FOXWOODS AND MOHEGAN SUN

FOXWOODS WEDNESDAY

Half way to Foxwoods I usually stop at this  CVS with a Bank America station to get some snacks and money.

I put some card in the machine, perhaps an old B of A card.  It said, “No money being dispensed from this machine today.” and it ate the card.   I thought is was my current card.

There was a phone number to call, but my phone was dead.

A fellow helped me call, but they needed a phone access code.   Why, I can’t imagine.  

I borrowed his phone and called my wife who assured me the account was fine.

Another fellow gave me directions to a place that was a bank, but he miscounted the turnarounds.

Still, I found it with the GPS helping.

And then I noticed that I still had my card.

What a jerk I felt.

So I grabbed my money and headed to Foxwoods which was still an hour and a half away.

It had taken me a long while to get out  of the house and get money, I hit the Two Trees at just about 1 PM, a bit distraught.

Then my luck changed.  They did have the suite I had agreed on line to buy for $5 a night.  I thought this was some come on perhaps to put me in a category for the resort fee, but it was fine. For $11.50  I now had, for two nights, two rooms, one with a couch and a chair, and easy place to eat my snacks and pickup meals between buffets.

No microwave of course.  But a refrigerator.  So, some of the food I brought would be fine.

And just down the hall was the pool, open from 6 AM until 10 PM and uncrowded.  I would swim each day and never have anyone else in the pool with me.  

I unpacked and walked to the casino.   8 minutes.

There is a shuttle that comes every 20 minutes,  but each time I went out, it was leaving.

The walk was very pleasant and the weather was good, so it was not a problem.

I ate the buffet, but it is not as good for my diabetes as the Mohegan Sun buffet.  They did have the mussels.  And they had a kale and chorizo soup which was very weak, but I put in collards from the BBQ section and some of the sausage called “braised bratwurst” which was not actual bratwurst, but spicier and good for the soup.  

Carrots were good.  

The dessert section  had no decent sugar free, just that dried out blueberry pie which may be sugar free  but there is a crust that converts to sugar when eaten.  

I had one bite of beef.  I’m not going off my diet for that beef!  I  left the rest.

The deep fried pollack was as good as ever.  They do a very good job with that,   but I can’t eat too much fried food.

They don’t have the choices of hot sauce that Mohegan has.  They have Tabasco which I dislike and Sriracha which is the new “in” hot sauce, but again not my favorite.  I like a good American made Louisiana hot sauce, or I’ll take Cholua.  

I don’t trust what the Asian countries put in anything they make.

 

The poker was tough at first.  I was at a very good table with a weak fish, but he was catching all the rivers and winning all the pots.  He explained how he was imaging the cards he wanted.  Of course, after a while he started to lose as fast as he had won.  My up and down is perhaps $100, but his was $500.

I was not doing well there, but I knew it would turn around.  But when it did, I did not do better.

One woman there was a bit annoying. She thought she knew everything.  She talked about having been a dealer there once.  

She was in the one seat and loose guy in the two seat.

He misfolded his cards, and they dropped to cover her unprotected hand.

The dealer was inexperienced and tried to sort out the cards, but what she set aside as the woman’s hand was not the right two cards.  

So the woman took another.  

She had now seen three cards, and still she expected to be allowed to finish the hand.

The dealer was going to passively allow it, when the third player in the hand asked for the floor. He was quiet and gentle about it, but he knew he did not want to just let her play.  

The floor said both hands were mucked.  

She was livid. She asked for the shift manager. 

The shift manager came and said that both hands were mucked.

Well, we had to hear about that for a long while from her and from loose guy.

And she berated the third guy for not “being a gentleman” and returning her money.

He just said he wanted to play by the rules.

I stayed out of it.  I was close to telling her that card protectors (like mine) were used just for the reason.  I was close to telling her that had they been coluding this  would be a great way to exchange cards.

But, instead I just moved tables when they opened a new game.

Usually playing at a new game is a way to encounter some poorer players before they have lost their money and left.  

Not this time.  

Here was a table full of excellent players who really wanted the 4-8 game that had not yet started.

However, I caught a string of cards and because they had not played with me long, I got paid.  I especially got paid after catching so many in a row that it did not seem right to them that I could be playing very  well.

I flopped straights twice, once with a 5-8 in the blind. Talk about an inside straight draw!

I caught the river spade for an Ace high flush.

I played a 2-3 of hearts in fourth position.  Really stupid, but I just got cocky.  2-3 flopped and I was called by a couple people, one who turned a club flush.  The 3 on the river gave me a full house.  

I was hoping playing the 2-3 would change my table image, but they had called and seen all the other hands I played, so when I bet in early position, everyone folded.

Time to go.

I picked up my chips and left.

I had recouped my losses to loose guy and grandiose dealer lady, except for $11.

It was about 9:30 and I was tired.  I watched some of the music in the lounge.  It was fine band  of older guys playing older rock and roll.  In the band was every horn you could imagine.  I like horns.  I rather have heard some good swing, but this was fine too. Some long haired sexy woman danced a bit with her other women friends.

I passed the comedian show and wished I had gone, but it would have cost me $100 as I would not have played the second table.  

I watched some Asians playing SicBo.  I love to watch that game.  I wish I had one in my house for the poker boys to play.  There is just something about it that satisfies me.  The Asian women were arranged by age, four of them.  It looked to me like four generations.  They did not bet every hand or bet much.  I think they had some superstitious way of figuring when the board was due.

 

I played off my $10 freeplay in a slot for just $4 and then put $40 in a poor paytables video poker machine and hit zilch.

So, I went back to the room and went to bed.

The television was pretty full of stations, but no Turner Classic movies and the HBO was some fighting, car chasing, blood letting, over dramatized crook type show.  I did watch a bit of Duck Dynasty and have some popcorn and nuts and laughed, but the commercials annoyed me and soon I was in bed.

Put wine in water bottle and carried it in to poker.  Good idea.  Whole bottle cost me $4.  This was a third of it and good.

Back for some TV and turkey and popcorn and nuts.  

