Musical Dice -- My Craps Blog
November 10-14, 2025 -- VEGAS TRIP VIII -- STAY THE COURSE
Normally, I would have made an announcement on my facebook groups, but this time, I waited until me and Mrs. MusicalDice actually got here to make such an announcement. I did it this way because there was a question for a while if we'd even be able to make it down here, given the government shutdown, and the lack of TSA agents, and flights being canceled and all. But fortunately, our flight, which left at 5:40 a.m., was not even delayed, much less canceled. Because we decided to stay the course and continue on with our trip (I was considering cancelling the trip at one point), we made it to Las Vegas.
Day 1 -- Off-Kilter
This title has more than one meaning, unfortunately. First of all, we left our house in Houston so quickly that I forgot my white cane (I am visually impaired, and I usually don't leave home without it). Also, halfway through the flight, my stomach started feeling queazy. I think the breakfast sanwich I ate at the airport in Houston didn't quite agree with me. This would definitely come into play later.
We checked in early to Golden Nugget, and got a nice rest. Afterwards, I played craps at Golden Nugget. As this was my first session, I decided to play cautiously, even on my shoot. I rolled the dice a very low roll from Stick Left 1, using the Crossed Sixes dice set. I shot 15 times, but about half of them were craps rolls and sevens. But I did win $72 before leaving the table.
From there, we went to the Fremont casino. Now my initial intention was for me to roll and try to get a hat should I roll at least 25 times. However, I never got to shoot. Reason being, I started feeling queazy again. I did manage to win $30 off somebody else's roll--I did 220 inside, took them down to 66 inside after one hit, and got a couple of hits afterwards. I left the table after the shooter crapped out. and returned to our room at Golden Nugget, and took some Pepto Bismol.
I felt fine after I took the Pepto Bismol, and I thought everything would be fine for our big dinner date at SW Steakhouse at the Wynn. However, the moment I took a bite out of the bread, I knew I would only get that down. Then we ordered our usual rib-eye steak and the wedge salad which includes blue cheese crumbles. Disaster struck the moment the first blue cheese crumble hit my stomach. I threw up 4 times!! Talk about embarassing!! I was able to get an extra tablecloth to throw up into, fortunately, but dammit, why did THIS have to happen?? This NEVER happened to me in a restaurant before!! Fortunately, Mrs. MusicalDice and the manager and staff were all good sports about it all.
Needless to say, there'd be no more gambling this day, with me being so far off-kilter. The good news is that I didn't lose. I actually won a total of $102. As of this writing (the morning of Day 2), I feel much better. More later.
Day 2 -- I Lost The Least At...
The first indication, according to Mrs. MusicalDice, that I was starting to feel better, occurred when I woke up some time after 1 a.m. (after getting some hours of sleep, after the SW Steakhouse fiasco), and I said I wanted to play.
I first played blackjack, and unfortunately, the cards were terrible! I lost $800 there. I did win $203 of it back at the poker table, still at Golden Nugget, for a casino net loss of $597.
After a light breakfast, we went over to the Fremont casino. My reasoning for coming back there was, I was determined to shoot this time, and since my shooting has been relatively good lately, I thought I'd try to win a hat (requiring 25 rolls). Well, whatever magic I had yesterday, I sure as hell didn't have today. I kept crapping out early no matter what I did. I lost $665 for that session.
I thought I'd play some more poker, this time at the Palazzo. Boy did I get SMACKED at that table. Two real bad beats set up a $1054 loss there.
That was all the gambling I did today. I had to stop the bleeding, especially after losing $2316 today! I lost the least at craps, believe it or not!
I couldn't even have Nathan's Hot Dogs as a consolation prize. This had been kind of a tradition with me and my wife having Nathan's Hot Dogs at least once on our Vegas trip. But when we arrived at New York New York, we found that the Nathan's Hot Dogs outlet had shut down. We had garlic wings instead, and they were very good. More importantly, they stayed down. Another indication that my stomach is back to normal. Too bad that didn't help my gambling results.
Day 3 -- What Shape My Stomach Was In
Of course, such was the concern for both me and my wife, especially in light of what happened on Monday, plus the fact that we had a reservation for the lobster buffet at the Palms today. We were both wondering if I was going to be up for it.
