Update

Ok so the big news is I have a lot of stuff coming very soon. I am redoing the blog and will make it a website by the end of the year. I have a few trip reports a lot of new reviews and a lot of videos Im working on. Instead of adding more to this blog I will wait and release it all at once when the site looks the way I want it too.

thanks for coming back and hopefully like I said by the end of the year I will have a new site up and running.

thanks and Happy Gaming,
JMB

Time to Write Something

Hello to all and Happy Holidays,

Once again its time for me to complain that I dont have enough time or money to go to the casino's. I have made very few trips up to Blackhawk this year and never much to write about when I did get to go up.

Life is going great for me though as Im happy to announce that I have another child on the way. Expected arrival June 26th. Also we have just purchased our 1st home moving in middle of Jan.

That being said I do have some trips coming up that I hope to write about. My gambling partner in crime, my mother Debbie, will be visiting for the holidays and we will be going up to Blackhawk on New Years day along with my dad and yes my wife Jennifer. And for those of you who asked, Jennifer did have a good time during the Labor Day trip. She still hates games with numbers instead of symbols but she had a good time either way.

I will also be making a trip in Febuary for my 30th birthday. Plan was to stay the night in the new Ameristar Hotel but with buying a new house and the baby on the way, I think I will be happy with just a day trip.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on the blog and sorry for some of the random adds that have popped up in comments and stuff. I will try to do a better job of maintain the site.

Again Happy Holidays to all and Happy Gaming,

J

Next Trip

Hello World,

Well things have been quite on the gaming front. Had a really good trip up to Blackhawk in July. Hope some of you liked the twitter updates as I went through my day. I really liked it, it not only was fun to tweet while playing, it seemed to make my money and day last longer.

Thoughts from the trip:

1. I really like Viva Monopoly. Love the bonus rounds execpt for the craps bonus since im not a craps player.

2. Lucky Meerkats is a very nice follow-up to Lucky Lemmings

3. Star Trek is fun if you win, but then again what slot isnt fun if you are winning.

4. Finnally I love the fact that the Casino's are now open 24 hours.

Next trip will be Sept 6th and my wife will actually be joining me for the 1st time in about 2 years.

Join my Twitter site: casinoreview4 for more updates and to follow my Sept 6th trip.

Happy Gaming,
JMB

Update

Wow how the world changes. I was already to write a mega trip report from my birthday trip in February, but when I came home I was so deflated that I didn't want to even think about the trip.

I lost a little more than I planned but not more than was in my means by any manner. I got a little bit of extra money for my birthday and just decided to have some fun.

It wasn't the trip that deflated me it was more the fact that I was putting money in the same old machines and when those didn't pay out it was just, I hate to even say it, Boring.

I discovered that the years that I was complaining about not being able to go to the casino more often, I was actually doing myself a favor. By going every other month or so I was able to let new games cycle into the Colorado casinos and was always finding something new to play while only relying on my old favorites as stand byes.

I have since talked to a few friends who realized that same thing. If you don't live near a gambling mega center like Reno, AC, or Vegas, the games don't change much and once a month while fun doesn't really give it much time to switch things up.

It took almost a month before I even wanted to think about my favorite gaming sites or this blog but I think I'm over it for now and back to the gaming sites I used to love.

Well that's my rant. Whats new, Twitter. The greatest thing ever for a blogger like me. There are times when wrighting a blog about something so little seems so trivial that I wouldn't write anything but with twitter I can do a quick update and seems to give out just as much information as a full blog.

With the ability to text updates to twitter via my phone and also post pictures via twitpic from my phone. I can just imagine my next trip report, live coverage via twitter. follow me from machine to machine, casino to casino. I will have to upgrade my plan and add the texting package but it just sounds like fun to me to be twitting my progress.

That's it for now. So be on the lookout for my Twitter updates. Next possible Trip will be June 1st, the day the new expand hours and betting limits start in Colorado, I might just have to play some Blackjack and Roulette just because.

Happy Gaming,
J

Trip Report Black Hawk 1/18/09

Black Hawk Colorado Sunday January 18th, 2009

Planning:

The goal for today is to play the Happy Days game. I found, by surfing casino websites, that the game was listed at Bullwhackers Casino so I will start my day there. No mailer or coupons to spend this month so I'm free to visit wherever I want.

Actual:

I didn’t get much sleep, as always, spent most of the night tossing and turning or dreaming of winning big. I wish my dreams would come true….

I finally got out of bed at 6 am. As I written a lot lately on my blog, a new law will go into effect on July 1st 2009 that will not only increase the gambling limits for Colorado but also allow the casinos to become a 24 hour operation. Now with this new law the question for me will be, when I'm tossing and turning all night waiting to get up in the morning and go to the casino, will I now just get up and go at 4 am when I can’t wait anymore? Guess we will see. I do plan on going up July 1st just to see how many people are there at 3 AM. I'm betting the hotel occupancy skyrockets.

I tiptoe around the house for awhile wasting time but finally head out about 645. It’s only a 30-40 minute drive but I wanted to save time for getting gas, going to the bank, and getting some pre-dawn photos of the sunrise on the mountains.

The drive was uneventful and I did get a few shoots of the mountains. (will post later) I arrived in Black Hawk around 740. I was the second car to be parked in the Bullwhackers parking lot. The other driver was reading the paper in her car. Since the Casino’s don’t open till 8am the doors are locked which is just funny to me.

