Vegas During Recession-Time

Linda and I recently returned from three nights in Vegas. Joining us were Attorneys Todd, Erika, and Lauri (because we were going to need plenty of legal advice before the trip was over).

We had a great time. Linda had a successful shopping weekend, and I gambled about five hours a day while there. We also spent a lot of time by the pool enjoying the 80-degree weather. I wanted to take it a little easier this trip by not staying up all night on the first evening like I always do, and I (sort of) succeeded -- I actually went to bed at 4 am on Friday morning, the earliest I've ever hit the rack on the first night in Vegas.

Our suite had a kitchen, so we loaded up with booze, mixer, and food and ended up eating several meals in the room and enjoying many refills of Todd's signature drink: vodka with cranberry juice and margarita mix. But we did go out for a great meal at Bar Charlie located inside The Palazzo. Nice choice there, Todd.

I was curious to see if Vegas was showing any outward signs of the recession, and we noticed a few things. Some of the down escalators were turned off in an apparent attempt to save on the electric bill. We also noticed that some casinos didn't have as many tables opened as they normally would. On Thursday night, Todd, Erika, and I wanted to play blackjack together at Treasure Island, but all the active tables were full and we couldn't find any empty tables with ready-to-go dealers.

We eventually found a table at The Mirage, where Erika and I immediately went on a tear. I was way up for awhile, but then lost most of my winnings and walked away with only about $50 in profit. I played Blackjack a couple more times on the trip, but enjoyed no further success.

One thing struck me while I was playing that game -- I didn't see any tables that paid 3-2 on blackjacks. Now I haven't played a lot of twenty-one over the years, but I'm pretty sure 3-2 is the traditional payout. Every table we played, however, only paid 6-5 for a blackjack. Another sign of the times, perhaps.

But the thing I noticed most of all as far as the recession is concerned was the cheap craps. Last year, Casino Royale had three dollar craps tables on Thursday evening only, then $5 tables on Friday through Sunday. But this year, it had three dollar craps tables all weekend long, so I spent most of my gambling time there.

Todd and I played craps for awhile at about 3 am on Friday morning. I had just ran out of chips -- and was down $100 -- when he showed up at the table, so I bought in for another $60. I ended up doubling my $60 before we called it quits, which meant I only lost about $40 for the overall session. Todd also won money in what I'm pretty sure was his first winning craps session ever.

I couldn't really get much else going, though. On Friday afternoon, a lady next to me went on a nice long roll which netted me around $300, but I was already down about $100 for that session when her roll started. The dice went fairly cold after that, but I still only lost about $200 for the weekend. Erika had a good night on Thursday evening/Friday morning, winning about $250 playing blackjack.

I didn't play any hold 'em, which was odd because I recently started playing poker again in part to get ready for this trip. But I've played a lot of cards here at home recently, and I never get to play craps, so the $3 craps tables left me with no real interest in playing poker on this particular trip. Todd and Erika didn't play any hold 'em either. Maybe next time.