For breakrast, we ate at a new place, Blueberry Hill, near the Palms casino. I ate pretty heartily, and the food was pretty good. More importantly, it stayed down.
From there, we went to the nearby Gold Coast casino. For me, this was a new casino, the 70th casino I visited since first coming to Las Vegas in 1998. Anyway, I got to a craps table, which was a $5 table (yes they still have them!). I got off to a rocky start, crapping out early using a smaller version of my 220 inside, taking them down after one hit (I only did 85 inside, not even putting 5 units on the point). But when I got the dice back, my next two rolls were sufficient to get my money back. I was Stick Left 1, using the Crossed-Sixes dice set. I barely got it back, winning only $8. Yes, it was a very low amount for a win, but after yesterday's disaster, I had to at least feel like a winner again. This session accomplished that, if nothing else.
From there, we went to the Orleans casino, a casino that I hadn't been to since 2002, and also the first casino in Las Vegas that I had more than one 500 Club. Well here this time, I started off at the craps table, standing at Stick Left 1. But once again, I got off to a rocky start, crapping out early on the 220 inside strategy, before I had the chance to take my bets down and go 64 across (this was a $10 table). Fortunatey, when I got the dice back, I went on a good roll, shooting 21 times, enough to make my Best Shoots Hall Of Fame
page. I got my money back plus $32. I even added $90 to that at the blackjack table, for a total casino win there of $122. Orleans kind of welcomed me back after 23 years.
As for the lobster buffet itself, that went without a hitch. I had two whole lobsters and two lobster tails, plenty of butter to dip them all in, and a nice large drink. It all stayed down. I felt like I was definitely in the clear.
What I couldn't stomach, apparently, was a long drawn-out battle at the tables, which partially explains these low wins at the craps tables.
I gambled once more, but that wasn't until a few hours back at Golden Nugget, when I played poker. I was there for 2½ hours, but most of the time, I was ahead, so I didn't look at this as a long drawn-out battle. I won $228, for a total day win of $358.
Day 4 -- Henderson Hell
It seems to be a tradition for us to have one day on our Vegas trip to visit some of the Henderson casinos. This was one such day.
It started at the Green Valley Ranch casino, where we first had breakfast. It was really good. Then I played at the craps table. There, I did 220 inside for one hit, then taking the bets down for 64 across--this was a $10 table, and it was someone else shooting. I ended up winning $69 at the table.
I managed to add another $25 at the blackjack table, for a total casino win of $94, but to say the least, Mrs. MusicalDice was not pleased. That was because when we first got to the blackjack table, she had politely asked this guy if he could move over one seat so I could play two hands, like I usually do. Also, she wanted to read the dealer's card to me. He got quite snappy with her, and she snapped back. The guy left the table, but came back after we were finished. Another guy at the table said that this guy had been in a foul mood for quite some time prior to us getting there, and he lost a whole lot of money. I don't like playing at hostile tables, so it was good that I won there quick. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of my hellish day in Henderson.
One reason why we came out to Henderson was because Mrs. MusicalDice wanted to visit a Barnes & Noble out there. By the time we finished up at Green Valley Ranch, the store had opened, so we went out there. I played at the Sunset Station, while she went to Barnes & Noble. It seemed like a smart move, as I'd won at Sunset Station each of the two previous times I was there. What could go wrong?
For starters, I lost $442.50 at the blackjack table. I did manage to get $80 of it back at the craps table off someone else's roll. Then I went to a different blackjack table where I won $217.50. At this point, my wife still wasn't back from Barnes & Noble, so I figured I'd go back to the craps table.
I returned to the craps table, where the same shooter that made me the $80 the first time around, was having another good shoot. I tried my 220 inside on him, but he crapped out before he could get the one hit I needed to reduce to 64 across. At this point, I didn't even care anymore. Any thought of catching up was quickly gone. I decided not to do any more high-risk regression strategies for the rest of this trip. I fell further behind, not able to do much on my shoot, before that guy got the dice back. He did well again, getting me back to close to where I was when he crapped out the first time. I might have played more, had Mrs. MusicalDice not returned as he crapped out the second time. I lost $259, for a total casino loss of $404.