I walked around and took pictures of some of the buildings and sculptures that are scattered throughout the town and just wasted some time. There were a couple other people doing the same thing or hanging out in the bus shelter because there is one heat lamp in there. It was maybe in the 30 outside.

At 8 am I joined a group of maybe 10 people waiting for security to open the door to Bullwhackers. These people were pro’s and ran to either the players club or their favorite machines. I immediately saw the Fonze staring at me from the other side of the casino so I headed right over and sat down for my first game of the day.

The Cunningham’s Go Wild. I liked seeing the familiar characters and some of the symbols were classic looking phones and dress, along with Mr. And Mrs. Cunningham and Jonni. I experience the first bonus when you get a Go Wild symbol it rotates through all the symbols stopping on one random one and makes all the matching symbols wild. It had some good pays and some bad ones but was kind of fun. The second bonus was a random bonus activated by game play. Giving you a high multiplier if you play faster between 2 x and 4x. I got this bonus the first time while looking at the pay menu. It was funny, I was sitting there trying to figure out how to get into the bonus and boom, I'm in the bonus. I wish that happened every time. The Fonze gets on and does a little speech and then a icon on the top box lights up with different levels of the free spin bonus. The icons are records and range in free spins valued from Vinyl 7 spins to Diamond 51 spins. During my play I got 2 Vinyl bonuses and 1 Platinum 21 spins. The game itself was fun and I walked away up a few bucks but I never was able to matchup 3 face characters. I was wondering if they had sound bits of the characters or anything. Have to play again next time.

Just on the other side of the bank of machines I found the other Happy Days game, Richie’s Big Night. This one is themed toward a date night for Richie, Mouth, and Pottsie. This one also offered the random free spin bonus but had a locket bonus. When you get 3 or more lockets you select one to get a bonus point award. I got 1 Vinyl bonus and 3 locket bonuses. 1 of the locket bonuses I got while in the vinyl bonus and it did pay out more because I was in the bonus. Of the two machines I like the Go Wild version better as I'm not a fan of pick box bonuses.

I walked away and found Monopoly Up ,Up, and Away. I’ve never made it to the bonus on this one before and was finally able to get in this time. On the top box I got the Fireworks bonus. Nothing else going but it was fun to finally get into the bonus.

From here I found Indiana Jones and the Well of Souls. This one has a mystery bonus also that says you it can activate anytime for 15 seconds after a spin but I couldn’t find a countdown clock anywhere on my screen or top box? Never got in the bonus and I was the only one playing on the bank of machines so I had no one to compare things too. Lost quickly and ran.

Bullwhackers has 3 floors and at this point I had played everything I wanted to play on the 2nd (main) floor so I went to the basement and found a Village People Party game. Noda.

Moved over to Deal or No Deal The Show. I did my normal and forgot which button to push for repeat bet, so I pushed the max bet button and of course didn’t hit anything. Do it every time. One the minimum bid I did get into the bonus and was given a double award, so top prize 10000 credits. Picked case 10 as always, it my wife and I’s anniversary date, September 10th. 1st pick 10000, there goes that one. Went a couple rounds. 1st offer 1748, 2nd offer 1724 knocked out the 6000, 3rd offer 2234. Still have the 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 with bottom 130. I'm chicken, took the deal. I'm not sure If I would like the option of knowing what was in my case or not. I think it would be cool if it was small but I would be pissed if it was the big one. Owe well.

At the end of the bank was a The Game of Life Getting Paid game I had wanted to try and someone had just left so I cashed out and headed down. Few seconds later I was leaving.

I played everything I wanted to play here so I left and crossed the street to Fitzgerald’s. I like how they have added a new building that is very nice and airy. I sat down at Dean Martin’s Wild Party and played for a while. Supposedly there is 3 ways to get into the bonus round. None of which I found but the game is highly volatile. You can go forever without a win and then hit something for a few hundred credits , this continued for a while and I decided to try another Dean machine along the bank. Still no bonus and I was done. Not sure how I feel about the line structure. Seems if you don’t get matching symbols in the first 2 boxes it doesn’t nothing and when you do finally match it pays off pretty good. I guess it’s just a waiting game that I don’t have the patience for.

Walked around the new area some and didn’t find anything that was calling to me, so I heading into the old building and found a couple Star Trek Games. I had seen this game while on a trip to Oregon but it was so busy I wasn’t able to play. One thing that I can’t seem to understand is this game has the ability to track you progress along a journey in the game. Giving you the option to pass multiple levels and do different mission along the way. It doesn’t change the payout but just makes it feel more like a computer game than a slot machine. This would be fine if it didn’t take so long to log onto the machine to keep up with your progress. So every time someone is finally do with a machine it’s another few minutes till they are done login their progress and move on. It’s just a little annoying for those who are waiting to play. Of course I do nothing on the machine and don’t waste mine or anyone else’s time to make a profile and track the progress of me getting nowhere.

I moved on to Monopoly Jackpot Station and hit 3 bonus symbols within the first few spins. I was give 2 rolls of the dice. 1st roll of 4,3 for seven spaces and landed on chance which gave me 3 spins and then a 6 giving me another 4 spins. Lots of 10x multiples, no full line wilds and got a minimal payout but it’s always fun to play that bonus and it can be a big payer.

