Gambling and Casino Talk from Las Vegas to Atlantic City

East Coast Gambler -



ECG Week In Review 0

Posted on July 12, 2009 by The Commander

A new feature for ECG is a simple roundup of posts made for the week.  This is a nice easy way to find posts for the whole week in one easy to read post.  If you’ve signed up for email or the RSS feed in the middle column this will hopefully make your time spent on ECG a little more efficient.   For a change there will be no added commentary.  No BS.  Just the news.  I hope you enjoy.

New Jersey Casinos Versus Horse Racing

Casinos on Twitter

Now Fly From Toronto To Atlantic City

World Series of Poker (WSOP) Turns People Away

Connecticut Tribes Teaming Up on Poor Atlantic City

Rounding Up Pennsylvania

Atlantic City Fireworks

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New Jersey Casinos Versus Horse Racing 6

Posted on July 10, 2009 by The Commander

Gambling in New Jersey is a mess.  Competition from other states and the recession are tearing things apart.  Beyond that the government can’t get casinos and horse racing tracks to even acknowledge each other.  Both are in different states of chaos and are, seemingly, not willing to work together for the greater good.

Representatives of the longtime rival industries couldn’t even agree on what to discuss Wednesday at a meeting of a new commission charged with saving the state’s four horse racing tracks.

Track officials wanted to talk about “racinos,” the electronic betting parlors that have been introduced at 36 race tracks in 15 states since 1995. However, Joseph Fusco, a spokesman for the Casino Association of New Jersey, spoke for 20 minutes at the meeting without even mentioning the word.

Senator Jennifer Beck puts the situation in the right context.

“It’s not horse racing versus casinos,” state Sen. Jennifer Beck, of Red Bank, reminded members at Wednesday’s meeting of the Governor’s Commission on the Horse Racing Industry. “It’s New Jersey versus Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New York.”

Ultimately, it should not be up to casinos to save the horse racing in New Jersey.  The better the industry does as a whole, the more revenue gaming will take in and more money the state will receive.  This will lead to taxes being raised less on residents.  With that being said it should be on the government to put the two segments of the industry together and have them produce a winning solution for both the consumer and for the state.

I’m not one for racinos because they don’t provide enough of the escape I want when I take a trip to a casino.  Racinos in New Jersey would do a few things:

  1. Bring people out to horse racing.
  2. Increase race track revenues.
  3. Force casinos to increase what they offer consumers – better restaurants, better table odds, nicer rooms.

All of this is good for the consumer.  It would increase gambling “product.”  Potentially it would increase gaming revenues to the government because of easier access.  It would force casinos to upgrade across the board.  Casinos will complain because this will cost money in the short term.  In the long term Atlantic City casinos that upgrade will have a much better product to offer consumers.  Possibly at higher prices than they can charge today.

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Caesars Atlantic City Report – Drinkin n Gamblin 6

Posted on June 22, 2009 by The Commander

As I’ve mentioned in my trip notes I traveled with more friends than normal.  This led to a little more variety in my trip, which was great.  I left my home base a little more than I normally do and I drank a little more than I normally do.

My main drink of choice was Grey Goose and (Club) Soda.  That hits me a little differently than beer or wine.  One thing I noticed is that the Toga Bar at Caesars Atlantic City makes a fantastic drink.  I would enjoy the Toga Bar often.  It was nice, but sometimes dangerous.  On to the wrap up…

Thursday

I arrived in Atlantic City in the early evening and after dropping my bags in my awesome Centurion room I headed down to the casino for my first Grey Goose/Soda.  It tasted great and was a nice start to the night.  After the drink I headed to play some blackjack.  The dealer was a riot and after a couple more drinks I left up about $40.  I decided to have another drink at the Toga Bar before heading to the Borgata to meet some more friends at Old Homestead.  (Food reviews are here).

After sharing some wine at dinner I headed right to the awesome giant Wheel of Fortune.  I only got one spin and my initial $20 went quickly.  I lost the rest of my friends and proceeded to wander around the casino.  I decided to pass the time by playing another nickel Wheel of Fortune game.  No spins on this game and I lost another $20 from my cash back.  I was found after I began to play 9/6 Jacks or better where I was minus $12.50.  I finally settled in to a blackjack table.  It was a $10 table with one big timer betting anywhere from $25 to $200.  I proceeded to have about 8 more Grey Goose and Sodas in the 2+ hour, up and down, session.  Needless to say I was not sober by the end of the session.  It was a blast and I only lost $20.  I’m pretty sure that I was tipping $5 for each drink, so I was probably up a little from the gambling.  I tried to cash my chips and head back to Caesars, but the lines were huge so I kept the chips and grabbed a cab.  Looking back, I don’t remember the cab ride back.  I do remember struggling back to my room and missing the key in the door.  Once I got to my room all hell broke loose.  I don’t recall feeling sick, but I ended up vomiting in the sink.  It wasn’t a pretty sight.  I haven’t had this happen since my stay at the Showboat last year.  Hey, it happens.  I passed out right after a little clean up.