Next, we went to Durango, where the people and the dealers are friendly. That still was the case for the most part. I got into a craps game, where someone else had a good shoot. I started off just playing the inside numbers for the minimum--this was a $10 table. I ended up winning $181 there.
But dammit, the blackjack table was all f88ked up! Despite it being an entertaining table, I was bleeding chips due to the dealer always making winning hands. I left after losing $500, leading to a casino loss of $319.
From there, we went to the Santa Fe Station casino. We first ate dinner at Panda Express there, just like last time. Unfortunately, my luck at the craps table wasn't there here either. I played more or less the same way I did at Durango, but nobody could shoot the dice real good. I left $350 down.
It was my intention, after we returned to Golden Nugget, for me to play poker after I'd gotten some much-needed rest, as I was mentally exhausted. But after sleeping for several hours before waking up, I knew I wasn't going to do any more gambling this day. In fact, I was very tempted to just declare myself all gambled out, but I didn't go that far. But I think the smartest thing I did was make sure each of these losses weren't too high. Yeah, I "only" lost $979 total for the day, as opposed to more than twice that on Tuesday. It is what it is.
Day 5 -- Back To The Comfort Zone
This title has more than one meaning, as you'll soon find out.
Before checking out, I decided to have one more craps session here at Golden Nugget. Like yesterday after Sunset Station, I decided to start off playing the inside levels, but here, it was for 4 units, instead of 2, as this table was a $15 table. I was the shooter. Playing this way, it took me longer to get out of the hand, but I felt more comfortable playing this way because I had less at risk this way. I did have a decent 15-roller, winning me $68. At least I ended craps on a positive note.
After checking out of our room at Golden Nugget, I played one more session of poker. This too was in my comfort zone, since this was a 1/2 No-Limit Hold 'Em, were there weren't a lot of pros (like apparently was the case at the Palazzo). After 45 minutes, I won $187. I finished the trip down $2580, but at least I finished on a positive note, winning $255 for the last day.
From there, we left, heading home to Houston. Although I had a great time in Vegas, all things considered, I still felt like a fish out of water without my white cane. I promise not to forget it next time!
Normally, I would have made an announcement on my facebook groups, but this time, I waited until me and Mrs. MusicalDice actually got here to make such an announcement. I did it this way because there was a question for a while if we'd even be able to make it down here, given the government shutdown, and the lack of TSA agents, and flights being canceled and all. But fortunately, our flight, which left at 5:40 a.m., was not even delayed, much less canceled. Because we decided to stay the course and continue on with our trip (I was considering cancelling the trip at one point), we made it to Las Vegas.
This title has more than one meaning, unfortunately. First of all, we left our house in Houston so quickly that I forgot my white cane (I am visually impaired, and I usually don't leave home without it). Also, halfway through the flight, my stomach started feeling queazy. I think the breakfast sanwich I ate at the airport in Houston didn't quite agree with me. This would definitely come into play later.
We checked in early to Golden Nugget, and got a nice rest. Afterwards, I played craps at Golden Nugget. As this was my first session, I decided to play cautiously, even on my shoot. I rolled the dice a very low roll from Stick Left 1, using the Crossed Sixes dice set. I shot 15 times, but about half of them were craps rolls and sevens. But I did win $72 before leaving the table.
From there, we went to the Fremont casino. Now my initial intention was for me to roll and try to get a hat should I roll at least 25 times. However, I never got to shoot. Reason being, I started feeling queazy again. I did manage to win $30 off somebody else's roll--I did 220 inside, took them down to 66 inside after one hit, and got a couple of hits afterwards. I left the table after the shooter crapped out. and returned to our room at Golden Nugget, and took some Pepto Bismol.
I felt fine after I took the Pepto Bismol, and I thought everything would be fine for our big dinner date at SW Steakhouse at the Wynn. However, the moment I took a bite out of the bread, I knew I would only get that down. Then we ordered our usual rib-eye steak and the wedge salad which includes blue cheese crumbles. Disaster struck the moment the first blue cheese crumble hit my stomach. I threw up 4 times!! Talk about embarassing!! I was able to get an extra tablecloth to throw up into, fortunately, but dammit, why did THIS have to happen?? This NEVER happened to me in a restaurant before!! Fortunately, Mrs. MusicalDice and the manager and staff were all good sports about it all.
