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                                                                              AC APRIL 2015: Marathon Man

04.09.2015   The Show That Never Ends....

Hey Now! Welcome back my friends. I started out by cheating Uncle Sam out of 6 hours of work thanks to comped time. I loves me some comps... On the road by 8 a.m. Kinda a cloudy shitty spring day as I clicked off the miles Up Da Coast.

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              Alas, as this is a solo venture, there is no Sweet Ti as I pass by Ti's Corner. Onward and northward!!!

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I was supposed to take the 2:45 ferry, but made killer time. Got there just in time for the 12:00 boat. Which meant I got to Resorts around 2:15. Didn't see the my Polish sisters at the desk, so Maria checked me in. She said to come back around 3:00 for my room keys. Not a prob.... Time to GAMBOL!. I loaded up today's free play- $35. I played some $1 2x3x10x pay.

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That gave me a bit of free VP money, so I went over to the uprights between the pit and security. Insert ticket. .50 8/5 BP. Nada. Insert Hundy. Nada. But I did meet a nice couple who were playing next to me. Sandy & Paul. I complimented them on their jackets. Sam's Town. I was wearing my Orleans jacket. So we swapped Vegas tales while I was losing money. They split and so does my Hundy, and I walked back to the desk. Not ready yet. I went to the Player's Club and got a chit for the slot tourney. I played. Can you say Barney Fife?  I try some Power Spins. Still no screenshots, but I did manage to push. One more trip across the great divide-Score! Time to be Movin' on Up....4:45

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Stretch sez "Still kinda misty and crappy outside, think we should stay in and gambol Boss". Good ol' Stretch! But first, time to call my Sweet Ti. She is just getting off work. I am tasked to earn my keep. Will do, but first, it's time for Ruby's Diner.      

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                        Sated, and with my instructions, I proceed back to the previous uprights and inserted coin.

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Tonight's local is the Double Up Dude. I'm sitting down- minding my own business and said Dude sits down. Tell the truth I whiffed him before I saw him. He downloads some free play, and it's on. Every time he had a winning hand, he would double up. Usually 2 or 3 times. Then quit. He always seemed to know what to do. He hit a 4OAK, doubled up, won, and cashed out. Hopefully he used some of his winnings to take a shower. I ended the evening with a small loss.

04.10.2015  RB's Marathon

It's 4 a.m. I'm awake. I TCB and give my Sweet Ti a wakey call- or 3. It finally worked. Time for me to go to work too. Today is 2x points day for Epic players. I bide my time till 6 a.m. when Resort's gaming day starts. On the way down I spot this sign.

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In order to qualify for 2x points, you have to log in at a kiosk before you play. Easily overlooked, it's yet another way for the casino to renege on a standing offer. I logged in at 6:01 a.m. I headed for Margaritaville. There are 4 machines- uprights. They have .25/.50/$1 8/5 BP. It's hard to get on them, the locals seem to dominate them. Right now the place was completely empty. Sweet. The best part about these machines is that they come with their own bathroom. There is one tucked away in there that nobody ever uses. And even though that is a smoking section, you can usually actually breathe there. I inserted coin and began. After about 5 hands, security showed up to change out the tills and kicked me out. Bummer. I head for the hills. Hollyrock Hills that is. Swimming pools, movie stars.

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                                                             One of these days, Alice. POW! 

They replaced the $1 Top Dollar machine with a $100 one. I guess they figure one spin replaces 50. Doubt I'll ever insert coin in this one. Instead I try some Cue Da Dog aka Jackpot Station. Bonus Time!

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I cashed out and went over to last night's uprights. I've still got the place more or less to myself. Insert coin...

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Sure enough, right after that here comes security to bounce me. I swear they are following me around. Sex Y'all?    

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Next stop is back to the uprights in MVille. There is one empty spot. I recognize the 3 locals at the other machines. They are always there on bonus point days. I inserted coin on what turned out to be a 4 hour session.

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I would play dollars till I went below a Hundy, and then go to .50. After that last 4OAK I switched back to dollars.

                                                     

                                                            

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                                 A new machine on the wall behind me catches my attention- Ellen. I insert coin   

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Fun, I ended up with a small profit. Time for another session. Since Buffetville is toast, I settle for the .25/.50 variety. Triple Boner

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                        I go up the food chain- can't do dollars here, and go with .50 8/5 BP and then I got this..

                                                              

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 Today's local was a really nice dude from up the coast a few miles. We shot the shit with each other while we played. Did pretty good.

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Somewhere in the middle of this session I added my $50. FSP to the old BR. Break time- I get my chit for today's slot tourney. As I'm waiting in line for a seat, I start talking to the attendant, Monica. She asks me about my beads. They are from formerly Terrible's now Silver Seven's in Vegas. We got them first back on 2005 on our first trip to Sin City. Over the years, We have accumulated a passel of them. And we never go gamboling without them. I tell Monica I'll hook her up. I play my round and do poorly. I head aloft for an ice cold Kaliber and Stretch shows me the fog outside. I grab some extra beads and ascend again into the abyss..

