Six Seven

Day 8 part 2 and as I slipped $100 into the Kosmic Debris Keno System test machine for the very first trial run, I had a thought. When playing the open box 20 card numbers, I'd hit 5 out of 5 various numbers of times in a game. 

That was possible because there were 8 numbers involved. Many combinations of 5 were bet upon - many were not. Hitting 6 out of the possible 8 numbers could result in just one 5 out of 5 hit, two 5 out of 5 hits, or as many as 6 (as I had been lucky enough to receive).

But with a grand total of 7 numbers in play, I could hit one 5 out of 5, six 5 out of 5s if six of my seven numbers hit, or twenty 5 out of 5s if all 7 of my numbers hit. There were no other choices. The problem with this, is it is ridiculously, incredibly rare and difficult to hit 7 out of 7, and ridiculously rare to hit 6 out of 7.

I'd hit one 5 out of 5 twice so far in this test run and had so far roughly broken even. The only way I was really going to win a decent amount of money quickly would be to hit 6 numbers, or 7. It seemed very unlikely.

I ran my first $100 and its profits out of the machine and tried a second $100. I relayed my concerns about the Kosmic Debris Keno System to YoLeven by text and he replied, "Right. Well, 6 isn't out of the question. Maybe you'll see it!"

I played for a while, hitting a few 4s but nothing big. The credits were dwindling down.

And then, something ridiculously rare happened.

"Holy shit! I did it," I said to nobody in particular but myself.

I'd gotten the 6 out of 7 again giving me six 5 out of 5 wins. The win was a grand total was 10,056 nickels, or $502.80.

Now I was actually up on the day! I cashed it out and resolved to slow play the rest of the day, avoiding the high denominations.

I gave my beloved Double Super Slippery Slappy Slutty Shifty Spiffy Shitty Super Times Pay a go.

Having rung up a small profit I... actually cashed it out. At this point, $20 is $20.

With time dwindling down, I took a quick walk to the Four Queens. A number of you fine ko-fi donators have specified that I should play at the Mikes Bar (or the Throne seat, which was occupied) and I was bound to comply.

I greeted Mike with a zesty 9-step complicated bro' handshake, filled with lots of mutterings of 'brother' and hayll yeahhhs.

There was no luck this time, the machines were ice cold. $100 gone like that.

The Mikes Bar (but not Mike)

I headed back to the Cal and played some Deuces Wild and a few other things.

But it was time to shut it down. Back at Main Street I went up to the room to finalize packing and check flight statuses etc. My plane was due to leave at 9 pm but because of the snowstorm in the east, it was suffering from incremental delays. Probably the inbound flight was affected by the storm. 9:00 became 10:00 became 11:00. Ugh.

I needed to get some dinner and do some final play, so I headed for the buffet, and it was lined up out the door. It was indeed a busy weekend at the Cal / MSS - there was a huge tournament (to which I was not invited HARRUMPH) and other things going on - like a 1920s theme wedding (to which I was also not invited HARRUMPH).

So, I headed to the coffee shop at the Cal and waited for a seat at the counter, watching these three ISGs cackle and chat and take literally 10 minutes to fuck around with dollar bills, while consulting various checks. Couldn't these rude ladies see what was directly behind them, the Royal Me, waiting Royally, hungry, starving, practically salivating?

The Saturday Special was something called Shoyu Ribs. I googled it and it sounded great. And it was!

And then it was time. Back to the room to do a final check and look in the now empty safe 500 times.

My tally for the day was... I was up $25. A winning day. Not a winning trip, but a great one nonetheless.

I drove the Honda Cletus to the AVIS facility (stopping to fill up the tank). I'm still pissed at AVIS and the fact that there was nobody there to receive the vehicle allowed me to nurture my feelings to new heights of pissendom.

On top of that, I dropped a glasses case and it bounded happily under the Cletus, and getting on the grimy pavement on my hands and knees, I confirmed it was out of reach, which took me to complete pissfullness at AVIS. I backed the Cletus up and retrieved my reading specs.

You know the rest of it. Shuttle to the terminal. Security (smooth). Shuttle to the gate. Find out flight is now departing at 12:30 am. Face the three hour wait in the terminal with grace and serenity.

I was the first one on the plane and the first one off in Orlando. The JetBlue Mint experience was again stellar. The pods this time were in the herringbone style, so I wouldn't be able to dump a drink on anyone without perfectly executing a fairly obvious and difficult one-handed aerial maneuver.

I had two of the Mint Condition cocktails and they were outstanding. I must learn how to make these at home!

The snack was delicious. I ate every drop and crumb but skipped the gelato. After that I watched some TV, dozed off, and then put my seat down flat to sleep for an hour or so until we started our descent.

It was ridiculously civilized and I am now a spoiled, uncouth, bitter old fuck of a brat. As opposed to the uncouth, bitter old fuck of a brat that I was before being sullied by the extravagant JetBlue Mint pampering.

The rest of it is boring. Get off the plane, find the car, drive home, sit in a dazed stupor thinking back warmly on the exciting whirlwind full of good food, amazing experiences, and special friends that was this last Las Vegas trip.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your generous donations. I'm humbled and thankful every time I receive one, realizing that my writing efforts apparently hold value for others.

Now for the accounting spin... 

I lost $513 gambling on this trip. I would have loved to have three wins in a row, but I think this is an excellent result as my gambling facilitates greatly reduced room costs.

Costs for the trip include 35,000 Avion points plus $400 for the flight, $400 for the Honda Cletus, $240 for the room at the King's Shingles, $300 in tips and other expenses. Room charges at the Cal are $125 which my host will probably pick up. 

Total for the week $1340 or $190 a day for First Class flight, hotel, food, tips, and entertainment.

I think that is a complete success. I don't know when the next time will be - it might be a while - but remember, where there are credits, there are hope. Stay savvy!

Royal Flusher