I then went upstairs in the old building and found a Super Jackpot Party machine. I got into the bonus once but chose the wrong corner to start. I always just choose a section and pick from there instead of jumping all over the board, just my style. 1st pick credits, second pick multiplier, 3rd pick pooper, 4th pick poker, party hat saver, credits, and I'm out. Moving on.

Getting nervously close to the end of my bank roll so I continued down the mountain to The Gilpin Hotel/Casino. I sat down on Invaders from Planet Moolah. I really like this game, it’s just a fun game. I’m not a real fan of collapsing wins and with this one to get to the bonus round you have to have 4 collapsing wins in a row. I would get 3 but couldn’t get that 4th one and then after a spin the little meter thing at the bottom of the screen filled up to 7 free spins and began the bonus round. I didn’t know that there was a mystery bonus. Didn’t win much but it was a nice surprise.

Next I bellied up to Wizard of Oz, hoping for some lucky from Glenda, Dorthy, or for a flying monkey to come out my……machine. Well no visits from any of said characters and I'm down to my last five.

Walked around for a little bit to find that last machine calling my name. I settled on Monopoly Grand Hotel. Must have been calling someone else because it didn’t like me.

So that’s a wrap. Total playing time around 2 hours. Machines played 15. Not bad and had a fun time doing it.

Final Observations:

When I arrived there was 10 or so people waiting to get in and I was the second car in the lot. When I left just after 10 am there were maybe 15 cars in the lot. The lot is normally pretty full by this time of the day. I had not paid much attention but it hit me that the casinos were very empty. I guess the economy really is taking a bite out of the gaming industry.

I will be back next month on Sunday Feb 22nd, the day after my 29th birthday. Till then……..

J

PS. Post picture soon

Trip Report Black Hawk Colorado 11/08/08

Trip Report
November 8th , 2008
Black Hawk Colorado

Quick Version of Trip Report
Mardi Gras Casino
Wizard Of OZ
Deal or No Deal Play It
Monopoly Grand Hotel
Whales of Cash
Sally Shrimp
Ghost Hunter
Super Jackpot Party
Super Jackpot Party
Where’s The Gold
Day and Night
Deal Or No Deal Play it
Deal or No Deal Play it
Wizard of Oz

The Lodge
Survivor
Moolah Invaders (Cow Space Ship Game)
Monopoly Train Bonus
Wales of Cash


Wow, sorry it’s taken me over a week to write this but I’ve been busy as heck.
Got up at 530 AM. I can never sleep in the night before going to the casino’s. I'm always up early and since the casinos in Colorado, currently, don’t open till 8 am, it does me no good to be up before 7.

I went down stairs as quietly as possible so not to disturb my lovely wife or wake me sleeping daughter. Got on the computer to work on a little hard drive issue I had been having, and checked the blogs for something to do to waste time.

I Ate a quick bite of toast when I heard my little princess start crying so I went up to check on her. I took her into her mother and kissed them both goodbye and I was out the door by 7:!0

Stop to get some gas. 1.95 A Gallon and was on my way. No traffic at 7 on a Sunday and it was a very nice drive as always. Driving up I-70 this time of year is so beautiful. The leaves are still changing and there is snow on the higher mountains. I don’t have to drive throw the snow but can enjoy the views.



(View from Central City Parkway)






(The Casino Front)

(Statue outside of Golden Mardi Gras Casino)

My first stop today was the Golden Mardi Gras Casino. I had planned this trip around a mailer I had received from the Golden Casino Group. It was a earn 200 points in a day and receive $5.00 coupon. Also being Sunday it was a double point day so I figured I would be able to hit my number easier than normal.

My first game was one of my new favorites “Wizard of OZ” 2 seconds later it was on to “Deal or No Deal” Play it addition. I guess I chose the don’t play it addition since I didn’t get anything in my spins.

Next, Monopoly Grand Hotel. I love the Monopoly slot machine series. The only jackpot I have every won was on the original “Money Grab” Monopoly Game. 5 Monopoly symbols on the 9th line thing, I cried. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky on this one either.

So far I had been in the casino for less than 15 minutes and hadn’t won a thing. Worst of all my bankroll was already half gone. It was looking like it would be a very short day.

I went to my old standby machine, Whales of Cash. This machine seems to help me out everyonce and a while so I always hope for the best. Again nothing.

At this point I'm pretty down. Not wanting to spend more time driving to the casino than playing in it wasn’t a fun thought.

I went looking for a penny machine with 9 lines so I could extend my day at least. I stumbled upon Sally shrimp mania slot machine. Fun little game and the first of the day I actually got to play on for a while. Hit the Shrimping bonus and a few 5 symbol hits and finally was able to leave a machine a little ahead for the first time in the day.

Just around the corner I found another .01 cent 9 line game called “Ghost Island” I spent back what I left the shrimp with.

At this point I'm down to my last 10 bucks. Ive wasted a little more time but the day has still gone by way to fast.

I found a Super Jackpot Party game and decided to chance it. I have never done well on this game but crossed my fingers anyway. After the second spin I hit the party bonus. Why does this game or any select a box game make me so dang nervous. I selected a couple boxes and then hit the Dance bonus. My little John Travolta look-a-like character starts dancing his little head off. Ends up winning me 15.00 bucks by the time he finally got all tuckered out. I played for a while long and figure it was done paying so I went to another SJP on the bank and got right into the bonus again. No big win this time but did cashed out the same as I cashed in.