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I stopped by and gave Monica her beads, and headed back to the uprights. I played for at least an hour before hitting this-

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Hollyrock Hills beckoned, so I blew a Hundy there with nary a screenshot to show for my efforts. Time for some Sexy Ladies....

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                 

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It's 5 o'clock somewhere- well actually here, and I call my Sweet Ti for her "Welcome...to our Weekend" call. Then I hit the Epic Club chow line. This place is quite spiffy.. Time to oinkers.

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Sated, I make my move to M'Ville- no, wait, still full of the same local-lings. So it's back to the ol' uprights for RB.

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                                                             Did somebody say Buffalo???      

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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                                                                                      Mr. Monopoly makes an appearance too.   

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    With that, I call it a night. I've earned about 20 points today, and thanks to 2x comps about $75.00 in said comps. Zzzzzzzzz....

  04.11.2015  AC's Marathon

Saturday in AC starts out looking to be a beautiful day. I shower and watch the weather over yet another bowl of cereal. Gonna be about 70º and sunny. Perfect, as I need to go downbeach to the Trop. But first I head to MVille for a quick morning session. On the way down I notice several peoples in running gear. Not too unusual at 6 a.m., but today they seem to be everywhere. And several of them are wearing tutus. I finally ask one of them, and sure enough there is a marathon on the boardwalk today. The finish line is right in front of Resorts . Interesting. Arriving at MVille, I find a lone local left from yesterday. This dude is insatiable. I've met him several times, and I sit down, insert coin, and we talk VP. We lament over the comp system changes here. I notice that every time he put in a hundy he notates it in his notebook. That I understand. These pros have to keep track of their play for tax purposes. But I also notice that he writes down every time he gets a straight. But never anything else. Not even a 4OAK. For the life of me I can't fathom. I finally ask. He explains that it's simply a way for him to keep track of approximately how many hands he has played. It all averages out. Makes sense. Insert coin.

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It started out good enough- but went south from there. Time for me to head south too. I got to the boardwalk and was taken aback by the setup.  I head downbeach...

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At this point, no runners had gone by. Finally, a lone dude came running by. A few minutes later, 3 more ran by, and then a chick. A lady who was walking south at about the same speed as me was cheering them on as they went by. She was wearing a hat and t-shirt that said "Black Girls Run" I asked her about it.They are a fitness group, mostly running.She's Dolores. Hello Dolores, I'm RB. She was there to support various members who were running today. So we walked, talked, and cheered on the contestants.

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We are seeing lots of runners now. Several are her fellow club members. The ones wearing tutus are first time runners. It's a tradition . She needs to get a couple of bananas for some of these first timers, but is afraid they will walk by while she is inside. We are at the Trop, and I tell her I'll be right back. I run down to the coffee shop, and buy her some bananas. I give them to her, and we cheer on the runners for a bit. Then it's time for me to go see Harvey at Zephyr Gallery. He opens around 10 a.m. Later Dolores! I admire the new construction on the way in. Looks like they are putting up giant speakers on the boardwalk side of the Trop. 

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There is work being done on the excalators ( these are for real the legendary excalators past the Hooters!) leaving only one skinny set of stairs. This could be a problem when it's crowded. I make my way toward The Quarter.

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            Granny is playing the first VP machine Sweet Ti & I ever played. Funny- we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. 

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Well, Harvey must be sleeping in today. So I truck on over to the player's club. Wasn't planning on playing here, so I left my card upbeach. I ask if they are offering a complementary upgrade since I haven't played here in a year. I show them my Resorts Epic card, and she is bewildered. After a comfab with her co-worker, they decide to make me GOLD. That's their 3rs level. Works for me. Gets me comp parking, and use of the big boys lounge- Sun. thru Thur. But no room offers. I only have $20 cash, so I hit the Sex City. I hit a couple of bonuses. Then I try Triple Cheeseburger, as it's next door to Zephyr, and I can tell when they open. I lose my money, but earn 51 points. 19,949 left to maintain GOLD. Time to shop. I walk in and am heartily greeted by Harvey. He and his wife Toby opened this gallery back in 2005. They only carry jewelry and crafts made by individual artists and jewelers. I found this place on my first trip back in 2006. Sweet Ti now has a couple of dozen pieces of jewelry from here, and our house is full of other items. Harvey and I shoot the shit about our wives and lives. He said this past February was their worst even on account of the weather. But it's picked up. We select a nice pair of earrings from Robin Lee Becker for Sweet Ti's upcoming birthday.  As usual, he gives me a handsome discount. Laters Harvey! Next stop is downstairs to Firewaters to see : Two hot air balloons in a Piper Cub : Nancy. Yet another long time aquaintance. We chit chat for a bit. I show her Sweet Ti's earrings. Cool. Laters, Nancy!. Back to my walkies, now this is more like it. The sun is out, and it's beautiful!