To bed but not to sleep.

FOXWOODS/MOHEGAN SUN THURSDAY

I played the morning at Foxwoods, but it was a mistake.  All old regulars.  I recognize most of them.  Al is there ordering green tea and honey in a way that  makes the waitress think he is ordering green tea and calling her honey.  He will do the same thing later in the day at Mohegan, and so I tipped him off there as by then I knew him better.

I head back and try for a nap but I’m unsuccessful.

Finally, I decide to head to Mohegan Sun.

I was to find out that while Mohegan Sun won’t give me a Perrier without some VIP card, I can get good red wine.

I called ahead to put myself on the list, but that was not really necessary because there are plenty of seats.  

Andy sits down next to me. He remembers me from my last visit, and we start to talk about Florida and Vegas and he jokes about living with his mother.   

Andy must be nearly my age.  

Two marriages did not work out.  

He seems a gentle sort with a fine sense of humor.  HIs living-with-mom comments could be on a sitcom.  Today he tells about how she managed the below zero winter, keeping the woodstove stoked.  

Across from me is a rather quiet fellow who plays excellent poker.  When he bets I fold. unless I have the nuts, and even then I am nervous.  

Doris joins us to my left.  She lives in Lake George and has a very pleasant way about her. Recently widowed, she jokes that her next husband must be young or rich.  Doris is a very big woman, so I love it that she is so feisty.

The quiet fellow loosens up a bit, and he tells us he has just bought a place in North Vegas, so he can winter in Florida.  So we talk Vegas a while.  I don’t know anything about Aliante or Santa Fe, the two casinos around his house.  But I’m certain this fellow will find a niche in some regular poker game and be quite happy.  

I ask about wine, and Andy tells me to order Summer Cloud.   I’m not too fussy, but I hate sour, overly tannic tastes.  This trip I’ve been carrying in  a cheap red in a water bottle, that was on sale for $4 at my local wine store.  Tisdale Pinot Noir.  Having finished that, I try the Summer Cloud Andy recommends, and I am instantly delighted.  

I have a few, and I’m a bit drunk.

I love playing 2-4 drunk, but I don’t get to do it much anymore because the diabetes doesn’t need $40 of Myers Rum a day.  In Vegas I drink a good bit of Perrier, especially at the Golden Nugget where they serve the large bottles.  But Mohegan has some special VIP status for Perrier and players need a special card to get one.   It is annoying and ridiculous since other drinks are easy to get.  

Andy has to head home, and I move to a more central seat where I can see the cards better.  

At that end of the table is a regular named Moses and a younger Black man who works for him making documentaries.  The younger fellow and I hit it off immediately and we talk a bit of  old music.  I tell him it is Gladys Knight’s birthday and I  had found a great old clip of her singing, “Heard It From the Grapevine.”  He is sure Creedence did this first in 1961 and he knows the place where they first sang it, but I’m sure she was earlier than that because I’m getting my clip from Jute in the Back and Matt the Cat, a station that focuses on, “the soul that came before rock and roll” and Gladys is very young in the clip and the Dick Clark like dancehall seems early 50’s to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWvwP72FuVg

Turns out we are both wrong.

First recorded by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles in 1966 (written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong).

The third version was recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips, in 1967.

Marvin Gaye recorded it earlier than Gladys Knight and the Pips but didn't release it until 1968, though it didn't become a major hit until the following year. There was also a cover by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970.

We talk a bit about the music scene in Chicago.  I am more blues and he is more jazz so we don’t share much there.

So how often in my life am I going to get in this sort of conversation?

The fellow tells me his name is Jonathon, but folks call him John Henry, and asks if I know that historical character, and I sing a bit of the old folk song.

The poker goes nowhere.  Early on I lost $100 playing sober, and even with the advantage of playing drunk, I just go up and down, getting some of it back, and losing it again.  

But it is a fine game just the same.

 

The ambiance of Mohegan Sun also supports very well a happy drunk.  The whole casino is like an abstract art gallery of color and shape, much of it glass and it is delightful.

In contrast, Foxwoods is a basement poker room and that entire casino is so dull it might just be shopping mall with long corridors of nothing aesthetically pleasing.

And nothing is dull.  The buffet is full of color and shape and glass and now it has a video border with various shows, one is wolves running in a snowy forest.  Just really great!

It is nearly 8 PM and time for me to get my prepaid buffet before the Four Seasons closes.  John Henry wants to go along with me, but he can’t quite leave the game.  

So, I’m off for a meal of my dreams.  Once again I delight in some fine dishes, all on my diet, even dessert and once again three hours later my reading is 115, not bad since I am controlling only with diet.  No meds.

I also play off my $25 slot play from the Referlocal voucher on a little old fashioned slot and reap $10.  

And then I decide to play just a short while on a 9/5 DDB machine.  Low pay table.  I don’t know the strategy.  But lately it is a long while between Vegas visits, so I want some entertainment.  

For a while I just amuse myself winning even money and then playing it on  the double up feature.

Then I cancel that and just play VP.

I’m almost ready to quit, down about $50, when three dealt Aces catch the fourth and a 4.  This is a famous first for me.  I have never hit 4 Aces with a kicker before.

I cash out and head back to the poker room, now ahead for the trip.

When I get back, John Henry is standing.  His bankroll is gone, and he is just waiting for Moses to call it a day.  

He says he wishes he had gone to the buffet with me.

I can’t get on that same  table again.

The table I join is short players because they have let 4 people go to supper and leave chips.  There is the rule of “third man walking,” which means that third person only gets 10 minutes, but they’ve let it slip unenforced, and they can’t even remember who went first.

I’m a little irked.

Afterall, I’ve just gone to supper and when I went, I cashed out, freed up my seat ,and put my name on the dinner list.  This means if I come back within two hours, I get to be put second on the current list.  That seems a much more  responsible thing to do than to cramp a table for 45 minutes.

I gently leverage the issue with the brush  to get a small rake reduction.  They normally don’t do that for 6 players, but they know they have screwed up, and I like it that they act responsibly given it was their error.

