Smart Baccarat

Well, my pledge to take a Vegas hiatus during the summer is actually happening. While I booked trips for 31 July and also in August (for the Venetian Carnival of Cuisine), this year, I really do think I'm going to avoid the Vegas heat. (Well, at least for a few months).

Off to Atlantic City in a few days, staying at the casino that just turned 30 on 26 June 2009 (surprisingly, also my birthday).

If you still don't know which property it is, this picture will give it away :



Luckily, they have managed to update things 'just a bit' since 1979. A nice little article on Atlantic City's second casino, turning thirty. Amazing, still quite a few employees working at Caesars who have been there since the original opening.

I plan on focusing quite a bit of time this trip on finally doing a baccarat overview of all of the Atlantic City properties. I'm also going to share some of the Caesars Atlantic City history, since I find it fascinating. Maybe even get into a bit of discussion about the departed Playboy Casino, which I spoke about last year.

I also have a number of interesting observations and thoughts from my previous Vegas (April) and Atlantic City (May) trips that i'll try to summarize and share. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time (or desire) to write extensive trip reports, but most definitely have quite a few great tales.

Labels: atlantic city, baccarat, big baccarat, caesars, playboy casino

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Met Sev at the Caesars Diamond lounge, where we had great conversation over Grey Goose Martinis (lots of olives for Sev, as they were out of onions) for a few hours. Couldn't decide where to go for dinner, so I suggested we try to seek out Valentino who was a previous waiter at Primavera (Caesar's Italian joint) for over 20 years. He moved over to Mark Anthony's (which is the Trump Taj's Italian joint) around a year ago.

Valentino immediately started us off with an awesome antipasto, and it was like dining with an old friend again!

Had a lovely dinner starting with a seafood tower trio, accompanied by some great wines. I can't recall what the exact wine was we had with the seafood trio (it was German and sweet, if I recall correctly).

UPDATE : Sev was able to provide some details about our first wine :
Our wine to accompany the starter was a "2003 Berncastler (often also spelled Bernkastler) Doktor Riesling Spaetlese (meaning late picked); those tend to be richer and more concentrated. From the town of Bernkastel in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. There are several producers of this high-end German Riesling; I forget which one we had but I think it was probably Dr. Thanisch. The "Spaetlese" is a higher quality than the generally-drier "Kabinett," and there is also occasionally an "Auslese" which is even more concentrated/sweeter. Though this is Germany, these are grapes grown on hillside terraces on the river banks and are harvested and selected by hand."

A nice shot of Sev and our lovely seafood tower (enjoying his wine).




Sev made sure that the folks were on their toes, confirming the specific vintages available; as the wine list was lacking this very pertinent information. The 2003 Tommasi Amarone was a most excellent choice to accompany our prime. I wasn't particularly familiar with Amarone, and was really glad Sev had suggested it.

The details about Amarone are quite fascinating (probably more details than necessary, by Tom Hyland from the Guide to Italian Wines)

Amarone is one of Italy's wine treasures that is loved by wine drinkers looking for ripe fruit, power, roundness and a sense of adventure in their red wine. Put a combination like that together and it should come as no surprise that Amarone is so popular these days.
Why is Amarone enjoying such renown and acceptance these days? Being a big – read 14 percent alcohol – wine doesn't hurt and either does the name which most people can pronounce, unlike some Italian words. But it may be the singularity of this wine that makes it such a favorite.
Amarone is produced in the region of Veneto by estates that make Valpolicella, one of the most popular wines of this area in Northeastern Italy. The same grapes, primarily Corvina (usually the leading component in the blend) along with Rondinella and Molinara, are used to produce Amarone. But the difference between the two wines is usually striking; where Valpolicella is a medium-weight wine meant for consumption with lighter fare with in its first 3-5 years, Amarone is a much more robust wine that is perfect with game birds or other such sturdy fare over the course of 7 to 15 years.
The reason for the stylistic difference in these wines is in the winemaking. To produce an Amarone (properly known as Amarone della Valpolicella Classico), a winemaker will take the harvested grapes and lay them on a straw mat, often in an attic or other warm room. The grapes then dry over the course of several months creating a raisiny flavor that is a distinctive character of Amarone.
As Amarone comes from the Italian word amaro ("bitter"), most examples have a tartness or slightly astringent edge to them. Alternatively, you may notice a sweet edge to them that can be explained in the concentrated sugars the grapes pick up during the drying process. Certainly, the combination of raisiny and sweet black fruit can make Amarone an irresistible temptation.
That slightly sweet edge in the finish can also come from the fact that a particular Amarone may not be entirely dry. Amarone is actually a recent innovation, dating back only from the 1950s. Before that, the process of drying grapes in this fashion (known as appasimento) resulted in a sweet, super-rich wine known as Recioto. Legend has it that the first Amarone was a mistake, as a winemaker had let a barrel of wine ferment too long and the wine's residual sugar had been eliminated. Recioto is still made today and its sweetness and richness make it a perfect choice at the end of a meal, often with powerful cheeses. (Many producers of Amarone also produce a Recioto – the official name is Recioto Della Valpolicella – with Masi and Tedeschi among the best.)

