East Coast Gambler

It’s been a while since I’ve checked VPFree for video poker pay tables.  I’ll be staying on the boardwalk for the first time since last summer, so I figured that I should take a whirl.  Most of the pay tables look the same, but there are a few updates.

For this update I only included casinos that I’ll likely visit on this trip.  Head over to vpFREE for pay tables on all casinos anywhere.

Bally’s
99.54% JoB (FP): 25c, $1(3 lines, Prog)
1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800
25¢ – 1 Play – near poker area, towards cashier – 4 Uprights
$1 – 3 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area – 1 Slant top
$1 – 3 Play – in Diamond Pointe immediately to the left after entering – 3 Slant-tops
$1 – 1 Play – Prog – in Park Place to the right of the big six wheel – 4 Uprights
$1 – 1 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area – 4 Slant-tops
$1 – 5-10 Coins – 1 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area smoking section – 8 Slant-tops

99.17% BP (FP): 25c(3 lines, Prog), $1(3 lines, Prog), $5, $10, $25
1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800
25¢ – 1 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area – 1 Slant-top
25¢ – 3 Play – Prog – in Park Place to the right of the Big Six Wheel – 9 Slant-tops
25¢ – 3 Play – Prog – in Park Place near Big Six Wheel – 7 Slant-tops
$1 – 5-10 Coins – 1 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area smoking section – 8 Slant-tops
$1 – 3 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area – 1 Slant-top
$1 – 3 Play – in Diamond Pointe immediately to the left after entering – 3 Slant-tops
$1 – 1 Play – Prog – in Park Place Video Poker area – 4 Slant-tops
$5 – 1 Play – in back of Tower Slots – 3 Slant-tops
$10 – 1 Play – in Tower Slots – 1 Upright
$25 – 1 Play – in Tower Slots – 1 Upright

99.11% DB: $1
1-1-3-5-7-9-50-80-160-50-800
$1  – 1 Play – in Park Place Video Poker area – 4 Slant-tops

99.00% JWD: 25c(NS)
1-1-4-6-8-10-25-50-100-1000
25¢ – 1 Play – Game King bank in Little Joe’s (WWW) 2nd Row from back wall – 5 Slant-tops
25¢ – 1 Play – non-smoking section of Park Place Poker just opposite the casino host desk – 3 Uprights

Caesars
99.54% JoB (FP): 25c(Prog), $1, $2, $5
1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800
25¢  – 1 Play – Prog – location unknown – 7 Slant-tops
$1, $2, $5 – 1 Play – about 3 rows past BJ tables as you walk towards Pacific Avenue – 3 Slant-tops
$2 – 1 Play – $2 Game Kings in high-limit room     Slant-tops

98.98% DDB (FP): $1, $2, $5
1-1-3-4-6-9-50-80-160-160-400-50-800
$1, $2, $5 – 1 Play – in middle of casino near mens room on left – 5 Slant-tops

Showboat
99.54% JoB (FP): 25c, 50c, $1, $2
1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800
25¢, 50¢, $1 – 1 Play – In Main Casino across from Carousel Room/Jackson Square down steps, on left; two banks of four machines – 8 Uprights
$1, $2 – 1 Play – High Limit Area – 1 Slant-top

99.17% BP (FP): 25c, 50c, $1
1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800
25¢, 50¢, $1 – 1 Play – In Main Casino across from Carousel Room/Jackson Square down steps, on left; two banks of four machines – 8 Uprights

Trump Plaza
99.54% JoB (FP): 25c, 50c, $1, $2, $5
1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800
25¢ – 1 Play – near the Wheel of Fortune alcove (Boardwalk end) – 30 Slant-tops
25¢ – 1 Play – in Poker room – 1 Slant-top
25¢, 50¢, $1 – 1 Play – towards the Boardwalk end near the mass of the good VP; (“Jacks or Better” on the face glass; Little/no cashback on these machines) – 14 Uprights
50¢ – 1 Play – near the East Tower     1 Upright
$1 – 1 Play – in the alcove near the elevators – 2 Slant-tops
$2 – 1 Play – in the alcove near the elevators – 2 Slant-tops
$5 – 1 Play – in the raised alcove next to the center escalator – Slant-tops
$5 – 1 Play – in high-limit area – Slant-tops

99.17% BP (FP): 50c, $1, $5
1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800
50¢, $1, $5 – 1 Play – in the raised alcove next to the center escalator – Slant-tops

99.11% DB: 25c, $1, $2, $5
1-1-3-5-7-9-50-80-160-50-800
25¢ – 1 Play – near the Wheel of Fortune alcove (Boardwalk end) – Slant-tops
$1, $2, $5 – 1 Play – in the east tower – 2 Uprights

98.98% DDB (FP): 25c, 50c, $1, $5
1-1-3-4-6-9-50-80-160-160-400-50-800
25¢ – 1 Play – scattered around casino – Slant-tops
50¢, $1, $5 – 1 Play – in the raised alcove next to the center escalator – Slant-tops

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Frequent guest on ECG, JMP, took a trip a little south and off the coast to the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, West Viginia and shares his thoughts on the casino, food and gambling.