So, I don’t go home yet.  I am thinking about it.

I am sitting next to a rather taciturn older Asian woman who is not much amused by my light banter.  But her younger Asian friend watches, having long lost her $160 bankroll before I joined,  sits behind her just to watch.  She moves around closer to me, and we have a fine time  smiling and joking about my various card protectors.  

She is not classically beautiful, but I find her very sensual with long black curly hair, and I very much enjoy her looks and her company.  And the taciturn older woman finally warms up, laughs, jokes with me a bit, and so I’m having again a fine and friendly time.  

I bring out this card protector fellow

 

and explain how he talks to me and tells me just how to bet.

“Did you hear him that time?”  I ask just before I raise some good cards.

When I win what is a very good pot,  I give the card protector the credit and  have them enjoying this slip into surreal reality.

I am very sorry when they leave, with the smiling sweet younger woman waving  back across the room to my card protector and me as she goes to get her rest so she can work in the morning.

There is one fellow at the other end of the table who is an annoyance.  

He talks constantly, verbally challenges us as he bets, and warns us.  He gets the dealer upset because he tries to have other players show cards or he shows his before the end. And when he is called, he shows just one card.

He tells grandiose stories.  

He is slightly manic.

I am sobering now, all the interestingly delicious people are gone, and I want to go back to my room, but this fellow is such a bad player, and so often builds nice pots with unjustified raises. that I stay as long as I can just for the money.

I am winning.  In the end I win $99 in that session.

The strangest hand is A-K offsuit.  I just call with this preflop, but when the $2 limps get around to loud guy, he raises, so I make it $6 hoping to push a few folks off the junk that might beat me.  Another fellow caps.

I’m now thinking that they have my Aces and Kings, maybe a pair of them.

The flop gives me an Ace with two 4’s. Loud guy bets and a few of us call.

The turn is a king.

I bet and I’m raised.

So now I’m thinking maybe someone played A-4 or has trips.  The river is not much.  

I don’t know how to figure this one, so I check as do all.

Loud guy has an Ace, low kicker.   It beats the other guy, and I don’t see what he was betting.  
I win.   

So I guess I missed a bet.

Had I had the exact same cards in the morning with the tight old regulars at Foxwoods, I’d have won a very small pot, probably right after my $6 reraise preflop.

MOHEGAN SUN FRIDAY

Although I rolled in slightly hung over after midnight, I still only slept until 5 AM.  

I rest a while longer, but it is no good.

I take a swim and have the last of the cold turkey I brought along and some peaches in a bit of key lime yogurt.  I listen while I eat and pack to Juke in the Back.  In the quiet of these suites I don’t even need my extra speakers.  I love it that my  computer makes a fine  radio.

I get a fast seat at the Mohegan, but it is the early group of old guy locals, and my cards don’t do well.  More than that, I don’t do well.  I get into raising wars with a low straight against a high straight, and with king’s full of fours against quad 4’s.  I reraise too easily.  In the first case, I really should have just tossed in my cards when a good player made it three bets.  What was I thinking? In the second case the guy was a loose and poor player so  reraising seemed right.  
I had won about $100, but the poor play took it away and I I lose about $12 of my buy-in as well and so I just decide to quit.  

It is 2 PM.

I’m tired.  Maybe I can’t play again.

In Vegas I’d just go and take a long nap and wake up in the middle of the night to a Golden Nugget game.

Here I can’t.

I think about going home early.  I have to go before rush hour or after 7PM to avoid real confusion at Hartford.  

I go up for the “Facebook Offer” I saw on the Mohegan website and just for asking I get $6 off the lunch price and can pay that $15 with points, so my lunch is free.

The buffet has not changed much.  So I do just fine.

The lunch refreshes me, especially because it is free.

So, I decide to give it one more try.

I get there just in time to get the last seat at a new table.  I’m very happy.  New tables are great.
There is always some easy money.

To my left is Paul who comes every day and plays really poorly.  I like this guy.  He is very easy and friendly.  We talk a bit.

To might right is a beautiful young black woman dressed to the nines.  Amazing face.  So, if the poker is bad, at least the ambiance is going to be good.

The first hundred drains and then Chip and Wanda join the table.  The dealer rolls his eyes because he knows what is coming.   “ Well, at least we’ll get some action.”  he says.

It turns out this older couple (Chip is 85)  fight all the while  they play.  He is particularly insulting to her and shakes his head and makes comments on her play.  She moves over right next to me and as she moves, she takes two stacks of chips, one apparently was Chip’s.

Well, he gives her a hard time and they argue a bit about whose chips belong to who, but when she wants to give them back, he takes an opposite attitude and insists she keep them.  
It is very bizarre.

He moved across from me and next to a fellow who is a coin collector and he has a long and detailed discussion about coins. with a young dealer  who just inherited a bunch of old coins from his grandfather,

Chip takes a shine to young coin dealer  fellow.  

He likes him.

He fawns over him.
He pats him on the back.  

He  offers to buy him a drink, but the young guy does the buying.

It is all very entertaining.
Here is this old guy who is just mean to his wife, but he can suck up to this young fellow at the table just fine.

To my right is a fellow who has just started playing 2-4 this week  after usually playing NL 1-1.  He loves the change.  He does some things that would work at 1-1, but don’t work here.  But he is pretty good.  
He is wonderfully friendly, but we don’t get into much conversation because the coin talk and Chip’s verbal abuse takes up most of the air space.

Slowly I recoup my losses, a bit at a time.  I’m river lucky a couple times.  A guy at the other end loses most of his bankroll and leaves in an unfriendly huff.  My rivers are all calls into large pots when I have good outs.  I just get lucky.

Chip doesn’t like me now because I’m taking down pots.  I even check raised Wanda when she was in a betting flow.

He gives me a steely look and says, “I’m going to get you.”  

Incredible.

He can’t catch cards, but at one point he has something.  I fold and he takes a very tiny pot.  I can see he is disappointed.

“Well, you got me!” I say.

Now he really hates me.  I’m a winner and a wise guy.

