Dear Mark:
Why is it that when losing, so long as I keep playing, casino management is polite and courteous, but once I start winning, and winning big, I feel a change in attitude? Fred F.
Regrettably,
Fred, there are some in casino management that sweat the money as if it were their own pirated loot. Deep down, they know, or at least should know, that your winnings over time usually flow back the casino’s way.
Though I no
longer toil within the casino walls, there are three facts related to your question that remain givens in gambling: 1) Casino operators realize they will suffer short term losing streaks. 2) The longer you gamble with the house's money,
the more exposure you have to the casino’s edge, and 3) winners tell losers where they won their money.
If the player’s game is on the up-and-up, the casino shouldn't be hot and bothered when Freddy from Fresno wins a huge sum of
money, even if Freddy started with a meager bankroll. It is not all that rare for a player to unleash a hundred dollar bill and run its state of health up to four digits, or even higher.
The way the house safeguards against
financial ruin during a player's winning streak is to set table betting limits. It is the "house limit" that protects the casino bankroll against a lucky assault from Fred, Freddy or Frederica.
The house knows that the
longer Fred gambles, the more exposure he has to the casino's inescapable casino edge. Your biggest advantage against the house, Fred, is to quit on your own terms, and not on the casino's.
As for your winning loads of loot and
the casino not being so cheery about it, buried within their scowl, they know a few winners will slip past, even if every wager is designed in their favor. More to the point, Fred, is that casinos are retail establishments. If none of the
customers had any chance of winning big, how long do you think they would be able to keep their doors open? Heck, they actually prefer a few winners, because winners tell the 90 plus percent who lose where they did the big winning.
Dear Mark:
Recently, my brother obtained a Player’s Card at a casino here in Reno. After playing the slots for a while he earned a free spin to win a prize; which was an Ace for his first card if he placed a minimum $25 bet at a
blackjack table. He bet $25; his second card was a King; and he beat the dealer’s two 10s. Obviously, he was pleased to win $37.50; but soon he was saying he should have placed a higher wager, because the free Ace was such a huge
advantage. Do you agree? Wayne K.
The arithmetic says absolutely, Wayne, although $25 could represent the complete bankroll of a penny slot player, or just one hand of a blackjack player. As long as $25 is a bet that your brother
could easily afford to lose, he might have gone a bit light, and here’s why.
The sought-after hands of any blackjack player are those ace -10 "naturals." Unless the dealer also has a blackjack -- causing a push, and the
chance of that happening are 450 to one -- these hands win 1.5-to-1.
Being that your brother’s first card is automatically an Ace, on a multiple deck game, say for instance, six decks, 96 of the remaining 311 cards, (or 30.87% of
the remaining pile) would have given him a snapper.
Note, Wayne, that the likelihood of a blackjack varies with the number of decks in a shoe, but sticking with the six deck example, the probability of procuring a blackjack is
normally 4.749%, so you typically can expect a blackjack once in slightly over 21 hands. Comparing a 4.749% chance versus 30.87%, and getting paid 1.5-to-1, it shows, at least mathematically, that it might have been worthwhile for bro to
have placed a few extra clams in the betting circle.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "As I travel around the country and gamble in casinos, I'm constantly amazed and appalled by the ignorance displayed by many of my fellow
players." --Walter Thomason
4th Annual Binion’s Poker Classic Underway
Poker players hit the tables Wednesday to kick off
the 4th Annual Binion’s Poker Classic at the famed downtown Las Vegas casino. Traditionally, casino industry employees dominate the first event of the Binion’s Poker Classic, and Wednesday’s event
held true to form. Registration was up slightly compared to last year’s kick off, a trend Binion’s hopes to see continue throughout the remaining 46 days of tournament play.
The Binion’s Poker Classic continues today through July 11, with the Main Event scheduled over two days beginning June 30. Generally, the buy-ins at the Binion’s Poker
Classic are about one-tenth of the World Series of Poker events. Registered players in this year’s Poker Classic also will be extended a special room rate at the Four Queens
Hotel & Casino. To participate in any of the Binion’s Poker Classic events, players simply register the day of the event in which they would like to play. For No Limit
Hold’em events, registration opens three hours prior to the start time. For all other games, registration opens two hours ahead of time. Last year, approximately 10,000 people played in the Poker Classic.
For a full schedule of the 4th Annual Binion’s Poker Classic, go to http://www.binions.com/gaming/poker_classic.php
The Four Queens Invites Players To Shake, Rattle & Roll
The Four Queens Hotel & Casino kicks off its summer promotion today through
August 1, 2010 with $75,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs. The promotion dubbed,
Shake, Rattle & Roll Summer Giveaway, offers players the chance to earn points that may be redeemed for prizes and drawing tickets.
The promotion is open to new and existing members of the Four Queens’ Royal Players Club who earn points by playing slots, video poker or table games. Here’s how it works.
For slots and video poker, Royal Players Club members can earn points on their players club card. For table games, players earn stamps on a “Rattle & Roll” card for every 30
minutes of rated play. A minimum $10 bet or equivalent if higher is required in order to participate.
Now here’s the fun part. Prizes are rewarded based on the points earned as follows:
Slots and Video Poker
400 total points earned = 1st level collectable tin with a prize.
1,000 total points earned = 2nd level collectable tin with a prize.
1,500 total points earned = One drawing ticket into the $10,000 cash drawing to be held
on August 1, 2010.
Each additional 200 points earned = One additional drawing ticket.
Table Games
One completed Rattle & Roll card (20 stamps) = 1st level collectable tin and a prize.
2nd & 3rd completed Rattle & Roll cards = 2nd level collectable tin and a prize.
4th & 5th completed Rattle & Roll cards = One drawing ticket into the $10,000 cash drawing to be held August 1, 2010.
Each additional Rattle & Roll card completed = One additional drawing ticket.
To make things even sweeter, Royal Players Club members who participate in the Shake, Rattle & Roll promotion also will rack up the regular cash back and comps offered by the
Four Queens. The Four Queens is among the most generous in Las Vegas when it comes to cash back. For every $5 in coin-in on slots and for every $8 on video poker, players earn one point. Every 40 points equals $1 in cash back.
In order to join the Royal Players Club and participate in the giveaway you must be 21 years or older. A complete set of rules for the $75,000 Shake, Rattle & Roll Summer Giveaway is available at the club desk.
Wynn Las Vegas Daily Poker Tournaments
Wynn Las Vegas has recently made changes to the poker tournament schedule. The Poker Room will hold daily tournaments with $100/$20 buy-in.
The schedule will be as follows:
Monday – No Limit Hold’ Em
Tuesday – No Limit Hold’ Em
Wednesday – Limit Omaha Hi Lo
Thursday – No Limit Hold’ Em
Friday – No Limit Hold’ Em
Saturday - No Limit Hold’ Em
Sunday – H.O.R.S.E.
Daily tournaments start at 12 p.m.in the Poker Room located inside Wynn Las Vegas
For a list of daily winners and more information on tournaments, please visit
http://www.wynnpoker.com. To contact the poker room, please call 702.770.7654.
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