JMP Went to a Casino in West Virginia and All You Get is a Trip Report!

Okay, lest you readers think ol’ JMP has a) developed a major gambling problem and b) has been 86ed from every casino in PA and NJ which would lead him to seek out gambling in the hills of WV, let me explain: I spent the better part of last weekend supporting the graveyard shift at work in their Herndon VA office.  I had my mornings and afternoons free and, prior to departing PA, didn’t even consider the possibility of visiting a casino.  Then, I saw the signs for Hollywood Casino in WV on the way down (via 15 South, not 95).  I still didn’t seriously consider it because, quite frankly, it’s been a long time since grade school and US geography class, so I had no idea that there are parts of WV that’s about 1 hour away from Northern VA.

Charles Town WV (not to be confused with the State Capitol of CharlesTON) is in one of those parts and, like I already said, they have the most recently minted ‘Hollywood Casino’ in the Penn National Gaming portfolio.  Prior to Fourth of July weekend and live table games, it was merely “Charles Town Races and Slots”, but the arrival of table games also brought the Hollywood addition, both in name and in space.
Since I don’t have nearly the history in WV that I’ve had in SE PA, I’ll have to go to Wikipedia for some background (hope you don’t mind!): the race track has been there since 1933 and slots (VLTs) came in the late 90s.  There’s also a 150 room inn, although it’s not attached to the casino.

Armed with the knowledge that, yes, it was ‘close’, that table games had arrived and brought renovations with it and that their ‘Epic Buffet’ was much better than average (more on that later), I decided that a journey to WV was a good way to kill an afternoon. I began my journey around noon, taking 267 West to 7 West.  Soon, however, the luxury of these 4 lane highways gave way to the rural-ity of VA 9, which was one lane in each direction and rather curvy in parts.  I strongly recommend only taking this particular route during the day; if you want to go to the casino at night, try and find a route that incorporates more of 15 and 340.  If you choose to go during the day, though, you will be rewarded with some stunning views as valleys and such open up before you.  It reminded me in many ways of driving in Ireland, minus the sheep.  Oh, and if you’re listening to the rock station DC 101, be prepared to have it turn into a Christian rock station immediately upon crossing the border into WV.  Spooky, right?  Not quite ‘Dueling Banjos’, but jarring nonetheless.  Luckily, DC 101 returned a few minutes later.  But I digress…

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The time has come for advertisers to find another way into your head.  It was only a matter of time before idle slot and video poker machines at your favorite casino had ads running.

Enter Reel-TV, a Henderson company that has patented technology enabling television ads and other marketing messages to appear on slot machine video screens while not in use. Last month, frosty bottles of Bud Light began materializing on video poker screens inside the main entrance of the Palms, like hallucinations induced by the desert heat.

Over the past few years advertisements have popped up in almost every free space marketers can find.  No area is sacred anymore.  This shouldn’t surprise anyone.  Like TV’s in supermarket lines, I expect to see this spread rapidly, so get ready for ads and casino promos everywhere you look in a casino.

Photo: Brandweek

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Intrepid ECG contributor, JMP, recently had a look at Harrah’s Chester.  All casinos are in play for me once table games arrive so I appreciate the advanced scouting – for better and worse.

When last you left your hero, I was basking in the glow of the $25 I took from Parx (nee Philadelphia Park Casino) in Bensalem, PA prior to getting together with friends for the Super Bowl.  Despite the win, playing 7/5 left a real bad taste in my mouth, despite never hitting a short-pay full-house.  I wanted to erase that memory with a trip to Harrah’s Chester for some 8/5 and some free Mountain Dew, but alas, tragedy struck in the form of what I’ll just call “a major source of uncertainty surrounding my continued employment”.   And since a gambling trip is always better when it’s to celebrate something, I decided not to gamble until I had re-achieved job security.

That happened a couple of weeks ago, so all I needed at that point was a window of opportunity.  In a rare moment of synergy in my life, I had to support a task that could only be done from our offices in northern VA, requiring a trip down 95 South.  Since I use 476 S (aka ‘the blue route’) to get there and the ‘good’ exit for Harrah’s Chester is the one immediately north of where 476 connects, the trip down on a recent Wednesday night was my first, best hope for some gambling.

(I should explain what I meant by ‘good exit’.  Since I know my way there, I didn’t use my Garmin, but if you choose such a tool, disregard any directions that don’t involve taking 95 to Exit 8 for Ridley Park, then heading for Industrial Road and making a right.  Do not risk getting off anywhere else and going through Chester to get to Harrah’s.)