I took a quick picture of the box top so I could add it to the post. As soon as I did, host staff started to pop up everywhere. Guess they don’t like photos in this casino.



I sat down at “Where’s The Gold,” it was the one where you need 3 dynamite symbols to get in the bonus round where you chose a character who mines for spins and bonus symbols, that one. When I got nothing again., I was down to my last $5.00 bucks.

I debated how to spend it for a while and decided to just sit down on the machine a couple done that I hadn’t played before. It was a “Night and Day” machine. Something about getting matching symbols that represented night and day, then there was this box that would appear in line 2 that would be covered at first then reveal a random symbol, didn’t understand it but I figure like they all do it would tell me if I won.

It was just a few spins in when I hit 5 of the bonus day/night symbols for 50 free spins. On my minimum but when all was said and done I was back to my starting bankroll number. I cashed out and ran.

It was at this point I realized after an 1 and a half of play and on a double point day I was still almost a hundred points short of getting my 5.00 coupon. How hard is it to get $5.00. wow.
With a new bank roll I started my tour over again. Stopping at “Deal or No Deal” again with the same results as earlier on two different machines.

Then over to Wizard of Oz for a second try. This time I actually got to play for a while. I was visited by Linda the Good White quite a bit but never helped much. Played the Flying Monkey Bonus for the first time and that actually paid off pretty nicely. Visited the yellow brick road a few times but never got to select a character at the end. Did have a shot at the scare crow and chose the wrong box. Bummer.

It was after a lot of up and down play on WOZ that I finally reach my 200 points. 2 hours and 2 bank rolls later, I was ready to cash in my coupon. I get to the window, hand the guy my card and my coupon and he tells me I have only earned 124 points. Double points don’t count toward your coupons. I was very upset. I wouldn’t have wasted so much time in one place had I know I wouldn’t even get to use my coupon. I did raise my player total to over the 1000 point mark so I was able to cash in on my regular points for $5.00 bucks but after that I was out the door.

I walked across the street to The Lodge Casino. By now the floor was a lot more active but still plenty of machines open. I found the same slot games on the lower level of the lodge as were across the street so I headed right up stairs.

I found the “Survivor” game based on the TV show. It had Rupert as a symbol and he was one of my favorite characters so that was cool. The actual game was pretty boring though and the bonus round was not very exciting either. You pick an icon which represents one of 4 seasons of Survivor and it reveals a pay level . then you choose icons from that level. It does show you what you could have chosen at the end which is a feature I both love and hate.

Next I played the cows from outer space game with dropping reels. If it gets 4 or more drops in a row you get free games. I went to the bonus once but didn’t have much luck.

I then sat down at the Monopoly Jackpot Station. I really like this game when I get into the bonus round. Unfortunately I got the chance bonus about 5 times and never was able to select a good card. Always got a symbol that never gave me much.

The day was again at a close with my last $5.00 bucks in hand. I chose to let my day hinge with my old faithful Whales of Cash. But again it wasn’t my day with those whales.

All and all not a bad day, started really rough but got a nice boost from the Day/Night game. I was very upset about Mardi Gras coupon situation but it’s a lesson learned. If it’s not a free coupon I'm not going.

Have a great day and Happy Gaming,
J

Colorado Amendment 50 Update

According to the Rocky Mountain News, the first town to vote on expanded gaming will be Cripple Creek on Dec 16th. Black Hawk to follow on Jan 13th and Central City will vote sometime in March.

Even with the early voting, if passed, the new hours, limits, and gaming will not start until summer of 09.

Read the full article here.


J

Golden Casino Group Promotions

Borrowing a great idea from http://www.thebadgambler.com/ I will start posting the flyers I get from the local casinos.

My first to post and comment about is from the Golden Casino Group. This encompasses 3 casino's in Black Hawk Colorado. Golden Gates, Golden Gulch, and Golden Mardi Gras Casinos.

This month's flyer is different than normal in one major way. Like always there are coupons for food, $3.00 off a Burrito and/or $5.00 off a Calzone. I be getting a Calzone myself.


The big change is with the money back portion. What normally reads "Get $5.00 Cash" now is "Get $5.00 in cash when you earn 200 points"



It was nice to just get free money but with the casino's posting continual loss, I can understand how they don't want to just give it away right now. 200 points is not that hard to achieve so I will go and play for a while and get my $5.oo, just to give it right back to them of course, but hey it was free money right.......

Have a Great Day and Happy Gaming
J

Amendment 50 Passes

With a fairly large margin amendment 50 has been passed by the Colorado voters.

Now it is up to the individual voters of the 3 mountain towns to vote on the expansion of gaming. Most reports say a vote could be held after the 1st of the year with changes going into effect by June.

The hardest part is over, now its just a waiting game.

Have a great day and Happy Gaming,
J

Keeping My Eye on Amendment 50

Today is the day. While most of the world is waiting for the results of one of the most important presidential races in our history, I will be watching the ticker at the bottom of the tv for local ammendments results.

Crossing my fingers that ammendment 50 will pass. I will update the results as they come in.

Have a great day and Happy Gaming
J

Colorado Votes to Expand Gaming Laws

Ok I’m not interested in politics. I don’t have the time to be an educated voter so I’m not even registered. I'm tired of all the ads on TV, radio, and in the mail but there is a bill on the Colorado ballet that I'm paying attention too.

Amendment 50: Limited Gaming in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek

This amendment would allow the towns in Colorado where gambling is allow to vote on wither or not they want to expand gaming limits, games available, and gaming hours.

My first question was why are we voting to give the right to towns people to vote on an issue. Don’t they have that right in the first place?

My second question was when would this, if passed, be enacted?

With what I can find online it appears that no change could be made till July 09 per the tax regulations. I might be wrong.

Now the increased betting limits (going from $5 max to $100 max) wont effect a player like me, it will mainly affect the card players out there. I'm a penny player and hate betting more than the minimum anyway.

The new games such as roulette and craps might be a onetime adventure for me but I can see the draw for other players.

The one part of the new law which would be more beneficial to me would be the expanded gaming hours. Currently operating from 8 am to 2 am this law would allow for 24 hour gaming.

I have found these limited hours annoying on a few occasions but not many.

My first ever trip to Black Hawk I was so excited. I left from Littleton around 630 am as I was on a time crunch and had to be back in town by noon. I drove as fast as I could up the old mountain route 93 and got to Fortune Valley Casino a little after 730 am. I walked in from the parking garage to find the gates up blocking the casino entrance and all the machine were off. I then noticed the hours sign posted next to the gate. I have now learned to adjust both my sleep and driving styles on days I'm going to the casino.

The second time was during an overnight stay for my birthday with my wife. She doesn't gamble much but when we are staying at a casino the funniest thing happens. She wakes me up in the middle of the night and asks if I want to go down to the slots. Of course I do. While this time she walks me up and I had to say no, there not open yet.

If this bill passes I won’t have to worry about either of these issues again.

I have seen and heard the opponents objectives to the bill and understand their arguments. The main backing is speaking to the betting limits and that people will spend larger amounts of money. I agree completely. People are going to be dropping more money and some of them don’t have it but again that won’t be me.

Now as I said I will take advantage of the expanded hours but will I be driving home/or leaving to go up the mountain at 3 am, hopefully not. I like the Central City Parkway drive off of I-70 but at night that’s one heck of a road. It’s a long way to the bottom if you miss one of the those turns and I know the same thing could happen at 3pm in daylight but I just feel better getting to and from that road before the sun goes down or after it comes up, but that’s just me.

Either way November cant come soon enough. All these political issues out there and only one has sparked enough interest with me to really contemplate.

Here is a link to the local new stations coverage of the bill with all the legalize if you want to know the exacts of the bill. http://www.9news.com/news/elections/article.aspx?storyid=100868&catid=137

Have a great day and Happy Gaming,
J

The Mill Casino, Coos Bay Oregon

The Mill Casino, Coos Bay Oregon

While on vacation in Oregon I had the pleasure of visiting The Mill Casino. This was my first trip since 06 and boy has it changed.

1. The Mill Casino has added a new wing to there hotel.
2. The Casino Floor has been redesigned (more later)
3. Non Smoking Section (??????????)

The casino has added a 92 room tower to the property. With the existing 112 rooms in the original hotel this has now became a major draw for out-of- town gamblers. Both internal and external the hotel and reception area look amazing.

The casino floor has been completely redone since my last visit. The slot machines rows are now at a 45 degree angle and more room has been place between the isles for easier access throughout the casino.

What once was the bingo hall has now been completely transformed with the removal of the old walls that once held the doors going into the bingo hall.

With this comes my question on the non-smoking section. The old bingo hall area used to be the non-smoking. It had, in my estimate, close to 150-200 machines available and was very well ventilated being it did not have door separating it from the smoking section.

Now the new smoking section is completely enclosed but only houses around 40-50 machines. This area was very small and made me feel like I was playing in a glass box. I hate the smell of smoke in the air and on my clothing; I couldn’t stand playing in the non-smoking section for very long.

I found some new games and some old ones but nothing that was just amazing.

1. Wheel of Fortune® Video Slots - Las Vegas by IGT was a interesting new game. I’m not a fan of having to get symbols in all 5 columns to get into the bonus round so I didn’t spend a lot on this machine

2. Hee Haw by Bally. Win up to 30 free games by getting 3 sitting ducks in rows 1, 3, and 5. Also the corn bonus with progressive jackpot. My only complaint is because I’m a minimum bet player. If you are not playing the full max bet the corn bonus is worthless. I did see a lady get 7 ears of corn for a progressive of 137.00.

3. Indian Jones progressive by IGT. I didn’t have much luck or fun. I saw a good review and link on other gaming site I would recommend reading. http://www.thebadgambler.com/2008/07/how-indiana-jones-slot-machine-works.html

My last observation is an overall expression of my feelings for the new Mill Casino. The best thing I found in the casino was the new change machine. You put in a 20 and it gives you the option on how you would like your change, 10’s, 5’s 1’s. It’s really a sad visit when the best thing about it, is getting to choose what denomination of money you are about to put into a slot machine.