The table has a long discussion about the new casinos coming to Massachusetts and New York and what they will do to an already shaky financial situation.  Foxwoods in particular is hurting now,  and I have heard it from the dealers and the waitresses and seen it in the closed Rainmaker section that is now only open on weekends.
I think it won't be good.  Too many venues and not enough dollars.
 

I’m drinking only coffee because I’m going to drive at some point. I figure at 7 PM.

But here is what holds me.

There is a promotion that the high hand in the room gets $900 between 6 and 9.  Almost all day we’ve seen straight flushes come rather early in the 3 hour high hand sessions, but for this section, quad Aces is the current high hand and stays that way.

I decide I’ll stay until the Aces are beat or 9 PM.

Three times I get a one card draw for a royal or a king or queen high flush and none of them develop.  In fact, I don’t even make flushes on two of them.  On the third I raise early to get the pot up to $20 for qualifying.  I have jack-nine of diamonds and am straight flush open ended.  I’m called by three people.  

No straight flush maker on the river, but a diamond drops gives me a nice pot.

I play right up until 9 PM.

And it is exciting to think that pretty much any straight flush during that play will take the money.

We are in our last hand with less than a minute left when someone hits a “steel wheel” (as the straight flush A-5 is called) and knocks out the poor guy who was waited for two hours with Aces.

So I head home.

For the day I’ve lost just $2 which puts me $141 ahead for the trip. well over my expenses.

I find I am not tired any more.

I also find that all the spots I dread on this journey are very easy because the traffic is light this late at night.  I drive straight through without even stopping for the bathroom(a minor miracle really)   and I’m in my driveway by midnight and in bed directly and asleep.

THINGS I’D LIKE TO REMEMBER FOR NEXT TIME

PARKING

Drive to the Two Trees area, but take the turn toward the  the casino.  It looks like a back entrance with shuttle stops in front.   On the way I pass a couple lots where I could park and walk a bit in the outside to the entrance that is very close to the poker room.  Were it to rain there is a shuttle to the parking areas as well.  I’ll choose them over all that garage traffic and parking.

FACEBOOK

Check Facebook for food offers before going.  And look for a buffet/freeplay offer on Referlocal. That was a good deal for Mohegan.

Stop in at Foxwoods.  I usually get Freeplay.

Park at Foxwoods in Riverview, the first pull off  and take the left choice.  When parking get as close to the right hand area as possible.  The other end will be a longer walk to the Poker Room.

TRAFFIC

Great roads after nine coming home.

TABLE SELECTION

Starting early means starting with the good and tight regulars.  If I do that, I want to hit and run as it won’t be long before they get my play and I won’t get paid on good cards.

COMEDY

Watch the times.  It was 8 this time at Foxwoods and I could have gone.  However, that would have cost me $100 earned between 8 and 9 at the poker table that night.

GPS addresses

Route 91 toward Springfield   exit 13B is the CVS and Bank of America ATM.  Great bathroom at the CVS.  

928 Riverdale Street

West Springfield

A full bank is here:

225 Memorial

West Springfield   01089

MOHEGAN SUN AND FOXWOODS MAY 2014

MOHEGAN SUN

AND FOXWOODS

POKER TRIP

I went up this past Friday and stayed until Sunday around one PM.  It was a fine trip.  I recklessly lost $36 over the course of those three days, about one pot.

Here are the details:

HOTEL

It was a last minute trip.  I took a look at  Hotel Coupons , one of those green books at all the HIghway stops.  It used to be called RoomSaver.  When I go with my wife, she has a phone that can be used as a coupon.  I am still using the paper kind.  

My first pick was Comfort Suites in Norwich.  These are kind of upscale for a frugal guy like me, but the coupon had a rate of only $59 for Friday and Saturday, less than most places.  It had an indoor pool and the swimming tips me in that direction.

I called when I was about an hour out and asked if they thought I had a good chance at a room.  These coupons are walk-in rates (no reservations), but most places tell us if they expect to have a room if we call on the road.  

They also had no trouble giving me one with a noon arrival.  

What I did not ask was if I could book for two nights.

When I got there, the clerk balked at the second night.  She said they were all booked up.  So, I agreed to just take the first night and figured I search another hotel for the second.  

Then she said, “ Let me see what I can move around” and she took care of me for both nights.  Note I had not done the $20 trick.  I did tip her $10 after seeing the room.

I asked for quiet, so she put me on the 5th floor so no one would be above me.  

Seemed reasonable.

Two beds.

No bed bugs, no dirt, comfort and a couch for watching TV.  Wifi.  Simple breakfast included.  microwave.  refrigerator.  coffee maker.

Most of that worked out fine.

The wifi was pretty slow and I could not get a signal at the desk, so I overturned a desk drawer and made a makeshift table on the second bed.  I only needed it to claim MyVegas chips anyway.  

The pool was not heated.  It was frigid.  I am fairly tolerant, but this was beyond what I could endure except for once and only a few minutes.

There was a bathtub and I was sorry I did not bring soaking salts.

The ride to Mohegan Sun was 10 minutes.  I picked GPS (12 minutes) with no highways and it brought me on a delightful little winding road through the countryside.  If I missed a turn, the next street was right there, and I did not miss many because I could got at 25 MPH, the speed limit.

Foxwoods was farther.  10 miles.  I still used no highways and liked the easy pace of that trip.  It meandered through the town of Norwich and I saw there along the water a nice little park which might be good for a lunch and a drink.  

I only went to Foxwoods the last day and from there to Springfield, Mass. to have a birthday dinner with one son and his girlfriend from Boston, meeting his mom and me there at the Student Prince, a delightful upscale restaurant.

Behind the hotel ran the Yantic River.  There were a small set of RR tracks that allowed goods to be pulled out.  No trains ran at all while I was there.  To get down to the tracks I had to walk to a neighboring J and G trucking place and go through their parking area.  

I have not walked a RR track in many decades, so it was delightful to walk in the morning and then go down on the seldom used trail along the river to a fallen log and sit and watch the water rush by and listen to the morning sounds of the birds.  

I could see this river from my bedroom window, but not clearly because rees grew along the bank.  If I wanted to fish bluegilll, I might try here,  and there might even be some trout.   

I can fish in my front yard., so I doubt I would try, but I might.

I liked the setting very much.

They told me to call next time if the cold pool is a deal breaker and ask for the manager who would know if the water was hot.  I have experienced this so many places that I think it is a planned breakdown. They want to advertise the pool;  they don’t want to actually heat it.

On my second night I was woken up about midnight by someone pounding on what I thought was my door and yelling the name of one of my grandchildren.  In my sleepiness I thought it was my son.  I tossed on my swimtrunks and went to the door.  The pounders were poundin on the door next to me.

“No one was knocking on my  door, right?”

“No, we are just trying to get in here.  There is going to be a bachelor party here tonight.”

I went back to bed and the party lasted until I woke up around 5 AM.  There was not music, I guess.  There was loud talking, but I had to really listen to hear it.  The walls must be much different than the hotels I am used to.  

I was impressed.  

I do sleep with a sleep apnea machine, but it won’t disguise loud noise.

The television was a bit disappointing.  There were few stations with no commercials and not Turner Classic Movies.  However, I did watch  a good bit of  an old Billy Joel concert in Russia  that was really fun, and an episode with Wilbur the Talking horse, and assorted bits of news.  It was plenty.  

So I’d go back again.

I hope they keep the coupon alive.

I get better perks from Foxwoods, even some free room nights and all just for playing poker there, but Mohegan Sun is really much more pleasant.  The entire casino is like walking through some artist’s  gallery, a fellow playing with abstract shape and glass and color.  In contrast, Foxwoods is decorated to look like a shopping mall.

The Mohegan Sun poker room is bright and full of lights and color and on the floor of the casino, but isolated in its own room.

The Foxwoods poker room is down a flight of stairs and feels like playing poker in a dungeon.  Dark and isolated.  It is fine, but not a delight.

The bad beat jackpot at Foxwoods was over $200,000.  Quad 8’s have to be beat.

I played limit 2-4 almost the entire trip.  I started at Mohegan Sun playing their 1-1 no limit game, but it was one of those games made up of people who played so tight there was little action and very small pots.  It was hard to know just how to get $20 in the pot for the bad beat or for a high hand bonus when that is offered.  

The 2-4 for the most part was a mix of players.  My first game I had some really bad players.  For example, a fellow raised me on his river flush with a jack.  I reraised with my Ace.  The Queen was still out.  So he gave me $8 more than he should have.  

Plenty of times folks bet with third best hand.  I did well that night.

Another night it was mostly locals and I was tired and not at my best.

Foxwoods was all locals who knew each other at my first table.  I switched tables and it was much better.

Using a Referlocal coupon, I paid $25 for the Mohegan Sun buffet and got a free $25 of slot play.  I used it on Saturday and could not find a video poker game that was empty so I just played a 7-7-7 slot.  I cashed out at $73 after counting the promotion and running it through just one time.  

Gone are the old fashioned VP machines with the decent pay tables.  I made good money on them.  I did play a 9-5 DDB and lost $60 and quit.  Once I was dealt four to the royal.  On these bad pay tables, I play to see if I can hit a quad, and I quit on any quad.  No quads this trip.

The buffet was absolutely spectacular for an old diabetic.  Too often foods contain added sugar, but I had three plates of food and a plate of sugar free dessert.  Two hours later my sugar was 92.  I worried that the wonderful tasting carrots with cilantro had added sugar.  But most things must have been without added sugar.  Most of my plates were full of mussels.  Those don’t seem to bother me.

Deserts included a sugar free cheese cake that tasted grand.

I walked the casino floor one night and heard a fine clarinet at the bar playing old classic lounge songs in a jazzy manner with canned back up.  I listened a long while.  I also went to the Wolf Den and stood to watch a band called Jani with a fine female singer.  This was mostly new rock and roll, but it had the sound of old rock and roll.  The singer did not whine the lyrics through her nose.  The music was not deafening.  The drummer was great!  

I was there for the Kentucky Derby but I did not bet.  The betting room was by invitation only and full.  I would have lost anyway; I’d have picked a horse to show that came in 4th.  I just could not get into the excitement.  But I was at the table with a fellow who had bet $200 on California Chrome. He was happy.

I liked the after race talk, especially I liked it that one old trainer finally had a victory.

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/fine-art-77-oldest-trainer-win-derby-article-1.1778803

Now, one thing that urked me at Mohegan Sun was that those little bottles of Perrier could only be had for free if I was a regular and had a special VIP card.  Next trip I’ll just bring in my own.  I can get a large bottle of seltzer for a dollar and not have to tip.  Only club soda was free there for me.  Perhaps some alcohol, but I was not drinking much alcohol and free wine is almost always a great disappointment.  

This is another fine thing about the Golden Nugget in Vegas.  Large Perrier bottles free all night long.

I only spent Sunday morning at Foxwoods, but they gave me $10 free play for showing up.  Again I played a 7-7-7 and hit.  I cashed out for  $48.  Nice to have free money.

I needed it.

Foxwoods was full of losses where I was a very, very close second best.

It was very funny.

There I sat next to my kind of guy.  His name was George and he was funny and full of good humor.  He and I woke the table up teasing each other and others who had good humor.  2-4 poker should not be a serious thing.  And I hate to play when it is.  That is why Vegas is so much fun because tables usually have folks who are playing and having a good time.  This was one of those tables.

I showed George the card protectors I make using old Silver Strike rings (with the silver removed and sold for scrap) and Kennedy half dollars.  He liked the one I lent him and ended buying it for $5.  He’ll think of me every time he uses it.  I like that.

So, it was a great trip.  I’ll do it again.  

I could not stay up very late.  

That is just the way it is.  

I am awake at 5 AM, and so I am too tired to play well long before by 9PM.  

In Vegas I go to bed at 5 or 6 or 7 and then wake up at midnight - 1 -or 2 and play the late night games, the tired players, the drunks, and often at the Golden Nugget for the double high hand bonus awards.  