Needless to say, there'd be no more gambling this day, with me being so far off-kilter. The good news is that I didn't lose. I actually won a total of $102. As of this writing (the morning of Day 2), I feel much better. More later.
The first indication, according to Mrs. MusicalDice, that I was starting to feel better, occurred when I woke up some time after 1 a.m. (after getting some hours of sleep, after the SW Steakhouse fiasco), and I said I wanted to play.
I first played blackjack, and unfortunately, the cards were terrible! I lost $800 there. I did win $203 of it back at the poker table, still at Golden Nugget, for a casino net loss of $597.
After a light breakfast, we went over to the Fremont casino. My reasoning for coming back there was, I was determined to shoot this time, and since my shooting has been relatively good lately, I thought I'd try to win a hat (requiring 25 rolls). Well, whatever magic I had yesterday, I sure as hell didn't have today. I kept crapping out early no matter what I did. I lost $665 for that session.
I thought I'd play some more poker, this time at the Palazzo. Boy did I get SMACKED at that table. Two real bad beats set up a $1054 loss there.
That was all the gambling I did today. I had to stop the bleeding, especially after losing $2316 today! I lost the least at craps, believe it or not!
I couldn't even have Nathan's Hot Dogs as a consolation prize. This had been kind of a tradition with me and my wife having Nathan's Hot Dogs at least once on our Vegas trip. But when we arrived at New York New York, we found that the Nathan's Hot Dogs outlet had shut down. We had garlic wings instead, and they were very good. More importantly, they stayed down. Another indication that my stomach is back to normal. Too bad that didn't help my gambling results.
Of course, such was the concern for both me and my wife, especially in light of what happened on Monday, plus the fact that we had a reservation for the lobster buffet at the Palms today. We were both wondering if I was going to be up for it.
For breakrast, we ate at a new place, Blueberry Hill, near the Palms casino. I ate pretty heartily, and the food was pretty good. More importantly, it stayed down.
From there, we went to the nearby Gold Coast casino. For me, this was a new casino, the 70th casino I visited since first coming to Las Vegas in 1998. Anyway, I got to a craps table, which was a $5 table (yes they still have them!). I got off to a rocky start, crapping out early using a smaller version of my 220 inside, taking them down after one hit (I only did 85 inside, not even putting 5 units on the point). But when I got the dice back, my next two rolls were sufficient to get my money back. I was Stick Left 1, using the Crossed-Sixes dice set. I barely got it back, winning only $8. Yes, it was a very low amount for a win, but after yesterday's disaster, I had to at least feel like a winner again. This session accomplished that, if nothing else.
From there, we went to the Orleans casino, a casino that I hadn't been to since 2002, and also the first casino in Las Vegas that I had more than one 500 Club. Well here this time, I started off at the craps table, standing at Stick Left 1. But once again, I got off to a rocky start, crapping out early on the 220 inside strategy, before I had the chance to take my bets down and go 64 across (this was a $10 table). Fortunatey, when I got the dice back, I went on a good roll, shooting 21 times, enough to make my Best Shoots Hall Of Fame
page. I got my money back plus $32. I even added $90 to that at the blackjack table, for a total casino win there of $122. Orleans kind of welcomed me back after 23 years.
As for the lobster buffet itself, that went without a hitch. I had two whole lobsters and two lobster tails, plenty of butter to dip them all in, and a nice large drink. It all stayed down. I felt like I was definitely in the clear.
What I couldn't stomach, apparently, was a long drawn-out battle at the tables, which partially explains these low wins at the craps tables.
I gambled once more, but that wasn't until a few hours back at Golden Nugget, when I played poker. I was there for 2½ hours, but most of the time, I was ahead, so I didn't look at this as a long drawn-out battle. I won $228, for a total day win of $358.
It seems to be a tradition for us to have one day on our Vegas trip to visit some of the Henderson casinos. This was one such day.
