Banned from the ATM

Day 8 Tue June 4, 2024 

Time to go home. My plane was due to leave mid-afternoon, which made for a relaxing pack-up and prepare morning.

When I checked in on Monday, the Premium seat upgrade was again available, this time for $145 USD. No-brainer.

Mt. Risemore, just east of Pointy Point.

I had managed to get by without another visit to the ATM but that meant minimal to no gambling on departure day. I kept to my word, playing a lone $20 at the Cal on my way to breakfast.

I ordered my usual two over hard with sausage, hash browns, and wheat toast. 

I suppose I could even re-use the same photo of breakfast over and over each day, it's always the same order.

I took a Lyft to the airport, and surprisingly, and perhaps refreshingly, the driver stayed off the interstate, instead winding his way south down Las Vegas Blvd., then over to Paradise and into the airport.

The plane would have left dead on time except one of the passengers was not feeling well, not feeling well at all - and it was decided to de-board them and deal with any potential medical issues in Vegas, instead of potentially having a problem mid-flight. I never found out what the issue was, but we were delayed for half an hour while they searched for their fluorescent lime green sparkling lit up luggage fitted with sirens and horns. Apparently it was a tough ask of the baggage Sheilas.

We took off and I snapped a few pics here and there and I reflected on the trip over a large vodka rocks.

Las Vegas creeping closer and closer to Red Rock.

We got a menu for eats, which was nice, and for course I opted for the short ribs. They were really tasty but I swear there must have been but 2 ounces of beef.

I'd had a pretty good time on this trip. It was much, much easier on my tattered soul than the last one, and I'd wrapped up the emo things I needed to deal with. Next time I come to Vegas I won't have nearly as much mental baggage.

The gambling was frustrating. There weren't near enough wins to keep me even anywhere close to even. I had that $300 and some odd win on Buffalo, and that run on White Orchid for a similar amount, and of course the stars of the trip, the two back to back 5/5 video keno wins, totaling nearly $1000.

But everything else was pretty much a losing slog. It's been a long, long time since I had a Royal. My last one was on day 2 six trips ago. I guess it's just the nature of the beast, gambling is volatile. Look at the difference just two spins on video keno made.

Another one or two lucky spins like that on VP like a Shockwave hit, and I'm even on the trip.

I never hit any kind of decent quad on Double Double Bonus, but I did get Pointies on Bonus Poker a couple of times.

Fortunately, my out of pocket expenses for rooms and food were very reasonable. $160 or so at Park MGM for the room, and $100 for room and food at the Cal.

I arrived in Toronto around 11:30 pm, breezed through customs, got to my car which passed the moment of truth and started right up, and I was home in bed in Flusherville by 3:00 am.

Vegas still has unanswered questions for me - perhaps these videos can explain the glamour, the glitz, and the allure of high stakes quarter video keno play.

The trip was an excellent diversion from being mired in all the chores that need doing at home and I felt revitalized and refreshed, if quite a bit lighter in the wallet.

Maybe my daily bankroll just isn't enough to get to the good hands. I'll be thinking about how to change my approach for next time. I'm considering a split bankroll of so much per day for blackjack and craps, and so much per day for everything else. Again, I didn't play any table games, and I should. I used to spend hours each day at $5 blackjack and often made money or broke even. We'll see.

A huge thank you for reading, and thank you to the loyal supporters who took care of me through PayPal and Ko-fi throughout the publication of this trip report.

If you had a little diversion from your time at your particular size 7 grommet factory job, if you chuckled once or twice, if you did a spit take at my antics, how about throwing a cup of coffee or a wee donation my way?

Till next time,

Flushiepants