin. I swap to some penny. Carnival of Mystery, which I love, ate my bank at two fifty a spin. Nickel machines gobbled down chunks of change. Soon I was five hundy in the hole and start looking for a shoulder to cry on, wifey HELP!!!

I found my baby on a magic forest with 70000 credits(penny). I said you must have hit something! She said she had hit repeatedly, playing a dollar bet and starting with a twenty! MY NEW BEST FRIEND!!!! (She’s thinking Magic Forest, I’m thinking HER!)image

I told her I had squandered half my bank and would she share? She will but not till she is done milking this machine cause she doesn’t want to “muck it up.” She refuses to change her bet or cash out while she is winning, but her plan is doing much better than mine.

I move on and look over the tables, ouch craps at ten, BJ at ten or more. Casino is busy for sure but not packed. In Jan I played ten dollar craps I got creamed for five hundy in about ten minutes and I just have not been back. I play a pass with odds and a pair of comes with odds. But getting slaughtered is a reality some days.

I go play the quarter Red Hot Sevens. I am going to win this progressive some day I assure you, but not today! I do play for an hour or so and have fun but ends up the same drain except for forty bucks only.

I stroll again noting the $800,000 and change dollar Wheel of Fortune. That guy at the Hard Rock popped one!

The dollar progressive seems so small now. The fifty cent Wheel is well over a million.

That fourteen million was years in the making, and of course I always played a little at it but I skipped over the dollar Wheel of Fortune standing at eight hundy thou.

About eight we go to BR Prime for dinner and it is at least half empty so we get seated immediately. No reserveations.

Nice table with great ambiance, silver charger and fine linens. Water and a menu and here comes the bread. I love the bread in fine dining! I’m loaded and wifey is tipsy. She orders the Lobster Bisque and the crab stuffed baked potato. I order Beefsteak tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella and a 12 ounce dry aged NY Strip.

Les amuse is a one ounce portion of tomato soup and a divine little biscuit that was oh so excellent.

I see the sommelier that I appreciate for his vast knowledge. I ask about an Argentine wine and he says he has a Malbec by the glass. Again it is an excellent recommendation. We chatted about the argentine wines and he is in the know. I appreciate a real sommelier rather than just a guy selling wine and opening bottles.

Lobster bisque is unappreciated by sweetie. Not bad just not really excellent choice for her and the Les Amuse from the Chef upstaged the Bisque. She dearly loves the crab stuffed potato and pronounced herself “stuffed” after this consumption. My dry aged steak was exceptional and the tomatoes were the perfect complement to this expertly cooked meat. The buffalo mozzarella was outstanding and the wine and meal was everything we expected from fine dining. Service was impeccable.

Caprese (tomato salad) $14.00
Lobster Bisque $12.00
NY strip $54.00
Crab stuffed potato $14.00
$94.00 for two.

Wow, I’m looking for the wine and it is not on the ticket. Maybe the sommelier comped it or maybe they forget to charge it. Doesn’t matter the meal was all comped and it was a wonderful meal and a fine dining experience worth the coin. I do love this restaurant.

It is usually packed but this night was open so I hope all is going well for the BR Prime. I highly recommend this place for ambiance and quality.

Back into the Casino for some fun and we are sated but not stuffed. Tipsy but not yet drunk. Players but not yet busted.

A little more slot play at about even and off to bed we go at around ten thirty.

Cold room, hot wifey, king bed, comforter that is almost bondage heavy and tight. Me, I love it.

I get up at six thirty and go to the spa. Fifteen bucks for the day for gusts. A very nice purchase and a purchase it was. The Beau did not comp the Spa, guess the meals were all they thought I deserve. I thought that unusual as the Spa is EMPTY. Any way it is a great place. Robes, coffee, juice, giant bathroom with all the amenities and necessities. Disposable razor for a shave and cream, and all other goodies. I sat in the steam room with whiskey head for an hour. Eucalyptus spray was nice, steam was impenetrable. Thick billowy clouds of heat and steam so you cannot see a foot in from of you. Fun!

Showered when done and used all their stuff. Drank cranberry juice and had a banana. Worth the coin even if not comped.

I leave the spa and find wifey. She has won all night and is starting again on the wolf run at the players club. I get in the line at 0745 for the players club which now opens at 0800.

