Grubby at PokerWorks

I’m not looking forward to my Vegas trip this weekend.

For one, I lost a ton in my April and June visits. All primarily from slots in that neverending quest for a W-2G.  A W-2G is given for any slot win over $1199.  I wasn’t even close, winning no more than $200 on any one spin.  grubette witnessed me at full slot tilt, betting $6 a spin on a new Li’l Lucy game.

For another, an “Internet Auditor” from Harrah’s emailed that I had to cancel one of my back-to-back stays at Harrah’s and Rio. My play is only eligible for 5 comped nights, she said.

I lost the battle that the 5 nights at Rio were my regular comped rate and the additional 3 nights at Harrah’s were under a different promotion, which included two slot tournaments. But it’s Harrah’s, which frowns on anyone staying more than 5 days in a row comped. In the back of my head I knew it was too good to be true, and I was surprised the system let me book online.

Of the Harrah’s properties, Harrah’s itself is my favorite place to stay because the hotel and Diamond Lounge (the only DL open until midnight on Friday/Saturday and open at noon on Friday) are so close to the garage. I’m all about location over amenities. Harrah’s is also one of the few Strip casinos that has the latest slot machines, even before some local casinos.

But I kept Rio to be close to the WSOP. And they have mostly older slots, so I’m less likely to play.

Fortunately, I was able to substitute those 3 nights with an Excalibur offer that comes with $20 in slot freeplay. The power of that freeplay was strong enough that I was thinking about double-booking just to grab that $20.

These piddly freeplays are dangerous to the addict. In April, after receiving a $100 freeplay at Excalibur, I lost over $1500 just playing Mr. Cashman and Monopoly Big Event.  It was so bad, I even played video blackjack (1:1 pays on blackjack, no double-downs, no splits).

Knowing all this, I still freely succumb to freeplays. To show how much of a comp whore I really am, I booked my flight to arrive Saturday all because of a $50 freeplay at Westin that expires June 30.

I’ve planned it out like a bank heist. Check-in at Westin (one free night), blow through my $90 in food comp points at Starbucks, and try to salvage as much of the $50 slotplay as possible. Then the Harrah’s Diamond Lounge for food. They may be able to keep me out of their hotel, but they can’t keep me away from their free food. The next morning, I’ll redeem the second $50 in free slotplay that begins July 1st.

I could eat at Westin’s restaurant off my food points, but if I’m paying with points, it doesn’t feel completely free to me. Plus, the restaurant’s overpriced and you can’t tip using points.

Instead, I’ll use up those points by practicing a random act of kindness by buying frappuccinos for everyone in the Starbucks line. I’ve done this before anonymously in a diner, and maybe it will appease the bad beat poker gods.

I haven’t accounted for Sunday yet, when I could be homeless. In past visits I used to not book a hotel the first night, figuring on playing poker the whole night. Or I’d sleep in the rental car, but it wasn’t over 100 degrees then.

I chose Sunday to keep open because typically it’s the least busy and cheapest, at least compared to a Wednesday.

Another free night at Westin is good in July but can’t be used within two days of another promo. I may move my block of Excalibur nights over one and sandwich between Westins, but I didn’t want to be moving around on July 4th.

My calendar at Silverton shows free nights from July 1-5, but they sell out quickly if not booked far in advance. I could try sneaking into Flamingo for that one day, but I’d risk losing the whole 5-day reservation at Rio.

At The Orleans, I can pay $58 for one night and get one night free, which would go wasted. The offer comes with $25 in freeplay and $25 in food.

Or I may use the unlimited rental car miles to drive to Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego, where I have two free nights and $50 in food.

But it’s probably not worth the $70 in gas.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 1:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized.