Memphis is the longest distance SuperCharger to the West needed to reach Mom and relatives. Since the Tunica Mississippi casinos re-opened three weeks ago from COVID-19 lockdown, this would be a good test of our 2019 Std Rng Plus Model 3 (25,380 mi, 2012.20.12.) Full charged overnight, the car showed 229 miles, down ~4.6% from 240 miles. Weather was in the upper 70s (25 C), widely scattered showers, and a modest side wind. The trip meter showed ~15 miles reserve to reach the Memphis SuperCharger so I drove conservatively (close to speed limit) to preserve it while catching up on my podcasts. About 20-30 minutes from Memphis, the iPhone (model 7, IOS 13.5.1) the Bluetooth audio began to cut out so I listened on the iPhone speakers. Left at 10:20 AM and arrived at SuperCharger 2:00 PM with the 15 mile reserve: The Tunica casinos are ~38 miles away so I charged 9 minutes, $2.25 for 100 miles. I'm also testing 'tesLAX' and recorded the data. Plugshare showed Gold Strike has two distribution EVSE and a J1772. I updated the photos to show how to find them on Level 3, looking to the left: The EVSE cables were lying on the deck and when I got out, there was some dried out sick-stuff. I was staying overnight but found the EVSE charging was lethargic, ~25 mi/hr, 32 A @206 VAC. But what is time to free charging a Tesla? Although check-in time is 4 PM, the desk let me in my room 'if already available' . . . Monday afternoon. Opened barely three weeks, everyone wears a mask. If your mask is left down after sipping a beverage, they'll remind you with a nice, 'mask muffled' voice. Of course I was wearing my Tesla mask. At one time. the plexiglass partitions for the staff stopped a 'flying dice'. The craps tables keep the players down to ~4 each side. The HVAC was turned down and some of the petite staff were affected for example, the beverage waitresses were exceptional quick. As for comps, they were all but gone, as expected. The tables were minimum $15-25 which makes sense given the number of players and the regular craps player shouts were 'mask muted:' Ordinarily I play with $300 at a $5 table. But at $15, you really need to show up with ~$900 to have enough reserve to handle normal variability. I was lucky and left $400 ahead BUT it could have gone badly very quickly. Although clean, I found the motel room 'dusty' which led to some dry coughing that disturbed my sleep. I'd forgotten to bring my meds so I checked out a 1:30 AM and headed home. Curiously, their room billing is confusing with some sort of '$40 refundable deposit.' Regardless, the e-mail receipt showed the expected fair price. FYI, about half of the casino restaurants were closed and no 'comps.' Free drinks at the tables. The uninspiring food is reasonably priced. With and indicated 11 mile reserve, I headed to the Athens AL SuperCharger. It was late at night with widely scattered rain and little traffic. Prius-style driving grew it to a 20 mile reserve. During the drive, the Bluetooth audio problem was finally resolved by 'forgetting' both devices and rediscovery. My speculation is the iPhone (possibly the Model 3 too) has a latent Bluetooth defect than can smash the Bluetooth device identifiers. Either one can break the link. At Athens, I stopped at Waffle House for coffee and bathroom. Then I did a quick charge, $2.20, for 10 kWh to reach home: I am still looking at the 'tesLAX' data recorded at each SuperCharger and will share it in the regular technical forums. LESSONS LEARNED Camping out in the Tesla at a distribution charger is cheaper and nicer than that hotel. You won't have a shower but the restrooms are close. You'll trade parking lot noise for hotel door slams and mystery noises. Best of all, you can avoid their confusing check-in and out billing practices. With no appreciable comps, nothing lost. Gambling limits have gone up which means your gambling money budget needs to grow to handle normal variability. Depending on weather and driving conditions, Memphis TN is a reach. Midway between the two, Tupelo MS may be a better route and support driving at a faster speeds. Bob Wilson