Smoking Bans at Casinos Across the Country

I have made quite a few comments on this site about Colorado non smoking laws and how it effects the casinos. Ive been interested to see how other states have been doing on this issue

I have found a new blog which covers most of the topics I like but from Atlantic City Casinos perspective. I emailed him to ask how the partial smoking ban was working in AC. This is the link to his site with a response.


http://www.thebadgambler.com/2008/08/bad-gambler-reader-mail-smoking-in-ac.html

Have a great day and Happy Gaming,
J

Trip Report July 29th 2008 Blackhawk, Colorado

Trip Report July 29th 2008 Blackhawk, Colorado

On Sunday I was finally able to go up the mountain for a nice evening of slot machines. This trip was sparked by 2 mail flyers, one from Mardi Gras Casino and one from Fitzgeralds Casino BH. Mardi Gras was a 2 day only $5 coupon which I thought was weird, until I received my mailer from Fitzgeralds announcing the grand opening of the new gaming area on July 28th and 29th, coincidently the same days my coupon was good for at MG. Either way I still took advantage of both.

I started my day at the Silver Hawk Saloon & Casino. This is a small casino in comparison to others in BH and Central City and for what its worth, the only reason I went was because the parking was so full for Bullwhackers Black Hawk, I was parked almost right outside of SH. At SH, they had only one floor of slot machines open. They used to have gaming on the second floor but that area has now closed. I found mainly older games including Risqué Business, The Munster’s, and Beverly Hillbillies.

I did sit and play the Beverly Hillbillies for a little bit. This was the version with Granny shooting the kangaroo thing bonus and Granny filling oil bucks and you get the highest amount in the bucket. Still an entertaining game but the bonuses seemed a little light on the payouts.
I left up from when I walked in the door but mostly would go back unless I was parked right outside the door again.

Next up was Bullwhackers Black Hawk. I walked in the main door from the parking lot and could barely get in the door. The line for the players club was blocking the doors. As far as machines go I saw Wizard of Oz, Monopoly, and some new 3 cent machines that I hadn’t see before on the main level. On the bottom floor there was Village People Party, Deal or No Deal Play It, the new Beverly Hillbillies game Cash or Crude version, and Gilligan’s Isle.

I played on each and won on VPP and GI. With VPP, I got into the twice. 1st time I got the pooper on the 1st pick but got the party saver, but again choice a pooper on my next pick. The second time I had a good run, finishing with 3 macho men and a party saver. On GI, I got into the bonus and selected all characters with the coconut spin getting the all character bonus award.

I continued my journey down the hill now stopping at the Fitzgeralds Black Hawk. The big draw was the grand opening of the new gaming area. It was very busy and with the new area they have also created a new player club, so the line for the PC was long and may people were confused on what line to be in.

The new area was very nice. Two floors of gaming with a nice rustic cabin decor (my opinion) Large TV's were in the corners mounted to the ceiling. It did feel a little cramped but that was do to all the traffic from the PC. The only new(er) game that I found was the Dean Martin Wild Party game. I’m not a fan of the reels on this game. If you haven’t seen it, it has 2 reels of 2 by 2 leading in to 3 reels of 4 symbols (totaling 60 pay lines) The pays can be huge but it was had to understand why some symbols match up and others didn’t. As far as the rest of Fitzgeralds went nothing that I had seen was changed. I wonder if they wont start shutting the other areas down for updates soon.

The Gilpin and the Canyon Casino's were uneventful. I did get to play the new Ebay community game at the Gilpin. Like many of the others you get a timer based on your game play that will allow you into a community bonus at random times. This one was different as that it is a free spin bonus on the large display board in front of the machines. All players are given the total result of the 10 free spins. It was more exciting than the Monopoly Big Event or Press Your Luck games as it was a more prolonged bonus but the base game just didn’t hook me enough to keep me sitting down.

On to The Lodge Casino. The newest machine I found here was the very large Wheel of Fortune community game. This thing was huge. I have no clue how the research and development team thought this one would be profitable. I’ve been to a lot of casinos that I feel this thing wouldn’t fit into. As for game play, for all lines and bonus option it was 60 credits a spin. Not bad for your average gambler but for the penny pincher, a little rich for my blood.

Last up, Mardi Gras Casino BH. There was a few new games but nothing that really stood out against the rest, I wont blame them though as I had already been to 6 casinos prior.

I did play Wild for Dolphins for the first time. This im assuming is a sister product to the Risqué Business slot machine as the bonus rounds are the same idea. With W4D you get into the bonus and select one of 4 dolphin performers. The your are taken to the performance take where 6 trainers are sitting at the tank. You select 3 trainers and they give your dolphin fish to perform a trick. You must reach a set amount to continue in the round.

I was very amused by the animation, I choose Juggling Joey. It was just funny how the game went from a stripping male or female dancer to a dolphin doing tricks. More family orientated theme for a slot machine? I will have to blog about an experience I had with the Risqué Business at another time......

Another trip in the books. Now for the likes, dislikes, and what’s new what’s missing.

Likes
1. New gaming area at Fitzgeralds Black Hawk. really nice design
2. No smoking. Still amazing to walk in and out of a casino not smelling of smoke. I love it
3. Just getting to go up to Blackhawk. Trips are getting less and less with the economy and gas prices.

Dislikes
1. Blackhawk on a Sunday afternoon. Im a morning gamer. Colorado currently is a 8am-2am gaming state. Getting here at 8 when the place first opens seems to be more fun for me. I can sit and play any machine without a wait for the first couple of hours.
2. Old Fitzgeralds Black Hawk. It was just such a contrast from the new gaming area to the old gaming area. I really hope they renovate the old side too.

New
1. Wheel of Fortune community game (The Lodge Casino)
2. EBAY (The Gilpin Casino)
3. 3 cent machines (Bullwhackers)

Missing
1. Top Gun. on my last trip every casino had atleast 2 machines but I didnt see one in any of the 7 I went to this time.
2. Wild Wilderness. One of my wifes favorites and it was no where to be found

That’s it for now. Next up will be a trip to Oregon in September. At least one stop into a casino is a must for any trip to OR.

Till next time, Happy Gaming
J

WMS Gaming Does It Again

Hey guys,

Just a quick update. I love that people are actually coming to this site so Im still trying to make it relevant and up-to-date. Keep coming back. I will hopefully have some more slot reviews in the next couple of weeks.

As for now. I just went to WMS Gamings website and found the have done it again. The have a really cool interactive view of 3 of there new games. Bruce Lee, Happy Days, and Bigger Bang Big Event.

On the main page for WMS Gaming select WMS Secret Head Quarters, (If your have your speakers on you may want to turn them down if you are in a quite location, like work) You are then guide through a 3 level world with each level representing one of the new games.

1st floor is Bigger Bang Big Event, 2nd floor is Bruce LEE, and 3rd floor is Happy Days.

On each floor has interactive views of the games and videos of slot play. Make sure to use you mouse to move around the room as there are Easter Eggs (hidden extras) in each room.

Im really excited to try the Bruce Lee game. It looks really fun.

The Happy Days game is one Im going to have to get my hands on before I make a snap judgement of it.

Well thats it for now. Please keep coming back to my site for update and drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.

Click Here for WMS Gaming's Site

Happy Gaming,
J

Wizard of Oz WMS Gaming Slot Machine Review

Played this game on Friday May 9th, 2008 at Mardi Gras Casino, Black Hawk Colorado

Follow the yellow brick road to lots of high paying combinations.... this game has a high hit frequency and lines up for lots of big pays.

30 line based game with spot markers of Dorthy, Toto, and a three pack square with lion, scarecrow, and tin man sharing. Also featured are Ruby Slippers, Houses, Tornado's, Hot Air Balloons, and of course the Wicked Witch.

3 bonus rounds are available. 1st is a wild bonus. At a random point after a reel spin the game appears to pause. Then a glowing orb will appear from the right side of the screen. this is the sign that has indicated the start of the "Glinda the Good Witch" bonus. Glinda will turn anywhere from one to all 5 reels wild with all resulting pays being awarded. Now the most I witnessed turn wild was 3 reels. Reel 2, 3, and 5.

One the the interesting things I noticed was when you win a large credit amount, a bubble appears over the reels that says "Big Win" and displays the credit amount won. Its seems to me as just a cheap plow to attract other players from near by machines.

The next bonus is a pick a square bonus. When 3 Emerald City Bonus squares appear on line 1, 3, and 5, your are prompted to pick one of the squares. Your choices are either a random credit amount, "Flying Monkey Bonus", or the Road To The Emerald City Bonus.

The "Flying Monkey Bonus" is where a random amount of the Wicked Witches henchman the flying monkeys will land on the play screen and change icons to wild symbols and those spaces will remain as wild for the duration of your 8 awarded free spins. This bonus can also be accessed if the Flying Monkey Wild symbol appears at anytime in the third reel of regular game play. For the few times I was in the FMB it didn't pay very well. The wild symbols lined up to very little but I did see others hit big with wilds matching up 5 Dorthy's.

The final bonus is the "Road To The Emerald City" Bonus. A screen of green emeralds appear and you are prompted to select an emerald. You will receive either a bonus amount, a card representing one of the Characters, or Go to the Emerald City card.

Your goal is to collect as many of the Character Cards as possible. When a Character card is selected, you are taken to the characters homeland where you are prompted to chose one of two new emeralds, one will reveal a credit amount and one will have the character. After which you are returned to your original emerald field to continue selecting emeralds.

Once you find the Go to the Emerald City icon, your are taken down the Yellow Brick Road with any characters you may have found. You are met at the the gates and instructed to select other icon. It could be another character or you might be instructed to enter to meet the Wizard .

The wonderful thing about collecting your friends, is at the end of the bonus you are instructed to look at the top box of the machine where the friends you have collected are now highlight icons with spinning reels. Dorthy award the highest possible credit amount at a possible 1500 credits, while the lion and the tin man offer the lowest possible amounts of 100 credits.

This game is much more than just slot machine as with many of the new machines, the chairs are more intense then the game. With vibrating seats and a stereo system that is bound to make you deaf. I did find a sound button in the bottom left corner of the screen that when place all the way down or on 1 bar its much less intense and doesn't ruin the effect of the new chair system.

I really enjoyed this game. I was able to play for quite a while on my initial buy in. Another person in my gaming party that day, played for quite a while and went to the bonus rounds quite frequently and reported that they were having a great time playing it also.

Pluses +++

High hit frequency
Glinda wild bonus can cause high pays

Negatives ---


Pick an emerald bonus. Is it just me or just like Jackpot Party, I always pick the pooper way to early in the game.
Sound is great but can be very loud and annoying after a while

Happy Gaming,
J

WMS Starts a new game room……..

No trips recently but I did get a great email the other day.