When I finally arrive at the counter the lady is kind and helpful. I ask her if she can split the 200 freeplay on to the two cards and she say no but because we have crossed some kind of threshold so she can double the freeplay! Wow four hundred bucks and I would not have known unless she helped me. I said to put it on my card and she said “Yes, cause you have lost, but you wife has won, and is still winning.” WOW! They can see your play on each machine! That’s news. Any way I get the scratch it rich crap and the freeplay and go find “wifey the winner”.

Sure enough the wolf run is paying very well. I start to play the free play and I hit to cash four hundred with only two hundred freeplay. I tell wifey I gonna go to the dollar Blazing sevens. I play 100 dollars free play I cash out a three hundred ticket.

I squander the last freeplay on a nickel game and that’s the end of it.

WOW I am gaining on the previous losses.
We breakfast at the Roasted Bean after a while. Wonderful!
Out of time and had enough we check out at 10am me back at even and Wifey up about a grand. Beau comped the meals but not the spa.

We had a grand time and it was nice to win something.

Thanks to the Beau for a wonderful experience and an excellent meal.

See ya at the Beau!!

Hard Rock Weekend Trip Report

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:31:03 +0000

Our first stop was the Island View where I started out losing, then my luck changed. I started hitting on penny slots and soon was up several hundred. I decided to play max bets on a Pompeii machine and got the bonus with a 5X pay. I got $800 on that spin. Nice, I leave the IV up, which made me feel good.

On to the Hard Rock to check in. Received a room on the 9th floor, and then headed down to eat at the Grill. I decided to play at Hard Rock since Beau was having a drawing. I did awful at Hard Rock. Could not hit squat there. I knew I had my winnings in the safe up the room, so I just kept playing with the money I brought, hoping that my luck would turn around. Went up to the room early and down quite a bit in the wallet.

Next morning had the HR buffet for breakfast, then went over to the Beau to use my freeplay. Played poker and then several penny games. Was playing conservative due to my big lose the day before at Hard Rock. Brought some of my winnings from the safe, just in case I needed it. Broke even at the Beau thanks to a few good hits on penny games. Decided to check in on husband. He wanted to watch football, so I took the car and Mary and I made our rounds. Did OK at the other 4 casinos, Isle, Palace, Boomtown nad IP. Only lost $80 between 4 casinos. Thats a miracle! Headed back and picked up sandwiches for Paul and I from the grill again. He had been in the room all day, so was ready for some food. I ate then went back down to play some more. Bad move on my part, lost the rest of my stash! image There was still some winnings in the vault from Island View, so I will have that to use when I go to Tunica in February!

Had a good time, but gambling was only good to me at IV. Hard Rock should give me some good offers. I earned close to 2000 points in the 2 days I was there. Beau will soon disown me as I have not given them the play that I used to.

Thanks for reading.

Kathy

Source: BiloxiOne.com

Weekend trip to Beau Rivage

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:30:23 +0000

It was a holiday weekend, so we decided to make a trip over on Saturday and spent two nights. I stayed at the Beau Rivage; Kathy and Paul stayed at the Hard Rock. No big wins to talk about — I did play a lot at the progressive VP in the non-smoking section of the Beau Rivage and hit several quads. Someone did get the progressive Royal during one of my sessions. It was crowded at the Beau Rivage. I didn’t realize they were doing free play drawings on that Saturday. I hate to be there when they do drawings. I did not even get my free entry tickets for the drawing. There were long lines at the Players Club all weekend. The computers were not fully functional part of the time and the displays didn’t show that you were accumulating any points. I was able to use my free play on Saturday, but half of the time on Sunday, the displays were not working. You couldn’t get free play or point play most of Sunday. Also, the horse race did not run the entire time I was there because the displays weren’t working anyway.

For meals, we stopped at Eastern Shore Center Shopping Center in Alabama and ate breakfast at Chic-Fil-A. Then we all had sandwiches mid-afternoon at the 24/7 Grille at the Hard Rock. I didn’t have anything else that day. Sunday, I had a mocha and pecan sticky bun at the Roasted Bean. I skipped lunch, then had a sandwich from Snacks that evening.