This weekend, I did not want to drive back for a nap.  

I was planning to see the live comedy at Mohegan Sun on Saturday night, and perhaps I should have gone.  I just got too tired.

The game there at that time was all good players.  I did not want to play longer.  I was tired.  I thought I could not rise to enjoy the game and just went back to bed.  

Stopping half way home for a good meal was a good break from the driving.  

That Student Prince restaurant was just superb.

It is good to have a few places to go in Springfield as they have plans to have a casino right in the heart of town.  It is half the distance from my house compared to Mohegan Sun.  Of course, there is no guarantee they will have a live poker room.  Perhaps they will have free Perrrier.

Hopefully, the competition will turn out some promotions.  I have long ago stopped hoping that full pay VP might come back, but other freebies make for a good trip.  

The Student Prince would get my business. They treated us just fine and we had to wait for the kid to be half an hour late too.

http://studentprince.net/

They had all sorts of good German beer and food .  It was pricey, but I ate a pepper steak and that was just wonderful, and sauerkraut, and a salad so the diabetes was kept happy.  

For wine I had Main Street Cabernet and it was delicious.  The glasses were double what some places serve.  The wine sells for cheap, but it is very good and blended with the steak just fine.   I generally find Napa Valley wine is delightful.

http://tfewines.com/our-wines/main-street-winery.php  

The salad came with a special  roquefort dressing that they make at the table.  It was very tasty.  Elizabeth had three German sausages.  I had a taste of that too.  And it was good to see one son and his girlfriend and to hear their plans for a trip to Ireland.  They are moving in together soon.  They have been dating for a couple years.  Perhaps we will have a wedding soon.

Tampa Bay Downs

Once again I did not bother Billy for horses, but just got some number from a couple sites.  The sites agreed, so I ended up with favorites and the cross the board bets just broke even when the horse placed.
I hit the first race exacta.
I hit a show bet on a horse that was listed on one site as having won more races than the other horses but not picked as the winner in this one.  It did show.
I had horses that did something in most of the 7 races, but I only made $2.

I used my freeroll and did fairly well, but three Aces took me out when a guy caught an inside straight for Broadway.

The cash game just dwindled my dollars and in the end I called an all in when I held two jacks and there was a queen on the flop.  Bad bet really.  An A-K of diamonds won with the nut flush.

It was fun.  I ate a half chicken downstairs with a two dollar beer and that was a great meal for $10 although not on the diet as it included potatoes.

I was tired and left a bit after 5.  I did encounter traffic.  Next time I'll take Hillsborough to the SunCoast highway as that will not be bumper to bumper as my roads were. 
I stopped at Gander Mt but not good buys.  At Target I got some good cold drinks.  All these were on Hillsborough.

 

Tampa silks Losing day

Had a mixed day at Tampa. 
Playing while the horses were running was much better than playing in the evening.  The evening was all locals and my cards did not run very lucky.

I bet $34 on the horse and only had two hits, one was a show for 40 cents and one horse I had bet across the board came in to win.  Overall I lost $17
I lost more on cards, but the killer was the evening.
In the end I was down $121

I waited 2 hours for a seat at a table after going out for supper at The Wing House, a clone of Hooters.  Very pretty girls and some great nuggets of breast with a pretty decent sauce.

When I go again I'll head out to eat after the last race.  I got overtired and hungry and left before race 9 and 10. 

I quite in the early evening and had some tooth/head pain on top of my losses and also some trouble driving until I pulled over and washed one eye where something was really bothering it.

Not my most favorite day.

I did come home with one freeroll entry that was a gift from a fellow player.  I can use it any day until the promotion goes away, so I'll go up again.

A Few days of poker and horses in Tampa

I decided on a few solo days in Tampa while to give my wife and her visiting best friend some “girl time” and me some poker time.  Actually, the poker has not been going well for me lately, and I wanted to see if Tampa would be better than Ocala.

Most frugal places to stay in Tampa are about $80, but I found a cheap little place for $62 that has a little kitchen with stove and pans for cooking. 

EXTENDED STAY SUBURBAN
I stayed at this one:
Suburban Extended Stay Hotel Airport(FL969)
6902 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL, US, 33634
Phone: (813)886-7799

I like eating in and watching Turner Classic movies.  It saves money, keeps me on my diet, and entertains me as well.  Solo eating can be a bit boring.

I played at Tampa Hard Rock the first afternoon, just a 2-4 game.  It was not too hard, but there were very few fish and they did not stay long.  I was up and down and ended down $28.  I won a small pot with pocket Aces and had both pocket Aces and Kings cracked.  Once again I played about four hours and never saw a flush or higher.  I did steal one pot on the river with nothing when my one opponent was clearly going to fold if I bet.

The people were interesting.  One old guy told stories of smoking marijuana when he was young.  An Asian woman sat who was dressed immaculately in red with a huge flower in her hat.  She was very attractive and yet pushing seventy.

Half the dealers were poor.  Some needed to be watched for errors.  Others were just slow or missed where the game was.  The others were very good. Martha was the best.

One of the poorer dealers made it up with humor. 

He told us that dealers could not eat in the buffet.  They were provided with food in their area, but because it was prepared by folks practicing to make food for the buffet, sometimes it was good and other times it was just terrible. 

“I would not feed my dog such food,” he remarked.

He told how they had butchered chicken cordon blue by making it in sort of a glop, and then said they had also failed at Shepard’s pie.

“Shepard’s pie?” a player remarked.  “I did not think anyone could do much to make that bad.”

“That is what I thought about the white rice,” said the dealer.  And that just cracked me up.  His delivery was perfect. 

And so he told about asking for the “mashed potatoes” only to learn that what looked like mashed potatoes was white rice.

He was entertaining, but he did not follow the game well and seemed to have to stop dealing to talk.

They took the 2-4 game out of qualifying for any high hand bonus, but left Omaha 3-6 in the running.  The 1-1 NL game also would not qualify.

