El Cortez

Has anyone been to ol' Cortez recently.
Their website looks to have some interesting updates pointing to a possible new owner.

Just curious if the rules have changed at all. I'm heading to Vegas tomorrow.

Thanks all.

Major renovation

Don't know how recently? I stayed there a couple of months ago. The hotel was undergoing major renovation. Was told there were plans to extend the dome all the way down to El Cortez. Only time i played there so not sure about rules.

They are fixing it up,But Jackie G is still the owner.Ran into him Weds. nite as we were headed to Robertas.He glowed when I told the group that he had the best BJ in Vegas.

Just got back from the trip. Got to play poker with Jackie, somewhat fun.
Hit a bad swing like I usually do and went down 50 units, was able to recover 20 units the next day, but couldn't recover it all.

Overall a fun trip and a nice break to count on single deck.

Had a really fun hand.

Playing two hands of two units each: 8,8 and 5,6 vs. dealer 7.
Split the first hand, got a Jack on the first 8 and another 8 on the second, so I resplit. Got two more Ten valued cards on each one.
Then I doubled the 11, card was face down.

I was praying for a dealer 17, sure enough, he had one. Got paid on all 3 8's, flipped over my double down, another 10!

Made a good haul on that one.

Don't feel too bad, I lost about 80 units last time there and didn't get squat back.

Can you manage to spread 50-200 in DD at El Cortez for an hour or so per shift without being backed off?

The only time I have seen someone spreading like that,the pit was watching like a hawk.He didn't seem to be counting,just wildly changing his bets.I watched him jump from $70 to $600 on a negative count,pull a 5 card win and then drop to $25,announcing he was due to lose a few hands.
I think you could go 50-$100,and then let you winning hands ride,but am not certain.

Why it is called the Sweaty Spaniard

You will win a prize. Your own personal pit. If he decides you are not counting you can probably play on but if you get way up you will be shown the door. If he decides you are counting, you will be gone in a flash.

This is a place with some decent blackjack but it is also a place that will backoff red chip players and sometimes quite quickly.

ihate17

I play mostly graveyards and spread $3-25,letting $25 bets ride,and have zero heat. The swing shift has a few PBs that like to throw their weight around,but the other hours are better than they used to be.

I had a 1-5 spread on red chips and received no heat.
The guy next to me was a local and was using my exact count (zen) and exact spread. He said he is in there almost every night and has never had a problem.

I wonder when the last time is someone's just gone nuclear with bets $500 or more, to see how the sweaty spaniard reacted?

I played there this year once, spreading $3-50 in double deck, winning several hundred dollars. In fact I was with two friends, and we were all spreading the same. Got shuffled up and a new dealer a few times, but they never *really* gave a hard time.

I was a little disappointed not to be tossed. It cost me a lost bet to my buddy when we didn't get the boot. :cry:

Haha. I'm a red chip player and at the end of my trip on the last day I went to the El Co for a few and at the end got told I was no longer allowed to increase my bets anymore. The pitboss told me I was only allowed to flat bet from now on. This happened after I split 8's 3 times with only $20 on each hand (i think 2 of them were DD). I lost all my hands as the dealer drew a 19 to beat what I had. The pitboss comes around and sits to the seat to the right of me and watched while I played those hands, saw me lose, then told me I only could flat bet. She said "You're a very good player, but for now on you can only flat bet." I said "Based on what? I lost!" Pitboss: "That's what they told me upstairs." Me: "Well that's bullshit." I told the other lady that was part of the crew on the other side that that was f'ed up, then I took my chips and cashed out as I had to catch my plane home anyways. :flame:

I played their $3 min DD table all week and they don't seem to sweat that. I notice if you go to the $5 min tables in the center theres more heat. What's up with that?

Well, you know, they have to protect the high limit tables. :grin:

Wonder if being there all week is what got you tagged?

It is strange but on the $3 table,you can spread 1-8,and let winning bets ride,but on the $5 tables you are lucky to go 1-4.Its the same logic that has their dealers call "check play" if you bet a green,but not if you bet 6 reds.

Yeah haha at times I had $30 - $40 in reds up on the $3 minimum table and they don't call checks in play. When I was there there was a reason for that, as all the dealers that dealt me on that game on almost every shift were all new.

I don't know if being there all week got me tagged. So many local regulars go there. I tried to alternate going there according to the shift changes. However I did notice when I had the same scenario of splitting 8s in a positive count on the lower minimum $3 table they watched me play that hand like a hawk too. I don't get that place, though that was the first time I played in there.

Go back in a week,and they'll have forgotten all about you.

My experience with the EC has been a little different. If you keep your max bet at $50 or lower and rathole chips you should be alright. Once the pit critters notice you varying your bets or winning a couple hundred, they will start watching you. They don't have a clue, but they will watch you. They have been told what to watch for. If they feel uncomfortable about you playing they will tell the shift manager and he will start watching you. I don't know what happens after that, because that's when I leave.