Tweet Of The Week 0
Posted on
May 07, 2010 by
Marc
Round Up From East and West 2
Posted on
February 19, 2010 by
Marc
I haven’t done a round up in a while because there hasn’t been much news that I haven’t had time to touch on. In the past couple of weeks that has changed. Here are a slew of stories from Atlantic City to Las Vegas and a little in between.
- MGM Mirage and Sands reported earnings this week. The Las Vegas Sun says things may be improving for casinos in Las Vegas.
- When reporting earnings, MGM Mirage lessened the value of their land in Atlantic City.
- A Federal judge looks at two plans for Trump Casinos in Atlantic City.
- Evidently the Eden Bar at Harrah’s is the best bar to find “cougars.”
- Philly.com looks at the Pennsylvania casinos. I’m told table games are coming in August.
- Interesting thought. Is Harrah’s too big?
- Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood is closing.
- The Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesars Palace is closing. I did find out that it’s moving to Paris. Props to Five Hundy By Midnight.
- I haven’t been to Luxor in a while. Evidently, it’s been remodeled and is underwhelming.
- Stiffs and Georges has jumped in front of the rest as my regularly updated go-to blog. Short, quick, accurate casino & gambling news from across the US.
Round Em Up 0
Posted on
January 20, 2010 by
Marc
There have been quite a few articles over the past few weeks that I haven’t had time to comment on, but I’d like to pass on anyway. Commentary will be kept to a minimum here as always with a round up.
- Caesars Palace may be completing the Octavious Tower this year. Las Vegas could use jobs, but does the hotel market need more room inventory?
- Wizard Of Odds has a new video poker game to play with when your bored called Turbo Poker. I spent a few minutes on it and wasn’t into it.
- New Jersey may be getting legal sports betting. This is going to legislation. We’ll see.
- Sweet tour and look at a duplex at Encore on Vegas Tripping. The apartment is awesome, but something I don’t think I’d pay for. I’d rather gamble.
- Vegas Today and Tomorrow has some pictures of the new HRH lobby. Like Aria, looks nice but dark.
- Caesars Palace launches iPhone app. I have it. Not sure I need it, but it’s a nice try. If you’re looking for a Las Vegas app you’re better off spending a few bucks on Vegas Mate.
- Finally if you weren’t aware, Richard Abowitz, formally of the LA Times “Movable Buffet” has a new blog called Gold Plated Door. Same great writing.
Finally, the Jets are in the AFC championship game this weekend against the Colts. Here’s video of Shonn Green’s touchdown that ended the game last week against the Chargers. 14 seconds in you’ll see a nice “tribute” to LT.
Go Jets!!
Best Of Vegas: New Slots 1
Posted on
December 18, 2009 by
Marc
New Slots Offer Big Payoffs
The allure of a slot machine is hard to pass up, especially for amateur gamers. Whether it’s the music, their brightly colored facades, or the ringing and spinning of the machine’s gears, playing the slots is easy and addictive! Unlike poker you don’t need to know the various card combinations, and slots are readily available throughout the Las Vegas hotels and casinos. Plus, you can find slots as cheap as a penny a pop! In last month’s Global Gaming Expo, there were plenty of new machines on display that will soon be making their way into the casinos. One of those great new games involves a colorful slot machine from the hit television series Sex and the City.
As can be expected, the machine is very girly. It’s covered in pink and the pictures on the slots involve pearl necklaces, stiletto shoes in leopard print boxes, and sparkling hearts. While you play the machine, you get to listen to the HBO series’ trademark theme song, which is sure to be a hit with the ladies but might be annoying to the guys. The point of this machine, however, isn’t the flash or the theme—it’s a special feature that will allow players a chance to win some money because of better odds.
Usually, slot machines have a 40-100 spin bonus pay off, but with the Sex and the City machine and the new slots coming soon will be giving players bonus wins ever 25 spins or so. While this doesn’t always win back everything you spend, and the Sex and the City machine has a minimum of $2 per spin, it has enough bells, whistles and appeal to get plenty of gamers to try their luck!
Michael Shackleford, a slot machine programmer, told The Las Vegas Sun, “The trend in the industry is all about making returns on the bonuses and making them hit more frequently, it’s all about waiting for the next bonus.”
Could we be seeing other slot machines like these in casinos at Caesars Palace and the Venetian? We’re guessing it depends on the success of the Sex and the City machine. But if the initial buzz is any indication of these slot’s future, you can expect a lot of them to pop up in your favorite casino soon!
Palazzo and Venetian Blackjack 1
Posted on
December 02, 2009 by
Marc
A little more research for my trip to Las Vegas brings me to blackjack.
Blackjack on the Las Vegas strip over the past couple of years has gone from paying out 3:2 to 6:5 for blackjack in many casinos. For example; the Harrah’s properties seem to exclusively only pay out 6:5 on blackjack.
I look for any advantage I can get so I look for 3:2 blackjack.
On a small scale this isn’t much of a big deal, but the house edge increases about 1.5% when only paying out 6:5. One of the reasons people play blackjack is that the house edge is so small that money lasts for a while.
You can check house edge based on different rules with the calculator on Wizard of Odds.
Sometimes to offset a 3:2 blackjack game casinos will use a continuous shuffling machine (CSM). I don’t like playing these kind of tables because every hand is like the first hand being dealt from a shoe. There is no counting cards with a CSM and no predictability of the upcoming cards. I don’t count cards, but I pay attention to face cards and usually know when the deck is heavy or light with face cards.
Until this research I thought the CSM decreased player odds a lot. I never looked at the math behind a CSM. The CSM actually decreases house advantage. This surprised me, but it’s hard to argue with the math. This only changes my mind a little. I still don’t want to play a game with a CMS, but with this knowledge I hate it a little less.
On to my research for my house casino(s) – Palazzo and Venetian. I found that they both have plenty of blackjack that is hand hand shuffled and dealt from a shoe and pays 3:2. After my last trip where I saw only 6:5 games at Caesars Palace this is nice to see. I didn’t play any blackjack on that trip. Onward and upward!
Waking Up In Vegas – Katy Perry Strip Club Mix? 2
Posted on
September 28, 2009 by
Marc
EMI doesn’t allow for embedding of the original “Waking Up In Vegas” video. I found this remix of Katy Perry’s song on YouTube for this post. It’s not a great remix, but Katy Perry is still in the video so who can complain? She’s easy to look at.
I heard this song the other day and thought the subject would make for a fun post. What do you do when you wake up in Vegas? I usually do one of a two things…
I’m an early riser no matter what time I go to sleep. I’m always the first awake no matter who I travel with.