Gambling was bad for me. We went to Island View, Beau Rivage, Palace, Isle, Hard Rock, Boomtown and IP. The only place I won a little was the IP and that was playing Star Trek. The Beau Rivage was the worst of all of them.

I noticed that there seemed to be less people working at the Players Club. That may be why there were such long lines. I did not even get the Gift of the Month because I didn’t want to stand in the long line. I charged my food purchases to the room and got them comped as I checked out.

On the way home, we decided to check out the new Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, Alabama. See my separate post under the forum “Enjoying the Gulf Coast”.

Despite losing, it was still a fun weekend trip. I plan to still use my free play at the Beau Rivage as long as they send it to me, but I do want to stay at other casinos and see what they can do for me.

Source: BiloxiOne

Trip to the Hard Rock

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:56:51 +0000

So, my brother and I decide to make a last minute trip to Biloxi, as we are so prone to do. When he and I used to live in Tallahassee (yes, he is a Nole. Yuck!), we would make the trip to Biloxi at least twice a month. So close and yet so far was our motto. We would usually stay at the Treasure Bay, which before Katrina was our favorite place on Earth. It was very old-style Vegas. The Pit Bosses all recognized us, and the dealers and cocktail waitress (and waiters, hah!) were exceptional fast, and cool. It was a great place.

But since the disaster, we have been usually staying at the Beau Rivage or the Hard Rock. This time we chose the Hard Rock. For those who haven’t been there yet, the Hard Rock is a great place. We rolled in at around 7:30 on Friday and hit the tables immediately. The place was moderately filled but we knew that it would be the spot a little later.

Around 9:30 or so my lucky run hadn’t hit yet, but I was down about half a pack of smokes and up about 6 vodka-red bulls and I was ready to take advantage of this:

(This deal is good through Jan.31st 2009 btw)

The food at Vibe was awesome. We both had steaks and graduated to Grey Gooses on the rocks. Full, and with some renewed liquid courage, we strode boldly back to the tables. The Hard Rock’s Casino is oval with the bar as the center piece and that is where you want to be at 11pm on Fridays in Biloxi. We we lucky enough to slur our way into a group of college brats and we commenced the hunt.

My girl was was the grenade of the crew (of course) and I jumped on it with gusto. I let my bro, the far better gamer of our pair take the reins and the night ended with some serious slobbering but unfortunately ended a little early. The good news was they would be in town till Sunday and we set up a rendezvous at Detox.

To see the Detox Girls, click HERE

For the uninitiated Detox is the Biloxi version of Rehab at the Hard Rock in Vegas. It is essentially an all day pool party at the beautiful Hard Rock pool. We get there an hour and half early and run into them around 4. We are of course blasted. Things are going great for my brother but crappy for me. My mouth being the ususal suspect. I had mentioned that I am in financial planning to my girl, so “that makes us both whores!” She seemed to take offense to this and starts whining about something. “Are you calling me a whore?!” blah, blah, blah….

I try to console her with my usual soothing words. “What I meant was that you’re different from the other whor… from the other girls…” Anyway, she didn’t bite and ended up talking her other not-so-hot-friend-at-this-point to going off somewhere with her while I sat there trying to remember the correct English phrase that would obtain me another drink. Alas, I ending up thinking way too hard and passed out in the pool. I woke up sitting against a wall in the parking lot watching two laughing bouncers walking away from me.

My brother put another notch on his well-marked board as I found out the next day. We left Biloxi laughing our asses off again, cause I actually ended up winning enough to cover our room, gas, and food. I LOVE BILOXI!!!!!

Beau Rivage Poker Trip Report

admin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:47:50 +0000

This is a great trip report regarding poker at Beau Rivage and Hard Rock. Almost all the report is geared towards poker, so if you are not into reading about poker hands, reviews, I would probably skip this trip report.

Report is from AcesKracked and was posted over at TwoPlusTwo.com

Leaving from Upstate, SC – best flight was $225 out of ATL, GSP $400 – we decide we will drive (8 hrs. – ouch) By the time we drive 2.5 hrs. to ATL, wait at airport and pay for parking not saving too much time or money.

Thurs:
Get up at 3:00 for our 4:00 meeting for 5 us the join up (2 drove down Thurs. evening). Pull out at 4:15, a couple of fast food stops and $100 fill-ups we are in Biloxi by 11:30 Central time. Park our car and stop by to see about early check-in at the Beau Rivage – we had all booked our rooms through the poker room about a month earlier (79.00 Thur, 99.00 Fri/Sat). Everyone’s reservation is there but mine (no record of it) I run to the poker room and speak w/ Donna – she takes my information and takes care of it. Valet takes the car, bellman brings up bags and we are in the card room at the Beau 12:00.

A few of us decide to walk next door to the Hard Rock to check out their thurs 1:00 NL Omaha tourney. I sit in a painful 1-4-8 game (only table running) and wait for the tourney. Turns out only 6 people signed up and the manager wants to cancel – most of us were game to play short-handed but it was not happening. I somehow burn through 2 racks of whites in about 3 hrs. playing 1-4-8. I buy a 3rd and hover about even for another hour and decide to cash out and look for a real game. (Ever notice at the 4-8 games over time everyone’s chip evaporate??) $5 rake, jackpot drop, and dealer tip each hand pulls money off the table fast, hard to beat these games, and if you do, rarely for very much.

Register for the 6:00 $100+20+10 tourney at the Beau and sit at a NL 1-2 for about an hour before the tourney begins. Cash out about even and sit in the tourney. Had pretty crappy cards early and just won enough pots to stick around, tourney ended up having about 65 entries, come about 12:00 I somehow make it to the Final Table. Tourney only pays top-9, so we immediatley decide for each person to give the 10th man 15 buck, so everyone is guaranteed to get their money back +. I win a couple of pots, steal some blinds and find myself in the final 6, we talk about chopping again but 2 big stacks are against it unless they get #1 and #2 money, #6 guy did not like this too much. #1 stack is drunk and obnoxious, he is insistent in playing it out – he falls next (nice). #2 stack drops next and we’re down to 4. I start to look at the payouts more seriously now and see that 1st is $1700 and some change. Guy to my right goes on a little rush and knocks out another one, he is a monster chip leader, he has more than double my stack and about double the other guy. We discuss chopping again, TD tells us, split 3-ways payout is 1125. We decide to chop with me giving 150, and #2 stack giving #1 $100. We chop it up, after tip and my 150, my tourney fee, I net about $900 – pretty happy.

After finishing my meal I was eating at the final table I sit at a 1-2 game, my buddy is across the table from me, 2-3 solid players at the table and a couple of guys that are soon to go broke there as well (just hope I could be the 1 to bust them). I buy in for $300 and about my 3rd hand I hold K9o and flop the straight to the king. Solid and very aggressive guy to my left leads out $25 into a $30 pot, I call. Turn is a 10 (giving him straight to Q). He checks I bet $100, he raises to $200 and I go all-in for another 40 on top, he calls with the straight to the Q and a 10-high flush draw. River is of course a 3rd club, cracking my nuts and shipping almost $700 to him.
Same guy beats me a couple more times and sucks out another, I win a few from others at the table but decide to cash out around 4:00 am being stuck $400 on that session. Been up for well over 24 hours and playing close to 18 straight, decide to go to bed.

Friday:
I get up a little after 7:00 cash in my voucher for a buffet with a couple of other guys and head back to the room at the Beau. Another buddy who arrived in town about 11:00 is still sitting in the same 2-5 game I left him a few hours ago playing 3-handed. He has a stack of green at this point along with a couple racks of red and couple of blacks floating around too, he said the game was just too good to leave, and as it got shorter, it just got better.

I sit at a 1-2NL game with another buddy, he melts through about 500 in 2-3 hours, I get down early and end up about even after 6 hrs. Break for lunch about 1:00 and sit to play some more, this time at the Hard Rock. Sit to play 1-2NL, game is not nearly as deeped stacked as the Beau games and a lot more social, the scenery is unbelievable though as the night comes on and the Hard Rock clubs open up, also a Gretchen Wilson concert at the Hard Rock that night as well. Room had 4-5 NL 1-2 games going and several 1-4-8.