So there was just a couple bad beats.  That made me mad and does not encourage me to go again.  Not that it matters much with the hands I’ve pulled this season.  However, I want to be able to win what I’m rake to fund.

I used a Groupon at Monserrate (CLICK) To get a bit of taste of Latin food.   When I got there, they wanted to only serve two people.  It says nothing about that on the Groupon.  

So, I’ll write and complain to Groupon.  And I'll call ahead with this question in the future.  It makes me angry really.  Why not just put a minimum purchase amount in the price on the coupon.

The very pretty Spanish waitress let me talk her into serving me when I promised to eat enough for two. 

I did too and enjoyed all of it and the music and the Spanish around me and the look of the delightful waitress. 

But I should not eat so much as these groupons deals tempt me to do. 

I had a rolled stuffed yucca that was luscious, a great corn pie with carnitas and chorizo, followed by a fried tilapia that was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  I had not room for flan.

It all was very good. 

I ordered the wrong wine, a white.  Still it was good.  I ate too much.  The fish came with fried plantains and black beans.  All was very good.  Even the beans tasted unique.  I’d go again only not on a Groupon. 

Too much food and not enough sleep the night before my trip left me unable to go out to see the late night jazz as planned in Ybor City or to do anything much except watch old TCM movies. 

The hotel was fine but pretty old.  No flat screen here.  The remote would not turn off the closed captions until the desk clerk fiddled with two others and finally got them full of batteries and found a way to turn off that annoying option.  I saw some good old Johnny Carson and got stuck in a Lauren Bacall Gregory Peck movie which was not my favorite but good enough to keep me watching.

The wifi is very fast and easy to access.  The place is clean, just full of old furniture and very small with comfortable but basic beds and pillows that were too small.  The bathroom was fitted with a fairly new shower insert that included two seats and good water pressure.  The sink insert was fairly new too and all were in good repair.

The trip advisor evaluations were right on the money.  The place is adequate.  And for me having the ability to make my own meals and eat to TCM, as well as this location, made it a great place to stay.

Some neighbors on one night got into a loud argument and that should have been annoying, but really did not bother me much.  it was in part entertaining, like a Jerry Springer show, and then more entertaining when the noises changed to makeup noises.

I woke up at just before 4AM and at 4AM my wakeup call went off.  Good thing I was already awake.  So, I reset that.  Amazing that it was not immediately cleared after the last guest.  I’ll have to check that if I stay again next year.

Housekeeping only comes once a week, and for me that is just fine.  I like not to be interrupted and for just two days I don't need the attention.  The fine print asks guests to pick up after themselves or face a cleaning charge.  Fine too.  If that keeps the price down, I'm for it.  It also kept a good bit of the noise down. 

In spite of the large number of guests, the hotel was quiet in general.  I knew my neighbors were playing television only if I really listen very intently; it was so faint that with the AC fan or my sleep apnea, I could not hear it.  Also, I think the old fashioned free standing televisions in the middle of the room are less bothersome than those flat screens mounted on adjoining walls. Nothing kept me from sleeping.

I love the location as it is close to both the Hard Rock and the Tampa Downs as well as the place I wanted to try with the Groupon was just down the street.  There were plenty of places to eat around here, including a Hooters for wings if I wanted a treat.

TAMPA DOWNS AND THE SILKS

The next two days I played at the Tampa Downs in the Silks Poker Room.  The first day the horses were running;  the second was just poker.

There were no limit games, but the 1-1 no limit was very comfortable.  I always think of it as a hybrid between limit and no limit.  There are few preflop raises and few all-in bets most of the time.  It is easier to overcome the rake in a no limit game.  And poorer folks who generally might pick a 2-4, pick this one, while the really good players pick 1-2 or 2-5.

I like the light action.  It suits my bankroll.  If a few players do start bully overbetting, I leave and come back.  Generally I buy in for $60, at some point need to rebuy another $40, and that amount of chips stays in front of me for a few hours of play.

One day they paid the high hand in the room $300 every half hour. The next day they paid every high hand $40 or more, depending on how high it was.  Quad 3’s and quad 9’s paid $300.  “Baseball” they called the promotion, after the old poker table game.

I found the players lively and fun and of all ages.  They talked as players do in a limit game.  Sometimes they got a little mad, but generally the mood was quite friendly.  None told stories, but there was some funny banter.

For the first time this winter I was very comfortable, cards seemed to come, and I made a small amount of money.  I did not make too many mistakes, did not play very many odd hands, did not bluff much at all, or play a loose game.  With the blinds 1-1, and so little preflop action, it was a flop game. 

I like that. 

Blinds rarely had to be folded. 

In the end, I wound up winning enough over these two days, to cover my Hard Rock losses my small losses in betting the horses. I came home $59 to the good. 

Wild Bill gave called me with some tips on horses, and I compared his list with what I found on line and made a few bets scattered throughout the first day. 

It was very exciting because even the losers were generally close at the end.  The only dead dog bet I made was a mistake.  I bet all the races in a bunch and the clerk gave me one horse in the wrong race.  I did not notice it, in fact the “race 6” kept looking like “race 5.”  I’d have won some too, had the error not been made.

On the days when the horses do not run, gamblers can have a seat in the grandstands with a television.  There they can bet other races and be outside in the fine Tampa weather with the quiet peaceful track stretched out before them and two fountains working.  It is very nice and seems little known.

I liked watching the horses.  I could see both the track and a screen from my poker table.  I went outside for a closer look for the last three races and wandered down to where they saddle up.  Quite a show.

In the last race at this saddle up time one horse looked very energetic and I almost bet him at the last minute.  I’d have won on that long shot had I made the bet.

My $59 to the good made this my first winning result in any session of poker this winter. 

I guess the curse is broken.

What was even more comforting was how much I could play close to even.  I never needed to rebuy beyond the $100 and my losing sessions were small.  So the pattern was good.  My game is good.  I don't have to give it up.

In these high raked games ($5 and $1) it is hard to overcome the rake and breaking even is fine with me, leaving me with the entertainment value and always the chance for a high hand to put me ahead. 

