Smart Baccarat

While I don't think it will really happen, some interesting tidbits concerning the possible closure of the Atlantic City Casinos, this weekend.

"The state Casino Control Commission met Friday afternoon and voted 5-0 to authorize "orderly closure" of the 12 casinos should Corzine order a government shutdown. Casino executives asked that they be given days rather than hours to prepare."

Casinos, which require monitoring by state gambling regulators to operate, lost a bid in Superior Court in Atlantic City on Friday to get state monitors declared "essential employees" who could keep working during a shutdown.

Judge Steven Perskie said that while he thought the casinos should remain open, he did not have the authority to tell the governor what to do. He said a higher court would have to make that ruling. Casino officials said they were to file briefs with the appeals court by 8 p.m.

"It's very hard for me to attempt to find the words to express how irreparable, how damaging, how catastrophic this would be for the people of this state — not just the licensees — but the people," Perskie said.

Joseph A. Corbo Jr., a vice president at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and head of the state casino association, said if casinos were forced to close for the five-day holiday weekend, it would cost the state $10 million in tax revenue and casino workers about $3 million a day in wages and tips.

"We believe that it would be counterproductive for the state, which is in a budget crisis, to close businesses that generate millions of tax revenues, particularly since we directly pay for the state employees who regulate our casinos," Corbo said.

from the NY Times Obituary
"Lyle Stuart, a renegade journalist and publisher whose picaresque life included clashes with Walter Winchell, the publication of "Naked Came the Stranger" and the decision to print "The Anarchist Cookbook," died on Saturday at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, N.J. He was 83 and lived in Fort Lee, N.J.

The cause of death was a heart attack, said his wife, Carole."

One of my all time favorite baccarat books was "Lyle Stuart on Baccarat"

and a really great read, especially if you have never played baccarat before.

Unfortunately, he didn't publish anything else recently; though,
"Winning at Casino Gambling" is another good gambling book.

Lyle Stuart was one of the "last" of the old time/high roller gambling types. His stories and strategies are very good. He was especially into dice and baccarat... check it out sometime !

6/29/2006 5:50:31 PM

ATLANTIC CITY---Uncertainty continues to surround the upcoming holiday weekend in Atlantic City.

"If a new state budget is not reached in the next thirty hours, the casinos could be forced to shut down. It is looking increasingly likely tonight that New Jersey will not meet the deadline for signing a new budget into law. The state constitution requires the budget to be signed by 12:01AM Saturday morning. If the deadline is missed, the state would not have the authority to spend any money. Governor Corzine would then have to invoke emergency powers to keep state services operating, including the casinos. Corzine indicated Thursday that he would strongly consider keeping the gaming halls open until after the busy Independence Day weekend." Lawmakers across New Jersey continue to deal with the state's looming 4.5 billion dollar deficit, and State Senator William Gormley says there needs to be a focus, “that we not talk about closing the state, we talk about honest budget negotiations and not phony budgets.”

How I miss NJ Politics...

OK, only 1 week till Atlantic City !
Thanks to flip and stungazed on the LVA boards, I was able to get some details on roulette and AC rules --- Yes, believe it or NOT AC has its own set of rules for roulette. They are NOT standard American Rules and they are a modification of European "en-prison" rules --- go figure... how the folks of AC wanted to be different. Anyway, roulette (particularly European) is an awesome game... it is just the American version that is a rip off, due to the increased vig.

So, per the Wizard of Odds Single Zero Roulette section, I got the following information :

Single Zero Rules
A few places in the U.S. offer single zero roulette. This lowers the edge on every bet is 1/37, or 2.70%. The lists below shows some places that I have seen or heard have single zero roulette. The minimums at the single zero wheels are usually higher than the double zero wheels and are open fewer hours. Often the single zero wheels are found in the high roller rooms.

The run down on the Single Zero for AC is as follows (of course, YMMV)

A.C. Hilton (casino floor) $25 table min
Tropicana (high limit area) $25-$50 table min
Caesar's (high limit area) $100 table min
Bally's (casino floor) $25 table min
Sand's (high limit area) $25 table min
Taj (high limit area) $100 table min
Harrah's (high limit area) $25 table min
Trump Marina (casino floor)$25 table min
Harrah's (high limit area) $25 table min
Borgata (high limit area) $50 table min

Atlantic City Rules Rules
In Atlantic City all even money bets (red, black, odd, even, 1-18 [low] , 19-36 [high] ) follow a variation of the European imprisonment rule. In the event the ball lands in 0 or 00 the player will lose only half of any even money bet. This lowers the house edge to 2.63% on these bets. This rule does not apply on single zero wheels.

What confuses me is the last statement :

This rule does not apply on single zero wheels.

So, if I am reading things correctly, then :
Double Zero roulette with Atlantic City rules has a house edge of 2.63% ;
and since the Single Zero does NOT follow Atlantic City rules is has a house edge of 2.70%

So, in this case, Double Zero roulette with Atlantic City Rules is slightly better than Single Zero without. and, personally, I rather play at a $10 to $20 Double Zero Atlantic City rule table instead of a $100 Single Zero Table.

NOW, if you can find Single Zero WITH the Atlantic City rules... that would be awesome. (Hello out there... anyone know where you can play single zero with AC rules ????)

I just love roulette, but often don't play since the house edge is over 5% -- being a Baccarat person, I just play Black and Low; with the "occasional" straight up number.

Stay tuned for an on location roulette report next week.

Well,
Yael and I survived the trip to Florida. It was really warm, as was to be expected. Spent some fun time on the beach; and Yael got a lot of attention from the Grandparents. I got to rest, which was great; and had some really nice power-walks in the extreme heat. Flights were great, food was great and a really relaxing weekend for the two of us.

Now... time to get ready for our upcoming Trip to AC for the 4th of July.

Well, since the wife is away and most of the kids are at camp; decided to take a last minute trip with Yael to Boca to see the folks.
Leaving on the Indy Non-Stop in the AM. Thanks to my NW Platinum Status, upgrades cleared a 6 days out (the same day I bought the tickets).
We are in Seats 2 C and D; while the plane is pretty full, First Class is rather empty right NOW. Looks like we have the only 2 seats; will be interesting to see if the FC Cabin fills up a bit by flight time tomorrow.

I picked up this today, from a thread on FlyerTalk.

You juggle three balls in life: a rubber ball, a lead ball and a crystal ball. The rubber ball is your job. If you drop that, it'll bounce back quickly. The lead ball is your health. If you drop that, you'll have to stop, pick it up, then restart. The crystal ball is your family. Whatever you do: don't drop the crystal ball.

Something to think about.

Woke up Saturday morning around 10AM and my uncle and some of his friends picked me up around 11:30AM. We hung out at the mall for a while and then went back to RIO. I got a chance to check out their suite in the Ipenema Tower at RIO. They had a very nice suite connecting to a room. This was a great setup for a bunch of guys out for a Vegas weekend. I played more video poker, mostly 9/5 Spin Poker and $1 5 Hand 9/5 JoB; was doing OK, and accumulating points rapidly for my DIAD challenge. Left the RIO to get my hair cut and pedicure at the Palms. Kristie was awesome, as always, and I promised the girls that on my next trip, we would all go play dice together. Most memorable moment was the chick sitting next to me getting her pedicure and doing shots of tequila; only in The Vegas ! Left the Palms and went to Venetian to pickup 6 VIP tickets to Blue Man Group for my uncle and his friends. Boy, that place sure smells nice, though, I don’t really enjoy gambling in such a posh environment. Went back to the ‘dust and relaxed for a while before meeting my uncle at around 9:30PM to give him the tickets to the late Blue Man show. I headed over to Harrah’s, with only 2 hours to complete DIAD and around 1,300 points to go. I dug in, and found a $1 5 hand multi 9/5 Job machine. When I go to around 1,300 points, I had someone go check with RIO regarding my exact RIO point balance (can’t believe I forgot how many points I had earned at RIO); anyway, this really nice guys says it will be a few minutes, but he is going to find it out for me. Around 10 minutes later he returns with 2 Diamond Cards --- I DID IT… and around 15 minutes earlier I hit 4 Kings for a 5 way 4 of a Kind paying a sweet $625. So, I made Diamond in a Day, in under 3 hours of play and winning just under $200 --- That was one of the highlights of my trip. Went back over to the dust and played Baccarat, Dice and BJ, but couldn’t win at any of these sessions… so, went to Coco Palms, along with someone I met, and had my late night “fried chicken” before heading off to bed at around 6AM.