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I say Hey Now to a couple of Beach Kitties on the way. There are several of well fed cat colonies along the way. Next stop: the Hall.

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                                I stop in and purchase some DO AC swag. Never have too much swag. 

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 Great story goes with that last pic. Apparently this dude sits out on the boards all day selling flags from his wheelchair. At the end of the day, he hops out of the chair, pushes it back to his car, stows it and drives home. The guy inside the visitor center told me about him.

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So one of the most famous legacies about AC- besides the kitties- is the rolling chairs. But now they have some competition...

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I stopped and talked to one of the rolling chair pusher dudes. He wasn't happy about the trams. AND, the same company owns them both.

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Obviously I made it back to Resorts. I ascend to the crib for a change of clothes and a chilly Kaliber. Then I hit the uprights....

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  Time for some grub... Epic Club appears to be open so I find a booth near the bar. An older dude is sitting at the next booth. "Mind if I join you?" Please do. Red takes my drink order- a diet soda. Is that all??? Well how about a Red Bull too?? She goes to get my drinks. Comes back with- get this- Red Bull is for Red Carpet players only. Hell, I can barely maimtain Epic- Red Carpet is 2 levels above me. Like putting half a mil thru every 6 months. Never mind. I help myself to the buffet...

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  I sit back down and introduce myself to my new neighbor. His name is Alan. He's down from NYC for the Bridge Tourney. I tell him I saw the sign earlier, and was wondering about it. Apparently he is a pretty good player. This tourney is just foe bragging rights. I tell him the last time I was in NYC was for the 1964-65 World's Fair. He was there. I was pretty young. All that's left of it is thei=

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Alan sez he was at the one before that too. I asked him what year that was....1939. No shit! He didn't look that old to me....

                                                         

He said he was born in '28. Amazing. So was my Daddy. Let's see, that made him 87. He was waiting for his 42 year old girlfriend. You old dog...... Actually he was really cool to talk to. But he had a Tourney, and I had to gambol! Laters Alan!

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                                                               Colossal Jackpot? not really...

Headed up to the casa to gab with Sweet Ti and grab a shower and a couple of chilly Kalibers. Then I walked over to the player's club for today's promo- $75 in Marshall's gift cards. Then I tried some $1 5x/10x. Nada. Buffalo???? Nopper. Back to the uprights. There were a couple of ladies sitting next to me that had absolutely no idea what they were doing, so I gave a class in VP 101. I had a Rapt Audience. One of them even hit a 4OAK. Noice! This evening there is a shindig at the Superstar Theater- one of the employees is also a part time local lounge crooner, and is having a birthday bash. My host invited me and said she had a part in the show during a number. Starts in about an hour. Back to my game, I was holding my own. I'm planning on leaving first thing in the morning- I always like my last hand of VP to be a 4OAK. Plenty of time to hit one...as a matter of fact it happened quickly.

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                        Actually, too quickly. I still had 45 minutes before the show. Time for some City Sex...

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                                 Not sure I would actually call that a BIG WIN on a $6 spin, but I digress.

                                                                                                                    

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              That one does though. I cashed out that puppy and headed upstairs for the shindig. There was a big crowd already inside.     

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  I went in and found a seat near the balcony. The show started as I was getting a dastardly Ab'Douls from the open bar.  The dude was a pretty good singer and had a tight quartet backing him up. It was basically a love fest for this dude from all the management- including  Mark Giannantonio. Finally they played Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" and My host, Martha was one of the back up singers, dressed all in black just like in the video. She and her cohorts aced it! I waited around to see if she would come back out in the theater, but she never showed. So I sent her a text and after a couple of more songs I went back downstairs. I cashed out that sweet ticket and seeing as it was only 8:45 p.m. decided to play some BJ . There was a $15 table with 3rd base open in MVille. I bought in for a hundy. There were 2 dudes already playing, and the first shoe was brutal. But we had a dealer change after the shuffle and things picked up...        

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 I was up even more, and got a text from Martha asking where I was. I told her in the MVille pit, she said she would be right down. I was betting $20 a hand. Got dealt a pair of 3's to the dealer's 5. So I split. First hand, another 3. I re-split. First hand- dealt an 8. I doubled. Got a 5. Second hand, dealt a 6. Doubled. Got an Ace. Third hand, got dealt a 10. Stayed. So I had a hundy on the table. Dealer turns over a 6- and draws a Jack. 21. Shit da Bed. I colored up for $180 and threw the dealer the red chip. Just then Martha walked up and we chit chatted about things for awhile. She had to boogie and I cashed out my chips and called it a trip. Got up at the buttcrack the next morning and loaded up, made it home in record time. 

Room: 14.12 a night dreaded resort fee ( payable with comps) 

          5.00 a night tax (cash)

Total coin-in: well I earned 40 points. 

Around $1600 per point= $64k.

Comps: earned $120 thanks to 2x Friday.

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