The closest I got was once having three 3’s and another time holding A-10 of diamonds and having four to the royal just before the river.  Royals pay $600.  In that hand a fellow ready to go home tried to push us all out with a $15 bet that put him all-in freplop with K-10 unsuited. We showed.  He paired his king on the flop but I caught two diamonds.   Another diamond on the turn gave me the pot, and I was hoping for the jack of diamonds on the river.  Great drama but no royal.

I remembered this Latino player from other trips here other years.  He plays almost every day and if funny and friendly.  I usually would be pushed off those cards, but his voice was unusually quiet when he made the bet and tipped me that he was not too confident.

On another day I won a big hand because I missed seeing that the wheel was possible.  I flopped 8-3-5 for trip 8's.  The turn was an Ace and my opponent made a healthy bet.  I put him on perhaps two pair or smaller trips or maybe even an Ace with high kicker.  I missed the possible straight.
He made a healthy bet and I pushed all-in.  On the river came another Ace bailing me out of losing to the "wheel."  The fellow was not happy, but he was quiet about it.

There were all sorts of players, including the loose bluffing young men who overbet until they were caught.  I had trip queens once and the turn offered little chance I could be beat.  I checked, hoping the kid would overbet, and giving me a shot at the high hand on the river. 

He checked. 

The river gave me a full house, and I made a solid bet that he called, given my perceived weakness. 

He was very sourly annoyed that I had not bet the turn.  I was disappointed that he had not tried to push me out.

I hate the part of no limit when there are bluffs of hundreds of dollars, but here it is more like my weekly home game, and I am not playing with scared money.  Bluffing in general is not a very good tactic here.  It is too inexpensive to call bets.  I like that.  I bluffed once early on and was caught.  It was just a $6 bluff for a small pot and the fellow thought a while.  Once showing that bluff, I did not bluff again, hoping that the table would remember that hand and pay me on my better cards.

I also was good at leaving a game where I did not like the players or the action.  I changed tables once, and I quit playing three times.  The horses offered a way to quit and be entertained on the first day at the Silks.  On the other day I went for a meal or went shopping and was entertained by Tampa.  Gander Mountain is nearby and was a treat to shop.  There found fish scalers, some small hooks, new line and a few inexpensive shirts on sale.  This store is not around my rental in Homosassa or my home up North. 

For lunch I drove about 15 minutes to the Whole Foods and had some very healthy food.  I shopped for a few of the things I can’t get in Homosassa and found the French organic red wine I like best on a sale of $3 off a bottle with ten percent more off for buying 6 bottles. 

(CLICK)    L'oustalet

The drive home was very easy on the Suncoast highway.  I like having the automatic pass and not needing to stop for the small change tolls every few miles.  I was home in an hour and a quarter.  So I’ll go up again soon just for the day.

Mississippi Mud Game

Friend Scott took a trip to Canada and here is his trip report:

Good Evening All,

 

I visited the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls (Canada) on Wednesday evening.  There was quite a crowd as they were running a bunch of preliminary rounds for a World Poker Tour event during this past week.  I had a comp for slots but decided to try some live poker on night two.  Put my name in for a low stakes game and I was number 82 so I figured it wouldn't happen.

 

Found a Hold-Em table and made some and lost some-leaving up a bit.  I then went to a Mississippi Stud table, watched a few hands and decided to sit for a bit.  About three hours later I cashed +$700 for the night.  Nice game if you are at a casino that offers it.  Payouts vary from casino to casino based on the veteran (who had won a seat in the WPT Event the night before), but this one seemed reasonable.  He and I had similar playing styles for this game -- patience (well, some good cards help) and we saw a few come and bet heavy on everything and leave.

 

Enjoy.

 

Scott

 

*************************************************************************************************************************

Here is a complete analysis of the game.

http://wizardofodds.com/games/mississippi-stud/

Here is a virtual game of the game he played:

 

http://wizardofodds.com/play/mississippi-stud/

You can set this to show you make a mistake.

 

Here is a scheme to collude and gain an advantage over the house as well as a ton of more information on the game.

http://discountgambling.net/mississippi-stud-ev-barona/

 

 

 

 

**************************************************************************************************************

Ocala

This is a fine poker room for low rollers.  There are three low stakes games:  NL 1-1 with 20-60 buy in, 2-4, and a 1-3 spread limit.
I thought I had moved up to the NL, but I was wrong.  I gave it four days of trying and lost about $500 with never having a winning session.
Last night I went back to my standby 2-4 game and I was much happier.  There was much less stress and after 7 hours of play I walked away with $35 profit.
And that is fine with me.

On Tuesday and Thursday they have a very small and weak bad beat.  I avoid those days.
Every other day they have high hand bonuses offered every half hour or hour depending on the day.  The high hand in the room gets between $100 and $500, depending on the day. Saturdays offer the $500 and that too is the day we can be certain to encounter a 2-4 game, so in my thinking it is the best odds, although Sundays sometimes do better at $300 because there are fewer people in the room.  One Sunday last year I hit twice and one high hand was jacks full, the other kings full.  That would not hold up on a Saturday very often.  Usually, it is a quad or better.
One nice thing is that quads can hit even if the player does not have a pocket pair.  If the kicker ties or beats the board kicker, so in a five card hand both of the player's cards play, then the hand counts. 
Unlike some other places where the high hand awards seems a mystery, Ocala has a screen on the wall which can easily be watched that shows the current high hand and the time to the second left to beat it.  This is important because it can change the way a hand it played.

Obviously, 2-4 games offer a better chance at winning the high hand.
The tightest players seem to go for the 1-3 spread, so I don't often find myself faced with those "rocks" that play the 2-4 at Turning Stone and make it difficult to overcome the rakes over time.

The chance for the bonus also increases the sort of hands players will play.  And that all builds the pots.

The best part is I have my hobby back. I was considering moving on to something else.  Now I know that I just need to stay with the limit, and in Vegas I need to leave tables where I don't seem to be winning.  There too, I like playing for the bonus hands.  At the Golden Nugget they double the bonus amounts between 2 am and 2 pm.  That is my time to play.