On Sunday morning, my Uncle Michael was arriving around 11AM and I was going to meet him over at Harrah’s Diamond Check-in as soon as he was on his way from the airport. He was in a free room and i-pod shuffle offer from Harrah’s; you can’t beat that. He checked in and my other Uncle Jerry also met us over at Harrah’s. We hung out talking to Glenn at Diamond check-in who is from Fort Lee, NJ; the town where Jerry and I (and Michael’s wife) grew up. It was great fun talking about Fort Lee. Then, we went up to the Diamond Lounge to relax, and I had my required 2 glasses of sparkling wine. I know they call it Champagne, but the stuff they serve in the Diamond Lounge at Harrah’s (while very good) is really domestic sparkling, NOT real Champers. Now, does anyone out there know if they serve real Champers in the Caesar’s Diamond Lounge ?

I went to Neiman Marcus to make some returns, including my Tumi rolling suitcase which fell apart in DTW airport. They were awesome and replaced it with a new one, no questions asked, even though, it was over a year old. Rested a bit at the ‘dust and took another Jacuzzi and a long shower. Got ready for dinner at William B’s with Michael, Jerry, and Jerry’s friend Eric. Susan the hostess was there as always, she is such a sweetheart. We had a nice big booth, and I enjoyed my seafood platter and oysters Rockefeller for dinner. The other guys had steaks and prime rib, which they all said were great. Jerry and Eric left to meet up with the other guys for Headlights and Tailpipes at the ‘dust. I was able to get 9 comp’ed tickets from my great host Linda. She even made sure they had the front row table. The are just so good to us at the Stardust.

Michael and I relaxed over coffee and a wonderful fruit platter at William B’s. We then left the ‘dust in search of Tony P. at Caesar’s, but he was nowhere to be found. We walked around Caesars a bit; and checked out the locations of the Diamond and Seven Star lounges. Then, we went back to Harrah’s for a bit more Video poker play. I left Michael around 11PM, since he had a very early flight out on Monday morning to LAX. I went over to the Frontier and checked out the Sigma Derby Machine. Tim @ Five Hundy has talked about this machine, and it is really funny. I then bought in for a few hundred at a $5 dice table – but, basically couldn’t make anything happen. Finished the night playing more Baccarat, Dice and BJ at the ‘dust, but couldn’t walk away with any money. This was the worst table game luck I have had in quite a while. The only thing memorable about it was how shitty it was… I guess that is why they call it gambling. I should have just played Video Poker on this trip ! Finished up with a drink in the Starlight lounge and a late night snack at Coco Palms and went to bed around 4AM.

I woke up around 9AM for my 12 noon flight home to Dayton via MSP. Had a nice conversation with my host, and we talked about which Boyd property I would be moving too. She mentioned she was going to the Orleans, so, I guess I’ll give it a try. Of course, Boyd has NOT announced where they are moving the ‘dust Baccarat room. None of the other properties have one. Thought it might be the South Coast, but it is looking like it might be the Orleans. I think all the anxiety and unknown was what caused Tony P. to leave the ‘dust after 30 + years. Stewart had the Limo all ready, and I left for the airport a little over an hour before my flight. I already had my First Class boarding pass, and breezed through security in under 10 minutes. Waited till the end of boarding, and met my MEM-LAS seat mate at the terminal; she was waiting to return to MEM. Had another great flight to MEM; and sat next to Stephanie in row #2. We chatted it up a bunch, and I started with a screwdriver before lunch. Lunch was a cold chicken platter, which was below average, but the white wine was nice. The flight attendants were absolutely fabulous, and they were all 30+ year NW employees. We talked about how things were so horrible lately regarding NWA and all of their concessions and pay cuts. I have to say, these woman had such a great attitude. Upon arrival in MSP I had over an hour to my DAY connection, so I invited Stephanie to join me in the C concourse WorldClub, and she convinced me that I had to have at least a glass or two of wine with her. Flight back to DAY was on a small jet, but I had 2 seats, and relaxed in a Yoga position and just tried to chill and reflect upon the busy and crazy weekend in The Vegas.