Friday

After room service and a lot of coffee I headed over to Bally’s bright and early.  The casino was empty and my friends and I got a table to ourselves.  We each bought in for $200.  I think I won two hands dealt, which was the most at the table.  We decided to bail after we each lost the $100.  I then headed over to my favorite cheap (2 cents) slot – Golden Monkey.  I proceeded to lose $185 ($65 comps!).  Not a single bonus round.  On my way back to Caesars I stopped off at another penny slot – Lucky Luigi.  That was another $100 down the tube.  Rough start to the day.

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I headed back to Caesars after the awful start a Ballys  and went to the high limits area.  I gave the $2 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker.  It was a slow bleed, but after a while of up and down I ended up losing $300.  I saw a Quick Hits Platinum slot machine and decided to play that after I lost at video poker.  I’ve played this game, but only the five cent version.  The $5 game was not very kind to me, but after losing on penny machines it really didn’t both me.  Losing at 9/6 JOB bothers me more.

It was a rough start to the day and I needed a break.  I took a walk around the casino then grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back to the room to relax a bit.

coffee

The rest of the gambling day was a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty certain it was close to even.  There were quite a few more trips to the Toga Bar for Grey Goose and Sodas in the evening and a few stops at random video poker machines, but the gambling is a blur.

Saturday

Saturday was the day where I hit my limit on these stupid penny slots.  I have friends that play them like old ladies and their fun usually allows me to have fun with them.  Some are fun, but not all.  After playing a variety of games I decided that I’m only playing penny slots when I’m alone and feel the fun.  It’s easy to get carried away when playing with others.

Finally on to some positive gambling!  I hit the $2 9/6 game again and finished up $100 and won almost $300 on the Belmont Stakes.  After a fun dinner and lots of Sangria at Cuba Libre I headed over to the Borgata and finished up another $300 while playing 3 card poker.  I was up more, but the table hit a cold streak.  The Borgata was packed, but not many people were gambling.  It was all good with me, because the parade of mini skirts was nice.

One think I noticed is that girls in Atlantic City can walk in heels unlike most of the girls in Las Vegas.

I headed back to Caesars, which was even more crowded than Borgata, and played one last penny slot.  That put the nail in the coffin for those games.  It was a fitting end to the day.

Sunday

Sunday was off to an ok start.  I was up and down for a long while on the $2 Jacks or Better machine.  I couldn’t get a royal to save my life.  After a while everything just ended quickly.  On the way out of the High Limits area I stopped at the reel Quick Hits slot and lost $300 pretty quickly.  Right at the exit there was a $1 50-play Bonus Poker machine.  I wanted to play this for a while, and with someone next to the machine receiving a handpay I went for it.  BAD IDEA.

Overall

Overall, my gambling ended up just under even.  That isn’t too bad, but I am really surprised with how poorly the 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker treated me.  That will turn around in the future.  My luck with slots will turn around because I definitely won’t be playing as many low limit slots.

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Vegas Report – Saturday Morning 0

Posted on May 11, 2009 by The Commander

There isn’t much sleeping in Vegas and Friday night into Saturday morning was no exception.  I was up and out, again, by 7am.  I hate being an early riser.  Again, I headed down to Payards for a cup of coffee and croissant and email check.  Since it was Saturday there was a lot less sitting around.

Instead of starting my day off with penny slots I went to $1 8/5 Jacks or Better video poker.  I played for a while, but as I finished my cup of coffee I’d lost the last of my $100.  Then it was straight to the big boy $5 slot machines.  I was feeling confident after winning all day Friday.  I played a variety of games including Top Dollar one of my favorites.  After a few minutes I was down $700.  That’s the nature of the high limit slots.  I walked away tail between my legs and went to play some low limit slots.  After another $50 I decided that I needed a break and headed back to the room to recoup.

I relaxed a bit and waited for my friend to clean up before heading down to the Augustus Cafe for lunch.  I had a sour dough grilled cheese and chocolate chip shake.  Both were really good, but I think I had about 3 sips too much of my shake.  

Afterwards I decided to check out the Diamond Lounge to grab a drink.  I read that the Diamond Lounges in Vegas are different than the lounges in Atlantic City.  The real difference here was the lack of hot foods.  The staff was very nice and the service was great.  One addition in this lounge was a wall of computers.  I took a few minutes to catch up on my fantasy baseball teams (still first place!).  After watching the Kentucky Derby it was time to head over to the Mirage for my tickets to view the Manny Pacquiao & Ricky Hatton fight…

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Kentucky Derby! 0

Posted on April 28, 2009 by The Commander

I don’t follow horse racing too much, but I always pay attention to the Triple Crown races.  This weekend will be no different with the Kentucky Derby taking place.  

 Horse Betting at sportsbook.com

 I usually make an exacta wager or two on the Kentucky Derby.  This year I’ll probably add a couple of long shots to the exacta mix.  Unlike most years I’ll get a magazine and study up on my flight out to Vegas.  

Click the ad above to place your bets on the race.  There are a slew of odd prop bets that are too far above my knowledge to get into.  I never thought I’d see a bet I couldn’t handle.  That time has finally come.  To each their own!

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