On to New Orleans . . .

ontheopenroad · On to New Orleans . . .

When we last left Jim and Frank, they had spent Thursday night at the Grand Casino Biloxi (see earlier post). Let’s see if things got any better:

After sleeping in on Friday, and walking around on the beach in Gulfport on the way over, we arrived in New Orleans. The city was hopping between the holiday travelers and the Sugar Bowl between Utah and Alabama which was played that evening.

We checked in to the hotel around 4:00 pm. The service was outstanding! The valet was prompt and courteous. We were met at the door by a hostess, directed straight to the check-in counter, and were heading up to our rooms in less than 10 minutes. The room was beautiful—and larger than my first apartment I think. The bathroom had separate shower/tub enclosures. There was a nice view. This was a much better experience than yesterday.

New Orleans being New Orleans, it’s not a place that you go to just camp out in front of a slot machine, so there was some fun to be had out in the French Quarter! No trip down there is complete without a Hurricane from Pat O’Brien’s or coffee and beignets from Café du Monde. Plus, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the 70s (remember, this is January).

However, down to the gambling. Friday was a good day. I started at the 1c Big Bang Pigs. I love these machines. I picked the right machine in the bank, because I hit several bonuses, and the community bonuses were good (and I was at 10x multiplier most of the time). I think I walked away from the pigs about $300 ahead. We walked around for a while, and happened upon the Ebay machines. I’ve heard a lot about these, but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen them. I popped a $20 into the machine, and started playing the max. Within a few minutes, the first community bonus hit, and the ebay wilds were falling. I was at the 10x multiplier, so I managed a nice big win. I also had a single line payout of $250 (I don’t remember what it was), so at one point I had turned that one $20 bill into over $800. Then the community bonuses stopped hitting and I was just feeding the machine, so when I finally cashed out, I was at $600-something. Still quite good for a $20 coin-in. Fate being fickle, these machines never paid out this good the rest of the trip (I know—I tried!!!).

I never really found any other machines in the place that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. We pretty much spent the rest of the night roaming around and trying to find a good payout. But by the end of the evening on Friday, we had spent back what we had won (and, truth be told, then some). We went back out into the French Quarter to party with the Utah fans, and laugh at the dejected Alabama fans (sorry, but I am a Volunteer here!).

Saturday was a dreary day. It was warm outside, but it rained most of the day. And as for the gambling, it followed suit. First, let me start with my early afternoon. My Tennessee Lady Vols were playing basketball on CBS against Rutgers. I parked at a bar, poked a $20 in the video poker machine, and played quarters, drank Crown and Coke, and watched my girls get absolutely gassed in the first half—down by a score of 33-13 at halftime. I couldn’t hear the audio, and I was so disgusted that I left the bar and we went to play some slots. Ebay and the Piggies were not paying out (though, neither was anything else we were playing). After a while, I was curious as to what was going on with my ballgame, so back to the bar we went to check the score. It was about 4 minutes to go in the game, and we had closed the gap to 4 points. Naturally, I poked a $20 into the video poker machine, played quarters, drank Crown and Coke, and watched my girls pull out the biggest comeback in Lady Vol history as they won the game 55-51.

Unfortunately, this comeback did not apply to the gambling, as the rest of the day Saturday, I managed to not only spend the rest of what I had planned to spend, but also took an ill-advised trip to the ATM. I know, I know. You can’t keep chasing bad money with good money. Alas, I did lose more than I had planned to for this trip.

Oh, and by the way, let’s discuss the buffet at Harrah’s New Orleans. It’s OVERPRICED. Now, I had comps for 2 free buffets, so I say, if it don’t give you the ptomaine poisoning, it’s worth it. But, the going rate for the buffet if you’re paying or using comps is $27.99 per head. Now, I didn’t see anything so special on the buffet that I’d shell over that kinda dough for rubber crab legs, overcooked shrimp, and dried-up cheesecake. That’s an exaggeration, of course—the food was actually good. But not worth $27.99 to me.

Well, that’s the news from New Orleans. I’m back home in Nashville now, and I just got an e-mail from my casino host at Horseshoe Southern Indiana. It was an invite for a slot tournament this weekend. I think I’ll try it out (I’ve never done a tourney before). Wish me luck, and I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Good luck!

Jean

Terrific report!
Isn't it odd that we are only allotted one day of good gambling...

Mine is usually the first or last, but then I always feel lucky to get ONE DAY!
I've never been to Harrah's New Orleans. The last time I was through NO's it was still pretty bad (Feb after Katrina) so I never ventured in. I do love the ambiance of the French Quarter, my mouth was watering when you mentioned the beignets, love those!
Sounds like they treated you well, nice room and good service. Harrah's has really upped their prices at more than one of their buffets. The one in St Louis is about that price. I didn't think it would was worth that price (if not using comps) either.
Hey good luck with the tourney.....I look forward to reading another report.

WILynn

I'm glad to hear you at least had SOME good hits to keep you playing. Nice your team made a comeback also. Ah, I remember the Hurricane's at Pat O'Brien's. They sure were tasty! I haven't been to NO or LA at all since they've had casinos. I bet it's a lot of fun.

Look forward to hearing about your trip to Indiana. Good luck in the tournament!

LA

Enjoyed both your trip reports. We haven't been back to the gulf since the storm, so I really enjoy when someone reports on a visit there. While it's our wish to win some money at the casinos, those beautiful gulf waters and warm sunshine sure make a loosing trip easier to deal with.

Thanks for the great reads & GOOD LUCK in the tourney!

LunaToon

Thanks for the trip reports, enjoyed them both! We love Biloxi but haven't been there in over a year now, sure do miss the place! Glad you some good hits In N.O. anyway.

And welcome to the board! Hope to hear more from you!

Cheers
LunaToon

Stew

Thanks I enjoyed both reports which were a great read. You done good!
Come on back in anytime and write su some more good reports every time you go to Tunica or Biloxi.
Thanks for the good read,
Stew

ontheopenroad

A new development . . .

According to the Harrah's website, Diamond Level TR Members receive free self or valet parking. So, when we arrived at the hotel, I valeted (is that a word?) the car, knowing that I would not need it again until we left.

Today, I noticed a $30 charge to my credit card from the hotel, so I called to inquire. Seems the free parking applies only to the casino, and not the hotel.

Hmm, interesting. Wonder why? I have contacted Harrah's customer service. Will keep you informed.

You know, it's not the $30 that bothers me; it's the principle of the thing! Well, that and the fact that I MORE THAN paid for what little real estate my car occupied for 3 days. LOL

GaPam

I really enjoyed both of your trip reports. The added humor was a plus. Sounds like a really fun time. At least there were some wins to report...those are getting rare.

I know what you mean about the $30.00 parking. It kinda adds insult to injury. Even after they suck all the money out of your pockets they still want more....30 dollars to be exact.

Thanks for posting and hope you have fun in the Tourny this weekend. Keep us posted.