Camp has begun. Ryan and Adina left for sleepaway camp yesterday morning. It's Ryan's first year, but he didn't seem nervous at all. This is a picture of his group from the first day of camp. The camp has a blog so we can keep up with the day to day activities...

This is what I would like for my Birthday ! (lol)
Is anyone out there listening......

We decided we needed to go somewhere before the move this summer. So, the kind folks at Caesars AC made me an offer I couldn't refuse for July 4th week. Thank you Harrah's Diamond.

Now, I just hope The Pier opens as planned, at the end of June.

You just gotta love the design of some Baccarat Score Cards. While keeping track of the decisions in Baccarat it just part of the fun; it always makes me chuckle when I see the directions of the game provided in both Chinese and English. These are two nice recent examples from TI and Luxor.

This was my 4th Vegas trip of the year, and I was meeting my Uncle Jerry from NJ and 7 of his buddies. Michael was going to be joining us on Sunday, from Phoenix. Friday the 2nd of June was just a miserable day in Southern Ohio; and I drove to Dayton airport in the rain. I had only finalized plans for this trip a few weeks earlier, so I purchased my tickets less than 3 weeks ago. Was able to secure an under $250 fare, but it required 2 stops, one each in Detroit and Memphis. Since I am Platinum on Northwest, I had a good chance of sitting upfront on the Detroit and Memphis flights. The flight from Dayton is on a smaller regional jet, with no First Class section. Arrived in Detroit on time and relaxed in the WorldClub lounge near the gate, enjoying a beer and carrots and Cabot cheese. Struck up a good conversation, while watching re-runs of Law and Order with Mark about cheating and collusion in high stakes poker. This was prompted by the book Dirty Poker (direct link to purchase), which I was reading for this trip. Flight to Memphis was uneventful, and got my favorite First Class seat on the 757. Memphis to Las Vegas flight was on time, but had a last minute hydraulic issue. Luckily the flight left only 2 hours late, since they were able to find another Airbus A320 at MEM; otherwise I would have been stuck overnight in MEM. Lynn in the MEM WorldClub was absolutely amazing, rebooking me on all of the options (in First Class); just in case the flight was cancelled. Sat next a beautiful woman on the flight and enjoyed my vodka on the rocks and white wine with dinner. Dinner was much better than usual, a really tasty cheese ravioli; maybe I was just hungry, or Northwest is getting a bit better with their First Class catering. Arrived in LAS around 2 hours late and Mark was at the airport ready to pick me up. Gave Loralee from Arkansas a lift in my Limo and we enjoyed a few drinks before arriving at a Thehotel at Mandalay Bay to drop her off. I met her in MEM airport, and we had a nice conversation before boarding the flight. Mark is always great, the bar was ready to go in the Limo with vodka and scotch and all of the mixers. This is a picture being picked up at the Stratosphere. This was from our December trip, and we were on our way to Wynn Las Vegas to see Avenue Q. Boy, am I going to miss Mark when the Dust is gone. Quickly checked into the dust and got my usual suite (this time on the 27th floor with a Strip View), with a surprise gift basket and a bottle of Crown Royal --- boy, do I love this place. Got myself situated, and checked out the Baccarat Room at the Stardust. And found out that one of my favorite people had resigned a week earlier. Yes, Tony P. resigned from the Dust after 30 years, and took a position at Caesars. I just was in SHOCK. so, I decided to head back out and Mark dropped me off at RIO, since I needed to check in there for my Uncle, who was still delayed on Southwest out of Philadelphia.

