I received an offer to attend a VIP party and book signing with Jackie Collins, the author of Married Lovers. I haven't read any of her books, but I needed a break from the 12 hour days I've been putting in at my new job. Kathy and I've wanted to go back to Harrah's New Orleans and this was a good offer. The offer also came with 3 nights at the Harrah's Hotel and $150 free play. I got in touch with a host there and she said she would comp the $30 a day valet parking at the hotel. It was a pleasant 4-hour drive and despite having the GPS navigation system, I had a little bit of difficulty finding the turn-in to the Harrah's Hotel. Everyone at the Harrah's Hotel is extremely pleasant and friendly, from the valet attendants to the doorman to the greeter to the check in clerks. They made me feel like I was somebody special. At the check-in desk, I found that the host had reserved a suite for me. Well, I had asked for two beds because Kathy and I each wanted our own bed. I've been sleeping alone for too many years now and I'm a bed hog. The check-in clerk said "you mean you want a downgrade?" I said yes, that I want 2 beds in a non-smoking room. Well, it took her a few minutes and a few phone calls to get me switched from a suite to a room with 2 beds, but we did get the 25^th floor with a view of the river. There are 26 floors in this hotel and the top floor is the high-roller suites. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble with the room. I don't need a suite, just give me a comfortable room with comfortable beds. The rooms at Harrah's Hotel are very nice and the beds are extremely comfortable. I did not unpack because I don't mind living out of a suitcase. I wanted to go to the casino and start winning.

We ate at Fudruckers in the casino for lunch Thursday. The burgers were huge and I couldn't finish mine. That night, we attended a welcome party at the Masquerade Bar that had snacks and drinks. They also had a few drawings but I didn't win anything. Gambling was lousy. I played lots of video poker as well as slots and couldn't hit anything. Their VP payouts vary greatly from bank of machines to the next bank. You might see 6/5 DDB on one bank, then find 8/5 on the next bank. I played a quarter progressive 9/5 DDB quite a bit during this trip. The progressive never hit while I was there and was over $1400. I also played some $1 9/6 JOB slant-tops. I had a few 4OAKs but just kept losing and losing. When we got back to the room that night, there was a gift box waiting. It was a box of nuts, candies, and dried fruits. It was probably in the suite that they had reserved for me, and they had to move it.

Friday, Kathy and I walked around in the morning and browsed shops. It was hot, humid and we were miserable by the time we got back to the hotel. We walked around Jackson Square, went to the Riverwalk Marketplace and had beignets at the Café du Monde. I bought pralines at Aunt Sally's. We played some more in the casino and just lost more. We had lunch at Gordon Biersch's and it was delicious. I had steak medallions and Kathy had chicken parmesan. We shared a piece of chocolate cake that was so moist and rich that it was sinful. Friday night, we attended the VIP party, which had been moved into a tent outside. Apparently, Harrah's had a larger than expected turnout for this event and had to put up a tent outside to accommodate everyone. I stood in the long line to get my free copy of Jackie Collins' book, we got our wrist bands that identified us as event participants, and we went into the not so cool tent. There were tables set up, but they didn't have enough tables, so there were also rows of chairs set up. There were several stations for food and beverages. The food was excellent. There was beef tenderloin with rolls, boiled shrimp, oysters on the half shell, salmon, vegetables, potatoes, assorted desserts, and fruit. They kept bringing out platter after platter of food. Harrah's went all out for this event. When they announced that Jackie Collins was set up to sign the books, I jumped up and ran over to get in line. I knew it would take hours for her to sign books for all the attendees there. I still had about a 30 minute wait in line and it was hot! Each person got to sit next to her while she signed the book, then a picture was taken. Then you had to stand in another line to get the picture. Jackie Collins looks wonderful for a woman 70 years old and she is very gracious. She told me that she had signed her name in all the books to save a little time, then she just added "To Mary, Best Wishes". Kathy and I ate, then left for an hour because it was too warm in the tent. We went back for the drawings later. They gave away $50,000 in jewelry. The prizes ranged in price from $750 up to $12,000. I didn't win anything. I played in the casino later that night and met my host. She came up to the VP machine I was playing and introduced herself. She was very nice and we talked about the party that night. I told her it was too hot in the tent. She said that they didn't expect that big a turnout when they set up this event. I think it was a little disorganized, because surely you can cut off registration for an event when you reach your limit. The Beau Rivage does special events all the time and the ones I've attended are very organized. My second day was a big losing day in gambling also.

