A Taste of... The Maverick Hustler.
Hey guys,
I'm here to give you us a taste of what being a Maverick Hustler is all about.
This is a video of one of my Urban Missions in Macau. The mission was simple.
Book myself return air-tickets (SGD$180) and be armed with only my Hustler Pack.
Hustler Pack Contents :
1) Mobile Phone and Charger
2) 1 set of clothes
3) Travel documents (Passport, Travel Insurance Card, Namecards, 2 sets of Photocopied Identification Documents)
4) Toothbrush, toothpaste, hand sanitizer and mouth-wash
Conditions :
- No prior accommodation arrangements
- No prior contact with friends and associates (except my Chaperon, John Feng)
- No prior food arrangements
- Earned Possessions ALLOWED (meaning I am allowed to keep anything I pick-up/purchase)
HOW I DID IT
Upon touch down at the airport, I made my way to the tourist information counter and started gathering basic renaissance information :
1) City Highlights (City Areas. Prime, Middle-class and Lower-class Level Districts)
2) City and Bus Guide
3) Food, Accommodation and event discount coupons
4) Weather Forecast
5) Embassy Location
After I got all that information, I was set. I had heard a bit about Macau but this time, I found out first hand that commute in Macau was virtually not a challenge. There were free shuttle buses from the ferry terminals to the casinos and central bus terminal. This was such a great bonus for me because all I needed to do was find out the location of the nearest casino to the City Highlights and find the right free shuttle buses. I took a public bus, which cost me about SGD$0.35 to the nearest hotel and took the shuttle bus to the central station.
Really, I think this city was built for the Gambler in mind.
My First Destination
I took a look at the shuttle buses and realized that I was spoiled for choice. There were easily 20 casinos to choose from and I was not about to visit them all. Especially so if I only had 3 days. I decided to choose 4 to visit :
- 1 Lower-Class Casino
- 1 Middle-Class Casino
- 2 High-Class Casino
I ended up headed to a Lower Class Casino by the name of Casa Real. I decided to go there because about 20 metres away, there was also another lower class Casino so I managed to fit in 2 Lower-Class Casinos. It was quite a sight (amidst the smoky indoors), watching the intensity of the games the people played, from Baccarat to "Big-Small". The only gambling areas I've ever been to before this was my auntie's house for Blackjack during Chinese New Year... and one visit to a local Jackpot room. This was something else. Now, I love gambling. I didn't gamble much apart from Blackjack but I always loved it. The biggest bets I made back then was around the region of SGD$5. This place really left me awestruck.
There was an air of seriousness in these little, lower-class Casinos. It was very obvious who were the winners and who were the losers in this place. There was such great tension in the air every time we waiting for dice to come to a stand-still. It would the be followed by cries of joy or a flurry of expletives which would make even a deaf man cringe.
I spent about 2 hours here before I took a Bus to my next destination.
Destination Two : Grand Lisboa
I took a hotel shuttle-bus to the central bus terminal. It was such an interesting transport system. Basically, you could go anywhere in the city area of Macau for free. All you needed was a map, find out the nearest hotel to your starting and end destinations and make your way to the central bus terminal or the ferry terminal for free bus rides. It was hard to go wrong.
I took a bus from the central station all the way to Grand Lisboa. I remember looking at it on my bus ride to Casa Real. It was such a sight to behold. It wasn't exactly huge but it was laced with such grandeur.
Macau Grand Lisboa
The inside of the Casino did not disappoint. It had a elaborate CCTV system, which was very well placed, with no disturbance to the grand interior architecture. Here, I saw some more interesting machines, from jolly-looking jackpot machines to electronic baccarat and "Big-Small" machines.
The casinos distributed free drinks and pens. I grabbed 4 bottles of water and a pen just to make sure I would stay hydrated and if necessary, write a sign and feign being mute to make money (like I did in Clarke Quay haha...). After stocking up, I took a bus to the terminal and made my way to MGM Grand. This place really doubled the size of Grand Lisboa!
I didn't like MGM Grand so much though. It was too Casino-ish for my liking. I saw a ton of cool machines though. It's just that, I think I got kinda sick of the Casinos. But I imagined the room to be quite something. MGM Grand is located along a river and I am guessing that the view must be spectacular at night. I then began making my way to the bus terminal again to my final stop, the critically-acclaimed Venetian Macau.
MGM Grand... the word GRAND should be in full-caps!
The Adventure Begins...
My Macau Adventure really began and ended here. But I have to say this : I really love the Venetian. It's lush interior was absolute grandeur and classiness. I also liked that it looked so bright and sunny all the time. It was really like an urban resort. It housed boutiques of all the high-end brands you can think of. Hell, there was even a MacDonalds for Hustlers like me haha.
Gambling there is really such a joy. The Casino at The Venetian had an endless variety of games to play. I actually spent SIX FULL HOURS observing a few people, trying to pick up lessons on how to make money at the casino. My effort and time was not left in vain.
As you can see from the video, the Gambler's Suites were really an awesome experience in itself. Honestly, there is no better place to stay at when you are in Macau. At approximately USD$200 a night, I think it would be well worth the money. It was definitely out of my budget but here's the thing about Casinos in Macau : They have member cards where you can accumulate points.
On a related note, I have a rant to make. Accumulation of points occurs according to the amount of money you place in bets and the amount of time you spend gambling. Points can be used to redeem a variety of things, from food to little souvenirs. The food vouchers are plain pathetic though in my opinion. For every HKD$1000 you spend, you get a point. 1 point gives you a HKD$1.00 value. Ridiculous ainnit?!?!
I guess the grand prize would be the rooms. Now, there is a probable system for getting free room stays at The Venetian but it isn't something I am keen to share on such a public avenue like this blog. I actually had to work my charm on the receptionist at the members desk to get this inside info so if you are really serious about learning how I managed to get 2 nights of accommodation at the USD$200 a night Gambler's Suites, drop me an e-mail at xavier@success-initiative.com and I'll arrange specially for you :
- a fully-detailed breakdown of how to redeem free rooms at The Venetian Gamblers Suites. (worth at least USD$200)
- Full-disclosure on how I won all that money (worth at least... well, I made close to a 2000% profit so I won't put a price on this...)
Hope you enjoyed this post! The next Maverick Hustler Macau Adventure begins in late April so drop me an e-mail at xavier@success-initiative.com if you want in!
Hustle On!
Xavier
Founder, Master Trainer
xavier@success-initiative.com
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