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CC.com home page 'Special Interest 2'...
Posted by zengrifter on 16-Nov-2005 22:01:01 (#14559)
... now features live RSS feed gaming news. Webmaster - you could easily add similar live RSS WITHOUT THE FRAMED Pechanga.net, without any fees necessitated, I beleive. zg
RE: Pechanga.net
Posted by The Mayor on 17-Nov-2005 10:02:07 (#14562)
ZG is talking about this link:
http://www.pechanga.net/ (under "gambling news" below).
What is RSS?
I met the guys from pechanga.net this year when I visited G2E. Really nice people with a great service. Check it out, it will quickly become one of your most visited sites.
Here is a better Penchanga News link...
Posted by zengrifter on 18-Nov-2005 06:55:19 (#14575)
... for the webmaster to use - http://www.pechanga.net/Gaming.html.
By RSS, I neabt that the parameters of the feed could just as easily be geberated onto a CC.com page and eliminate the need for pechanga.net in the frame. zg
If you could go?
Posted by Paladin on 17-Nov-2005 02:09:31 (#14560)
If you could go anywhere in the West to play several casinos within walking distance, where would you go?
I play red chips and I count.
Probably downtown Vegas
Posted by Victoria on 17-Nov-2005 12:27:34 (#14565)
Within walking distance, you have some good single and double deck games. I think in Reno most of the good games are not walking distance from eachother.
Victoria
I'd go with that...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 17-Nov-2005 19:51:07 (#14569)
Fremont is a blast (I answered you on another web site as well). Plaza for DD and Binions for SD. I was able to find $5 min tables at all times of the day for both type games. Shoes are easy to find of course.
If you like shoes, vegas blvd and tropicana intersection has the MGM, then across Vegas blvd to NYNY, across tropicana to excaliber, luxor, mandalay, then across Vegas Blvd to the tropicana and a couple of small casinos right behind it. Lots of good 6D shoes there, with $10 mins usually available.
Another interesting place is Laughlin. Laid-back. Low table mins. Several casinos within walking distance.
But if you want to "walk" nothing beats Fremont street...
re:Victoria and SSR
Posted by Joker's Wild on 17-Nov-2005 19:54:32 (#14570)
Paladin is a canadian security company. HE IS A SECURITY GUARD!!
He sounds more like a novice counter...
Posted by zengrifter on 18-Nov-2005 00:24:42 (#14573)
... coming to Vegas, irrespective of his day job. JWild, how did he affect you? zg
He might be posting...
Posted by Joker's Wild on 18-Nov-2005 00:42:14 (#14574)
to see what I'm up to, but that's my guess. Maybe I'm just paranoid...
And I'm the monkey the Russians shot into space
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 18-Nov-2005 09:26:17 (#14579)
That means I must be a Communist.
And "The Theory of Blackjack" was written by Peter Griffin. You know, like in the Griffin security agency? So don't trust anything in the book. It's a setup.
LOL!!! *NM*
Posted by Joker's Wild on 18-Nov-2005 15:24:52 (#14586)
It was a dog, comrade. *NM*
Posted by zengrifter on 18-Nov-2005 19:51:01 (#14592)
No real secrets in this thread
Posted by Victoria on 20-Nov-2005 13:48:50 (#14621)
Joker
He states he is a red chip counter who wants to walk from casino to casino easily. This is not top secret info we are giving him. Any blackjack site talking about single and double deck games would mention downtown. A map would tell him how close these places are and a subscription to something like CBJN gives him more game info than is in this thread.
Victoria
I agree
Posted by stainless steel rat on 21-Nov-2005 10:01:48 (#14632)
Before going to Vegas in June, not having been to Fremont in 20+ years, I started asking around. Even sent an email to Henry Tamburin, and he promptly replied that I ought to check out the Plaza first since I had mentioned SD/DD and they had a good DD game. Discussions with Arnold Snyder added Binions to my list of games to check (SD).
I didn't find it hard to be a good boy scout (be prepared!) and have some focus points of interest even though I did scout everything on Fremont while I was there...
I mean...
Posted by Joker's Wild on 17-Nov-2005 20:00:38 (#14571)
'Paladin' is one of the many security companies that tracked me down. I'm afraid the thread starter should be boycotted. See my post below.
do not forget the lowest of the low
Posted by Victoria on 17-Nov-2005 20:20:57 (#14572)
They may not be the place you take your lady friends but I have played them when I was a red chipper, though I did not go there alone.
The Western, a good low roller single deck game.
The Gold Spike a good low roller double deck game.
Both places will back off red chippers so short sessions and a good act help.
Oh and up a few levels, do not forget to play the single deck game at the Sweaty Spaniard or as a few people call it the El Cortez. A place I think is better than its rep but has earned its nickname.
Victoria
"el kotex"...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 18-Nov-2005 12:11:22 (#14584)
I didn't find any decent games when I went thru there. We parked in the deck attached to the kotex, and that was the first place I scouted. I don't remember what I didn't like about the games since Southwest delivered me back home fine, but apparently delivered my suitcase to Sri Lanka or some such place, never to be seen again (along with my trip notes). I generally looked at penetration for a first cut, and I don't remember playing a single round at the EC. Played a decent game at the BC the year before but got tossed for flat-betting before the count even budged, simply because I won a few hands in a row at $25 per flat... Craziest thing I have ever seen. They wanted me to "follow them" but I was having none of that. Got ugly for a couple of minutes, but I finally just walked out and challenged the two to try and stop me....
I will say that on the "el-cortez" end of the downtown "strip" and beyond, things can be pretty seedy. Never like to see groups "running around", yelling, starting a fight here and there, etc...
Cortez is a marvelous place...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 03:28:03 (#14594)
... mostly under-rated - clean, jazz music and piano overhead, and very decent 1D games when its not crowded. zg
I have stayed there..
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 19-Nov-2005 11:46:37 (#14596)
The room was clean and nice and looked fairly recently remodeled. The maid service was outstanding. If you come and go through the Southwest corner you have very little nastiness to walk through headed to the Experience. It does get a bad rap.
It's easily as nice as many hotels under the dome. I've stayed in every hotel downtown except HS, Fremnt and LL. The Kotex is as nice as any. By far the worst was the GG. It was tiny and filthy. It was worse than the Gold Spike, which is also a bit better than most think.
I've stayed comp at the old-sections of EC & HS...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 17:59:15 (#14609)
... enjoyed both. zg
Vegas Sex Resort for Women
Posted by zengrifter on 17-Nov-2005 14:15:42 (#14567)
Fleiss to Host Vegas Sex Resort for Women
People | Thursday Nov 17, 2005
The former "Hollywood Madam," 39, says she's planning to turn a Southern Nevada brothel called the Cherry Patch Ranch into a resort featuring male prostitutes serving an all-female clientele, the Associated Press reports.
... continued here: http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1131528,00.html
Are they hiring? *NM* *NM*
Posted by BlackJackHack on 18-Nov-2005 09:21:16 (#14577)
Are they hiring? =) *NM*
Posted by Sonny on 18-Nov-2005 09:46:26 (#14580)
They should only hire counters
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 18-Nov-2005 10:16:57 (#14581)
We can do it all night.
We can do it while drinking.
We can do a lot of things at once.
We always know when to get into a game, and when to get out.
We appreciate good penetration.
We prefer to play several spots at once.
We have a clue as to what's in the hole.
and most importantly...
We don't let our emotions get in the way!
French News Cites My Casino Abuse Story
Posted by zengrifter on 17-Nov-2005 15:13:42 (#14568)
A French news site has cited my casino abuse story as evidence that big corporations are worse than the mafia in the administration of Las Vegas. The link below is a Google translation (poor). You will need to paste the entire link to your browser. zg
http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://lefdm.com/index.php%3Ftitle%3Dc_est_prouve_les_entreprises_capitaliste%26more%3D1%26c%3D1%26tb%3D1%26pb%3D1&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddalton%2B%2522las%2Bvegas%2Btribune%2522%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
The Article
Posted by revereman on 19-Nov-2005 11:10:46 (#14595)
The only thing I could understand from your article is that you are having a sex change. Are we to call you zenagrifter? I guess you outdid Michael Konik and his $100,000 breasts. I think your move is a little drastic for camoflauge but it's ok to think outside the box, especially since you'll have one now.
The REAL purpose of the story was to give LV Bear...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 13:21:04 (#14598)
... a pulpit for his GROWL. zg
PS - I assume you got to the actual story? here - http://www.lasvegastribune.com/20050812/headline1.html
I Didn't See the Article
Posted by revereman on 19-Nov-2005 13:48:04 (#14601)
I just the French and the only thing I could almost understand was the headline about the sex change. I guess the French paper was referencing the LV Trib article, which I also hadn't seen. I would hope that article would open peoples' eyes but I'm sure it won't. I hope you realize my post was in jest.
"..it's ok to think outside the box, especially since you'll have one now."
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 13:23:41 (#14599)
Ha! Who sent you, the BJFO/Stalker 'Pissy-Bitch' Room? zg
Sit back and let a "pro" do the counting for you! *LINK*
Posted by Sonny on 18-Nov-2005 10:40:40 (#14582)
This guy doesn't sound like a scam artist at all. I'm sure lots of well financed professionals have advertised themselves on eBay. Maybe this is Tommy Highland! Yeah, right.
=)
-Sonny-
just goes to show...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 18-Nov-2005 12:03:15 (#14583)
no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better out there. I only wish I could win 30% every trip I take. In reality I would be happy to win on 2 of every 3 trips. Guess I need to go practice some more, there is a lot of room for improvement...
What a nice guy.
Posted by North Wind on 18-Nov-2005 14:55:48 (#14585)
Of course if he played for himself he could keep 100%. What a nice guy.
He is charging $5000
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 18-Nov-2005 15:49:03 (#14588)
and right below the verbage is an advertisement for free counters. Now how is he supposed to compete with that?
But seriously, he states that he wins every time, then he says at the end it's a "long term deal....not one time shot". Am I missing some stupidity or understanding it perfectly?
Interesting idea, but he doesn't sound legit
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 18-Nov-2005 16:45:46 (#14589)
If I was going to hire myself out as a counter, I'm going to to tell my sponsor exactly what I'm going to do and how when and where I'm going to do it. What count, what spread, what games, etc. Not just "I have a system."
But it does seem like it would be cool to have a bourse where investors could meet up with the undercapitalized and skilled. (Like several people here!) You could start out with small bankrolls, and get a history and rating system much like Ebay's very successful one, to weed out the crooks and quacks before anybody hands them big money. The bourse could keep ID on all players and give them a skills test at the casino of their choice before turning them loose among investors.
The biggest detail of all...
Posted by Sonny on 18-Nov-2005 17:20:41 (#14590)
...is that he never claims to be a card counter! He only says that he has a "realistic simple system" with a 130% ROI per "trip" of unmentioned length.
I seriously doubt this guy a any clue whatsoever about how to beat the game. Even if he could, why would he advertise publicly? Wouldn't he be afraid of who would contact him?
-Sonny-
Hey! That's MY AD!...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 13:41:51 (#14600)
...You guys got a problem with that? zg(wheels turning - been trolling for suckers in the wrong place)
You live in Moorhead?? *NM*
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 19-Nov-2005 17:03:06 (#14604)
Course not. Its my mail-drop at ...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 17:12:42 (#14605)
... the scams-R-us mailbox center. zg
I see...(LOL) *NM*
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 19-Nov-2005 17:48:20 (#14608)
Scathing review of PBS Vegas Documentary
Posted by zengrifter on 18-Nov-2005 17:36:14 (#14591)
The Sin City 'Experience'
November 13, 2005
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
Before I moved from Las Vegas to Chicago this summer, I had come to realize Vegas is everything people say it is. Gambleaholic tourists. HIV-positive prostitutes. People jumping off parking garages to their deaths.
Wait, I'm not finished.
Strippers doing things in back rooms. Gatsby-esque, million-dollar parties. Drinking, dancing and vast amounts of sexual hookups.
Vegas is a great place where terrible things happen. Life in this Disneyland for adults can be exceedingly fun, as long as you're not an addict of any kind. And as schmaltzy as this may sound, locals -- other than the occasional gang-bangers -- are genuinely kind (except when they're criticizing someone's out-of-date designer clothes).
... continued here - http://www.suntimes.com/output/elfman/sho-sunday-elf13.html
Australia
Posted by revereman on 19-Nov-2005 13:49:11 (#14602)
Any BJ advice for conditions/rules in Melbourne and Sydney?
Tom DeLay, Jack Abramhoff, Casinos, Money, Mobsters & Murder
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 17:39:57 (#14606)
"With multiple criminal and Congressional investigations now pursuing DeLay, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and their cohorts, Jack Abramoff's fall opens a new window on the criminal underpinnings of the entire Bush regime. Last week's indictment of three men with Mob ties in the gangland-style murder of gambling ship magnate Gus Boulis during Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's take-over of the gambling cruise ship line revealed deep Mob connections at the highest levels of the Republican Party."
-- Marcus K. Dalton | Las Vegas Tribune | October 21,2005
--------------------------------
Money, Mobsters, Murder
The sordid tale of a GOP lobbyist's casino deal gone bad.
by Matthew Continetti
11/28/2005|The Weekly Standard
-------------
Gambling doesn't destroy people. People destroy people. The gentleman or gentlewoman who decides to gamble makes that decision of his own free will. It's a free market industry, and that appeals to conservatives.
--Michael Scanlon
-----------------
AT ABOUT 8 p.m. on the night of September 26, a homicide detective with the Ft. Lauderdale police department entered the home of Anthony Moscatiello in the Howard Beach section of Queens, New York. Once inside, he placed the 67-year-old "caterer," aka "Big Tony," under arrest. Around 11 p.m., a thousand miles away in North Miami Beach, police stormed the condominium where Anthony Ferrari lived with his wife and two children and took the 48-year-old "security consultant," aka "Little Tony," into custody. And the next morning, in Palm Coast, Florida, police arrested 28-year-old James Fiorillo. Fiorillo, aka "Pudgy," worked at the Builder's First hardware store in Bunnell. "Everybody loves him," Fiorillo's supervisor, Kurt Wright, told the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
Not everybody, it turned out. A few days earlier, a Broward County grand jury had indicted all three men on charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. In addition the grand jury had indicted Moscatiello and Ferrari on charges of solicitation of first degree murder. All have pled not guilty. All are in prison, having been denied bond.
... continued here - http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/376cyikk.asp
"The world's gone poker crazy"
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 17:46:10 (#14607)
The real deal
The world's gone poker crazy. Every day, £40m is gambled globally on the game; one internet site is now worth more than British Airways, and even Oxford University and The Archers are hooked on Texas Hold 'Em. Victoria Coren reports from Las Vegas on the game's winning streak
Sunday November 13, 2005
The London Observer
The room is vast, bright, clean and buzzing with business talk. Smartly dressed men and women are manning stalls on every side. Cash registers tinkle. Eager, fresh-faced young people are crowded around these stalls, asking questions and making purchases. They are wearing company logos and carrying little bottles of water. Is it the opening day of an enormous marketing conference?
Is it the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia? No, this is day one of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the annual championships of the most secretive and counter-cultural game on earth. It just doesn't look like it. This time last year, the event was held in a rickety downtown building full of dice, smoke and nutters. But this time last year, the world hadn't finished changing.
When internet poker was first devised, many players believed that it would kill off the live game forever. The few people who played poker would stop hosting private sessions or going to casinos, and just stay at home playing a couple of websites. No dress code, no travel, no trouble.
In fact, the reverse has happened. Up, down and sideways, the entire game is expanding like a supernova...
continued - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1639416,00.html
And EVEN MORE CASINO/GOP Corruption!
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 18:04:38 (#14610)
Associate of Lobbyist Charged as Part of Corruption Scheme
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT and MARIA NEWMAN
NYTimes.com November 18, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 - Michael P.S. Scanlon, a business associate of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was charged today with conspiring to defraud Indian tribes of millions of dollars as part of a corruption scheme that included at least one member of Congress.
Mr. Scanlon, formerly the spokesman for Representative Tom DeLay, sought to "corruptly offer and provide things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials" in exchange for help with legislation and other favors, according to legal papers filed today.
The court document singled out one lawmaker, referring to him as "representative #1," as the chief recipient of lavish gifts from Mr. Scanlon and his partner. Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, has been subpoenaed in the case and the description in the indictment matches public accounts of his work with the lobbyists.
Mr. Ney has proclaimed his innocence, saying he was tricked into doing favors for Mr. Scanlon and Mr. Abramoff.
Brian J. Walsh, a spokesman for Mr. Ney, said the congressman would cooperate fully with investigators.
"He has not been told that he is the target of any investigation and there would be no grounds to do so," Mr. Walsh said in a statement. "Mr. Scanlon's being charged with lying to and cheating his clients does not change that."
Today's action came in what is called a criminal information filing, rather than an indictment, a legal distinction that often means prosecutors have reached a plea agreement with a defendant.
A Justice Department spokesman, Bryan Sierra, told The Associated Press that a hearing has been scheduled for Monday in Mr. Scanlon's case, but he provided no other details.
Investigators from several law enforcement agencies have been pursuing accusations that Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon defrauded several Indian tribes that paid them about $80 million for four years of work.
The inquiry has had repercussions across Washington because of Mr. Abramoff's and Mr. Scanlon's close ties to Mr. DeLay, who stepped down from his leadership post after being charged with violating campaign finance law in Texas.
One Bush administration official, David Safavian, the head of procurement at the Office of Management and Budget, was forced to resign in September after he was charged with lying to investigators about assistance he gave to Mr. Abramoff and obstructing a federal inquiry involving the lobbyist. The month before, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted Mr. Abramoff on charges of fraud and conspiracy stemming from his purchase of a fleet of gambling boats in 2000.
In the case of Mr. Scanlon, today's filing alleges that "Lobbyist A," who is not identified, solicited an Indian tribe in Mississippi in 1995 to provide lobbying services on taxes and other issues relating to tribal sovereignty.
The lobbyist then recommended that the tribe hire Mr. Scanlon's company, Capital Campaign Strategies, while concealing the fact the Lobbyist A would receive 50 percent of the profits from the tribe's payment to Mr. Scanlon, according to the document.
The Mississippi tribe paid Mr. Scanlon's firm $14.8 million from June 2001 through April 2004, while Mr. Scanlon concealed from the tribe that 50 percent of the profit "was kicked back to Lobbyist A pursuant to their secret arrangement," the court papers said.
-----------
Anne E. Kornblut reported from Washington for this article, and Maria Newman from New York.
Re: casino/GOP corruption *LINK*
Posted by BlackJackHack on 21-Nov-2005 13:02:51 (#14636)
The Abramoff case is going to make the pending Delay and Libby indictments look like child's play. It is a much more serious threat to Delay than the current indictment for Texas campaign law violations. Lock 'em all up and throw away the key!
The multifacited GOP/CASINO connection...
Posted by zengrifter on 21-Nov-2005 19:10:44 (#14644)
... is put into perspective in my October 21 Tribune story. zg
http://www.lasvegastribune.com/20051021/headline1.html
>>excerpt:
Dominoes falling?
Following a Federal indictment by the Florida U.S. Attorney on Aug. 11, the FBI arrested and jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the financial procurer for then House Majority Leader DeLay. Abramoff currently faces trial for fraud and conspiracy in the takeover and looting of the Florida-based SunCruz gambling casino cruise-ship line, pretending to make a $23 million payment towards the purchase of SunCruz from its former owner, Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis. After Boulis protested that Abramoff had not paid him, and reportedly tried to take back control of SunCruz, Boulis was gunned down 'gangland style'.
Abramoff has been an architect of the power cartel behind DeLay, feeding the Congressman money siphoned from the multi-billion-dollar empire of Indian gambling casinos and Pacific island sweatshops under Abramoff's sway.
Abramoff made tens of millions as America's biggest lobbyist for Indian gambling casinos, funding DeLay's PACs. DeLay put through a bill in June 2000, giving land to Abramoff's Choctaw tribe in connection with casino gambling.
Federal prosecutors and Senate investigators are now probing Abramoff's reported bilking of tens of millions of dollars from his Indian clients. The scams were aided by laundering of tribal monies through donations to Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform. (Norquist was also the paid strategist for the Internet gambling industry, working with Abramoff and DeLay to profit from and protect Internet casinos.)
Abramoff and Norquist passed along to Ralph Reed monies drained from tribal treasuries. Reed was the founding executive director of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalitionthe hard-core support apparatus behind DeLay, and formulator of much of his rhetoric. The tribes paid Abramoff and his junior partner, former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon, for their influence in curtailing gambling enterprises by rival tribes. Reed took millions of this casino loot and paid his Christian Coalition networks to campaign against competing casinos.
Abramoff even took millions from the Tigua Indians to reopen their Texas casino after he and Reed had secretly schemed to shut it down.
Abramoff and his two behind-the-scenes career partners, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, organized the rise of "DeLay, Inc.," by coercing corporations and their lobbyists (the "K Street Project") and whipping up religious fanatics (the Christian Coalition) for the money and muscle that bought DeLay his dictatorship over Congress.
Criminal underpinnings loosened
These same arrangements are at the heart of the political system sustaining the Bush-Cheney Administration. With multiple criminal and Congressional investigations now pursuing DeLay, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and their cohorts, Abramoff's fall opens a new window on the criminal underpinnings of the entire Bush regime.
Last week's indictment of three men with Mob ties in the gangland-style murder of gambling ship magnate Gus Boulis during Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's take-over of the gambling cruise ship line revealed deep Mob connections at the highest levels of the Republican Party.
One of the principals in the scandal, Abramoff partner Adam Kidan, was the co-owner and general counsel of a Caribbean island hotel-casino with Rosario Spadaro, called "a member of the Sicilian Mafia" in an Associated Press story reporting his recent arrest in Italy in a major investigation into international arms trafficking.
"Italian police have arrested St. Maarten's most prominent hotel owner, Rosario Spadaro, accusing him of laundering money for the Sicilian Mafia, Italian police said Thursday," read the AP report in the May 20, 2005 Orlando Sentinel.
Kidan, Abramoff's second-in-command at the SunCruz casino line, is reportedly soon to be indicted for the murder of Gus Boulis' murder, on the relatively safe grounds that he wrote checks totaling a quarter million dollars for no easily discernible reason to the Gambino hit man recently charged with the crime.
While Abramoff's Indian gaming troubles may be getting the most publicity, his other major 'area of concern' is where the real scandal resides. Involvement with Mob-run casino boats may turn out to be a faux pas, even for Republicans.
Florida's cruises-to-nowhere represent "the largest unregulated gambling industry in the United States," said Bill Thompson, a professor of gambling at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and nationally recognized expert on the industry, in an interview in the Miami Herald. Thus the potential for both 'skimming' of unreported cash as well as the laundering of illicit monies is enormous and conveniently close to Governor Jeb Bush's Florida.
>>end excerpt
The Dreadful, Dreary, Boring World of Canadian Casinos
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 18:08:35 (#14611)
The Dreadful, Dreary, Boring World of Commie Casinos
by Vedran Vuk
Ludwig von Mises Institute | November 15, 2005
In Canada, government-owned and run casinos made a mess of the true entertainment value created by casinos in a competitive free market. The government-owned casinos of Ontario claim to be the "peoples'" factors of production. But anyone with experience in real casinos can only see this as a pathetic joke.
I realized this on a recent visit to Niagara Falls, Canada. The town had two government-owned casinos, five minutes apart. The design of the casinos was the same with no theme and no real difference in games and services provided. The first casino is called the Niagara Casino, and the second is called the Niagara Fallsview Casino.
Many anti-capitalists argue that capitalism is only concerned about money and ignores things such as beauty and creativity. The truth of socialism is on display with these two casinos.
Compare to the grand capital of gambling, Las Vegas, and all the creative themes and architectural designs that have come forth. We have Venice, Manhattan, Paris, and a pyramid in the desert! This would simply be impossible in socialist Canada unless some politician decided a pyramid in the snow was a good way to get votes.
A policy so offensive resides in Niagara Falls' casinos that I shiver at the thought of it. Of course, I speak of the policy of no "free" alcoholic beverages. Free drinks in casinos is something that we have come to take for granted in our free-market-driven casino industry.
Many people go to casinos exclusively for the free drinks. But of course we can't have anything enjoyable in socialism. One beer is US$7. Furthermore, the classic cheap and delicious casino buffet was nowhere to be seen. The buffet had few choices, tasted like roasted nutria, and cost about US$12.
Another difference was that no special offers were given by the casino. Usually, casinos have crazy spectacular car giveaways or remote resort vacation trips to be won, but in Canada? No way.
Las Vegas casinos do not give great buffets, free drinks, and special prizes out of the goodness of their hearts. These offers come through the concern for their own bank accounts and the competition with other casinos. The commie casino designed for the people of Ontario is worse for the customers than casinos based on profit.
These casinos are almost doll house images of real casinos. This can be most seen at the Texas Hold 'Em Poker tables at which I had the pleasure of waiting an hour and a half before being permitted to play. There are ten tables, seven dealers, and four people managing the waiting list.
An inefficiency such as this would never go on long in a real casino. What is the purpose of the four managers when all the casino needs is dealers?! Is there even a need for one manager of the waiting list? God forbid that the commie casino would do anything that might be efficient and profit maximizing.
With no shareholders to answer to and no real competition, there is no incentive to get more dealers instead of waiting-list managers. The bloated staff of Canada's commie casinos is typical of the kind of patronage schemes that infect all government enterprises. The end result is me waiting for ninety minutes, during which time the casino is making no money from me.
To add salt to the wound, the casinos actually changed their dealers regularly, like a competitive casino. This is normally done to ensure that there is less cheating going on. A question then for my socialist Canadian commie friends: What is the point of preventing cheating when you've already hired four waiting-list managers? You've already cheated yourself for whatever their salary may be!
Ludwig von Mises pointed out the flaws of government-run non-profit organizations by saying, "In the absence of profit and loss the entrepreneurs would not know what the most urgent needs of the consumers are. If some entrepreneurs were to guess it, they would lack the means to adjust production accordingly."
A Mises Institute Christmas: $17
The government-run casinos have fake entrepreneurs that cannot adjust their production through dealers and effective management to match the demand of customers. They only make guesses at the number of customers that may possibly come into the casino. This is exactly what Mises is speaking about when he says of such quasi-markets, "They want people to play market as children play war, railroad, or school. They do not comprehend how such childish play differs from the real thing it tries to imitate."
No citizen of Canada can effectively push the casinos into efficiency. Since citizens cannot sell their "stock" in the casinos, there is no one to push for higher profits and greater efficiency. No person is in the position to lose their entire fortune. No person is investing into the company for their children's college education or for their retirement. This means no person is in a position to push for profit maximization.
So play it safe and please avoid Canada's commie casinos.
----------
Vedran Vuk is a major in economics and finance at Loyola University of New Orleans. He is temporarily taking classes at Loyola College in Maryland due to Hurricane Katrina.
re:cheating
Posted by Joker's Wild on 19-Nov-2005 20:26:32 (#14614)
True, there might not be cheating over in Ontario, but in BC I've been cheated at least twice. One of the casinos in out of business. The other one hired a bust-out dealer to hide the high cards at the end of the shoe. Since most BJ players like to cut in the middle of a 6-decker, the 10s and As are hidden at the end of the pack. I wasn't aware of this at first, and I sat down and played. Over 2 decks have been dealt, and hardly any high cards came out, and I was losing hand after hand. Finally, there's a chance for me to push out a max bet. I got 2 10s against a dealer's 5. I split and got 2 20s, but the dealer got 21. 'What the fu**!!' I said to myself. Finally, I asked a security guard if I could talk to the shift manager. She gave me stupid excuses like 'Before the customers showed up, all 6 decks are spread onto the felt face-up', 'The shuffle is truly random'. The truth is, as all AP's know, no casino shuffle is truly random. For a single deck of cards, it takes at least 7 shuffles for the deck to be truly random, ie. stepladders or riff-ruffs.
Finally I threatened that I'm gonna talk to the BC Lottery Corp., and she said in a calm and cool voice, 'Sure!' The point is, the BCLC does nothing to protect the players. They are just linked with the casinos to rip the players off their hard-earned $$.
If the dealers can concentrate the big cards to a section of the pre-cut pack...
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 22:48:17 (#14615)
...you can figure out where they are and cut them to the front! Thus this could be a very profitable game... no mopre discussion with the SB, please. zg
I love this post
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 19-Nov-2005 23:57:28 (#14616)
>>tables at which I had the pleasure of waiting an hour and a half before being >>permitted to play. There are ten tables, seven dealers, and four people >>managing the waiting list
When they opened the Fallsview Poker room I went, and got on the extremely long waiting list at about 2 a.m.. The poker room closed at I think 4a.m or something like that. They failed to tell me this. Who the hell has a poker room that closes??? It was full and they cleared everyone out!!
If the person who was to be on the button leaves, there is no "dead button" rule. The button goes to the next person, who also posts small blind. Then, the next TWO people must post big blinds. Completely unfair.
The Canadian casinos do suck on all levels.
>>One beer is US$7
This is probably not true, they were $5 Canadian as of a year ago, and they had just gone up from 4.50.
Canadian casino's very similar to American
Posted by timbertom on 21-Nov-2005 17:52:07 (#14640)
I've had the pleasure of playing in quite a few of the provinces in Canada and quite a few of the states in America. The Canadian casino are governed by each province so the rules of the game and of gambling differ from province to province, but that is no different then from state to state.
I've found dumb rules in both. eg. one province teaches the dealers basic BJ strategy so that if a player asks them what to do they actually do give a knowledged response. This same province does not allow drinking at the tables nor does it allow an ATM in the casino. I had to walk a block (yes it was actually -30 F)to get $1500 and the ATM gave it to me all in 20's. I was also in either Kansas or St. Louis and they would only let me buy in for $500 every 2 hours. In both cases I asked the pit boss "Why?" and in each case I was told it was so the locals would not lose to much money. To which I replied "Then why don't they close down the casino's?. Both pit bosses had the ability to smile broadly.
In my province the casino's are privately owned but they must have a charity to help them run the casino. The volunteer's act as chip runners and cage counters. In return the charity gets about $70,000 for it's two nights of work. A charity can apply and is given a two day slot every year and a half. So there is some good that comes out of the casino's.
Overall the provinces have much more say in the day to day running of the Casino. eg. Most provinces have no smoking in the casino's. A lot of the provinces have 24 hour poker rooms and are very similar to towns I've visited in Nevada.
Why not public casinos?
Posted by BlackJackHack on 20-Nov-2005 00:41:02 (#14618)
As a self-interested AP, I'd like the whole country to be covered with casinos - a gazillion casinos everywhere - preferably private, with little regulation and maximum competition.
From a policy perspective, however, public casinos (the model in much of Europe, as well as in Canada) make sense. FOr mathematical reasons well within the comprehension of APs, it's tough to lose money with a well run casino. A local casino monopoly, in particular, is a license to print money (the most obscene scenario is where an Indian tribe or corporation is given a local monopoly by government - e.g. Potawotomi in Milwaukee, Harrah's in New Orleans, Caesar's in Louisville, Argosy in Cincinnati, etc.).
Why should Indian tribes (some with 23 members who aren't really Injuns) and private companies rake in all of this coin? Why should the state just take a 10-20% share in taxes? Why shouldn't the state get 80%, and pay 20% or so (plus, perhaps, performance incentives) to a private company as a management fee? Hiring private companies to actually run the casino would help avoid the problems described in the article on Canadian casinos.
Try explaning the US' gaming "policy." In some places, there are only Indian casinos. In others, only private casinos. In some places, casinos only on riverboats. In others, casinos on ocean-going vessels. In some places, just slots. In others, just tables. In others, just VLTs and pull tabs. It is a totally incoprehensible mishmash that advances no rational policy objectives.
Beg to differ
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 20-Nov-2005 11:18:11 (#14620)
>>As a self-interested AP, I'd like the whole country to be covered with
>>casinos - a gazillion casinos everywhere - preferably private, with
>>little regulation and maximum competition.
I believe things are moving in this direction. It is just taking awhile because certain powers that be need to get out of the way and allow the economy to work the way it was intended to. I'm sure we will get to this point eventually in many places.
>>From a policy perspective, however, public casinos (the model in
>>much of Europe, as well as in Canada) make sense.
No they don't.
>>(the most obscene scenario is where an Indian tribe or corporation
>>is given a local monopoly by government - e.g. Potawotomi in
>>Milwaukee, Harrah's in New Orleans, Caesar's in Louisville, Argosy in >>Cincinnati, etc.).
Correct, the government should not have this much power.
>>Why should Indian tribes (some with 23 members who aren't really
>>Injuns) and private companies rake in all of this coin? Why should
>>the state just take a 10-20% share in taxes? Why shouldn't the state
>>get 80%, and pay 20% or so...
For the same reason the government shouldn't get %80 of the revenue from grocery stores and laundromats and restaurants and... Because this is socialistic, and is much worse a thing than someone exploiting some loopholes.
>>Try explaning the US' gaming "policy." In some places, there are only
>>Indian casinos. In others, only private casinos. In some places, casinos
>>only on riverboats. In others, casinos on ocean-going vessels. In some
>>places, just slots. In others, just tables. In others, just VLTs and
>>pull tabs. It is a totally incoprehensible mishmash that advances no
>>rational policy objectives.
Re: Public Casinos
Posted by BlackJackHack on 20-Nov-2005 17:02:56 (#14622)
I think we agree on one thing - the worst possible scenario is a government-granted monopoly (or oligopoly), which, unfortunately is what exists in most regions with legalized gambling. In most states, it is very difficult to get a casino license (Indian or non-Indian) - there tend to be a very small number of participants who tend to be the most politically connected. I agree that much less regulation would be better than limiting the competition to 1, 2 or 3 stores.
We clearly disagree, however, about the notion of a public casino (in lieu of a single, or limited number, of private casinos).
I disagree completely with your analogy to grocery stores, or other types of businesses. The right to run a casino (unlike a grocery store or lemonade stand) does not exist absent the imprimatur of the state. The casino "franchise" (i.e., the legal right to operate) is worth much more than any value that an operator can bring to the table. Until it grants licenses, the state owns that franchise. The state should use that franchise to maximize the benefit to its citizens. Clearly, reasonable minds could differ as to what course of action would best benefit the common good. While I certainly have not conducted a lengthy study on the matter, I strongly suspect that the state would raise more revenue running its own casino than by entering a gaming compact with Chief Makum Bigwampum or with Harrah's. If they choose the latter route, the state should, at the very least, tax the living crap out of the casino.
Just because something is "socialistic" (or "capitalistic") in and of itself does not mean it is bad. What matters is whether it works. The private sector is never going to clean up Lake Erie or educate poor children. ARen't these worthwhile endeavors? Those on the right wing should not automatically reject public initiatives, any more than those on the left wing should automatically reject private sector initiatives. Public policies should be judged on their own merits (i.e., whether they WORK), not whether they pass some idological litmus test.
Based on your logic, the state should also give up the monopoly in state lotteries, and anybody should be able to run a numbers game. Do we really want that? Isn't it better to have the money raised by lotteries go to education and other public purposes? Isn't the whole logic behind expanding gaming to raise tax revenues? Shouldn't those revenues be maximized?
RE: RE: Public Casinos
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 21-Nov-2005 01:29:21 (#14627)
>>Just because something is "socialistic" (or "capitalistic") in and
>>of itself does not mean it is bad. What matters is whether it works.
Yes, I do agree with this. To clarify my original statement: It is bad for the government to take 80% of the income of a huge industry. This is inappropriate Socialism.
>>The private sector is never going to clean up Lake Erie or educate
>>poor children. ARen't these worthwhile endeavors?
Yes, but one cannot make money cleaning up Lake Erie or educating poor kids. That is why these things things are suited to be public endeavors. They are not Businesses!!
>>Those on the right wing should not automatically reject public
>>initiatives, any more than those on the left wing should automatically
>>reject private sector initiatives.
Just for the record, if there was some conception that I am "right wing", you are about as far off as you can be!
>>Public policies should be judged on their own merits (i.e., whether
>>they WORK), not whether they pass some idological litmus test.
Correct, see final paragraph.
>>Based on your logic, the state should also give up the monopoly
>>in state lotteries, and anybody should be able to run a
>>numbers game. Do we really want that?
I do! I would love to run a game with a 90% vig!!!... seriously. Wouldn't you?
>>Isn't it better to have the money raised by lotteries go to education
>>and other public purposes? Isn't the whole logic behind expanding
>>gaming to raise tax revenues? Shouldn't those revenues be maximized?
There is no quality that singles out the casino industry as being especially appropriate for government control. If casinos were allowed to flourish, there would be plenty of tax income. This is much better than selling lottery tickets to poor, ignorant inner-city people and kicking back a small percentage to educate their kid.
The most liberal issuance of casino licences is in Nevada, where they do not need to collect state tax at all!! How can you maximize tax revenues any more than that?? There is competition, choices and a thriving industry. Even a poor person can afford to gamble in some of the downtown joints! Contrast this with Canadian casinos that are grotesquely wanting in quality and quantity. Which scenario "WORKS" best? I think am the pragmatic one here and you are the one espousing ideologies.
Sounds like AC
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 20-Nov-2005 18:18:38 (#14623)
In New Jersey a judge decided that all gaming is controlled by the state for the benefit of the state and the casinos cannot tell a patron they cannot play. Thus we can't be prevented from playing BJ in AC, but they just made the game so uniformly poor from a counter's perspective that the venue is of limited value, and every game in town is almost identical. That's what we would have everywhere if the game were government controlled. The variety and laissez-faire attitude of casinos as they exist give us something to work with.
Civil Casinos
Posted by BradRod on 21-Nov-2005 08:30:22 (#14629)
I am not myself a drinking person and rarely in a casino. I find players that are drunk to be distracting, obnoxious and at times even threatening. The Canadian casinos that I have played in place a high value on decorum. This suites me very nicely as it lets me focus on my game. I find no enjoyment from being in the company of rowdy, madcap drunks. I only play blackjack so I cannot comment on the poker game. The blackjack game is decent and I have done well there.
By the way, I have passed a personal milestone of over 100k career at BJ with over 75k of that this year. Can this be my new career ?
Canadian, decent BJ?
Posted by V-man on 22-Nov-2005 10:55:15 (#14658)
Congrats on your winnings. But I disagree on the game you call decent. It's 8 decks, no surrender, cut 2.5 to 3 decks. Even the VIP room with 6 decks, no surrender, pen 1.5 to 2 is lousy. You'd need a large BR, just to survive.
Tipping at Canadian Casinos?
Posted by VerdugoJohn on 21-Nov-2005 12:31:53 (#14635)
no mention of tipping...i suspect that tip hustling does not occur there...i understand that Canadians do not tip as a rule, but the do if they have been immersed long enough in our Yankee BULLS#!T...
Yes they do
Posted by timbertom on 21-Nov-2005 17:54:15 (#14641)
Some of the dealers hustle tips and Canadians tip, very similar to the States.
Conman left £7m IOU to fuel gambling habit
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 18:13:48 (#14612)
Bank conman left £7m IOU for his bosses
Financial consultant who duped investors to fuel gambling habit asks for 263 offences to be considered
Mark Branagan
08 November 2005 | Yorkshire Post
A fraudster who stole £10m to feed his gambling addiction while working as a financial consultant left a £7m "IOU" in the safe for his bosses at the Halifax Bank, a court has heard.
G
raham Price, 58, was on holiday in New York when a stunned auditor found the note at the Halifax agency he ran in Gowerton, South Wales, Swansea Crown Court was told yesterday.
The smooth-talking conman, who had duped 84 unsuspecting clients out of life savings of more than £3m, had already put auditor Lesley Tucker off from making her inspection with a variety of excuses.
... continued here - http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1246537
New Light on the Most Notorius Gambling Fix in History
Posted by zengrifter on 19-Nov-2005 18:17:41 (#14613)
Seeds of a scandal
Newly found letter at Hall sheds light on Black Sox's motives
Saturday, Oct 22, 2005
Craig Muder
Observer-Dispatch
COOPERSTOWN -- Newly discovered papers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown shed light on the motivation for what might have been the most unforgiven act in baseball history: the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
The eight Chicago White Sox who conspired to throw that year's World Series have long been banned from organized baseball and the Hall of Fame. But evidence of their financial desperation has been hiding in boxes stored in the Hall's library for more than 40 years.
Team members complained in a letter they were not given their money for winning the 1917 World Series.
... continued here - http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051022/NEWS/510220322/1001
Palace Station guard gets terminated for accessive force... *LINK*
Posted by Sonny on 20-Nov-2005 00:35:16 (#14617)
...then goes right back to work! WTF?!
-Sonny-
I saw the news video...
Posted by zengrifter on 20-Nov-2005 01:04:53 (#14619)
...the woman being dragged through the casino, but I didn't know that she ultimstely died. zg
online counting at Global Player site
Posted by Jeffrey Collins on 20-Nov-2005 22:07:06 (#14624)
does anyone have any information in regards to the feasibility of counting at Global Player Casino. One of the games there is a six-deck with 50% penetration. HOWEVER, you can shuffle up on the came whenever the count goes negative. Isn't this BJ HEAVEN ??? Why hasn't this game been shut down due to counters winning obscene amounts of money? Does anyone have any information to report??
Provide the rules...
Posted by zengrifter on 21-Nov-2005 09:50:49 (#14631)
... so someone can give the DI on the game. zg
Harrah's mistake
Posted by The Mayor on 21-Nov-2005 10:37:00 (#14633)
Misprint will cost Harrah's millions
JOLIET, Ill., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A small typo on coupons promoting an Illinois casino will cost Harrah's millions of dollars.
The Illinois Gaming Board has ordered the company to honor the 11,000 coupons for $525 for Harrah's Joliet, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The coupons were supposed to be for $5, but a mistake by the printer increased their value more than one hundred-fold...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051120-085333-8273r
I received one of those coupons
Posted by Security Risk on 21-Nov-2005 11:57:45 (#14634)
I am one of the 11,000 that received that coupon. I also received a phone message from them that the coupon was sent in error and they would not be able to accept it. I guess I can bring it in now.
Hell yes! F@&# Harrah's every chance you get. *NM*
Posted by Sonny on 21-Nov-2005 14:10:34 (#14637)
and the horse they rode in on. :) *NM*
Posted by stainless steel rat on 21-Nov-2005 17:25:28 (#14638)
and the HORSESHOE they rode in on! =) Binion's never looked so bad *NM*
Posted by Sonny on 21-Nov-2005 17:32:04 (#14639)
what does that mean?
Posted by stainless steel rat on 21-Nov-2005 18:57:47 (#14642)
Has the SD game there gone south? I played every day for a week back in June and had a blast although I ended up doing poorly. But RO6 was the rule, RO7 on a couple of dealers, with decent rules. Hate to see that disappear. Next thing will be DD at the plaza going south too?
No and maybe
Posted by Sonny on 21-Nov-2005 19:35:04 (#14646)
> Has the SD game there gone south?
It had gone completely down the drain, but luckily has resurfaced somewhat. When Harrah's first took over they filled the place with a bunch of shoe games with bad rules. They were also the first (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to bring the 6:5 blackjack plague downtown. They turned a Las Vegas icon into a sh#%hole overnight:
http://www.cardcounter.com/main.pl?read=8018
Luckily, the games have improved considerably since Harrah's was relieved of their management. You can still find some 6:5 games here and there, but they offer enough good games that they have redeemed themselves in most player's minds. Can you believe that Harrah's even shut down their famous grill?! Those bastards! Luckily that has returned as well.
Now they've got Caesars, the IP, and a few other places as well (as well as other casinos all over the country). I'll say it again - Hell in a handbasket!
> Next thing will be DD at the plaza going south too?
Quite possibly. Barrack is selling the place and who knows what will happen to their great blackjack games.
http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2005/11/15/news/news05.txt
-Sonny-
You need to go north
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 22-Nov-2005 07:40:49 (#14655)
Reno/Sparks is the place for you, man. It's all SD, and difficult to find a 6:5 game. You can get away with quite a bit at green action if you are reasonably careful. A lot of it is D9 but I'll take it.
One difference between the Downtown and Reno SD scenes is that Downtown they will usually shuffle you up to get rid of you. In Reno they seem more likely to tap you out of the game before they do that. But they are universally polite about it, in my experience. The only time they weren't was at the Helldorado when I challenged one of their Mindplay DD games, just to see what would happen.
Re: screwing Harrah's
Posted by Sun Runner on 22-Nov-2005 11:47:26 (#14660)
Does Harrah's do their own printing?
I hope some little mom and pop outfit in the 'burbs didn't do it.
Third Party Vendor
Posted by Security Risk on 22-Nov-2005 14:37:14 (#14661)
Harrah's is blaming the problem on a third party vendor.
So, they can sue the vendor for their losses. *NM*
Posted by zengrifter on 23-Nov-2005 00:48:18 (#14668)
I received another phone message
Posted by Security Risk on 23-Nov-2005 08:57:26 (#14673)
I received another phone message from Harrah's. "Please disregard our previous call. Your loyalty is important to us, therefore we have decided to honor your coupon..."
I'll give you $20 for it! Okay, okay, $50!! *NM*
Posted by Sonny on 23-Nov-2005 17:22:05 (#14678)
"They decided...." LOL! *NM*
Posted by Harrah's Management on 23-Nov-2005 17:25:57 (#14679)
Good thing Don Schlesinger didn't get one
Posted by Sonny on 21-Nov-2005 19:01:18 (#14643)
He just loves to give people hell about misspellings, doesn't he? =)
-Sonny-
P.S.- Just a joke, y'all. No disrespect.
In fact...
Posted by The Mayor on 21-Nov-2005 20:14:24 (#14647)
When something like this happens, it certainly adds credibility to the syntactic battles Don fights. Typos can be very costly.
There are some jokes worth posting here (typographical errors that render sentences with one meaning to have the opposite meaning with great humorous effect). Just think up some dirty ones on your own, they're pretty obvious.
--Mayor
Typically, casino coupons have standard CYA language...
Posted by zengrifter on 21-Nov-2005 20:32:09 (#14648)
... fine print that says that offer can be cancelled at any time. zg
illinois gaming board
Posted by Victoria on 21-Nov-2005 20:56:02 (#14649)
I thin the gaming board has told Harrah's they must honor the coupons.
Seems Illinois has something that Nevada needs, a gaming board.
Victoria
How many times...
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 21-Nov-2005 21:36:56 (#14650)
... I have attempted to type the word "count" and left out the 'o'. That's not a word I like to use in mixed company.
Then again, maybe it's the right word.
PR nightmare
Posted by revereman on 22-Nov-2005 09:46:09 (#14656)
for people working in PR, leaving out the l in public relations contact is a nightmare.
AM
Posted by Victoria on 22-Nov-2005 11:30:04 (#14659)
Hmmmmm!
MARTINDALE'S CALCULATORS ON-LINE CENTER
Posted by zengrifter on 22-Nov-2005 01:22:12 (#14652)
MARTINDALE'S CALCULATORS ON-LINE CENTER - Contains over "20,735" Calculators created by over "3,840" Individuals, Businesses & Tax Supported Entities World Wide. zg
Here - http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators.html
The relevant subsection
Posted by The Mayor on 22-Nov-2005 10:29:35 (#14657)
http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators1_1_AB.html#BLACK
No, actually...
Posted by zengrifter on 22-Nov-2005 17:21:51 (#14662)
... the better listing of calculators can be found in my 'Counting Resources' post. The comprehensiveness of the Martidale Online Calculators resource goes way beyond BJ/gambling. zg
FREE COUNTING RESOURCES ON WEB
Posted by zengrifter on 22-Nov-2005 02:23:23 (#14654)
This list replaces the previous post here -
http://www.cardcounter.com/main.pl?read=2166
------------------------------------
FREE WEB COUNTING RESOURCES
Compiled By Zengrifter
(revised 11/22/05)
ARTICLES, ESSAYS, REPORTS -
Counting F.A.Q.s
http://www.conjelco.com/faq/bj.html
Card Counting 101 by PB
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/novice/counting.htm
Cardcounter.com Resources
http://cardcounter.com/Everything.htm
Card Count Articles from GoCee
http://www.gocee.com/blackjack/bjcount.htm
Blackjack Forum Library
http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/content/TOClibrary.html
Gamemaster BJ Articles
http://www.gamemasteronline.com/StrategyContent.shtml
Ruchman on BJ - much musings and history
http://www.casinogaming.com/columnists/blackjack/index.html
Grinder's Wherehouse - BJ Articles
http://frontpage.inxpress.net/grinder/warehouse.htm
Clark Cante's 'BJ Therapy'
http://www.bjrnet.com/archive/BlackjackTherapy.htm
H.Tamburin BJ Articles
http://www.casino.com/blackjack/archive.asp
H.Tamburin Q&A Archive
http://www.bjinsider.com/questions_archive.shtml
Blackjack Insider Newsletter #s 1-39
http://www.casino.com/newsletter/blackjack/archive/
Blackjack Insider Newsletter #s 14+
http://www.bjinsider.com/newsletter.shtml#search
Blackjack Insider Archive Search
http://www.bjinsider.com/questions.shtml#search
Ken Smith's BJ Info Newsletter
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/news/
Gambling Book Reviews by Nick Christiansen
http://www.jetcafe.org/~npc/reviews/gambling/index.html
Advanced Discussions and Articles
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/toc.htm
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/whatsnew.htm
Google search -Shuffle Tracking Discussions
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=shuffle+tracking&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&btnG=Google+Search&meta=site%3Dgroups
LISTEN ONLINE
Audio Vegas Gambling Interviews
http://www.audiovegas.com/
Eliot Jacobson on Vegas Talk Radio
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_03_05.mp3
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_04_05.mp3
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_05_05.mp3
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_06_05.mp3
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_07_05.mp3
http://cardcounter.com/CBassInterviews/CBInterview_10_05.mp3
TOURNAMENT PLAY
Ken Smith's Tourney Primer
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/blackjack-tournaments.php
ONLINE COUNTING COURSES -
Bob's BJ University
http://www.bju21.com/
GameMaster's Free Counting Course
http://www.gamemasteronline.com/indexa.shtml?GameMasters/GameMasterClassicsIndex.shtml
PRACTICE DRILLS -
Count Tutor
http://www.countingedge.com/tutor.php
Rob Tougher's Basic Strategy Drill
http://www.robtougher.com/games/blackjack_bs/blackjack.php
Hit /Stand Basic Strategy Drill
http://www.hitorstand.net
JAVA Flashcards for BS and Index Practic
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/tcindex/randomnr/random.htm
Remaining #Decks Estimation Drill
http://www.bju21.com/shoe_drill.htm
Startegy Trainer
http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bst/bst.htm
IN SPANISH -
BlackJack Card Counting En Espanol
http://www.bj21.com.ar
ONLINE CALCULATORS & SIMULATORS -
E. Jacobs' Count & Shuffle Simulators
http://cardcounter.com/applets/BJ2.3/Blackjack_Applet.html
http://cardcounter.com/STC_start.htm
Rules - Effects on BS
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/conseq/rules.htm
BR Calculator (from RoR)
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/refer/RevGROR.htm
Basic Strategy Generator
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/2009/BJC/Chart.html
Various BJ online calculators from Norm Wattenberg
http://www.bjstats.com/bjcalc.htm
http://www.qfit.com/calcP.htm
http://www.qfit.com/cvstrat.htm
http://www.bjstats.com/bjre.asp
Wattenberg's Repository and Staticum
http://bjstats.com/
BEAT WEB CASINOS -
Snyder's Win Online
http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/content/onlinecontents.htm
FREE SIMULATION DOWNLOADS -
Snyder's Practice Download
http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/Card_Counting_Practice_Software_Free.zip
Sim Simp
http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/content/SimSimp_Beta.htm
T-Hopper's spreadsheet analysis tool
http://www.bjmath.com/bjcomputer/computer/programs/thcalc.zip
BJSTRAT DOS Index Generator (ZIP D/L)
http://www.bjmath.com/bjcomputer/computer/programs/bjstrat.zip
JensenAlgebraic Index Calc (ZIP DL)
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/tcindex/Generator.zip
Add this under Tournament Play
Posted by zengrifter on 22-Nov-2005 20:31:49 (#14663)
Add this under Tournament Play
http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/
web sites for vegas sports books?
Posted by ACE HOLE !!! on 22-Nov-2005 20:35:53 (#14664)
how can i get the web sites for vegas sports books?
There ain't none! *NM* *LINK*
Posted by zengrifter on 23-Nov-2005 00:29:52 (#14666)
(humor) Bad Habits ...
Posted by zengrifter on 22-Nov-2005 21:39:36 (#14665)
Bad Habits ...
Sister Mary Katherine entered the Monastery of Silence. The Priest said, "Sister, this is a silent monastery. You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until I direct you to do so".
Sister Mary lived in the monastery for 5 years before the Priest said to her, "Sister Mary Katherine, you have been here for 5 years. You may speak two words."
Sister Mary said, "Hard bed."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the Priest said, "We will get you a better bed."
After another 5 years, Sister Mary was called by the Priest. "You may say another two words, Sister Mary Katherine.
"Cold food," said Sister Mary, and the Priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.
On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Priest again called Sister Mary into his office. "You may say two words today."
"I quit," said Sister Mary Katherine.
"It's probably best", said the Priest, "You've done nothing but bitch since you got here."
Math for Believers
Posted by zengrifter on 23-Nov-2005 00:38:00 (#14667)
Math for Believers: 'Deometry' is Hot Subject for Fall
Forget about isosceles triangles and the Pythagorean Theorem-they're square. The hottest trend in high-school math these days is deometry, the study of how the Creator created points, lines, angles, shapes and proofs. While critics decry the entry of religion into math class, fans of the new teaching method maintain that by giving God a primary role in geometry and other fields of mathematics, they are merely restoring balance to an area that has sought to remove all vestiges of religion from the public polygon.
'On the fourth day God created the triangle'
By Cole Walters
http://swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/08/math_for_believ.html
Scared me for a second (lol)
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 23-Nov-2005 03:16:47 (#14671)
Looking around the other articles... I liked the one about "Gay stem cells"
A good quote from the Simpsons
Posted by Sonny on 23-Nov-2005 09:59:11 (#14674)
"Prayer has no place in the public schools, just like facts have no place in organized religion."
-Sonny-
The Quote of the Century!!! (LOL) *NM*
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 23-Nov-2005 11:11:52 (#14676)
Sydney & Melbourne Info (for Revereman)
Posted by zengrifter on 23-Nov-2005 00:59:47 (#14670)
In Response To: Australia (revereman)
To: zengrifter
From: aussiecounter
As far as I know, these are the rules and conditions for the two cities you asked about:
Sydney, Star City Casino:
* 8 Decks
* Double on 9, 10 or 11.
* Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17)
* No surrender
* Split to 2 hands, including Aces
* One card only on split aces
* Double after split (DAS)
* Blackjack pays 3:2
* Insurance pays 2:1
* Dealer blackjack takes original and busted bets only (OBBO)
* Penetration of 50-87% but can vary between dealers
Melbourne, Crown Casino:
* 8 Decks
* Double on 9, 10 or 11.
* Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17)
* No surrender
* Split to 3 hands
* Aces split to 2 hands
* One card only on split aces
* Double after split (DAS)
* Blackjack pays 3:2
* Insurance pays 2:1
* Dealer blackjack takes original and busted bets only (OBBO)
* Penetration of 70-85% but can vary between dealers
Of the two, Crown is defininetly regarded as the better, and by a fair margin.
Thanks very much NT *NM*
Posted by revereman on 23-Nov-2005 10:47:05 (#14675)
Barfarkel interview online Friday night *LINK*
Posted by Barfarkel on 23-Nov-2005 04:26:10 (#14672)
Continuing in a long series of shameless self-promotions, I'll be interviewed on the Pat Benton Side Bets online radio show this coming Friday night. You'll have to tune in live because they don't yet archive their interviews. Here's how the blurb reads on the You've Got Heat website:
Listen to a live streaming interview with Barfarkel this coming Friday night November 25, 2005.
On your computer, tune in to Pat Benton's website at http://www.patbenton.com and click the big grey button on the bottom left which says: Click here to Listen to Pat Benton's Side Bets, Live! The interview with Barfarkel will last the better part of an hour and will start at 8:30 Pacific, 9:30 Mountain, 10:30 Central and 11:30 Eastern. See you there!
Note: You may have to download and install the Streamer software, which takes only a moment, then scan the listings of stations in the window to find and double-click "Pat Benton's Side Bets" show.
Cheers,
Barfarkel
Hey Barf...
Posted by zengrifter on 23-Nov-2005 22:19:38 (#14682)
...feel free to post something other than shameless promo once in awhile. zg
To get a human...
Posted by The Mayor on 23-Nov-2005 14:16:18 (#14677)
http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/
Thank you. I saved it and passed it on. *NM*
Posted by Easy Money on 23-Nov-2005 22:18:33 (#14681)
Happy Thanksgiving to all! *NM*
Posted by Learning to count on 24-Nov-2005 08:24:20 (#14683)
Photo of "The Count" from Sesame St with a BJ Player?
Posted by TwuntyWun on 24-Nov-2005 14:42:05 (#14684)
I remember seeing an old photo of a BJ player with "the Count" from Sesame Street standing behind him (and another SS character I think.) The caption said something like, "These guys need to work on their act" or someting. I can't remember where online I saw it or even who the BJ player was in the photo. If its still online, can someone point me to the link? I thought it was this site, but I can;t seem to find it. Thanks!
I tried unsuccessfully to locate it! *NM*
Posted by zengrifter on 06-Dec-2005 13:36:10 (#14800)
Where are...
Posted by Wongster on 24-Nov-2005 17:15:53 (#14685)
the SD games in Vegas? I found one at the Cortez. Is that it?
Single deck is almost extinct in Las Vegas *LINK*
Posted by LVBear584 on 24-Nov-2005 22:37:43 (#14687)
See Current Blackjack News.
The raggedy Western, the almost-as-bad El Cortez, a table or two at Vegas Club, and a couple of tables at Binion's. Only at Binion's can you get any reasonable amount of money down, but watch out for pref shuffling. Four Queens also has a single deck table, but uses a cut card and is very low roller -- no reasonable money can be bet. You want single deck? Go to Reno.
The Danger Zone
Posted by Hal Jordan on 27-Nov-2005 11:37:34 (#14702)
If SD is a must, beyond EC, you will need to travel further away from the "safety" of Neonopolis and rub shoulders with the aristocracy at the Western and the Gold Spike.
There are also two tables at the Four Queens, but they are often crowded.
I would take a closer look at DD. DD games have become a much healthier option in all areas concerned.
HJ
I've not been happy...
Posted by Brillo on 27-Nov-2005 21:01:59 (#14706)
with the deterioration of the Plaza's DD game. That game was the nuts despite sweat on Graveyard; I found Swing to be a great time to play. Anyone have any info on the DDs at the Klondike casinos? Is it comparable to downtown?
The Klondike? It's an insult to bears *LINK*
Posted by LVBear584 on 28-Nov-2005 00:36:19 (#14707)
Both Klondikes are ultra low-level grind joints. According to CBJN, the table max is only $200 at each store and the pen is a joke.
I haven't been to either Klondike in years, but I remember that the environment was terrible. Most patrons play coins, not chips. May as well play at the (cough, cough) Gold spike.
Checked out the SD games tonight...
Posted by Brillo on 30-Nov-2005 04:54:02 (#14736)
Vegas Club had one SD game open with a $25 minimum. I would imagine that game would be heat city. Binion's had 2, one at a $25 min the other at $15. 4 Queens had 1 game at $5. And then of course you had El Cortez and Western (where I played) with several tables at $3 minimum. I got better penetration at Western than Cortez, despite the drunk royal-match playing idiot who kept yelling at the dealer to shuffle after every hand.
The walk from the FS experience to the Western is safe. A cop will tail you part of the way since you will stick out like a sore thumb and he assumes you are there to buy drugs. Of course you will hear the obligatory question, "You straight homey, you straight?" several times during your journey.
I remember the Klondike
Posted by Sonny on 30-Nov-2005 15:46:05 (#14737)
I played there about 2 years ago. It has been the only place in my career where I got more heat from the dealer than the pit. He shuffled up on me for jumping my bet from $5 to $15. My spread was only $5-$30 but between the shallow pen and pref shuffling he wouldn't let me have any fun. He even chuckled when I split nines twice (to three hands) and lost them all. A real mean bastard.
The casino chips are a joke. The green ones are just plastic with crappy foil embossing - they don't even look real. They look like the cheap plastic ones they sell at GGC. The red chips are the standard Paulsons though.
You can check them out, but don't expect anything decent. Just a crappy DD NDAS 50% game with big heat.
-Sonny-
Hi
Posted by Stuart Wild on 24-Nov-2005 21:25:17 (#14686)
Hi all,
I am back in Georgia for a while leaving Vegas being sick of the
cocktail waitresses and all the sweeties and the rest of the manipulations I had to go through. It is becoming time that I get my interview in the vegas tribine. Zen would fully agree with that..lol
Really it is somewhat tough to live in Vegas being 6.4 feet. Camouflage betting makes almost no sense. I tried all the tricks but the result is that only Spike Casino allows me to play. It is no fun sitting between retarded people all night long. The Stork is spending the holiday in the deep south where inspiration is a source of creativity. My book is going to be a laughter.
Well the Stork is a life and almost send back to Holland by immigration. Sitting in a bus while border control was entering the bus. Are you an american citizen sir? Yes I am(not) Even more than that. I am the new forest gump of this country where the word freedom has to be re-invented, stocked as many people are by the definition of what freedom is. Move around, make your bet and keep fishing in that ocean of mathematical possibilities. See you soon back in Vegas.
My special love to Zen and Barfarkel.
The Stork.
How about an interview here?
Posted by Brillo on 25-Nov-2005 18:14:08 (#14689)
I would say that the interviews with Zen and Bear have been the most enjoyable reads on this site.
I would be happy to fullfill those needs...lol
Posted by Stuart Wild on 26-Nov-2005 10:56:30 (#14697)
To anyone who wants to take the interview,you could contact me through Zen or me in person. I would call Zen my personal manager....lol
Seeking Update CBJN vs. Trackjack *LINK*
Posted by zengrifter on 25-Nov-2005 18:15:36 (#14690)
CBJN vs. Trackjack? I would like some current recon/comparison on the two competing services. Is one necessarily better than the other? zg
Ps - great expos'e video below.
Comparison
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 26-Nov-2005 03:19:11 (#14696)
OK you commie ass...
CBJN- seems to have a much more developed network of reporters. Changes in stores around the US are all listed up front, and apparently promptly.
Trackjack- has a lot more features. There's a place for each store where people can post trip reports. There's more info on sidebets, shuffle method, and variation on penetration. Pen is defined as an average with +/-, whereas CBJN is just the average. I'd rather know what the best dealer in the house is cutting to, not the average. It's also sortable. CBJN is also sortable if you take it in Excel format, but then you have to be an Excel jock.
With all the features of Trackjack, it's still hard to beat CBJN's network of very reliable people supplying the data. If you combined the two, you'd have the best tool. Both services have errors, and the data from the small and out-of-the-way venues can be years old. All the data from Vegas is good, being there are just so many people playing there. For a guy like you who uses all kinds of advanced techniques, the extra information in the Trackjack listings would probably be worth the $10 a month. For a guy like me who grinds and travels to games in odd places, the higher accuracy of CBJN is worthwhile. If I were a pro I wouldn't hesitate to take both.
CBJN
Posted by Hal Jordan on 27-Nov-2005 11:31:20 (#14701)
I agree with AM.
There were too many inaccuracies with Trackjack (though I did love their format)when I subscribed. My main complaint was that whenever I asked about these weaknesses I was run over with all of the constant controversy regarding T-Man and them. I just wanted decent customer service and instead I would find myself involved with drama that I am not at all interested in.
HJ
I wish it could be discussed.
Posted by Titaniumman on 27-Nov-2005 17:48:38 (#14703)
There were too many inaccuracies with Trackjack (though I did love their format)when I subscribed. My main complaint was that whenever I asked about these weaknesses I was run over with all of the constant controversy regarding T-Man and them. I just wanted decent customer service and instead I would find myself involved with drama that I am not at all interested in.
The merits and lack thereof of both services should be discussed.
It should be done without the "personal controversy".
I would welcome such a discussion and would only contribute relevant information about the two services without the mudslinging. If other parties would do so as well, we could have a meaningful discussion.
My thoughts...
Posted by The Mayor on 27-Nov-2005 19:33:01 (#14704)
Those who would be in the position to objectively comment on CBJN or Trackjack are those who have recently used the services as patrons, have carried the information into the practical world of casinos, and can comment on their comparative results using each service.
If you have used either recently, and can comment directly on your experience with it in a casino environment, or those issues you had with the service as you tried to use it, then I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
My question to you, T-man, is when is the last time you used CBJN? What was your reaction to it? What were its weaknesses? What were its strenghts? What could be improved with CBJN? I would be very interested to have you comment solely on CBJN.
Thanks,
--Mayor
As you wish.
Posted by Titaniumman on 28-Nov-2005 10:19:03 (#14709)
I have kept a continuous, automatically renewing subscription to CBJN for several years.
I'm at work now, but I will be happy to give a detailed report on my take of CBJN's performance this evening.
Nevermind, Eliot. Frankly, you've got some nerve.
Posted by Titaniumman on 28-Nov-2005 20:27:43 (#14715)
In your post entitled "My thoughts...", you state:
If you have used either recently, and can comment directly on your experience with it in a casino environment, or those issues you had with the service as you tried to use it, then I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
and:
My question to you, T-man, is when is the last time you used CBJN? What was your reaction to it? What were its weaknesses? What were its strenghts? What could be improved with CBJN? I would be very interested to have you comment <u>solely</u> on CBJN.
I have had a continually, automatically re-newing subscription to CBJN for several years. I still have it. I have also made contributions to it. I could probably provide the most in depth evaluation of CBJN that anyone could since I carefully compared it to trackjack on almost a daily basis for a year and a half as any newspaper editor would compare his competitors' papers to his own.
I was prepared to grant your request until I read this in your post entitled "My opinions...":
When Trackjack first started I got one of the free 3 month subscriptions, and even contributed a report. But, that was the last time I used it.
Well Eliot, I have had a paid subscription to trackjack more recently than you, but you permit yourself to comment on it but not me.
Do you think you are right to try to say who is allowed to comment on topics and who is not?
an aside...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 28-Nov-2005 20:54:56 (#14716)
T-man... we've had our share of exchanges that have always been polite and informative. I read Mayor's request, and interpreted it as:
"T-man, please comment on CBJN. I already know what you think of trackjack, you've been very explicit in the past and there's no need to rehash a subject that is obviously painful for you..."
I didn't take it as him saying to not comment on TJ, I took it to mean "no need to comment as we all know your opinion there already..."
At least in my reading it wasn't meant to be controlling nor insulting. That was merely my take of course... YMMV and all that...
keep up the good work otherwise...
Well, SSR
Posted by Titaniumman on 28-Nov-2005 21:08:19 (#14718)
If that's Eliot's meaning or anything near to it, then I owe him an apology.
Let's see what he has to say. If so, I'll make my apology in the form of writing a report on CBJN as he requested.
Thanks for the effort.
-T-
thanks...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 29-Nov-2005 09:54:38 (#14726)
I've told you in the past that I consider you a valuable member of the BJ-AP community with much to offer those of us with less experience (such as myself, for one example). And with you, I don't have to worry about getting ripped for making a typo or spelling error. :)
So keep it up...
-ssr
Probably for the best
Posted by The Mayor on 28-Nov-2005 21:00:40 (#14717)
>Do you think you are right to try to say who is allowed to comment on topics and who is not?
It is my honest wish that you (and others) share your opinions about how these services fair for the consumer in the field who is actually using them. That, after all, is the only way of measuring their current worth to the consumer. I hope you will share your recent experiences using either service in a practical casino environment.
I only wish that this discussion will help the consumer make a fair appraisal of what service would be best for him, and that means how they work for people who have used them recently in the field.
With best wishes,
--Mayor
Apologies. Report on CBJN being written. *NM*
Posted by Titaniumman on 28-Nov-2005 21:24:00 (#14719)
Looking forward to it, and...
Posted by The Mayor on 28-Nov-2005 21:41:17 (#14722)
I am with ZG on this one, his request is a good one. We need some reviews of these products in their present form by current users.
With best wishes,
Eliot
A Report on CBJN
Posted by Titaniumman on 28-Nov-2005 22:12:39 (#14723)
Excuse the munching sound in the background. That's just me eating a little humble pie.
I've had CBJN for a very long time. I have used it countless times, and have found it to be quite accurate. On the first and second day of each month, the Las Vegas reporters each take their section of the city, and personally review all of the casinos' blackjack conditions.
On the third day of the month, the new edition of CBJN is published. It contains a fresh conditions update of all of Vegas. It also contains the conditions of all areas of the North American continent. Some of these areas may not have a fresh report for the month, but the report indicates the last month in which the area was refreshed.
Stanford does publish a list of areas for which he needs a report, and he publishes how much he is willing to pay. He does advise subscribers to write him first to makes sure that nobody else has already taken the assignment.
Of course, the games list min & max bets, how many tables, how many decks are used, all of the rules such as if re-splitting pairs, re-splitting aces, upon what hands doubling down is allowed, etc. How the game is dealt and how it is shuffled is noted.
Penetration is described by how many decks to one decimal place (tenths of a deck) are cut off.
Special options are listed.
Of course, conditions change, and some things change very quickly such as number of tables and minimum bets allowed. Penetration will almost always vary. These are things the player has to verify on his own, along with those special opportunities that Eliot hinted about.
Every game that has changed since the last report has an indicator in the left margin. If the change is good for the player, the indicator is a plus sign. If it's bad for the player, a minus sign is used. A neutral change is designated by an asterisk.
Another nice feature is that there is a summary report each month describing all of the games that have changed, so if you see an indicator sign, you can look up what changed.
Probably the worst feature about CBJN is that there is only one report date for each small area. So, if a group has 15 games, and only 13 were updated, the report date is still the same for the other two games. Stanford is very clear about this policy.
I like the fact that there is a listing of all the reporters, and that if you find an error, you can discuss it with the reporter right there on CBJN.
CBJN is available in download, hardcopy, and right on the site. It is available in Excel so that you can set up your own sorting.
A very reputable Greenchipper rates the SCORE of the best games in Vegas based off of CBJN a couple of days or so after the latest edition comes out on the Greenchip Las Vegas page.
For the year and a half that I was editor of the other service, everytime I made an update, I compared it to CBJN. I never copied CBJN, but anytime I saw a significant difference in the two services, I investigated the difference on my own. I have to admit that the errors I found in CBJN were extremely few, and when I encountered them, I possessed a secret joy that I was right and such a reliable service was wrong.
Last December, I sat in a restaurant in Vegas with Stanford Wong, LVBear, and another advantage player. The un-named player told Stanford about an idea of a different subscriber service about a different game he had in mind. Stanford remarked that he did not think that the service would have a big enough customer base to develop an adequate customer loyalty to make the service profitable no matter how good the service was. The player asked for an elaboration about customer loyalty. I told him how, due to my geographical location, it would probably be a wiser economical decision for me to just buy a month's report whenever I needed CBJN, but that I maintained a constant subscription to help support such a fine service.
Last Spring, I was playing in an area, and found that the report for that area was not completely accurate. I listed the discrepancies and emailed them to Stanford. Stanford has a reporter for that area, and I did not expect to be paid for the report, but Stanford sent me a check for the full amount that he pays for that area anyway.
I hope this report benefits many of the readers, and also makes up for my earlier display of temper.
-T-
good report!
Posted by stainless steel rat on 29-Nov-2005 09:52:08 (#14725)
I knew your feelings about the "other service". Having your thoughts about this one is very useful.
Probably the only quibble with any of these is that a one-month interval can sometimes be a lifetime. For example, the plaza DD games going from pitch to shoe overnight (not that a shoe is bad, but if it has a cut card notch, it tends to standardize penetration moreso than a real hand-held game). But a good report at least provides a starting point, although I must confess that friends and I have looked at such reports, found what appeared to be a "no-play" joint but walked in to find a very playable game sitting there waiting. It is hard to figure out if (a) it was bad when reviewed but was changed to a better game; (b) the reviewer just got bad dealers with poor pen, when other dealers were better but not observed; (c) the reviewer just didn't want to list a good game and risk it getting burned out.
I suppose any of the above are possible, depending on the circumstances?
Thanks! Great review! *NM*
Posted by The Mayor on 29-Nov-2005 09:55:00 (#14727)
My opinions...
Posted by The Mayor on 28-Nov-2005 10:56:32 (#14710)
When Trackjack first started I got one of the free 3 month subscriptions, and even contributed a report. But, that was the last time I used it. I have always thought it has great potential. But, its ultimate value is its practical application for those in the field, and I would definitely appreciate an update from someone who has used it recently.
I have used CBJN a number of times, but find its main value is to keep me from travelling long distances to remote casinos with very poor games. As far as Las Vegas (Strip & Downtown), walking has always worked best for me. I can have a list of the top casinos in my hand, but I still seem to ignore it as I walk. Conditions are always changing, most games have dealer dependent penetration, how crowded the tables are is not listed, and you will never find those *special* opportunities if you look for them in CBJN, Trackjack (or anywhere else).
--Mayor
Early on I thought Trackjack ('TJ') would be a cinch because...
Posted by zengrifter on 29-Nov-2005 03:00:25 (#14724)
... it could rely on CBJN Excel for the initial 'spade-work' and then a small# of reporters would work WITH the TJ subscribers to maintain the info.
Ultimately the TJ users weren't interested in updating the info, which with TJ would be instantaneous-interactive.
I was hoping to hear that TJ had improved.
Even in the case of CBJN the info is NOT reliable, as often positive changes remain "under-wraps" for some time, especially in the red-chip games.
Slots 'o Fun 2D is but one example. 3mos after that game switched to s17 it was not reported... and the pene from half the swing-shift dealers exceeds 66%, some greatly, and its got LLadies! zg
Any NLV dives worth playing at?
Posted by Brillo on 25-Nov-2005 18:21:30 (#14691)
I'm talking about places arguably worse than the Western, like Poker Palace and Opera House. Is there any reason to venture to this part of town? I ask because I've never been there, though I did summon the courage to park at the Speedway casino and found a dealer who paid me $44 for a $22 BJ. Funny thing was a floorlady was watching the game a didn't say a word.
Not worth playing
Posted by Stuart Wild on 26-Nov-2005 15:35:39 (#14698)
Hi Brillo,
I have checked those places out and it is not worth playing. No penetration at all and without that you are playing a minor.
You should go to Spike casino. They have a 2 dollar minimum game. It is a joint where new dealers get their education. The table security is nothing else than a record devicer and the pitbosses not really concerned or aware of what is going on. The penetration is about 60 sometimes 70 percent, and the audiance contains the result of what the Fremond experience is doing towards believers .
LOL
Be good,
Stuart
I've been to the Spike...
Posted by Brillo on 27-Nov-2005 07:40:21 (#14700)
I love it all, except for the smoke. Even the pit boss is smoking right inside that rinky-dink pit.
The Spike
Posted by BlackJackHack on 28-Nov-2005 06:59:05 (#14708)
Could I spread from $100 to $500 at SD? Would that get me a coffe shop comp, or a quick boot?
Table limits $2-$50 *NM*
Posted by Shaggy18VW on 28-Nov-2005 15:06:20 (#14712)
Spike has no single deck, and I don't think it has a coffee shop you'd eat at
Posted by LVBear584 on 28-Nov-2005 17:52:34 (#14713)
According to CBJN, the table max on double deck is now a "whopping" $100.
I remember a story told by a friend who will remain nameless, unless he happens to read this and wants to identify himself.
In his early red-chip days, he was actually STAYING at the Gold Spike. He received a comp for a snack bar meal; took a look at the snack bar, and decided to pay for a meal elsewhere. On his way out, a bum asked him for money. My friend offered to give the bum the free snack bar coupon. The bum looked at the coupon and handed it back to my friend, saying, "I'm hungry, but not THAT hungry."
The "friend"
Posted by Parker on 28-Nov-2005 20:11:02 (#14714)
The "friend" was none other than yours truly, and that's exactly what happened.
It used to be that the Spike wasn't a bad place to stay if your action wasn't sufficient to get rooms comped. Rooms went for $22/night, weekends included, and they threw in the aforementioned coupon for a free breakfast at the snack bar. Remember, this was long before you could find discounted rooms with online tools such as Travelaxe.
The rooms were nothing fancy, but clean and well-maintained, much nicer than what the casino would lead you to expect. If you really felt like splurging, you could get a suite for $36/night.
Cushy digs for a lowly red chip bettor. Ah, those were the days! :-)
I almost stayed there once...
Posted by The Mayor on 29-Nov-2005 11:42:19 (#14728)
The early days.
In 1996 I had a room reservation at the GS ($22 sounds about right), sight unseen, flying in from Ohio. I arrived there around 11PM, looked at the room (and more importantly, the flimsy doors), and walked out. I took a cab from the Spike over to the the Las Vegas Club and got a room for $45.
I have never eaten at the GS, but from what I understand, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring its food as a possible weapon of mass destruction.
You took a cab three blocks?
Posted by LVBear584 on 29-Nov-2005 12:15:29 (#14729)
I took a cab from the Spike over to the the Las Vegas Club and got a room for $45.
I'm surprised you could get a cab at the Spike. How much did the three-block cab ride cost? :>)
shoot...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 29-Nov-2005 14:35:00 (#14731)
when we were out there in late June for the 4th, my wife wanted to take a cab from the MGM lobby to the parking deck. :) Seems everywhere we walked on the street, people were shoving cards with pictures of naked women into my hands (never into my wife's however. :) )
One time in Tunica...
Posted by The Mayor on 29-Nov-2005 19:50:23 (#14734)
I was at one of the Hotels in Tunica and I forget where I parked my car. I asked the cab to drive me around the lot until we found my car. It took about 15 seconds, and was only about 50 feet away 8-)
In the old days when you could bring your gun
Posted by Learning to count on 29-Nov-2005 20:23:18 (#14735)
in your luggage. We used to walk from the Western to the LVC. It did not matter because we looked like the predators on the street anyway. Gotta live on the edge sometimes!
First SD I ever played in Las Vegas
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 29-Nov-2005 12:33:19 (#14730)
It was only a $50 table, a bit below my bankroll but I wanted to play it as a warmup because I'm always playing shoe. The biggest scumbag in the place was the dealer. He had a swastika tattooed on his hand, looked like a prison tattoo. I don't know, can you get a gaming license if you've been in prison or a known neo-Nazi?
At the table with me was a young counter wearing a tall hat marked UCSD. Very talented guy. We were talking semi-openly, and I remember our play deviating on an insurance bet, probably because I was counting ace-neutral. Saved me an insurance bet, but other than that my variance was quite bad, walked out down $500 but up a smile. I didn't eat there but I did have a drink. It was mediocre.
I have played the Spike and the fab Western!
Posted by Victoria on 29-Nov-2005 15:18:50 (#14732)
But I did not play there solo.
On my first trip to Vegas as an AP, shortly after my uncle had taught me to count, we went to Vegas together. We were staying at a mid sized strip casino but my uncle decided to take me on what he called his alternative Vegas tour.
I was also my first real single deck outing. We played at 4 or 5 places downtown. Nothing much happened at the Spike except the characters there were quite colorful but apparantly harmless. On the way to the Western I remember my uncle saying that the Western is where the Spike customers land up when they are off their meds. I had a hoot at the Western, being a woman just out of college means I was a little different than most of their customers (I hope) and this pit guy was being so nice to me and for about an hour and a half, I got away with a $5-$50 spread before leaving with about $750 of their money. Some old guy, missing a few teeth at the table, turned to me and said, "sweety two things you should know; do not stay here when it gets dark and definately don't eat here."
The one place with a bad rep that I have returned to solo was the El Cortez. I feel it is better than its rep.
I ate at the Western...and lived!
Posted by Sonny on 30-Nov-2005 16:05:57 (#14738)
> On the way to the Western I remember my uncle saying that the Western is
> where the Spike customers land up when they are off their meds.
Ha! That's so true! I'll have to remember that one.
> Some old guy, missing a few teeth at the table, turned to me and
> said, "sweety two things you should know; do not stay here when it gets dark
> and definately don't eat here."
I've had a few comped meals there several years ago. They had a darn good pastrami sandwich and the pit boss said the food was usually pretty good. I haven't seen their cafeteria lately. I would think that Barrick had fixed it up, but maybe not. I'm usually in such a hurry to get out of there with my winnings that I don't stay to eat!
Long Live the Western!
-Sonny-
another view...
Posted by stainless steel rat on 30-Nov-2005 16:40:40 (#14739)
My wife has a policy:
"if the manager's shoe size is larger than the health department inspection number, I ain't eating there..."
:)
In the men's room at the Western
Posted by Automatic Monkey on 30-Nov-2005 19:17:52 (#14740)
A toilet stall is my office when I'm out playing because I can do whatever I want in there with no cameras. Now I use this money pouch that's worn over the pelvis such that no one could get the money out of there without putting himself in a position where I could knock his head off. I never go down there in view of anyone; the money comes out and goes back in only in a toilet stall.
So I had just cashed out $2K in black at the Western, and I go into the toilet to stow the money, and you know how filthy and crowded that bathroom is. There are a couple of old queens in there. They see me walk into a stall, hear me open my pants, fiddle about down there, then walk out smiling. They just stared at me, eyes and mouth open, and oh my God I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Still, that part of Downtown is cleaner and less dangerous than Atlantic City.
Are u serious? LOL!!! *NM*
Posted by SpiderMan on 30-Nov-2005 19:22:21 (#14741)
LOL :)
Posted by V-man on 02-Dec-2005 12:26:40 (#14758)
>I have never eaten at the GS, but from what I understand, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring its food as a possible weapon of mass destruction.
LOL:) This is really funny.
Rate of play
Posted by Felix Rue-de-Guerre on 29-Nov-2005 19:41:10 (#14733)
Another thing about the GS. They usually deal at a frustratingly low Hands-per rate. It seems to be more of a break-in joint then even the W.
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