The only let down for dinner, was the dessert which was an edible basket with berries (I forget all the details), but the edible basket was not particularly inspiring, and was very heavy and "doughy."

Upon examining the check, Sev noticed a pricing error for one of the wines (seems that some of the wine lists for the restaurant had not been updated recently). It wasn't hugh, but was a bit annoying, nonetheless. Since we had already settled the check, we convinced Valentino to finish off our evening with two glasses of Hennessy XO; which he graciously poured for us directly from the bottle at our table. This more than made up for the error, as this was a $30'ish glass of Cognac at Mark Anthony.

At some point during dinner, the handy iphone totally lost it's charge, so I was a bit unconnected for the rest of the evening (which was fine...) We went over to Showboat for a bit, as I had a 6x multiplier bonus for September 11th. Played some video poker, $5 Top Dollar (which, was just eating and eating my $$$$), and a little bit of dice. We also were able to partake in a Davidoff Grand Cru #4 Cigar; while being ever so cautious to make sure we were in a proper smoking area. Which, for only a few more weeks includes high limit slots and the rather small section of video poker machines near the center bar. Seemed that both of the dice tables (at Showboat) were non-smoking on this evening. There are only a few more weeks left of smoking in Atlantic City Casinos. Starting next month, the casino floor will be 100% smoke free.

For those interested, the dice table minimum at Showboat had been lowered to $5 (with standard Harrah's Atlantic City 5x odds). But, the table was pretty dead, so I decided to cut my losses and depart Showboat. Sev and I said our goodbyes, and I was back to Harrah's for a bit more gambling.

Got on a very hot dice table, and was able to make a nice hit in the first half hour or so. Actually, got another fire bet (this time, 4 points 25 for 1). Earlier in the evening, got a fire bet for 250 for 1 (5 individual points). This is a total sucker bet, so I only put up a $1 on the chance, I might win. Considering this day, I've probably pre-paid my "fire-bets" for the next 10 years.

Managed to drop back a significant amount of my dice winnings playing some more Top Dollar at Harrah's (can we say "addiction"); but, overall it was a pretty successful evening. I sort of wish I was a little less, "into the action" as I probably should have packed it in (along with a larger win) much earlier in the evening. Such is life in the gaming world!

Finally got to bed around 5'ish!

Labels: atlantic city, caesars, trump taj

My love of casino games is mostly limited to baccarat and dice. By far, my favorite game is dice. I just love the action and excitement around an active craps table. There are few casino games where you can hit such highs and lows in a rather short period of time. In addition, for the most part, everyone is on the "same" team and nothing compares to the "group" feeling when you have a bunch of people at a table rooting for the shooter (not counting the few darksiders, of course).

Last weekend in Atlantic City, we I played around 6-7 dice sessions mostly at Showboat, with one quite memorable session at Caesars. After my buy-in of $300, my money was disappearing pretty fast at this choppy table... and then Harv decided to show me how to really roll 'dem bones. Since his description of the action is amazing (might be because he doesn't consume as much champagne as I do... hmmmmm.... ) I prefer to just let him tell the story. Eric (my brother in law) was also along for this wild ride.

I also want to further emphasize that I was a BELIEVER IN HARV from the moment he started to roll, and did back up my pass line bet with FULL 5X ODDS!

We search around for a craps table that has room for all three of us. After walking around a bit, we find one that has three spots on the end, stick left. I usually like to be immediate stick left, since you have the shorter throw, but beggars can’t be choosers, eh? So I ask Michael what he is buying in for, he says $300. I usually buy in for $100, but what the hay, I just won $350 (well, I’m only down to $150, since I lost $200 back to the machine). The table is really choppy, no one can get a good roll, and soon I’m down around $150. I’m thinking, if I could just hold on to throw the dice again. I make a few don’t bets and win a few, but just as soon as I win there, someone hits a seven. All the while we are talking, saying that we just need that one “hot roll” and we’ll be okay. I’m now under $100 and I’m thinking Cath is going to be pissed that I just lost $300. Now Michael is shooting and I bet $15 on the don’t. He sets a point and after a few rolls sevens out. Nothing personal.

So I get the dice, 8. I place my odds (sorry, only $25 on a 5x table), place the 6 for $12 and drop a $5/$1 two-way hard 8, leaving me with $25. Next roll, 8 (easy), WINNAH! Next one, a six, I think. A few more rolls, WINNAH, 6, the easy way! Next point, 9. A few more number, WINNAH, 9! We are hooting it up! Michael is going crazy, I see him pulling cash out of his pocket, $50, full odds, buy the 4 & 10 for $25. After another 8, I throw a hard four, then after a few more rolls a hard 10 (making Michael very happy). Heck, give me all the hardways for $1! I’m still on the 6 & 8 for $12 and I throw a hard 8. PARLAY THE HARD 8! Next point, 6. another $5/$1 two-way hard 6. After a few more rolls, I see one die that shows a “3”, what does the other one say?!?!?!? I hear the guy on the other end call, “SIX!!!” HARD SIX!!! WOOHOO! $10 pass, $30 odds and $45 for the hardway, YEA! I shoot another 9. I never hit my hard 8 or another hard 6, I end up sevening out. I immediately color up, as does Michael and Eric. I get $240, loss of $60, not bad. Michael, since he “believed” in me, was taking full odds behind me and said he recovered his losses, Eric said he lost about as much as I did. What a ride!

Labels: atlantic city, caesars, craps, dice, gambling, showboat

Since it is my birthday, figured I'd talk about one of my favorite topics ---- BACCARAT.



gotta love James Bond at the Baccarat Table. Of course, he is playing some bizarre form of Baccarat, which is not quite Chemin de Fer and not American Baccarat. Of course, Bond now plays Hold-em poker --- if you recall, I bitched about this when Casino Royale first hit the theaters. And, I continue to bitch about it (how consistent).

I really wish I was around for the cash Baccarat days in Vegas. Unfortunately, our silly government put a bit of pressure on Vegas to convert "cash-only" Baccarat to "chips" Baccarat in the early 70's. Something about folks who launder money and like to play a bit of Baccarat.

Baccarat was such a posh game when you just played with cash. I still enjoy cash-play Baccarat in Vegas --- though, it was a whole different animal when everyone at the table was playing with cash. On the right, you can see Sinatra dealing a Baccarat game in the 1960's. Unfortunately, Atlantic City requires that cash be converted to chips --- so, alas, you can't leave all types of bills in play on a Big Baccarat table in AC.

Above is a pic of one of my final days at the Stardust, playing for cash and dealing the cards at the Big Baccarat Table.

If anyone is in AC, I am trying to get a group together for some Baccarat play on July 5th. According to a recent New York Times Article and due to the popularity of Baccarat with Asian gamblers; we seem to be having a bit of investment by the casino properties in Baccarat (and other "Asian-popular" games).

"At the start of 2006, Harrah’s opened a gambling and dining area inspired by the Ming- and Song-dynasty architectural elements at the Showboat in Atlantic City, in what Gary Loveman, its chief executive, described as “the country’s first authentic Asian gaming pit.”

"The company imported carved woods from China to house a dozen baccarat tables — the preferred game among many Asian players — and several more for pai gow poker, which is based on an ancient Chinese dominoes game."

"Over all, table game revenue at Showboat increased 35 percent last year, to $63 million, up from $46 million, and the casino more than doubled its business among Asian players. Table games include baccarat and pai gow but also craps, blackjack and roulette."

Was thinking, it might be about time to check out the new Baccarat pit at the Showboat. I really liked the new Asian Pit at Caesars AC -- but, the Big Baccarat table there is pure evil.

Labels: atlantic city, baccarat, caesars, harrah's, las vegas, showboat, sinatra