I play till about 3:00, cash-out up about $300 and head back to the Beau, intending to go to bed, sit at some variation of a table game and proceed to stupidly blow through $300. Figuring this needs to be a it for the night I cruise by the poker room at the Beau to see what is happening. 2-shorthanded NL 1-2 games going and a full 2-5. I sit at one of the 1-2’s at 3:30 am. Game gets crazy with routine $15-30 raises pre-flop with 5-6 callers. Pot odds meant nothing in this game, it was all about implied odds (or at least this is what I kept telling myself when throwing in an extra $25 pre-flop with 45o. Hit some big hands with crap, flopped a couple of sets and am up about $600. Watch the Ryder cup matches on the flat screen above me that I watched 24 hours later from the same table. Decide to call it a night around 11:00 am Sat. morning. Still wide awake but Head to the room for a quick nap.

Saturday:
Wake up around 3:00 and watch some Ryder Cup while taking my time getting ready. Have some lunch/dinner with a couple of buddies and sit back down at the Hard Rock around 6:00, only 1 seat at the 1-2 game so I give it to my buddy and sit at 1-4-8 until another opens up. Win a couple of medium size pots in :15 minutes and my name is called, seat next to my buddy is open.

I cash in my white and sit down up almost 100 bucks. 1-2 game is good, so I add some cash, in for 4 now and within the 1st hour I am dealt A Q from the SB. It is raised to 10 to me with 4 callers, I just call. Flop is A Q 6 I lead out with $30, terrible player 2 to my left calls (has about 200 left) and bad young player to my right raises to $130 from the button. I think for a minute and decide their is no way this guy raises a set to me here, is has AK. I push for $440 more, terrible player on my left throws in his 200 and button raiser calls pretty quickly, I think maybe he does have a set, I am toast. They turn over their cards and bad short stack has KJ, big-stack raiser turns over A J. I look at their hands an realize they are practically drawing dead. Turn comes out J and river is of course a 10. Runner-runner for big stack and he takes the lion’s share of the $1200 pot. I am absolutley sick after this and proceed to tilt off about $300 more dollars. 2 terrible plays during this run on my part due to tilt factor, not betting a flush card when I missed my straight on the river, other player missed straight too but wins hand with pair of 4’s – $200 pot. Another hand from BB I flop 2-pair with Q 4 – lead out with $25, get raised to $125, thinking I am against AQ or AK at worst with a chance of getting counterfeited I fold, he turns over A10 ($300 pot) my 2-pair would have held.

At this point I decide to add on 3 more hundred, decide if I go down, I am going down in flames – start doing the math and realize that if I lose what I am now in for, I actually lose money for the weekend.
Hot shot young long-haired, sunglass wearing pro sits down across the end of the table from me. I have AQ in the SB, he raises to 12, 2- callers, I call. Flop is: A Q 4 I lead out for $30, young pro wanna be pauses and says, “You know, if you want to learn to make money in this game, you need to check and let the pre-flop raiser lead out” He turns over kings or jacks and folds. I sarcastically thank him for the advice, ask him if minds if I write that down, and tell him I will try to learn from him to play better.

A few hands later I am in late position with 57 and call a $7 raise from the wanna be, flop is K105 It is checked to him and he bets out $30, folded to me, I raise to $140. He thinks for a while and folds what he said was jacks. I, of course, turn over my 57 and tell him good fold. He starts mumbling to the guys next to him and adds on a couple more hundred. I win a couple more pots and am up to around $300 and change, its now very late and I have a 8 hour drive coming up in about 4 hours. I am dealt A6 in the blind, a small raise to $7 and about 4 other callers, flop is 253 I lead out for $20, 2-callers and young pro raises to $120, another guy goes all-in for his 200, I think for a minute and figuring I am probably behind to a couple of sets here decide that I have a 4 to the nut straight or a spade to the nuts. I push my last 260ish in. 2 callers and young pro calls and table A4, 4 people in the hand 3 are all-in. Turn 7 River 7 I figure I am toast to someone’s boat and will win the side pot with the big-stack pro. Other 2 players muck with a lower flush draw and and the other w/ an over pair. NICE! I scrape it all, takes about 3 hands to stack all of my chips and I realize that somehow, thanks to this viscious suck-out I am actually up a few dollars on the night. Go on my first rush of the 50+ hour of poker weekend. Win 4-5 more pots and would have won about every other had I played them. Young pro goes to the cage and comes back with a rack of red and drops about 5k in cash on the table, just asks that I stick around a while to give him a chance to win ‘his’ money back. I play about another hour and end up cashing out up $90 for the night. Head to bed for a couple hour nap before getting up at 7:00 for the long drive.