WMS Gaming has started a new website called “The Game Room,” Inside this virtual casino are box tops of WMS latest game release either about to hit casino floor or just released.

Currently featured as of April 23, 2008 are Lucky Meerkats, a second edition to the popular Lucky Lemmings game, Wizard of Oz, Press Your Luck, and few others.

How it Works….

When you enter the “Game Room” you can use you mouse/curser to scan over one of the box top games to select a game.

Once you have selected a game you are taken to a new window which features a short video presentation about the selected game, the video explains features of the game and shows pay lines and bonus features.

Also each game features an interactive game with characters from the game. This is my only complaint, if they took the time to create these interactive games; I wish they would have just posted an online version of the game or at lease a version of the bonus rounds.

All and all this is a great site and I hope they update it with new games in the future.

Check it out Here

Happy Gaming
J

Trying to Stay Online. A Few updates

I have decided that if every blog you write is apologizing for how long its been since you blogged, you might have a problem.

My gaming has been very limited for about the last 8 months. My wife and I are expecting our first child in April. :)

I have had a few trips under my belt but nothing huge to report. I went to Spirit Mountain Casino in Oregon in November. Not much new but the place just keeps getting bigger and bigger every time I visit.

Went to Blackhawk in January and had a great time. I played a lot of new games and came home a winner. Found the new Monopoly Money Grab and did really well.

I played the new community Press Your Luck game, not so happy. I’m not a fan of these community games using older games as the base system and only bonus events are themed to the namesake...........

I Did find the new The Game of Life machine that is actually themed to the board game. Didn’t get into the bonus round but at least there trying.

And last but not least, the new Deal or No Deal game. I have figured out I could never actually go on the show. You sit at home and yell at people for taking small offers or not taking huge offers thinking you would do so much better than them. I got into the bonus round on one of my first spins and my first offer was something like 1400 credits. It’s hard as heck when the money is real. The lady beside me was betting full credits and her first offer was 20,000 credits. That’s $200.00 on a penny machine, she took the offer and I didn’t blame her.

Well that’s it for now. I not sure with the little one coming how much I might be able to blog but I'll do what I can.

Thanks for visiting and Happy gaming,
JB

Are IPOD's Allowed While Playing a Slot Machine?

I like to take notes while at the casino's so I can refer back to them when I writing a new blog or a slot machine review. Seems I always forget little details about the machines if I winning or mostly losing, other than how the game payed. So Ive been wondering about using my IPOD as a voice recording device while sitting at a slot machine to take notes.

I decided to call a couple casino's and see what kind of response I would get. Now I may not have provided enough information to the casino employees but I didn't want to scare them off.

My question was "Are you allowed to use an IPOD's while playing a Slot Machine?" I choose to not say anything about a recording device or recorder connected to an ipod because of the scare factor. You say recording device and I'm sure what answer I might get. Also most of the voice recorders for an IPOD are so small with no external wires that most people wouldn't notice, except it would just look like I was talking to myself. I asked direct for the security desk as this is where I felt was best to handle the question.

My first call was to the Isle of Capri Casino in Blackhawk Colorado. The agent said that IPOD were defiantly allowed while at a machine.

So my first call seemed to have been a success, a basic answer with no real question. Now some might think this is just silly because if you watch poker on TV, they all have IPOD's but my concern was the question of technology. It hasn't been that long since you would be yelled at by drink attendants for using you cell phones at the machines. (I know some still do but not as much as they used too)

My second call was to Spirit Mountain Casino in Grande Ronde Oregon, Ill be visiting in a few weeks.

The security agent was a little questioning, more of himself then me, but said that they were allowed. He also said that the only thing not allowed was photography on the gaming floor.

Second call a success. More so in the fact that it also clears up the question of cell phones and cameras.

I end with that call. Not the full investigative report with multiple sources some may like but I was 2 for 2, why mess with the odds.

My best guess is that IPOD's are allowed in most US situation, internationally is a whole other ball game.

Good Luck and Happy Gaming,
J

This and That

Hello all,

Not much new to report. No trips recently but lots of online activities. Here's a couple of things that have passed by my email and the local news.


Ameristar Blackhawk Colorado Casino Temporarily closes

The Ameristar Blackhawk Casino never opened Friday Aug 24th, 2007 due to damage that had occurred during construction blasting for the new Hotel and Casino expansion project. As reported by 9 news in Denver Colorado and covered in The Rocky Mountain Newspaper (Video and Newspaper article)

No update on Saturday morning as I write this but reports were that blasting for the new hotel caused the sprinkler system to flood office areas of the casino. No areas of the casino floor were effected but for safety reasons they decided not to open. Plans were to reopen by Saturday.

No one was injured, which I'm happy for but i guess the one good thing that has come from this (In my gambler mentality) is that the news report stated that the hotel and casino expansion would be completed in 2009. Ive been looking for an opening date and I guess we kind of have one now.......


Email from WMS Gaming

Yesterday I received an email from WMS Gaming about a new sweepstakes they are running in conjunction with the new MONOPOLY™ Super Money Grab® slot machines.

The Grand Prize is a trip for two to Las Vegas. Plus, there are 50 instant-winners a day.

Heres the link to the Sweepstakes Sign up. If anyone wins a prize, please feel free to email me or add a comment to the post.


Well thats all I have for now,

Good Luck and Happy Gaming,
J