Literally ran into Steve (tex2mex) in the high-limit slots room at the RIO. I was playing $5 9/6 JoB and saw him out of the corner of my eye. It is so funny when you run into people you know in Las Vegas. We decided to go to the bar and enjoy some drinks and video poker. I had some Davidoff Cigars, which we enjoyed. Tex suggested I try $1 bonus poker; while I hesitated, I decided that I would give it a whirl. Amazing enough, after around a half hour of play, I hit 4 Aces. boy, that was nice, and a great way to start off the trip. (for those NOT familiar with Video Poker that is an over $600 jackpot; can't recall exactly, but I did cash out for over $800 from that machine) My uncle and his friends arrived a few minutes later, and we talked and walked around a bit. I played a bit of dice with on of my favorite crews at the RIO, cashed out all of 12 bucks ahead.. little did I know this would be my only winning table game session of the weekend.

I started my Harrahs Diamond in a Day challenge at 12AM on Saturday morning, and I now had 24 hours to get 1,800 tier credits ($18,000 coin in at Video Poker) to upgrade from Platinum to Diamond total rewards card.

I continued to play into early Saturday morning at the dust. Played Baccarat for a few hours, but had no success. Went for a snack around 5AM, my favorite late night snack fried chicken at the Coco Palms coffee shop at the dust. Folks here are great, and they call me the chicken man --- I just love my fried chicken late at night. (and I love Mary late night at the coffee shop !!! she is the best !) Got back to the room around 5AM and took a Jacuzzi to relax and then went off to sleep.

Yes, I know, this is a bit obsessive.
Northwest Airlines has introduced a new glass in First Class. You can read all about it in this thread on FlyerTalk.


CHEERS !!!

Baccarat is just such a sexy game, and I can't get enough of it, especially tourney play. Anyway, don't tell anyone, but I have signed up for a Baccarat Tourney at Harrahs Las Vegas, September 15 to 18th. My dear Loni called me about it, and I couldn't resist... though, not sure if I'll be able to make it.

This photo shows Baccarat at the Sands Hotel & Casino (now the site of the Venetian) --- what is most interesting, is that the game used to be played with CASH --- not chips; take a close look at the picture, and you will notice stacks of CASH in the middle of the table, NOT the usual rows of casino chips. Most casinos converted to chips in the early 80's --- due to cash transaction reporting requirements (i.e. money laundering issues). In the 70's it was not uncommon for a player (after a big win) to leave the table with stacks of $100 bills.

Alas, Baccarat is NOT such a dressy game anymore... and I often wear my True Religion Jeans an a Tee-Shirt to play... but, it would be fun to play in a Tux... at least once...

New format for the blog is LIVE !!

Thank you fullensan you be the BEST ! impressive manipulation, even while ill and all drugged up !

Better start planning that trip to THE VEGAS.... are you listening Kaz ????

The end is rapidly approaching; sad to say, but the Stardust only has a few months left (maybe less). They are only accepting reservations through October, but, I don't think it's gonna last that long. Machines are disappearing, tables are evaporating... and some of my favorite people are gone. The great Tony P. has left for greener pastures, after 30 + years at the 'dust... word on the street is that he is working the 21 pit over at Caesars,
though I didn't have much luck finding him. The place just has such an air of uncertainty about it.... I guess that happens when you could be imploded any day now.... This SUCKS !

Site Meter is up; effective 8 June 2006.

This post is for Tim @ Five Hundy by Midnight

Sigma Derby @ the New Frontier; you just gotta love this game ! Object of this quarter "slot" machine is to guess a combination of horses that win (actually guess the win/place bet). Various odds for the combinations are displayed for the race, and you can determine your bets in units of a quarter. What makes it a classic is the fact that the horses actually race around the track, with a "galloping" soundtrack. This is unreal... a true classic !!! catch it before the Frontier is imploded !!

Incredible VEGAS TRIP... one of the best (though, quite frankly, they all are TERRIFIC)....

More to come... lots of stories... lots of interesting people... BTW THE 4 OF A KIND ON a 5 Hand Multi $1.00 9/5 JoB (Harrahs.... oh yeah !) is ONLY THE BEGINNING of the story......