Saturday, Kathy decided she was not going to gamble at all because she wanted to have money for our trip home since we were stopping by Biloxi. We slept in, then went to Starbucks for breakfast, then walked around some more. I bought a pair of shoes at an Aerosoles shop. We saw lots of people dressed as pirates. I'm not sure why, but you see all kinds of strange sights in New Orleans. I even heard Christmas music playing in Jackson Square. I gave $10 to a lady collecting for Meals on Wheels. She had an ID card and it looked genuine and she even offered me a receipt. Kathy thinks maybe I got snookered. I received a New Orleans cap for my donation. It was another hot, sweltering day, so we didn't walk long. Because we enjoyed our meal at Gordon Biersch's the day before, we went back again. This time we both had sandwiches. Kathy had a burger and I had a pulled pork sandwich. The food was excellent again. We saw a Rhythm and Blues show that night in the showroom. It showcased local New Orleans talent and was very entertaining. The place was packed. I gambled some more that night but lost, lost, lost again. I had enough losing so I went to the room to pack up so we could leave first thing on Sunday morning. We checked out on Sunday morning and headed to Biloxi. We had charged a few meals to the room and any charges were supposed to come out of my Total Reward points, but as of today, they haven't taken them yet. I wonder if the host comped everything since she was comping my valet parking cost? Oh well, I'm not going to mention it to them. I earned 3600 tier points on this trip and I should be able to make Diamond level again this year.

Sunday, our first stop was the Island View. We had not been there for several months and there had been changes. First, I couldn't find the video poker area. The place where it was previously had been converted to a poker area. I did amuse myself playing quarter 9/6 JOB at the bar for a couple of hours. We had the lunch buffet and it was as good as always. I love their yeast rolls. As we were leaving, I saw a few banks of VP machines near the entrance. I think they may have gotten rid of some of their VP games. That's too bad but I guess they make more money off of their slot play. I was gambling frugally since I took a beating in New Orleans and only lost $20 here.

Next stop was Treasure Bay to see Charles T. I called when we got there and he met me at the top of the stairs. I'm sorry Claire couldn't be with him on this trip. It was nice to see Charles again. Chump called me to tell me that their plane was delayed so I told him and BG another time. Kathy and I had planned to head home around 6pm. Kathy, Charles and I played VP at the upstairs bar and had a nice chat. I started with quarter Bonus Poker (7/5). It was 8/5 at the dollar level. I invested $20 and soon hit a 4OAK. Then I switched over to my favorite game, DDB and continued to do well. I first hit 2/3/4s with kicker so that gave me more to play with. Kathy gave up on the VP and went to play slots. Charles and I plugged away at the VP. Then I held 3 clubs to a Royal and the other 2 cards filled in. I was so excited, especially after the losses I suffered in New Orleans. Charles was happy for me as well. This $1000 payout was a hand pay at Treasure Bay which I don't understand. They should have their machines set up to ticket out when it's not a taxable win. We finally said good-bye to Charles and headed over to the Beau Rivage to use our free play before starting on the trip back to Florida.

As we drove over to the Beau Rivage, it was starting to look pretty stormy. We figured we could play at the Beau a couple of hours while the storm blew over. I had extra free play for July because this is my birthday month, so my plan was to convert my free play to cash. I played one of the 10/6 DDB uprights, first at the dollar level, then went down to quarter level, and I was able to convert my free play to cash. I continued to play DDB, getting many full houses and a few 4OAKs. Then I hit 4 aces w/kicker and was a little ahead for the trip! This was a good time to quit. I went back to the non-smoking area to play the progressive for a little while, then Kathy found me, and we headed home.

It was a great trip despite losing in New Orleans. I was treated like a Queen at Harrah's NOLA and I enjoyed it. Biloxi came through with some wins that put me ahead. I could get used to trips like this! Thanks for reading.