Foxwoods bus trip July 8

Yesterday was a fine day.  Bill and I went up on the bus to Foxwoods, had a fine visit on the way up in part planning Vegas in November when we overlap visits.  This morning I called Harrah's again and before we were done, they had comped me two more nights so I have five straight nights in Vegas at Harrah's casino (where I have never played  or stayed by the way)  This is the weirdest system for making and approving offers I have ever seen.  I got lucky twice with good operators, and they added extra free days each time, so it beings my hotel bill down to an average of $15 a night for the last nine nights and I have a good long time to work on the first seven nights and all the Coast casino offers hopefully still to come.

But I did not get as lucky at Bill.  With the bus to Foxwoods we get ten dollars of freeplay and somehow that became fifteen this trip.  Playing his freeplay Bill hit for two grand.  And when he was signing the paperwork and getting the hand pay, the attendant said he had to play one more hand to clear the jackpot from the machine.  On that hand he won another hundred dollars.

On my free play I won three dollars.

I did beat Bill's score in casino poker, however, ending up $37 ahead to his $30.  We played for most of the day at the same table.  I drank way too much, working my way through about $60 in free amaretto and free rum and one free Courvoisier.  Oh well, we are only young once.
I was playing pretty drunk just before going to the buffet for dinner, and I tried a trick I learned at the El Cortez.  Holding Queen-jack I had flopped 8-9-10 for the nut straight, but there were two spades as well, so most likely someone would be holding a flush draw.  So I pretended to want a spade, hoping that at least I could save one bet if the spade came and beat my straight or keep in folks with other sorts of hands if no space came or if straight cards came and might make my bet too obvious.  No spade on the turn, so I look defeated and say, "Well, I gotta bet it."and I do and they pay me.  
No spade on the river, and again I am down in the mouth and I say, " Well, I still better bet it," and I do and get two callers.  
They just figured the drunk, old guy had lost his filters and was revealing his missed flush. Even Bill thought I had missed my flush draw and maybe had a pair at best, when actually I had the nut hand and was just building the pot.  Of course, the win would have been more satisfying had someone at the table raised me, but it was a good pot.
Another good earlier play was a button raise with 8-9 offsuit to get a cheap free card on any straight draw.  They all were in and they all check to me on the turn and I checked for the free card and catch the straight on the river.  They paid me in that hand too because the raise suggested that I had a high pair.  One fellow thought queens but could not understand why I raised him on the river.
It was a great table and I had a fine time.
When I left for dinner, I was up $124, but a short and sober session after dinner before we left gave me second best cards and took me down quite a bit.  In and hour I won only one hand and was underpaid in that one.
I got another free bus voucher, so that will be my third free trip in a row, and I expect I will get another, especially if a few of us go up to Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun  next week for an overnight.  The points add up and then are sweetened by the 10 points they give me just for showing up.
It was good to be in the cool casino on such a hot day.  If I did not gamble, I'd be tempted to take the bus ride, read a book, play the freeplay and eat the buffet.  All worth $27 just to stay cool+