Finish up the weekend up $400
One buddy won $2700, another 1400, another 300, and the others were even or lost a few hundred +.

Afterthoughts of the weekend:
- Biloxi great place for a trip, room rates are good, action is excellent, tourneys although expensive are very well run (at the Beau Rivage anyway)
- Its amazing how 50+ hours of play can come down to the last few hours in how you end up for the week. If I win this big AQ hand early, I am up well over 1k, probably go to bed early and finish the weekend up reasonable amount instead I find myself throwing almost 300 in on a flush draw late trying to break even.
- Played, I estimated, 1500+ hands on the weekend and was dealt pocket aces 1 time – I figure I am due for at least 6 in a row my next home game.
- The cost to play poker is enormous – timed rake at the Beau Rivage along w/ a 1/10 share of the jack pot drop equates to almost $800 for the 54 hours or so of poker I played
- Beau Rivage and Hard Rock are 1st class in taking care of their players with meal comps, etc. – never an issue whatsoever.

Thanks,
AcesKracked

Fourth of July at Island View

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Susan decided that it was time to pay a visit to daughter & family in Mobile AL. We had an offer from IV so we decided we would spend a few days with the family and then go on to Gulfport. Drive from Tampa to Mobile seems to get longer each time but traffic was not as bad as I thought it would be. Arrived at daughters tired but happy to see everyone. Spent a few days doing what we do best, spoiling the grandchildren.

Off to Gulfport Thrusday. Check-in was quick and easy as usual. Room was spotless, pillow-top mattress, flat screen TV and small frig. View wasn’t too good this time, overlooked the back parking lot, but don’t spend much time there anyway. Both had some nice free play to use before Friday so off to casino.

IV had 7X points from 12PM til 6PM thrus-fri-Sat so I decided to wait until evening to use my free play and concentrate on VP at the bar. (Can’t use free-play on VP or progressives) Held my own on JOB but DDB killed me. Just as I hit my ONLY 4oak someone grabbed my arm and screamed “LOOK LOOK I DID IT”. A very nice lady had held 10-J of clubs and filled in for a nice $1190. She cashed out and took of like a shot to show her husband. Went to find Susan to see how she was doing but she was not at any of her favorite penny machines. Figured she hit something and moved on to the $1 WOF. Yep! there she was, up a little and trying for more. Sat down next to her an threw a $20 in for kicks, first spin 3X-triple bar-3X for a nice $720 hit. Now, Susan’s logic was that if I had not came looking for her I wouldn’t be playing WOF therefore would not have won. Cost me $360 without even playing. I did make a lot of points though. (the good kind)

Spent Thrus. evening playing on our free play and doing ok. Both of us ended up on the plus side for the day. Ate a late supper at the buffet, couldn’t get near the C&G. IMO the buffet is getting much better. Always liked it, but the quality seems better. Others must agree because the lines were long.

Friday the place was packed. Couldn’t find an open bartop so played a little VP on the floor. With $11 per point and not so good pay tables I only play VP on multi point times so at 6PM I changed to hot shots. Not a good move. Both down a couple hundred for the day. That’s not including the new freeplay we lost.

Sat pretty much the same, place packed, still losing but still having a good time. The crowds were very happy and everyone friendly. Daughter & family showed up for dinner. Tried again for C&G but the wait was pretty long so settled on the buffet. Probably best anyway as there was more for the girls to have. Lines were long but the girls entertained everyone so it went fast. Family went back to Mobile and we found 2 side by side Hot Slots. Susan was playing 90 credits and hit for 24,000. She kicked it up to 150 credits and kept hitting and finally cashed out at $430. I tried to use her previous logic on sharing but it didn’t work quite the same??? Put on a lot of points and enjoyed watching everyone having a good time.

Sun morning checked out. Room was on an offer so comped, all food was comped, and have a nice amount of earned points cash left. All & all a pretty inexpensive trip. I was down $300 and Susan $200. Had a Great time and that’s what it’s about. Thanks for reading. Jim & Susan