It started at the Green Valley Ranch casino, where we first had breakfast. It was really good. Then I played at the craps table. There, I did 220 inside for one hit, then taking the bets down for 64 across--this was a $10 table, and it was someone else shooting. I ended up winning $69 at the table.
I managed to add another $25 at the blackjack table, for a total casino win of $94, but to say the least, Mrs. MusicalDice was not pleased. That was because when we first got to the blackjack table, she had politely asked this guy if he could move over one seat so I could play two hands, like I usually do. Also, she wanted to read the dealer's card to me. He got quite snappy with her, and she snapped back. The guy left the table, but came back after we were finished. Another guy at the table said that this guy had been in a foul mood for quite some time prior to us getting there, and he lost a whole lot of money. I don't like playing at hostile tables, so it was good that I won there quick. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of my hellish day in Henderson.
One reason why we came out to Henderson was because Mrs. MusicalDice wanted to visit a Barnes & Noble out there. By the time we finished up at Green Valley Ranch, the store had opened, so we went out there. I played at the Sunset Station, while she went to Barnes & Noble. It seemed like a smart move, as I'd won at Sunset Station each of the two previous times I was there. What could go wrong?
For starters, I lost $442.50 at the blackjack table. I did manage to get $80 of it back at the craps table off someone else's roll. Then I went to a different blackjack table where I won $217.50. At this point, my wife still wasn't back from Barnes & Noble, so I figured I'd go back to the craps table.
I returned to the craps table, where the same shooter that made me the $80 the first time around, was having another good shoot. I tried my 220 inside on him, but he crapped out before he could get the one hit I needed to reduce to 64 across. At this point, I didn't even care anymore. Any thought of catching up was quickly gone. I decided not to do any more high-risk regression strategies for the rest of this trip. I fell further behind, not able to do much on my shoot, before that guy got the dice back. He did well again, getting me back to close to where I was when he crapped out the first time. I might have played more, had Mrs. MusicalDice not returned as he crapped out the second time. I lost $259, for a total casino loss of $404.
Next, we went to Durango, where the people and the dealers are friendly. That still was the case for the most part. I got into a craps game, where someone else had a good shoot. I started off just playing the inside numbers for the minimum--this was a $10 table. I ended up winning $181 there.
But dammit, the blackjack table was all f88ked up! Despite it being an entertaining table, I was bleeding chips due to the dealer always making winning hands. I left after losing $500, leading to a casino loss of $319.
From there, we went to the Santa Fe Station casino. We first ate dinner at Panda Express there, just like last time. Unfortunately, my luck at the craps table wasn't there here either. I played more or less the same way I did at Durango, but nobody could shoot the dice real good. I left $350 down.
It was my intention, after we returned to Golden Nugget, for me to play poker after I'd gotten some much-needed rest, as I was mentally exhausted. But after sleeping for several hours before waking up, I knew I wasn't going to do any more gambling this day. In fact, I was very tempted to just declare myself all gambled out, but I didn't go that far. But I think the smartest thing I did was make sure each of these losses weren't too high. Yeah, I "only" lost $979 total for the day, as opposed to more than twice that on Tuesday. It is what it is.
This title has more than one meaning, as you'll soon find out.
Before checking out, I decided to have one more craps session here at Golden Nugget. Like yesterday after Sunset Station, I decided to start off playing the inside levels, but here, it was for 4 units, instead of 2, as this table was a $15 table. I was the shooter. Playing this way, it took me longer to get out of the hand, but I felt more comfortable playing this way because I had less at risk this way. I did have a decent 15-roller, winning me $68. At least I ended craps on a positive note.
After checking out of our room at Golden Nugget, I played one more session of poker. This too was in my comfort zone, since this was a 1/2 No-Limit Hold 'Em, were there weren't a lot of pros (like apparently was the case at the Palazzo). After 45 minutes, I won $187. I finished the trip down $2580, but at least I finished on a positive note, winning $255 for the last day.
From there, we left, heading home to Houston. Although I had a great time in Vegas, all things considered, I still felt like a fish out of water without my white cane. I promise not to forget it next time!