Yes, for those of you who aren’t aware, Harrah’s Chester isn’t in what I’d call a ‘good neighborhood’.  In fact, it isn’t even a neighborhood, unless you count the prisoners next door as neighbors.  Also, I originally thought that the new stadium for the MLS Philadelphia Union was nearby, but I saw no signs of it while driving in.  The racino sits on aptly-named Industrial Road, along with Boeing and other warehouse-y looking buildings.  Actually, it’s a warehouse-y building itself and that’s fine, in my opinion.  Unlike Parx, which I believe overbuilt for its neighborhood, Harrah’s built the proper facility for the locale.  The outside is basically a two story gray box with just enough color and neon to let you know something fun is inside.  There’s also a large ‘screen’ that shows things like the Harrah’s logo, similar to what you can see on the Waterfront Tower at Harrah’s AC.  Attached is a 5-level parking garage, where each level actually connects to the racino.  No going all the way down to the bottom and over to the building and then back up to whatever level you want.  Instead, once you leave the garage, you’re presented with enough elevators and escalators to take you wherever you want to go.  The 2nd floor, which takes up two stories, is for the race track and the 4th is for the casino.  Connecting those two is a grand set of two-story escalators.  The first floor features the valet entrance, a little ‘art gallery’ featuring photos of every single Harrah’s property and, last I knew, a Brighton store where you could use your Reward Credits in a 2:1 ratio.

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Going into my solo adventure to Las Vegas I thought that I would end up gambling a little more than I would if I was with friends.  I met that expectation.

Being with out anyone else to consider I found myself wandering to just about any slot machine that looked remotely entertaining.  That was both good and bad.

Munny was located on the edge of the walkway to the rooms at the Palazzo.  I put $20 in and left with $50.  This is a 5 reel penny slot. There were tons of line combinations, but all that really mattered were the bonuses.  The big bonus set free a lotto ping pong ball scene.  Each ball had a multiplier.  I got a couple of 10x balls and bingo!  I played this game a few times and ended up positive each time.

I played a lot of slots in all denominations with unspectacular results, but not awful results.  I played my new favorite Time Machine at Palazzo, a new version of Top Dollar at Wynn and many more.

By definition, slots include video poker.  I played a good amount of video poker too and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.  There were some nice wins like 25 straights playing multi-video poker at Planet Hollywood.

Unfortunately there was nothing better than 8/5 Jacks or Better anywhere I played.  I did pretty well on my last trip to Vegas playing 8/5 JoB…

..this trip to Vegas was the complete opposite.  It happens.  It’s time to move away from machines to the tables.

Let It Ride
My greatest session gambling was a win of a couple hundred dollars in Let It Ride.  I haven’t played Let It Ride in a while and didn’t have much of an idea what I was doing.  Maybe that’s the trick.

Sports Betting
The best gambling for me this trip was sports betting.  I won about 8 of 10 games.  I only wish there were more games that were that I felt strongly about.  I spent a good amount of time at Legasse Stadium and I can’t wait to get this TV setup in my house.  Someday…

Blackjack Switch and Blackjack
Wynn was a second home for me and I played slots, bet on games and played Blackjack Switch for the second time.  Being sober helped a lot as I almost doubled my money in about 15 minutes.  Not too shabby.

Blackjack is always the same for me.  Up and down, up and down.  I did have a great time playing blackjack at the Palazzo on my final night.  I went to a table to play alone, but that changed quickly as the table filled with a variety of fun people.  I doubled my money and even spotted comedian, Brad Garrett, across the way!

3 Card Poker
My worst gambling came playing 3 card poker.  I did not have a winning session or even a big hand.  My experience in 3CP was so bad I had to stop playing.

My downfall at 3 Card Poker began at Planet Hollywood where I fell prey to extremely hot dealers and plenty of vodka in the Pleasure Pit.  I wasn’t in the section with Go-Go Dancers.  That’s a bit too distracting.

I had a great time playing at the Pleasure Pit.  The music, other players  and dealers were all fun.  Drink service, to no surprise, was very quick.

I’ve had a pretty good year and a half run gambling.  I may have gotten a little reckless gambling alone, but I gamble to have fun and I succeeded at that.  Moving forward I have to get back to smart gambling.

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Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City is renovating another small section of the casino. The Eden Lounge is being gutted to make room for another video poker bar.

Eden Lounge

It seems as if the lounge will remain in tact and keep the stage area for karaoke and bands.  Hopefully these changes will allow the Eden Lounge to keep it’s title of best “cougar” bar in Atlantic City.

This seems to be the bar for older folks while the Xhibition Bar seems to be where the younger people hang out.  I don’t hang out here because it’s a bit away from the action and the X-Bar is enough of a lounge if I want to relax for a drink.  I’ll check this out when I visit in June.

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