Running on Eddie: West Wendover Trip

Having some extra PTO to use and a coupon for free food, a free room, and free play burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to take a day off and head to West Wendover, NV for a quick trip of eating and gambling -- the usual.

This was going to be a solo trip, as Shari needed to work.

I left on Sunday at about 8:30 and when I opened the apartment door I was stunned to see the winter's first snowfall here in Utah. It was coming down in big, giant white flakes that melted on the pavement, but was sticking to the cars. While the freeways on a Sunday are generally pretty light, I did have to slow my trip -- at least until I got past Grantsville. My tired were slipping a bit on the icy road. Luckily, it didn't delay me much, but I had a death grip on the steering wheel. Nothing like going over 70 mph in slippery conditions.

I arrived just before 10:30 having jammed to Clint Black and LeeAnn Rhimes on the way out there. I quickly swiped my player's club card and printed out my free play, my free buffet coupon and got started with the 6X comps system (believe me, this adds serious benefits to your earnings).

I had done some homework before arriving at the sports book but I knew generally what I wanted to bet on. However, you never really know for sure until you are there and you actually see the odds yourself. The sports book at Montego Bay was like the Wall Street stock exchange. A total guy-fest with dozens of different team jerseys all putting in their last minute bets.

I took the Over on the Chief's / Bill's game for $20 and the Saints at -6 versus the Jets for $30. Sadly, neither team came in.

While the games were in progress I dabbled in playing black jack or video poker. I also jumped on Leonidas again and quickly got off to a good start, nailing a nice bonus round or two. It looks like my good luck was continuing from my last trip. But more on this slot machine later.

After inhaling an awesome and FREE buffet at the Oceano Buffet at Montego Bay, I jumped in my car and headed to the Rainbow. I've never had terribly good luck there and managed to piss about $40 away on various slot machines. To make matters worse, my football bets had tanked. I looked at the poker table there and they were full and had a waiting list. I was starting to get a sinking feeling in my gut that I was on a losing streak. I looked at my wallet and considered my budget and knew I wanted to bet more on football and wasn't sure if I wanted to blow it now or spread it out.

After realizing I had lost my two games, I jumped back into the football fray and put $20 each on the Raiders over the Eagles at -2, the Ravens at -2 against the Browns and the Patriots at -6 against the Steelers. I did hit pay dirt on the Patriots game but the other two games were dogs.

Dejectedly I headed back to Montego Bay, got my room, took a shower to wash the bad luck off of me and proceeded to go downstairs to get some food and bum around. I was tempted to take the Colts over the Texans, but I had lost close to a $100 on football and figured it wasn't my luck.

I hit up Leonidas again and quickly won a pair of nice jackpots bringing me darn close to $-50, which all things considered wasn't too bad. I used my comps for a dinner buffet and pretty much called it a night. I had a splitting headache -- I think it was from the Aruse Games which use these intense neon all over their machines and while their machines are fun, they are hard on the eyes.

I was worried that I wasn't going to sleep well because when I did get to my room I heard some noisy neighbors, but luckily I was able to crank up the fan and the A/C and I slept pretty well.

In the morning, I rolled out of bed and while I was flirting with checking out Danger Cave but I opted to visit Leppy Hills Trail System instead. I am glad I did. They have bathrooms there and I figured I could leave the trail and see what was on the other side of the north western section of hills.

I did Garmin the trail and while I was told it wasn't quite 5 miles, my Garmin indicated it was very close to it. I did manage to climb a hill and spot some burned out cars and managed to see an expanse of hills and desert to the north of the city. I also tried to hit the trail hard: trying to crank off some low 7 minute miles. The combination of too much food the night before, the thin air (you are about at 5000 feet) and the hilly nature of the course made it too much for me. I did go 7 miles though and worked up a powerful appetite, which I took advantage of for my brunch buffet - which I used my comps for.

The jacuzzi there is still open and had the entire outdoor pool to myself. The jacuzzi was perfect for a post run and despite the chilly air, it was a relaxing experience.

Normally after my Monday lunch, I'll gamble a few bucks and head back. I sat around on the Aruse games some more and blew another $20.

I still had a decent bankroll left and wandered around playing black jack winning a few dollars here and there.

For grins, I decided to hit up Leonidas one more time. I figured $20 wouldn't hurt and then I'd think about a Monday Night Football bet and then take off.

Leonidas wound up being a 3-hour ordeal. I sat there winning and kept on winning. Normally I am the type that takes my winnings and runs. I am happy to get $20 but Leonidas was hemorrhaging money. I was soon up to $60 and I figured, well, I'll play it down to $40. The problem is, my money kept going up -- way up!

What entailed was a 3 hour run and at the high point I had about $600 in credits. I didn't dare get up even when my bladder was begging me to take a break. When I finally went through about $50 without significant return, I collected my winnings and cashed them out. All in all, an awesome experience. If you want to see what some of the bonus rounds look like on Leonidas, search for it on youtube.

I had played so long and was wailing on the buttons so much my left shoulder hurt. But for once I felt like I really had "won"

I looked down at my watch and it was around 4:30. I thought about going home, but went for a walk, got gas for my car, grabbed another free dinner buffet, and took off.

I am still jacked from the experience but came home with significantly more money than which I had left.

I also got: