TR snippet-Eastside Cannery

Written in the hotel room in April:
Okay, okay,,,,, I give up the radical frugality. I surrender to luxury. I have been to the Cannery East and had room 1401, top of the casino and in the corner so that the wall to ceiling glass made a spectacular view in two directions.
I'll be back there.
$30 a night now.
If they raise prices, I'll cry.
Here is a hidden gem of a spot. What a discovery!
Lucky Pete and his wife Carol recommended I try this place. They are frugal coupon folks as I am, and usually well planned, but they were without a room in Vegas and saw the huge sign that new rooms were just $30. Carol told me to ask for a corner room, but I forgot. I merely asked for a room as quiet as possible and I did not ask for view either.
I got both. I'll ask next time.
I am on the fourteenth floor and two of my walls are glass floor to ceiling like some fancy NY city penthouse. The view is spectacular with mountains in one direction and the strip, downtown and more mountains in the other. These are long views and very different from other hotels views closer into town.
I am watching the lights come on and the sun set over a mountain. It reminds me of the view from the Stratosphere where I often went to see that change from day to dusk to dark and the difference in the colors and patterns and sense of things when the lights come up.
This room would be a vacation all in itself.
Lucky Pete's wife Carol told me that she did not want to leave the room and I see why. I am reading the room service menu and thinking breakfast here and I never do that.
Nor do I ever take a bath.
I don't think I have had a bubble bath in two decades. Yet, as I showered after my nap, this extra wide bathtub with the circular shower curtain that is out of the way and these contoured to the body elbow rests looked inviting. It is the most comfortable bathtub I could imagine. I got my book SALT by Mark Kurlanski and just soaked. Then I used my new footbrush ( one dollar at the Christmas Store) to brush and defoliate. This is a great tool. Four different kinds of surfaces to scrape and sand away old skin and built up foot gunk. Feels great!
Just as an aside, Kurlansky's two books, SALT and COD, are great for traveling because you can read just a few pages and get some interesting historical narrative or focus. His books are world history as filtered through mankind's search, processing, and regulation of cod or salt.
In the bath I was reading about the salt mines in Russia and Poland and how terrible it was to be sent to work there. Also there was a photograph of wooden carts behind camels transporting salt. Wild.

The room also has a thirties looking reading chair. I am laughing because the chair at the Golden gate was cheaply made and one of the legs came off as soon as I moved it. I could have had it fixed, but I hate waiting for maintenance or having anyone in my room but me. I rarely get the daily service. I just call in the morning and cancel for the day and grab something from the maid in the hall if I need more towels.
I could not possibly need more towels here. They are plentiful and everywhere.
The decorative theme is squares and rectangles. If I look around at lamps and bed backings and even the wall art, I can see that shape is everything here. The curtains are large rectangles of gray and purple. The hallway carpeting is a wonderful jumble of all sizes and colors of rectangles. Carpeting here in the room is stripes which still create long rectangles. They make the room look incredibly long. It is a huge room
Every so often there will be some curve like the arms of the chair or the lamp on the desk.
I have just left one of the smallest rooms in Vegas (Golden Gate) so this is quite a change.
Outside the evening lights are emerging. I can see the houses and the land and the mountains but everything is decorated with little bulbs like Christmas light strings and a few small signs are lit with lights that recreate movement.
The sky is lit by the setting sun and the mountain sets up a dark outline against it. Clouds pick up the colors and swirl the shapes. It is wonderful because there is so wide a window and such a panoramic view.
All this light and yet I napped well earlier this afternoon with little sunlight making it through the curtains. I do clip them with dollar store bag clips, but I only could find one clip this time. I need more for these expansive windows.
Boulder Highway traffic passes without any noise here.
I am enjoying this.

The table for my computer is about four feet by three feet. There are two chairs. The cleaning woman at the Golden Gate said the biggest complaint about the renovation is they eliminated the little table and chair. I told her I used the bed as a table but I did not tell her I took out the top shelf of the cabinet and made the bed into a table, setting that board holding my computer and mouse on the chair when I slept and back on the bed when I awoke.

Here I have all the space I need.
The Longhorn across the road is lit up.

The counters are all granite. The one outside the bathroom is about seven feet long. There is just one sink, but two distinct sections including two towel bars. The little bar like counter that sticks out is a very nice touch both in looks and function.

I am beginning to consider coming here each trip and using the Tropicana bus to get me to Excalibur for the poker I enjoyed. There is a bus also for downtown and of course Sam's next door has shuttles too for the strip and downtown.

Now the view is more lights than land. I cannot make out separate houses. The cars are more lights than vehicle and colors emerge from the places along boulder Strip. The lights in the strip hotels far way become visible also. And the sky above the mountains is tinged with the last of the days red.

I had been looking for some local bus access to Excalibur as the Deuce heading downtown is just too impractical at certain times like last night when I actually got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to Imperial Palace where I played poker into the morning to wait for the traffic to clear out.
I like a good local bus route. No crowds. With my new senior citizen pass the rides are dirt cheap even with this year's fare increase. Seven fifty for three days unlimited is cheaper than what I was paying. No extra charge for Deuce rides if I chose that option.

MORNING

Wow. The air is very clear this morning and I can see all the buildings on the strip clearly and then the cluster of buildings that is downtown.

SECOND MORNING

I had to leave the curtains open here my last night. I woke up too early, 4 am, a fine time to call home where it is 7am. While I talked to Elizabeth, I watched the changing patterns of the lights. 4Am light patterns was dominated by the the street lights. Houses were visibly darker. Off in the distance I could see the lights of the strip.

Gradually the lights gave way to morning. Something in the air makes the strip skyline view much more visually accessible this morning. And I can see the nooks and crevices in the mountains behind the strip casinos. I look directly at Flamingo or Tropicana, a straight shot to the strip and what looks like a simple bus ride.

I did not use the pool. The buffet opens in September. I was not impressed with the deli, but other venues for food seem pretty interesting. Last night I took my relatives to Sam's Town buffet next door and that seemed fine. It is not as good as it once was, but for the price it was good and one was free on POV.

There is 10/7 double bonus here and I can play it in nickels or in dimes or quarters. I like that very much.

TR snippet - El Cortez Golden Gate

My first two nights downtown I stayed at the El Cortez on ACG coupon in Pavillion rooms.

I guess no one except me would chose the Pavillion rooms over the tower. I had that option as I had both the POV cabana coupon for $45 and the Pavillion ACG for $30. Maybe if I wanted a table for the computer.

Generally, I was content to save the money and I like the short walk outside to see the neon before I go to bed. I also like the ease of carrying in luggage from the car and parking right near the same elevator. Perhaps when I am coming on the bus again I'll change up. Certainly I'll use the POV sometime this year to see what the cabana rooms look like unless one of the other musketeers in my coupon group uses it.

I have stayed there often on my journeys to Vegas, usually to take advantage of the free shuttle back to the airport and always to see again the old downtown crowd at the live poker table.


Friday, Saturday, Sunday at the Golden Gate for $20 each booked directly on their web page.

GOLDEN GATE
I liked it. It is cozy and comfortable and still has a bathroom of old tile and faucets that reminds me of my youth. There is something to be said for that.
I arrived early and was very pleased with the manner in which I was greeted and treated. They had a room for me and there was no need to store my luggage.
I never like the parking here because it is valet only and I can't go to my car when I would like. But I was going to leave my car anyway and use the bus for travel until it was time to head out to the Boulder strip so I just left it.
I know the rooms are very small, but they are nicer than when I was here before the renovation. I was comfortable. The bathroom still looked like a bathroom from the 30's and I like that look. The walls were still too thin so that hall noise bled into my room as did the noise from the Freemont, but I did not expect to be in the room during those hours. I had forgotten to ask for quiet. If I were training the maids, I'd train them in using quieter voices. The shouting was unnecessary for communication and it woke me
Part of the renovation was a better television than I remember and a long cylinder pillow for propping in bed for reading. Also the clock was equipped with an ipod player. The electrical was better wired as well. What I missed was the removed table and chair as I brought my computer, so I took out a shelf from one of the cabinets and set that on the bed. A laptop set on top of a bed may over heat the computer.
I moved a large comfortable chair out for access to my new bed table and one of the legs slipped off. It was a poorly made chair.
I did not ask for it to be fixed, but just propped it up and left it.
I made the mistake of telling the cleaning person in the hallway that I would not require service the next day instead of calling. I was napping in the afternoon when they woke me up by a phone call to ask if I wanted service. The woman apologized. It is what they do if you don't make that perfectly clear, even if the do not disturb sign is on the door.
They don't have a green approach to towels. I did not need or order new towels, but they were put in a plastic bag and attached to my door knob. The second day I requested no towels.
So there were some minor annoyances, but overall I like this little place. I love coming off the elevator and going back in time a hundred years. I also loved the twenty a night weekend price I got right off their site. While I checked in some young couple came in looking for a room and were told that the hotel was totally booked.
The new easy chair for reading replaces the small table and chair in the older rooms.
I moved it and created a makeshift desk.
The bathroom was pretty much the same. I like these old faucets as they revive old memories
Old fashioned full power shower heads deliver some force of water. I am not sure in this age of green concerns that this is an advantage.
Radio complete with ipod player
The new look in lighting decor is more fifties than thirties.
hallway mirror for self portrait

The Golden Gate still gives a nice stationery
And thankfully, much of the beauty of wood grain is still in the remodeled rooms

Here is a SEpt 2009 review of the Golden Gate and the area

I stayed at the Golden Gate 3 weeks ago. It was my first time staying downtown. I thought it was a great deal (I also paid $19.06). The rooms are clean and like everyone said, a bit on the small side. The beds are great, you get a nice LCD TV, a coffee maker, ice & vending machines on each floor, and you get Neutrogena toiletries. I would gladly take this room over the room we got at Hooters. You get this weird key/key card thing to open your door. You get the feeling that the room won't be that nice because the hallways are pretty plain and the doors are really small (I guess people were smaller when the hotel was built), but once you get into your room I think you'll be pleased. Oh, there's free WiFi. Actually there's a ton of it since the place is so small I also detected the signals from Golden Nugget, Vegas Club, and Plaza in addition to Golden Gate's own WiFi. You could also get the pay per use one from the gift shop next door if you really wanted. The staff is friendly. There are old photos everywhere. If you see one you like, you can order a print at the front desk.

I guess the cons are that because it is so small they need you to check out on time since they need to get your room ready for the next guests. Check out is at noon and I dawdled a little and had a knock at my door at 12:15. The incidental charges hold they put on my credit card was a little high. $149 for 2 nights even though I was only paying $19.06 a night. There's no room service or charging to the room so I guess the only way I could have used that was to make a bunch of phone calls or steal something.

Our rooms were second floor, facing the Fremont Street Experience. If you close the curtains the noise isn't as bad as you would imagine. On the other hand, if you want to watch the show, the windows do open. With the curtains closed, I could not hear the show over the TV or with music playing on my laptop. The only time I really got annoyed was one night when they decided to do sound checks at midnight (they were prepping the Christmas show). I guess you could ask for a room facing away from Fremont Street if you plan to sleep early.

I couldn't hit much on the newer video slots, but the older $1 reel slots were pretty good to me. There didn't seem to be much VP selection so I didn't really play as much VP as I usually do. They have an electronic sports betting machine hiding in the corner. The slot club was pretty good. I joined awhile ago to get the shrimp cocktail discount, but did not really put any points on it until this trip. There's not much they can comp since they just have the deli and the diner. You can redeem your points for freeplay, food, or some neat Golden Gate trinkets. A free shrimp cocktail coupon is really easy to get. I'm not sure how you get their funbook, they just gave me one, but it is very good if you can get it.

Being near the Vegas Club and Plaza is also cool. I was impressed by the changes I saw at both places. Vegas Club had some of the newer slots that I wanted to play (Golden Gate's selection is limited by their small size, but the small size also meant much better cocktail service). I'd gladly stay at Golden Gate again, but from what I've heard they don't really mail out too many offers since they're so small. If Vegas Club or Plaza give me a good deal, I might give them a shot. I had a lot of fun at both places.

As far as food goes, Bay City Diner is one of my favorite diners and they have awesome dinner specials, but I was a little disappointed by their breakfast menu. It was much more limited than I remembered in the past. Shrimp Bar and Deli is always good for something quick to eat. Don't worry if you see a long line, they move people through real fast and probably half the people are just going to get a shrimp cocktail anyways. You can also get soup, chili, hot dogs, salads, and sandwiches. The sandwiches are surprisingly good.

Vegas Club and Plaza both recently opened new restaurants. Tinoco's Kitchen moved to Vegas Club from their old location. They have a full service restaurant and a take out counter. It has pretty good reviews on Yelp and was on my to do list, but I didn't get a chance this trip. Firefly opened at the Plaza. It is worth going to for a drink and to check out the view. The sangria is awesome. However, it is expensive if you have a healthy appetite (two sliders cost $7.5). I was willing to give it a shot due to the good reviews of its other location and because I do like tapas, but I was disappointed that the menu did not have a lot of traditional Spanish tapas items. Not only did the menu has egg rolls and mac and cheese, but the way many of the items were served in a manner not conducive to sharing.

TR Snippet-Plane trip to Vegas

It is incredible to me that I can be awake and totally refreshed at 5 AM just as I am every single day at home. How does my body know it is 5 AM here in Vegas? And what am I doing awake and refreshed after playing poker and other assorted games until almost 3AM?

But here I am ready to go find some breakfast.

The plane ride was a mixture of delightful napping ease and long and tortuous noise. I had fine seats. On the way to Chicago I was alone in my row and from there to Vegas I had a delightful traveling companion, a twenty year old Filipino girl who now lives in Chicago, but has lived in Texas and in Vegas. She works in financial services selling investments. She was friendly and perky, and we were good companions. We knew when to stop talking and grab some quiet time and some sleep.

Which is more than the folks behind me knew. Two raspy voiced women spent the entire journey interrupting each other with there intense raspy voices and shouting over each other simultaneously about every nasty bit of gossip they could remember or create concerning their mutual women friends. These women were from Chicago as well, but they were annoying and the one who had so misued her voice over her thirty some years of life that the nodules in her throat had been erased was the worst. She broke into my naps and day dreamin.

A twenty sometime sat in the end seat next to them and his bud sat in another end seat one row up and just across the isle from me. This spiked haired too full of himself spent much of the trip shouting to his pal who behind me and that shouting was just about two feet from my right ear. It made we wonder whether my desire to sit near the rear so as to easily get to the lavatory was a wise decision after all.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not interested in sports. Well, these two knew every single fact about every baseball and hockey player and applied those facts in the way sports talkers do, with the hidden theme that as well as the factual trivia, they speakers knew exactly what should be done by each player, his coach, the team manager, the people who designed stadiums. And if reality was not enough, they also had plenty to say about exactly how to design and play fantasy baseball teams. It was awful for me. Son Dan may have like this banter, but I suspect even with his interest in such topics, his patience with the volume and tone would have annoyed him as well.

The kid next to me sucked alcohol as if he was not going to Vegas and drink all night at clubs. His diction was well spiced with “awesome!” and “dude” and even “rock on” which I thought someone had made up for the old Rocky character in the Brit sit com “As Time Goes By.” I can't imagine anyone in the aircraft liked this crowd, but we were quiet about it.

And then the four of them, the know it all boys and the raspy voiced women, found that they had some Chicago DePaul University athletic director in common and gushed on about her and everyone they might know in that network or in greater Chicago. The women, who may have been trying to pick up these young boys for a bit of a Vegas fling, invited them to some sporting Chicago social event where this athletic director would be accessible and the thought of meeting here had them fawning “thank yous” until the whole thing annoyed me. Once I went to the bathroom just for some peace and quiet and I stayed a bit longer than I needed to. In fact, I wished I could ride the rest of the route in the bathroom.

Conversation shifted. Now it went to proud militancy and the women's outrage against some young people the women knew who must have had some anti military attitudes. Well, they raked those kids over the coals for a while. It seems the fellow behind me was in the military, probably the guard, and so the women who were trying to get in good with the boys gushed and fawned and vented outrage and wound this fellow up so he went into a long Rush Limbo rant celebrating everything Bush did, justifying Iraq, and comparing our need to go to battle in Iraq it to the need to fight the Japanese and the Nazis.

I tolerated his rant better than the rest of the dribble because he had been in Iraq, I guess as part of a National Guard or Reserve unit. It is hard to go to was and come home and know that it just was a stupid war. Most everyone else agrees with that now, even conservatives who still supported it when there was no weapons of mass destruction.

I think at one point I actually heard old raspy voice say this would not be over until Sadam was dead. I suppose she meant Osama. Did she know the difference?

So I was going nuts and it was very hard to sleep. In the back it was endless repetitions of “Oh, my God!” and “ I am NOT kidding” while next to me was “awesome” and “duuude”

Later at the baggage claim I was again next to these young guys and they were trashing those two women they treated like new found best friends on the plane. What hypocrites! This was same guy who had told them he'd buy them mimosas all night if the slow river at the MGM was working ( the women managed to give the boys their phone number by asking if they would check to see the status of the slow river for them)

The sweet Filipino girl did sleep some. She brought her plug in music and that must have helped. I was jealous. At the drink break, she gave me an empanada her sister had made and I enjoyed it. She had a huge bag of them on route as a gift to her family/friends in Vegas. I was on her good side as soon as I mentioned some of the Filipino dishes that Bernadette's family makes. I think I won the day with ponsit.

The car rental went smoothly. I have the cheapest little Kia because I have it rented for almost a month. $597 at Alamo. I had to initial and sign my life away. I am personally responsible for this car and they won't bill my insurance company or my credit card. I think there is an Alamo rack where if there is any damage, they stretch you until you pay up. I hate car rentals.

The GPS took me the expressway to downtown and that was fairly easy. I would not have taken the expressway at night without it. Traffic was light, but there was some road construction that made lane decisions difficult. The GPS taught me a better exit than the one I use at Main Street Station. To get to El Cortez it is better to take the second downtown exit and end up right on LV Blvd.

Check in was a breeze and after a shower and change of clothes I was playing poker again at my favorite table. The floor person and Albert the dealer greeted me by name. I knew over half the players at the two tables and remembered how they played as well. So when the tough aggressive guy who took me down when I played with Keith last year joined the table of already very good players, I moved to the other table. It was a good move too.

Out with family

I called Gayle and Chris and Mike and Jan. I'll probably see them over the next two days. I picked up Gayle and drove her here for some talk and food. She told me all the confusions that have been happening in her family. It is not good news.

I played two four limit and lost and then I played Megabucks and won a few dollars and then played dime Double Bonus. I ended down three dollars which with the Megabucks and the poker made me down sixty for the day.

April 28
I talked to Frank on the phone last night. He is not feeling well and will be in to the doctor's today. Elizabeth woke me up to tell me.

Bill's flight is 3075 from San Diego arriving 12:45 southwest. I'll be getting him tomorrow and heading out to Laughlin.

After Gayle I played some 2-4 poker and enjoyed the table but I lost. Then I won a few dollars on Megabucks and lost a few on dime video poker. So it cost me $60

The view from this room is incredible this morning.

Cannery East

Here is a hidden gem of a spot. What a discovery!
Lucky Pete and his wife Carol recommendehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd I try this place. They are frugal coupon folks as I am, and usually well planned, but they were without a room in Vegas and saw the huge sign that new rooms were just $30. Carol told me to ask for a corner room, but I forgot. I merely asked for a room as quiet as possible and I did not ask for view either. I got both. I'll ask next time.
I am on the fourteenth floor and two of my walls are glass floor to ceiling like some fancy NY city penthouse. The view is spectacular with mountains in one direction and the strip, downtown and more mountains in the other. These are long views and very different from other hotels views closer into town. I am watching the lights come on and the sun set over a mountain. It reminds me of the view from the Stratosphere where I often went to see that change from day to dusk to dark and the difference in the colors and patterns and sense of things when the lights come up.
This room would be a vacation all in itself. Lucky Pete's wife Carol told me that she did not want to leave the room and I see why. I am reading the room service menu and thinking breakfast here and I never do that.
Nor do I take a bath. I don't think I have had a bubble bath in two decades. Yet as I showered after my nap, this extra wide bathtub with the circular shower curtain that is out of the way and fine build in elbow rests looked inviting. It is the most comfortable bathtub I could imagine. I got my book SALT by Mark Kurlanski and just soaked. Then I used my new footbrush ( one dollar at the Christmas Store) to brush and defoiliate. This is a great tool. Four difference kinds of surfaces to scrape and sand away old skin and build up foot gunk. Feels great!
Just as an aside, Kurlansky's two books are great for traveling because you can read just a few pages and get some interesting historical focus. This one is the history of salt. His other book is the history of Cod. Or perhaps better put both are world history as determined by the humand search, processing, and regulation of cod or salt.
In the bath I was reading about the salt mines in Russia and Poland and how terrible it was to be sent to work there. Also there was a photograph of wooden carts behind camels transporting salt. Wild.

The room also has a thirties looking reading chair. I am laughing because the chair at the Golden gate was cheaply made and one of the legs came off as soon as I moved it. I could have had it fixed but I hate waiting for maintenance or having anyone in my room but me. I rarely get the daily service. I just call in the morning and cancel for the day and grab something from the maid in the hall if I need more towels.
I learned this trick from Lucky Pete. Poker buddy Slink thinks it is unclean living not to have the maids make up the beds and clean up once a day. I don't see where they do that much and I know that the most vulnerable time for theft from the room is while the maid has the door opened to clean it.
I could not possibly need more towels here. They are plentiful and everywhere.
The decorative theme is squares and rectangles. If I look around at lamps and bed backings and even the wall art I can see that shape is everything here. The curtains are large rectangles of gray and purple. The hallway carpeting is a wonderful jumble of all sizes and colors of rectangles. Carpeting here in the room is stripes which still create long rectangles. They make the room look incredibly long. It is a huge room.
Restrooms in the casino are marked with a wall of tile in squares and rectangles.
The building itself is lit in these really unique squares of lights that change color. It is am amazing sight.
Every so often there will be some curve like the arms of the chair or the lamp on the desk.
I have just left one of the smallest rooms in vegas so this is quite a change.
Outside the lights are changing. I can see the houses and the land and the mountains but everything is decorated with little bulbs like Christmas light strings and a few small signs are lit with lights that recreate movement.
The sky is lit by the setting sun and the mountain sets up a dark outline against it. Clouds pick up the colors and swirl the shapes. It is wonderful because there is so wide a window and such a panoramic view.
All this light and yet I napped well with little sunlight making it through the curtains. I do clip them, but I only could find one clip this time.
Boulder Highway traffic passes without any noise here.
I am enjoying this.

The table for my computer is about four feet by three feet. There are two chairs. The woman at the Golden Gate said the biggest complaint about the renovation is they lost the little table and chair. I told her I used the bed as a table but I did not tell her to took out the top shelf of the cabinet and made the bed into a table, setting that board with computer and mouse on the chair when I slept and back on the bed when I awoke.

Here I have all the space I need.
The Longhorn across the road is lit up.

The counters are all granite. The one outside the bathroom is about seven feet long. There is just one sink, but two distinct sections including two towel bars. The little bar like counter that sticks out is a very nice touch both in looks and function.

I am beginning to consider coming here each trip and using the Tropicana bus to get me to Excalibur for the poker I enjoyed. There is a bus also for downtown and of course Sam's next door has shuttles too for the strip and downtown.

Now the view is more lights than land. I cannot make out separate houses. The cars are more lights than vehicle and colors emerge from the places along boulder Strip. The lights in the strip hotels far way become visible also. And the sky above the mountains is tinged with the last of the days red.

I had been looking for some local bus access to Excalibur as the Deuce is just too impractical at certain times like last night when I actually got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to Imperial Palace where I played poker into the morning to wait for the traffic to clear out.
I like a good local bus route. With my new senior citizen pass the rides are dirt cheap even with the fare increase. Seven fifty for three days unlimited is cheaper than what I was paying. No extra charge for Deuce rides. It is not far also to the Pinball Hall of Fame so that could be an easy bus stopover.

MORNING

Wow. The air is very clear this morning and I can see all the buildings on the strip clearly and then the cluster of buildings that is downtown.

SECOND MORNING

I had to leave the curtains open here my last night. I woke up too early, 4 am, a fine time to call home where it is 7am. While I talked to Elizabeth, I watched the changing patterns of the lights. 4Am light patterns was dominated by the the street lights. Houses were visibly darker. Off in the distance I could see the lights of the strip.

Gradually the lights gave way to morning. Something in the air makes the strip much more visually accessible this morning. And I can see the nooks and crevices in the mountains behind the strip casinos. I look directly at Flamingo or Tropicana, a straight shot to the strip and what looks like a simple bus ride.

I did not use the pool; I don't think it is open yet. The buffet opens in September. I was not impressed with the deli, but other venues for food seem pretty interesting. Last night I took my relatives to Sam's Town buffet and that seemed fine. It is not as good as it once was but for the price it was good and one was free on POV.

There is 10/7 double bonus here and I can play it in nickels or in dimes or quarters. I like that very much.

DISCUSSION AT CHECKOUT

I asked at checkout if this was an unusual room, but it is a standard room. The more expensive rooms with jacuzzi have other amenities as well. Of course, only the corner rooms have two walls of glass. The others only have one wall, still floor to ceiling. All rooms have the great comfortable bathroom. All have a refrigerator.

BUSES

Flamingo is the road right in front of the casino heading straight into the strip. coming back the drop off is right at the edge of the casino parking lot. It would be easy enough to come this way with luggage and one transfer from the 108 or perhaps the 109. I will have to check which one passes Flamingo closest to Boulder with an easy place to stand for the transfer.

POOL

I did not swim but the pool seemed inviting if a bit cold. Laughlin will be warmer and that might make the difference.

Golden Gate

GOLDEN GATE

I really don't want to take the time to write much but just record the bare details of the day. I also don't want to spend much time at Krispy Kream looking for internet time. I don't know when this might be posted, but I put in ?? so when I edit I can add names, details and some photographs. If you are reading it with the ?? it is a draft version.

As you can see from the ?? pictures, the remodeled rooms are very comfy. The size remained the same, perfect for one person; crowded for two. However, the electric was redone so it no longer runs along the wall. There were not as many plugs as in the El Cortez, but I carry with me a swivel adapter plug, so I can plug three things in any socket.

The beds seem new and the television is just fine. There is a place for an ipod to play music instead of those cheap radio clocks.

I miss the old real glass lights, but the fine woodwork on the doors is still there. And there is a coffee pot.

While I was checking in to my $20 a night weekend room, a young couple came and asked if there were any rooms available. The desk clerk said that they were fully booked. I saw that the room rates were up much higher the week before I left.

Coming into the hotel from the rear door of the parking lot I was immediately struck with the feeling of yesteryear. There was all the beautiful fine wood, the piano playing, the gathering of folks eating at the little tables. I hope all that never gets remodeled. It was very refreshing. I was exhausted having played 17 hours of poker at the El Cortez and only taken a small nap before checking out and the whole feel of the Golden Gate was just wonderful. Also wonderful was that they easily and quickly gave me my room early. No hassle.
And while I don't like the parking lot much, it was not crowded at eleven thirty and I just don't intend to use my car until I leave downtown. Then when I have gambled to exhaustion and drank a bit as well, I don't have any worries. With my new bus pass a ride on the CAT regular lines like 108 or the 116 is just seventy five cents.

Awake at ten PM
I had to go back to the El Cortez for my plug adapter which I failed to unplug. Then I signed up for a player's card and had a shrimp cocktail and listened to the live piano player. It was three PM before I was ready for my nap. Next door I could here the laughter and muffled tones of some young college girls. I took a sleeping pill called Midnite. This is not a heavy pill, but advertised as all natural and not addictive. It worked to change my body clock. I slept well and woke up refreshed after dreaming I was young again and at a college party. I can hear some Freemont talk and music. It is like sleeping on the edge of an amusement park.

And I love all of it.

So there will be no strip for me tonight. I'll play a bit here and walk around downtown. I can already see that this week is going to go quickly.

SATURDAY

I played poker at Binions all night. It was good in the beginning but eventually I had lost $147. Nice table. Good games. Tough run of cards.
I walked out and played the Megabucks and got not small hits. Then it hit for red 7-7-7 and I got all my lost money back. So I am ahead $12 for the day and $90 for the trip. I have a nice Nugget buffet coupon too and I am hungry. It opens at eight. The last I ate I had the shrimp cocktail here at the Golden Gate. That was 18 hours ago. Of course, I filled up on Myers rum and on coffee with amaretto.

POKER
No memorable hands. Most of them would be of bad hands. In the beginning I had pocket aces and ace-king often. Some of the paid and others cost me money.
I do like that they will reduce the rake. We did play with short tables and I am tired of doing that. But if we asked the rake was reduced. The problem is that soon there would be seven and then six or five again and we had to ask again. Nothing is automatic. I asked every time, but it was work.

Normal rake is 4 and 1
Six person rake is 2 and 1
Five person rake is 1 and 1

This is a great improvement over Tunica games. Some Harrah's here have 5 and 1 rake and will not reduce.

Later...
FOOD
I ate at the Nugget Buffet but it cost me $8 even with the comp. It is more expensive on Saturday. It was good, but only worth the $8. Because it was a brunch it had foods other than breakfast foods. I enjoyed that. I tasted a fine piece of prime rib, some barbeque pork, and two helpings of smoked salmon with capers, tomato, but no horseraddish sauce. I had plenty of fruit including some really good grapefruit. I finished with a little ice cream cone.

On the way back I played matchplay craps at the 4 Queens, and BJ at the Vegas Club and the Plaza. I played three and won twice giving me a profit of fifty dollars. Hit and run matchplays are the most lucrative form of gambling.

POKER

I have been wanting to spend some time playing no limit poker on the machines at the Excalibur. They offer a fifty cent/dollar game with a hundred dollar max buy in or a dollar/two dollar game with a two hundred dollar buy in. Over twelve hours I played a good bit of both kinds and fully enjoyed the machines although I ended down $650 dollars. I am thinking of going back today.
In the first hour I won some fine hands and was ahead about a hundred and fifty dollars. Then I seemed to just get drained. In the last few hours I was playing with people who could far outplay me, but I wanted the experience. I got terrible cards and played practically no hands. Then my blind Q-7 caught two pair on the flop and I bet and was called. On the river came an ace. I had not bet out in an hour. He bet into me and I decided to bluff a really good hand. Into a pot of eight seven dollars I put one black chip. It worked. He folded. His banter indicated he layed down two pair with an ace, but that may have just been a way to try to get me to tell him what I had.
On the next hand I caught trip fours on the flop but the turn produced three clubs. I did not see strength and decided to try the same tactic again. With about two hundred dollars in front of me, I put a black chip on a pot of nearly that much money. This time I got caught by a fellow slow playing A-J of clubs. He reraised me. I decided to call. Any board pairing or a four would give me the pot and I was ready to head home, win or lose. I lost.
The rest of the day was pretty much a long day of folding. I did win enough hands to stay even for long periods of time, but gradually the folded and poorly flopped hands grind down my bankroll. I stayed at the max buy in and for a small stakes game found that there were very few all in bets. I had worried that the hundred max would produce maniacs just going all in every other hand, but that did not happen. So for me it was a very comfortable game only gradually I was ground down.
One interesting twist was when they ran the new strip poker tournaments. As players are eliminated from the tournament a stripper who dances a slow strip tease all the while removes on item of clothing for each group of people eliminated. Eventually she is down to very little and all the while she does classic stripper moves while classic stripper music plays. I loved it and I had a seat playing the one hundred max that was the best in the house. It was erotic, she was very cute, and yet it was tasteful, mild, sexy dancing.
So that must have cost me some money, right? Well, it is true that I was not studying my opponents after folding and that a few times I appeared to be really distracted, complaining after betting with, “oh, I missed that” remarks when I had missed nothing at all. But what was ironic was that over the course of the first session when I watched the show intently, I also won forty dollars.
The show was repeated, but by then I was more into the poker and moved to a two hundred max game where the view was not as good anyway.
I was really out of my league in the two hundred game. If I go back today, I think I'll stay with the one hundred max game although the rake is a dollar more. The lack of a dealer tip adds a good bit to the value and I like that much of the bonus rake is spread around in high hand bonus amounts and the bad beat is aces full beat so that it happens more often. I like all of it. For learning no limit I can't imagine a better place for me to be. I would just like to get some better cards next time.
I think they said that comps are a dollar an hour and will stay on their card as long as they are there. The way that was said suggested to me that there is some question that they will be there when I come for my next trip, so perhaps I'll use some up today for Sunday dinner at the buffet. I don't need anything fancy, just something free.
So I am down $510 for my trip. This is day five.
FOOD
I stopped at three in the morning when I got back downtown and had the Golden Gate prime rib. I was tired but had not eaten in a good while and knew the meal would put me to sleep. I talked to my wife for over an hour and then went to bed and slept over three hours. I feel good, but I suppose I'll get tired by evening today.

THE CAT BUS
I check out of the Gate tomorrow so I might just as well get a more traditional night's sleep and be fresh for driving. I will not drive again today. Yesterday with my new senior citizen pass I rode the bus out and back for a total of $3 and saved that drive home late a night with a couple of rums in me and twelve hours of tiring poker play. I don't like to drive at night. The bus folks were as entertaining as always and the Deuce coming back early morning was quite comfortable even from as far up at Tropicana. I rode the 108 up and transferred to the 201 and found that comfortable although it is a bit odd standing by a deserted lot with Southwest planes flying overhead while waiting for the Tropicana. I don't know if that would feel comfortable after dark. A fellow came out of the fenced in area rolling a suitcase. He knew exactly where there had been a hole cut in the fence. This would be a bit disconcerting after dark. Late night returns on the Deuce are not too bad. Tonight will be fine as it is Sunday night.

MUSIC
I am amazed at how fast the time goes here and how much there is to do that I skip with all these long sessions of poker. Still I enjoy the game and the variety of places to play. I was going to go up to the games near Flamingo but now it is really between going back to the El Cortez where the bankroll needs are a lot less or heading back to the Excalibur.
I did see two good free bands on Friday night. One was outside and it was great to be in a a crowd of dancing people of mixed ages. The band had high energy and songs moved along quickly. ?? names.
Two girls and two guys with all sorts of music, good voices, great dancing and constant change of costumes. I loved it and stayed for a full set. The other was an Elvis impersonator at the Golden Nugget. I think I have seen him before. His voice is a really so close to Elvis it is eeirie. He was not flamboyant, just good at what he sang and his ourfit was low key.

Vegas in april/may

April 22-23-el Cortez
April 24-25-26 Golden Gate
April 27-28 Eastside Cannery
April 29-30- Laughlin's Tropicana Express
May 1-2- 3-4 - Laughlin's Edgewater

Bill Neuman will share the Laughlin portion of the trip with me. I expect to have a car this time. This is unusual for me but I'll be using it right up through the trip to Denver-Albuquerque- and back to Vegas for a couple days to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday.

Ann shares her reading and her cousin

--- On Fri, 2/6/09, Ann wrote:
From: Ann
Subject: Myths of Gambling
To: "Hill.dewey" <deweyfhill@yahoo.com>
Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 9:08 AM

From Bottom Line Secrets. Think that you have things figured out? Think again! --- Ann

Thanks, Ann. I do read this guy quite often as I receive his newsletters. I just quoted him in a note on a discussion board today as I liked the way he presented the case that there are rude players at the blackjack table. I used his words to set straight a guy who was saying poker was too rude for him.
Still Sclobete is very simplistic and in this piece is deceptively so.
I may not have it all figured out yet, but I have it figured out better than he does in this article.

Maybe because he is most often writing to a poorly read audience of gamblers, he slants things at times and often (including here) stops short of telling the whole story. What he calls "reality: here is sometimes merely half truth, SO I have added the rest of the story to some of his realities.

High Roller Frank Scoblete on the Seven Big Gambling Myths

Frank Scoblete

n casinos, the odds are always against the gambler, but the odds grow even more dim when gamblers hold erroneous beliefs about the games they play. Seven of the most common -- and costliest -- gambling myths...

Myth 1: Higher-limit slot machines offer better odds, so they're a smarter play. In major casinos, the quarter slots typically return about 91% of the money bet... the dollar slots, 94% to 95%... and the $5 slots, upwards of 95%. But in this case, the better odds are not your best bet. The 91% average return on the quarter slots means that over time, you'll lose an average of 2.25 cents per play, assuming that you risk just one coin at a time. The 94% to 95% return on the dollar slots translates into an average loss of five to six cents every time you insert a coin, so you'll lose your money more than twice as fast. And with $5 slots, you'll lose an average of at least 25 cents per play -- more than 10 times as fast as with the quarter machines.

Reality: It's true that, statistically, you stand to win most at the highest-limit machines, but unless you have lots of money that you can afford to lose, the only time it's wise to move up to the dollar slots is if you have been playing the quarter slots three quarters at a time. At an average loss of between six and seven cents per pull, you would be better off switching to the dollar machines -- assuming that you restrict yourself to a single dollar coin per play.

Warning: The worst slot odds are on "progressive" or "linked" machines that offer escalating jackpots, up to six figures or higher. These machines typically return only 85% of the money bet.

Myth 1 - re: "Warning: The worst slot odds are on "progressive" or "linked" machines that offer escalating jackpots, up to six figures or higher. These machines typically return only 85% of the money bet."
The rest of the story: In video poker a player can mathematically figure when a progressive is a good bet or not. My favorite Double Bonus Progressive at the 4 Queens is always a great bet and always better than any Double Bonus anywhere else because the pay table is the best it gets in Double Bonus, paying over 100% for perfect play, and the progressive is added on the top of that. Adding a few of these prime playing places to his myth breaking might give

Scoblete readers a more balanced view of his "secrets," He might counter that he is just writing about slots here, but he might also have said this "secret" does not apply to video poker at all. It is true that it can be hard to find good video poker at above the dollar level. However, anyone can know what high paying machines are by studying and learning pay tables. At least at real VP like Foxwoods and Vegas. NY fake VP is another story.

Myth 2: This slot machine is due. Some slot players continue to pour money into slot machines that haven't been winning on the theory that the machines are "due" to hit. Conversely, players who have won money on a machine sometimes continue to play, thinking that the machine is "hot." Still others believe that when all the symbols for a big jackpot appear in view, but not in line, the machine is close to a major payout.

Reality: What a slot machine has done on past spins has absolutely no bearing on what it does on future spins. Each spin is independent and random.

Myth 3: Single-deck blackjack gives gamblers a fighting chance against the casino. At a typical casino blackjack table, six or eight decks of cards are shuffled together. But now many casinos also offer single-deck blackjack, where only one deck is in play at any given time. With just 52 cards to account for, it seems easier for gamblers to calculate their best strategies.

Reality: The casino has structured the single-deck game so that it's harder than ever to beat the house. At a normal blackjack table, the casino pays three to two when you get blackjack -- $15 on a $10 bet. At single-deck tables, the payout is only six to five, or $12 on a $10 bet. That lower payout means that over time, even if you are able to win a few more hands because you have kept track of the cards that have been played, you can expect to lose your money nearly three times as fast as you would at a multi-deck table.

re: Myth 3 - single deck blackjack in spite of Sclobete's blanket statement, still pays 3/2 in many venues, including in Vegas at the El Cortez, and Scoblete needs to spend more time saying that and pointing out where it happens, than trying to argue that the advantage of single deck blackjack is a myth. Unless this one rule is changed, single deck is the best game and he knows it. He is just pointing out that the movement from 3/2 blackjack to 6/5. Well, duhhhh! that is old, old news. No intelligent BJ player plays at tables that offer 6/5.

Myth 4: Play the trend at the blackjack table. Gamblers like to search for trends, even where none exist. They'll bet more at the craps table when the dice are running "hot" or bet a number that has hit a few times on the roulette wheel, though a modern wheel in a major casino is extremely unlikely to be biased.

In general, betting the trend in the casino is no worse than any other bet, but blackjack is an "antitrend" game. Example: When a lot of small cards have been dealt, there are fewer small cards left to be played, making it smarter to assume that the trend will reverse.

Reality: At the blackjack table, betting the trend is a costly mistake.

Myth 5: If I can win in poker games with my friends, I can win in the casino or online. In casinos and at online gambling sites, you're not just playing against the other players at the table -- you're also playing against the "rake," the house's cut of anywhere from 2% to 20% of winning pots. And unlike in home games, you're not playing against people you know, so you can't expect to read your opponents. Online, you might even be up against pro gamblers using computer programs and teamwork to up their odds.

Reality: The best way to survive is to play tighter than you would at a friendly home game, folding most hands and risking your money only when your opportunities are greatest.

re: Myth 5 home poker games

The rest of the story: We all know that playing at Greg's is different than playing in the casino. There is no rake, players' styles are not already memorized, and usually we only have five players rather than ten.

That being said, it is wrong of Scoblete to issue a broad statement and try to diminish the value of home games in preparation for casino games as if he is myth breaking.
I won my last visit to Tampa Hard Rock by twice playing like Greg has taught me to play. I think of him every time I play in the casino and he has greatly increased my winnnings.
When I come out a winner any day at the casino, I usually say to myself that I did it from things I learned from playing against Greg. None of it could he have explained to me over lunch even if he would be willing to share his strategy.
My $2000 run at Foxwoods over 14 trips was all based on using a greg strategy along with my own.
Also, every week Greg and I both practice changing up our patterns of strategy to offset what we have learned about each other the week before. Even Bruce has started to do that. This is the highest level of poker play, figuring out what your opponent thinks of your patterns and altering them at the right time to fool him. It is best practiced at games where the player's repeat week after week. In the casino you never play against the same group twice. Peter is learning it quickly now too and it has made it possible for him to play in a casino.
Finally, "betting into perceived weakness" is the single greatest poker lesson Greg (or anyone) has ever taught me.
Maybe Scoblete should join Greg and fellow author Blowers at our games some week. He might learn a bit.
Down here in Florida, every spring, baseball players come for spring training for the same reason.

Myth 6: Fast play is good play. At table games, experienced gamblers typically make quick decisions and become frustrated with novice players who move slowly and drag down the pace of play.

Reality: It's in a gambler's best interests to move slowly. Not only does slower play give you more time to think, it reduces the number of hands that you'll play on a given night. Because the odds are in the house's favor on every hand, fewer hands played means greater odds that you'll walk away a winner -- or at least that you'll lose less. The only downside to taking a little time is the dirty looks you'll receive from the dealer and your fellow gamblers. If you're at a casino with friends, play at the same table, so you won't feel outnumbered and bullied into fast play.

the rest of the story re: Myth 6 - fast play - In poker fast play can be an excellent strategy. I lost money my last game because the fast play of my opponent shortened my own time to think. He suckered me into that pace on purpose and so he got raises when he should have got calls. Greg uses it in head to head games at the end of the afternoon. I have to fight to slow down my own response to his fast play. So it depends on what you are using the fast play for.

All professional VP players work to develop fast play. It is the only way they can make any money. Since they have the mathematical advantage, they work to keep their strategy perfect while making there hourly expected winnings greater by playing more hands per hour.
I don't.
I am content to break even at VP, and use my comps for free rooms and drink my share of rum. I don't make a living at it and I don't enjoy speed much in any game now which is why I prefer Scrabble to Boggle.

But fast play in video poker is the rule for serious gamblers.

In the literature of video poker there is a lot of debate about how fast to play. Some even develop simpler, but not as advantageous strategies ( still over 100%) so as to increase speed and average hourly earnings.

Myth 7: Comps are a way to "win" at the casino. After you sign up for a rewards card at a casino, you might earn complimentary meals, show tickets -- even hotel rooms. Many gamblers view these comps as a way to recoup their losses at the gambling tables. Casinos view them as a way to keep gamblers happy as they lose money.

Reality: When you receive great comps, it means that based on how you're betting, the casino expects you to lose a large amount of money.

the rest of the story re: Myth 7 comps -The rest of the story: It does not take a mathematical genius to know that you can't play highly negative expectation games over a long period and expect to be paid back over the amount the casino wins; however, all gambling writers agree that comps are what make the difference in winning once you have become an advantaged player.
Either live poker or full pay video poker with no errors will push comps into the positive place for educated gamblers.
Here in Florida I sure miss my comps. Elizabeth and I were playing poker in Ocala and got charged for coffee. Can you believe that!! At Foxwoods on my bus trips I usually drink at least 4 Myers Rum. That adds substantially to the overall value of the day. In fact, I often argue with folks on the gambling boards that when they rent a car in Vegas, they need to add to the cost the value of the liquor they did not drink because they then have to stay sober. So they may get the car on the cheap, but they may also give up $50 in free alcohol. Expensive car rental.
Comps from poker play don't come with an automatic, mathematically grind out casino advantage as in slot play.
Comps from over 100% payback video poker make up the real winnings. That is the point of Jean Scott's books on Frugal Gambling. She argues that because the games at best offer a near break-even opportunity, that contrary to what Sclobete offers as a myth, comps and coupons are the only way to win at the casino. She figured that gambling paid off because, with good study and discipline, a VP player could just about break even on the gambling while getting shows, food, and a free vacation for her and her friends.
Of course, she found a better way to make money at gambling. Like Sclobete she found that writing books paid better than any other risk.

I wish I had kept track of my comps over the course of my gambling, but even my rough estimates tell me that over my lifetime, my comps have overcome by two to three times my total gambling losses.
Smart gamblers like Jean Scott, Bob Dancer, etc. depend on this.

By the way, where Bill Neuman and I will play poker in Laughlin in May gives us free rooms for poker play. It is the only place in the world I know that does that. That is one really good comp.

*************************************************************************************************

Now to give the guy a break, Scoblete knows next to nothing about live poker. His game is craps. He has an entire system worked out for craps which he says will overcome the mathematics of the game. It has managed to sell many books and get him his position as a gambling author. If he had to live on what he knows about poker, he'd be broke. So he should stick to what he knows when he writes and not talk about other games as if he had secrets.
Of course, that means he writes the same thing over and over again. I suppose he worries it will get to be old information.
Nothing he said here has been a "secret" and it certainly is not "bottom line"

********************************************************************

Ann's Cousin Frank Stirs up the Conversaton

-- On Fri, 2/6/09, Ann Parillo wrote:
From: Ann Parillo
Subject: from my cousin
To: "Hill.dewey"
Cc: "Gregg"
Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 7:05 PM

Dewey,

I received this from my cousin, Frank Parillo, who is one of the best BJ players around. He lives in Orange, California and goes to Vegas often. Here's what he has to say...... Ann

Ann, I have played casino blackjack for 39 years .I have read many different theories. From my combination of the theory and empirical knowledge , I must say the author was correct on single deck black jack,and your friend is wrong . Every time I have played single deck then 6/5 scenario exists . Furthermore some other options are removed .Additionally , the dealer buries a card and the hole cards are not revealed until after the dealing is done ,and the deck is reshuffled after every hand makes it very difficult for card counting See : tre: Myth 3 - single deck blackjack in spite of Sclobete's blanket statement, still pays 3/2 in many Vegas venues, including the El Cortez, and Sclobete needs to spend more time saying that and pointing out where it happens, than trying to argue that the advantage of single deck blackjack is a myth. Unless this one rule is changed, single deck is the best game and he knows it. He is just pointing out that the movement from 3/2 blackjack to 6/5. Well, duhhhh! that is old, old news. No intelligent Bj player plays at tables that offer 6/5..\ I have concluded there are three components to BJ , namely , skill, money management , and luck . Without the luck, the other two don't count. I am certain about these things, Don't play too long because the law of averages favors the house . Extended play favors the house . Don't play when you are tired, have to go to the men's' room or drinking alcohol . Always set a stop win goal as well as a stop loss goal . Almost everyone has a comfort zone as to how much they can lose, however, it takes great discipline to stop when you are ahead . My finest hour (literally ) was at Caesars Palace when I started with $60 and walked away with $5800. I had won my last hand, quit ,and the checked out of the hotel even though I had 2 more days on my hotel reservation. I realized that if I continued to play , I would have lost it back ton the casino. Quit when you are ahead ( a bird in hand ) . Currently, I go to a local casino where I walk away with small victories . That is. when I am ahead $200. I go home. It is much easier to do that when you can go home easily as opposed to being a guest at a Vegas casino.

Frank
******************************************************************************************************

**********************************************************************************************************
Dewey's adds another rest of the story

Dear Ann and Frank ( greg will have already stopped reading by now),

Hey,just what I need to entertain me with this head cold. A good gambling discussion.

re: many theories

Nothing I said in my response or that I add here has anything to do with gambling theory. Those are longer arguments.
What I developed was the mathematics that Sclobete presented and the full math that exists as well as the way he warped his realities by ignoring part of what is real.

re: Luck

I also don't write much about luck. Luck is very short term and merely controls the spaces in the bell curve, but not the ultimate advantage. In life, luck has great power over our final outcome, but in gambling luck is confined to very narrow, predetermined boundaries rules and made irrelevant by the rule of large numbers and the drift to the mean that all long term gamblers are going to experience.

Megabucks can be argued as an exception only because none of us can play long enough to realize the curve. But all the games that Sclobete writes about can be played enough over a lifetime for a player's experience to approach very close to true odds.

Luck, bad if not good, will always be with us. But it has a way of favoring the intelligent and showing its back to the stupid.

John Dewey
US educator, Pragmatist philosopher, & psychologist (1859 - 1952)

"The smarter I play, the luckier I get,"
Jean Scott

re: The existence of 3/2 single deck

It has been a while since I have bothered finding the better BJ games since I don't play anymore.
Stanford Wong's green chip pay site gives the best up to date BJ information but I don't play enough to make the investment in the site cost effective.

http://www.bj21.com/

That being said, it is reality that The El Cortez still has 3/2 single deck blackjack with low minimums. Sometimes the minimums are $3, usually $5. A fellow who went in December counted 6 tables. I have never been there when they have been busy. The Western also has it I think.

Naturally, it won't be on the strip in places like Caesar's. There is very little good gambling on the strip of any sort. They have to pay for all those fake roman statues and fountains and such.
Full pay video poker is rare there. Hardly worth chasing to find, as the games disappear if they do surface.
Caesar's even stopped serving decent alcohol in the live poker room. So there goes my Myers Rum argument, where comps add to the value of the play. I can't drink the slop they call rum. It adds no value to my play. I can get it one right after the other at the El Cortez and a good amount too.

Poker buddy Slink plays BJ at the El Cortez every time he goes to Vegas. here is a note from their site:
http://www.elcortezhotelcasino.com/ec_press/2dec08.php

And here are some other Nevada casinos that deal good games all 3/2:
reported by Mike Shackleford on his Wizard of odds site.

Best in Nevada: Both the Fitzgeralds in Reno and the Alamo in Sparks have a single-deck game, that allows surrender, double any first two cards, and six-card charlies. The basic strategy house edge is 0.10%.

Best in California: The Barona has a hit-soft-17, single-deck game, that allows double after a split, double any first two cards, and late surrender. I'm told the shuffling policy is to deal two rounds with 3 to 5 players, and down to 18 cards with 1 or 2 players. Due to the cut card effect, that makes the house edge 0.12% with 1 or 2 players, and 0.01% with 3-5 players. When I played there on a Friday night, the table was usually full.

I think if you search for them energetically, those games are around other places as well.

Some of the other rule variations can be balanced mathematically. But playing 6/5 is just the worst rule change I have ever seen, which is why the casinos made that change just a a few years ago. Here is the math affecting the power of various rule changes.

Doing a bit of comparative math shows you that you could give up a lot of player advantageous rules and still not overcome the 6/5 disadvantage.

Scoblete might have included in his article a chart like this if he wanted to talk about reality

Mike Shackleford over at Wizard of Odds (click this link) goes into great mathematical detail on many, many games. He is a much better source of gambling information than Sclobete, and considered to be the best source by most well read gamblers. Again this is not theory he discusses, but straight mathematics. If he suggests a strategy, it is based on the math and not on subjective preference.

Rule Variations
Rule	Effect
Blackjacks pay 2 to 1	+2.27%
Five card Charlie 1	+1.46%
Suited blackjacks pay 2 to 1	+0.57%
Player 21-points is automatic winner	+0.54%
Early surrender against ace	+0.39%
Early surrender against ten	+0.24%
5-card (or more) 21 automatically pays 2 to 1	+0.24%
Player may double on any number of cards	+0.23%
Ace and 10 after splitting aces is a blackjack	+0.19%
Player may draw to split aces	+0.19%
Six card Charlie1	+0.16%
Double Down Rescue	+0.10%
Player may resplit aces	+0.08%
Late surrender against ten	+0.07%
777 pays 3 to 1 automatically	+0.05%
777 pays 2 to 1 automatically	+0.03%
Seven card Charlie1	+0.01%
Late surrender against ace	+0.00%
Dealer must stop with six cards	+0.00%
Late surrender after splitting	+0.00%
Split to only 2 hands	-0.01%
No-peek: ace showing2	-0.01%
BB+13	-0.01%
OBBO4	-0.03%
Player and dealer cards dealt from separate shoes5	-0.06%
Player may double on 9-11 only	-0.09%
No-peek: ten showing6	-0.10%
Player may not resplit	-0.10%
European no hole card7	-0.11%
Player may not double after splitting	-0.14%
Player may double on 10,11 only	-0.18%
Player may not split aces	-0.18%
Dealer hits on soft 17	-0.22%
Blackkjack pays 7-5	-0.45%
Blackjack pays 6-5	-1.39%
Player loses 17 ties	-1.87%
Blackjacks pay 1 to 1	-2.27%
Player loses 17,18 ties	-3.58%
Player loses 17-19 ties	-5.30%
Player loses 17-20 ties	-8.38%
Player loses 17-21 ties	-8.86%
Dealer bust on 22 is a push	-9.53%

I have never seen a game so bad as to employ any rules that change the game more than the move to 6/5. It can't be overcome by tiny adjustments.

As well, as single deck games, there are good double deck games that pay 3/2. The last time I was there, Binions was dealing one.

Sclobete completely ignored the mathematics of adding more decks. He makes no difference between 2 decks and 8 decks. . The reality is that the fewer decks (given all the other rules the same) the better the game and generally adding decks adds a good bit of disadvantage to the player. He knows that this is the case. He just overgeneralizes, pretending he is myth busting. Telling any intelligent gambler who has anything figured out that 6/5 is a bad game is like telling people not to eat shit. Sure some people will still do that, but I wouldn't write a column debunking food myths and put in it, "Oh, hey, by the way, don't eat shit."

Sclobete also says nothing about counting and the problem of measuring when casinos shuffle up. Your cousin mentions this. Certainly the rate of shuffle up is a problem for the counter. This could have been mentioned by Sclobete.

And I am not suggesting that finding good games is as easy as it was when your cousin first started playing. This 6/5 is a relatively new BJ disease to a guy who has played for 39 years. Maybe it is a decade old.

Plenty of blackjack players have abandoned the game because of this move toward less dealer friendly games, and also the heat applied to counters. To count and make money a player has to spread his bankroll in a way that makes him very visible. Good counters work on disguises as well as strategy, so they are not barred from the casino. Casino technology and sharing of good counter's faces between casinos have made it hard to be a professional Bj player and make a living. They can no longer get barred from one place and be invisible in the next.
That is one reason so many smart gamblers are drifting to live poker which is not a house advantage game and where you can know all the math you want and no casino cares.

I agree with the common sense of brother Frank's wisdom of money management, but it has nothing to do with odds or mathematics, only with comfort level. I thought it was interesting that a guy who says he has played blackjack for 39 years advises us not to play too long. When exactly does he intend to quit?

But I know what he means. He means that in any given session he can leave feeling better if he does not let the casino grind him down too much or grind back his winnings. That may be okay from a purely subjective, short term, comfort level perspective, but if we are going to gamble all our lives, we should keep track of wins and losses and manage our money over the long term.

We would not think of going to the bank with such a money management system. We would never forget from time to time how much we deposited in one visit or withdrew in another. We keep a record and balance the checkbook.
Money management is like deciding just how much in a given week we intend to spend on groceries. We have to stay within a bankroll, but that says nothing about the quality of the meat we are buying.
I often see money management systems like cousin Frank's debunked as gambling myths.

Once you get the bankroll issue out of the way, in player advantage games like good VP or live poker, you should play whether you are winning or losing as long as you are playing well and keep the right advantage.
Winning or losing, you should quit when you detect that you have lost the advantage because the players have changed or you are too tired to play well. I often quit a poker session because I suffered a bad beat and don't trust my emotions or because new players have joined the table who are better than I am, or just because I don't feel like giving them all the time and energy it takes to determine whether they are better.

As for house advantage games, the best money management is just not to play them except for a bit of fun between serious gambling.

No money management overcomes a house advantage; it just hides it for a while until we forget our last experience.

That means for me I only play blackjack when I have a matchplay to give me the advantage. Once I knew that I was not a very good counter and did not want the hassle of spreading my bets and worrying about heat, I abandoned the game to more advantageous games.


If we are going to let yourself be ground down by house advantage, then perhaps we can arrange for the comps to offset that mathematical advantage of the house.
This was my point when I mentioned Jean Scott.
As advantage VP dries up, she recommends that players at least look for promotions that add enough value to the gambling that the freebie overcomes the house advantage.This math is a lot harder to compute.

Knowing how long to play for a freebie is a tough skill to learn.
I do that often. That is why I concentrate my VP play in one casino and don't visit it again once I have left my free rooms. I also avoid playing a little money many times during a trip, and play all of it in one day (different casinos define different 24 hour days). That way my daily average looks high when they compute my next free room mailing, free play, free food, etc.

Jean Scott also argues in favor using matchplays and coupons. If you gamble with matchplays, and just move from place to place, you can have a huge player advantage. I did this in Foxwoods on the craps table using a $25 matchplay everytime I went there over one winter. It was wonderful to have a huge advantage on each of those bets, and it netted me hundreds of dollars over the course of my couponing. They have since eliminated the coupon from the ACG book.

Also, you can choose games with the best rules, and in blackjack that means fewer decks and all the things in the chart.

There was a site that I used to have that charted the house advantage on all Vegas BJ games and posted the results, changing data as the games changed, but I guess it is down.
With a little work you can get a good computation on this calculator, plugging in all the rule changes and the number of decks.

http://www.qfit.com/blackjack-odds-calculator.htm

Okay, I got to get some sleep. Tomorrow is poker day at the Tampa Downs.

*******************************************************************************

Well, I suppose Cousin Frank along with Greg has stopped reading now too, but here is information I encountered in my last two days of reading that

adds more breaking news to the rest of the blackjack story.

You might pass it on to your cousin if he hasn't already worn out his reading glasses with all I shared last time.

Listening to Steve Bourie of American Casino Guide give a pod cast overview of Tunica (where I am headed next,) I learned that all of Tunica offers the single deck 3/2 blackjack game the two Frank's tell us does not exist. Cousin Frank perhaps has not played there, but Scoblete should know those exist and tip us off. But then it might make his piece on myth building something more than a tabloid half truth generality.

Cousin Frank might like mixing up his 39 years in Vegas with a bit of Mississippi. It is supposed to be a great venue for us older folks, good old fashioned gambling, good service, and good prices. Comps are so incredible that no one on the boards knows any of the prices of the rooms. Once you pay the first time, they tell me, you just keep getting free rooms for future trips. There are even some free junkets including airfare for gamblers out of my league bu perhaps not out of cousin't Franks.

Here is the menu of American Casino Guide podcasts; skim for Tunica:

http://americancasinoguide.com/podcasts.shtml

While there take a listen to the Linda Boyd interview on video poker. She is a board friend of mine who has written a great book on video poker with a fine, player friendly strategy. She gave me free rooms in Laughlin the last time I went ( comps certainly pay off ) and moderates this board:

http://www.midwestgamingandtravel.com/phpBB2/index.php

She can also educate on player advantage games that free us up from playing against the house advantage grind and leave us victim only to our own errors of play.

NEW GOLD SPIKE MAY HAVE SINGLE DECK
Currently Low minimum black jack players are watching the newly renovated Gold Spike in downtown Vegas which has gone from the pits to become upscale boutique. They will deal a low minimum 3/2 blackjack, but no word yet on the number of decks.

Check out the new Gold Spike upgrade here:

http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2009/02/09/opinion/columnists/spillman/iq_26683938.txt